Chapter 1

Chapter

1

When men began to increase in number on the earth

And daughters were born to them,

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful,

And they married any of them they chose. […]

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—

And also afterward—when the sons of God

Went to the daughters of men

And had children by them.

They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

.

Genesis 1-6

.

February – 3,390 BC

.

Pain.

Metal pierced his flesh in a gyrating, burning, shrieking ball of sparks. He gurgled in agony as a steel rod impaled his chest, pinning him to the deck of his ship like a butterfly. Blood welled in his lungs, burning and gagging. Its sweet, coppery stench filled the air; the scent of his own impending death.

He tried to remember his name; but there were no memories, only the sensation of falling.

‘So this is it? The end...’

A single tear escaped as the ship hit the atmosphere and began to burn; the sting of salt as it passed over a cut oddly sharp even through the heat and pain of his other injuries.

Alone.

He had always known that he would die alone.

The ship shrieked a warning.

He closed his eyes and prayed to pass quietly into the void, to feel his life slip from his body so his pain would end. But even close to death, the part that remembered who he was whispered:

Fight!

Survive!

Live another day.

He clenched his fist around the small, dark figurine he always kept next to his heart. He would complete the mission. He would smite those who had done this; even though he had no recollection of who he fought or what he was fighting for.

Long after he should have passed from this world, he continued to fight for each and every breath.