When I was younger, I was naive. I was filled with bright ideas and optimistic beliefs of what the world beyond my village must look like. My utopia was quite simple, the jinn would follow the rules of life that were given to us by our Creator and the humans would follow the rules and doctrine give to them by our Creator. Now, as I stared at the woman who welcomed me into her home, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been.
"You've made quite a name for yourself, Zrous," the female jinni smiled.
"Well, that's not fair. You know my name and I don't know yours," I pointed out.
"Hazia," the woman began, "Hazia, daughter of Yeifal and Roeca."
"Hazia, thank you for saving me. I was certain that I was to meet my Creator soon. I do not know your parents' names unfortunately," I explained. I glanced towards where Olympus had been and realized that it was merely a speck in the distance.
"Not surprising, since you don't even know the Olympians," Hazia smirked.
"Olympians?" I asked in confusion. Was she talking about the jinn that lived on Olympus? Was she talking about my brother and his family?
"The twelve Olympic gods. The ones that just tried to kill you. Really? You know so little about our world. No wonder you're fearless when it comes to challenging them. Where did you come from, Zrous?" Hazia asked before leading me towards the mouth of the cave.
"Mother, you're not really bringing him into our home, are you?" Denit asked in disbelief.
"He is our guest. I didn't ask you to find him, much less save his life, for nothing, Denit," Hazia replied.
"The Olympians want him dead. They haven't found us yet, but what will they do when they don't see him crushed against the base of Olympus, Mother?" Denit asked angrily. "They'll look for him!"
"I can leave," I volunteered. "I don't want to put your community at risk for anything."
Hazia sighed and grasped Denit by his neck before forcing him to look at me. The younger jinni fought against his mother's grips before exclaiming,
"Okay! I get it! His fire is special! I just don't want our community to pay for his actions."
"Come, Zrous. Let me introduce you to our village," Hazia smiled before leading me into the cave.
"Hazia! You've brought an outsider into our homes!" An angry male jinni called out before I could be given a tour.
"Relax, Xayran. I have found him, the one called Zrous. Look at his fire," Hazia explained.
"It s true then. You are the one challenging the Olympians?" Xayran asked in awe.
"I'm not challenging them. I'm correcting their wrongs. They are not gods, but simply of the jinn," I corrected.
"I have not heard that word in centuries," Xayran whispered. He was the oldest amongst the cave dwelling jinn, I noted, and commanded a great deal of respect from his peers.
"Then you know their words are nothing but lies?" I asked in confusion. The elder jinni nodded causing me to angrily add, "Then why not stop them from embarking on the path to damnation?"
"Have you seen them, Zrous? They were given abilities we could only dream of. We're not worried about their damnation, that path has already been set. What we're worried about is the corruption of future generations," Xayran whispered.
"How long have you hidden here?" I asked, only to be violently countered by Denit.
"We are NOT hiding! This is our home!" Denit growled. "We're not cowards like the Olympians who sit atop a mountain all day and slaughter humans."
"I meant no disrespect, young one," I immediately corrected before glancing towards Hazia. "I truly meant no disrespect. I was thinking that it was only logical to remain hidden until you could take on the Olympians, as you say. You are right, Xayran, they are very powerful. That being said, they are not immortal, thus they are not invincible."
"You're very optimistic, Zrous," Xayran began, "but optimism will only get you so far against them. My peers were optimists as well and now, they no longer exist. They possess weapons that burn you to extinction."
"I know those weapons very well. I'm not being optimistic, Xayran, just being realistic. They are made of the same matter we are. They can be brought down," I explained.
"Before you do anything else, you need to rest. We can talk more about the Olympians later," Hazia suggested.
*****
My hosts were kind, as if grateful that someone had the daring to stand up to Zeus. I couldn't tell them that my courage came from knowing the jinni on a personal level. It was obvious that Zeus and Hera had put their pasts behind them and were simply hell bent on ruining the world. Still, there had to be some remnant of the brother I had been raised with. There had to be some sort of remorse that he felt for his actions.
"Zrous," Hazia called out from behind me. I had woken up earlier than the rest of the village and decided to take in the view of the ocean outside of the cave. My sister-in-law tried once again to kill me, my brother was the "king of the gods," and the majority of his children were despicable when it came to their personalities. I had plenty to think about, and it seemed Hazia had taken note of it.
"I didn't mean to wake anyone else," I began, but was waved off by Hazia.
"I've had many sleepless nights as well. I won't pry. You nearly died yesterday by the hands of one of the Olympians. I'd say you have every right to take time to yourself," Hazia nodded before sitting on a rock along the coast.
"Can you tell me about them? The Olympians?" I asked before sitting on a rock across from her.
"What would you like to know?" Hazia asked.
"Everything. How they came to be. How long they have been around. Anything," I whispered urgently.
"I don't understand why you were chosen," Hazia began.
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.
"Your fire. My elders would take about the "Enlightened," the ones with unique fire. They were chosen by our Creator to do good in the world. They were wise and ancient. You know nothing of this world, seem naive, and quite young," Hazia continued.
"I know nothing about what your elders have taught you. I do not have he luxury of indulging in your speculation about me. Every second I waste, Ares murders another human. Every second I stall, Hera destroys another jinni. All I know is that I must stop them from corrupting society. I have to," I whispered fiercely.
"I hope you destroy them. When I heard about you from a passing ship of humans, I wanted to help you in any way that I could. That is why I sent Denit to find you. The Olympians killed my parents because they wouldn't embrace the concept of being "gods." I know Denit says that we aren't hiding, but truth be told, we are. I will do anything to protect my son. I'm not strong enough to take on the Olympians by myself but with you, we may have a chance," Hazia whispered seriously.
As I watched Hazia speak, I noticed something strange happening. Her words seemed to be slowing down until she simply stopped as if someone had pressed pause on our life. I looked around at my surroundings and noticed that even the waves seemed to have slowed down, as if someone was controlling the speed of the world. I stood up in confusion and reached out to touch Hazia, but before I could make sense of what was happening, something extraordinary happened.
A light, brighter than any light I had ever seen, hurtled from the heavens towards the horizon. The speed the light seemed to move was so incredibly fast that it seemed to stretch towards the horizon rather than moving towards that location. I felt as if the very fiber of my being would unravel simply by being in the light's presence. Could it be? I had heard stories about this light when I was a mere ember. Whenever something needed to be done in the human world, the light was sent by our Creator. As if sensing my thought process, the light slowed in time to glance towards me before continuing it's journey.
"Jibrail?" I whispered in awe.