Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec // Gustave Courbet // Amedeo Modigliani // Théodore Chassériau

Igetus’s Story

like The Expeditioner, this is another summary. It’s the story of my OC Igetus. It’s a little less compete than The Expeditioner so bear with me. Here goes nothing.

Igetus’s father, Theron, was the king and general of the army in Ancient Greece(maybe? it’s definitely Greece, but a lot of his background isn’t really historically accurate. So for now, I’ll say it was Greece in an alternate universe Earth that’s almost exactly the same as this one except Ancient Greece was different.) After a victory in a battle with barbarians who were from what is now Poland, they pillaged their villages and Theron captured the women and picked the most beautiful one to be his wife. He chose the ash-blonde haired woman whom he named Kallia, so she would have a Greek name. She became the queen of Greece (or maybe that area of Greece. still not sure yet) and soon after, they had a son, Myron. Now Myron was a spitting image of Theron and next in line for the throne. Theron totally loved his little prince. However, a year or so after, they had another son, Seleukos. Seleukos had ash blonde hair and blue eyes like his mom, and was an accident. I guess Theron’s pullout game wasn’t very strong. Regardless, Theron was angry that Seleukos even existed. He neglected the child and would do everything in his power to not let Kallia see him either, even though she loved both her sons equally. Seleukos was raised by nannies and other household servants. Meanwhile, Theron would take Myron on extravagant hunting and fishing trips, travelling, and would educate him thoroughly. Seleukos was utterly rejected and neglected by Theron. He was never even allowed to be depicted on art of the royal family. The only depiction of him ever created was on one piece of pottery, because he requested that the potter, his friend, add him.

Over time, Seleukos became very bitter toward his father, and by extension, his brother. He rejected his family back after they rejected him, and refused to eat with them or interact with them. Most of the time, he would physically train outside, talk to the servants, and pay Myron’s tutors to educate him. Even though he was the less important royal son, he still had an arranged marriage planned with another noble girl, Klymene. They were required to visit each other often in order to get used to each other. Seleukos did not care much for Klymene, but had a crush on her personal attendant/servant, Antheia. One day, when Seleukos was about 15, Klymene was visiting; however, Antheia was not allowed inside the castle because her status was too low. But she stole some bread, cheese, grapes, and other snacks and went over to Seleukos, who she spotted training outside. He was very grateful and happy to see her and suggested he take her for a sneak tour of the castle. She reluctantly agreed after being pressured, because she was scared of getting caught, but still curious about their castle. Together, they snuck around, until a castle servant ratted them out to Theron, who became furious. Theron screamed at Seleukos in front of many servants, and slashed him across the face with one of his rings. He then locked him in the castle for a month, and banished Antheia from ever returning.

Seleukos wasn’t trapped for too long, and figured out how to escape when he wanted to, and didn’t feel like the ring slash even hurt. However, the smoldering rage he felt after that humiliation and pain never went away. Over the next few years, he directed that rage toward even tougher training. Because he refused to eat with his family, he often had to resort to leftovers and whatever else he could scrounge up, and became quite lean as a result. He still kept his father’s wide frame, though, so he never looked scrawny.

A year before Myron would have his crowning ceremony, when he officially would become ‘of age’ to be king, Seleukos was sulking after hearing about the celebration. He prayed to Hades - a fellow brother that was banished and rejected from the royal family - to help him get revenge on his father for trying to stamp him out. He swore to offer his soul if it was needed.

The next night, as he was about to go to sleep, a shadow crept over him. He turned over to see an Underworld denizen: a creature that looked like a hybrid between a woman and a snake. She asked if his offer still stood. After getting over his initial surprise, he said yes. She said to think carefully about it, and to go to a clearing in the forest where he sometimes trained or relaxed, in 11 months and 4 weeks, at midnight - if he was sure he wanted to go through with it. He nodded, and she disappeared into a portal in the ground.

Seleukos thought and thought about it for that whole year. He wondered if the snake lady had even been real or just a dream. However, he decided he would try anything in order to make his quest to tear his father down easier. Thus, 11 months and 4 weeks later, at midnight, he silently left the castle and went to the clearing. The same denizen was waiting there for him. Now, after having so much time to think, Seleukos did not arrive without a plan. He asked her why they even need souls. She explained that every wish Hades or another Underworld spirit grants has a price. He then inquired if he could trade more for more wishes: such as his eyes or sense of taste. She said she had never been asked that but stated you could. So Seleukos figured out a deal with her: he would trade his soul, eyes (but not vision), and senses of smell, taste, and touch, in exchange for immortality, super strength, super charisma, enhanced wisdom, intelligence, and learning speed, and the confirmation that one day, in the future, he would rule the entire world.

The soul exchanging process began. The denizen stabbed him in the base of his skull with an Underworld dagger. The dagger removed his soul, or life energy, and then replaced it with another form of energy: a sort of pseudo-life energy. His body got weaker and weaker. His eyes burned melted out of his head and into the dagger. That day, Seleukos died.

When he woke up again, he couldn’t taste, smell, or feel anything. The only place that had feeling was the place where he was stabbed. It became his weak spot: a spiky, black, star-shaped scar that was the only place Seleukos could feel pain, or anything. His vision was also different. The pseudo-life energy had replaced his eyes, giving him a wider field of vision much like a TV screen. The denizen was gone, and the sun was rising. He made his way back to the castle clumsily, frequently tripping. Just before he arrived, he tested his strength. He punched a boulder with all his might and it absolutely shattered into pieces. Amazed and satisfied that his deal had worked, he went back to the castle. Myron’s crowning ceremony was in a few days, and Seleukos hid in his room as much as he could. He no longer needed to eat or drink or sleep, so it wasn’t difficult. The day of the ceremony came. He faked an eye infection to hide his hollow eye sockets, and attended the ceremony. After it was all over, he took Myron’s crown before he went to bed. Seleukos dragged him out, and tortured him a bit before finally killing him. He donned Myron’s crown as Theron came rushing in, just in time to see Seleukos covered in Myron’s blood, wearing his also bloodstained crown. Seleukos fought and killed Theron, then chased after any servants who had witnessed. Kallia fled the castle after finding out the news, and Seleukos caught up just in time to see her run away from the castle, never to return again. A normal person would feel sad, but without a soul, Seleukos didn’t feel any sadness nor any remorse. He went into hiding after the servants chased him out.

Note: when you sell your soul to Hades, you can choose to give it to him immediately, or you can pledge him your soul after you die. If you pledge it, you keep your soul while you are alive, until whatever you wished for happens. Choosing this option means that the sale of your soul affects you very little, and means you don’t have to go through the painful and unpleasant process of having your soul removed and replaced. However, it also means that Hades will become impatient, and may make your death come earlier as a result. Giving it to him immediately will mean you will not have a soul after the trade is complete, meaning you will be unable to experience certain emotions such as sorrow, remorse, guilt, joy, tranquility, and fulfillment. However, it also means that Hades will be satisfied immediately, and will put you under no pressure to die after your wish is granted, so you can enjoy it to the maximum. Seleukos chose to give his soul to Hades immediately because to him it was a win-win.

In addition, giving your soul to Hades immediately grants you access to the outer edges of the Underworld as often as you please via a portal in the ground.

Seleukos decided to hide underground in the forest while he thought about what to do next. His life was now completely different, and he did not want to be reminded of the past, so he began to refer to himself as Igetus, which sounded similar to Greek igetis, or leader. Because Igetus had died, he no longer had a heartbeat, and the blood in his body would flow down and pool up from gravity. This was quite a nuisance as his legs would swell and become purple if he stood up for even a short amount of time. Instead of having to consciously beat his heart, he figured the best course of action would be to remove his blood from his body. He made several cuts all over himself and laid down on a slanted rock, and let the blood flow out into a ceramic jar. Then he sealed it. He kept some blood in his heart and brain, just in case. 

Honestly, this part I’m not sure about. He probably just stayed in hiding for maybe 50 years or so. During this time, he tried teleporting to the Underworld, but realized that if you teleport back to Earth, you probably won’t end up in the same spot. He tried teleporting to Earth and ended up in the deep sea many, many times. He also later removed most of his organs but kept his lungs, stomach, and kept short pieces of his small and large intestines. Finally, he got used to teleporting. Over a long time, he became able to pinpoint where he was going to teleport with greater and greater degrees of accuracy.

For hundreds upon hundreds of years, Igetus lived lives in many different cultures and countries. He wanted to gain the maximum wisdom he could and he wanted to observe current leaders in order to learn from them. During this time, he learned many languages, many fighting styles and weapons, and also other bits of culture like certain recipes, musical instruments, sewing, carpentry, etc. As he didn’t age, it became suspicious for him to stay in one place for too long, so he would fake his death when his time was up and move on to a completely different culture. It was relatively easy to hide his body oddities as science wasn’t every advanced and people weren’t as educated. As the world began modernizing, it became more difficult. He had to bribe doctors to officially state that he had some sort of eye disease, requiring him to wear sunglasses and other protective eyewear at all times. In the 19th and 20th centuries, he decided he was going to take over the world via the economy, but every time he faked his death, he had to start from square one. Even in the 21st century, he still didn’t have a solid plan for how he was going to rule the world so he became antsy. He finally decided he was going to have to make a bold move. He consulted Hades and asked if he was allowed to employ Underworld denizens in the quest to achieve his wish that he sold his soul for. Hades allowed him to do it. Hades also made it so that the denizens would only be visible by people who had pseudo-life-energy eyes (ie. only Igetus) could detect them. An army with billions of Underworld denizens flooded out onto the Earth, each one with a mission: watch over one human, 24/7. Igetus hacked all the TVs and computers in the world and broadcasted a message to humanity: “I am your leader now, the leader of the world. Here are the laws of the new world. If you disobey them once, you will be unconscious for 24 hours. If you disobey them again, you will die immediately. The laws can be found on every website, every TV and radio channel, and will be printed in newspapers. Read them carefully and keep them in mind, or else. That is all for now.”

Of course, there was confusion, outrage, and sometimes laughter at the thought of some guy trying to hack the world. But lo and behold, people who did disobey laws would fall unconscious and/or die seemingly without any cause at all, just like predicted. Confusion became fear. People saw others fall unconscious for even just littering or going over the speed limit. The population experienced a sharp decrease while people were still becoming accustomed. Igetus was the only one who knew what was going on, so everyone listened to him out of fear. Everyone hated him at first. But oddly enough, things started getting better eventually. The environment became a little cleaner. Deaths on the road decreased because of fewer intoxicated people driving. Workers who used to be illegally skimped on payment began receiving proper wages. Igetus himself, who at first was seen as heartless, evil, and strange, became headstrong, wise, and grounded in the eyes of the public. Even though many died directly and indirectly from the legal punishments, order slowly came back to the world. Igetus began to reveal more and more of his personality and became more and more public. After some time, even though he was still feared, the population had gotten used to him and he was generally at least tolerated. 

Of course, due to his immortality and other things, people became suspicious of Igetus’s humanity. He eventually admitted that he was immortal and had been making plans to rule the world since the 500s BCE. This stirred up great controversy as many thought he was lying, but it was the only way to explain his strangeness. He proved his immortality as he kept living and looking the same after 50, 70, 100 years, and so on. There were conspiracy theories that it was just many people who looked alike. Still, he remained the world leader because he was impossible to kill, and people followed his laws because the denizens still kept watch. He created a council to assist him in ruling the world. Secretly, he paid a group of scientists to clone him. Finally, the procedure was successful, and a surrogate gave birth to Igetus’s clone, who was named Seleukos “Leuk” jr. Igetus officially stated that the clone was his son that he created with an egg donor. Igetus then raised the clone like his son. Even though Igetus had pretended to be a father many many times before, this was the first time he actually experienced a feeling of caring for his child. Raising his son awakened a minuscule, dormant part of his soul that had remained after the soul exchange process. Igetus’s humanity started coming back. However, Leuk was physically a perfectly normal human, so he aged just like anyone else. Leuk eventually died at a nice old age. The second he died, Igetus went to the Underworld to try and find Leuk’s soul for one last goodbye. It was easy to find because it had black stains from Igetus’s pseudo-life. Igetus managed to squeeze in one last goodbye before Leuk passed on. After Leuk died, Igetus entered an extreme depressive phase.(to be continued)