The First Book of the Olympnomachi: Birth of Melinoë

Jumping into the middle of the story

The tale of the fall of Olympus is a grand one, one marked by passion, betrayal, tragedy, hatred and of course that, greatest of force in all the Nine Worlds; love. With the first smaller events in this cataclysmic shift in power in the great Western Pantheon, beginning with the wars involving the treacherous and seductive eldest daughter of Hades and his great Queen Persephone, Melinoë. Then the wars went on to be continued by her younger sister, the scarred and deeply insecure Macaria, who sought to bring down darkness upon the Olympians, out of spite as much as for justice. Her own quest for righteousness, one that took her off and away from the correct path a multitude of times, was to end in triumph over the evil that lay within just as it did over mighty Olympos. The greatness of Macaria was one that troubled many, such as Zeus who initially feared her, then lusted after her when she was made beautiful by the Stjárgamen, and still later when she had cast aside the ugliness in her heart that had plagued her appearance with an ugliness that had moved her to first seize the gem.

The gem was in many ways, the source of all the greatest sorrows of an age. The Stjárgamen being the source in many ways, of the fall of the Dwarven Empire, the first dynasty of the High-Elves and many other kingdoms in the Elder-Age, when all the races and their kingdoms were still young. All were to fall due to the desire and greed that the beautiful Stjárgamen inspired in all those who set eyes upon it, this being entirely due to the great shining light of the gem-stone, which glowed with all the lights of the skies in the night. Never since the days of Féavonoé had there been any light on earth that shone brighter than the stars, with the sight of the wolf what inspired the forging of this particular gem.

The ‘War for the Two Gems’ as it came to be called, was full of bloodshed with the mounting horror and cruelty exhibited by all those involved, leaving generations of broken lives. The most notable act though came near the end of the first portion of the wars, involving Macaria. Recovering the gemstones, could hardly put an end to the conflict in Olympos, with the culmination of the war being the murder of the goddess Até, daughter of Zeus and Eris which in turn, sparked a deadly conflict to the death amongst all the gods of the west for dominance principally between the two great factions led by Macaria and Zeus.

Yet that lies ahead in our tale, as at the time of her birth but a handful of those amongst the gods knew what lay ahead, and these cursed few would never tell the tale. For who could believe, in so fantastical, so horrible and so tenebrous a future? And yet, somehow news of this great prophecy, of the great destiny that surrounded the children of Hades, true heir of Kronos made its way to his usurper.

The prophecy of the fall of kings in the western Pantheon remained a perpetual fear of the successors of Kronos. Most notably Zeus himself, who though king sat uneasily upon his throne won by trickery. Fearful of usurpation, he eyed his brothers not with the love; one ought to have regarded them with, with the sentiment returned with considerable interest. The source of his greatest lack of happiness, lay in his unhappy union with Hera, rather than with his old nurse-maid Hecate. The dark-goddess’s self-banishment from Olympos had only added, to his misery and tyrannical nature.

In the book of the Age of Olympos, one could see just how tyrannical he and Poseidon became over mortals and their fellow gods. To the extent that their fellow Pantheons, felt increasingly displeased with them. The only thing that stayed their hands was uncertainty of what to do once they had dethroned, Zeus.

The only one who remained hardly daunted and schemed to liberate the west was he of the north, Oðinn. The cleverest and eldest god alive, he desired the freedom and joy of all peoples, especially as his brother Ve was one of the first to wage war against Olympos, this in spite of his powers being sealed away.

The conflict though simmered beneath the surface, with the goddess Hestia departing in the dead of night, when her brother came to her, of a mind to take her for himself. Drunkenly mistaking her for Hecate, he was driven off by her, yet she vowed never to return. With the dark mood of Zeus worsening, until he was told once more the prophecy, of his doom, during one of the meetings with the other gods this time, by Freyja. The queen of the Aesir reminded him then, of the fragility of his reign, to which he reminded her of the mediocrity, of his own children. This in spite of the glories, achieved by his great-daughter Athene and those of his son Ares, or of the great longing Aphrodite had inspired, in all who saw her.

Far-sighted was the flaxen goddess of the north, and great was her knowledge of the future, as she told him, “Aye, though you be not the only king in the west, or the proper one.”

This brought to his mind the fact that she spake truly; his brothers were also kings, though of lesser realms in comparison to his grand one. His brother Poseidon was much as he was; afraid of possible sons, as a prophecy, that of Pontus loomed over him; ‘he was to shelter and teach his heir, and this heir wouldst strike him ere he falters, then take up his trident and crown’. Confused as to who was his heir, he feared all, most especially his queen Amphitrite, whom bore a special hatred for him. For she had been taken up as a wife by him, most unwillingly and had not faltered in her hate, where Hera had, her vow to break free upon the Styx, loomed still in his spirit.

As to Hades, he had given no great thought, to the worries of his brothers, deeming them mere folly and reminding them wisely that, it was Kronos’s own madness that had created his usurpers. “He summoned to his side, his slayer just as his father, Ouranos had, in their mad cruelty. Therefore, brothers remember thy ancestors lest thou regret, it later.”

Angered by his mild-words, they schemed once more against him, this was worsened when they heard news that worried them; Persephone was with child. For millennia, it was believed that the beloved of the king of Erebus, could no more mother a child with him, than he could betray her. Worried, they consulted with Hecate who wise, for she had drunk once upon a time, from the Well of Wisdom, just as Oðinn and Freyja had. Wise beyond the understanding of all other gods in the west, she warned them of what was to come.

“A daughter she is, of no great threat to Olympos, it shalt only be upon the birth of a son of the line of the true king of Olympos that thy thrones shalt be torn from beneath thee.” Her words frightened them, with Zeus at once ordering Hermes to find out how it was that the realm, of the dead could possibly have been the sight of the conception, of this daughter.

Hermes departed then returned to report after he had consulted, with the Nymph of the mountain of Orthrys that Hades had entered Midgard, to mate with Persephone. Infuriated, Zeus appointed shortly after the birth of his granddaughter, Ares to begin a new series of wars. These wars, increased the numbers of deaths in order to preoccupy his dutiful brother so much, he could no longer visit the mortal realm, to father a son.

Poseidon for his part, scheme also though in a different direction, believing himself to be the true king he plotted to utilise the prophecies to his own advantage. Wither he sent messengers, to where Ve remained hidden, to coax him to join with him and begin preparations for war, against Olympos. Bemused, the old god trapped in the flesh of a child refused to leave his hiding places, which served only to redouble the king of the sea’s rage.