Hades |Lesbian Version|

Chapter 2: The Underworld

Beyond the grave and funeral pyre lay a land of shadow and eternal gloom, the Underworld. Dead souls taken by the messenger of the gods, Hermes, were brought down through gloomy caverns and long winding underground paths until they came to the five rivers.

Charon, the ferryman, waited across the black shore of Styx by the Gates of Hades. The three-headed hound, Cerberus, who had an appetite for live flesh, would attack anyone but spirits. There lived the dead - heroes and cowards, shepherds, priests, and minstrels. They wandered back and forth aimlessly, waiting for their turn to be ferried across.

Once they had crossed the ink-black river, the souls must wait again for the trail by the three judges -Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus, the netherworld demigods.

Brave heroes might find themselves assigned to the blissful Elysian Fields, the Isles of the Blessed, where they can relive the joys of life. Those whose crimes warrant a sentence to eternal punishment were sent to the darkest regions of Erebus or down the pit of Tartarus.

There stood a great palace made of black rock and crystal, the abode of a tall slender goddess Hades. Her majestic black robe and puissant look made those around her cower in fear. Mortals were afraid to even mention her name. Very few knew her as Áïda. Perhaps for fear of pronouncing it, they started calling her Hades.

At the end of each day, Hades normally demanded a headcount of the dead from Charon. But now, she sat slump on her throne, sighing heavily to herself. Charon's report of arriving souls was evidently ignored. His mistress's mind seemed adrift elsewhere. Since her return from Olympus, Hades was pensive and negligent of her works. All day, she drank wine and sighed. The ferryman dared not interrupt his mistress' stupor. He somehow wondered what had possessed her thoughts.

"Should I continue, Great Hades?" Charon asked.

The goddess came back to her senses and looked at her servant.

"No need," she simply said, rubbing her temple with long slender fingers, "Let's finish it tomorrow. Surely, the dead can wait. Ask Minos to herd them off to the Field of Asphodel. I can't stand them twittering like bats around my palace."

"Yes, my lady." Charon bowed and left the throne room.

The palace grounds and the surrounding fields were called Erebus. This was the deepest part of the Underworld. No birds flew there, but the sounds of wings could be heard from the three fearsome creatures who had just returned. These were Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera, the Furies, the Eumenides, or the Kindly Ones. They were hags, with snarky hair, red-hot eyes, and yellow sharp teeth. They slashed through the air over Erebus Field towards Hades' palace. They carried with them metal-studded whips. If they found a victim, they would whip the flesh from his bones. Their normal task was to visit the earth and punish evil-doers, but this time, it was of a different matter.

When they reached the goddess of the dead, they circled low over the sparkling black ceiling, screaming their songs and the latest gossips from the world above.

Hades's mood promptly shifted when she saw her servants wild with news. But soon the Furies' dramatic enthusiasm irritated the goddess.

Hades stood up from her throne and bellowed in a sharp voice.

"Get down at once and give me what you were asked to seek!"

The Kindly Ones came down and bowed before their mistress.

"O Hades, ever the impatient one," Megaera said then hissed at her two other sisters, "Silence, you old hags! She wishes to know the news of the dainty maiden."

Though they knew Hades valued them, the Furies would rather stay away from their mistress' wrath. The hags of hell finally began narrating what they had gathered from the upper realm. Demeter's child was a virgin of such remarkable beauty that she was kept hidden from the eyes of wishful suitors for all of her life. The young lovely goddess spent her days idyllically gathering fragrant flowers in the fields of Nysa, which spread as far as the eyes could see. During the long summery hours, Persephone helped her mother gather seeds to pollinate and sow the fertile earth with. When Persephone smiled, Demeter's heart swelled with pride and happiness, and the crops grew high and healthy as flowers tumbled and bloomed everywhere.