WHEN, NOT IF
My father taught me two things. We are fated by the gods for a purpose, and only we can choose our paths. My path truly started some ten years ago. My sense of rage drove me to the farthest reaches of the roman empire, to the lands thought to be the gates to Tartarus. My hubris brought me to the bottom of the sea. My rage back from the grave, to travel alone in a fury. My anger back to my home, to Rome. Back to those that had brought the Horror at the edge of the world upon the people they swore to protect. My Honor brought death to all those who had wronged me, my Family, my Legion, MY People, MY ROME. My Vengeance brought me my death. My death brought me to the gods themselves.
Only to learn my father was half right. We are fated by the gods, but the gods can change our fates. Our paths are indeed our own but only the gods can choose how they start and end. And my end has become my beginning.
And my new beginning hurt. It started with a pale white light that shone brighter and brighter all the while I was struck with a pain I had never imagined possible. The best way to describe it is as though the very muscle upon my bone was torn by dogs only to be spat back for the dogs to start all over.
"Ohhh… why does everything hurt?" said Marius as he stirred in a room of oak and marble upon which contained furniture, books, armor, and a bed in which he currently laid.
"That's because we brought you back from not only death but not only death but straight to godhood skipping that whole 13 labors bull shit." Stated a deep voice. A voice Marius swore he heard. He knew he heard it but from where, and when for that matter.
"Come now Damocles. Now is not the time for pity. Now is the time for feasting." stated that very same voice but why. Marius knew not who this person was so why should he respond.
"Uhh… please Hercules just ten more minutes of self remorse in this pain I have chosen to endure." Hercules? Who… and then it all came back to him. The field, Discordia, The Brother, Discordia, the other gods, The offer, Discordia.
"Ten more minutes is ten more minutes the mortals don't know your name." said Hercules with a more jovial tone. Shuffling could be heard, well less shuffling and more stomping. And suddenly Marius found himself in the cold embrace of the marble floor.
"ARGH ALRIGHT!" shouted a man whose face had just been introduced to a beautifully nice marble floor. And upon his face he realized something. The pain felt just moments ago had vanished and he was no longer on some plain of grass but in a home, his home. "Where? What?" Marius stuttered as he finally stood to see what was happening around him.
"Welcome Damocles to your new home." stated Hercules making a gesture to one of the balconies attached to this room.
Marius turned upon hearing a title he had only ever used, not claimed or earned. Damocles was a spirit, a story told to commanders and generals to keep them, to some extent, in line. He felt a sense of nausea at that name and all the memories it brought with them. He staggered for a moment only to be caught by Hercules.
Standing off to the side was a man bigger than any he had seen or fought, even bigger than Glot, that beast in the north. But he was not big in size alone but in mass as well, not an ounce of fat to be seen on his form, only pure muscle. Every vein, every fiber of muscle looked to be barely contained by his skin. And the only thing he wore was some greaves but no shoes, Manica, Braccae, and the strangest thing, strung across his shoulders from paw to gaping maw, was the pelt of a lion. The Nemean Lion. It garnered his attention for merely a second for it was what was past Hercules that stole his senses from the man made god. For he led him to the balcony to finally see what was to be his New Home.
And what he saw took his breath away. A field of blue from top to bottom. The morning air fresh with the smell of dew and salt. The sounds of waves crashing and simply flowing upon the sand carried by the morning wind. Below beautiful fields of grain and grass. And beyond that blue, clean blue water of the ocean. Past that Marius could see the color red just past maybe two or so miles off the coast. Coral possibly, but that high off the seafloor was something he had never seen.
With that the nausea faded, his strength returned and with it a power he had never even conceived flowed through him. He was suddenly aware of everything around him as if he could see through the very walls themselves. He only saw himself and Hercules.
"What is happening? Are you seeing this?" asked Marius in awe.
"You're powers are awakening," started Hercules in a tone demanding attention. "You were not born a god, none in your blood held the power of a god so it will come with time. But from what I can tell Justitia's judgment has awakened inside. You will see more than any before." He finished upon witnessing Marius seeming to look all around and yet never focused in any one direction.
"Here," he said, leading him back into the room only for Marius to become acquainted with an equally nice wall made of Oak. "These are yours." stated Hercules pulling out the sack last seen on Mercury's back, and then rightly taken by Vulcan. Marius finally got his bearing to see him dump the contents on the ground. What was assumed to be a mere sack was obviously not the case as more and more items proceeded to fall upon the floor until a pile as high as Marius stood. Hercules then reached into the pile, knocking items upon the floor such as bottled ink, a golden Galea, five pairs of sandals, and lastly a paludamentum with what looked to have the shape of an eagle, only with a hollow circle where the neck meets body. The crest of Rome. Marius's family crest. Earned and given by the roman senate after his father's retirement from the legions.
Hercules produced a strip of grey cloth that seemed like silk. "This will help you focus until you have learned to control that power." said Hercules as he proceeded to tie the cloth over Marius's eyes.
With a sound of protest Marius tried to stop Hercules, from what was basically being manhandled, and failing spectacularly as he fell backward to once again greet the lovely lady known as floor. Once Hercules finished his task he proceeded to lift Marius off the ground by his shoulders and stand him straight.
Marius was about to protest and complain only to stop. He realized he could see again. Not in the sense of looking through walls like seconds before but like he was minutes before. He could see the walls, the windows, even the bed he was in upon being rudely awakened. Marius turned to Hercules and asked a single question. "Where is everyone else?"
Hercules gave a huff of indifference. "They are not here. They are off in their own locations across the world."
"Then why are you here?" asked Marius.
"I am here to train you. As I said before you are not born with the blood of the gods. Unlike me where the powers came gradually with time and training, yours will come in full at any given moment in time. You will be overcome with the power and not be able to function accordingly. I.E. face meeting wall over there." stated Hercules pointing back to the entryway where Marius's face was imprinted on the wood. "And because I was trained by Philoctetes himself before I started upon my labors the task was given to me to prepare you, help you, and make you into the god you will become."
"Most of what lies before you are merely handicaps. They will suppress the powers in some form or another until you can learn to act without braking the world by mistake." said Hercules as he started walking out of the room into a hallway. "Oh and put some clothes on before you leave. It may be your home but it is still improper to walk around in nothing."
And upon that Marius looked to see he was indeed nude. And he shouted in surprise before covering himself with a sheet from the bed. "Why am I naked?!" he shouted after Hercules who simply said "Discordia."
*Line Break*
Upon leaving his room, now fully clothed in simple tunic, sandals, balteus, and gladius by his side, Marius finally saw his house and it brought a tear to his eye. While exploring he came to a realization. It was a complete copy of his family's home in Rome. The only difference was the training yard was now filled with random pots and urns. And there standing in the center of it all was Hercules.
"Finally decided to come train I see." called Hercules the second he saw Marius. "Time waits for nothing Damocles. Not even us gods."
"What is all this? And why do you keep calling me Damocles? Everyone else up to this point has called me by my name." asked Marius gesturing to the whole setup in front of him.
"I don't need to teach you how to fight, I hope. This is your training. What Justitia and Nemesis call 'their judgement' is really just their ability to see. Justitia can see everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. That's how she knows innocent from guilty." stated Hercules. "And I call you Damocles for it is the name given to you by the mortals. What? You thought the gods just know their names?" Marius simply shrugged. "Most gods don't even know their names, titles, etc. until their first encounter with the mortals that worship them. Hey, even I was named after the mortals found me abandoned. And you are a god now. They only call you Marius Titus for that was your name but that will change with time. When you become known to the people you will be called Damocles. And in time you will call yourself Damocles and not see it as a title but a name just as I have my own."
"How do you know? What makes you so certain they will know my name? And what do you mean by everything?" asked Marius as he approached the training ground. He examined any urn or pot he came near as he made his way to Hercules.
"Everyone in this world already knows of us. Most don't believe we exist. No one worships us. But everything from the beast in the air to the bugs in the dirt know of us. We made this world. And as such we watch over it." stated Hercules. All the while walking from the center to meet Marius. "And by everything I mean she can see everything from where she stands to the other side of the world. She can see into the past and so can you but for now we practice on the here and now." finally reaching Marius.
When the two gods reached each other Hercules clapped Damocles on the shoulder and led him to the center. "My training will not be easy for your transformation from mortal to god was not natural. You can blame Discordia for that one. She said instead of giving you everything at once you must learn to use each power separately. I personally don't understand and believe that to be stupid but she is the leader so we will follow her 'advice' for now."
"Wait," Marius said, stopping, "what do you mean she's the leader?" Hercules sighed. "I mean she's in charge at the moment. We each take turns over who makes the plans and actions we take. No more Jupiter and Juno fucking things over for the rest of us. If one of us makes a decision we all have a say. And now so do you when this is all over." stated Hercules.
"Like the senate?" Questioned Marius. "No not like the senate. Now! Enough talking, now is the time for training." with that Hercules ripped the cloth from Damocles's face.
"ARGH! What th" *CRASH* was the only thing Marius got out before an urn smashed across his face. For the most part Marius was unaffected, no scratches or bruises. The only thing different was a layer of dust from the shattered urn floating about. "You've worn the cloth long enough." said Hercules, "you know how to see. Now let us see if you can see." and with that he picked up another urn and threw it at the new god.
"What do you mean see?" questioned Marius as *THUNK* was heard. An urn flew through the dust and crashed into his head. The difference being this urn was filled with some kind of rock so when it hit him he was laid out on the floor from the force behind it. Again no damage could be seen but a very pissed off Damocles stood back up. "I mean look. You know what are in these pots and urns. *PPSSH* You can see *BOOM* even without your eyes. Reach out and feel it. I've got a whole room full of" *SPRAT*" an urn flew through the smoke and smashed right into Hercules face. The contents of this urn seemed to be some kind of liquid substance like honey only blue. Hercules stopped the second he couldn't see and let the dust and smoke to clear to show a drenched and smoking Damocles getting back from a throwing position.
"Are we done?" asked a clearly annoyed Marius. "Yes we are definitely done, with this anyways." Hercules stated gesturing to the room while cleaning his face. "I'll be honest, I thought it'd take a lot, and I mean a lot longer for you to get that under control." showing some form of interest in Damocles's somehow prodigal skill in learning Justitia's power. "Tell me what do you see?" asked Hercules, stepping up to Damocles leading him to the entry way of his home pointing out toward the ocean view.
Marius paused for a second, completely forgetting his anger, and looked off in the distance. "I..I see ships...men.. women, and children below deck. On ferries, colony ships? They are coming this way." Damocles looked in every direction. "It's the same everywhere I look. What's going on?" questioned Marius more than a bit worried at the numbers he saw.
"Those are the mortals interested in seeing this new land at the center of the world they heard about." said Hercules approaching the entrance to Damocles home. "Discordia and Mercury have put out an 'invitation' if you will to anyone who would or seemed to need a new life." He proceeded to point out, "Those are soon to be your people. Your worshipers if you will."
Marius simply looked on in confusion. "Why? What could you, me, or the others gain from this?" he asked with what could only be intrigue.
"The others are bored." Hercules stated. This got Damocles to give him a questioning look. "Bellona is bored." he clarified, getting a "ahh" out of Damocles.
"Well I believe your training is done for the day." Hercules then walked off the marble stairs onto the plains. It was here Marius looked to see his home was on what could be considered an over sized island, in the center and on the highest point. Full of roaming hills and forests of pine and oak. All sorts of beast laid claim to it's lands from the tiny mouse to the mighty elephant he had seen during the siege of Rome. "What is to happen with this place?" asked Damocles looking back to see Hercules marching to some kind of stone circle on the ground.
"Come over here and I'll show you." said Hercules, waving for him to come over. "This Island is the size of old Rome if you put it in a rough circle shape. It is to be a paradise to the mortals. And this," he pointed to the circle he now stood on. "Is to be our method of transportation between our 'realms'."
"What do you mean realms?" questioned Damocles as he crouched to inspect the carvings on the circle. Each one in a language he had never seen before and yet, somehow, understood it. Each symbol was pointed in a cardinal direction. "Why is there a compass at the center of this island?"
"I see Pax's power has awoken. It is there because this is the literal center of the world, at least in terms of easily making a map." said Hercules rubbing his head in embarrassment. "I wanted your home to be in the center of this world. I just didn't clarify that point when we made it so you got the center of the world, in terms of land masses."
"And besides to all the mortals this will become the center of the world be it trade, travel, negotiations, or commerce. So I would recommend looking presentable when they show up. And by Realms I mean we all have homes in this world. Justitia to the north, Nemesis the south, and everyone else is in between. The only one without a home is Mercury. That's only because last time we made him stay in one place he turned it into a zoo and talked to the kangaroos." said Hercules moving off the stone slab. "But until your training is over I shall remain here."
"When will they get here? The mortals I mean, there's no telling when any of the others would show." Asked Damocles pointing off in some direction. "Oh, the others have already come and gone, they'll show again in a month's time to see your progress. Your situation is the first of it's kind as far as we are aware and they want to see what happens next. The only person who would have been here to see you awake would have been Discordia but I sent her off the second I saw her staring for too long while you were out. They should get here in may⁓be… seven months. Four if they have strong magic casters to put wind in those sails." He stated with more of a tone of 'I don't know nor do I care'.
"What do you mean star… I'm sorry. Did you say magic?" asked a surprised Damocles standing from his knelt position going from 'barely listening' to 'full attention'. "Yep. We put magic in this world because Discordia said "It's more fun this way" and honestly I have to agree. Some of the shit the mortals pull is fucking hilarious." Hercules stated. "Hell Mercury told me one time while he was exploring he came across a human couple make their dog speak. Funniest thing I heard in years."
Damocles turned back to look at the boats in the distance. If it wasn't for his power he never would have even known they were there. If this was just part of Justitia's power then what else was there? He remembered Hercules say she could look back in time but how? How does one look back? "Hercules? How do I look back? In time I mean." asked Marius looking over to Hercules only to look right past him at the other boats. 'I've got to figure out how this fully works.' thought Marius finally bringing Hercules back into focus to hear "...sure really. She's never told us other than when she does it she looks, well, drugged. It's like she doesn't even know where she is. But enough talking. I believe the day is coming to an end. You will still need sleep for the coming days. Your body must adjust to the power it has been given. But when that has finished sleep will not be needed. It will be more of a luxury if anything." said Hercules as he walked back into the mansion that was Damocles's home.
"But before we finish the day," said Hercules, stopping himself and Damocles, "What's say you name your new home that way when the mortals get here they can't." stated Hercules spreading his arms to the land around them. "Instead of making something ridiculous like fucking ARWINTAR. What does that even mean? That is the last time I listen to Mercury. Little shit wouldn't stop laughing for a decade." He muttered angrily.
"If this will be the center of the world it must have a fitting name wouldn't you say?" asked Damocles, stepping beside Hercules. "If it is to be the center then it needs to be the reason all others look to it. It will be order. It will be power. It will be civilization. So..."
"Let's call it ROME."
