Prologue: I Stand Before the Judges of Death

A woman with a slight glow about her, sat at a desk in the light of a burning candle. She tickled her nose with the end of her quill as she motioned to start writing. But just before she'd touch the paper, she'd back off, struck by indecision. She huffed in annoyance, blowing one of her bangs up and over her little gold crown. 'I am the Muse of Epics, why is it so difficult to start this?'

She gazed over the three leather books sitting on her desk. The first, bound in red leather with brownish, metallic-scented stains and the head of a boar above a pair of crossed spears stamped on the front cover. The second, a dark, royal blue with a symbol of an owl perched on an olive branch. And the third looked a sea green, with the bronze head of a trident rising from the background, almost glowing.

She skimmed the books but they failed to give her the inspiration she needed to start her opus. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as she jabbed her quill on the paper; marking it with ink. 'Well Calliope, at least the paper isn't blank anymore' she mused to herself. She began to scribble some words down and before long the story spilled forth from her mind and out onto the paper…


Deep, down under the earth, away from the life-giving rays of the sun; lay the sprawling realm of Hades: The Underworld. Souls arrived in that dark, dank place by way of the ferryman Charon: a ghoulish, pale creature with black unseeing eyes and cloaked in a black robe. The souls he ferried to the Underworld, began vibrant with life and color from the world above, only to fade and fall silent as they crossed the River Styx.

Now this was no ordinary river, so ancient and powerful, the Gods themselves swore by it to keep their solemn word. It kept the dead from returning to the Land of the Living; but it also kept the recently departed from reaching peace. Only through Charon could a soul travel across the river. But Charon didn't run a charity. You could only cross if you could pay your way. Should you fail to, your soul would be doomed to wander the far shore, never to rest for all eternity.

Over the centuries, the Styx became choked with the shattered, broken dreams of mortals. Wedding dresses, baby clothes, totaled cars from high school proms and soaking college diplomas clogged the river.

On the other shore, the souls disembarked and then slowly shuffled down three lines; leading to gates manned by ghouls and harpies. But before them stood the massive Cerberus, a monstrous three headed dog who kept any living soul from breaking into Hades' domain. Now to set the record straight, Cerberus isn't a three headed Mastiff, he's a Doberman. And to be honest, he's a sucker for red rubber balls. If you want to get on his good side just throw him one or two to keep the heads busy. And second, he's not even Hades'; he's Hecate's. He's just dog sitting for her, but that's another story…

One of the three lines was ridiculously long and slow. If you get through the gate you wound up on the Fields of Asphodel. A black, dry field with a couple of black poplar trees and lots of people aimlessly walking around. Nothing bad happens there, but you're forced to stay there forever, walking around; trying to remember who you were and failing miserably.

The next gate had a short line with people crying, screaming, and pleading. The people who had the terrible fate to stand there accounted for the worst of the worst. Embezzlers, terrorists, murderers… the works. The three judges of death would look at each of them and give them either a thumb's up or down. If someone were to get a thumb's down, they got sent to the Fields of Punishment. Three thumbs down and they got sent to Tartarus, the worst place in all of creation; with Hades waiting on the side just itching to saddle you up with a personal hell to suffer through for the rest of eternity. If you know the stories of Tantalus and Sisyphus, you know the guy has a wild imagination.

And the last gate had the shortest line of them all. The three judges of death would determine if you could pass or got bumped over to the very long, slow line. But this line went to the Fields of Elysium. A sparkling green field, touched by the warm glow of the sun. Trees and flowers bloomed as a pleasant breeze blew constantly. People laughed, played, and spent eternity happily there. And in the very heart of Elysium were the Isles of the Blest.

Three tiny specks in a giant crystal blue lake. The people who lived there, knew no hardship, lived in massive houses, were waited on hand and foot in complete comfort. How to get to these islands? Simple really. You merely had to die honorably and then get sent back up to the Land of the Living to have another life. If you do this two more times, then you're all set. But based on the few people who live on the islands, you can probably guess it's not so easy to do. Most people are content with Elysium, but some people have a go at it. This is where my newest story begins from the perspective of my ascending hero...


The judges sat in their black varnished, leather seats staring at the soul before them, me. They busily shuffled through the paperwork and notes they had for my case and wondered what was running through my head. The man on the far left spoke first. A tall, skinny, pale man with a golden crown on his head. He leered at the soul before him, "You first died in the 1860's is that so?" I hesitantly nodded. "You didn't attempt rebirth for almost fifty years, only to die in the 1910's. You've waited over a hundred years to reincarnate. What got you to change your mind?"

I stood resolutely silent and stared at the king.

"Now Minos" the man in the middle replied. "There is no time limit for a soul to rebirth. They may choose to remain in Elysium however long they wish. Just because you are envious of this virtuous soul, does not mean you get to throw a fit".

Minos growled, "Can it Jefferson, just because you were a president, doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do. I was a King of Greece!"

"Right, well at the end of the day, I get to go back to my artichoke farm and relax at my manor Monticello in Elysium. While you end up sulking under the fiery whip of one of Hades' furies". Minos' fist grew white as he clenched it tight. "I rest my case" Jefferson coolly replied as he reclined in his chair with a grin on his face.

"Enough" the third man complained. "This stiff want to take a stab at living again, then I say go for it" The dirty man reached over for an apple sitting innocently on the table, but just before he grabbed it, it rolled off the table and fell into one of the cracks leading to Tartarus. "Damn it all to hell!"

"Too late, it's already there. No use even trying Tantalus" Jefferson quipped. "You know my father made it so you'd never eat or drink a single thing, ever again".

"I surprise the Gods with a gag dinner and I get punished for all eternity for it" Tantalus groaned as he attempted to pour himself a glass of water. It instantly vanished into a cloud of hot vapor.

"You tried to get Zeus to eat your cooked-up sons. How was that a gag?" Minos replied, trying to get attention off himself.

"Oh screw you Minos"

"Regardless" Jefferson interrupted. "This has nothing to do with our current case. If you feel you wish to make the attempt, then by all means I support your decision" Jefferson gave me a thumb's up. Minos sighed as he shrugged and gave a thumb's up. Tantalus sat there in a foul mood, still stewing over his suicidal apple. When he finally noticed the other two were glaring at him intensely he rolled his eyes and jabbed his thumb up.

I gave a polite nod before turning away and walking from the judge's stand.


Lumbering about on the dark gravel beach, I made it to the banks of a wailing river. No seriously, as the water crashed over the rocks, it sounded as if people were crying out in pain, anguish and loss.

I looked out across the way and could see the distant light of the Land of the Living, and behind me, the glow of Elysium. I could still hear the cheerful voices of the people there. Friends, a lifetime spent there... 'I could always turn back and return to Paradise…' I considered.

'No' I shook my head and intently stood there waiting for the ferryman to show up. A dark shadow loomed over me. Turning around, I saw a man standing tall with an oily beard and long black hair. A wild intensity beamed from his eyes and his dark clothes appeared to writhe and moan on him. Lord Hades. "It is not every day, I greet a soul departing from Elysium. You ought to be commended" I stood there staring out on the river, barely listening to him.

"I will not bar your way. But if you wish to proceed, you must drink from the River Lethe". I looked down at the milky white water slowly flowing by. Falling to my knees, I rushed forward to reach into the water. "But hold" Hades warned. "If you drink from its water, the River of Forgetfulness shall wash away your life. Everything that you are at this moment will flow away with the water; leaving you a blank canvas. The dead cannot take back what they have seen here to the Land of the Living. Do you really want to do this?"

My hands hesitantly floated above the water. I peered into the water but the torrent obscured my reflection. I had already forgotten so much just walking away from Elysium, even my face. Only the dream of the Isles of Blest remained with me.

With a a shake of my head, I dunked my hands into the water and instantly felt bone-chilling cold. Then I slowly brought the water up to my lips and took a slurp. My eyes grew wide and empty, my face expressionless. I remained there kneeling by the bank of the crying river, my memories washing away; as if they were a stain on my mind.

Hades reached down and helped me up onto my feet, I could barely stand, it felt as if I had forgotten how to even walk. "You are brave, very brave. Know that I could never do, what you have done". A creaky wooden barge crashed onto shore. Charon stood there with gondola stick in hand as he stared blankly at his Lord. "Take this one with you on your return trip. And handle carefully, this is the third attempt".

Charon gave a toothy grin, "If I do my Lord, would you be willing to give me that pay raise I've been asking for?"

"Gah!" Lord Hades tore at his hair in exasperation. "What I pay you is serviceable. If you would lay off those Armani suits you love to indulge in, you would see that I speak the truth" The Lord of Darkness vanished with a flick of his cloak into the blackness.

"Yeesh, I was only asking" Charon grumbled to himself. He looked over at his passenger, "alright stiffy let's take you topside. Hope I don't see you again. Too soon" Charon added with a devilish smile as I stared blankly out into the distance. Charon pushed off and made for the other side.

In an instant, the warm, wetness of the Underworld vanished and was replaced with a blindingly bright, cold light. A wail exploded into the air as arms closed tight around me. I stopped and looked up, to see the smiling face of a young lady with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a smile that stretched from cheek to cheek as she nuzzled close. "Congrats Ms. Conecke" another lady's voice called out. "It's a boy".

"Aww, how precious" she cradled the little baby in her arms, rocking him tiredly. "I'll call him Alex, Alexander Conecke". The baby cooed, I cooed, as I reached out for the lady's face, my mother's face. A thunderbolt crashed outside and I turned to look out the window. The face of a man appeared in the rain droplets and the man gave a tentative wave. I cackled happily at the man and my blue-green eyes twinkled. The man smiled as he slowly slipped off the window and fell to the ground.

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