Lore/Story Anubis

Last thing I remembered was driving down the highway. I heard a crash to my left, saw a semi-truck getting a bit closer than it should be, then... Well, then I'm guessing I died. I was still in driving pose, funnily enough, but I was just floating in this kind of black void. Gradually, I began to notice a shape forming. The darkness is replaced with limestone, the hollow void underneath me with a damp mud. What look like misshapen light bulbs line the walls, illuminating a patchwork of art and text, each of it depicting a different event or story. The wall behind me has the biggest drawings; two people, side-by-side. One with the body of a man, but the head of a jackal, holding a staff with a crooked end. I recognize him as Anubis, the Egyptian god of death. Standing next to Anubis is a person with the body of a man and the head of a man. He wears a tall, rounded hat and holds his arms crossed, a flail in one hand, some kind of wand in the other. Him I don't recognize. I assume he's another god. Most of the drawings on the other walls depict one or the other of these people. Anubis guiding a line of people somewhere. Tall-hat watching over people in a pool. None of it really makes sense to me. Those drawings stretch on down a hallway that seems to go on forever. Not knowing what else to do, I start walking, glancing at the drawings as I go. Anubis watching what looked like a mummification, his hand outstretched. Tall-hat sitting in a box with a woman. I keep walking.

A ledge gradually forms as I walk, high on either wall. It extends out, then stops when it’s a good size. I take that as a sign I should stop. I look up at the ledge to my left. Reality seems to bend around my vision like warped glass as a figure suddenly appears. Body of a man, head of a jackal. It’s Anubis. Reality warps again and he appears in front of me, along with a giant weight scale. He towers over me, at least 7 feet tall. He’s dressed in robes that seem more fit for Roman gods than Egyptian. His staff has a sharper end than the drawings showed. His back is turned to me. I stand still. Are you supposed to bow to a god? Say “hello, your highness?” Before I can make a fool out of myself, Anubis reaches his hand out. A black feather falls from above and lands softly in his grip. I can’t see where it came from. He places it gently on one end of the scale and turns toward me. His golden eyes pierce through mine, his thin, raised snout projecting an air of power and superiority. He raises his staff off the ground and points the sharp end toward me. The god of death thrusts his spearheaded staff into my chest. Strangely, I don’t feel pain, or even a piercing. It’s more like the staff is turning my body into gelatin and pushing it out of the way. The staff retracts, holding on its end a black sphere with chaotic red stripes. I feel hollow after it’s removed from my body. Is that supposed to be my soul? Anubis turns and holds the ball of life over the scale. He looks back at me as if for affirmation. I nod my head lazily. What else can I do? The ball falls onto the empty half of the scale. The bowls of the scale tip and teeter, rise and fall with the weight of my soul and the god’s feather. It’s like the scale can’t decide which is heavier. Is that a good thing? I'm still unsure of what's going on. Finally, the bowls of the scale come to a rest.


I see a glimpse of the black feather in the lower part of the scale. That must mean my soul is lighter. Is that good? Anubis prods the ball with his staff and lifts it up. I catch a glimpse of a smile on his canine face as he turns around to return my soul. I see him wave a hand over the orb, and the blackness turns a touch whiter. The staff goes into my chest as easily as the first time and I feel a sense of relief. Anubis and his scales seem to bend and curve out of existence, and I'm left alone.


I can't say what was held for me at the end of the limestone hall. Whenever I try, through voice or through text, my mouth fails me, or my hands fail me. All I can say is this: Do not be afraid of death, nor what comes after it. Live your life with joy and peace, and I promise you will be pleased.

EDIT: Fixed tense in first section