[[Portfolio Index]]

Half Man/Half Bird-EdsFox(DeviantArt)

The Curse of Heroes
Hector and Achilles's actions and human emotions are their downfall.

Alchemist Tools-ObsidianPortal

Recipe for Disaster
Ralsey the Alchemist concocts jars of destruction that cause catastrophes.

Demeter, Juno and Athena-AngioPhil

The Damnation of Goddesses
Greek Goddesses help Psyche get her happy ending, with consequences.

Story: [[Recipe for Disaster]]

What a disaster the lab was. There were jars on the wooden tables of every shape and size. There were leaves hanging from the ceiling: oak and ivy, banana leaves and pine needles. Every once in a while someone would see a lone pine cone dangling from a piece of string. Ready to be plucked, everything was ready to be plucked. 

Ralsey the Alchemist-Pinterest

There were mounds of sand, dirt. Pink, purple, orange, tan, white every color of the sun lining the walls and in the center of the tables there were ten thin, glass cylinders from ceiling to floor. These glass cylinders were lined up, back to back between the tables, which were all situated to face them. Every ocean, river and stream flowed through these cylinders making a woosh sound every time a new body of water was filtered into the cylinders. With a push of the button from the alchemist's hands there would be a new batch of water. He had it all memorized, the alchemist did, he was that smart. He knew the colors of the ocean and where they were located, the colors of the sand and where they were located. He knew everything and anything about nature. He knew how to bottle clouds and lightning, snow and sleet. He was a master of nature and now, he wished to bottle it up in jars, the disasters he will create to help replenish areas of the world, marred by nature. His name was Ralsey and he was a descendant of the ancient Egyptians. Some say he may have been Ra in a past life, but he never believed in that wishy-washy science. He had goggles over his eyes that sometimes he pushed to the top of his head, because you can never be too careful. He sported a long white coat with pens tucked in the pocket and gloves that reached his elbow. The gloves were rubbery and tough to penetrate. 

1 quart of Atlantic

1 ounce of sand (any kind)

1/2 quart of salt

and a dash of bottled rain clouds.

Jarred Ocean-TheArtTent

"Ahh, at last. I have bottled a tsunami. May whoever holds it in their hands do so with responsibility and the realization of its consequences."

Oh, and was the person who obtained the jar not aware of its consequences. The person who was to use this jar broke it on the side of a ship. He caused a great tsunami to wipe out the island of Bermuda, making a vortex of natural disaster, now known as the Bermuda Triangle.

 1/4 pound of Amazon dirt

5 lbs of Amazonian trees

2 lbs of various leaves

and a dash of greed.

Jarred Amazon-Tumblr

Did I mention that the Ralsey can bottle greed? He doesn't do it that often because greed is one of the most dangerous of sins. This time he felt confident that a caring person would use it wisely.

"I'm frightened by the very thing I have created." He held the jar up in the light to look at its contents. "For the person who wields this jar can cause so much damage..."

The alchemist was right to be frightened, because who else would get the jar, but greedy logging companies? Taking down Amazonian trees and eradicating  homes and animals, those logging companies helped cause deforestation.

60 lbs of wind

10 lbs of thunder

1/4 cup of southern rainwater

2 lbs of  hail

and a dash of destruction.

Jarred Tornado-YouTube

"Oh Hail! One of my most dangerous creations! It can wipe out an entire city. Now, I must hide it, for no one must cause the destruction. It may stay locked away so as not to cause another disaster."

If only it was that easy...

Later that evening, Ralsey's lab was broken into and his prized jar was stolen, by none other than a teenager who thought it looked cool. Little did he know, when they traveled back to Oklahoma, they would unleash an F5 tornado and wipe out not one, but two towns causing death, homelessness and suffering.

"No more! I cannot make any more of my recipes being used for maliciously! The world has taken my jars and used them for malicious purposes! The jars were powerful and caused so much harm! They could have used it during the Sahara drought to replenish the desert to its former self! They could have been used to plant beautiful trees in southern Africa and they could have given winds to the hottest island! Instead they used them for their stupidity, greed and curiosity!"

...and so the alchemist Ralsey did stop and he locked himself away in his lab to undo the destruction his creations caused. Ralsey would spend many years, trying and trying to undo the harm. Potion after potion and many sleepless nights was just simply not enough. He went mad with the idea of the total chaos he had caused and he suffered an untimely death. It all happened when he mixed the wrong concoction and an explosion of the worst kind destroyed his entire lab and all the work he had accomplished.

Author's Note:

In the story the author mentions there is a jar that holds a flood. I thought that it would be a great idea to really do something different. I thought it would be great to really show another style of writing where the ingredients are front and center and the character is an add on. In the original story the character of Ra is front and center, but not here. Here he is a background character to the ongoing of destruction. Ra is a sun god in Egyptian mythology and is considered the chief cosmic god. Ra is the center of many stories that I read in Egyptian Myth and Legend and I decided to continue that tradition in my own. In the particular story I chose bits and pieces of the story and gathered them together to make my own. In the traditional
story, the god Nu mentions a great flood and that is where
the brainstorm of destruction comes from. I was inspired by the traditional story, and this particular scene: "... The jars were emptied out as was his desire, and the land was covered with the flood." Ra is subjected to people proclaiming he is not fit to be ruler anymore. Then he calls on various Egyptian Gods to ask them what to do because those helped create spoke against him. Ra then sent Hathor to destroy them. The introduction of the jars is seen as a way to not only destroy his enemies, but a way to save mankind. 

Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
Ra and Hathor-Egyptian Myth and Legend

Story [[The Curse of Heroes]]

Homer's The Iliad Rework

Leda, Bird Goddess-The Rocklitz

"I, Leda, leader of the birds, curse you, Achilles. How dare you tarnish my land, the land which Zeus blessed me with, with your blood and eat my holy creatures with your savagery? You will reap no rewards and will be damned to living the life of the creatures I protect. How dare you act cruelly to those mighty owls that protect the night! You used them as your eyesight and did not reward them accordingly!"

Bastet, Cat Goddess-Neocities

...and I'm Bastet, Goddess of Cats. For your, tyranny Hector, in my holy lands of Egypt I curse you to the very form that you have become. A cheetah, a predator of speed and blood! May your own hatred be your destruction. May your limbs grow weak and may the predator become the prey of a thousand dogs one day. This is for your sacrificing my holy cats to feed your insatiable need for hunger, when you journeyed here to drink our wines and take our women in your bed! You have bloodied the very soul of the Egyptians!"

~
During the war in Troy, Achilles told Hector that in Egypt there lies the greatest land. Women were plenty, the wine were ever flowing and the cats when sacrificed would give him good fortune, which could help Hector win the war. Having found out that the women and the wine were not there, Hector was promptly cursed for his sacrifice of the cats by Bastet. In turn, Hector told Achilles that if he followed the owl during a quest to find Patroclus's soul in the forest, he would bring him back to life. He did not tell him to get his beloved Patroclus back he would have to reward the owl. Hector instead said Achilles must feast on the owl, and caused blood to spill on Leda's land. This promptly got him cursed by Leda, who did not like her night creatures to be used for such purposes. After Achilles and Hector were turned into a bird and a cat, they were united in Troy. That is when they went after each other to end the life of the other.

Hector, The Cheetah-Pinterest

Run faster, run harder. Run...Run. My legs...they tingle-they burn- but I burn more of my hatred than my tired limbs could ever.
Run...Run..

There is nothing I would like more to do than tear him from limb to limb. It is because of the "mighty" Achilles that I'm in this form of spots, that I'm this Cheetah. If he had not told me my fate lies in Egypt I wouldn't have met it with such force! I'm this creature because of my hatred, my hatred...my curse. My curse! Oh, damn him and his ways!Damn him to the very foul creature that he has now become. Leda was right, he deserves it. He deserves to wallow in his sadness, with his talons that are no longer human hands.

I must flap my wings... I cannot slow down-I'm sore. I'm more tired now then ever as a mortal man. Now I'm this feathered damnation. Why did I ravage the holy land of the mighty Leda and destroy her precious creatures!? I have been flying for so long, I don't even know if the great war between the Greeks and the Trojans has been won! Oh great Zeus! OH GREAT HERA! How is my beloved Patroclus?! What has become of him?! I'm in agony...so much agony... How do I, this vile creature of the night, redeem myself?! I cannot...I'm fated I might as well stop fighting and fly to my fateful end, to the teeth of the cheetah, to the quick Hector...

There he is: the strong and holy Achilles! As Achilles flies to his death, it is in my heart of darkness that I will have my way. My teeth will tear him in half and I will feast on his flesh with the very curse I have been given! Oh, woe is my winning! Surely, this will be my return to man and I shall have my way with everything he holds dear.

Achilles, The Bird-Pinterest

This is it, this is how I die. Oh forgive me, my holy Zeus. Forgive my cowardice. I fly to my death to the very fangs of the blood hungry cheetah. My agony will cease and I can see my Patroclus in heaven. He died at the hands of my cowardice. I will be rewarded in the heavens for my sacrifice to Zeus's mistress Leda. My selfish ways...are done.

He is mine now..Mine. I feel my limbs flex and I jump as high as the gods themselves and feel the my teeth sink into the very feathered being he has become. His taste is as foul in this form as his presence was in his human form.

Sweet death...I deserve this, my eyes are so heavy and I'm so tired in spirit and in body. Forgive me all...

Oh, what joy it was to feel my strength take down this strong creature. I felt the life come out of him and it was glorious.

~

Leda's Letdown-WordPress

"OH! You fools, you dumb creation of Zeus. It is over for you both now. There was a way to end your suffering. Dear Hector, a heart of hatred and a heart of blood would have gone away if you found love. You could have saved your soul from Hades now you will burn. You foolish man! Oh, Achilles the greatest warrior! Still your cowardice would have ceased if you were only brave! If you fought with those talons you would have won your Patroclus, your life! This could have ended well...If you two

Bastet Watching Hector's Death-DeviantArt

simply put aside the petty human emotions. It is petty that the war started for the sake of my daughter who does not wish to be with someone she no longer loves. It is petty that your human emotions have caused you to wreak such havoc on each other!
"I see you have set into motion your untimely demise. Hector, your death is near and I stand here and watch as you get ravaged by dogs. Your pride, need for blood, and unawareness has been your downfall. It gives me such pleasure to watch them tear you apart and feast on your heart. There is no place for you with Hades. You are doomed to reside with my god, Osiris."

Author's Note:

The story was inspired by Homer's mentioning of birds and flying in "The Slaying of Hector (Cont.)" and "The Slaying of Hector (the end)". In this particular part of the story it says "Just as in a dream, when one seems to fly and another seems to pursue, and the first cannot escape, neither can the second overtake, so these two ran." I really wanted to give reasoning behind their transformations (at least one reason anyways) and that's where Leda came in, even though she was impregnated by Zeus through seduction (Zeus turned into a swan). I chose Leda because I needed a figure that is directly associated with birds and I thought that she would be a good fit. Based on what happened between Leda and Zeus it is assumed in my story that she was given a certain amount of power.

Leda is also the mother of Helen, so it directly ties into Troy. I also was looking for a connection, a way to curse Achilles. In Homer's Iliad, Achilles kills Hector, but I saw Hector as being more of a violent character than Achilles and I wanted to showcase that. To me, Achilles came off as someone so grief-stricken that he was paralyzed and that's the reasoning why I made him seem a lot worse than in the original story. It’s Hector’s hatred and Achilles’ cowardice that cause them to do unspeakable and self-damaging things. Everything in the story that has to do with Egypt is of my own invention. It was not included in the original story. Another invention of my own is the the part to do with owls. As far as Bastet and Osiris, they are both Egyptian deities. Osiris is the equivalent of Hades in Egyptian mythology and Bastet is the goddess of Cats which directly ties into Hector's transformation. Also, for those of you that may not know Patroclus was a very dear friend of Achilles and was killed in the Trojan war. Achilles grieved for a long period of time before seeking vengeance. So, for him to go on a quest to get Patroclus back, it's in tune with his grieving in the original story.

The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church (1907).
The Iliad for Boys and Girls

Story: [[The Damnation of Goddesses]]

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche Rework

“…Psyche, do not fret, my dear child.”

“We are here for you, Psyche.”

“We will help you and we will protect you.”

“Even if it costs our own happiness,” they said all at once.

Juno(Hera)-Pinterest

They were each so lovely when they formed in front of me. I did not expect to get three. I only prayed for one, but I suppose when you pray to Juno you get Ceres and Minerva. One had hair as blonde as the sun, one had the sweet face of angel and the last had a confidence and fearlessness about her that could incite fear and justice. Little did I know they were exactly what I had needed. I was abused and broken, and contemplated ending my suffering. I had been pricked by an arrow and fell in love with the man who used it. Cupid was the man in my life and the insufferable mother made it her very mission to destroy me out of fear, out of jealousy, out of so much hatred. A goddess had been betrayed by her very people, Venus had been made of anger and lust. All her love going into the blessed child Cupid.

Ceres(Demeter)-Pinterest

I had been travelling for days doing tasks that Venus would deem impossible for me without the help and sympathy of others. I had all but given up hope of reuniting with my husband, the one that I could not stop thinking about. The man (man to me, God to most) who made me blissfully happy and miserable all at once. I was crawling on the ground, trudging through mud and grass. I was battered and broken, lost and tired. With one single push off the ground, I let out a gasp of air and fell to my side. What I did not see was the dark and dangerous woods, but a statue of Juno, Jupiter’s wife. I then began to pray in my hazy state…

“My goddess, the one I praise and break bread to. The one that I worship in my mind, my heart and my words. Help me… Help me by bringing my love to me, the one I cannot live without.”

Athena(Minerva)-Pinterest

As if in answer to my prayer the air began to pick up, blowing my hair over my once pink lips, now cracked from thirst. I see the most beautiful creature. With long flowing blonde hair and the face of an angel. It was Juno appearing before me. I could scarcely believe my eyes as a tree grew from the ground and I saw Ceres form herself out of nature, forming herself into a tree, her sweet compassionate face showing sorrow for my predicament. Before I could exclaim my gratitude, a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead and a roll of parchment paper that read "PRO DEA, IUSTITIA OMNIBUS" (By the Goddess, Justice for all) fell from the sky and before it could hit the ground it formed into the mighty Minerva. She had stern, strong features, confident in the task at hand.

Juno, who was previously facing me, spun her body and had ridden me of my negative thoughts. Ceres blew flower petals from her hand and soothed my thirst and lastly Minerva pointed her finger outwards and caused an owl to fly forward, its teardrops soothing my broken body.

"Now, child, rise up and tell me what torments your soul so, that it calls on three of us at once," said Minerva.

“Goddess of the Heavens, I have been lost. Lost in this hell Venus has forced me into. Lost in my broken heart. She keeps me from my dear Cupid and her jealousy has no end. I have been given the most undesirable tasks and I cannot do it no more. I just want my love...”

Minerva looked at Ceres and Juno and spoke matter-of-factly. “By the decree of the justice set by 

The Ruins of Ta Prohm-BBC

me, Minerva, you will endure no more suffering."

“You will be happy at our expense,” said Ceres.

“Your love will be yours forever. Do not fret my dear child.” Juno, the mighty Juno, smiled the most beautiful smile and my heart was lifted.

“We will help you and we will protect you,” Minerva said, calling back her owl. She began to spin alongside Juno and Ceres and suddenly I was in the very room of Cupid. His love for me in his eyes, he wept for joy and wept for my suffering. We embraced. 
  -Aftermath of Saving Psyche: As told by Minerva-
It was not long after reuniting Psyche and Cupid that Juno decided that Venus needed punishment for attempting to steal a powerful medallion from Jupiter. Unbeknownst to me Venus was watching from her point of banishment that Juno gave her (she was to live out her days in the Ruins of Ta Prohm in Angkor).Even though sweet naive Psyche lived in happiness we did not. Juno, Ceres and I reaped the many vengeance's of Venus.

Vulcan World on His Shoulder-AlayGorker

With the help of a magical Angkor seer she called forth Venus's jealousy and sent it to Juno causing friction and heartbreak between her and her beloved Jupiter, more so than before. It is with the jealousy that Juno felt that she blamed Jupiter for Vulcan's disfigurement. If he was faithful they would have never been smited in such a way. This ultimately led to her only son Vulcan to be sent down from heaven to prove not only his worthiness to his father, but to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. His pain and suffering furthered her own immensely.

Ceres's Water Cave-ILTWMT

Precious, sweet Ceres was held another fate, with the water summoned from her very ocean. Minerva, brought forth wave after epic wave on Ceres's land, causing famine and disease. Her world in ruins she hid herself in caves trying to counteract what Venus had done. It was a fruitless endeavor, because the water kept coming.

Minerva's War/Death-Shmoop

As for me, Minerva, I suffered the cruelest of fates. Perhaps it was because I was so swift in my banishment of Venus alongside Juno, or my part in her ridicule at a young age. She had started a war between me and Medusa, inciting that evil word jealousy in her already murderous heart. Even though I cut off Medusa's head in battle it wasn’t till her venomous snakes, attacked me without mercy that I met my fate. It was a quick death, no time to react, but I know that Zeus will avenge my death.

It’s only a matter of time…

Author's Note:

Ceres(Demeter), Jupiter (Zeus), Minerva (Athena), Juno (Hera),Vulcan (Hephaestus) I worked with the story of Cupid and Psyche, by focusing more on not only Psyche's despair, but the actions of three goddesses. In the story only Demeter and Juno make an appearance, but I felt that Athena is such a strong and relevant goddess I wanted to include her in it. I felt that to give Psyche her happiness there had to be three different ways of approaching it and I thought it would show a little bit of the goddesses range. I wanted to also stay true to Psyche's ending (somewhat), but give punishment to Venus, because let's face it she's really awful.With her being a goddess herself, though, I knew she would not go down quietly. That was the reasoning behind the story. I wanted to see them actually help her, but I wanted to also stay true to the original. I the first part of the story Psyche is the narrator, so to put emphasis on emotion, desperation, and an outsiders view of the Goddesses. --- The second half of my story is of my own creation. With the story of Cupid and Psyche there is no real repercussion of the Gods and Goddesses. That's why I created a whole Epilogue of what happened to the three Goddesses. Basically, to showcase that your actions can change your future. Also, it the second half of the story Minerva (Athena) takes center role in narrating the story. I always saw Minerva as a stronger more bold character than Juno (Hera) and I think her telling the story gives it a stronger voice.

The Golden Ass, written by Apuleius and translated into English by Tony Kline.
Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche