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***Kaia’s Warning***
Samsara sat in her new temple and meditated. The sandalwood
smoke rose from the floor as the room filled with white air. She
was satisfied with yet another battle against another insolent
enemy. She was very content with her life, despite the fact that
she had to get rid of her sister and father somehow.
"Sam," came a voice.
The Goddess snapped out of her concentration. "Who’s
there?" she demanded.
Kaia appeared from the cloud. She was pallid and in chains.
Instead of her usual garb, she wore a robe in the fashion of a
Roman toga. The rattling of chains disturbed Samsara from her
calmness.
"Why are you wearing that? What is wrong with you?"
"I’m wearing the chains of my life, Sister," she
responded, lifting a link. "This is the result of my life.
You know: I tried for so long to make you into something you are
not and never really will be. My entire life was devoted not
only to making you suffer for being the good girl, but to turn
you dark just as Daddy wanted. This made me destroy many lives,
including two Amazon villages. Now that I’m gone, I have to
face what I’ve created. You’re right, when you destroy you
create as well."
"Very true," Samsara agreed, standing up. "Why
are you here? What do you want to tell me?" The
Princess-Heiress was one to get to the point of any
conversation.
Kaia sighed. "To tell you to mend your ways. Are you
happy as the new Goddess of War, having sent everyone away,
leaving your tribe?"
"Is this a selfish ploy to get you and Father
reinstated? Everyone’s content without you, you realize this?
With no Ares and Kaia Kakistos to wreak havoc, war will only
happen for good reason."
"There is always a good reason for war, Sami," Kaia
reminded. "If not to settle disputes which would be
otherwise left unresolved, but to cleanse the earth and ensure
survival of the fittest."
The Goddess Kakistos laughed. "Of course, I’m happy.
And there never really is any good reason for war. You say it
just so people can fill your temples with sacrifices of war.
Humor me some more, would you?"
"Heed my warning, dear older sister," she
responded, turning. Wind picked up mysteriously as she moved.
"If you don’t mend your ways you will become like me.
Remember Kakistos, Samsara. Remember me." She walked away,
beginning to disappear. "Remember me. Remember me…"
She became nothing more than the cloud of incense.
The wind died.
A man took her place.
***Ghost of Solstice Past***
"Who in the Hades are you?" Samsara demanded.
"I’m the Ghost of Solstice Past," responded the
cheery figure. It was Dachus, her general, second-in-command of
her army. He was dressed in peasant clothes, not in the plunder
from the raids they went on together.
"Dachus?" She peered at him. "What are you
doing?"
"I’m here to show you the past." He extended his
hand. "If you would, mi’lady."
She scoffed. "What is the meaning of all of this? I am
not going anywhere with you, darlin’. Come Tartarus or high
whatever, I’m not going anywhere with you."
He laughed. "Well, that – for once – is not for you
to decide." He snapped his fingers and soon they were in a
cavern. There was little light from the opening above. The
shadows danced in the dark. They turned to the scene: a cooing
baby in a wicker basket.
Samsara knelt down and looked at the child. "She is so
beautiful…"
"She should be," he said, smiling. "She is
you."
"Me?" she said, looking at Dachus. "She is me?
Where is Mother?"
He pointed ahead of him. Callisto sat on a rock, holding her
knees to her chest. She was rocking back and forth, her eyes
darting from the wicker basket to the opening in the ceiling.
"Mother…" Samsara called. "Mother?" She
started toward her, but Dachus stopped her.
"You can’t go to her, you know. This is the past.
These events have happened; you can’t call for your mother
because she can’t hear you."
"She never held me, did she?"
"You weren’t with her for long. She used all of her
powers as an immortal to get you out," Dachus explained.
"SHUT UP, YOU SCREAMING BRAT! You screaming pathetic
excuse for a warrior child!" Callisto had had enough. The
baby stopped crying.
Samsara looked away. "I know Callisto never carried me.
I’ve seen enough."
Dachus laughed. "We haven’t even gotten started yet,
hon," he said, snapping his fingers. They were in Teloq.
Samsara recognized the huts and smiled. "Home," she
said, grinning. "Why are we here?"
"To see how you were as a young Amazon."
Little Samsara was attempting to work with nun-chucks and
kept hitting herself when the weapon recoiled. She was
practicing alone, not wanting to embarrass her guardian. Solari
watched and laughed, unbeknownst to the young girl.
"That little girl was me, wasn’t she?" Samsara
said. "And that is Solari laughing at me."
The young girl realized who was there and began to cry. She
ran away and the two followed her.
Ishtar came out of her hut, knowing her ward’s cry. She
knelt down, hugged the young girl, and wiped away her tears,
telling her words of encouragement.
"She always helped me. She was there when my mother was
not…" she observed.
"You must have loved her very much," Dachus said.
"I did. And she loved me…"
The scene was the funeral pyre. Young Samsara was standing,
dressed in dark clothing and pulling back tears. "I shall
never cry again."
"I never did," Samsara repeated.
"And you hid that as well as you could," the
general continued. "You did all you could
to bury your pain."
Images of Samsara fighting against Solari crossed their eyes.
"Solari was always the type to laugh at me. It was only
fair for me to treat her similarly…"
"You rose to a great position when Velasca left the
tribe. You wielded your power like there was no tomorrow.
Reminds me of when you first led the tribe. You bossed us around
and made sure we knew who was the leader."
Samsara nodded.
"But you blackened your soul. You never realized who you
hurt."
They were suddenly in Phaedra’s hut. Solari’s sister
looked at the looking glass and cried.
"What’s with her? I’ve always been nice to
her!" Samsara exclaimed.
"Just listen in," the warlord said to her. They
turned to observe more.
Phaedra wiped away her tears. "Will I ever be good
enough for Samsara? If my sister is nothing to her, what can I
be anything of worth?"
The Great Destroyer scoffed. "Excuse me? I affect her
that much?"
"You affect many Amazon, Great One. They look up to you.
Some worship your every step." Dachus chuckled. "Many
want to be you!"
"Like Hades I have that much power."
***Ghost of Solstice Present***
"Ah, but, oh Great One, you do," said a woman.
Samsara turned around.
"YOU?"
"Yeah, yeah, it’s me, and what?" asked Regent
Medea. "I’m the Ghost of Solstice Present and I will show
you around. "I’m not here for long, missy, so I’m gonna
make this quick. So, how about it?"
"Fine," Samsara responded begrudgingly.
"Now, you know, the powers that be decided that I can
only take you to one place and you know what? That one place is
gonna be ‘home.’ I’m taking you to Teloq and you will see
what you’ve left behind. Now remember, this is the kind of
mess you’ll leave for me and Cel to clean up in Themiscrya, so
you’d better clean up your act."
Samsara laughed. "You are telling me that
I need to clean up my act? Well, then!" Sheesh, the
Teloqian thought. Some people are just . . . UGH! Takes one
to know one, huh?
"Hey," Medea responded. "I heard that. Don’t
try to put one over me now, all right? So, listen up, ‘cuz I’m
only gonna say this once."
Immediately, they were in Ephiny’s hut. Serena was with her
and they were having a secret conference. "I don’t know
what to do about the young ones," Ephiny said to the Chief
Elder. "They are surly and unruly and they won’t listen
to reason."
Serena sighed. Her white hair was braided and fell down her
torso to her waist. "If only the Princess-Heiress had been
more . . . gentle with her words and actions. Now, we have a
problem on our hands. How will we survive if they grow up like
this?"
The Goddess laughed. "You’ve gotta be kidding me. You
mean to tell me that by the way I "acted’ these Amazon
kids are disrespecting their elders? I never, ever disrespected
anyone that didn’t deserve it."
Medea chuckled. "Yeah, but you did rile Solari at every
turn and that is what those kids saw all the time."
"Well, what about you, Missy?"
She snorted. "Well, excuse me, Hon. Those kids knew me
to be this way. I’ve always been this way and it’s never
been without consequences. Besides, this isn’t about me at
all. This is about you. And if you don’t shape up, Cel and me
are going to have a huge problem on our hands. Kids take after
their elders and if you don’t fix your attitude then we are
always going to be the butt of tavern jokes.
Samsara laughed. This is ridiculous, she thought. Kids
acting like this just because I do? I don’t affect people that
much AT ALL.
She blinked. Medea was gone.
***Ghost of Solstice Yet to Come***
The Goddess turned around. A faceless figure, dressed in a
black cloak, stood before her.
"Do you believe you can scare me with this get-up?"
she demanded. "I am the Great Destroyer, Goddess Kakistos
of Destruction! It’ll take more than that to intimidate
me!"
The Cloaked Figure said nothing. With a wave of his pallid
hand, he whisked them away. Seconds later, they stood at the
head of a dinner table. All the Themiscryans sat at the table
and listened as Celosia spoke.
"We gather here in celebration of life," the Queen
began.
"‘Celebration of ‘life’?" the Goddess
repeated. "Okay, excuse me, Cloaked One, but this is a
death dinner? Is this why they’re gathered like this?"
She got no response.
She returned to the scene.
"She was a true Amazon. Her family was slaughtered by a
warlord and she could have easily turned evil, but she came to
us and learned of the forces of Good, just the reason she was
sent for . . ."
The Goddess blinked. "Excuse me? I’m . . . dead? No.
No, I can’t be! I am immortal. I am eternal! I am Samsara; I
can never be completely broken! When I die, the world
dies, you got that, Oh Great Cloaked One? Huh! I will always
exist. I am here now, tomorrow, and forevermore!" Her face
became flushed from the tension. The figure said nothing. She
turned to the scene again.
Celosia continued. "Mila’s death was unfortunate.
Samsara’s blade was too quick for anyone to stop…"
"‘Samsara’s blade’? You mean, I killed Mila? No…
I am not my mother. I am not Callisto! I would never…"
she let the sentence dangle. She lost the power of her voice.
The Cloaked Figure refused to respond. Her mouth dropped. She
killed Mila?
"But in that act, Samsara died."
The Goddess stopped. Dead? How can it be?
"Artemis, using all her power, struck her down. Now we
are less two wonderful Amazons and a matron," Celosia
raised her goblet, as did the rest. "I raise a toast to
Mila."
"To Mila," said the others in unison, drinking
wine.
"Now, to Samsara."
Medea lashed out. "The day I raise a goblet to that
wench is the day I betray every single one of you."
"Medea, please, I do believe you should toast,"
Celosia urged. "You aren’t the only one she’s
wronged."
"Yeah, but I was the only one to see it when she first
set foot here. You know, I had a good mind to tear right into
that witch, but I didn’t. I should have!"
"Medea, please," Tern responded, motioning to her
cup. "Take your chalice and toast. It’s
Solstice-time!"
The Regent grumbled and raised her cup. "To
Samsara."
Samsara frowned. "Okay, I’ve seen enough."
The Cloaked Figure raised a hand and they were away.
"Where in the Hades are we?" she demanded.
He said nothing. She looked about her and gasped. She was at
her grave. She knelt down and touched the stone marker, wiping
away the thin ice that was morning dew.
"Here lies the body of a heavenly spirit, woman, Amazon.
Trained as a foot soldier; skilled in horseback, chobos,
battle-axe, sword, crossbow, and royal staff. Fitted with the
Phoenix feather and the skin of her first satyr. Orphan, ward of
Ishtar, Shamaness Priestess. Appointed High Princess,
Princess-Heiress, Warrior and Protector of the Teloq Amazons,
here lies the body of Samsara the Great Destroyer. May Artemis
hold her in her heart."
She looked up at the dark figure.
"This is my destiny?" she said, fearful. "This
can’t be! Oh, by the Gods, Cloaked One, I can change!"
She fell onto her knees and gripped a section of cloth. The
figure looked down at her and shook his head, turning away.
"You don’t understand! I can’t be all bad if I realize
the folly of my ways! I can change; I know it. You know it! You
can’t give up on me now." The Cloaked Figure walked away,
leaving the Goddess to her words. "I can change," she
whispered, grabbing blades of grass. "I can change…"
***In the "Here and Now"***
Samsara opened her eyes. She was back in her temple. She knew
what she had to do. She had Ares’ Mantle. She had the power.
You can view this special holiday tribute in
its place within the story line. Confrontations
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