Seeds (37 page)

     Atropos was clad in dark gray that was woven with black zigzags that resembled barren branches. Her hair was as white as snow. Her hands were thin but strong, and she handled her shears with ease, nipping at a thread here and there before placing it into a tapestry with a constantly shifting and moving pattern.

     “Welcome, Lady Persephone.” The Queen of the Underworld wasn't quite sure which one of them had said it. Perhaps all three?

     “Greetings... Klotho, Lakhesis, Atropos.” Hades had not instructed her on anything to say in particular, only that she be respectful. Respectful was easy enough to pull off; she was sufficiently impressed enough by the Fates and their surroundings. She bowed her head, bending her knees slightly in what she guessed was a proper bow. When she righted herself, the Fates didn't look displeased.
So far, so good
. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder, but she didn't see the opening to the chamber.

     “What a good queen she is already.”

     “Should we expect differently from someone born to be a ruler of Dis?”

     “Ah, but it is a role she says she does not want.” All three Fates looked at her. Persephone's cheeks warmed, but she raised her chin.

     “Indeed. Hades snatched me from the earth and would keep me down here forever. Since you know everything, can you tell me how to get to Olympus?”

     “Olympus is not as grand as you make it out to be.”

     “Though of Olympian blood you are, you walk a different path from that of your parents.”

     “Only through acceptance of your fate will you be free.”

    
Well
. That was no help. Were the Fates like this to everybody, with vague and mysterious comments which only caused those seeking answers to have more questions?

     “That is not a very helpful answer,” Persephone shot back, trying to not sound rude.

     “It is the answer you need.”

     “Nothing of value has been lost. Or will be lost.”

     “You are asked for little. In turn you are offered the world.”

     Oh! Damn them! Would they all remain on Hades's side, insisting that she belonged down here with them, like Kharon?

     “I will escape the Underworld, with or without your help. I mean no disrespect, but I will not allow Hades to keep me hostage.”

     “Your life was intertwined with Hades's before either of you were born.”

     “Fighting against one's own fate fulfills it.” There had been enough tales in history of men and women who tried to avert the dire prophecies issued to them only to have their destiny come to fruition.

     “The Harvest Goddess tried to prevent your fate, but in doing so, made it easier for Hades to claim you as his own.”

     Such words did not settle well with Persephone. She thought of her mother's protectiveness, and how it had led to her kidnapping. Mother had been warned by the Fates, hadn't she? She thought of her mother's constant guard, her refusal to allow her daughter to grow. And it had all been in vain...

     “Does my mother know where I am?”

     “No,” Atropos intoned as she neatly snipped a thread, holding it between two fingers before letting go.

     “She is goddess of the world above. Down here, she has no power.”

     “But you do. You have but to embrace it.”

     Persephone frowned. How could she? She was unable to use her Gift down here!

     “Have patience.”

     “Keep an open mind.”

     “Do not see what you do not have, but what you do have.”

     “I cannot deny that the Underworld is an interesting place,” Persephone argued, raising her palms in supplication, “But I
cannot
stay down here forever.”

     “You have but to listen to our words.”

     “And accept their wisdom.”

     “It will take time.”

     It will take time.
This answer only further frustrated her, and she was feeling cross. She felt the urge to shout and stamp her foot at their...
unhelpfulness!

     “You may go now.”

     Before Persephone could say anything, the Fates grew distant, almost as if floating away – or as if she was being pulled back from them. Due to the vertigo that this place induced, she could not tell. With a soft gasp she jerked back, finding Hades's arms wrapping around her to offer her support. She remained in his arms for several moments, orienting herself. She blinked several times, now hearing the rush of water from the Styx, and the faint scent of the inky water – cold and almost metallic.

     “Hades...” She looked up to see the dark, rocky ceiling of the cavern, and to her right, she saw the Styx in the distance.

     “Are you all right?”

     “Yes. It... just... their chamber...”

     “It feels endless, does it not?”

     “So vast...”

     “Doubtless that's the impression they want to place on visitors. What did they say to you?”

     “Nothing.” she muttered, looking away. She wasn't about to tell Hades what the Fates said. He'd just be smug and happy about it. The last thing she wanted to give him was fuel for his argument!

     Hades was wise enough to not press the matter further, though he noted Persephone's unhappiness. She was silent as he draped his arm around his shoulders, and did not look up at him as they walked along the path.

     Persephone did not resist as she felt this touch. The warmth of his presence in this dead land did offer her comfort, and the pair walked along without a word exchanged between them. What sort of undiscovered powers did she have? How much time would it take to discover these powers, or to figure a way out of here? It rankled her that others saw fit to shape her future... Mother, her biological father, her captor, even the damned Fates themselves.

    
My destiny is my own, and I will find a way to shape it
, she vowed to herself.

o0o

END OF BOOK ONE

     This book is the first of three volumes. Stay tuned for more on Hades and Persephone, their budding romance, as well as the adventures – and mis-adventures – of gods and mortals in the world of the living as the search for Persephone intensifies!

Notes

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Greek clothing was very different from what we wear today. Sewing was used in limited quantities, and most of the time, pins or belts held garments together. Many garments were usually one piece of cloth held up by pins or closed with a belt or girdle. Patterns were achieved by weaving rather than sewing.

     A tunic was one of the most basic pieces of clothing for the typical Greek man or woman. It was usually knee-length, and was more of a masculine garment along with the peplos, a similar article of clothing. This was often worn by children as well.

     The chiton was the usual choice of clothing for women, and usually terminated at the ankles. It would sometimes be worn by men as well, especially for formal occasions or for warmth.

     For warmth, a himation was often worn. Sometimes it was draped across one shoulder, and would often complement a tunic or chiton. It would add modesty to an outfit in milder weather and could be pulled up over both shoulders or the head as suited the needs of the wearer. Hats could be worn, though this was more for protection against the sun, especially by farmers or others who worked outdoors.

     Women, especially older ones, would often wear cowls, especially in colder weather, but the cowl was also used for modesty. Tunics would also be worn over chitons, or if a piece of cloth was large enough, it could be folded over at the shoulders to form a double layer of fabric that would cover the upper half of the body. The typical choice of footwear was either sandals or boots, and for pants – used as warmth or protection more often than not than as a fashion statement – one would need to wrap cloth or leather around their legs and wrap cord around them to keep them in place.

     Looking at the various choices for clothing that we have today, it sometimes amazes me to see how far we have come.

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     Many of the names for countries we use today are very different from the ones used back then, and some countries did not even exist. I decided to use the older names for these countries as they would have been referred to in the past.  Greece is a relatively modern name for the collection of city-states and villages that made up the ancient country of Hellas, which drew its name from Hellen, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. The myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha is comparable to that of Noah's ark, with them being the survivors of a flood brought on by Zeus in his displeasure with humankind; in this case, the Pelasgians, ancestors to the Greeks, also the indigenous people of the Aegean Sea region before the advent of Greek culture and language. It was a lot of fun learning about all of this while doing my research.

     In one version of the myth, Deucalion is the son of Prometheus and was warned of his father about the flood, so he built an ark. Like Noah, he had three sons. Hellen was the oldest, and the patriarch/progenitor of the Hellenes (Greeks) and the various peoples/tribes within the Hellenic ethnic group. It is from Hellen's name that we get the Greek prefix 'Helle' to describe anything Greek – Helladic, Hellenic, and so on.

     Japan is referred to as 'Wa', one of its most ancient names and given it to by China to refer to its position to the far east of the world. Mesopotamia and Sumeria were old names for what is currently known as the Middle East, especially around the Levant.

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     Mycenaean Greece is the time period before the Trojan War and the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1100-800 BCE) and was more warlike, which may have been one of the reasons that Myceneaum fell and lapsed into the Dark Ages (largely attributed to the Doric invasion from the north in about 1200 BCE, though some historians dispute this) before Greece revived itself in the Classical Period.

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     The circle beard is a mustache attached to a goatee, this making a circle around the mouth. The reason I chose this is because of varying depictions of Hades in classical Greece and in today's media, or various artwork done in the past and today by classical artists and modern artists alike. About half the time, I see him with a smooth completely shaven face and looking younger than his brothers. Other times he is depicted as an older man with a full mustache and beard, and both look good on him. I decided to go for a happy medium. Likewise for Persephone, she was variously depicted as having dark hair like the typical Greek, or blonde, so again, I went for a medium.

     My imaginings of Zeus and Poseidon are how they are usually depicted in classic art – tall, strong, well-built men with rippling muscles – two prime examples of the male specimen and also poster-children for male passion and virility, what with all their consorts and children. I have done my best to imagine and flesh out the character of the gods and mortals alike.

     Some depictions may seem stereotypical to some – especially for Zeus – but after doing in-depth research and being awed by the number of lovers and children he had, I imagined him to be an ancient Greek version of today's 'player', often careless of the feelings of his lovers and neglectful of his children. Ancient Greece was a very, very patriarchal society, and women had less rights in Greece than they did in Egypt or Rome, so Zeus' attitude would have been typical of a man at that time, exacerbated by the fact that he was a god rather than mere mortal.

     Some of the minor characters have had their background changed from the original myths to fit the purposes of my story. I have tried to give everyone more substance and depth – to the degrees that I felt appropriate for them – than what is shown in the myths, which were usually simplistic when it came to character development.

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     Ouranos is the Greek spelling for Uranus. Some of the names we use today are Latin/Anglicized spelling of the names of Greek characters. Same with Kronos – many people today are more familiar with Cronus (who, due to the spelling, was sometimes confused with Chronos, god of time) In Rome, Uranus was known as Aion and Caelus (sky)

     Many of the names in this story bear the original Greek spelling (Hephaistos, Athene) though I did choose to keep a couple of Anglicized names (Dionysus, Kharon)

     The story goes that Ouranos was hacked into many pieces, and one of the two main origins of Aphrodite myths has her coming from a certain severed part of him after it had landed into the sea. The part about lizards and worms eating Ouranos’s flesh and becoming dragons and serpents is supposed to explain the origin – at least one of them – of these fearsome creatures. I thought that perhaps Kronos and his brethren scattered the parts, not thinking about what might have happened to his brain, since Ouranos was a very old/powerful god, and I figured that he wouldn't go down so easily.