The Beginning
In Greek mythology, there was a young Titan named Prometheus who is said to have created man from water and earth. Zeus assigned the young Titan this task in the hopes that he could reign over man, and prevent them from having power on Earth. Prometheus did as he was told, but became fond of his new creation, more fond of this man than of his almighty dictator Zeus. Zeus wanted to withhold power from man, but Prometheus desired to give his new creation the power to fight against the gods. Prometheus stole fire from Zeus in the form of a lightning bolt and gave it to man. When Zeus found out about this he became very angry with Prometheus. He locked the young Titan to a rock high above the earth with indestructible chains, and bade an eagle come every day to eat the liver of Prometheus in a painful, bloody meal at sunrise. Throughout the day, Prometheus’ liver would grow back, slowly, and excruciatingly, until finally at night he could sleep until the next morning when the ever hungry eagle would come again for its meal.
A Titan is immortal if no mortal harm comes to him/her, and this every day event kept Prometheus in a constant war with pain, however, was not enough to kill the young Titan. A lifetime passed and just when Prometheus thought he could take no more, he woke up one morning to find that no claws were ripping through his skin; no sharp beak was tearing at his insides and gorging upon his bloody organs. He waited, filled with dread of the pain to come, but no eagle came. That evening, he felt the strange sensation of a new liver beginning to form in his abdomen, but he had not lost the liver from that morning. Overnight, a new liver squeezed its way into his body, beside the liver that had not been eaten the day before. The next morning, dread once again filled Prometheus’ mind as he remembered the slashing talons and gleaming eye of the always hungry eagle, ready to eat his insides. However, the eagle did not come once again. His stomach bloated with an extra organ, Prometheus ached throughout the day and again that evening he felt the familiar sensation of a new liver forming within. His abdomen swelled to an even greater size as his body tried to accompany the extra organ that was not supposed to be there, and Prometheus doubled over in agony as his body stretched. Two more days this happened, until on the fifth evening Prometheus was screaming in pain, his body stretched to capacity, ready to explode.
A white light flickered in the corner of his eye, and breathing heavily he slowly turned his head, trying with great strength to keep his body still for fear that his skin would tear open with any slight movement. He saw a flash and a woman walked towards him on long slender white legs, her dress flowing and green, entwined with vines of ivy. Her titian hair was waved in ringlets down her back and in the tendrils were woven strands of baby’s breath. Her pale skin was flaked like that of a fallen leaf in autumn, flaking off as she walked. Prometheus blinked, and tried to pull against his chains but the pressure in his stomach was too much. He looked up as she stood over him and tried to speak, but she held a finger to her lips.
Prometheus, do not speak, and keep still, for I am here to set you free. The woman held her hand over his chains, and Prometheus watched in amazement as long tendrils of vines snaked away from her arms and wrapped themselves around the iron rings. With a loud snap that echoed throughout the mountaintops , the iron cuffs broke and Prometheus was free of the rock to which he had been chained for so long. He tried to move and felt a tear within his insides, which caused him to cry out in pain. The woman pushed his head back, and Prometheus felt a stabbing pain as she cut open his abdomen, causing his six livers to tumble out of his body. She quickly set aside the extra five and with a touch of her hand, Prometheus felt a tugging sensation, and then no pain. He looked down to see his stomach back to its normal size, and no pain in his body. He looked up at the woman who was standing over the five organs on the ground. Her eyes closed and she held out her hands which took on a green glow. She moved them over the first organ and her hands started to glow a bright white. Prometheus watched as she followed suit with the other four livers, her glowing hands changing from white, to blue, to brown, to red, and then finally to a midnight black. She crumpled to the ground, her flaking skin continuing to fall, and Prometheus moved towards her to try to help her up, but stopped when he saw the organs start to move. Each organ started morphing, growing in size and shifting its shape to form bodies, heads, ears, mouths, tails, and wings. He watched in amazement as five creatures took shape in front of his eyes, each one with its own form. The woman, who had fallen to the ground, now stood up and smiled at her new creations standing before her. She looked at Prometheus.
I am neither god nor human. Some call me elemental, others call me magic. I am the Creator, and here before you stand my newest beings made from your flesh. They shall be called Promedians in your namesake. Go now, while I introduce them to this world, and no longer mess with the issues of god and man. Forever forget what Zeus has done to you, and live the new life I have given you.
She turned away and walked down the mountainside, followed by the five new Promedians, while Prometheus looked onward at the sunrise that had just begun.
