Tau the Legend

by Christiaan Bann

walking towards the house and entered, it slaughtered everyone inside, his wife and children screamed as the Cerberus ripped them apart, Tau could hear them screaming but he was to far from them to help. He ran as fast as he could but was to late, Tau did not see anyone entering the house nor exit the house, he grabbed them with him covered in their blood crying, Hera was pleased and could feel his pain, as Tau kneeled beside his slaughtered wife and children, the neighbours entered the house to find everyone killed with Tau covered in their blood. He was blamed for the murder of his family; there were no evidence of anyone else that could have done such a horrible thing. Tau was sentenced to death by the council. He would be hanged by his neck, the execution would take place in the middle of the town. Tau was brought to town with his hands tied behind his back, the noose was placed around his neck and dropped while hanging the people shouted at him throwing him with rotten food, everyone looked as he was hanging, but the drop did not snap his neck and it seemed as if the noose did not strangle him, Tau’s neck was to strong and muscular to be broken, with his hands tied behind his back he started to untie himself, he managed to free his hands and untied the rope from his neck. Tau fell to the ground with only a scar around his neck and on his wrists where the rope cut him. By doing this Tau was free; the law was written as follows “if someone would survive a death penalty, he/she would be forgiven for his crime”. The people ran as they were afraid of what Tau would do to them for hanging him. But he did nothing, he stood up looking at the people running away, then he looked up and went to his house, as he entered he saw the place covered with blood, but there was a smell he did not know, the smell of a wet dog combined with the smell of a burned out fire. Zeus found out about Cerberus of Hades, he was outraged at Hades and confronted him. On his arrival at the underworld he found Hera talking to Hades. He knew that Hades and Hera was working together in planning to end Tau, he left the underworld before they could see him.

  Zeus appeared in front of Tau for the second time “Tau, I am your father”, but Tau grabbed his sword and swung it to Zeus, but it just passed through him as if Zeus was a ghost. Then he fell to the ground dropping his sword and started to cry, looking up at Zeus, “why do you tell me this, who are you?” Zeus picked up Tau and took him with him to the spiritual world where he unfolded the existence of the gods. He explained to him: “I am Zeus the ruler of all the gods of Olympia, but I was not always the ruler, my father Cronus was the ruler, there was a prophesy that one of his sons would overthrow him and become the ruler of all the gods of Olympia, so he swallowed his sons whenever he had a child with my mother Rhea. But my mother became so furious that when she bore me she wrapped a stone in cloth and showed my father, he swallowed the stone without even knowing that it was a stone instead of a child, she gave me to Apollo who looked after me on earth where I was undetected by Cronus, I crew up among mortals and understood them much better than any god would, my mother knew I had to overthrow my father from the throne as I was the biggest of my brothers and sisters. As I grew up on earth my mother was very proud of me she wanted the next ruler to understand and have compassion for mortals. On my 20th birthday my mother came to fetch me on earth, she took me to Cronus not telling him that I was his son. I drugged Cronus so that he could vomit out all my brothers and sisters: Hades, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter and Hestia. We had a war against Cronus and his titans and we won. I then became the ruler of all the gods of Olympia; I banished Cronus into the deep never ending realm. You see Tau I love mortals more than anything; they get old and pass away, which makes living for them more valuable than any treasures itself. All I want is to have half mortal and half immortal children, mighty as gods and vulnerable as mortals and for the prophecy, Tau you posses the strength of Zeus and my gift to you as a father is the Eternal Sword of Light.” Tau was amazed by the story and wanted to know more, he wanted to know what happened to the other brother and sisters. “Because I saved them I got to choose first, I chose the sky to rule, Poseidon chose the earth and Hades the unlucky one got the underworld, Hera, Demeter and Hestia did not receive anything to rule, I sacrificed Demeter to create you.” Zeus told Tau that he had a long journey ahead of him and that his destiny would lead him to Greece where he would find peace and the end of his fate. But Tau had one more question for Zeus “who is my real mother?” Zeus looked at Tau and said: “your mother is Electra, and you will meet her one day” and vanished.

  Tau left Timnah after he buried his family to set out to find his path to his destiny. After 20 days he arrived at the city Egina where he met a man by the name Dionysos their city was to be attacked by the army of king Eumolpus from the city Delphi, Eumolpus was building the biggest army by taking young boys from the cities to train and fight for him, the city mainly of woman was afraid to have any children out of the fear that they would have a baby boy, they came to the city once in every 3 months to take the boys from the age of 5 years up to 30 years, many of them did not survive the 1st month of the training camp. Tau knew he was to be a saviour to the people and that his legacy would be written by his actions. He called all the people in the city to gather and he told them that he would help them in defeating Eumolpus, but the people did not know who this giant and massively build man was and did not trust him.

  “I am Tau, the son of Zeus”.

  The people in Egina have heard stories of the man called Tau, ‘he was the saviour of the people’, others said ‘he had slain the mighty Nemean Lion with his bare hands’; ‘he was brave enough to pass through the land of the dead untouched by the reaper’, “the Atlantic Hydra could not kill the mighty Tau” and many more stories were told of Tau’s adventures, the people had faith in the legend called Tau. So they invited him in providing him with food and shelter, they treated him like a king, spoiling him. 7 days passed and no sign of Eumolpus’s army. On the 10th day the messenger arrived with news that the army was spotted near the river of Naxo where they set camp, Tau told the people that he would go and talk to the king, but he had other plans, he knew he was outnumbered by the army so he devised a plan of attack without them knowing. He left the city to observe the actions of the army, Tau was no stranger when it came to surviving in the wild, he slept in the sand covered with bushes, and lived off the leaves and plants, on the 4th day Tau had observed enough and knew exactly the routine of the army. He waited until the camp was still and quiet, then he struck working his way to the king’s lair, killing the guards and the solders in their sleep one by one, like a thief in the night he stole their lives. His plan was complete and only the king’s lair was left, so Tau left his sword outside the door entering with no weapon, he woke up the king and strangled him with his bare hands chocking him till he breathed his last breath. Tau took the body of Eumolpus to the city where he threw him in the centre of the city and left him there. The people were happy as the evil king was dead; the people awarded Tau with gold and food for his journey and a fresh horse. Tau left the city Egina but not feeling fulfilled internally.

  After almost one year of travelling Tau later arrived at Athens, it was one of the most beautiful cities that he had ever seen their ruler was King Laomedon, he was a good king to his people, and was united with the strongest city called Troy. Troy was the most secure city being covered by the indestructible walls build by Apollo the sun god. King Laomedon ruled both these cities, but what Tau did not know was the Queen of Troy was the daughter of Leda, her name was Helen, ‘Helen of Troy’ she was the most beautiful woman to ever walk the earth, armies fell at her feet by her beauty. Tau drank and misused his hard earned gold to buy the pleasures of woman and alcohol, he drank so much that he lost control over his strength and started fights in the bar, he was so drunk that he accidentally knocked himself out running into the wall, out cold the people robbed him from his gold leaving him lying in the bar on the floor. King Laomedon and Helen herd of this insane man with inhuman strength, the next day they ordered the guards to arrest Tau but they were no match for his strength so Laomedon send Helen in to seduce him
, she was their secret weapon, enemies surrendered at her command. So everybody withdrew leaving Helen alone with Tau but he was not affected by her beauty she could not believe it so she asked him “who are you?” staring at him with his mightily shouldered and deep hairy chest and massive corded neck “Tau” he answered, Helen almost fell to the ground and asked “is it true, are you truly the son of Zeus?” Tau now realising that his name already spread to this part of the world, he looked at her and said, “They say so” she started to undress in front of Tau trying to seduce him but he was not in the mood as he had a hangover from the night before, so he pushed her one side as he left the tent. She was furious and consulted with her gods, Hera appeared in front of Helen and gave her a potion to give to any man who did not find her beauty overwhelming and she had to make sure he drank it, she accepted the gift from the goddess as there was a man called Tau who did not find her beauty overwhelming. She invited Tau to the king’s dinner