The Celebration

Part 2 of 'The Fall of the Gods'

by Nishi immortal2677@hotmail.com

http://www.usagiandmamoru.com

Niniveh sat amongst the other men and women in a dark cave. Candles lit the rocky walls and bottles of rum and ale rolled across the ground. Everywhere, there was the sound of merriment as mortals and Deities engaged in this night of passion. Niniveh collapsed to the floor laughing as a tall dark man fervently kissed her neck. "This is what I want.", she thought. "Complete adoration and servitude." She kicked one of the girls next to her who promptly got up and fetched the Fury another bottle. Niniveh laid herself down and allowed the mortal man to ravage her body. Her eyes travelled upwards as she imagined that it was Endymion who was making love to her. For as long as Niniveh could remember, she had broken every man she wanted. Bent them to do her will, made them her play things, but Endymion..........strong, powerful, virtuous Endymion refused to be seduced by the Fury. She clawed at the man before her, seething with anger. Niniveh wanted Endymion to love her, to worship and adore her. "But the Moon is in the way.", she thought. "The only way to Endymion, is through her." Niniveh's eyes narrowed cruelly as a plan took shape in her mind. Her lips curled into a smile. "I know how to win you Endymion. I know how to win you and become the most powerful of all the Gods."

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Ares immersed himself in the hot springs of Mars. Around him, lesser deities waded in, and made love and play in the warm waters. Red shoals lined the walls and crevices of the springs, and through them, shone the golden rays of the Mars sunset.

A sudden flash of light caught his eye to the left, and he beheld Niniveh. Her black hair fell to her back, long and splendorous, and the black sheath she wore clung to her curves. He watched as she approached him.

"Niniveh. To what do I owe this great pleasure?", he leaned against the sharp shoals.

"It is mine as well as yours." Niniveh tilted her head to the right, admiring Ares form. "I have a proposition for you......well worth your time if you will listen. It is about Selene."

At the name of the silver Moon Goddess, Ares' full attention focused on Niniveh. Ares thrilled in the hunt, and a virgin Goddess as beautiful as Selene was everything he wanted to hunt.

"Tell me then. What is your proposition?"

"You and I are both powerful Deities, Ares. Yet we do not get the respect and servitude as Zeus or the higher Gods." Niniveh slowly undid the broaches of her dress and let the sheath fall to the ground. "What you and I want is power." She took a step into the waters. "Respect." She immersed herself in the pool. "And undying love and devotion." She pulled her body close to Ares. "I want Endymion. You want Selene. If we work together, I know a way we can get them both, and overthrow Zeus and his followers."

Ares looks at Niniveh astounded. "Overthrow Zeus?! How?"

Niniveh dragged her fingers up and down Ares arms. "The plan is simple. I have issued a challenge and the fates have accepted. When the deities face me in battle, if they lose, they will give up their lives as Deities and become mortal, and I will be given their essence as the victor. If I lose to any, they may have my essence and I will live as a mortal. That is what the fates have accepted. But what I have now thought up is even more delicious and more sweet." She laughed joyously. "With the help of Hades, my dear Ares, we shall not only take the essences of the Deities, we shall turn them to corpses and when we defeat Zeus, none will rise up against us."

Ares' eyes widened in full understanding. Hades, as the God of death, carried with him the power to take the life of thousands of people at once. He also had with him, Hine's blood - the only thing that could ever kill a Deity. "The Hine's blood......but how do you plan....?"

"With the sharp edge of a sword Ares. When we defeat each Deity, and we shall, we take their essence and then plunge the sword, dipped in Hine's blood, into their hearts." She pictured Selene before her, and imagined her sharp sword coming down at the Goddess. Niniveh laughed.

"And they will die. They will all die." She embraced Ares and kissed him hard.

Ares returned the kiss but something pulled inside of him. Ares wanted power, he wanted respect, he wanted love and adoration, but not at the expense of the Deities' lives, and certainly not if Selene were to be killed. He pulled away from Niniveh and shook his head. "Niniveh, I will not help you. I will not have the blood of the Gods on my hands."

"Oh won't you now?", Niniveh asked in a voice coated with ice. "Did that stop you from wanting to murder Zeus when he killed your father Cronus? Did you not take a dagger with Hine's blood, ready to kill him? He was your own brother!"

"That was different. Zeus was older than me but father wished to give ME the headship. Zeus could not stand the thought and first tried to kill me, unsuccessfully, and then killed our father. Any God would have wanted to kill his own brother then."

"Ah.....but not after the coronation and after Zeus was made head of the Deities. Only the son can kill the father for power Ares. It is the way our headship works. Zeus never knew of the dagger and the Hine's blood. Would you like it if I went and told him? Perhaps pulled the scene from time to show him as well? Perhaps it is YOU who will then taste the blood of Hine!" Niniveh's lips curled cruelly.

Ares stared at Niniveh, his body tense. "What do you want?"

"Help me Ares. Convince Hades to give you the Hine's blood, and then give it to me. If you do that, then I will give you the thing you most want.......Selene." Her eyes narrowed with mirth. "I will not harm a single hair on her head. She will be yours."

Ares looked at Niniveh hard. "You bring me Selene first, and I will give you the Hine's blood."

"Perfect." Niniveh smiled with delight. The pieces of her plan were all falling together beautifully. Within 3 days, the Battle for the Millennium would be held, and she would stand victor of all.

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Endymion and Selene slept beside each other throughout the whole night. When Selene at last awoke, she found Endymion's head resting against her chest. She sighed with pleasure and nestled her fingers in his hair. "Endymion." She whispered his name.

"Selene." He answered back. "You're awake." He kissed her lips. "I was waiting for you to wake. There is something I wish for you to see." He stood and took Selene's hands and led her out the cave, back through the waterfall.

The water gushed over them and Selene laughed as she pulled Endymion back into the water again. When they flew out into the sunlight, the rays warmed and dried them. Wind flew through Selene's hair, and the sound of chimes could be heard.

Endymion looked at the beauty in his arms. She smiled up at him and they kissed once more.

"What do you want to show me Endymion?"

"Wait. You shall see."

They flew for miles, at speeds unknown to man. The forests and prairies passed below them as a blur. Within seconds, they arrived in a city - magnificent in size and beauty. Everything shone with gold. Men and women frolicked in the grass, children happily ate food and played with animals. The sun here shone brighter and more beautiful than anywhere else. The sky was a pale shade of purple and gold, and its rays fell over everything in site, casting the city in rainbows.

Selene gasped. "Where are we?"

"Elysion." Endymion replied. "My homeland, where I was born."

He led Selene to the ground where they walked amongst the people. The men and women bowed their heads as Endymion walked by and Endymion bowed his head back. A child came up to Selene and offered her a flower. Selene laughed and touched the child's cheek softly.

"Oh Endymion, everyone here is so happy. So peaceful."

"These are the Elysion Fields Selene. When the people of Earth die, those who have good hearts and souls, this is their final home. This is their eternal resting place - a land of beauty, peace, and prosperity, away from the evils of their mortal lives."

"It is beautiful Endymion. And you are the King of this paradise?"

"As the God of Earth, Selene, I have control over all that is created and destroyed here. My fathers before me watched over this planet and when mortals were created, this paradise was created for them. Both the Earth and this isle of heaven are mine."

Trumpets blew around them as they passed through the gates of the city. The people around them cheered and heralded their King. Selene gasped as she saw what loomed before her. In front stood a palace larger than anything she had ever seen before and from it walked forth a man, dressed predominantly in white and gold, with the colours of the rainbow around his cloak.

"My Lord and Lady.", he bowed low.

"Selene, this the high priest of Elysion, my trusted friend, Elios."

Selene bowed her head. Her eyes could not get enough of the beauty and splendour of Elysion. The Moon could not compare in colour and beauty to what the Earth had. Here the wind was real, the suns rays penetrated her skin, and Selene became alive.

Endymion tugged at Selene's hand and led her to a high table on the lush grounds of the palace. Selene sat and watched as women, clothed in gold and white came and served her and Endymion. Everything here shone with a life and color like nothing she had experienced. It drew her in and she would have been drunk with it had Endymion not been beside her. He pulled her attention to the children who were coming forward.

In the children's hands were necklaces laced with jasmine, violets, and roses. Endymion chuckled and Selene was startled to see a crimson blush flush his cheeks. Endymion looked at her and then away. "The children think you are my wife."

Selene smiled. "Oh. Is that all?", she smiled up at him coyly as the children placed the wreaths over her's and Endymion's heads.

Behind the children came a circle of men and women. All got silent, and the land itself seemed to hush. Slowly the women turned in a half circle, one direction, as the men turned in a half circle, the other direction. They met and touched hands lightly, changing partners once, and meeting with their partners once more. From somewhere, the sound of a drum came, and the feet of the men and women moved in time with the beats. They swayed their heads and bodies, moving to the music as if it possessed them. Selene watched enraptured. One of the women came forward and took her hand. One of the men came and guided Endymion forward as well.

Selene stood facing Endymion.

"This is beautiful Endymion.", she moved in a half circle.

"You are beautiful Selene." Endymion moved around her.

"Will you bring me here again?" Selene passed Endymion and moved around another man.

Endymion came up behind her and held her waist. "I will bring you wherever you wish to go." Endymion's hands tightened around her waist, while his face underwent a hundred changed of emotion. He closed his eyes and drew a breath.

"Selene........." ,he turned her around and took her delicate face into his hands. "All I am, all I have, this world, my body, my life, everything will be yours too if you will do one thing."

"Endymion.........."

"Marry me."

Selene looked at Endymion stunned. The world grew quiet again. The wind did not move. Selene watched Endymion's eyes stare at her, unwavering, strong, gentle and then she saw it - saw the traces of fear in his eyes - fear that she might reject him. Selene placed her hands upon Endymion's face as well, and stroked his cheeks.

She thought of the months where she had planned and schemed to go to Earth to be with Endymion. Thought of the nights she lay in wait on the Moon, hoping he would visit. Thought of the love and compassion he showed to all who came to him. This was a man unlike any Selene had ever known, and she, the virgin Goddess who had once sworn that she wouldn't let any man touch her, had fallen in love with Endymion.

"Endymion. My Endymion. You of all men should know how much my heart beats for you. You are all I desire for eternity. To be by your side is my greatest joy. I will be your bride, and better still, I will love for you all time."

The couple embraced and kissed passionately. A roar of cheering and loud music filled all of Elysion. Trumpets blared. Selene called to the Moon and beckoned all those who loved her. Then from the Moon white beams of light began to pulse and land in Elysion. Next to the people of Elysion, appeared the people of the Moon. Loud music played on the grounds and the roar of delight and laughter floated up to the couple.

Flower petals surrounded the two. White light emanated from both their chests to combine and re-enter into their bodies. Memories of each other's lives and existence filled their minds. As they kissed, the wind picked them up and sent them high into the clouds. When they broke their kiss, the couple looked into each other's souls. They had become one. They looked below them and saw all of the Earth, Elysion, and the Moon.

Selene looked down to her Moon people, engaging happily with those of the Earth. "My home, is now Endymion's home as well. And his, is mine."

The wind at once died around the couple. They looked around them. Nothing had changed below - the celebration and merriment went on unfazed. Yet around them, there was stillnedd. Selene looked with questioning eyes at Endymion, only to see a mirrored expression.

Suddenly, gold and silver flashes of light began forming in front of Selene and Endymion. Tiny stars circled above their heads, through Selene's hair, and around the couple's bodies. Then the small white and gold stars huddled in a mass and one by one took on a human shape and form.

On Endymion's side stood an army of men, clothed in gold and white with the emblem of the Earth upon their foreheads. On Selene's side stood an army of women clothed in silver and white, with the emblem of the moon upon their faces.

Endymion and Selene fell to their knees and lowered their heads.

The past Kings and Queen then spoke.

"Earth and Moon now are one and the prophecy is fulfilled. Through your love shall salvation come for the Gods and peoples of all the worlds."

The Moon Queens and the Earth Kings then took hold of each other's hands and in an explosion, huge light was sent forth to Endymion and Selene. The couple was then bathed in silver and gold and they felt the essences of a thousand Gods and Goddesses enter their bodies. Crying out each other's name, the couple clasped each other's hands and their eyes rolled backwards. They then collapsed to the ground and fell into a sleep.

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Night fell and Ares walked through the dense foliage. Above him a lark sung her sad cry and flew over his head. Ahead of him loomed the mouth of a dark cave and from within, he could hear the sounds of drunken love making and boisterous noise. He stepped through the cave and saw Niniveh off to the side alone, watching the others play. "She holds herself higher than mortals, yet lives and sleeps like them on the Earth." Ares said under his breath.

Without looking in his direction, Niniveh called to Ares. "Finally Ares. You have come.", her voice was unusually low. "Well don't stand there like a mute dear, come forward. Show me what you have brought.

Ares walked forward slowly. At his thigh hung a sheath, and in it, a dagger swathed in Hine's blood. He stood before Niniveh. She stood and smiled at him, her hand extended.

"First, uphold your end of the bargain. I want Selene."

"And you shall have her." Niniveh beckoned a figure in the corner to come forward. "Selene, you remember Ares, I'm sure."

"Of course." The woman with the silken white hair laughed. "How could a Goddess ever forget him?" Her eyes travelled up and down the length of Ares' body.

Ares gazed at Selene longingly and walked towards her. His hands wrapped around her small waist and his lips bent and kissed her. She returned the kiss and pressed her body tightly up against Ares. Ares groaned with pleasure.

"There you have what you wanted.", came Niniveh's voice.

Suddenly, Ares felt a sharp pain at his side. He cried out and stepped backward. Selene stood before him, the Hine's blood dagger in her hand, dripping now with Ares' blood.

"Selene?", Ares' voice dropped to a whisper as he fell the ground. He watched as the figure of the white Moon Goddess changed into that of Niniveh. Over to the left, the figure that Ares had thought was Niniveh was a simple mortal girl.

"Fool.", Niniveh snarled. "Do you think I would just hand Selene over to you? I plan to kill her. And you, dear Ares, are the first God I shall conquer."

Niniveh bent over Ares and a large blast of white light hit her chest. Her face wrinkled with a slight pain, and then it was over. Ares fell limp the ground. His blood pooling on the floor.

Niniveh stood and bared her teeth triumphantly.

The men and women of the cave gathered around the body of the dead God and their forms changed into that of wolves. They lapped at his blood.

"And so shall the lives of all the Gods end."

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