Rebecca Newton and the Sacred Flame

By Mario Routi

Rebecca’s life is about to change!

In the beginning, the ancient Gods created not just the earth. They also created three other worlds: the Elysian Fields, a paradise where they themselves live; Tartarus, the dark world of demons and Titans, ruled over by the ancient deity Cronus; and finally the Land of the White Sun, where all the heroes and creatures of myth dwell – Centaurs and Minotaurs, Cyclopes and Gorgons, Amazons and flying horses! In this land the Creator planted the Sacred Flame, the Cosmic Source that keeps the universe in balance and must be protected from the Dark monsters and Evil Gods who desire to seize it, in order to destroy all the worlds.

Hearing that Rebecca is charismatic, Turgoth, ruler of the kingdom of Beast, arranges for her abduction. When the two of them come face to face, they realise that there is a strange bond between them and their destinies become entwined forever. But although they start to share deep feelings for each other, they are doomed to fight on opposite sides...

Rebecca Newton and the Sacred Flame is a tale of epic wars, grand passions, mythical creatures and ancient Gods – an adventure story which reaches to the core of what we mean when we speak of “Good” and “Evil”.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oak Tree Press
• Release date: Mar 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781783334391

Book preview

2013

Prologue: Genesis

Aeons ago, the Creator created both the Titans and the Gods. He saw them first in his dreams and visions and, after he had created them, they lived on with him, long before the universe was born.

He loved them and cared for them as if they were his children, teaching them the great creative arts. When the Gods started painting and sculpting, the Creator watched their efforts proudly and said nothing, knowing not to intervene, like a prudent father anxious not to discourage his children’s imaginations.

Each God concentrated on depicting his individual favourite theme. Hephaestus, for instance, would paint using great swirls of red, orange and yellow and eventually created fire. Poseidon preferred the cool blues and greens, which led to him creating water.

The more they drew and painted, carved and sculpted, the better their technical skills became and there was a growing coherence between each of their works - as if many separate pieces of one great plan were coming together by design.

Finally, the Creator spoke up, summoning them all to one place in order to lay out his plans to them. Although they were Gods themselves, they listened to his every word, absorbed and continually astonished by his wisdom and his vision.

The time has come for you to work in unison, he boomed. From now on you will labour together in order to create a mighty work of art, each of you exercising your freedom of expression and imagination. Every one of you will leave your personal mark on the project while bearing in mind the rough outline that I am proposing. I will not be intervening at any point in your task. I will merely be watching your progress and willing you to succeed. You are all my creations and I am happy to see you moving forward with your work in companionship, setting your common goals in harmony, complementing each other’s efforts, and creating your own individual pieces of the puzzle.

Inspired by the Creator’s faith in them, the Gods set to work with both love and enthusiasm. A fabulous variety of colours and materials started to fill the endless chaos. Dazzling, bright hues contrasted with darker and subtler tones as the mighty artwork slowly started to come to life, growing into the greatest masterpiece that had ever been created.

True to his word, the Creator merely waited and watched the development of his work as it moved inexorably toward perfection.

The Titans were also watching the progress of the Gods’ work and some of them began to talk amongst themselves, speculating as to whether they should add some extra details to the work. Would the Creator look favourably on them, they wondered, and appreciate their skills? The more they talked the more certain they became that if they did this they would be able to make themselves stand out from the Gods and that they would consequently find themselves raised to the top of the pecking order.

Some of them were actually annoyed that there was still a lot of empty space in the artwork, which they felt they should have been invited to fill. Others wanted to retain ownership of at least some of their creations and were reluctant to hand everything over to the Creator.

Since we are the designers, they said, our works belong to us!

The other Titans listened to their more vociferous companions, nodding wisely all the while, until eventually they were all in agreement; they should be rewarded for their work. The Gods, however, remained strongly opposed to the idea.

In this way, little by little, an unpleasant darkness crept into existence - a souring of the atmosphere and a malevolence of spirit.

Still, the Creator merely watched, lost in thought as he looked down on the turn of the events. Eventually he rose from his seat and reached out his hand to his creations - both to the Gods and the Titans.

You were all created in my own image, he said. "But you are all very different. Germs of envy and jealousy have been taking root in your souls, leading to greed and ingratitude. I made you powerful, and most powerful of all are the Titans, but you have dared to ignore my commands.

"You would be unable to do any of this without my permission. You know that if I wanted, I could terminate your existence. The reason this artwork and all of you still exist is because I am allowing it. I promised you I wouldn’t interfere and I will keep my word. But it is clear that the destiny of the creatures who are about to be brought into existence is to live in a parallel world where both Good and Evil will exist and where they will constantly be forced to decide which path to choose.

Study your paintings and your sculptures carefully, for this is the world you are creating - the sphere that will be your home from now on. You will be this world’s Gods. You will be its dawn and dusk. And your King will be Zeus, because he is gentle and wise. I am withdrawing from the project in order to rest for a while. Later, I plan to build new universes, as well as new Gods, both for your own cosmos and for the other realms that I will create. Remember that you are still entitled to create new worlds yourselves, but only once and never again.

At that moment the Gods were flooded with light and gained the ability to possess knowledge. They learned about the past and they became virtually all-knowing about the present. They were even able to predict some parts of the future. But it would never have been possible for them to know absolutely everything because that would have made them almighty and omniscient, privileges that belonged only to the Creator.

Continuing with the task that had been set before them, the Gods watched the dawn of the new world - the genesis of millions of different species of animals and of human beings. They admired their creations and they loved them. They believed this was the final stage in the completion of the artwork - the last step that made the world beautiful, lacking nothing. Meanwhile the Titans were growing increasingly restive and they hatched plans to dominate the Gods’ creations by turning them into their slaves, taking pleasure in the thought of people in pain and finding amusement in the misery of others.

The Gods, however, all stood steadfastly beside their individual creations and this was the beginning of the very first conflict between Good and Evil.

Zeus, King of the Gods, saw what was happening and called a meeting of all the Gods to decide what should be done. He convinced them to unite and face down the Titans, which led to the first Clash of the Titans. In the course of the struggles many Gods were killed, but eventually they triumphed and the Titans were overthrown, banished and imprisoned in Tartarus for all time.

The fact that they were imprisoned, however, did not stop them from constantly dreaming of amassing a new army powerful enough to eliminate the Gods and to enthrone them in their place. In their hearts, however, they always knew it was no more than a dream and so they laid out other - more devious - plans for revenge. They decided that they would convert as many people as possible to their side, making them want to destroy His Creation, the World, and enticing them to join them in Tartarus, where they would become their slaves.

Aware of what was happening, Zeus called a new meeting, at which the Gods divided up the World in parts and went to live amongst the people. Each God took the place which best befitted him in order to watch over and protect the people from the forces of Evil whenever possible. Dozens of Gods left their home on Mount Olympus, leaving behind only the primeval Gods, with the exception of Poseidon, who was sent to the Sea due to his everlasting love of water. There, he became God of the Oceans and of all the creatures that live within them.

The son of Erebus and Earth, who was later considered to be the personification of Cosmogony, asked the Creator to send him to the Skies.

Earth would be nothing without the Sky, he explained, It would be a dark, dull place. Tartarus has no sky and that is why it is Hell. The sky is beautiful and peaceful. This is why I want to live there, so that I will be happy and free.

And so it came to pass, and this God was named Uranus.

The Gods took on human form so that they could walk among human beings whenever they wanted to, in the bodies of either men or women. This allowed them to observe people’s problems from close by and to propose solutions to anyone who needed them. In this way they did not interfere with the element of free choice. They also taught human beings the arts of painting, sculpture, poetry and music.

Meanwhile the Titans created the one who was given many different names by human beings, including Satan, Diablo and the Devil, and he taught people completely different things. Mainly, he instilled in people a hunger for the art of War.

Why shouldn’t you be the dominant ones? he would whisper in their ears, repeating the same words to everyone he came upon, sowing the seeds of greed in their minds, creating a thirst for domination in their hearts and a lust for power.

In their own search for power, the Titans and the Devil came up with the concept of money. Their thinking was that if they invented something that everybody believed they needed and for which people would be ready to make sacrifices in order to obtain it, it would become a powerful weapon. War was their main aim and they soon realised that humans could easily be persuaded to fight one another for money.

The Devil worked tirelessly to spread the message. Why, he would ask people, should you share the things you have strived for?

But what other option do we have? people asked.

Why, to sell those things to other people, the Devil said, as if it were the most perfect of answers.

"What does sell mean?" they asked.

It means that you will give them what they want and, in return, you will receive from them what you need.

With those few words the concept of trade was born. To begin with, it was simply the exchange of products. Someone would give apples and receive oranges. Two sheep would equal one cow. But, in time, this developed into different kinds of trade. The most complex of which occurred when somebody had something that no one else had, but everyone needed. The owner of that rare thing, rather than trade it for an object of equal value, would try to exchange it for something even more rare.

What should I demand in this trade? they would ask the Devil.

The Devil would deliberately propose unreasonable things, which inevitably led to conflicts. To solve these conflicts the Devil suggested the solution that had been in his mind all along - the invention of money.

It was at that moment that the Gods saw what was happening and decided that they must intervene.

I will not allow this evil to continue manifesting itself! Zeus roared.

Too late, the Devil sniggered. The lust for power and wealth has already spread through the whole of humanity.

Determined to limit the spread of evil as much as possible, Zeus appointed the Goddess of Wisdom, his daughter Athena, to divide out money and give it to people who truly deserved it, according to the quality of various elements, including their minds, their strength, their mood, their beliefs and their characters.

Athena did as she was bid, but no human beings seemed able to comprehend the wisdom of this action. None of them was willing to accept the superiority of any other. Every person asked, Why him and not me?

All of them considered themselves superior to everyone else and none believed that the Gods had treated them justly.

The Devil took advantage of this, adding fuel to the fire and sowing more seeds of doubt and jealousy in people’s minds.

You have seen how the Gods treat you, he told everyone. All the time that you were admiring and loving them, they were laughing at you.

So, the people said, what do you suggest we do?

As I have always told you, you should fight! You should stand up for your rights and prove your true value to everyone who has dared to doubt you.

Believing that they saw the sense in the Devil’s argument, men started to fight and the first wars between human beings spread across the vast lands like a forest fire, while the Devil continually fanned the flames.

Watching the horrors unfold before them, Zeus and the other Gods realised that humans would always be vulnerable and easily enticed into the nets of Evil. Thus, they would have to be continually alert in the struggle for Good.

This struggle continued as the centuries turned into millennia. Wars were forever breaking out, but alongside the times of mindless destruction there were also great peacetime achievements which led to the discoveries of science and technology. But alas, these too relied on money in order to progress and they often led to human manipulation and wars. Moral depravity and environmental destruction ran parallel to progress in medicine and longevity.

Humans didn’t take care of the environment and failed to respect the many beautiful plants and animals that the Gods had created for them thousands of earth years before.

Mankind learned how to travel to other planets but at the same time created weapons so powerful that they eventually destroyed the planet and every single living being on it, so that only the Gods survived.

The Gods wept when they saw what had become of their creation and at the loss of so many beautiful things. But as they reflected on the destruction, their sadness turned to anger and finally their anger was replaced by a determination to restore life to the planet. They vowed to do all they could to stop it from ever being destroyed again.

They also formed a safe haven which they called the ‘Elysian Fields,’ a paradise of lush growth, waterfalls, animals and exotically coloured birds, and they decided to exile anyone who attempted to harm the world to Tartarus.

Then they created ‘The Land of the White Sun,’ a place for all the mythical creatures of the ancient worlds. It was there that they placed the Sacred Flame, the Universal Cosmic Source which would keep the world in balance and ensure its continued existence.

The Gods also created the Orizons, an advanced species of humans who travelled between the Land of the White Sun and the Earth. They were made the secret guardians and protectors of the Sacred Flame, which was the source of their power.

The Titans, however, were never going to give up that easily. Their ambition became to destroy the new worlds too and to seize the Sacred Flame, thereby acquiring its power to use in freeing themselves and kill the Gods who they hated with an all-consuming vehemence.

1

Present Time

Rebecca Newton was eighteen years old. Her long, brown hair bounced on her slim shoulders as she ran lightly down the stairs and strode with slim, athletic legs towards the door. Her bright green eyes shone with anticipation of the day ahead.

She wore her Orizon uniform proudly. Designed in the style of the ancient Greeks, its short skirt and top were made of blue and white silk and on her feet were blue leather boots. She paused for no more than a few seconds to attach her crystal sword.

Glowing with confidence and knowing that she looked good, she opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine of Utopia, ready to depart for the Flame Ceremony.

The sound of feet pounding across cobbles made her turn. Six powerfully built men dressed in blue cloaks appeared from behind the stables and ran towards her across the courtyard.

She froze for an instant, before seeing that beneath the flowing blue cloaks the men wore outfits of black leather.

Treachery! Sharkans! Rebecca shouted, springing into classic fighting stance, a posture of strength that belied her youth and fragile build. Her crystal sword flashed in the sun and, for a moment, the Sharkans hesitated in their charge, as if sizing up their foe.

One of them found the courage to lunge at her but she danced lightly aside and kicked out, striking him hard and fast in his gut.

He yelped like a puppy and crashed to the ground, hugging himself tightly and moaning in pain.

As the second Sharkan rushed at her, Rebecca leaped high in the air, spun round and slammed her foot deep into his throat, sending him down beside his colleague. His eyes bulged and a terrible gurgling noise dribbled from his slack jaw.

The remaining four Sharkans were taking no chances. They whirled a large net over their heads and threw it with remarkable skill and accuracy over their prey, ensnaring her like a brightly coloured butterfly.

Even with her limbs contained she continued to lash out, trying to slash through the netting to reach her captors. Their only chance was to pin her down and all four of them hurled their heavy bodies on top of the net, emitting savage, animalistic growls of anger.

Winded and unable to move her arms or legs beneath their bulk, she could do nothing but bite until they forced a piece of hide tightly between her teeth, gagging her painfully.

One of them drew his sword, forcing the blade against the soft flesh of her long neck, making it even harder for her to breathe.

Shut up, he snarled, or I’ll slice your head off like a chicken!

There was nothing she could do to free herself from the weight of the men and once she had given up struggling, they blindfolded her with rough hands. As her world turned black and she surrendered to their power, she felt her soul, which had been soaring with joy just moments ago, fill with despair and her mind cloud up with confusion.

The Sharkans worked fast, winding a rope tightly around her body and pinning her arms to her sides until she resembled a ball of string. Once they were sure she could not move, they carried her behind the stables and tossed her onto the floor of their waiting cart like a package, banging her head painfully upon landing. They then turned their attention to their fallen comrades, one of whom was still groaning, while the other lay silent and motionless. They lifted them gently into the cart beside her. Three of the men clambered into the back while the fourth climbed up in front, took up the reins and urged the six black horses forward. They covered Rebecca and their wounded colleagues with hides as the cart lurched away, forcing them all to cling on to the sides.

Rebecca urged herself to stay calm and think clearly. From the constant groans coming from the injured Sharkan, she guessed that she had probably broken his spine. She also reckoned that the one she had struck in the throat was dead. From her Kung Fu training she could judge with a high degree of certainty the outcome of any blow she inflicted.

She felt sick at the thought that she had killed someone for the first time. Even though it had been in self-defence and she would have killed all of them if she had had a chance, she still felt bad to have taken a life.

Unable to see anything through the blindfold, she had no idea where they were taking her. She felt as helpless as a fish on the deck of a fisherman’s boat. Lying face down she could do nothing to escape the full force of every rock and pot-hole the wheels of the cart went over. Waves of nausea threatened to overcome her and the pain was becoming unbearable. If it hadn’t been for the gag she would have been unable to suppress the screams. Her sword dug into her side and she felt her strength ebbing away.

It felt as if the men had also trapped time in the net with her and were pulling it backwards. Every minute seemed like an hour and every hour like a year. Rebecca wondered if her abductors had been ordered to take her alive, because there was a strong possibility they would fail. She had made them angry and fearful, and so they had bound her too tightly, cutting off her circulation and the air she needed to breathe.

She began to lose all sense of feeling, first in her legs and then in her arms, until her body seemed like an alien object - lifeless and bloodless. If the journey did not end soon, life would drain out of her. She forced herself to move her fingers and toes and summoned courage from the fact that she was not paralysed. She flared her nostrils and wrinkled and relaxed her forehead, eager to prove to herself that she was not yet crippled.

She began to count how many movements she could make with her fingers and toes, how many with her nose, how many with her forehead. It was like a game, an exercise that kept her conscious as the hours dragged past.

These horses go too slowly, she thought, her mind growing delirious. If I were driving I’d go faster. I’ll probably die. Death is sweet. I’ll drive the horses... No, no! I don’t need a riding crop...

At one point, she thought she had been taken from the floor of the cart and had been tied to the back wheel. She felt she was spinning round and round with it, pain coursing through every part of her. She felt faint and her insides were churning. She kept losing consciousness but had no idea for how long. When she regained her senses, she heard creaking noises and felt the wheels turning before she sank back into a weird chaos.

The torture of the wheel, she thought. I know... I’ve read... I’d rather die... Am I delirious? I’d better not be... But why am I so numb? I wonder if my heart’s beating? It must be, because I can think... I feel so strange! Is death like this? If eternity is like this, how will I bear it?

***

It was already dark in the castle of Beast when the cart carrying Rebecca rattled through the gates and was swallowed into a mysterious, shining fog.

Hauling her from the cart, her attackers bound her tightly in a bundle of hide and made their way up the stone staircase which led them into the King’s chamber with the girl on their shoulders, like traders delivering a roll of carpet.

Once inside the chamber, they deposited their trophy on the stone floor and retreated as King Turgoth stepped forward, calmly surveying the gift they were presenting to him, like cats leaving a mouse before their master. At around forty years of age, Turgoth was a man in his prime - tall and strong with thick, dark hair falling to his shoulders. With a slender stiletto in his powerful hands, he slashed the outer ropes in a few quick movements. He clasped the edge of the hide and peeled it apart.

Rebecca’s green eyes stared up through the net as she gasped for air, trying to suck a life-giving draft in past the gag. Her eyes widened as she looked up from the King’s boots to the face gazing down at her.

As their eyes met, Turgoth felt a jolt, like a shock passing through him. The unfamiliar feeling puzzled him. Had he seen this girl before?

The four Sharkans were standing beside him, also staring down at Rebecca as she lay trussed up in the net.

How is it that this slip of a girl managed to kill one of you and severely injure another? Turgoth asked eventually, without taking his eyes off Rebecca’s face.

When the Sharkans remained silent he swung round to face them.

Well? Is it not true?

The Sharkans stared at the floor, hoping the King would not force them to answer, but he remained silent, waiting for their reply.

Yes, one of them eventually muttered. Yes, Your Majesty. It is true.

Turgoth shook his head sadly, like a teacher