49. The Oracle of Delphi
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
Hades, Facilier, Pain, and Panic awaited the three guests in the throne room. When the trio shuffled in, hunched over in their black cloaks, Hades greeted them by saying, "Ladies! You are looking lovelier than EVER!"
If that was true, Facilier thought, he didn't want to see what they used to look like. Each was a tiny, wrinkled old woman, and none of them seemed to have eyeballs – just empty sockets. One was somewhat taller than the others, and rail-thin, with blue skin and a long nose in which the hairs seemed to be moving (unbeknownst to Facilier, because they weren't hairs, but the legs of the insects that had moved in there). One was in between the two others in height, with green skin and wriggling yellow appendages in place of hair. The third was shortest of all, with lavender skin and tufts of green hair; most disconcerting of all, she had only one eye socket in the middle of her forehead, as though she were a miniature Cyclops.
"Lachesis," Hades said, kissing the back of the hand of the blue-skinned woman. "Clotho." He kissed the hand of the green woman. "Atropos." The last, lavender woman. "We really should get together more often."
"What is it you want, Hades?" Lachesis huffed.
"And don't think you can bargain anything out of us with flattery this time!" Atropos snapped.
"Why must you assume that every time I call you up," Hades sighed, "it's because I want something? Can't I ever just want to have a drink with my three favorite Fates?"
"NO," the three women chorused.
"Fine, fine, you got me," Hades huffed. "Listen. I'm going to need another favor from you. Remember how a couple decades ago, you gave me a prophecy about how I could work the future to my advantage, and it almost worked except for the end part?"
"Everything went as written in fate," Clotho reminded him. "We explicitly told you that should Hercules fight, you would fail."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got the concept," Hades snapped. "Well, as you can see, I'm out of elemental titans, Zeus is back on the throne of the high and mighty, and I'm ALMOST back at square one. Now, I'm implementing a new plan, and while I for the most part have faith in my ability to pull it off, we all know that accidents happen and goody-two-shoes heroes have a tendency to screw up my plans. What I need to know is how many drachmas to bet on this. Short version: do I win or do I need to make adjustments!"
"What do you think we are?" Lachesis grumped. "Your personal oracles who jump when you say to jump?"
"You aren't getting any more out of us!" Atropos added. "We gave you your prophecy, and we weren't even supposed to do that!"
"You're wasting our time," Clotho concluded.
"Listen," Hades bargained. "I will pay you anything you want. You want cash? I can get you cash. You want vengeance? I'll have the minions bump somebody off. You want Thessaly? I'll get you Thessaly. Wait, no, scrap that, no one wants Thessaly, Thessaly's a dump. I'll get you THRACE."
"The answer is still no," Clotho insisted.
"We cannot be bought!" Lachesis asserted.
"Let's try another angle, then," Hades said. "You like your Tapestry of Fate where it is, right? Would be a real shame if someone were to mess with it – "
"You think that just because the Tapestry has changed in the past, that you can simply cut its threads?" Lachesis barked. "Even the amendments to the Tapestry were written by fate itself!"
"And if you are suggesting that you wish to challenge us," Clotho added, "you of all gods should know very well – "
"YOU CANNOT FIGHT FATE," the three said in unison.
At that moment, a sudden chill filled the room, startling Facilier and sending Pain and Panic running to hide and shudder behind the throne.
Hades raised his brow. "All right, all right…I get the picture. A little birdie told me you weren't gonna cooperate anyway. Worth a shot. You can go home now. After all, there's more than one way to – "
"We knew you were going to ask the Oracle of Delphi when we turned you down, anyway," Atropos pointed out.
Hades sighed. "Can't a guy keep a secret around here?"
"We also know who gave you the apples," Atropos went on, "and what they're going to do to the mortal world you planted them on."
"You're not planning on taking that information to Olympus, are you?" Hades asked, suddenly in a panic.
"It wouldn't be prudent of us," Clotho pointed out. "Perhaps now you understand why it is best for everyone that we do not reveal the future."
Atropos removed from the folds of her cloak a single, bulbous eyeball. She tossed it into the air, and in a flash of blue light, it enveloped the three Fates and disappeared.
"On the bright side," Hades joked, "you can count on them never to spoil the ending of a good Euripedes yarn."
"So who is this Oracle of Delphi?" Facilier asked.
"The next best thing to the Fates," Hades answered. "Up there, they've got an institution at Delphi where all the mortals in Olympic Greece with the gift of prophecy train. One of them is always chosen as the Oracle of Delphi: the best prophet in all of Greece! However, due to a little incident, Delphi is currently head-oracle-less. But they've got a chariotload of trainees with foresight, and one of them's bound to have seen the outcome of our little plan. All we have to do is ask the right question."
"And who asks the questions?" Facilier inquired.
"Somebody inconspicuous," Hades answered. "Somebody who can't be traced back to the Underworld because they won't have the same face when they get back here. Somebody who looks too incompetent to be planning anything evil. Somebody who needs to GET OUT FROM BEHIND MY THRONE."
Pain and Panic crept out into the room proper, still shaking. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about us," Panic said, "w-w-would you?"
"Pack your winter coats, boys!" Hades cried, raising his arms and smiling brightly. "You're goin' to Delphi!"
CHRYSE, OLYMPIC GREECE
The sun crested the horizon, lighting up the misty isle. As the very first rays of dawn broke, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack were curled up in the bunks set up for them in Phil's home, in one of the spare rooms. They slept soundly until the bugle blared.
"GAAAAH!" Twilight cried as she woke suddenly.
"Too early…" Rainbow Dash muttered, rubbing her eyes.
The six made their way down to the small dining room, where breakfast awaited them in the form of spelt flatbreads with honey. Hercules, Meg, Phil, and Pegasus were already seated; Phil still held the bugle.
"I've always wanted to use this," Phil said with a grin.
"Very funny," Rarity grunted, trying her best to smooth her hair with her hands.
"Well, breakfast's on," Hercules said with a smile. "It doesn't look like much, but trust me, it's good."
The six sat down and dug into the flatbreads immediately.
"I wonder if the news was delivered yet," Hercules thought out loud.
"Think Pegasus will go get it?" Meg teased. "Go on, boy. Get the news. Good flying horse."
Pegasus snorted indignantly.
"Worth a shot," Meg remarked with a shrug.
"I was thinking we'd work on form one at a time today," Phil said. "Everyone trains in front of everyone else, so you can all get the same information."
"You want me to…demonstrate to an audience?" Fluttershy began to tremble.
"It's just going to be us," Rarity told her. "You can perform for us, right?"
"M-maybe…" Fluttershy closed her eyes and made up her mind. "Yes!"
"Though you are going to have to be careful not to DROP ANY TRAINING EQUIPMENT ON THE AUDIENCE," Phil asserted, with an accusatory look at Twilight.
"Hey!" Twilight snapped.
"All right, I'm done," Rainbow Dash said, motioning to her empty plate. "Now let's go! I want to show off how awesome I am!"
She got up and ran out the door. "That's our Dash!" Pinkie laughed.
"If she flies right into a hydra's mouth," Phil growled, getting up to follow her, "I am not going to get her out."
"Actually, that's our job," Applejack pointed out. "We already had to go get her out of worse."
"But we should get to training as soon as possible," Twilight said, putting down her own plate.
She, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Phil all left the table and made their way to the arena.
"Hey," Hercules asked Fluttershy, "are you still nervous?"
"Yes," Fluttershy admitted. "I know I can fight evil when I need to protect my friends, but…I always feel everyone staring at me whenever I have to do anything for an audience. What if I'm not good enough? And I already know that when Phil finds something wrong, he's rather…loud about it."
"That's just Phil," Hercules reassured her. "He's one of my best friends, but he can be a jerk sometimes. Don't tell him that, though. Yesterday, Meg said she thinks you have real potential. And I think so too."
"I stand by what I said," Meg confirmed.
"We promise not to judge whatever you do today," Hercules told Fluttershy. "If you mess up, well, I used to mess up all the time! Actually…I still do."
"It's part of your charm," Meg told him.
"And if you do great, we'll all be there to cheer you on!" Hercules went on. "And, well, if you're too nervous to do anything today, we know you're pretty good already, so don't sweat!"
"Thank you," Fluttershy said. "I'll try my very best."
"No problem! Now get out there and let whatever happens happen!"
"Right!" Fluttershy rose and followed her friends.
"You seem to be taking a shine to that one," Meg pointed out.
"I dunno," Hercules said. "This is gonna sound weird, because I've never really been shy or anything, but she kinda reminds me of how I used to be. Actually, she reminds me a little bit of how I am."
"I can see it," Meg observed. "Has a good heart, wants to protect others…and thinks the criticism of the general public is the biggest monster of all. There's also something about that one that just makes you wanna protect her, even if she can take care of herself."
"Yeah!" Hercules rose from the table. "I'm gonna go see how she does."
"I'll catch up," Meg told him.
After he left, Meg looked over to Pegasus. "You sure you don't wanna go fetch the news?"
Pegasus shook his head.
"Up to me, then." Meg got up and left the house to head down to the shore, where the news delivery barge would have tossed the news of the day.
"No, no…like this." Phil held a quarterstaff in both hands, slowly passing it from hand to hand. "Try it slowly. That way you don't drop it."
Twilight sighed. "I don't normally drop my staff."
"Well, you did just now."
Twilight began spinning the staff slowly, passing it from hand to hand.
"Great. Now add in that ice stuff you were doing."
Twilight willed the staff to begin drawing lines of frost in the air wherever the star swept, creating complex figure-eights.
"Now speed it up a bit."
Twilight kept up the hand motions she'd been doing, but twirled the staff faster and faster, drawing a tangle of frost in the air. "I'M DOING IT!" she cried. "I'M DOING IT!"
Hercules, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all set to cheering, and Pegasus let out a proud whinny.
Then the staff flew out of Twilight's hands and nearly skewered Pinkie Pie. The small audience was silent for a while; then Pinkie cried "WOO HOO!"
"Don't try and tell me you meant to do that," Phil groaned.
"Why would I throw my staff at the bleachers on purpose?" Twilight moaned. "I know, I know. Slow it down first." She walked back to the bleachers.
"Okay. Fluttershy," Phil called out. "You're up!"
Fluttershy trembled.
"You'll do great," Hercules whispered to her.
"Okay…" Fluttershy stepped down into the arena, summoning her katana.
"Now the important thing when wielding a lighter sword," Phil began, "is to…"
His words became fuzzy to Fluttershy's ears. All she could feel was the burning stares of those judging her. She did her best to copy Phil's grip, which he demonstrated on the staff, on her sword, and hold it at the right height.
"No, no, now you've got it crooked," Phil sighed. "You wanna swing it straight, otherwise you're not gonna hit your target with as much force as you need."
Fluttershy corrected her stance. The weapon shook in her hands.
Before she was required to do anything more, a voice interrupted, crying out, "HERCULES! PHIL!"
"MEG!" Hercules called back, standing; the others followed suit and looked toward where Meg ran into the arena, holding a tablet.
"You're going to want to see this," Meg panted, holding out the tablet.
Phil grabbed it out of her hand, scanning the headlines. "Whoa!" he remarked. "What the – ohhh, this is bad."
"What?" Hercules asked.
"Is it bad news?" Pinkie added.
"It's like every single polis in all of Greece has gone berserk!" Phil explained, holding up the news tablet. "Riots in Athens! Street fights in Thrace! Broken windows in Abacus Valley! What's goin' on here?"
"I don't know," Hercules said, "but it sounds like they need a hero right about now. I should go – "
"Ooh, OOH!" Pinkie Pie cried, hopping up and down. "If you're going to the disasters, we should go with you! It'll be the perfect chance to learn in the field!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Phil argued. "You six just got here yesterday. You've trained for one DAY. You ain't ready!"
"Are too!" Rainbow Dash argued. "Or did all our stories about defeating dark wizards and djinni mean nothing?"
"It's complicated!" Phil said. "You six are not getting anywhere near a battle until…until you're ready!"
"What if we are ready?" Rarity asked.
"More importantly, what if helping out with…whatever's going on is the way to get ready for bigger battles?" Applejack pointed out.
Phil sighed. "I don't really think you're right for this job."
"You don't even really know what it is," Twilight snapped. "Just that SOMETHING is causing riots. Is there some other reason you don't want us to go?"
"It's just that…" Phil searched for the right words. "You've heard me talk smack about Chiron a lot, but the truth is, he's a big exception to a rule. He may be famous for being a hero, and everyone praises him, but the truth is, he's the only guy like him who is. Anyone else like that…"
"What do you mean, 'Anyone else like that'?" Twilight challenged.
"Centaurs don't have the best rap," Phil admitted. "If you're a centaur or a Kentauride and you ain't Chiron, everyone's gonna think you're a monster. Centaurs are known as looters. Pillagers. Worse. No one's gonna take you seriously as heroes. You go in there while everyone's riled up, they're gonna think you're part of the problem!"
"Is that true?" Fluttershy asked, looking to Hercules.
"Yeah," Hercules admitted. "I fought a lot of centaurs when I was in training. Everyone always says never to trust a centaur."
"Unbelievable!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "No one takes heroes seriously when they're women. No one takes heroes seriously when they're centaurs! Well, you know what? I just wanna go out there and show them all that they're wrong!"
"And I don't care what people say about us," Twilight added. "If something's going wrong on the mainland, I want to help. I'm not just going to stay behind and let it happen."
"I happen to think Rainbow Dash has an important point," Rarity said. "Once everypony on the mainland sees that we're actually helpful instead of hurtful, we'll obviously gain a better reputation. Don't you think?"
"That is a good point," Meg affirmed.
"We should go!" Pinkie insisted, bouncing up and down. "Please please please can we go? I really wanna!"
Phil sighed again. "Fine. You wanna go to the mainland when everyone's in a turmoil? Your funeral."
"All RIGHT!" Rainbow Dash cried.
"Then it's settled," Phil said. "Herc will fly on ahead with Pegasus, and the rest of us – "
"Hang on," Hercules argued. "I think we'd probably be more effective as a team."
"But we've only got one flying horse, and it seats one," Phil pointed out.
"Fluttershy and I could keep up," Rainbow Dash argued.
"But where does that leave the rest of us?" Rarity asked her.
"I think we should take a barge to the mainland," Hercules suggested. "It won't take THAT long."
"Only about a one-hundred-person death toll's worth," Phil muttered.
"We don't even know if people are dying," Meg pointed out. "Well, unless we assume that the usual troublemaker is behind it."
"And we DON'T know that," Hercules insisted.
"Fine," Phil gave in. "Barge it is."
Pegasus let out a rather disappointed moan, very dismayed that he didn't get to fly valiantly into battle.
"Then let's go!" Rainbow Dash took off galloping for the harbor.
On the way down to the barge, Applejack asked, "So who's the 'usual troublemaker'?"
"Hades," Hercules answered.
"Didn't you knock him into the Styx?"
"I did, but the Underworld still needs a ruler," Hercules explained. "Dad wouldn't have it any other way. Hades had to keep his job to keep order. But the Titans were all destroyed, so it's not like he can do much more besides shake things up a little bit to increase the Underworld population."
"That's still pretty big," Twilight stated.
A small barge was moored at the harbor, some distance away from the Starlight. The ten boarded it. "So, where are we going?" Pinkie asked.
"Only one port city ain't mentioned in the news," Phil answered. "My plan is, we stop there and get our bearings. We're headed for Kirra."
The barge pushed out into open water. "Our first real adventure in Greece," Applejack stated.
"Ooooooh, I'm so excited!" Pinkie gushed. "So how long is it until we get to Kirra? Five minutes? Ten minutes?"
DELPHI, OLYMPIC GREECE
The great temple of Delphi was situated in the heart of the mountain peaks, where the wind blew great gusts of snow that nearly obscured the palatial structure. Two men made their way through the cold, up the mosaic path leading to the temple that housed the Oracles. Anyone looking at the scene with a naked eye would believe them to be two humans, but that was not at all the case.
"Man, I hate Delphi," Pain complained. He'd taken on the form of a human man as proportionally short and wide as he was to most imps. He sported short, curly brown hair and matching stubble on his face. He gave a dramatic shiver, pulling his brown coat tighter over the purple chiton he wore. "It's always so cold!"
"It isn't like we haven't been this cold in the Underworld, you know," Panic replied, in essence complaining at Pain's complaint. He took on the form of a tall, lanky man with long, golden hair, wearing a similar brown coat. His chiton was teal; the pair honestly had no idea that wearing purple and teal clothing could be perceived as a giveaway. "I would argue that one time that Hades locked us in the frozen part of Tartarus for a year, it was even colder!"
"How do we even know this is gonna work?" Pain grumped. "What kinda question are we gonna ask, anyway? 'Will Hades end up winning'?"
"We aren't going to say THAT! That would blow our cover!"
"You got any better ideas?"
"I'll have you know, I…am working on it, okay?"
The pair reached the temple doors. Pain knocked on them three times.
"You don't just KNOCK on the door to the temple of – " Panic began to hiss, but the door was opened all the same by a priestess wearing a plain white shift.
"Welcome, travelers!" she greeted. "You are here to see an oracle, are you not?"
"Oh yeah!" Pain nodded enthusiastically.
"Enter," the priestess beckoned. "You needn't pay tribute anymore."
Pain and Panic followed the priestess into a wide, elaborate hall painted in a deep red motif. "What did you come to ask?" she inquired. "This will determine which of our oracles you see. Unfortunately, we have not yet installed a head Oracle of Delphi since…well, the incident. However, we have many Oracles in training, and one of them will certainly have the answers you seek."
"Well, we're lookin' for kind of a weird question," Pain said. "Not like one about the outcome of any evil plans or anything – "
Panic elbowed him in the stomach, hard.
"OW! What was that for?"
"We are but humble citizens of Greece," Panic took over, "and we are simply concerned for our nation's fate. We wish to know if any impending disasters threaten it, so that we may prepare for the worst."
"Ohhh, so now we're Mr. Big Words all of a sudden!" Pain insulted.
"Will you give it a rest?" Panic hissed.
"Figures that when you get to ask the question, you sound like a big worrywart," Pain replied.
The priestess smiled, somehow not suspicious of the two travelers' odd behavior. "I believe I know just who you should see. It is difficult to obtain audience with her, but these are special circumstances. One of our Oracles has shown far more talent than all the rest, and her sight into the future has extended further than the others. She is actually in consideration to be the next head Oracle of Delphi. She does, however, only see visions of disaster. This seems to be exactly what you are looking for."
"YEAH!" Pain and Panic cried.
"Then I will lead you to the visiting chambers of Cassandra," the priestess said cheerily. "Come with me."
She turned and began to lead the pair down one of the deep red hallways.
As he walked, Panic fidgeted, looking left and right and not seeming to know what to do with his arms. "Calm down, buddy," Pain whispered. "What's the big deal?"
"I didn't expect it to be Cassandra!" Panic hissed. "She and I have a history together, you know?"
"What, that time we all got turned into babies and you and her had to drag us all down to the Spring of Canathus? Didn't she spend the whole time insulting you?"
"We had to work as a team in order to parent four children on an epic quest!"
"Yeah, pretty sure she just spent the whole time insulting you."
"Things got weird, though! She's the only person who's ever really cared about my safety besides you and Hades!"
"I think she kinda does that to everyone out of a sense of duty. I'm not actually sure she ever, y'know, liked anyone…even her friends…"
"The point is," Panic attempted to conclude, "she and I were…awkwardly close."
"For, like, an hour. What's your deal? You got some kinda crush on her or something?"
"No, no, of course not! She was just a kid! Eeeuuugh…I'm just saying, the circumstances were weird. I have no idea how she felt about me! What if she remembers all that? What if she thinks it was awkward? What if - "
"Whatever. It's not like she'll recognize you or anything. These disguises are flawless."
The priestess led the imps to a room, a door that was one among many identical doors in the hallway. She opened the door, telling them, "Enter." The room beyond was dark but for a single flame of light. Pain and Panic walked inside with trepidation; the priestess closed the door behind them.
In the center of the room was the brazier with the fire that lit up its near surroundings. The walls of the room weren't visible – it wasn't clear how big the room was at all – and the only proof that there was a floor at all was the fact that Pain and Panic were standing on it. To the left of the fire, a large basin with a spigot was visible, as though it was for emitting water. Directly behind the fire, half cast in shadow, was the oracle herself.
Cassandra knelt before the brazier, eyes closed in concentration. Panic was struck by how much she'd changed since he saw her last. She was taller, and she had gained a little weight, which only made her look more solid and mature. Her auburn hair was as long as her waist, and she kept it in a thick braid interwoven with gold threads. She wore a long, loose white peplos edged in gold, with a white and gold shawl thrown over her shoulders. When she looked up at her visitors, her eyes were the same dull green they always had been.
"Let's get this over with," she began.
Beads of sweat were forming on Panic's brow.
"So," Cassandra said. "What's your big question? It better be a big one. I don't do daily horoscopes."
"I…" Panic found it strangely difficult to form words. "Uh…I…you see, we – "
"We wanna know what the next big disaster is gonna be to hit Greece," Pain interrupted. "And I don't mean, like, the riots and all the little chaos. I mean, like, if anything BIG is gonna hit the country."
" – Worried!" Panic burst out suddenly. "For the fate of our homeland! That's. Um. That's why we want to know."
"Disaster?" Cassandra smirked. "Good thing for you, I'm great at disaster. You want the ugly truth?"
"The ugliest!" Pain asserted.
"Then I'll give you the ugly truth."
Cassandra turned the spigot to her right, and a fine green mist emitted from it. She wafted it closer to her face, breathing it in, absorbing the power to see the life and death of all things. Her eyes closed for a while, and when they reopened, the dull green irises, black pupils, and brilliant whites were erased by a piercing green.
"I see a world gone dark," she stated in a monotone. "The sun has fallen out of the sky in the midst of the day, perhaps never to return. The people are thrown into a panic. The gods are distraught. Everything turns to chaos." She blinked a few times, her eyes returning to their natural state. "Huh. That one's new. Kinda cool, actually."
"That's PERFECT!" Pain cried victoriously. "I mean, uh, that's TERRIBLE!"
"What he said," Panic added. "Though as far as disasters, eternal darkness is kind of a nifty way to go – "
"I know, right?" Cassandra replied. "See, you know where it's at – what were your names again?"
"I, uh…Th…Thanatocrates," Panic answered.
"And I'm Paul," Pain added.
"Wow," Cassandra commented. "Paul. You pretty much had the worst parents ever. Anyway, you got your disaster. And I've got a lineup of clients. So you should go prepare fallout shelters or supply rations or something."
"Yeah, we should," Pain said. "Right, THANATOCRATES?"
"Right," Panic said. "Thank you for the…the prophecy. Really well done. Couldn't have done better."
"No problem. Like I said, disaster is what I do." Cassandra winked.
"Now let's GO," Pain insisted, dragging Panic out of the room.
As they walked down the empty hall, Pain gushed, "Man, we get to steal the SUN! Hades is gonna LOVE this! Dude, are you even listening?"
"Oh, what?" Panic answered. "Yeah. The sun. Pretty big target."
"Oh, no! Don't tell me! NOW you have a weird stupid crush on Cassandra!"
"She is NOT a kid anymore," Panic observed. "And she has great taste in apocalypses."
"Dude, no! She's not on our side! Hades will kill you! Just don't say anything, and we can just let this all – "
"I wonder if Hades will need any other prophecies read. Maybe we can come back!"
"Dude, TELL me that isn't why you made up that big frilly name. To have some kinda…fake identity when you see her again so she doesn't know you're working for Hades!"
"That…may have been a factor," Panic admitted. "Come on, you and I know it would never go anywhere! Hades WILL kill me! I just want to see her maybe one or two more times and then we can let the whole thing drop!"
"That BETTER be how it goes. Right now, we gotta focus."
"Right. Focus." Panic was silent before: "On…what again?"
"Oh, come on, man, the SUN!"
KIRRA, OLYMPIC GREECE
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"NO."
"Are we there yet?"
"NO!"
The other passengers of the barge were amused by Pinkie Pie's impatience to get to Kirra, her constant verbalization of such impatience, and Phil's growing annoyance.
"So…are we there yet?"
"THERE! LOOK! YOU CAN SEE THE KIRRA HARBOR IN THE DISTANCE! SO YES!" Phil screamed at Pinkie. "WE! ARE! THEEEEEEERE!"
"Oh," Pinkie replied. She broke out into a bright smile. "YIPPEE! WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE!"
The boat drew closer to a harbor within a cavern, sheltered by a rock roof. The Equestrians all gasped as a giant lumbered out from the harbor in order to guide the boat into position.
"Why is he in chains?" Fluttershy whispered, noticing the giant's harness.
"Oh, he's from Laestrygonia," Hercules answered. "It's an island of man-eating giants. The Kirrans captured him and put him to work moving boats in the harbor instead of eating people."
"That's awful," Fluttershy said. "They just took him away from his home, chained him up, and told him to move the boats?"
"Yeah, well, at least this way, he ain't eatin' people," Phil hissed.
"He doesn't really look like he wants to eat anybody," Twilight offered. "He just looks…kind of tired. I just don't feel like this is right."
The giant brought the barge up to the dock, where only three men appeared to help tie it in place. The ten exited the boat, climbing up onto the dock.
"Welcome to Kirra," one man said. "I apologize for not having a better welcome prepared, but we are coming from hard times."
"No problem," Meg replied. "This works."
"We're wasting time!" Phil scolded. "Let's go! Downtown! Chop chop!" He stormed towards the road that led into the heart of the village.
Hercules, Pegasus, Meg, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie followed. Fluttershy was reluctant to move, and Twilight noticed this.
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight suddenly cried. "I just remembered I left my…my wand on the barge!"
"You weren't storing it in your Hammerspace?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I dropped it," Twilight insisted, giving Rainbow Dash a meaningful look, "and it rolled somewhere. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, can you help me look for it? Everypony else, you can go on ahead. We'll catch up with you in a minute."
"Okie dokie, Loki!" Pinkie cried, and all but Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash walked out of the harbor.
"Okay, what's this about?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Fluttershy's right," Twilight said quietly. "It isn't right to keep this giant chained up here. We're going to set him free."
"I'm game," Rainbow Dash decided. "But how are we gonna do it?"
"That's why I need you," Twilight said. "Your sword is probably strong enough to cut through all those chains, especially with how much magic is in it. Fluttershy, you and I are going to distract the harbor workers so that they don't see what we're doing."
"Okay," Fluttershy agreed.
"Then let's go," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash, you cut the chains when they aren't looking."
"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash said with a nod.
Twilight and Fluttershy approached the three harbor workers, positioning themselves so that the men would have to face away from the giant in order to look at them. "Hi," Twilight greeted.
The three workers put down the ropes they'd been arranging and looked at Twilight and Fluttershy with slight disgust. "Centaurs," one said as a return greeting.
"We're new in town," Twilight said. "We don't know anything about Kirra, and we were curious. Why was it in hard times?"
"What business does a centaur have asking about Kirra?" a second man replied.
"Just curious," Twilight said defensively.
"As if we need your kind to come barreling in and raid us when we're at our low," the third man said.
"Hold on," the first argued. "They're not from these parts. Maybe they're from somewhere centaurs are actually civilized."
Twilight and Fluttershy were beginning to become very angry with the Kirrans. "Of COURSE we're civilized," Twilight said through gritted teeth. "Do we LOOK like we came here to raid you? We sailed in on a nonmilitary water vessel, and we're making conversation with you!"
The irony wasn't lost on her that they were, in fact, trying to take Kirran "property" by liberating the Laestrygonian, but Twilight figured that if you were the sort to insult centaurs and Kentaurides just for being centaurs and Kentaurides, and you were the sort to turn a Laestrygonian into a machine, you fully deserve to find the Laestrygonian missing.
"Well, she is talking to us," the second man said, "so they're obviously smarter than most centaurs."
Twilight could hear Fluttershy's breath rate speed up, and she put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, warning her not to snap. Calmly, Twilight asked, "So what happened here?"
While the men talked, Rainbow Dash crept up to the Laestrygonian. She summoned her sword, holding it aloft.
"I'm gonna set you free now!" she told the giant. The giant made no response. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if he understood. She brought her sword swinging down onto the bundle of chains that bound him. At first she was doubtful that her metal edge would make any impact on metal chains, but the magic in her weapon proved as Twilight said, and the chains were severed.
"GO!" Rainbow Dash hissed, making gestures toward the giant to indicate that he should get moving. He obviously understood this, as he turned to wade out of the harbor.
"Kirra was once a prosperous village," the first Kirran harbor worker explained to Twilight and Fluttershy. "But then the channels that brought us water from the spring in Delphi were destroyed. Without water, we experienced a drought, then a famine, then a plague. Most of the population died. The rest left. Some of us have begun to move back, now that the channels are repaired. With any luck, Kirra can become a civilization again."
"Gosh," Twilight remarked. "I hope so."
"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash broke in. The Laestrygonian had moved out of the harbor, wading out into the ocean, and was fading from sight, swimming to a destination only he knew. "We really should get going so we don't keep everypony waiting!"
"Thanks for answering my question," Twilight said politely.
The three Kirrans grumbled and returned to their work.
With a huff, Twilight walked away, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in tow.
"I hope the rest of this town is a little bit less mean!" Fluttershy stated when the Kirrans were out of earshot.
"Phil wasn't kidding when he said they didn't like centaurs on the mainland," Twilight sighed.
"Just wait until we start doing heroic stuff!" Rainbow Dash argued. "They'll see!"
"I think we've already done something heroic," Fluttershy brought up, looking out toward the harbor.
"But I don't think the Kirrans will think so," Twilight muttered.
When Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash caught up with the rest of the group downtown, they were at first struck with how beautiful Kirra was…and how ghostly. The homes were all square, each painted ornately with a different fresco. On the horizon, a giant water wheel was visible, obviously churning the water from the Delphi spring. Yet there were no living beings to be seen. Some lights were on in the houses, beacons in a sea of dark windows.
"Did you get your wand?" Phil asked in a huff.
"Oh…yeah," Twilight said nervously. She produced it from her Hammerspace. "Right here."
"We were just talking about our course of action, now that we've reached the mainland," Rarity said. "Apparently this quaint village is adjacent to Delphi, where there seem to be oracles."
"Delphi is where all the best seers train," Hercules explained. "There used to be one Oracle of Delphi who knew everything. What was her name?"
"Aletheia," Phil supplied.
"Yeah," Hercules remembered, "Aletheia. But there was some kind of incident involving corrupt priests and the gods having a grudge against her, and she ended up dying. When I was a kid, I used to be friends with Helen, who's the queen of Sparta now. Her older brother Castor was the head priest at Delphi, and his twin Pollux kinda had to be there too, because they were…well…"
"Joined at the hip," Phil supplied. "Literally."
"Anyway, apparently Castor and Pollux were part of the corruption, and whatever happened, they ended up dying too," Hercules said. "Helen was really sad, but she moved on. So that's why there isn't a head Oracle of Delphi anymore, though I hear that if they get someone who's really good, they'll pass on the seat to another seer. They do still take visitors, though, and I bet that there's someone there who can tell us all about the disasters that are going on!"
"We can't reasonably play peacekeeper in all of Greece at the same time," Meg clarified. "Maybe one of the oracles can tell us which polises should be our priority."
"Sounds like a plan," Twilight said with a nod. "How far is it to Delphi?"
"Just down that causeway." Phil pointed. "We can get there in a half hour tops by walkin', worst case scenario."
"Then let's make sure we walk extra super fast!" Pinkie insisted. She began to bounce toward the causeway to Delphi, and the rest of the group followed her.
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
"So?" Hades asked. "What did they say at Delphi? Show me apocalypse!"
"The oracle we saw said the world was gonna go all dark," Pain reported. "Apparently the sun would disappear. We think this means you're gonna steal it!"
"All RIGHT!" Hades clenches his fist in victory, awash in blue flame. "For the final act of chaos, we are going to steal…" Realization dawned on him. "We're…we're gonna steal the sun." He looked toward Pain and Panic. "Good job. You can go do…world takeover stuff now."
The imps left the throne room, and Hades stood there alone…or almost alone.
"So what's the story on the sun?" Facilier asked, slipping out of the shadowy hallway. "Don't tell me there ain't one. I saw how you reacted when they said it."
"Well…it's just…" Hades sighed. "Y'know, stealing the sun was part of Seph's plan back when we let out Atlas. Right before she…you know. Let's get real: stealing the sun is probably THE best way we could have ended it. Surprised I didn't think of it first…but hey, the oracle saw it, so I was gonna think of it anyway. Let's call it…poetic justice."
"I thought you didn't care one iota," Facilier replied.
Hades shrugged. "Purely a business observation. Technically, the whole mess with Seph ended the way it did because Zeus and his little flunkies messed with us. Need I remind you, it BEGAN because of Zeus and said flunkies. More than anything, this is going to be poetic justice for THEM."
DELPHI, OLYMPIC GREECE
"Brrrr!" Pinkie shivered in the cold Delphi winds.
"If I'd have known about this," Rarity moaned, "I would have brought us some coordinating scarves…"
"Toughen up, will ya?" Phil barked. "You faced dark wizards and shape-shifters, and you complain about the WEATHER?"
"I could probably mess with it and get rid of some of the cloud cover," Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack.
"I wouldn't," Applejack whispered back. "Doesn't seem right to mess with the weather of a place where weather ponies or rainforest birds ain't in control of it. Especially if the weather belongs to the gods like everypony's been sayin'!"
The group arrived at the doors to the temple, and the head priestess opened them.
"How did she know we were here?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"They're oracles, silly!" Pinkie replied. "They probably saw us coming!"
"Welcome," the head priestess said. "Come in, out of the cold."
"Finally!" Rarity cried, galloping into the entry hall; the others followed at a less excited pace.
The head priestess recognized a member of their party. "Hercules!" she gasped, beaming, obviously star-struck. "What brings you here?"
"The riots," Hercules stated. "We want to know where to start helping out."
"Which polises need us the worst," Applejack added.
"A question of great disaster," the priestess summed.
"Pretty much," Meg agreed.
Pegasus nodded.
"It seems that Cassandra will be having a lot of business today," the priestess stated.
"No way," Hercules replied, stunned. "CASSANDRA? Does she have red hair? Seem kinda bored with everything? Eyes go all green when she has visions?"
"That description fits our Cassandra," the priestess said, beginning to move down the hall; the others followed. "She is our most prolific seer, and it is more than likely that if her performance remains as it has been, she will sit where Aletheia sat as the head Oracle of Delphi. She only sees great disasters, but always reveals the truth of the fate of the world as a whole. Given the state of Greece as it is, I believe she is the one who will best know which polises are headed toward immediate doom and which can wait for their heroes."
"I can't believe it," Hercules said. "Cassandra and I were friends growing up. I haven't seen her in years! I knew she went on to be a seer, but…head Oracle of Delphi?" He laughed.
"So you get to see your old friend!" Pinkie cried. "AWESOME!"
"You told me about her," Meg said, amused. "I'm a little curious about this famous childhood friend."
The priestess opened the door to Cassandra's chambers. "I will leave you to your meeting," she said. The ten filed into the room, and the priestess closed the door.
They saw the same sight Pain and Panic had seen: the lit brazier, the mist spigot, and Cassandra herself. She opened her eyes, looking up at the group before her. Then she gave a slight smile. "Hey."
"CASSANDRA!" Hercules cried. "I can't believe it's really you! You're really in line to become THE Oracle of Delphi?"
"Pretty much," Cassandra summed. "And I hear you saved Olympus from a Titan invasion. That must've been hardcore."
"Oh, it was. Trust me. Oh, man, you don't know…you remember Phil and Pegasus, but this is Megara," Hercules introduced. "My wife!"
"The eternally awkward Hercules finally found a dream girl who would give him the time of day?" Cassandra's eyebrows shot upward. "Now that's something NOBODY saw coming. Hey…I remember you," she told Meg. "You were that femme fatale type that got Herc wrapped up in that mess with the Lethe water."
"The what?" Hercules and Meg said in unison.
"And apparently, you both got drenched in it," Cassandra sighed. "Anyway, nice to meet you."
Meg smirked. "Likewise. So Wonder Boy wasn't always a ladies' man, huh?"
"He was downright pathetic," Cassandra replied.
Hercules began coughing loudly, hoping Cassandra would get the message and stop bringing up the awkward old days.
"So who are your other friends?" Cassandra asked.
"New trainees," Phil said. "Got a lot of promise…and a lot of flaws. That there's Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity."
"NOW he calls us by our full names," Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Not that there's anything wrong with the nicknames," Fluttershy said quickly.
"Thanks, Flutters," Phil replied.
"Any of them ever met a real life oracle before?" Cassandra asked.
"Only two," Twilight admitted. "Though one of them was a lot more…"
"Sane?" Rainbow Dash offered.
"Professional than the other," Twilight finished.
"And yet Phasir has to live in absolutely decrepit tunnels beneath the city while Trelawney has tenure," Rarity groaned.
"Well, life's not fair," Cassandra said with a shrug. "You kinda get used to that concept when you can see exactly how unfair it's gonna get. So why are you all here, anyway?"
"Y'know how Greece is kinda all…full of disaster?" Applejack asked. "We were hopin' you could tell us which places would be full of disaster first so we would know where to start."
"Fair enough." Cassandra nodded. "You want to know where things will get worst first. I can handle that." She reached for the spigot.
"What's that?" Twilight asked.
"Mists of Delphi," Cassandra answered. "They contain the 'life and death of all things.' Seers use it to kick their foresight into working on command."
"What happens if someone who isn't a seer uses it?" Twilight asked.
"Well, you could try it for yourself," Cassandra answered, "but it isn't pretty. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Twilight reached for the spigot, turning it. She wafted some of the green mist towards herself, breathing it in.
Immediately, her surrounding vision changed. The fire in the brazier disappeared. Everyone else in the room – humans, Kentaurides, and Pegasus alike – withered, becoming skin and bones until the skin disintegrated and skeletons remained. The room itself broke, cracks running down the walls and segments of the floor falling away into mile-high drops. Pieces of the ceiling rained down.
Twilight cried out in horror, but as soon as the vision had begun, it ended. The room was whole, and dark. The brazier blazed. Everyone was whole and healthy. "What WAS that?" Twilight asked.
"What did you see?" Pinkie asked.
"I saw…everyone die," Twilight said. "You all withered away into nothing, and then the room fell apart."
"That's kinda what happens if you use it and you're not a seer," Cassandra explained. "You automatically get to see what everything looks like when it dies."
"I think I'll leave it to the professionals from here," Twilight said sheepishly.
Cassandra turned the spigot, wafting the mist toward herself; Twilight backed away from it as far as she could. Cassandra closed her eyes, and then they opened, brilliantly green.
"I see…Athens," she said. "They're in conflict with Sparta over the possession of something valuable. Something forbidden. The city is overrun with Spartan soldiers. The Spartans attack everything. Ares orders the Ghost of Sparta himself to the frontlines, even though Athena begs him not to." Her eyes faded to their normal state.
"Athens!" Hercules cried. "That's where we have to go first! Thanks, Cassandra!"
"No problem," Cassandra said. "Good luck with your quest or whatever."
"Wait a second," Rarity interrupted. "How will we know where to go after Athens? We'll be lost then! We can't just run back to Delphi afterward! An entire city-state might be WIPED OUT!"
"That's a good point," Applejack commented. "Say, Cassandra…"
"Yeah?"
"You ain't gotta stay there all day, do ya?" Applejack asked. "Ya think you could leave the temple, if it was a special circumstance?"
"I know I could, if it was a special circumstance," Cassandra answered.
"How about for an old friend?" Twilight posed.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Cassandra asked.
It dawned on Hercules too. "You should come with us!" he cried. "We need your help in order to know what to do! Besides, we have a lot of catching up to do from the old days."
"Hmm…" Cassandra thought it over. "Well…I guess I could cut loose for a while. For an old friend. And because you might mess up and doom everybody without my help." She stood. "Yeah. I'll clear it with the head priestess, and we can get going."
"WOOHOOOOO!" Pinkie cried.
"Ugh," Cassandra remarked. "Is that one always that…sunshiney?"
"Wouldn't have her any other way," Twilight replied.
"I'll meet you out in the entrance hall," Cassandra said.
"We'll be waitin'!' Applejack replied.
A few minutes later, as Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Hercules, Meg, Phil, and Pegasus waited in the entrance hall, Cassandra approached, carrying a canvas bag.
"I had to take some of the mists of Delphi with me," she explained, "so we don't get caught without a vision at a bad time. Oh, and they're basically letting us use the company car."
"What?" Meg asked.
"This way," Cassandra replied, leading the group out a side door.
Several large chariots were parked in the snow, as well as one larger wagon. Two priestesses were leading a pair of horses out of nearby stables, hitching them up to the wagon.
"You seriously thought you were going to WALK everywhere?" Cassandra asked patronizingly.
KIRRA, OLYMPIC GREECE
The wagon pulled into Kirra carrying Hercules, Phil, Megara, Cassandra, and the six Equestrians. Pegasus had insisted on being strapped into the lead of the harness, the other two horses from the temple following him as he held his head high.
"To Athens!" Hercules cried, pointing in that direction.
"HEY, YOU!"
The passengers of the wagon turned to see the three Kirrans from the harbor storming angrily towards them. "Which one of you cut loose the giant?" the first growled.
"I bet it was those dirty centaurs!" the second accused.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Phil put up his hands. "They didn't do anything! I was with them the whole time! Well, except for when Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy stayed back in the harbor to – " Realization dawned. He turned to face them angrily. "YOU DIDN'T!"
"TO ATHENS!" Twilight cried.
"TO ATHENS!" Rainbow Dash added.
The horses took off running at top speed as the Kirran harbor workers shook their fists, shrinking in the distance, and a few other civilians in the area joined them to yell at the wagon, though their complaints faded in the distance.
"Way to make a first impression," Phil spat.
"Did you really free the harbor giant?" Cassandra asked.
"Maybe…" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah," Twilight admitted as Fluttershy nodded.
Meg laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm not gonna lie. That was cool."
"Awesome," Cassandra said, though in a rather deadpan voice.
"YOU'RE TAKING THEIR SIDE?" Phil raged.
"They did what they thought was right," Hercules argued. "Can we just agree that what happened in Kirra stays in Kirra?"
"Fine." Phil crossed his arms, sat down, and shut up.
"I still think it was awesome," Cassandra whispered to Twilight.
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
"Obviously, we need to start with the basics," Hecate told Mozenrath. "If you don't know the twelve elements of the multiverse, you aren't going to know how to manipulate them, are you?"
"I don't think I like how patronizing you're being," Mozenrath replied.
"I'm a Cthonic goddess. You're a sorcerer that can't defeat a frying pan in combat."
"HOW much of my life did you research?"
"Bits and pieces. The point is, I can be as patronizing as I want."
Mozenrath rolled his eyes. "Go on…"
Hecate waved a hand, and twelve spheres of different colors began to orbit her as though she were a sun and they were planets. She pointed to each of them as they circled around front: red, deep blue, brown, sky blue, white, black, green, dark purple, golden yellow, orange, teal, and lavender. "Fire, water, earth, air, light, darkness, life, death, time, space, aether, and entropy. Everything in the multiverse is made up of these twelve. Now, you can break this down into what kind of atoms make up every different variety, what's Helium, what's Hydrogen, what's Vibranium, but it all comes back to these." She waved a hand, and only the first four spheres remained, spacing out to circle her equidistantly. "As for nature, if you take out all magic, energy, biological, and ethereal components, you can break it down into fire, water, earth, and air. But you knew that." She closed her hand into a fist, and all the spheres vanished. "The trick to making the cosmos do what you want is knowing how to control everything that makes them up. Are you with me?"
"Yes," Mozenrath said, "though I do wish I had my – "
"I knew you'd want it." Hecate held out her hands, and in a swirl of smoke, the blue sketchbook appeared in them. She tossed it at Mozenrath, who caught it awkwardly. "You can take all the notes you want later. So. Any questions?"
"Just one," Mozenrath replied. "How do the Elements of Harmony fit into this?"
"Those," Hecate sighed. "By all standards, those shouldn't exist. They belong to mortal emotions, and not even all of them. Just to the abstract concepts of 'love' and 'harmony.' They don't make any physical sense next to what I just showed you. What I showed you is tangible. It's real. Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, and Loyalty are fickle, and more than likely, mortals just made them up. Even the Magic that goes with them is at its best in conjunction with those five concepts, which shouldn't be physically possible. Magic doesn't need FRIENDSHIP. But for some reason, whenever those six elements turn up, they end up rivaling the power of even gods! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"
"I sense this is a sore spot with you," Mozenrath observed.
Hecate gritted her teeth. "I don't like it when something nobody understands ends up having an effect on everybody."
"Or something YOU don't understand."
"Oh, and you think I'M being patronizing?"
"Smarts, doesn't it?" Mozenrath smirked.
"If your attitude wasn't one of your major selling points," Hecate growled, "I'd smite you down where you stand."
"But I'm mysteriously charming, so that's not going to happen."
"You're enjoying this too much."
Mozenrath just laughed.
"The point is, if you want to start increasing your power level, you're going to have to start with the basics," Hecate said. "The four elements of nature. Right now, you have a minimal control over them. You need to MASTER them. Here's what I want you to do."
She executed an elaborate routine: stepping forward, moving her hands out in great sweeps, then delivering a punch to the air that sent a massive blast of fire rocketing out. "Show me you can do that," Hecate challenged.
Mozenrath attempted to copy her move, but he produced considerably fewer flames.
"Again," Hecate challenged.
So Mozenrath repeated the process, producing the same weak flame.
"AGAIN!" Hecate commanded. "Less hesitating, more conviction, and not so clumsy!"
More flames this time; Mozenrath wasn't quite sure if it was because of his following her instructions or because her commanding was making him angrier than he could let on to someone that much more powerful than him.
"AGAIN!"
So it was that Hades had no idea of the growing force of darkness beneath the roof of his own Underworld, even when massive flames rocketed out of the windows of the crystal palace.
Chapter 49
· I regret that I couldn't accurately do the thing the Fates do where they toss the eyeball around and fight over it. Partly because I felt I couldn't do it justice, partly because I was too lazy to try, and partly because I feel like if they were absolutely dead set on not making a prophecy, they wouldn't even have it out.
· Also, by HTAS standards, the Fates are willing to drag the Tapestry of Fate around and show it to people, and they make prophecies for others all the time in exchange for small favors. So it's a little OOC to have them refuse, but I needed a plot device to set up the Oracle of Delphi, which is the first domino in a huge chain of Oracle-of-Delphi-related dominoes.
· "You can't fight fate" is actually a line I found in a mythology book that contained the original Heracles myth. In the big battle with the giants atop Olympus after Heracles ascends to godhood, the Fates join in, and the particular author used that line to describe why they joined. It's one of my favorite translations in all of mythology because it really shows how the Greeks anthropomorphized concepts rather than just calling them "Fates" because they could see fate. Anyway, here, it's meant to be foreshadowing. …for something that isn't going to happen in this storylet or anywhere near it. Because you're totally not tired of me loading Chekhov's Guns that will go off in 500 chapters.
· I feel a little weird about having Hades reference Euripedes because in this timeline, the Trojan War hasn't happened yet, so Euripedes obviously doesn't even exist. But he's the one Greek playwright I actually know and wrote my favorite Greek play, "The Trojan Women." Besides, all the sources I'm using take major liberties with mythical chronology anyway.
· My Oracle of Delphi setup comes from a few places. First of all, from GoW Ascension, where the Oracle of Delphi known as Aletheia dies. Second, from a short story I read in the "Trickster Tales" anthology of short fantasy (I regret that I can't remember the author's name or the story title) where Delphi is represented as a facility where people who have the gift of prophecy are taken, though I'm sure this must have been a depiction in some original myths as well. So my Delphi is actually a sort of school, with one head Oracle that's the famous one. The HTAS Delphi is discontinued from existence (though I would like to say that "Prince of Thrace" is otherwise canon because I want Adonis to have nearly died. He pisses me off).
· If flatbreads weren't actually used as breakfast in Greece and instead were just dinner foodstuffs, I apologize. It was the main thing I found when I searched ancient Greek cuisine.
· I also want to apologize for dragging on this whole "bad things are happening in Greece but we're not sure what or why" thing. I needed a setup.
· I did notice that in pretty much every adaptation of Greek myths – original myths, the Disneyverse, Voyage of the Basset – centaurs are monsters. EXCEPT CHIRON. Chiron is ALWAYS the one good centaur and he's brought up ALL THE TIME as the good centaur. So I wanted to play a little angle with the idea of prejudice against centaurs/Kentaurides.
· The design I'm using for Delphi comes from GoW Ascension.
· The priestess is my OC. She basically does Castor's job since Kratos offed him.
· So now you see why "Spring of Canathus" is SO VERY CANON. Because of that really weird Cassandra/Panic shiptease that I wanted to exploit. I was seriously on team Cassandra/Icarus until that episode, and then…I know it's very taboo, but I liked it. Now that Cassandra is as old as Hercules in film canon, though, it's not as taboo anymore. And I can play with it ALL I WANT!
· The oracle room is kind of my original design. I wanted minimalistic and creepy.
· I took some liberties in how Cassandra would change and what she would wear as she got older. And this is one of the times I REALLY wish I was a better artist because I would so love to make a pic of grown-up Cassandra and Panic as "Thanatocrates."
· In GoW, the Mists of Delphi allow you to see "life and death of all things." When Kratos breathes them, he sees the temple crumbling to dessication. I decided myself that such a sight would be what mortals would see with the Mist while Oracles could use the Mist to incur a vision that matched a question asked.
· WARNING: THE PLOTLINE WITH PANIC IS ABOUT TO SERIOUSLY RIP OFF THE "BERNARD" PLOTLINE FROM MEGAMIND. I am fully aware of this. But I have to try it anyway. I couldn't get it out of my head. Oh, you know this isn't the last we've seen of "Thanatocrates"…BTW, if I've done my research right, the name should mean "one who gains power through death."
· In real life, Chryse is East of Greece. Kirra is only accessible from the West side of Greece. MAYBE IF I THROW A BLANKET OVER THE PLOT HOLE, NO ONE WILL NOTICE IT.
· This version of Kirra is taken 100% from GoW. The backstory the harbor workers tell Twi and Fluttershy is pretty much canon. The only thing I embellished was that Kirrans would come back once the channel was fixed.
· And I thought immediately that the capture of the Laestrygonian and how he's just used as a boat slave is wrong. That allowed me to set up some more Establishing Character Moments. And actually, I'm hoping I can remember when the time comes that I wanted to use this as a Chekhov's Gun…but that's even further out than when I reveal what's up with the Fates.
· Just take a moment to imagine the HTAS Helen and the GoW Castor and Pollux as siblings. Just…take it. Because that's totally happening. In GoW, BTW, Castor and Pollux are conjoined twins. Castor does most of the talking, so Pollux tries to get out of the situation by claiming that Castor forced him into helping kill Aletheia through the way they were attached. We're never sure whether or not Pollux was lying because Kratos killed him before we could know.
· The twelve elements of the multiverse are actually from another really obscure source. 11/12 of them come from one of my favorite indie webgames, "Elements: The Card Game," which is basically a battle card game where every card has an elemental affiliation. Its choices of elements were so fitting and thorough, I decided to give EtCG a permanent fixture in this cosmology. The one difference I made was changing "gravity" to "space," which I felt made more sense. The spheres are also the colors associated with the elements in EtCG (which may have caused some confusion as to why the four elements of nature didn't have ATLA colors).
· Speaking of which, the four elements of nature were chosen partly because those are ALWAYS the four elements of nature and partly because of ATLA. Your mental picture of Hecate firebending might have lined up with ATLA firebending. I suck at describing it because I'm still an ATLA n00b (I will sit down and watch the entire series before I actually get to that world), but that's what it is. I do know, though, from random trivia, that firebending is based on Shaolin boxing. Though it would have been weird to reference that, as I'm not sure Mozenrath knows or Hecate cares what Shaolin boxing is. (YET, anyway…)