Chapter One

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

Hermes wore the trappings 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, Hermes feigned interest in the merchants' wares. In truth, Hermes was engaged in one of his favorite pastimes, mortal-watching. For as long as he could remember, mortals had always fascinated him. Though he was born of daimon and nymph, Hermes considered himself human, something these mortals were not.

The mortals of the world called Earth had cast the Gods of Olympus aside as legends and folklore. The Olympians needed a new people to subjugate for worship to assure their survival. It had been so long ago when Hermes had first visited this new world. The Divine Messenger stayed a mere three nights, walking the world's surface and watching its people. That was all it took to report to his father that he had found their new home. Upon their arrival, the gods gave this new world its name: Elysium.

Hermes himself dropped the first of Haven's anchors into this world's soil. He struck the eldritch construct of Hephaestus' own craftsmanship into the summit of the tallest mountain of the world's largest continent, dubbing it the new Olympus. But that was long ago, in a land far from where he now stood.

Hermes found himself in the Kingdom of Thebes, named after a city from the gods' old world. It was a nation known for its culture, art, and devotion to the gods. The Elysian people of Thebes were among Hermes' favorites. So rare was it that Hermes was not present for the Theban festivals of the equinox, and today was no different.

Passing a copper coin 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 a drunken crowd fleeing a stampede of Knossosi oxen 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. 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 a neglected bench, Hermes put himself at a higher vantage point to gaze over the heads of the crowd. 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.

"Now, that's when I looked the bastard in the eye," said Dionysus, pausing to release a hiccup. He chuckled as he swayed to the crowd's amusement. "And I told him, 'You fecked up,'" he chuckled. "'Because I'm not just the God of Wine.' No... I told him, 'I'm also the son of Hades!'" he said with the dramatic flair fitting of the God of Theater, even as drunk as he clearly was.

The perpetually inebriated deity brought the group to laughter and applause before continuing his tale. Hermes had heard it countless times before. Not interested in hearing it recounted again, Hermes let his feet lower him back to the cobblestone path below him as he wandered onward, making his way to the nearby raised dais in the temple courtyard 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 of the stage on which these magnificent chairs were placed.

Nearing the dais, a pair of armed temple guards lowered their clockwork carbines, the attached bayonets sparking as they clashed together to bar Hermes' entry. Hermes dispelled the glamour from his trapping with a roll of his eyes and a snap of his fingers. Then, with his true self revealed, Hermes was granted immediate entry as the temple guards dropped to their knees and averted their gaze.

Nearby dozens of mortals took notice of the god's appearance, and a wave of applause, praise, and shouts of acclaim spread among the crowd like wildfire. Hermes welcomed this as he walked backward and threw his hands into the air, blowing kisses and snapping finger carbines at the mortals. Then, clicking his boots together, Hermes let the magic of his talaria raise him over the stage's stairs. The crowd ate this up, and lovely bosoms were bared in Hermes' direction as he deposited himself into an empty throne.

"Must you always make such an entrance, brother?" asked Hermes' half-brother, Apollo, sitting upon his own 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 opposite arm. The honeyed glow of the Nektar in his glass lit the sun-touched skin of his face to reveal his bored expression.

"I must," said Hermes as he plucked a tossed corset from the air and waggled his eyebrows at the beautiful young Theban that had sent it. A second later, there was a temple maiden with a glass of Nektar in hand for him. Hermes had the drink in hand and half-drank before he flashed the mortal girl a smile and thankful wink as he left her holding the corset. Hermes glanced across Apollo to the other occupied throne upon the dais as he licked the excess Nektar from his lips. "I didn't fancy seeing you here today, sister."

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

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

"You literally dragged me here. There was kicking, screaming... some biting, too, I think..." Artemis argued. "I couldn't be certain what I did... You know how I get when I'm angry."

"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 a little godling stealing cows from under Apollo's nose. That was eons 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 snarky grin. "It does me well to see your smile."

Artemis' face did not flinch.

Glancing back at his half-brother, Hermes eyed Apollo 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 our beloved 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... You know how easily distracted he can be," Apollo said with a wry chuckle before washing it down with a sweet, warmed Nektar-filled chug.

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 Ambrosia. Hermes accepted the plate with the slightest head gesture 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?" asked Hermes.

"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 were already in a temple and could easily cross over."

"I assumed that meant he was on one of 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 texture between his teeth as it crumbled and seemed to melt on his tongue. Hermes wiped the residue off his fingers onto his pants following the last sip of his glass. Only with cleaned hands did he pass the letter to his brother. "Read it yourself."

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

"Sounds pretty straightforward to me," said Artemis.

"Exactly," said Hermes, shaking his head, and he snatched the parchment back from Apollo's grip. "When have you known our father to not flower 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 but got silence in return. "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 claimed 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 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 liked his vest. The last thing he needed was a few arrow holes in the tailored article.

A sudden crackle of lightning sent a wave of silence over the plaza. 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.

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.

Through this chain, 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 Divinity. The temple's Anchor system was conceived by Hermes, approved by Zeus, and developed by Hephaestus to allow the gods to keep their Haven within its own pocket dimension while still being tethered to this mortal world and thus able to receive its worship.

A gasp fell upon the lips of the mortals as the doors of the temple opened. The bolder among the mortals could be heard speculating about which god would make an appearance. The consensus seemed to be that Athena was the favored god at that moment, from what Hermes could pick out. The Divine Messenger 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 golden armored-clad and red-robed temple guard stepped out of the temple and cleared the way before parting to allow the festival's newest guest to exit the sacred building. Dressed in a long riding coat and loose white tunic, the figure of the most celebrated god had arrived upon the temple's steps, waving to the joyous crowd as he made his way to the dais. Saying that the crowd was electric at 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 of showmanship. But Artemis was pale and dark-eyed, with little visible personality or flair. Admittedly, she had looked more like Zeus on Earth, but her arrival on Elysium had changed her. She was now the goddess of multiple moons, and that added essence took the color from her skin and hair. Still, she looked enough like her twin brother in different ways that she didn't seem entirely 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 the 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. Hermes had to press his luck as he leaned into his brother and flashed a roguish grin. "You say I'm the one who likes to make an entrance?"

## Characters

### 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.