Hey, Rowan!  Slow and Steady, huh?  Well, as long as the steady part perdures, I can live with that.        ;)

  'To see fear ghost across the face of a god is a truly humbling experience. Only a being faced with the starkness of mortality wears that look.(...) Jaru had mentioned Ra was the only god to have walked the earth as a mortal. Did that privilege make him vulnerable somehow? Was this the weakness I had detected in comparing his strength to his daughter's?'        I feel the answers is an booming yes.        :-{

  'Amun Ra's voice held a teasing edge, not the booming gruff I expected from the mighty warrior I saw before me.(...)        "Again with the kneeling, Eleazar? Come. We have a dimensional doorway to cross and defend. Hold on, we needed to be out of here five minutes ago, so this time we are not taking the scenic route." He smiled conspiratorially. "...though I can promise a dazzling light show."'        Heheh!  A god with sense of humor.  I like it.        X-)

  "You must tell Isabella about the necklace(...) Hathor is the goddess of love, fertility, birth, rebirth - she kept pieces of that magic in the Menit! Magic that could help Benji remember. Magic that could bring Hathor back."(...)        "A sympathizer with the OurosBouros Brotherhood has been keeping it for me in Dublin, Ireland. You need to get in contact with Dr. Siobhan O'Riorden of Trinity University."        Ah, looks like we have an plan of action!  And another known name joins the story.  Dr. Siobhan from Trinity University, simpathizer...  Why do I have the impression she isn't a vampire this time?

  Oh, and I bet that the Menit will do more than just what Ra said.  In the future.        ;)

  'Suspended in the air in front of her, the Djinn was hanging upside down. His legs and hands had been bound with ropes of fire in such a way that he resembled an upside down ankh.(...) The odor corrupting the air was not evidence of Sulpicia's spent magic. In fact, it was just the opposite. She was offering sacrifice for power and Jaru was being slowly, sadistically siphoned of his magic as his burned and barely recognizable body writhed beneath her bonds.(...)        Jaru made motions with his mouth to speak. When Sulpicia moved closer to listen, the Djinn spat blood and teeth into her face, seething through his struggle to speak, "Benji... is not... yours"'        Ghastly!  Poor brave Jaru...

"Take the staff, it is old magic, a key to open up portals."        "Portals?"        The Djinn smiled weakly. "Yes, interconnected doorways, they web across the entire planet"        Something tells me Bella will find it a most welcome boon.        :)

  Was it a movie scene, the special effects would have been spectacular.  The description certainly was exciting.  Good job, Rowan.  Can't wait to see where we go from here.

  I've been wanting to ask it for a while.  Amun became Ra.  Benjamin, a djinn, and Hathor's lover.  So, could we say Hathor is Tia's equivalent in this story?  Sorry, the damn question is nagging me since I realized the correspondences with the Egyptian Coven.        :-]

Hmmm... I have to ask. Did Amun Ra get owned? Can sekhat be killed by a crumbling building? Will the other daughters location be found out?.

Stay tuned folks....

Author's Response:

These and other questions will be answered on the continuing saaaaaaga of As the Temple Crumbles... ~cue dramatic 60's soap opera music~

Hoping to update in two weeks!  Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Finally, she got 'some' clarity to all the unanswered questions?.  Now I have some questions of my own. But, I don't think you do spoilers, so like everyone else, I guess I need to work on my virtues and show some patiences.

[Sidenote: That whole, 'I gotta find jacob and tell him 'first', left me feeling like..."what?!, really?, you have to tell him first?, what about your new family? he can wait!."] #kickrocksjacobblack

Did like the part some chapters ago, when she didn't go on an entire guilt trip when they put the dog out!. thk god for small miracles. I 'personally' hate those guilt trips, especially over him. Good grief charlie brown.

Author's Response:

I will let you in on a secret.  I am a spolier whore.  I love to skip ahead pages to see what happens.  I will go on spoiler sites to my favorite shows just to see if my theories on what MAY happen are true or not. ("Lost" really kept me busy trying to figure out what was what)  I consider it "sleuthing for confirmation" as opposed to "spoiler" as I don't feel it "spoils" anything for me. If it won't "spoil" anything for you, PLEASE....ASK AWAY!  I would love to know what questions are rattling around in your brain. 

:)

 

I do not write a review very often but this story has captured me and has forced me to comment!!  I love this story you have such a wonderful talent!  please update soon I have to know how this plays out.  

Author's Response:

Faye, I want to thank you for blessing me with a rare review. Encouragement is such valueable currency to an amateur writer! It encourages flames into what was long thought to be spent coals. This story has been tough for me to get finished, but I plan on seeing it through to the end.  I'm hoping to have an update very soon, and very much look forward to you coming back for a visit with us. 

The next chapter is a showdown of epic proportions between Amun Ra and Sulpicia.  I'm quite excited!

Warmest regards,

Mistress Moon

Rowan!!  I was wondering just other day if I would hear from you again.  Welcome!        ^_^

   'Gently laying her back on the ground, I pulled away, and then reached for her left hand, stretching it above us towards the lavender sky. I positioned her ring finger just below the shimmering, golden ring of sun. Closing my thumb and forefinger around the brilliant star burning many light years away in space, her small gasp confirmed my clever illusion of offering her the eclipsed sun as an engagement ring had worked.(...)        "Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"'        *applauses*        HAHAHAHAAHH!  First prize as the most original proposal I ever saw.  Brilliant!        X-D

  'Scowling at me, she placed a hand on her hip and proceeded to shoot straight from it.        "I'm telling him first out of respect, not guilt ridden obligation"        Shame singed my insides, burning away the pathetic remnants of old jealousies concerning Jacob.(...) Realistically, he was her oldest friend and would always be family to her. Even though his true imprint finally activated with the lifting of the curse, I had to respect how important Jake has been to her throughout her life.'        Heh!  He will learn.  Someday.        P-)

  'Edward believed The Forsaken to be the goddess Sekhmet, who was known as the goddess of War, Pestilence and Disease.        Disease. A sickening thought oiled to the surface-chances are Edward's illness would come from her hands.'        Of that I was always certain.  Whatever will get Edward, it won't come from Nature.        :-| 

  "‘You want to try something that will scare you? I can show you how to tear yourself in two and look at yourself from the outside.' I wanted to throttle Leah when she took her father's challenge."        Harry is a genius.  I can't think of a better way he could teach those two some respect.        :)

 "I'm so sorry, Isabella. It was bad enough I had to call in an ancient favor to get him to finally pull his head out of the sand and get involved. I know it is wrong to hold judgment against my brother, and yet..."        "Brother?"(...)        "This quest in protecting The Source has exhausted the majority of my skills as a husband, a father, a Chief, a warrior...even as a god.(...)  It was no easy task separating Chaos from Creation. I had to drug the beast in order to do it! I can guarantee Sekhmet's not falling for that one again. "        "You're Thoth?"        Holy...  I can't think of something strong enough, so, just Holy!  Bella, as well as the Pack, descends from the gods!  You always have something up your sleeve, don’t you?        :-P

  "I want to know who The Forsaken is."(...)        "She is Sulpicia of the Volturi."        Ah, finally!

   Ok, the use of the astral projection, and the spiritual world, as the means for her meeting with Taha Aki, and all his revelations, was very well made.  You have a knack for including these esoteric elements in your story, Rowan.  Your descriptions are always enticing.  Now, I just wonder how uncle Ra is faring in Egypt against cousin Sulpicia.  Cousin Sulpicia...  Ugh!!        X-P

Author's Response:

Nando!  Your review is a sight for sore eyes!  Thank you so much for continuing to support me and come back after MONTHS of no updates of From the Ashes.  You are a blessing. 

When I was getting ready to write the proposal, I came across this picture and knew THIS was what needed to happen with my eclipse scene.

 

I'm so pleased it translated well and was original.  Thank you!  I am humbled you enjoy the way I handle the esoteric elements of the story and hope this trend continues.  I'm pretty excited to get back to Sulpicia and write the wedding. The story will really pick up momentum then and as always, I have a big finish planned. ;)    Be well Nando, hopefully I will have a new update for you in January. 

xo

Mistress Moon

Thank you for writing and sharing. You are well worth waiting for!

Author's Response:

You are too sweet, Kathryn.  I'm not sure I'm worth waiting this long for, but I am certainly blessed you keep coming back for me. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your week!

xo

RowanMoon

  'I admired how the Cullens and Denalis refrained from hunting animals on the Endangered Species List. I grimly considered the environmental changes of late, and wondered just how big that list would become as years progressed.'        *nod*

  'Remembering turning into the Phoenix and plummeting towards the earth, I made the quick decision to entertain thoughts of flight another day. When your first flight ends in a fiery crash, you tend to want to forget that.'        Well, I'm sure she will enjoy it, if the fiery part is left out.        ;)

  'A small lake flashed up ahead and I calculated my speed and its width before deciding to try something different.        Why jump when you can just keep running?        Like the lightest skipping stones, my feet skimmed across the surface of the water. My laugh echoed throughout the valley as Edward's soft, confounded cursing trailed in answer to my trick.'        HAHAHAH!!  Nice!

  The scenes of Bella and Edward running, hunting and frolicking through the land were beautiful, Rowan.  And the Hunter's Prayer...  A good reminder of Bella's compassionate nature.  Very good. 

  '"Why do you think it is that I don't need blood? I was made into this form by your venom which completely changed my physiology, so it stands to reason I would need to eat the same things you do."(...)        "It's okay, Bella. We both know blood is not what you need. Let's drop the ruse. You need...this."        A sob escaped my throat as he bent his neck in offering to me, and I simply let go, latching razor sharp teeth to his newly healed flesh.'        Hmm, looks like Edward will have to hunt for two, from now on.  That's one of the things that amuse me in this story, how the roles were reversed.  How, now, she is the predator that loves her prey.  At least he isn't a prey who will die, no matter how much she takes from him.        :)

  'When I opened them, I noticed Edward peering beyond me to the darkened sky above. Puzzled, I settled into the crook of his arm to look up with him, shocked by the sight greeting me.(...)        Silence did not hang heavy and awkward, which is something considering we were both naked and lying on the ground, staring up into a full solar eclipse.'        *sniff, sniff*        Uh-oh!  It smells ancient banished goddess.  Things in Egypt must be interesting now...

Author's Response:

There are a few reviewers whose thoughts on each chapter I truly cherish and yours Nando, are at the top of the list.   This chapter was really a hard one for me to write, and to have validation on the passages you like and why you liked them is truly a gift.  Thank you so much. It gives me courage to keep going, even when I think it is not coming as easy as it should, it will eventually come-- and people will still read. 

Things are crazy in Egypt - but I'm not quite done with Edward and Bella.  Chapter 14, however, will bring us back to the fiery family feud between Amun-Ra and Sulpicia.   Good call on the solar eclipse being a tie in with what is going on there. ;)

Thank you so much for this chapter to chapter conversation Nando.  You are a blessing.

RowanMoon

 

What a cool chapter.  I love the weaving of Egyptian mythology into the story.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!  I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! 

  'Amun-Ra's power, though strong enough to bring me to my knees, did not hold the heat necessary to be foil to the harsh raping chill of his forsaken daughter's, Sulpicia. Depending on the severity of torture and blood magic she served you up with, her punishment would leave you with a void that could take weeks to recover from. I doubted he would have the ability to fill the hole Sulpicia left within the Djinn.'        Are you sure he really stripped Sulpicia from her divinity?  Seriously, it doesn't look like it made any difference.        :(

  "What is not told about the thousands that died from the Eye of Ra's bloody rampage is they rose again.(...)  The corpses began to heal from the inside out, changing into something stronger, more beautiful, and more savage than any human or immortal ever to walk the earth. Even more amazing was the fact this new immortal species were able to procreate, through the same manner in which their species found its genesis. Blood-drinking."        HAH!!  I almost hit the mark last chapter!  Just it was more Hathor than Sulpicia.        X-)

  "Isabella is the result of breeding generations of powerful Striga witches.  Therefore, she has a natural mastery of all the element-Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. This is Creation magic, but it is also Chaotic magic. She can create as well as destroy. The Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. Besides Sulpicia, only Isabella has power to temper the Djinn, and perhaps fill in the void Sulpicia left."        Power enough to face, and save, gods.  Geez!!  If I'm unsure about Sulpicia really losing her godhead, now I wonder if Bella didn't became kind of, you know, godly?

  'It seemed like a sound plan, but before I could ask any more questions, a large black snake with a golden head slithered out of the brush to the left of us, heading straight for Amun-Ra's feet.(...)        "That was Jaru..."       "The tour guide, Jaru?"        Amun-Ra smiled, but instead of sadness crowding the eyes, it was pride. "Jaru is my faithful and loyal Djinn. I created him over five thousand years ago."'        I should have know there was something up with that guy.  That staff of his was too fancy.        :-P

  'Handing me the bottle that Sulpicia would murder for, I knew there could be no "we." It was time for me to run and for Amun-Ra to stop running from his wretched daughter.        This was going to be one hell of a family reunion.'        I bet.

  Looks like next chapter will be nothing short of cataclysmic...        :-]

Author's Response:

He did strip her of her divinity - she no longer has the status of diety, therefore the privilege of having her power "enhanced" by the worship of the people was gone.  There was no way to feed her power.  However, in searching out every corner of the world for any type of magic she could master, she found another way to gain power, however it came at the price of her very soul, as once you travel down the path of dark magic, coming back is near to impossible.

Your question about power and who has how much...I only have this for an answer - Who has the power is not as important as what is done with it.  This is a lesson that must be learned by Gods AND Men, yes? :)

My decision to make Jaru "special" didn't happen until I began writing Chapter 11.  He wanted a bigger part, so I gave it to him.  He was pretty insistant about it and showed me a way to get out of a plot hole by giving him his fifteen minutes of fame.  When I was researching the Temple of Hathor, there were some youtube videos posted that had this really animated tour guide - I never saw him on camera, but his voice and the way he gave the tour nudged me to give him a role, and then once I put him to paper, he wouldn't leave me alone!

We will meet again with Jaru, Eleazar and Amun-Ra in Chapter 13....Chapter 12 demands an appearance from Bella and Edward!  The "hunt" scene has been eluding me, but I need to get it done!

See you in a few weeks!

Warmest Spring Wishes,

RowanMoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amun Ra continues telling Eleazar the story of his daughters and what happens between them. Very interesting story of how Sulpicia joins with the Volturi brothers with the captured Djinn (Benji.) While Hathor cried and swam to the island all alone.  Only to find that Sulpicia had arrived to confront her father Amun Ra in an effort to regain the stolen Djinn. Amun Ra gave the bottle back to Eleazar and sent him on his way to Isabella.  More information for Bella to absorb and deal with getting ready to defeat the evil one, Sulpicia.  Also interesting origin of vampires, that they were established not as demons, but as mercy for the evil one's destructive nature.  Might make Edward feel differently about his vampiric roots and understand that Carlisle and his way of life has honored the mercy granted by Hathor on the original vampires.

Author's Response:

Hey Carol!  Thanks so much for the review of the chapter.  I'm really glad you enjoyed the backstories I developed for the creation of the vampires and how it ties in with the legend of the Eye of Ra.  Next chapter we finally get back to Edward and Bella!  Blessings to you dear heart.

 

Definitely getting interesting.  Only two of them left.  Eleazar sold from Sulpicia.  Getting it to Amun.  All to help the Golden Eyed Queen, Bella.  Now Amun has transferred into Ra.  Interesting development.   Lots of strong power will be flying around soon among the three of them.  Going to get very interesting.  Will Eleazar be sent to Bella to make her aware of RA and Sulpicia (The Forsaken) with warning and more information on how to overcome the evilness power.

Author's Response:

Thanks Carol!  I'm turning up the heat and action and quite excited to be doing so.  I've been writing a few hours every morning in an effort to finish this story before spring.  

Eleazar - when I first drafted the story, I wasn't going to feature him very much.  In fact, I'm still on the fence as to how much play he is going to get in the story, but I have a feeling he may just convince me of his usefulness. As a footnote, I also wasn't going to feature Ra beyond chapter 5!  He had other plans, obviously! 

With my renewed fervor in putting the story together I have completely scrapped my original plans, to take it in a completely different and very exciting direction. I have done my homework in egyptian lore and have figured out a way to bastardize it just enough to make it fit with Broken Doll and the twiverse.  LOL!  

I hope you enjoy the rest Carol.  Your reviews, as always are a highlight of my post-posting bliss.  ;)

Mistress Moon

 

Thats it. More, we need more. Please.

Author's Response:

I have more!  Lots more!  I'm pushing through Chapter 11 like a woman possessed - it's a very exciting chapter with more shocking revelations from Ra.  Thank you so much for reading, and spurring me on to hurry!  

xo

 

Holy Hotness, Catman!

-fans self with revision book- I've never been so pleased to bypass studying. The last 2 chapters have been my replacement for studying sexual reproduction.. I'm almost sure my biology teacher would allow the swap.

I like the fact that you wrote about Ra! It added a really cool vibe to the chapter, I think.

I'll be back... when you are. :D

Oh yeah, thanks for the invite for FB, but I have to turn it down. : Sorry. Privacy issues going on. Thanks, though! I did a little happy dance at the invite.  :)

Author's Response:

Hee hee!  I love writing the sexy times.  I'm glad you enjoy the reading of them!   Thank you so much!

Ra!  Oh, this character has really taken a hold of this story and is being quite the bossy pants with how it should be told.  Not wanting to go up against a god, I'm listening to him as, well, dude has some pretty good ideas on where to take this tale.  I hope you want more of him, because I don't think he'd going away any time soon...

Next chapter we check in with Eleazar who's running from Sulpicia.  He took her toy and she wants it back.  ;)

Talk to you soon Laura!

xo