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In a world of nobility and stern laws, sacrilege is the ultimate crime. In a place where cats, gold and pyramids are most revered... what happens when one of the nobles kills the cat, tarnishes the gold, and destroys the pyramid?

Exile.

This is Shoshan's story... unfinished as of yet....

[It is understood that all appearance features are merely suggestions and that Jyoti has full control over Shoshan's actual (and hopefully eventual) appearance.]

1.27.08 | Finished fleshing her out and began looking for critique!
1.25.08 | Began working on Sho's concept.

It was quiet. Not the silent sort of creepy quiet, rather the bustling sort of quiet in which, to the adept listener, rivers flowed, cicadas chirped, shovels plowed, and the wind rustled bits of grass. There was something peaceful about this sort of lifestyle, something calming and alluring. It was into this sort of life that Nephthys was born. Born into the richness and fertility of a growing empire surrounding the Egyptian Nile. It was midday to be precise, and a rather noble family had been expecting this birth for quite some time. This particular family had been serving the royal Pharaohs for generation after generation, and so it was only assumed that this new child would be raised to the position as well. After all, upper class would continue to be upper class.

When she was born, they chose to name her Nephthys, for the mother of the funerary god Anubis. It was often thought that Nephthys was a sort of nurse figure to Pharaohs, and that she was incredibly intelligent, albeit conniving. But for all the possible negatives, her parents named her only for the positives. It mattered not. Her early years were filled with the brightness of games and learning. At a young age, she was already beginning to make her family proud with how quickly she picked things up. It could be no less than a blessing from the gods, they had decided.

And so, she was taught with all intensive purposes to be a direct supervisor to the queen, if all went well of course. And indeed, it all was going very well. The days were long and hot. Little Nephthys filled these days happily. In the morning she woken by a servant, who tended and dressed her after they did the same for her mother. Then, she would be allowed to play games for a little while with the other noble children. Mostly they played senet and mehen. Senet was this fun game with sticks and small pebbles on an average sized sort of game board. And mehen, well mehen was a game for the gods, and in fact the rules weren't all too well known. Merely, the children liked to play with the pieces.

After this, she would spend the afternoon on a normal day learning the language and how to solve certain problems, really whatever her tutor could seem to come up with. Her beloved mother and father were often too busy tending to crops or hosting banquets to pay much attention to her, but she was in no way lonely nor did she led a bad life of any sort. It was on one of this glimmering and supposedly 'normal' days that little Nephthys had the worst misfortune of her life. Little did she know that this one event would eventually decide her future, and that Shai, the God of Fate and Destiny, was eagerly watching her progress from this point onward.

What happened? Well perhaps it was seemingly insignificant to any other. But to an Egyptian, the malice that sprang up from such a happenstance was quite possibly the most blasphemous occurrence to ever happen!

On this particular morning, Nephthys had been instructed to take a bath in the Nile, as per her mother's request. Tonight they were to introduce her to one of the current advisers for Cleopatra, and from there she would be taken into custody by the queen herself. It was a momentous occasion. So, gently on the banks of the blessed river that gave life to all of the surrounding civilization, Nephthys stood with a stark white linen in her hand as she rinsed her slightly tanned body.

Just then, she heard the most ear-splitting cry of her life. It sound like something between a screech and a muffled yelp. Startled quickly out of her bath routine, the young girl looked around frantically for the source of the noise. Finally, her eyes caught upon what appeared to be nothing more or less than a drowning cat in the middle of the Nile. Without really thinking about it, and realizing only that it was something that needed help, little Nephthys jumped out, swimming towards the helpless creature in the river.

What happened next was something she will never forget for the rest of her life. As she reached the struggling sphinx-like cat, a startled yelp was released from her lips. The cat had clawed onto her bare body and was doing nothing short of ripping her to shreds with is mischievous claws. It slashed at her face and arms, making marks of blood appear on nose and forearm. After that, the mangy thing proceeded to clamber onto her head and sink her under. Sputtering water, and flailing for her life, poor Neph was sobbing and shaking with fear.

"Nephthys!" came the voice of her mother, calmly looking for her on the shore.

"M-mother!" the poor girl cried just once when her battle with the cat slowed slightly.

"Nephthys!" came the voice again, horrified this time as she ran inside to get a servant.

After that, time passed rather quickly and memories came in the form of stories told to her only afterwords. As the darkness descended on that already dark day, she could hear her parents discussing the situation to the adviser, apologizing more often than not.

...Pushed over...

...Tripped...

Excuse after excuse, but nothing that could possibly look like the gods disfavoring her. No, there was no way they would allow such a story to be possible. It was merely the ill will of another, and the fact that she was still strong and healing so quickly was indeed an indication of it having been a test. Yes, a test. That was all, they had explained. The gods had been testing her, and she had prevailed. To her own injury, she had saved a sacred cat. And those injuries were quickly dissipating with only the slightest help from the medicinal herbs given to her earlier. Yes, that was the story that would be told. Nephthys would look like a hero in that story.

A hero, and not the drowning scraped little girl she was. Not the little girl who was terrified and loathing of cats, who had very nearly destroyed everything important in her life. Cats, who would be the bane of her existence time and time again. They were demonic things, evil beings that had no place in her life. They were not sacred, and they were not holy, and never could they be viewed as such ever again.

The next day, when little Nephthys awoke, her mother was awaiting her, already dressed and groomed for the day, as any noblewoman would be. She wore a serious expression on her face and looked stern, as if about to discuss something of the highest importance with her child. The conversation that followed was nothing sort of strange. A world of mockery, lies and deceit quickly coming into play. Little Neph's mother was speaking to her about the incident, to which Neph replied with vehement hatred.

Slapping her cheek gently, Nephthy's mother shook her head and told her quietly that such things must never be said aloud. She wanted to be a good supervisor didn't she? Of course she did! And it was simply so very improper to say such personal things in public. One must never voice their opinion on those matters, and speak only when spoken to. Formulate all you want, but never step out of line, else it would be very dangerous. She understood that, didn't she?

Naturally, Nephthys understood. And so her life progressed thusly until at last, at very long last, she became the adviser to Cleopatra VII, the current Pharaoh of Egypt. She was a young inductee, and had yet to make her mark on the position. Unproven and untrusted as of yet, she was asked the smallest of questions but was watched very closely by everyone, to pay attention to her answers, all of which were precise, well-determined, and accurate.

Finally, there came up the problem of a small riot occurring within the city. It was a group of farmers protesting to the lack of attention the royals gave them, and how all their crops were not well paid for or attended to. It was troublesome and taking up much of the guards time. The nobles had little idea what to do to quiet the mess, and even Cleopatra herself could not weigh the options easily. At last, the Pharaoh asked her advisers for their advice and all but one recommended she exile them.

Nephthys suggested that they calmly try to understand the basis of the riot and come to terms with the farmers, else there would be an extreme food shortage in the upcoming years. It could negatively affect all of the Pharaoh's people and turn this rich and golden empire into nothing more than a desolate desert. To this remark, the Pharaoh ordered it done, and for Nephthys to be in charge of the negotiations to follow. Naturally, there was muttering of this suggestion, but when push came to shove, Nephthy's pulled through and settled the riot.

It was only another wonderful page in her ever brightening story. The Pharaoh now owed her a debt for her help, and was constantly asking her for advice on situations. She moved through the ranks quickly to be considered one of Cleopatra's most accomplished and successful advisers.

And so, once a week, in the morning when the sun was just kissing the horizon over the fields and river, Nephthys found herself getting into the habit of attending a sacred ritual with Cleopatra. Each week, or more or less often depending on the situation, the two would go into the temple and pray to the gods for good crops and health. The oracles would prophesize and speak to the gods, and preform sacrificial rituals once a month. Usually it was a small animal of sorts, never anything quite sacred.

Slowly, the idea began to creep into her head. Perhaps, if she were to sacrifice a cat, perhaps she might pray to the god of the dead, Anubis, to protect her and cause harm to all cats that might try to harm or betray her. After all, cats were furious demons and beasts. Anubis should have the power to keep them at bay for they were vile things, and he was strong and powerful. So at last, on a day when she knew the temple would not be used, she asked her Pharaoh if she might go and pray herself. Cleopatra laughed at the idea, but allowed her such a time, and with that, it was set in motion.

Grabbing a royal cat by the scruff of it's neck, full of disgust and hate, she threw the cat onto the alter of the temple, looking almost malicious with hate. The doors were closed, the room dark save for the candles that flickered their flames against the walls. She took a knife, a curved sort of shimmering silver blade with a gold and ruby encrusted hilt, and with it she swung down at the frightened cat who had coiled up on the alter hissing. Knife struck fur, flesh, and bone and swiped through. As easy as it was thought, it had been done.

The decapitated head of the cat went rolling along the floor, eyes wide and mouth ajar, blood spilling from everywhere. Her hands were covered in it. Nephthys dropped the knife, her heart beating very fast as she felt a strange exhilaration right through her. She wasn't sure if that was the proper way to do it, but it was done. Mildly, she chanted the prayer and asked Anubis for protection. Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death. As blood spattered the temple floor, she wondered vaguely how to clean it.

It was at this very moment, this very unfortunate moment, that one of the oracles found his way into the temple. Sunlight splayed at a strange angle across the entire interior, lighting up part of her face. Her eyes were wild, almost crazed, her hands dripping in blood. The knife. The cat's head. It was obvious what had happened here. The oracle gave a shriek, "Sacrilege!" And moments later, she was thrown to her knees in front of her Pharaoh, the foot of a guardsman weighing down upon her back.

"What is the meaning of this?" cried Cleopatra VII in discontent. "You claim that my adviser Nephthys has betrayed me?" She eyed Nephthys scornfully, half-begging that it wasn't true, but already knowing full well it had to be.

The guardsman gave Nephthys a kick, to which she cried out, startled. And then he reached down and lifted her viciously by her wrist. Her eyes were fearful, but full of innocent wonder. What had she done? She didn't at all understand the extent of the accusation. This crime. How could it be so? Her? Betray dear Cleopatra? Never! She would never do such a thing! How was this possible? Why was it happening?

"Pharaoh... I..." she started, but was punched in the gut.

"Quiet!" grunted the guard as she fell to the floor, crumpling in on herself.

"That's enough!" bellowed Cleopatra. "State her crime, oh oracle!"

"She murdered one of the Pharaoh's royal cats in the sacred temple, milady," spoke the priest.

"Murdered... one of my cats?" said Cleopatra, incredulously. "Impossible!"

"It is true! For such a crime she must be executed!"

And the guards took up this chance, wishing to see her head roll for the crime she had done. But Cleopatra stood off her throne and raised her hand in halting silence. She went and stood before Nephthys and looked down on her, unhappiness seeping off her like rain from clouds.

"Nephthys, adviser to the Pharaoh, stand!" cried the woman.

Nephthys stood.

"You have been accused of a crime and stand in trial before me. Do you deny the act of sacrificing one of the royal cats in the sacred temple?"

"No, my Pharaoh," for although she did not see it this way, the way Cleopatra phrased it left no room for lies of even the whitest sort.

"The penalty for this crime is death. You understand that?"

"I do." She hung her head, unable to look at her queen for the pain she had caused her.

There was a clinking sound and a few of the surrounding people gasped. Cleopatra stepped forward and ripped off the royal cloth of an attendee. Stripped naked and standing before Cleopatra, facing all sorts of humiliation, she dropped to her knees, hugging herself.

"Nephthys!" boomed the Pharaoh, "I owe you a debt, and so it shall be paid. You are hereby claimed for dead. Your name will be erased from history and from our life. You are banished. Exiled. Never return. I take your name, and your existence. Take this, and leave..." Cleopatra turned away a moment, before dropping a pile of white rags before her feet. On top of the pile lay a shimmering silver ankh with a small blue lotus-like gem encrusted on the middle crossing point.

And then, the Pharaoh turned to leave. The others muttered, looked at the shivering woman and then left as well. After a time, past when the sun touched upon the ground and melted away, the woman formerly known as Nephthys gathered up the rags and put them on. She trudged out of the palace and skirted around the village, following her way down the river and away. Little did she notice the ankh she had left behind.

When she was a good ways away, she settled beneath a tree by a small oasis not more than a mile from her city. She threw her head up to the sky and watched night descend beneath the leaves. What had happened? The world had betrayed her. It had allowed her to live. Shai, the god of fate and destiny, had allowed her to live despite an apparent crime she had commit against Bast. But why, and for what purpose?

Just then there came a sort of strange howl, not really a bark but more like this sort of... crooning sound. Like someone singing, but not something human. It was at that point that a rather medium sized creature bounded up to her. It was mangled and thin, but vibrant and full of life. She recognized it as a dog. They'd had these in the village and they were revered as well, though perhaps not as much so as cats. They were put to more work than a lazy royal cat. It was after a few moments, and only after the hound had forcefully nosed it's way into the woman's arms, that she noticed something shining in it's mouth.

The dog had the Pharaoh's parting gift: the silver ankh.

The woman took it from the hound and smiled softly, tears running down her face, "Did you bring this to me, oh servant of the gods? You remind me so much of Anubis dear one..." And she gently put the ankh around her neck and let it hang off her chest before putting a slender hand on the hound's head. His ears had perked at the word 'Anubis'.

"What's your name?"

It howled a response and the woman smiled, looking up, "Anubis have you---" But the dog stopped her, putting a paw on her chest to stop her, whining a little more.

"Anubis?"

The dog howled, as if agreeing. And then continued as if curious.

"...I have no name..."

"Aroo?" And then the dog pawed at the ankh and the lotus on it.

"Lotus?"

And so her conversation with the dog, hereafter called Anubis, went on for just a little longer until the woman felt safe and curled herself around him. In the morning, she found him sitting up and staring at her, a blue lotus at her feet: the symbol of re-birth.

From thereafter, she chose the name Shoshan, to remind her of her people and of the new life she would lead.

---Three Years Later---

After three years of traveling, bargaining, and making the living of a poor wandered, the Egyptian woman, just aged into her mid-early twenties was walking around the streets of a rather populated city in some European country, she paid little attention to such things. In the past years she had learned enough English to get by, and was still learning. She watched as the world flourished and deteriorated sporadically around her.

She watched as everything seemed to move in different directions, or sometimes stop for good. There was something wrong, and she knew it. But it was hopeless, what good could one person do? One lonely person who barely made any kind of a living. One lonely person who had nothing to live for anymore, let alone should have a reason to care about this dying world. A quiet foreign woman with a large basenji accompanying her.

She wrapped her traditional white robes around her, having loathed to change for something more... 'civilized' as people had called it. It was another day in the life that never ended. In a world that seemed to stop.

And it was at this time that she found out the problem...

It wasn't that the world had seemed to stop.

It was that it already had.


Naturally it will be understood that while scraps of evidence MAY have survived... Shoshan's past is entirely mysterious to everyone, and she's not going to be telling it any time soon. I assume that LOTUS might have the resources to be able to have saved and gathered some evidence of her former existence as Nephthys, which might be what caused them to go find her... however, I have yet to bring this suggestion to light and question how well it would work with the staff and shop rules...

(Loki Saimar so kindly came up with the questions for me. I am allowing Sho herself to answer them exactly as if this were a real interview. So her personality is as apparent as possible in the answers as best I can while still answering the questions.)

1 | What skills do you have that could be used by the LOTUS Organization? How did you gain these skills?
Sho | Well... ... I am well versed in areas of diplomacy and tact, as well as capable of special intelligence skills... I would rather not discuss how I acquired them though.

2 | LOTUS is a group of people who are attempting to find the time crystals to put time back together - why would you be a good addition to the team?
Sho | I'm not sure if I would, to be honest. ... But I can promise that I would devote myself to the cause. I wouldn't mind assisting in the task of locating and devising a way to properly obtain these crystals. I can only serve as well as the chance I am given, but I hope that I would not be a.... ...a... bad addition.

3 | What is your reason for wanting/being willing to join LOTUS?
Sho | Despite... past occurrences... the gods spared my life, and have led you to me. That is a good enough reason. Shai has led us both to this meeting. It is what I am meant to do, and so I will do it without regret.
(A little bit of clarification on this answer, because I feel it's needed. You might think, that from her history, she should have renounced the gods, feeling they betrayed her. But instead, she actually feels quite the opposite! The gods saved her life. And to ease the loneliness of exile, they sent her a companion, a dog that comes when called. A dog that answers to the name 'Anubis'. And so she trusts in this meeting. If Shai, the Egyptian god of Fate and Destiny, has predetermined this meeting for her, then she feels it is right to make the choice to join. Although she isn't sure if she will be useful, she will confidently join without regret and do so whole-heartedly, because that is all she can do. She's become rather quiet since exile, so she can't say these things herself. If she was more chatty, she'd have said it for herself.)

4 | What do you like to do for fun?
Sho | Fun? ...Nothing... really. It's okay to just live, isn't it?

5 | Do you have any pets? If you do, how'd you get him/her?
Sho | Yes. Anubis, my dog.... I didn't...get him. He found me. I... I would prefer to not go into detail on how or where...

6 | What are your favorite foods? (It relates - there -are- cooks at LOTUS, after all!)
Sho | I don't particularly have any, but I don't really have the palate for sweet or unnatural things...

7 | Are you versed in any languages other than, well, obviously English?
Sho | My native tongue is Demotic, an Egyptian language. I'm not... that well versed in English actually. I pick it up as I go...

8 | What are your areas of interest that you might be looking to explore while at LOTUS?
Sho | Diplomacy and tact...

8a | Any specific region you would specialize in?
Sho | I'm... not ...really sure...

8b | Well, at the least you can give us an idea of where you WOULDN'T wanna work?
Sho | Egypt.

8c | Any particular reason why not there?
Sho | ....I'd rather... not say... I'm sorry.

9 | You seem to be a very religious person - why?
Sho | I'm not quite....sure... I understand.... but ...that is the way I was raised. The gods are sacred and should be treated with proper respect. That is... ....simply... the way it's done... I've never... known anything else...

10 | Is there anyone you'll be leaving behind?
Sho | No.

Welp first off, Shoshan sounds like a totally cool character, with an in-depth background that kicks money xDD I found myself wanting to know more about her!


Just a few things that I'm not too sure about:

--What happened to her scars? She was basically almost clawed to death, and in Ancient Egypt I'm assuming they didn't have medicine to graft her skin or otherwise. So I imagine she must have some scars, right? :O

--Also, what things did Neph say that made her mother slap her? Or is this like a secret? Do we just assume she said something awful, because of the 'vehement hatred' line?

Jadine : Loki is 100% correct with that. Basically, yes. Even -one- tiny word against Bast, and her mother would have every right to smack her right across the face.

As for your first question, that is a WONDERFUL question and I often wonder it myself... >>;

The problem here is... that Jyoti has full reign over Shoshan's appearance, so the least I can do is suggest that she keep a few scars, like the one on her face and whatnot... I forgot to add that into the basic information, so thanks for the reminder! =O But essentially, I'm under the impression I can only suggest ... I mean, I would really love if she kept a few... I was thinking that myself when I wrote it. I hadn't originally intended for the cat to be so violent with Sho...

So the least I could say was that... er... yea >>; we uh...medicated her... and she's healing just fine 8D *cough sans the scars cough* And hope it gets taken into account. x3;

@Loki: Ahh, I see. That makes perfect sense :3 Thank you, Loki! I always wo

@Zan: biggrin Oh, ok. Thanks for clarifying it for me smile I think it will be taken into full account -- if you go to Johannes' profile, you'll see that I did a quick drawing of what I think Johannes could look like and Jyoti gracefully incorporated it into the official drawing. So, I think you'll be fine wink


GOOD LUCK! heart