| Heartfelt Thoughts (Zeus) |
[08 May 2008|06:22pm] |
There were a great many things on Alathea's mind. She was more settled than she'd been before her father returned home. Their relationship was tangible now, there wasn't the awkwardness it used to possess, and she was glad for it. But Alathea had Athena on her mind as well. Why had the Goddess been so troubled? Did she make it out alright? And what about Eris? Then there was Shamash, the great mystery. She should have sought him out and told him the war was over. But before that..
She had to see her King. Zeus was above all else her King, but he was a dear friend and a second father figure. She respected him. He was a just and fair ruler, one she trusted above all else to make decisions for her if she needed him to. And if he needed her she'd be there within a moment's notice. She knew he respected her as well, and while they didn't always see eye to eye, it wasn't something that stopped them from getting along.
Alathea waited at the door only a moment before a servant opened the door for her and she stepped inside the grand temple the King of the Gods had. Zeus... Would he need her help with anything now? Were there still some in question? And what of Ares and Enyo? Was the war completely over? So many questions. First things first. She wanted to know that her King and friend was alright. She did not feel a battle, or sense it.
But, she wasn't that kind of Goddess either. It was truth that she commanded. Sincerity.
She sincerely hoped nothing had befallen Zeus. The feeling inside the temple though.. Unrest. The air tickled her senses and she walked along with measured steps until she was at the throne room. The servant announced her before she entered, and when Alathea came in she first bowed to her king and kept her head low as a sign of her respect and loyalty.
"My king, I have come with questions, but I first wonder.. How is it that you're feeling?" She looked up now, eyes shining. He might have been pleased that she was there, but there was something that made her feel like he was not altogether happy.
|
| Dies Talionis (Nemesis - Kensal Green Cemetary, London) |
[08 May 2008|08:19pm] |
When the Judge his seat attaineth,
and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.
-- Dies Irae, Requiem, 1962
He seldom journeyed to the Land of the Living - most of the time it had been as the artisans portrayed it - trips to take Persephone to the surface or Makaria and at times to welcome her back. However, given the recent circumstances, his trips to the surface had become something that he could not avoid - no, not at all.
Zeus' news did little to surprise him - rather he had expected it to a certain extent, Lethe was the one who bore the news. Her appearance before him harked the start of changes that seemed to sweep away the turgid stale tense silence that hung between the two kingdoms since the first fiery message was sent. However, what surprised him was how easy his brother had let it off his back - Hades knew those brotherly gestures were feigned - whether with goodwill or not, that would be another matter.
He had not bothered to change as he stepped into concept and out to his next calling - a funeral at the Kensal Green Cemetary. The cemetary held special place to him - one of the last few burial grounds that still harked of the traditions and at the same time, one of the rare contemporaries that reminded him of the necropolis of the old. But also, one of the few places left where the dead would be respected without the fear of exhumation or other disruptive causes.
Seated in a pew at the end of the chapel, he watched as the priest performed the lithurgy for the dead. Hades' familiarity with the rites came only as part of his duty as the King of Dead and as the Unseen One who presided over all funeralry rites.
Even now as he has been steadily replaced by the one named Jesus, it did little to deter him from attending to his duties. Hades waited till everyone had filed out of the chapel before approaching the coffin and offering his condolences to the family - the man who had passed on will be judged upon later in his Halls but for now, Hades was satisfied that the dues had been paid to the dead.
As he turned to walk out of the chapel, he stopped before one altar and pick up a candle gingerly, lit it before placing it in a glass jar by the altar. Hades paused to take a deep breath, smoothing his tie out before turning around to face a similar divine presence that he had felt lingering at the edge of his awareness since the mass had ended.
|
| |
