Myths of our Solar System (13): Mars corrupted

Mars sat in a field, bored. Earlier that day he had overseen the planting of seeds for the
year. He had gone through the motions again because it was his job but it was not what
he desired anymore.

No, he wanted a life more exciting, of fast moving action, of life and death- not this slow,
seemingly eternal wait for growth and harvest. Once it had excited him but not for a long
time now.

Not since he had first smelled blood in the air and heard the distant clash of swords and
shield. Later he had found the remains left from the battle strewn across a field almost
ready for harvest. Rather than grow angry, Mars had begun to re-think his life.

And so Mars sat in a field, bored, and thinking back on that scene, he wondered about all
he had seen that day when an eagle landed close by.

“Greetings, Mars,” said the eagle, spreading its wings out and looking most regal.

“And greetings to you, sir eagle,” Mars replied impressed at the sight of these great bird,
its wings outspread.

“You yearn, do you not, for another life? One of glory and action?”

“I do. I’m so bored with this bollocks.”

“Even if it this activity is for it’s own sake and serves no purpose?”

“Oh, I don’t mind, escaping reason as well as duty sounds good to me.”

“Then it shall be so,” declared the eagle and it darted straight at Mars, attacking him, its
beak pecking and its claws magically clawing through his skull, leaving no trace upon
his head, but instead within it as the bird re-arranged his brain, changing his character
entirely, corrupting the farmer and turning him into something far different.

And from that day Mars was a warrior who sought the fight wherever he went. A
mercenary for the Empire, looking to extend it wherever and whenever. And he would
even caused rebellion afterward for an excuse to go back for more blood. It never
bothered him why or how the fight came about- he just wanted to be in the killing fields
every day, sunrise to sunset, and beyond if necessary.

---

Not written but re-blogged (aka cheated ;) ) for the Light and Shade Challenge ("Hang on, I've written a story about an eagle and a field before," I thought to myself) from the following picture prompt:

 

Image courtesy of J-H Janssen taken from Wiki Commons

There are more Myths of the Solar System here.

George Joy’s Guide to Faerytale Creatures, No 9: Firebrands

Now believed to be extinct, Firebrands were small creatures that travellers of all kinds would take on long journeys both to help keep them company and to light their fires for them.  The creatures would travel in a pouch swinging from their owner’s belt or in the top pocket of their coat or shirt - their heads invariably poking out the top in order to look around.

They were created and given as gifts by the warring wizard, Mars, to those who, like him and Mercury, travelled following the First War of This World.  Indeed, it is often said that the one held by Mercury helped create weapons during the next war - in particular, the Underearth’s Dragons.

The creatures themselves were like newts in appearance with long bodies and tails bordered by four short legs, each with their own individual pattern of white, black, red, orange and yellow stripes running from nose to tail.  When commanded, and only when commanded, they would breath fire until the object they were told to aim at (generally kindling) took up that fire.

It is believed they became extinct as each would either die at the same time as their owner or crawl into his or her mouth so as to be buried with them.  

And that is all that can be said, more or less.  Another creature lost way back in the mysterious mists of time.

Myths of our Solar System (13): Mars corrupted

Mars sat in a field, bored. Earlier that day he had overseen the planting of seeds for the
year. He had gone through the motions again because it was his job but it was not what
he desired anymore.

No, he wanted a life more exciting, of fast moving action, of life and death- not this slow,
seemingly eternal wait for growth and harvest. Once it had excited him but not for a long
time now.

Not since he had first smelled blood in the air and heard the distant clash of swords and
shield. Later he had found the remains left from the battle strewn across a field almost
ready for harvest. Rather than grow angry, Mars had begun to re-think his life.

And so Mars sat in a field, bored, and thinking back on that scene, he wondered about all
he had seen that day when an eagle landed close by.

“Greetings, Mars,” said the eagle, spreading its wings out and looking most regal.

“And greetings to you, sir eagle,” Mars replied impressed at the sight of these great bird,
its wings outspread.

“You yearn, do you not, for another life? One of glory and action?”

“I do. I’m so bored with this bollocks.”

“Even if it this activity is for it’s own sake and serves no purpose?”

“Oh, I don’t mind, escaping reason as well as duty sounds good to me.”

“Then it shall be so,” declared the eagle and it darted straight at Mars, attacking him, its
beak pecking and its claws magically clawing through his skull, leaving no trace upon
his head, but instead within it as the bird re-arranged his brain, changing his character
entirely, corrupting the farmer and turning him into something far different.

And from that day Mars was a warrior who sought the fight wherever he went. A
mercenary for the Empire, looking to extend it wherever and whenever. And he would
even caused rebellion afterward for an excuse to go back for more blood. It never
bothered him why or how the fight came about- he just wanted to be in the killing fields
every day, sunrise to sunset, and beyond if necessary.

Myths of our Solar System (12): Mars, the warring wizard

Few wizards took part in the First War, the war that determined the make-up of This World
and divided the population between the Underearth and the Overearth. Most more or less
ignored it completely and continued with their studies, trying to make sense of the world
they had been presented with for study. And not wanting to throw away their immortality
and die.

Not for Mars, though, that life of contemplation and self-preservation. He saw the war as
The Chaos at work once more and knew that he could use his discoveries and magic to
help wrestle it to (and, as it turned out, under) the ground.

In the Old World, Mars had always been known for the fun his research and magic
created. In the great gardens around the Tree of Life he conjured firework displays to
entertain the population. Little adjustment was needed to turn these into weapons that
would explode and scatter the enemy.

Before long he found that he could use the explosions to fire rocks at the enemy. And
then he discovered and learned new ways to treat the explosives, such as creating small
handheld charges with fuses that could be lit and thrown and firing bombs that explode on
impact.

Along the way, though, Mars lost his taste for this bloodshed. In his role as weapons
inventor, he had always kept his distance from the fighting, seeing his weapons in action
from a distance.

Then one day he bumped into a fellow wizard called Panacea, who was covered in blood
and visibly shaken. Mars asked her what had happened and she told him that she had
lost many that day, that the enemies weapons, like his, were getting better and it was
getting harder for her to cope. Her healing magic was still in its infancy, you see. Cuts,
even quite deep ones, were easy (as every wizard knew) but insides were another matter
entirely and Panacea was struggling on her own.

Mars went with Panacea to her field hospital and saw the carnage. He stayed on to
help as best he could. And, as he did, Mars got to thinking about the opposition, what
his weapons must be doing to them who did not have wizards. And soon he pledged to
discover a way to bring about an end to this war and ensure there that would never be
another.

This he did, of course, and so successful was he that he went the same way as Mercury
and was used to aid the Underearth’s first return.