The Dream

Blackness.  And from the blackness, emerging light.  Zeus?  With a woman.  Lying with her, with her husband held immobile in the doorway.  Toby realized he was standing a few feet away, watching the entire scene.  Seconds later, Ari appeared next to him.

“This is the birth of my brother-in-law, Cadmus.”  Ari explained.  “She bore him... and well, you can see what happened.”  Ari pointed as the scene rapidly changed to the nursery, where the newly born Cadmus had begun to grow horns.  “His mother tried to abandon him.  Zeus saved him and brought him here, but because he was born on mortal ground, he is only half god, like most of the mortal-immortal spawn of relationships.”

The scenes blurred and several years went by, flashing through like fast forward on a video.  Time resumed as normal as a traveler approached the same one.

“Zeus.  This woman refused to see or speak to him, so he compensated by disguising himself as a traveler, days before she was to be married.  He laid with her.   The baby inside her showed three days later, and was growing much faster than it should have.  Ashamed of her indiscretion, she tried to drown herself.  Zeus found her half dead and removed the baby, placing it into his arm to grow and be born on Olympus.  This baby, born in Olympus, became a full god, Arkonel.”

Ari provided a nice commentary.  “The two brothers were always rivals, and still are.  Arkonel is my husband.  I was a mortal, like you.  Each immortal has the right to change one mortal, to heal the pain caused when mortals die and immortals have fallen in love with them.  The changing process is not necessarily painful, and there are three ways to change.  As Arkonel is explaining, here... ”  Ari pointed to her husband’s image, explaining to her younger image.  “You can change by falling asleep after the change is accepted, you can change by having sex with the god that is changing you, or you can change by getting killed.”

“Which was yours?”  Toby finally decided to join the conversation.

“Watch.”

The current scene blurred and revealed a darkened bedroom, with Ari sleeping inside.  Two creatures snuck into the room and abducted her.  The scene blurred to another, this time inside a warehouse of some sort.  The immortal with horns, Cadmus, laughed and pointed a gun at Ari.  Fired.

“Ouch.”  Toby said.

“Yeah, that actually hurt a lot.  But it was instantaneous death, so it all worked out in the end.”  Ari agreed.  “Now, these are the important parts.”

Toby watched as a young man was beaten nearly to death in a sandy street somewhere in Asia.  Somewhere with water nearby.  Toby watched the tides recede, and then come crashing in.

“That was three years ago!  Are you saying it was his fault?”

“Yes.  He is a half god, too.  Son of Poseidon, actually.”

“What... did you guys do anything to him?  He killed millions!”

“That is Adeios.  He was brought to Olympus and handed over to his father for management.  Hades was not happy.”

“I guess not.”  Toby said, watching amused as smoke and flames emerged from a very blue, very angry god.

“This is your story.”  Ari pointed out to him as he saw a very familiar opening scene.

Anna lying with Zeus.  Anna lying with her husband the next day.  Anna giving birth and dying on the operating table with Toby.  Toby and his father attending her funeral.  Toby growing up.

“This is weird.”

“Watch.”

Toby falling out of a tree as a five year old.  Not a scratch.  Toby running out in front of a car when he was six.  Not a scratch.  Toby flying off of a sled in the winter at age nine.  Gary breaking his nose, Toby laughing.

More half-gods destroying parts of the world.  Fires, earthquakes, all caused by errant powers.  Zeus watching Toby through a scrying glass.

“Do you get the point, or do you need to watch today’s events as well?”  Ari asked.

“I get it.  Its weird watching me.”

“Okay, we’ll shut it off.”  Ari said and the world of images faded to a single, softly colored room.

“Okay, so I’m a half god.  Does that mean I’m going to destroy the world?”

“No.  And you were wrong.  You are mostly god.  Your mother had god lineage inside of her, it was just recessed.  In you, it came out.  Haven’t you noticed that things always work out for you?”

“Not really.”  Toby shrugged.  “Shit happens.”

“Right.  Anyway, Zeus chose your mother because of her lineage.  He needed a three quarter god.  A demigod, really.  He needs someone to run a training school for people like you.”

“Okay... ”  Toby paused.  “Whoa, wait a minute.  He wants me to do this?!”  He asked surprised.

“Yes.”  Ari said.

“But... what about college?  What about my friends?  What about my father?!”

“You can still attend college.  You will get to see your father.  See, you do need to finish your schooling.  But you would also spend your free time hunting down others like you.  We would train you, give you rules, and a lay out, and then you would be in charge.”

“What about those older than me?”  Toby asked.  “And I’m just a kid.  I can’t... that’s way too much to ask of me.”

“Toby... ” Ari said.  “I was mortal, once.  You have never been mortal.  We’re not asking you to leave your life behind, like I was asked.  We’re asking you to fulfill your life’s goal and purpose.  You are a man, in all physical aspects.  We – the gods – don’t want to kill every ‘mistake’ that happens because we don’t have an institution to control them.”  Ari explained.  “You will basically be the savior of your kind.  Or you can deny us.  And the next time someone loses control, there may be a mass extermination.  It depends on just what happens.  But... you’ll be protecting your kind.  You’ll be protecting the mortals you know and love.  And you’ll still get to go out every night.”

“And what do I tell my friends? ‘Gee, guys, I can’t go out tonight.  I have to search out demigods?'”

“Well, no.  But we would figure out a method.  And you wouldn’t be alone for long.  You’d be able to discover your powers more fully.  You’d get to meet your father.  Immortality may be an option for you.”

“Ooh, yay, never dying.”  Toby rolled his eyes.

“Hey, don’t knock it down before you’ve tried it.  Its pretty awesome.”  Ari said, smiling.  “Especially when you find your life mate.  Its amazing.”

“When do I have to give you an answer?”  Toby asked her.  “I just... that’s a big decision, and there’s a lot of unknown variables.”

“Well, I’m here to answer questions.”  Ari said.

“Are you sure my age won’t matter to those I recruit?  I just... I know I look young.  And I’ve never really had too many social skills.  Obviously.  I’m not in, well, I wasn’t in any clubs or on student council, or ever in any sports.”

“Not if I train you to use your powers.  Find out what your powers are.  Regardless of age, power and skill are above all most important in convincing people.”

“And I mean... are we going to be an authority organization? Like, is it going to be my job to control my peers?  Or just train with them?”

“Both.  You guys obviously need to develop restraint.  But you’re not going to be enslaved or anything.  We don’t care.”

“And what about rampant half gods?  Are they my responsibility?”

“It would be your responsibility to report.  Until you were comfortable, we would handle it.”

“How long is my training going to take?  How long is this going to take?  Hell, how long am I going to live?”

“Well, you’re not going to die any time soon.”

“What about like a wife?  Or a girlfriend?  How is that going to work out?  Do I have to be dishonest with her?”

“Possibly.  We’re not there yet.  I was told relatively soon after I met Arkonel, what he was.  I’d imagine you would tell them when you became immortal, if you choose to, and if you wanted to change them.  Other than that, you’ll live and die as a mortal should, because you were born and raised here.”

“Do all half gods have mortality?”

“Unless they are brought to Olympus, yes.”

“What about... you said I’m three quarters.  What are the different terms?  Umbrella terms?  Anything?”

“You – three quarters god – are called a demigod.  Half gods are well, half-gods or demimortals.  And one quarter or less gods, like your mother, would be considered gifted, or semi-mortal.  All are mortal if born on earth and not brought to Olympus.  Range and depth of powers depend on your heritage and your training or awareness.  Powers you are born with are completely random.  You can also be gifted with powers, but the changes from these are very, very painful.”

“I...  I just don’t know.”

“You have three days – human days – to decide.  The sun is rising, so you need to wake up.  Good bye for now, Toby.  If you have any questions, just call.”

“Bye.”  Toby responded as the dream image faded into black.  After he didn’t know how long, he opened his eyes to see the sun peaking through the window.  He really had slept a long time.

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