literature

Children of Loup chp. 1

Deviation Actions

TheCatilinaWineMixer's avatar
Published:
153 Views

Literature Text

And she watched him fall to the dirt.
She felt the weakness of millions before her in her knees as she fell before the now lifeless body before her. Tears formed in her amber eyes as she laid a hand on his cold body, watching it turn to smoke and ash. Her hand sunk into the rubble that was a man. A shadow fell over her as the sun began to sink; a man sheathing a blade and placing it onto his back. The shadow turned to look into the dying sun. She turned her head to face him.
"Ektor," she snarled weakly, rage and grief blatant in her smooth, low voice, "Why do you not weep? Why do you not bleed, nor fear? Have you no grief to spare? The wind will carry him off, and this means nothing to you?" The man said nothing. She stood up and said again, "Answer me. Does this mean nothing to you that he is dead?" Still, he said nothing, only gazed into the last rays of day.
The girl was getting angry now, angrier than she was before, no longer with fate but with this man standing before her, this man who refused to grant her the privilege of his gaze while she spoke. Her voice yet to fail her, she called upon it again, shouting, "Why do you not weep for the death of our Father? Do you not feel his dying pain as his only son? Do you not-"
"Because his blood is on my hands," the young man said finally, cutting his sister off mid-sentence, "Because his death is of my doing." Ektor did not meet his sister's gaze, but past her to the pile of ash that was once his Father. He sighed, his piercing blue eyes lacking the grief the girl longed to see. He spoke, his voice quiet but firm, "Our Father was a God, Tanis. Gods do not die. They simply leave us. There is no reason to grieve him."
Tanis' fury and longing rose into her throat. "Their souls do not move on Ektor! Death for a God is not death! It is exile! This is why I grieve, that our Father will not have his eternity! Does this mean nothing to you? If not the loss of our Father, than the injustice that you have done him?" She was pleading with her older brother now. He finally met her eyes as he stepped forward. He lightly touched her cheek. "Tanis," he said, "Do not waste your grief on our Father. He was not worthy of you nor I. Mother knew this. I knew this. You now know this. Just as you said, the wind will carry him off. And he will be forgotten, by Mortals and Gods alike." Ektor pulled his hand away from his sister, the northern wind blowing her light brown hair in the direction she faced. She could not stop the tears from forming in her eyes.
"Brother, what am I to do should you meet a fate of this sort? Your son is to be born in late winter, what if he should kill you, should he decide you are not worthy of him? You are a God yourself. Does this not shake your logic?" Tanis questioned, her voice cracking. Ektor shook his head and turned away from his sister once more. "I will not meet this fate. My son will be just and pure-"
"Unlike yourself!" Tanis snapped. Her brother sighed. "Sister," he said knowingly, "I love you, you know this to be true. But you do not understand my reasoning. That I can live with. On any other day, I would listen to what your beautiful mind had to tell me, but in truth I am a God, and you are not." Tanis blinked, taken aback by his bluntness. "I am half God," she said stiffly. Ektor smiled slightly as he answered, "And half human, and this is why I do not listen. And even if we were but Mortals, I am a man, and you a woman. You have no power over my decisions in either reality. We are blood, but we are not equal. My power is greater than yours, and for this I am sorry."
"Then why do you exploit it so?" Tanis snapped. Her heart was broken now, broken for her Father's death, for her own grief, for her brother's seeming inability to see what he did. Her eyes burned as she snarled, "You tell me you are sorry for my lack of power, and yet you remind me in this act of betrayal! You tell me I have a beautiful mind, yet you act not upon my decisions but your own! You tell me you love me, yet-"
Ektor whipped around with a quickness and fierceness she had not seen in him for many years. "You may question everything I have ever done, Sister," he said sharply, "but you may not question my love for you. I would gladly lance the very blade I carry now through my own throat if it were to save you, gladly cut my spiteful tongue from my mouth for your sake. Do not question this. I would for you, and for any others who I love." He gave a short nod to his sister. Tanis barked back, "Did you not love our Father?" Ektor sighed again. "I did what I had to-"
"You murdered him!" Tanis screamed.
"I sent him to Tartarus, where he belongs."
"You sent him to oblivion! Did you not love him?"
"Our Father was a God-"
"Did you not love our Father, Ektor? That is all I wish to know. Did you not love our Father?"
Ektor stared at his sister, trying to figure her out. Finally, he turned away from her. "I respected our Father. But I say now, before my Sister, that I, Ektor, Son of  Loup, did not love my Father."
And with this, he was gone, walking down the cliff face, into the city.
Tanis got on her hands and knees next to her Father's ashes. She knew this would be her only chance to do this before he was fully gone. She shut her eyes and prayed to her Father. Tanis mumbled, "Please, Father, help your son Ektor to see what he has done, see the evil he has committed. Ektor is a good man, a bright man and a just man. I do not know what fogged his mind to bring him to this deed, but I prey it will not befall my own mind. Ektor looks like you, Father, this you know; he has your black hair, your blue eyes, your strong nose and your tall stature, but as I now know, he does not have your virtues at heart. Help him to realize the damage he has caused this family."
The wind picked up and Loup's ashes began to drift away to the north. "I will do what is within my power," Tanis said, "to bring him to this epiphany. But I do not know of the power I possess, if any." She watched her divine Father's remains float away, and she hoped she was wrong about  his exile, hoped he had in fact moved on to some finer place. She knew, however, that he had not. Death for a God is not death, it is banishment. It is nothing.
Her Father's ashes were in the wind now, and she was left on her knees in the dirt with her own thoughts, prayers, and soul. Tanis knew she loved her brother, and she did not question that Ektor also loved her. But she did wonder if he knew what loving someone was. Her brother was a strange man. He was brave and bold and wise, but strange. Tanis sighed, thinking this would be the last of her troubles for some time.
Little did she know that, although her Father was no longer living, Tartarus had stirred itself at his death. Tanis' troubles were far from through.
So, yeah.

Greek mythology is fun, so I thought I'd start a story based on it. :shrug: Not really much to say here, just that chapter 2 will be soon. Oh, and Tanis and Ektor are SO joining my "Characters I Love" list. :D I hope you guys enjoy!

Art/Characters/Story (c) ~TheCatilinaWineMixer
© 2012 - 2024 TheCatilinaWineMixer
Comments143
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Jhonenfan777's avatar
Holy crap. :wow: Someone get a publisher, we have a New York Time's attention grabber! Sheesh, this was a good read! I cannot wait for more!