As I stand and look out from my chamber window, I notice nothing. Not the beautiful Black columns that at night look as if you are walking among stars, nor the courtyard that during the day bustles with the life of those who serve. It is not that I find the site any less invigorating or appealing, it is simply that I now look out to a new life, and have separated myself from this one. My time to serve in this realm will be over soon, and my new life will soon begin. No more will I see the day as mortals see it; the time will soon be upon me when I will ride with him in the underworld, embarking on a new adventure, one that I have studied but not yet experienced.

It is for this reason that I now wish to tell of my life here in his house. I am now known as Neterka; One who constantly does good with perfect devotion. I am the High Priestess of the House of Ra; or I was until very recently when I was called to take on my new name. Ah...but I get ahead of myself, and I want to tell my tale without sounding like the old woman I have become. I put these symbols on the papyrus in the hope that someday, someone will know that I was here, and served a special purpose beyond the duties of the High Priestess. For you see, my name does not come from the Temple Priest, but from Ra himself. I serve him, am devoted to him; I carry his Sa.

I have had many names in the 25 years I have served in this House. My earliest name was Saba- Born in the Morning. I would find out years later how my mother fought her labor in order for me to be Saba. She fought with all she had to make sure that my birth came with the first rays of the dawn; and for good reason. Our family’s devotion to the House of Ra reaches back centuries; it is a revered name. The members of my family are destined to serve him. My father was High Priest, as was his father and so on. My mother, while not a priestess, served as a worker in the House. It was this destiny that caused my mother to have high ambition for me, even before my birth. She wished her eldest daughter to become a priestess in the Temple. As the eldest, I was the only daughter allowed to serve as a priestess, and my success surpassed her imagination. My success became dangerous, reaching into the very house of my Uncle, The Morning and Evening Star. Ah...but I get ahead of myself again.

As Saba, I was the happiest. I tumbled and wrestled in the sands with my two brothers, watched three more sisters come to my family, had playmates, and was allowed to be free. I learned the ways of the Egyptian woman: to serve the Gods, the family, then others. It was the best of times for me; to innocent to realize what that service would mean, to young to realize that the service had boundaries. For six years I played, lived, loved and was the favorite of my father. I was his Khepri, his morning sun. My favorite thing to do was to walk to the House of Ra twice a day. Once with my Father, who would let me skip and chatter, hold my hand, buy the sweetmeats of the vendors and kiss me as he entered the enormous columned entrance. In the afternoon I would walk with my Mother, who insisted on quite decorum and reverence as we waited by another entrance; the one only the priest and priestess could exit from. For my mother, this was the only entrance that mattered, the one she hoped I would someday use. I should have paid more attention to those afternoon walks to meet my Father. Perhaps if I had, I would not have felt anger on my sixth birthday, when I was brought to the Temple College for testing and instruction.

From age six to ten I was taught in the Temple. Every day I would walk to and from the complex with my Father. Officially Khepri now, I learned how to read and write, the history of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms, the mythology of the Gods, and ethics and morals. I hated being there. I loved to learn, but was always beaten for one thing or another. Either I was out playing in the sands, (trying desperately to regain my freedom), asking to many questions of the scribes or profits, or doing the unthinkable sin; learning faster then the boys. As I grew older, however, the beatings became less frequent, and I began to enjoy myself at school. I had a keen mind, and was eager to learn. To learn the many astral planes of the afterlife was a joy, to learn history was a passion, and the myths of the Gods pure adventure. I would dream of the Sun God crying tears that became his people, imagine his wrath towards those people when they became arrogant and foolish, and reveled in his compassion for them when the carnage mounted. The House of Ra was a place where I could be a good Egyptian female, but learn and grow. The House of Ra became my refuge.

When instruction was completed on my eleventh birthday, I was brought before a divine scribe, a prophet of inner dreams, a purification priest and a priest of Anibus for entrance into spiritual training. I passed the tests, pleasing both my parents, especially my mother. I was still allowed to go home, and I was quiet content with the next few years. A few times I was unhappy, largely due to the reaction of people around me; reactions I only now fully understand. The first of these occurred when I was thirteen, and allowed to go to Manu, the Sacred Hill of Sunrise with the High Priestess to perform a ritual for the journey of Ra across the heavens. While there, I was admiring the beauty of the mountain when I saw a young boy playing nearby. Astounded that he was on the sacred place, let alone playing among the brush, I walked over to talk to him. His look of surprise did not deter me; I simply thought that my words of warning frightened him. He never spoke, but looked at me for a long time. When the soft pink glow of the dawn began to change to the stronger glows of orange, however, he turned away and disappeared over the crest of the mountain. When I returned to the ritual, the Priestess seemed frightened, and asked whom I had been speaking to. When I told her about the boy, she turned pale. When the ritual was over we returned to the Temple, and I was brought to the High Priest under Ra's Tree in the center courtyard. After telling him and the prophet what had happened, I was taken to a room and left alone. I found out later that the Priest was too frightened to say anything; no one at the ritual had seen the young boy. Many will tell you that my skin glowed with the Gods Sa. I can’t say. I was not allowed to view my reflection for five days.

It is not important the many events that came next. For years similar things occured during rituals or events concerning the God. My name became synonymous with the occult. I went about my duties, learning and performing them with expert care and precision, but I found that with time, my friends began to dwindle down to a select few who knew me and accepted the things that happened without blinking. One of these friends was Nathja, keeper of the sacred animals. The fact that I could pet and fondle the Falcon of Ra did not frighten her. She simply accepted that I had a way with the bird. She was soft spoken, totally at ease with both animal and people and was herself a holder of the Sa of Bast. Perhaps this is why she did not fear me or treat me differently then anyone else. All I know is that Nathja loved me, and I her. I was happy to be with her for the next few years.

You have guessed by now that the god favors me. It is easy to see this now, but believe me when I tell you that at the time I did not know it. The strange happenings were never explained to me, but were instead only discussed within the highest epsilons of the House of Ra. I continued with my duties, enjoyed the few friendships I had, performed the rituals of songs and sacrifices and was happy as a priestess and high keeper of sacred animals. I was young, successful and dedicated to my position in the House. My happiness was not tied to the favor of the God, but to the joy of devoting myself to him. My name was eventually changed to Alara-Netermu; True joy in constantly doing good with devotion and tenderness.

When I was eighteen, I again went before the High Priest and his entourage. After being purified, I was put before the Great Tree. His tree is the center of the House courtyard, it’s life-size trunk and branches made of blue lapis lazuli, and leaves of turquoise. I waited, unsure of why I was there, but wise enough to say nothing. Ra’s falcon set down upon one of the lower branches, and my first inclination was to hold out my arm so that I could lay my face against his feathers for a bit of comfort. The gaze from his eyes, however, was so intense that I left my arm at my side. I found that my eyes could not meet his. Confused, I simply looked down at my feet.

Eventually, a Priest silently signaled me to follow him inside the huge covered Temple that fills over half of the complex. Being a priestess, I was always in the Temple performing the daily rituals, but that day I found myself being led through secret corridors I never knew existed. I was led to a small chamber. Inside was a holy lamp similar to the one used in the main chamber of the Temple, but on a smaller scale. It was burning low, casting shadows across the floor and walls. Next to the lamp sat a bowl of sacred food for sacrifices. The Priest refused to look at me, or speak; he simply turned and exited the room. Once again I silently waited, not knowing why I was there, or what was expected of me.

I heard chanting from the main chamber of the Temple. It was soft, but the tune and words were still recognizable. It was the Neter’s Hymn; a chant to bring about the spirit presence of the God to the High Priest. Having led this chant for many years, I immediately picked up the bowl, held it aloft and faced east.

"The Lamp of Wisdom burns steadily, If the soil that feeds it be reality,” I intoned softly. From behind me, I could feel the heat from the lamp warm my skin.

“If the oil that feeds the lamp be Love, The beloved will meet the Lord and be blessed,” I sang, this time facing south. The heady odor of holy oil filled my nostrils; it was almost overpowering.

“If the air that feeds the Flame be Truth, The Breath of She who breathes will inhale Wisdom.” I was now facing west, weak-kneed and light headed, but unable to keep from continuing with the hymn. Slowly, and with difficulty, I turned to the north.

“If the Spirit enters the Flame, The Fire will be as bright as a Star." I felt the intense heat of the flame, and watched the shadows leave the walls and floor. The room was ablaze with light, with heat, with his presence. I was so frightened, I did not want to turn again to the east. Only years of devotion to the ritual forced me to move. The sight before me caused me to do something I had never done in all my years of service; I dropped the bowl. What I saw cannot be accurately described. After all these years, words still fail me. This was no young boy playing on Manu, this was the God Ra: a falcon headed, shining figure wearing the Uraeus, its coiled cobra gleaming with an intensity that made it appear alive and ready to strike.

I dare not tell you everything that happened, it is not safe to talk of such things. I can tell you that it was the night he gave me my new name. I became Neterka-Bast. I had become literally the personification of the heat of the sun, for I now carried the Satapu Sa of Ra. Satapu is the living wisdom, virtue and essence of the god, given by touch. With this came his hidden name--something that until that moment was known only to the High Priest. That night, I surpassed all my mothers’ expectations, and my own ambitions: I became High Priestess, chosen by Ra himself, and the favorite of his servants.

This sounds like a perfect ending to my story. It is not. Being the Favored One made me a threat, not only to the High Priest, but to my Uncle the Pharaoh as well. It placed my head equal to his, because the Pharaoh claims to be the personification of the Sun. I was a woman, and held a close family tie to the throne of Egypt. My position made my family a political threat. For this reason, my Uncle ordered that I never be allowed to leave the House of Ra, and that my full name never be revealed in writing or speech. He always thought that this was his idea. It was not. It was a thought planted by Ra through his High Priest. While my full name is not contained in any of the writings concerning the lineage of the Priestess, it is imprinted on the Obelisk of Ra in the Temple, and can never be removed.

I was given my own living quarters within the Covered Temple. I was no longer High Keeper of the animals, but the falcon I loved so much never left my side. He had his own special place within my chamber. I loved living at the Temple and fulfilling my duties as the High Priestess. In the years since he elevated me, I have been visited regularly by him. I have seen him in all but one of his manifestations, my favorite being Autm-Ra, the man-god who wears the double crown of Egypt. Over the years, his Sa has changed my appearance; my skin glows with an inner warmth, and my eyes deeply contain his wisdom. I was beautiful and powerful. I am old now, my youth swept away like the sand on the dunes outside the Temple. Many thought that age and loss of beauty would weaken my favor with Ra, but it has not. To him, I am still Habibah-Kamilah-
loved perfection.

The day is almost over now. I have told all that needs to be told, said all that needs to be said. He has traveled Manjet to the horizon, and will soon start his journey down the river of the Underworld back to Manu. This papyrus will soon be all that is left of Naturka-Bast. My eyes grow dim, even as I feel the familiar heat against my skin, and smell the pungent odor of holy oil. I will soon see him in the one form that he has never revealed. He will scall me by my new name, and I will be allowed to finally love him as a woman rather then serve him as his priestess.

I hope with all my heart, that this is seen. I pray that some one will know that I lived, learned, served and was loved in the House of Ra. I entreat the gods who guard their Temples that someone will learn the one essential truth of my life in his service...

I am for him, as he is for me.

Newest inductee into "the club." They even gave me a new tub to sleep in, see?