In this universe, there was the God and there were gods.
Cronus, the youngest of the Titans, the leader of The Rebellion, looked down on his father's unseeing, glazed eyes, the corpse of Uranus, the previous king, lying cold beneath his sandals, the golden ichor – the blood of the gods – gradually spreading over the earth. He gripped the Adamantine Sickle tighter in his hands as he surveyed his handicraft for a moment longer, basking in his moment of glory and triumph.
With his bloody hands, he reached for the golden crown on the corpse's head and forcefully tore it away, the bones of the corpse's neck making a snapping sound.
"Your stagnant rule is over father," Cronus declared, raising the crown high before ceremoniously setting it on his blood-stained brow. "I am the king now!" He laughed lowly, gradually becoming louder and hysterical by the minute.
The primordial gods of night and darkness slowly walked on the heavens, their black, literally star-studded cloths billowing behind them, as they painted the heavens with their colors – the color of the night. Nyx, the goddess of night, gripped her husband's hand tighter.
"It is over my love," Erebus, the god of darkness, brother and husband to Nyx, whispered comfortingly as he held her in his arms, shielding her from the gruesome sight below. An immortal had just been made mortal and was murdered. The first deicide in history.
"I favored him," Nyx whispered as she looked at the dead god, the previous god of the sky, who was now disintegrating and dissolving like sand into a thousand sparks. "I gave him the crown his son now wears."
"I know," he replied, running his hands up and down his wife's back soothingly. "It is simply the ineffable fate."
888
Under the rule of the Titans, the Universe thrived. The duties to keep the balance of the Universe were assigned to the Titan siblings by Cronus. He made sure that everyone had a role in the grand system of the gods. The sky and the seas were under his government but he didn't touch the realm below, the homeland of the Primordial gods. For him, the Underworld was not essential to his domain and thus was not a part of his kingdom.
Rhea, wife and queen of Cronus, was sitting beside the windowsill of the large extravagant bedchamber, looking out to the flourishing kingdom his husband had wrought, as she rubbed circles with her hands on her heavily pregnant stomach.
A large hand suddenly covered hers without stopping her ministrations. "Our first child," Cronus sighed as he embraced her tenderly from behind. Rhea turned her head to look at her husband, smiled and pecked his cheek lovingly.
Our first child, she thought as she leaned on him and looked fondly over her well-rounded belly.
Suddenly a cramping, squeezing pain racked her middle. She gasped the first time it happened but ignored it, thinking it was one of the false contractions she'd been having lately. But when they came again, this time becoming more regular in frequency and stronger, she asked her husband for a glass of water. Cronus immediately ran to get her a glass of ambrosia but when he returned, Rhea was standing up with a steady trickle of water gushing from her legs.
"The baby, he's coming out," she told him and then calmly pointed to the bedside table. "Please leave the glass there and leave."
Cronus silently left the goblet of ambrosia on the table. With a curt nod, he turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Like a loyal sentinel, he stood stoically outside their bedroom as he waited in anticipation for the birth of his first child, hoping for a son. Pained moans and heavy, rhythmic breathing could be heard from the other side of the door. He was excited yet at the same time frightened for his wife. As a male, he could never experience the pain of childbirth but if his strong, willful and ruthless queen could be reduced to expressing her pain then it must be really painful.
And the labor lasted well into the night before a wail heralded the birth of a prince.
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"Erebus dear, do come here!" Nyx called in her pleasantly high pitched voice. At the sound of her voice, Erebus at once appeared by her side.
"What is it, my love?"
"Look," she answered, pointing her ethereal finger towards the castle on Mount Othrys. "Isn't it amazing?"
"Oh yes, quite," he remarked, faking enthusiasm and not really having a clue as to what Nyx meant or what she was pointing at.
"The poor dear looks so exhausted," she said as she watched Rhea place the newborn in the golden cradle. "But Cronus doesn't care at all, how horrible." Then smiling again she continued, "but isn't he just darling?"
At the mention of a 'he' Erebus perked up and paid more attention to whatever it was that Nyx was pointing. If 'he' was a potential romantic interest, then he would smother him in darkness, never to be seen again. But his plans never came into fruition as he finally discovered that 'he' was nothing but a baby boy.
"Oh my," he breathed, quite taken by the newborn at first sight.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, my love," Nyx laughed. "Come let us greet him shall we?"
And like a pair of thieves, they stealthily climbed up the window and crept towards the infant's bed, careful not to wake the sleeping mother. They quietly cooed and touched the prince, arousing him from his sleepiness. He looked at the two gods with quiet fascination as the older pair made fool of themselves in an effort to make him smile. And they were successful.
"Aw, he's so cute!" Nyx said quietly as she looked tenderly on the laughing newborn.
"I wonder what his name is," Erebus wondered aloud as he bent his head to the side in thought.
"His name is Hades Aidoneus," a new voice replied.
"Oh, Cronus!" Nyx exclaimed when they both turned around in surprise to find the Titan king leaning against the doorway. "We didn't know you were there, dear."
"So did I dear aunt," he replied coldly then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"
"We were just passing around," Erebus answered uneasily.
"We wanted to see the babe," Nyx said more confidently. "He seemed lonely, you see. So we took it upon ourselves to accompany him. Do you mind if I sing him to sleep, nephew?"
Cronus smirked. "Not at all. Go ahead and be my guest."
Nyx tenderly lifted the prince and cradled him in her arms. She cleared her throat before singing in such an enchantingly beautiful voice:
Come don't say a word now,
Come don't make a sound now.
Take my hand and close your eyes,
Let your spirit soar
I will send Hypnos,
To bring you deep slumber.
I will send Morpheus,
To give you good dreams.
Be at peace little one, she thought as she continued rocking the baby sound asleep in her arms. But their attentions immediately shifted to the doorway when they heard a thud. Cronus, the king of the Universe, was no match against Nyx's lullaby as he fell on the floor, snoring. The primordial gods smiled to each other and quietly left the sleeping family alone.
888
"We had a deal, son!" Gaea thundered as she marched down the red marble halls of Cronus' throne room.
"I fulfilled my end of the deal. I freed my brothers from within you," the king replied coldly from his throne, not even sparing the goddess of earth a glance.
"I ordered you to free your brothers completely!" she shouted. "You have imprisoned them in Tartarus instead and reneged on our deal!"
"No one orders me around!" Cronus said icily as he stood imperiously. "I need not explain to you that my hideous brothers have no role in my kingdom. All trash deserves to go to Tartarus! You have no right to make a racket here, mother. Begone from my sight!"
"You will rue this day, Cronus!" Gaea told him. "I cast a curse on you: you shall share the same bitter fate as your father."
"Begone!" Cronus bellowed, waving his hand and exiling Gaea out of his sight. He sat back down on his majestic throne, his hands trembling, shaken as the curse echoed inside his head.
His rule had barely begun yet a foreseeable end had already been cast on his horizon. No, he has so much to do. His kingdom, his purpose, his role was not yet complete!
No one, not even his children, would deny him of his destiny.
He marched straight into the bedroom; the sight of his wife tenderly nursing his newborn son greeted him. With a smile, he took Hades into his arms and gently placed a kiss on his forehead, his first and last fatherly act, before he opened his mouth wide and quickly swallowed the infant whole.
Rhea cried, beating her fists against his chest and demanding for answers, aghast from what she just witnessed. But he gave Gaea's prophecy as his terse explanation. That was the first time Rhea truly understood the depths of Cronus' lust for power and his depravity.
When Nyx discovered of this heinous act, she was immediately revolted. She imagined the little baby inside of his father's stomach alone and afraid. She immediately talked to her daughters, the Sisters of Fate, the weavers of destinies, to ask for a solution for the prince's predicament. But they reprimanded her and declared that it was not her fate but another's to free the child inside his father's belly. That was all the reassurance she needed. At least she knew that someday, Hades would get out of there. In the meantime, she dedicated herself to making sure that the child was not lonely.
888
Hades fell a long way down and ended up in one of the deepest, most cavernous pit of the Titan king's stomach. He wailed from the pain of the impact, calling for his mother to comfort him. But no one came to hold him.
He cried until he could only whimper. Then suddenly, a familiar, soothing voice sang from the darkness. He remembered the two beings that came to make him smile and was comforted by the memory. The memory of being cradled in a gentle embrace lulled him to sleep. From that day forth, he was a child of darkness.
888
One day, when Hades looked about the age of a nine year old mortal, something dropped from the ceiling. The thing made the same noise he had when he first arrived in the bowels of Cronus. He followed the sound blindly to its source and found something moving wrapped in cloth. The object was shining with something called – if he remembered correctly – light.
All the things he learned come from the two voices always present around him. They whisper things in his ear and keep him company and sometimes they teach him through dreams. But most of the things they taught him about, he has yet to experience.
For the first time in a long time, he regained usage of the things in his face called 'eyes' that the voices told him about. He could…
What was that word again? He thought. Oh, that's right! 'See'. But what is this?
He circled the object and poked the whimpering thing with his finger tentatively. The action caused the thing to make the same sound he was unfamiliar with, only louder this time. It was so loud he thought his ears would burst!
"Be quiet!" he commanded as he covered his ears. The thing instantly became silent as if it understood what he just said. Hades stared at the thing and found it staring back at him. They quietly observed each other with rapt attention.
"Can you tell me what that is?" Hades whispered, still not taking his eyes off of the newfound object.
That is not a 'that' dear, chuckled a high pitched female voice. Repeat after me, 'who is she?'
"Who is she?" he repeated slowly.
She is your sister, Hestia, answered a deep masculine voice.
"Sister?"
Yes, isn't that just darling? You have a sister now, dear. You will have to take care of her now.
Hades gulped. "Take care?"
Yes, just like we did for you. Accompany her, teach her, and never make her cry, the man's voice instructed.
"Will…will I be able to?" His voice was shaking. Suddenly he was laden with the heavy responsibility of taking care of a sister. He didn't know what that entailed but he had an idea that it must be pretty important.
We will guide you of course, dear.
Hades sighed in relief.
Now pick her up gently. From now on, you are her dear older brother. Understand?
Hades nodded and gently took the infant goddess into his tender young arms and cradled her. He smiled down at her as only an older brother could.
888
Hades now looked about the same age as a teenaged mortal with four little siblings to take care of, well three if one were to take Hestia's maturity into account. Hera and Poseidon were eaten together and therefore were about the same age while Demeter was eaten last and therefore the youngest of the group. They all have different personalities that sometimes clash with each other but they all got along under Hades' authoritative guidance.
Well, most of the time.
Hera and Poseidon for example, were extremely proud beings and they always found ways to annoy each other as if there was some sort of power play between them. Hades, with the guidance of Nyx and Erebus, recognized it as a matter of pride and accepted it as such. For all of them, pride was not necessarily a bad thing because when one was born a god, it comes with certain privileges such as the license to be proud, arrogant and obnoxious. But what Hades demanded from all of them was to respect and be fair with each other and he enforced these values with an iron fist.
But that doesn't mean the arguments stop.
"Hera!" Poseidon yelled, horrified as he snatched his old chiton from his sister's grasp. "I did not give you permission to play with my clothes!" He unfolded the clothing and stared aghast at the doll shaped holes on it. With an angry grunt, he forcefully pulled a lock of Hera's hair.
At the sharp sound of Hera's cry, Hestia and Hades raced to the scene. Hestia immediately consoled the crying goddess while Hades quietly surveyed the scene with a hard gaze.
After a moment, Hades sighed in exasperation. "Tell me what has occurred," he demanded in a low voice, shaking his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. Immediately both children straightened up. They knew the drill and knew they could somehow escape punishment (at least they thought they could) if they twisted the story in their favor. They narrowed their eyes at each other and then started their stories at exactly the same time.
"Stop," Hades held his hand up and immediately their dissonant voices stopped. "One at a time, please."
"Hera cut holes in my chiton so it is only just that I pull her hair!" Poseidon crossed his arms and reported smugly as if he had already won their elder brother's favor just because he used the word 'just' – Hades' dogma.
"Is this true?" Hades turned to Hera.
"That chiton was an old one and it didn't fit him anyway. I didn't want it to go to waste so I decided to play with it for a bit. But then he just rushed in and pulled my hair!" Hera pouted, trying to appeal her case through sympathy and childish charms.
"Hera, did you ask Poseidon for permission before permanently damaging his clothes?" Hades asked calmly.
"But he didn't need it!"
"Answer the question, please."
"…no," she looked away fearfully, finally aware of her folly. But if she asked for permission, she wouldn't have been able to play with it.
"Poseidon, why did you pull on Hera's hair?"
Both children looked up, one with hope and one with horror. Hera was so sure she would have been punished alone. It was nice to hear that Poseidon would get his share too!
"B-but she started it! She put holes on my clothes!" Poseidon panicked. He didn't understand why his brother was asking him a question. Usually only the person at fault was asked a question and Hera was clearly at fault!
"Why?" Hades repeated coolly.
Poseidon, like Hera, reluctantly looked away. "I was angry and I wanted revenge of some sort," he confessed honestly.
Hades nodded. "I understand how you feel Poseidon but it is not good to act upon impulse. Had you simply scolded Hera and reported back to me, it would have sufficed. I would have punished her alone and make her mend your clothes. However you did not. And Hera, as you know, it is not nice or respectful to simply destroy someone's property without permission. Since you both transgressed against each other, you shall both seek each other's forgiveness."
"I'm sorry," both petulant children spat briskly at each other.
"Do it again. This time sincerely. I repeat, you both were wrong," he reminded them patiently.
Their faces softened and they repeated the same words this time sincerely. Hades nodded, satisfied. "Now, Hera," he started. "You still have to manually and properly repair his chiton."
Hera gasped appalled, while Poseidon took on a triumphant countenance. Manual labor? She thought. Brother wants me to do something so…menial?
"And Poseidon, you will have to comb Hera's hair gently until it shines."
Poseidon's eyes widened as he felt his jaw drop with shock and humiliation. This was worse than Hera's punishment! At least Hera's punishment wouldn't be stripping her of her femininity!
The two children stared at each other with open disgust as Hades left.
"Now, it's not that bad," Hestia cooed, embracing her two mischievous siblings smilingly. "Come, I'll show you how to make your punishments easier. I'll teach you how to sew and I'll teach you how to comb a girl's hair," she whispered in their ears. Unbeknownst to the younger children, these were things she learned from none other than their manly eldest brother.
Demeter watched the entire scene quietly then proceeded to follow her big brother to his sanctuary – his 'room'. It wasn't a room but a rather small crevice in Cronus' intestinal wall. She tugged on Hades' skirt to grab his attention.
"Brother, up, up!" she demanded, reaching her little hands up.
With a smile, Hades gently picked up the young girl and braced her against his hips, "What is it, Demeter?"
"Hera and Poseidon bad?"
"No, not bad," Hades replied. "Just infinitely proud."
"Proud bad?" She cocked her head to the side.
He shook his head. "It makes one selfish and disrespectful. So do take care to temper your pride my stubborn little sister." He rubbed his nose against Demeter's in a gesture of affection. She laughed prettily and then wrapped her small arms around his neck.
888
Hades didn't know whether his siblings were more agreeable as toddlers or as teenagers – in the mortal equivalent of the word. They became a bit harder to control but he had successfully imprinted the values he wanted from an early age. But it was apparent that his siblings favored the value of fairness better than respect because with fairness, they were able to execute their own version of justice and retribution; and were able to exercise power over one another as they continued to argue.
But the ultimate judicial authority still belonged to Hades as he called the proper rewards, punishments and compromises. He was their disciplinarian and his sense of wisdom and justice impressed even Nyx and Erebus as they continued to watch over the siblings. For all of them, their most respectable older brother could do no wrong and they were content and at peace under his caring guidance in their small cage.
But peace was transient.
The fateful day of change started with the unnatural rumbling of the ground. The first ominous tremor had caught the attention of all the siblings but when the tremors didn't stop and progressively worsened, they gradually became alarmed and frightened. They all gathered in the largest cavern of their father's body and looked up to Hades for instructions.
"Brother, what's happening?" Hestia asked worriedly as she clutched the other women in a protective embrace.
It is time child, to join the world of the outside, whispered Erebus.
"We are getting out," Hades relayed tersely. "Out of Cronus."
"What is outside?" Poseidon asked, bravely masking the tremor in his voice that was not caused by the shaking ground.
"…I do not know," Hades answered honestly. Those words – more than the tremors of the ground or the prospect of confronting the unknown – frightened the gods. Their wise and omniscient brother (after all everything they knew came from him), did not know what was outside. How very terrifying.
Suddenly a hole appeared in the ceiling, opening at an alarming rate. The unknown scared Hades most of all. If something unfortunate waited on the other side, never mind him, what would happen to his younger siblings?
"Everyone, gather behind me," he commanded in that special voice that made no room for arguments. And then he and Hestia exchanged a meaningful look. This brother-sister duo had developed a very strong bond while growing up and they both shared the responsibility of taking care of the younger ones. Through that one glance, Hestia understood her responsibility to guide the sibling into a single file behind her while Hades formed the front lines – the first one to receive the brunt of the unknown.
Whatever awaited them, Hades would protect his siblings no matter the cost.
And so one by one, they were expelled from their dark world and into the outside.