Dante Artorius Inferno
Lore for June
Title: gone with the hell
Part 1
So that Centaur was Chiron, the teacher of the Ancient Greek Heroes and, along with Asclepius, the one who knew the most about Medicine… We had to be careful now that we had established contact, and try to be diplomatic…
Chiron kept looking at us intently, trying to discern what could be the reason for our visit… So I spoke with all the respect I could.
-Well… Greetings, Master Chiron… Precisely my friend and I were looking for the one who trained Jason, Achilles and other Heroes… -I said respectfully.
Chiron looked at me in surprise…he certainly wasn’t expecting this acknowledgment.
-How is it that You, the “People of Sky”, know about me and my disciples? –The staff pointed at us menacingly.
-Master Chiron, his fame and that of the people he trained precedes him… In our world praises are sung to your Heroes and to the wisdom of their Master, worthy of being compared to the prudence and wisdom of Mentor… -Borward stepped forward, with great respect and grandiloquence… If they heard us speak like that, someone would believe that we were characters from “The Iliad” or “The Odyssey”…
A smug smile came to Chiron’s lips… without a doubt, he was not immune to recognition… he looked back and shouted something in a guttural language… Automatically, the other Centaurs sheathed their swords and their postures denoted a certain relaxation… I encouraged myself to continue. talking.
-True, Master… and it is because of that fame of being a Physician as reputed almost as Asclepius himself, that we are here asking for help for Greece and our “People of Sky”… Master, can you help us? -I didn’t have to pretend anything… my concern and longing to find a solution were real…
Chiron looked at us, looked at his people… and turned around… he only said a single word:
-Follow us.
About twenty minutes later we arrived at the Centaurs’ camp… it was a village of huts, but shaped like stables, clustered around the entrance of a cave, on the lintels of which were paintings similar to the chevrons Chiron had painted on his chest body… Without a doubt that cave was the temple or refuge of Chiron, who would be something like the Shaman of those people…
I saw some foals running… they weren’t foals, but children but with half the body of a horse… And sometimes a female Centaur would appear… They didn’t wear any clothes, and the contrast of their half body of a horse with the great beauty they had… Well , I’m a married man but I have eyes… and Borward’s eyes were also bulging out of their sockets… For a long time my friend had only devoted himself body and soul to his work, and now he was disturbed by the beauty he saw…
The Centaurs that accompanied us each went away to their chores, while we followed Chiron… He stood in front of the cave entrance and, with a graceful gesture of his front legs, made a genuflection of respect to the image that was carved on the upper lintel… It was Asclepius…
Chiron parted a curtain adorned with strange symbols and advanced through the dark entrance while he said to us:
-Come in…
Part 2:
We crossed the threshold of the cave… After a moment of darkness and the attempt of our eyes to adjust to it, some sparks lit a flame… Chiron had lit a torch and dedicated himself to walking around the room lighting some more…
The cave had a mysterious air… an area where there were some stuffed animals and others in process… some schematic drawings on the walls that indicated the anatomies of men, centaurs and some animals…
In one corner there was an area for plants, no doubt a curative herbalist… In the background were rows of scrolls on some shelves… Possibly the compendiums of knowledge of medicine and other sciences…
In short, it was something like a Medicine and Natural Sciences laboratory… Chiron invited us to sit on the floor while he dropped into a position similar to that of a horse when he rests…
-Talk… What is happening that you need my help?
Borward and I began to tell the story about the epidemic… the effects it produced and how it eluded resurrections… At this point, Chiron waved us to silence.
-So that’s it… I always wondered what Zeus would think about beings from another Kingdom who are capable of doing something that is their prerogative…
Borward and I looked at each other: Chiron seemed like he was going to start talking about the Gods… But that was a disease, not a divine punishment launched by a deity.
-Master… In our Kingdom we do not understand Gods or their punishments… This is a very dangerous disease, and I wonder if the great Chiron would know something about it…
Chiron looked at us… he got up and went to the parchment shelf… he searched for a while and afterward came back with a scroll in his hand… he sat down again and began to read aloud:
-“Zeus, jealous of the power that Andropos had, sent him a divine punishment from his own hand… the lightning struck him and knocked him to the ground… His eyes distilled blood, and his claw-like hands scratched the air while his back arched… at last, Andropos found the way to Tartarus…”
We remained silent… Despite believing only in science and not in magic, the description of the symptoms were very similar to those suffered by the victims… It was disturbing, and at the same time unreal… The Gods really had to see something in this??
-Master… This is very strange… Do the Gods worry about the things of insignificant men like us? That, assuming they exist, of course… -I’m skeptical, sorry…
Chiron looked at me like a teacher at his most clumsy student… A look of sorrow appeared in his eyes…
-Listen, foreigner… The Gods exist, and they own everything human, the beasts, the cyclops, us Centaurs… Haven’t you seen wonders here in Greece that can only be the work of the Gods?
He was right… The Gorgon, the Cyclopes, the Mirynians… That was Mythological Greece, a Greece where the Gods existed… Perhaps… Perhaps this really is their punishment…
While I was thinking, Borward made his typical gesture that preceded the intelligent questions he used to ask…
Master Chiron… this… do you know that Zeus is angry with men or with the “People of the Sky”? – A very pertinent question.
Chiron was thoughtful for a while… Then he looked at us and said:
-I really haven’t seen anything in the signs or in the oracles that would suggest such a thing… honestly, I don’t think Zeus is the God who is upset with you… -Chiron had a half smile, as if he knew something more and didn’t want to say it.
-Then… it is possible that another God is angry with the “People of the Sky”?
Chiron looked at Borward with satisfaction… He was definitely on the right track.
-Think, foreigner… with your artifacts and sciences… which God have you been able to anger? -Chiron was staring at us…no doubt he knew the answer, but he wanted to see if we could find out.
As I racked my brain, Borward said a single word:
-Hades…
Part 3
Hades!!! Of course!!! The Underworld needs servants… the souls of the dead travel through the Stygian lagoon and end up in Tartarus… Meanwhile, Hades is their lord…
And now, suddenly, death no longer exists… The Stygian lagoon does not need the Ferryman Charon to carry the souls and collect the obolus of the coin in the mouth of the dead… Cerberus no longer has anything to watch over nor the Hecatoncheires of a hundred arms with Briareo in front have no task…
Without a doubt, Hades will be more than annoyed with the humans, including the Greeks, although really we, the “People of the Sky” are the ones who are to blame with our Revive and Resurrection techniques…
-Okay, let’s suppose that Hades is angry with us… But the outside is not his world nor does he have influence there… Zeus rules on Earth… then, how could Hades have such an influence? -Borward kept asking the right questions.
Chiron looked down… No doubt he was thinking the answer but I had already sensed it.
-Isn’t it possible that some God, Demigod or mortal of the earth has helped Hades?.. Call him a traitor, an infiltrator or whatever you want… -I saw it clearly.
Borward and Chiron looked at each other and suddenly stared at me… I had no doubt guessed right.
-Assuming that was the case… -Chiron spoke slowly as he shaped the idea. -What reason would someone have to help Hades? And above all… how to take part of the power of Zeus and give it to Hades?
They were unanswered questions for now… It would imply someone close enough to Zeus to take part of his power without his realizing it, and at the same time that he had some kind of rapprochement with Hades… Perhaps a Demigod, some servant of the Gods, a relative of some other God with unfinished business…
We fell silent… I got up and walked around the room in deep thought… While Chiron and Borward were still discussing possibilities… I walked over to the scroll shelf and took a look.
There were various rolls of the most varied themes… there were even several unrolled sheets of papyrus… papyrus??? Was there an “Ancient Egypt”???
I was about to turn around when my eyes fell on some leaves that appeared in the middle of others… It wasn’t parchment or papyrus… it was PAPER!!!
Without them noticing, I took out the sheets and looked at them… They were written in our language, and what they revealed left me perplexed:
Personal Notes- Entry 20
Tourists these days have no respect, one of them today called me a disgusting animal. At least his friend had more manners and he explained that he thought I was one of the other papoo found on the island. Although my appearance and instincts may be similar to those of the papoo, my intelligence far exceeds them. Although today I had noticed that the papoos on the island were nervous as if something was about to happen, my own senses are also nervous. Heck, even the pesky piggies were running away today. From my usual place I could hear two Loyalists talking, they mentioned something strange, it sounded like they were talking about a disease that was spreading like wildfire in Greece… No doubt something big will happen on Next Island, and it will all start with the neighbors Greeks… They are going to die there, and we are going to die here…. A boar just drooled on my diary. I’ll have to pay more people to keep them away.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading… those pages kept raving about Juliana robots, pigs and settlers, but basically they talked in detail about something similar to this Pandemic… some disturbing predictions…
How was it possible??? Sebastian’s diary here?? How had it arrived? And speaking of the pandemic… Gods, maybe the Man-Bear is right… Although that could wait now… I surreptitiously put the sheets in one of my armor’s holsters, and returned to Borward and Chiron.
Part 4:
The entrance curtain moved violently… a strong wind had blown it inside… Chiron stared at it…
-How strange, bad weather is coming…
-Well, Master, in a couple of months it will be autumn… - I said almost without thinking…
-True… but it’s too soon for fall… How strange…- Chiron changed his position; he seemed restless.
-Demeter was sad before her time… - Borward continued to demonstrate his erudition.
I remembered the ancient legends of my grandfather’s library… Demeter, the goddess of Agriculture, had a daughter of great beauty, Persephone, who had been kidnapped by Hades and made her his wife… Demeter was saddened and Nature turned to frost and bad weather…
After many vicissitudes, Persephone fell in love with Hades, and they reached an agreement to spend six months on Olympus with her mother Demeter (spring and summer) and six months with her husband Hades (autumn and winter)…
And now it seemed that autumn was brought forward two months… as if Persephone had returned from Olympus to Tartarus before her time… Why did she advance her departure?
-But it doesn’t make sense – Chiron said – The agreement she reached with Hades clearly stipulated the time Persephone would visit her mother Demeter… it seems that it ended before time…
-Yes… Maybe she had something that she should take to Tartarus before they discovered her…-Borward already knew what was happening.
-Persephone fell in love with Hades at the end… I’m sure she would do anything for her husband, if things didn’t go well for her… -I also had it clear.
-Like, for example, to restore death again so that Hades could reign over Tartarus as before… - Chiron put the final piece.
It was clear… Persephone had taken advantage of the annual visit to Olympus to get closer to her father Zeus in some way, and steal some power that granted death, to spread it over the earth and cause death again… In this way Hades would once again have a kingdom as before, with subjects, with money paid to the ferryman… a Tartarus as it had always been before the “People of Sky” had ended with death…
-Well… we already know what has happened… now… how do we solve it? - Chiron asked.
-Well… we have two jobs: End the pandemic, which we will achieve sooner or later, I’m sure, and convince Hades to end this, but… the latter is going to force us to do something very dangerous. – I looked at my companions, who were following my words expectantly… I paused, and…
-Borward, Master Chiron… we must see Hades, and the only way is to go talk to him directly… we must go down to Tartarus, to the Underworld…
They looked at me as if they didn’t understand…
-Come on Dante, when someone goes down to Tartarus they don’t come out anymore…
-Well… some have gone down and come back up, like Odysseus…
-Yes, but they didn’t speak directly with Hades, they only visited some souls…
We didn’t understand each other… The truth is that it would be dangerous, but not impossible… Chiron went back to the shelves and examined his parchments… He took one out and showed us, and Borward and I smiled as we recognized part of Homer’s “The Odyssey”… It was the Song that narrated the descent of Odysseus to Tartarus to consult the soul of Tiresias the Fortune Teller… It precisely explained that to descend to Tartarus one had to make some sacrifices with two lambs, make some libations and dip a sword in blood…
Well, it was a start, so we went outside and boarded Borward’s Gungnir, which was the only ship Chiron could comfortably enter… We arrived at Knossos, where the Gorgon, to visit the Aruspice who lived there…
He first made frightened gestures when he saw Chiron, but with our explanations we managed to calm him down a bit… When we told him our plan he shook his head as if we were three crazy people…
Borward was more pragmatic: A good bag of peds changed hands, and the Aruspice promised us all kinds of rites and libations in order to bring our plan to fruition.
The Aruspice presented himself with two lambs, one white and one black, which he slaughtered… immediately afterwards he dipped a sword in the blood while reciting some formulas and prayers worthy of the Eleusian Mysteries… he took a glass of wine and made the appropriate libations, Y…
A mist began to envelop us…grayish shreds surrounded us while we heard some wails… And suddenly, between wails and fog, a part of the ground began to become transparent, to finally end up being the entrance to a cave… Without a doubt, the entrance to Tartarus …
When he looked back, the Aruspice had already run a hundred meters away, leaving his flip-flops and cloak abandoned… It seems that he did not want to “see the Gods”…
Borward watched wide-eyed as Chiron nervously stamped his paws on the ground, almost whinnying in fear…
There was no other choice… We had to enter… And we entered the Underworld…
Part 5:
We descended through the threshold of the cave… The darkness enveloped us, so we turned on our flashlights… the sound of wailing increased…
-What is that sound? -Borward asked.
-These are the lamentations of the souls that don’t have the money to pay Ferryman Charon… They must wander around here until they can pass… - Chiron replied.
We continued descending and suddenly we saw in the distance a kind of greenish misty mass… We got closer, and it turned out to be the souls of those who were waiting… They were like ghosts, transparent, greenish in color, and presented the appearance they had at the moment to die… Suddenly, the bunch of souls turned their eyes towards us…
-Who are you? What are you doing here? You haven’t died yet… -Some questioned us while they looked at us strangely…
And among the souls, those of the father and daughter who had died of the Pandemic in the village near Larissa appeared…
-Foreign!!! You couldn’t help us… At least, you should have put a coin in our mouths, to be able to go to Eliseo… -The father looked at me sadly…
I was going to answer when I heard a splash: Charon’s Boat was approaching… With a loud creak it came alongside the pier… The souls swarmed, while Charon pushed them away with his oar… He only let those who had the coin pass, while the other souls wept and lamented…
And suddenly, he placed his empty eye sockets on us:
-What are you doing here?.. You’re not dead… -Charon seemed perplexed.
-Listen, oh, Boatman of the Stygian Lagoon… we are heroes of the world who want to see Hades and Persephone… Let them know of our presence… -I answered with Greek declamatory style.
Charon looked at the three of us like someone looking at some insects.
-Listen… Get out of here or I’ll call Cerberus or the Hecatonchires, and then you’ll be dead and penniless - he pointed at us threateningly with the oar.
-Listen, Toothless… if you don’t want to come, we’ll cross the lagoon to his kingdom, so we can talk to him… -Chiron had recovered part of his integrity…
Charon looked at us, and made a helpless gesture…
-Okay, if you want to go see him and let him kill you with his own hands, it’s up to you… go up…
Borward, Chiron and I got on the boat… At that moment I put five coins in Charon’s hands…
-Wait, there are three coins, one for each… here are five. -At least he was honest.
-I know… they are for you to pass to the Eliseo that man who is with a girl holding hands. I pointed to Larissa’s father and daughter…
With a gesture, he called them to get on the boat… among the souls’ laments, the boat began to move away from the pier and headed towards the Lagoon of Oblivion…
The trip lasted a couple of hours… The cavern was terrifying, and there were greenish vapors in the water… souls who had forgotten who they were…
Finally, we reached the end of the lagoon… The boat ran aground on the sand and we all got out…
-Foreigner, thanks for helping us… At least we’ll be at Eliseo thanks to you… - The father, grateful, made a gesture of respect… he took his daughter by the hand, and walked away… I turned to Charon…
-All right, Boatman… Let Hades know of our visit and… -I didn’t have time to say more… Loud roars were heard in the cavern…
-I think Hades already knows you’re here… -said Charon in a mocking tone as he pointed his oar to the bottom of the cave… We turned our heads and…
Three huge giants, with a lot of arms and heads, were approaching us… The watchmen of the tunnels… The Hecatonchires!!!
-Dante, Chiron… I think we have to fight – Borward said as he unsheathed a Katsuichi Determination.
We charged at those giants with our swords, slashing arms and heads one after another… Despite being out of practice, Borward defended himself well, while Chiron lived up to his name “Sagittarius” with a bow and arrow.
The giants lost arms and heads as they tried to catch us… After a few minutes they began to retreat, wounded, leaving debris behind, while we advanced.
A few seconds later they ran through the tunnel screaming in pain… We had defeated the Hecatonchires!!!..
-And now? -Chiron asked…
He didn’t have time to think… a huge dog with three heads appeared from a corner of the cave… his drooling mouths, his hair standing up, his powerful claws… It was Cerberus, the dog of Hades…
We prepared to fight again when a voice from beyond the grave was heard…
-STOP!!!
Cerberus stopped short, gave us a look of hatred and ran off in the direction of one of the tunnels, through which a being appeared… He was wearing a tunic and had a Corinthian helmet in one of his hands… his eyes were red, and their beards and hair had reddish tones too… He looked at us…
-For the Gods!!! how did you get here? And by defeating the Hecatonchires… without a doubt, you are protected by Zeus or Poseidon… I myself, Hades, will have to kill you…
Part 6:
Hades looked at us… his eyes glowed bright red, and sparks began to come out of his hair…
-Wait, Lord of the Underworld, and hear what we have to tell you. –It was a desperate request from Chiron… The sparks subsided and Hades’s eyes lost part of their glare… he looked at us and said:
-Okay… say what you have to say and be careful what you insinuate or face the consequences… Only the dead can be here…
Chiron and Borward looked at me with pleading in their eyes… without a doubt, I would have to act as spokesperson… I cleared my throat and began to speak…
-My Lord… this… something is happening in Greece, people are dying again, but I think…
-That people die again? It is the divine order, an order that has been broken by you, the “People of Sky” who have usurped the power of Zeus… - Hades looked at us satisfied.
-I think it wasn’t exactly us who stole something, My Lord…
Hades looked at me blankly…
-My Lord… Death has returned, but it has not been by natural means, but someone has taken the power of Zeus…
-What do I care? -Hades replied- The result is that death exists again… the souls return here, to my kingdom… and I return to reign as it should be…
-This… that would be so if it had happened naturally… but if Zeus finds out that someone from your kingdom has taken the power of the Father of the Gods, well… - I couldn’t finish
-What are you insinuating, damned mortal??? -Hades’s eyes shone - I have commanded to steal the power of Zeus over life and death???
-My Lord… Hades would not steal anything, but Zeus may think that it has been so, and his revenge could reach you, even if you were innocent… You could end up castrated and banished like Uranus…
Hades began to look at me with fear in his eyes…
-Banish me?? Why? I haven’t stolen anything from Zeus… I really don’t need anything, here I have everything I need, including my beloved Persephone, who…
-That she has returned early from her visit to Olympus… My Lord, don’t you wonder why she returned earlier? -My words cast doubt on Hades’s face…
-Well… well… without a doubt he wanted to come back with me… -Hades doubted…
-Either he brought something from Olympus that he shouldn’t have… and he came back before Zeus found out…
Hades looked at us…he could hear the gears in his mind, thinking…finally, he gave a piercing whistle in the direction of one of the caves…
As if it were a puppy, the huge Cerberus appeared at the call of his master… He sat on his hindquarters, obediently…
-Cerberus… bring Persephone… NOW!!!
The dog walked away through one of the tunnels while Hades addressed us…
-Foreigners… listen to me carefully… If you have lied to me you will never set foot on Elysium… Prometheus’ punishment will be a game compared to what I will do to you… -Hades was really angry…
Minutes later Cerberus appeared, on whose back rode a beautiful dark-haired woman, with the beauty of the Gods… he dismounted from the back of the huge dog, and headed towards us…
-My Lord… who are these living? And what are they doing here? -He said with a seductive and melodious voice, worthy of Eros… Hades looked at his beloved…
-Persephone, my love… These foreigners say that you have brought something from Olympus… something that you shouldn’t have… IS THAT TRUE??? - Hades’s voice, soft at first, cracked at the end like a whip…
Persephone looked at us with fear in her eyes… she began to back away, fearful of her husband’s reaction… Given her attitude, Hades finally understood…
-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? Did you steal something from my brother Zeus??? – Hades’s anger increased every second… - Do you know what he could do to us???
-My Lord, I… I only wanted you to reign over the dead again as before… but there are no dead now… - Persephone collapsed to the floor of the cave between sobs.
-Woman… if Zeus finds out, he will think that I was the one who ordered you to do it… he will banish us from Tartarus!!!.. Didn’t you think about the consequences??? –Hades was already out of his mind.
Persephone sobbed… Deep down, we felt sorry, because he had done it out of love, but the consequences would be terrible for Hades… I cleared my throat…
-Ahem… Madam… what exactly did you steal from her… - She looked at me in tears…
-I took… I took a pinch of the punishment essences… and I spread it around the north of Greece, so that people would start dying… I didn’t know it was so lethal… - Persephone continued sobbing, looking at Hades – I was afraid of being discovered , and I fled… Sorry my Lord, sorry…
-Well, perhaps Zeus hasn’t gone into detail… but if this pandemic is so contagious, it’s a matter of time before he realizes it, and then… - I couldn’t finish, because suddenly an idea struck me - Madam… that essence has any antidote?
Persephone looked at us… then she looked at Hades, who was already calming down, and told us:
-Not that I know of… I only know that this illness changes people from within… I don’t work in medicine, perhaps Asclepio knows something else… I can ask him…
-NO!!! Don’t say anything else… -Hades’s face was contorted with fear – May the secret of your sin remain here between these foreigners and us… Listen to me… come back and try to find a remedy, but you must be discreet… and fast… if the deaths increase from abnormally, Zeus could realize what happened… Come on, go back to your world!!!
We didn’t think twice… taking advantage of the fact that Charon was still there, we climbed back to the exit of the cave… at least we already knew what had happened, and Hades’ fear of Zeus would make the secret safe… we only had find out more about the disease and try to stop it before it decimated Greece and Zeus found out… Or worse yet, that it went out to Next Island and Chief Socrates found out…