Anubis

### Aliases

The Lord of the Sacred Land, The Weigher of Hearts, First of the Westerners, He Who Is Upon His Sacred Mountain, Ruler of the Nine Bows, The Dog Who Swallows Millions, Master of Secrets, Foremost of the Divine Booth

### Relatives

Nephthys and Set (mother and father, respectively)Wepwawet (brother)

Kebechet (daughter)

Sobek (paternal half-brother)

Osiris (uncle)

Isis (aunts)

Horus (cousin)

Nut (grandmother)

Geb (grandfather)

Ra (great-grandfather)

## Statistics

### Power Tier

4

Anubis is one of the Death gods of the Kem-Duati, serving as the second in command to his uncle and foster father, Osiris. Alongside his mother Nephthys, Anubis is also one of the primary psychopomps of the pantheon, and he aids in guiding the dead to the Duat, where he serves Osiris by judging their souls and allowing them into the afterlife, or dooming them to annihilation at the jaws of Ahmit the Devourer.

## Biography

It was the early years of the Silver Age, when Set committed an unthinkable act. Declaring himself almighty, the God of Chaos took a pedestal against his own brother and declared himself Pharaoh of a new Dynasty. Fates, rewritten. Families splintered.

It was the actions of Nephthys, Goddess of the River and Caretaker of the Dead that set Anubis on a path that most certainly would not have been walked within the care of his father. Unable to stomach the actions of her husband-brother, Nephthys- with child in her belly- secreted away from the Palace of her birth to the realm of the Duat. The Land of the Dead. And in her self-imposed exile, a child was born. A son. He was strong- ferocious. A warrior to be, should he be tempered in the right fires. Though as Nephthys held close the newly born babe, she saw something that could be so much more. Pallid and brutal in nature, as his Father- though capable of a much more delicate, and wise future. And so she uttered a name;

Anubis.

She knew, however, that whilst she lived and breathed, Set would claim what was his. While not heir apparent, Anubis was a son nonetheless. What is a Dynasty without the strong sons of the great Father? And so, she wrapped the godling child in a bed of gossamer, weaved from the webs of widows, and whisked away towards her brother-in-blood-and-law. The former Pharaoh of the Kem-Duati, slighted Osiris. In the wake of the God of the Damned, Nephthys offered her newly born babe. To be hidden from the eyes of the Wolf of Kemara. Far from a destiny she did not wish for the child. The goddess saw the honour and compassion that formed Osiris, and how his duty as the Tallyman of Mortals formed him to be the paragon they once so admired. She wished for Anubis to learn the ways of the Duat– to guide the mortal souls from one life and into another. To learn compassion, and love, for the flock in their charge. To become wise in the ways of realms that oh so few with Divinity could walk. A sage, a warrior, a teacher, a friend. Osiris considered the boy, his eyes warm to the innocence of such a being. And so, unto Anubis he placed his hand- and accepted the task. From then on, the son of Set was taken to the charge of the King of the Duat.

His years in the court of Osiris were far different from what his siblings beneath the Throne of Fire endured. Anubis was taught the old ways of the Kem-Duati. The deep magics of the Veil, and its nature as the spokes of the wheel of life. The beauty of the cycle that had been born into the world. For a flower to sprout from so small a seed, to reach for the sun and drink of the heavens. To eventually bloom, and blossom their own. To fade, so gently, beneath the shade of a tree not unlike them. To pass, with their essence imbued into new life- that they may bloom into new groves. He was tutored to be gentle, and just. He was sent to observe the mortal flock firsthand, to walk among them as a figurative fly on the wall. There, in the humility of the world, he was tasked to watch and learn from the humans. He witnessed their evolution firsthand. Their ingenuity, their cruelty. Their beauty, their horrors. He was made to understand their role to play, as well as the role of the Gods to these creatures.

He was a quick study. An excellent student– troubled as he was. Anubis had always been silent. He preferred to read the old lores of the world and study the secrets of the vast libraries of the Gods. Ancient histories, near and far. In the time he spent amidst the mortal realm, divining the concepts of the generation before him, he was set upon by a pack of jackals. They were hungry, skinny. Vicious. And yet, in their eyes– a strange wisdom. The animals were quickly soothed by the sheer presence of the divinity before them, and while most would have smote the creatures for their trespasses- Anubis instead took keen interest towards them. Like he, they were born carnivorous hunters. Though their eyes betrayed a deep and mystical understanding. They were not cruel- but hungry. They huddled with one another, cared for their own. And the way they watched from afar. It reminded him of, well. Him. A beast in nature, a sage through nurture. And so, he had taken the Jackal as his personal divinity. A quiet and loyal creature, vigilant and cunning. Always watching from the shadows, always on the prowl. A hunter, yes– though a guardian.

Amidst his training, Osiris taught Anubis the ways of magic. It was sorcery that bound the King of the Duat to this plane, after all. He had hoped to prepare Anubis against the possibility one may try the same trick on him. He was a quick study, for one so young. Incantations of the Divine Domains were mastered in mere decades where it would normally take centuries. His understanding of the arcane, near prodigious in nature. While perhaps not yet matching his uncle and father-figure in skill, Anubis quickly became enough of a match. Duels of wits and spells between the two would stalemate more and more. An apprentice, evolving into a master. He particularly had an affinity for the Disciplines within the Domain of Death. He had a natural talent in the art of Soulsense- able to pick out the Souls dwelling in the River Nile from the peaks of Mount Sinai. It was not long (in Divine terms) until the Jackal-headed God was able to Wraithwalk through the world. A shadow within the realms of men, with his body atop a mountain. Such was born his title, “He Who Is Upon His Sacred Mountain”. He found it amusing how legends and mythos began to form around him. It was curious. They were curious, not unlike him.

And so, ages passed. Eons. Osiris had grown quite fond of Anubis, seeing much of himself in the maturing divine. And so, he appointed Anubis a great duty. He would be the shepherd. From that day on, Osiris tasked Anubis to be the Judge of the Duat. He would be charged to ferry the souls of the fallen on their final journey through the grand dune-seas of the Veil between realms. To help them on their way into the afterlife. To teach them. And indeed, to punish those who had earned it.

Anubis became an omen of fear to the mortal realms. A reaper of souls, they feared. Yet a noble, and just God of the natural order. Reverence was soon raised to him, and before long he was no longer simply the apprentice to Osiris. He was a partner. Second to his adopted father in their eternal task to caretake the souls of those below them. He grew wise, older. His mastery in the ways of magic and the ancient lore of old, growing alongside him. He earned a keen interest in the realms beyond their own, and would sometimes take excursions out into the Veil. To speak, to learn. He met with the Olympians, and Vanir. He supped with the Beznadi, and debated philosophy with the Devas. Meditated amidst the Kami. His thirst for the secrets of the world, and all beyond, never able to be quenched. Curious as ever.

When the Legions of Ynoch came, Anubis answered the call. His power was great. He wished to fight. Heretics and tyrants against the natural order came to enslave and instill fear. But Osiris placed a hand on the eager God of Death. He explained that much death will come to the realm, and it would be Anubis’ job to see to it that they tended to their charge as always. Now, more than ever, they were paramount. They were needed. And so, as war waged against his own peoples; as the Angelic Legions descended into the Duat itself, and beyond- he remained passive. Though omens of a black jackal stalking the dunes had become legend indeed, and it is said that Anubis would hang over the beds of the resting warlords of the Legion elites. Watching. Waiting. Scale, tipping too and from, balancing in the air- awaiting their hearts. Now, in the present age, where pacification of the Nine has become the equal foot, Anubis seeks to branch out. Whispers, most disturbing, pass through the Veil. The Duat is restless as ever. And the Dog Who Swallows Millions watches from atop His Holy Mountain. Weighing friends from foe. Biding his time. For all things must die. All things will meet the Black Dog, eventually. And all hearts will be weighed against the Maat. Such is the order of things.

Anubis serves now in his role, ever vigilant and loyal. With Horus, his cousin and Osiris’ own son atop the crown, he has taken to acting as a liaison between the Realm of the Dead and Kemara on-high. Whilst his duties take priority, and the sanctity of the balance between Life and Death are paramount; Anubis has now begun to use his time to scry the old magics of the world. He seeks to find a way to break the chains that hold Osiris within the Duat. A spell, a ritual, incantation; something must be able to break the bonds.

## Personality

Though Anubis was a son to a Conqueror mighty as Set, one would equate the Jackal-headed God more towards his mother; Nephthys. He was soft spoken, and gentle. He moved with a shadow’s grace, and observed with a practiced eye. While legends depict him as a mighty beast, a fearsome reaper of souls and a terror to the eyes of the Living; he was far from it, when they finally met with he; the Judge of the Underworld.

When one closes their eyes for the final time, it is to the sight of a black jackal at their side. When they open, they see before them a grand, royal being. Flesh and fur, black as onyxian stones; and finery, golden and brilliant. Cold, yet soft eyes peered down from a linen hood; lulling a sense of calm and stillness to those that meet it. Like a shepherd to a lost sheep, his hand is gentle and steady- and his guidance, true. They are put on their final journey by a wise sage, a teacher, a mentor. Strict, and unrelenting; and yet kind, and understanding.

To the other Gods of the Kem-Duati, Anubis could be best described as a stoic. It was difficult to make him smile or laugh, though in the same breath it was hard to harbor a reaction from him at all. He spoke with careful consideration to those he spoke with, using honorifics and respect wherever it was due. One could describe him as ‘oldschool’, still clinging to the ways of the old Pantheons. A survivor of the Angelic Conquest, Anubis harbours no love lost for the Edenians and the Ynochian legions. He believes them usurpers. Terrors to the balance of all things. While not outright hostile, there was a darkness towards Anubis’ presence when the proclaimed tyrants were mentioned, or present. If ever the vicious, terrifying Death Hound of the Nile had existed; verily, ‘twas Ynoch and his children that spawned it.

Aside from all else, Anubis had earned his title as the Master of Secrets for his curiosity in all things. He frequently visits with the other pantheons, eager to learn their ways and study the depth of their knowledge. The Vanir and their magic have always been one of interest to him, as Odin before him- though he was far less obsessed. He viewed the works of the Eight to be miraculous. As of recently, he has been attempting to beseech the Olympians to tutor him in the ways of Arete, the sorcery founded by Kronos and his ilk. He was studious in nature, and desired above all else to understand things as they are.

## Powers

Dominion of Death - Archmaster

Dominion of Darkness - Master

Dominion of Aura - Adept

Dominion of Time - Expert

Dominion of Thought - Adept

Hekau Masteries without the Scales;

Kill, Greater Mastery

Heal, Lesser Mastery

Truth, Full Mastery

Calm, Lesser Mastery

Soothe, Lesser Mastery

Lie, Lesser Mastery

Seal, Greater Master

## Notable Equipment

### The Scales of Heart and Feather

The primary tool of Anubis, the scales have been his way of measuring the worthiness of a soul during their passageway to the Realm of the Dead. When a heart is measured on the scale, a feather is made as its opposite. It is said the feather comes from the conceptual goddess known as Maat- which encapsulates the values of truth, balance, order, harmony, justice, morality and law. The heart must weigh accurately to the feather. If it overtakes the feather, the heart is fed to Ammit the Devourer- and the soul is cast into the darkness of the Void. Should they balance, however- they would be ushered into the Afterlife with open arms. When wielding the Scales, one is imbued with the power of the Judge of the Damned, and are able to recite the following Hekau words of power at Full Mastery;

Truth, Lie, Calm, Soothe, Seal, and Kill. If one uses the Word of Power to Kill, their own heart will be figuratively measured on the spot. If the kill was virtuous (such as aiding a suffering being into passing on), the Scales will level, and nothing will happen. If the kill was deemed corrupt, however, the Scales will measure its wielder unworthy and will turn to dust, effectively destroying the piece forevermore so it may never be used again for fell purposes.

### The Flail of Anubis

The ‘weapon’ carried by the God of Death. The tool is a three-swippled agricultural flail, though, obsidian and gold in colour and trim and magical in nature. Each swipple is lined with Coptic hieroglyphs, depicting Anubis shepherding on the souls of the fallen to their place in the Underworld. When struck by the flail, one is not only wounded in flesh- but down to the soul. Each lash seemingly peels away the years from the victim, akin to the Withering effect from the Domain of Death. The number of lashes needed to fully destroy a being depends on the being itself, and while it may well prove ineffective against the Divine Beings of the world- prolonged exposure to the weapons lash can cause the most stalwart Gods of War to fall ill, become fatigued, and grossly weakened.

## Stats

### Traits

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 3

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 5

Charisma: 4

Perception: 5

### Skills

Academia: 4

Artistry: 2

Brawl: 2

Charm: 3

Command: 2

Craft: 2

Deception: 3

Empathy: 6

Intimidation: 4

Intrigue: 3

Leadership: 2

Marksmanship: 2

Medicine: 4

Melee: 2

Occult: 5

Performance: 2

Seduction: 2

Stealth: 4

Stewardship: 4

Survival: 3

Torture: 4