The Dove's Brother: Origin Story

Chapter XIII: A Forgotten Massacre

Bianca

It was a dark night and the frigid breeze did nothing to quell the cold shivers that ran down her back. In front of her stood a tall man, nearly 20" tall, dressed in a black tuxedo. His jet black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His face was was littered with crisscrossing scars and his grey eyes gleamed with a strange sparkle betraying his intelligence. She had only seen one god before, Lord Dionysus, and she had no doubt that this man was some sort of God or immortal. The man spoke, "At peace, daughter of the underworld. I am but a messenger. I mean you no harm." Bianca was conflicted. She already knew that this man was an immortal of some sort but there was something about him that made her want to believe his words. Seeing no hostile response to his statement, the man continued, "I am here to tell you a story. A story that long since been forgotten, a story that was erased from history itself." Bianca's curiosity was piqued and she also didn't want to anger the immortal, so she stayed silent.

The stranger continued, "Eons ago, when Greece fell to the hands of the Roman empire, the Romans didn't just destroy their city-states. They sought to destroy their very way of life. The Hellenic culture was decimated after being altered and introduced into the Roman society. The gods' personalities became more militarised and their roles more defined. Zeus and Hera or rather Jupiter and Juno became the supreme rulers of the heavens and earth. The gods were forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs and so they set up a system to evade the iron fist of the godly emperors. Every god adopted a champion to interact with humanity. When Hera found out she was furious and told Zeus who struck down each and every champion until all but one were dead. The gods were furious but they couldn't do anything to stand up against their king and queen.

The only goddess to remain neutral was Artemis for she was permitted to have her huntresses. Zeus tasked her with hunting the champions down and so she did, with her hand maidens at her side. The last champion was that of Poseidon. The champion of the seas was never seen on land and so the goddess hunted for him along the banks of every river and shoreline in the empire. In the end he was found helping a naiad in the southern province of Rome.

The moonlight illuminated the night as a naiad sat on the banks watching the glistening waters. The water nymph sat there watching a young boy in the water helping a hippocampus. The naiad smiled remembering the adventures of the young champion adopted by the god of the seas. The naiad was brought out of her thoughts when she was splashed with a copious amount of water. She spluttered out the water to see the 5 year old laughing at her. His hair was wild and two small black ears lined with white fur stood out amongst his messy hair. His furry tail excitedly wagged from side to side as he clutched his sides laughing at the expression on the naiad's face. The echoing laughter was cut off when a silver arrow embedded itself merely inches away from the boy as the nymph pulled him towards her at the last second.

Several girls clad in silver appeared brandishing silver bows and hunting knives. At the lead stood the goddess of the hunt, who spoke in a commanding voice, 'Surrender the champion, nymph. He is wanted by the gods. Release him and you shall be free to return to your life.' The nymph did not relent to the threats and she swiftly made her way to her home, the river. However her efforts were in vain as a volley of arrows were fired at the child in her arms. She was already turning to water when she noticed the pained expression of the child and the arrow sticking out of his chest. With her dying breath she let the river's water guide him to his father's palace, praying that he be safe."

Bianca was shocked. She knew the gods did some questionable things but she never did once think they would kill children. From the stories she had heard, Poseidon was a very calm yet powerful god who always put his family first and she assumed that even his Roman persona would reflect that. She whispered softly, "No. You are lying. The gods wouldn't do that. Especially Poseidon, he would never let his son be killed." The immortal chuckled loudly and said, "That is because I wasn't done when you interrupted me, daughter of the underworld. As the river carried away the child, a bright flash illuminated the night. The sheer force of the light threw the huntresses to the floor. The light dimmed to reveal the sea god in full fledged battle regalia, something unseen since the titanomachy, brandishing his trident.