Phaedra stood on the threshold of her sister’s home, extending one hand to touch the parthenean stone. Long ago —when they conquered this city— she had once claimed this building for her sisters. From the temple’s perch, a general could overlook the once sprawling city. Now, many of the homes lay in ruin, wood succumbing to the growing heat and passage of time. A stark reminder of the temple’s peerless fortitude. Marble columns towered above her like ancient guardians, glistened in the midday sun.

She moved into the grand entranceway, sparing a few of her many eyes to observe the colossal bronze door and the scenes of victory it carried. Phaedra featured prominently in the bottom left hand corner, where she was shown opening the human’s gate from within. She ran her fingers over the polished bronze, noting —as she always did— that they depicted her without wounds or bloodstains, though her tail was carved in crisp detail.

“Inaccurate, but beautiful.” She whispered aloud.

It was an understandable change, Gorgons would be mistrusted by humanity, twas only natural. Displays of craftsmanship or artisanry were required to reassure human dignitaries. Else they might assume the gorgons were as disloyal as the serpents they appeared to be. Phaedra moved deeper, hoping she had not been summoned for another diplomatic meeting. Her scales itched for foreign soil, yearning to slither across new lands.

Within the temple the old, human, carvings remained, depicting ancient tales of valor and human triumph. Red and black pottery lined the walls, depicting moments of conquest. Phadra took a deep breath, her heart pounding with anticipation, as she prepared to greet her elder sister, the venerable Queen, Medusa.

To answer her summons, Phaedra pushed forward, winding her way through the hallowed interior. Nervously glancing at the darkened corners and vaulted ceilings. Rows of fluted columns supported the roof, featuring depictions of the wise huntress, the human’s ‘Atheena’. Sunlight filtered through high windows, casting an ethereal glow on the marble floors.

Silence made her skin crawl with distrust, fearing ambushes of archers or serpents from the many shadowed corners. If their roles were reversed Phaedra would place decoys on the marble columns, conspicuous enemies to draw attention while she struck from the shadows with a greatbow. In Medusa’s current state, Phaedra could not be too cautious. None of her sister’s harem could be seen, nor could any of her youngest daughters, a sign they had fled the temple to avoid Medusa’s wrath.

She paused, reaching the end of the temple proper. Time to say hello…

Phaedra knocked on the bronze door twice, then pushed it open, arriving at her sister’s inner sanctum. No light shone within the sanctum, a warning to outsiders that Medusa required solitude. Phaedra dared not enter, remaining in the doorway for several moments, she needed to be careful, Medusa might not be in her right mind.

“Sister Medusa, It’s Phaedra. I come bearing word of our sstolen sisters.” She called.

Silence, Medusa’s inner sanctum seemed empty, but Phaedra tasted the air, detecting her Queen’s scent. She opened her mouth to call again when movement muzzled her. A rattle hissed to life through the darkness.

“Medusa! You called me here!” Phaedra Said.

The rattle grew in intensity as she spoke, whispering of venomous death.

“Phaaaeeedraaaa…”

“Come to your senssses Medusa! You called for me!” Shouted Phaedra.

“I ssshould put an arrow in your arm. Isssn’t that how you greeted me when our rolesss were reversssed.” Hissed a shadow.

Phaedra’s eyes adjusted to the dark, finding Medusa’s green-gold eyes despite the darkness. Her body lay across the room, coiled around something and surrounded with pillows, blankets, and glorious rugs. Phaedra inhaled sharply, perceiving the nest around her Queen and confirming her worst fears. Medusa was already brooding, sister or not, Medusa would be a raving lunatic. As all gorgons were during a brood. If Medusa had lain her clutch of eggs, then her maternal instinct would be to kill Phaedra.

“That wasss different!” Snapped Phaedra.

All the gorgon sisters were unique in some way, some lacked the gorgon’s green eyes, others grew serpentine tails with dorsal fins, growing longer but lacking a rattle. Many had additional arms, and a rare few of her sisters were blessed to lay a hundred eggs in a single clutch. While Phaedra’s unique mutation was to give live birth -like a disgusting human sow. Her daughters grew within her, those few she had been able to birth were weak and helpless for months, kicking her brooding to unparalleled levels of inanity.

“Forgive me sister, I am here to answer your call, for our sisters.” Called Phaedra, changing tact.

Medusa relaxed, the rattling sound slowly faded away into silence.

“I called you here, for our sisters, yess, tell me where our sisters have gone.” Said Medusa languidly.

One taloned hand went to her face, covering her eyes.

“Asss you know, two dozen of our sisters were sstolen. I have ssought out their haremsss and daughters. They all report the sssame thing. Our sisters armed themselvess then were lured away by a river of purple darknessss.” Phaedra reported, quietly side-slithering so she could escape if Medusa’s mood soured again.

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“Lured away? What could be ssso tempting that our sisters would leave their familiesss behind?” Asked Medusa, green eyes glowing venomously through her fingers.

“Verdant landss. With plenty of green treesss and riversss that run free of ash. Many of our youngesst daughters were tempted away by visionsss of strong men awaiting them on the other sside of the portal.”

“Could Hades ssseek our destruction?” Hissed Medusa.

“I do not know but, there are whisperingsss…” Phaedra’s voice trailed off, knowing her next words would only bring trouble.

“Out with it!” Shouted Medusa.

“Ssome of our daughters wish for the portal’s to return, and Calypso learned how to call them as sshe wove the spellsss to protect usss from them. Ssshe told me in confidence that sshe must allow the portalss to appear every twelve days.”

Medusa did not speak for several long moments. The small vipers that served as her hair focused all eyes on Phaedra, examining her physique as if they could divine more information from her appearance. When Medusa finally spoke, her words were husky and short.

“Our daughters cannot be consstrained. I cannot refusse them the joys of womanhood. Will you… Guide them- keep our girlss ssafe…?”

Phaedra blinked, understanding Medusa’s intent but surprised the brooding gorgon was acting so… rationally. She flexed her tail, marveling at how easily Medusa had been purrsuaded. Without thinking, she answered.

“Yesss Sister.”

With her oath sworn she left the temple, both sisters eager to separate, and slithering through their streets with her thoughts running faster than light. She considered taking her brass armor through the portal, but cringed at its weight. Forests lay beyond the purple rivers, which meant abundant water, swimming in armor was a bothersome chore. Besides, if there were streams of clean water then not even Hades himself could stop her from bathing nude. It had been too long since she had seen a body of clean water… Decades at least, maybe centuries.

The bath houses did an excellent job of skimming the ash from the water they used, but it wasn’t truly clear. Bathing in a fresh clear stream was an experience she hadn’t enjoyed since taking this city from the humans.

Phaedra stopped by her small home, finding it as empty as she had left it. A large harem had never been one of her dreams, and after her last two daughters were stillborn she had surrendered, dismissing the few men willing to be with her. They had protested at first, but she had driven them away. None were strong enough to rival her, and her gorgon eyes threatened them with petrification if they stayed.

Not wanting to linger on the memory, Phaedra quickly retrieved her waiting pack and sachel, having already decided to leave and packed accordingly. No matter what Medusa’s answer was. In seconds she was ready, bow, quiver, sword and pack slung about her lithe frame. Among her sisters none were better suited to this mission than she.

Calypso’s tower lay on the far side of the city. It had formerly been some sort of defensive tower or outpost, built into the city’s inner wall. The humans had planned… something for the gorgons, but Phaedra’s midnight assassination had overthrown the city in a night. What soldiers they had mustered evaporated when Medusa unleashed the full power of her gaze, turning a thousand defenders to stone in an instant.

Phaedra wove her way through the very same statues of armored men, knocking twice on the tower’s door.

“Come in.” Called Calypso, her voice echoing from a floor above.

Entering the tower Phaedra was careful not to touch any of Calypso’s strange herbs or jars of foreign contents. A staircase lay on the far side of the circular stone room, one that Phaedra made for without delay.

“Calypso! Your plan worked perfectly.” Shouted Phaedra, rushing up the stairs.

The stairs wound their way up and down the entire tower, forming an unbroken spiral that led all the way to the roof. But Phaedra slid off them on next floor. Calypso’s rainbow scales always brought a smile to her face, their prismatic beauty unmatched by any of her sisters.

“Ssee, I told you it would. Our loving sister trustsss you.” Said Calypso, grinning like a fox.

“Tisss not all according to plan.” Hissed Phaedra, meeting the scintillating eyes of the sorceress.

“Dear Phaedra, let me guessss. Medusa wantsss you to go through the portal.”

Phaedra jerked in surprise.

“Do not usse your trickss on me!” Snapped Phaedra.

Calypso slithered close to her, holding out her hands for Phaedra to take.

“No sorcery here. You are our sscout, our questing captain. None could keep our daughters ssafer than you, not in a disstant land.”

“You planned thisss! You knew she would ssend me instead of our daughters.” Said Phaedra, taking Calypso’s hands.

A large oval crystal passed from scintillating claws to Phaedra’s darker scales. Accompanied by Calypso switching from their gorgon tongue to an ancient human language.

“Medusa wouldn’t order you, sshe would have asked, and you would have said yess.” Laughed Calypso, pressing her cheek against Phaedra’s in a greeting between close sisters.

Phaedra held the crystal aloft, looking at it with a quizzical expression. Too many years had passed since she last spoke the human language, so she continued in their common tongue.

“What iss thiss?” Phaedra asked.

“A wayfinder, or a portal home. Keep it with you, only tremendously powerful magicks can create portals, use that crystal to absorb their power. When you have gathered enough I can open a portal directly to you, or usse you as a waypoint for our daughterss.” Explained Calypso, slithering away from her.

Phaedra quickly made space in her pack for the precious artifact, surrounding it with waterskins to protect it from any bumps or falls.

“Iss there only one?”

“That iss the only one I have. Crystalss that large are rare, I have another but tisss not enchanted, nor can I summon the mana to enchant it while I am suppresssing portalss. I know you will be careful, but pleassss! Do not lose it, if I must make another I cannot protect our sisters for twelve daysss.”

With her blessing Phaedra nodded, turning to look out the window. This had been her home for too long, now it was time for another adventure. I’ll be back, with our lost daughters or a conquered legion. She thought. Calypso saw her resolve and let her mana flow through the air, scintillating prismatic colors burst into life around Phaedra, bathing her in the loving embrace of her genius sister’s magic.

“Good hunting.” Called Calypso, her voice fading as her power whisked Phaedra into the aether.