Prologue
The Children of the Underworld
Classic Underworld Fairy Tale
In the beginning, the Twelve Immortals created the world.
Dominion created humans, the land beneath our feet, and the mountains that touch the heavens.
Life created the forests, animals big and small, and the baby in your belly.
Sea created the waters, filling every crevice, and all the creatures of the deep.
Death created the harbingers, the Valkyries who carry your soul, and the banshees who scream for your end.
The Trickster created the Grounders, those gremlins, goblins, and trolls to steal your fortune and children.
The Twins hung in the sky, Helios and Luna, He created fire and warmth, and She created the Children of the Night.
The Lover created what she knew best, those who must consume to stay alive.
Time created the Fairies, immune to time itself and granted immortality, for He longed for Children who would never be touched by time.
The Warrior created monsters for battle and destruction.
Spirit created those who wander realm to realm.
And Knowledge created those with the power of the universe, the weavers of spells and magic.
The war above us, so below us.
****
Apollo felt Called. He felt Called from a very young age, but the Old Gods, the Twelve Immortals, had been more persistent of late. He’s only been Alpha for a few years, but the Gods demand a life of servitude from him. He sits on his balcony, the almost full moon sharing Her light over the backyard. He closes his eyes and breaths deeply, focusing his hearing on the sounds around him. Some younger members of the pack are out running, someone in the kitchen getting a late night snack, a small nocturnal creature out hunting. He meditates on this moment, this perfect moment of serenity. He wants to remember this, the feeling of relief from finally giving into the call of the Gods, and abdicating his throne to serve on the Tribunal. A seat had recently became vacated due to a death, and Apollo intends to take it. His pack won't understand--An Alpha has never given up his throne for a life of servitude. Being a Tribunal means he will never have a mate, he will never have children, never live in their secular world again. He will spend the rest of his years serving the Gods directly, traveling from pack to pack to perform rituals, and other tasks at the behest of the Gods. Tribunals also serve as the judiciary systems for packs. Not only has an Alpha never chosen this, someone as young as Apollo has never become a Tribunal member. He brings his attention back to the present. In this moment, he has yet to tell his pack and family that he’s leaving, he has yet to feel their disappointment, confusion, anger, sadness. In this moment, he is just a man, sitting in the moonlight, wanting the present moment to never end.
