Chaos: The First Read online

  Chaos

  By Tammy Fanniel

  Romance/Fantasy

  Copyright © 2012 by Tammy A. Fanniel

  First published in 2012.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chaos

  Copyright ©2012 Tammy A. Fanniel

  Cover art by Tammy A. Fanniel

  All right reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  To My Family and Friends. I love you with all my heart.

  Land of Alexandrites: The God’s Wife

  The war between the Gods raged in the heavens and its spillage irrevocably changed the Earth. Blood from the Gods dripped to the earth and created creatures of imaginable powers and strength. Greed permeated the soil and the hearts of humans causing the Source, Chaos to rouse his sleepy head from the void of ignorance. Disgusted with his offspring he sets into motions events that will forever change the world.

  Prologue

  History of the creation of the Lands

  In the beginning, as Earth was shaped within a yawning void of darkness Chaos ruled the universe. No one has ever seen this divine being, not even the Gods themselves remember how they came into existence. It was said that Chaos was lonely so he created his children, the five original elements. He called them Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, Nyx, and Eros.

  Nyx was the power of darkness, seductive and alluring, yet feared and respected by her siblings, lesser Gods and men. She was the first of Chaos’s offspring to give birth to children. Consorting with Erebus, she gave birth to Aether, Hemera, and the Fates. Aether was the elemental God of Air, illuminated with heavenly light. Hemera was the Goddess of Light, giving life to the infertile Earth, and mother of Thalassa. The last of Nyx’s children were the Fates.

  The Fates were neither good nor evil. They were the first oracles who weaved the threads of destiny. They are Clotho, the spinner of life’s thread, Lachesis, they giver of thread, and Atropos, the final one ending the life of the living. It is said that fate cannot be altered, however the choices and actions of the living souls as good and evil befalls them, shapes their destiny. There are many paths and the Fates see them all.

  Of Nyx’s womb, the evils that plague the land gave rise to those souls that would find themselves in the burning abyss of Tartarus. Doom, Death, Misery, Resentment, Deceit, and Strife were her children who further procreated to create Murder, Carnage, Battle, Jealousy, and Lawlessness.

  Tartarus was the underworld located in the depths of the Earth. In the fiery depth of Earths womb, Tartarus held together the bottomless pits of hell. He was the first ruler of the underworld. With the creation of humans and their souls, Tartarus sank into nothingness as he judged and punished the guilty for unspeakable atrocities. There he stands as a silent witness to the sins of humankind and the Gods his brethren gave rise to. It is thought that Tartarus never bore children of his own, despondent with the ways of Gods and men alike. The innately good souls found another place, a heaven where they awaited their rebirth.

  Erebus was the gloom of Tartarus. His gloomy mists blanketed Nyx where he fathered Charon, Thanatos, and Hypnos. Unlike the incredible burden held by the Keeper of Hell, Erebus sat on the peripherals of Tartarus, offering his brother Tartarus strength when his burdens became too great. As atrocities on Earth rose, he could not stop his brother from fading into the darkness of Hell and he feared that his brother would altogether disappear.

  Charon, child of Erebus, was also known as the Ferryman of the Dead, transporting lost souls into the fiery depths of Tartarus. His brother Thanatos was the God of Everlasting Sleep. When the Fates clipped the thread of life, Thanatos escorted the souls to the underworld where Charon escorted them to Tartarus to be judged. Evil souls burned in the fires of ash and molten lava whereas those of light were later reborn to fulfill their destiny. His last child Erebus’s was the God of Sleep, who rejuvenated souls for the trials and tribulations humans bore.

  Eros was the force of love, desire, and fertility. He was a beautiful, golden winged, joyous God full of mischief and responsible for interfering in the affairs of Gods and mortals alike. Legend has it that that from his mating with Chaos, sprang forth the first mystical beings; angels and humans. Humans were his children. They were weak and primitive but he loved them in their innocence and frailty. He sent his firstborn children, the angels to look after their brethren. However, as time shaped his children, he began to turn his back on them as their cruelty flourished. Their brethren gave silent watch, not yet ready to give up on their less developed siblings whose lives were short yet filled with so much passion, both good and bad.

  Gaia was the Earth, worshipped by all, human and mythical creatures alike. She was sacred across the lands. Gaia, also called Mother Earth, bore Uranus, the sky and starry heavens without congress. She later bore Pontus, the sea. She took her son Uranus as husband and their joining was sacred, marrying together the Earth and the Heavens. With Uranus, she bore Acheron, the God of Rivers, Python, the twelve Titans, the one-eyed Cyclops, and the three Hecatonchires, the hundred handed. After these children, Gaia later bore other children including unicorns and dragons however, her labors were terrible. During her labor, the mountains rose; the valleys shaped, and in her pain, deep crevices bore the marks of her children’s birth. Her labor gave way to the fundamental formation of the corporeal world.

  The Titans

  Of the wombs and loins of the original elements sprang forth creatures with quite human emotions. They were not evil nor good, they were the elements of balance, springing forth from the originals. The titans were the children of the Earth and the Heavens and with their birth; they came into being as sibling pairs.

  Oceanus, Father of River Gods, gave rise to hundreds of species of Oceanids with his bride Tethys, Goddess of the Fertile Ocean. She bore three thousand children including the sea nymphs. They were a giving, festive, and joyous lot, bequeathing a bounty of fish to the land dwellers. Tethys visited the fresh water springs and lakes leaving gifts of nature’s beauty to the land dwellers. Oceanus and Tethys also created Clymene, Goddess of Fame and Infamy.

  Hyperion took to wife the timid Thea. Together they created Helios, the Sun, Selene, the Moon, and Eos, the Dawn. Thea also conceived the Cercopes, the trickster monkeys.

  Iapetus, Father of Mankind took care of the powerful mountains and was husband to Themis, one of the two Earth Goddesses. Themis was the stern Goddess of Order and Justice, as well as an oracle. Iapetus and Themis brought into being Atlas, Epimetheus, Prometheus, and Menoetius. Themis was also Zeus’s second consort where she bore him Horae.

  Crius, the Ram, took to wife Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory who bore Eurybia and Astraeus. In an act of betrayal, Zeus seduced Mnemos
yne, who bore Zeus the nine Muses.

  Coeus, God of Intelligence and Deep Searching Questions married Pheobe, Goddess of Wise Counsel and Thoughtful Replies. Their daughters were Asteria and Leto.

  Cronus was the youngest of the Titans. After castrating his Father Uranus, he became the Father of the Gods. With Uranus retreating into the unknown, Cronus and his consort Rhea, Mother of the Gods, became the first true monarchs of the Gods. However, according to the Fates, history would repeat itself and the age of peace and prosperity that civilized the world for thousands of years was to end as Cronus was destined to bear the same fate as his father. Cronus and Rhea fathered Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. Prophecy claimed that as his father before him, his children would overthrow him. To avoid the fate of his father, Cronus ate all his children but one, Zeus. Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone so Zeus escaped his sibling’s fate.

  The War of the Gods

  It was told Uranus was terrified, shamed, and disgusted with the unsightly children Gaia bore him so he locked them deep in the bowels of the Earth. Gaia endured the pain of carrying her monstrous children and the burden of heartbreak for losing them. She begged her Titan sons to free her children and rid her of her pain. They were frightened to go against Uranus, but one rose to the challenge, the youngest of her children, Cronus.

  Gaia created a sickle for her youngest out of elements and celestial magic that could slay or maim an original elemental God. She plotted with her son and when night fell, as Uranus spread him over the Earth and lowered him towards his wife to make love to her, Cronus lashed out with the bespelled sickle and castrated his father, flinging away the genitals.

  Many mystical creatures sprang from the genitals of Uranus’s blood and sperm; some horrific, some mischievous, and others beautiful. From his blood sprang vengeful gods and goddesses (Giants, Meliae). From his sperm sprang the beautiful and mischievous gods and goddesses (Aphrodite, Goddess of Love; Nymphs of Ash, Merfolk, Selkie, Kelpie). Made a Eunuch by his son, Uranus was humiliated and faded into obscurity, a silent watcher of the transgressions of man, God, and creatures. Gaia flourished, becoming mother to all and advisor to some.

  Cronus and Rhea were the first who ruled over the Gods. As promised to his mother Gaia, Cronus released all her children from within the depth of her caverns but they wrought destruction across the land and had to be immediately imprisoned once again. Under Cronus’s and Rhea’s watch, the world flourished with peace and prosperity. However, the Fates had a different plan. As the children of the Titans battled the balance of good and evil within their hearts, a great war was in the making; the war between the Titans and Olympians.

  Gods Blood

  The war between the Titans and Olympians created chaos in the human realm as well. Their emotions and blood spilled onto earth creating a tidal wave of bloodlust. The first drops of blood that spilled to Earth mingled with the minerals and matter creating the Dragons of the realm. These creatures were of purity born of the natural elements found on Earth. Their memories and magic came from the blood of their creators, and their wisdom came through the experience of their immortal lives. They watched as the mortal civilization matured. They watched the trials and tribulations. In the beginning they were mentors and friends. Mortals were a mixture of evil and good, continuously struggling with both. This began to change as the bad blood of the Gods morphed their innocents into greed, jealousy, wantonness, and hatred. The balance between good and evil became precariously imbalanced.

  As the heavens became more and more divided, the greater gods turned their backs on what they perceived to be lesser beings. This included minor Gods, mortals, magical creatures alike. With the neglect of their creators, some creatures became despondent or angry and others didn’t care one way or the other. Stuck in the mortal realm, they began to mingle with mortals. Some created families, taking to husband or wife mortals and sharing their essence with them to elongate their short lives. Others created Kingdoms to rule over. Some hid themselves, content to wander the beautiful land, interacting with the creatures that were innocent and pure. Many turned their backs on the mortal realm, living on a magical plane separate, yet parallel.

  But not all creatures turned their backs on mortals. Their brethren, the angels still watched over mankind. They guided them through their dreams, or whispered in their ear. However, after time some angels felt forsaken and their innate goodness twisted into something else. As their purity became blemished their physical light and beauty changed into a dark contrast.

  Some remained half in the light and half in the dark letting human emotions rule their actions. Others turned completely to the darkness and became demons. The world was changing and with it its inhabitants.

  Before…Earthly Greed and the Dragons

  The war between the Gods raged in the heavens and its spillage irrevocably changed the Earth. Blood from the Gods dripped to the earth and created creatures of imaginable powers and strength. The Gods blood mixed with the Earth’s soil, bonding those creatures to the mortal realm. The blood that touched the natural minerals unique to each region created the Great Dragons. The Dragons represented the division of the lands, each holding unique talents within their magical blood. Their magic was tied to their land, feeding off the matter that helped create them.

  These lands were divided into five parts. Land of Alexandrites, ruled by King Abelard, was a world of shifting hues. The yellow dragon’s scales embodied the radiance of the crystal found in the mountains. The dragon absorbed the lights through the aluminum matter which was reflected in the yellow scales of her body. Green by daylight and red by luminescent light, her offspring radiated varieties of pinks, columbine, and soft red hues. She sighed as she closed her eyes and sought contact with her brethren from other lands. They were not faring well, and their magic was weakening as they fought the evil that began to pervade their lands.

  Land of Opal, ruled by King Anieli was ruled by the shifting hues of the diverse opals found in his region. The matter reflected colors of whites, grays, reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and blacks. The dragons absorbed the depth of colors found within the silica. Their scales shone like black oil, with the colors shifting in the sunlight and lifeless at night. As the evil of God and mortals perverted the land, the dragons withdrew into their mountains, creating a shield around their precious lairs that prevented tainted souls from entering. They withdrew their magic from the earthly realm and were now feared by mortals, being viewed as monsters and hunted for their magic, scales, ivory, and flesh. Although they had the power to destroy, they retreated into their mystical mountains, watching in wary sadness as the land surrounding their haven was slowly being destroyed for the wealth Opals brought mortals through trade. With the destruction of the land, their shields began to weaken, and dissension rang in the great halls between the Elders and younger dragons. The question rang clear…tread on the line of extinction or destroy any who dared to enter their lands. The younger charges threw off their Elders inhibitions as their loved ones were hunted and destroyed. The only thing that held them back was the lesson learned from their brethren…to kill a human darkened the essence of the dragon.

  Land of Pearl, represented the waters of King Acanthan’s watery depths. ..Land of the Merman. Yet mostly unexplored, the oceans and seas remained magical. Instead of flying through the air, the great underwater dragons glided in the watery depths. The white scales were tinged with the blues and greens of the oceans. In the depths of the ocean, where the water obscured the light their scales were omniscient, glowing with health, vitality, and magic. They refused to acknowledge the chaos of the land dwellers, misguided in their beliefs that the chaos wouldn’t touch them. Until recently, they turned a blind eye to their land-dwelling brethren. However, the murk from the constant excavation of gems and minerals began to run into the oceans by way of the many rivers that crisscrossed the land. The pollutants dredged up from the mines began to affect the water inhabitants and those that lived
and flourished close to land saw a marked decline in their numbers as babies were lost, malformed, or took the one and only breath after being birthed. With the loss of their precious children came the knowledge that the ocean and land were bonded in a cycle of ever giving and taking life.

  Land of Sapphire represented the burning mountains of King Cledwyn. The dragons rose from the fiery depths of the mountains and they fought with the humans for dominance. For each innocent life they took, their scales turned crimson with blood and their essence black with hatred. It began to change their innate good nature, turning them into the beasts that legends made them out to be. As they flew over their lands, burning those that wandered too close to their breeding grounds, mother Gaia wept for the loss of life, human, immortal, and dragon alike. They were the examples that held back the Dragons of Opal. They watched in shock and dismay as their fiery brethren turned into mindless beasts with each innocent life lost. The mortal counterparts of King Cledwyn watched in dismay as his Kingdom succumbed to the greed of materialistic and magical wants as their search for both pillaged and raped the land and the people that were defenseless against royalty and Dragons.