A new horizon
Menalippe had been blessed by Morpheus. She often dreamed and her dreams were always true. At first she welcomed the change, it was nice having a full night of sleep and not trying desperately to remember what she had dreamt. It was not until a couple of nights she realized something was wrong; she had woken up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat, feeling terrified just as if she was having a nightmare. The strange thing was she couldn't remember anything about her dream.
She hadn't dreamed for over twenty days; it wasn't unusual that there were periods of time where she dreamt less or not at all. She had tried to ignore it but there was something unsettling about the past month like a strange feeling she couldn't shake.
When she suspected that there was something hindering her from remembering her divine dreams, she knew what she had to do. In order to remember the dreams she needed to be awake at the same time she was dreaming.
There was two ways you could to do this: one way would be through meditation, second would be through using plants with hallucinogenic properties. Meditation would take a large amount of time, it could take her days before she reached the level of concentration she needed to be able to tap into her dreams and unconscious. Using the plants would go much faster but she wouldn't have any control and the vision would not be as clear, it would also take a toll on her mind and body.
Days later
"Diana, I don't have time to explain everything in this note, but this is of great importance. I've headed out into the forest in order to obtain a vison regarding a great disaster that will be upon us soon, I might not be able to return on my own. If I haven't returned on the day before the full moon I'll need you to find me."
On a timeless shore a young princess was walking along the shoreline. As the first rays of the morning sun shined across the sea the young warrior soared up into the sky, eyes locked on the entrance of forest looking for any sign of her dearest friend.
She had a bad feeling about this, she could feel the tension in the air almost electric just like before a storm that is heading their way. The princess closed her eyes and took a moment to listen to the ocean, for some strange reason it always gave her comfort listening to the waves. When she was little she felt like the ocean was her closest connection to the outside world she had yet to see and longed for. She wasn't really sure what the ocean meant to her now, it was just something soothing reminding her for the years when all she thought about was the outside world; and it gave her some comfort that even if she now could appreciate the life she had on the island, that the little girl she used to be and her dreams still existed inside of her.
It wasn't that rare that incidents occurs on the island. There have been numerous occasions when demon-like creatures had escaped from Tartatus. The army was always been well prepared against treats from the underworld.
Two years back Diana earned her place in the most honored company they was the vanguard. If the island was under attack they would lead the charge. Since joining she had been in a total of four battles with the company, together they took down the largest beasts and horned monsters Diana had ever seen. She could tell her mother wasn't very happy with her rising among the ranks at her early age, even if the queen never let it show.
It came as no surprise that the daughter of Zeus was a great warrior. She excelled at everything not only things related war and combat, it all came naturally to her. Diana even spent time in Olympus training with her half siblings.
Opening her eyes again Diana decided it was time to find her friend and flew off into the forest. Soaring above the treetops like an eagle she searched for any sign of her fellow sister. After hours of scouting, she finally discover rising smoke that came from somewhere further into the forest. She quickly accelerated towards the smoke reaching a cave.
Inside the cave she found Menalippelying on her side facing the fire, she looked pale and weak and next to her were numerous herbs and mushrooms. Diana was no herbalist but some of them she recognized to be poisonous.
Not looking at Diana, Menalippe slowly opened her dry mouth and low voice uttered Diana's name. "Diana?"
Diana quickly moved to her sisters side "Yes, Menalippe, I'm here. It's time to go." She gently lifted her redheaded friend up and as she did Menalippe quietly whispered in her ear, "The Destroyer is coming, all he brings is death. I must meet with the Queen as soon as po-."
She fainted before finishing the sentence.
Hours later
The young warrior princess was standing on a balcony looking at the sun set in the far east .The air had shifted even more during the day and the clouds were gathering over the sea, a storm was coming and the moon was turning almost red. She stood there waiting for her mother and the senate to finish with their audience with the Oracle.
Menalippe had told her on her flight back to the capital that the gods had a task for her and that she would travel to a faraway.
The gate to the hall slammed open and General Philippus came out carrying the Horn of War. Standing next to Diana on the balcony, she blew into the horn and as the sound traveled across the island, each sentry post the sound reached answered with another horn. War was upon them and it was time for the army to gather.
The princess froze midair as she heard her mother call in a stern voice, "Diana!" Turning around she saw the Queen motioning for her to follow. She knew better then to ask why so she silently walked behind her mother through the halls. She impatiently waited for her mother to speak, it always got under her skin when her mother was quiet like this.
The silence grew as they walked along the long halls of the palace, as they entered the royal armory the Queen spoke, "Diana, it's been decided that you are to be sent out on a quest."
Diana drew a quick breath but before she could reply the Queen continued, "The Oracle will brief you of your task at the fountain behind the palace. These are for you." Handing the young princess a golden shield attached to it was the golden lasso and a sword both made by her half-brother. Silently she strapped the shield and sword on her back. Diana was unsure what to say, it felt like she had been waiting for this moment her entire life, to discover the world on her own, doing her best to change the world for the better. She knew how hard this had to be for her mother; Diana imagined that her mother wished that this day would never come.
"I promise I'll return. You have my word," the young princess said, with a soft yet determined voice pulling her beloved mother into a loving embrace.
As the princess and the Queen were saying farewell, the Oracle sat on the edge of the fountain looking up at the burning sky as rocks from a far distant world were falling down upon them. One of the falling stones looked to be half of the size of the full moon. Her visions had not been as clear as she hoped for but she had at least been able to see what was needed to avoid this great disaster. The rest was now up to the future heroine. Moments later she saw her princess walking towards her.
The warrior princess was fully dressed in her plated armor, the head piece and shoulder pieces were gold colored. The head piece covered her forehead and had a red star engraved in the middle, there were golden wings covering each side of her head covering most of her raven black hair. The left shoulder piece had eagle head and wings while the right side was flat with a symbol of a half moon. Connecting to the shoulder pieces was the chest piece, striped with silver and in the middle was golden a eagle.
Menalippe couldn't help but smile as she watched her young princess walking towards her with the pride and confidence only an amazon could have. She reminisced of the past 18 years and how wonderful it had been seeing Diana grow into the amazing woman she was today. Having lived for as long as Menalippe had, the Oracle could appreciate things that made her smile unconditionally, and whenever she thought of the princess whom she loved with all her heart she couldn't help but smile. She was indeed a pure hearted soul who she loved unconditionally and she was without a doubt both a daughter and little sister to all of the amazons who had been blessed by her company.
The young princess halted in front of the fountain greeting Menalippe with a nod. She was glad to see that Menalippe was doing better, but this was not time nor the place for pleasantries. She had seen how the sky had changed color to red on her way over here, she knew there was very little time to spare. Besides when the Horn of War has been blown it was important to focus on the battle ahead.
Menalippe couldn't help but widening her smile even further, she knew what her young princess was feeling and couldn't help but feeling of pride seeing her as a brave warrior. Being an Oracle she was not trained the way of a warrior in the same manner as most amazons so it didn't require her to be as strict as Diana.
"You will be sent out to find a being that has fallen from the stars. My vision was not very clear on what to do, but this ally from the stars will be a key to undoing the destruction done today. You'll need to bring this with you."
In her had she hand she held a oval shaped orb which the shade of dark purple. "This is an ancient Orb of Chonos. I'm afraid I cannot tell you when or how to use it. I can only tell you it will be needed and that you should keep it with you at all times, its true purpose will reveal itself in time. You will be sent near the star fallen being and this mark will reveal to you who this being is."
The Oracle crouched down and with her finger she drew in the dirt. The mark looked like an upside down triangle with something that resembled a "S" in the middle.