Tears Of The Gods

Chapter 3 - Training

"Me?!" I mumbled, "why me?"

"When Hel saw you, you were but a newborn child, she snuck in and poured the liquid into your mouth, from then on, you had the blood of the gods flowing through your veins." He explained.

I pondered my situation, I wasn't me, I wasn't who I thought I was, I was me plus hundreds of other Gods squished into one body. I wasn't even human.

"Okay, I'm the freak show who's supposed to save the earth, blah, blah, blah. One thing, how exactly do I do that?" I asked.

"Well, that is a good question," he stroked his chin like a villain from a movie, deep in thought. "We train you," he said.

"Um, train me?" I questioned, praying I had misheard him.

"Yes, we train you, in the articulate practices of magic, hand to hand combat, recon, stealth, anything and everything you need to know about being a God, we have all the time in the world... Trust me, I asked Chronos," He replied. "Tonight, you start combat training with Guan Yu, Chang'e and Bellona, these three will teach you the art of battle, Guan Yu will teach martial arts and how to use your skill to avoid conflict, Chang'e, though not a warring God, will teach you the agility and grace required and may even impart her knowledge of the Waxing Moon, and, of course, Bellona will be teaching you how to let go in battle, release your fury, and of course to pummel your enemies into the ground without mercy..."

I took a look around the site I had been dropped off at. Nyx and Aether were nowhere to be seen. The area seemed to be dotted with great stone columns, each with unusual carvings, a canal cut straight through the centre of the camp, lined with beautiful mosaics, the clear water lapping softly at the edges. I followed the canal through the site to an ornate bridge, it's planks the colour of mahogany, the railings covered in wooden grape vines.

I strolled toward a large square, shaded from the afternoon sun by ancient sycamore trees, small limestone benches dotted the area, butterflies lazily beating their multi-coloured wings filled the air. "FREYA," a deep voice boomed, "YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO CAMP IN 3, 2," my stomach started to do somersaults and I felt as if every atom in my body was being pulled in all directions, I flailed around desperately, trying to escape from the pain, I felt as though my skull was being crushed into sherbet, "1."

The pain melted away almost as quickly as it had started, though I could still feel a dull throbbing in the back of by skull, reminding me of what I had just been put through. "What the hell was that?!" I roared as I was faced by Janus. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I didn't know where you were okay, and plus this is urgent, just, listen." I pulled a face at him then fell silent.

"Osiris was the eldest son of Geb and Nut, the Earth and Sky Gods. As Osiris was the eldest, he became the king of Egypt, then married his sister, Isis. Osiris was seen as a good king and was respected by all who lived on Earth and by the Gods. However, Set was constantly jealous as he was not respected by those on Earth or by those who resided in the netherworlds, so one day, Set transformed into a vicious monster and attacked Osiris, killing him. Set then butchered Osiris into pieces, spreading them throughout Egypt. Now, with Osiris dead, Set was able to become the king of Egypt and married his sister, Nepthys, though Nepthys felt sorry for her sister, Isis who wept endlessly over her loss. Isis, the owner of great magical power made the decision to piece together her lost husband and bring him back to life long enough for her to fall pregnant. Nepthys and Isis roamed Egypt together. Once Isis had completed her task, she breathed life back into Osiris' body, resurrecting him, Isis falling pregnant soon after. Osiris was able to move on to the underworld where he became the ruler of that domain. Isis' son was Horus, the hawk God, when he became an adult, Horus decided to appear before the court of the Gods to make the case that he, not Set should be the rightful king of Egypt. A long period of arguing followed, and Set challenged Horus to a contest. Whoever won would become king.

However, Set cheated, and after several matches in which Set cheated and was declared the victor, Isis decided to help her son and set a trap for Set. She ensnared him, however, Set begged for his life and Isis released him. When Horus found out that Isis had let his opponent live, Horus became angry with his mother and released his fury on her, earning him the contempt of the other Gods. The Gods decided that there would be one more match, and Set would be allowed to decide what it would be.

Set decided that the final challenge would be a boat race. However, in order to make the contest more challenging, Set decided that Set and Horus would race in boats made of stone. Horus was smear and built a wooden boat then covered it with limestone plaster, creating a limestone effect. As the Gods assembled for the race, Set cut the top off a mountain to use as his boat. As soon as Set placed it in the river, it sank, making all of the other Gods laugh at him. Now angry, Set transformed himself into a large hippopotamus and attacked Horus' boat, Horus fought set off, but the other Gods stopped him before he could kill Set. The other Gods declared the match a tie, but many of the Gods were sympathetic to Horus, but also remembered his anger toward his mother, causing them to be unwilling to support him completely.

The Gods who formed the court made the decision to write a letter to Osiris and ask for his advice. Osiris' responded and his answer was definite: his son was the rightful King and should be placed upon the throne. No one should be able to take the throne of Egypt through an act of murder, as Set had done. Set had murdered Osiris whereas Horus did not kill anyone, and therefore was seen as the better candidate. Osiris' allies, the sun and the starts descended into the underworld, plunging the Earth into darkness. Finally, the Gods agreed that Horus would claim his birthright as King of Egypt."

"Ok, great bed time story, but, what exactly is wrong here?" I questioned.

"Good question." Janus sat down, his eyebrows creasing, "This force that has been ravaging our people has made... Changes, they are changing the very way that we were born, taking advantage of the weak and altering who we are and what we stand for. As you know, in this recount, Osiris' body was split up and hidden before then being retrieved by Isis and Nepthys. This is now no longer the case, these creatures of war raced to find Osiris' body parts before the sisters to keep Set on the throne to be brainwashed. With this power over Egypt and its Gods, a brainwashed Set would move on to China and continue the war there. For now, you don't need to worry about that. Now, we must get you fully versed in the art of combat." He smiled...