Thread: A Roman and his Egyptian priestess - Niksis & Rania Lark

The god Hapi had blessed the royal city of Khem with a bountiful flood of the Nile and the residents were quick to offer their sacrifices of thanks to the god. At dawn each day, those that carried with them colourful flowers and scented oils would enter the temple and there lay down their sacrifices in worship for the bountiful year that lay ahead. The crops would grow well and there would be much food for everyone. No one would go hungry. Each offering was presided over by a priestess of the temple. She would stand and pray over the sacrifice, her hands clasped around the burning end of a stick of fragrant incense as she sang hymns. Their voices echoed through the open air corridors of the temple as they were carried o the heavens. Each Priestess wore a wrap of white linen that was tied about her waist and fell completely to the floor. Around her neck was a wide, ornate collar that fell down to cover the tops of her breasts. Their hair was all cut in the same blunt cut that cut across their foreheads in bangs before falling to their shoulders. No priestess wore shoes upon the sacred ground of the temple as she walked slowly and silently through the corridors, only stopping to pray and sing over an offering to please Hapi. Deep within the temple dwelled the high Priestess. Though she was dressed the same as the other Priestesses that wandered the corridors of the white washed temple, on her head she wore a lattice of golden chains that draped over her hair and down over her eyes to create a sort of mask that indicated her position in the temple. Her skin was tanned from the sun that poured into her chamber while her deep brown eyes were kind and generous, if innocent. Her name was Mandisa and she had been born into the temple. From the time she was a child, she had been taken to be trained in the art of pleasing the gods. Educated by the best priests in the kingdom, she had learned quickly and impressed each one who tutored her. This had led her to Khem and the position of High Priestess, servant of the god, the highest honour within the temple. She would remain in her own chambers, head bowed in prayer for much of the day as she prayed for bountiful floods and much food for the people of Egypt, for health and prosperity for the unified kingdom under the Pharaoh. Once a week however she would leave her chambers to make an appearance at a festival or a celebration. She would be prepared with fragranced oils and surrounded by the lower Priestesses as they emerged from the gods presence to descend amongst the people. Walking slowly, she would smile and greet those that revered Hapi, touched and prayed over those in mourning or in pain, blessed those who were married or were bearing children soon. The city had truly been blessed by Hapi and there would be a festival in a days time, one of the largest the city of Khem had ever seen. The food and drink would be plentiful while musicians filled the streets with music and everyone would be inclined to dance and praise the gods for the bountiful harvest and the growth of the city. People from all the surrounding areas would be in attendance, partaking just as those that resided in the city. Everyone would be equal for one day all the same in their praises to the gods. And Mandisa would preside over the festivities.