Page 85 of Hekate: The Witch

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It was said that on the eve of curses

and wars, Hades cast this bloody gleam

across the moon as warning.

It was also said his throne was made

of bones and skulls from the evillest of mortals

pieced together.

They said every mortal soul

that made up this throne

was forever trapped in agony.

It was this room I had to visit

if I was to meet the Fates,

and ask them… what?

I did not know. I just knew, I must go.

Hades

was no longer the boy-God I remembered,

the one who led me to my father,

gave me protection from his own brothers,

felt the same pain in the aftermath of war

that I did.

Instead, when he visited Styx,

I saw a God carrying heavy responsibilities.

He eyed me with suspicion for reasons

I could not fathom and when he spoke to Styx,

he talked only of duties.

His face too was different,

the innocent gleam of the boy-God

inside his eyes had given way

to the darkness of an ancient burden.

‘The dead are eternal,’ he told Styx bitterly,

‘and therefore I am an eternal ruler

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