Page 1 of Tempted By Hades
Prologue
After the ten-year-long war, the heroes claimed victory
Over the vicious Titans
And the valiant actions of the three brothers were rewarded
The realm divided amongst them, decided by pure luck
When the lots were cast and drawn by each
To Zeus, the sky and Olympus, the most abundant treasure
To Poseidon, the sea and all its riches
And to Hades, the Underworld and its souls
–translated from Titanomachy, Author Unknown, 8th century BC
In the heart of Olympus, a grand celebration was underway. The palace of the gods shimmered with opulence, its marble halls adorned with intricate gold and silver filigree. Crystal chandeliers hung from the celestial ceiling, casting a warm, ethereal glow upon the gathering. The air was filled with the intoxicating scent of ambrosia, and the soft strains of a celestial orchestra filled the room with melodious tunes.
Amid the clinking of glasses and laughter, Olympian gods and goddesses reveled in the festivities. Zeus, the mighty king of the gods, thundered with laughter, his regal beard sparkling with golden light. Hera, his queen, radiated an aura of regal grace as she conversed with Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, who wore a gown adorned with ripened wheat and blooming flowers.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, dazzled in a gown woven from moonbeams and stardust. She danced with Ares, the god of war, their chemistry undeniable, as if love and conflict were intertwined inextricably. Apollo, the god of music and sun, strummed his lyre, enchanting the gathered deities with his celestial melodies, while his twin sister, Artemis, the huntress, gazed upon the festivities with her sharp, moonlit eyes.
Hades watched the revelry, a chalice of ambrosia in hand, though his thoughts were far from the merriment around him. Like an unquenchable flame, his gaze was fixed upon the grandeur and extravagance of Olympus itself, a stark contrast to the muted darkness of his Underworld domain. Even though ten thousand years had passed since he last stepped foot here—that day that changed his life for eternity—he still could not help that stab of envy piercing his heart as he longed for something more that transcended the glittering facade of the divine realm.
“I see that you like to do your title justice, Lord of the Underworld,” a voice cackled. “But then again, black does suit you well. Brings out your eyes.”
Were he the type, Hades would have started. “Hestia,” he greeted the white-haired figure who seemingly appeared out of thin air. “You look…festive tonight.”
The goddess of the hearth’s mouth turned up in an enigmatic smile, the small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkling. “What did you expect?” She twirled around, sending the silvery skirt of her dress flying like a carpet of stars. It was much more luxurious than her usual garb of comfortable cotton frocks and robes. “This is a very special occasion, after all.”
He took a sip from his chalice. “Of course.”
“I can’t believe it’s been ten thousand years,” she remarked.
To gods and goddesses, ten thousand years would seem to pass in the blink of an eye. However, Hades very much felt every moment of the last ten millenniums.
Hestia shuddered. “What could have happened if the Titans had succeeded…”
“I know.” Hades had been there, after all, at the very frontline as the gods and goddesses rose against the tyrants who sought to rule the cosmos. The ten-year battle had tested all of them, but in the end, they defeated the Titans and sealed them away. The victory had been sweet, but little had he known that beating their enemies was only the beginning. What happened after had been the real battle.
“But thanks to you and your brothers, we defeated them and sealed them away.” Hestia’s eyes drifted toward the golden door in the corner of the hall. The doorway looked out of place amongst the opulence of the great hall, askew and situated at a strange angle. “Not your best handiwork.”
Hades couldn’t suppress his laugh. “I apologize if it offends your decorating sensibilities. I didn’t have much time to construct it, after all.”
Hestia chuckled. “You could hardly be bothered with the aesthetics, seeing as you pushed back the last of them and escaped by the skin of your teeth.”
Hades’s head snapped toward the goddess. “I’m surprised you remember.” Few people these days acknowledged his contribution in the last moments of the war.
Hestia’s eyes sharpened and narrowed toward Zeus, who let out a booming laugh as he gesticulated dramatically, his hands waving in the air like great big sails. “From the way he tells it, you’d think he defeated the Titans all by himself.”
Everyone, of course, had a hand in their final plan to seal away the Titans in Tartarus. After nearly a decade of fighting, in the tenth year of the war, they were finally ready to put it into action. Hephaestus had created the portal door that would lock the Titans in a part of Tartarus, away from the rest of the world; Hera, Demeter, and Hestia had finished creating the spell that would seal the Titans away; Athena strategized how they would corner the Titans towards their prison, directing Ares, Apollo, and Artemis to lead the skirmish between the armies as Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon battled the twelve Titans and pushed them back toward their prison.
Victory had been within grasp, but Cronus, the leader of the Titans, was much more powerful than they had anticipated. And so, in those final minutes, Hades bade his brothers to begin the ceremony to seal the Titans, knowing that he could possibly be trapped inside along with their enemies. Using all his might and power, he pushed Cronus back, just as the seal formed and finalized, then hastily fell back just in time to hold the door that confined their enemies.
Hades’s heroics had been celebrated in the days after, but he had been too exhausted to bask in them. Indeed, their revelries were cut short as there was real work to be done in the wake of the war as the power vacuum left by their enemies’ defeat needed to be dealt with. They all agreed that the realm would have to be divided to prevent the absolute power that corrupted Cronus and that it had to be distributed fairly.