Rebecca Newton and the Sacred Flame by Mario Routi

Author:Mario Routi
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, fantasy, epic, adventure, magic, trolls, young adult, minotaur, greek, greece, gods, titans, olympus, love, teenage, myths, battles, spells, wands, kingdom, castle
ISBN: 9781783334391
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2014-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

25

Those who carried Danae put their swords and shields on the Cyclops’s stretcher because they had no scabbards, dressed as they were in only their bloodstained pyjamas.

As Lord Life gripped the handles of the stretcher, he felt as though he was carrying the weight of his whole world. He plodded on, lost in thought, lost in memories... The universe, the galaxies, the solar system - the Earth, eternally following the same orbit at the same pace, as if it were being turned on a spindle.

He had been born on Atlantis, a beautiful, rich island, overflowing with all of the finer things in the world. It was a land of exceptional culture, great power and dazzling wonder. But one day, megalomania took hold of its King. He became possessed by greed, avarice, ambition, arrogance and vanity and, in his madness, he decided to conquer both Greece and Egypt.

Lord Life was strongly opposed to the expedition but was only a nineteen-year-old officer at the time. Although his talents had already been recognised, he was too young to make a difference. The attack on Athens was intense and violent but the skilfully trained Athenians, with their great knowledge of the art of war, led their fellow Greeks to victory over Atlantis.

The dead were countless and there were many prisoners, including Lord Life. He was forced to become an oarsman in the Athenian King’s galley and he accepted his fate with fortitude.

The years passed and, while enslaved, he heard that Atlantis had sunk. Everyone, including his family, had been lost.

One night, they were returning from the island of Delos, where the Athenian King had gone to offer sacrifices and worship to the God, Apollo. A gentle, favourable wind filled the sails and gave the oarsmen little to do. Suddenly, as if the bag Aeolus burst open, the wind decided to blow hard into the sea. Enraged, the sea resisted with mighty, foamed hands. The harder the wind blew, the more the sea pushed back in fury. Before the travellers’ eyes, the sea was transformed - where it had been calm and friendly, it became wild and hostile. The night darkened. Thick, black-robed clouds clashed furiously, like rampaging bulls. Every so often, light flashed from their nostrils and they bellowed like salvoes of cannon fire. The raging storm hurled stones at the sea and the ship - hailstones as big as eggs. Before the sailors could gather them in, the sails were shredded to rags despite their leather bracings.

Within moments, the ship looked as though it was covered with snow. It swirled helplessly in the heart of the storm. Waves, like mountains, raised it to their peaks, then plunged it down into abysmal darkness. Everyone on board hung on for dear life as the galley lurched like a drunkard beneath them.

The sea had become a maniac killer, beating the defenceless sailors mercilessly with its waves. Both the King and the Captain were at the stern, clinging to the handrail of the bridge and barely protecting themselves from the hailstones and the rain that had begun to lash down simultaneously.

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