FANTASY | CONTEMPORARY FANTASY | YOUNG ADULT | SERIES
Titan’s Daughter | Chapter 1
The Beast at Dusk
In a world of gods and monsters, a demigod fights for acceptance. When her titan blood awakens, her power becomes the most coveted prize in the universe.
As she battles to control her emerging abilities, with the help of her friend, Gaea must set out on a perilous journey, defending herself against demigods and bloodthirsty monsters hell-bent on capturing or destroying her.
The setting sun drenched the forest in a washed-out yellow and orange hue, casting long shadows at crooked angles. As Gaea pushed through the sepia-filtered woods, diffused with an air of nostalgia, a sense of unease crept over her.
This was her forest, her domain. She had walked this very path more times than she could count, each tree and creature written into her memory as an old, trusted friend. They were like a part of her, curiously drawn to her, as if acknowledging her as one of their own.
But something was off. An unsettling feeling had descended; the usually bustling sounds of the forest reduced to stillness. It felt as if the forest and time itself were holding their breath, waiting for something — or perhaps someone.
The feeling crawled under her skin, nagging at her. It wasn’t fear, exactly, but an awareness that something had shifted subtly yet significantly. It was as if her beloved forest had a secret, and for the first time, it was keeping it from her.
Adding to Gaea’s gnawing feeling was Mr. Porter’s unusual concern about her walking alone into the forest. Heading home from Persephone, she always cut through the forest.
Over the years, she had come to know Mr. Porter as a man of few worries, but she could sense that something had him concerned.
The soft chime of her phone interrupted her thoughts. She slipped her hand into her back pocket, her fingers brushing against the cool, familiar surface of her device.
A hint of curiosity as she saw a notification from a number that wasn’t saved in her contacts.
She read the enthusiastic message on the screen, “Aah! I finally got a phone!”
A smile, crossed her lips, dimpling her olive cheeks.
Tapping away at her screen, she quickly saved the number under the name “Sprite.”
Her fingers continued sliding across the screen as she typed out, “About time!” accompanied by a flurry of emojis — heart, confetti, and clapping hands.
Her grin widened as she pressed send.
Slowly, a rhythmic tremor punctured the quiet of the forest, pulsing through the earth beneath her feet. It grew more thunderous, as if the very heart of the forest had begun to drum a menacing beat — each thud she felt in her entire body.
Low, uneasy words escaped her lips: “That ain’t no woodland creature.”
She was a child of this forest, and it hid no secrets from her. But this was alien.
As the dusky light of the fading sun filtered through the towering trees, a massive shadow peeled itself from the trees.
A deep, guttural growl accompanied the emerging shadow, “Demigoddess, you are unclaimed, unordained, no gods protect you.”
Gaea’s heart thudded against her entire body, her pulse pounding in her head, as the looming figure crystallized into a horrifying sight.
The creature’s voice deepened, filled with gruesomeness, “I shall squeeze you dry of the godly essence coursing through your veins.”
Gaea’s eyes stretched wide, her blood freezing in her veins at the sight of the colossal creature. The trees seemed like mere saplings against its monstrous form.
Its giant form was marred by a large, discolored eye that sat unsettlingly above its bulbous nose, an image that felt torn straight from the pages of a nightmare. Her mind stuttered, grappling with the reality before her.
A gargantuan hand, fat and terrifying, lunged towards her. But, in an act of preservation, Gaea’s body reacted before her brain could even register the danger. She stumbled back, crashing onto the damp grass, its cold wetness seeping through her clothes.
The monster’s thunderous groan filled the air as she wrestled with the earth. She desperately clawed at the mossy soil, fighting to get to her feet. Her brain spinning with panic and disbelief, struggling to process the impossible reality in front of her.
Somehow, she managed to regain her footing.
With a gasp, she launched herself forward, her legs pumping faster than they ever had, each stride a silent prayer to outrun the monstrosity behind her. Yet, the steady drumming of her heart, in sync with the crashing footfalls chasing her, seemed to get closer with every step — Thud! Thud! Thud!
Her panic threatened to consume her. But with each stride and each gasping breath, she forced the fear down, channeling it into a frenzied sprint, her body moving unnaturally fast.
Her mind sprinted as fast as she did: what manner of creature is this, and why does it think she’s this demigoddess person? And who names their kid that anyway — Hippies? She pushed the thoughts aside.
This was her forest; she grew up playing in these woods, among these trees, and in the creeks and rivers that run through it. She knows it well. Her fear changed into fuel, propelling her faster, forward.
She should have been more terrified; she was terrified, but somehow she managed the fear.
She veered into the more densely wooded area, the part of the forest where the trees were more ancient and closer-knitted together — stood shoulder to shoulder, serving as a natural maze — obstacles for the monster.
As she pushed through the denser trees, the creature’s monstrous footsteps slowed, met by the formidable wall of trees.
She could sense its frustration through the snapping and fracturing of tree limbs under its colossal weight. Still, it wouldn’t halt; it couldn’t. She knows she can’t out run the creature, she needs to dissolve into the forest, wait it out, maybe it will lose interest, she thought.
Darting towards a small cliff edge, without hesitation, Gaea quickly shimmied down, pressing herself into a hollowed-out niche in the rock. She took a moment to catch her breath and listen.
Note:
This was my first try at a longer, novel-length piece of writing. But I lost steam after the initial burst of enthusiasm. Maybe if I post it in serialized installments, it’ll motivate me to see it through to the end.
I know I have the beginning mapped out in my head, along with some key plot points. It’s just a matter of connecting those dots and pushing through the middle part.
I’m hopeful that putting it out there will inspire me to keep chipping away at it.
Who knows, maybe I’ll even get some helpful feedback that sparks new ideas. Either way, I’m ready to give this novel thing a shot again. Here goes everything.
After doing some research about writing a novel (which I should’ve done before even starting), I came across the term “medias res,” which I wish I had known before posting this series on Vella.
This chapter was originally Chapter 4. Chapters 1, 2, 3 is an introduction to the two main characters, and Chapter 4 would have been where the inciting incident threw Gaea into the world of Greek gods and monsters.
Chapter 4 works so much better as the first chapter where the original chapters 1, 2, 3 (now 2, 3, 4,) would be an incremental time-jump from the past leading up to the second half of the original chapter 4 (now chapter 1) which would become chapter 5. You live and you learn.
