Chapter 1:

Part 1: The Moment
When the winds that propel our ship to destiny turn tide against us in a force of resistance so fierce it is scarcely drowned out by the violent shrill of all earth spilling over its own edge and while the dimensions of sight and sound become blurred in a soliloquy of what is and what should never be a struggle to return to the norm ensues just in time to deviate from it once again.
all matter of life that wagered with the tempestuous edge of the earth and came up short of touching the hand of God were now airborne with the 2016 Titan Baseball Brothership and seemed to be mere brush strokes on a canvass painting hanging on the wall of a museum although the speed at which they tumbled eternally through space together was beyond that of even light. The 2016 Titans were draconian in their vigor and the fulfillment of the promise to either obtain ultimate victory in the shape of a National Title or sail from the edge of the earth in attempt. And sail from it they did and now found themselves free falling passed the horizon line and into a colorless sky. Above them was the world they knew that was wagered for a chance in a life time. Below them awaited captors of hearts, minds and lifelong dreams chewing them up and spitting them out onto the cold, hard ground. While all around them was engaged in a synchronized blur of falling, falling, falling
Shear will and vim had filled the sails of The Titan Baseball Brothership in the final stretch of 2016 gaining momentum with every battle that was fought and won. The road was hard and rocky throughout the season and nothing was taken for granted. As they crashed the port of Long Beach in the final series of the regular season the all familiar Winds of Mayhem had joined the brotherhood of vim and vigor that filled the sails of the Titan Brothership and all aboard new that nothing could slow the force that propelled them, thus they had but one shot at the beach of Omaha least their momentum so fierce would carry them without ability to slow the vessel, off the edge of the earth.
Everything the crew of Titan Baseball did in 16 and in preparation of it came down to the final day of the regular season. Ties were not included in the vows spoken with pride by the Titan Baseball Brothership when they pledged victory or ejection from the face of the earth so the rubber match was the type of game each and every one of the brothers laced ‘em for time and time again. The iron fist of the Brothership’s crew idled into the wee hours after the game 2 lose conjuring strategy and assistance in whatever form to obtain victory in the final regular season game of ’16. In the darkest hour just before dawn they brought forth The Beast-Man with wrath and beseeched of him take to the rower’s galley and alone empower oars both stern and port. Through 8 and a 1/3 The Beast doth drove the ship with enough force to crash the Long Beach blockade that protected the crown and thus Fullerton’s 29th Conference Title. With the strength of the Beast waning under the last resistance of Dirtbag fighters The Mighty Quinn appeared in the galley and without consternation he launched onto the Beast’s back, dug his Kodiak bear like claws into the wide shoulder expanse of the Fresno Flame Thrower pulling his flesh with every oar stroke keeping on pace with The Beast saving him and the team from defeat for his first D-1 Save and upholding the most important win thus far that season. Deskside it was a far bloodier affair but the Brotherhood banded together as one to create The Moment.
The 1,000th voyage coached by The Warlord Baumbardier did not come without its share of heroics and when all was said and done along with the Big West Pennant came Big west coach of the Year, Big West Field Player of the Year, Freshman Pitcher of the Year, 9 All-Team selections and the Big West did know we went through them. And then The Moment, while all The Titan clan celebrated on the field and in the terraces it occurred without warning, delivered upon the wings of angels. The entire Titan Baseball Brothership assembled on the field before their contingency and as one in a selfless gesture turned to their fan base and saluted them for what they had given to the team and like the Law of God that was etched by His own finger onto tablets of stone so was this moment set in stone into the hearts of Titan Baseball Fanatics and with it another mystery was revealed. All upon the Brothership and in the terraces now knew the distance to Omaha was not measured in miles but in moments, for champions and championship are not defined by wins and loses but by their fight and the moments they create.
And the Brothership continued to plummet whilst the voice of an angel sang ‘We are stardust, we are billion-year-old carbon and we got to get ourselves back to the garden”.

Chapter 1:

Part 2: Into the Belly of the Beast
White fire began to screech from the hull of the mighty Titan clipper as the falling worlds seas began to be drawn apart and separated from the wayward debris, the fate seekers who wagered it all and the hapless victims who wondered to close to the point of no return. The ominous hand of Oceanus appeared from out of the abyss pooling the cascading waters into strands of currents that turned both clock wise and counterclockwise simultaneously creating one raging sea that flowed upside down orbiting the earth and giving buoyancy to all inhabitable land. Cold saline currents churned to the surface and hot gulf stream flows submerged to the depths of the recirculated waters creating navigable uncharted waters and damning those that chased their own destiny to now plummet while white fire incinerated their souls without ever fully consuming their being. Intensely hot storm winds began to blow seemingly from all directions at once fueling the white fire and creating trade winds that blew hard against the yard arms and the mast of the Titan clipper taunting her to unfurl her sails and charge the currents. The creature that brought forth the winds was no stranger to the crew of the Titan Baseball Brothership but a chill went up the spine of every last one of the brave hearted men as the human upper body of Typhon spawned out of his cavern and eclipsed the universe about them. The dragon heads that extended from his finger tip touched farthest reaches of both east and west simultaneously as he conducted the winds in a symphonic movement of eternal vengeful rebellion and the seas that once were cascading falls now flowed as one becoming the living embodiment of the world seas, Oceanus
Cutting through the violent sights and sounds was the familiar and reassuring sound of the iron fist of the Hooky Monster slamming down on the Gun wale calling all hands to report to stations. “Batten down the hatches, haze of gray and underway” came the command so resounding it drew the attention and the ire of the immortals Oceanus and Typhon. Pride and fight resurrected in the hearts and the minds of the crew for they would never accept defeat as fate but instead challenge the currents of destiny and harness the winds of deliverance. “Strike the royals” ordered Captain Hook as he lashed himself to the wheel in a defiant act of commitment to resilience. The Sage of Sling brought the arms below deck to the bullpen that is the oarsmen galley and ordered them to man their thwarts and power the ship’s bow about and into the waves. The ship thrashed about with the force of the raging currents throwing about everything that was not battened down including men manning the rigging. “Reef the mainsail” barked Hook and the ship began to stabilize and direction was returned to the rudder as the Titan Brothership caught the current and was seemingly once again underway powered by the winds and slicing through the waves. For a brief moment the arms of the staff that drove the Titan Baseball Brothership, set new school records and led the nation in era had an uneasy moment of brief rest for the momentum of the cascading current was carrying them.
The scenery that abounded the Baseball Brothership changed within the blink of an eye. Gone was the familiar landscape of the skies beneath the cover of the earth’s atmosphere and within an instant so was the celestial bodies that form the universe to which mother earth resides. The sky had become colorless and was neither light nor dark. Coming in to view was the underworld itself and not a soul aboard knew what to expect because no tales were ever told for no one had ever returned from whence they now found themselves. Mesmerized they gazed in wonderment at what is the captivity of the gods Tartarus, fearing that they would go blind if they continued to stare but unable all the same to break their stare. Horror and dismay engulfed the souls of the men above deck that were now all the sudden scourged by the sight of the mighty arm of Kronos emerging from his eternal captivity that is the Cave of Nyx. Wielding a mighty scythe and angered by the tenacity of the Titan Baseball Brothership’s attempt at navigating the currents, Kronos slashed upward with extreme violence and prejudice gathering force and momentum as the waters parted and tidal waves developed in the wake of the scythe. The Brothership was surely doomed for they were a long way from the sanctuary of their home port and all of nature was bearing down. The wrath of the gods had the Titan Baseball Brothership in the cross hairs of eternal damnation and destruction but the crew refused to abandon hope for Titans hold hope higher than food for the sustention of life.
From what seemed to be some sort of a Left Field Lounge came another force of nature, a possible escape from the fall of the season. Creating a wake of its own a massive sea creature torpedoed through the waters heading straight for the Brothership. Not sure whether it was friend or foe the crew breeched off from deck duties and prepared armaments and manned their battle stations. Of all the mystical beings and nether gods, they were facing now and in earlier voyages the creature from out of left field was familiar to the crew. All though it was easily a 100 times the size any they had seen before and though not battered and deep fried the men recognized a catfish when they saw one. The blade of Kronos’ scythe was about to impact the ships bow at that moment and the men prepared for impact not knowing the role astern between them and the cat fish were about to be reversed. The gigantic catfish lunged from the waters spraying water from his majestic barbels and creating massive showers from out of the colorless skies and amassing vibrant rainbows that temporarily blinded the vengeful gods of the underworld. The enormous fish then hovered its heavy boney hydrofoil head above the Titan clipper and attached its vast suckermouth blotting everything else out for the crew revealing nothing but the vast Starkness of a number 2 seed. Swallowed whole and now engulfed in a darkness so black they felt it to their core, the Titans tumbled and swashed about ascending into the belly of the fish.
How long had the darkness enveloped them was unknown but what it felt like was an eternity with the absence of humanity. When they awoke from the comatose of darkness not nary a one could believe his eyes for they had been resurrected into a magical land of sport and tourney, of laughter and spirits and of baseball gallantry where emperors are gladiators in tourney and the average tenants of the land are spectators of royal regard in spires of Corinthian columns that emerge magically from the ground challenging all laws of physics as they provide the bisellium of senatorial seating to those staunchest of fans known throughout the NCAA. Instead of the digestive track of a bottom feeder the skies above them displayed a kaleidoscope of colors. An endless waltz of infinite symmetrical color patterns in a melancholy perpetual mosaic that gave way to a stained glass ring around the horizon that was the most vivid shade of maroon any mortal had ever seen and appeared to form the outer limits of cosmic colosseum. Viscous green liquid oozed from the ground and climbed upward covering all manner of life that was not mobile in a lush green that expelled oxygen so dense and pure it resembled butterflies that flew into ones’ lungs filling them with serenity. From the grasp of sure demise, they thought this surely heaven for nothing but smiling faces did greet them and a slew of positive creative spirits welcomed them to tourney.
A cotton candy bank of fog suddenly rolled in and the air smelled of baked cookies. All pesky insects in the area turned into gummy candy treats and the sun retained the shape of a Red Hot. On a magic carpet made of taffy the vibrant spirit known through all the magical Ville as Candyman brought laughter of a million children as he welcomed the traveling brood and suddenly even the water tasted sweeter. The crew would also learn later that packed inside his magical bag of treats was also an endless supply of spirit and support for all things State and would make a very worthy advisory and comrade all in one once the games commenced. Time had flipped flopped and what was for day was now for night. Hunger and consumption ravaged the Tian Baseball Brothership and they soon found themselves hypnotized by the fragrant smoke that filled the air and seemed to provide nutrition by itself. Beckoning them from a podium of high priest of hunting and vestal virgins came salvation through rib tips from none other than the jolly soul of one Polk Salad. That afternoon the Titans gorged themselves on the hospitality of Polk Salad and the entire community that heartily welcomed them in as family and took solace in the warning issued by the good people of Starkville. “We will feed and treat you as kin, we will talk sport with you as educated supporters, we will bestow keepsakes upon you on which to remember us by and we will even take up arms with you when you battle a common foe, all this before and after our teams meet in the arena. However, make no mistake, once our two teams commence to battling it out we shall to become vigorous supporters of our club and all that it may require to secure victory for our team, nothing personal”.
The men of the Titan Baseball Brothership knew and practiced this mantra as well and it did them ease to know exactly where their opponents stood. Each held respect for one another, the warrior mentality and the fight they could not wait to engage in. The Titans grabbed their gear and headed for the hypogeum, their time in the arena was fast approaching.
Night fall begat the trumpet sound and thus commenced the gladiator games between The Titan Baseball Brothership and The Bulldogs sent by The Lady of the Mist. The frozen winter land warrior, The Mighty Quinn stepped forth unto the gem shaped arena and took to the highest pinnacle on the diamond and as an arctic wind cut through that area of the playing field the mound became a glacier. The Eskimo hurler smelling of whale blubber came set, glove to his face he exhaled with the reception of the sign and nitrogen like vapors eclipsed his torso as a mist of freezing air exhausted from his nostrils. Swinging down across his belt and into the mechanics of his wind up ice and hail rained down on the ground in front of the mound and then was instantly slush in the Mississippi heat and under the force of a sharpened spike snow shoe as he came out of his gate landing the first and decisive blow; ball 1 followed by foul, foul swing and a miss one away and blood sport had begun for the two teams. Quinn and LA Tech hurler Diehl locked horns in a duel befitting the environment of the night.
Children played and long hair leaping gnomes courted the night without a care of what was to come. The bayou’s own Phillip Diehl was a notorious riverboat gambler who despised giving batters a free trot and along with a pension for high risk stakes and strikeouts the lefty put the sin in Cincinnati. On top the Louisiana Tech most wanted list for the 90 K’s on the season Diehl matched blow for blow with the Mighty Quinn through two and a half before the air began to change and the climate went from just plane muggy to unpredictable in a matter of moments. From out of nowhere between the top and bottom of the third frame the locals began to secure all airborne property and head for safety as a head splitting sound of hissing rang across the night. The sounds grew incredulously louder as fire and lighting raced across the sky and now audible was the sounds of carnivores in mid kill death cries, volcanic eruptions that erase towns and villages from existence, menacing moans of loss and deprivation and the blaring sound of silence as the moon and stars were eclipsed by the menacing head of the master of all monsters as he infiltrated the sanctuary of Starkville. Fire exploded from under his brow like nuclear mushroom clouds and with his arms out stretched to reveal countless dragon heads he uncoiled the serpent lower half of his existence and constricted it around Dudy Noble Field in a dragnet of stifling swamp air taking the wind from all present and putting the game in delay.

The Titans recognized the creature from whence the winds of the underworld came and brought current to their tumble, it was the Titan avenger Typhon and he had infiltrated the mystical Regional in search of the escaped Titan Brothership in attempt to return them to their penance. Torrential rains and fierce lighting came down with a vengeance as Typhon clutched the Starkville city limits. His monstrous face peaked from the clouds, his eyes now shooting daggers of lighting down upon the confines of the Dude causing everyone to take cover and the field crews to roll out the tarps to ride out the 2-hour invasive interrogation and search for the band of brothers on the run.
When the games resumed the two mound commanders that started off the night picked up where they left off. Diehl continued to pile up strike outs like a stack of poker chips on winning night but the effects of the delay would soon catch up to both mounds men. In the stands a change was felt among the Titan Legions that pledge undying support to the Brothership and thus found themselves spectators in this magical Flavian Amphitheater. When they returned to their section awaiting them was a giant in Mississippi State regalia prepared to stand with the Titans in battle until, of course they went up against State. This goliath of a man was a knight in the ranks of the Left Field Lounge and his voice did soar in solidarity with the Titan supporters.
In the fourth frame Quinn the Eskimo was pinned down with runners on, 2 outs when Vanilla Hudge and Tristal Blue Persuasion emerged from the catacombs like the fierce gladiators they have become and combined for 2-4-2 inning ending caught stealing. But that would be the last frame for the igloo dweller and soon after in the 6th his foe would yield the ball as well and what had begun as a brilliant duel under the Mississippi night was cut to shreds by the forces of the underworld. With the timing of the delays and the all-important day one win still up for grabs the Titans were forced to burn another starter and up from the colosseum labyrinth stepped a big, big man, Big John. Some say The San Jo Show has the blood of Uranus that was spilled on the beach by the sickle of Kronos running through him, a Nephilim and last of the Philistines. Legend has it when the south paw slinger falls to the third base side exiting his delivery from the bump in Goodwin at sundown that he stares eye to eye with Helios, the sun himself. The San Jo Show dealt accordingly through two and two-thirds until the war storm forces of Typhon returned again after a stirring rendition of take me out to the ball game sparked his attentions when his ears caught the audible of ‘Root, Root-Root for the TITANS’ wafting through the southern skies. Slowly he turned his massive upper torso to the Starkville Regional sending torrents of violent storm swirling their way once again as he resumed his hunt for the absconding Titan Baseball Brothership thus suspending the game until the following morning.
With a full nights rest the Titans charged the arena ready to resume the gladiator battle that had begun the night before and ready to win. The behemoth they now knew as CNB once again awaited their arrival in true solidarity bringing with him a gift of mighty armament from the Realm of the Lounge. Along with the weaponry known as the cowbell he departed its wisdom and responsible use instructions and they did commence to aide in the Titan attack. The lone run in the game came in the bottom of the 8th with the sacks loaded with Titans Gasman, Slip Kid and Kill Shot when up stepped the Pick-Pocket known for eyeing rubbles from swing and miss rocks and snatching them for hits before the catchers even knew they were missing from their gloves. This time was no exception, although it was a fielder’s choice the lone run it produced held up as the Sieg-Zag Man picked up the win in the Titan effort and I do mean effort.

The win advanced them to the next level of tourney and as long as they kept winning there would be no need to know of the ramifications of double loss in the Regional arena. The Titan Brothership’s next opponent, the much awaited host of the tournament, Mississippi State. Just hours after tasting victory the Titan Baseball Brothership found themselves the center of attention in front of a ferocious crowd of over 10,000 screaming Hail State and ringing cowbells like they were summonsing the night and the fight in tow. The next realm of competition would be a test of hunting and surviving skills. A man dressed in black appeared on the warning track, not just a man but Thee Man in Black like an apparition of a Starkville Saturday night long ago spreading seeds of wild flowers and foliage from lands unknown. Armed police men incensed by his activity raced to him and chained him down to a bar stool and placed an acoustic guitar in his hands and apologized to every person posthumously who he wore the black for. Upon the first chord strike the seeds took bloom and the mother of all Titans, Gaia Mother Earth herself, began to sigh seductively. The ground below us began to heave and ho as her breathe quickened and her senses heightened by the spawn of fauna and foliage sprouting from her to the rhythm of an old train song. Before one’s eyes, trees stood tall as the skies and ivy grew without restriction like a crocheted blanket from mom and soon the colosseum floor was converted into a spiritual jungle ripe with essence of the four corners of the world. Massive landmarks, glaciers and mountain peaks rolled by the casual observer and into position as though manipulated by a series of advanced pulleys and manually operated winches but upon closer observation easily detectable were the legs and feet the sprouted from them, aiding them in a Cro-Magnon gyration. From the north blew cold winds and attached snow blind white night and frozen tundra to that part of the arena; to the south came monsoon winds that created rainforests; from the east blew hot winds of sand creating barren wastelands and from the west came the Titan Baseball Brothership ready for anything.
A riotous wail echoed through the labyrinth beneath the colosseum that was growing ever intensively piercing and shrill and soon the wide array of exotic wild animals responsible for the fracas would be released onto the field. The Titans had a beast of their own and they sent him to the hill with wrath. The Fresno Fire Starter, known for extinguishing oil derrick fires with fire and committing other acts of notorious arson all in the name of a day’s work. Beastman was aggressive on the mound but the Bulldogs bagged the first pelt with a ground hog ground out that pushed one across. Still the beast remained aggressive and pin point etching his name as a true Titan arm.
Mystery enshrouded the 6th inning as mystique ruled the frame when all manner of landscape adapted the language of man and began to taunt the Titans. At the plate stood the Paperboy, notorious bank robber and freedom fighter and in true Robin Hood fashion, he went about robbing the opposing pitching staff of a two bagger. Looking for signs from the third base coaching box The Paper-Boy got a shock. Appearing before him was a dessert oasis and cactus was indeed his friend so he lunged for revitalization on a Vo sac bunt and came up standing when the scenery morphed once again. From the artic on-deck circle stepped the only living creature to have walked the halls of Valhalla and return to this earthly realm whole but not entirely unchanged. Now when he strides to the plate a thunderous bass and double bass drum kick in accompanying notes from the night sky as though it were lighting bringing forth flashes of mighty guitars in sink and when the ball is struck a vocal of intense vibrato shatters a cold dark cloud. The Paper-Boy and Vanilla Hudge were entranced by talking trees and ivy that seemed to lure them into a fielder choice trap thus ending the threat.
In the 7th the game went from being prey to predatory and the origin of the species now being released from the labyrinth were from parts unknown suited up in armor and spikes and hunting in packs. They stalked the mound that the Beast spun from and after 6 frames of one run no walk ball he bravely turned and faced the pack in a last act of defiance. In his final 2/3 pitched 2 more runs would score before his steadfast performance was brought to a halt. The Titans mounted many an offensive assault without manifest side from the solo sling shot jack but the Diamond Dawgs let it be known that 1 run would not hold up in this contest no matter the explosiveness of the shot sent over the right field fence by the Gasman was. The final tally after the bells toll Bulldogs 4 Titans 1.
The Titan Baseball Brothership stood stone like and silent on the field after the defeat as the colony of State fans exited the confines in glee swaying to the rhythm of the cowbell. From out of nowhere atop the colosseum confines appeared the son of Kronos himself, Chiron. His presence was known to all because unlike other centaurs Chiron’s front legs of his equine body were human in nature. He circled the frieze atop of the colosseum one time at such speed the sounds of his cloven rear legs shook the ground below and mighty pieces of structure did fall. He reared up on his hind legs coming to a sudden halt and produced a scroll from a leather satchel slung across his iron plated armor chest guard. Chiron, in a thunderous voice read from the scroll and the interpretation of the tournament rules of engagement were revealed. The decree in the rules stated that all teams defeated twice thus being eliminated in Regional, Super Regional and CWS play shall be sacrificed to the god Kronos in order to secure safe passage forward to the teams that remained victoriously alive in tournament competition. The Titans were already wanted men by the gods of the underworld and a loss would deliver them into the hands that sought them out. Their fate in the 2016 season would be decided the following day versus a familiar nemesis.
Gone now, was the exotic forest landscape and in its place a circular race track of majestic proportions. The batters eye potion of centerfield was opened up and installed were starting gates that were fed from both bull pens on either side, bull pens that were now stables. From the mound exploded large marble pillars supporting a wall of granite that spanned strong up the middle from 2 to 1 to 8 creating a spina that displayed large decorative sculptures of transition metals that indicated laps completed, scores, runs, hits and errors. Manipulating the sculptures were recently freed slaves of Tartarus the one-eyed Cyclopes and the hundred handed Hecatonchires. From the heavens came down the mighty arm of Atlas holding a cloth of woven angel hair whilst still suspending the sky above with the remainder of his entire being. At the drop of the cloth the chariot race began and a terrifyingly dangerous charge for the inner track commenced. The arms of the Titan Baseball Brothership that led the nation were growing weary from the deluge of the season and the impact of the monstrous battles they had endured and indeed carried a team at many an occasion like the over seer of this event himself the mighty Titan god, Atlas. Avast the blood that flowed through the Titan brothership was of mortal men or so they thought. Bruised battered and injured the Wrath of Connor Sea-Monkey was summonsed to toe the first leg of the race, to bring the Brothership out from the gate. Knowing full well his condition was in direct confrontation with his desire to fight for his team The Sea Monkey in an act of do or die fastened his right arm to the chariot and now the only way to separate the two would either be victory or by severing the limb that was strapped up by way of the knife he had tucked into his belt.
Sea-Monkey is an amphibious creature with powers to communicate and command the inhabitants of the sea. His moniker is description of his mound presence and his gorilla approach to dominating opposing batters with the agility and athleticism of a monkey climbing to the stars. It did not take long for the LA Tech batters to sense his strain, encircle and swarm the Sea-Monkey. Their chariots were equipped with spearheaded talons on the on the axles of the their two-wheel chariots and they swung loud cracking whips down on both horse and the back of Sea-Monkey. From the hot corner came a brother of a performance. The Pavlov Dog who was picked up by the crew of the Titan Baseball Brothership after he escaped the lab of a mad experimental scientist but not before his nature was enhanced with strengths and powers yet to be tapped into by the Brothership but that would not be for long as he was emerging before our eyes as a solid ball player and a brother. Pav stayed strong with the glove and the bat trying to fend off the Louisiana Bulldogs but their attack was relentless and in the bottom of the seconds their spiked wheels milled through the side of Sea-Monkey’s chariot flinging the two-time Big West Pitcher of the week on to the track being drug by wild horses in a frenzy.
Pav continued to hit and the Titan offense avidly pursued an inside lane of the track to score but the La Tech control of the lane and the game was relentless and not a statue had been turned in favor of the Titans. Not until the 6th lap that is when a wall of a man stepped into the chariot box wielding a heavy bat whip and with Boxcar and Slip at the corners UmaGuma commenced to thrashing the opposing pitcher within inches of his life bringing in two runs before crashing into the keystone. Those would be the only runs scored by the Titan 9 that fateful day and in the 9th lap the final three Titans were driven into the wall in order smashing their chariots to smithereens and all went completely black, the darkest darks you can only feel in the depths of your bones.

Chapter 1:

Part 3: Blood Lineage of the Gods
The darkness remained like their eyes had been gouged from their skulls but all hell broke loose from all around them. The ground began to burn under their feet and tremble with violent convulsions. The sky above them began to fall down on them has the cries of a million infant souls devoured by the fear of prophecy shrieked across the night and split the ears of the Titan Baseball Brothership until they were bleeding. The Titan Baseball Brothership was now being surrounded by the Cyclopes and placed in chains by the hundred handed ones. The Cyclopes spoke “Be still thee, the ruler of the golden age approaches and you will be sacrificed as communion to the god Kronos.”
Emerging from Elysium, Pandora’s Temple chained to his back, his massive frame filled the extents of the celestials as he sliced through the air with his great sickle decapitating mountains and hurling them like pebbles; the god Kronos was ascending down upon them with fire and on the breath of every last Titan Baseball Brother was uttered a vow of no retreat no surrender in the defense of the Titan Baseball Brothership. In moments they would be swallowed whole as sacrifice to the NCAA or so they presumed. Suddenly from out of the black stepping over the right field fence was an ally of the Brothership, none other than CNB and as he approached he spoke to the Titan captors in the language of the Gigantes. Instantly they were released from the chains that bound them and in an orchestrated attempt to deceive Kronos they gathered large boulders, dressed them in blue and orange placed them up for sacrifice.
CNB led the Titans out of the stadium through a series of hidden doors and passages ways like maze of life and death proportions. He brought them to their ship that was docked in the muddy waters of the Mississippi. They thanked CNB for all he had done for them vowing to one day repay him and as they boarded the ship Kronos devoured the stones whole. The Titan Baseball Brothership had just gone anchors away when the jig was up. Not as effective as it were with Zeus, Kronos recognized the plot and seeing the winds of mayhem filling the sails of the Titan Baseball Brothership his mighty sickle did come down causing devastation and destruction in a single fatal blow. The ship that had ferried many a voyage under the flag of Titan Baseball was now mere splinters and the men spattered to every direction. The raging river split in two and the earth opened up where the sickle had sliced through turning the waters blood red as they flowed from the gash in the earth like a wounded warrior. Soon what Remained of Titan Baseball was swallowed up by the gash in the earths flesh and all turned red.
The Titan Baseball crew regained consciousness as they washed ashore bruised bloodied and torn but not quite yet beaten, on the shores of the river Styx. As they gathered themselves and tried to make sense of the 2016 season and where they were going from here, the grandiose gates that stood sentinel in front of them started to hum and click as a series of locks and tumblers commenced to open and all men stood silent fearing the worse and the worse they did receive for the gates of hell had opened before them. Coming from the fiery pit that blistered the skin of the Titan crew immediately with a wave of unbearable heat, was the sound of a ravenous hell hound, The Cerberus. All three of the heads on the Cerberus roared a fierce blood curdling war cry that brought the Titans to attention and prepared to stand and deliver. As the Cerberus bounded from the realms of hell his serpent tail hissed menacingly at the ball club and the three wild dog heads snapped at the air revealing bone crushing teeth and flesh ripping claws. Captain Vanderhook stepped bravely forward prepared to take the brunt of the fight on himself and locked glares with the center head of the Hades guardian. To the surprise of all who witnessed the Cerberus heeled and sat non-confrontational front and center in front of the Titan commander and begun to speak in the ancient dialect of the Children of Uranus and Gaia. Too the shock and bewilderment of the crew Captain Hook not only understood the language but spoke it fluently after all it was the tongue of Titans and things started to make sense and get very confusing all at once. The hell hound and Hook nodded in agreeance and the Captain turned and faced his crew and addressed them.
He told them their situation was not dire and that redemption would be possible but he would have travel into hell and climb the highest pinnacles there and speak with the master of the Cerberus, Hades himself. His staff stepped forward and pleaded to send them instead but deviation from the orders would mean sure eternal damnation for all the Titan Baseball Brothers. Hook then spoke unto the men and told them to regain their strength through vigorous work outs and bunt training drills. “Utilize this break to obtain greater skill.” Hook spoke unto the men “prosper in the heat as strong as a summer sun and soon we will fight again as one.” Then he turned to the Laureate of Lob and placed him in charge of the men and entered the gates of hell with Cerberus.
In a throne carved in the jagged shale atop the highest point in hell sat the guardian of fallen souls and devoured child of Kronos, Hades. He spoke unto Vanderhook and told him to turn and look down from the pinnacle where right before his very eyes the entire history of the mightiest of gods, The Titans was being played out before him like a scripted play. He witnessed the birth of the 12 original Titan gods to Uranus and Gaia, the imprisonment of their siblings the Cyclopes and Hecatochires and the conspiracy that followed. He saw Kronos with the sickle of stone fashioned by his mother, castrate the genitals of his father. In repulsive horror he watched as the blood that flowed from his groin landed in the sand and created different species of immortal creatures and of the genitals thrown into the sea spawned Aphrodite. The paranoia of Kronos that he himself would suffer the same fate as his father was cognizant with every child devoured by Kronos leading to the rebellion of Zeus the one who escaped with aide of his mother and sister of Kronos, Rhea.
It was Rhea that beseeched Hades to show favor upon The Titan Baseball Brothership and with this revelation came the question Hook was afraid to ask. “Why us” demanded the captain. And with the inquiry came a dagger from the sheath of Hades and before Hook could defend himself the deity made a small incision on Hooks forearm. The blood that flowed was not red but blue and orange. Then Hades sliced into his own flesh in the same manner revealing the same blood, the blood of Titans! When their forefathers had escaped from Tartarus they spread out and scattered to the most reclusive places in the galaxy and under the cover of anonymity they relinquished their legacy as a form of survival and adopted the mighty pachyderm as their idol of worship and source of existence. Hades griped the arm of the Big West Coach of the Year and doth spoke sternly at him. “There is but one way for you to escape this realm and return in time to fight the 2017 NCAA D-1 Baseball season” exclaimed Hades as he put a hand across the eyes of Coach Vanderhook. Suddenly before his eyes were his crew of ball players all partaking in baseball drills, tournaments and playoff preparing like they were told by the captain and beyond them coming in to view was a dark a menacing path. At the entrance to the path stood a sign that read. ‘Wo to thee who considers travels upon this path in attempt to escape fate and manifest one’s own destiny for this be the trail of 16 wars. From whence ye shall embark there is no exit save for freedom gained before the 16th war consumes your soul’.
The voice of Hades interrupted the vision with decree and addendum “This is the path you’ll need to take in order to escape and return the Titans to the greatness that is in their lineage, our lineage.” Than Hades added addendum to the warning on the sign. “For if you are unable to obtain freedom before the end of the 16th war your existence shall be permanently removed from the book of life obliterating all love, pain, growth and experience that make a man’s soul and the souls of those he cherishes; a fate worse than hell itself where occasionally these memories are allowed to mercifully creep, in temporary relief of the tormented.”
Hades released his grip on Vanderhook and seemingly reading his mind said “Have no worries of the ship that was destroyed for the Brothership is not a vessel but a bond that unites one and all who sport the blue and orange.” And with that Cerberus and Hook returned to the men just as autumn leaves begun to litter the banks of Styx.
A thousand years had gone by since he left his crew but they all looked like just a matter of months had passed. Everyone accept the Captain himself who’s hair had grown ferociously long and gray both and his head and face as though he were father time himself. The mystique that is the Sage of Sling, Jason Dietrich was missing from the camp and not a soul knew of his solo escape but lowered their heads and said a silent prayer for success and God speed for a fellow comrade in the game.
Hook led the men to the entrance of The Trail of 16 Wars, allowed them to read the sign and contemplate their fate in this shot in the dark gamble for all that is, was and what is too come. Starring into the souls of every last man through their eyes Captain Hook entered the trail followed by his brave men and all knew one thing for certain if they did make it some would be give their all in sacrifice to the Brothership.
And so begins the Trail of 16 wars…..
In the coming weeks and months, the chapters of the 16 wars will be released and will take you on a stroll through the worst conflicts in the history of man and in doing so also pay homage to the 16 Titan Brothers that have moved on after or during the 2016 season but not before leaving their mark in Titan Baseball lore.