War of Gods

Prologue: Murder in the God's Kingdom

Apollo the Sun God was rarely permitted to leave his chariot which pulled the sun across the horizon, which meant the ridiculous story he had heard about and hour earlier had to have been true.

Apollo left his chariot in the care of a divine servant, then headed straight to Heaven. "Father..." he whispered in a concerned tone as he rushed up the golden stair case above the eternally white clouds.

As the Sun God arrived outside the pearly gates, he heard the same, familiar voice echo from a point unknown to all but the oracles. "Who goes there to try and enter the gate of Heaven? Are ye dead? Are ye an angel? Speak now if ye wish to be granted access to this land!"

"Tis' I, fair gatekeeper. Apollo. Son of Zeus and God over the sun!" Apollo stated loudly.

There was a moment of silence, as if the unseen gatekeeper were watching Apollo from afar, confirming his identity.

"Very well Sun God Apollo! Ye may enter thy father's kingdom!" The voice boomed out and the pearl gates began to separate, radiating a bright light from behind.

As soon as the gates fully parted, Apollo re-adjusted his toga and made sure his sandals were firmly secured to his feet, then entered, the white light engulfing his godly body.

As Apollo's eyes adjusted to the divine glow of the heaven's star, he saw the majestic city of Pertopia, the closest thing heaven had to a capital. The roads were gold, and the sidewalks silver. The walls of every building were coated in diamonds, and all the people wore the most luxurious and comfortable clothes. All cities in Heaven were like this, yet Pertopia was the largest and the grandest.

As much as Apollo loves to be in this city, he knew he had to make it to the palace of the gods, Olympus.

At least the gatekeeper took me to Pertopia immediately. Apollo thought to himself as he ran down one of the silver sidewalks towards the massive, floating palace in the sky. I can't afford to waste any time!

As Apollo approached the floating palace, he kicked up his feet and took flight. In a matter of just a few seconds, he landed on one of the outside platforms which lead inside. He walked towards two guards on duty, who immediately stood at attention at the sight of the Sun God and allowed him to pass through.

As Apollo entered, he found the corridor which lead him to the throne room of the Gods. They must all be converging there...

Appollo reached the two large, glided doors, took and deep breath, then pushed them open.

Inside, he saw his mother and all the other gods, major and minor alike. A few turned to face him, some were too busy shedding tears, some were too involved in their conversations with the other gods to bother, and some had the nerve to be drinking wine at a time like this.

"Apollo!" The Moon goddess and Apollo's twin sister Artemis came running toward her brother from halfway across the massive, circular room.

After a quick embrace by the two siblings, Apollo looked at his sister with a look of utter concern. "Are the rumors true? Is father really dead?"

"Y-yes... Stabbed and hanged from the gardens with golden chains..." Artemis said in a gloomy tone.

"Stabbed? How could our father, Zeus, master of lightning, king of the gods, be struck down by an assassin's blade?" Apollo said in disbelief. He had always thought of his father to be immortal, for this to happen was completely unprecedented.

"I'm not sure Apollo, but that's not important right now. Everyone is growing restless. They're all calling for a new king to be named immediately, and they're all taking the liberty of nominating themselves for the position."

Apollo looked over his sister' shoulder and saw two minor Gods arguing with one another, and several feet away, a large group were having at it. It seemed the tension in Pertopia was very real.

"I see what you mean, they must calm down, we need order!"

"Good luck," Artemis scoffed in an unenthusiastic tone "not even mother was able to shut them up."

At the mention of his mother, Apollo looked over his sister's shoulder again and noticed Hera, queen of the gods, surrounded by many angry looking Gods, and a very frightened servant holding a bloodied sword upon a cushion.

"Is that the blade which slayed father?" Apollo asked nodding his head toward the servant.

Artemis turned around and gave him a gloomy reply. "Yes... It was found out in the courtyard not too long ago..."

Apollo quickly pushed past his twin and the large group of Gods surrounding Hera towards the servant. "Allow me to examine that blade good sir." Apollo said as he reached for the blade which laid upon the servant's velvet cushion.

"Apollo wait!" Hera reached out to try and stop her son, but he had already laid his hand upon the blade.

There was a brief moment of silence, then Apollo let out an ear-splitting scream and dropped the sword to the ground.

"The blade is cursed sir! Whoever touches it with their bare hands must endure the pain of it's victims!" The servant says as he comes to aid a doubled-over Apollo.

"I-I just felt my father die..." He said as he moved his hands away from his stomach to show to his own disbelief that there was no wound.

All the Gods in the throne room had stopped whatever they were doing and were now staring at Apollo.

"...Well, now that I finally have your attention," Hera directed her voice towards the Gods and Goddesses in the throne room "we must discuss Zeus' replacement as King of the Gods in a diplomatic manner. I shall not allow for my household to become the starting point for an all-out war!"

"And why not your majesty? For after war comes order. Especially amongst the greatest losers." A strangely-dressed god step forward out from the crowd and confronted the queen of Gods.

"Who are you?" Hera said suspiciously of the man she assumed to be a God.

"I am Loki, God of honesty and pureness amongst the Norse." The strangely-dressed man took a small bow as the crowd of Gods behind him whispered uncertainly amongst themselves.

"A God from another faith?!? What are you doing in our heaven?" Artemis challengingly stepped towards Loki.

"My good lady, if you'll just hear me out, I believe I have a solution to your problem which will satisfy all of you." Loki smirked as he raised his arms to his sides and faced all the Gods. "All I ask is a moment of your time to explain my plan. I'm certain you'll all like it..."