by Drako
Andreas looked out over a long field of green grass, leading to a cliff which oversaw the ocean. Standing on this cliff was none other than his father, looking out over the water as the wind blew his hair about his face. Andreas watched him for a few seconds before turning away and leaving his room. As he went through the halls, he ran into one of his brothers, the first he’d come across this day. This brother had more of Jarel’s physical features than any other. The only difference was about five inches of height and unlike Jarel, he had blond streaks in his hair.
“Long time no see, Marcus,” Andreas commented.
Marcus focused his brilliant silver eyes on him. “I’ve been a bit busy. Between my usual work for Father and running behind Mother, there isn’t much time to keep up with everyone.”
“How is Aphrodite these days?” Andreas asked.
“Apparently irritated with Father, but that’s nothing new for my mother.” Marcus shrugged.
“Anyway, where are you headed?”
“The same place you’re heading, to see Father.”
The two began to walk through the halls together. Finally, they came across the oldest of Jarel’s children, the famed wolf Fenrir. For those unfamiliar with this particular wolf, he is actually the son of the Norse trickster god, Loki. As is the case with most beings in history, facts were distorted. The Norse gods did indeed fear Fenrir, and chained him. Unknown to mankind, Fenrir escaped his prison long ago. The large wolf ran from his captors, though then he was a mere pup. He was saved by Jarel, and adopted. Jarel granted him a human form, therein creating the first male werewolf. However, the Norse gods did not escape the wrath of the Black Dragon God. Ragnarok was supposedly the end of the world in Norse stories. In reality, it was the extermination of the Norse gods, and the race of giants that they had long been at war with. The extermination was carried out by the twin Dragon Gods, Jarel and his brother Zarel, along with Fenrir, Vic, and Andreas. Unlike the popular myths, Fenrir did not perish with the gods and giants. Being the adopted son of the Black Dragon God, he grew to father the entire race of werewolves with his wife, another large wolf Jarel found and granted human form.
Fenrir stood before them now in his human form. He was pale, like his countrymen had always been. His eyes remained the same as they were in his true wolf form, a bright golden yellow. He stood the same height as Andreas, making him slightly taller than Marcus. He dressed as Jarel required all to dress in his palace: in a chiton, though his was grey, Andreas wore a dark blue one, and Marcus had donned a black one.
“Going to see Father?” Fenrir asked, his voice a low rumble that still bore the accent of his Viking countrymen.
Andreas nodded. “So, is everyone else here?”
Fenrir shook his head. “So far, it’s just us. Vic is still gathering them.” He turned and led the way outside to join their father.
“I should have known my children would come after me sooner or later.” Jarel turned to face them as they approached. He had changed into a dark red chiton and looked at each of his sons in approval. “At least it’s only you three. After all, I could be dealing with all the rest of your brothers and sister, and gods spare me, your mother.”
Marcus smirked, knowing the last part was directed at him. “She’s not a joy for me to deal with at the moment either. What did you do this time?”
Jarel rolled his eyes. “I’m not answering her summons. You know how your mother gets when anyone fails to pay her enough attention.”
“And we all know you’re not out here brooding over Aphrodite,” Fenrir told him.
“That would be a colossal waste of my time.” Jarel sighed and looked back out over the water. “No, it’s this rogue situation. I find it distressing that a god has given Kalos shelter, therefore shielding him from my wrath. The boldness of the rogues tells me this isn’t some demigod protecting them. No demigod would dare think they actually stand a chance against me. This has to be a full god, and one with a lot of power, and a grudge against me.”
“Do you have any idea which god would have that strong a grudge against you?” Andreas asked.
Jarel shook his head. “No god still in existence has that type of grudge against me.”
“What about a god no longer in existence?” Marcus asked.
Jarel narrowed his eyes. “There are several Titans that would have that level of hatred against me. But that’s beside the point. The Titans are dead.”
“Yes, but Father, you know there are ways to restore them to life. There are dark rituals rumored to be able to recall Cronus from Chaos again.”
Jarel turned his head sharply to look at Marcus. “How do you know of this?!”
“Mother had no choice but to tell me when she called me in to save one of her temples; I had to know what I was up against. It was an extremely small sect, but they were attempting to resurrect Cronus. They swore he had guided them and promised them a golden age of peace if they could return him to his former glory.”
Jarel scowled. “There is indeed, a ritual to resurrect lower gods. I’ve had Vic dispatch several sects trying to resurrect Odin or Thor, even one trying to resurrect Loki. And that one I had half a mind to allow just to have the pleasure of killing him again. But those rituals are not strong enough to resurrect Cronus.”
“If they can resurrect Thor, why not Cronus?” Fenrir asked.
“Thor was nowhere near the level of Cronus. This is why the Aesir were never major players in the universe; they are merely a byproduct of the creation of the world. They were given a far-off corner of the world that not even Gaea cared about. That is where they reigned, and their power was limited. Cronus allowed their existence only because they posed no threat to him at all. The same is true of Zeus.” Jarel rubbed his eyes in a sign of exasperation. “These rituals require blood sacrifice. For the resurrection of Baldur, the sacrifice was that of his entire family, the Aesir. When the last drop of their blood touched the earth, Baldur was restored to life, along with his wife and two others. In order to resurrect Cronus, the sacrifice would need to be much larger. They would need….” He trailed off.
“What is it, Father?” Andreas asked.
Jarel ran a hand down his face. “They would need the blood of one of the Olympians, or several of their descendants. Any Olympian god would be strong enough to return Cronus to the world. But as for their descendants, only two have descendants with the right blood type; Zeus and Apollo. Zeus, because he is supreme in the universe and always bears the strongest of children, and Apollo, because he is the god of healing. He alone produced a child strong enough to raise the dead. This could be the real reason Kalos is after Odele. She is the strongest healer ever produced by Apollo’s genes. If her blood is so strong as to rival her forefather’s blood, then she alone could be used to resurrect Cronus. With the return of Cronus would bring the return of the Titans. With the return of the Titans, would be a war that makes the human world wars look like child’s play. But, if this is the case, this still leaves one question.”
“What god is helping Kalos attempt this madness?” Fenrir asked. “Cronus may be able to communicate, but he can’t impact the real world. So there still has to be a god shielding Kalos and helping him. A god had to have given him the knowledge in the first place.”
Jarel nodded. “No god would sacrifice their life for Cronus, but if they are suddenly enthralled with him, they would certainly find another way to do it. They would have no qualms with using Odele. But honestly, I can’t think of any god, no matter how power hungry or what grudge they bear against Zeus, that would dare resurrect Cronus.”
“It doesn’t make much sense,” Andreas commented. “Cronus may be able to wage war against Zeus, but in the end, the result would be the same. Especially now that Zeus has more than his brothers and sisters to aid him. He has all his children and frankly, Athena and Heracles alone would be overwhelming to the Titans.”
“I won’t deny that Zeus can still defeat his father, but the damage that would be caused to
the earth could very well destroy it. The last time Zeus and Cronus fought I felt the impact here, and my realm is outside of their reach. One thing I cannot risk is more damage like that. Man has already done so much to the earth that it may not withstand another battle of the gods, not one of that magnitude.” Jarel turned away from his children. “Your brothers and sister will be arriving soon. I will address this among many other things at dinner tonight, when I pass judgment on Vacker and Deidre. Go and get ready. Things will soon become difficult for all of you as we race to stop this resurrection of Cronus.”
Eight
Cassandra had been given a room on the same hall as Andreas. She was surprised that this place was so modern; she had a huge flat screen television on the wall in her room. There was a mini-fridge and microwave, and a small living room area. And the bathroom was absolutely gorgeous. It had one of those whirlpool tubs that she fully intended to enjoy before she left. The bed was a large canopy style bed, done all in white. Personally, she wouldn’t have chosen white as the color for everything, but she couldn’t really complain. Being a god certainly had its perks, and so did being his guest.
She was flipping through channels when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to see Andreas standing there, for the first time since she met him not wearing his shades. Added to that he was in a navy blue chiton now instead of regular clothes, and he was certainly a sight to see. She’d known he was built, but now she could see just about everything. She must have been staring because Andreas cleared his throat to get her attention.
“I thought maybe I’d show you around a little before tonight’s dinner,” he told her.
“Sure, that’d be great,” she replied, hoping she wasn’t blushing.
“You might want to change into one of the dresses in the drawer. Father is pretty formal sometimes. He doesn’t want us in modern clothes while we’re on Solaris. Says they make him uneasy.”
“Sure thing.” Cassandra went to the long dresser and opened a drawer. She looked at it for a while, then chose a long light blue dress to wear. She went into the bathroom to change, unaware of Andreas watching her every move. She came out in the sleeveless dress and Andreas gave her a smile.
“You look great,” he told her.
“Thanks, but I don’t normally do dresses, especially long ones.” Cassandra looked down critically. “It’s down to my ankles. I hope he doesn’t expect me to wear heels. That’s asking too much.”
Andreas laughed. “We all wear sandals. It was much easier to dress in the old days. Father prefers the old style of dress, so here in the palace, this is how we dress. Now, let’s go out, shall we?”
He held out his arm and she hooked her arm through it as they left the room. He took her out of the palace and steered her away from the cliffs overlooking the sea. Instead, he took her towards another cliff, where they could look out and see the villages in Solaris.
“Few if any in the mortal realm know much about Solaris, even Father’s followers. Later, I can take you through all that you see from here.” Andreas pointed off straight ahead to the farthest village, which Cassandra couldn’t see much of. “That is the village where vampires originally resided. Vacker and Deidre settled there and had their children, including Kalos. To the east of that village is the birthplace of the werewolves. Further east, is the birthplace of the jaguars. Coming south of that, the birthplace of leopards. Further south are foxes.”
“Are the races still separated like that?” Cassandra asked.
Andreas shook his head. “No, those were merely the birthplaces. Humans reside in all villages here. We are all protectors of man. Humans here not only know of our existence and history, but they live side by side with us. Here, there is no fear or prejudice, there is no need. We all worship and obey the same god. We understand that he made our differences and we don’t question the reasoning. Father regularly visits everywhere. He enforces the laws here, with occasional help from his children.”
“What about the bloodlust? All vampires and were-creatures have it. How do they deal with it?”
“We don’t drink from humans. Father’s law forbids it. Only Kalos’ deviant line does that. That is why we hunt them. They broke a cardinal law. It started with Kalos, and it started right there in his birthplace.”
Cassandra looked off into the distance. “So you know him?”
Andreas snorted. “I was there when the little bastard was born. I watched him grow up. And I saw the signs early on that something wasn’t right with him. But it was Vacker and Deidre’s job to raise him properly, teach him the laws, and to enforce them. They spoiled him, so Kalos grew up thinking he could have what he wanted. He did what he wanted, so when he decided to taste human blood, he did so and assumed he was immune to the law because his parents held a special spot in my father’s heart. When he started, we didn’t know. He hid it well, drinking only from his sexual partners. When we found out was the day that he crossed Apollo.”
“What did he do to Apollo exactly? That’s never been made clear.”
“Well, basically he pissed him off. He boasted that he was more powerful than Apollo, and that he was a better lover. He hurled every insult he possibly could at him and to make matters worse, he’d fed from one of Apollo’s lovers and hit on Artemis. For some reason we never understood, he thought my father gave him special protection against the other gods. He got quite the shock when my father did nothing to save him from Apollo’s judgment: he banished Kalos and all of his descendants from his light, decreeing that if his rays touched the skin of Kalos or any descendant of him they would be burned to a crisp.” Andreas looked down at her. “Which we thought explained his acts against you. But now we’ve learned something more: he needs you for something more than revenge. He doesn’t just want to take down Apollo, but Zeus as well. He wants to resurrect the ancient god Cronus.”
Cassandra had to think. “Cronus, the father of Zeus and king of the Titans? Is that possible?”
“Unfortunately, it is. But because Cronus is the former master of the universe, it takes powerful blood to bring him in. The way I understand it, other lesser gods have been resurrected before. Are you familiar with the Aesir, the Viking gods?”
Cassandra nodded. “They met their end at Ragnarok, the end of their world.”
“True. And you remember the stories say that after Ragnarok, Baldur and his wife and two brothers returned to life. Well, according to Father, the amount of blood needed to bring him back was the blood of his entire family, and the giants they fought in that battle. But Cronus is so powerful, not even that would be enough. They need blood directly from an Olympian. And being that there’s no way in hell they could ever get it from any of the Olympians strong enough to pull it off, they have to find another way. They need the blood of their descendants. More specifically, a powerful descendant of Zeus or Apollo. You’re the strongest healing descendant of Apollo, and therefore they need your blood to resurrect the most monstrous of all Titans.”
“Which would then result in another struggle for control of the universe between Zeus and Cronus,” Cassandra added.
“Exactly. But the other catch is, Cronus can’t be helping Kalos. He may be able to communicate with him from Chaos, but he has no power in our realm. So there is still a god here helping him. In fact, only the gods know of the resurrection ritual for bringing back a god. But we’re still no closer to figuring out which god it is.”
Cassandra frowned. “What god would be stupid enough to risk the wrath of Zeus and your father if this scheme works?”
“The key word in that sentence was ‘stupid.’ Only a complete idiot pisses off the most powerful gods in existence. But that brings me to an issue I have to discuss with you. I’m now guardian to my two nephews, and Kalos is after them too. Supposedly for the death of his son, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re part of this whole plan to bring back Cronus. I have to protect both you and them, and it would make this a lot easier if you’d be willing to stay with us in
their home. Frankly, they can handle themselves, but I feel better staying there with them. I can’t afford a repeat of the incident with their father.”
“What incident?” Cassandra questioned.
“The boys’ father was killed in an ambush by Kalos ten years ago. I arrived too late to save him.” Andreas’ jaw hardened. “He was the youngest, my baby brother. The one who still looked to me for advice. He was the life of the party, everyone’s favorite. Kalos went after him for the distinct purpose of hurting Father, and the rest of us too. He’d always hated those of us that were actually my father’s children. He hated my brother Fenrir the most, feeling that my father favored the werewolves over the vampires. Killing Julian was a blow to everyone Kalos hated and it seems we unwittingly struck back. At some point, Julian’s sons killed Kalos’ son. I’m not sure which one, but it had to have been one of his actual children, not one of the humans he turned.”
“Well, I don’t mind moving there if it helps make the job easier. I’d hate to see those boys go through any more. They’ve already lost both their parents. They deserve to have a chance at a happy life.”
Andreas smiled at her again. “Thank you. I just hope that I can help give them that.”
“I’m sure you will. They love and respect you, and it’s obvious you love them. You may not be their father, but you’ll do as much for them as he would.”
Andreas raised an eyebrow in question. “You hardly know me. How did you figure all that out?”
“I’m good at reading people. I have to be in order to treat so many different people. And you may try to stay hard outwardly, but inside you’re true to the nature of a dragon: brave, loyal, honest, honorable and caring.”
Andreas gave a pained look, which Cassandra thought was probably the closest he could get to blushing. “Well, uh, anyway, how about we head back to the castle? The dinner is starting soon.”