Duat is a realm of magnificent obelisks, giant pyramids and ancient lore. The people of Duat are guarded, secretive and have their own understanding of how the universe works. The heart is an important aspect of their society and domain, those with pure hearts are given a higher station in service to their lord, those who are judged and found to have a tainted heart must stand before the gods and await their verdict.
One must be careful when they enter Duat. A newly arrived soul must pass a series of gates, and these gates are guarded by dangerous spirits. Along the route the soul must complete a succession of rites of passage to reach the inner walls of this domain where the flourishing temple cities await. Duat is ruled by Osiris and the other gods worshipped in ancient Egypt.
The Path of Judgment
Duat is a realm of hidden secrets, vast temples, giant pyramids and tombs that stretch on for miles beneath the shifting and treacherous sands that make up the endless deserts beyond the Great Wall.
Inside its walls are rolling plains, vast deserts, plentiful oasis, and gigantic cities. Anubis’ elite guard patrol the borders of Duat, searching out the newly arrived souls and protecting them from the predations of the primitive wraiths that lurk in the desserts, and guide them to the many outlying Pyramid Fortresses where they can then join the path of judgment. Before one can enter Duat proper they must undergo a ritual journey toward the center of the realm, through the Gates of Osiris.
Abydos the golden city
Once through the Inner Gates the visitor can behold the glory and magnificence that is Aaru, the Field of Offerings, home to Abydos, the largest and most impressive of all the cities inside the Great Wall. This is the capitol of the domain, and serves as the seat of power for Osiris. The Hall of Judgement is Osiris’ palace and is the residence of Anubis and his servant, the devourer of unworthy souls.
Osiris shares his power with a collective of gods, demi-gods and deities. The Pantheon rule Duat from their great temple cities which are spaced about the inner kingdom in a great ring around the city of Osiris and are spread evenly over the Fields of Aaru. The power of these gods is great, and has lasted many ages. They have outlasted their religions place in the mortal realm by thousands of years, and their domain continues to flourish, seemingly untouched by the hand of time.
The Society that serves
Duat has a great deal of wealth, for the gods here retain great power, and many mortals dwell here and in their service to the gods, resume their skills from their mortal lives. Crafters of all kinds build pyramids and statues to honor the gods, barges row trade goods up and down the many rivers of the sprawling oasis to reach every corner of the realm. There is a thriving market in all the cities and goods are exchanged much as they would be in the mortal world, with traders that travel to and from the other realms. Duat may well be the richest realm in luxuries and the comforts afforded the higher-ranking members of society.
They have a very structured social order as well, with many rankings broken up into houses of nobility, and the great pharaohs of these houses are the only souls outside of the priesthood allowed into the godly temples.
The Rot plague
A terrible sickness has been spreading in the outer regions of Duat in recent days, a slow moving plague that has begun to infect and degrade the populace, rotting away the mortal souls and turning them into wraiths in mere weeks, instead of years or centuries. It has afflicted the strong and weak in equal measure, and none know its origin or the manner in which it is spreading, though it has yet to move inward towards the great pyramid temples, and has only affected souls in small number so far.
The black god Set has claimed to possess a cure to this disease, but it is unknown what it may be, or how he may have obtained it.
