The Path to Victory

Chapter 16


“I have given this much careful and grave consideration,” Zeus said several days later as the Olympians gathered for a meeting. “We now rule the world in place of the Titans. I have taken the mantle of our father, of course. I rule the skies and the heavens. Poseidon has stepped forward to take control of the seas and waters. But the rest of you are still entitled to your own domains.”

Hera smiled contentedly from her seat beside Zeus; he had already promised to give her an important domain to rule over, and the goddess stroked her growing belly under her gowns. She had nothing to be concerned about.

Zeus spoke up again after a brief pause. “My dear sister and consort has expressed her desire to become the goddess of motherhood and marriage, and as she is expecting her first child, I see it fit to grant Hera her wish.”

The responses from her siblings were mostly positive and affirmative, except for one. Demeter, though not voicing any spoken objection, glowered at Zeus from her seat across the room. She was much more apt and skillful with all growing things than Hera, and by rights she should have been appointed goddess of motherhood. Granted, there was a life growing inside Hera now, but her older sister did not know half of what Demeter did. The younger goddess gritted her teeth, thinking back to the occasion when Hera came to her for advice on her pregnancy.

“Demeter, you seem displeased,” Zeus remarked with a scowl. “If you have something to say, speak up now.”

“Why was my domain not motherhood?” she asked, frowning. “My place is there. My talents are there. Why would you choose Hera over myself?”

Zeus did not speak immediately, so Demeter felt the need to continue.

“Why would you choose Hera when I am so entitled?” she urged. “Did you not see what I was able to achieve when Hades carried the Kraken? I healed him. I helped him birth our weapon!”

“Demeter,” Hades tried to interrupt his sister. He hardly wished to see Zeus’ anger directed towards her, especially when it came to questioning his will.

“Why would you cast aside what I have accomplished, as though it meant nothing? Is it in favor of your future wife??”

The thunderous sound of Zeus’ fist against his chair startled all in the room and brought the argument into a deathly silence.

“I am ruler above all others and I decide what is to be,” the youngest god said, his voice low and even. “And if I appoint Hera instead of you, there is to be NO ARGUMENT.”

Demeter certainly felt like she wanted to argue further, but in her heart she knew it would be futile. They all had to bend to the will of Zeus, and if he decided something, it could not be changed, no matter how wrong or unfair she considered it.

“I concede, brother,” Demeter said quietly. “I think it is unfair, but I concede.”

Hera’s previously pleased smile had been replaced by a look of irritation, but she chose not to speak up on the matter. Zeus had honored her wish, and for that she was grateful. She had, of course, known that Demeter also wished to claim the domain of motherhood, but she had not expected her sister to voice such a vehement protest.

“Demeter, dear sister, you sound as if you would be left entirely without a share,” Zeus said, his voice softer. “You could not be more wrong. We all know your affinity for everything that grows, and I shall reward you accordingly. How about ruling over our seasons and what grows on our green earth? Would that suit your talents, sister?”

Demeter restrained a sigh and nodded. A hand closed around hers, and she looked up to see it belonged to Hestia.

“Hestia, while you have stepped forward…” Zeus said. “I have decided upon your duties as well. For your courage and resourcefulness in protecting those you love, you shall care for that which all families should hold dear. You shall be appointed goddess of the home and fireside.”

The goddess gave a small bow, accepting the role granted to her. Hades glanced at Poseidon when he realized only one name was left.

“And myself, Zeus?” he asked. “I must question what would be left for me to rule.”

“Indeed, brother,” Zeus replied, hand at his beard in deliberation. He shut his eyes for a few seconds as though to prepare himself for a reaction. “There is still one realm without a god to watch over it. The Underworld. This encompasses the Elysian Fields, the Asphodel Fields, and Tartarus.”

Hades could only stare at his brother, realizing what Zeus was suggesting. He, rule the Underworld?? He barely wanted anything more to do with the place.

“It is one of our most important realms. The earth, the seas, the heavens, and death. We must have a god to rule it. Hades… I shall appoint you lord of the Underworld.”

“No, I cannot do that…” Hades whispered, his face rapidly losing any colour it had left. “Don’t ask me to do that… I cannot do that.”

“This is not a request, Hades,” Zeus replied, unusually patient but relentless nonetheless. He had obviously anticipated the reaction from his older brother. “We need someone to watch over our dead, and you are the only one of us who has experienced the Underworld first hand. The realm of the dead is an important domain. It would not be a task unworthy of you, Hades.”

The air in Hades’ lungs exited his mouth in a powerless sigh, and he could not even find the strength to argue against Zeus. A part of his mind stubbornly refused to believe that his brother would be so cruel as to send him to the Underworld after everything he had been through. Was there not a speck of honor left in Zeus?

Hades slid down from his seat and forced his feet to move when they reached the floor. Without as much as a word, he left the hall and his siblings, ignoring the voices calling out his name. Hades already felt dead on the inside.

“Hades…?” Poseidon called for him as he stormed down the halls. “Hades, please stop!” His brother ignored him and continued to walk. “Please, I’m begging you, talk to me!” the younger god pleaded, catching up to him.

“What is there to discuss?” Hades demanded to know. “I never wanted to be in that hellish place again and now I must rule it! Save your words of comfort, Poseidon. There is no convincing me that this is for the best.”

“I don’t care if you won’t listen to reason,” Poseidon snapped. “But you are making this worse by leaving the gathering. Now come BACK.”

He grabbed Hades by the arm, his patience wearing thin. Hades, already wishing to be alone, was angered even greater by the gesture and he whipped around to face Poseidon. He wanted to hit him, push him away, anything to make the younger god leave him be.

“Go AWAY,” he hissed, and without so much as a second thought, he produced that mental force which he had discovered at the spring days before. Poseidon was pushed backwards with enough might that he stumbled and nearly lost balance. The younger god looked up in disbelief, only to watch Hades stomp down the hallway and out of sight.

Zeus could not believe what he was seeing when Hades left the gathering and would not even answer when the others called out after him. After hearing the brief but explosive exchange between his two brothers in the hallway, Zeus could only sigh in defeat. Hades had taken the announcement just as badly as could have been expected, or possibly even worse.

Poseidon re-entered, shaking his head. “Hades won’t listen to reason, I fear,” he said. “He is too angry.”

A snort escaped Zeus. Indeed, if Hades would not even listen to Poseidon, things really had to be bad.

“I cannot say that I blame him,” Poseidon continued. “Why do you wish to send him down there, Zeus? Has our brother not been through enough already? Is this how you reward everything he’s done to assure our rule… your rule?”

“The Underworld needs a ruler, Poseidon,” Zeus snapped back. “One of us has to do it. Would you rather take that duty upon yourself?”

“That is not the point of this—”

“It is. Hades is best suited for the task. If you cannot convince him, Poseidon… Then I must take it onto myself.”

Poseidon glanced at his sisters with doubt. If Hades was in no mood to speak with anyone, he would especially not welcome a visit by the god who had assigned him to the Underworld.

“As you wish, Zeus,” the older god replied, his tone clearly speaking his doubt. “I believe he has gone to his quarters. Good luck.”

“Hopefully I’ll not need it,” Zeus said, partly out of sheer confidence, partly out of denial.

Hades was indeed in his bedchambers when Zeus came to him. He was helping himself to some wine and did not respond when he heard someone enter. The elder god was not surprised at the identity of his visitor, as Zeus had not knocked.

“Will you hear me?” the youngest god asked.

Hades, his back turned to his brother, did not speak, nor turn to look at him.

“As you have nowhere else to hide, you may at least listen to what I have to say.”

“And what would that be, Zeus?” Hades asked frigidly. “What would you say to convince me I will not be sent to a place where my nightmares already take me?”

“Ruling the Underworld will not be the same as being a prisoner in it,” Zeus pointed out. “It would be your domain, and you would have power over it. It is not as bad as you make it out to be, brother.”

Hades finally turned to face Zeus, his hand squeezing the chalice of wine hard enough to whiten his knuckles. “What do you know of that, Zeus?” he asked. “Have you ever experienced the Underworld yourself?”

“Certainly. I ventured there to free our allies, did I not?”

“Hardly the same as experiencing it as a prisoner.”

The Olympian leader approached his defiant brother, and Hades instinctively took a step back when Zeus came toward him. He hated showing fear to the other, but it was practically innate in his nature.

“Hades, I wish you would believe me,” Zeus continued almost ruefully. “What I’m offering you is an opportunity to prove your worth, and yet you choose to see it as a punishment. Why do you have so little faith in me, brother?”

“I refuse,” Hades said. “You can force many things on me, Zeus, but not this. I will never willingly go to the Underworld, and you need to accept my answer.” He took a swig of the wine, grimacing at its bitter taste.

“You are right, Hades,” Zeus admitted. “I cannot force you to accept your domain. But you ought to know what will happen if you would not.”

“And what is that? You will send me to Tartarus along with the Titans who wouldn’t co-operate?”

“Oh no, my brother. I would never do that. But unless you have a domain to rule over, you will weaken and eventually die of old age, and in just a few decades, the Underworld will have you anyway, only you would be its prisoner rather than its ruler. Those are your choices, Hades. Consider them carefully.”

Hades did not speak, but he gulped down the rest of his wine, his eyes revealing his troubled state.

Zeus waited for some kind of response, and when there was none, he spoke up. “Will you accept?”

“Give me some time to consider,” Hades answered in a low voice. “I do not doubt the Underworld needs a caretaker. But…” he sighed through his nose. “Just… allow me some time…”

Zeus nodded, knowing he had his brother ensnared. After all, Titans and gods alike were vain creatures, and withering into nothing was a harsh fate, perhaps even worse than dying on a battlefield. If Hades chose the former, he would find himself in the same position he had been when Cronos had left him dead for those few though agonizing minutes.

“Return to us when you have made your decision,” the younger god ordered. “The family still has the wedding ceremony to discuss.”

Once Zeus had left, Hades glanced into a mirror, wondering what he would look like should he decide against his duties. His choice was to either rule the nightmare that he hated to become a part of, or die as an ancient pathetic thing and become that nightmare’s prisoner. Condemned if he did, condemned if he did not… A tear rolled down his face, and he quickly wiped it away.
Several minutes later, Hades returned to where his siblings had gathered. “I accept.”

Poseidon could not help but stare in surprise; he could only imagine what Zeus had told their brother to get him where he was now. Hades’ red-rimmed eyes revealed that the Olympian had shed his share of tears, but when he greeted his kin, he was surprisingly composed, almost sedate, as if he was beyond caring what would happen to him.

Zeus, looking pleased with himself, declared the meeting over and the six Olympians, now each appointed with their own domains to rule over, left the hall. Poseidon made an attempt to approach Hades but was instantly rejected, followed by his brother declaring his need for solitude.

Hades did not join his siblings for supper that evening, but no one spoke of his absence or even cared to point it out.


TBC...