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Clapping her hands excitedly as she skipped across the lotus filled pond in the garden of the gods, Euphrosyne, the goddess of joy, merriment, and cheer was a pure embodiment of those qualities on this day. Speaking to the young, athletic human appearing man at the edge of the pond, her voice was positively radiating mirth.
“I bet you are ever so excited Hermes! It is time, today marks the day of gathering. Soon we will choose when the next games will begin. The feasts! The friends!” A grin sparkled on her rosy cheeks. “The wagers!”
He held up his hand to take the water goddess’ pale blue one and helped her step from the pond to the small beach. A twinkle in his eye and impish smile returned hers. “I do look forward to the opportunity to see everyone. I may have something special in mind for one or two of our fellows that I have not seen in some time.”
Brushing out the skirt of her robe, Euphrosyne, leaned forward teasingly offering the barest glimpse of her chest to the youthful god. He could be rather easy to tease and it was ever so enjoyable to vex him.
“As long as none of your tricks or pranks are pointed in me or my sister’s direction you may stay on half-sister’s good side.”
Hermes gulped and hurriedly released her hand as he bent down to scoop up his lyre and staff. “Nothing to worry about there Euphrosyne. How is Aphrodite? It has been some time since we have been social.” He paused awkwardly. “It wouldn’t be the best idea.”
That would be putting it mildly Euphrosyne thought to herself. Really, he could be too easy to tease, at least he had some shame, unlike so many of the others. She was about to respond when the pair rounded one of the gorgeous flowering bushes and almost ran headlong into another couple of visitors seemingly out for a stroll. An enthusiastic, tinkling greeting jumped from Euphrosyne’s lips.
“Why hello, Apollo and Artemis how are the two of you on this splendid afternoon?”
Each of the twins looked between Euphrosyne, a handmaiden to Aphrodite, and Hermes, one of her former lovers, and raised their eyebrows knowingly and smirked. It was Apollo that answered, giving the Sunsteel bow he was holding a test draw before easing the string back into place. His sun elf form’s golden hair was positively glowing as it danced over his tanned shoulders.
“In good spirits, we have only now returned from a hunt in the true bodies of our avatars. It was not a territorial beast, but there was still some challenge to the pursuit. Took us a couple of weeks?”
Artemis rolled her eyes and shrugged off her quiver before kneeling at the edge of the water to wash her hands and face, the stark white of her moon elf guise’s hair truly a contrast to her brothers. “Hardly, it was enjoyable regardless. What are you two up to?”
Hermes embraced his best friend, and brother, Apollo in a warm hug of greeting. His response was spoken with an easy smile.
“We were discussing the gathering and the games soon to follow. Did you both not return because of the divine call?”
Shrugging, Artemis stood up and snagged her quiver again.
“Not particularly, no. It is convenient though.”
Somewhat stymied by Aretemis’ typical blunt response, Euphrosyne shifted gears, her exuberant personality bubbling up again.
“Surely you must have followers you hope to see perform well at the games? Perhaps even one or two you would like to gain a divine jewel or boon? I remember seeing Theia inside earlier, she must have brought them.”
“Truly the competition is more enjoyable than the prizes, but there are several dedicated worshipers who are deserving of my favor. I have perhaps been too free with my regular allotment and it is always prudent to encourage a good showing, mortals can secure more than one of our divine patronages after all.” A building energy enthused Apollo as he rubbed his hands together while the group made their way past the blooming flowers and sweet alluring scents towards the grand hall. “The best ones almost always do, and there are more interesting mortals to watch nearly every day.”
The group made their way through a large ornate archway opening into an expansive marble floored hall. Braziers crackled and gave off soft glows, both warming and lighting the indoor area, even during the bright of the day. A heady, rich incense permeated the interior almost as much as the cacophony of conversation, music, and laughter.
Glittering magic multi-colored orbs danced along the unfathomably high ceiling, lighting up the frescoes and tapestries adorning the walls. Tales of the gods, and rarely notable mortals, inspired and imprisoned the deities present, some of whom had inspired the very works portrayed. Adorning a place of honor in the center of the room raised on pedestals of various sizes were twelve glowing iridescent gems of divine potential, a jewel representing the preeminence of each Olympian.
A serving statue made of pure gold with the visage of a gorgeous woman walked past and presented a platter holding various drinks. Apollo gracefully plucked a glass of wine and took a quick test sip, knowing that Dionysus would let nothing but the best be served on the day. However, he was nothing if not a god of habit and repetition. The others quickly followed him in selecting their beverages of choice.
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Stepping up behind Euphrosyne a human looking woman of similar features, with long hazel hair, wrapped her slender arm around the goddess of mirth’s waist and gave her a sidelong squeeze.
“Why hello there sister, it is just like you to arrive too late to help with any of the setup.”
Thalia, the goddess of festivals, banquets, and comedy, teased her younger sister, who had indeed helped over the last few days. Albeit, Euphrosyne had flitted about and had never sat still. Thalia had put her to work on tasks properly corralling her boundless energy and happiness.
Pouting, Euphrosyne sniffed and pointedly looked away. The others watched the exchange bemusedly. Well, Apollo and Hermes were amused, and it showed. Artemis simply nodded at Thalia and made a beeline for the food table. Hermes was about to say something, but then looked awkward and remained silent. Clearly he did not want to stir up anything with another handmaiden of Aphrodite, and was unwilling to insert himself between the two sisters.
Apollo, full of wisdom, changed course and decided a compliment was the best direction to take things. “You really have done a wonderful job this year Thalia, we should expect nothing less. Is there anything in particular to keep an eye on or that you have taken great care to prepare?”
Beaming, Thalia took the bait all too easily and snaked her arm around Apollo’s to lead him and the others deeper into the hall. The speed at which she abandoned her little sister giving no doubt to her true intentions.
“Why yes, it does appear that there have been a larger than expected number of new territories claimed, divine quests completed, or similar achievements as of late. We will have far more to watch than usual and I dare say a fair number more competitors if what Hermes has been telling me is true.”
While Thalia spoke her eyes had made their way to the god of athletes and games as her statement of fact took on a questioning tone at the end. Hermes held his hands up palms out to fend off the verbal accusation good naturedly.
“Of course, of course. It is all true. I know that you needed accurate information to set everything up. Why would I mislead you?”
Instead of a verbal response the divine trickster only received sidelong glances and scoffs. His only recourse was a bare recounting of fact.
“Over twenty territories have been claimed in the last year alone, many of them having gone without bonded mortals for centuries. Not only that, but there appears to be a new wave of heroes emerging with several epic monsters being slain above what is typical. I know that Heracles and Athena have taken note, one of them is a bit more stirred up than the other, I’ll let you all take a wild guess at who that is.”
“It has been a while since a mortal has ascended to divinity through a trial or their own accumulation of power. Of course, the rest of us benefit more from other forms of worship and dedication.” Artemis rejoined the conversation with her typical apolitical adroitness. “Has there been any re-balancing of note from these new bound territories? Have they been pledged to anyone surprising? Does anyone know?”
They all looked around for the one divine attendee bound to have the information that Artemis had asked for, Charon. Hermes typically set the boundaries of territories, new and old throughout the land, but it was Charon who managed the dispensation of souls to and from the underworld to the overworld. If souls were bound to the land, he knew, and how. Besides, Hades, Hera, and many of the other gods who would also be privy to the details were not nearly as approachable, nor keen to give out the information. Charon, well, Charon could be bought a lot easier.
Almost as if on cue, a distinguished older human looking man with salt and pepper hair coughed, cleared his throat, and downed the remainder of his drink while leaning against the wall mid-way through the room. Charon was busy grumbling to himself and there seemed to be an invisible barrier about ten feet in diameter between him and any of the others keeping the revelers at bay.
Charon was standoffish at best with the vast majority of gods; although, Hermes was an exception. The messenger of the gods, who acted as guide to the underworld, was about the only confidant he had outside of the depths. So Hermes found himself taking the lead as the other dropped back behind him. A hand adjusted his winged cap, tilting it back slightly as he gave Charon a wink, before clasping forearms.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself as always when we get together for these soirees my friend. How have you been? It does seem a bit busier for us than normal, is that what’s nursing this aura of grumpiness you are giving off? I can practically see the storm clouds, although that would be more dad’s purview.”
A visible shift occurred to Charon, his countenance brightened, his back straightened, and a palpable change to his demeanor followed. He may not be full of smiles, but Euphrosyne basked in the change. Her action made Charon glower for a moment, then he frowned further at himself, shrugged, and pulled Hermes into a full on hug before letting out a long stress-relieving sigh.
“You see straight through me don’t you. So many more inductions now than ever before, and they get more annoying with each additional generation. Some of the fresh souls have made such peculiar choices...” Charon stopped talking, looked around at the small group around him listening intently, too intently, and then narrowed his eyes at Hermes. “Here scrounging for information hmmm?”
The group of gods all spectacularly failed at trying to look innocent. It was predictably Euphrosyne that was squirming the most, both mentally, and in actuality, it was just hard for her to keep still. Artemis had an expression on her face that said it was obvious, but that she was absolutely innocent and this was all Apollo’s fault. Thalia was the host of the festival he was currently at, and Hermes was his friend. Apollo’s felt like a fair target to unleash his pent up frustration and stress on, so he didn’t hold himself back.
“You want to know about what?” Charon looked to the divine gems and smirked. “I should have said who, you want to know about what sort mortals have been snatching up all of the land. Wondering who is going to get an extra harvest of worshipers? Looking to make some moves already?” He a way to twist the knife a bit for Apollo, one of the others too. “Maybe wondering why a certain sun elf who has bound a territory hasn’t already built a shrine to you? You’re always one step ahead of most, and so forthright. Did you send a messenger and you haven’t heard any news?”
The other gods all stopped and looked at Apollo accusingly. Sighing Apollo put on a sheepish expression and rubbed the back of his head. When you got caught, you had to live with the consequences. He hadn’t expected Charon to hone in on his specific interest so quick.
Truth be told, he had sent a messenger as soon as the sun elf had entered the world. From another plane or not, vampire or not, there were so few sun elves in the overworld that they were woefully easy to track. He wondered what was taking Theophanes so long, typically he would have received word by now.