Yes, my father told me of the everlasting night, and how he brought light to the world; how his first words became my husband Thoth, god of wisdom. He has told me of how he longed for a world that was full of light and life, and so, he created three more beings. And this, my friends, is where I enter the tale of creation. As a goddess created from the thoughts of my father, Ra, it was my duty to bring balance to the chaotic universe and when the earth had been shaped, to bring justice and order to it. But all of that would come in time. Before the earth could be created, the help of more gods and goddesses was needed.
So, my father spat out Shu, god of air, and vomited up Tefnut, goddess of moisture. I shall not go into detail about how this came to be, but I will say this: it looked most unpleasant for all parties involved. They eventually mated and gave birth to two children of their own; Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. But their relationship went deeper than brother and sister. Entangled with one another through the bonds of their love, Nut and Geb seemed inseparable, despite Ra having taken Nut as his wife. When my father found out about their love, he was infuriated. In his rage, he ordered Shu to lift Nut into the sky, and as one last punishment, he cursed Nut. The children that she now bore within her womb could never be born upon any day of the year. The world had finally found shape. Rain washed over the land, making it lush and fertile. Trees grew and leaves wormed their way from the first buds. Sand and brown earth covered the lands, and pristine mountain peaks rose up above the wild plains, majestic and untouched by age. Color bloomed throughout the bleak landscape, turning it into a vibrant array of life. Animals were created and placed into the vast wilderness, where they roamed. Bird song soon rang through the trees, and lions stalked the grassy plains. But Nut lived in constant pain with her unborn children. Thoth saw her pain and heard her cries, and so, to ease her pain, he gambled for five more days worth of moonlight.
Naturally, being the wise man he is, he won and thus, five days were created upon which Nut could give birth to her unborn children, Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. The creation of the earth was almost complete.As the world took on form and light, balance began to take hold, but Nu still existed. Once, when the waters of Nu still ruled over the universe, Shu and Tefnut became lost in its black waters. Without light to guide them, they could not find their way back to the primordial mound. Ra grew frantic, searching everywhere for his beloved children. He sent his all-seeing eye out into the universe to search for them, and it roamed far and wide, searching tirelessly, until finally, it found the lost siblings.
When they had been returned to him, Ra was so overwhelmed by his joy that he wept. The other gods and I watched as his silvery tears slid down his cheek and fell to the earth bellow. Here, they landed in a dry patch of earth and slowly, they took shape in the hot sands, bending and writhing into the form of the first human beings. Creation was complete. For the humans, the Nile was created to keep the soil fertile for crops, and an expanse of desert was wrapped around their kingdom to protect them. They were to live through the forty-two principles of Ma'at, which my husband Thoth put into word, and to this day, I continue to keep order in the world through these laws. Ra went down to the earth, and for many peaceful years, he ruled as the first pharaoh.
Thus went the first chapter of the Earth.
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