COPG: Life and Death of Gaea: Night Terror
Gaea woke up suddenly from her slumber. She woke up screaming and once she allowed her shaking hands to cup both of her cheeks and stroke her skin to self-soothe, she noticed that she was also sweating. The goddess furrowed her brows and pulled her hands down, so she could take a look at them. Both her palms were covered in sweat and glistened under the pale moonlight. She realized that something was wrong and upon noticing the goosebumps on the skin of her arms, she recognized the feeling. it was fear. she was afraid. The All-Mother sighed and put her hands on her chest. Her breath was sharp, helpless and she realized that it wasn't stopping. Upset, Gaea decided to walk around her room, in order to help her process what was happening.
Very few things scared the All-Mother. As her mind tried to recall the last time she felt afraid, nothing came to her. Her husband didn't scare her. The Universe didn't scare her. She had tremendous power over Life itself and Light, so why would she be afraid? Wait, no! that wasn't true. She didn't want to die. She was scared of Death. She had watched her husband's death at the hands of their son. She witnessed his pain as he vanished into thin air. Where did gods do when they died? what happened to them? She wasn't sure. Khaos spoke about Oblivion, where nothing existed and where Darkness was absolute. Gaea didn't want that fate. So very few things could kill a god, let alone a primeval god.
Sins proved capable of slaying them, she felt it when Leviathan was killed by Superbia. The Dagger of Fate, made from an unknown metal and wields unknown power. She became suspicious of its very nature, what if it came from Oblivion? what if it was made of pure darkness? what if...oh, how could she know? it simply existed and Ishtar used it on her daughter. He could very well use it on her should he want to. Sins could defeat her, the dagger of fate could defeat her... the last thing in whole existence that could challenge and defeat her was Elpis. Ayasha was right! Gaea was scared of Elpis! she remembered the emotions she felt when her last born came to life. It was a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, she was the happiest goddess alive for it was a child she desired with her husband and loved with all her heart. on the other hand, she realized the full potential of her child upon its first scream. How terrifying!
Elpis was powerful and rightfully so. When each of her siblings only received a portion of their parents' powers, Elpis received the totality of it. she was pure harmony between Chaos and order, between Light and Darkness. She was Khaos and Gaea combined. Upon her first scream, the whole realm shook, life began to flourish at an abnormal pace and for a second, it felt as if the whole planet answered the scream of the child. If she kept growing and mastered such power, she would be able to overthrow her parents. she would be able to kill them and this wasn't welcomed by Gaea. Elpis had to be stifled and her whole family managed to control and break her mind into submission. She was docile, naive, and kind. She was devoted to her family, trusted them without a blink of an eye. That took her fear away.
Yet, when Elpis came back from the Sumerian pantheon and they realized that she had destroyed it single-handedly. the gods became worried again and Gaea felt fear freeze her bones. The same sensation was overwhelming her and she realized that she was scared. yes. scared! And this sensation awoke her tonight. unadulterated fear was overwhelming the goddess and she knew why. She felt it, a few days ago. She felt her grip on Earthly life escape her. She knew that her daughter was finally tapping into the power that was hidden from her. And with each passing day, she became stronger. Gaea rubbed her temples and tried to shake her fear off of her skin but it failed. How could she make amends with her daughter? how could she escape Death this time?
Elpis was unforgiving, especially after having been betrayed in such a fashion. her mother didn't protect her. Her mother abandoned her and didn't even try to break the curse. Her mother knew what was going to happen and just... let it happen. Elpis would never forgive her mother for being a coward. She would never be fooled by Gaea's motherly concern because was there really a concern? Ayasha spoke the truth when they last met. Gaea had loved one being only, and that was her husband. her children were the extent of herself and meant nothing to her. She ran away because she wanted to live. she didn't protect her children, didn't care about the war that tore the pantheon apart. she didn't care about losing Sitäa and Khrön. no. all that mattered to her was her survival and to be worshipped, which humans did eagerly.
No matter what, she couldn't pretend that Ayasha was in the wrong. She contemplated making an alliance with her children in order to survive Elpis and the Sin. After all, Gaea was afraid of Elpis because she could recognize what was coming. Elpis was coming! Death... Death was coming!
- TBC-
No comments:
Post a Comment