The Exile of Cronus

My second published work, The Exile of Cronus begins in the court of the Atlantean King Uranus:

“You dare,” he spluttered, “You dare pretend to better the life’s work of the High King, the Titan of Atlantis,”
“My Lord,” Cronus protested, “I am but an amateur compared to your life-long studies. If you had not provided me with such an excellent basis with your own research, I would never have achieved the least of successes. You find yourself preoccupied with your tasks, and rightly so, but had you continued your research you might have been able to achieve that which you sought for so long. I merely took another step along that long path, in the hopes that, someday, your great work would be completed and, you might be freed from this terrible fate to live a true eternal life.”
“I am quite content with my lot,” the High King snarled, “I have been granted perpetual life to fulfil my stewardship of these great lands, by powers greater than you can possibly comprehend; and if, by all that is holy, I am bound to fulfil that existence in a halflife, so be it. It is not given to you to tamper with that mandate.”
“My apologies, my Lord,” Cronus replied simply, “But I felt unable to countenance the perpetuation of such a dire curse against your august self, if there were even the tiniest possibility that I might manage to abate that horror.”
“Such was not your given due,” the Titan sniffed, “Nonetheless, I grant it to you.”
Though Cronus was aged, his wits were not yet greatly dulled, and years of paying court to the High King’s halls had taught him a thing or two about others.

After being cursed and exiled by the High King, Cronus journeys into the Lands Beyond, were he is soon joined by his family. They try to make themselves comfortable, and even enjoy friendly contact with the local Nomads. However, though distant, they are not unaffected by the Titan’s slide from nobility…

SPOILER ALERT: PLOT SYNOPSIS:

After being cursed and exiled by the High King Uranus, Cronus and his wife Rhea leave for the Gates of Gaia, a port on the edge of Atlantis. There they meet Cleito, captain of the Poseidonis, who agrees to ferry them into Exile. After parting from the ship in the Lands Beyond, the two establish themselves in a coastal cave and begin to make themselves at home. Cronus discovers some interesting aspects to his curse, yet is unable to properly analyse it, both due to his nature and the to lacking equipment.

His extended family soon follow him into exile, bringing with them most of his alchemy set. With this he is able to diagnose his condition – his body is enhanced, but his spirit has lost the ability to revitalise itself. Without a true cure, he is forced to maintain his spirit by feeding it the spirit imbued in the blood of others, after alchemically stabilising his own transformation.

With his own troubles now manageable, Cronus notices age creeping up on his beloved Rhea. She tries to brush off his concern, but eventually begs him to allow her to share in his immortality. Undeterred by his warnings, she manages to take the curse upon herself. With her beloved’s guidance, she masters the perils and pitfalls of the curse much more swiftly that Cronus himself.

Cleito, passing by again on her regular trip, also asks to join them. Cronus reluctantly agrees, on the condition that she bear a message to the Titan of Atlantis. His new formulation should serve to free Uranus from the greatest burdens of his curse, and the newly immortal Cleito sets sail for Atlantis soon after.

Eventually, the remainder of his extended family joins him as cursed immortal souls in that cavern. One day, the younger ones set off to hunt in the forest whilst Cronus and Rhea tend to their tasks in the cave. As they approach the forest, however, their skin begins to flush with an accelerated sunburn. Safe in the shade, they linger until the sun has faded before returning to discover devastation – the cave has been assaulted by agents of the Titan, the local grove and spring despoiled.

The Poseidonis is nearby, her surviving crew chained in the hold. They tell the immortals of Cleito’s death and the assault by the Titan’s agents – they gathered souls then vow vengeance against the Titan, proposing to gather allies and weapons to dispose the Titan. Unable to rescue Cronus and Rhea, they are forced to abandon them in the cave for now.

The Nomads soon agree to sign up, after witnessing the Titan’s horror first hand. The immortals split into four groups, both to cover more ground and to scatter pursuit. The year passes with a number of minor skirmishes before gathering in the Hall of Cythos (constructed by the immortal Awides in a forest) as winter closed. With a full eight tribes of Nomads dedicate to their cause, the family of Cronus launch an assault on Atlantis itself.

The Gates of Gaia fall readily to the attackers, who take the defences by surprise and free Gaia from her confinement. Though they are unable to break the curse the Titan bestowed upon her, she gifts them with a flint blade imbued with some bitter curses of her own.

They proceed to the Capital, taking the outer ring completely by surprise but thrown back by the defences of the second ring. Whilst Diujus stays and keeps the Titan contained, pressuring his defences until they break, the immortals one more split into small groups and spread throughout the land, freeing the citizens of Atlantis from the Titan’s control. The nobles to the North prove to be firmly and willingly in the Titan’s sway, though the Monarch of the southern tribe proves much more cooperative.

After six long weeks, the Titan’s grip upon Atlantis has been shattered, though not purged, and only the Titan’s central citadel remains in the capital. Under cover of an immense smokescreen, the eight immortals infiltrate that citadel and the throne room of the Titan of Atlantis. Though he falls to Gaia’s blade, he manages to trigger a mighty talisman built into the floor, which proceeds to unleash horrific destruction. Despite the best efforts of the eight immortals to supress the effects, Atlantis is destroyed and sunk over the course of a single day and night, with the final detonation flinging the immortals into the Lands Beyond.

Life goes on for those that survive, but Atlantis is lost forever.

Available in paperback and Kindle editions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exile-Cronus-K-Moonfire/dp/1511567155/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479668837&sr=8-1