#deities asks

Thoth initially helped heal Horus as an infant, after the latter was bitten by a viper that slithered its way into his crib -- adapted from one of the myths that describe Set's early attempt to take Horus's life. Afterward, Thoth encouraged Isis to take Horus and raise him away from Set's influence; he knew neither of them could go against either Ra or the new king Set just yet, but advised Isis that if she was serious about her campaign against Set, she needed to ensure her and Horus's safety, first.

It's not until Horus is a little older -- preteens, maybe -- that he's formally introduced to Thoth -- who had secured enough footing to break ties with Set's kingdom and ally himself with Isis's cause. I think it's mostly from Thoth where Horus learned the inner workings of the pantheon and most of who's who (observationally; Horus would only meet them personally later), as well as how to better wield and control his magic.

Over time, Thoth served as an advisor to both Horus and Isis regarding the best strategies against Set, as well as an advocate for Horus's right to the throne and an enforcer of rules to several of their contests -- much to Set's chagrin. Thoth didn't do any of this to spite Set, though -- he doesn’t actually dislike Set, even though he disapproves of his approach. But his main reasons to firmly side with Horus’s cause were twofold:

Thoth is deeply connected to Ma'at (the concept and the goddess), on a higher level than many other deities. So he sooner realized the rule under Set was not inline with Ma'at's will for divine order.

Thoth developed a firm belief that Horus had a solid case for reclaiming the crown as Osiris's rightful heir, and could see Horus’s potential as a fair king.

As for how they see each other now following The Contendings: while Thoth spends most of his time as Ra's royal vizier and as the head of the reformed Council of Ma'at, he still offers Horus his guidance whenever the other seeks him out. He also helps delegate some of Horus's higher education with other gods to help prepare for his eventual kingship.

In Horus’s case and with his falcon form, most mortals who see him would have an odd feeling due to his divine aura, but most wouldn’t think much past that. They might think “Oh my, a falcon out here? Is that one of Lord Horus’s messengers, or a sign of his blessings?” due to the strong associations. But unless Horus purposely gives them a reason to think it’s him in the feathery-flesh, they may not realize that the falcon flying overhead is the very god they’re invoking (to Horus’s amusement, I’m sure).

Also, I’ve played with the Idea of some divine traits not being sensed by mortals normally. So while Horus’s Eye is present on his falcon form, mortals might not notice it unless Horus used magic to make it visible, etc. Plus I’m sure he’d blow his cover the moment he reveals himself as a falcon capable of human speech, much like when Montu did similarly in this comic lmao—

Overall, I just find it entertaining that a deity’s animal forms might visually stick out more than others of their species -- not unlike the trope “Flashy Protagonists, Bland Extras” where the major characters have bright hair colors and designs (and that’s not a dig at the trope, I clearly use this in DEITIES too lmao).

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PREVIOUS UPDATE: Took a while to get the formal announcement published, but to reiterate from the recent blog update, the DEITIES Askbox is now OPEN! 

This will be completed in tandem with the OC_tober run for DEITIES this month. As mentioned, I’ll be answering any questions gradually, most likely to publish them over the weekends and in between sharing the individual DEITIES Profiles.

Please be sure to review the updated FAQs and Guidelines from the website before submitting your questions and messages. I’ll likely be motivated to answer general questions about the project or cast this month -- nothing written in-character, and prompts/suggestions may be saved for a later date.

There's also the difficulty of writing as a king -- or anyone with a high-profile role -- who maintains a powerful presence and sense of responsibility, but who can naturally interact with the rest of the cast during different scenarios. For example:

Ra being more relaxed and doting when he's around his daughters. They still respect each other's ranks in public, but he's still their father, and he’s comfortable acting as such around them.

Ra choosing to be either formal or casual among his closest advisors, such as Thoth, depending on the environment and details of what they're discussing.

Ra being more authoritative and in command with his guards while voyaging in the Solar Barque. He’s normally quite relaxed and lenient with Set due to their mentor/mentee relationship, for instance -- but when they are facing demons that threaten the barque, he trusts Set to guard his back; and when he tells Set when to stand down or fall back, he also trusts Set to take his command seriously.

Ra displaying his kingly presence among his other citizens and devotees, while still maintaining an approachable aura, so they’ll have confidence in his leadership and reign.

Regarding your questions tho, I should preface this by saying Pakhet is a fairly independent deity. While I'm sure she had some basic teaching, I think much of her early combat and hunting skills were mostly self-taught, or she learned from observation and lots of trial and error. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have other veteran gods who she looks up to and/or sees as her senior or "mentor"; She has the same label for Neith, for example (actually, I could more easily see Pakhet learning hunting from Neith instead, if anyone 🤔 I wonder if that’s why I put the label there...).

As for Sekhmet, her character in DEITIES isn't a very personable or approachable goddess, even among others with whom she has no qualms. She's distant with most of her divine peers -- either because they fear or respect her too much to approach her, or because she doesn't go out of her way to approach them. Also, I characterize Sekhmet as having some inner reservations with teaching or advising others, especially anyone who looks up to her, given her violent past.

However, I think Sekhmet and Pakhet have enough overlap (both feline warriors and hunters associated with the desert heat), and have come across each other enough times to at least be acquainted outside of any required formality. Perhaps they have even trained lightly together the few times that they shared the training grounds, but have left it at that. They respect and are cordial each other, but they are not exceptionally close, and neither of them seem to mind.

For DEITIES, I interpret this as meaning that some of the gods (and by extension, their mortal devotees) supported different sides at varying degrees. This included lending their strength in battle, or sharing their information and resources, with the expectation of mutual protection and aid. But I also don’t think every god had to choose a side; if they had the means and desire, they could choose to remain neutral or independent to the results.

Basically, not everyone in the pantheon automatically sided with Horus at first, or even with his mother, the former queen. Their royalty and "right” for the throne wouldn’t sway everyone out of obligation — especially when Isis went into hiding for years, and her son was considered a young and very inexperienced deity. Meanwhile, Set was already a powerful and experienced god from the same royal family, and he had time to built his own rapport while Isis was MIA. Even for those who didn’t like Set as king (or a person), some did respect and/or fear him enough to not dare side against him.

For that reason, the odds were stacked against Isis and Horus at the beginning of The Contendings, until they had time to garner more support for their cause. It’s only after some the trials between Set and Horus, and Set’s gradual corruption from his own power (and the increasing stigma and fear about his chaos magic), that more of his support would dwindle and/or shift to supporting Horus. That would also include a bunch of politics and strategic maneuvers for each side that I need time to flesh out lmao;;

(Also, IDK if I mentioned it before, but in DEITIES for a good part of The Contending, not everyone believed Isis’s accusation that Set was Osiris’s killer. There’s some lore / potential spoiler reasons for how Set was able to conceal this, but it’s only later during The Contendings that the truth is revealed -- which could factor into Set losing some additional support and respect).

As for “who sided with who” — I haven’t decided on everyone, and the ones I have decided I haven’t made the call on how firm their support is. I’d like to think that even in war, the deities can be nuanced about who they support at a given time, and due to their own circumstances and personal biases.

For example, Nephthys assisted with Isis’s and Horus’s cause and aided where she could, but she remained by Set’s side as another pillar of support, constantly conflicted about leaving her husband for most of the war. Sobek, in contrast, would have been Set’s ally due to their past camaraderie as guards, and probably supported Set’s continued reign; but he didn’t go out of his way to antagonize or threaten Isis (who he respects), nor Horus (who was only a child at first, and then eventually earns his respect over time).