So today I'm going to talk a bit about my story. I hope you enjoy it! Like I said in my previous, it's a mixture Greek myth, Plato's philosophy, and my own additions.
Disclaimer first: for this story I am changing a lot of the Greek myths and the pantheon (quite a few of the major gods in the pantheon are getting combined), so it might be confusing at the outset. Mostly I'm trying to give the gods more character development. Also, pretty much all of the concepts I borrow from Plato are from his Timaeus and his Republic, but also the Apology and the Symposium. I really like Plato, in case you couldn't tell. :)
Anyway, on to the story, or at least part of it:
Imagine a place, a level of reality higher than our own, where the grass grows evergreen without the aid of rain, nor fear of snow. A place where, as Homer says, "the air is outspread clear and cloudless, and over it hovered a radiant whiteness."
Disclaimer first: for this story I am changing a lot of the Greek myths and the pantheon (quite a few of the major gods in the pantheon are getting combined), so it might be confusing at the outset. Mostly I'm trying to give the gods more character development. Also, pretty much all of the concepts I borrow from Plato are from his Timaeus and his Republic, but also the Apology and the Symposium. I really like Plato, in case you couldn't tell. :)
Anyway, on to the story, or at least part of it:
**
Imagine a place, a level of reality higher than our own, where the grass grows evergreen without the aid of rain, nor fear of snow. A place where, as Homer says, "the air is outspread clear and cloudless, and over it hovered a radiant whiteness."
This place is Olympos: the Realm atop the mountain, the Realm bathed in the light of the white sun, crafted by the Demiurge himself in the best image of the realm of the Forms. Olympos is home to a race of beings known to themselves as the Oikergos ("descendants or family of the craftsman") and to humans Theos or gods. The Oikergos are a powerful race, to be sure as they have such command over the fabric of reality that on Olympos they can create and destroy matter. They are the last defense against the Beyond and the creatures of chaos that dwell there. It is from the palace on Olympos that the Keepers and the Hierarchs below them stand ever-watchful. They use the power and energy of intellect and creativity (ambrosia) to keep the Beyond at bay. Using their power to create a great defensive wall, they have created thousands of universes. One of which is ours. For ages untold, Zeus, the current Keeper of the Paradigm, has ruled with an iron fist and a just heart, but a tired sigh has crept into his nod in his old age.
This is where our story begins; with the first snowflake on Olympos.
The Archivist (Athena) was standing in grief and remorse over the grave of her dead sister, Pallas, situated by the river, when she saw it falling. She caught the snowflake on the tip of her index finger. The flake melted on her skin, but the very idea of a snowflake on Olympos scared her. For the first time, since when the Archivist had seen a cloud in the sky on Olympus and the mysterious illness struck the Keeper of the Family (Hera/Hestia) which lead to the execution of the last Father of Souls (Apollo/Dionysus/Poseidon), she felt as though time was running out. She had to accelerate her plans.
She looked up and and saw the Judiciary (Hephaistos/Ares/Hades) watching her from afar. She would have to accelerate her plans a great deal. Even though she would be risking being caught breaking the Paradigm by interfering with one of the crafts (universes), she had to find the soul who would help her.
The words of the Fates spoken only to her still echoed in her ears.
"The child of Athena will succeed the King."
Ok, so that's a bit of the background. I've been working on. I would say more, but it's late and I'm getting tired. If you want to ask questions in the comments, then I can try to answer them! It would be really helpful to me if you asked questions or tell me what you think!
This is where our story begins; with the first snowflake on Olympos.
The Archivist (Athena) was standing in grief and remorse over the grave of her dead sister, Pallas, situated by the river, when she saw it falling. She caught the snowflake on the tip of her index finger. The flake melted on her skin, but the very idea of a snowflake on Olympos scared her. For the first time, since when the Archivist had seen a cloud in the sky on Olympus and the mysterious illness struck the Keeper of the Family (Hera/Hestia) which lead to the execution of the last Father of Souls (Apollo/Dionysus/Poseidon), she felt as though time was running out. She had to accelerate her plans.
She looked up and and saw the Judiciary (Hephaistos/Ares/Hades) watching her from afar. She would have to accelerate her plans a great deal. Even though she would be risking being caught breaking the Paradigm by interfering with one of the crafts (universes), she had to find the soul who would help her.
The words of the Fates spoken only to her still echoed in her ears.
"The child of Athena will succeed the King."
**
Ok, so that's a bit of the background. I've been working on. I would say more, but it's late and I'm getting tired. If you want to ask questions in the comments, then I can try to answer them! It would be really helpful to me if you asked questions or tell me what you think!
That sounds like an interesting concept :)
ReplyDeleteDo you plan to keep the names of the Gods and locations? Or do you just base your story on them?
I know Greek mythology pretty well, so it always bothers me when books/movies/whatever completely change the stories and I'm like "but! but! that's wrong!" all the time. I had a really hard time watching that Percy Jackson movie, for example :P
But that's probably just me... (don't let that stop you from writing your story however you want it! Primarily you have to be happy with it, and me actually doesn't matter at all.)
No, it's a good question! I had major problems with the Percy Jackson movie too! :)
DeleteThe answer is I'm not going to go completely by the mythology, but I'm going to keep it as close as I can while also expounding upon it.
I plan on using the same names and probably the same locations. Locations may not come up as much, they will be there. The names I gave them, like Athena being the Archivist, are their job titles in the society on Olympos (Athena is the keeper of knowledge and the library), but I'm probably going to stick with their names in the myth for the most part. Also, originally I wanted there to be only three of the beings that the Greeks called gods in order to match up with Plato's Forms of Good, Truth and Beauty, but I realized that that was far too narrowing for the story. So I changed it to having some of the gods be combined in their roles and personalities to give them more depth and character, but also to lessen the number of characters. However, I'm starting to think that may just complicate things more than they need to be.
Perhaps I could instead have all the gods, but divide them into groups based on the Forms? I don't know. What do you think? I'm interested to know your opinion, and don't worry about telling me your opinion. I'm looking for ways to make the story work, that's all. I'm glad that you think it's an interesting concept!