Asphodel Fields, The Underworld, Unknown time


Traecus lay in the muck and filth. The Furies overhead were looking for him. They took the

form of giant bird women, or Harpies. They cawed their frustration to each other, unable to find their

objective: him.


Traecus was trying to find Elena, the tyrant king of Athens, Menelaus' lost lover. She died of

stabbing. It was Traecus' quest to bring her to the king. This involved him traversing the underworld,

avoiding the Furies, braving a Hydra, and whatever else Hades could throw at him.


He had been searching for hours, looking for the girl, he was sure of it. But the throng of those

in the Fields of Asphodel was too strong. As Traecus left his stake-out, he trod on a twig. The three

Furies immediately rushed toward him. They changed from harpies to drakons. Drakons are a hundred

times worse to be fighting than dragons, due to the fact that Drakons had two heads, spat acid, not fire,

and were two times the size of normal dragons.


As the first rushed towards him, the other two decided to flank him. Traecus went the only way

he could: back. Behind him was a mountain. As he backed towards the wall, he slipped on something.

He noticed that the Chalice was sprouting wine. The wine was positively shooting out of the rim. It

gave Traecus the idea that won the day. He pointed the Chalice at each of the Furies, each with their

mouth agape, swallowed the soporific, and was knocked out by the pure blast of it.


The Furies, now under the influence of alcohol, were unable to resist when Traecus approached

and cut their throats. Each shrank and formed a different gift. One was a map that shifted to show where everything was in the Underworld, even the people. Another was a sapphire sword that wouldn't

break, and shone with a brightness that was blinding to the one using it, and no one else. The final, and

greatest gift were a pair of sandals with wings, such as the ones Hermes used.


Resigned, the Hero looked at the map, and picked out the name of Elena. She was dozens of

miles away. The flying sandals would come in most useful now. Traecus put on the sandals and took

flight. Right away, he felt comfortable. Flying came naturally to him.


As he approached the moat of fire guarding Asphodel, he crashed into what seemed like a brick

wall, but was just air. Obviously flying into the fields was out, he went to the conventional entrance.

When he saw the draw bridge he almost fell out of the sky. Guarding it was Cerberus, three headed dog

of judgment. He knew that he would have to fool the dog. He didn't know how, but it was necessary to

pass him, so Traecus was determined to get by him.


The Chalice that he always carried with him was a gift from his unknown father. It was the

heroes only memento of him. His mother died during childbirth. He was brought up by a distant uncle

who thought that beatings were the best form of memorization. He left when he was five, and then

made his way to a lonely village outside Delphi. That's all he remembered. He knew the Chalice had

magical properties. He didn't know the exact capabilities, though.


He looked at the chalice now, and it filled itself with a liquid unknown to Traecus. He drank and

became invisible, so he positively ran past Cerberus. He cocked his heads, thinking he heard

something. Just as Traecus slipped out of sight, he became visible once more. He consulted the map,

and saw the girl he sought 20 feet in front of him. He looked up and saw one of the most beautiful

women he had ever seen. He walked up to her, and the first thing she said to him was “but your not

dead!”. He confirmed this and then told her why he was there. She said she would never go back to

Menelaus. He was her worst enemy back before she was dead. He told her the circumstances, and she

immediately agreed. She said it was better that only she suffered, not the thousands of others that

would, should Menelaus remain king.

Ever grateful, the hero said there wasn't a moment to lose, and they began the trip back.


The first obstacle they faced was Cerberus. The map of the underworld was unnecessary, given

that the hero found Elena. Traecus formed the map into a disc, then threw it across the devil dogs line

of sight. Unable to resist dog instincts, he chased it until it dropped. But by then the pair of escapees

had already taken flight.


The shoes took them to the mouth of the river Styx, where Persephone was waiting. She looked

worried. The Hero asked what was wrong. She replied that the stairwell had collapsed, and the only

way out other than that was through the palace. Traecus knew what Persephone had to do. After he told

her what he thought, she nodded. She said that it was dangerous, but worth it. She told him how to get

to the other stairwell from the entrance.


They were set, and Persephone transported them to the palace gates. She explained that she

needed to travel with the person being transported, so she was unable to magic Traecus to Asphodel. As

she knocked, she turned the two mortals invisible. The gate opened, and all three walked through.

Persephone walked to the throne room, while the other two went up the stairwell, straight to Olympus.


When the Hero and maiden broke through to the surface, they were met with cheers, fanfare and

many blessings. Traecus was soon clapped upon the back by Jason. It turned out that he sped to

Olympus after Traecus and Persephone left for the underworld.


The quest was set to expire in two hours. There was not time to stay. With a wave and a yell,

Traecus and his accomplices sped for Athens. About thirty minutes from the city center, there was an

explosion, and a great fissure erupted from the Earth. Out from it rose a giant figure with a single, huge

eye in the center of its forehead. A cyclopes.


Its mouth opened, and a great voice boomed “Hero, well done, well done! I see that you have

made easy work of my monsters. I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld! My wife had returned fore her

time, and I knew that something was aloof! Now I find one of my dead fleeing with her “hero”! Well, I

reclaim her as mine! No one steals a soul from Hades! You will be destroyed, as will everyone with

you. Good Bye! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.........



And with this, the monster gave a thunderous roar, and ran towards them. Traecus saw no hope,

everything was bleak, he was going to die...


Then he realized something: If he was to die, it would have happened already. He braved the

Hydra, killed the Furies, and snuck past Cerberus! He was a true Hero! And he through the sapphire

sword straight to the heart of the beast. It didn't look like a lot was done, but the beast trembled to a

halt, staring at the wound, because it started to shine blue, like the sword. As it turned to light, it gave a

piteous growl. Then it burst into light. Elena walked over to him with a wondrous look upon her

face.


“That is no ordinary sword. That is a sword of a god. Only one god in particular that would use

the color blue. Poseidon. Poseidon is the god who was looking out for you. You truly are a hero. You

are the son of the sea god.”


Traecus didn't register any other words than the last sentence. His father was Poseidon. It was a

great feeling, knowing that there was someone looking out for him.


With a shock that sent him back to reality, he realized there were only ten minutes left. The hero

urged his group on the chariot, and urged them past their limits. They arrived just in time.


Menelaus saw the cloud. He knew what it meant. All color drained from his face as the hero

arrived. He said that the hero should be honored, and that he would do as promised. He ran to Elena's

arms and walked down the lonely road to an estate where they would live out their lives together.

The hero rose to the podium facing the people with bated breath and simply said, “you are free.”


In the weeks that followed, the Hero set up a democratic government to last an eternity. He

declined a post at its head.

He said “that he had someone to meet”, with a smile on his face, than rode off in the distance, towards

the setting sun.

The end