The end of the war
A couple of months later Rhea and I were reached by a mix of conflicting news. Some said that Zeus had been maimed or even killed in Thessalia, others that he had sacked the Dark Castle at Leviathan and thrown Cronos down in the pits of Tartarus. Other rumours had it that the castle had fallen but Cronos had fled.
But the most persisting stories told that the castle was being held under siege and that Zeus and his gods were trying in vain to break in or that Cronos had fled with Zeus after him while the rest of the Allied Gods were still sieging the stronghold.
" What is one really to believe?" I asked Rhea one mid-morning while we were watching Demeter growing yellow and white roses in the garden. No one had ever seen these kind of colours on roses, it sure looked odd, but Demeter didn't seem to care. She was happily experimenting away, not bothering with what might be considered 'proper'.
" He's fine, I know it." Rhea said. "I would feel it here if something had happened to him", she pointed to her heart.
" But what about Cronos? If he gets away, how can Zeus ever declare himself victorious? The Titan can hide everywhere, biding his time, and waiting for a chance to strike back. "
" Eventually he'll have to strike back", Rhea pointed out. "And then my Zeus will have him. Until then he can disarm the rest of the Titans. "
"But then Cronos will hold the element of surprise, instead of the other way around. "
" I wouldn't worry about that", Rhea held confidence in her voice. But there was still something haunted in her blue eyes. She still feared Cronos, feared that he would come for her again and throw her back into the realms beneath. And if he did he would probably not be content with Hades this time, but send Rhea all the way down to Tartarus.
Rhea's nights were nightmare-ridden. More than every second night I was woken up by her screams, she dreamt about her ex-husband and Tartarus.
" He comes for me, comes and gets me, seizes my breath and my sanity. Hades I do not fear anymore, it was gloomy and dull but not really that terrible. But Tartarus... "
" They're only dreams", I assured her. "They will vanish given time. "
" Sometimes he has taken Zeus too. My wonderful, beautiful boy, and thrown him down there too. "
" Rhea, if something like that happens, Zeus will only get out again. Nothing can hold him, he has become too powerful. He opened Tartarus and got the imprisoned gods out from there. And he will do it again if necessary. "
Then came the quake. It was a tremor far worse than the one which had followed the destruction of Atlantis. The shock wave had been precursed by a strange feeling in the air, an edgy tension you could almost touch and which brought a lot of restlessness among the animals. And when it hit it felt like it went deep and far, surprising both Rhea and me with its strength, and frightening little Demeter so she came running to Rhea and hid in her arms.
And I had got the strangest vision. I had seen Poseidon, Zeus' brother, striking the earth with a tall spear, forking off in three arrowheads. The alien tool shone like adamantine, but still it was different, and it was shattering the ground beneath Poseidon, letting out fire and molten stone.
Then - silence. Not the heavy, foreboding silence like earlier in the day, but a silence of relieve. Like if something had come to an end. Something important had happened in the war, but I didn't know what. And while the sun set against the reddest of skies, I closed my eyes, whispering in my mind: Zeusy darling, are you out there?
But there was no answer. No reply. My calls were only met with spiritual static.
Interlude
The first thing Hera and I do when she finally comes to New York is partaking as audience in the shooting of a VenusMirage show.
Aphrodite has been doing matchmaking for millennia, and the results has been ranging all from perfection to disaster. But with this latest concept, a combination between net-dating and a live TV show, she seems to do everything right. As Deethe Mirage she has become the successor to Ophra as the leading TV-star in the United States.
Of course it's fun seeing Aphrodite act in front of the camera, she's brilliant and witty, using all her divine carisma and skills to make the most out of every show; never a dull moment, never a wasted opportunity. Even the commercial breaks are used, Aphrie spends those pepping the participants and talking to and checking on the crew, perhaps doing some minor last-minute changes.
But the best part comes after, when we go out for drinks together with Aphrie and Demeter pops up out of nowhere. She and Hera hasn't met for ages it seems and they both look overjoyed.
Aphrie smiles at me while blinking one eye:
" Sometimes you have to 'fix around' a bit among the immortals too. Demi is in town because I blind-dated her with Adad, the Mesopotamian God. "
" Another thunderer!" I exclaim.
" Yes, Demi seems to have a thing for those who don't need chargers for their cellphones. Remember when she almost took Zeus from Hera. Or that stormy affair with Norse Thor."
" And you were behind them both?"
" No, only the last one. Never thought it should be so earth-shaking, but I guess that's what happens when you set two red-heads together. "
" Talk about earth-shaking, have you any idea what Poseidon's been up to lately?"
" No clue to be honest. I think he's still down in South Africa looking for oil."
" Boring hobby!"
" Indeed! But he gets rich. "
" Your way of making money seems so much more fun. "
" Yes, I'm beginning to get used to this celeb thing. To like it even. I think I'm going to stay Deethe Mirage for a while. I like it even better than when I was Marilyn Monroe and Castor and Polydeukes were the Kennedy bros."
" I remember that! It sure was wild! Zeus was so certain that you were going to do some mistake, blow your covers and the mortals would learn who you were. "
" Ah, not a chance! They don't believe in us anymore, you know! "
" Yes, but nevertheless Persephone and I were betting on who to go first. And I lost of course."
" Thea, Thea!" Aphrie smiled! "Never bet with Persy on deaths, even staged ones! She sure is the expert! Anyway, today you can always pretend your mortal avatar is visiting Doc Plastic so you don't have to 'die young'. Or fake age, which I can't stand. "
" Yuck! Don't mention it! My avatar is only 22 at the moment, so I have plenty of time before I have to fake it. Which suits me because I intend to stay long in New York. Never guessed I would like it so much. "
Interlude ends
"When we found we couldn't break down the walls of the castle the regular ways we decided to destroy the ground it was resting upon instead. That became the job for Poseidon, who has this ability to crack the earth. Using his trident - you know this big "fork" thing - he found the weakest point in the ground beneath the island Leviathan and shattered the stone. That made the castle toppling over, and Cronos fell out of his tower, exposed to my wrath. "
Zeus had been talking for hours, narrating the tale of the Titan war to the gathered deities at Olympos, his new mountain-top home. Now dawn was slowly breaking, the eastern horizon turning a brilliant turquoise and the stars winking out one after another. Most of the Gods and Goddesses had fallen asleep around me on the soft 'cloud-cushions' of Olympos, their Divine Lights burning out in their lanterns or cupped hands.
Still I was listening intensely, sitting comfortable while the sleeping Hera was resting her head in my lap. The 16 year old had grown strong and agile over the years, acquiring the wild beauty of a warrior princess, the scared and shy little girl completely gone.
" Then it was the Tartarus trip for him I assure?" Adrasteia asked, lying on her belly next to me, cheek propped up on folded hands.
" Yes", Zeus nodded. "With the help of the trajectory formulas Metis had calculated for me, I was able to seize him and send him down under before he knew what was happening. That was the clue to my victory, the element of surprise. Cronos thought himself safe behind those enchanted stones, he had no idea we were going to disrupt the ground beneath him.
On top of that he never guessed I could open up an interconnection directly down to Tartarus and so fast. But thanks to Metis and her mathemathics it took me less than a second after laying my eyes upon the Titan to dispose of him. He never got the chance to defend himself when I chanted the formulae Metis had calculated and created a one-way non-stop expressway for bad old Cronos.
It sure was one sight to behold, reality disappearing into a red whirling inferno surrounded by green and orange sparkles. The multi-dimensional whirlpool sucked my enemy into it with the most dreadful sound. I even saw Tartarus for one terrible second. And from up here it was even more awful to regard - a cluster of radiating darkness, the ultimate hell-pit.
Upon loosing their leader all the courage left the other Titans and the Dark Warriors still around. So then the warfare became mostly about rounding up and bolting down. "
" So now what? Adrasteia asked again. With Cronos gone, what are you going to do?"
" I have a large group of followers", Zeus said and nodded to those still awake: Leto, Prometheus, Metis, Themis, Poseidon, Selene. "And I have a lot of things I want to do. I plan to change this world, make it a better place to live in for both mortals and Gods. I wish for peace and justice to rule, and I want to put an end to misery, poverty and despair. It will take centuries, even millennia, I know. But we have all the time in the world, don't we?"
" And it's a great group you have gathered, I said, looking around. But I'm missing a God. Where is Hadesboy?"
" He's down under again. "
" Why? What happened?"
" He wanted it. As strange as it might sound he never cared much for this world above, with its strong sun that blinded him and brought blisters to his sensitive skin. He hated the wind and the rain and constant shifting of the light when day became night and then back again. And he grew uncomfortable with the waste expanses.
One day he came to me, told me he wanted to go home. Home as in back to the place where he had been living for decades before I came and sent him up again. Home where he didn't have to have a name attached to him - we tried to call him Pluto but he detested that - and home to his friends."
" He has friends down there?" I asked.
" Yes. We might call them beasts, those packs of three-headed dogs and whatever dwells down there, but to Hadesboy they're friends. And that strange void where the pale light is everywhere and nowhere and up is down and down is up - that is home to my brother. The place he grew up, the place he grew adjusted to. So I let him go. Why should I keep him here where he don't want to be? Because I want him around? No, Zeus don't do this kind of things. Each to his own I believe in. So I helped Hadesboy going home again. "
Metis crept closer to her beloved and whispered something to him. Zeus nodded and went on:
" What I also want to say is that this place, this mountain top might look barren and unwelcoming right now, being only rocks and snow and this makeshift villa; but I will turn it into a more comfortable place. I'm going to make Olympos not only Metis' and my home, but a place where all of you are welcome to live or stay as long as you desire. It sure is big enough. And if there's someone special you like to bring, this hospitality will include him or her as well. But I will ask you for something in return."
" What?" Prometheus wanted to know. He was resting a bit away from Zeus, near the hearth where Hestia kept the Divine Light burning even in her sleep. She was using orange, purple, red and blue flames as well as the regular green ones, its light creating amazing effects where it shone off the marble pillars or danced in the ornaments of crystal and gold.
" Help is what I'm asking for. Help with this new world order I desire to create. "
Zeus waved his arm in a general direction:
" The mortals down there - I want to create a new kind of man. An Iron-Age man. A man who do not have desire for making war upon his neighbour but cultivating the land and engaging in crafts, art and trade instead. "
" Count me in", Prometheus said. "I care about these poor things. I'll help you."
" Me too", Themis followed. And several other deities echoed her expression.
I thought it over for a while then said:
" I'll help you too, Zeus. Yet I don't think I'll come living at Olympos. I'm a bit of a simple woman. A palace life has never been my thing. Then I think I'd miss Crete too much. I'm just like Hadesboy. I want to be home. "
" But I'll miss you Amalthea! And your honey-cakes. "
" I can still make them for you. Gives you a reason to come visit me and your mother back on old Crete. "
" Now what can I say to that?" Zeus smiled and held out his hands.
" Tell them that they are welcome to visit Olympos in return of course", Metis said. She always had an answer, that girl.