WHO: Hathor WHEN: Some unnamed date in Ancient Egypt WHERE: Egypt WHAT: Creation and the aftermath of killing NOTES: Written as a little narrative, but completely open if someone wanted to reply.
In the beginning there was only Ptah and he - in his greatness - imagined all the aspects of the world, forming the formless and conceiving substance where there was none. Then he opened his mouth and spoke the names of all things, creating the world and all in it with nothing but his word. Ptah spoke the names of the first Gods and they were born. Ptah spoke the names of people, of plants, of all things that would grow and live and exist in Kemet.
Or...
In the beginning Khnum was alone and, from the clay of the earth, he formed his fellow Gods to be his company, and after the Gods he continued on to form the animals of the land, the fish of the rivers, the birds of the sky, the plants that lay along the Nile. Then he finally set his hands to create mankind, both those of the Black and Red Lands and those who lived foreign and far. Carefully he molded them, shaping their bodies with care and making the blood flow and the skin stretch firm across bones.
Or...
In the beginning there the four pairs of Gods, the males shaped like frogs and the females shaped like snakes. They were the khmun, the forces of the universe. There was Nun and Naunet of the primordial waters, Amun and Amaunet of the hidden power, Kuk and Kauket of the darkness, and Huh and Hauhet of the powers of infinity, of formlessness. It was the coming together of all eight of these Gods that began the creation of the world with a burst of light and glory. Following their magic a mound of earth rose from the formless seas and onto this the wise God Thoth placed an egg. When the egg cracked itself open the sun appeared, fully-formed and perfect, and rose to find its place in the sky above.
Or...
In the beginning, before there was anything at all, there was darkness and lifeless water that was called only Nun. One day fertile earth rose from this and upon it sat Atum, the Complete One, who created the God Shu and Goddess Tefnut from his own seed as he spilled it onto the ground. Shu and Tefnut then lay together and from their union was born the earth - Geb - and the sky - Nut - and, despite their love for each other, these children were forced apart by their father who separated them so that life may thrive between.
Or...
In the beginning all worshiped and loved Ra, and that meant his children as well. A young goddess was born as sweetness and love and with only the desire to serve and love this father as best she could. And for this father's love she turned into rage and fury and tried to destroy the world. A young woman who was and wasn't a cow but now was and wasn't a furious lioness as well.
Perhaps it wasn't a story of creation, but for Hathor the transformation into Sekhmet had been something of a disturbing rebirth for her and a beginning as powerful and indecipherable as the start of the world itself. To say that Sekhmet had come from her wouldn't be entirely truthful, because she knew Sekhmet before the people of Kemet turned themselves away from Ra. She had memories of a childhood, of two separate young goddesses who had played together, always feeling somehow linked despite their very different natures.
That link would never be quite understood until the day came when the disrespect of the mortals could no longer be tolerated. Hadn't her father given them everything they could desire? Hadn't he provided for them this land? Hadn't he been a wise and powerful king? The slight was something she could barely take and when Ra told her to wipe the world clean of them she did it joyfully, the animal of fury inside becoming the one that would lead. Hathor was not herself on this murderous, unstoppable spree, but she was not entirely someone else either.
It was only after she awoke from their trick (had she been wise she would have understood that blood to be only colored wine) that she found any peace again. The land lay mutilated and torn in her wake and Hathor still felt groggy and half-drunk. Sekhmet was there as well but when she turned to look for her, the lion goddess couldn't be seen. Sekhmet was there but she was not.
Hathor walked out of her father's palace deep in thought. Her bare feet were warm on the dry earth below and she looked to the low Nile, knowing the time was coming when it would spill over the banks and make the land fertile again. She kicked at the dust beneath her with a sigh. The world would continue on as it always had, but Hathor didn't know if she would.
She made her way to her own temple, reaching it as the sunset was casting everything in sight with bright shades of gold and red. Hathor was a goddess of joy but now she had killed so many and left so much devastation. There was blood on her hands that would never wash clean. There was crying and begging echoing in her ears. Was Hathor still Joy and Life even after all this?
Walking to the edge of the sacred pool, Hathor sat down on the side and looked at her hands, turning them over and over slowly to observe any differences there. But there was nothing, nor was the reflection that looked back at her from the water's surface anyone but Het-Hert herself.
Something was different and yet nothing at all had changed.