Page 31 of Hermes
Hera simply scoffed at my remark, still not fully believing my innocence. But oh well, I could care less. As long as my father completely trusted me, that was all that mattered.
“Let us go, my son.”
Zeus and two of his servants escorted us down what felt like the never-ending corridors of his palace. We passed what seemed like countless doors to so many different rooms. I had no clue what half of them led into, nor would I probably ever know.
Eventually, we finally reached a set of ruby red doors that stood out amongst the masses that we went by. All of us stopped directly in front of them, to which they opened on their own the moment Zeus took one more step forward.
“Come…” he instructed as he entered the room. I trailed just behind him as his two servant boys remained in the hall, watching and guarding the vicinity as a precaution, which is what they often did no matter what room in the palace was occupied by the King of the Gods.
As we entered the room, my eyes widened at the intricate weapons that were mounted on the walls, while some remained standing-free around the room. The entire back wall contained hundreds, if not thousands, of brightly lit thunderbolts. They glistened with slight traces of smoke emitting from each of them. Besides the thunderbolts that were the focal point of the room, my attention darted to other weapons that were scattered throughout. There were various shields of different shapes, sizes, and made of the finest metals likely forged by Hephaestus, and many swords, spears, weapons of all kinds and varieties.
But there was a peculiar item that rested in the middle of the room, settled atop of a white marble pedestal. It stood out, not based on how miraculous and lethal it looked but, because it was nothing like the other weapons in the room.
The item that captured my fixed gaze was an obsidian jar. It was rounded with a matching black top covering it.
Why would my father have a jar in his weapon room?I thought to myself. It struck me as odd that the piece was in this room of all places in Zeus’s palace.
I let my thoughts be known to him. “What is this?” I curiously asked, scrutinizing the jar very closely.
“Ah. That?” Zeus came to my side to glance at the jar I was referring to. “This jar is the most powerful thing I possess,” he informed me.
“How is this jar powerful?” I inquired, wondering just how dangerous it could possibly be.
“It contains sickness, death, chaos, disease, war, malice, vice. All the evils of the world that can destroy mortals,” my father explained.
This left me beyond intrigued. The tiny jar was exactly what I had been in search of this entire time. Something I could use to wreak havoc on the gods and on the world. If this jar was the means to eradicate humans, then that would leave the gods in peril, too. For what were the gods without mortals who followed and prayed to them?
“Really? The small jar contains all of that?”
He nodded. “Yes. But there is one other thing inside, nestled at the very bottom.”
“And that is…” I trailed off.
“Hope,” Zeus simply stated. “For what is a tainted world without hope? A means to see past the evils and strive for a better future. Without hope, mortals would give up and be completely obliterated. Their race wiped clean.”
His words slowly seeped into me. Yes. This was what I had been waiting for. The weapon that would allow me to get my revenge on all the Olympian gods. My way of avenging Crocus. Now, I just needed to find a way to plot and steal the jar from Zeus. But that would require masterful craft. I needed to come up with a carefully laid out plan that had to be flawless, with no cracks if I wanted to accomplish this.
However, what my father would say next would completely put a damper on my scheme. It would thwart all of my hope.
“But the jar is sealed so that no god can open it,” he stated so matter-of-factly. “Only someone who does not have the blood of a god coursing through their veins has the capability of opening it to release chaos on the world,” Zeus added.
This did not make any sense to me. So, the jar of disorder was here on Mount Olympus, locked away in Zeus’s weapon room, where only gods could have the means of accessing it. Yet, mortals or those who were not gods were the ones who were the only people able to unseal it? It was beyond enigmatic to me. How could the obsidian jar possibly be opened then? What would it take to get someone who wasn’t a god to Mount Olympus to use it? This whole obscure concept left me confused to no end. I would have to think on it for a while.
“But come, my son.” Zeus wrapped his arms around me, and led me around the room, showing off the rest of his weaponry, providing me with courageous tales that each one represented and how he used them in battles, wars, and strife. But these stories went in one ear and right out the other.
My mind was now permanently plagued with thoughts of the jar and trying to devise a way to get it opened, yet no solutions were emerging. It was another instance where I would have to be patient and methodical in figuring out how to handle it. But this obsidian jar was now undoubtedly my sole mission. I would find a way to open it. I needed to release disarray onto the world. It would be the only outcome that would leave me satisfied, that would leave Crocus and me vindicated.
Chapter 19
ZeussummonedusOlympiangods together, which he rarely did, but once in a hundred years. Therefore, the other eleven of us who were invited knew what he had to share was dire and of the utmost importance.
We all sat on thrones in Zeus’s palace, each of us facing one another in a circle, with Zeus seated in the tallest and most ostentatious of the thrones.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” my father said, as an introduction. “No doubt you all are curious as to why I called upon you at such a late hour.”
“Yes. I am in the middle of a war and this is a major inconvenience,” Ares shared to the group.
“I am sorry, my son. I promise what I have to say will not take long,” Zeus replied. “As you are aware, the titans are up to their usual tricks again. Rumors have been circulating that their rebel group has grown significantly.”
