The Curse of the Broken Shrinking God

A Wall of Grace

The fair maiden with the blazing red hair squeezed the Dark One's hand as the pangs of labor tore through her.  Zeus paced back and forth between them and the dragon becoming more anxious the closer the dragon who now had shimmers of red scales and large horns neared.

The time had come.  The maiden screamed as her child began to be birthed.  But she had more than one in her and there was a struggle.  The one who was first to crown was yanked back as a glowing bright one slipped out.  Zeus felt his knees grow weak but he gathered his courage realizing he was now the last barricade between the dragon and his prey.

The child was glowing so bright the dark one had to adjust to the brightness as he caught him.  "Surely this is the one!  The one of your vision!"  He looked glancingly at his beloved as he clasped the child to him.  "I will guide him to safety!"

"Whe...wai..."  The maiden was catching her breath as the next child was already crowning.  "He's not the onnnneeee!"

But Dark One had already cloaked the child of light and vanished into the darkness.

The maiden raised her head in hopes Zeus was near to be met with the foul odor of dragon breath.  The dragon had taken on the flanks of a lion.  He had six wings and ten horns.  He was so large, his body snaked back far into the distance.  Hues of rainbow shimmers glowed from his iridescent scales.  The maiden was but a shiny pebble for him to hold in his grasp.

She screamed but not for the dragon once forgotten in the channeling of her strength to birth.  She wished she could hold them in.  Keep them safe.  Maybe to hold them another day.  But she was the embodiment of pure wisdom.  She knew the way to go.  The Dark One completely trusted her.  She wished she could hold him one last time.  She reached down to hold her son.

More children kept coming.  More than she had arms to hold.  The dragon was giving his speech but she was too groggy to care.  Tears ran down her cheeks as she bid her love to her babies finally stopping with the twelfth child.  

"Is that all then?  The Dark One gave me up for these?  Which one is it that's to take my place in his heart?  Like it matters.  I will destroy them all!!!"  He bellowed as he reached up to take a great breath.

The maiden with her arms full of young attempted to consume the smoke and flame with her mouth protecting her cherished treasures.  The mighty winds hardened to soot in her mouth as the dragon continued to expel flame from deep within him.  She fought it, taming it with her tongue just to buy one more moment of precious time before it became coals of dark lava dripping through her throat.  The everlasting flame reached to her very heart as it channeled it to two.

Content the dragon scorched the rest of her ensuring that none could survive.  

~

The dark one glanced longingly back as the screams faded.  He wanted to mourn as he fought back sorrow but the child was squirming in his arms.

"Let me go Father!"  The child pounded his father's chest.  "It is my destiny to slay the dragon!"  "I want to fight!"  "Let me go Father"  

But the Dark One just stopped staring blankly before him numbly holding his son.  That's when he heard the cry.