Long ago, there was a small city-state called ‘Barbaros’, which translated into barbarian. Barbaros, placed in what’s now modern day south Macedonia, sat on the border of Greece. Relatively little is known about them, It's unknown if they were Macedonians or Greeks. The Barbarosians were highly disliked and looked down on by the Greeks because they refused to move northward, off of Greek soil.
One night in the cabin of the Barbarosian King’s daughter, who slept gracefully in her bed; Long, pitch black hair curling down to her shoulders; A light smile lied of her soft, olive colored skin.
As she slept, the king of the gods, Zeus came baring the sweetest, freshest, golden wine of Dionysus in hand. As well as the softest, words of poetry of Apollo that parted from his tongue. After a night of courtship and intimacy, Zeus would leave the slumbering woman, leaving the image of him to fill her dreams.
Fast forward nine months, to the birth of her hefty size baby boy. Out of all of the celebration for the birth of the boy, whom would be the future prince, the King’s mind was clouded with wonder of who the father of the child was. That evening, the king asked his daughter about it. In which she would tell that a man named ‘Zeus’, who was the all-powerful ruler of the sky, came to her cabin in the dead of night. He filled her belly with the most mouth-watering wine, and filled her mind with the most romantic thoughts before impregnating her with his son.
The king didn’t think much of it, until a guardsman, who knew a little about Greek culture, told him. The man told his majesty about the god who calls Greece his home. This information sent the king into a raged frenzy.
Unknown to the people of Barbaros, a certain Queen was having the same fit over this affair that produced a child; A mortal child to be exact, and with an outsider of Greece at that. Hera raged through Olympus with a roar so loud, it shook Greece. In a thunderous fury of anger mixed with a passionate lust for revenge, Hera left the home of the gods for this ‘Land of Barbarians’, as the Greeks would put it. She would go there, planning on killing them both. However, finding a rampaging king would strike an idea in her head.
Instead of simply killing them, she would disguise herself as a servant. Offered the king a tainted mug of water; which he would take, trying to calm his nerves, but instead it would drive him even more into madness. Standing at a staggering height, with a big husky frame, He charged down to her room. His big, round, brown eyes, pierced under his eyebrows; which was as dark and thick as the pitch black hair on is head. His hair was long, in a wide braid that reached the middle of his spin, flapped as he stormed up to her room. Every hairy muscle on his body pulsing, he grabs his sleeping daughter and her child.
In this crazed fury, he dragged her out of her bed, out of her home, and out of the kingdom while yelling “You deem them worthy enough to birth their son. Well, let’s see if they deem you worthy enough to take you in”. Along with her child, she was released in to the wild with only the harsh words of her father to remind her of home. Hera would disappear into the night in which she came, with her heart at ease. Instead of easily killing the woman, just so her and her child could live happily in Hades. No, she will now have to cold, merciless wilderness.
Unfortunately for Hera, the faun, god of the wild, Pan discovered them in north Greece. As he was hopping about, he saw her running from a bear. Out of fear for the worst, Pan hopped into a tree and started playing his flute to immediately calm the beast before it ran off. After telling Zeus this, he would give Pan the job of secretly watching over the two; Along with Demeter, the goddess of harvest, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.
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(This is part one of the Tale of Orran. I apologize for anything mistakes, it's 2:00 in the morning and my back is killing me. Oh, and this is not the hero I'm using. This is his father's story....So what'cha dudes think?)
The boy, would be raised in the wilderness. With the hidden assistance of three gods, warded off dangerous animals, provided food for them, and leading them to shelter. The gods would eventually stop immediately helping them, once the boy reached an age where he could provide for him and his mother. They would go back to their separate jobs. However, Artemis would take an extreme interest in the boy, as he started to hunt. As well as the more Pan, who would watch him.
At a hefty height, with a strong body that would rival that of Apollo’s, it was easy to see Zeus’s gene. Long, pitch black hair like his mother, which curled down to his shoulders, and a dark olive completion. It was obvious that he was Barbarosian.
He had the physical appearance of a god; but as he started to hunt, it was clear that image wasn’t the only way he was blessed by the gods. He would show to have the strength, to manhandle fully grown bears and lions. The speed to out run the fastest horses in Greece, and the durability/agility to uphold these speed for hours; Along with the senses to see bucks and boars, perfectly for miles, and hear/smell them even farther, the boy might as well have been bread to hunt. He also possessed the skin, which could shrug off the hardest hits. Pan, witnessing this, knew he was much more than an average mortal. After telling Zeus of this recent discovery, he would agree that he was something special.
Zeus, one night, came to visit his son as he was hunting a wild boar. The god told him about everything. Him being his father, Hera driving the king mad, and the god watching over him and his mother; in which his son listened.
Zeus explained to his son, that the world that hated him and his mother, was now his world. He would have to prove that he was worthy of them as well as their gods. When the boy questioned how, Zeus told him about the evil, monstrous, breast that terrorized Greece and its people. Followed by how the boy’s godly abilities could easily rid the world of them.
After the boy reluctantly agreed, Artemis came and gave him the ‘Sword of Orran’. As sharp as any Spartan sword, and as strong as a true warrior’s will, the magical sword was crafted by Hephaestus solely for slaying monster. The sword was the weight of Barbaros and the land its kingdom stood on. It could only be lifted by one of Olympian blood. After that, Zeus would change the boy’s name to ‘Orran’, which meant ‘Man of the Outside’. The name derived from ‘Orrin’, which was an Old Greek name that meant Man of the Mountains. He would now be known throughout Greece as this ‘Orran the Outsider’.
The king of the gods instructed him to go to each major city-state in Greece: Athens, Macedonia, Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Thebes, and Megara. Ask around and find the worst monster of these places and slay them; and so Orran was sent off on a quest to hunt and slay the breasts of Greece.
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(One more part of this tale, is left.So, I'll begin writing it.....But as you could see, this is my second post; Which is the limit. Can one of you bros, leave a 'bump' comment, so I can complete the tale.)
@spectrion: Thanks, I actually thought of Orran a long time ago, because of my love for Greek myth (I usually create a person, character, or thing for anything I like).
After leaving his mother in the hands of Pan and Demeter, Orran left for the closes city-state. Macedonia, sat above Greece and closest to the land where he and his mother lived. After asking around, a couple of natives stated the existence of a monstrous snake at the shoreline. It was long enough to stretch through a town. It was wider than the thickest boats in the bay. They said the snake was responsible for the destruction of many cargo ships that traded in the Aegean Sea.
Once he got to the shoreline, he asked a fisher about the snake. The fisher said that the arm chased the beast southwards to the docks of Dion; and that night, Orran reached the borders of Dion. As morning dew filled the air, Orran walked through the Dion, until he heard a loud hissing, followed by the screams of solders. He saw the long neck of the beast stretching high enough to eat a cloud. The soldiers shot arrows and throw spears at the beast. However it was ineffective, since the snake hissed more before slithering off. Orran quickly ran up a hill and jumped onto the snakes back as it slithered. Moving at a high speed the snake slid down a Cliffside. Orran fell forward, grabbing the snake’s nose as they plummeted into the harbor. Using quick reflexes, Orran pulled out his sword and stabbed the roof of its mouth. The snake, being stabbed in the brain through its mouth, died and sunk down to the bottom of the harbor to never be seen again. Orran swam to the surface to be welcomed by soldiers, fishers, dork workers, and shipmen that saw.
As they started to celebrate the death of the beast, Orran walked up to a man and said “remember ‘Orran’ slain the beast of Dion” before walking off. He would disappear into the distance as shipmen screamed in joy “The great Orran slew the beast of Macedonia”.
Thebes: The Theban Griffin
Desiding to go in order of first to last, going downward meant the city of Thebes was next. On entry to Thebes, he heard some farmers talking about their men who got kidnapped by a griffin. Orran asked them about this griffin. They told him about the griffin that lived in a valley near the farm lands. He caused a large amount of grief for anyone traveling along that area; which was bad, since Athens, Sparta, Argos, and most other important trading states lied behind the griffin’s praying ground. Orran told them “I will end this creature for you” before leaving for the valley.
He entered the valley, and started calling for the griffin. Yelling at the top of his lungs, he soon got his reply. A loud roar that echoed through the valley, revealing the massive griffin that sored at him. The griffin flew in quickly and scooped Orran into its front craws. Its claws dug into Orran’s shoulders, causing him to drop his sword. Orran yelps as his hands shoot up and wrap around the beast’s neck. Starting to choke the griffin, He pulls downward, sending the griffin in a nosedive. The griffin falls to the ground. They hit a cliff, crashing through it and falling into the valley.
As he strangled the griffin, a bright flash of gold filling the valley, and blinded Orran. The light cleared, to reveal Hera standing within inches of him. She looked down at him with a smile on her face. “Well hello Orran” She spoke joyfully with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She explained to him that the griffin wasn’t a murderous monster like the snake of Macedoria, or the other creatures he’ll come across. She said the griffin was a pet of hers, who lived in her garden. He excaped some time ago, and found his way to Thebes. As their conversation ended, she took the griffin before telling Orran “before I go, here is a word of advice. You should go to Athens last.”. She vanishes in a flash of gold.
Megara: The Sea Giant of Megara
After hearing Hera’s words, Orran ponders on the thought. He came to a conclusion, “Hmm, the monster will still be there when I get to Athens” before reclaiming his sword and heading to Megara. As he reached Megara, he found that their gulf housed a humongous Giant, who was a child of Poseidon. Orran arrived in the middle of one of the giant’s destruction sprees. It was roaring at everything in its path, as it launches ships at building. Standing tall enough to block the sun, the horrid faced giant terrified the dockworkers.
Orran yelled a call that matched that of the giant’s. Getting his attention, as well as the whole bay’s, the giant swung his arm at him. He jumped onto the beast’s arm, avoiding the attack that crushes the cliff side, and run up it before launching himself at the beast’s chest. Once he got close, he arched his sword back and hacked his way through the giant. The giant fell immediately, landing in the bay. Orran swam to the shore and to the dockworkers the same thing he told the Macedonians, “Remember Orran way the one who slew this beast”, before leaving for Corinth.
Argos and Corinth: The Cyclops and the Centaur
Upon reaching Corinth, he crossed through the small city Calydon, Aetolia in the north coast of Corinth. Unknowingly, he wondered in on a group of hunters and citizens, who were rejoicing in the death of Calydonian Boar.
He followed the path to the cave that was where the Cyclops of Corinth was sighted to live. Getting deep down into the forest, a few miles out of the city, he heard a growl coming from a tree. As he stared into the darkness, the whole tree came down as the Cyclops rammed it. The Cyclop was as tall as the trees themselves. With a fat belly and thick arm, the Cyclops looked very ferocious.
Orran and the Cyclops fought until the sun started to set. Around the time, Orran started to get the upper hand, and had the Cyclops on the ground. But, unknown to Orran, Hera who was upset that he and his mother survived. Brought the Centaur of Argos into the fight, to overwhelm Orran and kill him.
The centaur pounced on Orran from the dark bushes. Thick, black, horse body that held the equally as muscular human, the centaur was furious. He carried a wooden bow & arrow. Orran dodged the arrows that thee centaur shot at him as the Cyclops rose to his feet.
As the two beasts overwhelmed Orran, a woman popped out of a bush. She was holding a bow in hand, and had her arrow ready. Her eyes clear on her target, she shot the arrow at the centaur. The arrow hit the centaur’s front leg. The Cyclops, noticing the centaur fall to the ground, turned to see the woman to be introduced to an arrow in his eye. Orran jumped to his feet, to see the two monsters yelling and a woman in the bushes shooting arrows at them. He refocused his attention on the monsters, just in time for the centaur to ram him into a tree. In a haze of pain, Orran managed to rip a thick, branch off of the tree. Holding it in one hand, his other grabbed the centaur’s throat. He applied his strength to it and choked the beast, before beating its head in with the branch.
After killing the centaur, he looked over to see the Cyclops running towards the woman. She shot arrows everywhere she could, but the blind Cyclops raged in anger and continued. Orran, now wanting the lady to die, quickly ran after the Cyclops and jumped on its back. He stabbed the right shoulder before slicing the right arm to send the Cyclops yelling to the ground. Orran violently rolled the beast over before driving his sword through the beast’s neck.
He looked over at the woman, who was standing out of the bush. She was slightly taller than average height for a woman. Wearing ripped clothing that revealed her toned body. She was pretty tan from what Orran could see, given the dark lighting.
Orran stood and grabbed both of the beasts. He started dragging them, first going to Corinth to drop off the Cyclops. The woman walked with him back. As they walked, they talked to one another. She revealed that her name was Atalanta and she was the woman who killed the Calydonian Boar. She followed him into the forest because she thought she should warn him about the Cyclops; but realized he was not a normal man, from how he fought two violently monstrous beasts at once. Orran in turn said he was the son of Zeus and the princess of Barbaros.
After saying that, it was followed by a puzzled look on her face and her asking “What is Barbaros?”. To which he chuckled and answered “Sparta in the north” She nodded her head to asure him that she had an image of what they were, before explaining how she wouldn’t know of them. She said that she was left in the wild at birth, and raised by a bear, so she only knew of Corinth, Argos, and Sparta.
Intrigued by the similarities in her story to him and the resemblances she had to his mother, he told her about him and his mother being left in the wild, and how he was raised in the wild. She explained her love for adventure and the wild, which matched his. By the time they reached Corinth, they had become close enough for her to ask if she could come with him on his journey. Orran told her that he would go give the Argives their centaur and he’ll return to get her.
Marriage to Atalanta
Upon his absences, Atalanta would be rediscovered by her father; Iasius, the king of Lycurgus of Arcadia. He wanted her to get married, which was something she didn’t want. She didn’t want to get married because she didn’t want to be forced to become a housewife. So she made a deal with her father, "If a man can beat me in a footrace, then I’ll marry him. But if he loses, then he shall be beheaded". The king agreed to the deal and prepared the race.
Atalanta was fully confident in herself and knew no man could beat her; And she was right. By the time Orran returned, many races had been held and many men had been beheaded. He asked a man what was going on, and the man said “The king of Lycurgus is holding races for princess Atalanta’s hand in marriage.” Orran surprised by the fact she was ‘Princess Atalanta’, he went to see her. When told that he couldn’t see the princess, he announced his entre into the race so he could see her.
As they both showed up at the starting line, she realized who she was racing, as well as everyone else. The whisper of him and his accolades passed through the crowd. “That’s Orran the son of Barbaros,…The slayer of the Snake of Dion,…He fought and slew the Cyclops of the Dark Forest,…As well as the Centaur,…He fought the Griffin”, Orran ignored the awe of the crowd to focus on the princess. She was happy to see Orran, a smile stretched across her face. “So you’re a princess” he said, preparing to start the race. “Yeah, I found it out after you left. Now I’m forced to get married. ” She said getting ready before stating, “I really don’t want to get you killed Orran, but I’m not getting married.” To which he replied “Just give me your all”; And in the blink of an eye, they were off. They raced from middle day to sun set. Fully stretching the outskirts of Corinth, they circled the kingdom. But ultimately Orran won and they were married. Atalanta, saddened by the future this meant for her, was cheered when Orran asked her to join him in slaying the last two monsters.
Sparta: The Lion of Sparta
They left Corinth and arrived in the war state of Sparta. He asked the king for their worst beast, in which he replied “We Spartans kill are own beast, and have no need or want for a non-Spartan to do it”. To this Orran commented “I need to slay a monster of Sparta, so please give me one”. The king replied “Well, if you want a beast to slay, you can slay the Lion of Sparta. He’s the claimer of the eastern plains. No one dares test his might, as he’ll bravely defend his claim to the land. His bravery and might has earned him the name Lion of Sparta”.
So the Spartans took Orran out to the plain land where the lion roamed. As Orran walked, the king stopped him and said “Excuse me Orran, but we Spartan believe in honor and the rights of combat. And there’s no honor in taking weapons and help into a fight. The lion in going to fight with what he was born with, and if you’re an honorable warrior as well as a man, you will do the same”. To this Orran agreed and dug his sword into the earth and took off his armor. He turned to Atalanta, giving her a look, telling her to stay back before heading off to face the lion.
The lion, huge and muscular, emerged. He was covered with so much blood; he appeared to be a red lion. He roared a roar that shook the land he stood on. Eyes pierced on the man who was trespassing on his land. He charged Orran, who charged him in reply. Once their bodies collided, Orran wrestled it to the ground. The beast kicked and clawed at the man. Orran yelped as he held on to the lion, punching and kneeing the lion in the stomach. As the lion claw his way free, he stood and pounced on Orran; who stood strong and caught the lion in midair before ramming him in to a ditch. As they landed in the ditch, Orran immediately hopped on the lion and strangled him to death.
Orran emerge from the ditch with scars leaking blood, all over his chest and back. Slump and sore, he walked over to the group to reclaim his equipment. The king and his men watched in awe as the bloody man put on his armor before leaving with his wife.
Athens: The Kraken of Hades
Orran and Atalanta headed to Athens. As they arrived, they found Athena, Artemis, and Apollo standing at its gates. “Hello brother” Athena said as she looked onward at Orran, “I’m Athena, the goddess of just warfare, civilization, virginity,…”. “And a lot of other stuff” Apollo calmly interrupted. Athena gave her younger brother a stern glare before turning back to Orran and continuing “I’m the daughter of Zeus and your older sister. This is Apollo and Artemis, whom are also your older siblings.” Apollo smirked and Artemis waved as their names were called. “As you could hear, the city of Athens is under attack” Athena said as Orran listened to hear screams and the loudest roar Orran had ever heard.
Within a flash of gold light, the three gods and the two hunters were warped to the bay of Piraeus, Athens. They stood on the hilltop, staring down at a beast that had to have come from Hades himself. “Oh my” Atalanta said in shock as they stare down at an monster that filled the bay. It was golden yellow with scaly skin. A mouth big enough to swallow a ship whole and a roar loud enough to wake Zeus from his slumbers, the monster throw anything its long, enormous tentacle could grab.
“Hera has openly spoke about her dislike for you. So she worded with Poseidon, who is angry with you for killing his giant, to create this beast.” Athena said as she pointed at the Kraken. “Its skin is impenetrable and it’s tentacles are long enough to strike you from any distance.” As Orran stared at the monster, watching it destroy everything. “Orran, this is you last monster and the end of your journey. You are now a legend throughout Greece. Everyone knows the name of Orran, You and your mother are no longer outsiders of this land. As soon as you defeat this beast, you will be fully accepted by the gods as one of us.” As Athena spoke, Apollo presented the Phoenix for Orran to ride into battle. Artemis presented a Bow to Atalanta.
“You shall ride my Pheonix and use the weapons the gods have given you, to slay this beast.” Apollo stated as Orran and Atalanta mounted the bird before fling into the air. They flew around the Kraken as it hurled boulders and ships at them. Atalanta shot arrows at it and the Phoenix blew fire at it, but nothing went through the skin or even bruised it. The monster just roared louder and threw more stuff at them. After a while of doing this, Orran saw that the creature was just getting angrier and wrecking more of the city. At this moment, he thought up an idea.
As they came around the front of the Kraken, the Phoenix blew a large blast of flames at the beast’s eyes. Orran, seeing the Kraken’s mouth open, stuck his sword in the flame as he jumped off of the bird. He fell into the mouth of the beast with his flaming sword. He crawled into the belly of the beast and stabbed its heart with the sword. The heart busted into flames, setting the whole inside of the Kraken on fire. As the flames grew thicker, he realized that he was stuck in the belly, with nowhere to go.
As he sat there, in the belly of the burning Kraken, Zeus appeared. “Hello son, you have done me proud. You are now a legend to the world and worth of you place amounts the stars. But first you must completely end this.” Zeus said before vanishing.
Orran watched as Zeus left before lying down on the belly floor. The flames thickened and covered everything before eventually grabbing his body. He groaned in pain as the flames overtook his body, killing him as it did the beast. The Kraken roared in pain as the blackest smoke flowed from his mouth to the heaven. The flames, that still could burn his skin, showed that they were burning his insides as they grabbed his tongue. The beast screamed as it sunk backwards into the sea.
And so end the tale of Orran; A man, born an outsider and died a legend. Along with Perseus, Cadmus and Jason, who came before him. Hercules, Achilles, Odysseus, and Theseus, who would come after him; He carved his name in history, as Orran the killer of the Snake of Dion, the brave one who hunter Centaur and Cyclop, the one who fought the Lion of Sparta barehanded, and the slayer of the Kraken of Hades.
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(Two day, it took me two days to complete this. I apologize, if it seems rushed. I kind of rushed through it and shorten a lot of it. I didn't think it would be this long, but....whooo...it's done. So now I can get started on the character I'm creating. Oh and if you're wonder, I wrote this to be like an actual Greek folktale. That is why it is the way it is.)
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