Just for closure and before I forget about it: something for the origin of the saints. As always, this will suffer endless editing in the following days.
Aphrodite gathered the pride from centuries; she was a primordial deity whom would not fall upon mortals.
Even now, her greatest virtue was to know them deeply; and to have the patience to wait for the moment when their human condition betrayed them: their fears and needs placed into others, their links and bonds. This occasion would not be different. Despite the hardness they flaunted about, under those sacred Clothes they were as fragile as the rest.
"Mmm, let me tell you a story. You know pretty well that a few words are necessary before so much violence. You need to know how we got to this moment where you are trying to kill me, "said the goddess, without a trace of doubt, to those Amazons of Athena.
SAINT SEIYA PRIMORDIAL
IV. History
The Holy War between Athena and Hades came to an end as the Olympus silently observed how the goddess of strategy was growing in power and wisdom.
When the Underworld fell, the gods gathered around the thrones of the fathers of Olympus. This was their holy territory, where the golden reflection of their cosmos hid them from one another.
"Athena will not yield. She is the protector of their cities and three gods have already fallen by her hand: Ares in a holder, Poseidon just about to wake up and Hades; she has a young but powerful Order, ready to do anything for her. We shall not wait any longer. This is the time to stop her." Hera hit the floor with her staff. As the mother and leader of the gods, while waiting for Zeus to reincarnate, she made the decisions.
"She will rattle if you at least try, Athena does not want to see the destruction of another war: show her that there is a way to achieve peace just with words." Aphrodite raised her voice, which surprised the rest, used to see her in silence.
"And what are we going to do with her army? They have more impulse than discipline; they will act even if she forbids them to do so, as it happened against Hades." Apollo intervened annoyed, from his throne crowned with suns.
"Her forces were decimated in that battle, the elite was lost and her Sanctuary is now almost empty. They have only children left, to whom they imposed a life protecting a world they do not even know. It will be enough to give them enough freedom to see what is at risk if the act recklessly." Aphrodite spoke directly to a furious Hera.
"You seem pretty sure... "Hera challenged her. " You, who have spent your days in the New World, are you going to join her when the confrontation arrives?"
"We have different purposes. I will not renounce mine nor my place in this council. I do not want a war and I will agree, if that helps to avoid it. So, yes, I'll be with her."
"Until the end, Aphrodite?" Hera laughed at the pretensions of the goddess of beauty.
"As far as necessary."
oOoOo
I knew we would reach this point. It always happens; at most it takes some time. Each era has its Great War, where the gods form alliances and face each other until they are eliminated.
It has been that way since the Old Days. When, at the beginning, the cosmos gave form to the Primordial Chaos of the Great Will. The hostility grew among the deities and when they saw the confrontation coming, they created the orders.
Athena and Ares were the first ones; no one knows for sure who started, it was part of their military secrets. They granted the gifts, the aegis and the spear: to her heroes and to his children.
Just like that the war orders arose, destined to face each other like day and night, until the earth was dyed red.
Ares formed the so-called Blood Legion, still feared due to its violent warriors, whom he chooses from the last ones standing on the battlefields and gets them through a rite of passage to get rid of their human weakness. At this point there are not many of them left; he discovered it is easier to use ambition within other Orders.
Soon their armies were unstoppable, representing a threat to the rest. Therefore, Poseidon and Hades forged cloths with Hephaestus and delivered it to their own people, to protect the Underworld and what was left of Atlantis. Soon, they ended up involved in the game of war.
The twins, Apollo and Artemis, saw the danger over them and created the orders of the Sun and the Moon, both guided by the strictest ancient tradition. The first would be guardian of the daytime world, bringing together the most honorable warriors: their heroes, muses, sibyls and oracles, all born in the land of the gods.
To that moment, the saints were a men thing, because it was not supposed that wisdom or strength were for us the women. And it remained so until Artemis snatched the secret from the males, to recruit and train the Spartan maidens. With them, she would protect the silver night. Today she keeps alive the militia of hunters: orphans, lost and desperate girls rescued by the goddess and trained in all of her discipline and strategy.
In the past Hermes also had an order: the messengers of the gods, the ones prepared to defend themselves from the rest and create portals between the god's Old World and the New World of men. However, like the rest of the saints, it was diminished by time. Today, he wanders alone through the lands, although, like me, he is already used to mingling with the mortals.
For his part, the blacksmith Hephaestus, who was never adept at the lavish, took a few warriors exiled or fallen in disgrace and armed them like no other; that way he maintained peace with his brothers.
The parents of the gods had to intervene to stop that massacre. They summoned the heroes faithful to them and created the now extinct Lightning Battalion and the Queen Order. Hers was the greatest and most powerful, the one who led this Era thanks to the primordial gods. With a general at each altar it is the guardian of the precepts of the gods and even nowadays they are the defenders of the ancient ways of living.
Finally, some abstained from that kind of glory.
Upon seeing how homes were destroyed, Hestia, who loves everyone equally, formed The Sisterhood: a family of maidens, neutral upon any conflict that would give aid to those who needed it, no matter what god they followed. And while the others had phrases full of pride for serving their gods, they would have a prayer: "May the flame of my life not be extinguished this day." Although its tradition is still alive, its cult was forgotten.
Still at risk of a bloodbath, Demeter and I kept only priestesses, why would spring or love involve swords? Since the days of mythology I have had just one cloth, a gift from Hephaestus. I never needed to fight, however, in this era there is something wrong. It seems like a great confrontation is inevitable and we, the weakest links, will be the first to fall. I have known it since a long time ago, as much as I know that those who lack strength must use cunning.
But those of us whom belong to the Olympus are not the only nor the darkest thing that inhabits the Old World. We are being watched from the depths by the primordial gods and their creations, who even when silent are fearsome.
ooOoo
The cities fell and the cult was diluted. At this point the arts of saints are just a shadow of what they achieved in the past, if they can even be called armies. Over the centuries a lot of power had gone outside of the Olympic orders: exiles, deserters and Old Ones maneuvering aside from holy wars.
As time went by we became tribes, each one with its own rites and customs. The saints of Athena have their sanctuary, their ranks and their masks. They have distinguished themselves by not using weapons; the protection of the stars is enough for them. And albeit at times their Order has paled, it always returns with the same battle cry: "For Athena!". They did it after Troy. They do it after every Holy War with Hades. They will do it today.
I have always said that thinking about the saints as a unit has been the greatest mistake of the gods. The orders are diverse, each saint is different; all of them have their own fears and desires. The mortals are more than pieces of meat sometimes beautiful, they share a vital impulse different from ours. And I have seen so many kingdoms fall because of such omission...
But nothing human is alien to me. That is why I know how to recognize power when it is in front of my eyes.
From the first time I saw the saints of Athena, being barely a circus, I knew the future would be in their hands and I have followed them since then; now I am finally ready to place my bet.
Despite the battles, Athena has not fully awakened; she is still half human, her name is still Saori, she keeps affections improper of her condition. And her saints ... it's hard to describe what they inspire me. I waited so long for something like them; now I can witness the return of the era of heroes and I will not let it go even if Olympus wishes so.
The hero, Pegasus, is imprisoned by his own emotions, which at times he does not know how to decipher. However, he will be loyal until the end because in his heart there is no doubt.
The receptacle of Hades, Andromeda, is a small being full of guilt for a destiny that he did not choose. He already knows that not even defeat will free him from the cursed star that lights above him since the day he was born.
The heir of knowledge, Dragon, tries to be wise but is still too young for the responsibility upon him since the loss of his master.
The lost child, Cygnus, keeps remembering the good old days, yearning for a past that will not return, and ignoring the blessings that the present gives him.
And the eldest one: Phoenix. Oh that man… full of such a fury he does not even understand. In the Underworld he was broken by a much greater power and now he is adrift, looking for its own meaning.
They are not the only ones who have defeated gods. We know it, yet there's no rest for the wicked. When they were allowed to return, each of them received a punishment for awakening forces that had been at rest for centuries.
Among those rekindled old quarrels, what will I do? What has always worked with mortals: give them what they want, they will do the rest. Does seeing them like that seem mean? It is. But in this men game, what else can someone like me do but survive?
I am certain that everyone wants something: love, redemption, wisdom, company, freedom. First we gave them time; a year since their great fight against the king of death. And now we wait for them to take the next step.
Others have already given it, attacking the Sisterhood of Hestia and breaking the implicit pacts: the forces of the Gods are already in motion.
We cannot do much about our end; this story has always been a tragedy. And being the Greeks experts in them, I, Aphrodite, swear it will be worthy of being told.
Let the play begin.
END OF THE LOST DAYS
And I finished! Well, strictly speaking I started, because this is supposed to be the prelude to Saint Seiya Primordial. I hope to finish chapter 1 at some point and finally gather the bronzes. Thanks to those who read this.