Chapter 4

“Wake up, Argonaut.” A booming voice rocked my eardrums.

“Huh, what in the world happened? Where am I? Heaven?” I asked the voice, unable to open my eyes.

“Haha, no. I am the lightning God, Hundus. Lord of black skies and booming thunder.” The voice replied.

“Did you say, lightning GOD?” I asked in disbelief.

“I know it may be hard for a mere mortal to comprehend, but yes.” Hundus replied.

“So, why am I...here? Where is it?” I asked.

“You are in my domain. Here, child, let me open your eyes.” Hundus said smoothly.

Suddenly I felt a very slight tap on my forehead, like a single rain droplet. Then, with searing and burning pain, my eyelids shot open in an instant to reveal a sprawling botanical garden full of women and yellow flowers.

“I, I can’t believe what I am seeing.” I said to Hundus.

“I know, it is a lot to take in. Just follow me and I will show you around while you adjust.” Hundus said.

“Adjust? Am I staying here?” I asked back.

“Of course not. You need to save the world. It is just important for me to show you around because you might be spending some time here later.” Hundus said.

“Ah I get it, the whole omnipotent God thing, you can see the future yeah?” I asked.

“Among other things sure. Though I assure you, power is far more a responsibility than a blessing in any sense.” Hundus said.

“Heard it before, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ right?” I asked.

“Sure does. You’ll learn that for yourself quite soon though.” Hundus said.

“What is that supposed to mean? I’m no superhero.” I said back.

“Not right now you aren’t, but shortly, you may be even more than super.” Hundus said.

“I am unsure of this, by the way, what did you call me earlier? Astronaut?” I asked.

“No my boy, Argonaut. You sail the sea of clouds and call them your home. You possess awesome power that can break down any barrier or foe.” Hundus said cryptically.

“I’m, like, some kind of hero?” I asked.

“Of course not, but you will be. Now then, on with the tour.” Hundus said, like he had done this a million times.

Hundus’ “Domain” as he called it, was a gorgeous sprawling garden. Oddly enough, there wasn’t much variety, just yellow flowers as far as the eye could see. Hundus assured me that time worked to his command while inside the Domain, meaning once I had completed the tour, and “awakened” as Hundus called it, I could return to the real world, right where I left off.

“You must have heard of me, though?” Hundus asked.

“No, never, I’ve heard of Greek Gods like Zeus or the Roman counterpart, Jupiter, the Egyptian Gods Hamon and Ra, but no mention of Hundus.” I answered the towering divine being.

Hundus paused, “Boy, they have given me quite a few names over the years.” Hundus said with a sense of nostalgia.

“You mean to say, all of those Gods are you?” I asked.

Hundus chuckled softly, “Sure boy, all of those names are all used to describe me. However, my true name is Hundus. Sounds like none of the humans have found that out yet though.” Hundus said.

“Could be a translation barrier I guess, but if those Gods really are you, then that implies you’ve lived for thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years!” I exclaimed back.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Hundreds of thousands of years are gone in seconds when you’re a God. I’ve likely lived for many millions, possibly billions of years, but I’m not really counting” Hundus said.

“Hmmm, well what’s the earliest memory you have?” I asked.

Hundus peered toward the infinite yellow abyss of a sky above him with a pensive look on his face. “Well, child, Gods like me aren’t exactly born like humans, we are created. My earliest memory is simply popping into existence unexpectedly with my thoughts and a sort of prewritten list of instructions on how to be a God that was hardwired into my head. At some point in time, I simply went from non-existence to existence and it has never been the same since.” Hundus explained.

“That’s insane…” I replied.

“Regardless, I need to get you prepared for the coming stormfront.” Hundus turned towards me.

“Stormfront? You get storms up here? Wherever we are…” I said back.

“No, child, the stormfront you will be faced with once you have returned to your mortal chains.” Hundus said.

“Right, that’s great and all, but you still haven’t explained to me what exactly an ‘Argonaut’ is, as you said” I reminded the divine being.

“Argonauts were Greek sailors at one point. Warriors. The lesser known fact about them however, was the Argonaut Occult, and by extension, the Argonaut Code.” Hundus started.

“Argonaut Occult?” I asked.

“Precisely. A group of tight-knit and very powerful warriors, some of which were previously Argonaut sailors. They practiced the arcane arts and could infuse their warrior bodies with unfathomably powerful magic. They created the ‘Argonaut Code’ which was a very secretive jurisdiction and method to choose Argonauts in the future. They were ‘ahead of their time’ quite literally.” Hundus explained to me.

“So was I chosen as part of this code? Is that why I’m here?” I asked.

“Precisely. I was going to just wait till you were alone outside to bring you up and inform you, but you were in what I consider a ‘natural situation’ where I was able to bring you to this Domain to awaken you.” Hundus said back.

“I see, so, how do you know the Argonaut Occult, why are you tasked with this?” I asked the being.

“I used to be one. Gods live among people from time to time to provide otherworldly support and balance fights.” Hundus explained.

“So, you’re the source of the Argonauts having access to such powers?” I asked.

“Partly responsible. There were other major Gods that gave the Argonauts access to divine strength, so there are many types of Argonauts.” Hundus replied to me.

“Right, so if you are the God of thunder and lightning and all that, that would mean you gave the Argonauts power relating to that?” I asked.

“Precisely, you’re observant I guess. I bestowed the Argonaut platoon I was in charge of with the power of the Crackling Dawn, a basically infinite supply of lightning, the power to smite down their foes with help from the skies above. Therefore, my platoon was named as such, the Crackling Dawn.” Hundus explained.

“Why mention that name ‘Crackling Dawn’ that seems kind of insignificant?” I asked.

“Because that is your family title. You are an Argonaut of the Crackling Dawn. If you somehow were to encounter any other Argonauts, you would simply tell them your title, preceded by your name, Daniel, and they will proceed based on their relation to your family title. Therefore, you would be ‘Daniel, Argonaut of the Crackling Dawn’” Hundus explained.

“Daniel, Argonaut of the Crackling Dawn, that sounds so cool and powerful.” I said to the deity.

“I’m glad you like it, wear the name with pride. Now, how about we get on with your awakening and actually attribute some power to that name.” Hundus said.

“Sounds good to me, how do we go about that.” I asked.

“Simply raise your hands towards the abyss and if you are deemed pure with a warrior’s heart, a Friggan of the Crackling Dawn will descend from above and bestow you the power you desire.” Hundus said.

“Friggan? What is that?” I asked.

“A lightning demon. Sounds scarier than it actually is, I promise.” Hundus assured.

“Alright. Here goes nothing.” I said with false confidence.

I raised my hands toward the infinite yellow abyss and closed my eyes, normalized my breathing, then opened my eyes again. From far above in the yellow tinted abyssal clouds I could see a concentration of striking lightning. Then, a bright purple portal seemed to open. A figure protruded from the portal that looked like some cross of a horse and devil. Like a centaur with demonic wings and horns, but completely made of purple energy.

“My lord...a Purple Friggan…” Hundus said.

“What? Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

“No, I’ll explain later, just concentrate and receive the power, you will need to concentrate if you don’t want to be overwhelmed.” Hundus said.

The Friggan seemed to collide with the environment of the Domain and then proceeded to rocket towards me, stopping inches before my hands.

“MORTAL, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY I, ZELFORGE, PURPLE FRIGGAN OF THE CRACKLING DAWN!” The Friggan said with a booming voice that seemed to echo. “I WILL NOW TEST YOUR POWER AND DETERMINE IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORTHY TO BE GIVEN THIS INFINITE POWER!” The Friggan said, proceeding to inch closer to me and open its mouth wide, revealing a vortex inside its mouth.

“Test me then!” I exclaimed, with confidence coming most likely from the shock I was in. Yet, although I should have been scared, I felt calm and collected even while staring down this ultraviolet storm beast.

The Friggan then enveloped me with its vortex mouth, the walls of its mouth seemed to expand until I was floating in blackness. Hundus and the Friggan were unseeable. I looked into the distance and saw a flash of Zem’s face, who then protruded from the blackness and sprinted towards me. I raised my hands to intercept him but he ducked right under and jabbed me in the gut. Although I was sure this was an illusion, the pain was definitely real. I reeled from the jab and stepped back, still in shock from seeing Zem.

“Why are you here? What are you?” I asked the thing that looked like Zem.

It looked at me and ignored my questions completely, once again sprinting the small distance I had created and punching me in the side of my face, once again with the pain feeling real.

“What is going on!?” I shouted.

“You are no hero. You are no Argonaut. You will die to my fist.” The thing that looked like Zem said.

Zem proceeded to beat me for what seemed like an hour, each time I felt pain but no lasting marks or lasting pain, only the initial pain from each hit. I did however feel like I was inching closer to death. I felt helpless and like I was in danger. If this went on, I was going to die, no doubt about it. Finally, I decided to fight back and caught Zem’s fist mid-punch.

“I am a warrior. I will take you down.” I told Zem.

“Finally! This is getting interesting!” Zem said, I was still unsure if it even was him or simply an apparition.

I concentrated like Hundus had told me to into my fist and flexed the muscles in it. Almost immediately after flexing, a purple art of lightning shot down from the blackness above, or what I thought was above, and filled my hand with what felt like raw, natural power. My fist glowed bright purple and small arcs and sparks of violet lightning shot out of it.

“You’re going down now!” I shouted at the figure.

I punched straight into Zem, but immediately during contact he disappeared and my fist ripped into the blackness creating a hole. Through the hole I saw the same familiar yellow flowers of the Domain. Suddenly, a booming voice from somewhere stated,

“GOOD! YOU ARE NO MERE MORTAL, YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY A WARRIOR, A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ARGONAUTS OF THE CRACKLING DAWN.” The Friggan said, “YOU WILL BE BESTOWED MY POWER! GO FORTH AND CONQUER, SAIL THE WAVES OF THUNDERCLOUDS AHEAD!” The Friggan said.

Suddenly, the hold produced a small black orb, which the rest of the blackness was sucked into, including the familiar violet energy of the Friggan itself. I was back inside the Domain, and Hundus was staring silently at the orb next to me. The orb hovered for a few seconds until it shot towards my chest and disappeared into me. I felt no pain for its entrance, just a sudden, overwhelming feeling of power and justification.

“So, how was that?” Hundus asked.

End of Chapter 4