1 The door of darkness

Warning: Five seconds silence for those who thought 'warning' as an R18. We have a lot of time for that. Slight gore takes place in the chapter.

Morning dawned, glistening brightly in the newly rising sun. Landscaped with steep mountains, the legendary Arcadia stretched infinitely to the west with lush and untouched wilderness.

The princes of Arcadia, forty-nine in all, born to different mothers, united by a common father, rode in excitement towards the hilltop to watch the beheading of their fiftieth brother, Nyctimus, for the treason he committed. Joining his hands with the neighboring kingdom to bring the downfall of their empire was an unforgivable mistake in their kingdom.

A war had lasted for three days, and their father, the king of Arcadia, Lycaon, came out victorious in the battle. No man is born on this earth to outsmart the cunning Lycaon for decades to come.

The defeated kingdom could offer nothing luxurious. Hence the king offered one of his beautiful daughters in exchange for his life. In the era of history, kings didnot lack women, for they were only treated as property to breed their children. Thus the wedding of king Lycaon and Princess Noyalene began in the royal palace.

''Titanas, Thesprotus, hurry up! You are far behind us today!'' Melaeneus, the crown prince, shouted after his younger brothers, watching them over his shoulders.

''Why don't you slow down a little then?'' Thesprotus protested.

A smirk played across Melaeneus's lips. Despite his brother's complaints, he slapped his stallion repeatedly with its reins, goading him to run faster.

''Their filthy stallions don't bore strong legs to run faster unlike your stallion 'Zephyr'.'' Alipherus, the second eldest son of Lycaon, riding alongside Acontes, flanked sarcasm as he watched Zephyr roar to have a gallop. The pain on his brother's stallion was evident to Alipherus eyes, and it brought a great sense of excitement to maul his own stallion wild. He did whip wildly.

''Is that the only reason for their slowness today?'' Socleus, the forty-fifth notorious Arcadian prince, scoffed. ''Or maybe our lusty younger brother Titanas mind conjured in imagination how our father fucked his newly wedded wife for the entire night?''

''Es kòrakas, Socelus!'' Titanas swore in ancient Greek, meaning to fuck off.

The rest of the brothers laughed, tugging the reins of their stallions. Cursing and shouting, they rode to the hill. One by one, the brothers dismounted the stallions and strolled to the beheading spot.

''Look at our traitor's handsome face!'' One of the brothers geared laugh. Nyctimus, the youngest of all, sat on the ground, brutally whipped by rods before his hands and foot bound to the stake. The royal chiton he was wearing was torn and ragged to pieces.

''Don't worry, brother Nyctimus.'' Socleus joined, placing his hands on Titanas shoulders. ''Although you are a traitor, I will request father to place a coin in your mouth after you die so that psychopomp Charon will let you cross the river Styx.'' From the children to the adults, everybody knows that the ferryman of the underworld god, Charon, carries the souls of the deceased across the river Styx that divides the world of living from the dead. For the passage, a coin was to be placed inside the mouth of a dead person, which Charon collects. Those families who don't pay his fee, he will abandon them, and the dead will wander the shores as the ghosts for one hundred years.

Nyctimus gazed at his brothers, who were laughing at his wretched state. His father didnot consider he was his own kin and let the guards beat him brutally, and for sure, he knew his death was nearing. It was delayed only because of the wedding.

His impious brothers constantly bullied him. His father never cared, and his mother's words had never counted. His last straw broke when the neighboring kingdom offered an alliance to overthrow his father from the throne, and he accepted it, but at the last minute, one of his wicked brothers caught and exposed him. He was bound to this stake for three days with no food and shelter while his father, the king, enjoyed the royal wedding. ''Water...water..'' Nyctimus mumbled coherently.

''You want water? For a traitor, it comes with a heavy price.'' The thirteenth brother, Acontes, smirked and kicked Nyctimus shin with his leathery sandals hard. The latter roared in pain, triggering a laugh from the brothers.

''Acontes is too miser, little brother. Don't mind him. How about you drink from my 'phallus'. I can give it for free.'' Socleus pulled the robe to his left, revealing the object of his nudity. The rest of the brothers laughed at Socleus's sarcasm.

Nyctimus never felt ashamed as he faced today. He wanted to fight back, at least once, but his body was savagely battered even to lift a finger. No God will come to save him today. As Nyctimus looked up at the sky, he saw a giant golden eagle, high above, soaring in the sky, its colossal feathers beating the sultry air.

Before Socleus could pull off his lecherous stunt, Melaeneus, the elder one, stopped as he heard the hoof beats from a distance.

''Father!'' The brothers immediately knew who it was.

Surrounded by twenty Arcadian soldiers, Lycaon arrived on his stallion, his face as savage as a beast, his long hair stirred with the wind. He was dressed in a royal chiton, pleated, and secured at his shoulders. Every fiber in the gigantic man excluded aura. He seemed to be a man that grandmothers warned children to stay away as far as possible.

''Your Majesty'' The soldiers curtsied, bowing deep down to which Lycaon ignored.

''Father!'' The son's greeted the newly wedded father.

In response, Lycaon nodded. Except for his first son, the crown prince, he has difficulty remembering the rest of their names, for they are not one or two. Unlike his sons, Lycaon pampered his beautiful daughter.

Lycaon's furious gaze shifted to Nyctimus furiously, making him cringe in fear. He suspected his younger son's ploy in selling the secret strategies to the neighboring kingdom. He wanted to kill this nefarious son, on the spot, but he knew there could be no greater crime than killing his own kinship without possible proof. The murder would provoke the Furies from the underworld and chase him to the ends of the earth, lashing with their iron whips until the very skin was flayed from his body. They wouldn't leave until he was raving mad.

''Father..'' Nyctimus softly spoke up, his voice barely reaching out of his chattered lips. ''Please spare_''

Lycaon cut him off. ''You very well knew what sort of man I am and the rules I impose in my kingdom. Despite that, you committed a grave mistake.'' His voice roared at the sight of this sin.

Lycaon commanded the Arcadian guardsmen, and they dragged Nyctimus to the wooden piece. Before the swordsman raised the sword, Lycaon stopped him. His kinship, he will end it. There was no emotion, no sympathy in Lycaon's eyes. He pulled his sword, lifted it high above.

Nyctimus dreaded that his father would have a little love for him, but it was all his dream. Moments later, his thoughts came to a halt, so as his whimpering and teeth chattering.

In a single blow, the blood, as red as crimson, sprayed across the ground, mother earth drinking it eagerly. The head bobbed and rolled off towards the Lycaon sons.

There is nothing dreadfully decisive in cutting off the heads for those who grew up in the royal household, but Nyctimus was their brother, yet the notorious brothers didnot feel an ounce of pity. Instead, one of them laughed, kicking the head hard, and the rest followed the game, playing with the deadhead of their brothers like it was child play.

Lycaon wiped the blood on his face with the back of his hand. One last look at his dead son, he smirked and mounted his stallion.

''Father,'' Melaeneus spoke up, holding the head of his dead brother in his left hand. ''I heard sky God is joining the feast tonight.''

''I have been waiting to see him in person, father.'' Another son buttered up his father. ''Only father can bring the old God to the earth.''

Lycaon smiled proudly. What his son told was true. He has built temples for the sky God and offered a number of sacrifices to please the Lord. Since then, the sky God was always in his favor. ''I expect all my son's participation to receive the guest in honor.''

The sons nodded in enthusiasm.

''Is he really omniscient as told, father?'' One of his sons questioned curiously. He heard from his mother that the sky god has a golden eagle as his personal messenger. It can fly to any part of the world in seconds and bring the news.

His son's curious question put a genuine thought in Lycaon's mind. Is the sky God really omniscient as he heard from his nymph wives? Lycaon looked at his son's headless body on the ground—only one way to prove the Lord's divinity.

Lycaon commanded the captain. ''Order the cooking department to prepare the sky God's feast with my dead son's flesh and entrails. Let's see if he is really omniscient.''

Terror sealed in the throat of guardsmen and the captain of the household. Even the impious brother's bodies shuddered for a moment, hearing their father's order.

''Your Majesty....'' The captain of the household, for once dared to speak his thoughts. Nothing but destruction comes to humankind if the sky God is angered. ''It's a sin to offer the old God_''

The captain swallowed his words. He backed off in fear as Lycaon's studied him with an unforgiving judgment.

''You follow Kings orders in Arcadia,'' Lycaon said, with grave certainty. He mounted his stallion and was off. The princes followed behind their father, eagerly waiting for the night, to see the sky God feasting on their brother's entrails.

As one of the guardsmen was helping Nyctimus's headless body onto the stallion, he saw a golden eagle, its wings spread wide, soaring high in the direction of Mount Olympus.

''Aetos Dios! Sky God's...'' He muttered, panic fueling him.

...

The dining room was extravagant and lofty, dominated by an enormous dining table crafted in gold, around which a number of chairs were arranged. Dozens of chairs were occupied by the royals of the king's court, with a godling seated high at the center of the table.

Three meters tall, lightly tanned skin, the diety, dressed in a long yellow robe, lounged on the chair. His beard was long, smokey grey, and his stormy blue eyes were round, shining brightly, resembling the sunlight. Lacquered by lightning, his proud, handsome features radiated energy and vivacity. Men, women, children attempted to peek inside the banquet hall to get a glimpse of the diety, but the guards shooed them away.

Dressed extravagantly, Lycaon's sons earnestly looked at the sky God to initiate a conversation, but he seemed to be unaffected by their presence.

''Our kingdom will become prosperous with your presence, Lord Zeus.'' Lycaon bowed his head, breaking the silence. ''It's an honor to feast with you.''

''Likewise.'' Zeus smiled, sparkled with mirth, and his voice mellifluous. ''Aren't you serving the dinner?''

Lycaon bowed. When he received the God at the entrance gates, Lycaon feared that Zeus might have found out the truth because he seemed to be not pleased with his hospitality, but all Lycaon's fears went into the void as he now heard Zeus' words.

Is he that eager to feast my son's entrails? Lycaon thought.

Lycaon looked at his servants. With shaky hands, the servant placed the platter in front of the sky god.

Zeus stared at the platter calmly, yet his stormy eyes constantly darted at Lycaon and his sons, causing their shackles to rise.

''It's of the finest and strongest bull reared in our kingdom, Lord Zeus,'' Lycaon said. ''It healthy prior to the sacrificial_''

Lycaon's words stuck in his throat as he suddenly witnessed the edge of the table flipped by a pair of large hands, spattering the floor and the walls with nubbles of Nyctimus flesh. A giant golden Eagle piercing the rooftop arrived, and sat on Zeus's forearm.

''Wicked mortal!'' The sky God's roaring voice echoed through the Olympus walls.

Adrenaline pumped through Lycaon's body.

Rising from his chair, proud and tall, Zeus strode over to Lycaon, who was now cowering, in his chair.

''Disgusting beyond all others. You dare to feed me the entrails of a human! Lousy that in your smug insolence, you doubted my divinity. Now by your hideous actions, you have denied your own humankind!'' Zeus' roaring voice sent shivers down the spine of Lycaon and his sons. ''Lord Zeus_''

''A foolish mortal like you can never be a king. Run! You, and your sinful sons, along the woods of your kind!''

The whole room of people gripped their hearts in fear. As the sky God's curse began, Lycaon and his sons felt their bodies elongating and shifting.

Lycaon's bones broke. His back rippled until the royal chiton he wore tore off his body. His legs distorted. His vision slipped, replaced by bloodshot eyes. His ears pointed like demons. His dagger-like teeth grew from his mouth in a savage snarl. Fingernails turned yellow, and his hands with twisted paws.

A howl roared from Lycaon's throat as the filthy grey fur covered his skin. He was no longer Lycaon. What remained in him was a beast, slowly corrupting his heart for revenge to bring the old God's world beyond the door of darkness.

....

This is the prologue of the story!

If any of the readers are familiar with Greek Mythology, they might have realized by now, I have taken the liberty to retell this tale.

According to Greek Mythology, Lycaon was the first werewolf ever created, thus marking the birth of these mythical creatures.

I thought why not bring a story from the very roots that existed? So, here it is.

Welcome to a world where mortals, gods, demigods, werewolves, and mythical creatures collide. As you continue to read, please keep in mind that the tale is entirely fictional and was crafted solely from the depths of my imagination. The characters, the plot, and the world they inhabit are all figments of my mind, brought to life on the pages before you. So prepare to be swept away by the rich tapestry of this world, the twists and turns of the plot.

My other book: The Devil's Sweetheart.

You can poke me on Insta @ansly_ylsna

and https://discord.gg/p4AWrb9 @ Discord.