Athena's Saints
Eirini
ONE
The Beginning of a New Era
V. Neo- Mathitria
Days passed by; for some, they were too long; for others they were too short; but for all, they were the best they’d lived in a long time. There was something about Sanctuary which made it more than familiar to its inhabitants.
Sanctuary was home, and they felt it as such.
The new apprentices felt a little out of place there. At least at the beginning. All but Aioria, The Leo Saint to be. He’d been living there since his brother Aioros entered the place and began his training.
He’d grown to be a very healthy and endearing five-year-old child. He was always laughing and he took the task of showing Sanctuary to the rest of them. At least, the places he thought nobody knew about. The ones their Big brothers didn’t show them. Aioria knew every corner of the place, that’s what he told the rest, though it wasn’t the truth. In fact, he knew a lot and with that information, he gave the rest hints to find new places on their own.
Places they didn’t share with anybody else.The particular thing about it was that each of the new apprentices did find a special place and they started to enjoy being alone. It was something strange in all of them especially given their ages; all were five-year-olds except Maur who was only four and half. They were supposed to be playing and hanging around when they weren’t training, but circumstances proved they were too mature for their ages.
But their Masters weren’t fooled. Even though they’d shared very little time with them; they already knew their behaviour patterns and began to notice the changes after some weeks. They began to disappear after their training, and it lasted some hours. Selek was the first one in noticing it; he knew Maur too well and he was a social boy, who loved to be with people, not alone; so he started to observe him closely.
One morning, Nivoe and Selek took their trainees and made them work together. Maur was a little lost when he began to do the movements while Michel was more coordinate, but Maur didn’t give up. In fact, he was trying so hard, that he was almost in pain; when Selek noticed it he wanted to stop the training at once, but Nivoe stopped him.
“He won’t learn if you don’t let him.”
“Mind your own business Aquarius. He’s my son, he’s..:”
“Stop saying nonsense, Scorpio!” He grabbed him by his arm, the children looked at them and saw them arguing. Maur’s look was a little afraid though he didn’t show it. In all the years of knowing Selek, he’d never seen him so upset, and Aquarius was taking him away.
“He’s your son, yes, but he’s also your apprentice. Don’t make him weak by using your own weakness. If you decided that he should be your successor, then, don’t treat him different, otherwise, you’ll teach him what you’re not supposed to.” Nivoe‘s face was so close to his—and he started to feel a little dizzy.
“I don’t want you to interfere.”
“I will if you keep doing the wrong thing.” He finally said, “Selek—look—” his voice was a little softer now, more conciliatory, “you can’t pretend to be his father when he doesn’t expect you to be. To him, you’re his friend, his Master. Don’t mess up his life.”
Selek just nodded. He hated it when Nivoe was right and he hated it most when he had to acknowledge it. Besides, He didn’t have the right to scold him, yet, he felt a hell burning inside of him. He needed to destroy something before he started to destroy himself. “OK, I’ll do as you say—but it’s not easy, Nivoe. I’ve loved him since the very moment his father showed him to me when he had just been born, and now, I love him even more. I don’t want him to suffer, I don’t want him to—”
“Stop right there, friend. You can’t do anything about it. He’s an apprentice of a Saint. And you can’t help it. Now, get a grip on yourself and go back to train him. He needs his master now, maybe later, he’ll need his father.”
Selek’s heart started beating faster and faster. He felt angry. Frustrated. But again, Nivoe was right.
He cursed Aquarius silently; complaining to himself for his own stupidity. However, it was only with Nivoe he could talk, although he didn’t like it much lately.
He made him feel weak.
And he cursed him again for making him feel like that.
Michel and Maur were looking at them carefully. Especially Michel. Every time Nivoe talked to the Scorpio Saint his attitude changed. Nivoe’s eyes sparkled and his manners were softer and the child didn’t like that. It was the same way Nivoe behaved with him when they were in Siberia and now he didn’t do it anymore, and he missed it and felt envy.
“Are you OK?”
The other child’s voice made him turn, and Maur saw anger in his eyes. From that moment on, he’d learnt to recognize his mood, just by looking into his eyes.
“Leave me alone.” Michel said, and kept training. His mind trying to escape from the sight of his Master being so close to the other one. Maur felt not only embarrassed but also as if he had committed some sort of a crime. He walked away and went back to his training.
Now he was a little further from Michel. He didn’t want to bother him. He just wanted to be—his friend. And he felt like crying, yet he didn’t do it.
Michel noticed it, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to care about him. He didn’t want to feel anything and he already liked that annoying child, and it was something he couldn’t let happen. He couldn’t allow himself to feel. Everybody he’d ever loved left him. And the fear of Nivoe leaving him, because of Maur’s Master, was something he wasn’t ready to deal with. Because the sparkle in Nivoe’s eyes and the attitude of almost touching Selek had, he’d already seen them; in the frieze, Ganymede’s eyes and Zeus’ hand—and he felt the Scorpio Saint wanted to approach too much to –his only family, because his hand trembled when he was close to Nivoe. Exactly like in the frieze.
He didn’t like that closeness—Go away, his young mind yelled.
He hated him.
Yet, he showed nothing and kept training.
The Masters returned to their disciples determined to continue with what they had been doing, Selek sensing something wrong in the air. Sensing a strange sadness in Maur’s aura. His eyes had lost something, and he almost panicked. He didn’t like what he was seeing, but Maur didn’t say much; he was just making a big effort and ended up doing his exercises fine. However, there was something wrong and he didn’t like it.
At all.
When they were finally finished, Maur drank all his water and asked for his Master’s permission to leave. He started to wander all around Sanctuary until he got tired and sat on a big rock, kicking the others around him. He didn’t understand why Michel had to be so mean to him when he hadn’t done anything to him except trying to be his friend. Yet, the tone of his voice, his look—had hurt him more than he could have thought they might.
When he looked up, he realized where he was. It was a waterfall, and he opened his eyes wide. It was the most beautiful place he’d ever seen. The water was like crystal; pure, perfect, and he thought of it as a gift from the Gods. And as days passed by, that place would become his private Sanctuary. He also created a pattern in his behaviour for that matter.
He began to train very early in the morning, now; he was ignoring Michel as much as he could pretend he was doing so. He didn’t want to annoy him more than he already had, but the truth was that it was more a way of self-protection. They trained in the same place but not together. Later on, Maur met the other boys; especially Aioria, who was as mischievous as he was, and with whom he had created a special bond. Both children were Greek by birth and spent a lot of time together, talking about their ancient Gods and traditions. He also got along pretty well with Roberto, Albert and Mu, but talking with the last two, the Virgo and Aries apprentices, was always very serious while with Roberto, he’d already learnt to how to play soccer. And by the end of the afternoon, Maur would disappear until it was time for dinner.
One day, however, Selek decided to follow him and find out what was happening. He was already too concerned and when they ate together, Maur talked non-stop but never allowed him to see beyond. For his age, Maur was already a Master in hiding his feelings. It all happened the Eve of the beginning of Scorpio, in the last days of October, and it was very cold. He’d reached the waterfall and saw him from afar.
Maur was in a position of fighting. Repeating every move he’d learnt in the previous hours and even the days before. But he also noticed that Maur looked tired, and decided to sit by the small river and keep watching him, but from his position, he couldn’t see much. But then, after a while, Maur sat, his legs crossed and his body resting forward, his head was lower and his hair, which had just started to grow long, was falling wildly around the edges of his face, and his body seemed to be relaxing. Until he saw something a little awkward.
A red glow began to cover the child’s body. A glow almost like his own and although he doubted it at first, he finally approached the child. But Maur wasn’t moving, nor was he aware of what was happening. He was so exhausted that he’d fallen asleep trying to rest a little and contemplated the water falling.
Selek took him in his arms and flared his own cosmos, so he could connect with his son’s. And he knew it.
Aquarius. Again.
Another scorpion suffering because of an Aquarius. Because of their coldness. Because of their rejection.
And he cursed the Aquarius House. Once again.
Albert and Mu got along pretty well, especially given the fact that both of them had to learn how to meditate earlier than the rest. And contrary to what most people might think, they actually enjoyed it.
Maybe it was also because both of them came from the same region of the world, the funny thing was that since the moment their masters began to teach them how to meditate, they took advantage of every minute they had on their own just to do it.
However, the first days, Albert, the young Virgo, started to walk around his temple, getting to know the place, until he found them. A couple of Salas trees in a place beyond the inhabited zone of the temple.
They were still pretty young; it even seemed they had just been planted. And it was there, where he'd heard Buddha’s voice for the first time.
Cassie had been teaching him the principles of meditation; 'the position is very important Albert, thanks to it, you'll be comfortable during meditation and you'll endure it.' But he'd found it very difficult, and he'd had many a night when he'd ended up crying. His legs hurting like hell, his feet red and almost burning, because they had to carry his body's weight and he didn't feel comfortable with it.
'When you finally manage to sit in the lotus position, your spine has to be straight; rigid and relaxed at the same time. Rigid, so you can't be moved. Relaxed so it won't be painful, and you can stop thinking about it.'
And that was exactly what had been bothering him the most. He couldn't stop thinking. It was harder than he'd thought. And the position was so awfully painful...
‘Put your hands together over your lap. Right back against left palm, both thumbs touching. Forming a circle, a perfect one. And through it you’ll feel energy flowing, from the right that gives to the left that receives and it will circulate all over your body.’
He felt it. White pure energy flowing all over him. Telling him to trust and so he did. After all, there wasn’t much he could do.
‘When you start thinking, give your mind some freedom, so it will think of everything it wants to; your mind will come and go, it will wander. Your inner voice and demons being an obstacle for your concentration. Your inner self will talk and talk, but you can’t pay attention to it. And so, at some point, it will stop.’
But it didn’t. Albert was getting mad, because it talked and talked non-stop. And it made him feel angrier and annoyed, and his Master would scold him. Again.
‘That’s not the way Albert. Try to listen to me. Let it be free. Let yourself go. There’ll be a moment when it stops.’
And a few days after he’d found the sacred trees, it happened. It stopped.
For the first time in his life, Albert felt the universe within become one with the universe outside, and his Master’s voice reached him.
‘When it finally stops talking to you; because you don’t answer or interact with it anymore, then, your body will lose its mass and it will become one with everything around it. And you’ll be part of everything and everything will be part of you.
And you’ll feel complete.’
And as strange as it was. He did. He’d felt it. And he wanted more.
‘Albert. You have started the path of enlightenment and it’s not an easy one. The way of the thorn awaits you, but I will be by your side. Your path was once mine. And will always be. But don’t you forget that although you are Shaka; you are also a human. Do not forget about mercy and compassion. Do not forget about yourself.’
‘Who are you?’
‘I am Buddha. Remember Albert. You are Shaka. And now, you finally belong here’
That day, he’d left his meditation immediately and ran to his Master, telling her all about the encounter. And she smiled behind her mask. He grabbed her by her hand and took her to the Salas trees, showing them to her. Ashamed he hadn’t done it before. But again she smiled.
“This is your private place from now on, ‘Shaka’”
“Master—”
“Buddha has come to you as he came to me at your same age and my name wasn’t Cassie and he gave it to me. You’re Shaka because you’re a ‘Little Buddha’, as I and others where, as I was ‘purity’ and he saw it in me. The Spirit of Buddha lives in us all. The Spirit of the East lives now in you.
You area Buddha reincarnated.
And this is your place. Your personal place, given to you by Buddha himself”
She touched his little face tenderly and left, leaving him in his place.
And it was so.
Mu loved to walk all around Sanctuary. The place was very similar to his beloved Tibet although it lacked a lot of vegetation. A lot of green mountains which he adored back in his country, and he missed the place.
He missed spending his time with his family, or the people he considered as such, at least until he met Shion, and he’d asked his family for their permission to take Mu to Sanctuary and become his successor, so he’d train him and pass to him the honour of being the one in charge of the sacred armours.
And his family had accepted to receive such an honour. Only granted to his family.
To him.
But after all his wanderings, when he saw the Aries temple; he felt infatuated with the place. The workshop had taken his breath away. And he decided to concentrate on being the ‘Armour Healer’. Shion had been helping him in his task. Everyday at 4:00 in the morning; Shion was at the Temple, waking him up. By 4:30, he was already bathed, dressed up and ready to begin his training.
They entered the Workshop and Shion took his mask off and he started to explain. Mu just stared at him—at every movement. Every change in his expression and when he saw the first piece of metal recover its shine and its life, he began to understand the weight of his duty, not fully though, and for a moment he was afraid. Bu he didn’t give up.
And Shion admired him for that. Because given his age, Mu was proving to be loyal and hard-working. But at the same time, he felt guilty because he’d taken him from his family at a very early age. In fact, Mu was one of his descendants, though no one in the family really knew, not even his brother Arless. And that hurt him even more.
And he felt overwhelmed, when he saw the child meditating among the armours. Trying to understand their souls. And he foresaw wisdom in his cosmos, and his telepathy allowed him to go beyond the cosmos itself and look inside of him. And he saw a true warrior. One who’d always fight for that he believed in.
And he smiled.
And Mu smiled with him. Because he saw himself inside his Master’s mind. The first glimpse of his own powers.
The armours had received him as well. The first thing he was learning was how to deal with the bronze armours, easier to heal, but not less important, and at the same time, he was learning how to use his telekinesis. That was why the Aries’ workshop was always noisy and since the other children were not allowed to come in; the place was even more intriguing for everybody, especially them. It was one of the forbidden places in Sanctuary. And they couldn’t know what was going on in there, and as time went on, Mu started spending more and more time in his Temple. Many times leaving them alone in the middle of a game.
But the child was more than only interested in his training. He was committed to his duty as much as he was to himself. And the boy’s mind had been increasing his power as time passed by. While he healed the armours, his mind was also throwing pieces of metal towards him, he protecting himself at the same time.
That workshop became his obsession, his duty. His personal sanctuary.
Contrary to the behaviour of the other children, Roberto turned out to be very sociable. In fact, after just a few weeks, everybody at Sanctuary had learnt how to play soccer.
One night, soon after they had just arrived at Sanctuary, Farris had to go to the Islands in the north west of Europe. To the one once called Britannia. He had to leave the child for a few days, so he asked Nestor, the Gemini Saint to keep an eye on the boy. And he left. When he was finished and it was time to return to Sanctuary; he stopped by a shop window. A beautiful brand new soccer ball was there exhibited and all he could think of, was how much fun would Roberto have with it. And without stopping to think about it, he took off the golden earring he had on his left earlobe and exchanged it for the ball with the woman in the store.
He had said it was for his son—and the woman found herself caught by his charming voice and agreed. He took her hand and kissed it gently, bowing slightly before leaving. She just blushed.
Before Farris had gone to see the Pope, he stopped by his Temple and gave the ball to Roberto, who started smiling broadly, and played with it immediately, and Farris promised he’d be back soon and they would play that match they couldn’t play many nights before.
But Roberto couldn’t wait for him.
He ran to the Coliseum, knowing there wasn’t anybody there and started to play with the ball, every single move he knew, he’d done it and he remembered happy times. He passed it forward, backward, side to side, he’d even showed off by doing the rainbow and the bicycle and when the other children appeared, and tried to take the ball from him he did the nut meg. And everybody was amazed by his ability and laughed loudly with him.
That small leather ball was the best gift he’d ever received and he was enjoying it to death. From that moment on, every free moment he had, was dedicated to his ball. And Farris simply loved seeing him with it and the others. Those little moments of their childhood were the ones that where going to help them go through all the hard moments they’d have as Saints and he would try to make Roberto’s life as agreeable as he was allowed to.
That was why when he saw him playing with his ball and saw the other children approaching him so he could teach them, Farris laughed loudly, just as Roberto would learn to laugh later on. And Shion by his side, laughed with him.
Roberto had taught everyone how to play with the ball. Especially Shaka—who didn’t let anybody call him Albert anymore, and Michel, both boys were so stiff that everybody laughed at them. The few times Mu played with them, he’d started to use his telekinesis—which wasn’t good enough yet, but helped him anyway to move the ball or even himself; however most of the time he failed and everybody laughed at him too; while Aioria and Maur really did it well and were the ones along with Roberto, who had been enjoying themselves the most.
Michel didn’t like Sanctuary at all. He wanted to return to Siberia soon. When his parents died, he thought he would never feel happy again, but happiness had come into his life sooner than he thought, and it had a name, Nivoe.
When he saw him at the Funeral home, he’d felt everything would be alright if he was by his side. Without acknowledging it, he was using Nivoe for not feeling the loss of his family. He was filling an emptiness with another one.
And he wanted to go back to Siberia. Desperately.
He didn’t like the ambience in Sanctuary, the people and most of all; he didn’t like the Scorpio Temple. He didn’t like its Master and he didn’t like its apprentice.
No, he did like him. Them. But he was feeling more and more confused about them as time went on. And all he could think of was Siberia.
Michel stopped walking all along Sanctuary. That afternoon he’d followed Maur because he wanted to try to fix things with him. He wanted to tell him that he liked him, although sometimes he couldn’t stand him, and he also wanted to tell him that he’d missed him. He did. He’d just accepted it. He missed that boy, because since the very moment they met, Maur had been nice to him. Nobody but his parents and Nivoe had ever been like that to him. And all he’d done in return was making him feel bad, because although Maur tried to look as if nothing happened, he could tell. Maur’s eyes were as clear as Nivoe’s, as Selek’s. Honesty shone in them every time he saw them.
But Maur didn’t want to be his friend anymore. Now he was with Aioria all the time and he’d forgotten about him. And when a tear rolled down his cheek, he felt angry and wiped it away violently. He shouldn’t feel that way. In fact, he shouldn’t be feeling at all, he said to himself, still using his hands to wipe away his tears, stronger every time. His sight clouded by them.
Why did it all have to be so hard? He thought. Why did his parents have to die, leaving him alone? Why didn’t he die with them? Why did he have to meet Nivoe, and his kindness and that coldness of his which he’d learnt to love as his own, if he wasn’t meant to be with him forever?
Because Nivoe was leaving. Just like his parents had left him.
At the end, he was meant to be alone.
Even Maur had left him.
And he fell on his knees and cried hopelessly, freely. Forgetting that he’d been following Maur all the way to this place. He cried as if that were the last chance he’d have to do it; and for the first time, he cried for his parents’ death; he cried for their absence, because if they hadn’t died, he would’ve never met Nivoe, therefore, he would have never met Maur and he wouldn’t be suffering the pain he had throughout his chest. Because Nivoe had become his father and Maur was his only friend. The only one he’d ever had. And thanks to the Scorpio Saint, he’d lost them both.
Michel had his eyes shut and didn’t see a white cosmos covering his body, as well as he didn’t see Maur some feet away from him. He didn’t see the red glow surrounding the other child either, and neither of them nor Selek, saw the two cosmos approaching, searching for the other. Red and white becoming one; until Maur broke the connection. But neither Maur nor Michel noticed that Selek had taken the first away, profoundly slept.
Michel opened his eyes. Disbelieving. He wanted that feeling back to him. He wanted back the warmth and care which had just surrounded him and never let go. But it was already gone. And a hurting scream came out of his lips. His white glow flaring again, covering him, but he only felt cold.
Just like he felt when he was alone in his Temple.
And all he could think of was that feeling, which had just been his but was now gone. His. And the coldness in his heart threatened with winning him over. But he wouldn’t let it, because although it lasted only a few seconds, the memory of it would last forever in his heart. Buried in it. An eternal grave for a love he would never feel again.
He finally looked around but couldn’t find the other child, so he sat tired, his eyes red because of the tears and just stayed there; the weight of his body resting on his knees and hands. And eventually the crying stopped. Although the pain hadn’t left him. But he decided to trust the coldness growing within him. After all, that was all he could do. And that, he was sure, would never leave him. It would be his for good. And he felt comfortable with it somehow. Besides, he’d found this place, however Maur had found it first and he didn’t know about it.
Later on, he went back to his Temple, where Nivoe was reading was reading, sitting in the living room. Michel walked in ignoring the older man was there and went right into his bedroom.
Nivoe lowered the book a little and over it, he saw Michel, surprised by the child’s attitude. He’d started observing him for days already, and he’d been acting really weirdly, and that night, he could see everything was worse than he had thought in the first place.
Michel went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and then he ate some fruits and locked up in his bedroom again. The Aquarius Saint watched him silently. Michel had done it all in the most absolute silence. In fact. He hadn’t even looked at Nivoe once. And the man wondered if he hadn’t actually noticed him or if he’d just ignored him.
He got up and walked to Michel’s bedroom’s door. Nothing. Silence again and now he was feeling really worried, almost panicking; but it was more terrible for him when he opened the door and walked in, feeling a cold in the place he’d never felt before. He walked near the bed. Cold and more cold. He lifted the blankets and lay by Michel’s side. Colder and colder. The child was sleeping already; his eyes were closed and he was facing him. His face tenderly serious, no emotions in it at all. But that cold he’d felt—was coming from the child’s cosmos.
He wasn’t showing anything. His cosmos showing it all, touching Nivoe’s and the Saint allowed it to be reached by the child’s. And their cosmos became one. And the man silently cried, taking the child in his arms. And though Michel was already asleep, he clung to the known warmth embracing him. Worshiping it and loving each part of it. And he dreamt sweet dreams of Siberia. Believing it was a dream.
Nivoe on the other hand, recognized Maur’s cosmos mixed with Michel’s; and through it, he recognized Selek’s and he hated it. An Aquarius struggling inside for a Scorpion. Again.
But, who was he to blame him? And he prayed to his Goddess not to let him suffer. Remembering his own words to Selek ‘He’s an apprentice of a Saint. And you can’t help it.’ Bur he wanted to protect him, and prevent him from suffering, but then he thought that maybe the Aquarius house was cursed because of their inherited coldness and that that curse had a name, Scorpio. And he hugged him until he also fell asleep.
And so, the morning found them.
Ariadne, 2004