Helios-sun god who rides the chariot across the sky pulling the sun behind him
Hades-god of the underworld
Eris-goddess of strife and chaos
Zeus-the greatest of gods, a thunder god
Iris-messenger goddess, usually in the shape of a rainbow
Sirius-constellation of stars that appears in July, the hottest time of the year for Greeks
Athena or Pallas Athena- daughter of Zeus, virgin goddess of arts, crafts, and war, known for her wisdom and cleverness.
Oath by the river Styx- the greatest oath anyone can make, an oath even the gods cannot break without very, very dire punishment
And now without further interruption, I present the new chapter. MRG
The sun rose in the east with Helius' carriage pulling it along the sky half way between heaven and earth, the birds rising in response, chirping sweet songs as they bathed in little puddles on the dirt road. Sanjay turned, his hand subconsciously searching for Khadija, but finding only the cold ground beneath his fingertips, his ears slowly beginning to register the sound of low grunts in the air.
Hana and Khadija had been up for the last two hours, as soon as the rays of the sun touched the cool grass of the earth, practicing their ancient skills using thick sticks instead of swords for practice. They now stood at a stalemate, both of them trying to overpower the other with stealthy moves, quick reflexes, and surprise attacks. Sanjay slowly got up, wide-eyed never having believed that the girl that he had hoped to protect could wield more power that he dreamed was possible. He gulped nervously as Khadija got Hana on the defensive, causing her to back toward the tree where he stood.
Hana stopped looking up at the sky where a graceful, crying eagle circled above, a sign of favor from Zeus if he indeed watched them from above, and managed to duck away from Khadija's attack which struck the tree mere millimeters away from Sanjay's petrified face.
"The eagle…" Hana said breathlessly dropping her staff to the ground, a sign of a pause in their battle at least.
"Sorry love," Khadija said lowering her staff as well, feeling somewhat uneasy about almost hitting him on the face were it not for the tree. "What about the eagle? Do you think it was a sign from Ishkandra?"
"It could be. The eagle is the sign of Zeus, the king of all the Greek gods and if I am not mistaken, the brother of Hades. This might be a sign that we should try to find that hill among the wheat where Hades had once stolen Persephone from her mother, Demeter, the goddess of the harvest."
"Any chance that this Demeter, as you say, this goddess of the harvest will help us?" Sanjay suggested picking up his clothes from the grass and folding it neatly over his arm as Khadija attentively removed a blade of grass from this shirt.
"Unlikely," Hana sighed, picking up her bag, "I would imagine that she would be glad if her daughter were free and another would take her place in that gloomy underworld and Ishkandra is half way there having eaten that bloody fruit. We need to travel north like Ishkandra said."
Without another word they collected the rest of their things and headed toward the dusty road in hopes of saving their friend.
Ishkandra disappeared from the tunnel where Ardeth Bay finally stirred. She was satisfied and glad that he was alive and had enough strength to return but now Hades called her back, forcing her to travel through the cold walls of the tomb beneath the hot sand of the valley of kings.
Once her ghostly form reached the soft of the upper atmosphere, Ishkandra could not help but smile at the warmth of the sun as Helios passed her by but the warmth lasted only a little as the mark of Hades began to sting, mirroring its master's impatience.
The trip from Egypt to Greece was rather uneventful except for the small storm of arguments Eris could not help but provoke among some hungry sailors. This forced the mighty Zeus to send Iris, the rainbow, to pacify the goddess, unhappy that she was not given a proper sacrifice from those sailors after helping them profit by creating chaos in the market place. Their arguments faded in the distance and the memory of them faded as quickly as it appeared but at least it served the purpose of distracting Ishkandra from her worries, if just for a little while.
Two days had passed; Ishkandra was finally getting close to the house of Hades when she spotted her friends, her dear friends, dusty in the hot sun, making their way north just as she had instructed but didn't finish. If only she had…but now, no matter how much she wanted them to safely get to the underworld and rescue her, she was forbidden by Hades, sworn by the river Styx, not to show any other form to her companions but the human unless in peril.
The wind blew north, speeding her progress toward the loathsome, cold god, when she spotted a shepherd boy dreaming beneath a tree and a wolf watching him and his flock just a short walk away. Lowering herself down to the earth, Ishkandra touched the boys head and entered his dream dressed as Athena in hopes of both saving his life and that of her friends.
"Goddess" the boy called amidst the soft green grass and butterflies that surrounded them in this vision. "How may I serve you Pallas Athena?"
"If you promise to serve me faithfully and do what I ask of you, your life and flock wil be saved"
"I swear my lady" he said falling to his knees.
"There is no time for that. You will meet three travelers coming your way. Two young women and a man oddly dressed. One young woman will walk with the young man by her side. She will break your bones like sticks if you lie. The other young woman will cut you into pieces with magic swords if you betray them yourself or let someone betray them. The young man will hunt you down if you do not do as I ask. Take them to the mound that rest just beyond your village the mound all maidens avoid. This is what you must tell them and provide them with…"
The boy listened intently, his eyes never leaving the goddess envisioned before him.
"Now get up from underneath your tree and save yourself and your flock. There is a wolf just a short walk away stalking you."
"Do you suppose she will send us a sign?" Sanjay asked obviously tired and annoyed by the circumstances and the unbearable heat of midday in the season when Sirius is high in the evening sky.
"Of course she will", Khadija eagerly responded hoping to liven up the dismal mood but looked to Hanasan for reassurance, finding only a shrug of uncertainty.
"The wind is flowing north, pushing us, that s at least a good sign" Khadija added but received silence from her companions.
"What is that?" Sanjay asked pointing to an object.
Hana saw a boy in the distance where Sanjay pointed, half smiling, almost a mirage and yet quite real. His gaze never wavered and yet there was something, a feeling she got from him and his solid posture. It was like the feeling a young boy would have when he would leave his father to tend the most dangerous of posts and though he knew his father would most likely return, like he did so many days before, there was a secret feeling, a foreboding that said otherwise. It would send the chill down his spine and breathe a cold whisper that death was coming and was coming soon and yet this feeling was repressed, forgotten, but death is exactly what they were searching for.
"It is a stranger," Hana whispered gazing at his dark black hair and brown eyes.
"A beautiful stranger," Khadija giggled.
Thanks for reading. Much more intense things will be happening in the next chapter with lots of surprises. MRG