In the Beginning Ch. 08

Chapter 8: Sic transit gloria mund: The Rise of Cronos

"The old order changeth, yielding place to new."

- Alfred Lord Tennyson 1842

Ouranos's body lay floating on the water. Breathless, Cronos and the siblings turned from his form, unsure what would happen. Only Iapetus could see Thanatos, son of Nyx, come from nowhere. Iapetus walked towards the two. Thanatos, however, with his grim personality, held up a hand. He was not to be disobeyed.

"He walks among the living, no more," Thanatos proclaimed. "He is to walk in the halls of Tartarus forever." Iapetus did not fully understand what that meant, but Ouranos would not bother the Titans ever again.

The spirit of Ouranos was much like his body. Tall, strong, foreboding. However, the most significant difference was that his spiritual body still had its head. When Thanatos returned with the Sky King to Tartarus, Ouranos was in a fog. He did not look at the near-skeletal being that was Thanatos. Ouranos wandered through Tartarus, ignoring all in his wake. He swayed left and right, not knowing what was in his way or where he should go.

**********

Cronos made sure Crius was well before he brought himself to Olympus. There, he found Rhea resting in the bed, sheets the only thing covering her body. The signs of her infidelity were clear: her flesh had bruises, her legs twitched from the union, and she had a smile.

She stirred as Cronos paced back and forth. He was lost in thought as to what to do. He loved her, adored her. She had been all he had wanted in a partner since childhood. Yet, she had willingly laid with their father. She had allowed him the chance to create life in her belly. He shook his head in rage. He could do to her what he had to Ouranos. What had Iapetus said? Death? Kill? Could Cronos do that to Rhea? Kill her? Send her spirit to Tartarus? He shook his head as she woke.

"Cronos!" Rhea cried. "I...this isn't..."

"I know what you did," Cronos said, putting his scythe against the wall.

Rhea looked from the blood-stained scythe to Cronos and his broken demeanor. She perhaps did not know what death was or what had fully transpired, but she pieced together that if Cronos was in the room and Ouranos was not, then the Sky Father was no longer in control of Olympus.

"It was not like that!" Rhea exclaimed. Her voice quivered. "Ouranos forced me. I had no choice, Cronos. After asking for his blessing, I begged him not to take me, but he gave me no choice." Cronos stared at her, uncertain. So much of him wanted to believe her. He continued to listen in silence. "He forced himself upon me, Cronos. You must believe that. He threatened you, our family."

"Rhea, Mother Gaia saw you. She saw you with him."

Rhea seemed shocked but did not lose a step in her defense. "How can she be sure of what she saw? Once Ouranos had what he wanted, I was in his grasp; I had to play the part Cronos. You must believe me!"

"Must I?" Cronos exclaimed. "Why? Why must I do anything with you?"

Rhea stood naked before Cronos. "Because you are my husband. Because we have a future together."

"I want to believe you."

"Then..." Rhea said, sliding her hand up and down the strong arm of Cronos. "Believe me."

"How?" Cronos asked, unsure. "How can I know you won't betray me if another being commands you to."

"I would never," Rhea said, her voice growing lustful. She reached out and felt over his body. As he shivered, she kissed him. She sensed he could recoil, but before he could, she wrapped her fingers around his manhood. "I am your wife, Cronos."

Cronos moaned as she felt him harden. "Yes... yes, you are," Cronos breathed, losing himself to the pleasure of her touch.

She pulled him towards her before pushing him onto the bed she had willingly laid in with Ouranos. Seizing her husband's erect cock, she mounted him. She let the semen of Ouranos moisten her womanhood. She was slow at first, allowing Cronos into her inch by inch. She called out his name so he could know she enjoyed her husband's caress, and she did, but he was unaware Rhea was doing the work. Ouranos had taken her like a King, and Cronos was no King. Rhea realized he was a usurper and thief with every stroke of his manhood in her.

As he gripped her hips, she saw that he was barely containing himself. She could feel the imminent release of his orgasm. With every moment, she realized there would come a day when Cronos would need to be deposed by one of his sons. She would be a part of that decision and be sure to pick the right one. Only one who was like Ouranos could take what Cronos had stolen.

"Rhea!" Cronos cried.

"Yes, husband!" Rhea shouted back, pretending to climax as she had with Ouranos.

His orgasmic release into her was the confirmation she needed. The feeling was nothing like it had been with Ouranos. Rhea kissed her husband, knowing it would not last.

**********

They were all gathered by the sea. Crius was on his back as Hyperion and Iapetus worked on healing his broken palms and fingers. The shattered gauntlets lay by his side. The air was still as the primordial deity, Mother Earth, stared down at her children. She was still in her contemplation.

"Are you sure, Hyperion?" Gaia asked.

Hyperion nodded, as did Coeus. "He defeated Father, and he was the one slighted by Ouranos's selfishness. With Crius injured, I do not believe anyone could argue he has the right to sit on the Throne of Olympus."

Gaia looked at her other children. She paused on Crius. They all nodded their agreement. "Then...Cronos shall be King of Olympus.

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Epilogue

Where was he? Ouranos realized something was wrong. He was no longer what he was. He could feel the shadow of himself, but he could no longer call upon his once-great might. He was hollow, a half-self. In the dark depths of Tartarus, where shadows whispered, and eerie echoes reverberated, Ouranos, the fallen ruler, stood with a heavy heart, slowly trudging through the dark Realm. His once proud form was marred by defeat.

"You sought to conquer and rule, to impose your will upon the cosmos," the echoing voice of Chaos said. "But the threads of Fate were woven against you."

Ouranos turned to see the statuesque visage of the Progenitor. "Was there ever a moment where I could have succeeded?"

Chaos, in its enigmatic form, extended tendrils of darkness and diaphanous light. "No, Little Ouranos. No one's destiny is shaped solely by their own actions. You are no different. The grand design of all has its own rhythm, its own balance. For you to topple me was too great a quest."

Ouranos stared upon the Realm of Tartarus. "Then all of my goals were for nothing."

"Not for nothing. You have paved the way for great Kings to follow you," Chaos said.

"Was I never meant to keep my throne? Could I not have continued as the King of Olympus?"

Chaos nodded. "There was. Had you been content to be King, you would still be ruling, and there may have been time in the future for you to have all of the cosmos as you wanted."

Ouranos lowered his head. He could not bring himself to look at Chaos in his shame. "What is to become of me now?"

"As penance for your hubris, you are to watch over the souls of the departed. It is fitting, so you can see others fall as you have."

"Is this all I am to have?" Ouranos asked, almost pleading to have his crown, his wife, or even his manhood restored to him.

"For now," Chaos said. "Someday, you shall be overcome again by a deserving King. He shall rule this Underworld for centuries and become synonymous with this Realm until he surrenders his throne to another."

"Surrenders?" Ouranos wondered.

"You will see, Oh Great King. Until then, let us see if you can learn your lesson. Perhaps you will see another quality, empathy, and find its worth."

Behind them, where the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires hung from the walls, was a single spot of earth and dirt. Where Gaia had once stood, moisture from her tears over her children's banishment mingled with the tears of Ouranos, who cried for his lost throne and manhood. Ever so slowly, a tree was taking shape in the Realm of Tartarus.

Blessed by Tartarus and Erebus, grown in the dirt of Gaia. Watered by Ouranos and Gaia, a tree would grow intended for the King that Chaos mentioned. Until that day, the Realm of the Underworld, made by Erebus and Tartarus, would be watched over by the first death: Ouranos. There, he would remain for the rest of eternity for his crimes of hubris, though most would not know of his crime of trying to overthrow Chaos. He would be remembered as the King who endeavored to defy the Fates.

**********

In the vast expanse of the sea, where Ouranos's body floated, his blood oozed. The life-giving waters united with the tumultuous waves. The fallen Primordial, Ouranos, lay motionless, his essence merging with the surrounding elements. From the wounds inflicted upon him by Crius and Cronos, the saltwater mingled with the Titan's lifeblood.

The goldish red ichor lost its golden luster, pooling into a crimson then burgundy before settling into black ooze. The sea, once serene, churned with an otherworldly energy. From the depths arose three majestic figures, their forms metaphysical yet formidable.

They were clothed in garments as dark as the night sky with eyes that gleamed with an unyielding intensity. Their countenances reflected the pain and suffering of the world, and their voices echoed with a harmony of haunting resolution. They were black and red with wings. In times yet to come, they would be called the Furies, enigmatic beings who yearned for justice and retribution.

As one of the Furies faced another, she smiled menacingly. "Come, sisters! The Realm is ours!"

"Yes!" Cried the other two.

While they flew away, the sea-created foam blended with the fluids of Ouranos's testicles. It pooled and swirled until a radiating goddess with golden hair and a body of perfection emerged. She did not crave violence or death and cared nothing for justice. Rather, she felt the desires and lusts of her father, Ouranos. She craved affection, adoration, wonder, joy, and sex. For her, everything could be a new experience of pleasure. Where those Furies could embody justice, retribution, and strife , she was a force for love, unity, and passion.

"Aphrodite," she mused, naming herself. She would walk into the Realm of Greece naked, her body a gift to the Realm. They could see her, but the immense Titanic might within protected her from being taken against her will.

The Realm of Greece was changing. These were the beginning days of Olympus, and what happened here would reverberate throughout the world.

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Author's Notes: Well thanks for coming on this journey and the End of Part 1 of Tales of Olympus.

I am going to take a week off and fix the minor mistakes that inevitably got through into the published drafts. I can write, rewrite, get this to my editor, get it back, and put in last minute changes, and something still gets through. Trust me, that irks me far more than it does any reader.

After I re-consolidate, I will post a full version, so anyone reading can read the complete work in one go.

If you're a big Greek Mythology buff, you will notice I changed a few things. For example, Ouranos' only real crime was imprisoning the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes or he did something to the Fates. However, since I meant for the 'Curse of Ouranos' to work, I felt his mistake should be one that compounded, so I made it pride and vanity, which led to believing he could have everything, betraying the Fates, locking away his children, and then stealing Rhea..

As for Rhea, she does very little in the myths outside of hiding Zeus later, so I decided to change what happened to give her character more agency and choice.

Another change is divine beings can die! In Hesiod's Theogony, Primordials, Titans, and gods are immortal in the sense that they cannot die. With the story I am telling, if gods are that powerful right off the bat, the world would overflow with divine beings, so I argue for right now, if the being bleeds blood or ichor, they can be killed. However, each divine being will be immortal in terms of a lifespan, so they cannot be taken by time.

I invite you to visit my website, which you can find in my profile, should you wish to offer direct support, so I can expedite the process of writing these stories.

While working and releasing THIS story, I have been hard at work on The Reign of Cronos and The Titanomachy, both of which should give you a good idea of the direction I am taking the narrative. As you will find, The Three Sons should be deleted by now, as that has become its own trilogy I am working on. The outlines are done, but I have yet to start writing it. After all, I have to walk before I run, and we have not even introduced Zeus and Hera in the story, which as some of you know is important to our future rulers.

As I said in the Prologue, I am trying to be respectful of the source material as well as the other versions of these stories while also telling my own tale. In that, I do hope I am succeeding.

Feel free to rate and give comments and share the story out as you see fit. This is the best way to get more eyes onto this work. After all, as a creative creature, I thrive off of feedback.

It is my hope that this story has given you an idea of what is to come while being a fulfilling story right here and now without being too wordy.

Thank you for reading.