The Silent Gods - The Guardian and The Immortal Thrones

Prologue

Persephone in the Underworld

The Ancient Past

Persephone awoke in pale blue chambers that smelled of wild flowers. Her thoughts were hazy. She sat up on the soft sheets and took in her surroundings. The walls and high ceiling were adorned with delicate carvings of summer scenes. The floor was inlaid with large tiles of white and blue. Massive bronze doors loomed before her.

She touched her temple and tried to remember. She had been in the fields, waist deep in flowers, and then she'd heard the sound of hooves. By the time she'd seen them, black steeds with fiery eyes, it was too late. A chill ran through her. He had taken her, brought her here.

She slid off the bed and tried opening the doors, they were locked. She pounded on them furiously with her small fists, shouting to be released until her voice was hoarse. The only answer was silence. She searched every inch of the chambers, but found only a balcony built into a smooth grooveless wall, so high from the ground it was impossible for her to climb to freedom. There was no escape. Restless she paced, days passed, or at least she thought they were days, she couldn't tell, as the sky remained an unchanging grey-blue twilight making each hour of each day indiscernible from any other.

The time was marked only by the four time a day entry and exit, of a mute, shrouded, servant. It had pool of black shadow where its face should have been. It brought her a tray of blood colored fruit and wine which it sat on a table, before it bowed to her and left. She attempted to seize the servant, but her empty hands revealed its true nature to be immaterial. She tried leaving when the doors opened for the servant to enter and exit, but found herself unable to approach the doors, as she was pushed back by some invisible force whenever she drew near. The moment she was alone, she carried the tray of fruit and wine to the balcony and threw its contents over the edge and into the rolling grey mists far below. It fell and disappeared into the darkness without so much as a clatter.

Persephone paced. She missed the warm rays of the sun kissing her skin. The sweet scent of outside air, the dancing, the laughter. Above, it was time for the harvest, the celebration of the coming Fall. A welcoming for the light warm rains that would start in the Fall and continue until the Spring came again. She, along with her mother, would preside over the harvest ceremonies.

Her mother. She must be searching for her? Why hadn't she come yet?

As the days passed and her pacing became slower, her stomach made demands, and her eyes lingered over the food a little longer each time before she threw it out. She slept for days at a time, sat awake for days at a time, still no word from Olympus. Her anger simmered.

She took to sitting in a chair she positioned in front of the doors, waiting for the silent servant to arrive. She would demand answers from it. Had Olympus sent word? Had her mother? Why was she here? What did he want? But the servant remained ever silent. Only replacing the food she'd thrown away and bowing before it left.

And then one day, she was sitting, staring absently at the carvings on the walls when something else came for her. The bronze doors opened, and instead of the shrouded faceless servant, a shining hideous thing stood in its place. It had large wings folded on its back. It was thick limbed and stood on bent, taloned feet. It towered above her, standing taller than any man she'd ever seen. Its long tail was black, slick and shiny as oil, it tapered into a sharp point. Its face was monstrous. Its eyes were blood red and not at all human. It was one of the Erinyes. It was the first time she'd seen one. It beckoned with a clawed hand as it spoke in hissing tones, its tongue stumbling over its jagged fanged teeth.

"Our lord wishes to see you," the creature said. "You will come now."

"He is not my lord," she replied. "I will not go anywhere but home."