Short Story: The Legend of Antarcticus

This is an epic made of mythology, which was inspired by a dream I had about a warrior woman named Antarcticus, a tower, and a king. Jadefireeyes

Once a king constructed a tower to the stars, and he decided to resurrect Antarcticus. No one knows what she is, or how she was born, but the force of her birth caused Pangaea to arise out of ocean water. Millions of years later, she slew the dinosaurs and other monsters unknown to the human imagination. But her greatest fiend was Erescedence, the mother of all beasts. Erescedence was enraged that Antarcticus was killing all her immortal children, so she trapped her in Polaris, the North Star for all eternity.

Antarcticus was a legend to all beings. When she fought monsters, she was a terrible monster herself, and killed them with tooth and claw. She was an earthly child, and that made her strong. Erescedence, however had the essence of something else. She had star dust in her spine and the night in her jaw, and scaly skin too radiant for mortals to look at. Her name became the basis of a word we use: iridescent. When humans became numerous on this world, they sheltered inside caves for fear of venturing outside where they would disappear into her gaping maw. At this time Antarcticus had taken the form of an intelligent woman with spears and other weapons, and this gave them inspiration to make tools of their own. They called her “Warrior-woman”.

As monsters slowly disappeared from the planet and people became more populous, Antarcticus ceased warfare for the first time in eons and focused on civilization. She dwelled into the useful battle tactics of stationary forts and other such architecture. The humans mimicked her, and settled down in their now secure communities and started to farm. They revered her as a goddess. She represented revolution, progression. Victory in war.

Erescedence was the first and the last of the pure race of monsters, and so as all her kin reproduced, the fierce blood of the beast lessened its intensity. Soon enough even the most primitive humans could fend them off. But Erescedence remained as invincible as she was millions of years ago, back when the universe met the masculine spirit of Chaos and thus Erescedence was created. She did not originate on Earth. Her roots traced back to the very substance of Unknown, which made her unmovable, unbreakable and therefore undefeatable. Her heart was a tsunami. Her life was violence, unhonorable murder.

She always detested Antarcticus, the Child of Earth. The mother of monsters could not to this point seek out a way to destroy her, for she was more resourceful and adaptable than ever in her human form. So she froze her in a star, her pulsing blood in the sky.

When Antarcticus in all her prowess left the world, a great desolation fell upon the humans. Instead of fighting as one against the monsters and raging outside hardships, they fought amongst themselves. They turned away from the great and beautiful Antarcticus to other gods and idols. The female warrior could only watch the only race she ever loved with a cold gaze, only guide lost travelers by Polaris because of the laws of the zenith and celestial dome. Their creations became imperfect, their knowledge diminished. But the loss had implanted them a sense of emptiness in descending generations, a desire to discover something hidden. The people created science. But without the guidance of Antarcticus it was impractical.

The king knew the tower was possible. Science had covered the world a need to doubt everything and believe nothing. To reach the stars he only needed a right way of looking. The construction took many years and workers.

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Antarcticus emerged in the form of a small child, grasping a knife with diamonds on its hilt. She knew the old king wanted to use her for his own benefit so she plunged the weapon into his throat and left him dead on the floor of the tower. She raced down the stairs and entered into the world.

She at first crushed ants with her foot who were acting uncivil as practice to make fairness. The girl had no memories of being Antarcticus. Instead, she “lived each day like for the first time, and learned how to do this thing called justice”.

The day she turned thirty she ceased aging, because the only way to fight well was to stay immortally young. She kept her body in well shape but now had senior experience. At this time Erescedence did not yet know that her enemy had evaded her, and caused no more harm than usual. She bordered the world by lying in a loop and every time she breathed, she created the tides. Each time she stirred she woke up a tsunami.

On learning Antarcticus had escaped she vowed to drown every last of the woman’s beloved race, so she stormed in Oceana and created storms like never witnessed before. The woman knew it was time. Time to kill the great monster.

So she sought the giant snake, and she lead her to a great expanse of snow where the native semi-monsters ate ice and birds swam like fish. They fought for many days and nights. The sky thundered endlessly, the lightning vowed never to stop flickering. The shorelines were engulfed by the sea, and it rained, rained, rained, until deserts became fertile enough for forests and forests were flooded past revival. Months passed and Erescedence still lived, while Antarcticus quickly tired. It was now or never.

“Tell me, O Snake, mother of all monsters and evil things, what will it take to slaughter you?”

The she-demon gave a hiss that rattled the monsters. “Nothing can kill me. I am inviccccible. You may have sssslewn my children, but not me. You can try for the resssst of Time! Antarcticussss, you will never desssstroy me.” She opened up her jaws in a grin.

The sword of Antarcticus flashed like the lightning overhead as it sought a weak spot. “Then maybe invincibility also makes you wise. Who are you, and what am I?” She wanted desperately some information. The legends about her birth were inaccurate. She needed to fully know herself, and know her rival if she was to succeed.

The snake paused for the first time in weeks, as though thinking this request over. “I am Eresssscedencccce, the offsssspring of Chaossss and the Universssse. Assss for you, Antarcticussss, you are the daughter of Earth, which makessss you weak.” Her mighty tail flicked mockingly. “I am the sssspawn of sssstars.”

She gestured with her gruesome head at the night sky. “You ssssee them? Eyessss, watching, protecting me. Loving me, if you wissssh to usssse that foolissssh human emottttion.”