"It’s useless!" mother shouted out. "You’re just a kid Olympia, there is nothing you can do! Why must you always act as if you can save the world? You can’t and you probably never will. Only those born with the blessings of the gods have the power to change their own destiny child. There's nothing you can do."

Olympia was suddenly enraged. The sting of her mother's words and the helpless look of her trapped father were more than she could bear. The rock's weight that had seemed so massive only moments before lifted easily in her grasp. She stood up swiftly, throwing the boulder effortlessly out of the way. It was her first glimpse of the key, the key that would one day unlock her entire future.

"Thank you my child, thank you." her father shouted in disbelief.

Just then Eponie returned with some local villagers to help her father.

"I’m back mama, papa! And I've brought help!"

Eponie's father hugged his daughter fiercely. He hoped it would comfort the girl who had been so willing to run and get help on his behalf. Olympia merely looked on, glad her father was safe, but also knowing the truth that the gods had not helped her. It wasn't long before the whole village was talking and Olympia became known as a hero and one who was favored by the gods.

Several days later their parents expressed a desire to finally initiate Olympia into their family, permanently. The two girls were already like sisters, so why not make it official? It was then announced that when the full moon hit, the blood ceremony of Eponie and Olympia would begin.

Finally, Olympia took the bowl with their combined bloodlines and drank half the fluid, handing it over to Eponie to do the same. This final act of the ceremony symbolized "sisterhood"; they were the same by blood, yet each had maintained their own spirits. It also symbolized the "sharing" of a title that could now be claimed by both, sisters.

Two summers had passed and the sisters had grown into fine and respected young women of their village. They lived a simple and quaint life, knowing no problems outside the minor disputes that sometimes arose within the village. That was, until he came. Rumor had made its way to the village that an army of warriors were headed their way. It was ruled by a ruthless warlord named Quadez who was recruiting any strong and able men he could find to join his ranks. Olympia's father wasn’t concerned he'd be taken; he was growing older and this army would never want him.

The sisters had grown closer and closer over time, but even they often had their differences. Eponie had always been smarter than Olympia, even though she'd never admit it. Her sister didn’t care much for school and smarts; she would rather spend her time where her talents lay; in her strength.

"All those who want to join Quadez and defend their village from all un-welcomed visitors, come now!" The men from Quadez's recruiting party stood waiting.

Slowly a few men from the village stepped forward, where they were immediately welcomed by the waiting warriors. The men waited silently as the leader asked again if there were more who were willing to join them. No one else came forward.

Everyone remained silent. Each was either too afraid or too in love to leave.

"Wait!" shouted a voice from the back.

Olympia stepped forward, both confident and fearless. "Take me in all of their places."

"No!" yelled her mother, father, and Eponie simultaneously.

"You?" The man asked in a mocking sneer. "You're just a girl! Go back to the kitchen before I do find something suitable for you to help us with."

Olympia held his gaze. "The only thing suitable for me, is to join your army." Olympia smiled. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm really not the kitchen type."

The man was slightly intrigued by the young woman's confidence, but equally as annoyed by her audacity. "Well boys, it looks like we have another Xena-wannabe on our hands."

The rest of Quadez's men broke into laughter as they stood and mocked the young girl before them. As they quieted down, the leader spoke again, encouraging Olympia to continue her idiotic path.

"Well then, whatever your name is, what exactly is it that you think you can do that these men can't? And by the way, what is your name?"

"Olympia. And if it's proof you want, then its proof you'll get." Olympia smiled smugly as she turned to face her family.

"Please don’t do it Olympia." Eponie's eyes pleaded for her sister to reconsider.

Olympia smiled. "I have to Ep." She looked at the others. "I'm sorry mama; sorry papa."

Olympia went over to her horse and stood as if she were preparing to lift it about her head. The men quickly looked at one another until finally their leader stepped forward.

"You don't really plan on lifting that creature do you?" Olympia smiled and turned back again to face her horse. "That's impossible!" the man shouted.

Olympia walked her horse over to the raised board she had practiced with earlier in the day. She had wanted to make sure she had everything worked our perfectly before Quadez's men arrived. She led the horse onto the board and then leveled it off to make it easier for her to lift. The men and the village stood silently watching as she prepared to do the impossible.

Several minutes later Eponie watched Quadez's leader approach her sister.

"Amazing!" he said softly. He turned and looked at the others and then back at the young woman. "Welcome to Quadez's army Olympia."

"Go from behind." said one of the warriors.

"And what do you think you’re doing?" asked Olympia, very nervously.

One of the men sneered, "What are you going to do little girl, fight us?"

"I will if I have to."

"Are we getting a little braver here Olympia?"

"I’m warning you," Olympia said, "Don’t touch me. I don’t want to hurt you."

"Well then we do have a problem here; because we want to hurt you."

Five men slowly began to circle around Olympia until eventually one of them stepped forward to attack. Grabbing her from behind, he held her hands while another proceeded to kick her over and over again. After the fifth or sixth kick Olympia’s rage suddenly took over. One by one she began to settle her scores with the would-be attackers. She seemed truly surprised at how little effort it took once her rage began to grow. She could feel her strength rising from somewhere within, someplace dark and hidden. She wondered why she had never felt this power before. Had it always been there?

Slowly the word spread amongst the other men. One by one they arrived to see for themselves what was going on, and to help their fellow warriors. Olympia was growing calmer by the minute, feeling her strength and rage pulsing faster and faster through the blood in her veins. Finally the remaining men began to disappear back into the dark, but not before Olympia had dealt most of Quadez’s men unforgettable blows.

Finally Olympia stood alone, staring silently at the fire and smiling wickedly. She had enjoyed that. She had enjoyed that a lot.

Quadez had merely watched the whole fiasco from a far. He had known his men were embarking on nothing more than a suicide mission. He smiled. The first man slain by the warrior woman had been his second in charge. It was only fair that she be rewarded his title. Quadez smiled again. He had enjoyed this. He had enjoyed this a lot.

"Olympia!" Quadez shouted while beckoning her to join him.

"Yes sir? I’m sorry. I was trying to defend myse......."

"Stop. There is no need to explain yourself. You have shown a great deal of strength and courage." He smiled as he thought back to how easily this woman had tossed the best of his men aside. "I seem to be missing a second in command thanks to you; perhaps you would like to take his place?"

The troops had been shocked when the news finally spread. None could deny her strength and abilities, but still she had only been in their camp a day while others had been loyal to Quadez for more than 24 seasons. His men were outraged at his decision, but they were also too afraid to question his motives or face off against Olympia once again. From that night forward, no words of opposition were ever spoken against Quadez or his new second in command.

The following morning Quadez ordered the attack of a village that had threatened to take his land. Olympia’s blood was still running hot from the night before and she was eager to fight and feel that power again. She knew >now that her rage was the key to unlocking her strength and pleasing Quadez. This was her future; she could feel it.

Without regard, Olympia charged, leading Quadez’s men into the heart of the village. One by one she began to slaughter all who walked in her path including men, women, and children. With each swing of her blade she could feel both her rage and strength growing. There was a certain sense of unleashing about it. A sense that each emotion passionately fed and fueled the other; not unlike she and Quadez had done over time. For 8 seasons, the lands of Earth Realm saw the growing army of Quadez and Olympia destroy everything in their path. Never had there been such destruction or pure >rage; not since the likes of Borias and Xena.

One day, Quadez’s army proceeded to mount an attack on a small village just north of Greece. It was an easy mission and Quadez wasn’t expecting much of a battle at all. He had brought only himself, me, and a handful of our best warriors. We had just approached the gates when a flood of Amazons appeared out of no where. They attacked quickly and effortlessly, killing all our men; including Quadez. He had taken three arrows in the chest before he had even dismounted from his horse. I watched him fall from his mount and lay motionless in the street.

"Quadez!! No! Please!! You can’t die on me! Please! Please!! Don’t leave me! You’re all I got! Please!!!"

"I’ve been waiting for this moment a long time Olympia."

"Who in Hades are you?" Olympia screamed; barely able to contain her rage.

The woman continued to smile. "Who, me?" she finally said; mockingly pointing a finger at her own chest. "I’m Cyan. Queen of the Amazons."

"Oh good, maybe I should kill your leader just like you killed mine".

One thing Olympia didn’t know about Cyan, was that the Amazon Queen had far more inner strength than Olympia could even imagine and her statement had less than the desired effect.

"I don’t think that would be a good idea." Cyan calmly replied.

"Oh no? How about this…" Olympia turned and stabbed a nearby Amazon in the chest.

"Noooo!" screamed Cyan in agony. She motioned for one of the other Amazons to take the fallen warrior aside and try to treat her wounds.

"How does it feel to lose one of your own? Not very good huh? You should never underestimate your opponent Cyan. Didn’t they teach you that at Amazon Camp?" Olympia was slowly starting to lose control and Cyan and the others could see this.

"You’re obviously in a lot of pain" replied Cyan.

"What?! You think I’m in pain? You don’t know anything about me! Maybe I should just kill one of your other friends - then maybe you’ll get it through your thick skull that I’m not in pain but…"

Cyan interrupted, speaking very calmly but deliberately. "If you touch another one of my warriors, I will quickly remove the very hand that so arrogantly wielded the sword."

"Ha ha ha! You’re kidding right? Am I hallucinating or did you just threaten me?

Cyan stood motionless and silent, not shifting her gaze an inch.

Olympia seethed. "No one threatens me! I don’t care who they are!"

Olympia began to walk through the cave, beginning to think that all of this was way too easy. Perhaps the Amazon’s were going to keep her prisoner for killing one of their own. Olympia smiled as her cocky side took over. Most likely, the only reason they had let her go was because they had heard about her enormous strength and were too scared to approach her.

As she walked arrogantly through the exit of the cave, piles of chains came crashing down around her. She was quickly tied up and left with no where to go.

Cyan spoke softly. "Did you really think you could get away that easy?" The Queen knelt down and whispered into the warrior’s ear. "You know, when you kill an Amazon, we tend to repay the favor……." Cyan paused…. "but, there is something about you that tells me not to kill you." Cyan stood up again. "I don’t know why or what it is, but one thing I have learned, is to listen to my gut."

Olympia didn’t want to take anything they said seriously, so she refused to believe that Cyan actually felt a need to keep her alive. Olympia remained silent and waited for the Amazons to leave before she made her next move.

Cyan posted two guards outside the entrance to watch Olympia until she could figure out what to do with her next, or at least until she knew why she couldn’t kill her.

Later that night, after working the locks, Olympia managed to free herself from the chains. It was unheard of for any mortal to posses such strength and she knew Cyan was not concerned she would escape. Olympia didn’t know it, but her strength came from something that equaled the Olympian gods. Where, no one knew. Well, at least not Olympia.

She quickly took down the 2 guards and made her way out of the Amazon village and into the night.

In the morning, when Cyan went to go check up on Olympia all she found were her 2 dead guards. Now she knew that Olympia had to be stopped once and for all. She gathered a search team to go out and get Olympia. She sent out word to the other surrounding tribes that Olympia escaped and that she was armed and very dangerous.

During the search Cyan noticed a Horde symbol on a tree. She knew that she was getting into their territory and that they should probably get out. But something in her gut kept forcing her to continue on.

As the Queen and her party kept getting deeper and deeper into Horde territory; Cyan had the feeling of being watched. She was seeing more and more Horde symbols, which only meant that she was heading into sacred ground. For the Horde, that meant death the minute they saw you.

"Ahhhhhh!!" someone deep in the forest screamed.

Cyan ran in the direction of the scream, hearing the clashing of swords in battle; knowingly without a doubt it was Olympia. When she got there Olympia was hardly recognizable, blood pouring from her face. She was fighting 5 members of the Horde, but even her strength wasn’t enough to keep them away.

Cyan ordered the Amazons to attack, taking 3 Horde members down instantly. Olympia looked up to see that Cyan had come with reinforcements. 2 more members of the Horde came from behind the bushes and all the Amazons, except Cyan, headed away to fend them off.

Cyan went to Olympia, knowing that her Amazons would be fine without her. She began to help Olympia fight off the remaining 2 Horde members.

"I can fight my own battles Cyan. I don’t need your help."

The Queen smirked and arched a skeptical brow. "Oh really.? Because I could have sworn that those guys were looking to eat you for dinner."

Olympia ignored the comment and kept fighting. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Olympia and Cyan defended their lives yards apart from one another. Cyan had beaten her Horde guy and was about to finish him when she heard a huge crack from Olympia’s direction.

Cyan watched as Olympia fell to her knees, holding her left leg and screaming. "You bastard! You broke my leg!"

The Horde member lunged forward to finish her off, as Cyan flipped through the air and slit the man’s throat. The lifeless man dropped to his knees, spilling blood freely down the front of his battle garments.

Olympia looked up with a mixture of both pain and shock. "Why?"

"Sometimes to be good, you have to do good." Cyan smiled. "A I see a lot of potential in you kid."

Olympia looked at Cyan, as a tear trickled slowly from Olympia’s eye. "No enemy has ever shown me the compassion you have."

"You’re not my enemy." Cyan said.

"Then what am I?" asked Olympia quietly.

"I’m not quite sure." Cyan knelt and helped Olympia to her feet.

The half-beaten Horde member that Cyan had left breathing, had slowly made his way to his feet. He staggered wildly in her direction, aiming his ax at her back. The glint of steel caught Olympia’s eye and she quickly grabbed the dagger hidden in her boot. She threw it effortlessly at the approaching Horde member, piercing him through the heart.

Cyan looked behind her, seeing the Horde member lying motionless only 2 yards away; ax still in hand.

She looked back at Olympia. "Why?"

"Sometimes to be good, you have to do good."

Cyan smiled. "It looks like you’re going to be okay after all."

Each knew that the Queen wasn’t talking about Olympia’s leg, and from that day forward, they both knew they would be an important part of each other’s lives.