The Gates of Amduat

“Meryetnebi, daughter of the temple, you are summoned before this sacred tribunal to answer the charges laid against you. You are accused of breaking the Laws of Djeser, of stealing from the temple, and of blasphemy.”

Meryetnebi looked at the three elders sitting in judgment upon the dais high above her. She was not surprised they had taken this opportunity to remind her she was there only on their sufferance. She was an orphan, given to the temple, with no blood family here. Meryetnebi was alone. “Are we not bound to help those we see in our goddess-sent visions? The Laws are to protect the Gate and this temple, not to prevent us from doing our duty.”

“Yes, your alleged visions.” Nefermewet sat stiffly, holding the High Priestess’ scepter as if she wanted to strike out with it. “At best, they were a misinterpretation. At worst, they were a complete fabrication.”

“Meryetnebi is one of our most gifted Seers.” A man’s voice filled the room. “I doubt she would lie about any vision Basret sent her.”

Mery was surprised Pamose had stood and spoken for her. He had been kind to her in the past, but she had never considered him a friend or ally.

“She may have been blessed by our goddess,” Nefermewet said, “but the visions she claimed to have had about the outsider were incomplete, to say the least. Nor could any of what she said she saw could be confirmed.”

“I did not lie.” Meryetnebi fought to control her temper and remain calm.

“Then explain it.” The High Priestess’ voice was cold and demanding. “Interpret it.”

“You know I have tried,” Meryetnebi said. “The images were jumbled, their meaning unclear. But there was something important about the man in my vision, and he needed help.”

“The Council of Elders did not agree. He was an outsider, a stranger. The Laws of Djeser are clear on this point. He is not one of us. He is of no importance to us.”

“We don’t know that!” Meryetnebi had long disagreed with the temple’s practice of isolation, but denying aid to the man who had been so prominent in her vision was not something she could do. Basret would never have sent her the vision if she were not meant to help him.

“So you do not deny you disobeyed the decree of your elders?”

Meryetnebi saw the look of triumph in Nefermewet’s eyes. You have been jealous of me for years, Meryetnebi thought. My visions have been stronger and clearer than yours since I was no more than a child. My teachers say I mastered the ancient texts faster than any other priestess in the history of the temple. You fear that were it not for the fact I have no blood ties to anyone here, it would be me holding the scepter of High Priestess. “Not only do I do not deny it, I am proud of it. He was an important man. A leader of his people. The vision showed that clearly. If I had to make the same decision again, I would do it without hesitation.” Even as she said the words, Meryetnebi know she had walked straight into the High Priestess’ trap.
Nefermewet stood. “This temple took you, an orphan, in when you were no more than a few days old. We raised you as one of our own, and now you have finally shown your true nature, something I have suspected for years.

“Meryetnebi, it is the order of this tribunal that you be cast out. You will be excised from our scrolls, and your name will no longer be spoken.”

Gasps filled the air, and Meryetnebi stood in stunned silence. She had expected punishment, but not this. I will not break. The visions were true. If Basret had not meant for me to act upon them, she would not have sent them to me.

“Take her.” Nefermewet stepped forward. “Make sure she does not steal anything else before the doors of the temple are closed behind her.

Things were a blur to Meryetnebi as the temple guardians escorted to her chambers and stripped her of everything of her life there, including the amulet given to her when she became a priestess. They gave her a single set of clothes, like those worn by the desert people nearby, a small waterskin and a single loaf of bread.

Before she knew what was happened, she stood before the doors to the outside world, and the population of the temple gathered behind her to watch her expulsion.

The guardians opened the doors, and Nefermewet’s voice rang out. “You are cast out, Meryetnebi. You are no longer a priestess of Basret. Only the wind shall know your name as you are consigned to dust.”

Someone shoved her from behind, and Meryetnebi stumbled forward. You want me to turn and beg for mercy, Nefermewet. I will not. I can feel Basret’s touch in my mind. She has not forsaken me.

Her head held high, she walked down the narrow path in the shade of the high gorge walls. If I am careful, this food and water will be enough to get me to the oasis.

“Meryetnebi.”

The whisper startled her and she whirled around. “Who’s there?” Automatically, she reached for her knife, but its customary spot was empty.

Pamose stepped out from around the curve ahead of her, carrying a large bundle.

“What are you doing, Pamose?” Meryetnebi asked. “If you are discovered talking to me….”

“Let me worry about that,” he said. “Not everyone agrees with what they did, and I don’t want to see you punished for their shortsightedness.” Pamose extended the bundle. “Here. There are some more clothes, food, and some money and other things you can trade with the nomads.” He held out his other hand, this one holding a long, slender bundle, wrapped in black silk. “And I managed to get your sword before Nefermewet took it for her own.”

“Thank you, Pamose.” Meryetnebi gratefully accepted the gifts.

“Make your way to the oasis as quickly as you can,” Pamose said. “I’m sure they’ll take you in for a few days, while you figure out what you’re going to do next.”

Meryetnebi nodded as she unwrapped her sword and tied it around her waist, its familiar weight a comfort.

“Be wary of who you trust.” Pamose glanced up the path toward the temple. “I fear there may be a traitor in the temple.”

Mery’s eyes widened. “A traitor?”

Pamose nodded. “The elders have been keeping it a secret from the rest of the temple. Things have been disappearing for weeks. Food, medicines, and some of the sacred scrolls have gone missing.”

“But who… No, the elders are going to blame me, aren’t they?”

“It seems likely. It would be easy enough for them to say it was you, with you not there to defend yourself.” He sighed. “This should never have happened to you. I wish there was something I could have done….”

“You did all you could, Pamose.” Mery reached up and stroked the side of his face with her knuckles.

“One more thing, Meryetnebi.” Pamose extended his hand again. Nestled in his palm was her amulet. He stepped forward and fastened the chain around her neck. “We wouldn’t want you to be without that.”

“Thank you,” she said, and blessed him for his thoughtfulness before she realized what she was doing. For a moment, she thought Pamose was going to object, but he just smiled.

“Now go,” he said. “The sun will soon be rising, and you need to make as much ground as you can before it gets too hot.”

“May your oasis be ever pure, Pamose.” Meryetnebi turned and continued down the narrow mountain path, away from the only home she’d ever known, and toward the desert of the Kishar.

License

This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.