warning: thread revival!
It was a warm, dusty afternoon when the old man came to Styx. Nobody knew where he came from, or who he was. He just appeared, and sat down under the large tree in the center of the town. As people curiously began to gather around him, he started to speak.
Tell me, o Muse, the tragic tale of the creation of Styx.
Tell me, o Muse, of Frank who was different.
One of two sons born of a mortal man and of Utes, the goddess of the sea, Frank was immortal, yet not a god. He lived his early days in the waters surrounding the world, until he grew older and longed to see the world. Allthough Utes was against it, he left, and travelled far and wide, until one day he came to a field with beautiful cows, white as their own milk, large as giants. Because he liked them so much he stole the cows, and lead them away to a nearby valley, where he fell asleep.
Unknown to Frank, the cows belonged to the god of the moon, the silvercrowned Miskos. That night, when Miskos travelled through the sky, he did not see his cows and raged so loud that the other gods woke. And it was Artax, the goddess of the underearth and of the miners, who had seen what happened and understood the cause of his rage. But she did not betray Frank, because she secretly loved him. That same night she visited him, woke him, and gave him a large blanket which looked just like earth when seen from a distance. With this he could cover the cows so that Miskos could not see him. She also gave him a sack with seeds, saying that when he had found a spot to settle, then from these seeds would grow an army to protect him against the moon. But Frank did not answer her love, because he was different.
Miskos kept looking for his cows everywhere, running through the skies, sometimes even turning his face away from the earth to look at the stars, as if his cows could have flown there. But he did not find them as Frank carefully hid them under the blanket, only travelling when Miskos was looking under the earth. One day Frank and his cows reached the sea, and it was such a beautiful spot that he longed to stay there. He sowed the seeds, the gift from Artax, and from the seeds grew fighting men, fierce and tall. The moon turned red with rage, but he knew he was too weak to take on Frank's army.
On a night, some time later, Frank was visited once more by Artax. But again he did not answer her love, for he was different. Now Artax started to hate him, and looked for ways to take revenge. She went to the house of Utes, and told Utes and her other son of Franks deeds and his whereabouts. This other son, who was known as the Reverend because he was such a smooth talker, became jealous and went looking for Frank. When he arrived there, Frank happened to be away on a journey and so the Reverend started talking to Franks army. He told them how unhappy they were, not having any women around to brighten up their lives, and that surely this was by Franks
design, because he was different.
He came back the following days, poisoned their minds some more with wellchosen words, and slowly the men grew suspicious of Frank. One day the Reverend when to a nearby settlement, and persuaded the women there to follow him. When he returned with them, the men were even more convinced that the Reverend was a better leader for them than Frank.
When Frank returned from his journey, he was chased out of town, never to be seen again. But he is still out there, and perhaps, some day, he will return. Ever since this dreadful day the settlement of Frank is known as Styx, or Hate.
Here the old man stopped. Seeing that his audience looked at him in disbelief, he sighed, stood up, and left Styx, never to be seen again.
