210. The Three Realms
The Three Realms
I could barely see through my grief
as I heard the three brothers,
Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades,
divide the three realms between them.
Zeus got the sky.
Poseidon, the sea.
And Hades, the Underworld.
Looking at Hades and the tales
that were spun of him during
the Titanomachy, it was hard
to believe this young God,
who looked scarcely more than a boy,
was capable of the cruelty he committed in war.
But I had learned over the long arc
of this war that we were all capable
of terrible things. We were all
fate’s own folly. It did not matter
if we were Gods or mortals.
Hades came to me, his long raven hair
almost beautiful as it reflected Helios’s sun.
He bowed, his dark robes swishing.
‘Styx,’ he said quietly, ‘I promise you
that I will not interfere in your work.
Your river is your realm.
I will have no say over it.
But know this, other than Pallas,
all other Gods and Goddesses
can only visit the Underworld
with my permission.’
Out of the three brothers,
I was surprised to find Hades
the most tolerable, with his respectful manner
a small consolation in the grief I felt
upon losing my children.
I turned to look at Zeus, wishing my glare
was powerful enough to destroy a God-King.
I noticed finally that Metis
was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where is Metis?’ I whispered.
‘Did you not know what happened?’
Hades’s words held a strange succour to them,
almost as though he felt pity for me.
‘She defied Zeus. So he devoured her.’
My whole body felt like it was breaking.
I turned to Hades and whispered,
‘He devoured her?’ Hades nodded slowly.
‘I am sorry, Styx. Hera is said to be
Zeus’s next God-Queen.’
For all Metis’s powers,
for all her talents,
she could not fight Zeus.
‘H-how did she defy him?’ I asked.
‘I do not know precisely,
but Zeus said she could do things
no Goddess should be able to do.’
Hades frowned. ‘I do not know what
he meant by these words.’
But I did. I knew what he meant.
He meant her magic made her terrifying.
He meant he was afraid of her stranger powers.
Powers both Asteria and I had.
That no God knew we could hold.
And I promised myself that to keep
my children who were hostage here safe,
I would never use the powers
that scared a God-King.
I would never practise magic
or spellwork again.