Friday, April 25, 2014

A to Z Challenge: V is for Vow

This year, I'm participating in the insane awesome A to Z blogging challenge, which entails posting EVERY SINGLE DAY during the month of April, except for Sundays. Each day's theme corresponds to a different day of the alphabet: 26 days, 26 posts. I'll be blogging each day this month on some aspect of my current work in progress (WIP).

V is for Vow

For today's letter, we have to head back to our two souls when they're in Ancient Greece, where (and when) Apollo is busy falling in love - or at least, his definition of love - with Damon.

Before I explain what today's theme is about, I have to also explain that while I was researching and plotting this particular lifetime, I kept coming up against a character who just wouldn't go away: Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, and the virgin goddess of the moon, the hunt, and childbirth, among other things. She insisted on being involved, and who can resist a goddess?

Not me, certainly. Besides, she's Apollo's twin, and appears with him in far more myths than either of their parents (Zeus and Leto, for those who are curious) - and the mythology of twins, their bonds and relationships and stories, is nearly as rich as Greek mythology itself. Add to that the fact that Artemis is a sworn virgin who destroys any mortal man who threatens her chastity, in total contrast to her serially love-stricken twin, and you have a recipe for some slow-cooked delicious conflict.

Which brings us to vow. Remember, when we enter the story, Apollo has sworn off all love affairs, due to the regrettable fact that every single one of his affairs ends badly - death, transformation, and rejection seem to be the three main options. The key here, though, is that he has sworn them off; he's taken a vow - at Artemis's urging, and to Artemis herself - that he'll never love again.

Now, vows might not seem all that important to the Greek gods (marriage vows in particular tend to be about as binding as scotch tape), but Apollo takes his promises very, very seriously - and so does Artemis. They both believe that there are serious consequences when a vow is broken, and for a Greek god, beliefs can become manifest very, very quickly. Apollo would be the first to say that he should be punished for breaking a vow, and what Apollo thinks should happen very likely will. You might say, after all, that Apollo is a bit of a stickler for rules...

20 comments:

  1. I get more and more intrigued by your WIP concept with every post. :) I've always had a fascination for Ancient Greece.

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  2. Uh-oh...a vow to never love again? That sounds like a depressing future, but I can see he had good reasons for taking that vow.

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  3. Aha! So Apollo is the rule abider. I never would've predicted that.

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  4. That's rough. Life without love just has no meaning behind it for me. :)

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  5. LoL that is a very intriguing scenario you're teasing us with :)

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  6. Well now I'm feeling bad for Apollo that he's such a rule abider!

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  7. See, but now I'm wondering if this twin/Artemis soul (not to be confused with a traditional notion of a "twin flame" or "twin soul") will turn up to throw wrenches into things in other lifetimes? Souls often do travel in packs . . .

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    1. Yup, good point. I had the same thought. I'm working on that - still don't have it figured out!

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  8. I always thought it strange that Artemis rules over childbirth-how would she know??:) Poor Apollo and your scenario is even more intriguing.

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    1. I know, right? Apparently Artemis helped her mother give birth to Apollo - yes, minutes after she was born - and seeing her mother's pain, she swore to help birthing mothers forever.

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  9. Bring on the goddess! That sounds like a recipe for some awesome tension and conflict, but siblings seem to have that by default, opposites or no.

    True Heroes from A to Z

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  10. Things are about to become sticky between them, especially when he breaks his vow.

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  11. Ah! I'd wondered which one was the free spirit and which one was the conservative one.

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  12. I knew the odds were against the couple in this lifetime and how you added the vow. I would say all forecasts are gloomy.

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  13. Cool. All these lifetimes are so different. I love that.

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  14. Writing a novel, in my case trying to get back to a second novel in progress, now that is impossible while blog hopping this month throughout the #Challenge. I think you are on to something. Use the novel in progress as the theme for the month. I like it! Maybe next year I'll consider this. All this is tongue in cheek because I LOVED my theme this year. Finding blogs like yours is part of the fun. Thanks.

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  15. Love the nuances between vows and promises. Oh those wacky Greek gods. Lots of finger crossing behind their backs.

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  16. Ooh you definitely have me intrigued. :-)

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  17. I figured many of them didn't take vows seriously with the way they behaved.

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  18. I love the against all odds vibe you're working. Conflict, conflict, conflict! But the vow not only has the ability to define this soul, but the means of yoking it in such a way as to constantly buck it. If that makes sense. I'm a little tired and stressed right now.

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