Tag Archives: Hades

September 12, 2022 · 16:24

In Crete we trust

The trip to Crete was simple and interestingly enough lacking all comforts. Rhea and Demeter did not like luxuries, as such we first had the trip to Piraeus, then the ferry to Crete which would take us to Iraklion and from there 45 kilometres SSE was Gortyn, it was in the municipality of Agioi Deka. The archeological site was clear and easy enough. The problem is that no one had a clear clue where to go from there. And in this the fact that Rhea was Mother to Hades and as such my great grandmother did seemingly not help any. So as we were exploring the archeological places we saw all kinds of old things, but nothing that would aid us. It was hours later when we were near another building that I noticed something. There was a black hole, a pit that is darker than anything I had ever seen before. There was nothing there. I walked to the pit and asked Demeter what “Agesilaos” meant. They quickly looked towards me, almost shouting “Watch out” but it was too late, the pit swallowed me and it seemed that neither saw me go and that was the larger problem, the hole swallowed me and dragged me down. My instincts called forth Psychofagos, it shone and it cast waves of energy whilst setting an aura of protection around me. I then saw a lot more, the hole was a sea of arms dragging me down, dragging me to the bottom of wherever this was and about a minute or two thereafter the arms were gone and I was in free-fall towards the bottom. The bident slowed me and gave me a little light, but this darkness was nothing like the ocean, it was a much deeper dark and my eyes could not penetrate it with any kind of light. I went down and down and ended finally at the bottom of where ever I expected to be.  I reckon I had arrived in Tartarus. 

Even as Tartarus was dark, there was a lot more light here, or at least a lot more light for the likes of me. I could see a decent distance and I was amazed how this cave could go unnoticed by geological people up above. I started to notice a lot more. There were millions of bodies in all forms of disappearance, disappearance was the best word I could muster. The bodies were black, sooted black and some bodies moved, crawled over the ground, unable to stand. It was a view that called forth all kinds of pity, but I felt none of it. A little further the red glow of lava became clear. The bodies seem to avoid the lava, as should I I reckoned, but there was what could be seen as a path, close to the lava, where there were no bodies. I made for that strip and I was able to travel a decent amount further. The bodies were piling up higher and as I saw the lava stream split up, I also saw something that represented some ancient Greek fountain. I walked towards the fountain, but cautiously as it was a little away from the lava and now the bodies as I saw them were numerous. It was not one fountain, there were three fountains. They were empty, bodies all around them and in them, but no water. These fountains did seem to have had a function at some point. It took some minutes when I noticed that the three fountains were set around some symbol, it was in the ground, but I could not make it out, it was too dirty. I called for a shockwave and as the shock revealed the plaque, which was a silver plaque of a bident, the bodies started to move, there was a sound, like a hungry moan and they were set on me, and they were less then 5 metres away. The plaque bothered me, there was no reason for a bident to be shown here. I then remembered the work Hephaestus had done on my bident and the plaque made a lot more sense now, I turned it around and hit the plaque hard, very hard and the shockwave, pushed all the bodies away from me and blew whatever was in the fountains away as well and now there was a visible act. The fountains came to live. There was a blue stream coming from the three fountains all outwardly and it had a miraculous effect, the bodies hundreds of them were devoured and the bodies went to ash and vanished. The fountain now had something in them, but it was not water. It had a blue glow but was not liquid, it was gaseous and as the fountains filled up the higher part of fountain became some kind of faucet, sending the blue stream towards a higher place, but that was all I could see. Now with the knowledge I had gained, I cautiously touched the blue gas and it surrounded me, it went into me and revived me. I pulled my hand away. I started to comprehend the fountains and with that I went into the direction of where the stream went. It took almost 30 minutes to get to the next stage. This fountain was a lot larger and there were merely two of them there. Between the two was the same plaque and I repeated the exercise. These fountains had almost half a dozen faucets in each fountain, but not towards each other. And as I hit them the same thing happened, but now there was a much stronger effect. The one who got the stream from the one I had just cleaned was filling up, the other was not. I looked around and saw down the hill in the other direction three fountains, not working. Sliding on the air I got there in under 5 minutes and I hit this plaque as well and the effect was the same as the first one bodies all over the place, the fountain cleaning up and they all three started to work, the bodies disintegrating and the sounds of moans were clearly heard, but it mattered not, the blue waves came and devoured all in its path. I returned to the two large fountains and saw that the second one was filling up as well. I now started to see a stream that was a little below the surface. My Olympian sight saw what was or seemed to be a pipe that went up the hill and as I followed this path, I saw a third fountain, even larger than the second ones, more resembling the first fountain, but larger and slowly filling up. I also noticed that this fountain had two more holes, two more pipes I assumed and my plan started to take shape. I followed the first hole and it went in another direction, I followed that path and yes, there were two fountains a little over an hour from the largest fountain. And they too linked to two groups of three fountains. And as I cleaned the fountains, the bodies vanished and they too became the blue streams of gas. It was the third branch that was a different one, the two fountains were simple and clean, but when I went down, I noticed that there were larger creatures at the base of these fountains and there was a sound, not moans but growls. I readied my bident and moved forward. The power of my bident was not to be trifled with, the creature growled and snarled, there was a much louder growl, almost a scream and it was ready to attack me. It then hit me that it might have the same weakness and I slammed the plaque and yes that definitely had an impact, not a disastrous one for the creature, but it was howling. And it was now keeping its distance, and there was the rub for them, they were all attracted to the blue gleam like moths to the flame and the flame would consume them. The creature took minutes to devour, pulling back whenever it could, but the gleam was too attractive for it and minutes later it was also devoured, all whilst Mose cadavers had mere seconds to be devoured. And as I moved back to the highest fountain I started to see the waves of bodies, all attracted to the blue waves and I saw that the fountains were filling up more and more. As I came back to the largest fountain, I saw it was well over half full and it was pointing a new stream from the top of its pinnacle to the top of a hill and there I saw a building, not a large one, but a building none the less. I went up that hill and saw the doors, they were huge copper doors with the symbol of Hades. I entered, in there was a huge statue, a statue of Hades but as I looked at the stature, it was a statue made from one block of marble, solid and with an unrelenting gaze. And as I observed the statue, I noticed small details that were part of him and then I noticed his penis, which was decently huge, but much too detailed for any mason to carve. Then I looked back to the head, this was not a statue, this was Hades. I then noticed how only one bowl was filling up. I took notice of the second bowl and looked towards the other direction, the side I had not seen and there too I cleaned out all the fountains. Here two places had larger creatures, but they too were no match for me and no match for Psychofagos or the fountains. It was a few hours later when I returned and I saw that both bowls were now filling up and that is where they stayed. I noticed the overflow onto the floor and some went into me, but not into hades and it was then that I took a different step, I focused on the green stone and slammed my bident into his calf. It went into the marble and the green stone went from dormant to bright green. I kept the bident there and then I noticed the blue gleam entering his leg and the marble faded to show flesh. It was then that I removed the bident. I took a step back and saw how the body was slowly changing to flesh and the body showed the smallest movement. It was almost two hours later when the head moved and looked towards me. Another hour before he spoke. Hello grandson, I am Hades. It was not the family reunion I ever considered, but who is ready to meet family you never knew you had?

End of Season 1

Yes, yesterday I wrote article/story number 2500, now I have completed part of this journey. What I wrote today was the nightmare I had months ago, it drove me to write the stories that led to this story, the nightmare of months ago now in writing and we all have our moment when we think that we are the channel of gods, but to be honest, I never considered something like that and to be chosen by Hades himself is laughable, but it led me to the story you have read over the past few months. What comes next? I cannot tell, perhaps another nightmare (I hope not), and if it needs to be one, let it be one where I am the joy-toy of Laura Vandervoort (we are all allowed our delusional moments, aren’t we). But that is an optional story for an other day.

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September 11, 2022 · 15:59

Not cordially invited

It had been days since the gift was bestowed on me. I slept but it was not a normal sleep. I was somehow aware of anything happening around me, and some was weird. It was like the dreamworld and the waking world had mixed. So it was not strange that I was dazed and confused for at least two days. I got the impression that Demeter and Rhea were amused, but they made no fun of me. At times one of them came to me with a cup of after or a cup of broth and aided me in drinking it. At day three I was decently aware of everything, I still kept to myself and there was a tree-trunk I had confiscated, claimed it as mine, to sit on and let the sun caress me. The day after I was decently normal again. Till a bit dazed and confused but it was more like a feeling like “Where did I leave my keys”, the day after life had turned to normal for me. I still felt weird, but it was a strange feeling, like something was missing. It was then that Demeter and Rhea approached me, both holding two cups ad a chair. First Rhea sat down and handed me a cup. This is tea, your body actually needs this. It has valerian and aniseed. I slowly sipped the cup. It was nice. The cup was half empty when Demeter sat down on my other side. She handed me a cup too. It was some kind of broth. Here is some chicken soup. You kinda need it, you have been all over the place for close to a week. We will make you some light foods to eat later on. Your body took a hell of a shock. We imbued the bident with the power of creation, fertility is largely about creation, but it is not that simple. So we imbued you with that too. The bident is now stronger connected to you, but it is merely the start. You are the first man in eternity to be given the powers of fertility and creation. We actually did this against out better wills, but others made us promise to hand that to you. ‘The fates?” I asked. Not just them, this is much bigger than you think, but we cannot tell you that yet, it is not our place. Things must go according to a line of numbers, a plan needs to formulate. We do not know it all, but we know some of it and we are not happy. But we agreed. Rhea then looked and me and gave me the ‘bad’ news. Fertility is also a larger burden, I had become a one pump chump. Any woman I enter would make me come in seconds with 100% chance of pregnancy. I looked at Rhea and casually stated that Lachesis might get a nice surprise that day. Rhea and Demeter looked at each other and laughed louder than anyone else had on months. Yes Rhea stated and her two sisters will not be nice about it either. We all giggled for some time. Then Rhea stood up, we will make you some sort of feast, but it will be light food, it has to be, after tomorrow you will be back to normal and a little more then normal, there is every indication that the mix of Kraken and our powers will have larger consequences, but we cannot predict what. This had never be done before. I nodded and relaxed on my trunk. 

It was later in the evening when the feast had arrived and it was indeed quite a feast. There were the fried rice plates with pieces of lamb and some broth stew over it, there were the rice pies with honey, There was a very thick broth that was so thick it could be eaten with a fork, but it had all kinds of stuff in it. Mostly vegetables and herbs, it was lovely. Then there were some kind of pies, on round breads, in there was a mix of lentils and beef, I definitely liked those. It was a meal that lasted several hours and both women were please to see me, I was changing a little, I was not getting fatter, but more sturdy. This was shown that I hardly fitted into my jeans anymore and more important I was almost an inch longer than I had been a week ago. Both grabbed an arm and beckoned me to the house, the put me on the bed and took the sides of the bed. They were naked and they kissed my head, sleep now, you will feel better in the morning.

It was early morning. Both women were still asleep, named looking perfectly amazing. I slowly and quietly got out on the Demeter side as she was smaller. I quietly climbed over her and went to find my clothes. I put on my jeans and t-shirt and noticed something odd, the inch was gone, the jeans now fit as perfectly as they did days ago. There was no mirror, so I just looked down and wondered what had happened. I shrugged and got a bucket the women used and got some water. It was whilst getting the water that I noticed things, things I never aw before. I saw more animals, they seemed illuminated, the trees were more distinct, the land seemed softer and in the distance there was more grey. I looked and could not make anything of it yet, and I wondered if they would tell me. I added the water to the copper pot by the fire and turned the handle so the pot was over the fire. I the went out and god one piece of wood and placed it on the fire. It then struck me that my hearing was a lot stronger too, I heard a pig snorting so I looked around, I did not see anything. The pig snorted again and now I focussed. It was about 200 meters away. That was a lot further than I imagined. My hearing was stronger. Not sure why, but it seemingly mattered. It was an hour later when the women got out. They saw what I had done and thanked me. They looked at each other as I gave a list of all the things I noticed happening from yesterday onward. They looked at each other. Rhea quickly got up. Demeter told me that it was most likely the influence of the Kraken power that was in me now. Then I heard a bang,  massively loud one. Rhea was 50 meters further banging two rods together. She walked back, OK, you can hear more, but not louder, so that is good. Hermes hears everything louder, it is not a nice feeling. You do not have that. We need to start prepping you for the next part, you need to be well fed and well hydrated for what happens next. We cannot tell you yet what, but it makes sense when we get there. Tomorrow we move to Crete, to a place called Gortyn. 

To be continued 

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September 10, 2022 · 15:30

Green is for

The day was easy enough. I was taking the day off and walking the streets of Athens. It was busy, not merely with tourists. Athens had seemingly always been a magnet for travellers, tourists and Greeks. Over the day I heard several Greek dialects. I could not place them as I knew too little of Greece and my Olympian setting did not suddenly make me an expert on all matters Greek. I walked past the taverna’s, I watched the people talk, laugh, smile and some more serious and a little less happy. I walked into some tourist shop and got myself a few T-Shirts. I also bought myself a new set of Oakley’s. I preferred the day to be less bright. It as after a few hours later when I spotted a taverna with a few empty tables. The view was nice and I sat down. A woman approached me. I nodded to her and asked for an Ouzo. She nodded and walked off. She brought the ouzo and a small can of water and ice. I added a little water and slowly sipped it, it was nice, merely nice. But that had been the case a few times. Things tasted a lot more bland than ever before. I was decently certain that it was not where I ate, it was me, but I was not troubled by it. It merely seemed like such a shame that my Olympian side had some optional disadvantages. It was almost three hours later as well as half a dozen Ouzo’s when a young man walked to me and gave me an envelope. I nodded and he ran off. I opened the envelope to find a small note. It merely stated “Greetings Olympian” with an address “Epar.Od. Inois-Magoulas”, no number. So this would be interesting. I went back to the hotel and looked the street up on the map of Athens, it was not there, it was on the second map with the larger Athenian area where it was, and yes, it was not going to be simple. This road went from Skliri to past Skourta. One hell of a road. I looked out for a scooter shop and there were plenty of those in Athens, I had passed several in the morning. There was one decently close to the hotel. As such I went there, asked for a scooter, made sure it was insured and paid the lady at the counter. A simple beige scooter, but it would do. I drove directly to Magoula where I stopped at the Avin store to fill up the tank. It needed little but better be safe than sorry. A few minutes later I got to the Epar.Od. Inois-Magoulas, now there was merely the need to follow the road. I kept my Olympian view on everything, but even after 20 minutes there was no sign of anything looking up to me, I was almost at the end when I noticed a small farm, there were some chestnut trees there, weirdly enough the fields, not very large looked more colourful, the wheat more intense.

I saw this as a sign and drove to the farm. I parked the scooter and walked to the farm. I saw nothing stand out and I was about to walk back to the scooter when a voice stated “Geia sou Olympioníki”, it was a hello. I looked at the woman, she looked in her 40’s, she looked gorgeous, healthy and was wearing some robed dress. A moment later another woman came out, she was some sight to behold. First of all this was a big woman. Almost 7 feet tall, short blonde hairs and a pleasant face. I had no idea how to describe her, she was pretty but not too pretty, she had an intense personality and she walked silent, not something you expect from anyone 2 meters tall. I stared at her. She stared back. She had clearly seen this situation before. The other woman spoke. Hello Olympian, I am Demeter. This is my friend Rhea. Those names I knew, but to see a titan in person, a little taller than me, was weirdly unsettling. I realised that she could rip me asunder without a moments hesitation made me a lot more cautious. Demeter walked up to me. How are you Olympian? I nodded I am OK, just a little taken aback by Rhea I said. Rhea laughed. A directly honest Olympian, who knew? Then I remembered what I had and I grabbed the package and handed it to Demeter. “From Hephaestus” I said. Demeter’s eyes lighted up. “He remembered” she stated and opened the package. She was clearly happy with the gift. Rhea looked at it as well. My old one broke last year. It was a little over 900 years old. This will do nicely. She looked at the handle and she smiled even more. She examined the handle, Rhea was standing next to her looking at it as well. But I got one from town she offered, is it not OK? Demeter looked at her. Comparing a Hephaestus blade to some local smithy? You must be joking. His last blade pruned all the trees for 900 years. There is a reason his blades last longer than anything else. Rhea shrugged, fine, be that way. Demeter laughed. Come Olympian. The pushed me into the small house. The house overwhelmed me with scents. “Sit!” and I did just that. She served me some stew, it smelled amazing and handed me a small bread and that was also overwhelming my nose with more scents. I broke off a piece of bread, it was nothing less than divine. The second bite was the bread dipped in the stew and I nearly fainted. The fullness of tastes, from the bread and the stew was a miracle all by itself. The fullness of the bread, the completeness of the stew, it took my breath away. It hd been a really long time when I ate anything this good. It was clear that Demeter and Rhea knew the impact their food tended to have. But they still enjoyed the impact. I could not place the meat directly, it was not beef. I looked at Demeter and pointed at the stew. Venison she said. I nodded. Yes, I did like Venison, but I had not had any for quite some time and even then it was nowhere near as good as this was. 

It took me almost 15 minutes to eat the bowl and bread. I was savouring every bite and until the final part was gone this dish did not disappoint. They led me to the bed. I wondered what they had in mind. “Where is your bident?” Demeter asked. Rhea shook her head. “Yes, Rhea, it must be done. We all agreed” Rhea was clearly not happy about it. I called forth the bident and it came to my hand. I handed it over to Demeter. “Rhea!” She stated and they both put there hands on the Bident. I could see the green stone light up a little, but just a little, then Rhea pushed me down on the bad and placed Psychofagos in my hand. Hold on tight little Olympian, she then placed her her hands on my testicles and Demeter held both sides of my head in her hand and suddenly the world exploded in colours, scents, sounds and music. I saw the writing on the walls, quite literally and my body felt like it was on fire. “Enjoy the ride Olympian” they let go of my body. Then I heard Rhea say “Keep Aphrodite away from here. He is now so fertile that she could give birth to an entire army of love lovers” that was all I remembered, the world grew dark and it seemed that I was falling asleep, and off I went.

To be continued

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September 4, 2022 · 19:16

Wheels of a scribe

It has been 6 months since I saw Poseidon and Oceanus. 6 months and a bit since the Kraken gave me additional powers and now I am reflecting on what was, what I was and what I am becoming. I could feel elements of my body, but not much. The moment the Kraken flooded me something happened, something the powers of Perses did not achieve. The power within me started modifying me and repairing me, even issues I was never aware of were repairing through the powers of the kraken. I reckon that this was in the first month when I started to feel whole, not Olympian, not a mere mortal but something in between. I still believe I can be killed, but it would take maximum effort (was that a quote Deadpool had?) to bring it about. The speed at which I healed was uncanny, that much I have experienced. In all this there was a shift in Psychofagos as well, it was a bit more than a bident now, and even if I looked at it, I felt fear within me and I wielded this bloody thing. But in 6 months a lot happened. My eye sight upgraded over time even more. It is hard to describe,  I saw the old way, the olympic way and now I see even more, but is it my Olympian part? The views seamlessly overlapped and at a moments notice I saw one, the other or all. Like a simple switch in my brain, which gets me to the next part of it all, the thoughts from birth came flooding in, my brain now recollected ANYTHING that I had seen and the Olympic side could enhance it, like watching 3d TV in front of me, allowing me to reexamine the past as I saw fit. It was about three weeks after the initial event with Poseidon that I was walking the streets of Athens. There were all kind of people out there and some tried me but others held them back, almost like they knew that it was the worst idea ever. I walked down Faonos away from the park when my mind picked up on something. It was mild at first, then louder, almost like a shriek. I looked at the sky and made 360, there it was, it was the sign of Hades in the sky. A clear sign if there ever was one. I walked into its direction, a walk that took close to an hour. I ended up in front of a hotel named A for Athens. I walked in and asked for a room. The man looked sceptically at me. Another room sir? Is something wrong with your room? I slapped my head. Sorry, Raki. It was the best excuse I could find on short notice. The man smiled. He gave me my key and a letter. I made a puzzled look. The man smiled and pointed towards the corridor. Would you like som coffee brought to your room? Yes, please I responded and gave him a 20 euro bill, the man nodded. Right way sir. I went down the corridor and found the door that represented the number on the key and walked in. The room was empty, the bed was made and there was nothing that stood out. I wondered what this was about. I checked the room and saw nothing out of place in any view I took. I looked at the letter and I was about to open it when there was a knock on the door. The man had brought me a coffeepot filled with coffee, he poured a cup, placed it on the table and placed sugar and cream. There is enough for two more cups sir, enjoy the evening and he quickly left. I opened the letter. Hello, we have not met, we should. I will be at the Temple of Hephaestus at 10:00, I heard breakfast is at 07:00, the Sfakianopita is amazing in this place.  See you at 10:00, please do not be late.

I took the message for what it was, an invitation, but an invitation by who? I set my phone alarm for 06:30 and I decided to sit in the chair and drink some coffee. It was better then I expected, always a nice surprise. And after that I laid on the bed and took a restful stance. I had learned that  even as I did not sleep any longer, laying and relaxing still had a soothing influence on me. Even now I felt the energy of the Kraken drown every cell in my body and when that was done the energy reverted every cell in a combined powerpoint. There were thousands of PowerPoints within me at this time and they all screamed energy. A feeling that was relatively new to me and I rested. When I opened my eyes I looked at my phone. It was 06:29 and a few seconds the alarm went off. I switched off the alarm and I was getting pretty good at not breaking things. I got up and had a nice hot shower. And I was about to dry myself when I looked down and noticed something odd. It was bigger? That as definitely new. I looked at myself in the mirror and I looked better, stronger, more muscled. I was still no Schwarzenegger (thank you very much), but I was decently on par with any highly trained gymnast or athlete. I got down as the tables were still being set. Sir, breakfast will be ready in minutes. I nodded. He gestured me to the side where the tables were set and I nodded again and set at the table pointed out to me. What will you be having sir? I looked at him and voiced “I heard good things about your Sfakianopita, I will have that please. With coffee.” Yes sir was the response and the waiter walked to the kitchens. 

The meal was served and it was indeed outstanding. I had a second coffee and it was close to 07:45 when I was done. I walked by the front desk and asked for a tourist map. I wanted to see the Temple of Hephaestus. Was it far away? As it turned out it was a mere 10 minute walk. I went back to my room and contemplated who I would meet and why there? I left the room a little over an hour later and walked to the Temple, it was 13 minutes later but I did stop twice so I was still half an hour early. As such I scoped out the place by walking around the temple. I saw nothing out of sorts and I also did not see anything Olympian, and so I walked into the temple.

Part 2
The Temple was like all the Greek temples. Empty and a little too elaborate. I walked through it in _under a minute. I stared at the building again, just to see if there was something hidden, but I could not spot anything. I was about to walk around the building again when a voice stopped me.

No matter Olympian, you cannot see what is there. You see Zeus decreed a long time ago that our temples are ours and ours alone. We can be near another temple, but until the person who it is for invites us, we cannot see or do anything. It is even more so that the invited person can only see what we allow that person to see. I looked at the man, he seemed to have similarities with Hesiod, his sculpture. His short silver and black hair, the style and the slim golden band around his head was different, but that was about it. He gestured me to follow. I had walked this empty corridor before. He then gestured to one of the columns. Follow me fast, you will drop a little but nothing an Olympian cannot handle. He walked into the column, I hesitated for a mere fracture of a second then I walked in. I fell and fell for about 10 seconds and landed on my feet. It was OK, there was no pain or anything but my mortal side would be quite dead, or at least with both legs shattered. The room was nicely lit, there were workbenches, a forge and troughs of liquid. There was some Roman style chair with a small table with fruits and I reckoned that it was a up with wine, that was what it smelled like, but a little stronger and more overwhelming. He grabbed another cup, he filled up his and a second one and handed me the second one. The drink smelled sweetening, a strong grape sense and I took a sip. It was like clusters of grapes exploded in my mouth. It had some fermentation, but it was strongly fruity and the overwhelming need to take another sip grabbed me hard. I took the second sip. I then looked at Hephaestus, he was sizing me up and grinning. Never had a bottle of Dionysus finest did you? I shook my head. Don’t worry it happened to all of us, the man is a wine marvel. Give me your bident! It was not a question. I summoned Psychofagos and handed him over. He looked at the bident and saw the shoulder part. Nicely done, not you though was it? Again I shook. I would think not, still it is a decent piece of work, even If I say so myself. He felt the shaft and started to examine it, he then looked at the end of the shaft. And the part attached to the tines of the bident. He then started to measure it with his fingers, like a carpenter of old times. He then started again and grabbed a piece of chalk. He put markers on the shaft and grabbed some kind of pruning knife and carved a path in the shaft, three paths about 7 inches long. He then grabbed some kind of gutter and took a little out of the middle of the shaft. He did this three times. He then walked to his workbench, looking all over the place, a second and third workbench were scrutinised and at the third He seemingly found what he was looking for. They were like beads of metal, he grabbed a small hand from one jar and a second hand from another jar, he then walked around looking for something. It was a much smaller jar and had some fine powder silver in colour and covered the beads with them. He walked to the forge and grabbed some stone jar. He threw the mix into it and placed it into the fire. The fire seemingly worked itself because the jar was glowing red in seconds. As that was happening, he walked back to the first workbench and grabbed some small pot, he took of the lid and grabbed a small piece of wood and placed them on  small table. He grabbed the red hot jar with his hand and moved his hand in circular motion and placed it back on the fire. He then grabbed some clay tablet and the gutted and made a small line on it roughly 8 inches. He then put the tablet on a small cork and let it drift in the trough with water. He looked at it for a second and seemed satisfied. He then grabbed the jar and slowly poured the red hot liquid on the clay line. The clay tablet sank just ever so little. He put the jar back where it was in the beginning, by the forge. He then looked at the clay tablet and waited for a few seconds. He then grabbed his wine cup drank the wine, filled it with water and threw the water on the metal rod. The water sizzled and he stared at the result. He grabbed the newly created rod and measured it next to his pinky. He measured two parts of the phalanges and grabbed the end of that measurement and broke it with the nail of his thumb. He did that twice more and grabbed the three pieces. They fit the small guttered parts exactly. He then went to the table and dipped the piece of wood in whatever that was. He slowly dripped it into the wedge he had created, grabbed a piece of some kind of leather from his belt and tightened it as much as he could. He did that for all three parts. He then cautiously placed the bident on two support parts. He looked at me, do not touch it for now. He went back to the second bench and looked trough some baskets. He had found something. He also went to the third table and grabbed some sort of nail and then another one. He walked back and tried whatever he had found on the end of the bident, it did not fit. He threw the  piece on the fire and in seconds it was hot, red hot. He used both pinky’s to widen the object. He looked at it and seemed pleased. He then fitted it on the shaft end and grabbed it with his hand to tighten the object. He was pleased and grabbed the nail. I now noticed that the second one was a fraction thicker. He pushed it into the shaft and removed it. The other nail was slimmer, but had small thickenings on it. He grabbed the branch again and smeared the liquid on the nail where the nail was thinner and then cautiously pushed the nail in, he then seemed to focus on the nail as he pushed harder, or so it seemed. He looked at me again, leave it for now, he walked into another room and got a chair out and placed it next to the other chair. He gestured I sat down. I did and got a large filling of Dionysus finest. He looked at me. The bident is now different. What it was it remains, I added an element that allows you to send shockwaves when the shaft end hits the ground. You will likely need it and more important, it can be used anywhere. I was not in favour of this, but you have proven yourself to be honourable, that was what Poseidon said to me, and that man does not ever talk much, not even before the issue with Oceanus started. But his word has value, as does the word of Zeus and Hades. Those two have been unheard of for much longer than Poseidon’s silence. “What happened?” I asked and he shook his head. Not my concern and not my interest. They leave me alone and that suits me just fine. I know where you are headed next, give them this from me. And he handed me a small package. I looked puzzled, how did he know? Do not worry, the action strands of Olympians are easily seen, you have centuries to learn that part. I put the parcel away. We spoke about all kinds of issues over the next few hours and it was at that point Hephaestus looked at the bident. He walked over and felt the shaft. He nodded and handed it over to me. “Do not put it away, examine it first and try it first” I did and he was right, something was different, not off, but out of balance, or better stated it was more balanced now, the metal parts had repaired the imbalance that the shoulder part had added. 

I tried a few more movements and on a mere notion I hit the shaft end to the ground, something I still regret, the shockwave was enormous. Hephaestus was thrown straight through the room, I was untouched, but everything else was all over the place. “Put it away” he ordered. Now clean the mess you made, he was not a happy chappie. I had made a mess and I cleaned up the place as well as I could and then he gestured to the other side of the room which I ordered as well. He looked at me and said, well that improvement works. I nodded. He took me back how I got in and going up was no hassle at all, it was like gravity stopped for most of the trip. And it was not long thereafter that I was back where I started. He walked me to my hotel and gestured the manager. They obviously knew one another. I went back to my room with a cup of coffee, it was late in the evening, or so I thought, it was not until the next morning that I saw the papers, I had been away for three days. 

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August 31, 2022 · 22:01

The growth within

That is what I am all about today, not growing me (using roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, baked potato’s, thick gravy and a nice Tiramisu for desert) although, that sounds plenty appealing as well. No I have been writing about the grandson of Hades and as he dealt with the initial parts of the equation. Now I am getting to the part of Demeter and what comes after and now it is becoming to linear. That is the danger any writer faces, but for me it is time to up the ante and combine Demeter and what comes next, next is what some call the cliff hanger, for me it is not that simple. It is linked to what comes after and I will not give anything away here, but that is part of the challenge. To make something less linear, to keep it challenging and appealing and to keep it (for a lack of better words) riveting. It sounds over commercialised and for that I apologise. Consider the great TV cliffhangers. The West Wing, WestWorld, Battlestar Galactica, I will need more than a lack of linearity, the dialogues and the setting needs to improve by a fair amount. In all this I have ben about the setting and the story, I also have a fair bit of what comes next figured out, a decent bit of what we will see, face and a nice surprise at the very end of it. But in all this the step before needs to be resolved to let go of linearity. I have a few sand-cogs and twists ready, but I feel that these are for later, not for now. Even now I am seeing another part that can be added, a part I did not consider before, so Demeter is not alone in all this. And the stage is set to a much larger field. This is good, but now it is time to place the stage in a location, it has to be Greece for more than one reason. I considered placing it on Crete, I have been to the Psychro Cave. I saw where Zeus was and Lasithi could be used in other ways too, it could show more, but that takes it to a different stage. It is possible, but at that point I need to reconsider one or two things. More important, there is a larger need to get to what comes after. I never did find the entrance to where I needed to go. It is on Crete, but I never found it, no connections and no markings where an Elean would have placed it. I prefer to keep as much of it as close to the truth as possible, it makes for a more interesting story, and it makes the parts fit together more easily and it makes the story better, or at least I believe it is better when it is based on actual events. 

So as I am considering the options that Demeter is adding to the equation, The new figure to be added gives a much stronger vibe in this and it matters because the next part requires it, but how to set it in motion? I do not want to keep the fates around (for now) so we need a new antagonist as well as new protagonists. I setting that needs to evolve and cannot be rushed and there are a few options. You see Hesiod gave a few idea’s, but in this I would like to use the approach that Aeschylus took, it gives power and authenticity to the whole (OK, authenticity is not the right word), but you get the idea. There is more work to be done and it will take a little time before the next part is added to the blog, but I do want to give you the good stuff, not some repetition of linearity, or at least that will be my attempt. 

Oh well, time to have a sandwich and snore until the sun comes up.

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August 24, 2022 · 20:03

Knowledge is nothing

It was several weeks later, I was still in the mansion in Belle Air, security was tight. There were 3 events and security took care of it. The second one was shouting about the rights of the press, but the Myrmidon Protectors took care of it and I was doubtful if that man would ever try to drop in again. There was an event with a drone, but it was clear that they had dealt with that too. They used some kind of a bazooka net with winch. The drone was captured ripped asunder and the camera was utterly destroyed. What was left had been thrown away. For me it was a different setting. It stated with a night of sex and that continued for 75 hours. I thought that I was done after 48 hours, I had coitused the hell out of Lachesis, but she merely smiled and teased me with ‘Is the little boy tired?’ That got to me and I renewed the effort with a lot more sex. And after 75 hours I still was not tired, which was weird. I was no virgin and the women were definitely not complaining, but I never considered myself ‘thrust-hound of the century’ I was above average and that was about it, but now, now there was no stopping me, never tiring and never flaccid. I had come well over a dozen times and still Lachesis was ready for more. Well that was a bit of a game changer, the tiring part was part of the bliss and it was gone. After I came again I stopped and walked to the window. She looked at me and she was not smiling. “I learned a few things. We need to talk over breakfast” I looked at her and nodded. I walked out in a bathrobe I saw Patrick. “Breakfast on the terrace in 15 minutes please” he nodded and walked off. I had a shower in the master bedroom and got dressed. I walked to the terrace and breakfast was being placed, a large breakfast with all kinds of goods, some I had not seen before. Lachesis arrived a minute later and looked at the table and sat down. Coffee, tea and orange juice was served “Leave us” she said and the servants walked away. I sat down.

“You are a new odd duck”, the stretch between mortal and god is large, the Demi gods are roughly half way. You were somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. Now with the Perses trial you are somewhere between 70 and 80 percent, but only to some extent, parts of you are more Olympian. You were fully Olympian, but that was taken away and you were made mortal for reasons I do not know. Zeus was once really clear, you were mortal but we were not allowed to cut your line. An almost unnatural immortal. Now that void is filled with the energy of Perses and your cells are rejuvenating, but there is Also a danger. I looked at her wondering what she meant. It was one of the more lovely tasks I ever took. During the sex there were three moments when you almost lost control of your emotions and you became more than hot, this means that you can never lose control with a mortal, she would burn to a crisp in seconds. Thee are also more changes. You are near impossible to be killed like most Olympians, but that also means that you need to keep control of anger and other feelings, they are still mortal in foundation and you could destroy an army single handedly, but that would put you on the radar of the wrong people. “What can I do?” I asked. Well for now, here is safe. You are away from people and in the next month or so you will have more control. You were never a people person and that works for you, but their emotions will more easily grab you. You were mortal for a long time. You still are mortal, you are just really hard to kill at present. You should not walk into an active volcano, but beyond that you can survive pretty much anything. 

But there is a new test coming. Not yet, the exact time is not known, but it will be in the near future. This is a different fight and you need to understand what happened. Long ago Oceanus and Poseidon had a fallout. Oceanus who remained neutral in the titan war was left alone, but something happened and set off the feud between Oceanus and Poseidon, it came to blows and at the bottom of the ocean these two had a battle, Poseidon lost and was imprisoned at the bottom of the ocean, now the oceans need protection Poseidon is not there to protect the seas, Oceanus was never one for protection and they are unaware of the damage here. Their feud is still going on and Poseidon is kept in his prison on the ocean floor. We do not know how it is done, as the water is the realm of Poseidon, but Oceanus is equally master of the seas and much stronger. So we need to end this but we do not know how it is ended, this is where you come in. This will not be a fight, it will be more diplomacy with a difference. This is a task you must think your way out of, it might be the only way to do it. They are at the bottom of the ocean somewhere in the Atacama Trench that is as much as we know. It is 8135 meters deep, it is 5,900 km long and 64 km wide, so good luck finding them there. You should be able to get there as you are close to invulnerable, but do not get arrogant. These two are masters there and either could attack you, we know nothing of the prison what it looks like and how it stops Poseidon. All things that could be an issue, as it can stop Poseidon it could possibly kill you, so be careful. We have no idea what you will face there and running in now is folly. The sapphire will give you some powers over water, but at the depth you will be at, we will not know how effective it will be, we will take the boat and go towards Guam and the The Challenger Deep. It will be 11000 meters deep, so a good point to see how deep you can go, if you can get to the floor there, you should be OK in the Atacama Trench. I looked at her and wondered what he could do. It is another test and one that was weird to say the least. I never much liked water. I had nothing against it, but I felt some natural dislike of water, other than a bathtub or a shower that was. I never really enjoyed a swimming pool, although a hot tub was at times relaxing and nice. 

But that was for another day. For now he would consider what his options were and left the table for the study, watch some TV, brood on what this all was, because I had the distinct feeling that this was more than a test and Lachesis wasn’t telling him everything, but the problems was not what she was telling me, it was what she wasn’t telling me and that part was worrisome on more than one level.

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August 19, 2022 · 20:51

Heat is faster, you could catch cold

It was several hours later when I stopped walking around the lava pool. I had no idea what to do next. I had stared normally, I had stared with my Olympic vision and I had no clue what would be required next. It was like there was a door, but I had no idea what the key would be. I summoned my bident. I stared at the new collar, the words were in a language I did not know. Even as the symbols were clearly greek, the words made no sense. Perhaps Olympian was ancient Greek? I saw the writings around the gemstone sockets and they made even less sense to me. I was wondering what I was missing. I looked at the Lava pool and no idea came forward. As I walked another circle around the pool, I saw the small puddle next to the pool. It was next to the pool, but it was a mere 40 cm across. It was smooth as glass and the red hot lava was there. Should I try a finger, or a toe? The idea of scorching off a limb was not appealing, yet the puzzle had to be solved. I saw a darker stone in the small pool. Perhaps that was a hint? I moved towards the side and aimed the bident so that I could scoop up the stone. I was decently certain the bident could stand the heat, at least for a few seconds. And I pressed the bident to scoop the stone and something weird happened. As the bident hit the lava, the lava lost its hear remarkably fast, it turned dark and even as I was aiming for the stone, the entire puddle had turned to stone. I pulled the bident out and tried to touch the tine as fast as possible to test the heat. It was remarkably cold, I slowly did it again, but a little slower this time around. The bident was hardly warm. This was unforeseen and now the lava pool became a different challenge. I went to the side of the pool and pushes the Tynes in for merely a second. Not much happened, there was some darkening, and the Tynes were cold. I walked around the pond and did this again and again. When I was about a dozen stabs further, the lava did change. It turned to black stone and formed a small path towards the centre. I cautiously took a step, the heat from the lava was not felt on the black path, and as I walked on it, I stabbed the lava at the end of the path again and the path continued. I followed the path and now there was something different. The path went into the lava like a corkscrew, the rest of the lava was unchanged and did not move, but the path now went down into the lava. I followed the path and soon I was surrounded by lava following a path down slightly steeper now and still in a corkscrew motion. I walked faster not knowing what would happen when the path would resort to its natural state, I would not like that impact as such I hastened and  as I walked down I ended up in a new pool and that path took me to the side, I walked onto the new path, and looked around and then the path turned back to lava, the path up vanished too, now I was looking towards something that represented and hourglass made from lava. The centre lava pillar was not moving, but was now solid lava. It seemed that this puzzle was solved, so what would be next? 

The room had merely one exit and that was nothing less than mind-boggling. As I walked through that corridor I ended on some marble balcony. And looking down I saw what I assumed would be Perses. Like a person made of stone, veins of lava and his arms were shackled, his arms were in some sort of vambraces of a metal I could not recognise. The shackles were clasped around them and made of the same stuff. These shackles were tied around pillars of thick marble, like unfinished slabs 5 metres high and a circumference of about 3 meters, the shackles were wound well over a dozen times around each pillar. The legs were set in marble, or better stated someone has created a slab between the two legs and massive slabs around the outside of every leg. The were held together by an even larger slab with a deepening that went around all slabs. It seems to me that it made movement impossible. I had no idea how long this had been going on or even if this was Perses, but if it was, he would be extremely dangerous. I looked over the balcony and saw there was nothing but a 20 meter drop, I looked around to see if there was any hidden traps. I saw none and I used the bident to float down. Suddenly I got the feeling that Perses was aware of me. He was sniffing the air “Hades?” One word was all I heard. He was not doing anything, but he seemed massively defiant. Even ow, after millennia, he was still a power that would not ease up ever. He did not look up, the voice of him was everywhere, “Hades!” And waves of colours came from him, but these waves were not harmless, they were scorching hot. I held the bident in front of me and it stopped a lot of that heat, but not all heat. I suddenly had an idea. I rushed over and I was suddenly aware that Perses was rather large and these marble blocks were not there for decoration. I moved so that I kept almost behind him, but not completely. I pushed the bident on him, I tried to stab him with it, but his skin was not budging and my bident was not the bident of Hades, so it would be weaker, but something did happen. Whatever allowed him to push the waves out were now rushing into my bident and I suddenly noticed that the ruby was shining more brightly, more importantly it had grown, it was slightly larger than the other stones now, in addition to that some of the writing was a lot more distinct and some of the words were now purple, the were shining and it also had an effect on me. It was weird, I wanted to scream, but it was not pain, merely massive waves of discomfort. And as the discomfort passed I felt stronger, I felt that I was able to see more, or better stated I saw what I could not before. At the edge of the room were large statues, all broken, like soldiers no longer able to perform their function. The waves went through me and I suddenly felt aware of more. I walked towards one of the statues. I touched it with my bident, the statue formed back to its original setting. It was a greek hoplite, the statue moved and it bowed to me, it pushed its spear against Perses. Something similar happened, but not as strong as I had done. I did the same exercise and I reformed the second statue, it bowed too and did the same as the first, but from a different angle. I was able to restore the other two hoplites too. Now the image was complete. 4 hoplites were draining Perses, they must have done this for millennia. And as the 4 were draining Perses, I drained him a little more. I saw the lava veins turn darker. I stopped, because I had no idea what would happen if Perses died, for one Hecate would most likely become my sworn enemy and that is something I really did not need. I had no idea how she felt about Perses, but it was her daddy, so there would be a consequence. I waited for a few more hours, there were no further waves, more importantly Perses seemed a lot less defiant, a lot less powerful and the 4 hoplites had a stern look of duty, like they knew that something had happened and it could never happen again. I was looking at the balcony high above and I wondered how I could climb up, I was about to walk towards the sides, but now I started to float up, that was new! I floated up faster than I floated down before and in seconds I was where I never could go before. So that was my reward? I walked back and as I went back to the place I arrived, I touched the lava with my bident, and the path was more complete and shaped a lot faster. I moved up and I did so a lot faster, it seemed that my body had received a rather large input of energy. I was back in less than half the time and from there I moved back to the entrance. The rocks moved apart and I emerged from where I was. There was no one around. I started to walk back to the car when I saw a large pebble. I picked it up and as I did, the pebble crumbled between my fingers. I was a lot stronger than ever before. I looked around and I saw no one. I hit a piece of rock in the ground and it shattered. So there was a consequence, and this one was bothering me, this might happen unintentionally, so I had to take extra care not to get over enthusiastic. I walked back to the car and drove off, back to the house in California. 

To be Continued

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August 18, 2022 · 21:01

Places that are not ever there

I followed the direction given to me and this time I was a lot more cautious, I did not want to get spotted by another crew. And that did not happen. It was almost an hour later when I got close to Glennville. It was like any other town under threat of fire, nothing looked out of the ordinary, the flames were not close to this place but there was some kind of pressure, most people might not notice it, only attuned people and those in tune to their surroundings would and I could see the dogs were cautious and scared, they were frightened, but they seemingly did not know why, merely that there was something to fear, and they did fear, growling to anyone near them, even their own owners, although they did not growl too much at them, but the people knew the animals were afraid and they all blamed the fire, but that did not seem to be the real reason. As he was looking with his Olympian abilities he saw nothing stand out and then it all changed, like waves of water, but they were invisible and it merely seemed like water, but it was not, it wasn’t even air, it was not felt, merely seen. Waves of green, purple, red and yellow. Mixed, separate and cascading,  it was highly surreal and even if anyone else could see it, like him they had no clue what they were seeing. I noticed that the waves were emanating from the other side of town, more importantly a little beyond the town and they were spreading out, and then I also noticed the grass on the other part of town catching flames. I could not be certain that sparks did this, but I felt certain that the people would blame sparks. I parked the car out of view, not hidden, but this is the kind of place that under the situation might be weary of any strangers, so why advertise? I walked around the outside of the town, I was noticed but people took no notice of me, I was away from any issue and any of their belongings. It made sense and I got to the other side 20 minutes later. I was closer to where I expected I had to be and it took close to an hour before the next wave came. I was indeed closer to the centre but it was a little more to the North West. I was close to where I needed to be, but there was nothing but solid rock and ground here. I looked around to see anything at all and nothing was visible. But then I felt something in my bones. It reminded me of the first time the Bident came to life and I looked around and saw nothing, not in any view and I summoned it. I now noticed that the ruby was a lot more shiny and bright than it ever was before. Then the next wave came and the Ruby pretty much screamed the red and flared up. As did the points of my bident. I saw where the wave emanated from and I hit the rock with the points. The rock split apart like it was divided, and only my Olympian view noticed the difference, my normal sight saw the rock as a whole. The opening was large enough to enter and I did. It was a steep decent, but it could be walked and I did that. It was a decent of 200-250 meters. And as I went down, the opening behind me faded and the rock closed again. I continued down and relied on my Olympian vision, which was a lot more useful than night vision. I also noticed that the rocks were warm to the touch, not hot, but definitely warm. 

The decent ended in a small hall, the hall had two shafts going down, diagonally but very step, not something one could walk, but with the bident I had no need for ropes. I looked at the shafts, and then the waves came again. One was only red, the others were all the other colours. It seemed that I had to take the red road, but I waited for a moment, I studied the ruby. I pointed in either direction, but the ruby did not react. I wondered if there was a trap involved, there usually was with things like this and I pondered what direction to go. It. Took a few seconds and I took the red path. 

The decent was simple, it was non revealing and non issues came my way. But there was a clarity here. Everything had a red glare, yet was not really hot, merely warm. I looked around and I saw nothing of notice. Had I taken the wrong path? I looked closely at the stones, the rocks and then I noticed a small shimmer, a small irregularity in the stones, I almost missed it, even my Olympian sight was clearly limiting in this place. But then I focussed not on the colour or the stones, I focussed on the shadows, the shadows gave the light a different stage and the one place that should not show any shadow has the smallest of lines, a line of shadows and I pushed the bident in. The path that it created was different, the floor was pitch black, the sides were red and I kept to the sides as much as possible, I did not fear the darkness but this is not a place where you trust the place that has no light, that much was clear and as I got to the end if that path I was in a new small hall, with one shaft going down. It was less step but a much longer way down and I glided down until the end of the shaft only to see a red glow and now it was a different stage, some kind of lava pool with a path around the pool. I floated to the edge of the pool and landed on the path around it. I walked around the pool and saw nothing that stood out, the lava was beckoning, but this was not a time to test whether I was lava proof, I might not like the answer to that specific riddle. 

To be continued

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August 18, 2022 · 02:15

There was that idea

Part 2
I had only left that barn 2 minutes earlier when an idea hit me. I slammed on the breaks and turned around. It was less than a minute when I returned to the barn. I walked into the shop and grabbed a kart to the left. The man saw me come in and looked at me wondering what I was up to. I rolled straight to the water stack. I grabbed 20 packs with 24 bottles and shelled over the $200 it amounted to. He looked at me. I stated that I heard that provisions aren’t reaching them. They have been working all day. He stopped me. “Wait!” I wondered what he had in mind. He came back with logs, or so they looked. I can only keep them for 2-3 more days. These are black pepper cake logs. Not the worst and they will have a filled stomach. Take them, he grabbed a box and threw in a few knives. These are old, don’t care what happens to them. I started to load up the car with water and cake. Well, we will let them eat cake too I thought. I closed the hatch. Brought the kart back. “Go bring it to them, you are a good man!”

I got into the car and drove off as fast as I could. I had returned the turnaround point in 30 seconds. I turned to the right and got towards the point I needed to go. It was less than an hour later when I saw a patrol car wave me down. He looked at me. I pointed at the back. Food and water for the firemen. He looked at the stack of water and waved me to go on. “Have you seen them? I asked” “Nah, I have only been here for about an hour. They are about 10 miles north of here” I nodded and drove off. It was more like 7 miles on when I saw firemen on a hill, some kind of small tent. I drove up the hill on a rough path towards the tent. I had a great view, it was a good idea. The firemen looked at me, wondering what I was about. “No press, no press” they shouted. I got out and walked to the back. I opened the door and got two trays of water. Food and drinks from the Red barn. You can use it I reckon. They looked like parched toddlers. I reckoned that water was gone and they were decently starving. I got the box of cakes and knives. Here is some food, it is not great, but it should keep in the heat. They lunged for the food. They were indeed starving. They were not complaining. How much? One asked. It’s on the house I stated, I even sounded magnanimous. I glanced at the flames all over the place. It was then that I saw something different, something was off, but it was not here or by the lake, more to the left. The flames were not the same, but only I could see that, my Olympian gaze gave me more, The flames had a green and purple shine and those two shines were outstretching past the flames. “What is that to the left?” He looked and looked into the distance. Another fire, I reckon it is around Glennville a community in Kern County, why? Just curious I said. Anymore troops in the wild down there. I casually pointed in the lowlands towards Glennville. He pointed a little more to the left. There is a team of 5 working, I grabbed a log a knife and put it on the stack of water I still had. From the second pile I grabbed two more packs. And handed them over. I will bring them food and drinks too. Why is provisions so bad? I asked. Something about the truck breaking down. “I think I head that on the radio, but I wasn’t sure. So we decided to not take chances and here is the water and a log or two. Will more people come back here? The firemen nodded. I handed over two more trays and closed the door. The man nodded, the others were still eating like famished vultures nodding and putting their thumbs up. I had to admit, this kind of dedication was well appreciated, and if I could make a difference for them, I would. I drive down the track and turned right, in the general direction. I saw a path branching to the left and I took it. It was 5 minutes later when I saw the group of men, clearly exhausted and they looked weirdly at my car, clearly a car that is not often seen in these places. I opened the backdoor and took out a tray, with the log and knife on top. The man clearly saw the water. They walked towards me. “Can we help you?” I just came from the tent, they told me where you 5 were. Here is a tray of water and a log of black pepper cake. Not the greatest, but if you are hungry, you will not care. They all nodded, but it was clear that the water was what they needed. 24 bottles would go well over these 5 people. I handed over the stuff. Can I get to Glennville this way? The man looked at each other. Yes, it should get you there, just hold left with every branch you see and you should be good. Do not stray off the paths and roads, getting stuck in these places is a death sentence. I nodded and drove off, time to see why the flames around Glennville were different. 

To be Continued

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August 13, 2022 · 18:16

The plot becomes a mess

The stage was not a good one, I was in a place I did not know too well, one of the fates, fates, who are outside of control of the gods was in front of me and I just moved something through time. It was not looking good. She observed me and seemingly liked what she saw. “You are cautious in acting, you do not act hasty. This is good.” “We were a little concerned when we saw the mess you made in the Platia Rimini, but we saw your approach, we do not disapprove.” She looked at him. “You have a weird future ahead of you, we cannot help, but we can leave hints, like the letter you got. Like a few other things you will see, but it is not the right time yet. There is a much larger problem. These people are now more than a nuisance, they are an actual threat to the force of Gaia and that cannot be allowed. You will have the option to do something and the road you take will decide how many will survive, but a lot of them will have to go. Pollution is damaging the minds of Poseidon and Zeus. The realm of Hades remains intact, but it has its own problems and they must be resolved. Your grandfather is messaging you but it costs him more effort every time he does and that is now at a turning point.” “Summon your bident, now!” He looked at her and complied He whispered ‘psychofágos’ and the bident appeared. Radiant white silver and steel with a core that was not from this earth, it obeyed him and stood strong and with its appearance he felt stronger, he felt more alive and interestingly enough Lachesis suddenly looked like a very old woman, white hairs, but with the body of a 30 year old woman, firm breasts seeping through the thin silk robes. She looked good. “Men will be men”, Lachesis smiled. Obviously happy that she still had appeal to men millennia younger than she was. She took the bident from him and fitted some kind of collar to the base of the two tines and around the socket of the bident. She held a cloth over it that had a weird impact, like welding without heat. She handed the bident back, it felt a little different, but the applied collar was beautiful, it had olympian writing on it, he could not read it, it was small, really really small and the writing curved with the gemstones in the collar. A sapphire, an emerald, a ruby and something white, but not diamond, he did not recognise the stone. There were several sockets not filled. He looked at Lachesis. Where are your two sisters? He looked at her. “They know a little, but not everything, none of us know the entire stage and they are weaving the life lines, life lines that are smudged more and more over the ages and we are concerned. When the lines can not longer be weaved, we become obsolete. We would not know what to do, but to sit in front of an empty loom, with no where to go and no one to talk to. Something must be done.” 

But there is no time, learn the new abilities of ‘psychofágos’, “I will guide you to your first testing ground in the very near future. I have also arranged a new employment. You are now the new investigator of the Piraeus Bank in Athens. You will not be bothered and your income will grow by 400%, you might need money soon. We have also arranged for someone to live 5 years longer, the price was his estate in California, it will be close to the test of flames. It is not merely pollution and environment that is causing the fires. It is the breath of Perses, a titan, it is still captive, but some things are seeping through and the gods ned to be restored to their power of chaos will overrun this world. If you survive that test we will talk about the next step.” 

I was right, I was in trouble. Lachesis continued. “You could die, Hades cannot help, there is no Olympian cure for the embrace of your mother or grandfather, this world will be lost to you and soon thereafter for the billions of souls that will follow.” I looked at the bident, the ruby seemed a little more threatening now. “Go back to London and there you will receive the papers of the address of your new home. Do not move too much, if Perses succeeds the 5 years we gave the previous owner will have been a good deal for him, the breath of Perses will make short work of that place in seconds.” 

I nodded. “Good travels, grand son of Hades. If the tests go well, you will be worthy of an Olympian name”  I looked around, well no one for miles. The church was still there, the windows were still there and he walked towards the scooter and drive back to the rental place. He filled up the gas tank, waived at the woman behind the counter and handed in the key to the scooter. She took it, walked towards the scooter, checked it and nodded in my direction, she signed off the paper and handed me a copy. I went back to the hotel, drank a sip from the fruit juice in the fridge.

Tomorrow would be a new day and with that idea I went to bed and fell asleep. 

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