Chapter 4

And another!
                                                                          Chapter 4 

(chorus)

The wheels of fate are set in motion

Only to stop when its course is traveled

          On Mount Olympus (mount was again an official part of its title, now that the actual mountain had reconnected to the heavens) Zeus was returning to an audience of gods, less than thrilled with his recent behavior.
          "What the Hades was that!" yelled Demeter, once Zeus stopped glowing.
          "Mortals can be most infuriating."
          "I understand that, but you could not confer with the rest of us? I have no qualms with the zapping of the ringleader, but releasing upon the earth that which was imprisoned and hidden from it; that was unacceptable. Did you think of the consequences? Those beings you have released, Gaia’s children, they are sure to harbor resentment from their imprisonment!" pressed Demeter.

           "Yes well…I ugh…hadn’t really thought that through…"

           "You thought none of it through! You went lightning bolt crazy, like always!"

           "In hindsight, I will admit, I may have over reacted slightly…"

           "Slightly?" 

           Hera began clapping, "All hail the triumphant return of our Mighty and Just, lord Zeus!" 
           "Shut your vile mouth Hera!! I am still Chief god of Olympus, and as such will not have my actions questioned! Not by my wife, nor by you, sister," Zeus shot back, unwilling to admit his mistake.

            Hades choose this time to waft from the shadows, and introduce reason, "We must remain calm and consider the enormity of what has transpired. Squabbling amongst ourselves is erroneous; the entire fate of Olympus could be in jeopardy. This was a thrashing of the ancient treaty and in all fairness, is an act of war."

           "I meant no such thing!" rebutted Zeus.

          "Regardless of meaning; you unleashed a massive force of destruction unto man, completely disregarding our agreement to abstain from interaction."

            Zeus was still determined that he committed no wrong, "The force will only be destructive because the humans have grown without limits!"

           "This is true brother; but it was us who removed those limits and now the reinstitution of them will be destructive. Justify your actions how you see fit, the end product is still an act of violence against the race of man."

            Zeus remained silent, unable to find a flaw in Hades logic.

          "It is with that in mind I propose a consultation with the sisters of fate; only they will know what our actions have wrought," concluded Hades.

             Zeus let out a defeated sigh, "As always my brother, you are sensible and correct."

            "It happens when you spend all of your time with the dead."

            "Hermes!"

            The messenger of the gods soared forth to Zeus, "Yes my lord?"

            "Go to the sisters of fate, and tell them we require a meeting."

            "Without delay, my lord," no sooner had the words left his mouth, than Hermes was through the gates of Olympus and off to deliver his message.

            A moment of silence settled on the crowd.

          "The need to summon has passed. We know when we are needed, before those who need us, know they will," the experienced riddled voice belonged to an old wizened woman in gray robes, heavily resting on a cane. She was accompanied by a younger woman, in the fruit of her years, wearing the same type of gray cloak and carrying a baby in similar attire. The resemblance said triplets, but the age divide said generations.

            "Ah the fates, always fashionably late," replied Hades.

             A voice teeming with wisdom escaped from the baby, "Always fashionably late to those who expect us…"

            The middle sister, holding the baby finished the thought, "but always right on time in the grand scheme."

           Zeus advanced on the sisters, "Indeed. I assume you know why you are here?"

          "You shan’t assume, Mighty Zeus; for although you may consent to being an ass, we are of no such state," answered the eldest.

           Zeus always found talking to the fates to be a great chore, "Then I know, you know why you are here," he gritted through his teeth.

           Again the oldest fielded a response, "Of course we know."

           In an impetuous act of youth the youngest elaborated, "We knew when and why we would be here, before you were even aware a problem was developing."

           "And no advice! No warning!" Zeus snapped.

           The middle sister offered reason, "It was fated for you to take the actions you did; only you could have changed the present, not us."

           "Then what’s different now? Why are you here if things can’t be changed?" Zeus was growing weary of the circles the debate was traveling.

          The response came from all three sisters simultaneously; "The course of violent actions you have preceded in, Mighty Zeus, hath intertwined the threads of fate for all

we know; and though for now there are many paths the threads may take, nearly all end the same."

           "What are you saying? It sounds as if I am being accused of bringing about the end of times!"

            "Perhaps not the end of all times, but almost certainly the end of times as you know them."

            "What does that even mean? What does this future you elusively speak of hold?" Zeus always had difficulties deciphering underlying meanings, and his demand made that clear.

            "The future cannot be known until the present is settled. You actions, Mighty Zeus, will either leave Olympus in ruins, or lead it to a new perception of prosperous. You see, Mighty Zeus, there is one amongst man, whom if marches against Olympus will assure its demise; but bade those thoughts of violence Mighty Zeus, for if this one’s blood is spilled, than Mount Olympus is sure to fall."

             "There seems to be only one way for this to end sisters of fate, and I must say I am not pleased," Zeus seemed to be considering his options, "even if we were to protect this ‘one amongst man’ and convince them not to raise arms against Olympus, are time is doomed at the end of this mortals life, if I am not mistaken?"

              "Ah, but you are Mighty Zeus. For this one amongst man is not only the son of man. His lineage is half mortal, half divine."

              "IMPOSSIBLE!! I have fathered no child in centuries!!"

              "The words you speak are true, Mighty Zeus, but your ignorance lies in you being not the only divinity on Olympus. You must be mindful, Mighty Zeus, not all demigods must be fierce warriors to be laden with destiny. This man in particular is far from your conception of hero, but it’s erroneous because his blood gives him a touch of destiny, deeply woven with the fate of Olympus."

              Zeus was growing quite irritated with the information he was receiving, "Very well, he can become a god; if it ensures the prosperity of Olympus I’m sure we can find him something to rule over. Can we at least know who he is? Or more importantly, who fathered the little bastard?"

            "His conception is far from noble and was heavily influenced by the drink from the vines; for which his father is the god of."

             Once said, all eyes in the Parthenon repositioned themselves, however necessary, to be able to firmly lock on Dionysus; the god of wine and marry-making. 

            Dionysus’s amethyst eyes remained firmly hidden behind his dark curly locks as he took a deep pull from his cornucopia; filled with wine so unfathomably red one might find themselves overcome with the sense of plummeting when staring at it; and if one were so unlucky to catch the glimpse of the wine as a droplet falling onto his toga, one would be remised to find oneself staring into a fabric of the same color, thus giving one a perception of infinity falling into infinity.

            A guilty grin was revealed when the cornucopia was lowered. A grin that irritated the gods, yet soothed none the less.

            It was at this moment Hermes returned to the Parthenon, "My lord Zeus, I went to summon the fates but they weren’t there!"

           "Its fine Hermes, the fates are here," responded Zeus gesturing to empty space, "ugh…or at least they were…?"

           "Well, as long as they were here I assume you handled the necessary business. Just so you know, I did receive a message for you while I was on Earth looking for them."

           "You received a message for me?"

            "Yes my lord, there’s a large assembly of humans at the Olympus coliseum requesting an audience."

           Ares rushed forward, "There are mortals tainting the sanctity of my armies training grounds?!? I will slaughter all of them!!!"

           "Quiet you impetuous fool!" erupted Zeus, "Have you witnessed nothing? We must not seek violence! Hermes, what’s all down there?"

          "Well, there are; news teams, journalist, dignitaries, diplomats, world leaders, military leaders, ad agencies, police, paramedics, fire trucks, athletes, and a celebrity or four."

          "Oh, wow, um…I really don’t know what to tell them; I’m a not really sure how to deal with all this. Anybody got any ideas? I don’t think it’s a good idea to broadcast our vulnerability right now…um… Hermes, if we don’t say anything, do you think they will just go away?"

          "Ugh…with all do respect my lord; no? Most of them are very anxious and restless. They seem very volatile."

           "Damn!" bellowed Zeus, "Wait I know! These humans are all really ignorant! I mean look at the trial. We are gods and they are going to want answers, lots of answers…how about we tell them only the chosen may speak to us…and to determine who the chosen is they must…a…challenge our greatest warriors to one on one combat!... Yeah, in the coliseum!" Zeus felt he was on to a great idea, "Ares! You handle this, tell them they must challenge one of the six generals of the Olympian Army! If mankind’s greatest hero can defeat the Olympian’s greatest hero, they can have an audience with me, Zeus, the champion of Olympus! HAHAHA!"

            "With pleasure, Zeus," grinned Ares.

             Hermes looked around the room and noticed a massive uneasiness residing among the gods, "Sooooo, what exactly did I miss?"