Tale of Time Category: Uncategorized
The oldest
stories ever told are written in the stars. Stories of time before men and gods
when titans ruled the earth. The titans were powerful but their reign was ended
by their own sons: “ Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus became king of the heavens,
Poseidon king of the seas, Hades ruled the underworld in darkness and misery.
And where
does my tale begin? It began before I was born with Gaia and Uranus - those
that fathered the first titans and of whom all other gods came. And of them was
born Tethys - the Sea that encircles the world, the water that rains from
heavens and nurtures the ground. And of Gaia alone came Pontos, who has no
father, but who is the father of the seas and of waters and all things therein.
The Sea itself begat Nereus - my father - who tells no lies, eldest of his
sons. They call him the Old Gentleman because he is trustworthy, and gentle,
and never forgetful of what is right, but the thoughts of his mind are mild and
righteous. It was his strength as it was his weakness when the Great War among
Titans and Olympians began.
Nereus
married Doris, daughter of Tethys and Oceanus. Oceanus ruled the oceans
girdeling the world, especially after Poseidon took reign over the
mediterainian sea. Of these two many daughters and one son were born. This is
where my life began - this is where my story continued. I - Galatea- daughter of titans and of all that
is the sea, one of 50 daughters. I was a young Nereid when the war began and my
doom was sealed.
Oceanus, my
grandfather, didn’t side with the other Titans, just as he had not revolted
against Uranus. Maybe it was folly, maybe it was fear, but most of all was it
the tenderness of his heart. For Oceanus is he, who listens to the prayers more
kindly than Poseidon ever would. Even in the greatest of wars his kind heart
moved Zeus. The trees blazed in raging fire - the very hair of suffering Gaia,
the Earth herself. Oceanus poured rivers of tears from his watery and mild eye,
because he pitied her and wished to wash with water the ashes of ruin and the
fiery wound of the land. Zeus’ wrath was calmed by such pity and he covered the
whole sky with clouds and flooded the earth.
My doom was
sealed in the War of Titans, the Titanomachy by my father Nereus.
My father
inherited that gentle soul - never telling lies and gifted with prophecy he
sided with the Olympians in the war against titans, fighting giants. But he
also had an iron fist and angry will. He knew the Olympians would rule no
matter what he would do, but at least he could keep his daughters and son from
being thrown into Tartarus. The titan
gods of the seas and waters were given leave to bow to the new Lord Poseidon or
be cast into Tartarus and chained there for eternity. But what became of us
daughters by his decision?
My father,
who had not sided with the other titans remained unharmed. Or at least I
thought so for a very long time. He had found a way to fight against Olympus
and Zeus captured my mother and me. He used us to make my father bow and drop
his weapon, submitting to Zeus. Zeus, who then betrayed him and locked him and
my mother in a stone prison. There they were, seeing and hearing everything,
without a chance of acting. Zeus wiped my memory and it took a few thousand
years, a war and the death of loved ones until it returned.
Therefore
for all other of us titan offspring a more subtle chain and shackle was
wrought. We bore no sign of visible chains and imprisonment after war. The
Nereids were reduced to nymphs to serve Poseidon. All of us were still young
and knew no better, as we knew not what being a titan meant. Some of us resisted
from the beginning, those old enough to have tasted their powers. Some were
bent to his will. My sister Amphitrite became his wife and yet he chose his
consorts and lovers freely among us.
Weakened
and bereft of the full power of the titans we still kept one gift. We all had
the power to soothe Poseidon’s wrath and grant mercy on sailors in the storm.
Sometimes that mercy was death, sometimes it was the safety of shore; but
sailors prayed to us in the storm if they were wise enough. Each of still also
kept skill and powers that associated with her name. Therefore I Galatea am the
milky white, beautiful like the sparkling dots of white on the calm ocean on a
bright summer day.
Now that I
look back it seems like this was another life. I was like a child still and
longed to please the Lord of the Seas.
Poseidon’s
son, Polyphemus the cyclop, then cast his eye upon mean and I was wed to him.
It was one of my duties to guard his herds and he played his flute for me. I
was flattered by such attention, even though he was ugly - he was Poseidon’s
son and he tried his best.
Cupid did
his best that I would fall for him and we gave life to Celtus, Illyrius and
Galas. To this day the people of Celts, Gauls and Illyrians consider me their
mother. All my celtic children that came to Hy-Brasil in much later times
worship me above Poseidon as their mother and protector.
But beside
all of Cupid’s tricks and Polyphemus sweet tunes, the desire for another
stirred. All waters are treacherous and dangerous, the calm waters are my
domain. Calm is the pleasant sea on a summer day, but calm is the deadly depth
of the ocean as well. Below the pleasant, calm surface stirred a desire for
Acis, a mere mortal shepard boy. Oh, he was beautiful! Oh, he was sweet! And I
lost my heart to that boy in nights under stars and at days under the sun.
Polyphemus
became angry and like his father knew no mercy, if he meant to own something.
He slaughtered my poor Acis. Then and there I wept and for the first time I
felt the chains unseen, as my powers rattled in the cage that was my body. I
wept over the broken body of my lover and his blood turned into water. Ever
since a stream runs to the ocean and meets the sea where his blood touched the
ground, and ever since I knew that there was more in me than being a nymph. I
fled from Polyphemus, breaking the bond of marriage like he had broken my lover’s
body, and shed no tear when he lost his
eye by the cunning of Odysseus.
I became
free and innocent Galatea once more, when my bond to Polyphemus was undone, and
once Polyphemus was killed I returned to sing by the river Acis or bathe at the
shore. My heart was broken, my body still young and fresh, my mind easily
turned to pleasures that were offered to me freely. I played with hearts and I
played with men. Poseidon’s spell was still fully upon me and I willingly
worshipped him, unknowing of his jealousy for his own son. For the deadly fury
that wouldn’t stop at even getting rid of Polyphemus to have me, I only knew I
was just one among many. I knew no better than to feel precious when a god
turned his attention my way.
And even this
seems like another life - Poseidon, Polyphemus, Acis’ waters have run down that
river aplenty and the pebbles on the beach have turned to sand ever since. For
a while I thought I was content, but deep inside something was missing.
The chains
had become brittle , the spell wore off and another life unfolded on a dark,
warm summer night under the stary sky upon the warm sands of a beach.
Another
lifetime unfolded in that warm Sicilian night. Against the sky I saw his frame,
strong and handsome was he, Michael Lust. He saw me bathing in moonlight and
the river’s water. We needed no words during that first encounter, where he
took me. We spoke in the most ancient of tongues, that needs no spoken word,
until I took him to my underwater cave. There he took me again to change my
whole life. Our worlds clashed into each other just as we did. Michael was the same and yet not the same as the man
he is now. Michael, son of Desdemona Lust, prince of the Erotic Kingdom of
Desires, who is equally demon and angel, who shared is body unknowingly at that
time with his brother Conan. Michael can be fierce and destructive like a
blazing firestorm, but warm and gentle like the pleasant warmth of the
fireplace that warms you when you feel cold. He was the first who saw more in
me than a toy, a pleasant worshipper, a past time and adventure, I wasn’t his
student nor his teacher, for him I was a woman and more importantly - his
woman.
Michael
took me away to his mother’s kingdom and he gave me the greatest give he could
give my life truly began. He made me his
wife, his queen, mother to his children and he became my fire. He brought me
home to a home that I didn’t know I had. He brought me to Hy-Brasil, where my
“children” gathered and many followers of his mother’s kingdom. In Hy-Brasil our children were born: Elpis, Harmony,
Desideria, April, Logan, Phoenix and Atalanta. I even gave life to Conan,
Michael’s twin brother who had shared his body with Michael and gave the life
of my unborn child to save my husband. In Hy-Brasil we also took in our adoptive
son: Frank. Each child was living proof
of our love. Here we built a haven for our family and for all those following
the old ways, or those who looked for a refuge from the usual strive.
Here I
found my strength and discovered that I could fight my way out of the chains to
become the goddess that was once locked up in me. Michael and I begat wonderful
children, but our love was tested and our strength as well when my past caught
up with me. The jealous wrath of Poseidon followed me even to Hy-Brasil. Frank
died and Harmony was lost for a long time. The pain was excrutiating and we
needed all our strength to see it through. But new lights appeared in the
darkness in the form of my grandchildren: Ricard, Mara, Candy, Kira, Benjamin,
Fortuna and Serena. They were followed
by our greatgrandchildren: Kimberly and Mathew.
But even a
love as strong as ours was tested.
The test
came in the beautiful shape of Morgana, who had born a child to Michael.
Morgana, who I had always viewed as a sister, had given birth to Nicolaes. When
looking back on it I cannot tell if it hurt most because it had been her or
that I had been kept from the truth so long. Nicolaes though was always welcome
in our home and in my heart. The rift between two sisters runs deep, but blood
is thicker than water none the less. And Michael never gave up to fight for my
love.
I don’t
deny that I developed a hatred for Poseidon, that went as far as plotting his
capture and even death. But even gods can change. It took a war between gods of
the North and Olympus to make me see. Zeus revealed his cowardly face to us,
killing a friend and the mate of a loved one. A battle was won, but the war
not. Poseidon saved me and even brought my parents and memory back. I realized that
it had been Zeus who chained and banned us nereids, so that we would never find
our parents. But Zeus failed and fled, while the doom of battle still lingered
over all of Hy-Brasil. I knew it was I who
had brought darkness and danger to this save haven this time.
My darkest
hours I faced here with only one lighthouse to guide me home - my husband.
Is this where
my story ends? No it isn’t. Things and tides may change, but I still love my
husband and the family he gave me. I still am not done becoming the goddess
that I can be. My story is not over and it won’t be for a very long time. The
oldest stories are written in the stars. Stories of time of man and gods, when
some titans broke their chains.
Back to Blog List
|