Lycaon:The Werewolf King

Grrnnnngggg,' came the sound of an alarm, ringing so loudly. Grunting, still half asleep, Alex reached out to the top of his bed, where he had placed the alarm the previous night. He searched frantically, already getting impatient more with himself, than with the alarm he was trying to put off. 'Thud!!' he heard the sound of something drop, as the realization dawned on him."Oh, great!" he muttered almost cussing. The alarm clock was expensive… he thought to himself, while stretching his neck a little to see the state of it. Getting up grumpily, he walked into the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Now under the shower, he let the water take its natural course through his body, feeling its warmness all over. Alex, a 29 year old man was a lecturer of history in the University of Arizona. He had a flair for history since he was young, and decided to follow it through. His parents died in an accident, when he was 18, and he had been on his own… "Hmmm," Alex mouthed as the warmness of the water gave him a satisfying feeling, and he just wanted to stay there a little longer. He couldn't though, as he had a class early that morning, and was sure his students would be waiting eagerly for him. This particular class, was especially important to him, and he was looking forward to things unfold. Not everything had been going smoothly lately, and if peradventure what he hoped for was through, then things would take a drastic, and interesting turn. 

Getting out of the bathroom, hesitantly but finally, he began preparing for school. He didn't have much worries though, as his apartment wasn't far from the school all; in fact, he lived in the school premises, in one of the staff quarters. With his towel still tied around his torso, he entered into the kitchen to get something to eat. Searching in vain for a while, he settled finally on taking some cereals. The early morning stress of having to think of what to eat, made skipping breakfast a usual thing to him; rounding up with his food, he dashed straight into his room to dress up; he was almost running late.  

Walking into the class, with a blue jean and black shirt, with the sleeves of his clothes rolled up to his elbow, the class formally buzzing with chatters and murmurs went silent. "Good morning Mr Alex", someone in from muttered. He wasn't a typical lecturer to his students, so with many of them, he had more like an 'elder brother to junior sibling' relationship… after all he wasn't very much older than them. He found a way to strike balance though, as they still accorded him the due respect of a lecturer, but outside the, they were more familiar.

"So class, we'd delve into some interesting story in history today, and though a myth, several people around the world have come to believe it." Alex boomed after he made sure he had everyone's attention. 

Sucking in a deep breath, he began his narration. "Lycaon, rumored to be the first werewolf to ever live… was once a king of a magnificent city called Arcadia." Alex's class were always interesting… not because the students all liked history that much, he had a way of crafting history into compelling and captivating stories, that stole his listeners attention, and made them anxious to know what happened next. Today he decided to tell them the story of the first ever werewolf that lived. Although funny, and considered a myth, he knew it was true. "He was a cruel and brutal ruler, known for his savagery and disrespect foreveryone, even the gods who ruled the then world, from mount Olympus." Alex paused again noticing his expressions on his student's faces. Continuing his story, he said "One day, Lycaon decided to test the omniscience of Zeus, the king of the gods, by serving him a meal made from the flesh of a murdered boy. Zeus, disguised as a mortal, arrived at Lycaon's palace and was served the cannibalistic feast. Enraged by Lycaon's barbarity, Zeus overturned the table and transformed Lycaon into a wolf as punishment. From that day on, Lycaon roamed the wilderness as a wolf, forced to live off the land and hunt for food. His sons, inheriting their father's curse, became werewolves, and as they procreated the curse was passed down from one generation to another."

The rest of the day went as planned for Alex, after lectures he met with some of the other lecturers and then headed to the cafeteria to fill his stomach, as he didn't eat much in the morning. He went back to his office afterwards to continue some research work. Getting back home stressed and tired from the day's work, he collapsed into the nearest chair to the door after getting inside. The prophecy was going to be fulfilled anytime now, and he had to be more prepared, now more than ever… for as hope shone as light on the horizon, it also casted darkness, with shadows lurking in the corner.