Chapter 1: The Sky is Falling

The quiet was eerie. Every other place in Greece teemed with life and noise, but not this place. Only one person resided here, and he was in no shape to make any noise. He was a tall man, over 20 feet, but he was bent over. His eyes were closed, as if in deep concentration. Something had clearly subdued this man; something not visible to the ordinary eye. He was no ordinary man, and he held great power. But this invisible barrier had reduced him to nothing but a carrier. The man was in clear agony, and the sweat poured down his face. 100 years was a long time for mortals, but for a god, it was merely a blink of a second. His morning sleep was suddenly disturbed by a strange, ominous presence.

The rocks around him started crumbling, disintegrating and disappearing into the air as a fine, slow mist. Despite the immense strain on his back, he still felt incredibly startled, and struggled to look up. The mist took a humanly shape and solidified in front of him.

Mere seconds later, a woman stood before the speechless god. Although she seemed to be asleep, she was quite awake. She rasped, " My..lovely grandchild, you must be in immense pain." A honeyed voice couldn't hide the coldness in her voice. The god stared up at her in disgust, and after many moments of silence, he sputtered out, "Grandmother, please…please take this burden from me. Free me, so I may rally the Titans once more and destroy those…loathsome gods of Olympus."

The woman's expression did not change at all, as if she were dreaming. "My plan this time is much greater than you Titans…and…it requires a crucial sacrifice which has to come from my own blood…Atlas..your solution is very, very easy." Atlas turned away, knowing what he would hear. She hissed, "Drop the sky." He glared at her then, knowing the reason she had reformed-his grandmother had no intention of saving him; everything was for her. But he couldn't possibly refuse her. No one could refuse his grandmother. Yet the repercussions of dropping the sky were absolutely unthinkable.

To think of it, not 100 years ago he had been the General of the Army that ruled the world. That had gone so well, being overthrown by the Olympians and all their allies. Some of his own brothers had betrayed Lord Kronos and had joined the Gods. Last he had heard, they had been punished. What had he gotten after years of serving Lord Kronos? He had to watch his Lord get cut up into pieces by his own son. He was given a far crueler punishment than an eternity in Tartarus: holding up the sky was wretched; it was excrutiating. It caused him nothing but hate and misery. He had done nothing for the past 100 years except feel pain.

Atlas was never the brightest, but he understood what would follow if he dropped the sky. The sky and the earth would meet in their primordial embrace and crush his essence completely. This was a sure way to kill a immortal being.

Atlas's heart, if he had one, raged in conflict. Smirking, the woman stood and watched him. The sky seemed to weigh ten more times than it ever did before, and Atlas roared, falling to his knees. As he disappeared under the weight of his burden, his eyes strained to meet his grandmother's face.

"It seems even without consciousness he senses life, and will do whatever it takes to achieve it. Child, there is no way out; either live with this endless pain or drop it and never suffer again. The rewards you will reap are outrageous. I understand your pain, this is why I ask this of you." She looked down on him; he knew that. But he also knew that he had lost his fight.

He mustered all the strength he had and spoke one last time, "Promise me, Grandmother…that it will be one of my own blood that beats Zeus." The words took his last strength, and he dropped. The sky fell quickly, and in an instant Atlas was crushed. He had fallen out of existence. The women's laugh echoed through the whole mountain as she cackled with joy. As soon as the sky touched the ground the whole world lit up in a sparkling yellow. All winds stopped, and now it seemed there was nothing for miles but the woman. Slowly the women brought out her hands and chanted words in ancient Greek. A mist grew out of the sky, and as it did, it poured out of the rocks and filled up all available space. It kept growing and slowly solidified until it was over 30 feet tall. Finally a human-looking figure materialized out of the mist. The man sparkled like a star in the night sky. Clouds made up his hair. He truly was a majestic being. He exploded in laughter, truly enjoying his new shape. As soon as he spotted the women his whole attitude changed.

"You are the one who killed me, you must die, you witch." he spoke with true hatred.

"Peace, my love, for I have brought you a present." For the first time the woman had an actual affectionate tone to her voice. Suddenly there was a zapping sound and a glorious woman stepped out. Simultaneously, the sleeping woman sunk back in the ground leaving no trace of her existence. The tall man gawked in awe as the woman twirled her hair in her small hands. Long, lush eyelashes framed brilliant emerald eyes. He closed his eyes for a second and concentrated. A beautiful palace the size of a coliseum formed out of the sky, floating 150 feet off the ground. An instant after that the man scooped up the woman and took her to his palace.