The Sun & Moon

9

"C'mon! C'mon! Let's go!" Sersi exclaimed practically bouncing off the walls.

"We're coming, we're coming," Iridessa laughed running after her.

Makkari rolled her eyes, opting to walk instead. Why was Sersi so excited? Well today was Panathenaea, a massive festival in Athens dedicated to Thena. Other than the Olympic Games, it was the most important festival of the entire year and it only occurred every four years. The last time there'd been one, the group had missed much of the celebrations due to a Deviant nest appearing in Rome, Italy.

"Tell me why we're rushing again?" Makkari questioned.

"Good question," Druig chuckled watching Sersi and Iridessa excitedly go on and on about what all the humans had planned for this year's festival.

He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. Normally, she wore a pale yellow peplos and minimal jewelry. But in honor of Thena, today she wore a white peplos made from imported silk that was adorned with golden buttons to match the golden wreath in her hair and bands on her biceps. The light color reflected the sunlight off of her giving her a natural glow even in the day time. She'd also let Sersi brush a bit of something dark over her eyelids which just drew more attention to her dark eyes.

"I don't think I've ever seen them this excited," Ajak commented with a smile.

"And they're not even drunk," Sprite quipped making them all chuckle.

The girls had every right to be excited though as the day brought lots of music and dancing. The whole sacrificing animals thing was a bit off-putting to the Eternals, but the Greeks insisted on it. Iridessa found Thena as soon as she could and hugged her tightly.

"Isn't this incredible?" she breathed.

"Yes," Thena nodded, her calm smile growing a bit at the sight of Iridessa's enthusiasm, "I'm glad we got to see it this year."

"Me too," Iridessa hummed.

She was then called away by Sersi who was dancing. She immediately joined her. The festivities wore on well into the night. The moon was high over head before they returned home. Everyone offered Thena well wishes almost like it was her birthday or something before going their separate ways.

"Imagine having a whole festival dedicated to you," Sersi mused as she and Iridessa were walking to their rooms.

"Imagine having a city named after you," Iridessa replied and they both laughed.

"Night, Dessa," Sersi called as she reached her room.

"Good night!" she called back waving and entering her own room.

She was less than surprised to see Druig lounging on her bed reading a scroll. He looked up as she entered.

"You know these philosophers aren't as crazy as they seem," he remarked.

"Oh really?" she hummed moving to take off her jewelry.

"If only they were as smart on paper as they were in their minds," he continued shutting the scroll, "Their writings are just so dull."

She laughed lightly.

"Think you can do better?"

He scoffed. "Of course I can."

"Maybe you should challenge one of them then," she mused, "We are in Athens for the next few days. I'm sure Thena would like to see you rile up her people."

He snorted, rolling her eyes at that. He then stood and moved to stand behind her.

"It wouldn't really be fair though would it? I can read their thoughts," he pointed out, his hands moving to rest on her waist.

She turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and letting them rest on his shoulders. A cool smirk danced on her lips.

"When have you ever cared about being fair?" she teased.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you antagonizing me?"

"Maybe..." she hummed drawing out the word.

He chuckled and kissed her. She hummed against his lips, relaxing against him. She found herself starting to sway slightly. Druig drew back to look down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you dancing?"

"Always."

He smiled beginning to sway with her. Her smile grew at the gesture. His hand moved to take hers and the two began dancing around the room. Giggles left Iridessa's lips as they did so. Druig decided right then that that was his favorite sound in the entire world. He'd give anything to keep hearing it.

Years passed and Greece thrived. It became the intellectual, cultural, and artistic center of the world. Its empire had expanded greatly and Deviants had been removed from every inch of it. Things were perfect.

For all their knowledge of the world, there were some things the Eternals didn't know and couldn't predict. Like they didn't know just how close the end of this peace was. And they didn't know another empire had been on the rise. And they didn't know to expect them to be at their door so soon.

The day had begun like many others had. The group had breakfast together then split off to do various activities. Sprite's favorite was to argue with the philosophers who had no idea their philosophy had all come from this little girl. Sersi, Makkari, and Iridessa spent their time exploring humanity and Phastos stayed in working on his many projects like usual. Thena and Ikaris trained. Gilgamesh and Kingo messed around and had fun. And Ajak monitored it all, ready at a moment's call if any of her 'children' needed her.

Around the time the sun was setting, smoke had appeared over the horizon. At first they thought nothing of it. But one smoke trail quickly became two, then three, then a cloud, the half the city. That's when the screaming began. An invading army had come in. Ajak evacuated all of the Eternals to a nearby cliffside. It wasn't the first time an empire had fallen in their presence.

As they headed to a safe distance away though, Iridessa paused and looked back. The city was completely in flames now. A sea of dark bodies moved through it on horseback and on foot. They slaughtered everything in their path and burned in behind them. Iridessa stood frozen, her eyes wide as she watched it all.

"A-Ajak..." she whispered, her hands shaking.

Said Eternal paused and looked back. Her eyes softened when she saw the pain displayed on the younger Eternal's face. Iridessa had never been one to be able to conceal her emotions and now was no different. Her heart was breaking and it was written all over her face. She reached out slowly, wanting to dispel the fire. There was so much fire. So much smoke. So much pain. She needed to stop it. Humans did not deserve her fire. She had to take it back from them.

Her eyes began to glow as she held her hand out. Slowly the fires began to diminish in front of her. The others watched in shock as her body began to glow. They'd never seen her use this power before and the sight of it brought many questions. She glowed brighter and brighter as the fires dimmed more and more. She had to get rid of it. All of it. The humans could not handle fire. They did not deserve it.

A hand clasped her wrist. She turned her head slowly and looked over at Ajak. The Prime Eternal shake her head. Her eyes were filled with tears but she had to make this decision for them. She had to stay in control of her emotions.

"We do not interfere," she said firmly.

She pushed Iridessa's arm down. As she did so, the glow faded and the flames stopped diminishing. Tears began to stream down Iridessa's face as more screams filled the air. She felt arms move around her and she was pulled against dark fabric. She pressed her face into Druig's chest as he held her, his hand covering her ear to muffle the screaming.

"I've got you," he whispered comfortingly, "I've got you."

She broke down even more at that. She wanted to help. She could help. She needed to help.

Ajak looked away ignoring the heated glare Druig was sending her way. The others remained silent, the tension in the group escalating with each passing second. They all knew this wasn't right. But none of them were willing to go against their leader.

"All empires must end one day or another. It is an important piece in their evolution."