In the Beginning Ch. 01

Chapter 1: Celestial Union

On the wedding night of Ouranos and Gaia, the Titanic beings cheered for their new ruler. With the blessing of Chaos, no one doubted his right to reign. Ouranos proudly looked upon his bride. As Nyx made nightfall, the other Elder Titans watched with keen interest.

Ouranos, Father Sky, and Gaia, Mother Earth, wore very little; the two easily undressed in the palace of Olympus. The Elder Primordials observed as Ouranos's lip crashed against Gaia's. They could feel his passion and how much he yearned for his new wife. No being could tell Ouranos he was wrong for desiring the very being who birthed him. There was no proper order in the land of Greece. They were creating the way of things even with their impending lovemaking. To feel the virginal nectar of Gaia's womanhood was Ouranos's rightful prize as her husband.

The others were excited in new ways. There was happiness and lustful jealousy as they watched the Sky Lord's penis grow erect in desire for his wife and Mother. There was fascination at Ouranos's penetration of Gaia, who, having never felt the touch of a man, groaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure. The other deities wondered if that was how their first coupling would feel. Even as Ouranos buried his manhood into her body, she embraced her new husband. With her cries of ecstasy, mountains formed around them. While Ouranos grunted in satisfaction, storm clouds crashed, thunder howled, and lightning flashed.

With every new act, the two were creating something. They could not be sure, but the new sexual excitement overtook them until the inevitable wellspring of an orgasm struck them. As with the much later descendants, Ouranos's mighty shaft unleashed a torrent of semen and sperm deep into Gaia's fertile womb. They could not be sure that it had been planted then, but the other Primordials cheered and reveled in Ouranos's success.

Their primal urges would only fuel the future. After all, what could stop them? These beings were immortal, and death was less than even a dream. What did they have to fear? What could ruin their eternal paradise?

**********

Gaia had enjoyed her orgasmic wedding night, but despair came to her months later. Since she was a Primordial, she did not have to carry for nine months, but in half the time, a large baby was born. She found her baby was not one, but three. They each had many heads and even more arms. When Ouranos saw them, he recoiled in disgust.

"These are our children?" Ouranos asked.

"Yes," Gaia beamed. "Are they not wonderful?"

"They are disgusting!" Ouranos cried.

"But look how strong they are," Gaia said. "And they take after you. I am sure our other children will have your beauty, husband. Just give it time."

"Fine, but you must be the one to watch over them."

Gaia nodded with a joyful smile. "Of course, I will care for our children."

**********

In this young world, Ouranos did not need to work hard to travel elsewhere. Doors to the Realm of Tartarus were easy enough to find. When Ouranos entered, he looked around in confusion. Tartarus may have been Ouranos's uncle, but he was the inverse of the mighty Father Sky. He was frail and wrinkled and had a bald head with long wispy strands of hair poking out from the back of his head.

"Is it getting bigger?" Ouranos wondered, motioning to the realm around them.

"Every day it gets bigger," Tartarus said back disinterestedly.

"Who will live here?" Ouranos asked. "It is empty."

"You will all come to live in my hall," Tartarus said in response to his nephew's inquiry.

"I don't think so," Ouranos countered confidently. "I shall rule the heavens and the earth."

"Will you?" Tartarus mused. "Will you become one with the sky? I think that is the only way Chaos intends for us to go on forever."

Ouranos looked at Tartarus, confused. "Become one with the sky? Are you becoming one with this place? This Beneath Place? This Under World?"

Tartarus laughed. "I am. This will last forever. But it will grow to hold all the people that will reside here. If it is living because of me, it will grow and live forever, long after people forget my name."

"But to lose your body? Your mind? How can you rule?" Ouranos wondered.

"We are not all meant to rule. Maybe some of us are meant to exist, King Ouranos. To experience all that life can be?"

"That is not living. That is... that is something, but it is not living. To live is to rule, to have, and I will have it all."

Tartarus laughed. "Oh, you are young, Ouranos. No one, not even Chaos, has it all."

A glint of ambition sparkled in the sky god's eyes. "Maybe not, but we are growing. We cannot simply be limited by what Chaos is. Can we?"

"I suppose not," Tartarus said offhandedly. "But we are not all going to be like your ambitions, either, Ouranos."

**********

Nyx looked upon the little things that had many hands. "What will you call them?"

"Well, I have named the first one, Cottus. The second one there," Gaia said, motioning at the one with twelve arms and crawling away, "Briareos. And the last one to be born is Gyges."

Nyx let out a laugh. "No, not their names, Gaia. Though, those are beautiful names. What are they called? They are not Primordials like we are. They are different, something new." She inspected all three children. "They each have more arms than us, but they are not like you and of the Earth. They are not darkness and shadow like me. Their form seems stuck. But I can see more little arms growing on your little creatures." Though she called them creatures, Nyx was nothing but doting to the newborns.

"I am not sure, yet. Maybe Chaos gives them to us so they can be different."

Nyx laughed again. "Come on, Gaia! Chaos did not give them to you. We gave them to us. Chaos gave us life, but we give ourselves the gifts we have."

"That makes it worth all the effort," Gaia said, doting. "Will you have children, Nyx? Chaos called you "Mother Night." Mother means you will have children."

Nyx considered the question. "Maybe I will, but if Ouranos is an example of what fathers will be like, I might have children without them, as you did with him."

"Will you marry them?" Gaia asked excitedly.

"No. I think I shall have them to raise and love but not marry," Nyx said, shaking her head. "We have a long time for me to find out."

Nyx smiled, looking at the tiny creatures. They were no bigger than three feet tall. For such Titanic beings as Ouranos and Gaia, these children were miniscule by comparison. Nyx wondered if these many-handed children would grow.

**********

Ouranos, heeding his uncle's advice, decided to visit Chaos. With the world so new, there was little to be done. The borders were unclear, but Chaos always hinted there were dangers nearly as great as Chaos themselves. When he found the door to their Realm, Ouranos held up his hand. The door frame showed more parts of Tartarus, but then the symbol of eight radial arrows glowed, and the palm of Ouranos bled. The blood of the divine transformed the doorway's contents from showing more of Tartarus to revealing the endless void where Chaos lived. The contents of Chaos's Realm showed a vast sea of stars and had a near-empty platform. Chaos stood, staring off into the dark void.

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Ouranos?"

Ouranos had rarely ever gone to the Realm of Chaos. He marveled at the impossible depth of the world. He gaped at the floating islands of ephemeral matter suspended in the swirling blackness. The islands took various forms, from jagged rock formations to ethereal clouds, constantly shifting and transforming in the turbulent ocean of nothingness around them. Chaos was, by comparison to Ouranos and his siblings, raw energy as disorienting as the Realm.

Ouranos struggled to find himself in the presence of the Great Progenitor. All of Ouranos' arrogant posturing with Tartarus disappeared. "I come before you, Oh Mighty Chaos, hoping to find answers."

"Your children," Chaos observed. "They fill you with misgivings. You are unsure what their place in this world is meant to be." Chaos, in their benevolent wisdom, was not asking.

"They are not like me or Gaia."

"As you are not fully like Gaia, and Gaia is not fully like me," Chaos countered. Their voice was distant but filled with echoing wisdom. When Ouranos still seemed displeased with the answer, Chaos continued to help their grandchild. "In appearance, perhaps, but they have your immortal lifespan and your indomitable strength within them."

"But how can they serve me?" Ouranos asked, frustrated

"Not all things are made to serve," Chaos remarked with the wisdom of eons. "Like this Realm, things are always changing, always shifting. That is life. Your children, the Hecatoncheires, are made to be different and show possibilities of life. They will not be like you and Gaia. They are to be different, to have different gifts."

"Will I have children like me and Gaia?"

"You shall have Titan children," Chaos answered honestly. "But there is beauty in differences. Life is full of variety. Do not blind yourself up in limitations."

"But then, how shall all things stay the same?" Ouranos wondered, thinking of his rulership and subjects.

"Things will not always be the same. Life, as I said, is full of change. That can only exist if things evolve with the possibilities, young King."

Ouranos stared at the Progenitor, not fully digesting what Chaos told him. What did that mean? Would he lose all he had? Would he lose Gaia? Would he be allowed to be King of his Kingdom, or would that be taken from him?

**********

Chaos waved their hand, and the young King was gone, pulled back to Tartarus. Looking into the void of darkness, Chaos considered all the possibilities. They could see so many futures and outcomes—heroes wielding spears, swords, shields, and clubs. Chaos saw lightning bolts crashing, rising oceans, and the overflowing afterlife. The Progenitor was awed by the action of mortal and divine creatures.

Many futures existed. Chaos paused, seeing a life and world of men fighting wars in containers of metal and dropping destruction equal to a deity. In the tumultuous Realm of Infinite Nothingness, Chaos saw so much loss and witnessed a world devoid of mortal and divine life. For Chaos, it was no small feat to experience a wide-reaching future riddled with hazards and obstacles. Chaos, as the Progenitor, would exist beyond that terrible outcome.

Still, it would be better if their children lived. New chances appeared where the children of their children's children lived on in the hearts and minds of lesser beings. Tales would be told. Was that the outcome Chaos deigned? There were so many actions wrought with suffering and loss. Chaos thought further still; what of the others? Those other Primordial and Progenitor beings who had other lands would cross over and try to harm Chaos's offspring. Chaoswould need a champion. That is when Chaos saw the future King.

Chaos witnessed many loves, many crowns gained and lost, and saw the doom of Ouranos. However, Chaos was able to experience so much more. There was a King, more lasting than the one Chaos chose.

In a voice no one heard, Chaos gave their first prophecy:

"Dear King, child of heroes and gods alike,

Bearer of ancient authority, forged in sacred light.

Your path shall traverse Realms vast and wide,

Across Realms, where gods and mortals abide.

In your veins flow the echoes of the divine,

A hero's strength, A Queen's Desire intertwined.

The blessings of the Dead, Sea's domain,

And Heaven's lightning, a gift in your name.

Blessed by the sisters, their touch profound,

Threads of destiny woven, intertwined, unbound.

A tapestry spun, with paths yet untold,

In your journey, their secrets unfold.

Know this, Truest King, as you venture forth,

The weight of your heritage, your sacred worth.

Embrace the challenges that lie in your wake,

For through trials and triumphs, your destiny's stake.

Across the Realms, gods shall converge,

In your presence, the boundaries shall blur.

Embrace the lessons learned, forge bonds anew,

For the unity of gods and mortals rests with you.

Yet, as my embrace unveils the grand design,

Remember, immortal soul, that choices are thine.

Amidst the tapestry's weave, your will shall prevail,

Shape your own fate as your journeys entail."