mekh spoke.
Horus listened.
a vain and selfish man cast down, transmuted. humility poured from the fellahin at his side. the lesson, in khaemwaset's estimation, had indeed been learned. his plea for usefulness, too, did much to confirm this for pharaoh.
the work to make a mazoi is grueling and important. the work to make a priest is a great and holy effort, said Horus. many boys are placed into schools for this purpose, many who would prefer not to be there. this comes out in their priestliness. you wish to learn and to serve. you have been humbled by your earlier life. it is time for you to be restored to purity once more.
while the noble youth was indeed interested to know what these secrets might have been, he of course would not ask. you have offered yourself as clay to the potter's wheel. therefore i suggest you dedicate a sacrifice to Khnum and seek His decision, mekh.
the golden eyes glinted.
i can make this choice for you, of course, but is the beginning of a new life for you. treat yourself as the newborn sun and seek counsel.
the traits that the man had exhibited before were useful in their own right. gathering information was important to a kingdom, but not so that spying should be prioritized over all else in an empire.
please be assured that you are already useful. you please the queen. and all that brought merneith even an ounce of joy was worth the protection of pharaoh.
in your former life, did you ever visit a temple, even to gather information? did you have a favored god or goddess?
anyone close to pharaoh would make frequent appearances, at least in normal situations. but if this man had been a whisper-glean, maybe he had not been so visible.