Cynus

We'll hear more from Liz in two chapters, but right here I wanted her to feel the weight of the world. They messed with things far beyond their understanding, so who knows what's going to happen now? (Certainly not me. I'll be as surprised as you. Honest) I can't wait for you to see what's in store. You've got a keen sense of things, but I've fooled you in the past. Which will this be, I wonder? I love how you and everyone else is getting into the analysis of every small detail. Makes me glad I spent the time to include them all. For Liz it feels a little hopeless, certainly. What will Ethan know? That's the question which seems to be on everyone's minds. I promise an answer within the next few chapters, but that's the best I can do. Where do they all go from here? An excellent question. That's always the paradox of rewriting history, isn't it? How much is undone? How much must be redone? And, is it really reality if it's no longer the reality you knew first? Existential dread is fun. Man, you know how to make a guy blush. I like your observations on Ethan's physical state, and why he was like that. I don't believe I offer a direct answer in the text, so instead I'll say that was the effect I was going for. I'm so excited to hear you have all these questions! It must mean everyone is invested. Thank you to everyone for your comments! You all rock, and I'm grateful you've chosen to read this story.

Now that is a compliment. I'm grateful you were willing to cross genres for me, Bryan. I hope you'll find the rest of the story at least as rewarding as the beginning.

The Incredible Edible Hulk

I'm glad you're enjoying my take on the mythology. It's also nice to see you speculating on the identity of the woman. I mean, she's never called that directly... Answers are a comin'. Stay tuned!

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Although Liz had been promised Search and Rescue or paramedics, neither she nor any of her rescuers had cell service. A storm had knocked out the nearest cell tower the night before and made it impossible for them to reach anyone. Thankfully the man who woke her up, Tim Landing from nearby Castlefield, knew a thing or two about outdoor emergencies. Between him and his two sons, Jimmy and Kyle, they were able to rig up a makeshift stretcher from two long branches and their jackets. After p

Comical Memoirs of a Geisha

Dumb, Trump, and Dumber

Having been a victim of it before, it's a horrible feeling having your work taken. I appreciate your diligence.

Fellowship of the Bathtub Ring The Two Toilet-Paper Towers Return of the Porcelain King

Check this out! I just stumbled across an awesome resource on Egyptian cosmology. http://musicians4freedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Historical-Deception.pdf

Oh most definitely. In many ways, the Egyptians are considered the inventors of so-called modern sorcery. The Western form of spell-creation is derived from, Egyptian, Roman, and Nordic methods for the most part, but since the Egyptians came first...

Okay, so I haven't been able to uncover all of it yet, but there is some mention of a magician named Meryre who journeyed into the Duat(Egyptian Underworld) on behalf of Pharaoh Sisobek in the 6th century B.C.E.. I'm having trouble finding a full recounting of the story, but there is a book which includes it but I can only see the beginning of the tale: https://books.google.com/books?id=mAU7CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT201&lpg=PT201&dq=magician+meryre+myth&source=bl&ots=v80vanAdIx&sig=bbtWlbMIatBPVu895nennWUjdHc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_u7__qLXWAhXrs1QKHYM3DLwQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=magician meryre myth&f=false Although the Duat is really interesting all on its own http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/hilton/underworld.htm

This is the Osiris and Isis myth. Hope you enjoy it while I research the other. http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/omw/omw21.htm

What an excellent question! I imagine so, since it's a common theme. I do know that after Osiris is killed by Set that Isis finds a means of resurrecting him at some point, at least in one version of the mythology. I'll do some research and see what I can find out.

A great observation. It may have even impacted how I tell the tale. Of course, I can't tell you HOW it impacted me, haha! I've always thought that those instructions must have either been metaphorical in nature or perhaps mistranslated. I hope you'll bear with me a little longer. The next three chapters at least. More answers are on their way, and I think you'll find a bit of hope to cling to. Also, for both of you and anyone reading this comment, I've begun a forum topic for this story. Check it out here:

Story discussion forum. Ask questions, discuss mythology, get directions to the afterlife.

And it is here! The story updates pretty often, so hopefully the wait won't seem impossible? Thanks for reading and commenting!

I like to think that Orpheus has always managed to maintain the paradox of the 'Refined Bad-boy', the lovable rogue who manages to win over even the Conservative father who interviews the young men who court his daughter. Leather jacket? Probably, but maybe with an ascot or something to be just preppy enough for the country club. We'll switch back to Liz next chapter, and the Ethan side of the story will slowly come to light. Thank you for the comment!

Irkalla is from Babylonian mythology, and is the name for the Underworld, ruled by Ereshkigal. There's a similar myth to Orpheus in Babylonian mythos about Inanna's descent into Irkalla to save the soul of a loved one. This story is actually pantheist (or perhaps omnist?) in nature, though from the Greek point of view. And of course I included the snake bite! Orpheus is my favorite myth!

Somebody (ME) forgot to put his comment down... PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. This is my new strategy to get notifications on chapter comments.

Silence. That was all Caleb heard when he first woke up, a nothingness which transcended even his thoughts. He couldn't hear within his own skull. Nothing but darkness surrounded him except the cold stone beneath him. He could see a bit of light on his left, and realized it was night outside the cave, an overcast night by all appearances. He struggled to get up, his head aching. He grunted with effort and was grateful to find his ears were at least working. "Liz?" He called to the dark. "

There's certainly a lot of explaining to do, isn't there? Mostly by me. Interesting how things turn, isn't it? This was actually a spontaneous decision when I wrote this chapter which inevitably rewrote my intended ending of the story. You'll have it. I won't be posting the next chapter until Wednesday. I'm a little ahead of my posting elsewhere, and in order to be fair I need to slow down. Relatively soon. I think you'll all be invested in the answer when it's revealed. Part 2 is fun for a lot of reasons, and we'll get some answers almost immediately. I'm glad. Liz definitely has a lot on her plate now, even more than before. And this was supposed to relieve her, right? How will she proceed? Indeed. We're going to get some answers almost immediately. Others you might have to wait awhile for, but from now to the end, there will be some explaining to do, and a journey to unfold.

Caleb had tunnel vision. He wanted to believe more than anything that what he was seeing was true, regardless of whether or not it was. It's amazing what we end up doing when we're caught up in the throes of emotion. The chapter did it's job. I'm glad it's making you question things. Hope the reveal as we continue will be just as satisfying. Who is talking to Caleb? Seems to be the question everyone is asking. Obviously, I can't answer that here, since the answer is already written in the pages to come. Was it actually Ethan? Was it someone else? You're right about that door. Our heroes need to tread far more carefully when they're playing with forces they can't understand.

Indeed. There's usually a time where they decide to demand payment, and it's usually sooner than you'd like. Caleb would've done the deed himself if he'd known what it was for. Judging her was the furthest thing from his mind.