by Zachary Howe
“You said that you tried to escape Hades’s home when Zeus’s presence entered the realm. This was very unwise. If you had managed to escape and reveal yourself to the King of Olympus, you may have forfeited your life. You are not prepared to face Zeus, not even close. You would have failed your quest before it had even begun.” Chiron told him all of this in a very matter-of-fact tone, which somehow made it more disheartening.
Gordie tried to brush it off and change subjects. “How come I couldn’t break down Hades’s door? What is that wood made out of?”
“The wood is more accurately described as a biotic marble. The trees were planted by Persephone for their beauty, but also because they have great strength . . . unlike you.” Chiron eyed Gordie, almost as if he were looking for a particular reaction.
“I think I’m pretty strong,” Gordie said through gritted teeth, trying to maintain composure.
“For a human, maybe so, but for an Olympian . . .” he shrugged, not needing to finish his thought—the meaning was abundantly clear. Chiron’s hospitality had faded rapidly and Gordie began to question whether or not he wanted to be here.
“Can we go back for a minute?” Ellie interjected, possibly sensing trouble. “What is this business about Zeus and Tartarus?”
“It would seem that he intends to use the inmates of that eternal prison to reclaim his former greatness. I do not know what has driven him to this evil, but it does not bode well for us. We may have very little time to prepare young Gordon here, and we have a lot of work to do.” The digs were beginning to take a cumulative effect on Gordie, but before he could defend himself, Atalo came to his aid.
“Hang on,” he said, his voice clearly straining to control a latent anger. “I think he handled himself very well. You even said so yourself. I mean, he fought a giant, three-headed, fire-breathing dog for God’s sake. Give the kid some credit.” Gordie gave him an appreciative smile.
“I said he handled himself well and I meant it, but I do not believe he faced any real danger. If Cerberus had meant to kill him, then the guardian of the Underworld would have prevailed. In fact, it sounds as though Gordon deserves all the blame for his near demise. He almost sent himself and a false adversary tumbling into the pit of Tartarus. The only potential danger he did face was the incident with Zeus, and he nearly failed in that perilous circumstance.”
Gordie started to feel like a boxer who had endured relentless body blows for an entire round, but this last was a swift uppercut on the chin, sending him to the mat.
“How do you know Cerberus wasn’t trying to kill me?”
“Logic,” Chiron said. “The beast only made two attacks in your encounter and you were able to dodge them easily. It was a test from Hades, but not a very difficult one—certainly not as trying as your escape from the Underworld, and in that endeavor, you did indeed perform quite admirably.” Despite his constant chiding, Gordie felt a warm sense of gratitude as this last compliment rang with sincerity. But he also felt a sense of shame and stupidity for celebrating his victory over Cerberus, which in hindsight was clearly a farce.
“The greatest defense of a warrior, Gordon, is to discover and recognize his own weaknesses. You have many, but you are yet untrained. We will rectify this.” Chiron grasped Gordie’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Your greatest strength is your resolve. You have a very strong will. I was quite moved to see your determination in the tunnel. You overcame a great trial that day, but I am afraid there are many more ahead of you.” Gordie thought about his warning for a bit, and resolved to be a good student so as to earn his respect.
“Wait. Were you in the tunnel the whole time?” Gordie asked.
“Yes and no. I was still a spirit, incomplete, but the moment you passed through the barrier, I became corporeal again. I am quite glad that I was there too, because after your transformation you were in a state of great vulnerability.” Gordie remembered the tremendous energy that had exploded inside him.
“Yeah, that was pretty intense,” he said.
“Ho ho!” Chiron’s chuckle caught him off guard and he recoiled. “Pretty intense does not do it justice! You absorbed a portion of Hades’s power, one of the greatest of the gods. I was not sure you would live through it,” he added less jovially, while Ellie looked at her son with new concern, checking his forehead, apparently afraid he had contracted some sort of divine fever.
“But you passed with flying colors,” he continued. “In fact it is difficult to tell which was your actual trial: traversing the Orphean tunnel, or surviving the imbuement of such great power.”
“So, what kind of power do you think I got from Hades?” Gordie asked, inspecting his hands as if the answer may be etched in his palms.
“That is difficult to say . . . maybe none. You must understand—this is a very difficult magic. Few in history have had the opportunity you have been given and none have succeeded.” Gordie’s heart sank. “There is no guarantee,” Chiron continued unabashed, “that you have attained any special ability from Hades, as you apparently have from Hermes. It is safe to assume, however, that you have gained another day of your strength. That power rests within you and is therefore unlocked with the completion of each divine trial, but the other powers are not inherently your own to command.
“Unfortunately, I do not know what dictates their transfer to you. Therefore we must work with what we have. We know that you will gain Herculean strength in time—that is not in question—so we will focus on harnessing that, as well as a few other general skills here and there. We will deal with other potential talents if and when they should arise, but we will not waste time seeking them. In other words, we will cross that bridge when we get to it, but we must stay focused on your tasks at hand.”
“Okay, so what do we do now?” Gordie was eager to begin the next leg of his journey.
“We train,” Chiron said. “After all, that is my Modus Operandi, is it not?”
“You know Latin?” Atalo asked. “I mean, shouldn’t you be limited to Greek?” Even Gordie saw the flaw in this question.
“Certainly I know Latin,” Chiron added with a hint of amusement. “You may have noticed that I know English as well, although it is a far younger language. In my time in the Underworld I had the privilege of meeting individuals from every culture, race, ethnicity—what have you. As a result, I am fluent in every language spoken on Earth—even some that are not. There are infinite learning opportunities in the land of the dead, which I appreciated very much.”
“Where did you live in Hades?” Gordie asked. “I didn’t see you down there.”
“I resided in Elysium, but I would not call it living.” Chiron noticed Gordie’s curious glance and added, “It was pleasant enough, though,” with a smile that looked forced.
“I’m sorry, I need to back up again,” Ellie chimed in and Gordie rolled his eyes. “These tasks, or trials, or whatever they are that Gordie has to complete—how do we go about doing those? I guess I mean, how do we find the gods?”
“I don’t know why you keep saying ‘we,’ Mom. You are not coming with me on these trials.” Gordie was as defiant as if she had asked to chaperone one of his school dances.
“Like hell I’m not!” Her sudden anger was not surprising under the circumstances, but it was still intimidating. “There is no way I am going to let you go off on your own to do these things,” she said, glaring at Gordie.
“I am sorry, Elena, but the boy is right,” Chiron said (Elena? Gordie thought). “In order for the magic of these trials to work, he must indeed complete them on his own. You may, however, stay here with me as long as you wish. I am sure the boy would be comforted by your presence.” He smiled.
“But he needs me!” Gordie became very uncomfortable when he realized she was near tears. “He’s just a child!” Ellie said, which hurt Gordie, despite the fact that it was technically true.
“So he is a child, and so we must make a complete effort to prepare him for what lies ahead. That is yo
ur task. Considering the way he handled himself in the Underworld, I would say you have done a splendid job on that front already.”
“I just don’t understand any of this.” She shook her head in frustration, though she sounded pacified.
“It is very difficult to understand,” Chiron agreed. “Gordie is more willing to accept such seeming impossibilities because of his young soul. Imagination and a childlike view of the world afford him this ability, although it is clearly not limited to children.” He smiled genially at Atalo. “You, Elena, are a person of science and academia, not unlike myself. Therefore you rely on empiricism, not faith . . . but look at me—I am a creature which you heretofore believed to be mythological, did you not? I understand your reluctance to accept such things as reality, but push yourself to try. There are many terrible beings and truths from my epochal origins, but there are many beautiful and wonderful aspects as well. Open your mind and your heart, and in time you may come to appreciate many things you did not believe possible.”
Despite the fact that Gordie had not understood the majority of what Chiron was talking about, it seemed it had some kind of positive effect on his mom. “You’re right,” she said. “I will make more of an effort going forward.”
“Wunderbar!” Chiron said—Gordie thought he was showing off at this point. “But you needn’t do this for anyone but yourself. And of course I will always be willing to share my knowledge with you.”
Ellie smiled broadly, looking like a kid upon entering a candy store, realizing the endless bevy of morsels within her reach.
“As for your original question,” Chiron brought her back to reality, “regarding the Olympians—we must prepare ourselves for an arduous undertaking. Even finding the gods will be difficult, as many of them no longer reside on Mount Olympus. Although for those that do, this will be an even greater challenge because of Zeus’s presence. Therefore, I believe it is prudent to save those for last.
“I cannot say for sure which of the Olympians will be sympathetic to Zeus’s cause, although I can hypothesize confidently at a few who will be. I believe that Dionysus and Aphrodite will undoubtedly side with Zeus. Whatever reasons Zeus has for his sudden animosity towards the humans, I believe that those two gods, at least, will wish to remain in power and in his good graces.”
“I know why Zeus is doing this,” Gordie spoke up, interrupting Chiron’s train of thought. “It’s because the Fates said that his power was coming to an end and that his reign was almost over. He attacked them and tried to force them to change his fate, but they told me that couldn’t be done. They said it was my destiny to stop him,” he added, while Ellie and Atalo looked at him in shock.
“Uh, what?” Ellie said with a glazed look. “What do you mean the Fates told you? When did you supposedly meet them? Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Gordie snapped. “And I met them on the plane. Do you remember the creepy old lady who was knitting?” he asked both his mom and grandpa. They looked at each other with blank expressions. “The one from the first plane? She was in the gate with us and she kept staring me down?” They both shook their heads. Gordie was frustrated with them for not remembering such a strange character.
“Well, whatever,” he continued. “The old lady was Clotho, one of the Fates. When we were on the first plane, she took me to her . . .” he paused, “lair where all three Fates lived. It was a dark and empty cavern-like place, and the other two Fates, Lachesis and Atropos, were sewn onto her boobs—just their heads . . . It was really gross.”
“Sounds gross,” Atalo agreed.
“But you didn’t go anywhere on the plane,” Ellie interrupted with an air of skepticism. “I was checking on you constantly.”
“Like you were checking on me when Hermes took me?” Gordie asked. “I don’t know what to tell you—Clotho put me to sleep and then I was in her cave.”
“So you had a dream,” Ellie said.
“No, it wasn’t a dream! I was really there and I saw them. Zeus attacked them and that’s why they were all sewn into one. They showed me my Fate! They even showed him,” Gordie pointed at Chiron who was listening intently, “carrying me away from the black tunnel.”
“I think you just had a dream,” Ellie adopted a tone like she was trying to console a child, which infuriated Gordie.
“You aren’t listening!” He stood up as he shouted. “It wasn’t a dream! I was really there! Clotho had a loom and the strands of fate were all silvery and stuff and she showed me videos of me doing things, even as a grown up!”
“I believe you, Gordon,” Chiron said, coming to his defense. “Remember Elena, open your mind. It is funny, the goddess from whom your name is derived is rather stubborn too.” He smiled softly. “But you must understand that the Fates are ancient and extremely powerful beings. You are right though, I do not believe Gordon was truly transported to their hiding place, but I do not doubt that he conferred with them. He has accurately described the strands of fate and I am deeply troubled by what he has told us.
“Some have attempted to change their fate before, of course, but none so powerful as Zeus. I cannot predict what will happen when two such tremendous forces collide like this, but there could very well be cataclysmic consequences. This makes our pursuits all the more significant. It seems that Zeus was angered by this suggestion that his reign was at an end, which explains his new desire to remind the humans of his relevance. As I said, there will most likely be other gods with this same position, so we must prepare ourselves for extremely dangerous adversaries.
“As far as the actual tasks are concerned, some will undoubtedly be more trying than others, considering that a number of these gods will wish to see Gordon’s demise. Do not fool yourself however,” Chiron addressed Gordie, “none will be easy. I believe you thought the task that Hades offered you would be simple and it nearly killed you . . . and he is on your side.”
“So, who do you think we should do first?” Gordie asked, trying not to giggle at the phrasing.
“An interesting question . . . To be honest I am not sure. We will seek out those who are most likely friendly first, although that may not be an option in some cases, namely Poseidon. We will need to increase and hone your power before taking on the more trying tasks, and even then you may be pushed beyond your limits.”
“I think we should start with Hephaestus!” Atalo said. “He has the Nemean Lion Skin, after all. Gordie should get that first.”
“Not a bad suggestion,” said Chiron. “Hephaestus has a very complicated relationship with his father, but it is certainly not positive. Not to mention he has been spurned by Aphrodite and Ares, both of whom I think will be fighting for the preservation of Olympus. But we are not to the point of undertaking trials quite yet.” It seemed this had been Chiron’s mantra for a while, although it had obviously not resonated with Atalo yet—neither with Gordie, for that matter.
“All right, so training first,” Gordie said, finally catching on. “When do we start?”
“I thought you might need some time to rest,” Chiron suggested.
“I’ve been asleep for three days! I’m good to go!”
“As you wish. Retrieve your club and follow me outside.”
Gordie looked around in surprise and then he saw it. His bat was resting up against the wall and he snatched it up, having forgotten about it since his foray into the Underworld.
“How did this get here?!”
“It was in your bag,” Ellie responded with a note of obviousness in her voice—the maternal equivalent of ‘duh, stupid.’
“Oh yeah,” Gordie said.
Chiron had since risen to his full (and very impressive) height, and was walking towards the large corridor at the end of the hall. Gordie ran to catch up. The corridor had no skylights like the Great Hall, so it quickly darkened as it wound through the rock, but just before Gordie thought they would fall into complete darkness, he realized that it was lightening ahead of them. The cave mouth s
oon came into view where it opened upon a grand vista.
The landscape awaiting them was unlike any Gordie had ever seen. Verdant forest ran down the side of the mountain on which they stood. He could see rivulets cutting through the greenery running towards a large body of water in the distance, which he assumed was the Mediterranean Sea. Birds fluttered across the top of the boughs swaying in the gentle breeze. Chatter of every species filled the air in such a harmonious cacophony that Gordie initially thought the landscape was silent, but now he could hear the squirrels bickering, cicadas buzzing, birds singing, and a few other contributors that he didn’t recognize. It was a veritable Garden of Eden, fruitful and teeming with life. He smiled as he saw the leaves of a large maple tree fanning their fingers in a gesture of gentle greeting below them, grateful for some familiarity after having experienced a lot of strangeness.
Gordie was looking down on this ecosystem from a decent height, the cave’s exit being situated on the side of the mountain. He turned and looked up, surprised by the height of the mountain above him, also supporting luscious forests for quite a ways before the trees became sparse where the ground looked rocky and unforgiving. The very peak was capped in snow. He turned back to face the rich forest ahead of them. The cave had spat them out onto a narrow path, which wound down into the trees until it became lost in the dense foliage.
“Wow!” Gordie breathed.
“Quite magnificent, is it not?” Chiron looked out over his domain like an inmate coming home to see his child after two thousand years in prison.
“Yeah. So what are we gonna do? Are you gonna teach me how to fight or something?”
“Not today,” Chiron said, deflating Gordie’s hopes. “I noticed that you ate some of my fruit,” he added, which confused Gordie who could not see where this was going.
“Uh, oh yeah, sorry about that . . . I was really hungry,” he said, thinking he was being reprimanded.
“Not a problem at all, my boy. I imagine you were very hungry after three days of slumber. Those delights come from this fruited plane. Of course, they are not indigenous, but every fruit in the world grows in this forest if you know where to look.” Chiron looked down on Gordie and winked. “Now if you would be so kind, Gordon—I believe you ate four dates and five figs—please go harvest thrice as many of each so we can all partake this afternoon.” Chiron was smiling down at him, but Gordie was dumbfounded and incredibly miffed.
