The Heart of War Chapter Three: I Have Friends in Holy Spaces

I spent more days with Cherry and her friends and had more nightmares. My days between contained reading, training and more reading those days always seemed to end with dreamless nights. The others with them included stories of old times, shopping and dancing but they always ended with nightmares.
They varied from the sky falling to the underworld being torn apart but when ever I was about to see why I woke. Athena’s words ran through my head, as if a song I could not forget, ‘Everything is fine, life is how it should be.’ As much as I believed those words I could not stop myself from doing my prebattle routine.
It was months before I convinced my self to stop; my routine became: go out with friends, come home read, go back out next day.
It was one day when I was out with Cherry, telling her another story, The Creation of man. “Prometheus and Epimetheus were spared imprisonment in Tartarus because they had not fought with their fellow Titans during the war with the Olympians. They were given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure.

Prometheus had assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth their various qualities, such as swiftness, cunning, strength, fur, wings. Unfortunately, by the time he got to man Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out and there were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright as the gods did and to give them fire.

Prometheus loved man more then the Olympians, who had banished most of his family to Tartarus. So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus picked the bones. Since he had given his word Zeus had to accept that as his share for future sacrifices. In his anger over the trick he took fire away from man. However, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and brought it back again to man. Zeus was enraged that man again had fire. He decided to inflict a terrible punishment on both man and Prometheus.”

Around this point I heard rustling from between the tress around us “To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods gave the mortal many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was Pandora, the first women. A final gift was a jar, which Pandora was forbidden to open. Thus, completed Zeus sent Pandora down to Epimetheus who was staying amongst the men. “ The rustling grew louder.

“Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus but Pandora's beauty was too great and he allowed her to stay. Eventually, Pandora's curiosity about the jar she was forbidden to open became too great. She opened the jar and out flew all manors of evils, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. However, the bottom of the jar held one good thing - hope.

Zeus was angry at Prometheus for three things: being tricked on sacrifices, stealing fire for man, and for refusing to tell Zeus which of Zeus's children would dethrone him. Zeus had his servants, Force and Violence, seize Prometheus, take him to the Caucasus Mountains, and chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamant chains. Here a giant eagle tearing at his liver tormented him day and night. Zeus gave Prometheus two ways out of this torment. He could tell Zeus who the mother of the child that would dethrone him was. Or meet two conditions: First that an immortal must volunteer to die for Prometheus. Second, that a mortal must kill the eagle and unchain him. Eventually, Chiron the Centaur agreed to die for him and Heracles killed the eagle and unbound him. “ By this point the trees around us visibly moved.

I sat and waited for a while before they burst into the clearing, The Hecatoncheires. They stood high and proud as is if awaiting orders and then I realised, they were. Some thing was wrong and they were running to help. Cherry on the other hand was extremely scared, she kept mumbling to herself “Its not real, its not real.” I stood tall, so that I could appear stronger, and spoke in what father classified my ‘war voice’ “Hecatoncheire, I am the daughter of war, I beset you return to my home and take the order of the sky.”

As they left I went to my friend, she was still shaking, and spoke in a way I hoped was soothing “Cherry, Cherry are you ok?” she only whispered one word, “Cherise.” Grace. “What?” she made a odd sound, an almost laugh, “Its my name. Perfect don’t you think I’m clumsy and my name means grace.” She was right; it was, unsuiting and perfect. “Axelia.” She was once again confused; I sometimes thought it was her natural state, “Huh?” “An odd name for an odd name.” After that she calmed quickly and almost seemed to forget what had happened.

Later, Cherise had left and I went to speak to the nymphs about the events that perspired earlier. Imagine my surprise when James stood before me.

“James, why are you here I wished to speak to, um, some friends.” She laughed, an oddly flowing sound, a different laugh than normal. “Worry not Ayx, daughter of war, I am not who you know. Though I am what you know. You learn as you walk-“ I cut her off “And I run as you fall against trees, Atermis spoke of you, Aretha.” The nymph glided to a tree stump, “Nice to know I am spoke of some one so highly. As are you, now you wished to speak?” her face was covered in boredom as she raised flowers from the ground with her fingertips. “The clues of old are the clues of now. My uncle, he spoke of a war, yet my aunt says all is fine then a Hecatoncheire today there is something here and I know of it. Though if what I think is so, than why do none speak of it?” Aretha studied me before answering, “You must think before you know, just as you must crawl before you walk, to know is to have power and to have power is danger.” With that she left is a gust of wind.

I was left contemplating my friend. Well that all depends on what you qualify as friends.

The Heart of War Chapter Two: Her Words Destroyed My Planet

The next morning I got a call from Cherry, I had almost forgot we swapped phone numbers, asking if I could show her around Athens.

“Its just that I’m new here and you seemed to know some stuff so could you, please?

“Okay. I think that’s fine.” I was hesitant, I mean its had been centuries since I was last there I wasn’t sure if I knew where anything was anymore.

Turns out I wasn’t that helpful the only places I knew about were the temples. Then I found out Cherry didn’t know Greek mythology.

“I just never got around to it, I always wanted to. Do you know any X?” I nodded, Cherry clapped her hand excitedly “Tell, tell.” I sat on a nearby bench and did I what I did best, told a story.

I stall before I start. “In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknown place where death dwells, and Nyx, the night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.” Cherry was fascinated and I mentally thanked Athena for telling me the old stories.

“Then Erebus slept with Nyx, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to the Day the earthly light. Then Nyx alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis and others that come to man out of darkness.

Meanwhile Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the heavens. Uranus became Gaea’s mate covering her on all sides. Together they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires and twelve Titans.”

I suddenly missed my family but tried to continue on unaffected “However, Uranus was a bad father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires so he imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea’s womb. This angered her greatly and she plotted against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children to attack their father. All were too afraid except, the youngest Titan, Kronos.

Gaea and Kronos set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Kronos grabbed his father and castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing a small-severed part of him into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died, withdrew from the earth or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed he promised that all Titans would be punished. From his split blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam in which the small severed part landed came Aphrodite.” I stifled a laugh at that; my mother always was odd for a reason.

“Kronos became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea and under his rule the Titans had many children. He ruled for many ages however, Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that a son would overthrow him. To avoid this Kronos swallowed each of his children after they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and, like her mother before her, plotted against her husband. When it was time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, and then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To conceal her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Kronos, who swallowed it.”

“This child was Zeus. He grew to a youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Kronos. She prepared a drink for Kronos designed to make him vomit up the other children. Rhea convinced Kronos to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Kronos’ cupbearer. This worked as planned and the other five children were vomited up. Being gods they were unharmed. They were thankful to Zeus and made him their leader. “ Cherry interrupted “They’ve got some pretty crummy dads up there.” I laughed in agreement and she motioned to continue my story.

“Kronos was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought to retain their power. Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as though they would win and put the young gods down. However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his new allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lighting bolts for weapons. The Hecatoncheires he set in ambush armed with boulders. With the time right, Zeus retreated drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires' ambush. The Hecatoncheires rained down hundreds of boulders with such a fury the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They broke and ran giving Zeus victory.

Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Except for Atlas, who was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.

However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry that her children had been imprisoned gave birth to a last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled. However, Zeus faced the monster and flinging his lighting bolts was able to kill it. Typhoeus was buried under Mount Etna in Sicily. “

By the end of my family tale I was in silent tears, I didn’t even notice them until Cherry passed me a tissue. “I’m fine I just… I miss my family. I’m sorry I’ve got to go.”

I ran to Athena’s temple ‘My humble Goddess, I ask for wisdom and guidance so that I may be lead from war.’ I spoke our secret prayer mentally before I was graced with the shining light that is my aunt “Athena I missed you.” I ran to hug her “Ayx, you never have to be lead from war just treat it like a new piece of wisdom not like a new scar.” I spoke with her as she said, “A battle is not a battle it is a story, a wonder of strategy waiting to be born.”

“How is home?” I was unsure if Hermes was serious about father last time and I knew my aunt would not lie to me, or at least I thought she would not, “Everything is fine, all is as it should be. Now are you reading, still training?”

Our conversation became about as many trivial things as Athena could think of, which, being the goddess of wisdom, is a lot. The night trailed on and as cliche as it is, seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and it was time to leave because apparently Dionysus was throwing another ‘wine and madness party’.

No matter how convincing the lies she told me were that night when I went to sleep I had nightmares of a war to end all wars and the sky falling. Her words destroyed my planet.