Walk out of Fire

They say, “She’s the wicked goddess”

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s the offspring from the titan, the most cursed people in our nation”

“Why would we call her goddess then?”

“That devil didn’t deserve the title our ancestor gave us”

I actually do not understand, why would they hate on such a beautiful and kind goddess like Giana. She belong to the titan clan, gigantic people who lives in the mountain since they can’t live among people. They often sleeping in a cave, some that have more tools will actually build a gigantic house for their family.

Since there are not much of them living in this land (not many of them survived the change of the world). You could easily found them in a group of five or ten; going for a hunt, maybe just for a simple walk by the forest. When I told you they are really kind, I mean it. Growing up near the Colossal forest, I often see the titan with my bare eyes. How majestic and gentle they are.

Edwin, one of my favorite giant friend. He often lift me up, carrying me around, letting the little child of me seeing the world through his perspective. How easy for him to reach the sky, how often they walk through the river with ease and how great of a cook they are. I literally can’t forget the taste of lamb that they roast for me.

One more thing about them you should know. Giana’s ancestor never thought that one of their generation will become a goddess. It’s not unusual for people to hate on gods and goddesses, but after knowing about how great the titans are; it does feel weird for you to hate on them as well.

Let me tell you a story. About the greatest goddess in history, Water Goddesses.

Long time ago, in Colossal forest. There live a family of five. Gaulkroz and Githoc, with their three children: Raq, Zaq and Giana. The titans live deep in the forest, far away from human. They live happily with other titan, growing their corps, building houses for families. The bond between titans are so tight and unbreakable.

From generation to generation, they have been told stories of how an unknown god come and build the titan out of the wood in the Colossal forest, how the river that stream to the sea are made to be their blood. Therefore, living in this place will make them grow even closer to their origin. They’re safe here.

Little did they know, their peaceful time will be destroyed by unsatisfied human. Salvorath, that’s his name. The most dreaded name in Titan’s history. The one that committed to abolish every titan in existence. Him and his people walk thousand miles through mountains, seas and finally arrive in Colossal forest for one mission: exterminate the beast.

Turn out, Salvorath had come down with a propaganda that Titan will most likely going to eat human once the animal in the forest are gone. That they do not have any knowledge or even brain. He says, “They’re brainless animal, they’re nothing but beast who will devour us in no time, we need to kill them before they come and kill us!”

Gaulkroz, the leader of the Titan heard of him and he had prepared for the worst. “Bring our children far away to the mountain,” he says, “We can’t let one foolish act demolish the future of our kind”

He had command that every strong male will stand their ground, they will protect the Colossal forest with their life. That include Raq and Zaq; Giana’s brothers.

“But what if you die brother…”

Raq, the oldest twin looking at her sister with a solemn smile in his face. His long red hair had been cut so he could fight properly. Giana looking at the earth, playing with the fabric of her dress, pouting and the edge of crying from the thought of her brothers going without her.

Everyone had been trying their best to prepare for the possible fight. Giana being the stubborn girl that she is, running away from her mother’s embrace to the front line where her brothers and many other male titans are going to fight. Both Raq and Zaq was so ready to scold their little sister but none of them could. To be honest, they also afraid of what will happen, the scary thought of dying, not being able to watch their sister grow, not being able to help their mother again or even worst seeing their father died in front of their eyes. They can’t go to sleep because of all the possible nightmare they had the night before.

Zaq could only look away, now that his fear creeping in, he can’t help but feel a sudden burst of rage. Human might be smaller than them but their trick isn’t something that is new for him. He despises human for throwing fire at his father when they walk by their village. The burned scar on Gaulkroz face is a visible reminder that human is nothing but trouble for Titan.

The oldest siblings took a glance on Zaq before carrying Giana in his arms. Letting his sister cry as she clings tightly on him. Once again that broke his heart to pieces but he got no time to comfort her. At all.

“Raq!”

Turning around, Zaq, along with his father and many soldiers that had been appointed for the front line run towards him, “They’re after our women and children!”

Horror. Panic. Fear.

All those emotions filled everyone’s eye. Including the little titan in Raq’s arms; but something was different. Giana look worried, she looks at the direction that Salvorath going for, then to her brother she said, “Mom! Brother, we need to save mom!”

That direct south to his ear waking him up from his panic. He’s taking the weapon his brother throws at him. One hand holding onto Giana while the other is ready to fight. Their war cry could be heard through the Colossal forest, sending shiver down the spine of those humans while bringing light of hope for the one in the hand of their captivator.

Githoc stand right in the front, trying to protect her people as much as she can. She was worried at the time Giana run away, now she does not need to worry about her daughter but her people are in danger. Salvorath had surround them with torch in their hands. Her husband had planned them to go away before the morning of the war. Turn out, Salvorath had planned to go after the women and children of Titan. Therefore, taking advantage of their size, they sneak into the Titan’s place. Knowing where they’re going to hide, and there won’t be any guard around. All these information are more than sufficient for them to pull out a giant trap where all the women and children had fall into. To anticipate the attack of the male titan, Salvorath had prepared another trap that will hold them back from coming closer.

“They won’t be coming to save you…” Salvorath says, easily putting a smirk on his face. “The titan shall be abolished from our world! Forever!”

Githoc hear it all clearly, but she stands her ground, looking at the wicked mand with fury in her eyes. “The God won’t let us vanish without fight!”

“God? Huh? Do you mean those useless deity that leave us starving, those powerful people that supposed to be helping you now?” he scoffs before letting out a mocking laugh along with his people, “Where are they now? Asleep?”

“You’ll be punished for your sins Salvorath!” she didn’t even waver from her stands. Because she knows the moment she succumbs to her fear, her people will be in panic. This is the only thing she could do until help come for them.

“Githoc… You are so pathetic…”

The mother of Titan can feel her knees become weak, the moment fire falls on them and she can hear scream in fear. Keep on praying that her husband will come and save her.

“Gaulkroz… I beg you… please…”

Giana sit hopelessly. A giant trap was set for them. When the giant net attached with crystal that make the Titan unable to move, Raq throw her out of his hold, saving her from this horror. She watch in horror as the crystal slowly burn the skin of those that she know included her father and brothers.

“Giana! Run!” Zaq shouts as loud as he could, gritted her teet at the pain that slowly melt his skin to pieces. “Save mother for us!”

Raq look at him with disbelief, before he can protest, Zaq once again scream on top of his lungs, “Giana!”

“Are you insane?! She’s not trained to be a fighter!”

“But she is a fighter!” Zaq look at his sister, “Giana!”

Even though she is a Titan, she’s still a child. A little kid. Hearing her brother telling her to go and save their mom; that scared her. “Giana! We can’t move! You are much bigger and stronger than them!”

“You can defeat them-” he’s holding back his pain with a silent grunt. “My sister is the strongest one here!”

“But Zaq…” she tried to contemplate, looking back and forth between her brother and the source of painful scream from the other side of the forest.

“We’ll be fine here,” the voice that had been silent for a while, Gaulkroz finally open his mouth. “Dad have told you right! We Fighter Titan are stronger!” in between the torture that crawled on top of his skin, he manages to put up a smile, “But your mother and everyone there won’t be able to stand the torture Giana… So please…” he put down his head, taking a deep breath before finalizing his wish, “Go and save them”

Githoc trying her best to help everyone avoid the fire that had been thrown at them. She’s not trained to be a fighter like her husband or her twin son. Her moves are rigid and slow compared to them. She need to bear the pain of watching one by one her people cry out to her in agony, each time, her tears fall as she help to hold onto the remaining children that have been left without mother.

“God!” She screams once again, “If you’re out there! Please save us!”

“God!” her tears running down like a river as she cries, “If you’re out there, please help us!”

That desperate cry was a big show for Salvorath, enjoying the pain of those he called enemy. Mocking her for believing in a powerful being. When he’s busy mocking Githoc, a big shadow passing by him, jumping into the fire, making him lost his balance and almost trip over the giant trap he made.

“What the hell was that?!”

“It’s a Titan sir!”

“Huh?”

Before Salvorath even had the time to process what just happened, a big storm strike in the sky. Powerful wind emerges from the earth, roaring angrily as if its ready to eat up everything that stand on its way. That’s when he looks down, eyes went wide from what he just witness. The remaining Titan are safe without any scar, and there is one particular Titan that are different from the other. They stood out in a way that the dreaded man can’t even explain.

That powerful being slowly climb their way out of fire. Standing tall and powerful in front of Salvorath and his people that are starting to run away from him.

“Salvorath Lancer,” she speaks in her majestic voice, “You’ve committed a great sin against Titan, genocide and propaganda against innocent race,” the earth moves as she lift her hand, “For that you shall pay with your life”

With a flick of her hand, the earth was opened, swallowing every human on top of it. Those that are trying to run can’t escape the wrath of the powerful deity. Salvorath had been sent to the underworld, where he will be judge for the second time and history will remember him as “Lancer the Sinner”

No one know what just happened, even Githoc who saw everything closely still can not comprehend what she just witnesses with her own two eyes. When her husband and sons was finally bringing the others out of the trap, all they know is Giana isn’t even conscious.

The third day of Giana laying without any sign of life, her family is ready to make a proper burial for her. Suddenly a mysterious being who called himself Odnos shows up and say, “She’s alive,”

“I am Odnos,” he said as he sits with them, after making sure that everyone is silent and paying attention to him, “I am the God that made the Titan”

One by one, things were revealed. How Odnos was forced to be banished from god and goddess’s realm because of his creation. Knowing that he can’t protect them fully. Odnos decided to let the Titan roamed around the forest he made for them, the Colossal forest. He can’t even put a barrier around that forest so he decided to let the Titan learn one or two things from him. Therefore, the reason why Titan’s ancestor called him the unknown God, he is prohibited from telling his name or he shall be worshipped and gain his power back.

“That’s why I decided to grace my power to one of your children, Gaulkroz,”

“You picked Giana?” the father looks at him, still can’t understand the decision Odnos made, “She is a girl! She’s still young-!”

“I know…” he replied quietly, “I’m worried that I might make a wrong decision, I was so ready to move her power to someone else,”

“But three days ago, without even knowing about her power, she run to save her mother. That alone is more than enough to prove, she’s worthy to be the goddess that protect the Titan,”

“She’s unconscious because her body is still not ready to be the vessel of the powerful responsibilities she needs to bear,”

“The moment she turned 20, she shall be called, Giana, Water Goddess, for she is the one that walk out of fire”

The little yet brave Giana, she grows up and bear her responsibilities without asking for more. As if she was ready for her duty; but the world wasn’t ready for her. The story about Salvorath reach many people, there are some that come up with more conspiracy theories. Not to mention that Giana is the one that protect the forest and the Titan, there would be no way for her to escape the dreaded remark from human.

Whenever I talked to Giana about this, she will smile and say, “Odnos had lived long enough to be dreaded by the God, as his goddaughter, I shall be stronger than those dreaded remark about me”

Once again, as someone who lived near the Colossal Forest, I understand why the Titan would respect Giana so much. The young girl who jumped into the fire for her mother, walk out of it, abolished the killer and his people, the wonderful goddess that they adore is more than a pretty woman sitting on her throne. She’s a young girl who meant to lead and protect her people

Hear the sound of their footsteps

Listen to the sound of their war cry

Their skin made out of wood

River runs inside their vein

Their Goddess walk out of fire

They are Titan, remember their name