Thoth

Thoth was the Egyptian god of the Moon, wisdom, writing, knowledge, time, magic, and judgment, counted as the eldest son of the sun god Ra. He crossed paths with Kratos during the Spartan's wandering through the deserts of Egypt, pursuing him in many forms and pressing upon him a single message: that no man and no god could outrun the destiny written for him.

God of the Moon and wisdom#

Thoth held dominion over the Moon, wisdom, writing, knowledge, hieroglyphs, science, mathematics, time, magic, art, and judgment, and was reckoned the eldest son of Ra. His consort was Maat, goddess of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Among the Egyptian gods he was depicted as a man bearing the head of an ibis or a baboon, the two creatures held sacred to him, and he was said to maintain the order of the universe. Alongside Maat he stood upon the solar barque, the vessel by which the sun god Ra crossed the sky.

The pursuit through the desert#

When Kratos sought to free himself from the curse that bound him to the Blades of Chaos, his wanderings carried him to a distant village in the Egyptian desert. The villagers fled at the sight of him, and as the Spartan stood confused, an old man with a slate and stylus approached and named him the Ghost of Sparta, known to them through the stories. The old man declared that the mortals did not understand Kratos' destiny within the land of the pharaohs, and that his arrival had been no accident. Kratos scorned the talk of destiny and shoved the old man aside, but the stranger rose calmly and warned that no man or god could halt what was written, nor could Kratos run from it.

The old man's words went unheeded, yet he followed Kratos across the sands. He appeared again as a baboon, urging the Spartan to embrace his purpose, and later as an ibis, telling him it was folly to resist and that his destiny would be his destination wherever he traveled. When Kratos collapsed exhausted, he woke to find the Blades of Chaos returned to him and the old man waiting with the same question. Kratos cast the blades into a lake and pressed on, only to find himself drawn back to the very village he had first entered months before.

The Chaos Beast and Kratos' fate#

This time the villagers did not flee but begged Kratos to save them from a Chaos Beast that had risen from the river. They had prayed to the gods and received no answer, and took his return as the salvation they awaited. The old man appeared among them and reasoned that the beast's coming and Kratos' return at their hour of need had been written upon his slate. Furious at their pleading, Kratos threw the villagers aside and threatened to kill them, but the old man stepped between them, reminding the Spartan that he had once wanted mercy for those he had lost and asking whether he would not grant the same to these mortals. Kratos refused to be drawn into another's battle, and his rage scattered the villagers. The old man, disappointed that Kratos would let innocents die to delay the inevitable, vanished as the Spartan turned to face the beast.

After Kratos slew the creature, the old man returned to tell him his destiny was not yet complete, for an even greater beast had risen from the river. In Kratos' dream the stranger revealed his true form as Thoth, appearing beside the apparition of Athena, who reminded the Ghost of Sparta that he could flee his responsibilities no longer. Thoth added that it was Kratos' duty to face the threats set before him, and that his role would remain the same in whatever land he sought refuge. Unable to escape their words, Kratos took up the Blades of Chaos and destroyed the beast. Satisfied with the outcome, Thoth wished him well upon his journey and disappeared. Among the wise of other pantheons, Mimir later spoke of the Egyptian gods as rulers of wisdom and humility.

Forms and powers#

Thoth first showed himself as a withered, brown-skinned old man with wiry white hair and silver eyes, clad in a yellow tunic beneath a tattered blue and red cloak, carrying a red stylus and a grey slate with his left hand bandaged. In his divine form he appeared as a regal being in a white gown adorned with gold at the neck, waist, and arms, crowned by the head of a black-feathered ibis. He could shift between these shapes and the form of a baboon at will, and he moved unseen across the desert, vanishing and reappearing through teleportation. He entered the dreams of others, and his foresight let him know of Kratos' coming and of the village he was fated to save before either had come to pass. In his bearing he was patient and tolerant, untroubled even by violence against him, and though he drew Kratos back toward his fate he showed a measure of care, sorrowing for the Spartan's burden even as he sent him onward.