The Phoenix's Revival
Prologue
Upon the peak of a tall dormant volcano, amid a violent storm, there was a beautiful lady whom few had seen and whom fewer told. A curtain of hair whiter than the freshest snow gave way to eyes like glowing purple gemstones lined with the fainted hint of amber and framed her perfect pristine features. Her limbs were long and graceful but she didn't flinch as the wind raged around her or when it tugged at the cloud like feathers on her fully spread wings, she just kept on staring, unseeingly, at the chaos around her.
~Flashback~
"Angelique! Thou hath to keep running! Do not stop at any cost!" cried a lady with pitch black hair, her bright gold eyes wide and frantic as she pulled young girl by her wrist, not caring about the rips and filth on her once immaculate robes. Cheers and taunts could be hear from behind them as thousands jeered for their blood, tossing spears and javelins that would have struck if not for a tall man with silver eyes and platinum blond hair shooting them down with well aimed bouts of fire and ice.
They had been chased for many days and yet they were still pursued but they had begun to tire. A shout of pain made the two turn around fearing the worst. The man had been struck with an arrow to his leg and the mob was coming closer, drawing and unsheathing their swords, knives and daggers. When the girls made to step towards him he snarled viciously.
"Run! All will be lost without thee! I'll hold them as long as I can!" His voice was commanding even as he stumbled and struggled to rise again but neither could deny the fear in his tone. He turned to them one last time, face determined and accepting. "Go! I will only hold thee back." When that failed to move them he turned stone-faced. "As the last god of the Olympian Council, I order thou to flee. Now go!"With that he twisted around and charged, ignoring the pain in his torn thigh, and slew hundreds with two golden hunting knives set aflame but thousands replaced them. He looked to them once more and fought with renewed vigour though it was easy to see that he would be overwhelmed.
With a heart wrenched sob Hecate once again ran, trying to force out her daughter's terrified screams for her father as tears streamed down their weather worn faces. The moment they reached the base of a dormant volcano, a long torture yell of agony sounded behind them striking deep within their heart. Unable to control herself the lady let out a desperate cry.
" Alkides!"
" Father!"
Cheers of victory were her only answer. Breathing deeply as her breath caught in her throat she glanced at her daughter, almost breaking down when she saw the determined glower on her face, it was so much like the one he had on his face before... Steeling herself for Angelique's sake she met those violet eyes with her own and they began to scale the volcano. They had only started a while ago but their constant running had sapped their strength and stamina and left them with scrapes and cuts on their legs and hands. The duo were nearly at the top of the volcano when Hecate stiffened suddenly and, before the other could protest, stunned her daughter and used the last of her near empty pools of magic to make her invisible to mortal eyes. Seeing the betrayal in her angel's eyes nearly shattered her facade but they soon became fearful again once she too heard the crowds of men that soon surrounded her mother.
Seeing the gold on their bodies, Angelique whimpered. She knew all gods had a mortal form and then their true form; they rarely used the latter because it had too much power and looked quite different to what the mortals recognised them as. The ways you could tell a god was in their true form was that they looked different, you were suddenly aware of their domains and they had...gold blood. Her father had been one of the most powerful gods, able to hold his own against Ares, Minerva, Artemis and her grandfather at once as well as having the blood of Rome and Greece in his veins. To think that he would be defeated by mere humans sent a hideous feeling down her spine. If these savages had defeated him then what chance did her mother have!?
Looking deep into her eyes, just like Alkides had done, Hecate smiled sadly, too tired to run or struggle, even as half a dozen swords were thrust into her stomach. Like a desert illusion, her sickly pale skin became a light tan and her eyes leaked dark magenta. Her black hair became a rich auburn and wings darker than the night sky sprouted from her back. Faint choirs of voices sang in an eerie harmony, filling the air with the presence of glittering pure magic. Chocking on her own blood as it poured from her lips she whispered a spell that should have been done many years later before falling limp and unmoving to the ground when the swords no longer supported her.
The spell holding Angelique shattered as she screamed with rage, glowing brighter than Apollo's sun chariot with her true form's first appearance. Lava shot out of the volcano, pouring down the sides in merciless rivers, leaving no escape for the men that were now screeching in agony. Drunk with power and mind clouded with murderous fury, the goddess laughed sadistically as she swung her arms, encouraging blistering gales and torrents of sleet. Not one man escaped her fury, turning to ashes or being buried alive with the tons of snow solidifying on top of them. Only after the mob had been obliterated did the young goddess fully take in the fact that her parents were forever faded and realised something that drained out all of her anger, leaving only a hard shell behind.
She was the last of the Greek and Roman Olympian immortals.
She was alone.
~End Flashback~
The soft crunch of snow made her snap her neck towards the sound. Seeing the large group of mortals, she instantly bared her teeth and flare out her wings like a feral feline. None of them reacted with the fear she had gotten out of the previous groups that dared to wander to her territory making her pause with curiosity...Well, she was still young in godly terms even if she did not appear to be one. Taking a quick look at their positions and the minuscule expressions on their faces she relaxed her stance and waited for them to do something. Their intentions were none threatening so the humans must have changed these past centuries she had been there, or at least, these ones were different to the rest.
"Greetings Lady Angelique." Her brow rose slightly as the apparent leader nodded his head respectfully to her. As far as she knew, no human ever respected immortals anymore, so why was this one? She decided to follow the custom her parent... that she had learned in the days of Greece's Golden age. Tilting her head in acknowledgement she replied, her voice as pure as chiming bells but cut through the silence like a knife.
"Greetings mortal."Her cold eyes scanned his face, seeing a question he had yet to ask.
"What is it that you wish from me?"