Chapter 12-Heroic Battle at Sunset
As Alecto burst into the
sunlight his pupils shrunk in an effort to avoid the dazzling new light to
which they had just been exposed. Alecto
was forced to close his eyes for a moment, and during that time the
reverberating noise of fighting stopped.
At last, Alecto opened his eyes and was astonished at the scene which
was laid out before him.
In front of him there
were only two people, but unfortunately for Alecto, one of them was Ares and
the other was a tall handsome figure.
This figure illuminated the air around him, as though he himself was the
sun. The man wore no shirt, only a manly
Greek skirt about his waist. His
rippling pectoral and abdominal muscles defined his entire muscular structure,
but the muscles were not the kind of soft unshapely and untrained things which
rolled under Ares’ son’s skin. Instead
they were hard, cut, and imposing. Not
only were his muscles awe-inspiring, but his face appeared to be in the zenith
of youth. His short fluid golden hair
blended marvelously with his warm, light blue eyes. This was Apollo, the god of the sun, and he
and Ares were both gazing transfixed at Alecto.
The step-brothers did not
know what to think. Here standing before
them was a spitting image of Achilles, but instead of carrying a mighty spear
and shield, he had a shimmering blue staff and Apollo’s bow slung over his
back. Apollo had an incredulous
expression on his face, while Ares had one of shock and awe.
Alecto regained his
composure first and smiled at the sight of the two confused gods. Alas, he had come upon the gods at just the
wrong moment, for only seconds before, these two had been in close combat with
one another, but now on seeing Alecto their problems dissolved, and they both
found what they thought was a common enemy.
You see my sons, after the
acquittal of Ares at Areopagus; Poseidon had taken Apollo aside and had told
him that it was Ares who had stolen his bow (How he found out where it was, no
one will ever know, although most have decided it was just a lucky guess). Upon hearing this Apollo became wrathful at
the deceit of Ares and decided to make him pay.
He had flown with all haste to hunt down Ares and came upon him just as
Ares’ chariot landed on the earth. At
this time Apollo had leapt from the clouds and landed lightly in front of Ares’
chariot. And Ares in turn had jumped out
of his chariot and the two gods had begun to duel. Apollo had only two small daggers to fight
with, compared to Ares sword and spear, but still he fought like a lion, but no
one will ever know who would have won such a mighty foray, for at that moment Alecto
exploded onto the scene.
Now both gods stood
before him glistening with fresh sweat. Apollo,
having seen the bow, thought he had found the true culprit of his bow at last,
and Ares on seeing the staff and the armor knew this was no Achilles, but a
thief and a vagabond. They stood on the
edge of conflict for only a second, before Ares attacked. He launched his spear at Alecto thinking it
would easily finish off the criminal, but he was mistaken, for no sooner had it
left his hand, then Alecto lifted his staff and cast a spell at the weapon, once
again acting only on the whimsical theory of his mind. He watched as the spell collided with the
weapon in mid-air, but instead of demolishing the spear as Alecto had hoped it
would do, it only slowed down its progress for a moment. Alecto found himself having to leap clumsily
to the side to avoid the weapons deadly blow.
The spear missed, but in jumping to the side Alecto had taken his eyes
off his attackers, and in that split second Ares leapt at him.
Raising his sword high
into the air above his head Ares flew through the air towards Alecto. He meant to finish this mortal off as quickly
as possible, so he threw all his weight into this mighty, bone crushing swing,
but Alecto responded quickly. On seeing
Ares leap he had drawn his sword from his sheath and only just in time. The two blades clashed and a resounding echo
reverberated off the rock walls surrounding the area. Ares pushed his blade with unbelievable
strength towards Alecto’s armored neck. The
two bronze helms glared undauntedly at one another. Ares’ crimson and Alecto’s blue plume hovered
in the air. Suddenly Ares’ blade flared into
the same deep crimson, but Alecto’s blade answered, flashing into an icy
unyielding blue. Ares’ eyes registered
surprise, only for a moment, but this moment was all Alecto needed. He gathered all the might he could muster and
pushed forward with his own godlike strength.
His timely thrust threw Ares backwards, pushing the stunned god off-balance.
Quickly Alecto shot to
his feet, but before he could regain his own balance, Apollo bounded forward
and tackled him once more to the earth.
Alecto’s sword flew awkwardly away into the rocks nearby, and his staff
dropped uselessly to his side. He looked
helplessly at the dirt in front of him as the mighty, bare arms of Apollo
wrapped around his armored torso and squeezed with a strength which he had
never felt before. He was paralyzed
under the unforgiving grip of the sun god.
He felt the air slipping out of him.
He began to see darkness surrounding the outskirts of his vision, and he
began to feel the agonizing pain that accompanies death.
This was it. He was truly finished this time. There was no one to save him. Truly he would die in the arms of
Apollo. Now he felt his very will to
live begin to fall away from him, but suddenly he felt something in the soil
next to him. Not thinking he
ungracefully clutched at it, only to discover that it was the staff which had
gotten him into this predicament. But
instead of feeling hate and bitterness at the touch, he felt everything he knew
and loved come gushing back into his body.
The dormant fire suddenly awoke in him again, but this time it was much
more powerful. He felt his muscles
contract as he rose to his feet carrying the struggling Apollo with him and
then suddenly a potent shock ripped through his body. His shoulders convulsed outward breaking the
death grip of Apollo, and at the same time his now iron hands latched onto
Apollo’s back and wrenched him off of his own back. He held him in these now jaw-like hands, and
he looked deep into the aghast eyes of Apollo, before hurling him mercilessly
at a boulder nearby. Apollo struck the
stone and then lay motionless with astonishment. He had finally met his match.
Without a moment more of
hesitation, Alecto turned around swinging his bow off his shoulders and
promptly notching an arrow. He took a
quick aim and sent a golden dart soaring straight at the now gaping face of
Ares. The arrow struck him solidly
between the eyes and Ares fell back unconscious, for although he could not die,
his body still had its limits of pain and an arrow to the head caused it to
shut down instantly.
Alecto surveyed the scene
of carnage he had just created, and it was only then that he noticed Poseidon
standing warily behind a rock below him.
He wore an extremely pleased expression on his face. Alecto would have described it as positively
gleeful. He watched as Poseidon
delicately pointed at Apollo and then folded his arms patiently. Alecto nodded, understanding what he must do.
He strode towards Apollo
and offered him his hand. Apollo took it
and stood up, and although he towered over Alecto; he had a look of admiration
on his face. Alecto smiled as he took
off his quiver and bow and offered them back to their rightful owner. Apollo looked with even more astonishment at
Alecto.
“Here is a thing of
wonder. The subjugator offers the
vanquished a gift.” He gently took his
bow and quiver.
“I thank you…Alecto, for
am I mistaken in the identity of my powerful nephew?” He winked knowledgably, as Alecto removed his
helm revealing his flowing jet black hair.
“Now since you have
defeated two of your uncles.” He smiled
as though the thought of it was endearing to him. “And having shown at least one of them an
extremely merciful gesture. I, Apollo,
must return the favor. In return for
your mercy, I offer you the priceless gift which only I, the god of prophecy,
know. It concerns you and your powerful
brothers. For it will not be long now,
until you are separated by more than just geography. Soon you will all be together again it is
true, but this temporary separation from each other will create a greater rift
in your hearts than you can possibly imagine.
I being the keeper of
this prophecy did not deem it necessary to tell you until now.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “For until now I deemed I was stronger than
all four of you and I could still govern your affairs. I, Apollo, decided to disregard the prophecy
thinking the four of you could still decide what path you would follow. I, the keeper of the prophecies, should know
better, but I was afraid that my own intervention in the affairs of the
prophecy would only make it even more rigid and unchanging.
So instead I decided to
place trials and hardships in the way of your quests, trying to make it almost
impossible to accomplish them. But once
again I failed, or more likely, I was thwarted by destiny. For as fate would have it, the entire pantheon
of gods, except Poseidon, were busy preparing for the trial of Ares when you,
and your brothers left on your quests.
Only one god last night
was heeding the cries of mortals, and however unfortunately for me…It wasn’t
me.” His face now changed into a mix
between aggravation and resignation.
“Instead, it was Poseidon. He
already knew the outcome of the trial, and he decided it was his duty to bring
justice, vengeance, and retribution to Ares.
So instead of looking to the justice of the tribunal, he looked to
mortals and to demi-gods in particular, waiting for you-Alecto. For perhaps out of the entire Greek world,
you were the only mortal suited for the task at hand.
And so even with my unfathomable
knowledge and wisdom, the beginning of the end has started for the Greek
gods. For soon, your might power and glory
will surpass ours. It will not be long
until we are swept into the abyss of history and thought of by some as a
“myth”. He spoke the last word with
hideously foul, contempt. “Indeed, it
will not be long before our very legacy is forgotten. For we can no longer protect mankind!” His voice was growing higher and higher as he
bemoaned his own fate.
“I realize now that I was
horrendously wrong. And, perhaps I shall
remain in my misery forever. The memory
that I could have done something, but instead I decided to take a backseat and
watch as the course of events unfolded. I
chose, yes, but I chose the course which led to my long foreseen doom.” He stopped at the utterance of that fateful
word, and a silence swept over them.
Alecto gazed at the now thoughtful face as the howling wind swept back
his glistening hair. It made him sad
watching the depressed, handsome, youthful face. He felt compassion in his heart for this now
abased god. He stirred and tried to
console the dejected Apollo.
“But why is it your
end? Apollo, I’m afraid I don’t
understand. I do not seek to overthrow
you or mankind. Surely you are
mistaken…” He was cut off mid-sentence
by a sharp reply from Apollo.
“No. I am not mistaken” He said firmly. “It is now obvious to me that you have passed
out of my sphere of influence. And
therefore it is upon you that I must place my trust.” He gave Alecto a pathetic look as a tear
began to slide down his cheek. “For you
are ours and mankind’s only hope.”
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