Godborn

Since the dawn, Titans had ruled all realms of the cosmos until one day several millennia later, Kronos stood among the mountain where one day Olympus would stand. He watched as a woman carried her baby along the mountain pass toward the summit. Her journey of a day and a half would lead her to the clearing among the top. There she stepped out from behind the rocks and into a clearing with a stone altar. The woman with white hair placed the blanket with her baby boy down upon it. The ground quaked, and the sky purred with thunder. Her baby cried as she turned away from him. Kronos stood towering, his shadow covering all on the summit. He reached for the baby to eat it like he’d down with so many others of his children, when lightning shot down from the sky, striking him in the chest. She turned to witness the titan stumbling backward toward the edge. A young man with white hair much like hers, shot down from the sky in a gigantic bolt of lightning, scorching the earth in his presence. He snatched the baby and fled to the woman as Kronos recovered. The titan stalked toward them; the ground shaking with each step. He handed her the baby and watched as she fled back toward the path. As the white-haired young man turned around. The titan swung his hand, sending him flying backward into the ground. As he recovered, Kronos reached for him when a fiery ball soared through the sky, hitting the titan in the face, then a trident flew toward its destination, striking the king of the titans in his chest. The young man lifted himself from the ground as he was joined by two others. His eyes lit up with a whiteness, and an enormous bolt shot down from the cloudy sky, hitting the trident. The woman could hear the deafening sound of Kronos’s screams of agony, then silence befell the mountain. The woman returned to her home in the land of Olympia and never spoke of the day when the white-haired young man or the two others struck down the titan on the mountain of Olympus.
Two millennia later, a young man sat in a cafe in the vibrant and bustling city of New Orleans with his friends. The sunny day turned cloudy as they rolled in, and heavy rain set upon the city. From the street, patrons ran toward any building they could to get out of the sudden weather. Thunder roared, and the young man, along with everyone else, got to their feet when lightning followed the thunder. Cars traveling down the street were throwing up water as the street flooded. The young man stood there rubbing the back of his neck, a strange feeling washing over him. Everyone watched as a giant bolt of lightning hit the ground and a man in pearl white armor with a bolt of golden lightning adorned the chest. A sword on his hip. Everyone watched as the young man pushed past those by the door, exiting the cafe. He stood cautiously as water swirled around then a man appeared next to the other. This one had icy blue-looking armor and a golden trident in hand. Then the ground split open, and out swirled black fiery smoke. A man in black volcanic-looking armor with a sword with the same volcanic black handle and a bident in hand. The one in the pearl white armor raised his hand, and lightning came crashing down onto the young man.
He jerked awake on the bus heading for school. In the seat across from him, another young man glanced over at him, then returned to his phone. The bus pulled up in front of the school. He stepped off the bus, glancing around at the bustling environment of students and faculty moving to and from the building. He slung his bag over his shoulder and moved through the quad toward the building, but today something felt different from before, maybe because it’s his 17th birthday. Stepping into his first class of the day, history, he strolled over to an empty seat next to the kid from the bus.
“Soon you will know who you are,” a female voice whispered.
The teacher picked up the marker and wrote on the board. She turned to face the class. They all sat there looking around at each other, then at her.
“Can anyone tell me what this says?” she asked.
“It says, Lunchtime needs to hurry,” the jock said.
“No, Mr. Diaz, it doesn’t. Anyone else?”
She scanned the room and then set her sights on the young man. About to call on him when the young man from the bus raised his hand.
“Yes, you. What’s your name?”
“It’s James, ma’am,” he said. “It says, All those who can read this carry the blood of the gods.”
“Very good, son of Helios.”
Her flesh peeled away from her bones, twisting and jerking around, until she transformed. She had snakes for hair, a snake wrapped around her waist like a belt, giant golden wings, sharp claws and snake-like eyes. Her skin was radiant and seductive. The students screamed and fled from the classroom into the hallway. James stood to his feet and grabbed the young man to his. With amazing speed, she rushed both of them, slamming James through the wall into another classroom and snatching the young man by the throat.
“I have come for you, son of Hades.”
She flung him through the wall, out into the hallway. He burst through the wall, slamming into the lockers. Nearby students whimpered and cried as others fled down the hall and into classrooms. She stepped through the wall, hissing in delight as she stalked toward him.
“Stheno, get away from him,” James said.
She turned around to find him standing there with his eyes glowing a golden sun yellow, bright and powerful. He fired a beam of golden light into her chest, sending her crashing through the lockers and wall into the classroom behind them. He rushed over to the young man and picked him up.
“What happened?” he asked.
“No time to explain. We have to go.”
James dragged him along as Stheno burst from the room, with a scorched area around her chest. She burst through the roof as they burst through the doors. Her screams filled the air. The sky turned red, and a tear split open. From it, Harpies flew out, and another scream sent them after the boys. Harpies close in as they flee down the street toward his place. Two of them dive-bombed and slammed into them, sending the young man slamming into a car and James through a department store. The sunny day turned dark as clouds rolled in. One of the Harpies stalked toward him as he rolled over and tried to scurry away. Thunder rang out amidst the chaos, and a bolt of lightning hit the harpy, burning it to ashes. Vehicles had skidded to a stop as an enormous lightning bolt crashed into the street and another young man stood there. He rushed over to the young man and helped him up. Harpies landed on top of vehicles and the street surrounding them. People on the streets fled, screaming as the Harpies first attacked. Others hunkered down to hide in their cars as Stheno landed on the street and stalked toward them. A golden beam shot out from the damaged building, hitting several Harpies, incinerating them to ash.
“Jared, run.” James said.
The other young man gave a nod. Jared spun around and ran for his life. James and the other young man squared off with Stheno while a few Harpies took flight and gave chase. He made it a few blocks from where he left the others and rushed across the street to a five-story apartment building, grabbing a keycard out to swipe it when a harpy dove toward him. Seeing the reflection, he dove out of the way, and the harpy crashed through the door into the lobby. He recovered as the others closed in and rushed through the smashed door. He ran up the stairs to his floor on the third level and rushed to his door. Pulling out his key, he quickly unlocked the door and rushed inside. He dropped his keys and stumbled forward, hitting his knees as he found his mom lying on the floor lifeless.