Well it went according to plan, more or less. I threw a quick punch that I’d just intended
to use to get its attention, but it actually looked like it did some serious
damage. In any event, it forced the
serpent to skin-shed, and bought me the time I needed to fly up out of range
before it could counterattack. But then
came the lone hitch when it entranced me with its gaze, I hadn’t anticipated
that.
I could hear the others on the barque as it drifted further
and further away, debating on how to break the effect before I was left
behind. The consensus they came up with
seemed to be trying to shoot its eyes out.
But I knew full well how fast and tough the thing was. Under the circumstances, even Ken would
likely have trouble taking out an eye with a shot. And the snake had two of them after all.
So I told her to shoot me.
I recognized the trick the snake used, pain snaps it every time. And boy did the shot hurt. Even with her aiming for a leg, I can’t quite
be sure if anyone else in the band would have been able to survive it without
burning legend to regenerate the damage.
But it broke the trance, that was the important part.
I flipped around in mid-air and headed towards the barque,
of course. It had put quite a distance
between itself and the serpent by now.
Of course, I also gave the creature one last token of my esteem. The destructive potential of the sky has long
been the most effective weapon against serpents, dragons, and their ilk in
mythologies across many cultures. And
the entire desert lit clear as day as I rained the fury of the heavens down
upon the son of Apep.
It worked as well as I could have possibly hoped. The bolt tore through it like so much tissue
paper. Blood boiled off in a flash,
bones cracked under searing heat, flesh simply vaporized or sloughed to the
ground. And with that one mighty attack,
resonating with the fateful connections of myths across the world, I seared my
foe off the face of Duat.
That’s just how thunder gods roll.
There was, however, little time for celebration; as we found
ourselves before the Scales of Ma’at soon after the beast’s defeat. The six younger Scions weighed their hearts
first, with Andrew stepping onto the scales after them. Unsurprisingly, all of the Psedjet passed
without incident.
Of the rest of us, I was the only one not to get wet. Something I can’t help but take a measure of
pride in. My time on the scale was
nothing short of…triumphant. I could
hear a voice that must have been Ma’at’s.
She welcomed me to the heart of Duat, sung of my triumphs, and praised
my conviction. Praises, honor, things I
could barely hope to receive from most of the Æsir. And receiving them there, on the Scales of Ma’at,
I could just feel some of the weight falling from my shoulders. A welcome experience, especially after the
dark dreariness of Duat.
Lexi didn’t have it too much harder than me. Her feet got a bit wet, but she emerged from
it even more radiant than ever. Claire
and Ken were both submerged up to their chest, but emerged without showing any
ill effects. Cindy had it the worst of
us, by far. I don’t doubt that
Utgard-Loki’s corruption played a part in it.
In any event, she was submerged completely, and could barely stand upon
emerging from the waters. But it seemed
to undo the corruption, or at least cause it to regress. The increased size that the Jotun’s influence
had caused was no longer evident.
Almost as soon as we finished being judged by the scale
Anubis arrived, shortly before the hounds of Erebus apparently. Next we were going to Rome, apparently, a
destination that caught me by surprise.
One would think it would be one of the places where the Dodekatheon
influence is strongest. It seems an
unlikely staging area. So it’ll be
interesting to see what the city has in store for us.
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