::Ode to Alone::

:: Mount Olympus ::

Aphrodite, goddess of love with locks of spun gold, walked regally through the celestial corridors of Olympus, her sheer gown billowing like gossamer behind her. Each step echoed through marbled chambers until she reached her destination. A crystal fountain flowed pure and cold off granite statues and into a rippling pool below. Seated on the fountain's edge, Apollo, god of sun, strummed an ivory lyre his eyes lost, gazing out into nothing. Only the silken voice of Aphrodite drew him from his thoughts.

"Your son in the City of Paragon... He has much of his father in him."

Apollo turned his head slightly but did not fully face his half-sister. "What brings him to your mind?" His question was simple, but the meaning was not missed.

Aphrodite smiled, "I only watch, Apollo. I've not involved myself in his journey... But, he's stirring unlike he has before. And those stirrings draw my eye. Affection and desire are burning within the boy." She paused before continuing, "And that's why I say he has much of you in him. His passion, though he tries to keep it hidden, reflects that of his father."

"Why are you telling me this, Aphrodite? I watch when I am able...when I am allowed. But his passions are his and his alone..." Apollo went back to strumming his lyre.

The golden haired goddess shrugged slightly and turned her red lips up in a smile. "His heart is fragile, Apollo. And his focus, always scattered, also causes him to question his own feelings. He doesn't follow his affection through to culmination. And all those feelings are spread like the four winds... His heart wars with his mind and..."

"Aphrodite!" Apollo's word was sharp and cut her off mid-sentence. "All beings must weigh their passions versus their will. You of all of us should know that." He finally looked at the beautiful goddess as he continued. "If there is a point to your visitation, now is the time.

"His heart is turning, Apollo..." Aphrodite let her warning loose. "It is opening up. That is a dangerous place for a heart to be. I thought you would like to know... He nears a void. The same passions that run through his veins destroyed his mother, unless you've forgotten."

Flares of simmering energy leapt from Apollo's eyes and a corona of divine energy erupted from his temples and reflected off the cold fountain springs beneath him. "I have not forgotten..."

Aphrodite began to plead her case. "I don't agree with our Father, that our heroes must be left to their own suffering. Intervention is what we do. Through time immemorial we have moved heaven and earth to our whims. Now, your own son needs his father to move. Even if it is by no other means than another muse to set his mind on a new path, he must be turned or he will..."

Apollo raised a strong hand to quiet the goddess. "In this... Zeus is right. Our interference can be too much. They must make their own way, especially in matters of the heart."

Aphrodite relented and turned to leave. "Very well," she said as she began flowing away from the fountain. "The fates have not spun this thread, Apollo... Not yet. But once it is spun, it cannot be undone..." And then she was gone.

Apollo sighed heavily and looked across the world to Mount Helicon. It would take very little for him to send one of the muses, despite the mandate set by Zeus. But for once, the golden god did not know which course he should take. In that, he was in the same predicament as his son.

:: Bailey's Academy, Library ::

Jace read the sentence out loud one more time, "A certain amount of focusing or restricting the mind to some imagined object or will, produces mystical attainment or an occurrence in the brain characterized essentially by the uniting of subject and object. This sympathetic harmony..." His voice trailed off and he sighed. "I don't get this..." He flopped himself down on the couch in the library and tossed the book to the floor.

"This facility is not a napping area, Mr. Bastion," said a very familiar voice.

Jace shot up in his seat and then stood up to face his professor. "Yeah, I know, man! Sorry."

Professor Heart nodded solemnly and put his hands behind his back. He looked down his nose at the young man and examined Jace carefully. "You can't learn because you can't focus." He said it as if it was a final verdict in a trial.

"Huh whaaa?" The mysterious man had said little to Jace outside of class and the youth didn't quite know what to make of him.

The elder bearded man pointed down at the book Jace had discarded on the floor. "That's heavy reading. Your mind isn't in a mode of acceptance and absorption because it's somewhere else... Thinking about something else." The man narrowed his eyes and smiled a little. "Or someone else."

Jace blushed and bent over to scoop up the book. "Yeah well... Sorry I was lounging in here, man. I'll try to..."

"You are conflicted, Mr. Bastion... What is going on in there?" Professor Heart seemed to be surveying Jace's thoughts liberally. This made Jace not only uncomfortable but seriously pissed off.

"Hey! What're you doing?" He didn't try to hide is displeasure.

"You're fragmented like broken crystal, young man! No wonder you can't focus on your studies," said Heart as he walked around Jace looking him over if he were a subject to be examined.

"Seriously? Isn't this sorta inappropriate? What if I was thinking about something ...dirty or...worse!" With an incredulous expression Jace continued. "I don't think it's polite for your dig around in someone's head without being invited."

"Got that from...Marshall? Is it? He's bouncing around in there a lot isn't he? You think he's 'adorable,'" Heart chuckled. The elder man closed his eyes as he continued to read Jace like an open newspaper. "Who is Adam? Why don't you just cut him loose? Why do you keep him hanging on? Cedric... Hawk... Chris... Vicktor... Has he hurt you somehow? Ah...here's someone called Eric... Annnd... Plum? Someone is named Plum?" The professor sifted through Jace's thoughts as if were refuse. "Oh look here... Cid... You have a fair amount of affection for that one. Not just a random possibility, but a real connection - if you were to let it happen, that is. And...what do we have here? Michaels... Michaels... I know that name - that line of magic. This...Jayden... is burning like a sun in your head... Your caught in orbit... This one is..."

"That's enough," Jace yelled!

"Mr. Bastion, for someone who never lets anyone get too close you certainly do think about being close to a great many...young men..." Heart smirked and finally shut up.

"Oh my gods, this is so retarded..." Jace threw his back-pack over his shoulder and made to leave the library and maybe even the school...forever... He felt humiliated and angry and he swore steam was rising from the back of his neck. Storming away he heard the professor calling to him, to get him to stop, but he ignored it and carried on. That is until he felt his feet leave the ground and tendrils of dark energy wrapped him up tight. Suspended helpless in mid-air he felt himself being turned around and drawn back to the professor.

The man was silent and his stare was cold. "This was a lesson, Mr. Bastion. Your feelings parade about you like it's Thanksgiving Day. You think you hide them well, but anyone with an inkling or a notion to probe them can...and will. When Mr. Michaels does begin training you in matters of the arcane, I suggest you ask him how best you can guard your mind. The villains of this world will not be so kind as I."

Jace didn't say anything, but only clenched his jaw in frustration. He finally felt the magic of Professor Heart release him and he landed on his feet with a thud. "Can I go now?" His tone was icy and full of fury.

"One more thing, young man... Humans your age are notorious for their angst and wildly flailing affections." Heart smiled. "But not you. All of that chaos in your head. You're making it happen. I would like to know why?"

"So now you're going ask for explanations? Why not just violate my privacy again and find what you want to know? Why use words now, huh?" Jace didn't try to hide is anger.

"Because reading your thoughts as opposed to your motivations are two entirely different things. I sense...fear... But..."

"I would like to leave, Professor," Jace's tone was deadly serious and pleading. Tears stung the corners of his eyes.

"Go, Mr. Bastion." Heart looked genuinely concerned. "I didn't mean to cause you pain. I only meant to teach you a lesson. It seems I may have...overstepped. Rest, young man! Rest your head! You'll be alright come the morning light! Tomorrow you'll be fine! Give it a little time..." The elder man tried to be comforting, but suddenly seemed to doubt himself.

Jace held the man's gaze for a moment and then turned to leave. He didn't stop until he was home in his room. And he didn't leave his room for the remainder of the day. Pulling out his guitar, Jace played and let his feelings pour out in a wave of sound. And he got lost in the music.

:Story Features character: Canaan Heart: