torren [★] cliché

[torren]

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A s t e r i s m . n.
Something in his heart wrenches.  "It is not my wish to sadden you, Kiira," he protested quietly.  A light frown took place on his maw as stories came to mind.  Many stories honored heroism and sacrifice as he recalled, while others represented punishment for hubris or vanity.  He traces patterns absently in the sky as he sought a tale worthy of the night.

"I'll tell you about one of Lyra's stories - the Lyre," he decided.  "Lyra is the celestial harp, created by the greek god, Hermes.  Another greek god, Apollo, gave it to Orpheus." The tragic hero in their story.  "It is said that when Orpheus played his harp, everyone would stop just to listen.  Even the trees."

"But the sudden death of his love, Eurydice, broke his heart.  He decided he'd try winning her back from Hades and traveled to the underworld.  Orpheus began his descent into the underworld playing his lyre.  As he approached Hades, he was pleased to see that Hades greatly enjoyed his music. "

"After a while, Orpheus stopped playing.  Hades asked him to resume and Orpheus agreed on one condition: when he was finished, Hades would return Eurydice to him."  Personally, the prince found the entire situation a strange concept.  Yet the story remained an odd favorite of his, however tragic.

"Hades agreed, and Orpheus finished playing.  When he was done, he asked Hades for his wife, who gave him a condition: Orpheus would trust Hades to keep his world and would return to the upper world playing his music, not ever looking back to see if she was following.  If Orpheus doubted or did not trust Hades, and looked back, Eurydice would be taken back into the underworld."

"So that's what he did.  He began his return playing his music, and behind him he could hear Eurydice's footsteps. However, to test his trust, Hades insisted on Orpheus' return route to lead through a pine grove.  As he passed through this grove, he could not hear Eurydice behind him.  Unable to endure the quiet, Orpheus glanced over his shoulder, only to witness Eurydice fade before him, taken back to the underworld."

A reason never to play with death, the wildcat supposed.  Nonetheless, he felt somewhat betrayed by Hades for finding a test necessary and frustrated with Orpheus for failing.  If he loved someone enough to dive into hell and back, Torren hoped to believe he'd resist a fatal mistake.  But that is the purpose of the story, perhaps.  To teach us that lesson.

He offered Kiira a small smile.  "When Orpheus died, Zeus placed the constellation Lyra into the heavens, in honor of his music, but also his great love for Eurydice.  The ending may not be entirely happy, but," he glanced across the water, observing the stars and moon as they shimmered, "I find it bittersweet.'