The Fates (Book II)

Previously on The Fates...

PREVIOUSLY on The Fates ...

Since this series is set up like a TV show in book form, I thought it'd be nice to post a recap of previous episodes, in case it's helpful to recall important characters and events :)  A lot happened in Book I, and many of you read it a while ago—so if anyone would like a little reminder, here you go! ^.^

Of course, if you read Book I recently and/or have a great memory, feel free to skim—maybe just glance at the words in bold, to make sure that you remember what they signify—or you can just skip ahead ;)

P.S. For any who have not yet seen the awesome fanmade trailer for The Fates, or who would like to see it again, the video is posted as media here! :)

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Thousands of years ago, in 2020 B.C....

The three Fates—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—dwelt in the Cave. The only soul to ever visit them there was their mother Ananke, the goddess of necessity. One fateful day, Ananke suddenly appeared in a desperate panic and urged the Fates to place their own golden immortal threads upon the Loom... thus descending to earth. Before their last farewell, Ananke gave Clotho the Book of Fate—an endless scroll decreeing the course of destiny—and bade her to write it, if it ever stopped being written.

Each Fate landed in a different place on earth. Clotho was taken captive by a band of bandits in Ancient Greece, led by Rider, along with his mentor Dictys and companion Chrysaor. Lachesis landed at Stonehenge, where a kind boy named Donal came to care for her. Atropos arrived in Ancient Egypt, where she seduced the Pharaoh and witnessed the bloody trial of two brothers convicted in his court.

Upon falling asleep on earth for the first time, the Fates suddenly found themselves back in the immortal realm (which, as they later learned, would always happen when they slept in mortal form: they'd return to the Cave in their dreams). Clotho found, to her shame and dismay, that she could not read the Book of Fate, let alone write it. The Fates left the Cave to find a devastated, desolate Olympus, where they encountered the original primordial deity: Chaos. She told them that her daughter, Nyx, goddess of the night, devoured all the other deities in pursuit of absolute power... and that Nyx was now after their mother. The Book of Fate was still being written, indicating that Ananke was alive. But while Ananke fled from Nyx, every passing moment put her life at greater risk. Chaos told the Fates that Nyx drew strength from rising darkness in the heart of humankind. Each Fate decided on her own way to deal with the darkness.

Clotho returned to Rider's camp, drawn by passions that grew over time as a bond formed between them, and determined to try to make a better man of him. While among mortals, she took on the name of Cloe. Lachesis stayed in the Cave, for fear of the earth; in the meantime, Donal died while trying to find her. His father Ames, believing her to be a demon, formed a Guild devoted to hunting down Lachesis and her kind (supernatural beings walking the earth in the form of beautiful women). Atropos arrived in Ancient Mesopotamia and was distracted from her task by carnal urges; she then ventured through the Cedar Forest to the legendary temple of Gilgamesh, where she met a man of great virtue—the first man to spurn her advances. Though scarred by the rejection, she was inspired by his virtue to perform her task with greater focus and purpose: saving victims of injustice, rooting out evil in the world by finding and slaughtering dark-hearted souls.