Return

1

The sun was blazing away in all its fury as if to boil all the seas and bake the entire earth into dry powdery cakes. The wind had gone berserk huffing and puffing in fury hurling the sand all around, scattering it all around. Under the combined onslaught of the sun and wind the land lay wasted. Wherever one looked, all that could be seen were huge expanses of sand. There was no sign of life to be seen anywhere. It was just the sands stoically bearing the pain inflicted on it by its tormentors. Amidst the swirling sands, one could trace a distant figure - A lone falcon in the sky.


The falcon braved his way through to the center of the sand storm. In the center of the storm, stood a strange four legged creature with a curved pointed snout, slanting eyes, square tipped ears, red mane and a forked tail. The falcon alighted on the ground and turned into a man with the head of a falcon. The beast immediately lunged at the falcon man. But the falcon man was an equal match for the grotesque beast. Man and beast fought on tirelessly. Neither seemed to tire! As time passed the fight grew more intense. Their fury eclipsed that of the sun and the wind.

The sun had actually toned down its intensity and the wind had become mild as if both were bowing down in respect to the true masters. The two were so evenly matched that it seemed the fight would never end. Unless there was some intervention, a divine intervention! And the intervention came in the form of a jackal -a ferocious looking one that was lumbering through the sands towards the combatants. When it reached the two combatants, the jackal struck its head on the floor and emerged as a man with the head of a jackal. With the coming of the jackal man to support him, the falcon man clearly had the edge and soon the beast was vanquished.

"You are now defeated, Seth. Stand up and face the punishment for your evil deeds, you vile creature."

The defeated beast now transformed into a man with the head of an animal with a pointed snout.

"You also want to be a God slayer like me, Horus? Come. Kill me. Avenge your father. Or would you want your bastard brother Anubis to do the dirty work for you?"

"You think you can trick us in to sending you to plague the world of the dead from the world of the living? That you shall not! Nor will your vile stench foul the world of the living. You shall be suspended for infinitum in the stasis between the world of the living and the world of the dead! "

Thus saying Horus seized hold of Set and began to drag him away, floating through the air. After what seemed like days, they found themselves in the midst of a dense forest. Right in front of them, they could discern a faint image of what looked like a dwelling lodged between the trees a few paces away. As the silvery beams of the full moon fell on it, the silhouette of a log cabin could be seen.

"This is the cabin of Anubis, the portal between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This is going to be your prison till the end of time. Your mind shall be bound on the side of the living and your body on the side of the dead."

Thus saying Anubis thrust Seth into the cabin and recited some incantations. Seth disappeared. Having accomplished his mission, it was time for Anubis to return to his half brother Horus.

2

One could see beads of sweat glistening on Horus' falcon beak. He looked very anxious. "Are you sure he is safe?"

"As safe as our laws allow. Seth's powers are limited to Anubis' cabin. He can have mental influence on the side of the living and physical influence on the side of the dead. The dead are beyond any physical harm and I doubt any human will ever come within the confines of the cabin to fall under Seth's mental influence. The cabin is visible to the human eye only on a full moon light. And on such nights, my devoted jackals will guard the cabin to keep humans away. So no way a human will ever enter the cabin"

"But what if a human does enter the cabin on a full moon night getting past the jackals?"

"If a human were to enter the cabin, Seth can communicate with the human, can influence him or even take full control of his mind. But the control will last only within the confines of the cabin."

Horus was still not satisfied. "This seems perfect. In fact too perfect, which you know if not allowed. Any creation must have a tiny flaw at the core of its existence as per the ancient and inviolable law of the ancients. So what is the catch here?"

Anubis nodded knowingly. "Well. If a human were to willingly carry the mind of Seth into the world of the living, Seth can have influence in the world of the living through the body of the person as long as he is alive. And on his death, Seth's mind will join his body in the world of the dead. However the human has to willingly invite Seth into his mind. So Seth cannot control the mind of the human and influence him to take him into his mind. So the minute Seth takes control of a human entering the cabin, he himself closes his one door of escape. Subtle, isn’t it?"

3

The door of the cabin opened. The young man had returned. The mind of Seth seemed to welcome him joyously. Perhaps his redemption was at hand. At last, the time had come for Seth to return.

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