The Legend of the Winged CyeHippoGriffinDusaCorn
By Ben Gebhart
All around earth kids, kids were being gobbled up by a magical creature. This creature was the Winged CyeHippoGriffinDusaCorn, (the “Wingy” for short.) Why was it eating kids? Good question.
A little after the beginning of time there was a group of mean kids. They always made the WCHGDC feel bad.
“Hey, you are a freak”, said Billy one day.
“Stop that, I don’t like that”, said the WCHGDC.
“I don’t care.”
“You will be sorry if you don’t stop!”
“OOOOOOO, so scared.”
Well he should be scared because when the WCHGDC went home he really got mad. They kept saying things like this every day to him. He had to do something.
He tried going to people for help but nobody would help him. He started getting very depressed. He wondered what his point in life was. One day he was walking and saw a sign that had a quote that said “Everyone Has a Purpose in Life.” It hit him right in his heart.
The next day the mean kid, Billy, came up to him and said, “Your beak is huge and ugly!”
WCHGDC replied, “The better to eat you with, my pretty!”
The next thing you know, he had eaten Billy. He felt bad about it, but he didn’t want Billy to continue being mean to people. He came up with a solution that didn’t involve death or letting Billy go free.
WCHGDC knew of a creature called the Mermacorn (see the origin of the Mermacorn for more details). He knew that the Mermacorn hated mean kids. He went to it and asked a favor.
When he got there he barfed out Billy. Billy was quite shocked. WCHGDC said to the Mermacorn, “Billy is mean to people. Would you please torture him for the rest of eternity along with any other children I bring you?”
The Mermacorn said, “Sure! I love torturing mean children. They deserve it!”
At that moment the WCHGDC realized his purpose in life. He was to eat any mean children in the world and take them to the Mermacorn for torture for all eternity. He went to Zeus, who gave him the power to track down any mean children across the Earth. Now when he senses any mean kids he breaks into their bedrooms at night and gobbles them up, never to be seen again!
Skittle Boy And Strawberry Girl
By Henry Gruber
Starburst Land was a place where all was peaceful, and where candy people rode cookie boats on the Warm Milk Ocean. In Starburst Land, however, Skittle Boy was very sad because he did not have the confidence to ask out Strawberry Girl. To get some advice, Skittle Boy went to ask Hermes, who was the god that knew everything about the land.
When Skittle Boy reached the temple of the wonderful Hermes, he approached the great king. “Oh, Powerful king, I have come to you for advice,” said Skittle Boy. ”What kind of advice?” asked Hermes. “It’s about a girl I like,” said Skittle Boy, “Hmmmm”, the king thought, “I will help you, only if you bring me the best Starbucks in the land,” said the king.
At that moment, Elsa, Queen of Ice appeared from the dark shadows behind Hermes. ”Oh Hermes,” said Elsa, “Let the boy have what he wants for free”. “NOOOOOO,” said the king. “He will pay me in full for this silly favor,” roared the king. Skittle Boy started to cry tears of sugar water and ran out the temple.
When Skittle boy reached the outside of the temple, Strawberry Girl was standing right in front of him. “Why are you here?” asked Skittle Boy. “I have come to get advice from Hermes,” said Strawberry Girl. Skittle Boy, blushing at the cheeks, said, “Don't go in there, Hermes will just yell at you”. Skittle Boy, filling the awkward silence, got on one knee and said, “Strawberry Girl will you marry me?” Strawberry Girl, jumping up and down in excitement, said, “Of course!” Skittle Boy and Strawberry Girl lived happily ever after.
THE END
A Unique Optimism
A Story of the Unicorn’s Birth
By Shelby Barrow
“Tell us a story, Grandpa!” Kennedy suggested. The wise old man had always been known to tell stories of amazing phenomenon. She, Austin, and Haley all eagerly besieged their grandfather as they looked longingly for a tale.
“Ok, let me tell you a story of when I was just a boy. I was about your age, Austin!”
“My age?” Austin curiously questioned.
“Yes. This is supposedly how the unicorn was created,” he said, pulling Kennedy onto his lap. Haley smiled and looked down at her unicorn stuffed toy. This was her favorite story. Grandpa had told it many times before.
“Just because the unicorn was born doesn’t make is a happy story. This legend begins from darkness. It was a time of misery for this earth. People were committing crimes, starting wars, and cruelty surrounded this earth. Pain and suffering consumed our everyday lives, and there was no hope left in the world.
As well as doing their regular jobs, the Greek gods and goddesses had the job of defending the innocent. They had to interfere with battles in order to keep them going somewhere. However, there was so much evil in the world that it was hard for them to keep up with everything,” The wise man told.
“Wait a minute,” Haley interrupted, “I thought the gods were perfect. They just had, like, the easiest life ever. They could live forever, doing whatever they wanted to do, living on their own mountain, Mt. Olympus.
“That isn’t honest. With being a god or goddess comes great duty and importance. We all were good, we just didn’t choose to be good. The world was out of control. Even I was bad to the bone. I kept stealing money from my parents, and pulling my sister’s braids. I was so rebellious!
With more and more unacceptable behavior piling up, the gods and goddesses were WAY overworked.
A war was occurring all around us, the smell of blood and the ringing from the gunfire lingered in our ears. Mother always said it was the Dark Age, and I knew this was true. The inner devil was unleashed from us all.
Gaia, the goddess of the earth and Mother Nature, didn’t have no picnic either. As battlefields were created for war and fights, more trees were cut down. As hatred made us dislike other people, more places were burnt down. The sky was smoky grey from all the fires, and most of my winter sweaters smelled of smoke. It was awful. All of the animals ran off. They were always migrating but never stopping. They had nowhere to go.
Although Ares, god of war, was excited by all the battles, he quickly became bored by the never ending hatred. Ares had to interfere with lots of battles, to try to end at least some fights.
Poor Astraea. She was the goddess of justice, but there was no justice. There were no heroes. There were no good people. Her concept unfortunately, was dead to us.
Now, Gaia, Mother Nature, looked up at her fellow gods and goddesses and was concerned.
With all of Olympus wiped out, the worst would just get worse. Nobody had time to do their other jobs. Everybody was suffering. She decided that we needed a hero. Someone who could keep things in order so the gods and goddesses could focus on their jobs, not keeping the universe at peace. Gaia went up to Mt. Olympus to propose this idea to Zeus.
“I’m all for it,” Zeus said. You could tell when he was stressed. His hair was knotted more than usual, and his lightning bolt supply was lower than it had ever been.
“Who should we call to be this hero?” Demeter asked, “No mere mortal is suitable for this job. They are all a bunch of baloney! All of ‘em!”
“Perhaps a mortal human would not be suitable, but an able animal may do,” Apollo suggested.
“It would have to be something beautiful,” Aphrodite quoted. She knew that the creature would have to have beauty to not frighten the good souls, the gods, and the goddesses.
“With wings!” Hermes added.
“...And mega strength!” Athena said.
“What about a horse?” Gaia suggested.
All the gods and goddesses exchanged glances of satisfaction as if they were having a mini conferen
ce with their eyes.
Poseidon spoke the three words that would mess up the face of wickedness forever. “Let’s do it!” He exclaimed. For the first time in a long time, the gods and goddesses beamed. They loved the idea, and told Gaia to send a horse up for some upgrades.
So, Gaia went back down the mountain to find a suitable horse. First, she looked at the battle horses, but they were too relentless. Then, she looked at the wild horses but they were too untamable. Last, she looked at the peasant's horses, and they were just right. She chose a painted horse that was a creamy brown with vanilla bean spots. She led it up to Mt. Olympus, where its life was going to be changed forever.
The first goddess to greet this horse was Hebe, who made it immortal. Then, Zeus gave the horse a gift on his head, a single horn. This horn had the power to shoot mini lightning bolts.
Aphrodite was next. She gave the unicorn beauty, and it turned the horn, the mane, and the tail into more colors than you can describe or count. She also turned the horse’s body white of purity, and it was so radiant it glowed.
Hermes decided his gift to the horse would be two wings on his back, so the horse could travel great distances in a short amount of time.
One by one, the gods and goddesses gave the horse gifts. By the end, the horse was amazing. It was a fierce warrior to those whom have done wrong, and to those it will punish. But, to those with good judgment, got rewarded with rainbows in the sky and good dreams. It had the capability to read minds and put good thoughts into mortal’s minds, which we think as our conscience. It is invisible to all but the gods and goddesses. This horse was guarding all things good, and it had the capability of keeping things in order, so the gods and goddesses could get back to their daily assignments.
However, something was still incorrect about this horse. It was completely different. Therefore, it wasn’t a horse. It needed a different name.”
“Wait, wait, wait… It wasn’t a horse? But wasn’t it just a horse like, two seconds ago?” Haley demanded. The old man chuckled.
“Well, it WAS a horse two seconds ago. But after the gods and goddesses changed it, it was completely different. It was a different creature.” Their grandfather explained.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that makes more sense!” Austin exclaimed.
“Where was I? Oh, right. Everybody suggested different names, but nothing fit. Some names included wonderhorse, hornwinged horse, and the magical warrior. Then, Zeus suggested something to do with its one horn.
“What about a unicorn? Uni- means one, and corn rhymes with horn,” said Iris, goddess of rainbows. Once again, like with Gaia’s horse suggestion, everybody agreed and was excited at this new-fangled unicorn thing. It was a mysterious new creature. Like a Pegasus, this horse- like thing had wings. A difference was it had way more power, more use, and a horn!
After a week with this new unicorn, the gods and goddesses were already beginning to see great results. Right before I was about to throw a rock this girl, Susie, who I didn’t like, I heard a voice inside my head say, “I wouldn’t do that!” I listened, and instead I complimented her. She did really well on her math test.”
“What happened to Susie?” Kennedy asked.
“I married her!” Grandpa joked.
“Awwwww,” Kennedy and Haley said dreamily.
“Ewwwww!” Austin said. Grandpa chuckled at his grandkids’
responses.
“That didn’t really happen. Eventually, the unicorn eliminated pretty much all of the bad in the world. Once in a while, there was a punishment if someone was bad, mini lightning bolts would come from the unicorn’s horn and electrocute the mortal. So, that’s it! That’s how the unicorn was created, along with electrocution, good dreams, rainbows after rain, and our conscience. This was the rebirth of justice, and this is the only
way that good could thrive in the midst of evil”
Kennedy, Haley, and Austin applauded. Austin began to get the urge to take Haley’s stuffed animal and look at it. Deep inside his mind, a voice told him not to. It would be mean, and he should ask first. He smiled, because he knew that the unicorn was near. He couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there.
The Coming of Poseidon
By Britton
I sat there at my favorite fishing spot that was so secret no one could find it. Today was the day we gods all got our powers. Unlike the youngest of us who was the king of the gods and goddess. My younger brother Zeus. Whose powers was the god of the sky. It was one month before my father Kronos was overthrown by us gods and goddess. I thought how long I was in his stomach. 20 years maybe? Those of us that were in the belly of my father, if it were not for Zeus, we would have just waited till he had to go to the bathroom.
“Ding, Ding!”
The bell of our still in process of being built home of Olympus began to ring calling all gods and goddess. I gathered my fishing gear and left my fishing net floating in the sea why I left. I made my way to Olympus and everyone was waiting for me to take my seat.
“My fellow brothers and sisters,” Zeus bellowed, “today you shall all pick your domain and power. It seems only fitting to have my two brother’s pick first.”
I already knew what I wanted for my power. I wanted to be the god of the sea, also it seems fitting for me. Poseidon god of the sea had a catchy ring to it.
“Brother Zeus, it seems more fitting for me to have the sea.” Said my no good older brother who was a complete jerk in my eyes, Hades.
“No”, I said loudly for everyone to hear me, “I should have the sea.”
“No,” said Zeus which was totally betraying me, “Hades shall have the sea for he is older.”
I look at him in the eyes and he knew what I meant. He was younger than any of us and he should not be king. Before I could use this to my advantage he shot me a glare that clearly said don’t do it or else.
The day went by with every god and goddess getting their power but me. When the day ended I retreated to my fishing spot to hide from my brothers and sisters.
I thought of ideas of how to get the sea all day long. However, the gods and goddess got all their power the next day so I still had a chance.
Then it hit me as I pulled in my net full of fish. When we battled Kronos, it was only me and Zeus that fought him when Hades hid with his helmet of invisibility. I decided to bring this up tomorrow when it was Hades turn to receive his power of the sea.
I looked at my net and noticed that my net was full of fish. Happy that I found all of this fish and that I had a plan to get the sea, nothing was going to stop me now.
The day went on as we at dinner, (The fish I caught. Hades had demanded that I tell him where my secret fishing spot was. I didn’t of course. Nor did Zeus know I fished), and when I went to sleep I never felt so excited for one day my entire life.
The next morning, instead of going fishing, we all ate breakfast. Zeus made an announcement.
“Are there any objections for today’s gods to receive their power?” Zeus said in a very deep voice.
“Yes,” I said, “Hades should not have the sea, for he when we battled Kronos, he did not fight at all but hid with is helmet of invisibility, leaving me and Zeus to fight the lord of time by ourselves.”
“Poseidon! I will not hear that name in my court! Now Hades will get the sea and I don’t want to ever hear about this again! Do I make myself clear?!” Zeus yelled at me. Knowing that I had lost the goddess Hestia spoke up.
“My lord Zeus, Poseidon spends more time at the sea then Hades and the fish we had yesterday was caught by Poseidon. When he is not at Olympus he is at his fishing spot. He thought no one knew of it but I found him one day I saw him there fishing with his net and Trident spearing and trapping fish. Also Hades is afraid of the water of the ocean and rivers but not from which he drinks in his goblet. He only wants to become god of the sea so he could conquer a fear of water.”
“Then Hades lose to be the god of the sea so let Poseidon's rein of the sea begin.” Ye
lls Zeus for all to hear. When I heard those words it was the best day of my life(besides from being free from Kronos’ belly and all) I looked at Hades only to see that he could not find the words to say but I knew he was not finished yet so whatever he did I had to be ready.
When I got my power I never felt so powerful like all of the world would bow down before me.
“Now Poseidon I would like to see this famous fishing spot of yours if that is okay with you.” Says Zeus
“Why of course Lord Zeus I will gladly lead you to my fishing spot.” I say in a very merry voices.
When we get there I see every living sea creature bowing down before me as their new king. I was shocked to see all of those animals looking at me for leadership to protect their young.
The day continued when I saw Hades pouring a drug into Zeus drink. When he was done I swapped cups with his and Zeus’. When I tell Zeus this after he has drank from the cup he looked like he was going to throw a lightning bolt at anything.
“Hades! How dare you try to drug me for that you shall become the new lord of the underworld and you shall never be able to come to the serfs or Olympus unless you are invited by me!” Yells Zeus so loud all the world could hear him.
That was what happened that is how I Poseidon became the god of the sea. The End.
The Origin of Halloween
By Olivia
It was a stunning morning in Mount Olympus. Birds tweeting with delight on top of the red, summer trees, and water rushing down the waterfalls. With an aroma of honey, the air was warm and calm. Nearby in these woods of ancient times, a gorgeous girl named Luna roamed through the emerald-green grass. She loved strolling through the soft meadows of golden wheat and meeting her friends to laugh and eat. Luna was a dazzling woman. Streaked with red strands, she had long pink hair, and wore a sparkly, silver mermaid dress. Luna was very vain, yet she despised the idea of being married.
Years back, her mother Persephone, the goddess of springtime, had been tricked by Hades, the god of the Underworld, to be his queen for eternity. But, a long time after Persephone had been tricked into being Hades’ queen, Persephone had beaten Hades after a long war. After the gruesome fighting and dirty tricks, she was to never live with him again. Hades, furious, was determined to take revenge on his former wife and prisoner.
Although most people forgot about the incident with the dark lord, Demeter, Persephone’s mother, was still afraid that her granddaughter would be unsafe. So, she decided to help her. Everyone thought she was crazy, making a potion for her grandchild, but she ignored her mean peers.
“You’ll see,” she told the crowds. “Someday, you’ll thank me.”
Including a radiant purple gem on the jewelry, Luna received a special necklace full of magic dust; a dust that, little did everyone know, would save Luna in years to come, despite what anybody said.
One day, while the young goddess, Luna, was climbing the red rocks of the Rainbow Waterfall, Hades, on his creepy, daily errands of stalking people, spotted the girl and wanted to capture her.
Who is this marvelous girl? He thought.
As quick as an eagle, Hades swooped down with his chariot of bones and scooped up Luna.
“Who the heck are you?” she asked while she held on for her immortal life.
“I’m Hades, god of the underworld! Be my queen or you will plunge into a hole of darkness forever!” Hades shouted.
“Umm... isn’t that your home, dude?”
Hades, angered at her snappish mood, sneered at the rude girl with his yellow, crooked teeth.
The two spirits darted through the air then down through the earth to the spider-webbed home of Hades. With hesitation, Luna entered the home of horrors and trembled at the bones laying on the floor and the smell of death floating around her.
“How long are you going to keep me here?” Luna barked.
“Until the suns burns out! And until I destroy that so called hero, Apollo, the sun will shine for like, millions of years,” the dark lord said.
Luna, troubled by what Hades said, calcitrated the blue haired spirit. Hades limb fell off then quickly grew back. She was appalled, but tried to hold in her vomit.
Hades gave his new wife a tour of his cave of doom, but she was not impressed by the dead grasping out of the ground.
Meanwhile, back at Mount Olympus, Hera, Apollo, and Artemis were gathered together for lunch, a feast as big as a mountain.
“You’re so funny!” Hera, the queen of the gods, exclaimed. Apollo, the god of the sun, laughed as the man and the two women dined on the grapes laid out on golden plate.
Suddenly, a messenger flew into the room and shouted so fast they couldn't understand him.
“OhmygoshihavenewsahhhhwhatdoIdowhatdoIdothisisbadthisisverybadwhatwill ZeusthinkandPersephoneandallthegodsandgoddessesthateverroamedthismountainahhhahhhahhhahhhblurbbrobbuffhurbble.”
At that point he started to mumble phrases nobody could comprehend.
“Calm down, man, grab a hold of yourself!!” Artemis yelled.
The frantic mailman finally said, “Luna is being held captive at the underworld with Hades!”
The gods’ eyes widened and they too started jumping up and down in fear.
“But, what will Persephone think?” asked Apollo when he caught his breath.
“Never mind that,” Hera back-talked. “We need help, but Athena, who usually solves these situations, is already helping a nymph who is stuck on that death-trap, Earth!”
“Well, maybe WE can help,” Artemis suggested.
“I- uh I’m not sure that we should,” Hera explained, “Zeus’ face turns bright red when I even meddle in what we eat for dinner. I’m not going to see what color he turns after this.”
“Yeah, me too,” Apollo agreed. “Have you seen him when Hera demanded Taco Tuesday? Let’s just say- not a pretty sight.”
“Pretty please? PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSEE? With sprinkles and a centaur on top?” pleaded Artemis.
“Aww, Artemis, come on. We all gotta think about this,” complained Apollo as the brown haired goddess begged some more.
After a long time of pacing and thinking, the clueless friends, Hera and Apollo, finally decided to help Artemis bring back Luna themselves.
Back in the underworld, the depressed prisoner was resting her cheek on her fist and plotting how to escape the death hole.
“My dark queen,” Hades cooed in a formal way of speaking. “I know that you are not comfortable with my home, but you have forever to GET comfortable. You seem dreadfully hungry for a bite, won't you sit down with me and dine?”
Luna, starving tremendously, reached out for the glazed, tangy food she was offered. It felt bumpy with seeds, but was irresistible. Hades then smiled creepily, for if she ate a bite, she would be destined to reign with him forever. He was determined to use her to gain power from all the other gods by keeping her for ransom, and demanding abilities for her to survive in return. Then, he could take over the world, earthly and not.
Lips almost touching to the luscious fruit, Luna realized she had been tricked from the stories her mom told her as a young girl. With a thrust, she threw the fruit right back into Hades wide mouth. Even though the magic did not work on Hades, he was riled and started bursting out red flames.
“Little girl! If you think you can get away from this paradise and to your precious friends,” Hades blared, “you’re mistaken! I am going to take you somewhere that nobody will find you, and you will never ever escape! OOH! I have an idea; let’s go now!”
As soon as the sun went down on the bright surface of the earth, and the gods had fallen asleep after pondering how to save the miserable maiden, Luna and Hades trudged down through the layers of the earth. Finally, they reached a magical cave in the core of the planet, and Luna’s skin burned and felt weak, for the temperature was as high as an oven. There were colossal silver gates with a three headed, vicious guard dog, blocking them. When the gates
were closed, nobody inside could break out. The dog snarled at the visitors with his needle sharp canine teeth. Luna was startled and started to choke up with tears.
I must be strong, she thought.
Looking down at the ground from being fatigued, she noticed her sparkling, light blue necklace and realized that she had a potion in the gem stone in the middle. With a quick heartbeat, she remembered what it was for. Her grandmother, Demeter gave it to her, at 3 years old, if she ever encountered someone or something that was evil, and it would make them less dangerous. She thought about giving the potion to Hades to be not as menacing, but realized he was too powerful.
As she followed behind Hades and as he was past the open gates, though she was still behind him, she sprinkled the potion dust on the triple headed creature, and he smiled delicately at her.
She whispered as quiet as a shy nymph to the pet, “Close the gates.”
The dog obeyed, and as the doors shut with a slam, Hades whipped around. Even he was not powerful enough to resist the magic doors. He reached out to grab the scared girl and barely missed her sleeve.
He had been trapped in the gloomy core.
“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! You fool!” Hades busted out in disgust.
But not one word bothered Luna, and she sprinted up through the layers of the earth as fast as she could, dodging every obstacle in her way. She got to the underworld, then kept on going.
At last, she reached the bright morning sun, with its rays beating on her face subtly, and darted to the castle of Olympus where Artemis, Hera, and Apollo resided, still from that other day were they decided to “rescue” her.
Luna busted into the yellow-walled breakfast hall, tattered up and with red scars on her face from scraping herself.
The residents jumped with joy and cachinnated with delight.
“Oh! How did you escape Hades?” asked Apollo.
“Oh my! Come and tell us what happened. You poor thing!” exclaimed Hera.
“I’m so sorry ‘bout what happened,” Hera said as her green, emerald eyes teared up.
“I’m all right,” she said.
She explained her whole story and astonished the dining cowards.
Then, the three told her how they knew about her being captured.
“We were going to rescue you,” Hera reassured, “just after we received a good night of beauty sleep.”
“Mmm hmmm. Sure,” Luna asserted in a sassy tone.
The amazed four bounced up and down with glee, but little did they know, that their happiness would not last forever.
The next day, a whole 24 hours of Hades sulking and screaming, the potion of the dog wore off. The beast was again a mean one, and he became so disturbed by his good mood, that he broke the doors in pieces. He shouted to Hades, “You have one day, to take revenge on that meddlesome girl, and if you fail, I will trap you in here until the next year on this day!”
As quickly as cheetah, Hades flew to his former underworld and plotted the revenge he would take on his prisoner.
What he was not aware of, was that the fortune teller, Zerena, was watching this whole scene intently though her crystal ball. She spread the word to the messenger and told the gods.
Hera was terrified, “If Zeus finds out that Hades is coming to the castle, he’ll kill me!”
“We must do something this time, because Hades is too powerful on the surface now that Athena is not here,” explained Apollo.
“Lightbulb!” Atemis said in a singsong way when she realized something. “Hades might be quick and strong, but he lacks smarts.
“Lacks smarts?” Luna jumped in. “He’s just plain dumb.”
“Exactly,” Artemis continued. “I have a plan. When Hades comes, we will disguise you as someone else. It could be a nymph, a centaur, or even your mother! Then, he will not be able to recognize you because all he cares about is what’s on the outside.”
Care about what’s on the outside? He’s the one who looks like a green, rusted nail. Luna thought.
So, the plan was settled, in the next hour, Luna looked like a nymph. She had a wig of short raven-black hair, and fairy like dress, and shining nails. Even though the dressed up girl knew Hades would possibly still grab a beautiful nymph to keep as his bride, Hade’s only wanted Luna to take revenge on her.
BOOM! A crash of lighting suddenly occurred when the dark lord burst into the blue sky.
Hades searched all around the forests, the meadows, and the caves. Nothing was to be found. Finally, he came to the castle where the gods were still coaching Luna on what to act like to Hades.
He shattered the door as the scent of dread and doom approached the immortals noses.
“Hades!” the crew shouted. “What are you doing here? Who let you in?”
“Let’s just say that if you have a skeleton bone hand, and the power of throwing people to live in the underworld, people will be lenient.” Hades said with a smirk.
He looked around the room, and finally approached the nymph. He asked her for her name, and she responded as “Sania.” The gods explained how they were helping her to do some tricks for her forest’s talent show.
Hades then roamed round Mount Olympus, seeking for the maiden, after the sun had gone down, Hades’ day was up. He was furious, and plunged back behind the gates where the guard dog was waiting for him.
“I’ll be back,” sneered Hades.
So, for the next years, Hades tried, but failed, to find Artemisia in disguise. From looking like a centaur, to Zeus, he was never able to find her. He never gave up though. For the longest time, he has been searching the fields for his woman. Artemisia eventually got married, and Hades was defeated, but today, we still dress ourselves in costumes, on a very scary night; a night filled with howls and laughter of friends. In other words, this adventure of Luna had created Halloween. The night where young maidens and men disguise themselves, so the evil spirits of the night will not take them away into a different world like Luna.
How Loyalty Came To Be
By Annika
Soccerates never understood what was so nice about relaxing and doing nothing. Ever since she was young, she was always go, go, go, and always wanted to make others happy: she valued loyalty. On the other hand, Nike didn’t mind sitting and doing nothing, as long as she won. Nike was the goddess of victory. The mere mortal, Soccerates, was very competitive and didn’t know how to have a clear schedule. Soon, these two competitors would interact and both lives would be changed forever.
One day, as Nike was strolling around on her morning walk, she noticed a large crowd with large posters that said a phrase that Nike could not read. Curiosity overtook her and she walked over to the large gathering of mortals. Nike tapped the shoulder of a particularly tall male mortal with a large sign and asked what the crowd was for.
“Have you been living under a rock?” he said with a smile, “Soccerates is taking on a professional team on her own!” Nike walked away in wonder. Who was Soccerates and why does she attract such a crowd? Nike thought to herself. Nobody could beat me...right?
The next day Nike went back to investigate. This kid is a threat to my fame, Nike determined. Today, there was not a crowd in the same place as yesterday. There was only one mere mortal kicking a ball into an undersized net.
“How sad!” Nike said in an undertone to herself. There is no way this can the Great and Powerful Soccerates! Nike thought with a snicker. Nike started walking over to the mortal. “So you’re Soccerates, the great player that is trying to steal my fame,” Nike sneered, searching the mortal up and down.
“I am doing nothing of the sort,” this teenage girl retorted, “and for your information, I am Soccerates, and I’m proud of it.”
“So I hear you are quite the crowd attractor,” Goddess Nike said back.
“Yes, but I don’t do what I love for fame, like somebody here, but I do it for the Love of soccer.” Soccerates said back with a polite smile, ignoring the burning glare Nike was giving her.
>
“So if you think you are all that, then I challenge you to a competition, if you are up to trying to defeat the one and only Nike, Goddess of Victory,” Nike challenged.
“I would be honored to! I love a good competition!” So it was set. In the morning of the first sunrise of spring, Nike and Soccerates would meet, not knowing what sport either would be doing.
The first event that Nike and Soccerates would be competing against each other in would be Horse Racing. Nike declared that she only had some experience in this sport, but she was very obviously lying through her teeth. Soccerates didn’t mind though, since she just wanted to get on with it and have some fun doing it.
“This is going to be so much fun!” Soccerates stated as she was saddling up her sweet horse, winter.
“Fun?” Nike questioned accusingly, “You are supposed to be trying your very hardest to beat me because we are stating that I am still Goddess of Victory and you are nothing but a mere mortal!” Nike spat in Soccerates face. This boosted up a forest fire in Soccerates.
“Okay, ready Nike?” Soccerates asked, not giving away any of her anger that was bubbling up and ready to burst out.
“Ready is my middle name.” And with that snarky statement they were off. The boundaries were to the end of the ranch, a loop around the large willow tree, and back into the stables. Nike was in the lead by a few yards.
All of a sudden, a rattle snake appeared out of nowhere! Nike saw it just in time, and she swerved her horse out of the snake’s bite range, causing her horse to stumble and trip over her strong legs.
This gave Soccerates the lead, who, only a couple yards behind Nike at the time, saw the snake coming. Winter jumped over the snake. Nike shouted in anguish, then kicked he horse in the sides got the horse’s attention again.
“Are you and your horse okay?” Soccerates turned her horse around and looked at Nike with deep concern in her eyes.
Ignoring the kind comment, “You stupid horse!” Nike screamed. It would take some serious skill to catch up with the couple-hundred-yards-ahead Soccerates and Winter. “Come back here, little girl!” Soccerates’ hair was blowing behind her as if it were waving back to Nike.
Nike’s horse, having been trained for this type of activity, was already catching up to Winter. Soccerates, seeing this, urged Winter faster by squeezing the sides of the blonde horse with her feet. Even with this extra urge, Soccerates was no match for the powerful and trained goddess. Soon enough, Nike was in front of Soccerates, around the willow tree, and into the stables, with Soccerates coming in second.
“Good job. You were really lucky to catch up to me after that stumble!” Soccerates congratulated, dismounting her horse.
“Ha! I don’t need luck. I have skill,” Nike sneered back, ignoring the comment of a well done job.
“Well then, Ms. Skill, we are going to do a game I am personally good at: Soccer,” She challenged.
“Prepare to be defeated, because I am the Goddess of Victory,” Nike bragged.
“Yes, I remember, as you constantly take every chance you can get to tell me that.” Soccerates glared with a mix of annoyance and amusement in her eyes. So the next game the two competitors would be competing in would be a lovely game of one-on-one soccer.
Soccerates and Nike were in the middle of a huge field. The corners of the soccer field were marked by large rocks, as nothing else could be spotted as easily. Since it was only one-on-one, the field was only ten by twenty yards.
“I assume Miss Victory knows all the rules of this game, as she is constantly reminding me that she is the best at every sport,” Soccerates said with a grin.
“Ha, ha. And yes, I do know the rules of this kicky-passy game. Oh, and don’t forget that we are competing to see who is better, and as of right now, and probably when this is done too, I am beating you,” Nike rudely retorted.
“Okay, then, let’s begin. First one to five goals.” Soccerates placed a rubber ball coated in leather down on the dirt, as all of the nice fields were being used at the moment. “The goal I will be shooting at this end,” Soccerates pointed at the southern end of the field, “and you will be shooting at this end.” Soccerates put her fingers up to her mouth and whistled. With that loud sound, the second competition began.
Soccerates started with the ball, as because Nike claimed she was so good that even if she didn’t start, she could still knock the socks off Soccerates. Fleet footed, like the great Achilles, Soccerates zoomed past Nike and past her goal. Even Nike couldn’t hide the amazement she showed on her face. Soccerates fetched the ball and set it back on the halfway line.
“That was just a lucky chance. I still needed to warm up.” Nike counteracted.
“Well, are you all warmed up now because it’s one-nil now?” Noted Soccerates. This time it was Nike’s turn to start with the ball. She put her foot on it and stared into Soccerates eyes, trying to look menacing while choking back the fear. Soccerates loudly whistled and Nike kicked the ball forward, quickly being intercepted by Soccerates’ fast foot. Slow Nike rushed back, trying to defend, stumbled on her own feet, and crashed, face first into the hard dirt. Soccerates, who treasured kindness over winning, left the ball mid-kick to run back and help Nike.
“Are you okay?” Worry burning through Soccerates’ voice. “Would you like a free kick?”
“I’m fine! Get off me, little girl!” Nike shouted with Soccerates clinging to her hands, helping Nike up. “And Nike doesn’t take free-kicks, she can win on her own.” Nike got up and stole the ball, dribbling towards the goal, leaving Soccerates standing there, befuddled at this act of unkindness. So now it was one-one, and it went on like this until it was four to three, Soccerates in the lead.
“Okay, if you score, you win this competition, but if I score, which will probably happen; we play again for final point,” Nike stated.
“Whatever makes sense in your mind,” Soccerates said under her breath, only half listening. Nike had the ball this time. She was more aware of Soccerates’ skill with the ball, but was nowhere near the level of skill as Soccerates. And, in a flash, Soccerates stole the ball and was off towards her own goal. Nike, just now realizing what had happened, stormed off to Soccerates’ goal in anger. Soccerates won that competition and there was nothing Nike could do to change that.
Soccerates chased after Nike, who was now walking towards the end of the park. “You played really well!” Soccerates shouted out after Nike. “But now the competition is even, so we need a tiebreaker.” Nike was obviously not turning around so Soccerates decided to leave it for the day so Nike could have her space.
“I will think of a good game to beat you at, that is actually fair, and then we will see who the best is really,” Nike whispered softly as Soccerates turned away. Soccerates waved a sign of hearing and they went their separate ways.
The next day, Nike decided that she had enough of her weeping around and decided to make a plan to trick Soccerates not stealing her fame. “I need something big that will make everybody forget about Soccerates,” Nike thought aloud. Then she thought of something that would change everything back to the way it used to be before mortals discovered Soccerates. Nike could take away Soccerates’ passion: Soccer. After all, Nike was a god, and Soccerates was only a mere mortal.
The next week, Nike went to the same place where she first heard of the one and only Soccerates She saw Soccerates kicking her sad ball into the goal from the marvelous halfway line.
“She is impressive, but not for long,” Nike whispered under her breath. She walked over to where Soccerates was shooting, and got her attention. “May I have a turn?” Nike asked sweetly to a surprised Soccerates at the kindness of her voice.
“Of course, anytime.” Soccerates backed away from the ever slightly rolling ball. Nike picked the ball up, thumbing a needle in her hand. Pretending to place the ball down in a position to kick, Nike pricked the ball with the needle in her hand and a slight brownish color seeped through the cracks of the leather ball.
It was a potion from an Eversite leaf that will take away memory as soon as made contact with, although Nike altered it so it would take away Soccerates’ passion instead.
“You know what? I think I want to see you kick it instead. I just don’t feel as if I am strong enough to shoot from this distance, so step right up and take my place,” Nike insisted. With a questioningly look, Soccerates kicked the ball perfectly into the goal. As soon as her foot touched the ball, Soccerates collapsed on the ground in front of Nike. Nike knew that, when Soccerates woke, she would no longer love soccer, or have anything to do with it.
The next morning, Nike woke up feeling great, knowing that Soccerates would no longer worry her anymore. She walked out to the field where Soccerates normally played, and noticed that the crowd was there. Did the potion not work? Does it not work if it is purposely inflicted on somebody else? Nike thought, thousands of worries running through her head. She tapped a mortal girl on the shoulder, who looked as though she might be about fifteen years old. Why is there a crowd here?” Nike asked sweetly.
“Because Soccerates isn’t here. A manager from a really famous English team is here to watch her play. If he likes it, she is going to be offered a spot on this team...of all boys! She would be the first ever girl on a boys’ team! This could change the way girls are thought of in the future. If she doesn’t show up, she is going to miss a chance of a lifetime.” The girl lectured.
Guilt started creeping into Nike like night creeps up after a sunset. Was it possible that because of my competitiveness, Soccerates could pass up a chance of a lifetime, and probably change the future of all girls? Nike denied her thoughts and told herself that because of this, people would be able to focus on what is truly right, herself.
Throughout that day, Nike was hit with tsunamis of guilt. Towards the middle of the day, Nike started realizing and accepting that all of this was her fault. She decided that to make this right, she needed to find Soccerates and extract the Eversite poison. This would be hard though, considering the fact that the only place Nike had ever seen Soccerates was the soccer field, and obviously, that was not where she was going to be.
The only way to extract the Eversite poison would be to rub Neversite leafs on the spot where the Eversite poison touched. Nike already had the leaves, so all she needed was the mortal. Guilt still weighed on Nike’s shoulders, as she knew that there was no way to get the English soccer manager back here to give Soccerates another chance.
The only place that came to mind was the field, so Nike decided she would check there to see if she could find any clues to if Soccerates was anywhere near.
At the field, Nike found that the crowd was gone. There was only the girl that Nike had been stressing about all day: Soccerates was here. Nike sprinted over to Soccerates, explained the whole thing, and extracted the poison. Nike could feel some of the guilt lift off, but there was still the fact about the English manager, which Nike also told Soccerates about. When Nike finished telling Soccerates what had happened, Nike could not read the expression on her face.
“The only thing that matters to me,” Soccerates said slowly, “is that you came back to me. Loyalty.” And with that word, Soccerates turned away, and walked. She did not turn around, or speak, only left Nike all alone, watching the soccer player float away. Nike sat there for the rest of that night, thinking about that one word: Loyalty. After a while, the word finally became clear.
Soccerates cared about me and my horse when we stumbled over that snake: she was willing to risk the chance of me beating her to make sure we were okay, and with the soccer game, when I fell, she ignored the ball, which cost her a point, just to make sure I wasn’t injured. She was loyal to me even through competition. Something I was too rude to notice, and not once did I thank her for caring about me. And when I came back to her because I felt guilty, she noticed. Soccerates doesn’t care about stealing my fame. She only cares about other people before herself. Soccerates puts loyalty before competition, something I couldn’t do.
Nike and Soccerates never saw each other again, but the meaning of the word loyalty stayed with them forever, passed on through many generations.