Zenobia

From Whose Waters Emerged...

Author: Remember I will be using the book appearances for the regular characters not the movies. After writing this chapter I decided to write a whole new reboot of this fanfiction. A whole new story. The first part of the fanfic will be told by Zenobia's point of view.

Edited: 11/1/21

August 25, 1710 B.C, Knossos, Kreta, ten years before the eruption of Mount Thera.

The first feeling I had when I first breathed air was sadness. I could not comprehend those emotions at the time as an infant. I could feel the life which had borne me wither all around me. A cold hand lifted me from the darkness.

The first face I had seen. My handsome father's off-tan face. Fond red eyes outlined with thin black liner met my gaze. Like vines curling black hair fell over his shoulders and the sides of his face. From his thin lips a serene voice spoke; "My precious daughter Zenobia. You fill the void within my heart."

My father wrapped me up with a soft linen blanket. He took me away from the darkened room to a dimly lit hall. Another man sharing many of father's characteristics waited. He sat on the floor near a burning flame pit.

"Hold your sister, Atekhre... I will burn Ione's corpse and give her a proper funeral."

Atekhre spoke in a language different than my mother's, "Yes, Father."

Atekhre caressed the small black hairs on my head, He spoke in the same unusual language, "Shh, Little Aset... Your mother has joined Anpu... Elder brother will protect you now.... Come by next May we both will be running together in the mountains, fields and conversing with our fellow island neighbors."

The neighbors he meant were as history would record them the Minoans. Gentle people whom worshiped an earth goddess. The greeks would remember her as goddess Gaia. Later I would discover my mother was a priestess to such a divinity.

As for father, My brother would tell me everything about him with deep unspoken disdain. My ancient father and brother were originally from upper Egypt. At that time his name was Merenfre, They lived solitarily in the settlement of gold Kom Umbo. This long aloneness ended several thousand years later when both joined with others to create the Karnak coven. To gain power my father came up a sect of an established god of fertility. Fearing his raise to power the other coven members managed to banish my father. They created rules to precisely damage father's influence. Such acts brought my father to this northern island and birthed my father's eternal ire for his former coven.

Despite being our father's first child Atekhre wasn't favored. He killed the only woman our father ever truly loved when he was born. Such an event would have eternally sedated my father contrary her death caused his slow descent into madness. The tragedy sparked his obsession with his ability stealing gift, his family and himself. With his power, intelligence and puppets he would protect us and secretly challenge us from afar. To Spiridon his children are adored extensions of himself and the truth he cannot see nevertheless searches eternally.

A soo called mad god.
In truth a destroyer.

Brother spoke, "This may be confusing to you... As you are an infant... But over time you will begin to see everything as they truly are."

In the next year to come I grew at an alarmingly fast rate which felt natural to me(maybe not to humans). My elder brother became my teacher for absolutely everything from diet, hygiene, language and lastly in what I was born as. Once he told me we were hybrid human/vampire everything mentioned beforehand made sense.

He fed me bloody boar's meat one evening, He spoke giving me the plate, "Here, My little velocious sister, You will need your energy this evening... Since this is the end of the week; You and I are going on an adventure."

I obeyed, "Yes, Elder brother."

After eating we both left our small house into the green mountainous coppice. Felt the earth beneath my feet and breathed the fresh air. I kept up with my brother as best as I could. Our laughter echoing through the trees and scaring the birds away.

He urged, "Try to catch me, Aset!"

"I'm running as fast as I can!" I giggled.

He dashed ahead of me, "Don't give up!"

I cried out, declaring, "Never!"

Eventually our game brought us to a sunny open ploughed field. The black dirt below my feet smelt strongly of earth and excrement. Peering closer I discovered a plant with several erect spikes. I felt a mysterious life energy emitting out from the plant.

My brother hurried back over to me, He informed me, "That is a young olive tree. A plant native to this island."

I waved my hand over the olive tree, trying to touch the energy, surprisingly the tree grew a few inches. I remarked, "How did I do that?"

My brother nodded, "I do not know... But keep practicing."

"Amazing! I must tell the high priestess!" Hollered a field hand who dropped everything he was doing at an instant.

Atekhre watched him run off, he sighed, "Here we go... This may not end well."

I turned to him, "Why do you say that? Brother?"

He played with my curling black hair, "Humans are susceptible to certain delusional pursuits... For example god worship. Such now is used by many vampires to keep their cattle loyal and an easy meal... Father even pioneered the practice before being banished by our former coven... However their main purpose in his cult was to engage in orgies..." I did not understand some of the things Atekhre explained, He continued anyway; "Father is particular with his meals... The Karnak coven outlawed such a practice in their territory. Humans are instead ignorant of vampires. They are obsessed with law, security, war, and divine heritage. Ignorance is bliss... I guess..."

I differed, "We are half-human... Doesn't that make us like them?"

Atekhre's mahogany eyes widened, He complimented, "You are smart, Little sister... However, Our vampire side makes us different..." He added sorrowfully, "We hybrids have no place in the human world or the vampire... To both we would just be tools."

Taking the opportunity, I lunged at my brother, hugging his waist, claiming, "I got you!"

Atekhre snickered, "Such knavery..."

I took his lukewarm hand, "Where are we going now?"

"To the seaside... You will love it."

He directed me down from the green hills. On the way there we passed by a grand city's stone buildings. Was this was the place father had left to? Brother told me about walled cities in their homeland. I wondered why these did not. Nor did I ask, I was too distracted by everything around me.

We arrived at a bay inhabited by human fishermen and navel military. Hand in hand we walked through the pearly sand dipped our feet into the blue sea and splashed the waves. In the water I saw my reflection. My unkempt jet curls framed my heart shaped face emphasizing my soft eyes and lips. My long lashed eyes were a venom green with dark pigmentation.

My brother laughed, "Yes, Aset, You are adorable."

I skipped his comment to bring up something else, "Did father go to the city?"

Atekhre said, "Yes, He had business there with the priestess queen... You will see it soon."

"I can't wait!"

He held me in place, "Hold your horses... I still have to teach you how to swim."

"Can that wait?"

Atekhre lectured me, "Learning to swim is very important for survival."

I pouted crossing my arms, "Fine!"