The Rise Of The Monsters: Prologue

''' Esperanza Origins'''

Rise Of The Monsters

- Prologue -

The cold breeze neighboring the streets of Olympus was silent. Every light was snuffed out, the evening sky stretched above. There was one place where light shined like a raging firefly. In the hall of the Olympians, a bonfire crackled while the gods were discussing with each other in low, serious voices.

“Someone has stolen it,” Zeus said gravely, shifting uncomfortably on his throne.

“Father, that can’t be!” Hephaestus exclaimed, standing up from his own throne. “The Olympian Flame is impossible to handle! Its magic is too powerful, even we cannot handle it.”

Athena also stood up from her throne and paced around the hall. “You must see it, Hephaestus. It was not present on its column. The guards surrounding it cannot remember anything. Someone has wiped their memories.”

“But do they even know what this fire could do?” pondered Ares.

“I believe they do,” Hera said. “We found this flame in the dangerous fields of Tartarus many years ago, collected by a champion. He is very faithful for bringing this flame to us. This flame could be the most powerful source of magic we could find to date.”

“But, how do they know?” Apollo said unknowingly. “I mean, we haven’t let this information go public, at least, not outside the mortal world. It was hidden here in Olympus.”

“By taking away the flame, this individual has declared war,” Zeus said.

“We cannot engage into violence, father,” Athena chided. “We must discuss this matter closely before jumping into conclusions.”

Hermes raised his hand. “What if the champion stole it?”

“Impossible,” Hera shook her head. “He…he died while carrying the flame here in Olympus. I couldn’t do anything to save him.”

“That’s just cruel of you, mother,” Hephaestus remarked.

The large doors of the room opened and came in three individuals. Two were the guards that were supposed to guard the Olympian Flame. In a middle of them was a man with a ponytail and wore a tuxedo.

“Hello, my fellow brothers,” Prometheus smiled. Now all the Olympian gods stood up from their seats and glared down at him. Prometheus raised his hands and continued to smile. “I am not here to declare war. I’m merely here to tell you some very useful information.”

“Actually he’s here because he was at the scene of the crime!” one of the guards shoved Prometheus forward. He flinched, and then brushed the dust of his tux.

“We have an ideal suspicion that he’s the one who stole the flame,” the second guard said.

“My, my…jumping into conclusions already, eh?” Prometheus sneered, and then turned to face the gods’ glowering faces. “Today, right now, I am an eyewitness to your problems, because these two gentlemen had told me about your current situation. Sad, isn’t it? Please hear me out, Lord Zeus, before you decide any punishment that you want bestowed upon me. But of course, not the vultures…”

Zeus hesitated, and then slowly sat down on his throne. “Go on,” he waved his hand. The other gods remained standing.

“I was just walking around the district when someone ran past me,” he spoke like this was a normal weather chat. “I found this very odd, since no god here in Olympus wander around at this time of the night.”

“An absurdly tale!” Aphrodite interrupted. “Why is he here in Olympus when is suppose to be ‘in hiding’?” For once, the goddess of love was attentive. Zeus raised his hand. “Let him continue, Aphrodite.”

“Thank you,” Prometheus bowed. “To answer your question, Lady Aphrodite, I was around the corner because I came here to visit the goddess Philia. We have something to discuss about, but it’s nothing really important to you. If you want proof, why don’t you march into her house and interrogate her?”

“Could you describe this individual?” Artemis chimed in.

“Gladly, my lady. He wore a dark cloak around him, and he appeared to be cradling something in his arms. I’m not sure. It is nighttime, so my vision isn’t clear. But I felt a very strange aura around him when he passed me. It was really strong, yet there was the smell: the blood of a mortal.”

“I don’t believe this,” Aphrodite shook her head.

“Then do you have anything else to explain this, Lady Aphrodite?” Prometheus asked politely. Aphrodite hesitated, and then shook her head again. “What about all of you?” Prometheus moved around the foot of the gods’ thrones. The Olympian gods stayed silent, even Athena, who couldn’t find anything that could support her hypothesis. “And even I, a titan, couldn’t carry the flame like all of you. If I do, then it would have been burning my tuxedo, since it’s supposed to be in my pocket, and I probably should be burnt out by now.”

“What if you hide it somewhere?” Hermes asked, breaking the silence.

“I have not yet arrived at the elevator when these two people had caught me by arm,” Prometheus gestured at the guards following him closely. “And if I were to hide it, the flame should still be here in Olympus if I have not gone down. It’s a bright thing, you know, so it’s not hard to see it in this lovely evening.”

Silence followed again while the fire continued to crackle in the middle of the room. Demeter tended to the flames, unnoticed.

“We do not know this individual,” Zeus finally said, “but later in the morning, we will start to search for this mortal. We must be careful, because he could carry the flame, and he might ignite it.”

“I do have a theory, though.” Prometheus waggled a finger. “I forgot to mention that I have seen a flash of gold and silver from the individual who ran. I have never seen a mortal so colorful! Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I have a good suspect to present for you.”

The gods moved closely, eyeing the tuxedo man with interest and suspicion. “Who is this person do you suspect?”

“Josh McLean, son of Hyperion, the titan of light. It makes a little bit sense that he is the one who stole the Olympian Flame. He is a very odd mix when it comes to bloodline, and that makes him a very powerful demi. Plus, he has the blood of a mortal. Tell me, Lady Hera, is there a mortal who once took hold of the fire?”

Hera swallowed, “My former champion, a few years ago.”

“Then it makes a bit of sense that if you have mortal blood in your veins, you could carry the flame around like a pendant. He is also a former alias of the titans, am I wrong? And also, he is the son of Hyperion, so he has no problem carrying something bright around, and then hides it when someone’s looking.”

There were murmurs of both agreement and disagreement. But before the gods could shout their judgment, Zeus shouted, “Very well! Find and bring this Josh McLean in this palace tomorrow and we will hold an Olympian Council. I do not want to hear any of your retorts. Dismiss!”

To be honest, Zeus was getting drowsy and tired. He didn’t get much sleep during the past few days. He wanted to end the meeting quick, get some sleep, and continue discussing this problem tomorrow when he would be more awake and brighter.