Page 1 of Hermes
Chapter 1
The menace.
The conniver.
The trickster.
The thief.
The deceiver.
The corruptor.
Yes, I may have been known for these things and more. Yet, those who referred to me as such were accurate in their statements.
Although one would think I should have turned out differently based on who and what my parents were. Anyone who doesn’t live under a rock knows who my father is. Zeus, King of Gods. Roar of thunder hear his cry and fear his lightning bolts. Certainly a fierce creature to behold he was, but also very solemn for the most part, if he wasn’t displaying his seductive charm and power in the bedroom with every nymph, goddess, and exceptionally beautiful mortal, much to his wife, Hera’s chagrin.
When Hera is away, the King of the Gods will play.
And my mother, Maia, was one of his many sexual conquests. Well, my father may have considered them sexual conquests from his own perspective, but most of the other women viewed themselves as his victims.
Maia was a mountain nymph, one of the seven Pleiades, the eldest of all her sisters. Daughters of the famous Titan, Atlas, and the Oceanid, Pleione. Although it was odd that Pleione was an Oceanid, but spent her skills and energy tending to various flocks. But who am I to judge those who go against the grain?
Not only was my mother the eldest of her sisters, but she was also supposedly shy and avoided the courtship and dalliance of many handsome pursuers who sought her hand in marriage.
Needless to say, that was what drew Zeus into her. Naturally, the most ferocious of lions would always hold the dainty and elegant gazelles as their primary targets. This predator and prey relationship between Zeus and Maia was no different.
The only flaw to this logic was that most women who Zeus made advances towards gave into him right away. Who were they to dismiss the King of the Gods? Well, he had finally met his challenge, and it was with the eldest Pleiade.
Although, Zeus was quite cunning in how he approached his conquests. Perhaps that is where I got it from? Anyway, it wasn’t until Maia visited the highest cave on Mount Cyllene that he decided to bombard her. My mother often visited this cave alone. It was her place of sanctuary, where she often came to meditate and gather her thoughts. Sure enough, the omniscient thing that he was, Zeus watched over her and picked up on this pattern. So, he knew the prime time to reveal himself to her alone was when she visited here.
He spoke of his many accomplishments, his godly powers, and the riches he would adorn her with if she were to succumb to him. And just like all the rest, my mother soon fell victim to his seduction, swooning over the god.
My mother was weak like the rest of the women that thought the King of the Gods would grant them everything they could ever wish for if they bedded him. Zeus too was weak for being the most powerful man in all existence and to only use that power for the most miniscule of things. The two were evidently meant for each other.
But once all was said and done, I was their outcome. Their result. Just after they made love to each other, my mother became pregnant fairly quickly. In a matter of days, her stomach enlarged, and I was born just within a week. Such is the nature of birthing the offspring of a god.
Maia had no assistance, no one to help her with the painful delivery. Her screams echoed across the hollow walls of the Mount Cyllene cave, never to be heard by a single soul. But before she could even open her eyes to stare at her beloved child, I was out of that cave in the blink of an eye.
Quickly, I scurried off, with a mind of my own, wanting to explore the world and all that it had to offer me. And if the world didn’t want to offer me anything, I’d be sure to trick and deceive it to get what was being held back from me. After all, it was all mine for the taking.
Where was I journeying to? I hadn’t the slightest clue. I just merely followed my instincts. In just a matter of hours, I turned from a crawling infant into a walking adolescent. And soon, a full-fledged man with toned muscles and curly blonde locks of hair.
While on my adventure, I stumbled upon a peculiar creature in a forest I passed. It was the slowest of animals I had so far encountered on my trek. It had a hard outer shell and appeared to blend in with the forest grasses. A turtle is what some would describe it as. I claimed the shell as my own and came up with an idea. I could make something of this tough shell with the proper materials. Strings of some sort. Sturdy pliable strings that could easily be plucked to produce a sound that would echo off of the circular, hollow space that the shell formed with its unique, cupped shape.
My feet eventually carried me to the floating island of Delos. It wasn’t difficult to reach the high up destination. After all, it was still bound to the sea by Poseidon with steel chains holding it in place in the air.
I swiftly climbed the chains to reach the paradisical place. There was something about this location that caused a stir within me. I could feel it creeping inside my skin. A sense that I was among other great powers here on this island. Other gods and goddesses were present.
And sure enough, my instincts proved to be true. I crept behind a boulder and studied a broad man herding cattle. “Apollo…” I mumbled under my breath, my mind recalling his name and these facts about him that I had no idea how I was able to gather. Shaking my head, I decided to dispel the thought. Of course, I was able to know who he was without ever having met him. I was a son of Zeus, after all. Occult powers and mysteries ebbed and flowed in my veins. This was one of them, in having memories and knowledge stored in my mind that were acquired innately.
I scrutinized Apollo carefully over the next several days, catching on to his every move. His patterns became almost instinctive to me, and I realized all the actions he was going to take prior to him even performing them.
Until I was sure he would leave his cattle unattended for, for a few hours, I would take my turn in performing my initial act of trickery. I was certain it would be the first of many more to come.
Now, I was an amateur at this point. So, my art in thievery was not full-proof right away. I managed to use stalks from the fields of Delos to create a multitude of sandals that I would place on each of the cow’s feet. With my powers, I cast a spell on each of the shoes so that it would force the cattle to walk backwards when I placed them on their hooves. Surely, if Apollo tried to follow the footprints, he wouldn’t choose to back-pedal and search that way, would he? At least, I assumed not.
As the cows followed my lead, I couldn’t help but imagine what the insides of them looked like. It was a crude thought for sure, but nevertheless, I was inquisitive. They were heavy and thick creatures. Surely, they had to have something within them that I could find useful. And so, I decided it was worth sacrificing one of them to quench the thirst of my curiosity. I retrieved the knife from my tunic, the very same one I used to cut the stalks of thick grass to form the sandals, and began mutilating a single cow. Its blood splattered in my face and all over my body, but I continued to slice its hide, getting deeper into its guts, until I pulled out a long strand from within it. Its entrails were malleable and elastic. Just perfect. The very thing I was looking for to add to the tortoise shell I acquired a few days ago.
