Son of Love and Fire

Prologue

A young child raced through the lush forest darting under low branches and leaping over each obstacle he came across like he had been doing it since he began to work. Despite looking like he belonged in the woods, it was obvious to any onlooker that the boy was running from something due to his desperate gait.

Growling and thumping of a large animal could be heard in the distance on the approach chasing the boy who continued to almost silently sprint through the dense forest. Soon the boy found himself escaping the tree cover and appearing facing a large lake that was surrounded on every side by more trees. As the child halted before the lake the beast in his pursuit broke through the tree line to reveal the mighty Nemean Lion with its golden pelt shining under the soft glow of the moonlight as it shone down on the pair.

Facing the beast, the child drew a short, rusty dagger from the waistband of his ragged pants, despite the situation the boy held the knife at the ready in a stance that indicated that he was no fool and knew how to wield it with precision. His stance was confident without being arrogant as he prepared to face off against the famous monster that has, as of yet, gone undefeated.

The lion raced forward pouncing on its pray only to find itself landing on nothing, the boy having jumped at the last minute to the side slashed his blade through the closest eye of the beast as blood began pouring out. The beast roared having been blinded in one eye and snapped at the small child wanting to rip the nuisance apart. The boy once again avoided the attack, this time by jumping back to avoid the monster.

Analysing the beast, he noticed how the insides of its mouth lacked any of the fur and therefore may be exempt from the creature's impervious nature. Racing to the tree line the boy grabbed a large branch that lay next to a tree in his spare hand and spun round to once again face the lion. The lion again leapt at him, maw open aiming to consume the meal that had been giving it so much trouble. When the monster's mouth was fully wide the boy shoved the branch in as the beasts head collided with his chest knocking him back against a large tree.

Pushing through the pain that had burst from his obviously broken ribs the boy tightened his grip on his dagger as he leapt back up from the place he had been knocked down to. Moving faster then any grown person should be able to, let alone a small boy, the child shoved the blade through the roof of the beasts mouth up into its brain causing the beast to let out a growl of pain before it was quickly silenced when it burst into a shower of golden dust leaving nothing but its hide and the crushed branch from its maw on the ground.

The last sight the Nemean Lion saw before its first death was one it would never forget for the rest of its immortal existence. Deep purple eyes stared at what was left of the beast, glowing with an untold power and an almost unimaginable beauty.

Whilst young Perseus may be a child, he is definitely a force to be feared.