ACT 0 | ORPHIC

❛We are not makers of history. We are made by history.❜

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

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A note on this book:

It is the story of what happens when you make the ten most powerful people in heaven play a game of musical chairs with one seat.

Unto death.

This is the story of a Queen.

This is a story of a Queen with eyes of fire and a heart of gold. Yet she cursed everything she touched, losing it all. She lost every last semblance of hope or happiness. All that remained to her were her broken talons and spilled poetry.

This is the story of a Queen who no longer feared death. Death was her old friend. Death was the one who shattered the dreams which once used to rattle inside her lungs like cracked porcelain.

This is a story of a King.

This is the story of a King who became the worst victim of twisted fate, left with broken memories tainting the rest of his life. It forced him to become a monster, but the truth is that monsters aren't born. They are made.

This is the story of a King who taught his Queen to smile again, running his hands over her past and lingering over the dents and worn edges of her heart. She thought he'd leave her like the others, but he promised her she was a warrior, a goddess, an infinity of strength, that she'd never have to be alone again.

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The attractive stranger watched me warily, his royal blue eyes quietly flickering over. The sky cracked open with lightning as he finally opened his sinful lips to speak.

What is your name, child?

They call me Miriel.

Are you a goddess, Miriel?

No.

Is there a chance you are human, then?

I think.

How did a human chance upon the immortal world?

What?

What do you know about our world, child?

This world is called Endollon.

Even a child knows that.

You would know more?

I would.

In the beginning, there was Chaos. Out of that, emerged the first gods.

Which ones?

Uranus, the Father Sky, and Aurea, the Mother Earth.

Who were the children of the Sky and the Earth?

There were six. The eldest were named Pandora and Zadicus.

Zadicus and Pandora. They were the first Titans, the gods who founded House Tytos.

The next born were called Cosmo and Titania.

Cosmo and Titania became the King and Queen of Endollon. The King and Queen of all the gods.

And the youngest, they were named Emerick and Justaline.

He was the disgraced, prodigal son, founder of House Rotavelle.

Uranus was displeased with his children, scared that they would try to take his throne.

What did Uranus do then?

Uranus started plotting to kill his children.

What happened when his wife, Aurea found out?

She got so unhappy that she decided to end his life. She fashioned a sickle made of a metal called Bloodstone and got her children involved in her plan to kill Uranus.

Did they all agree?

Only the middle born son, Cosmo, decided to go ahead with it. That night, when Uranus came to Aurea's bed, Cosmo attacked him with the sickle, severely injuring him.

What happened after Uranus was injured?

The skies shifted, for Uranus was Father of the Skies. The six planets fell out of their orbits.

Did the six planets fall on the land?

No. Aurea, being Mother Earth, stopped the planets from falling. She used an enormous amount of power to fling them back into space, and it left her weak and drained of power.

What happened when Uranus found out about her betrayal?

Uranus killed Aurea and Cosmo killed Uranus.

What happened to the planets still in orbit?

They never really aligned themselves properly, but that was the day Aurea saved the rest of the world from destruction.

So how did the world show their gratitude?

The world celebrates the day with pomp and splendor. Every one hundred years, the six planets pass within a degree of each other, the way they were the night Uranus and Aurea died. The festival to commemorate it is called the Century Ball as it occurs every hundred years.

How do the six Houses decide where to hold the auspicious event?

The six Houses draw lots to decide an order on hosting the Ball every century.

What happened to the heart of the dead Uranus?

His heart into the huge river, which was the place from where the race of the Grendel emerged.

What of the river?

The river became known as the Derwentwater, or the Derwent.

And what of Aurea's blood which splattered the land?

From the drops of blood, the race of the Halflings was born.

What did Cosmo and Titania do?

They became King and Queen.

Were his siblings jealous?

Yes. Zadicus, the eldest son, got jealous of his younger brother, regretting not killing his father when he had the chance.

So, what did Zadicus do?

He and his sister, Pandora, founded House Tytos, the House of the Titans. They had six children. Together, the eight started making preparations to wage war against Cosmo and get the throne.

Did Cosmo and Titania have children?

Yes. They had six offsprings. But only the eldest two, Helios and Nyx, were brave. The rest were cowards. Only Cosmo, Titania, Helios and Nyx fought against the eight Titans when they attacked.

What was the war?

It was a sixteen year long war called the Titanomachy.

Tell me about the war.

Pandora performed Blood Rituals, which gave her children - The Titans - strong powers; a little from each of the gods.

Did she last long?

No. She was struck. Her blow significantly affected the fight, making the Titans weaker.

What happened when she fell?

A race called the Dessari emerged from where her blood fell.

Where do the Dessari live?

The Dessari inhibit a place called Vezort Island, but no one knows how to get in or out of the enchanted island.

Were the Titans of House Tytos killed?

No. They were still too strong to be killed.

So if they couldn't be killed, what did Cosmo do?

He made another realm, Seattoria, where they would remain locked till eternity, ending the Titanomachy.

And after the war? What did he do?

Cosmo turned to the races which had sprung up in the meantime, promising to give them protection and freedom in return for accepting him as their ruler.

Anything else?

They discovered that the Derwentwater was a river that turned anything dipped into it to gold. It was also the only water body capable of growing a drug that sustained the life of the Grendel. Besides, it contained Uranus's blood, making it even more valuable.

So, what did the gods do to divide the river between themselves?

War.

War?

War.

Do you think war is a game, child?

War is organised murder that determines who is right.

War does not determine who is right. Only who is left, Miriel.

In the end, the King and his Queen slipped their jaws out of place with bloodstained hands.

In the end, the King and his Queen smiled a crown of glass.

But this, dear reader, this is not a story of how he fell in love with her.

This is a story about how he found her.

A story about how he found her true self, who she really was. Among all the death and destruction that made a home in their hearts. In those pages, people think. They feel. They love. They die.

They fight over three crowns and a throne with steel spiked maces. They despair a little more everyday keeping their vows. They wander in hospitals to find a cure for their torn hearts. They haunt castles and secret passages. They betray the ones they love the most. They are dying women and miserable men. They make peace with their enemies, not friends.

Girls of rivers with hair like the night dance down the moon stairs. Goddesses of flame hold out hands which crumble and burn.

This story sings of three rings.

Of forgotten maps.

Of a queen who should not be alive after all she has suffered.

But most importantly, it sings of three gilded crowns studded with the jewels of the heavens.

Crowns of glass.

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Credits to Bertrand Russell for the 'war does not determine who is right' quote.

Credits to Harry Patch for the 'war is organised murder' quote.