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    Cynus
  • Cynus
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  • 10/05/2017
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  • 12 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Rivers of the Dead - 27. 3-6 - Beneath

Don't forget to comment and react to this chapter! Also, special thanks to my Patreon Supporters: Michael, Bill, Charles, Amr, Don, James, Joe, Jos, Mark, Mark, Paul, Steve, John, Frank, Sam, Matthieu, and Ben. Couldn't have done it without them. Email me at Samuel.D.Roe@gmail.com to be put on my mailing list! :D

Ethan struggled to his feet, brushing off branches and snow from his clothing. He stared back at Orpheus, who glowered at him from the binding circle at the mouth of the cave. Ethan saw the recognition in Orpheus' eyes, but even if he hadn't, he would've known his familiarity from the level of malevolence Orpheus projected from his being.

"You know who I am," Ethan said. "You know why I've come."

"Ethan Pallet," Orpheus confirmed. Yes. I recognize you from Caleb's visions. You are the thorn in my side, who will be plucked and crushed beneath the heel of my boot."

"You know Caleb," Ethan observed.

Orpheus' eyes narrowed. "I know all who inhabit my realm, fool."

"Fool?" Ethan echoed. "I have called you here, and now I have bound you."

"Hah! Binding death itself!" Orpheus cackled madly. "You are a fool, indeed. What makes you think you can hold me here? You're a fledgling mage facing the force of He Who Rules Beneath. You are pathetic."

"Give me Caleb," Ethan said, refusing to be intimidated, "and I'll let you go."

"I told you, Ethan, you cannot bind me," Orpheus said. He raised his hands and a loud crackling reverberated through the cave. The stone beneath his feet cracked open wide, breaking the circle Ethan had carved into it. The runes were unrecognizable, as if someone had taken a pick to the rock and broken them all to pieces.

Orpheus paced the line of the cave where shadow met light, remaining on the shadowy side. "Now, let's talk business."

"You're willing to make a deal?" Ethan asked, his eyes hopeful. He tried to ignore the seed of doubt planted within him at Orpheus breaking the binding spell, but it was there, and it began to take root.

"No," Orpheus said, "Not for Caleb. You cannot have him."

Ethan felt pure rage surge within him, halting the spread of the doubt's influence upon his will. "Why not?" Ethan snapped.

"He's mine, and I protect what's mine," Orpheus replied. "I keep what's mine. I own him. I've fought for him, I've guided him, and I've pulled him from the brink of destruction. What have you done for him?"

The words slammed into Ethan, disrupting the rage he'd built up as a defense, giving water and light to the seeded doubt. It began to grow, slowly overtaking his soul. Ethan ditched his original plan, he couldn't cast like this. So there remained one option, a bargain. "A life for a life, then. I'll give up mine for his."

Orpheus scoffed at the notion. "And what would you do for me? Blow yourself up chasing after the mysteries of the universe? Who do you think you are?"

Bargaining would get him nowhere, Ethan realized. It was time for plan C. He'd expected to have more time to implement the earlier plans, but he was running out of options quickly and needed to see this through. He collapsed to his knees, bowing his head humbly. "I just want Caleb back. Tell me what I have to do, please."

"And already you're reduced to begging," Orpheus said, laughing callously. "Can you be any more pathetic? I can't imagine Caleb would even want you back."

Ethan looked up, his eyes wild as the doubt blossomed. "Why are you speaking to me like this?"

Orpheus shrugged then answered sarcastically. "You called, I answered. You made a bullshit request of me."

"Why won't you take my life for his?" Ethan whined. "Please, please . . . I have to save him."

"Save him?" Orpheus chuckled. "He understands the mysteries I offer him. He will serve me well. I saw the potential in him from the moment he first approached my threshold and sought to save you. If only I could get him to stop seeking after you, he'd become one of my greatest servants. But still he refuses to let go. Still, he only wants you."

"He's seeking me?"

"Oh yes," Orpheus said bitterly. "No matter how much I try and get him to let go of his foolish quest, he's still convinced you're obtainable."

Ethan nodded in understanding, certain he'd found the loophole he was after. "Then perhaps I'll die so he can find me," he said. "Then you won't have him after all."

"You'll die?" Orpheus asked in mock disbelief. "Of course you'll die, we all die. And you think I'd let him find you after that? In my realm? My, your foolishness never ceases to amaze me."

The blossoms of the tree of doubt began to bear fruit and slowly ripened with every word. "You can't . . ." Ethan protested. "You can't do this."

"Oh, dear Ethan, I'm afraid I can," Orpheus said sadistically. "I bend the afterlife to my will, it does not bend to yours."

Ethan crawled forward, his hands together in supplication, desperate as the fruits of doubt began to fall from the tree. They hit the ground and broke open, spreading their seeds into the now fertile ground of Ethan's soul. "Please. Please, I need him."

Orpheus met Ethan's gaze, and Ethan saw nothing but cruelty and death in the eyes of The Ruler. "Love is fleeting. Let it go. For your sake and his." He turned and walked away, heading deep into the dark of the cave.

"No, please! Please don't go!" Ethan called, clamoring to his feet and staggering after Orpheus. "Please give him back to me!"

"No," came Orpheus simple response from the dark. "Go home, mageling."

Ethan sensed Orpheus' presence one instant, and then in the next it was gone. He collapsed to the floor of the cave, his body wracked with frantic sobs as he hugged himself against the cold December air. He felt everything now and couldn't believe the pain.

Don't forget to comment and react to this chapter! Also, special thanks to my Patreon Supporters: Michael, Bill, Charles, Amr, Don, James, Joe, Jos, Mark, Mark, Paul, Steve, John, Frank, Sam, Matthieu, and Ben. Couldn't have done it without them. Email me at Samuel.D.Roe@gmail.com to be put on my mailing list! :D
Copyright © 2017 Cynus; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

Cynus
1 minute ago, glennish said:

Well. That didn’t go according to plan. At least Ethan knows that Caleb is ok and is searching for him as well.  

Oh. And the shocker, Orpheus is “The Lord Who Rules Beneath”. When did he get the job advancement to “death”. 

I have a bit of an inkling about how this could go now 😉 

thanks. 

You'll have to let me know if you're right once we reach the end. :) I believe most of the hints are in play already, though there might be a few more to come.

Orpheus makes such a good ruler though, don't you think? :P

  • Like 2
Parker Owens
5 hours ago, Cynus said:

PLEASE QUOTE OR LIKE THIS COMMENT SO I KNOW YOU ARE COMMENTING. :)

 

So Orpheus is unveiled and revealed for who he is. Ethan was so easily broken, and all The Ruler needed to do was sow just a little doubt. Now Ethan knows real pain, pain undisguised and unmasked by his drive and desire for Caleb. Can Ethan's love regain any of its purity by being so tried by Death itself? You weave such a tale of intrigue and mystic adventure here, and all derived from that simple, foolishly undeclared love...

  • Like 4
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drpaladin
  • Site Moderator

Orpheus as the incarnation of Death or Death as the incarnation of Orpheus. It brings on some interesting possibilities. Death should be unpassionate, emotionless, and remorseless. He reveals himself to Ethan as capable of rage and he covets. These are human foibles. There is no question Orpheus is there. Eurydice would not have trailed after him otherwise. By taking on Orpheus, has Death also taken on the same weaknesses? Is this where Eurydice's hint comes into play?

 

I can also see where Caleb would be a bright and attractive light in the afterlife. Bright lights attract beautiful moths, but they also attract beetles with sharp mandibles. Get back that Will and positive emotion Ethan. You're going to need it.

  • Like 3
Cynus
On 10/5/2017 at 1:06 PM, Puppilull said:

Hmm... Can Ethan do what Orpheus couldn't? Keep the faith and love to persevere even in the face of Death? Maybe that's why Orpheus is so vile. He's jealous of a love stronger than his. To see someone capable of doing what he failed to do. 

Maybe. I honestly don't entirely know why Orpheus is the way he is. Orpheus was written as a means of understanding myself, and some of the negative feelings I was having towards love at the time of writing this. I've since come to terms with what I was feeling, and I wish I'd understood it better then, because what I was feeling at the time had nothing to do with Chris, whom I loved and still care about deeply, but there were unresolved feelings regarding someone else who had wounded me, and those feelings were making it very difficult for me to fully connect to Chris.

I think in many ways, Orpheus was a reflection of my own self-doubt regarding my inability to fully commit to love. I think this part in particular was probably written from the immense amount of anger I had toward myself, and how that translates to my worldview. Is Orpheus jealous? I'm not sure, but he does definitely see something he doesn't understand, and he knows he's supposed to, and that lack of understanding definitely infuriates him.

On 10/5/2017 at 1:53 PM, Parker Owens said:

 

So Orpheus is unveiled and revealed for who he is. Ethan was so easily broken, and all The Ruler needed to do was sow just a little doubt. Now Ethan knows real pain, pain undisguised and unmasked by his drive and desire for Caleb. Can Ethan's love regain any of its purity by being so tried by Death itself? You weave such a tale of intrigue and mystic adventure here, and all derived from that simple, foolishly undeclared love...

I remember pointing this out to one of my beta readers after they read this part. Someone was asking me how Ethan was so easily defeated. What I was going for here was to show an example of principles of magic in motion. You have the will, pure emotion, and knowledge. Ethan showed up to the fight with all three, and then he was strong, all Orpheus had to do was break down one of these three things. It may seem on the surface that Orpheus was breaking down Ethan's will, but Ethan's will crumbled on its own when Orpheus sabotaged Ethan's emotions. I realize this may have been exactly how you read it, I'm simply trying to elaborate upon the point you made regarding Orpheus sowing seeds of doubt. :)

So I don't think the question is about Ethan being so easily broken, but rather whether Ethan was ever fully repaired in the first place? You've given me much to think about.

On 10/5/2017 at 2:03 PM, Stephen said:

I'm not a fan of this mean version of Orpheus, I like the charming, guitar playing one better. He certainly burst Ethan's little bubble, didn't he?

Thankfully I see that you've posted the next chapter already so there's no need to wait and see Ethan's reaction because I don't have an idea

what he's going to do next.

There's actually a way for me to defend Orpheus here, but I think it would create too much of an opportunity for a spoiler to the astute observer, so I will have to let that point go for now. However, I would really like to address the point in the future, and so if you remind me I would be glad to bring it up at the end of the story. :)


For me, Orpheus was a package deal from the beginning. I didn't know exactly where he would take me, but I knew there would be both positive and negative traits, as there usually are when I'm trying to make an imperfect human character. Regardless of what he may be now, he was at least at one point, human.


But yes, he definitely gave Ethan something he was not expecting. :)

On 10/5/2017 at 2:08 PM, drpaladin said:

Orpheus as the incarnation of Death or Death as the incarnation of Orpheus. It brings on some interesting possibilities. Death should be unpassionate, emotionless, and remorseless. He reveals himself to Ethan as capable of rage and he covets. These are human foibles. There is no question Orpheus is there. Eurydice would not have trailed after him otherwise. By taking on Orpheus, has Death also taken on the same weaknesses? Is this where Eurydice's hint comes into play?

 

I can also see where Caleb would be a bright and attractive light in the afterlife. Bright lights attract beautiful moths, but they also attract beetles with sharp mandibles. Get back that Will and positive emotion Ethan. You're going to need it.

I really like where you're going with this. One of the things I like about pantheistic religion is how it normally involves imperfect gods. Hades, for instance, had many imperfections, many humanlike traits. He loved as humans do, even to the point of obsession when he kidnapped Persephone and brought her down to The Underworld. Death itself, or perhaps the underworld itself, certainly has plenty of that uncompassionate, emotionless, and remorseless quality that you describe. It's in the rivers, the landscape, and in Charon from the Forest Service. :)


But what of the ruler? Is the ruler the same as the land he/she rules, or is it imperfection trying, as always, to rule a system that was in place since long before there were beings to use it? What we humans try to control is sometimes astounding.


I like your bright light analogy, too. I look forward to further insight from you.

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