《The children of Gods》 Chapter 1: Prologue Thanks for checking out my work, any help is appreciated as this is the first fiction I''ve ever written. This chapter is a Prologue and an introduction to the character of Renn and a bit of his back story. ----------------- Prologue Winter nights in New York are tough. Only the odd rattling of shutters and the wind whistling through narrow alleyways break up the eerily quiet nights. The usually bustling city was almost abandoned, the normal inhabitants bundled up in their warm blankets next to their fireplaces, singing Christmas songs with festive cheer. The time of year is supposed to be merry, but the bitter cold and thunder make for a sharp contrast. Renn occupied his normal spot behind the small dumpster in one of the quieter side streets. He was barely visible in the dark of the night, only illuminated via the short bursts of lightening in the distance. The cardboard box underneath him, the patchy winter coat and his thick facial hair were all Renn had to protect himself from the extreme conditions. Across the street was another man of similar stature lying on the pavement. However, his face was blue and emaciated. Renn knew he would soon be joining the other man but he wasn''t sure if it would be the cold or the cancer that killed him first. Just a mere year prior Renn was a successful Doctor. He would often go to travel to more impoverished countries with colleagues through an association known as Doctors Without Borders. Renn considered himself lucky to have seen the world in all it¡¯s glory; the godly views and the beauty of mother nature. His cause was noble, facilitating treatment of those who needed his care the most. On his travels, Renn also witnessed man and all its deplorable acts; famine, disease and pollution just to name a few. He tried to save as many as he could but the ill arrived in droves, too much for just a few men. The lives of those lost weighed heavy on his conscience. Renn soon came to understand the ignorance of the government and of those who ran it. They spent their time enjoying luxuries at the expense of so many others. He had seen too many die from problems that could be fixed with the change you could find under a sofa. After Renn received news of his diagnosis his resolve was set. He had planned to spend every penny he owned to improve conditions wherever he could while earning just enough to survive and his diagnosis only helped him solidify these plans. It brought joy to his face to see the impact he created and the lives he saved, even though he couldn''t save his own. Renn created a legacy across the world as an inspiration to others. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Renn¡¯s initial diagnosis placed him with only 3 months to live. However, he exceeded all expectations, travelling the world for another 6 months before he returned to New York penniless, homeless and dying. Renn had chosen the site of his grave long ago. He sat in the cold, numb in his extremities, looking across the river towards the statue of liberty. He liked to watch the waves crash against the man-made island. It reminded him of everything he fought for and against at the same time. Fighting for a better world, yet ironically now fighting against those who erected the monument, hiding behind their mass media and stacks of money. ¡°She was meant to represent so much more.¡± Renn said. His gaze drifted from the monument of freedom to the man across the street once more. He had spent so much time and effort all across the globe helping people live better healthier lives, yet here in the world¡¯s richest city homeless men lived and died in the street. How tragic. Looking at how the homeless could still suffer even here of all places, Renn couldn''t help but feel helpless. A doctor, of all people, was only a few feet away from where the man lay, and yet Renn didn''t have the capability to help anyone anymore. His equipment was worn out, his strength had left his body and Renn doubted he could even stand anymore. Renn was left with only one regret in his lifetime; that he couldn''t do more. As the light in Renn¡¯s eyes began to fade, the sky rumbled more frequently, releasing flash after flash of lightning. Thick dark clouds spread beyond the horizon releasing their fury on the land. The intensity of the event grew several magnitudes until there was not a moment left where electricity was not streaking across the sky. The whole continent was enveloped in these sinister clouds. However, they continued to spread, enshrouding the world in their fury. Chapter 2: The Rules High above in the ethereal plane, Zeus sat upon his marble throne. Millions of new arrivals stood before him, waiting for some sort of explanation. ¡°Welcome, to Mount Olympus. You have been judged as worthy, upstanding humans and as your reward you are welcome here to live free of the burdens of life. Many of you used to call this place, Heaven, the Garden of Eden, Paradise or others. Here you can be reunited with past family and friends delivered before you...¡± boomed Zeus. ¡°Now go my subjects, enjoy your new life!¡± With a bright flash of light, the courtyard was once again returned to its original calm. The new arrivals had been transported to their respective families and friends to greet them properly. A frown once again found its way onto Zeus¡¯ face. His second experiment had failed. The allotted time he had been given was been wasted. The earth he built had forced its way into ruins. ¡®Dinosaurs¡¯, as the humans had called them, were the original subjects of Zeus¡¯ experiments, however due to unforeseen circumstances and a little meddling of the other gods, disaster struck, wiping out the race. With little time left, Zeus created the human. A beast with extraordinary evolutionary capabilities and vast potential for intelligence. The humans looked promising, dominating the food chain with their superior tools and weapons. However, they were a greedy race and their infighting was their ultimate downfall. It would perhaps be another billion years before Zeus got his turn once again. Depressed, Zeus was summoned back to the council to take part in the discussion on which god¡¯s turn it was to mould the earth. Hades: ¡°Ahh, I see you''ve returned Zeus. Now we can finally proceed.¡± As Zeus¡¯ entered, the other gods present began to stop their procrastinating and took their seats. The room was large and open to the air. The roof only held up by the large ornate pillars at each corner. The middle of the room contained only a very large circular table, at which all the gods were seated. "As per the agreement four and a half billion years ago, I claim the turn to sculpt the earth!" Hades roared "Nonsense!" exclaimed Aphrodite. "Even if the agreement was made, allowing the god of the Underworld, a man who tortures the dead and sits on a throne of bones, is not fit for the delicacy it takes to sculpt a truly perfect world! I believe that someone with a more delicate touch, someone whom is not likely to spawn death and destruction for his own enjoyment should take the responsibility. I just so happen to think that one is also me." "Ha! Don''t make me laugh. You''ve never lifted a finger in your life. A beauty like you who is waited upon hand and foot wouldn''t know the first thing about creating something for yourself! I spend my days at the forge, creating masterpieces. I built the world the second time and came close to perfection. I believe with an additional 20 billion years of experience under my belt that I now have the confidence to finish what I started." argued Hephaestus. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Enough!" bellowed Zeus. His voice rocked the very room, dust falling from the ceiling, indicating some structural damage. A faint lightning strike could be seen in the distance, and then thunder struck, adding to Zeus'' roar. The room hastily settled down as Zeus stood up. "Arguing like little children won''t get us anywhere." He explained. "Well then, let''s hear your solution." spat Hades. Ignoring Hades'' obvious insulting tone, "I instead propose a competition, giving each member here a fair chance." replied Zeus A light murmur spread across the room as the gods chatted amongst themselves in an attempt to weigh up the advantages of Zeus'' proposal. As the noise began to die down, Hades violently shot up from his seat. "This is preposterous, the right was support to be mine! Why should there even be a competition when it is so obviously my turn!" spat Hades "Each god has their valid points. Hades, you have to admit that you are not the most suitable candidate here. As a lord of the underworld, you can at least agree with that." Zeus retorted Hades gave a light scoff and a curse under his breath, but in the end had to agree. After all he did enjoy watching the world burn under Zeus'' invention. However, He was given the next opportunity to make the Earth into his play toy, yet this had been blatantly ripped from underneath him. He had waited billions of years to turn the Earth into some quality entertainment. "But..." Hades began to say. "Enough! I understand your misgivings at these turn of events, yet I won''t leave you without compensation. A promise is a promise after all. In addition to gaining an advantage in the games to come, upon your victory you will also receive the souls of the other participants who failed. These pure souls will be yours to toy with. Satisfactory?" Zeus said. As Hades'' eyes sparkled with greed, he replied. "I guess I can accommodate these changes". "Now go, each select your participants. The rules will be explained at a later date. Good luck to each of you" Zeus said The room once again lit up with white light, each of the gods gradually leaving to their respective planes of existence. One god was left sat at the table. A bright smile filled his face, hiding a hint of sinister intentions behind it. Chapter 3: A new beginning Hi, Sorry will be taking a quick break over Christmas break. Will get back onto writing early Jan. Thanks for your patience. ______________________________________________________________________________ Everything was blindingly bright. A rush of light invaded his vision, dazing him. It took a few seconds to readjust before the scene in front of him gradually began to take shape. Before him was a spectacular view of the river. The wind was howling, forcing the waves to batter the shoreline. The sun was low in the sky, cascading deep orange into the sky above. A picturesque scene if there ever was one. In an attempt to find his bearings, he looked around in some vain attempt to figure out where he was. A frightening realisation struck him; he didn''t know where he was, he didn''t remember his name, he didn''t remember much of anything. There are many frightening things in the world: death, torture, love. Yet, none could hold a candle up to the sheer horror of not being able to remember a thing. But he did remember. He remembered what it first felt like to look upon the view in front of him; a mix of emotions but it is still something. He clung to this scrap of memory in his head and wouldn''t let go for fear of everything else, the fear of the unknown. As he looked out over the river, he couldn''t help but feel strange. This place had obviously been somewhere of importance to him. Left with no other option, he decided to wait there, fearing moving so as to not lose his only piece of retained memory.
Well Hello There. Aren''t you a sorry mess. You poor thing, all frightened stiff... Don''t worry I''m here now. You have nothing to fear.
Shocked by the sudden appearance of the disembodied voice, he quickly looked around to try and find the source.
Haha! Don''t spin around so much, you''ll make yourself dizzy. You won''t be able to find me because I''m not there. I''m in my pavilion enjoying some fine wine and freshly picked grapes. Anyways, back to the matter at hand. I''m sure you''re confused... Being reborn is not an easy undertaking.
''I''ve been reborn?'' thought the man.
Why yes. Yes you have.
Startled once again, he hastily replied through his mind. ''Why can you hear my thoughts?! What''s going on here? Why don''t I remember anything?''
Wow, that''s a lot of questions. I can''t answer them all or we''ll be here all day and neither you nor I have time for that. To summarise you were reincarnated by me to act as my representative. I am Apollo the god of the sun, music, medicine and archery. You are Renn Terzi a former doctor of earth who lived and died helping others. You were an upstanding man and it was a true shame you had such an unbefitting farewell form the world. Due to this and your proficiency in medicine I selected you to become my partner.
Renn had been shocked at least 4 times in the space of a mere hour. Today was just not his day. With the new knowledge of his own name and a bit of his past, Renn had calmed a little. As the a few of the dark patches covering his mind were revealed, more of the fear washed away from him. There is something comforting about knowing one''s own name.
Now introductions are out off the way, we can finally get on with our work. We need to scout the area to find an area to establish ourselves, somewhere we can settle and build upon.
Renn was a still afraid of leaving the area. He held a connection to the view here as it held the only connection to his past self that he had encountered. However, the voice that called itself Apollo was the only other person he had met. It seemed moronic to abandon the only other being he had ever seen. Apollo also seemed to know a lot more about him than he remembered, which was reason enough in and of itself to remain at Apollo''s side. Renn was filled with determination. He now had a objective, something to achieve. It felt like he had purpose and direction in his life, providing a relieving warmth. According to Apollo''s wishes, Renn was about to start scouting the immediate area. A muscle memory filled his mind and he started to attempt to move his limbs in a manner that would normally be considered an act of walking. To his surprise however, Renn found that he didn''t progress at all. He did not move for he had no limbs. No physical body to speak of. He wondered why he had tried at all, maybe some left over scraps of information. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Ohh, right I forgot you were not used to this type of thing. As you no-longer have a body moving will be quite different. You embody what we call a vessel. It allows souls to inhabit it''s ethereal body and transcend back to the physical planes. A queer type of existence if I do say so. It is controlled in part by me and mostly by you. As your soul is intertwined with it''s body you merely have to will it''s movement or actions. Try thinking really hard about a specific movement or action.
Following Apollo''s suggestions, Renn willed himself to move forwards. After a few seconds, Renn did in fact inch forwards very slowly.
Good. Good! That one usually takes a while for the new souls to figure out. Now, be careful you only have a limited amount of mental energy as a soul. Do not let it run out! If you get tired or feel drowsy you need to stop. A soul exists only as a mental presence with nothing else tying it to the universe. If you exhaust your mental energy you will dissipate, fade out of existence, and no god is powerful enough to ever bring you back.
Renn inscribed Apollo''s words into his mind, making sure as to never forget them. Although he has no real memories, Renn had been left with instinct and the desire to live was certainly still there.
So, let''s have a look around then now shall we?
Renn inched forward bit by bit, gradually becoming more familiar with controlling his new body. It was slow progress at first and required Renn to actively will himself, but after a few tries and a lot more practice Renn could begin to move without active effort. Now actively scouting the area, he began to speed up to a more acceptable pace. The ruins around him seemed vaguely familiar. The towering buildings rose for stories, obscuring the horizon, yet as he advanced forward breaks between the buildings gave a narrow view of the river behind. The buildings looked dilapidated, unused for years. Holes scattered the towering walls, looking like most of the buildings had no right to be standing. Vines scrambled up most of the buildings and the floor was littered with moss. The scene overall was eerie, yet also a little serene. Having explored several blocks worth of ruined city, Renn finally stumbled upon a sky-rise that seemed relatively in tact. A building more than 20 stories tall stood surrounded by rubble and half collapsed buildings.
Here! This place will do. It''s high enough and structurally sound enough to provide decent protection. It provides enough room to improve at a latter date, especially when it has more than twenty stories of unused space. Just imagining the havoc we can reek in here is getting me excited.
Obviously confused at Apollo''s excitement, Renn continued into the building and began ascending to the top. Renn, understanding that Apollo could read his mind, wondered why, even though he was confused, Apollo did not explain more. Despite this, Renn continued to climb to the very top. As he approached his destination, he felt waves of fatigue wash over him. He had been flying through the city for nearly 2 hours, which was already a commendable feat. Before he reached the top, Apollo interrupted once again.
Be careful, don''t overexert yourself. We can rest here for today and pick up again in the morning
Relieved at Apollo''s suggestion, Renn stopped climbing the tower. He had found it progressively more difficult to move further up and his concentration was drifting. He moved towards one of the large holes in the wall, identical to the many he had seen during his ascent. The sky was dark now and the sun nowhere to be seen. As Renn''s consciousness began to drift, he threw one last glance over the calm river, seeing the tip of a green stone popping up through the waterline.