Julien Gregg's Days of Atlantis 5: The Vampire Saga
Days of Atlantis: The Vampire Saga
by [Julien Gregg](mailto:juilengregg85@gmail.com?subject=Days of Atlantis on Nifty)
This is the story of Darias and Ren, two gods born of a human queen. They were born the princes of Atlantis and their lives were nearly destroyed by the Olympian God Zeus. After a lifetime of rape, torture and violence, Darias attacks Zeus and is cursed by Apollo. He can never see the sun again and must hunt humanity for their blood. The vampire is created. Learning of his brother's plight, Ren attacks Zeus, thinking that he is the God who cursed his brother. Ren will be cursed by Artemis. He will be ruled by the moon and be forced to change into a beast who hunts humanity for their flesh. The Forsaken is created. This is their story. Many of the Greek and Egyptian Gods will be featured in this story. I did research, but I felt it was necessary for this story to change certain things about the Gods. This is only a story so please don't try to correct me. This is the beginning of the Vampire Saga. This is how it all began. So just enjoy the ride. This story contains scenes depicting violence, death, murder, torture, rape, homosexuality, heterosexuality, homosexual sex, heterosexual sex and has a strong violent and sexual theme. If it is not legal in your place of residence for you to read this type of material, or if you are offended by this type of material please leave the site now. For all others the chapter links are below.
This story is a work of fiction its characters do not exist outside the story. Any resemblance to living people or places is strictly coincidence. This story is Copyright © 2015 Julien Gregg. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This story contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
Chapter 4
They stood before the prisoners. There wasn't room in the scold for all of them, so rooms in the south tower of the palace had been converted by Poseidon into cells. One large common room was where all thirty-seven of the condemned men were held. All but one of them had been accomplices to Savetor. The last was Savetor himself. They'd all been whipped by the Master of the Scold. All of them were naked and showing their pain and discomfort. All the way around the large room these men were chained, hands over their heads to the wall. Around their ankles were strong iron shackles that were bolted to the floor, keeping their legs spread wide apart. Darias as First Prince and their official accuser stepped forward to inform them all of their fate. He read each name on the scroll out loud before he told them what was in store for them.
"The thirty-six of you have been found guilty by the Crown of the crime of treason and abusive conduct to the royal family," he said in a loud and clear voice. "For these crimes you will be dragged through the streets of Atlantis to the execution yard where your heads will be cut from your bodies and your remains will be burned and your ashes will be scattered over the sea.
"Savetor, former Consort to the Queen of Atlantis," he continued, facing his ex-stepfather now. "You have been convicted by the Crown of the crimes of treason, abusive conduct toward the royal family, rape and torture as well as the attempted murder of Amaila, Queen of Atlantis, Darias, First Prince of Atlantis and Ren, Prince of Atlantis. For these crimes you will be tied to the post in the commons center where citizens of Atlantis will be invited to throw stones at your naked body. Then you will be tied to four horses and dragged through the streets of Atlantis to the execution yard where you will be tied to those four horses and be pulled apart head, arms and legs. Your remains will be burned and your ashes will be placed in an iron box that will be on display in the Hall of Criminals."
"Have any of you anything to say in your defense?" Amaila asked when Darias fell silent. "Would you attempt to urge the Crown to spare your lives?"
Several of them began to beg and plead for their lives. This was planned that very morning between the princes and the queen. If they pleaded and begged enough they would be spared their penalties of death and made slaves to be sold to the brothel where they would be castrated and then raped and beaten by men every day. Darias remembered Poseidon saying that Atlantis was supposed to be a utopia where no citizen knew violence or fear. He was sickened by how far away from the God's vision Atlantis had turned.
"Very well," she said. "Twelve of you to be named by Prince Ren will be spared. However, the twelve of you will be taken immediately to the brothel where you will be castrated and branded as sex slaves. You will be trained to pleasure men and women with your bodies and beaten every morning and night for the rest of your lives. When you become too feeble to perform your heads will be cut from your bodies and your remains burned and scattered over the sea."
Ren read the twelve names and ordered them taken to the brothel. The others including Savetor screamed and begged for mercy, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Savetor was unchained from the wall and dragged from the tower to the stables. They followed behind him listening to his cries of pain and for mercy all the way to the stables. Once there they watched as he was tied to a rig that held four horses. Guards mounted the horses and rode them out of the stable and into the streets of the city. A carriage had been prepared for the royal family to ride in style and comfort to the area of the inner city of Atlantis known as the commons.
"Brother, how do you feel about the day's events?" Ren asked as they rode through the streets in the carriage.
"I'm indifferent," replied Darias.
"How can you be indifferent?" Amaila asked. "You've sentenced twenty-five men, including your stepfather to death and twelve men to a life of rape and torture."
"Mother, you forget that all of these men participated in my stepfather's games of rape and torture that he visited upon your twin sons while he kept you drugged with poison so he could rule your country," Darias said coldly. "You also forget that we have been to war and have killed many men and even children who a God set upon our path to kill us. Forgive me if my indifference offends you, but I don't have enough left inside me to pity those who have tried to destroy me."
"Such things you say to your mother," she nearly whispered as her eyes welled with tears. She turned to Ren. "And how do you feel about all of this?"
"I feel sorry for two young boys who had no idea that life wasn't supposed to be filled with dicks being shoved into their asses and mouths by hoards of men and the lashing of whips, striking of fists, kicks of feet and constant verbal abuse," he said evenly. "I feel sorry for a queen who was kept drugged in her bed while her children suffered at the hands of her husband. How do I feel about the sentences handed down over the thirty-seven men who made those two children believe that their lives were meant for nothing but rape and abuse? My heart is heavy but I am sure I will sleep soundly knowing that twenty-five of those men will be dead very soon and twelve of them will have no balls to rape little boys and will have become victims of their own perversion and torture."
"I cannot believe what I am hearing," she said, pressing a hand to her heart. "What has happened to my smiling and loving children?"
"We've just told you what happened to your smiling and loving children, Mother," said Darias. "Please do not make us suffer more by repeating ourselves. That chapter of our lives is over, and neither of us would like to sit and rake salt over old and tired wounds."
"Our lessons were learned well, Mother," said Ren. "Never forget that."
They rode on in silence. The queen cried silently in her seat as her sons watched the passing homes and businesses through the openings in their canopy. She couldn't believe that they had lived those horrors for years and suffered so at the hands of her husband. She'd wanted children so badly and through blind love she'd let a man nearly destroy them. How they had survived was beyond her. Now she had two hardened men for teenage sons and it was partly her own fault for loving a man who could do those things.
When their short ride was over they stepped out of their carriage and were ushered to the throne like seats that were set up on a platform for them. The center seat was the largest, and of course it was meant for the queen. The seats on either side were smaller but no less decorated. They were gilded thrones from somewhere unknown. The cushions were red velvet covered goose feathers. A brilliant white canopy had been erected over their platform. They took their seats and said not a word to each other.
Savetor was removed from the chains that hung from the rig and dragged to the post that had been erected in the center of the brick covered courtyard of the commons. They chained his hands above his head and his ankles together before securing them to the post with thick nails. He cried out for mercy the entire time. Darias was surprised to see so many people gathered for this event. The sentence had been announced as they were riding to the commons, and already there were hundreds of people in the crowd. Each had a stone the size of the bitter fruit that grew on the trees behind the palace.
"Citizens of Atlantis," said Otto, the new Master of the Scold. "You are here to participate in the sentence of Savetor, former Consort to Queen Amaila and convicted criminal. You will each be allowed to throw one stone at his body with any amount of force you wish."
Darias and Ren never took their eyes off Savetor as the citizens threw their stones, striking him everywhere on the front and sides of his body. Those who were behind him struck him on the back of his body. The only area safe was that which was covered by the post he was chained to. His bones broke and he was rendered unconscious twice. Otto came forward, halting the throwing of stones to revive him each time he was knocked out and then the stoning would continue. It was midday before it was over. Savetor was revived again and once again tied to the rig behind the horses. The royal family took their places in the carriage and the ride began again. This time they were headed for the execution yard where before this day only ten men had been executed.
Once there Savetor was tied to the four horses by his wrists, ankles, waist and neck. Men swatted the horses' backsides to get them running. Darias and Ren watched as a leg was pulled from Savetor's body, then an arm and finally the remaining arm and leg. Then his head was ripped from his body and there was blood everywhere. The horses were stopped so that the body parts could be recovered. Then they were piled on the pyre and the fire was set. The yard quickly filled with the scent of burning flesh. It burned their noses and made their stomachs try to revolt.
They were taken into the building to be served food and drink while the fires burned the body parts. Amaila looked green and refused anything but water. Darias and Ren ate full plates of meat, cheese and bread and drank wine by the goblet full. She eyed them with disapproval, but they paid her no mind. They'd grown used to eating within smelling distance of rotting flesh during the war.
"How can the two of you eat with that smell?" asked their mother as she sat across from them at the table.
"Easy," said Ren. "We ate not ten feet from the rotting dead during the war. You can get used to anything, and humans require food to survive. Why, if we told you what we had to eat during the war you'd die from starvation because you'd think of it every time you tried to eat food."
"What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"He just told you that you didn't want to know what he's talking about, Mother," Darias pointed out. "We can eat now because we've both eaten with worse scents in the air and have eaten worse. We've eaten things that would turn your stomach faster than the scent of burning flesh seems to be doing now."
She asked no more questions, but she was clearly upset by what Darias and Ren had told her. How could she have let that man do those things to her sons? She felt like the worst mother in the world. She was surprised that Poseidon let her live. She couldn't wait to get back to the palace and try to put this entire day behind her, but then she remembered that there were still twenty-seven men to be put to death. The royal family had found them guilty, so the royal family would have to be there for their executions. She felt particularly ill.
The people marched into the yard to view the executions. Savetor's had been for the royal family's eyes only. The twenty-four others would be public executions. She cringed as she heard the people yelling for the heads of the traitors to be cut from their bodies. She was sickened when she saw children on adult shoulders and wondered how any mother or father could bring their children to see something so horrific. She didn't think she could stomach watching those men beheaded.
She watched as the men employed by the executioner began to clean the blood from the yard. That took a while. She tried not to watch but she couldn't stop herself. Darias and Ren continued to eat as if nothing was going on. She wanted to shove their plates in the floor and dump their wine goblets onto the table. She couldn't believe they could eat while this was happening not ten feet from where they sat.
"Your Majesty, Highnesses," said Otto as he came into the building. "We're about to begin. If you would please take your places."
Darias and Ren drained their goblets and stood. They thanked the serving women for their meal and then followed Otto out of the building. She had no choice but to follow her sons. They climbed the steps to the platform where their thrones had been placed and took their seats. They had a clear view of the executioner's block. It was a five foot square black stone platform with a wooden neck rest so low to the stone. She'd seen a beheading before and it had given her the most terrible nightmares. She feared sleeping after today's showing.
The naked men were bound to each other. She saw some stumble and the others hold them up. She could clearly see that each of them were weeping. The headsman stood with his huge axe just off to the left of the neck rest. The first man was untied and forced into position. He wailed in fear and agony which was cut off along with his head. The process was barbaric in its swiftness. The blood was mopped, and then the next condemned man was in place. She turned her vision inward after the ninth man was beheaded. They still had fifteen to go. The sun began to sink from the sky and she prayed that this would be over soon.
It was full dark when the last man's head was in the basket. The men of the execution yard gathered the bodies and placed them on the pyre. The heads were placed, basket and all on top of the piles of men and it was set afire. They were ushered back to the carriage as the people cheered and praised them. She didn't want their praise and hated their cheers for what she'd been a party to. She said nothing to her sons when they were in the carriage. The ride back to the palace was silent.
When they got to the palace Amaila went straight to her rooms. Darias and Ren met with the other Gods in Darias's sitting room. They told them all of what happened and about Amaila's reaction to it. Isis told them that it was often hard for some human females to witness executions. Darias believed that it had been Savetor's execution that had done her in. A part of her loved that man even after she'd been told what he'd done to the twin sons she professed to love. A part of her still loved that man even now that she knew the truth about what he'd done to her.
Darias went to sleep that night with thoughts of how much Amaila had loved Savetor. He wondered how much different his life would have been if she'd been awake and aware the whole time. For some reason he thought it might have been worse. A part of him felt betrayed by her grief but the rational part him believed that she was no different than Savetor. She may not have hurt them physically, but if she'd been given the chance she'd have hurt them in other ways.
The construction of the temples for Isis and Ra continued on for weeks. There were still feasts and celebrations all over Atlantis where the people celebrated the crowning of the princes. Darias and Ren spent their days with Phalon and Rafael and their evenings with Isis, Poseidon and Ra. Amaila rarely came out of her rooms. Her meals were served in her rooms. She never called for them to sit with her, and they never volunteered. Ren had told Darias that he felt pretty much the same as he did about Amaila. Poseidon cautioned them not to neglect her, but they couldn't bring themselves to look at her. With everything that had happened in their lives to see her weep over the death of their main tormentor was just too much to forgive.
Darias went to the brothel to check on the twelve men sentenced to live out what little of their lives remained there. They'd all been castrated and were healing from that, so they weren't pleasuring anyone so far. He politely declined the advances of the other whores and made his way back to the palace. The people he saw bowed or curtsied when he passed them, their thoughts were pure which made him sigh with relief. Before the ascension any time he'd left the palace and mingled with the people of Atlantis all he heard in their thoughts was how desirable he and his brother were and what disgusting things they all wanted to do to their bodies.
For days the people celebrated, which was expected when a new prince or princess was crowned. Amaila stayed in her rooms and most of the running of the country's affairs was taken care of by Darias. His lessons had prepared him for this, but he still believed that this was Amaila's job. In everything but name Darias was ruling Atlantis already. Isis and Poseidon had both checked on Amaila, but they didn't have good things to report.
"Her spirit is broken," Isis said.
"Because we killed her husband," Darias said coldly.
"No, my son," said Poseidon. "She suffers because she feels guilty for marrying him to begin with. She doesn't mourn him. She mourns the loss of her innocent children. She believes that she is at least partly responsible for all that has happened to you."
He thought about what Poseidon had said. If Amaila was truly feeling guilty then he was an ass. He needed to make her understand that all that had happened to them was Zeus's fault. The Gods couldn't put anything alien to what the person was actually capable of in their head, so Savetor was already plotting to be King of Atlantis. He already held some form of hatred for her twin sons. Zeus just exploited that hatred and that desire to be king. Amaila needed to understand that.
He went to his brother and told him what Amaila was feeling and together they went to her side. They tried everything to get her to listen to what they had to say but the sight of them seemed to distress her even further. Darias decided to have the physicians look at her. They found that she'd been poisoning herself with the very substance that Savetor had kept her drugged with. Darias was aghast at the news.
"There's nothing we can do for her now," said Jer as he stood just outside the queen's chambers. "She's taken too much of the poison. Savetor only gave her a very small dose each morning. She's taken almost double what he was giving her. I believe it was her intension to kill herself."
"Mother," Darias said, turning to Isis.
"I cannot change her destiny, my son," said Isis. "The laws of destiny are unchangeable. If she has done this by her own hand then it was destined."
"Then this, too is Zeus's fault," he said coldly before turning and walking away from them.
Darias was beside himself with anger for the King of the Olympian Gods. So this was why they would attack him. That seemed to be what he was afraid of, yet he'd done everything in his power to make sure that they hated him enough to try and kill him. If they knew how to kill a God then Darias wasn't sure that they could keep themselves from doing that very thing to Zeus.
Then Phalon and Rafael were gone from their home. No one knew where they had gone. Darias asked every servant, every guard and anyone who had any connection to Phalon or Rafael. No one knew what had happened to them. He asked Poseidon to search for them and was dismayed to learn that his beloved instructor and friend were in Greece. What was even more infuriating was Poseidon's report that Phalon and Rafael had no idea how they'd gotten to Greece or why they were there. They just knew that they could never return to Atlantis.
"Zeus," said Ren when Poseidon finished telling them about their friends. "He did this. I don't know why or how, but I know it was him."
"Everything that's happened is Zeus's fault," Darias said coldly. "The way we were treated for almost our entire childhood, the war that nearly killed our spirits, Amaila poisoning herself and Phalon and Rafael mysteriously disappearing from their home here in Atlantis and winding up in Greece with implanted instructions never to return to Atlantis. Zeus did all of this."
"Why would he send your friends to Greece of all places?" Ra asked.
"Because they're Greek," Ren said. "Phalon's family had lived in Atlantis for generations, but they were not Atlantian. Phalon explained to us that the men of their family as well as the daughters were promised to other Greeks for marriage. He said that it was imperative that their Greek blood not be mixed with any other."
"Zeus," Darias breathed. "He meddles in everything." He and Ren looked into each other's eyes for a long silent moment.
"What are you planning, my sons?" Isis asked.
"Nothing," they said at the same time.
"We're just getting very tired of him meddling in our lives and in the lives of those we care about," said Ren, looking down at his folded hands in his lap.
"You cannot go after him," Isis cautioned.
"We know that," said Darias. "Until we figure out how to kill a God we can't go anywhere near Zeus."
"No," said Isis. "You cannot even go near him if you learn how to kill a God. Darias, Ren, you must stay away from Olympus."
"Fear not, Mother," said Ren. "We don't wish to be cursed. If we go to Olympus, we'll take all of them out."
Nothing more was said about their wanting to kill off the Olympian Gods. Darias went back to attending to affairs of court, Ren went back to seeing to the day to day running of the soldiers and their training. In the evenings they got together to practice their God powers. They learned that Darias could do pretty much what Poseidon could do with storms, but he couldn't affect the sea at all. Ren could throw lightning and make the clouds thicker and ultimately form a funnel. That discovery had near caused a tornado. They could hear each other's thoughts if they concentrated on each other or one of them concentrated hard enough on sending a mental message to the other. They could act in tandem when they were focused. They were both trained in warfare and together they were a force to be reckoned with.
Amaila got worse by the day. She was no longer eating on her own. Jer and the other physicians had to force feed her liquefied foods. Half the time she spit it all out or let it run from her open mouth. Her eyes were unfocused and unresponsive now. To look into them was to see emptiness as if her soul was gone. The twins knew that when she died it would be another thing to lay at the feet of Zeus, her murderer. He'd done everything to set it in motion, and they would make him pay for it.
"All right," said Ren when they were alone having lunch in the dining hall two days later. "What are we going to do about Zeus?"
"We're going to keep practicing with our powers," said Darias. "Then we're going to find that damned cave and make those bitches tell us how to kill him."
"You do realize that we're discussing killing our uncle," said Ren as he took a drink from his goblet.
"Ren, Zeus is nothing to me after all he's done," said Darias.
"Oh, me either," Ren said quickly. "I was just saying it out loud. I mean it's been bouncing around in my head for a while. I just thought that if I said it out loud it would stop crashing back and forth in my skull and stop giving me a headache."
"You're a God, Ren," Darias said with a smile. "You don't get headaches anymore."
"You know what I mean," laughed Ren.
"Yes I do, and I'll tell you something else I know," Darias said straight faced and serious. "Zeus has tried to destroy us for our entire lives. He needs killing."
"I agree," said Ren. "So we practice and then find the cave and what?"
"Make them tell us how to kill him," Darias said a little louder.
"And if they answer our questions with riddles?" Ren asked.
"Then we'll use our powers on them," said Darias.
They didn't discuss it further after that. They went back to practicing with their powers in places where they wouldn't be seen. They spent time with Amaila, holding her hand and basically letting her know they were there. Darias had to take time out of each day to handle matters of the crown. Ren spent part of his day with Ra and Poseidon discussing what it meant to be a God. Poseidon divided his time between Atlantis and Mount Atlantis. Darias finally asked him when they would be allowed to go to Mount Atlantis.
"You can go any time you want," replied Poseidon. "It is a place open to all of the Atlantian Gods. You two are Atlantian Gods."
"So we're Atlantian, Egyptian and Olympian Gods," Ren said.
"Well, yes," said Poseidon. "If you choose to accept Olympus then you are Olympian Gods. They will never accept the two of you, so technically though you are Olympian Gods by birth, you aren't recognized and never will be by the people of the Earth as Olympian Gods."
"It's enough to make your head hurt, brother," said Darias, smiling at him.
They each flashed themselves to Mount Atlantis. Darias was shocked to see that he could still see Atlantis from where they were. There were lots of marble columns that held up nothing at all. There was a humongous garden with every different species of flower. At the back of the garden, surrounded by moon flowers was a pure white statue of Isis. Across from her statue, surrounded by black irises was a pure white statue of Ra. Between the two and about ten feet in front of them, surrounded by water lilies was a pure white statue of Poseidon. Darias was shocked to find a pure white statue of Ren surrounded by the purple aconitum flowers. He was even more surprised to see a pure white statue of himself across from Ren's surrounded by another purple flower he knew well. The long green stalks with purple buds and five petal light violet flowers was vervain.
"This place is amazing," Ren breathed as he turned in a full circle to look at everything. "Those are statues of us."
"Of course they are," said Isis. "You are Gods of Atlantis."
"The people just don't know about us yet," Darias said. He wondered if they ever would.
"The people will know about the two of you when you let them," said Poseidon as if he had read Darias's mind. "Unfortunately that can't happen until after Darias takes the throne."
"And that won't happen until Amaila dies," Darias said sadly.
Poseidon led them through the entire plane. There was a palace much like the one they'd grown up in. There were no people inside. There were no people anywhere on the realm. He explained to them that their temples, when built would be direct doorways to this place but only accessible to them. Each God could only use the doorway between this realm and his or her own temple on Atlantis, Greece or anywhere a temple to that particular God was built. He assured them both that their temples would be built.
"Already you two are well known to the Romans who believe that you were born on Olympus," he explained. "They don't know that you are the princes of Atlantis. They believe that the princes are only named after you."
"How do they know about us?" Ren asked.
"Constantine," Poseidon replied. "Constantine is the only dual sexual God in existence. Sometimes she is female, and sometimes she is male. She is the God of Equality. When a new God is born, Constantine announces it to the people. When you and your brother were born Constantine told all of Rome and Greece."
"So they knew that we were Gods when they were fighting to kill us?" Darias asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"No," said Poseidon. "They believed that you were simply named after two brand new Gods."
"But that would mean that we have temples in Greece," said Ren.
"You do," confirmed Poseidon. "You have temples in Rome, Greece and Egypt."
"But our shrines here don't connect with our temples in Egypt," said Darias.
"No," said Isis. "You would have to go to Egypt to connect to your temples there."
"This is all a bit much to deal with," said Ren, shaking his head. "The people we're about to rule don't know we're Gods. The people who fought against us in Zeus's war believed that we were named after Gods, and the people of Rome think the same thing. What do the people of Egypt believe?"
"That you are the Gods," said Isis. "Ra and I have made sure of that since the day you were born."
"So the people of Egypt have been praying to us all this time and we didn't know it?" Darias asked.
"They've been leaving tributes," she said. "Yes, some of them have prayed to you. They've done wonders in your names."
"And what exactly are we the Gods of in Egypt?" Ren asked.
"You are the God of the Hunt," she said. "Darias is the God of Blood."
"The Fates," sighed Darias.
"Yes," said Isis.
"But if we are known as the Gods of what the Fates said we would be, then why am I the God of the Hunt in Egypt?" Ren asked.
"The Fates said that you would become the God of Wolves and the Hunt," she replied. "Egypt doesn't have wolves."
When they got back to Atlantis, the palace was in an uproar. Servants and soldiers were actually running to and fro. Darias was confused for a moment and then he and Ren took off at a hard run for the queen's chambers. People were gathered outside the door, talking softly until the two princes arrived. Then they all stopped talking and looked at them with such sympathy. They parted as the princes moved forward. When they walked through the door they found four physicians sitting in the sitting room. They each had their heads down and Darias knew what he would find in the bed chamber.
Queen Amaila had died in her sleep. Darias and Ren stood there and let Jer give them his report. She had died peacefully and painlessly. He was so sorry and conveyed wishes that he could have done something. Darias nodded and tried very hard not to let his emotion show. Ren was as still as the statue they'd seen in the great garden. Neither of them could think clearly at that point. She was gone and there was no bringing her back. Isis had called it destiny and told them that destiny could not be altered even by the Gods.
One by one the physicians and guards knelt before Darias, calling him majesty. He hadn't thought about what her death meant outside of the pain and guilt he felt over it. He was king now. It was too much to process. He walked out of the queen's chambers and headed for his own with everyone following him. He had no idea what they wanted. All he knew was that he had to grieve. He closed the door in their faces and sank into his favorite chair. She was gone. He'd never gotten the chance to tell her and make her understand that he and Ren didn't blame her for Savetor or anything that had happened in their lives. She had been a victim too. He'd said such horrible things to her, things a mother should never hear from her son. She was their mother. She'd carried them for nine months and given birth to them. That made her their mother just as much as Isis was.
Ren came into his sitting room and sat across from him without saying anything. He kept his head down and Darias could tell that he was weeping. He felt the same way about the mother they'd never be able to sit and talk to again. They were left alone for the most part. The Gods didn't even come to sit with them. They were happy for that. They needed to grieve alone. That they were together was as it should have been as well. They came into the world together after all.
Their private grieving didn't last longer than one night. The next morning they were awakened by palace officials and told to bathe and dress for breakfast. The funeral had to be planned and of course Darias's coronation had to be planned as well. He was king after all, but not until he was crowned. That took a coronation. It was all enough to make Darias want to have the lot of them executed as soon as he was crowned. Of course he wouldn't do that. He would be king in truth after the coronation, and these were his subjects. He had to rule them justly.
They bathed and dressed in all of their finery. They were escorted to the dining hall by more guards than they'd ever had before. The staff buzzed around them like bees, putting plates of this and bowls of that on the table before them. Then they began walking around filling the water goblets, wine goblets and generally being a nuisance. Darias sighed and let it happen. He knew that there was no getting out of it. Once he was crowned he planned to spend all of his time on Mount Atlantis and only return to Atlantis when affairs of the crown demanded his attention.
The day got worse however. They were ushered into what had been the queen's office and made to sit there and listen to the plans for their mother's funeral. Darias finally insisted that she be placed in the glass coffin and carried through the streets. The people needed to have closure after all. They finally accepted that and moved on. They talked about the month of mourning, and Darias had nothing to say to that. She deserved their mourning, and a month was not nearly long enough.
What it meant was that for one month the people would wear black and shops and stalls would only open for two hours per day. They would open after the breakfast hour and close before the lunch hour every day for one solid month. It would make things difficult in the realm, but it was tradition and Darias couldn't stop it.
Artists were already painting silk portraits of the queen to be the flags of her coach. They would be hung on poles attached to the carriage that would carry the glass coffin through the streets. Gold and jewels were taken from the vault to be temporarily affixed to the edges of the coffin. She was to be buried in a tomb next to where the Temple of the Gods had been. The tomb was called the Royal Vault. Mourners could come at any time to light the incense and place flowers and offerings in the antechamber. Her likeness would be painted over the cover of her vault.
They announced the death of the queen at high noon. Bells chimed all over the city. The people gathered in the commons to mourn their fallen queen. Darias and Ren were paraded around so the people could see them. It was tradition that princes and princesses would appear in the mourning crowds to calm the people. Darias didn't know if it would calm anyone. There'd been such discord in the realm since before they were born. They'd wanted to pull Amaila from the throne and kill her just seventeen years ago.
Princes, princesses, kings, queens and emperors from other lands began to arrive the following day. They were all given rooms in the palace for their comfort as they prepared for the funeral. Darias knew none of them. He nearly went mad when they informed him that Pias, the King of Greece was in residence along with his retinue which included Duku. He wanted to go up to their rooms and take Duku's head as soon as he'd heard the man's name, but he stayed in his rooms and allowed him to live. He couldn't wait for all of this to be over.
Feasts were held for the visiting royals, and Darias and Ren had to attend. They were seated a the head of the long table in the Dining Hall and the royals were seated on either side of the table. Darias had made sure that Pias and Duku were not seated anywhere close to them. He finally got a look at the legendary Duku though. The man was easily as tall as Darias with long plated dark hair and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. He had the body of a warrior, all muscle and girth. He wore the uniform of his station with his sword sheathed on his hip.
Pias was a tall thin man with dark hair that had been plated and then wound around his head. His golden crown was at the center of what looked like a flat bee hive on the top of his head. His blue eyes bored into Darias's from across the room as he was seated. He looked pale and sickly, and Darias wondered if the man was dying. It was of no importance to him. They were no longer at war with Greece. He did think that it was an insult for the pair of them to attend the funeral of the queen of a nation they had tried to destroy but he said nothing. He just kept reminding himself that it would all be over in a month.
"What are they doing here?" Ren asked when they were safely alone in Darias's sitting room with Isis, Poseidon and Ra.
"They're royals of the region," Poseidon replied. "It hasn't happened in your lifetime that a monarch of the region has died. They all come to pay their respects. Wars are halted, all conflicts forgotten and every grudge put on hold for the time of respect. It's tradition for all of the royalty in the region, Ren. This is the way it is supposed to be."
"But he and his people tried to kill us," Darias spat. "They killed so many of our soldiers. The only thing that stopped that war was Isis."
"Yes, but your queen is dead," Poseidon said firmly. "They have come to show their respect for the queen. The war had nothing to do with the queen."
"What's to stop them from starting another war, this time all about the king?" Ren demanded.
"Because very soon he, along with every other monarch in the region will know that you and Darias are Gods," Poseidon said. "You will be announced shortly after Darias is crowned King. No nation will come against Atlantis once it is known that she is ruled by a God. Humans don't go to war with Gods, Ren."
"And what if the announcement is not enough to convince anyone that we're Gods?" Darias asked. "So far they all believe that we are simply named after a pair of Gods."
"Theras of Rome will believe it," Poseidon insisted. "He was told that you were named after Gods born on Olympus, but he never believed it. He's a suspicious type of person. He suspects that you are the very Gods of Olympus."
"So he knows the truth even if he doesn't fully believe it," said Darias. "But my question is still unanswered. How will we make them know the truth?"
"You will perform miracles for them, Darias," said Isis. "I know that the two of you have been practicing with your powers. Make them see you for the Gods you are."
"All right," said Darias. "When do we put on this display of God power?"
"After your coronation and the month of mourning," said Poseidon. "Don't upset the people when they need to mourn their fallen queen. No monarch will attack Atlantis during the month of mourning."
They allowed the so called peace to continue for the next few days. Artists were still painting the portraits, and the people were preparing their offerings of tribute. The glass coffin was being constructed, and Darias seethed inside over the fact that it was taking so long. He wanted Pias and Duku out of Atlantis. Having the pair of them under his nose and not being able to call for their heads was exhausting. There didn't seem to be anything he could do about their presence however. He supposed he'd have to endure it.
He was galled by the fact that the monarchs of the region were together for every meal as the days went on. At each of these meals Pias and Duku were seated at the other end of the long table where they stared back at the twins the entire time. They ate like savages in Darias's opinion. They tore at the meat with their teeth, pawed at the food like heathens and slopped wine and water all over themselves as they drank from the goblets. He had half a mind to believe that they were doing it on purpose, making that their big in your face message to the future king of Atlantis.
"They're pigs," he shouted to Poseidon the night before the funeral. "They eat like savages, and I've heard the staff talking about the disgusting state of their suite of rooms. I want them gone."
"You have the month of mourning to put up with them, Darias," said Poseidon. "It begins tomorrow."
"Tomorrow!" he cried, livid over the fact that it had been a week since they'd arrived and the month of mourning hadn't even began. "If they continue to act this way I'll use my power to make them into the pigs they are."
"It would be an act of war, my son," said Isis as she glided over to put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't use your power on any of the monarchs during the month of mourning. Please, my son, be patient. It will be over in a month."
The funeral was held in the Dining Hall. The tables had been removed and the queen's coffin sat on a pedestal in the center of the room. Priests and Priestesses of the Gods said words over her as the hall filled with monarchs and Atlantian officials. It lasted for two hours and ended with the line of monarchs passing through the doors, shaking Darias and Ren's hands as they left the hall. Darias straightened his back and held his head high as Pias stepped before him.
"So you are to be king now, young prince," Pias said as he stood before him. His voice held just a hint of sarcasm as he spoke.
"I am king," Darias replied.
"We shall have to see if you are still the soldier you were when you faced my people," Pias said. "After the month of mourning, of course."
"When the month is over I can have all of my forces within your country and we can face each other as kings if that would please you," Darias said coldly.
"War?" Pias mused. "I don't think either of our nations are ready for another war."
"I didn't say it would be a war," Darias replied. "I merely said we could face each other in battle. I didn't say anything about my forces attacking yours."
"A shrewd mind," Pias said in a voice that held consideration. "You and I will discuss the state of our nations at the end of the month of mourning, King Darias. I promise no treachery."
"We shall see each other in a month," Darias said, inclining his head slightly.
They took their places in the carriage that carried their mother's coffin through the streets of Atlantis. The people lined the streets, throwing flowers and crying out in their grief. They hailed their fallen queen and halted the carriage over and over again so that they could touch to coffin. Darias was ready for it to end long before they pulled in to the palace yard again. He was weary of the people and it had been so hard not to say a word to them as they expressed their condolences.
The month of mourning nearly did him in. He hated Pias and Duku and the sight of them turned his stomach. Then he learned that there were Olympian Gods in Atlantis and he nearly lost his fragile hold on his temper. His aunt and cousin were in the Dining Hall in plain sight as he glared at them. Poseidon went to speak with them, yet when he returned to his post behind their chairs they remained in their seats. Darias was furious over this, but he knew that this was not the time or place for a confrontation.
Everyone knew that a confrontation was coming though. He could see it in the set of Isis's eyes when she looked at them. He could feel it when he looked at Ra. Poseidon was acting more nervous than he'd ever seen him before. Yes, they knew that the confrontation was coming. Darias just hoped that for once the Fates were wrong. If they were not then so be it. He would take his place as the God of Blood and he would make the very ground the other Gods stood upon quake with his anger.
He prepared the soldiers and their servants for the trip to Greece. He let them know that it would be soon after his coronation. They would be taken to Greece by a God where Darias would face Pias in battle. They weren't to interfere and they weren't to attack the people of Greece unless they attacked first. Yes, the confrontation was well on its way. There was no stopping it now. Darias would see to that himself. If any tried to stop it they would learn not only that he was a God but just what kind of God he was in truth. No one was ready for that. They would know soon enough, but if they pushed him or his brother they’d learn the truth of what kind of Gods they were no matter who was ready for it and who wasn't. There was no going back now.
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