They Search

On an uninhabited planet a lonely figure marched on. A big black cloak covering the figure’s entire being. The land the hooded figure walked on was barren. Cracked grounds with no sign of water anywhere. The excessive heat had driven away all living creatures. Even those that could survive in dry habitats made no attempts to live here. The parched ground gained a new crack line wherever the hooded figure stepped. The aura this ‘being’ exuded was calm. Steps steady and relaxed as though a desert was his playground, his back steady as a spear as he continued his solitary journey.

*croak*croak*

Well, this mysterious being was not totally alone. The outline of a raven could be seen flying towards the hooded figure, seemingly returning from the direction our mysterious stranger was headed to. The earlier croaks an announcement of his return.

“Oh, Huginn, you’re back I see.”

The voice of the stranger betrayed him. A pleasant and deep voice that clearly belonged to a man. The raven crossed several miles in under a few seconds and landed upon the man’s shoulder.

“So, what did you find, winged one? Oh? So that’s where it is. Very interesting. Looks like we’ll have to be here longer than I thought.”

The raven croaked in displeasure, clearly not pleased by the words of the man. The man chuckled slightly and sat down upon the desolate ground in a nonchalant posture as he spoke to the bird, his companion for this quest.

“Be patient winged one. Get comfortable will you. Who knows when Muninn will be back?”

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A lone figure sat on his throne, his eyes melancholic, his mind wondering. His white hair swayed gently from side to side, an oddity since there was no wind.

“What are you thinking about?”

A beautiful woman with black wavy hair walked elegantly from the back chamber into the throne room. Her question shaking the King of the Olympian Gods out of his reverie. She walked towards the king and sat beside him, her hands finding their way to his left shoulder as she gently rubbed it.

“I’m very confident, Hera, that you do not want to know.”

Zeus smiled bitterly as he spat out his reply. How was he supposed to inform his wife that he was thinking of a child he had with another woman. Nevertheless, she wasn’t his wife for no reason. Seeing his smile, how could she not what this womanizing brute was thinking.

“There’s no point saying nothing. I know you’re thinking of that bastard. Ever since what happened a decade ago, you’ve always been lost in thoughts. You rarely visit the other realms to fool around anymore.”

Zeus chuckled wryly. The bastard Hera was referring to was his son, Ray. Well, he called himself Ray after he left the Pantheon, abandoning the name Zeus had given him as he cut off all relations with them.

“You did what you had to do to protect them. Even that brat knows that. Leaving was the only option they had. He abandoned everything here to protect us. You should be proud of him.”

Anyone familiar with the Queen of the Gods of Olympus would be very surprised to hear her words. It was no secret that unlike her blinding beauty, the Goddess of Marriage had a terrible personality. A personality nurtured by the unfaithfulness of her husband. She was very prone to jealousy and had done a lot of foul things because of this jealousy. Hearing her talk about her step son so highly, without plotting to kill him was amazing.

“I know. It’s frustrating though. I wield so much power, and yet even I am helpless before our enemies. What good is all this power if it cannot achieve something so simple?”

The King of the Olympian Gods did not seem surprised by her words. Why would he be? He was there the day his grandson was born- so was Hera. The normally vindictive goddess fell in love with her grandson the moment the cute little boy held her finger and looked at her with his deep blue eyes. In fact on the day of his birth, Zeus had to force Hera to go with him. It was a risky proposition since she had tried to kill Ray so many times. No one would know what she’ll do to a newborn baby.

Even Zeus was surprised to see the look of pure bliss on her face and how tenderly she smiled at her grandson. Many didn’t know this but she was the most broken of them all the day Ray and his family had to leave. She had spent the first year locked up in her chambers, refusing to see anyone. Zeus spent majority of those days trying to placate her.

Now she was the one consoling him.

“There’s nothing we could have done. Even your father was helpless against such foes. He had to flee when he met them.” Hera walked behind her husband as she spoke, laying her hands on both his shoulders, her intention to give him a full shoulder massage laid bare.

“Besides, I can’t wait for my baby to return. For them to fear him so much he is going to be really powerful. I trust the man he’ll grow up to be. I want to be there by his side when we trample on the bodies of our enemies. So instead of sulking all day, you should get back to training.”

Hera hammered his shoulders lightly as she finished her statement, a large smile plastered on her face as she thought about what her grandson would look like by now.

“Hehe. You’re right. It’s a shame we didn’t get to watch him grow. In that respect I envy that stubborn fool. He can see everything when he sits on that damn throne of his.”

Zeus smiled, speaking lightly.

“Besides, he’s not the one you should be worried about. Your daughter has been in the sacred hall for several years now. You should think of a way to draw her out.”

Hera’s tone returned to that of indifference as she spoke of his daughter, clearly not feeling the same affection for her husband’s daughter as she did her grandchild.

Zeus’s smiled returned to a frown when he thought about the subject of the new conversational piece. The sacred hall could only be opened from within. Initially, there were caretakers assigned to it, each of them taking turns to care for the place. Unfortunately, when his daughter moved in years ago she kicked them all out, leaving her as the only person capable of freeing herself. He sighed lightly as he massaged his temples.

“She’s the Goddess of Wisdom. When she finds what she’s looking for, she’ll come out.”

____________________________________________________________________

“No, it’s not here either. Where could it possibly be?”

A woman spoke to herself as she tossed the book she was holding onto the floor in exasperation. The discarded book did not land with a thud like it was supposed to- rather it landed on another book. On the floor, several books littered the ground. Leaving no space for one to walk. Some of the books were opened with footprints all over them. The luckier once had the blessed fate of landing on the floor closed and protected.

The formerly filled shelves of this vast hall had been almost entirely emptied. A miraculous feat in itself since this hall was so large that calling it a room felt wrong. The number of books in its archives would have taken the most dedicated of minds decades to read. Every book here was of great importance, and were normally treated like the rarest of treasures. Unfortunately the frustrated lady had no respect for any of these books. Stepping all over the books on the ground as she combed the vast hall, searching for something she had missed.

As though recalling something, she suddenly halted her steps. Her large, gray eyes opened in realization as she exclaimed to no one in particular.

“Of course. How could I forget? How can I shame my title so? The book on the dark realm, the one grandfather compiled, wherever did I place it? Ah yes, it’s somewhere among the main archives.”

She hurried off, once again trampling on the unfortunate books in her way.