The transformation + Natura Humana Quest (ENG)

Sacred focused on her surroundings again.This room connected with the Nile garden from which they had just come. It barely contained any inscriptions, as it had been an area of relaxation and wandering. Sacred took the lead, and with apparent life of their own, the specks of glowing, molten glass followed her into the adjacent room. The four remaining esk appeared behind her soon after, and in the eyes of the dark esk one could see a spark of enthusiasm, admiration, and recognition.

"The throne room...!" he muttered in astonishment, as Sacred nodded and looked up at the high walls that surrounded them. In the past the whole palace was perfumed, full of life. The throne room had shone in the colours of gold and precious stones. Now, however, it was no more than broken, dust-covered rock and marble.

"It has lost some of its glory, but still... Magnificent..." Continued mumbling the owner of the tiny drops of hot glass.

"And they made sure you could read about it." He spoke Sacred in a firm and defensive voice. Sacred had seen mud houses collapse in a breeze, and families be forgotten. But the temples still stood, and it was full of stories of the past.

"Ahh, of course... Human writing. And one of the oldest."  The dark esk, next to the little pink esk, approached the wall. First with enthusiasm, and second with curiosity. "Can you read any of this, little one?" he asked without looking away from the symbols, at the esk next to him. Nure took a quick look and shook her head. The other esk nodded, while the two little ones hid under Sacred's tail, shy to approach him.

"Sacred?" It was the first time he used her name. She came over to his side, while the little ones were trembling. Foxito and Boo? It seemed those were their names, or so she was hearing them call each other...

"Of course I can read it. I was a servant, but I served my Queen and was in her circle of women. She taught us to read and write because my Queen was magnificent, and she wanted the best for us, just as she wanted the best for her people. You can tell how successful an emperor was by looking at how wealthy and educated his people were.

And as soon as she stopped talking, the black esk laid down just as deer lays down to rest, as if inviting her to read it. Sacred was surprised, as she was certain that this esk was powerful enough to read the feeling that the humans put into these walls.

"I know what you're thinking... But many of these feelings are tainted by the feelings of slavery. These works of art are not painted with all the greatness they describe in mind, but as mere works that the authors had to perform, empty... So I want to hear it from you, who I know will interpret it in the most dignified and beautiful way possible, because you admire this place."

The little ones, already less afraid, gathered around the esk that had spoken, also looking at Sacred, who looked at the hieroglyphs that covered the walls and the columns from top to bottom. She laid down and started reading the stories engraved in stone, which were once painted in precious colours, and which she had read so many times before, while she was in that very room, accommodating or serving her Queen.

She spoke to them about the kings of long ago, both of their great deeds and of the terrible ones. She told them about the battles they had won, about the famines. She spoke to them about mistakes that had been made, how they had been amended, and what had been learned. She told them the names of all the Pharaohs and which gods they had served. She also told them about the Egyptian gods, before whom, the black esk, nodded in recognition when she named a couple of them. Why would that be...? They listened for hours and hours, just as she spoke. They moved from room to room, and other stories were told. When they had toured the entire temple Sacred still had more to tell. Stories about the people, about herself. The little ones seemed incapable of storing any more information, but the black esk devoured it. Sacred felt him rejoice in all those details, in the greatness of the human race. He wanted to learn more and more about them, and Sacred remembered more and more about her past life as she talked about it. The sun went down and she kept on talking. As the sun began to rise, there was not much more to say, although what she knew was surely not a grain of sand in the history of Egypt. But the black esk seemed satisfied. They all rose and followed the tall, dark silhouette back to the throne room, in silence. He looked back at the towering walls dotted with knowledge, history, and legacy. And finally, he looked back at Sacred.

"Would you like to... see it again?"