myths

CHAPTER 1 {Helena}

I vow not to have any relations with man, for men are tainted, we must stay pure as women.

I devote my life to Artemis, I will remain untouched by man.

The day I spoke that vow is burned into my mind as clearly as the day I broke it. It was the day I turned 16 and proudly chose to become a Hunter of Artemis which entitled me to immortality... so long as I honored my vow. By the time I was 18 I had become Artemis' second in command and we roamed the mountains by day, training and fighting, and at night she would leave us to do the difficult task of carrying the moon across the sky on her own.

"May you never have to carry the weight of the moon on your back" she would tell us, "for it is a painful duty, and a shameful punishment." I regarded that warning, and tried my hardest to stay on her good side.

I fought along side her for many years always remembering what my parents had told me. How that the hunters of Artemis don't age. And thus I lost track of time. The only way I knew time was passing, was the changing seasons, days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years, and soon I began to wonder how much time really had passed. I wondered if I had missed my mother and father's deaths. Artemis' hunters were allowed one visit to their hometowns every 5 years and I decided it was time to go home. That evening I went to ask Artemis but she was already gone. I prayed that when I returned my absence would not be noted. After a few goodbyes to my friends I began the long descent down the steep slopes of the mountain.