The Jabberwock

CHAPTER I

One day, in the land of ancient Greece, there lived a centaur named Jaxith. He was abandoned at birth by his unknown parents. Jaxith was adopted by fairies that were disguised as humans, and they too disguised Jaxith as a human, replacing the horse’s body with human parts. Jaxith grew up with a good life; his “parents” raised him in the beautiful town of Pydna, and then they moved to the even more beautiful town of Athens, Greece, which had hot, dry summers and mild, cold winters. People would travel using two or four-wheeled carts to carry people or light cargo, sometimes both. Greece had mountains like Pindus and Olympus, and it was surrounded by the Ionian, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas. As Jaxith grew older, he did more work with his father, and then he began to work on multiple farms as a farmer who scooped hay into barrels, worked on crops, and moved heavy blocks of cement. It was all in a good day’s work, despite how much he hated it. He wanted more; he wanted power. He wanted riches. Working on the farm only got him so much money every week, and it wouldn’t be enough for what he desired. He thinks that he deserves a better job because a mere peasant job is just not good enough for someone like Jaxith. He and his family grew up in the middle class, which was the best life for an abandoned baby, but not for Jaxith; he wanted power and riches. Jaxith was homeschooled, and it made him wonder if his parents couldn’t afford a public school in Greece. And then, in 1299 BCE, something was happening: a war. A war against the Trojans and the Greeks. This was his chance, Jaxith thought. This was his chance to rise to power by fighting in this war. Jaxith would fight with the Trojans, even though he lived in Greece and was technically a Greek himself. In Athens, they were calling every man, beast, and mortal to fight in the war. Mainly looking for men who were strong and would fight for the Greeks, rather than against them like Jaxith did. His plan was simple: he’d sneak off with the group of other recruited Greeks and make his way to Troy. He arrives with enough time to get to know most of the Trojans, and they allow him to fight along with them. He fought with his fists and his legs; he used not the typical weapons like swords or shields; instead, he’d use pitchforks and other farmly items in battle. There was no rule against this, so he had gotten away with his weapons of choice. Jaxith was heavily injured in the Trojan War, and he needed to stay on the island of Troy as he healed. His parents were worried because they had no idea where he went, and they went around Greece searching for him, but they didn’t find him. After he healed, he eventually bought a small boat to make his way back to Greece. However, he encounters a large storm, and his boat crashes on an island. He runs into Cicones and has to fight him alone. His skills weren’t like they had been due to the injuries from the Trojan War, but he managed to kill half of them and get away. Jaxith realizes that he is stranded and needs to survive. 

CHAPTER II

As Jaxith works his way to survival, he stumbles upon a flower, and he notices that it has some bites taken out of it—nothing too big, but nothing too small either. Jaxith thought that if there are small things living and surviving off of this flower, then he could too. So, he picked up the flower and sniffed it, and then he took a bite. And as soon as he took this bite, he almost felt faint as he felt a strong gust of wind, and he met the god Aeolus, who gives him some wisdom and disowns him for fighting against the Trojans! Aeolus didn’t want to help him because Jaxith had betrayed Greece, the Greeks themselves, and his family. Another gust of wind occurs, and Aeolus is gone, and the flower is still in his hand. When Jaxith makes his way back to his shelter, he finds a cave. And much like Odysseus and his men, he begins to indulge in the food and other resources in the cave. Until Polyphemus arrives and the cyclops gets angered because he can sense something is off and his items are misplaced. Jaxith doesn’t defeat Polyphemus; instead, he sneaks out before he is detected, letting the silent sound of his human feet help him get away. After many restless nights, Jaxith tosses and turns, wandering around in the night. Suddenly, he comes across a temple of what appears to be a bald, muscular spartan.

As he enters the temple, a voice can be heard throughout the very large concrete room. “WHO DARES ENTER MY DOMAIN?” the voice echoes. Jaxith is shocked at the sudden noise and perks up, raising his guard. “My name is Jaxith the Great Centaur, and I do.” He suddenly gets cut off by the loud man: “Boy, you’re no centaur. I count two legs, not four.” He said. “Who are you?” Jaxith asked. “Jaxith, I am your father.” He replied, “My name is Kratos. I am the God of strength and a warrior like you.” And after meeting his father, he got introduced to what they thought was his mother, Faye, the wife of Kratos. Then he got introduced to the God of Thunder, Thor, who was also related to him. With this information, it all started to make sense to Jaxith: he wasn’t destined to work as a farmer; he was destined to be a great warrior or a great god. Being someone of this title could lead to riches and fame; he could buy everything he wanted, and he could move out of Greece, saying goodbye to his “parents” and living a life with his real father. However, Ares and Athena had appeared before Jaxith. “If you would like to abandon your life as a mere farmer, you must participate in a dark tournament. They said it in unison. Jaxith nodded and stayed silent, understanding that this was a very serious responsibility. Ares and Athena opened a portal to a large arena and went through it. As Jaxith went through, he was immediately thrown into a battle with an undead cyclops. The cyclops charges and swings at Jaxith with its comically large battle axe, as Jaxith jumps on top of the axe and manages to tear the cyclops’s eye out, almost immediately winning the battle. Kratos stares in shock and awe, feeling a wave of pride wash over him. Faye, however, is concerned as to how Jaxith would’ve been if he wasn’t raised by kind people.

CHAPTER III

After many enemies, it all boils down to one murderous enemy. The chances of surviving are slim; however, there is still hope for our hero. The enemy seems to be sentient and humanoid, but there’s something off about this… THING. It bowed. Jaxith smiled and bowed as well, due to the faint kindness he had sensed. They stared at each other from across the battlefield, curious. “Jaxith, my brother. I’ve been paying close attention to your life ever since we were kids. In every wrongdoing, I was there. For every good deed done, I was there. I feel as if I grew up with you.” The man says this, making sure not to show any deep emotion. Jaxith smiles and opens his mouth to say something, but is then cut off by the man, who says, “But I didn’t. This is a battle for our godhood. If I lose, I lose everything I have up here, including our mother’s love. I cannot accept that fate.” Jaxith grits his teeth and smiles at his brother.

“What’s your name, brother?” He asks, still smiling. “It’s Asura,” he managed to mutter before Jaxith dashed towards him, punching Asura in the gut. The blow managed to knock the wind out of Asura. “Nice to meet you, Asura!” Jaxith yelled out as he started laughing. Asura recovered quickly and decided to put some distance between the two of them. Jaxith takes off his armor, revealing a black shirt and white pants. Instinctively, they both take fighting stances and smile at each other.