Play a Little Longer
This is my first AU Ronin Warrior fic and I hope all goes well...if you read the summary, there isn't much else to know...except for the line-up of all the Greek gods and goddesses, as well as a few minor characters. I'm doing this because I am aware that SOME of the gods get the wrong attributes assigned to them...this is just to clear up some of that, but don't worry, some of the story WILL take place this chapter.
Some are familiar, others aren't. Please take the time to read it over! And this list only shows those gods/goddesses and characters that will be present in this story, k?
Hades - god of underworld & wealth
Dionysus - god of wine, wild behavior & fertility
Hypnos - god of sleep & dreams
Eris - goddess of discord
Ares - god of war
Hephaestus - god of fire & forge
Demeter - goddess of harvest & growing things
Poseidon - god of the sea, earthquakes & horses
Artemis - goddess of the moon & hunting;
Zeus - king of the gods & thunderbolt (does NOT mean he is the strongest)
Helios - god of the sun
Apollo - god of light (purity) & truth
Asclepius - god of healing
Eros - god of love (better known as the Roman Version, Cupid)
Aphrodite - goddess of love & beauty
Athena - goddess of crafts & wisdom
Hermes - messenger of the gods; god of commerce, science & protector of travelers & thieves
Iris - a minor goddess known to deliver messages from the gods
Aeolus - God of the Winds
Thanatos - God of Death
Cerberus - The three-headed dog that guards the gateway to the spirit realm (No, not Fluffy from Harry Potter ^_^)
(The next two are two different entities, not to be confused like they were in Disney's Hercules)
The Fates - Three women who determined the fate of each person, Clotho (spinner of life thread), Lachesis (Dispenser of Destiny) and Atropos (cutter of thread at death)
Graiae - 3 gray women (names unknown) that shared one eye between them; try to eat anyone who comes into their lair, but they are also extremely wise
That is the line-up for now, hope you were able to learn a little about each god...just kidding! Anyhow, on with the story but first...
A BIG thanks to Kathrine from Split Persona for helping me arrange the plot line, figure out a villain, and basically listen to my rantings and ravings! Thanks a lot Kathrine; it meant so much! I also want to thank Eboni for reading my fic over and helping me out when I needed it! Thanks!!!
Oh yeah, I don't own Ronin Warriors OR the Greek
gods/goddesses. However, I DO own the plotline and any attempts to copy it will
not be appreciated!
Enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In a time when darkness and evil were new to the land, one old man made a perilous journey from his home country of Japan all the way to the country of Greece. He came on a mission, in hopes that the Greek gods of Olympus would know a way to defeat the evil emperor Tulpa.
The man brought with him several goats, deer and doves, animals that were worthy of a sacrifice. He traveled through Greece, set on finding the city of Delphi where the temple to Apollo rested. As he traveled through Greece, he gained the nickname of the Ancient, for indeed he was an old man in the terms of the day, and he knew his son would soon take over his position as the head of his house back home.
When he reached Delphi, he presented each animal to the priestess and begged her in broken Greek that Apollo would accept these offerings to give him the answer he searched for. His own gods had failed, and everywhere else he had searched, there was always news of the Greek gods, who were known for their wisdom in some similar matters.
The priestess came to the Ancient's side, kneeling next to him before he could slice open the throat of the first goat to offer to Apollo.
"Apollo has heard your plea, as have the other gods. They know the danger that threatens you. Make your own altar fire outside, where a groove of elms stands. Offer a pig, a goat, a horse and a dove. This is what the great Apollo has commanded." The priestess then backed off and returned to her room behind the altar.
The Ancient wasted no time and quickly bought a pig and a horse to sacrifice, making sure he had nothing but the best. As he led the four animals to the fire he created in the middle of the stand of elms, the animals suddenly started and pulled back. The Ancient, for fear of having his bones be snapped like brittle twigs, let the animals go, watching in despair before turning back to the fire.
Between him and the fire, though, was a man in golden cloth. On his feet were winged sandals and a hat on his head also had wings.
"Ancient, the gods are wondering what is taking you so long." The man told him, his voice deep and resonate. The Ancient stared, only wondering where this man had come from when the man held a hand out to him. "Come along, they're waiting…and we all know how much any divinity hates that."
The man smiled softly, and the Ancient took his hand even though he knew it had to be a bad idea. As soon as his hand was firmly clasped in the young man's, they suddenly hovered above the ground.
"How, how…" The Ancient trailed off, feeling sick to his stomach as the ground dropped farther and farther away. He heard the man laugh lightly, and he fought back his urge to be sick, knowing it would only delight this man more. "Who are you?" He rasped out instead.
"Me? Well, I go by many names, but you may call me Hermes."
"Hermes? The messenger god?" The Ancient said, his mouth dropping open in surprise.
"No, the god of commerce and science, protector of travelers and thieves. I have been very interested in your travels, but that's beside the point. The messenger god is Iris, goddess of the rainbow…unless, of course, I have nothing pressing to do. And you're a special one, so I wanted to come and fetch you."
"You know of my errand?"
"Who on Mount Olympus does not?" Hermes asked, turning to face the Ancient with a smile on his face as they touched down on a marble slab. The Ancient could hear the laughter in the man's voice and couldn't help but smile himself. "Ancient, welcome…to Olympus."
The Ancient turned and felt his mouth drop at what he saw. Beautiful buildings made of the finest marble perched on each cloud that he could see. In the middle of all the buildings, one giant cloud held a place similar to Apollo's temple, but at the same time it was different.
"Come along, not much time to dawdle. The gods are waiting for you." Hermes said, setting off at a quick pace for the temple.
The Ancient went to follow then stopped. Where he was standing was on a block of marble. Was it possible that if he stepped off onto the cloud, he would only fall through? Could this be a trick of the gods for some odd reason?
The Ancient debated for a time, but when he heard a clap of thunder, he jumped. Thunder belonged to Zeus, King of the Gods. If he was making the King of the Gods impatient, he had better move along. Taking a deep breath, he stuck out a foot and slowly tested the cloud ground. It felt firm enough…
He put all his weight on it and smiled when the cloud did not give way. Without any further hesitation, he made his way to the temple…only to fall through the clouds on his next step.
The Ancient wheeled his arms around, hoping for a handhold as he continued to fall, his voice ripped from his throat as he plummeted to the ground. Suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of him, and he looked up into the face of a beautiful woman.
"Sorry about that…my husband can be rather impatient and he needed a good laugh to lighten the mood." She explained with a smile as she pulled him up through the clouds and settled him back on the now-firm clouds. The Ancient slowly caught his breath, and then looked up to see the woman was still there, waiting for him.
"Who…exactly, is your husband?" The Ancient asked, his heart still thudding against his chest.
"Zeus." The woman replied simply, a sincere look on her face as the Ancient took another step towards the temple, his arms wide to stop another freefall incident.
"Ah, of course…" The Ancient was too concerned with his next step, but when he finally reached the marble safety of the temple, he turned back to her. "And that makes…you…" The Ancient trailed off, for the woman that had been behind him vanished in front of his eyes. The tricks of these gods were starting to annoy him.
"That would make me Hera, wife to Zeus." He heard someone say delicately behind him and he whirled around to see…the woman standing behind him, a small grin gracing her features. "Hope you don't think we annoy you too much, but we don't get visitors to our home often. We often have to…"
"Hera, bring the man in here already!" A deep voice interrupted as it called out from the temple and Hera sighed.
"All right, follow me then." She turned and walked…right through the temple wall.
The Ancient sighed. This was getting old…fast. However, when no one came back to get him, he searched around the temple, being sure to stay on the marble edge until he came to an opening near the back, which allowed him in and to walk down to the center of the temple.
When he reached the center, he looked up in front of him to see a mighty man, his muscles bulging. He had on a fine, white robe and was resting easily in a marble throne. In his right hand, lightning bolts hissed, crackled and shifted. The woman he had met earlier, Hera, was standing just behind him and away from the lightning. Personally, he couldn't blame her. He had traveled enough to see what lightning could do if you were an unfortunate soul to get struck with it.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning landed near his feet, making his hair stand on end.
"Scared of lightning, are you mortal?" The man in the throne
commanded and the Ancient heard snickers fly around the room. "It's a healthy
fear, don't lose it." Zeus reached forward and pulled the lightning bolt back,
extinguishing it seemingly with a thought so that both hands were free and Hera
felt better about approaching the throne. "Now, why is it again that he needed
to be brought here?"
"Because he needed to meet with all of us, dear husband." Hera offered, sitting down on the arm of the throne. The Ancient, for the first time, looked around the room and was startled at how many different gods there were sitting comfortably around the room.
"Speak, mortal! And tell us of your problems before I get bored again." Zeus said, forcing the Ancient's attention back to the King of the Gods.
So the Ancient explained his plight, the reason for him turning to many divinities in hopes of finding an answer. These gods were polite and listened to his whole story and then offered a few solutions.
Finally, it was decided that the gods could place a little divine power into a staff…a little from each of them, which would accumulate to a lot of power in the end. The Ancient readily agreed and Hephaestus lumbered off to make the staff. When he returned, the gods all poured some power into the staff before it was handed over to the Ancient.
"Only those who are your true heirs, or have your permission will be able to hold this staff. Anyone else who touches it without permission will die." The Ancient gulped at these words, but held the staff tight. Finally, a weapon with which to fight Tulpa!
"How can I ever repay your kindness?" The Ancient asked as his voice choked with emotions. No longer would his people have to run in terror from Tulpa. Now, he would be able to ultimately defeat the monster that terrorized his land. Hephaestus stepped forward.
"When Tulpa is dead, split his armor into nine, for his
spirit shall return eons later, when a new Ancient is to protect the world.
These nine separate armors will slow his return and also provide another weapon
against the tyrant when five pure of heart inherit the armor."
The Ancient bowed his head, feeling the seriousness in the situation. This
task, he knew, would not be as easy as it seemed.
"Thank you." The Ancient said softly, his head still bowed. Zeus clapped his hands once, telling the Ancient in the process that he would be taken back to his homeland. He was also instructed to fight Tulpa when the moon was full, for then Tulpa would be at his weakest with so much light, even at night.
Once the Ancient was gone, Zeus was about to dismiss the council when he noticed that Hephaestus was still standing…and acting like he had something important to say.
"Hephaestus, speak." Zeus told the only deformed god of Olympus. Hephaestus nodded his thanks as the other deities settled back into their seats.
"The nine armors I talked about will be very powerful. I have dreamed often of this moment, and the armors shall be crafted with care by me. The armors shall be nine: the armor of Spring, the armor of Summer, the armor of Autumn, the armor of Winter, the armor of Wildfire, the armor of Hardrock, the armor of Torrent, the armor of Strata and the armor of Halo. Once these armors of crafted, some of us will be chosen to pour some power into each armor."
"Who will be chosen?" Poseidon asked, shifting slightly in his seat. He liked the sound of the Armor of Torrent; it reminded him of ocean swells and currents, the creatures beneath with which he was their keeper.
"I do not know as of now. The armors themselves will be
created on their own, with a little help from myself…and they shall choose
their own god to represent them. However, some of the armors shall set jealousy
among us, and many will try to give their gifts. The armor will accept only
those gifts set for the armor."
Before anymore questions could be asked, Hephaestus turned and limped out of
the temple to return to his forge. The gods, realizing that they would know who
would be chosen when the time came, decided to leave it at that and left for
their separate homes or domains.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two weeks later, a ripple of magic passed through every being. To those who were truly aware of the world around them, a shadow had left their mind as well. The great being that was Tulpa had been killed.
Within an hour, all the gods and goddesses had assembled near Hephaestus's forge. On the far side, nine armors were lined up and each possessed a small inner light of what could be. Without asking, each god or goddess knew that the light had been absorbed from the nine parts of Tulpa's armor that the Ancient had carved it into. Hephaestus stepped forward, wiping soot off his face, then stepped back to let each god in, one at a time.
Torrent was the first to choose, and Poseidon poured forth his power until the armor turned a light blue. Next came Autumn, choosing the goddess Eris and the god Ares. Hardrock chose next and Demeter touched its helmet to pour her power in until it was orange with her magic. The Armor of Winter chose Hades while the armor of Summer chose Hypnos. Artemis poured her power, a dark-blue color, into the armor of Strata. The armor of Spring chose Dionysus and Wildfire chose Hephaestus.
The final armor, Halo, remained dormant and unresponsive no matter which god gathered around it. Hephaestus came forward to find out what was wrong only to smile.
"This armor HAS chosen, but it has chosen four gods to represent it. Zeus, Helios, Apollo and Asclepius will be the ones to pour their power forth." Hephaestus explained, stepping back as he named the four gods chosen. The four gods placed a hand onto the armor at the same time, also putting their power in at the same time.
Slowly, the armor of Halo became a distinctive green, but no sooner was the color embedded into, did the armors transform into a small, clear sphere. Each sphere hovered for a moment, then shot through the roof in different directions.
"Will we ever see them again?" Zeus asked softly, following the path the beautiful green armor had taken. Hephaestus smiled.
"We will…in due time," was the only answer that Hephaestus supplied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(In another part of the world, days later)
The Ancient declared to all his descendants that a sacrifice would be given to the Greek gods as well as their own at the beginning of each year for the help they had given. This commandment was carried out for several hundred years…until the Greek religion slowly dwindled as the mighty gods and goddesses drifted into a deep sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A couple thousand years later, they were to awaken again. They would discover how much the world had advanced without them and be quite startled, but the one thing they would return for would be the armors. Will they seek to put havoc into the armor bearers life…or just leave them alone, observing them from afar?
Well, if you know anything of mythology, the armor bearers are in for one hell of a time…two months before the gods fade into oblivion, and they are stuck with them. Basically, the gods have returned to play with their toys…one last time.