Akiyo Rei
Legacy Name: Akiyo Rei

My name is Otulissa; I wish to tell you my tale of how the Gods have wronged me. I apologize for its length, and I promise not to give you too many details for I do not wish to incite the wrath of the Gods further, whether it be brought down upon you or me.

I was once a princess of a Polis. Our city was built next to the Ocean, and because of that we thrived through trade. We grew powerful because of our trade routes, and with the money we made we were able to possess a well-trained militia and naval force, on standby. Any force that tried to attack us was repelled. In the early years, our people feared pirate raids, but my father put an end to the pirates when he became king. He built up our naval power and crushed the pirates on the open seas. The people hailed him also their savior. He made the city livable for the common people through his reforms. It had been that men who borrowed were required to pay back everything they had been given with compensation. Many times these men could not afford to pay back their debt. If this happened they were sold into slavery, and their land was sold. The profits of both were given in compensation to loaner. When these men came out of their debt bondage, they were left with nothing and forced to once again borrow. It was a vicious cycle, and my father saw this, and ended it. This reform pleased the commoners but angered the wealthy. My father became a type of champion for the poor.

With all of my father’s accomplishments, he and my mother were unable to conceive a child. They tried for many years, but the end result was always a failure. The Nobles began to use this failure to undermine their king. They lusted after his power. They said he was unworthy of his position. The nobles created horrible rumors and said that the Gods didn’t love my parents. My mother and father prayed to Hera, queen of the Gods, and begged her for help. Hera answered their prayers with three girls. This enraged the nobles further. They tried to argue that women weren’t strong enough to succeed the throne, but the commoners disregarded their words. They were pleased with any child their beloved king and queen gave them.

When I, the third child, was born they rejoiced. The commoners stated I was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. They called me the little Goddess, and told me my smile could heal any disease. People would travel from all around just to see me. They’d beg to touch me just once and when they succeeded they would go away happy. This lasted for fifteen years until an old crone with white wispy hair came to our Basileia. She walked past the guards who let her through as if she belonged. No one questioned her presence within the palace until she walked up to my parents. She bowed to them and told them she was an Oracle sent by the God Apollo to meet with me, their daughter, alone. They called me immediately and waited outside the room. When I arrived they told me to enter by myself, and when I did so, the room was filled with a thick smoke. I could see almost nothing except the two white lights coming from the Oracles’ eyes. She stood in the middle of the room her voice was hoarse, and her whole body began to vibrate as she chanted. She raised her arms towards the heavens, as if she was holding something up to the Gods. Everything seemed to slow down as her chanting became faster and faster. Her body began to vibrate so fast while she chanted that her body became nothing but a blur. When I finally reached her she turned her glowing eyes on me, and while she chanted she began to talk directly to me. The chanting never interrupted the words directed at me, they overlapped and wove together, almost becoming one.

“Welcome my child. You’ve grown so beautiful. I’ve sent my servant to you for it is time that you hear your destiny.

We shall start with the beginning of man and its continual destruction. There have been four ages of man. The first one was ruled over by Cronos and his Titans. These men lived without strife or labor; their death was like falling into a deep sleep. This generation lived within the Golden Age. Zeus when he overthrew Cronos destroyed the Golden race of man with fire, for he feared they would rise up against him. Zeus created the next generation, The Silver Age. These humans lived for one hundred years, playing childish games and suckling their mother’s bosom. Once they became an adult, they lived for a short period of time regretting their life as a child. Zeus angered by this destroyed them in a sea of fire just as he had with the Golden Age. The third generation of man, the Bronze Age, destroyed itself. They were the strongest and most warlike out of all. After their destruction the Heroic Age began. Many heroes were created in this world and many led themselves down the path to destruction. The rest Zeus let live untouched by sorrow in Elysium, the Island of the Blest…

There, however, is a fifth generation of man and the final one, the Iron Age, and this is the one you live in, and it will be destroyed by Zeus. He will grow angry because of the choices the Men of the Iron Age will make. He will wish for their destruction as they wish for his. We, the Gods, will fall from our thrones when we become too powerless to fight our inevitable doom. We gain our power through the humans who worship us. Once Zeus destroys the Iron Age of mankind we will fall into a deep sleep, and will eventually cease to exist. You, however, will live on and will be beyond the beauty of any God or Goddess. This existence comes at a price; you will suffer according to the wishes of one, who is fated to be your enemy. You will remain more beautiful than the Gods until the end of time when the world crumbles to dust. Age shall never touch your beauty.

You will bring about calamity to the people of your Polis for the one who desires your destruction will send plagues to ruin this kingdom. She will call upon Poseidon to aid her with a fearsome monster that will ravage the coast. Only one thing will be able to save them, and that is you appeasing the Goddess you have wronged.”

As the woman finished speaking the vibrations began to slow, as did the chanting, which had become nothing more than incoherent high-pitched shrieks. The smoke began to dissipate, and the woman fell to the ground, unconscious. When I left the room, my parents asked, with worried looks, what had happened I explained to them about the vibrations and the chanting, and I told them everything the Oracle had said.

Soon word got out about the Oracle’s visit and her prophecy