Wind and Fire
By
Katherine Welsh, Age 13, 8th Grade
2013
Scholastic Writing Award Gold Winner: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Once upon a time, deep in the dark
woods outside of Athens, Greece, two children walked through the old forest.
For years the forest had been forsaken, utterly forbidden by the town’s elders.
No Greek had ever ventured into the forest and returned sane. Yet the two
girls, one born only fourteen years earlier, the other one sixteen, had decided
to meet at the entrance of the forest that night. The eldest, Adrasteia, had
conspired to prove herself braver than the boys of her family, who, in their
haughtiness, had accused their sisters of weakness and cowardice. Such an
insult would not go without revenge, Adrasteia had decided. Far from weak,
Adrasteia was a woman of true virtue and courage. She fit her name, which meant
“she who stands her ground” or “courageous”. She recruited her younger sister,
Helena, as her cohort in revenge. Eagerly they had begun scheming endeavors to
prove their might to their upstart brothers. It had been Helena who had seized
upon the idea of the magical plant known as ‘faerie fire’ or more commonly
‘foxfire’. The mysterious plant was known to grow on fallen trees where it
lurked inconspicuously by day, only to alight with an unearthly fire by night.
The only place in which the plant was known to grow was the forbidden forest.
If the girls managed to retrieve this foxfire and bring it home to their
brothers, the men would be forced to concede that the girls were far braver
than they in order to enter the forest and bring home the dangerous plant-fire
of the gods.
The moon goddess Selene was hidden
from view that fateful night by massive swirls of churning, dark, grey clouds
as Adrasteia peered through the darkness. She was anxiously awaiting the
arrival of her sister. The two girls had snuck out of their home at different
times to avoid being overheard or noticed. A stick snapped. Adrasteia turned
quickly. Helena stepped out of the shadows and nodded. Together the girls
stepped cautiously onto an ancient path which had been out of use for years. It
was overgrown a bit, but was on the whole, less dangerous than walking
recklessly directly into the deadly undergrowth. Despite their thick sandals,
their feet began to ache immediately. The sharp thorns pricked their arms and
snagged their chitons. Helena’s voice broke the eerie silence abruptly.
“Adrasteia, why has this forest been
banned? What happened to curse these woods?”
Adrasteia took a deep breath and
began her tale.
“Many years ago when the earth was
still new and pure, the gods lived in harmony. There was peace, and the world
was happy. There came a time discord broke out among the gods. It began one
day, when Pan, the god of earth, nature, and wild, and Poseidon, the god of
seas, earthquakes, and storms, decided that they were unhappy with the ways of
their ruler, the mighty king Zeus. Zeus had recently passed an arrogant decree
ruling that Poseidon’s dolphins were to be executed. They had broken the law
because they left Poseidon’s realm when they leaped out of the water and into
the air – which supposedly belonged to Zeus, and Zeus alone. This ruling
obviously threw Poseidon into a rage. For days he stormed around the world,
attempting to recruit other gods to help him fight the law. He was furious with
Zeus, and he was determined to fight the arrogant ruler. However, the other
Olympians were too intimidated by Zeus to offer any aid to Poseidon, though
most of them agreed with him. Poseidon, in rampage, sent tsunamis all over the
world destroying cities and towns. Pan the god of panic, wilderness, and
nature, born and raised in the land of Arcadia, became alarmed when a terrible
storm threatened to flood and destroy his home. Seeing the storm approaching,
Pan rushed to meet Poseidon and quickly offered his aid in unseating Zeus.
Poseidon was pleased that he finally had obtained an ally, and he calmed the
storm with a sweep of his hand. The two gods commenced to planning. They argued
over tactics and schemes for days. It seemed the only point they could agree on
was that they were forced to act without the aid of other deities. The other
gods and goddesses were too frightened to openly stand against Zeus.
Despite their different
battle-strategy preferences, the two gods were able to work together in hopes
of finally removing Zeus from his throne. With unsettling patience they laid
their trap and waited. For days, nothing appeared to happen, but both gods were
confident in their plan.
Their patience paid off. Seven suns
after he had passed his decree, Zeus decided he fancied a walk on earth, away
from the turmoil of Olympus. He had always enjoyed the pleasant pastures and
serene nature of Arcadia, so he commenced strolling along the shore. Suddenly a
sea nymph appeared and called out to him.
“Lord Zeus! My master, Poseidon,
wishes me to inform you that he has met with his advisors and that he agrees
with you on the matter of dolphin execution. He will send a scroll to you
tomorrow with more details!”
Zeus, however, was not easily
fooled. “Be gone, nymph, for I know that your master has no intention
whatsoever of abiding by my decree without being forced.”
But the nymph was persistent. “My
lord Poseidon knew you would not believe me. He sent gifts of apology to you.”
The nymph placed a shimmering cloak of deep, magnificent blue on the sand. The
fabric seemed to glisten in the air and roll gently with the waves. “Such a
garment will certainly make you the most handsome Olympian yet,” the nymph
continued. “You may even be more handsome than Phoebus Apollo! The mortals will
worship you as never before!”
Zeus looked at her in disgust. “I
said be gone nymph. Your cunning and trickery does not fool me.”
The nymph nodded and slowly
disappeared beneath the tumbling waves, leaving the shimmering fabric on the
sand. Zeus prodded the cloak with his foot. He was nearly positive that the
cloak was some sort of trick or trap. How it would be like Poseidon to forge a
cloak that would strangle the wearer! Zeus decided to test the cloak. He picked
it up gingerly and hurried to the nearest village.
Once he arrived at the village he
found a shepherd returning to his farm with his sheep. Zeus quickly handed him
the cloak and ordered him to try it on. The villager dared not disobey a direct
order from Zeus, so he tried the beautiful cloak. Nothing happened. Zeus
snatched it back and quickly traveled back to Olympus. He paced back and forth
in his throne room. Anxiously he wondered whether he ought to put the garment
on. The nymph had spoken truth: the cloak would make him more handsome than
even Apollo himself. Yet if the cloak was dangerous in some way. . .
Finally Zeus’ temptation was
victorious. He placed the cloak around his shoulders. For a moment nothing
happened. He relaxed. Perhaps Poseidon was truly sorry. Then suddenly, the
cloak began to spin around his shoulders, enveloping him in a tornado of
watery, silky blue fabric. When the cloak stopped spinning he was quite
tangled, and Poseidon was standing over him, laughing. Furious, Zeus ordered
Poseidon to cut him loose immediately. Poseidon had no such intention, and he
simply stood and smiled. Livid with anger, Zeus ripped the fabric and stepped
out. Without hesitation he hurled a lightning bolt at Poseidon and Pan who had
joined the angry gods. Pan bellowed with unearthly rage and threw a ball of
fire at Zeus. Poseidon bought waves from the mighty sea against Zeus. And thus,
the battle commenced. Lasting for days, the battle was terrible. Each god
brought their strongest power and their sharpest skill, yet the opposing sides
were equally matched. It appeared that there would be no victorious party and
that the battle would continue for months. This prospect alarmed the other
Olympians, for the mortal world was feeling the shock of the war. A small town
in Greece had been flooded due to Poseidon’s wrath. A farm in Arcadia had been
blasted by Zeus. An entire section of Athens had been burned by Pan’s fire.
Finally Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategic war, intervened on behalf of
the Olympians.
Speaking with as much authority as
possible, she approached the battling deities and called, “Great gods! Put your
weapons down and heed the wise council of Athena lest the mortal world be
destroyed due to your stubborn haughtiness.”
The gods ignored her. She attempted
a second time to force them to listen to reason. “My lords, if you destroy the
mortal world, you will have no worshippers.”
The gods stopped battling. They
approached Athena warily, prepared for a trap. She explained her proposal of
peace as objectively as possible. “It is clear, now, that this argument will
not be easily solved. I suggest a compromise. My Lord Zeus,” she said,
addressing the king. “You should allow the dolphins to leap out of the water.
They are not intruding into your territory far at all, maybe a few feet. This
is petty and meaningless. However, you should not simply bow to the will of the
other gods, lest you lose your power. You should place the fire of your
lightning bolt into a plant.” Here she turned to Pan. “He will place light into
one of your plants. This will symbolize his power, even in your domain of
wilderness.” Now she turned to Poseidon. “You have gotten your way. The
dolphins will be spared. In this, everyone should be happy.”
Zeus stroked his beard. He studied
Pan. Finally Pan said, “I agree to these terms. I will allow Zeus to exert a
small portion of his power into my realm by lighting one of my plants, as long
as he agrees to hold no grudge for this argument.” Pan was wise, and he knew if
he denied this peace offer, another one would not likely come. He would
probably be killed in battle or his kingdom be taken from him. These were the
best terms he was to be offered.
Zeus nodded as well. “I will hold no
grudge if you allow the symbol of my power to be in your kingdom.”
Poseidon frowned. “I do not forget
an insult so easily, Zeus. You threatened my realm and attempted to kill
animals that call me lord. This was a personal insult. I will only agree to
peace if I may insert a symbol of my power into your realm.”
Athena, with signs of exasperation,
said, “Zeus, to appease Poseidon, you could send winds to stir your clouds into
the shape of waves to honor him.”
Zeus now looked angry himself, but
the prospect of continued war and potentially being unseated and embarrassed
was enough to cause him to nod. “I will do this.”
Athena smiled. Finally, there was
peace. Zeus alighted a plant to symbolize his power over every kingdom, and
there would, on occasion, appear waves in the sky in order to symbolize
Poseidon’s strength. Foxfire and undulates asperatus (meaning wavy clouds) came
into existence. The wavy clouds appear in the sky every so often, as Poseidon’s
reminder that he has power too, nearly as much as Zeus. Foxfire is permanently
in forests, as Zeus’ symbol of power. Pan was not pleased to allow Zeus as
symbol of power in Pan’s rightful domain, yet he agreed in order to keep peace.
He was granted to symbol of power and ultimately had little to no part in the
compromise. He did not complain, however, because Zeus had graciously
overlooked his alliance with Poseidon and agreed to take no revenge on Pan or
his domain.
“That foxfire,” Aemilia said, “is
stored in our forest. The waves in the sky appear over these very woods. They
even present tonight at this very moment! That is what makes this forest
forbidden. We are not to tamper with the gods’ peace offerings to one another.”
“And yet,” Helena said slowly, “we
intend to not only tamper with, but remove one of the peace offerings?”
Aemilia nodded. Both girls seemed
quite awestruck and more than a little nervous at their gall. The heavy silence
was lifted suddenly when a light materialized in the distance. It grew larger
as the girls approached. Finally they could see, growing on a fallen tree, a
luminescent plant. It was shining green, bright enough to see by. Aemilia knelt
slowly and grabbed the foxfire. She pulled, gently at first, then harder until
she was pulling with all her might. Suddenly she heard a voice. Helena nearly
fell over with fright. Turning slowly, she looked up into the furious face of
Athena.
“That is an offering of peace. If you
remove it there will be war as your kind has never experienced. Do you intend
to bring this upon your people?”
Helena stood, trembling. “Honored
Athena, we sought only to show our brothers the bravery of women. Have mercy,
as you yourself are a brave woman.”
Athena’s face softened. “I
understand. But you may not remove the offering of peace. Rather, travel back a
bit the way you’ve come. You will see a flower growing along the side of the
path. This sort of flower can only grow in this forbidden forest. Take it home,
and you will have proved your point as effectively as if you had taken the
foxfire. Now leave, lest Poseidon, Pan or Zeus discovers your attempt to meddle
in the affairs of the gods, as they are not as forgiving as I.”
The girls hurried gratefully home.
Aemilia clutched the treasured flower to her chest. Looking up, she gasped. In
the dim moonlight she could see clouds in the shapes of tumbling waves and
powerful currents loomed overhead. Turning back to look into the forest, she
thought she glimpsed among the underbrush, a powerful green glow. She knew deep
inside that she and her sister had accomplished a goal which no man could ever
hope to achieve. They had witnessed the two phenomena, the foxfire and the wind
and cloud waves, upon which the fate of the mortal world was riding.
Works
Cited
Anderle, Beth. "Foxfire." Suite101.
Suite 101, 1 May 2009. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.suite101.com/article/foxfire/-a114144>.
Oliver, Amy. "Bit of a Grey
Area: Undulatus Asperatus, the Weird New Cloud Formation Set to Be First
Officially Recognised for 61 Years." Mail Online. Daily Mail UK, 23
Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2207449/Bit-grey-area-Undulatus-asperatus-new-cloud-officially-
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