A prophecy

It wasn't the easiest task of course, taking care of a baby. It was true, I had no experience at all. I had been the youngest sibling (my parents divorced soon after I was born) and I had soon found my calling and started taking care of the goats. I did have some experience in kittens and puppies though, but they usually had their mother around anyway.

Now I had to be the mother. I had to feed this infant and clean him and find out why he was crying when he did that. I had to worry when he wouldn't go to sleep or when I thought he slept too much.

But eventually I got the hang of it. I found out that Zeus liked when I sang to him, and that he soon fell asleep when I carried him around. I was rewarded with gurgling laughers when I showed up at his bed, when I tickled him in the neck or put my mouth to his round little belly and blew hard, making a "farting" sound. Or just made funny faces and sounds.

Soon I learned to wear my hair pinned up to avoid having him yanking at the strands all the time with his strong little hands. Earrings also became out of the question, because he was constantly reaching for these too. He was crazy about all things glittery and shining.

I made toys for him out of wood and textiles and a "bear" out of a goat-hide. That one Zeus kept on dragging around everywhere until it was all worn out and beyond fixing. Another favourite toy was a golden ball which we could play with for hours, pushing it between us, first on the floor and later levitating in the air so it left shining traces after it just like a comet.

And he sure was a quick start. Before I knew it Zeus was sitting up, and then he was crawling away on all four, chasing my dog Maverick all over the place, trying to pull him in the tail. And old Mave, who's usually rather grumpy, somehow sensed that this was a "puppy" and was very patient with Zeus.

Within three months Zeus rose up and stood and the next thing I knew he was walking. Now here's when the real trouble started. He was everywhere - and I mean everywhere - with his little curious fingers, pushing and pulling and poking. And whenever I thought he was playing calmly with his golden ball and turned my back, he sure was on his feet with lightning speed and the next thing I usually heard was a crash and a loud scream.

Zeus loved to throw things in the hearth and setting them on fire, and he wasn't old when he learned how to get the flames out from there, almost managing to set the entire place on fire. Luckily I caught him in the act and he only managed to ruin a chair and a basket of splinter-woods.

Another thing Zeus did was emptying a large jug of tar and painting both himself and the floor back. Then he got the large pair of scissors and cut off half of Mave's fur while the dog was sleeping. On top of that he always found the sweets and the cookies, no matter where I tried to hide them. High places were no match for this boy either, he was soon levitating too.

Yet I had a hard time being mad at him, because always when I caught him he looked at me with those big, blue eyes and smiled, like "no prob' it's forgotten tomorrow and I know you love me anyway".

Zeus talked early too. These cooing and gurgling sound he had been making when I got him soon became words and sentences. And those sentences shortly turned into questions:
"Thea, what's a coin? "
"Thea, why do Mave and the goats walk with four legs?"
"Thea, what are those big birds?"
"Thea, why does it rain?"
"Thea, what happens if you set water on fire?"
"Thea, what's beyond those big, blue mountains?"
"Thea, what's beyond the stars?"

My thoughts often went to Rhea. When Zeus had fallen asleep in the evenings I began to wonder what had become of her, where she was. If she had somehow managed to escape her cruel faith. I didn't dare trying to search for her soul in case it might draw attention from Cronos.

Then one night, there was a knock on the door. I became terrified, because I sensed an immortal soul outside, a Titan soul, and was convinced we had been found by Cronos and his men.

Interlude

At Little Hellas you usually get to meet one Olympian or another, who's stopping by on his or her way to somewhere. This night I had already said hello to Dionysos who was visiting a wine fair in New Jersey. Not much later another of the Great Twelve comes through the door. Artemis, aka Diana Archer, well known environmental lobbyist in Washington DC.

She looks sharp as usual, power dressed in pin-striped black, although her skirt is a bit shorter than the generic executive outfit, and her high heals rattles against the stone floor. People turn around upon her arrival, seeing in an instance that this is a woman who radiates the self-confidence of knowing her place in the world.

Artemis has always been a good friend of both Chiron and me, and she's soon at our table, full of energy as usual.
"So Zeus is back at the Office again", I say after the regular greetings.
"He certainly is", the goddess answers and pushes back her jet-black hair. "Feels strange, I was beginning to get used to having DC for myself when he has been off tinkering with the European Union. And I bet with him around there's going to be a lot of changes. He sure is going to shorten this president's leash a lot, and then when the election is up, he's going to pick the successor. "

"The vice president?" Chiron asks.
"No, he's not one of daddy's boys. But let's not talk politics. I heard you have a new lover, Thea. What about him?"

I tell about Hudson and that this might mean I'll stay a bit longer in New York than I usually planned, telling Artemis that we can see each other more often. She delights at that but don't let the Hudson issue go.
"Is he good?"

"He is. But also a bit childish. And a terrible taste in music. All hip-hop and rap. I try to put on some Mozart, he cringes. Some Debussy he makes faces, Strauss and he runs out of the flat. Am I too old for the music of today?"
"Nah", Epona says, "it's only a matter of taste. Do you know who's the biggest hip-hop fan? Who frequents all those Bronx clubs when he's in Appletown? Oceanos!"
" Oceanos! Artemis and I exclaims at the same time. The Titan Oceanos?"
" The very one", Epona's face is smug while she runs a hand inside Chiron's black T-shirt.

Interlude ends

The Titan Oceanos. He was the one standing on my doorstep that balmy May night, dressed only in an elegant but worn cloak over a chiton, blue hair tied back in a ponytail, a leather backpack slung over his left shoulder and a large bow and a silver-hilted sword on his back.

His appearance almost scared the whit out of me, I was so sure Oceanos was at Cronos side, so sure he was going to turn us in the very second he laid his large green eyes on little Zeus; and I was glad my boy was sound asleep upstairs, tired after having chased rabbits all day long.

"How... may I help you?" I started, and raged at the insecurity I heard in my voice.
"Pose the question the other way around, Milady, and ask instead how I might be in your service! Yours as well as the new King."
"What king?"
"The one to become the King. "
"Who's... ?"
"Oh, come on, you know whom I'm talking about. Your little ward. Zeus I think you call him. "

I felt all my blood rush away from my face, turning it cinder pale.
"What do you know about...? Who told you?"
"Do not worry! I'm on your side. Trust me! Read my heart, it's pure! I am no friend of Cronos, on the very contrary. And Zeus is the one the prophecy tells about. The chosen one. The one to finally stop the tyranny of Cronos and Change the world. "

"What prophecy? Who told it? Some oracle? And if you know, won't all Titans soon know the same?"
"Let me inside, Lady Amalthea, so I can begin to answer all your questions. And then I'll tell you some more you need to know about little Zeus. Because he's not just any young God. "
"So much have I come to understand. But..."
"Are you going to let me stand here on the doorstep all night?"

"Oh, sorry! Do come in!" I held up the door to the tall Titan, who had to bow his head to enter. I still felt reluctance, but at the same time I knew that if Oceanos had come to harm Zeus and me he would have done it the very moment he had sat foot in Dicte, not waiting to chit-chat.

¤¤¤

Oceanos put down his eating tools, reached for a his packing, pulled out a folded sheet of papyrus and started:
" The prophecy reads thus:"

Truly the end of the era of Bronze will come
The limit will be marked by a Moon bearing blood
Bronze will ring out when four of the Celestial Bodies stand in line
Heralding the Greatest of Changes
The era of Iron will begin when the white eagle spreads her wings
Escaping the nest of darkness
A New King will arrive, thunder in his hand
Liberate he will the imprisoned ones
The old King will be cast down
To the bottomless pit of nevertime
And when the Sun darkens
the New King will claim his throne

"We have already seen the Lunar Eclipse", Oceanos stated. "The Moon bearing blood. It vas visible in almost all of Central World four years ago. The White Eagle was Rhea, finally flying out of the Leviathan stronghold. You do know that she was originally meant to be an eagle goddess? Until Cronos caught her and used his mighty twarthing spells upon her she could transform herself into one of those birds. And the day she left the stronghold four of the planets stood in line. Our Earth and its Moon, the Morning Star and the Star of Red War. "
"Yes, but what has this to do with Rhea's son? A King with thunder in his hand? Is that him?"
"Zeus was born on that day, right?"

"Yes."
"Then he's The One. Now you know how important it is that he stays safe. That his father never finds him."
"But if he - if he joins with his father instead?"
"He won't do that. The Astronomer has predicted a Solar Eclipse in 32 years from now. That's when Zeus will be taking his throne."

"With all due respect, Oceanos, but don't you contradict yourself here, saying first that we must protect Zeus from being found by Cronos, then telling me that the faith of Zeus has already been set, that he will be King no matter what?"
" No, not really. This prophecy talks about a course of events that will happen in the future. It says nothing about when they are going to take place. It can as well be talking about events thousands and thousands of years from now. If we don't make them happen that is. "

"I'm not sure I understand."
"Amalthea, if we want this prophecy to be about here and now we must set it into action. Or else the world will have to wait until another event with four planets standing in line as well as another Lunar and Solar eclipse. Until then Bronze will reign and the Iron age will be put on hold. And with it the hope for a better world for all of us."

" I see your point."
" Good. I will put stronger protection spells around this place. Then I will send you some gods who will function as life guards and tutors for little Zeus. And you will have to send for your sister."
" Adrasteia?"
" Yes. Her help is going to be needed as well. "

" It sounds suddenly - so big. So important", I said and farsighted the sleeping Zeus in his room behind the closed door. He slept soundly as usual. Thumb in mouth and golden curls surrounding his cute little face.
" It is, Amalthea, it is. It is probably the most important project in millennia. "
" And Zeus is so - little. How will he cope with his destiny?"
" Tell him at the right time! Tell him what he will have to do! He will cope. I know it. I can see by his aura that this boy is going to grow up to surprise the world. "

The Titan then stretched and yawned, but before I let him go to bed I just had to ask him one more thing:
" Do you know what became of Rhea?"
" She's down under."
" In Tartarus?" I paled.
" No, fortunately not. Cronos displayed some unusual mercy. Very unlike him, but he decided to keep her at a place called Hades. A dark and strange realm, but far from the horrible beyonds of Tartarus where even time is warped. Perhaps even the Titan King thought it was too cruel to throw Rhea down there after having annihilated - or thought he had annihilated her last child. "