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In ancient Egyptian mythology, the concept of Maat was central to their understanding of the universe and the afterlife. Maat was the goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order. Her principles were believed to uphold the balance of the world, ensuring harmony and righteousness in both life and death.

The Egyptians believed that after death, a person's soul embarked on a journey to the afterlife, where it faced a critical judgment process known as the Weighing of the Heart. This ritual was crucial in determining the soul's fate in the afterlife.

Upon death, the heart of the deceased was believed to carry the record of all their deeds, both good and bad, performed during their lifetime. In the Hall of Maat, the heart was placed on one side of a scale, while on the other side was the Feather of Maat, a symbol of truth and justice. This delicate feather represented the purity and righteousness that were the ideals of Maat.

The scales were carefully watched over by Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming and the afterlife. Anubis ensured that the weighing process was fair and just. The results of the weighing were meticulously recorded by Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing, knowledge, and wisdom.

If the heart balanced perfectly with the Feather of Maat, it indicated that the person had led a virtuous and just life, adhering to the principles of truth and righteousness. Such a person was deemed worthy of entering the eternal paradise to live forever with Osiris, the god of the afterlife. This paradise was a blissful realm where the soul could enjoy eternal peace and happiness.

However, if the heart was found to be heavier than the feather, weighed down by sin and wrongdoing, it was considered impure. In this case, the heart was devoured by Ammit, a fearsome deity with the body of a lion, the head of a crocodile, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. This fate meant that the soul would be condemned to eternal oblivion, denied the blessings of the afterlife.

The Feather of Maat and the Weighing of the Heart ritual underscore the ancient Egyptians' profound belief in justice, morality, and the cosmic order. These concepts were not only essential for maintaining harmony in the world of the living but were also crucial for ensuring a just and balanced afterlife.

Prizes are left to right in the banner:
Anubis Mutant Half-Unicorn by Malikztiah Ankhwave Uncert Alt
Ammit Mutant Bear/Gator Shifter by oo Ded Uncert Feral
Thoth Ibis Crane by xXxKovaktheWolfxXx Uncert
Ma'at Regular by ATh e a r t Uncert Alt

Form

Usernames & Preferences:
ahmazeinlee - Anubis (black)
SSBrosB - Ammit (orange)
kettyn - Ma'at (darkred)
Story:

There was a time once, long ago, that the mare had her own life end. That was when the scales of judgment had appeared in front of her, signaling that she was to take up the mantle of the Goddess Ma'at. Taking upon her shoulders the weighted task of, at the least, welcoming weary souls into her hall before they were to be judged. It was always a process but it felt rewarding to allow those that passed the judging to move on to reside in eternal paradise. But being a Goddess though was not an easy task. She was in many places at once; but as a divine figure, she was always a bit… fractured. Right at this moment, though, she was in her own great hall, the great scales in front of her, and a gathering of souls behind that, awaiting judgment. Ma’at, as was her duty, was balanced in all things; fair and even. Just. She was endlessly patient, and would spend as long as needed over any heart; there was nothing more important than getting this exactly right. In all of her eons of doing this, she had never gotten a judgment wrong. Between herself and Anubis, every soul that worshiped them found their way to their deserved afterlife. It was a sacred duty.

“Welcome,” Ma’at finally said. She did not raise her voice, but it echoed clearly throughout her Hall all the same, silencing the souls in front of her. “Welcome to the Hall of Ma’at. My Hall. We are gathered here–”
“Wait!” A squeaky voice called.
Ma’at blinked.
She was… unused to being interrupted.
“Who speaks?” Ma’at asked after a beat. Other members of her party, other beings in their pantheon, may have gotten angry. They may have smote the insolent creature that dared to interrupt this: the most holy of proceedings. But Ma’at was not any of the other beings. She was patient. She was just. She could get over being interrupted.
Once.
“We’re waiting for one more soul!” the squeaky voice explained. “Begging your pardon, but we need to wait for one more soul!”
Ma’at blinked again. This was highly unusual. She looked to Anubis and arched an eyebrow - would he perhaps know the source of the delay?

Hearing the voice go through his mask, Anubis shot his eyes up at his Goddess, seeing her gaze fall upon him. Having no idea what the source of this delay was, he looked at the line of souls that had been completed for the day. Almost all heart sources had been weighed, with most coming up living virtuous lives. Anubis did not care if they had one soul left to determine fate, but if his Goddess Ma'at was already peaked at the curiosity of one heart, he could stay around. Letting a small snarl leave his mask, he turned away from the eyes of his Goddess before finding the body whose soul would be determined by the scale.

Luckily for him, he never had to go fishing for the hearts as that was the only organ left of those wanting their fates determined by the scales. With the heart being known as the only living part of the soul, many would leave theirs behind to allow fate to decide between the eternal paradise of peace or the condemned oblivion that was Duat. Looking back at the scale, Anubis ensured any remnants of the last heart were not there. He could not have any intermingling of souls on the scale, as that would be unjust. Checking with his Goddess one last time, he extended his muzzle out towards the altar before getting what he determined was a small nod. Anubis grabbed this forgotten heart and carefully placed it on the scale, battling the righteousness feather that lay upon the other side. Many would look at this as unjust. Of course, a feather would weigh less than a heart, yet this scale did not look for the weight. It weighed other things. Things that mattered to his Goddess Ma'at. Things that mattered to Anubis.

Watching this last heart, he let his gaze fall upon the balancing act it was fighting against. If the heart was lighter or of equal weight to the feather of righteousness, the soul, in the eyes of Ma'at, would have lived a virtuous life and was headed to paradise. Watching the scales, he noticed the heart start to dip while the feather started to rise. Making sure that this was the fate of this soul, he growled at Thoth. The crane was always so eager to write down the weight of the heart. Those who seemed to become condemned were the ones that Anubis wanted to ensure that the scales stopped completely before recording anything.

Watching the scale come to a complete stop he could feel Ammit behind him stir. It was not a particularly busy day for him and he was probably starving. Before turning back around, he heard a voice proclaim from the soul of the heart that was just weighed.

"This is unjust and unfair. The scale is broken. I demand a reweigh"

Looking at the soul, he calmly explained, "The scale is never broken nor wrong. Your life was not full of purity and righteousness per the ideals of the Goddess Ma'at." Anubis hardly spoke as his mask seemed to block most of his movement, but he was the first one to defend the ideals of his Goddess if need be.

"The ideals of Ma'at are worthless and have no bearing on my soul!" With those final words from the soul, Anubis snapped around before letting his head drop to the ground. With the grab of his claw, he shifted his mask off before staring down the soul with his eyes and pure skeletal features. Snarling at the soul, "Don't you ever question your Goddess as she has been the one you have followed and knew her ideals." Peering at Ammit, he looked back at the soul. "Enjoy your condemnation in oblivion."

Before heading out, he looked up to his Goddess and then spoke to Thoth. "Ensure the records show his ill words as well... I'm sure his words will go well in damnation." She probably was not thrilled with his temper, but it had been a long day and they had to wait for one last soul, only for it to be condemned and speak ill of his Goddess's ideals.

During this whole… interruption, a low growl could be heard, closer to the ground as the creature, part lion, part crocodile, part hippo, an amalgamation of terrifying creatures into one that signified that the creature was not a god, yet still had an important role in the judgment of souls, waited impatiently for the last soul to be weighed.

Today the scales had tipped quite too much in the favor of eternal afterlife for these souls, and Ammit had only been able to feast upon a few hearts, barely anything for the poor, and definitely not looking like he could break anything with his bare paws, creature who was practically starving and now with an interruption! The growl became louder, and while Ma’at allowed it, Ammit would have rather it just been thrown to him without wasting time on the scales.

And for a moment, Ammit considered himself lucky as the heart began to tip, the feather began to rise. Until the soul talked back. Ammit would have been interested in the argument that the soul had brought up if he wasn’t so hungry. And to question the process? He couldn’t help but lunge at the soul and snap his jaws in warning, and then growl angrily, ignoring what Anubis was saying. He would have his meal!

Anubis was his meal-salvation however, and said that the soul was condemned. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ammit grabbed the heart off from the scale, swallowing it in one gulp. He was glad that he had gotten another heart, but he wanted more. “Are we sure there aren’t any more souls waiting to be judged?” He asked the others around him. He was not joking, nor did he wish to invoke Anubis' anger. He really was that hungry. His tail swayed behind him, impatiently waiting for the next batch of souls that they would be judging, which was never soon enough for him.

Termity. Final destination. The end.

Even as the soul that had had the audacity to cry out that the scale was broken did Ma’at raise a hoof as to inspect the bottom of it before she noted the outburst from Anubis. It was no use rising to the bait of a soul that had been deemed unworthy to the ideals that were supposed to represent what she believed in. Even as Anubis removed his mask to lambast the unfortunate individual that this soul represented did she maintain an air of aloofness. Her gaze was steady as she took in the retreating form of her helper in this matter before Ammit moved into view. Ammit’s jaws opened and with a final cry did the soul disappear down the gullet and into the void that all condemned souls disappeared into. It was always a fascinating ritual to watch. There had been times when Ma’at wondered if those that failed the weighing ceremony felt anything as Ammit swallowed them up but there was hardly any way that she could ask. Closing her eyes and hearing the murmur of those souls that had been granted passage into paradise did Ma’at regain her regal bearing before turning around to peer at everyone.

“Not everyone is found to be worthy of entering paradise. I beseech unto you that you try to not let this ruin the fortuitous aspects of your passage here. You are all free to depart at your leisure. Try not to bother Ammit though as you leave though. He is still rather hungry.” One direct look to Ammit was enough to hopefully ensure that the deity could refrain from going after those souls that were about to depart.

The mare was silent as she traipsed down the hall in search of Anubis. His anger needed to be soothed away before the next weighing ceremony. The question that niggled at the back of her mind though was always the same: what would she have done without the trio of helpers that she had to work with? Apart, they had their unique idiosyncrasies, but when the quartet was together, everything seemed to click into place. Outbursts were rare, but as today had shown, they were always inevitable. She took it upon herself to smooth over any ruffled feathers that arose from such outbursts.

If you would like to pass let me know on discord. You're not obligated to take this familiar.

If you choose to keep it, take it to Kovaks certing thread.


Edit: They've passed on the familiar.