Fan Fiction ❯ Vessel of the gods ❯ Awakening ( Prologue )

Awakening

 

 

I am afraid of what is to come. This spine chilling terror has never left me ever since that faithful day, when I gazed upon the future, upon death. For two years, I have carried this terrible burden but still I quiver at the thought of its realization. The Ancestral Riones have never lied. It will happen, the same way it predicted my separation from my sister and my reunion with my father. These events are signs. Signs pointing to the ultimate day of reckoning, the day the gods awaken, the day I die.

 

I have learned to accept my fate but I remain scared, scared that I might fail in my duty as an Alpha and scared for my little one, Solstice. I look to my right and see my beautiful black-haired angel peacefully playing with the new cotton doll her uncle gave her. I sigh. I wish only that she be spared from all the imminent violence. I do not want her hurt in any way. She is my daughter first before all else. I have already made arrangements with my half-brother. He will care for her once I have gone. He is a good and wealthy man. Most of all he loves her, his first niece. I trust him completely and I know he will not disappoint me.

 

I look back at the life I have lived. Born as an Alpha of the Tribe of the gods, the Kreeg, my life was already foreordained. If and when the proper time came, I would awaken the gods, as all Divines are capable of. So much has happened to me that I did not think my origin would still come back to haunt me. Alas, this proper time has almost come.

 

Now, I am sitting atop a circular abstract Asian mat that is concealing the celtra, I had etched on the floor with my rione weeks ago. I can still remember clearly when I had felt that the final sign would soon come. I had just moved here because of my father. I met with a friend of mine, a policeman, I had not seen in years. We were just catching up on each other's lives when he started yapping about this vigilante he had been chasing after all his life. That is his exaggeration. At first, I was just amused of his passion to catch this villain but as the conversation progressed, as he described this fiend further, I began to realize that this person fitted the description of someone I knew fully well. When his name was spoken, my fears were confirmed. My husband was this elusive rogue and he was here, in this very city where I now live. It must have been funny, how I suddenly had to leave with no apparent reason. The panic just took over me. I had left my friend in the café with not as much as a goodbye. I had rushed home and carved a crooked triskele inscribed by a circle, the sign needed to call the gods or a celtra, on the oak floor in the living room. Sheer panic had taken over me that I completely disregarded the shrill and deafening sound, a sound similar but only louder compared to a piece of chalk scratching a blackboard, produced by my rione as I scraped it on the flooring. I was entirely out of touch with reality then that I only heard Solstice screaming of pain when I had already finished.

 

“Mom?” I hear my baby girl call. I gaze on her face full of doubt. She must have noticed that her mother had been staring on the floor for quite sometime now. I can truly see promise in her, even in her young age of four. I believe she will be a magnificent Omega and this event would be her opportunity to prove me right. Once I awaken the gods I would die and it would be impossible for them to survive without a vessel. Old legends tell me, that whoever awakened the gods is also compelled to aid them but in my death someone will have to take over. I know there are no other Divine Kreeg for miles except my daughter and myself. My sister is a Divine as well but I know she is out to fulfill something else, something grave. Thus, it could only be Solstice, who is to replace me. As a mother, I am proud. She will be known in the Kreeg, as the first Dilko, half-breed who dominated the gods. She will be legendary and highly revered. They shall build a statue of her. Her name will be known anywhere. As for I, I will be mentioned as the avenue for her fame but only in the detailed books. I will not be so important. That is alright. I have had my share of fame, rather bad publicity I should say. Like the rest of the ostracized Dilko, I received nothing more than prejudice by the time they found me out. Ha! But Solstice's triumph would be my last laugh to those who abhorred me. They will know that it is not a matter of pure lineage rather a matter of strength, skill and courage.

 

“MOM!!!!” Solstice's annoyed scream startles me out of my thoughts. “What are you doing?” she demands with her tiny girlish voice. I look at her as she scowls at me with displeasure. I am truly proud of her. She has the strength, the skill and the courage to achieve it all. I know for I glimpse it in her fearless golden eyes. Such eyes seem to challenge you every time you look at them. Just as I recognized it in… for a split second, I see the great resemblance of my husband to my daughter as if I had seen him again. No! The third and final sign…

 

Right away, I hear the charms that I placed around the house shattering to pieces. I had done that to warn me of the dangers that would come. “Solstice, hide!” I yell out to the very top of my lungs. They are here. I yank the Asian mat out of my way as Solstice ran to the kitchen just as we had practiced. There a trap door is hidden in the pantry with a tunnel leading out the house. I had it made just for this tragedy. I throw myself on my knees atop the celtra. I chant in Kreeg language vigorously, beginning the Summon. Solstice, I hope you are fine. I know the celtra would protect me until the Summon is over but not my daughter. The inscribed triskele gave off tremendous light, almost blinding. I close my emerald green eyes to remain focus. In spite of my fear, I keep on reciting the incantation.

 

I sense several beings have broken into the house. My avatars of death are closing in on me. Solstice… thoughts of her keep popping in my head… Be safe. I feel my spirit rising up to the heavens to search for them. My long brown hair is being blown skywards in the process. It is almost over. Just a few more… A strong sensation of familiarity washes over me. Sonia… I distinguish my sister's aura from the rest of the intruders. Just as the Ancestral Riones showed me, she has come to take my life. The perplexity awakens in me. Why? Why is my sister of all the people in the world the one to bring about my own death? Why me? Why am I the one to do the Summon among all the twenty four Divine Kreeg? Why do I have to die? What is the sense of this all??? The Ancestral Riones have never given me justification… only visions, terrible visions of the future. Showing events I could not justify let alone stop. Seeing visions of the unyielding future is no gift. It is a burden I have lived with my whole life. I don't want it anymore!

 

A long and most terror-stricken cry distracts me. Solstice! I open my eyes but see nothing but white blinding light. No. I continue chanting as tears roll down my eyes. I don't know what happened to her but she… no… she is not… no. Solstice, please be alright. From a distance, I hear three screams in unison. These screams are from a jaded resident, a sentimental passenger and a rich observer. I have found them… the gods. My spirit's search is concluded. My duty is finished. It is done.

 

The bright white light as well as the celtra on the floor vanishes before my eyes. I will look for Solstice. Suddenly, a loud boom welcomes me before I can move an inch. My eyes grow wide as I see a sparkle of silver go through and through my stomach hitting the wall. Blood…gushes from my stomach to my hands. “Solstice!” I call for her as I try to catch my breath. “I'm sorry…” I whisper while falling on my back. “Goodbye.”