Chapter 23: A Year
Egypt gave birth to what later would become knows as 'Western Civilisation,' long before the greatness of Greece and Rome.
—John Henrik Clarke
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After that fateful day, Hypnos and Hera spent almost all of their time together. The Titanomachy had temporarily abated, providing the world with a much-needed reprieve. Titans and Gods appeared to have reached an unspoken tactic agreement, retreating and preparing for the final battle that would decide the fate of their pantheon.
Meanwhile, Hypnos had also assumed command of their side with no opposition; on the contrary, many immortals were relieved that they could finally see hope in the despairing war. Metis and Prometheus became his assistants, and they together began to devise new plans and strategies for the looming final battle, which was filled with variables and uncertainties. Though they were certain of one thing about the final battle: it would most likely occur within a year.
With that assumed deadline, the gods began to prepare and train, putting everything on the line as if their lives depended on it, which they indeed do.
Speaking of training, his classes with Zeus were still going on every day in full swing. The God of Lightning was improving at astronomical speeds on his cosmic path.
And he was also overseeing the training of Mnesmosyne—she was making slow progress on her cosmic path, pushing through mountains of failure. Then there was Hecate, who moved into his realm and continued with her research into the mysteries of magic. Unlike Mnesmosyne, she didn't want to be reliant on him and instead aimed to forge her own cosmic path with her own strength and will. And he respected her choices.
Finally, there was his realm. Don't worry, he hadn't forgotten—he was still determined to open his realm by the end of the year, as planned. He returned to his realm and continued to write the laws and regulations, as well as assign duties and responsibilities to his living creations—dreams and nightmares.
You may be wondering how he was doing all of this at the same time. Well, just like gods, primordials could be in multiple places at once, dividing their primal essence into parts of themselves.
However, unless necessary, Hypnos avoided using this method. He just didn't like the idea of multiple hims roaming the world at the same time. Call him a wasteful fool for ignoring such a useful method, but it gives the creeps to whatever bits of humanity remain in him.
But, despite his discomfort, Hypnos chose to use it in this critical situation. He had sent a part of himself to Zeus to train him, another to Metis and Prometheus to prepare for the final battle, and another to Dreaming to continue the development of his realm.
Hypnos himself joined Hera, who was totally with him. She never separated herself or anything; rather, she always met him wholeheartedly, increasing his discomfort. Fortunately, she didn't seem to really mind, notwithstanding her obvious jealousy—that oddly warmed his heart.
They then began courting each other, showering each other with presents, stories, and anecdotes while learning about each other's likes and dislikes. Their time together was blissful and beatific. They forgot about their worries and responsibilities while thoroughly enjoying their time together. And they both avoided pushing the boundaries, only exchanging warm kisses and smooches on their dates, preferring to linger until they were certain about their feelings for each other rather than rushing into a potentially unhealthy relationship.
Hera was brave and daring. She would not shy away from expressing her feelings and grievances to him, though she sometimes still struggles with sensitive issues. She was also polite, caring, and supportive to those she cared about, but to the rest of the world, she was mostly indifferent and apathetic.
And the Goddess of Marriage was not without flaws; she was a perfectionist as well as quite temperamental, which was not a good combination in his opinion. But with him, she was much more restrained, willing to listen to his words even if they went against her usual approach.
Hera was thoughtful like that, and Hypnos admired her for it, as well as everything else about her. And being a good boyfriend, he didn't just exploit her feelings but rather cared for her all the more. Honestly, their relationship was rocky at first—they bickered a lot—despite their immense feelings because they didn't really know each other, but as time passed, they gradually began to understand one another.
Their dates, however, were somewhat unconventional since Hypnos was also training Hera during them. His girlfriend was well endowed with talent and aptitude. She was extremely powerful for a goddess, even surpassing her sisters in power and might, though her brothers outmatched her. And, not surprisingly, she had an immense affinity for stars.
Hypnos always knew she liked stars; how could he not? The memory of Hera gazing at the ocean of stars with utter wonder during their eternal journey had been burned into his memory forever more.
And thus, he began teaching her from the basics, informing her about the cosmic nature of the divinity and then expounding on the essence of stars. He was never short of knowledge about the cosmos, since Dreams filled him in on just about everything.
Hera soaked up the knowledge and applied it to reality, attempting to summon stellar energy from the stars that dot the night sky. There were mountains of failures before there was a glimpse of success, but nothing could deny Hera's talent, which was equal to, if not greater than, Zeus'. (That's not personal bias. He swears by it.)
Hypnos and Hera continued dating/training each other as time flew by—seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into months—and before they knew it, ten months had passed.
A lot had also happened in these ten months with his other selves in various parts of creation, but let's not dwell on that for the time being and return to the dreamy tales of his dates with Hera, as things were about to take an interesting turn.
It happened on one of those nights after their dating/training while Hypnos and Hera lay on the grass and just watched the stars for the rest of the night in contended silence—stargazing was one of their shared hobbies.
Hera abruptly broke the serene silence by deciding that they should add travel to their already unconventional courtship.
Hypnos agreed immediately. Travelling – it was something he very much liked in his previous life; even now, he sometimes just travels through the abyss, jumping between dreams of worldly beings. Hera had already discovered it and planned to take him on a great adventure.
And a great adventure it truly was. It all started with them arguing about where to go. Hera wanted to visit the Shinto realm as she was curious about their culture and traditions, and he wanted to visit Sumer because he wanted to see the first human civilization in all its glory.
Finally, they agreed on a compromise for the next-best option on both of their lists: Egypt. And they deliberated that if they had more time after visiting Egypt—which they doubted—Shinto and Sumer would be next on their travel list.
And so they began their journey towards Egypt, crossing the Mediterranean and stepping into Africa, exiting the territory of their pantheon completely. It was actually very unconventional for immortals to interact with other pantheons, much less travel to them; many would only do so if absolutely necessary.
But, you see, Hypnos and Hera were all about breaking conventions, entering Egypt with the blessings of night—yes, Hypnos clearly came prepared to deter any potential hostilities and dangers.
The first thing Hera and Hypnos saw when they arrived in Egypt stunned them both into silence: an army of baboons gathered on the banks of a long river, screaming in agony and pain as a golden boat passed by them. They were crying out for a very old man who sat weakly on the throne of the golden boat. He looked like he was only a step away from death's door, but a beautiful woman with multi-coloured wings tended to him with care and affection, supposedly keeping him alive. Under the cries of mourning baboons, they moved slowly towards an illusory black gate.
It didn't take much for Hypnos to figure out what in Tartarus he was witnessing—the frail old man was Ra, the Primordial of the Sun, and the woman with multicoloured wings was Isis, Goddess of Magic and Motherhood. And he was probably witnessing Ra complete his day's journey—the sun was setting—and he was about to enter Duat—a part of the spirit realm similar to mist—for the night to battle the chaos serpent, Apophis, alongside Isis. As for the mourning baboons, he honestly had no idea.
'It seems Ra is still ruling Egypt.' Hypnos pondered, then narrowed his eyes at the gentle Isis. 'But I guess it won't be long before he is dethroned…'
Hypnos informed Hera of the situation. She was surprised to learn that the old man was a Primordial, and she unconsciously relaxed, causing him to frown inwardly. He needed to talk with her afterwards. His presence had made her so at ease with the existence of primordials that she had subconsciously begun to let her guard down.
Each primordial was frightening in their own right. For example, the old man Ra—don't be fooled by his appearance—that was merely his mortal form/host, and beneath it was his actual primal form, releasing boundless primordial light that seemed to illuminate all of creation. He should be one of the most powerful original primordials out there.
Hypnos could glimpse at his primal form since Ra was not really hiding his infinite power but rather exhibiting it all flamboyantly like the prideful sun. But despite all of this, it took Ra some time to notice his existence—well, it appears that he had already begun to go senile.
Ra stood up from his throne, finally noticing him. Then he turned towards Hypnos, his dim, golden eyes brightening with blazing light, clearly sensing the aura of night enveloping Hypnos.
Hera and Hypnos immediately floated towards the sun boat. He didn't rush into it, though; instead, he asked Ra for permission. And the old man nodded, inviting him warmly, much to his surprise—it seems Ra and his mother are really on good terms despite their contrasting domains.
After the pleasantries and introductions, the Primordial of the Sun didn't bother to engage in small talk and asked Hypnos—why was he here?
Hypnos carefully phased his response. He first praised the kingdom of Egypt with Hera backing him up, to satisfy the vanity of the proud Pharaoh before him, and then stated that he always wanted to visit Egypt, which was indeed the truth, and so here he was, finally ready to realise his dream.
Hearing their honeyed response, Ra enthusiastically welcomed them to his kingdom. He even wanted to assign them a chaperone who would look after all of their needs during their stay in Egypt (this sly old man).
Isis eagerly volunteered for the position, her rainbow eyes fixed on Hypnos with a gentle smile. She even began to suggest which gods could possibly replace her on Ra's journey into Duat.
Hera was doing her best not to shoot a glare at this woman with obvious ulterior motives, holding onto Hypnos even tighter to her.
Ra, however, turned her down right away, stating solemnly that he needed her to face Aphosis now more than ever. He didn't elaborate further, though Hypnos' pessimistic mind was already wondering if this was related to his altercations with Destiny.
Finally, the Primordial of the Sun summoned Osiris, the God of Agriculture and Fertility, and assigned him to be their chaperone. Then he resumed his journey into Duat, parting ways with them.
Osiris, the future pharaoh, led them graciously into the kingdoms of Ra. Hera was a little grumpy throughout their journey. Obviously, she didn't appreciate the fact that they would be watched during their stay in Egypt, but Hypnos simply winked at Hera, assuring her that privacy was the last thing they needed to be concerned about on this trip.
And they finally entered one of the oldest civilisations of mankind—Egypt.
Osiris first led them to the esteemed guest quarters in the palace of Ra for the night, stating that he would come back in the morning to receive them.
During the night, Hypnos and Hera began to appreciate Egyptian culture deeply, particularly the divine foods, which were honestly among the best dishes they had ever eaten.
The following day, Hypnos and Hera decided to wear Egyptian royal dresses, following the future saying: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," though the truth was he just wanted to see Hera in that divine sheath flecked with rainbow feathers—damn, she was beautiful—and he was also certain that she shared his feeling, as she was intently gazing back at him as he wore his silver nemes with a starlight crown.
Hypnos brought Hera in between the magnificent golden monuments in Ra's palace and asked her to pose with him. Then he willed into existence an image of them in the form of a painting to commemorate this inedible moment—Hypnos and Hera stood hand in hand, gazing at each other with brilliant smiles. They were dressed in Egyptian attire and stood between a massive golden gate engraved with the sun disc.
As Hera regarded the painting with blissful tears, Osiris arrived to receive them for the day. He was extremely surprised by their attire. Then he began to enthusiastically suggest varieties of dresses in the kingdoms while leading them around Egypt; he even recommended taking them to visit the God of Clothing, which they graciously accepted.
Egypt was…enthralling. Whether it was gods, mortals, culture, or traditions, everything was fascinating in Egypt, sometimes totally not in a good way.
The Egyptian gods, in particular, distinguished themselves from all other immortals. They were pure energy beings that represented the forces of the world, so they lacked corporeal bodies and must always rely on mortal hosts to walk the earth, but even this method has numerous limitations and constraints, which future Egyptian magicians would exploit to exile the Egyptian Gods from the planet, blaming the gods for all of their misfortunes and troubles—a classic move.
In comparison to other pantheons, the Egyptian Pantheon was truly pitiful, banished by their own people in the end. Khaos must have been pretty cranky when "She" chose to create this pantheon.
Anyway, the news of the arrival of Hera and Hypnos in the kingdoms of Ra seemed to have already spread throughout Egypt. They were frequently interrupted on their travels with Osiris by other gods, who temporarily joined them on their journey (Hypnos made certain that mortals did not begin worshipping Hera and him alongside other Egythian gods; he didn't want his beloved to take on an Egyptian form, and once again, the faith issue for gods emerges; he must find a permanent way to deal with this).
The Egyptian Gods were too curious about them, especially him—a primordial being walking on earth in a physical body. All in all, they were surprising warm and welcoming in their own ways. Though among the gods, two stood out: Thoth and Nut—he wasn't joking; those were truly their names—who swarmed him with questions to the point where Osiris was forced to send them away while apologising to him. Hypnos didn't mind, since he knew some gods could be quite eccentric. And they weren't being disrespectful; they were purely intrigued by his existence for different reasons.
Their stay in Egypt was mostly wonderful. Osiris guided them, proudly showing them around the civilization during the day—he was also somewhat gullible, which Hera took full advantage of, secretly drawing information on the Egyptian Pantheon from him. She was totally shocked when she learned about the Egyptian gods' reliance on and need for mortals—and in the night, Hypnos and Hera would sneak out on their own in concealment to witness the magnificence of Egypt for themselves.
They also attended numerous god banquets on invitation, where they sometimes bumped into Isis. Hera wasn't thrilled with the existence of the Egyptian goddess of magic from the beginning, and Hypnos was certain her feelings were shared by Isis. Hera, on the other hand, got along well with another temperamental god, Anubis, though Hypnos himself didn't like the dog that much.
Ultimately, it was truly blissful times, but as the saying goes, good things never last in life, and thus the dreamy times came to an abrupt end, at least for Hypnos.
It was one of those unforgettable nights in Egypt when Hypnos put Hera to sleep after their customary training session to give her some rest and stepped out to the balcony with a cup of nectar for some alone time.
And obviously, he didn't get what he wanted—his path was blocked by the unexpected appearance of three primal women of varying ages.
"Hello." Hypnos greeted the Fates quite warmly. "My dear cousins."
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