Tradition dictated all visitors were to be held under close scrutiny during their stay and Mythos' party were no exception. As the man and his giant hound entered the monumental pyramid, a squad of eight guardsmen marched out into the scorching sun. The reflection of the midday sun glinted off their ceremonial armour in a dazzling lightshow as the Anubians made their way through the course sand towards the landing pad Mythos' party had landed on. They surrounded the landing pad in an evenly spaced formation and uniformly fell into an attentive stance. There, they remained; still as statues. It was glaringly apparent that Mythos' party were not allowed to wander freely either.
Within the pyramid, the four guardsmen lead the guest and his gigantic hound through the many elaborate hallways. Hieroglyphs adorned the walls, depicting the story of Osiris' family's rise to greatness. Every notable member of the family had their own caricature, engraved onto a sheet of golden, precious, metal that was embedded directly into the sandstone wall and encrusted with rare jewels. Then, their life story followed. Painted on with careful precision onto impressive masonry, the symbols and images somehow conveyed complex stories and vivid poetry.
The whole pyramid was a culture bomb, and an enormous one at that.
Eventually, the guards would lead the guest and his pet to the main dining chamber. Upon seeing them, Osiris rose out of his chair and dismissed the servant who'd been fanning him with a dismissive wave of his hand. He moved to the side of the massive, marble, dining table but made no further movements. His guardsmen would bring the guest to him.
If the dining room was big to Osiris, it must have been gargantuan to the 5'9" visitor. Anticipating that his guest would be of average human size, Osiris had a chair specifically made out of rare Khar'tem wood for Mythos. Khar'tem wood was native to Ankhypt and one could only find it in pocketed oases dotted around the equator, making it exceedingly rare. It was polished perfectly and varnished in an oil that cost more per liter than Duinuogwuin blood. Asides from that, it was rather plain, especially when compared with the rest of the dining room.
When Mythos finally stood before Osiris, surrounded on all sides by the four guardsmen, there was a long pause. Osiris regarded the man before him and studied every aspect of his being in great detail. From the sand grains lodged in the ripples of his clothing to the scars on his hand and face. It may have been uneasy for the human visitor, but to Osiris it was customary. Normal. He also afforded the hound a passing gaze, which was more to acknowledge its existence more than anything else.
Satisfied, the Anubian Noble raised a clenched fist to his own chest and bowed his head slightly.
"Greetings, Animus, son of Daeus," he began, in almost perfect galactic basic. He then dismissed the four guards with a single wave of his hand and a guttural utterance in Ankhyptian, which Mythos may or may not have understood as, 'Leave us.'
"I am Osiris, son of Anukh," he continued, his voice inhumanely deep and his accent peculiar but easily understandable. "This is my pyramid... You are the first outsider to set foot within these walls since the kingdoms of old. Do not make me regret my decision to allow you this opportunity."
During this entire exchange, Osiris did not break eye contact with the visitor. His orange, canine, eyes were fixated on Mythos'; the look a wolf gave to competitors when encroaching on a fresh kill. However, the Anubian was not being aggressive or inhospitable. In fact, his demeanor was regarded as the epitome of politeness in Anubian society.
"You may take a seat and we may talk," he declared, gesturing to the seat described earlier. He waited until Mythos either sat or refused his offer before sitting himself, back in the grand chair at the head of the table.
[member="Mythos"]
