Decades have passed since the fall of Rome and Ancient Greece, and with it the loss of worship in the Greek gods. Without worship, the gods grew weak, and died. All except for the mightiest of them, Zeus.

But even he grew weak, and fell into a wakeless slumber.

Then, came the dawn of public education, and with it came masses of people with knowledge of the legends of those gods. Though far from the worship he required, this mass knowledge was enough to rouse Zeus from his slumber. Awoken to a strange new world, where even his mighty thunderbolt seemed to have been tamed by mankind, he knew he had his work cut out for him if he was to restore mankinds worship. However, he could not accomplish this task alone. And he was the only god to survive. So the answer was simple.

He needed to create new gods.

Ones to replace those that were lost. So he looked to the mortals, to find specimens worthy of godhood. Humans who held within them the attributes necessary to become a god of one kind or another. He found a surprising number of possiblities. He visited each of these gifted humans and, with his limited powers, gifted them the seed of godhood. A seed which, if nurtured and fed praise, would continue to feed them power until they became gods!

Through supernatural acts, good or evil; Acts that leave mankind wondering "Is there something more out there?", you will gain praise, and with praise comes new abilities and strength. The goal is to bloom your godseed, in otherworld gain full godhood through great acts and attain a seat with Zeus in Olympus!

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[THE NEW BIT]
In an unprecidented turn of weather, a worldwide thunderstorm rumbles in the heavens. The storm seems to coincide with a strange dream that a select few people were visited with. A dream in which Zeus appeared before you in all his grandeur and granted you with a small seed.

" This is the mind, the body, the soul of the one before you. With it, time, and effort comes the right of godhood. Nurture it with praise and it will grow, then bloom and you will take my side. I wait for you in Olympus {Insert name of godseed here}."

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[THE IMPORTANT BIT]
You will awaken with full memory of this dream, and an idea of how to use your new power. You dont straight up know, but there is a thought of it in your head. Also, feel free to join in whenever. The dreams didnt all happen on the same day.

(that's all I could think of =3=. Please direct any questions to me in the OOC thread.I imagine there'll be a few. I can never think of what to explain when explaining.)

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Adeline - Paris, France

With a gasp and a jolt Adeline suddenly sprang upright again. It was dark, with only the light coming from her computer screen illuminating the room with a faint blueish tint. The MTV logo sprang around on it, the screensaver. Which meant she had slept for at least half a hour.

She got up from her seat grudgingly, it wasn't like her to fall asleep on the job, no matter how late. It was storming outside, thick black clouds covering the whole of Paris. Her office had a pretty nice view, if not the best. it overlooked most of the city, with the majestic Eiffel Tower as it's center piece. Adeline placed her forehead against the glass, enjoying the cold feeling on her skin. Something was bugging her. This dream she had. Normally she didn't remember a thing she dreamed, in fact, there were times she believed that she didn't even had any dreams. And what the meaning of this dream? Zeus? That was his name, right? And what did he mean by godseed and Persephone? Eugh and what was this weird feeling?

It didn't matter, she probably had Greek, and there was something weird in the food. Yeah, that seemed plausible. She laughed at herself, yeah she was a god now! Ooooooh, I can shoot thunderbolts out of my eyes now! Adeline turned around and pointed an open palm at the nearby ficus, mostly in jest. She wasn't really expecting anything, who would? To her surprise however, there was movement under the ground, like a mole digging its way up.

She backed away from the plant, watching in terror as something resembling an arm rose from it. It was comprised completely out of roots and dirt, and wasn't much longer than a dolls arm, but it was still an arm! The figure dug itself out of the potted plant, not standing much higher than one feet. It was quite clearly humanoid, two legs, two arms, a torso and a head. It's entire body seemed to be made out of the roots from the ficus. Except for a singular eye in it's head, a soft yellow glowing orb.

Adeline had backed herself up into the corner of her office, away from that... thing. She could yell, but there wasn't anybody else on the floor, not this late. The little figure shot a glowing glare at her, and quickly jumped off the pot onto the floor, littering it with dirt. <"Stay away, stay away from me!">* It was weird, even though she was terrified at the moment, she also felt a sort of kinship with the little figure.

It approached her much faster than you'd think, stopping right in front of her. "Oi, what yer hollering 'bout?" It yelled out, with a strangely warped voice. Adeline was taken aback first, she wasn't about to admit it, but it was kind of a letdown. The figure turned around again and looked around, placing it's tiny arms in it's sides. "Hah, So yer the one who brought me back eh?
Not bad, not bad." It turned around again, peering up her Adeline's skirt "Not bad at all." Adeline, having conquered her initial fear, kicked the little figure away, making it slam into the wall across. Whatever it was, it was human, in a way.

<"What the hell are you?"> She still didn't like the idea of getting close to the thing. It crawled back up, even going as far as dusting itself off. "Wot? Whats this gobbledigook?" It paced itself around as if the kick hadn't even happened. "What are you? Whats happening?" Adeline obviously knew English, it was kinda required in this line of work. Though with a trained French accent, the stereotypical one. Clients tended to like that in spokespersons. "Yer new to all this? Well, I can't tell ya that much, I didn't pay attention meself. But in a nutshell, yer becoming the new queen of the underworld. As for what I am? I used to be a dock worker over in the states, did some crappy stuff, got send to the underworld. Very dreary place. Been quiet for a long time now, until tonight. Yer destined to become the new queen, so fer now ya can control us. That's about all I know, I didn't pay much attention." Adeline looked at the figure with a blank stare, was this some fucked up hoax? Perhaps she'd gone into a coma or something, and this was all some fucked up dream. "So now what? I control you? That's it, nothing more? No strings attached?" In her line of work, nothing came for free, so this all seemed a bit too good to be true. "Not just me babe, all of the underworld. Though some might still be a bit too difficult to control for ya. As for control.. Well, we must obey ya yeah... But it's not like I'm obliged to to everything ya tell me to do. I ain't some fuckin' servant. I'm actually not quite sure what the rules are myself, I'm new to this as well ya see." The little figure scratched behind his head, probably more in a forgotten reflex than an conscious action.

Adeline thought about this. If this was all real, and not one of the most fucked up hallucinations she's ever had, then this could be fun, right? An underworld of minions at her very command? That surely had it's advantages. "Ssssooo... Do you have a name or something?" She picked up the little figure and placed him on the desk, while sitting down herself. From up close he didn't even look all that scary. "Name? Gods, nobody has asked me that in... Well, time is funny down there... Vinnie, if I remember correctly... Yeah, Vinnie." The figure moved about the desk, taking a look at all the stuff lying around. "So, Vinnie, can I also... send you back?" Adeline asked it carefully, perhaps he didn't want to go back? "If ya command me to, I'm forced to oblige. I'd rather not, it's not the most pleasant of places, if ya know what I mean." Adeline thought it over for a few seconds, could she really send him back? The underworld didn't sound all that good. She couldn't bring herself to send him back "Here's the deal, you seem to know more about this than I do, so I'm letting you out for the moment." Vinnie quickly snapped his neck to her, the glowing sphere lighting up for a moment "Really? Ah fuck yeah!" He even started to do a little dance, which would've been endearing if it didn't involve so many vulgar moves. "However, you are to remain quiet when other people are around. You're not allowed to wander off unless I tell you so. And you will start behaving." Vinnie promptly stopped dancing. "Well I can promise you not to speak or wander, but I cant really change my personality now can I?" Adeline sighed, why couldn't she have summoned a monk or something with a bit more manners?

While Vinnie kept mucking about her desk, she leaned back and stared out of the window. Was this all, or would more come? What did Zeus mean by nurturing the godseed? And why did she suddenly have the need to go to Greece in a hurry?

*Translated from French

_________________

Los Angeles, California

-4:02 AM-

Black. Pitch black. Richard squinted his eyes in the sable darkness, as he tried to remind himself where he was. Soon the haze over his eyes lifted and he began to see familiar shapes. The room was bathed in a dim and eerie green glow from his digital alarm clock, sitting on a small nightstand across his room. He kept his clock as far away from his bed as possible as he had a nasty habit of getting up and turning off the alarm before he could fully wake up. After a few incidents and a lost job or two, Richard learned fast that it was best to get as much walking space between himself and his alarm as possible. Richard groaned as he propped himself up, thick curls obscured what little he could see in a curtain of hair. His room was modest, possessing only the bare minimum for him to live. His bed, hardly more than a glorified sleeping bag, shifted as he twisted his body to scan his surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary, his work desk was still littered with various papers, books and his work computer.

Along one of his walls was a map of the city posted up with various landmarks and work opportunities scribbled on it. It was a constant reminder of his struggle to keep himself afloat. Ever since his parents passed away, Richard has been juggling work and his education, somehow making ends meet. There had been some hairy moments in his past, some times when there was no money flowing in and bills were building up. There had been times that he had been without a home though he had managed to pull through. Richard brought his left hand to his face and massaged his temples with his thumb and middle finger, grimacing as the memories flowed through. The floor creaked as he reached over to his work desk, rapping it several times with his knuckles. "Knock on wood..." Richard shook his head as the grimace faded. The clock on the wall now read 4:05 AM. He needed to get to sleep, there were classes tomorrow and he couldn't afford to miss any of them. Darkness creeped back into his vision as he laid back down to sleep and in moments he was asleep.

There was fire everywhere. Everywhere Richard looked there was someone screaming or in pain. The whole scene horrified him. In the background he could hear a siren calling, sounding more like an air raid siren than those of emergency vehicles. The heat was painful to face but where he stepped, it seemed to recede. Drawing his courage, Richard lept into the flames towards the nearest victim. It was a young woman, around his age. She had extensive burns across her body and it was a wonder that she was still alive. Instinct kicked in as Richard started to treat the woman the best he could. There were no debris and the flames seemed to pull back around him, leaving a perfect circle of untouched ground. He was about to place his coat as a means to keep the woman from succumbing from hypothermia when his left hand began to glow. As if it had a mind of its own, it reached for the woman and gently touched her on her forehead. His hand grew warm as he watched in awe as the charred flesh became healthy once more. Soon the woman was completely healed and Richard was able to control his hand once more.

He stumbled back in fear and confusion and the fires rolled back over the woman as she faded away. Richard tripped over another figure, this one an older man. Once more, his hand, the right one, moved on its own and touched the injured victim. However, this time, instead of laying there, the man screaming in pain as he was healed. The man convulsed in several spasms as he screamed louder and louder. To Richard's horror, the man began to wither as he faded away, like a houseplant that wasn't watered enough. In absolute terror, Richard fell back as the fires started to move inwards towards Richard, his vision growing darker instead of brighter as they drew nearer. The heat was becoming unbearable as his vision faded to black. The sounds of the sirens grew louder and louder as Richard felt himself losing consciousness. Just before he completely faded away, he heard one word, burning a deep scar into his mind. Godseed...

The sirens persisted. They grew louder and louder as the sounds warped and fluctuated. Eventually, they became more familiar noises. Noises that no one wanted to hear. Alarm clock noises! "GAH!" Richard awoke with a start. He glanced at his alarm clock and groaned. It read 5:54 AM, there was almost no way he'd catch his bus now. Jumping out of his bed, Richard quickly washed himself and dressed himself. He almost ran out the door without his pack, a simple backpack that had been with him for years. Careful repairs and some luck had kept it together. In his pack he had various books and unorganized papers for his classes. He also carried his flute with him, playing music was one of his passions and helped get him through each day. He quickly vacated his small apartment and made for the closest bus stop, with some luck he might just be able to catch it.

As he ran to the stop, he couldn't shake the strange dream he had. He had odd dreams before but something about this one felt...different. As the bus stop came into view, he saw a bus, HIS bus, pulling away. Not one to let others see his displeasure, he plastered a goofy grin on his face and silently cursed his luck and sat on the bench to ponder his options. I could wait for the next bus, but they are unreliable at best. My best bet would be to try and catch up to the previous one, maybe the traffic would have mercy on me and- His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of screeching tires and the sickening sound of an impact. He looked up to see a car, turned sideways against the traffic and a small crowd of people beginning to gather. Looks like I'm going to be really late for classes today.

Richard made his way to the crowd and pushed his way through to the center. There lay a woman next to a bike. She must've been hit by the car. She looked pretty beat up but what gave Richard pause was that she looked exactly the same as the woman from his dream. He shook himself from his stupor and rushed to the center, pulling his jacket off. Richard noticed a name tag on the woman's shirt, She must've been biking to work. When he tried to ask the woman for her name, she didn't respond, only looking about confused, She must be going into shock. Richard was about to use his coat to elevate the woman's legs when he felt his hands growing warm. Instantly, the dream he had flashed in front of his eyes and gave a moment's pause. Shaking it off, he touched the woman's legs to lift them and place his coat underneath when he felt the strangest feeling, his hands, as if working by themselves began to treat the woman. Her breathing had stopped and Richard began to perform CPR. He watched, in wonder as minor cuts and bruises on the woman began to heal before his very eyes. Richard continued to perform first aid for the woman until the ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital.

Richard didn't know if anyone else in the crowd had noticed what had happened when Richard had touched the woman but his dream still coursed through his mind. After the incident, Richard walked back to the bus stop in a daze, the crowd dispersing as officials conducted their business. Richard was late, as he thought, but didn't pay much heed to the classes that day. Something strange and bizarre was happening to him and he didn't know what. He had thought that the dream was just that, a random nightmare but he did not seem so sure anymore. After his classes, he didn't take the normal bus home, instead he took a bus going in the opposite direction. He knew what hospital they had taken the woman and he was going to see if he could find some answers. Throughout the whole day, even when he was in his classes, Richard couldn't stop thinking about the dream he had. It could have been a crazy coincidence and he was just imagining things but one thing kept creeping up in his mind. Suddenly, inspiration hit him and Richard got off off at an early stop to head to another location first, the public library. He would get to the bottom of this, and he knew the first step. He needed to find out everything that he could about Godseeds.

-A small town in Massachusetts-

Tick....tock....tick....tock.....Asher was surrounded by floating clocks in a pitch black world. Well, this wasnt the weirdest dream he had had...OH BUGGA WHAT WAS THAT?!? Rearing up from the darkness was a giant...snake? No, only its body was serpentine. It had three heads. Its right head was a lion's, its left a bull, and its center head was that of a man's. What on Earth was this thing? The animal heads suddenly roared, and the man's head let out a cry. The things body compressed into a small, seed shaped object. The seed floated in the air, unmoving. Then another shape took form, seemingly made from the darkness. It was a towering man! He grasped the seed from the air, and turned his immense gaze at Asher. "This is the mind, the body, the soul of the one before you. With it, time, and effort comes the right of godhood. Nurture it with praise and it will grow, then bloom and you will take my side. I wait for you in Olympus, Chronos." With those words, the man flung the seed at Asher. The seed flew straight into Asher's chest. Letting out a startled yell, Asher blacked out.

"WHOA!" Asher yelled as he woke up, flinging the covers off of his bed and attempting to propel himself out of his bed. However.....he was not moving. At least not very fast. He saw his blankets flying away from him....slowly. He shifted his eyes and head as much as he could. He saw that, in his flailing wake up, he had knocked the glass of water he always kept by his bed over. The glass and its liquid contents were also falling in slow motion. Asher was awed. Suddenly the slow motion effect ceased. Asher tumbled to the ground and was splashed with water. Luckily the glass didnt shatter on the carpet. "Oof......that was....weird." Asher muttered, rubbing his head. He stood up and stretched. Mid-stretch, he recalled the dream. He slowly lowered his arms as he contemplated the dream. Who was that man? He said Olympus.....that had to mean...Asher's eyes widened. Zeus. Since he had arrived in America, Asher had avoided using a certain stereotypical word that many Americans associated Australian's with, but now he felt it was appropriate. "Crikey." he whispered to himself.

Asher went about the day as normal, yet the dream and his awakening played over in his head. He did some research on the god Zeus had called him. Chronos, God of Time, huh.... he thought to himself. He rubbed his eyes. School had just let out for him and his brother, and the sun was shining down. The two decided to go out and bounce on their trampoline. "Cmon Jordy, lets go!" he shouted, sliding the screen door aside and running out into their backyard. He jumped onto the trampoline, using his momentum to do a roll. He started bouncing, and was quickly joined by his sibling. They bounced for a few minutes, doing various tricks and falls that they knew or made up. Suddenly Asher bounced awkwardly and was sent careening towards his brother. "Look out!" he cried. Jordan stepped out of the way and Asher went falling headfirst from the trampoline. Asher panicked and something stirred within him. Suddenly he was moving slowly again. His mind was working normally, but his body was moving slowly. His eyes darted around. Huh....I'm doing it again. he thought. Remembering the imminent danger he was in, he moved within the slo-mo "bubble" and just managed to get himself in a safer position before he touched the ground. As soon as his body touched the ground he was shaken out of the bubble. He rolled on the ground as if he had fallen without the "delay". It seemed his power was a slowing of time. It would not save him from a fall, but it would give him more time to react. He looked at his brother. Jordan's eyes were wide with shock. "Wha....what just happened Asher? You s-slowed your fall. How did you do that?" he stammered.

"Well its like this...." Asher began. He proceeded to tell Jordan all about the dream he had earlier, and his odd waking experience. Jordan sat, listening in awe. "So are you, like, a god now?" Jordan asked. I dont think so. He said i had to "nurture" the seed to join him on Olympus. I have not idea what that means." Asher replie, scratching his head. "This is SO COOL! Jordan exclaimed. "My brother is going to be a GOD. This is so wild! We have to tell mum and dad! Jordan exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "No,no, hold on, wait! Asher exclaimed in turn. Jordan was ignoring him and starting for the house. I said WAIT! Asher yelled, extending his hand as he dashed after Jordan. He felt the stirring again, and once again he found himself moving slowly, as now was his brother. Jordan turned, in slow motion, to look at his brother. His mouth began to move, slowly. Asher had little patience, so he released his hold on time. "-lright I will stop." Jordan finished his sentence. "Thank you. Now then, I dont think we should tell Mum and Dad about this. They might freak out and have me institutionalized or something." Asher explained. "Alright then Ash, they're your powers, you get to make the decision." Jordan agreed. Asher walked with his brother back to their house. He thought hard about his new power, and the words of Zeus. He also felt a strange compulsion. "Hey Jordy?" he said to his brother. "Yea?" his sibling replied. "All of a sudden cant wait to go to Greece!" Asher exclaimed with a grin.

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Rick - suburb of Chicago, Illinois

Rick awoke on the floor in a strange room. There were no windows or doors in the room. “Where the fuck am I?” he whispered to himself. Rick got up on his feet and started walking around to see if there was any way of leaving this place. After a minute of searching Rick turned around to see that a pillar rose in the middle of the room. When the stop at a certain point an object shaped like a seed appeared on the pillar. Rick walks up to the pillar to examine the seed. The see gave off a dark but fierce glow. “What the hell is this…?” before Rick could finish his sentence a loud voice spoke out saying “It is a Godseed of Nemesis Greek goddess of retribution and revenge.” Rick turn around and jump at the sight of a white beard old man sitting in stone like throne. “What does this thing do?” he said.

“This Godseed grant the mortals power that are beyond human imagination.” The old man said. “This is the mind, the body, the soul of the one before you. With it, time, and effort comes the right of godhood. Nurture it with praise and it will grow, then bloom and you will take my side. I wait for you in Olympus New Greek god of retribution and revenge.” After that the seed shot out into Rick right arm. Rick felt crazy amount of pain from the power entering his arm. Rick woke finding himself in his bedroom. He got up from his bed hold his head saying “Man I got to stop drink booze before going to sleep.” He took a shower and put on his black hoodie and jeans. Rick finally put on his timberlands while laughing. “Ha!, Power of Nemesis Greek goddess of retribution and revenge what a joke.” Before leaving his run he decide to play with the dart board his gang friend got him from a house they looted from. Rick throws one dart at a time making a total of four darts on the board. Two darts landed on the eighteen spot while the other two landed on the twelve and five spot.

Getting bored of playing darts he decides to practice with his punching bag that was down stairs. One punch caused the most unbelievable thing that Rick has never seen in his life. The darts that he threw at the board upstairs all zoom down stairs and land dead center where his fist was. “Holy carp!........ did that just happen or am I till dreaming?” He ran up stairs and took three more darts out of his dart case. He threw each one and all three flew down stairs and hit the punching bag. “This is unreal.” he said while looking at his arm that shaking with power.

Rafaela Adessi, At the South Coast of Sicily

The heat was unbearable; summer in Sicily was persistent and exhausting. The heat endured making Rafaela sweat under the scorching sun. She wore a white, short sleeved t-shirt that glued tightly on her body and black jean shorts. Her hair was wild as usual standing up in protest to the laws of gravity. She was wandering around aimlessly. Sicily was a wonderful place with a perfect balance between nature and human intervention that was certain. She was walking for a long time now. Her parents were most probably worried, she didn’t care. Maybe they weren’t though; she had done this so many times again. She liked to get lost in the wild parts of the countryside that surrounded their vineyard. Luckily they were far away from town so that the nature was unharmed and close enough so that she didn’t have to trouble people too much when she drove with her blue and white Vespa into town. Now though she was worried about herself. The road was peaceful you would rarely see a person in this rural road she loved so much. It was also by the beach providing a wonderful scenery as the sun shone brightly over it.

Rafaela had no eyes for the sun though. She was worried about other things. She was worried about that dream she had several nights ago. A strong gale pushed her making her come to a stop. She stopped looked around at the beautiful scene in front of her. The sun shining brightly over the sea, made her feel appeased. She went down on the beach. She took off her sandals and near the water so it barely touched her feet. She felt it trying to wash away her worry and anxiety. That dream had really affected her. She didn’t like it when other people made choices for her. She was walking for a while now when she found some rocks plunging from the ground into the sea. She climbed on them and walked forward trying to reach the sea. When she was as far out as she could the sea breeze welcomed its queen. A small smile carved onto her face. She laid down on one of the flat rocks and saw every kind of sea creatures scouring near the reef wandering as aimlessly as she was.

She cupped her hand and focused, maybe nothing would happen this time; but as sure as the sun rose the water materialised out of nothingness in her hands. She had told nobody yet. She felt smouldered by all this. She remembered the dream once more. She had felt like she was underwater when an old man that called himself Zeus appeared. The water seemed to be her domain, she could breathe and she could feel it as it swirled around her. She heard the old man say something about mind and body, and did she remember correctly, godhood? It was all very weird. She had woken up wet from sweat and breathing heavily. She couldn’t sleep afterwards even though that a storm was raging outside in the middle of the summer and it was only half past four. She was shivering like a leaf. She wasn’t sure when sleep took her over but it did... in time...

When she woke up again the dream was still vivid in her mind. She went to wash her face and that’s where unconsciously and still half-sleepy she conjured up a small amount of water in her cupped hands. It took her a few moments to realise that the tap was actually closed. Obviously she freaked out, she couldn’t make a move. She started shivering again. The dream came back to her more vivid than before. Zeus, the Father of the Gods of Olympus came to her and bestowed her, a Godseed, the Godseed of Poseidon. What the hell was that all about? She cupped her hands once more and focused. Water spurred out of her hands. She was bewildered; she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t tell anyone.

Now sitting here, on the sand the cool breeze in her curly hair the waves licking her feet. She felt at peace. Maybe it was all happening for a reason. Maybe, just maybe, it was all for the best. She felt the yearning of the sea, the deep request right into her soul; asking her to embrace her Godseed, to become the New God of the Sea. The sound of an approaching engine interrupted her calm. She sighs with frustration and stood up. She knew the sound of that engine. She also knew the annoying man with wavy chestnut brown hair that was driving the car; her brother Angelo. He was as usual driving his jeep with the roof open, wearing only his swimsuit. His appearance betrayed the kind of a simple minded buffoon he was. “Yo, sis!” he said “Ma and Pa are looking everywhere for you, stop disappearing. They keep sending me around to find you” he shouted with a coarse voice.

“If you stop acting like a homo-sapiens maybe you would remember that in the 21st century there are mobile phones” Rafaela said in the most sarcastic tone possible which in reality was her ordinary tone “Now since you are here you can take me back home, stupid...” and with class that even the queen might be jealous of she hopped on the jeep and put her seatbelt on “The way you are driving we better be cautious, come on, we don’t have all day” she added with a smile. “You are a witch you know that?” he returned a smile. “You are more right than you know, Angelo. But you still love me” she responded with a sweet voice that sounded more like a threat.

It was only a twenty minute ride from where she was to home. But as far as she remembered she had left from the morning and now it was passed midday. They arrived and Rafaela’s hair was even more tangled up than before. She got off the jeep and walked into the yard. Her mother was already preparing dinner beneath the grape vines and when she walked in gave her an exasperated smile. She let go of the dishes and came close to her, “I wish you could stop running around so wildly. I told you again if you calm down once in a while you might find things that you did not expect” her words came out sweet and caring. Her mother rarely scolded them she was always caring and understanding. “So our wild daughter came back home” her father’s voice came from inside. Rafaela stiffened and answered “Not because of you” giving him a sideways glance. Her father laughed and went back in.

The rest of the day passed peacefully and uneventful as it usually happened. It was a very joyful and happy day. At night though, her parents asked her to come to the study. They were both there. The PC was turned on and they were looking through websites. Rafaela knocked on the door and came in. “Rafaela, at last you are here” her father exclaimed “it was really my wish for you to be here. Your mother says we can wait some more, but I don’t think we can. You are already 19 so there is little time to waste. The question we are here to discuss is what you are doing with your life” silence engulfed the room. Rafaela wasn’t as much shocked as she was in despair. She didn’t know, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Love you need to decide. You have every option in the world, but if you make no choice now then how will you move on?” her mother asked again. “I don’t want to go to university yet, I don’t feel like it” Rafaela answered. “You will have to at one point or another. We already discussed this. You said you want to go study hotel management, excellent choice, but you need to go and move on. It’s now or never”. Rafaela stiffened “Give me another year” she answered back, “another year to look around and travel some more. Then I’ll go”

“Where do you want to go? China? You already travelled almost everywhere” her father said exasperated, and kind of angry. Her mother put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“I don’t know... Maybe Greece....” she said and smiled to herself. If she was going to become the Goddess of the Seas what better place was there?

_________________

~ Moira Jameson - Aphrodite ~
~ Litochoro, Greece ~

”Yes, I'm very much sure that I want to go all the way to the top,” she said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice as she smiled a too-sweet smile to her bilingual guide. At some point, she'd probably have to learn Greek. You know, having become a Greek god, and all, but that was for some later date. Hopefully, the language would just spontaneously come to her like the other godly power she'd been granted. She certainly hoped she'd be getting other powers. Making people spout their innermost feelings wasn't very love-inducing, for a goddess of love and beauty. In fact, most people she'd used her little gift on had been singularly negative and assholish in their innermost emotions.

That's how she'd found out that all of her so-called friends really couldn't stand her. Well, fuck them. She was a god now, and they weren't. Someday she'd see that Karma bit them on the ass for the way they'd treated her, but that, too, was for a later date.

At this moment, the most important thing was getting up that mountain. She'd second-guessed herself enough over the past couple of weeks. She had the power, that meant that yes, this was all real. That meant that Zeus, the king of the goddamned Greek gods, wanted her to go to Olympus. Or Olympos, as it were.

She'd quit the agency, bought a ticket to the Macedonia International Airport in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in all of Greece, and purchased a guide who spoke both English and Greek. So, here she was in this little town called Litochoro. Compared to New York, it was a shoe.

But it was a damned fine shoe. Maybe even a Manolo Blahnik.

The beach was gorgeous, and she had a room at a resort overlooking said beach. The service was possibly the best she'd ever experienced in her life, and even though the past two weeks were probably the worst two weeks of her life, the past two days had been the most relaxing she'd ever experienced. Ever.

And these people didn't even know she was a god yet. Things were only going to get better. That was, once her guide (who was really a sweet guy, all things considered) stopped worrying about her manicure. It was a pretty easy hike most of the way, she'd read. Only the last three miles or so required any real mountain climbing. And how hard could three miles be, really?

So, she smiled sweetly as her handsome guide clipped her into her inordinately heavy backpack...Seriously, who would need all this stuff? It wasn't like they were climbing K2, wherever that was.

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Official Forum Mom

~*Antolius (Anthony) J. Stinton - Athena*~
-- Calgary, Canada --

Antolius' face rose from his desk rather suddenly as he woke up. He rubbed his eyes, glaring at his clock. It was barely four in the morning. He sighed loudly and recounted what he had done before he had fallen asleep. He had gotten home, taken dinner upstairs and started to study. It was the usual for a weekday, especially before final exams. He glanced at his barely touched meal, sighing as he pushed it away from his book. He rubbed the drool from the page and closed the book. He picked the book up and threw it onto his bed, shivering as he let it go. There was an influx of sorts as he held onto the book. He pciked up the book again, staring at it. Nothing had changed about the book, it was still an old textbook. He sat back down on his chair, trying to remember exactly where he had fallen asleep. He remembered the clock saying nine, and that's when he had grabbed a cup of water from downstairs. He rubbed his eyes again. He remembered the dream now. Rather vividly. He had never been overly interested in mythology, but this dream was eerie. He thought for a moment, then spoke out loud. It was a quirk of his. Speaking out loud always helped him think. it was why he always got his own testing room. "Wait... Zeus said I was Athena... Does that mean I'm taking over for the goddess of knowledge? Interesting." He nodded slowly, picking the book back up. He stared at it for a moment, trying to focus on the 'seed' Zeus had given him in the dream. Pages of the book flashed by in his mind, pouring their contents into his mind. The let go of the book, groaning and sitting down. it was the worst kind of head rush. Pure knowledge seemingly bounced around in his head. He yawned and lay down in his bed, closing his eyes to think about the dream some more.

He opened one eye, staring at his roof. His alarm hadn't gone off, but that didn't matter. School was over and it was only a matter of days until his last exams. he got up, dressing himself rather absent-minded manner. Thoughts of the dream of Zeus drifted back into his head. He had to get to Greece. To mount Olympus to be more specific. The plan was already there. He would go to university there for a year or two, and while he was there he would either put this crazy dream to rest or become the new god of knowledge. He descended the stairs, saluting his father as he walked past the kitchen. "Going to the library to do some research, 'Dad'. I should be back later." And with nothing else he was out the door to do research on Zeus.

Antolius returned just before nightfall, opening the door as quietly as possible. It was an effort in futility, as his mother's voice shattered the silence. "ANTOLIUS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY?!" A meek voice came from the same direction, "Honey, I told you he was out at the library studying. He's got the best marks in his cla-" A shrill response cut him off. "YOU WILL NOT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT STEPHEN! WE'LL JUST SEE HOW ANTOLIUS RESPONDS TO YOUR STYLE OF PARENTING!" Her words slowly faded as Antolius made his way to the top of the stairs and into his room. it was his sanctuary. He gathered his things and started to pack, making sure he had everything ready for when he finally left for Greece. Flights had been checked, a house rented in his name, and a university with a good set of courses found. Even if this dream was just him overworking himself, he was safe for spending time there. He sat at his desk and started writing a note to his mother, explaining his idea of going to school in Greece. of course it would be left in the kitchen on the day of his departure. he knew his mother wouldn't approve of ehr baby leaving the nest. She would obviously blame it on his stepfather. He stretched and picked up a book. He held onto it for a few minutes, then started reading. It was a test of his skills. He already knew the plot, but he wanted to know if it was word-for-word or not.

Antolius tightened his grip on his backpack, glancing down at the book in his hand. he had finally finished it just before his plane had begun boarding. He knew everything from the book, including the 'thank you' page and the other books by the author. He boarded the plane silently, doing what he was asked by the flight attendants. He sat in his seat and glanced at his phone. 34 texts from his mother, and one from his step-father telling to work hard and to stay safe. he smiled weakly and turned his phone off. This was going to be an adventure, and hopefully a good one like in the book.

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Fenix13: Remember this well Gareth: With great power... comes hot bitches.

Garethcool: I WILL BECOME YOUR MANSLAVE.
Sam4books: That's the plan ;D

Daniel Hall - Ares

This is the mind, the body, the soul of the one before you. With it, time, and effort comes the right of godhood. Nurture it with praise and it will grow, then bloom and you will take my side. I wait for you in Olympus, Ares.

Daniel jolted awake. Ares. He liked it. Who was Ares though? What was an Ares? For some reason it made him think of Sparta, but he couldn't figure out why. Rolling over he looked around the barracks. Pins of light started creeping in as the sun neared the horizon. Getting out of bed, he looked in a nearby mirror admiring his masculine form. Putting on some clothes, he left the barracks and began his morning jog around the base.

His leg was feeling much better, it had almost been a year since the incidence with the tank. He ran past a pair of recruits who clumsily attempted to salute him. He waved them off. He didn't give a shit about that formality. One proves themselves on the field, not by kissing the asses of your superiors. He couldn't wait for some real action. He just needed to clear one more test and he'd be back in the field.

---------------- The Final Test -------------

"... and you haven't had any problems with it?" the doctor asked.

"Nothing and I've been running 4 hours every day for the past three months and it seems to be fine. No restrictions or anything." He lied. It was nothing but minor aches and pains, but the doctor did not need to know about them.

"Well, I see no reason not to clear you for redeployment," The doctor picked up a stamp and stamped approved down on the evaluation form.

"Thank you so much, Doc. I can't thank you enough." He shook hands with the doctor and picked up the form. Striding out of the office he looked down and smiled. He was going back. He was ready to go back to his life. War. Striding away he took a route to that of Colonel Emma Mayer. The commanding officer of the base. With a light rap on her door, he smiled greatly. Today really was the best day.

---------- Later that Day -----------

He rolled out of bed. He looked back down at the woman lying there asleep and gave her a salute. He may not have been one for formalities, but for all that she had done for him, he couldn't help but give his commanding officer one. Turning around he climbed back into his uniform and went into the adjoining room. Picking up his redeployment orders off her desk, he snuck out of the office and back to his barracks. He falling back asleep in his own cot sure was nice.



------------Reployed----------------

Looking out over the Plains, he grinned at his companions. "Miss me boys?" He checked his gun. The ACR Remington was an amazing weapon. Utilizing the 6.8 mm Remington SPC round, it carried more of a punch than the usual armaments used by the army. And it's adaptability was astounding, allowing many different types of sights and attachments. Everything seemed to be in working order. "Alright boys. Let's move out."

His point men, Alex, took led them slowly down the hill, moving from cover to cover to avoid being seen. They had been warned enemy activity was springing up all the area, but things had been mostly quiet for them. A few men, but they were easily dispatched. Another small hill lay ahead, and as Alex made it near the top, a flurry of action surprised them. Gunfire shot out from above raining down on them. Alex was gunned down almost instantly, a pair of bullets hitting him in the head and many more hitting him in the torso and limbs. "Get down." He yelled at his squad.

Diving down he raised his gun to cover the top of the hill. A pair of men raised over the crest and the remaining 7 members of his squad filled them with lead. Signalling his men to advance, one of them peaked over the top of the hill. He looked around signalling some of the other men forwards. "Looks clear." The rest of the squad crawled forward. Peering over the top of the hill he saw the small town they were supposed to take. A lone tower in the middle of the town was the confirmation they needed that it was the location of the hostages and hopefully their info was correct that only a few men were covering it.

A sudden glint from the top of the tower as though the sun was reflecting off something. "Sniper!" He yelled, but it was too late as the back of one of the guy's head was blown off, gore splattering the remaining squad members. Peeking down the sight of his gun, he could barely see the tower. "Fuck. Someone lay down some covering fire so we can get to the town. Just aim for the top of the tower, should keep that bastard hiding for a bit." As two of his men, began firing at the tower he signalled the rest to follow him.

Jumping up he ran over the top of the hill with the other three in tow. not more than 300 meters to the next pieces of cover. They'd be lucky if they made it, but he was going to try nonetheless. He'd faced worse odds for sure.
250 meters. A scream came from behind him, he didn't look back, but he knew that one of the men had been hit.

175 meters. Another scream from behind.

100 meters. The man running next to him suddenly stopped as his leg was blown off and he screamed in pain. But he didn't stop, he continued on to the first house.

Just a few more meters to go and he saw a glint from the tower. Instinctively, he threw himself sideways, not knowing if it would help or not. Dirt kicked up in the place he'd just been standing. Rolling forward, he made it to the cover of the first house. Looking back, he saw the trouble his remaining men were in. two squads of men were moving in a pincer formation on them. "Fall back, boys, Fall back. You got hostiles coming in from 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Get out of there!"

"Sir, you sure you'll be fine on your o---" the signal cut out as gunfire started. "Fuck." He turned his attention to the tower. Not wanting their deaths to be in vain, he moved quietly through the streets. It was doubtful that the sniper would be in the same position, but he knew the tower would give the best vantage point for him and probably had some equipment that he could use to boost his signal for his reinforcements. He caught his breath as he approached the tower. It probably had a few men at it's base regardless of whether the sniper was there anymore. Using a mirror to peak around a corner he saw four men standing vigilantly with their weapons ready.

Pulling a pair of grenades off his belt he knew they were all he'd need. Pulling the pins with his teeth, he leaned around the corner and deftly tossed the pair with his hand one flying towards one pair of men, and the other towards the other pair. The pair of grenades went off simultaneously. Waiting a few seconds, he jumped around the corner and opened fire on them as they tried to reorient themselves. Pulling his pistol out as he burst through the door, he shot the man that was running down the stairs. A sniper rifle clattered down the remaining few stairs. Scooping it up, he took the stairs two at a time until he reached the top. Looking down the scoop of his gun he saw the remaining forces moving away from the hill and starting to head back to the town. Pulling out an infrared target, he lit up the area just at the edge of town. Using the nearby radio, he boosted his own equipment to get in contact with command. "Command. This is Echo One requesting airstrike at the requested position. Over."

"Echo one this is General Churchill, just what the fuck do you think you are doing out there? You were a simple recon mission. Your airstrike is inbound, but you better have a good explanation for this, soldier."

As he kept the sight out he sure hoped those jets were close. The men were advancing across the field much faster than anticipated, and the bastard sniper hadn't reloaded. Propping the infrared up to aim at the area, he started looking around for some ammo for the sniper rifle. As he did, something struck him in the back of the head knocking him over. As he hit the floor, the pistol slide away, and out of his reach. Fuck. Trying to roll, to see his attacker, a flurry of blows came down on him. Grabbing his ACR, he tried to fire on the man, but the muzzle was forced away as he squeezed the trigger. Raising his other fist, he tried to punch the man, but he was faster and blocked, them punched him in the face again. Hot liquid poured out of his noise.

The two struggled for a few moments longer, before the sound of jets cut the sky, then followed by an earth shattering roar as a string of bombs exploded outside the town effectively eliminating the remaining forces. The explosions seemed to surprise his attack, and the man fell forward. Falling down onto Daniel's gun. Wrapping his arm around the man's neck he hoped he had a bullet left in the barrel. "Now listen here, you miserable fuck. I want you to take a message to all your terrorist pals we just blew up and the others that I killed. Don't fuck with Ares, you son of a bitch. You got that? Now then this is for my men you all slaughtered." Still hoping there was a bullet left, he pulled the trigger.

A single shot was fired and the bullet tore through the man's torso, and burst forth on the other side exiting near his left lung. Kicking the man off him, he returned to the radio.

"Echo one here. Everything looks clear, send in the grunts now if you please. Over and out." He sat int he tower awaiting the angry remarks of the General, but they never came. He saw the NATO forces come over the rise, and cautiously approach the town. No bullets were fired as they strode into town and easily found the hostages. As he watched on, a pair of soldiers scaled the stairs of the tower. "Sir? We have orders to tell you to report to Athens. General Churchill would like to speak with you in person."

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Mikhaila Ivanenko - Back-woods Ukraine ~ Though the weather outside is frightful...


Mikhaila shot up from her sleeping bag. On top of being forced to go camping she had had a terrifying dream. That man, she just knew he was a... a... She couldn't even complete the thought without hyperventilating. Too fucking scary. She lifted her head and looked around. Her father had taken the tent... Lovely.

Sestra? Ivan leaned over his beloved elder sister Are you alright Sestra? Are you on those drugs again? His grey-blue eyes, like his younger sister's , like their dear departed mother's, held worry. Worry that next time his sister wouldn't get away from the substances that had controlled her nightlife.

No no! Mikhaila said I promised you and Tali not to. I just had a bad dream.She started changing, totally comfortable being naked in the wilderness, even with her little brother sitting right there. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her bruised body before, her father didn't believe in doors. She removed her shirt and put on a corset Be a dear and tie this will you? The wind ruffled her long brown hair, tangling it even further.

Natalya turned over her long blonde hair smooth and straight. What was the dream about Mikki? She stood up her long, warm violet nightgown fluttering in the light snow. Tali lifted her pale slender hands and started braiding her sister's hair into twelve even braids. Was it Bat'ko again? Do you know where he is Vanya?

Out hunting The boy, no young man said. He said he'd meet us at home. Mikki looked up at her brother, when had he gotten so tall?

But that's a two hour walk! Natalya frowned, He didn't even leave us the car, did he? The young girl knew their father hadn't as she could not see the blue piece of junk anywhere.

Gods The brunette interrupted her siblings as her brother finished lacing the corset. Greek gods Her siblings knew her terror at the idea of Gods. [color=3FF8040]I just... knew what he was supposed to be and... and... He said...I was one. He said that I had powers.[ To create a home, a shelter./color]

Oh sestra Tali said, her rough alto voice gentle, There's no way dreams can come trueTheir brother turned around as Mikki pulled on her skirt. Tali straightened her nightgown.

Mikki started making breakfast, kasha and pancakes, Ivan spoke But what if it is true? Despite how it terrified Mikhaila, Ivan was a huge fan of the super natural and his round face was earnest Can you please try? For me? The snow was starting to come down hard on them, it would be at least an hour before it would be safe to head back home.

Brother Mikki tense but she had lost as soon as she looked into Ivan's face. She could never deny her younger siblings anything; even if it got her in trouble with their tyrannical father. Alright, alright Vanya She focused and a small dome started forming. She screamed as the small shelter completed itself.

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You... you really don't get it... do you? I... I love him... I'd die with him. Or for him. That's what you do... how you feel when you love someone. - Impulse

-Bao Yong ~ South Korea-

Bao's eyes slowly opened, purple eyes adjusting to the darkness of his room. He was wide awake. Gods? Harpocrates? he thought silently, turning his head to the left and feeling the firm material mould to his ear, Secrets? Game? Is this a game? Or an adventure? He grinned at the thought of an adventure and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. I want to hear more secrets, I want to go.

He sat up in his bed, reddish hair in his eyes and looked at the time, 3:47 AM. Bao was too excited to go back to sleep, he slid out from under his covers and bolted playfully to his dresser. He grabbed two shirts, a bright blue t-shirt with white words saying SOME PEOPLE ARE GAY. with words in black underneath saying GET OVER IT! and a plain black long-sleeved t-shirt, and threw them onto his bed along with a pair of blue jeans. He then dropped to the floor and slithered under his bed, taking out a lock-box and a vibrantly purple backpack.

He shed his pale pink Tweety pyjamas quickly and bounced around in his black boxers happily, mentally giggling. He grabbed more clothing and shoved it into his backpack before shimmying into his jeans. The pale boy grabbed the small key from his bedside table and unlocked the metal box. He smiled at the bills. He had about 500, 000 (500 CAD)Korea won. He'd been saving for a computer.

He snuck out of his brightly painted room to the sedately coloured hall. He checked the computer for flights to Athens. Shit! he thought, his eyes wide, 1,700,00 Won (1600 CAD)! I can't get that! I've been saving forever! He bit his lip, his eyes watering slightly. I wanna go... He paused, and thought, Where is the farthest I can go with what I have... He typed rapidly, use to keyboards. Beijing... China. How far is that from Athens? Too far... He sighed, bowing his head. I'll have to tell them. He sluggishly walked back to his room, shoulders drooped.

He got dressed anyway, even though he knew he wasn't leaving to go to Greece, yet. I want to go outside. Abeoji hates it when I go out. He looked down at his shirt, Maybe I should lie low, just for tonight. Even if they wouldn't understand English anyway. He took off his Gay Support T-shirt and put on an orange button-up t-shirt, leaving it open. He put his money away and then under his bed. Just a walk, to think. He put his phone in his left front pocket and his communicator in his right. He grabbed his can off pepper spray and put into his back pocket. Appa would be proud, I'm bringing the safety stuffs. He opened his window and looked down with a childish grin. He jumped to the tree and slid down. Appa and Abeoji thought a second story room would stop me from sneaking out. Ha!

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