lara croft
Vampire Slayer
Posts : 2291
Join date : 2012-06-06
Age : 26
Location : ireland
 |  Subject: Antithesis out of Imbalance (FINISHED!)  Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:59 am | |
| Antithesis out of Imbalance: An Ethan Nakumara Novella
'E-Ethan,' the voice called.
'Stop! Please!' Ethan screamed, cowering.
'E-Ethan,' came the light reply.
The labyrinth was dark, and very dank. Ethan crouched in a hollow little alcove, no light. Then, with a burst of surreal energy, the whole tunnel got brighter.
'Wha-?' he asked, cut off by the sudden presence of a girl.
Or more like a woman. A woman with dark, luscious hair, calculating eyes, and almond skin. Not the usual look for a monster, but you could never be sure. The woman flicked her hand, and the tunnel seemed to glow from within.
She smiled when she saw the reflection of his two, scared eyes.
'Please! Please, just leave me alone,' he stuttered, trying to move backwards. But he had come to a dead end in the alcove, and now as he clawed desperately at the rough soil and concrete wall, he had tears coming from his eyes.
This was the place he was going to die. Not camp. Never camp. It was going to be here, in the prison a trapped man had built. So ironic, that he was just as trapped as Deadalus.
'I am not here to harm you,' the woman said in a soft voice, which radiated power.
'B-but you chased me!' he screamed, still trying desperately to get out of the tunnel.
'No, I simply followed you. Ethan, you were the one running,' she replied, flicking her hair from her eyes.
Her eyes. The same shape. The same colour. Her eyes.
'M-mom?' he asked brokenly.
How could he know though? His mother had never seen fit to claim him. Even when he cried, or screamed, or simply shouted, his mother had ignored him.
'Yes Ethan. I am Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge and Balance. And a gift from me,' she clicked her right hand fingers, and the room was filled with another light.
But not the light of her coming into the room. Or the light that came from the tunnel itself. This light came from glowing symbol that had appeared above his head. Scales. The sign of balance.
'You're my Mom?' Ethan came steadily from the alcove, a little jumpy.
'Yes, my son. It seemed like the right time to claim you. After all, Janus shall soon offer you a choice. And a blessing that I can give you should help with that decision.'
'A blessing? Like a gift?' he asked his forehead creasing.
'Yes. A gift, which will prove more useful than any sword or claiming. Come here my child,' she crooked a finger, and motioned for him to come closer.
'Did you ever hear the saying "An eye for an eye"?' it was her turn to ask questions.
'Well, yes,' the stunned boy replied, staring at his mother’s face, drinking in everything about her. Her features. Her smile. Everything.
'That saying was based on me boy,' she muttered, seemingly taking in everything about him too.
Then she smiled again. Only this smile seemed harder, crueller.
'Do you want to have your chance at the world Ethan? Bring the minor gods from the shadow?' she asked, purring.
'Yes!'
'Would you like to bring them from the shadow? If you take this gift, I promise you that one day, you will bring balance. You will change the world, just by bringing balance out of discord.'
'Mother! I'll do anything! Just let me prove myself.'
'Anything?' she asked, looking straight into his dark eyes.
'I swear on the River Styx, that I, Ethan Nakumara, will do anything that you wish, so that I may bring you the acknowledgement you deserve,' he smiled, sure of himself now.
Nemesis stopped smiling, and pulled a pitch black eye patch from the air. It seemed to form out of shadows itself, melting and growing firmer, until the eye patch was there.
'Remember this day, my son. Even if they take every memory you have, remember this day. Your time will come. Nemesis always keeps her promises,' and with that warning, he handed him the eye patch, and disappeared.
He didn't register the pain at first. Horrible pain, terrible beyond description. But as he crawled back into his little alcove, sure again that he was going to die, Ethan slipped on his mothers parting gift.
'Here!' a girl’s voice shouted.
Ethan opened his eyes, or eye. It was blurry, and a new panic bubbled into his head. He couldn't see. He actually couldn't see. His mother had something to do with it. She had taken his eye.
The voice had come from a girl, no older than 17, holding a flash light, and staring down at him.
'Millie! Keep him there. Luke will want to question this, ah, unfortunate youth,' another girl said in a demanding voice.
'Luke?' Ethan managed to croak.
'Yes. You see, we have an unfortunate problem. We need to entertain a son of Poseidon. And you, well you would entertain him immensely,' the voice came from an empousa, who lunged from the shadows.
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Ethan woke up suddenly, sweating, and breathing heavily. Just a dream. It was just a dream. But the pain had been so real; he had been able to recall it perfectly.
'Lord Kronos would like to see you,' an empousa said from the door to his tent.
A different one. Not the one from the tunnel. But all the same, he found himself trying to stay as far away as possible.
'Why?' he asked, already out of bed. He had slept fully clothed, and all he had to do was slip the eye patch over his eye, and grab his sword.
'You do not question the Lord of Time. With Typhon only a few hundred miles away, and Prometheus having giving that infernal child Pandora's Pithos, we must prepare for going to battle.'
With that, the horrible creature left, turning back into the gaggle of monsters outside.
Ethan grabbed his blade, and ran as fast as he could, arriving at Kronos's place in a matter of minutes.
'Ethan,' the cold voice said, echoing the words his mother had said on the day that changed his life.
'We must leave now. Are you sure that you cannot remember Perseus' weak spot?' Kronos cut to the chase, like always.
'N-no my Lord. But we must leave? To Olympus, you mean?' the boy asked, a little taken aback.
'Yes. The monsters have been sent on ahead. It is only you, me, and a few monsters that will come with us.'
Ethan nodded, not sure of what to say.
'Now leave. I just wanted to tell you that. You can go tell the few monsters to get ready, because we are marching in ten minutes.'
He nodded again, thanking Lord Kronos, and turned, almost running from him and his throne.
'Psst,' a feminine voice whispered, coming from the shadows.
I turned in time to see the beautiful black haired girl come from them. She had piercing blue eyes, and pale skin which her red lips stood out against.
'Alena! What are you doing here?' he asked, surprised. But his heart welled, just seeing her.
'Please Ethan. Come with me,' she begged, coming forwards, and placing her hand the dark haired boys cheek.
'I can't Ally. I can't. It’s now my duty,' he said, smiling sadly.
'Kronos is going to lose. There is no way he can win,' the daughter of Hecate insisted, taking his hand, and trying to pull him away.
Ethan released his hand from her grip, and shook his head.
'I see now why you were labelled a traitor to both sides. Camp, because you joined Kronos. Kronos, because you don't believe he can win.'
'I was a fool. But I have seen it Ethan. You will have a choice. A choice so unbearable, that you will not be able to choose. I am not the only one who has had doubts, after all,' Alena had a gift from her mother.
She was gifted with power to see the future. It happened very rarely, and it was not something she could control. Her visions were not set in stone however. They could change.
'And you have seen Kronos is too lose?' he asked, interested now.
'Not exactly. But I have seen something that points that way. I can't lose you. Ethan, you’re the only one who understands me,' she was crying now, tears streaming down her face.
But Ethan felt his heart break at what he had to do.
'I will be killed if I leave, Alena. This is my destiny.'
She shook her hair back, and looked into his eyes, or eye, defiantly.
'After this is over. After, promise m that you will come with me. Anywhere. Anywhere at all. I'll wait at the edge of this dome Kronos has had my mother make with Morpheus, and if you do not come by tomorrow night, I will leave on my own.'
'I promise Alena. If by some margin, he fails, or I can get away, I will come to you.'
She smiled through her tears, and turned. Ethan expected her to leave, but at the last second, she turned.
'I love you Ethan Nakumara,' she muttered, and kissed him full on.
The kiss seemed to last for so long spreading warmth throughout the world. But all too soon it was over, and Alena had gone.
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'Brick by brick! That was my promise! Tear it down BRICK BY BRICK!'
I watched on, in fascination, as a white temple exploded. A shrine to the Goddess Artemis, if I could remember right.
More buildings exploded. My breath was coming in a laboured way, trying to keep up with my Lord.
As I watched, Kronos ripped the doors to the throne room from their hinges. I had to stumble over rubble and wood, just to get through them.
Kronos walked leisurely to the middle of the room, staring at the sky. He shouted something, but I didn't hear it right, because I had spotted two things. One, the Ophiotaurus swam in a bowl, just at the corner of the massive room. I would have shouted that out, but then I spotted Percy. Percy, Annabeth and Grover.
'My Lord,' I warned.
I watched. I tried to duck around Percy, but was stopped by the blade Annabeth had in her hand.
Parrie, lunge, block. It was a rhythm, until I saw the throne explode, and my master get electrocuted. Annabeth kicked me aside, and I sprawled onto the ground.
'Luke, listen!' she shouted, but was thrown back.
I got to my feet, standing between Percy and Annabeth. He would have to choose between fighting Kronos, or her.
Kronos groaned.
'Nakumara! Time to prove yourself. You know Jackson's secret weakness. Kill him, and you will have riches beyond measure.'
That was so tempting. So tempting. I looked at Percy's midsection, aware that he knew I knew. But I didn't care. One blow. Just one blow would take care of that person in the way.
'Look around Ethan. The end of the world. Is this the reward you want? Do you really want everything destroyed - the good and the bad? Everything?' Percy seemed to make sense.
That moment changed things. A two headed man appeared, just to the left, smiling and holding a key. I was dazed, not knowing what to do.
'There is no throne to Nemesis. No throne to my mother,' I muttered, forehead creasing, trying to decide.
'Do you want to have your chance at the world Ethan? Bring the minor gods from the shadow? Would you like to bring them from the shadow? If you take this gift, I promise you that one day, you will bring balance. You will change the world, just by bringing balance out of discord.'
My mother’s words. They ran around my head, and I didn't hear what Kronos had to say. The two-headed man continued to smile, but no-one else saw him. How was that, I wondered vaguely.
'You said your mom is the goddess of balance. The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn't balance. Kronos doesn't build. He only destroys.'
I looked at the ruined throne of Hephaestus. That was Kronos. I swayed to the music the satyr was playing, and felt like falling asleep. The man threw his key once, and smiled again, before disappearing, leaving the faint trace of a laugh. I blinked.
Then I charged. Running to Kronos, who was still on his knees, I brought the blade of my sword to his neck. It would have killed anyone. But my blade shattered, a piece piercing my armour, straight into the stomach.
I groaned in pain, dropping the hilt of my sword, and grabbing my stomach, where I could feel blood running.
Kronos had risen.
'Treason,' the Titan Lord snarled.
As grass grew around me, I looked straight to Percy.
'Deserve better. If they just...had thrones-' I gasped, and Kronos stomped his foot.
A fissure opened in the throne room floor, and almost as if I watched from another vantage point, I saw myself fall.
In the moments before my body hit the earth so far below, all I could think was one thing. Not about the Gods. Not about Kronos. I thought about Alena, waiting for me. Waiting for someone who would never come.
Last edited by Faith Lehane on Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:46 am; edited 1 time in total | |
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