[ He glances up at her, as if he's only just sort of registering what they're actually talking about. Given how the conversation had started, and the brief interlude of peaceful chat in the middle, it does seem jarring. But he does this, sort-of breaks good things when he has them, even when it's not the intent. Still, he's committed to the explanation now, whether by design or default, so he can't very well drop the subject... not with how Raine's looking hard at him now. ]

There was no one else to turn to, to try and make right what had been done.

Akhenaden wiped the minds of all the soldiers who'd participated in the slaughter. Later, when Akhenamkhanen found out about what the ritual had entailed, instead of trying to help them, he had every reference to Kul Elna destroyed. Even the gods' kaa continued to obey his son, like everything was still--

[ there's a faint curdle of the word here, like it burns the back of his throat as he says it ]

--was still ma'at.