Just a Myth
Prologue
A long, long time ago, back when the Earth was still young and magic was as common as the clusters of golden dandelions in the rolling plains, there existed a harmony between man and the spirits that dwell alongside him. In those days, there was a great Sun God who ruled the daytime. He had ten sons, who were all strong and handsome, and whom he loved very much.
The Sun God entrusted an important task to his offspring: bringing light to the people of the earth. Every morning, one brother would rise from the east, illuminating heaven and earth until his gentle mother Luna softly lulled him to sleep. The ten brothers would appear in turn in the sky, one every day, for the earth creatures could only withstand the brilliance of a single sun.
The brothers were upholding an excellent job, but eventually they became restless, and soon after that, rebellious. One suggested for all of them to rise up into the sky at the same time, and the others quickly agreed to it. Oh, it was much fun! Never before had all the brothers been able to play with each other, for there was always one missing from the rest. Now that they were all together, they ran and jumped and laughed without pause, taking advantage of all the time they had with each other.
While they were enjoying themselves, chasing each other in the sky, the humans below were suffering. The heat that the ten brothers radiated dried up all the water from the lakes and wilted all the crops in the fields. With the lack of food and water, the humans were dying.
The Sun God saw this, and he urged his sons to return to their normal routine, but the brothers were having too much fun and refused to go home to their palace in the mountains. Finally, the Sun God had no choice but to command a young farmer to help his sons remember what their duties were.
Now, the Sun God had heard that the farmer was very skilled in archery, so he ordered the bowman up to the highest peak of the highest mountain and told him to punish his sons by inflicting a bit of pain on them. Not much, but just enough to make them listen and go back home.
The archer climbed up the mountain. It took him ten days to get to the peak, and by then, the heat burned his hair a flaming red and his eyes golden amber. The archer was almost driven wild by the boiling temperature. In his rage, he shot down the brothers, one by one. The temperature gradually cooled as each brother died, and so did the archer's temper as his intellect slowly returned. With the bowstring taunt, he was just about to release the tenth arrow when he realized that, without the last brother, the earth would plunge into darkness. And so, he loosened his bowstring, trekked down the mountain, and went back to his village, where he was celebrated as a hero. The people built a grand palace made of jade and crowned him emperor. His sweetheart, whom he had promised to marry before his journey, was made empress.
His love was of no ordinary heritage. She was the child of a water nymph and a handsome duke, and while she did not inherit her mother's immortality, she acquired the nymph's beauty: long black hair that cascaded down her back like a silky waterfall, cerulean eyes that shone like gemstones, milky white skin that glowed in the moonlight, and a pair of soft pink lips.
At first, the emperor ruled wisely and justly. Under the guidance of the new emperor, the country flourished. But the aftereffects of power got to him eventually. He became greedy and violent, always wanting more. The empress tried to stop him; she tried to set him right again, but the allure of wealth and power had already turned him into a different man.
One day, news of a mystical fruit reached the emperor's ears. It was said that whoever ate the golden fruit would be granted ever-lasting youth, and that the tree which it grew from fruited only once every millennium. The king had only recently turned twenty-two, but who would pass a chance at immortality? He set off to the forest where the fruit was rumored to be located, with his wife accompanying him.
"I would not want to stay young forever without you by my side," he had persuaded her with a soft smile, but she saw the glint of greed in his eyes.
The empress was secretly frightened. She did not know when her gentle husband had turned into the cruel man he was now, nor did she know how, but she did know if he were to gain eternal youth, the citizens in their country would live under his tyranny forever, and she was much too kindhearted to allow her people to suffer. She had to find a way to prevent her husband from eating it.
When the emperor and the empress reached the tree, they discovered that, although there was fruit on the slender branches of the tree, it was not yet ripe. So, the emperor decided to stand guard under the bearer of the mystical fruit, ensuring that no one else would steal his immortality.
He commanded his wife to notify him at the first sign of ripeness. So, while the emperor patrolled the area, she was constantly looking up at the branches, searching for a flash of gold. One day, much to her dismay, the empress spotted a peep of honeyed yellow on the fruit. She did not report this to her husband, but the empress knew that the emperor would eventually notice. She had to do something about it soon.
That night, after making sure her husband was asleep, the empress stole out of the tent that they shared. She crept towards the tree and reached for the golden fruit. Then, ever so softly, she took the dagger hidden beneath her cloak and crouched down. She decided that the best way to prevent her husband from eating the fruit and gaining eternal youth was to bury it. The empress worked quickly and quietly, praying to the gods above that her husband would not wake.
The emperor was awoken by a soft thud outside. His eyes flashed open. There! He heard it again! Hot white anger burned his vision. Somebody was trying to steal his eternal youth! Stealthily, he reached for his blade and glided out of the tent. He saw a cloaked man hunched over on the ground and the small, round fruit in his hand. With a growl of rage, he ran towards the shadow, snatched the fruit from his hand and took a savage bite into the bitter flesh. The man spun around in fright, and the emperor felt the sting of a blade on the side of his face, but before the cloaked man had the opportunity to do any more, the emperor thrust his dagger into the man's back and sealed his fate.
With a small gasp, the man double forward. The emperor seized his cloak and brutally tossed him on his back, determined to find out who dared to try to steal his immortality. Too late, he recognized those ever brilliant cerulean eyes. The juice that dripped from his chin was as dark and bitter as the blood that pooled around her body.
"No!" the emperor gasped as blood and tears and nectar joined together to form a droplet that landed on her pale face.
The empress shuddered as she watched his golden eyes rain tears of blood. Her eyes dulled to the color of unpolished sapphire, and she struggled to memorize every feature of her husband's defeated face.
"Do not forget…" she whispered weakly, but before the empress could finish, Death arrived and led her soul to his dark palace.
"No, don't leave me!" he cried, holding her tightly, his body shaking in the power of his grief.
"Please, don't leave me! I love you… please…"
But the man's anguished cries were absorbed by the silent forest.
Two Millennia Later…
A man rests against a wall. His auburn colored hair glows like fire where the moonlight touches it. His handsome face looks as if it were sculpted by angels, and his body is an expanse of smooth planes and hard lines. Suddenly, his eyes open, revealing the most stunning shade of amber the world has ever seen.
Author's Notes: Hey guys, it's been a while. I've decided to edit and complete Just a Myth because this is the only story that I've ever really worked on, and I feel terrible for ignoring it for so long. However, be aware that I started this story two years ago, when I was fifteen, and my writing has changed quite a bit. Thank you to all those who had encouraged me before, and I hope that you will support me again. As for the new readers, I hope you will enjoy my tale.