NeOlympus [Chapter Two]

The Divine Father himself spent a few moments waving and gesturing to the crowd before letting out a chuckle that echoed in the crowd's laughter. Then, instead of speaking, as many mortals were hoping he might, Zeus seated himself on a nearby ornate chair upon the dais, pulling a passing temple attendant upon his lap in passing.

As the attendant giggled at receiving such attention from the father of the gods, Zeus gave her a cursory glance. She was of age, though likely a virgin still. Her brow was not marked, but she had beautiful amber eyes and lips that conjured tempting thoughts in Zeus' mind. Remembering his place at the moment, Zeus threw his eyes at his children. "Artemis! Lovely to see you, daughter!"

Zeus could not hide his genuine preference for his daughters over his sons. He was well aware that his children knew of the discrepancy, so he saw little point in disguising his favor.

The smile of the god quickly faded as Artemis did not reciprocate his warmth.

"Still mad at me then?" he asked mirthfully.

"Yes," Artemis said with a decisive bite.

He thought to ask why she was angered at him, but he was confident that would serve to only make her more wroth with him. Honestly, he could not keep track of how he had disappointed her recently. She was so easily offended and so disapproving of his personality that it was difficult to even attempt to remain on her right side for any prolonged period.

"We're here, too, father," said Apollo.

Zeus smiled. "I see that, sons," he chuckled. Often one to play favorites among his children, Zeus also made it well known that of his many sons, Apollo and Hermes were the ones he valued most, simply because they were the ones most like him. Both were charismatic, laid-back, and shared his love of carnal pursuits. "How do you fare today? Quite the festival, eh?"

"Very much so," said Apollo. "Hermes here was just telling us that you had sent a letter to him?"

"Aye," said Zeus with a glance at Hermes. "And can Hermes not speak for himself?"

"I can," said Hermes with a playful smirk. "Eloquently, if I must. How about your father? Are you not feeling eloquent as of late?"

Zeus raised an eyebrow to his messenger. "Pardon?"

"No matter," Hermes said, shaking his head and tucking a parchment into his vest pocket. "You summoned me here. Well? What is that you need, father?"

"So quick to business?" Zeus asked with a chuckle, turning his gaze to the attendant on his lap. He now realized that his hands had helped themselves to loosen her blouse's strings, and she was now on the verge of becoming quite immodest, even downright indecent. Though she seemed nervous, she did not object, and thus, he allowed himself to carry on as he turned his attention back to Hermes. "We are at a festival! Later, there will be time for such trivial discussions," Zeus told his son. If truth were said, Zeus was stalling for selfish reasons. The matter he had needed to speak with Hermes was urgent, and yet Zeus could not bear to put his mind to that task at that moment. He needed a distraction. Zeus needed release.

"If you insist, father," said Hermes, glancing about the festival for a spell before his eyes settled back on Zeus. "Though, I cannot help but wonder… No, no matter. Have your way with the girl, father… then Perhaps I might have your attention once that is concluded."

To be honest, Zeus had not really processed what Hermes had said. Instead, his focus was on the parts of the attendant that had now spilled from her clothing. Caught up in the moment, Zeus passionately proceeded to engage with the young priestess, and before long, he swept her off her feet and carried her back to the temple. Zeus may be a showman, but he fancied himself a considerate lover and not one for public spectacles of this magnitude.

Zeus took the disrobed young mortal woman to the temple's bathhouse and into the private adjoining bath kept sealed and protected by the temple guards. However, these sentinels did not bar Zeus' way and allowed him entry into the room where a small pool of Nektar awaited.

As his feet lowered into the pool of glowing golden liquid, the priestess let out a reverent sigh. As she was still a virgin, Zeus knew this would be the first time she had seen the Sacred Bath. Moreover, the only temple attendants allowed to attend to the gods' needs in this chamber were those previously approved by the gods through the same intimate blessing that Zeus would soon impart upon this temple initiate.

Over the centuries that the Olympians had spent on Elysium, molding the world to fit their needs, Zeus had lost count of the number of temple attendants he had personally initiated into the sacred sect known as the Sworn Servants Hebe. More often called Cupbearers, these were the only clergy allowed, by divine decree, to handle the temple's store of Nektar - the sacred liquid of the gods.

After being initiated by Zeus, this young woman would be a Cupbearer. She would then be allowed to wear the mark of Hebe, a yellow curved line upon her forehead which symbolized the golden glow of Nektar and also a rudimentary basin or chalice. She might be giving Zeus her virginity, but he gave her great honor in return, or at least that's what her faith told her.

The truth was that prolonged exposure to Nektar was severely taxing for mortals. Not that the Cupbearers would notice it or even necessarily mind the strain on their bodies, but it was a fact. The touch of Nektar would make a mortal feel warm and soothed, and ingestion gave them strength and would heal old injuries; but with the passing of years, such constant exposure to Nektar would wear a mortal's body to ruin.

Many high priests and priestesses looked old and wizened, but it was not due to their age. Most were no older than forty years but looked twice that age due to having been Cupbearers and handled the drink of the gods as keepers of the temple's stores, servers in a god's residence, or perhaps had even been a bather.

Two bathers now entered from a separate adjoining room. Though all manner of priests and priestesses served as bathers, this pair consisted of a man and a woman. No doubt they had heard Zeus' entrance and the lightly splashing of Nektar and entered now to see if their services were needed. If they were surprised to see the king of the gods initiating a priestess into their order, they did not show such by expression and stood on either side of the door they had entered from, ready to be instructed.

Zeus put them out of his mind and focused on pleasing his new lover. When that matter was concluded, Zeus stepped back into the pool's depths and beckoned the attendants to clean their new inductee while he watched the process. The ritualistic cleansing had been in progress when the templars opened the high doors behind Zeus to allow another to enter the bath's chamber.

"Enjoying the show, father?" asked Hermes as he walked in fully clothed and let the guardians close the door behind him.

"Very much," he said, returning his eyes to the naked mortals. His words got a glowing smile from the youngest of them, which amused Zeus. Unlike many of the gods, Zeus honestly cared for the mortals beneath him in his own way. He received no little enjoyment from observing their interactions, often rationalizing his personal pursuits with them as an intense desire to give himself to them. But even Zeus knew that was an empty lie. He was hollow inside, and his perversion was the only way he knew to distract himself from his own haunted memories.

Well, one of the only ways he knew. Remembering another, he grabbed a nearby chalice and banged its metallic rim against the pool's edge. The clanking alerted one of the attendants. "Wine," he commanded, and the bather nodded before departing from the bath.

The dripping naked man looked to the messenger with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if the younger god wished to drink with his father.

"No thanks," said Hermes, shaking his head.

"He'll drink," said Zeus, overriding his son.

"On second thought… I'll have a drink," said Hermes with a snicker. Once the attendant left to fetch the wine, Hermes took off his Talaria and his boots, setting them aside so that he could remove his socks and roll up his pant legs to dip his feet in the Nektar bath. "Is now a good time to speak then?"

"If we must..."

"You're the one who summoned me, father."

"Indeed," said Zeus with a slow nod.

"Just have out with it!" exclaimed Hermes, drawing the eyes of the two naked women for a long, awkward moment.

Zeus dismissed their stares with a wave of his hand and a mirthful laugh. Once the mortals returned to the cleansing ritual, Zeus glanced at his son and sighed. "I hate complications. I like to keep things simple."

"And yet you wanted to be king, father."

"At the time, perhaps-"

Hermes' expression shifted. "We should not be having this conversation among the mortals, sworn servants or otherwise."

Zeus scoffed. "They are templars! They know of our faults, Hermes. Do not fool yourself into thinking all mortals believe us to be perfect. These are those who recognize our shortcomings and still find us worthy of adulation and exaltation!"

"Out of respect or fear?" asked Hermes, glancing at the mortals briefly, prompting them to cast their eyes down to avoid eye contact with the messenger.

"Does it matter why they worship us? No. It never has. Whether it is love, fear, belief, or duty… It matters not. All that matters is that we receive their worship and that psychic energy. So, we might mold it into Nektar to maintain our bodies and Ambrosia to power our essence and maintain our divinity," Zeus said with a harsh tone as the doors opened behind his son to welcome the attendant with their wine.

"Forgive me, father," said Hermes, shaking his head. "I did not mean to offend or disturb you, least of all incite you to anger. I am merely uncomfortable discussing our weaknesses with those I do not know."

Zeus saw the hitch now. Hermes was the God of Thieves. Zeus saw so much of himself in his son that he often overlooked that Hermes had used his cleverness similar to that of Zeus' own brother, Hades. While Hermes could be carefree and even a trickster, he was a being of guile, a secretive god.

"No," Zeus nodded. "Perhaps you are right. I lack the forethought that you do, son. Discretion is likely the better course here. Leave us," Zeus said the moment his chalice was filled with wine.

"But, your grace, the welcoming ritual has yet to be completed," said the female bather as the male bather began pouring Hermes' drink.

Zeus sighed as he gathered himself from the bath. "Very well, we are finished here. Hermes, if you'll accompany me to the garden," Zeus said, trailing off as he took the first sampling of his wine as he made his way to the third and final door in the chamber, that which led to the Garden of the Divine, another part of every temple reserved for the gods.

Hermes followed with haste, careful not to leave his boots and Talaria behind.

So untrusting, Zeus thought.

Zeus was still dripping excess Nektar in the garden, giving his skin an ethereal glow as he sat upon a bench under the shade of a Maenad Maple tree. He was as naked as the day he was born so many eons ago, but he had no shame. No stranger to the nude form, Hermes paid little attention. Gods were primal beings. Modesty was for mortals.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Hermes, leaning against the nearby tree, his eyes continually shifting as he slowly drank from his chalice.

"I have an assignment for you, son," said the divine king.

"Very well," said Hermes, "what is the message, and where need it to be?"

"Not a message," said Zeus, "an assignment."

Evidently, Hermes was not alarmed by this. He was a versatile god, and doing tasks not in his official duties was something he was pretty used to by now. His expression reflected this as he remained unfazed and let out a soft breath. "Whatever it be, tell me, father. Send me on my way, or leave me to my own devices. I care not; I just want to be free to go."

"Always wandering, yet you still seek to continue roaming," Zeus smiled. "How I envy you, son."

"Funny way of showing it."

"So very impatient, though."

"Is this a lesson in patience?" asked Hermes.

"No," Zeus shook his head. "Actually, it is quite urgent. However, I am not comfortable with the ramifications and consequences once I set you on this task."

Hermes sighed. "If it is a matter that needs delicate handling, I assure you, there is no other god better suited for it than I."

"It may require some brute force," said Zeus with an uncomfortable chuckle.

Hermes clutched one hand in the other, massaging his knuckles. "I invented boxing, need I remind you. So I am no stranger to throwing a punch if the situation calls for such."

Zeus nodded. "How up to date are you with the political climate between Sparta and Athens?"

"I visit both locales with frequency, father," Hermes said with a simplicity that seemed too bland to be anything but honest. "I doubt there is a single god better versed in that political theatre than I."

"Athena and Ares? What of them?" asked Zeus with a smile, thinking he had outwitted his most witty son.

"I said no single god," Hermes said with a fleeting grin. "That would be the pair more in the know on that matter than I."

Zeus chuckled. "Very well, son," he said, nodding with a sigh. "It seems there was an incident two days past. An airship crashed just outside a Spartan border town. The ship was Athenian Aerial Fleet and had drifted off course due to weather."

"Ah," said Hermes.

"For whatever reason, the Spartans denied this happened, yet there is evidence that the Athenians have which indicates that statement as false. I'd like you to find out why that is."

"Sounds like a mystery," Hermes said with a smirk. "Don't you normally put your brother on such tasks?"

"Hades is busy with an ongoing investigation into the heretic movement."

"The Broken Book," Hermes said with a nod. "Well, if you'd like, I can investigate that and let this matter be."

"No!" Zeus blurted out. "You are better suited to this task. Its need for investigation is small, but its need for diplomacy is great. Hades is blunt and to the point. He does not negotiate or compromise. You are subtle, manipulative, and discreet. You are also clever and able to think outside the proverbial box."

Hermes scoffed and smiled. "I cannot argue with you when you flatter me so, father. Very well. I accept. Where shall I begin?"

"The Spartan capital," Zeus said. "Go there and speak with your brother, Ares-"

"Half-brother," Hermes corrected.

Zeus did not favor the distinction and carried on. "Speak to Ares directly. You should find him at the temple. He spends most of his time working with Hephaestus around the clock. At least that is what my wife tells me."

"This can't be good," said Hermes. "Ares working with someone. What madness is this?"

Not amused by Hermes' wisecracks, Zeus gave his son a certain glance that put an end to his smile. "Find out why the ship was shot down, why the Spartans deny it, and above all, avert war at all costs. Am I clear, Hermes?"

"Practically invisible, father," Hermes said with a nod. "I best be off. I imagine enough time has been wasted on this urgent matter already."

Zeus sighed as Hermes strolled away. "You're probably right… I just hope that my delays have not caused further complications."

Hermes did not have the words to say to his father to comfort him. Instead, he simply stared at him in empty silence for a long, lingering moment before showing himself back into the temple through a different doorway than they had entered.

Zeus leaned forward and rested his elbows on his bare legs with a long sigh. "Godspeed, son... Godspeed."