“He fought panthers, lions and fire demons during his days. And each night he spent with the goddess was a decade long. Soon all he knew had died, and bitterness entered his hearth. When the goddess saw this she said: “You do not enjoy the hunt, you are quick to leave our bed, and you curse your choice… We will not stand it! Leave.” “
Note: The use of plural is of some interest, since it’s not seen in earlier stories.
Marc is credited with fighting the fire demons of the Jungle, making it a place where men could venture. This is probably a reference to early exploration of the northern jungle. Normally the chorology states he became a guardian of Paris defending it for centuries, for nature no longer held sway over it.
“Women seemed plain to him for he had saw and bedded a goddess. Still, after many decades he began to hunger the beauties of Paris. But even here, where only animals of man roamed, where Artemis held little power, whenever he sought the company of women, untold curses befell him. This was because Aphrodite who often dwelt in Paris, enjoyed teasing her sister by making women fall in unquenched love with Marc. Artemis would respond in playful manner, and smite Rene and any women that would pursue him, with ironic and cruel curses. As always the entertainment of Gods or women is the suffering of men.”
“He loved France, his people, but he suffered in the playground of the gods. He yearned death, but it never came it. After speaking to the last of the druids about his situation, he found new hope. For centuries he tried, on the Druid’s advice, tried to find a great cause. A cause, which even if it could not convince Artemis, could at least convince the other gods to grant him passage through the forests of France.”
“In those days another returned to the lands of France, Remi the Wolf-Slayer and he overthrew the forgotten king. All the clans choose sides, many men were cruelly slain, and for two decades anarchy enveloped the lands. He dared not to take sides, fearing that the attention awarded to him by the Gods might bring misfortune to the side he choose. As the clans gathered they said lo, there shall be free men and bound men, and the king’s troops shall use Bronze and Remi shall be the king. Marc mourned as the new king ceased gathering scrolls to build a library, for Marc had foolishly hoped knowledge of men might help him overcome the mandate of Gods. “
“The new king exiled the old and erased his name from history, it was said that he could choose any champion to lead his remaining forces.”
This is most likely a factual account, even if the commander chosen could not have been the same Marc who lived in the 4th millennium BC!
“He choose Marc, and Marc rejoiced for the gods would surely allow him to leave his prison now. They entered the forests of the East, Artemis came to him, and he stood before her, determined and unfearful for justice was beyond the Hunt, she tried to force him, she tried to convince the other Gods, she sent much misfortune only to be foiled by the other Gods. He traveled far and as they passed beyond the desert hills the strength of Artemis waned, on the edge of the forest she spoke to him once more, but she had to become human. As she spoke of his defiance of his blasphemy she remembered why she had toyed with him. She spent a night with him in her mortal form, and it was only a night. Marc was hence the favorite of her again, she blessed him. From then on, he and his companions traveled through forests and jungles of terra with ease, he brought death to any foes that entered them and he healed unnaturally fast while resting in them. Even as he overcame his bitterness, she reminded him that her decree can not be undone. He can never cross the forests of France again, if he tries it he will surely die by the hand of Fate.”
It is said that his forgers had discovered how to work bronze, he had found that many of the tribes to the south were more experienced with working it. He invited them to come to French lands. Once they arrived they were enslaved, the same was true of many Frenchmen, Wildlings and Barbarians. He is said to have tried to outlaw the new practice. Many of the slave trading class rebel, he had nearly convinced them to end the practice when a noble with the title of Wolf-slayer (identified as Remi the Warrior) arrived in Orleans and quickly took control of the kings power base while he was negotiating in slave-owning Paris.
After that he was forced into exile. The Quest for Libraries saga has been lost, a summrary is still known. The story goes the lost king sought immortality so he may return and undo what he saw as a horrible wrongs. Marc the adventurer and the librarian king explored much of the west, venturing to the Russian desert, seeing the Great Wall being completed and seeking any nation that understood writing. Since he is not mentioned after the group survived an attack by bears in a desert hill, he is assumed to have died by most story tellers, while other say he made a pact with one of the Gods, and that he sleeps in the cave deep under the said hill, waiting for a time when he will undo slavery in France. This makes him a classic example of a “sleeping king”.
After this the saga continues, as Marc looses contact with France, exploring the arctic region. He is said to have strayed deep into Mongolian territory… once again the saga is lost beyond this point. Historical records show king Remi the II ordering a trespassing group of explorers and warriors to follow Mongol orders. The group allegedly lead by Marc was destroyed near the French border by barbarians on their way to France. This fulfilled prophecy was surely rich material for a saga, it thus even more tragic that many records where lost in the “Age of Barbarians”.
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