Chapter One

Chapter One
The festival was off to a great start. There was plenty of food and libations, whether wine or Nektar. The music was lively, bringing an added sense of mirth to the atmosphere. Even the weather was favorable for the twilight hour in Theban city of Amphion's Gate, but that was to be expected when the divine were in attendance.

Hermes wore the trapping of a Knossosi courier, casting an illusion over his divinity, as he strolled through the city's open air market, weaving between stalls and party-goers alike as he feigned interest in the merchant's wares. In truth, Hermes was engaged in one of his favorite pastimes, mortal-watching. For as long as he could remember, the mortal species had always fascinated him and though he was born of Elder God and Nymph, Hermes had in truth always considered himself to be human, something which these mortals were not.

It had been so long ago that Hermes had first visited this world. He stayed a mere three nights, walking its surface and watching its people, but that was all it took for him to report back to his father that he had found their new home. The mortals of Earth that had once worshiped the gods of Olympus had cast them aside as legends and folklore in favor of a new god from the southeast and to assure their survival, the Olympians would need a new people to subjugate.

None other than Hermes himself dropped the first of Haven's anchors into this world that they would name Elysium. He struck it into the summit of the tallest mountain of the world's largest continent, dubbing the peak the New Olympus. But that was long ago, in a land far from where he now stood.

The Kingdom of Thebes, named after a locale from their old home, was not a mere city here. It was a nation unto itself. Known for their culture and art, and devotion to the gods, the Elysian people of Thebes were among Hermes' favorite sort. Rare was it that Hermes was not present for the Theban festivals of the equinox and today was no different.

Passing some silver coins to a merchant, Hermes bought an Ithacan pear and bit into it as he deftly slipped between the celebrants in the rowdy crowd. Hermes' motion was as flawless and fluid as it was effortless. Having spent thousands of years as a professional messenger and traveler, Hermes knew how to read his environment. He could navigate the drunken crowd fleeing a stampede with a glass of wine sitting atop a stack of plates balanced on the end of his Caduceus and he wouldn't spill a drop or break a plate... or at least that's what he would tell those who wanted to listen to his braggart ramblings. And they'd believe him, too; because he was the God of Liars.

Having finished his pear and wandered away from the marketplace, Hermes saw a nearby crowd assembling not far from him, under a gaslight glow of a nearby street lantern. Approaching the nearby neglected bench, Hermes put himself at a higher vantage point to gaze over the heads of the mass of persons. There in the center of the group was a small space cleared for the God of Intoxicants and Festivals himself, Dionysus, in all his drunken glory. The perpetually inebriated deity was entertaining the group by beginning a tale that Hermes had heard countless times before.

Not interested in hearing it recounted again, Hermes let his feet lower him back to the solid cobblestone path below him as he wandered onward, making his way to the nearby raised stage where several seats of honor were set aside. The seats were practically thrones of the best mortal craftsmanship, borrowed from the nearby temple, and stood out in contrast to the significantly less grandeur dais on which they were placed.

Nearing the dais, a pair of armed temple guards lowered their clockwork carbines, crossing the weapons' barrels to bar Hermes' entry. With a roll of his eyes and a snap of his fingers, Hermes dispelled his trappings and revealed his true self.

Immediately, entry was granted as the guards dropped to their knees and averted their gaze from the newly revealed deity. "Must you make an entrance, brother?" asked Hermes' half-brother, Apollo, sitting upon his throne with one leg stretched out and the other cast over the arm of the throne as he sat lopsided with his torso perched on the opposing arm. The honeyed glow of the Nektar in his glass lit the sun-touched skin of his face to reveal his mediocre expression.

"I must," said Hermes as he put his feet together and let his winged boots raise him over the stairs of the stage and deposit him on the empty throne beside Apollo. The moment his cheeks had settled onto cushioned upholstery, there was a temple maiden with a glass of Nektar in hand for the god. Hermes had the glass in hand and half-drank before he flashed the mortal girl a smile and thankful wink. As he licked the excess Nektar from his lips, Hermes glanced across Apollo to the other occupied throne upon the dais. "I didn't fancy seeing you here today, sister."

The pale twin sister of Apollo scowled as she looked back at Hermes, in the middle of taking a bite from her platter of Ambrosia. "Apollo dragged me here, if you must know."

Apollo scoffed. "I didn't drag her here... it was more of a coercive plea."

"You manhandled me."

"Technically, that wasn't me," Apollo said with some whimsy. "Those were my Sunriders."

"On your orders."

"Semantics," said Apollo with a humored grin.

Hermes warmed his smile with another sip of his Nektar. The twins were always fun. Hermes had been close with them since he was but a little godling stealing from Apollo's herds and flocks. That was so long ago, but Hermes could remember it fondly as any mortal could of their own childhood.

"I am glad you decided to come, Artemis," added Hermes with a mirthy grin. "It does me well to see your smile."

Artemis' face did not flinch.

Glancing back to his half-brother, Hermes eyed Apollo for a moment with an inquisitive gaze. "Have we heard if any of the Six will be showing?"

"Doubt it," said Apollo with a fleeting smile.

"Not even father?" asked Hermes.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll make an effort but if he catches the eye of some comely maid between the temple and here... Well, you know how easily distracted he can be," Apollo said with a wry chuckle before washing it down with a chug of the sweet, warmed Nektar.

Glancing behind him, Hermes saw the impressive temple was not but fifty steps from their position. "It's a pretty short walk."

"Zeus has a pretty short attention span," added Artemis with a sound that could almost sound like a giggle.

Troubled, Hermes looked at the nearby maiden as she handed him a polished platter of sweetened Ambrosia. Hermes accepted the plate with the slightest of head gestures and waited for her to excuse herself a safe distance from the conversing gods. "So did you actually speak with him? Recently?"

"Aye," said Apollo. "This morning. In the throne-room."

"And he didn't seem determined to be here?"

"Honestly, we didn't discuss it," added Apollo.

"Well, he told me to meet him here. I thought he would have already been present."

"Oh?" asked Apollo, sitting upright in his seat.

"Indeed," explained Hermes as he fetched a letter from his satchel. "He had a temple priest in Corinth give this to me this morning."

"Odd," said Apollo. "Why not just ask you to meet him in Olympus?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Artemis. "Especially considering you was already in a temple and could easily cross over."

"I assumed that meant he was on his walkabouts," said Hermes. "But if you say he was in Olympus this very morning."

"Relax," counseled Apollo. "If he said he'll be here, he'll be here."

Artemis scoffed. "Unless he doesn't."

"Unless he doesn't," Apollo echoed as he nodded in agreement. "Does the letter sound urgent?"

"Eh," Hermes said with a shrug. "Not so much," he added before stuffing his face with Ambrosia, biting down and savoring the soft crunch between his teeth as the morsels then seemed to melt on his tongue. Following that with the last sip of his glass, Hermes wiped the residue on his fingers onto his pants, and then passed the letter to his brother. "Read it yourself."

"Son, meet me at the festival in Thebes tonight. Father."

"Sounds pretty straight-forward to me," said Artemis.

"Exactly," said Hermes, shaking his head and he snatched the paper back from Apollo's grip. "When have you known our father to not flower up his speech a bit?"

"Does he?" asked Artemis. "I... I haven't noticed."

"He probably does," said Apollo. "If Hermes says so, I'll trust him. He is the God of Oration. It's his job to notice that sort of matter."

"Fair point," said Artemis, turning her attention back to her glass of Nektar. Apollo shrugged. "Perhaps he was in a hurry?"

"No," said Hermes, shaking his head. "The writing doesn't indicate haste."

Artemis scoffed. "What are you the God of Writing now too?"

Apollo and Hermes both stared blankly at her.

"Is that a thing?" she asked with a soft chuckle. "Oh. My apologies. You are, aren't you?"

Hermes smirked. "I am."

"Remember back when we were divvying up the spoils of Titans' essence?" Apollo asked his sister. "While most of us were arguing over the big, primal forces like the sun, moon, law, weather, death, war, and so forth; Hermes was claiming all the ones that none of us were interested in so he made out like a bandit."

"In all fairness, it wasn't that hard once I staked my first claim on God of Thieves," Hermes said with a wicked smile and a wink. "Now, back to the letter," he said, slapping the parchment with his knuckles. "Why would father write this, in this manner?"

"Perhaps it is a forgery?" said Artemis.

"Can't be," Hermes said, shaking his head. "God of Writing," Hermes reminded her, tapping his own chest. "I know my father's penmanship when I see it. His hand definitely wrote this."

"Oh, right," said Artemis, quickly losing interest in this conversation.

With a sigh, Hermes debated if he should turn on his charm and gift of gab to lure Artemis back into the conversation but he decided against it. Artemis was not fond of being manipulated and Hermes was quite fond of the vest he was wearing. Last thing he needed was a few arrow holes in the tailored article.

A crackle of lightning sent a wave of silence over the plaza as all the eyes fell upon the gods, or at least over them. The mortals were awestruck as their collective gaze waited on the temple behind the dais. Hermes, Apollo, and Artemis joined the crowd in anticipation as the three stood from their chairs and faced the towering structure behind them.

With a circle of twelve massive columns in a ring outside the structure and twelve stained glass windows, the Temple of Thebes was a peculiar, but beautiful structure. The curved enclosure looked as though it had been carved from a single piece of marble as it towered twelve stories up, each floor slightly narrower than the one under it to accommodate small balconies that stood in place of the windows on the first floor. At the top of the temple, a massive arcane chain connected the temple to the clouds above and could be seen from miles away.

It was through this chain that the lightning had been sent down from the sky and into the temple, where it would crash to the temple floor in the temple's Anchor Arch, just steps from the high priest's altar. This system was the primary means of transportation available to the divine. The temple's Anchor system was created by Hermes, Hephaestus, and Zeus to allow the gods to keep their Haven within its own pocket dimension while still being tethered to this mortal world and able to receive its worship.

A gasp fell upon the lips of the mortals standing behind the divine threesome that stood upon the dais as the doors of the temple opened. The bolder among the mortals could be heard speculating which god would make an appearance. The consensus seemed to be that Athena was the favored god in that moment, from what Hermes could pick out, but he smiled knowing that was all but impossible. He had spoken to Athena not four days ago and she was busy planning her own festival for the upcoming elections in the New Republic of Athens.

The gold and red robed temple guard stepped out of the temple and cleared the way before parting to allow the festivals newest guest to exit. Dressed in a long riding coat and loose white tunic, the figure of the most celebrated god had arrived upon the steps of the temple, waving to the joyous crowd as he made his way to the dais. Saying that the crowd was electric in that moment would be an easy pun that sprang to Hermes' mind. With a smirk, Zeus turned his eyes to his children on the dais and began to let out a breathy chuckle.

It was easy to see that Apollo and Hermes were Zeus' sons. They had that golden blonde hair, laid-back charisma, and that sense for showmanship. Artemis on the other hand was pale and dark-eyed, with little visible personality or flair. Still, she looked enough like her twin brother in other ways that it she didn't seemed completely out of place on that dais with her divine brethren and father.

As the crowd began to go silent, Zeus jogged up the steps of stage without delay from the temple guards. When he offered one more wave to signal his intent to speak, the silence was absolute... well, almost absolute. Hermes had to press his luck as he leaned in to his brother and flashed a roguish grin. "You say I need to make an entrance?"

Gods

 * Hermes - Messenger of the Gods
 * Apollo - God of the Sun
 * Artemis - Goddess of the Moon
 * Zeus - King of the Gods

Notes and Trivia

 * This chapter marks the first appearance of Hermes, Apollo, Artemis and Zeus.