Endless Pantheon: God's Heart [SG-1 / Dresden Files]
- Thread starter Todeswind
- Start date
beorn91
Ours mal léché
- Location
- France
The Illiad isn't kind to Artemis either. Her one time on the battlefield ended with Hera spanking her with her own bow until Artemis fled crying to Zeus. She got infantilised hard.
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beorn91
Ours mal léché
- Location
- France
Greek Pantheon, not the Roman equivalent. So she is wearing an himation, who was worn by both men and women . The toga and himation looked similar (but had differences) so Harry who has a low level of scholarly education for a Wizard would think this is a toga. (Because peplum).
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Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
I've spent the majority of my adult life hunting Jihadists. Even after seeing the worst of ISIL, it still baffles me every time I see it.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
Wait, what!? Is this a Eurasian thing? Because that is beyond fucked up. You try that with a Pinoy and the woman will gut you. If you succeed you'll have the entire tribe after you. Even today that is a prevalent attitude. If you evade the police, the vigilante posse that hunts you down will make you wish you'd never been born. If you're lucky the police will intervene, and take you to jail. If not they'll watch or participate in your demise.
On another note. I thought everyone knew that Dresden was free of the proscriptions of the Folly and Ascended? Or are the Olympians too far from Dresden's domain to have heard the rumours?
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Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
There are actually rules for how to buy your rape victims in the bible. There are multiple references to it but the first that come to mind is Deuteronomy 22:28-29.
Marriage by rape was common(ish) if unpopular practice till the late 1600's in Europe and persists into modernity in some parts of the world.
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
Marriage was very much a economic arrangement before it was a romantic one, and anything that threatened legitimacy was therefore an economic problem. Loss of virginity was damaging to marriage prospects, and rape was to some degree seen as a economic crime rather than a personal one.
It's a totally alien mindset to us, and I'm glad of that.
Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
It's one of the most productive gifts of Victorian Era Imperialism. The popularization of marriage for love is one of the rarely discussed benefits of that era.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
That is crazy. For us women and children were the future of the people. Men were expendable, women were not. Anything that harmed women and children were taboo. Only women who joined warrior societies ever faced the possibility of a violent death. The Matriarchs ruled in civil affairs, diplomacy and shared authority with the Patriarchs in matters of Law and Customs. The Patriarchs ruled in matters of war, warrior lodges and hunting.
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Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
It's not that women were disposable, it's that EVERYONE was disposable.
Arimai
Curmudgeon
I guess the larger populations of Lowlanders and the relatively less harsher environment contributed to that mindset. Its odd. The constant tribal warfare led to us considering women and children sacrosanct and non-expendables. While the less frequent wars of lowland realms led to everyone becoming expendable.
Then again lowland wars tended to be larger and more destructive. When the Chinese and Muslim realms came invading they tended to eradicate entire tribes, enslaving a small percentage as a labour force. It was an Alien way to make war. An incomprehensible concept to own another human
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Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Pretty much; farming means food surplus, which means population surplus, which means individual people are expendable.
Once a culture starts farming, the people working the land stop being important and the land itself becomes important instead, because the people can be replaced but the land cannot.
beorn91
Ours mal léché
- Location
- France
The thing is that before the Fourth Lateran Council (1215 CE), marriage for love was possible among Christians. Before the Council, marriage only needed be between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman, not being incestuous, the consent of the two and God as witness. De jure, people could marry without human witness, and everywhere, even on the road or in their bed just before consuming it. And some people did.
Of course, the absence of witnesses caused a lot of problems even if the developement of some customs to show signs of consents, like giving special torques and later rings. Notably within nobility. Caused a lot of annulment. Which is why the Fourth Lateran Council made mandatory to have a priest officing the wedding and registering it, and to have two witnesses.
The need of a priest also helped verifying the degree of parentage between the spouses before the wedding. Unknown incest being one of the main causes of annulment, morever when Canon law then banned marriages between seven degrees of parentage (calculated starting common ancestor). The Fourth Lateran Council also redefined incest and the ban to relationships within four degrees of parentage because the ancient ban was extremely difficult to follow not only for the nobility and even more for the commoners who had even more difficulties to verify genealogies over seven generations and who were much less mobile.
However while the redefinition of incest to only four degree of parentages and the obligation to have human witnesses and to have the marriage witness and registered by a person of authority were necessary reforms, those reforms were backed and pushed by the nobility, which is why the Fourth Lateran Council also remplaced in the Canon Law the consent of the spouses by the consent of the parents and the spouses having to follow the choice of their parents.
Chapter 15
Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
I walked back to the section of seating that was unofficially the gathering area for my Pantheon. It would seem that in spite of the initial comradery that had been displayed by all parties in greeting each other, the extremely tribal nature of the Goa'uld was not to be overcome by the promise of peace alone. I would note that the Goa'uld of my court all seemed paradoxically eager to be visibly proximate to me now that we were in plain view of the other pantheons. Goa'uld who'd outright fled me on the station were all smiles and praises as I walked towards the large cushion that Amun seemed to have reserved on my behalf.
He was entertaining the children with an exaggerated story and was so enthralled with keeping them amused that he didn't notice me passing him to sit down until he paused for breath - frozen in pantomime imitation of a large canine with it's leg cocked to one side, halfway through a pretend tail wiggle. He sputtered and abruptly stood at attention, much to the children's consternation, stutter speaking, "My Lord Warden - how may I serve you? Do you desire food or drink?"
"Not at the moment," I waved away Amun's offer of a plate before reconsidering and taking it from him. Part of the obligations of guest and host was to trust that one's host would see to your welfare. One needed to eat the food offered and do so visibly to avoid causing a social gaff. My subordinates certainly seemed to be devouring food without apparent harm being done to them.
Grayson pouted and turned to Ms. Mary, "Aww, he was getting to the good part!"
"Duty first, child. He has made a promise to serve his lord." The fairy paused after saying that, waiting for the children's response.
The three children I'd brought with me replied almost instantly, in near sing-sing cadence. "And a promise is a promise."
The Child who'd previously been my "wife's" host did her best to repeat after them, but she wasn't skilled enough with the dialects of the Goa'uld to do more than just repeat the vague impression of the sounds she'd heard. She seemed mostly confused by what was happening around her but understood enough to realize that the children she was with were treating her as family.
Enlil placed his hand on the child's shoulder and said something to her that was too quiet to be heard, earning a titter of laughter from the child as he pointed at me and made an exaggerated puff of his cheeks to punctuate his statement. He grabbed two braids of beard and waggled them at her to make the bells in them jingle cheerily as he did so. The child slapped his hand playfully in reply, earning a brief nod of approval from Ms. Mary.
I turned to Bob the Mummy and stared at his silent form for an embarrassingly long time before it occurred to me that he was still under orders not to speak. He was liberally interpreting my previous command just to be deliberately stubborn but it was within the letter of my last order to him not to speak till I declared my conversation with Hera to be "over." Malicious obedience was a primary talent of any spiritual entity bound to the will of another.
"You have permission to speak, Bob," I replied.
"Oh, goodie." Bob replied sarcastically. "You realize that I'm entirely pointless as an advisor if you don't give me the ability to advise, right?"
"I'm asking you now, aren't I?" I jibed back.
"Yes… because this is suddenly so much more private. We have so many chances for me to honestly answer your questions." Bob rolled his eyelights at the multitude of sub-lords sitting in concentric circles of cushions around my place of honor. He was right, of course, all of them were only half focused on their own revelries. They were all keeping one eye on me, likely trying to find out where they fit in the new court dynamic.
"Ok - fair." I admitted. "We'll go over the evidence once we've gone back for the night. There's a lot to consider."
"Which part? The impossible entrance? The endless list of suspects including the most likely suspect who couldn't have done it? The victim who doesn't seem to want this mystery solved?" Bob let out a snort that shouldn't have been possible without lungs. "Or the fact that your butler is better at political games than you are?"
"You noticed as well?" I chuckled. My Lo'tar was apparently as dangerous with a seating chart as Ul'tak was with a staff weapon.
With the exception of my wives, Amun seemed to have seated my subordinates proportionally to their ability to follow me in our procession. Those who'd fallen after only a short jog were exiled to the distant cushions bordering on the delegations from Pelops and Bast. Conversely, Ihy and Wepwawet were actually seated along with my wives and children in the inner circle. Neither one of them seemed entirely certain of why they'd earned this seating or if they should consider it a good thing.
Amun didn't say anything but he had a wicked little smile on his face that told me he knew exactly what he'd done. My Lo'tar was becoming formidable in his own right.
Fortunately for me, indiffernely ignoring my sub-lords was an assumed constant of my sensibilities. I instead addressed Tyat, pointing to the knit cap and dress that the child I'd taken from Werethekau was now wearing. It was an elaborately tailored little dress, lovingly adorned with patterns of dancing egyptian birds wearing funny little pharoah hats and beards.
"Your work, I assume?" I inquired of the crone. I was growing to like the dottery old biddy.
"Obviously." Tyat didn't bother to look up at me. "After who had her, it seemed the fitting thing to do."
"Thank you." My lip curled in disgust at the thought of Werethekau. "She deserves nice things."
"Well, I can't have the physical proof of that mewling quim's exile looking anything less than stunning, can I?" Tyat's malevolent glee once again uncomfortably reminded me of Mother Winter. Her ancient hatred of her fellow wife simmered in long delayed satisfaction as her voice became an outright purr. "That child shall be an icon of her hubris. She will live a long and prosperous life that the bitch will never even imagine."
Right, Goa'uld - even when she did something nice it was at least partially out of spite. I gave her what I hoped was a conspiratorial nod of agreement, then turned back to Bob and Enlil. "Do you recognize everyone here?"
"No, but that's hardly a surprise. There are thousands of pantheons and lesser pantheons who've splintered away from each other over the centuries." Enlil pointed to several different delegations he recognized, counting them internally before continuing. "I know some, but not all of them. Those are from Olokun's delegation over there - well… as much as it can be called a delegation."
Olokun's delegation was… well… tiny. He was traveling with numerous Jaffa but no sub-lords. There were many empty places in the part of the hall that seemed to have been designated for his use. I furrowed my brow as I tried to remember what I knew of Olokun. "He's an Ocean god, right? Like Poseidon?"
"Not like Poseidon, no." Enlil laughed, jiggling the bells and bangles in his beard as he pulled out a compact mirror and adjusted his makeup. "Poseidon is direct, forceful, and immediate. His power is peer to that of Zeus. Olokun is…. circumspect. Nobody entirely knows how powerful he is or what he actually aspires to achieve. The man moves under the waves of his ocean worlds like a shadow. Nobody is sure what moves beneath the surface."
"I'm guessing that they were expecting him to bring more people?" Bob intoned idly as he picked up a pastry and started rolling it over his bony digits for no other reason than to fit in with everyone else who was eating. "Or does he just have an extreme fondness for his personal space?"
"Both, I suspect." Enlil intoned. "Poseidon was his ally. He couldn't not come at all without potentially being seen as a co-conspirator but he can withdraw the majority of his people in protest."
"Ballsy to come by himself." I let out a whistle.
"Necessary." Enlil corrected me. "A pantheon that attends the Olympics must send their Head of State or not attend at all. It's part of Zeus' method of keeping the peace."
"I suppose it makes sense." I admitted. "So everyone's ruler is here."
"Well… almost." Enlil conceded. "Supposedly Manannan mac Lir has some sort of an ancient agreement that his wife can come in his stead as long as he stays in orbit."
Enlil pointed at a black-clad redhead standing in the center of a group of Jaffa whose garments seemed closer to that of a knight in shining armor than the armor favored by most of Ra's pantheon. "Morrigan is the exception that proves the rule. She comes in his stead. Don't waste time trying to figure out which one of her entourage she is. She commonly swaps bodies and has sub-lords pretend to be her."
Mannan mac Lir and Morrigan were both mythological figures about whom I knew simultaneously quite a lot and virtually nothing at all. They both figured into Celtic mythology heavily, figures of potent magical power and importance in both Celtic and Arthurian lore. Neither of whom was on the "good guy" side of mythology in the slightest.
I could almost swear that Morrigan could hear me thinking about me. She whipped her head around to stare back at me with her clover green irises. I could just barely see the arrogant smirk upon her lips, a self satisfied smile filled with cruel mirth.
"It's the redhead." I replied immediately, a shock of insight running up my spine as the woman focused piercing green orbs upon me from across the room. Even separated by half a football field worth of revelers I could feel the immediacy of her interest in me. It wasn't magic - just pure intensity.
I pulled my gaze from her and asked Enlil. "Anyone else I should know about?"
"Most of the pantheons that attend this event are of little note and lesser power. I don't recognize many of them, mind you, I've been rather out of the loop politically for thousands of years." Enlil admitted grudgingly as he looked around the room. "Khali, Zipacna, Pelops, Amaterasu, Tengri, and - oh my - Quetesh?"
"Oh crap," I groaned, remembering the sexually aggressive overtures taken by the goddess to woo me on Delmak. "Quetesh is here?"
"Indeed, she's over on the other side of Kali's delegation." Ul'tal pointed her out. "With a curiously small entourage as well."
"There's no mystery to it, at all." Tyat scoffed, only choosing to interpose herself in our conversation at the apparent opportunity to gossip at the cost of her rival. "Ba'al has been taking her strongholds one by one. I don't even know if she has more than a dozen hidden strongholds to her name any more. She probably has no more than what you see."
"Ah - she's hunting a pantheon to join." Enlil sounded thoughtful for a moment before saying. "But not ours. Quetesh's treatment of her slaves wouldn't fit in with your new order."
"And she doesn't have the resources to merit bothering to borrow her enemies." Tyat agreed as she continued her needlepoint. She appeared to be sewing a picture of the party in progress. How she'd managed the absurd degree of detail since I'd sat in place was a testament to her millennia of practice.
"She didn't impress me." I agreed, looking out at the scared looking Goa'uld and her sub-lords. She hardly seemed like the woman I'd met on Delmak at all. She seemed terrified of everyone around her. "But I doubt she had the access to be relevant of our investigation."
"You've already met Bast and her subordinates, of course." Enlil continued his previous rant, "That's pretty much the relevant parties to your interests, anyway."
"I was surprised they invited her," Ihy interjected. "Given the implications in her war."
"Ah." I actually hadn't considered that but he was right. In inviting Bastet and not Heru'ur, Zeus was essentially declaring who Olympus recognized as the official ruler of the contested Egyptian pantheon. Which, unfortunately, meant that he was also recognizing Nekheb as the official seat of power for Sokar's former realm. "Dare I ask of Apophis has a delegation present?"
Enlil seemed to be following my trail of thoughts. "Lamentably no - I wouldn't worry about it in the immediate. Apophis was bound to declare war on Nekheb eventually and it's considered traditional for all attendees to enforce the olympic peace upon someone who tries to use the Olympics as a pretense to declare war. And we still have Gehenna between Delmak and Nekheb."
"Only a fool believes his enemy will act with caution when audacity might win him all." Wepwawet flashed his mouth full of Iron teeth, the manic glint of his eyes simmering with pathological bloodlust. "Apophis was second only to Ra. If the conditions favor us, it is only in the immediate."
"I would have thought you to be properly humbled by this morning, Wepwawet." Enlil jibed idly at the man he'd recently shot.
"If your life to this point hasn't humbled you, Enlil, all of us can keep our heads held high forever." Wepwawet replied with ... not kindness but certainly a more jovial brand of malice. He shrugged his shoulders and I realized that I could hear a distinctly mechanical sound as he did so.
"Be civil." I intoned idly, not specifically directing it at anyone. "We are guests."
It was kind of funny how well parenting tactics stolen from the Carpenter household seemed to be equally effective on misbehaving godlings. Though - it would seem - less so on the actual children in my care.
"How did you get those teeth!" Squealed the eager voice of Arran as she practically vibrated with excitement in her chair. "They're so cool."
Wepwawet's eyes flashed with rage at being directly addressed by a human before the ferocious glare of Ms. Mary from behind the little girl reminded him of exactly to whom the child "belonged." For lack of a more practical response, Wepwawet found himself actually answering her question and seemed confused that he was doing so. "I made them to replace the teeth I lost in a fight."
"What were you fighting?" Grayson asked eagerly. "Was it a vampire?"
"A troll, actually." Wepwawet seemed to be considering how much to actually say before settling on. "The Vampires were later - back when Ammit and I were evacuating the First World. I was one of the Generals Anubis left behind to fight with her before the Great Ritual."
"That is quite enough from the two of you." Ms. Mary childed the children, though I'd note only after she made sure that Wepwawet answered their questions. "Now is the time for you to eat in silence."
Ul'tak approached me and saluted, "Sir - the High Priestess and the witnesses have been returned to the palace."
"Already," I blinked in surprise. "That was fast."
"I used a ring transporter. Hestia has apparently authorized us to use them in the pursuit of this investigation." Ul'tak replied.
"Hestia, not Zeus or Hera? You're sure of that?" I chewed the inside of my lip.
"Yes, Lord Warden." Ul'tak replied. "Her human servants were quite clear it was by her direction that our use of them was to be permitted."
"That means something…" I muttered to Bob. "Damned if I know what, but it does."
"I'll add her to the list." Bob shrugged, shifting himself on the cushion he was seated. I wasn't sure if that was a nervous tic or if Bob actually had some proxy of physical comfort that he was aspiring to achieve.
There was a loud chiming of bells and my attention was drawn to the center of the room where Zeus and Hera stood together on a raised platform. They were doing a good job of not demonstrating how much they hated each other's guts, not that there was any point to the artifice. We all knew the reality in spite of their theater.
Zeus' voice boomed across the room, magnified by some unseen technology as an image of his face hovered over each delegation. His bombastic greeting bordered on an outright assault on the ears as we were inundated by his aggressive joviality. "Hello and welcome to the Olympic games. It is wonderful to see you all once more. Be welcome in my home and may the peace of Olympus be upon you."
There was a loud rise of cheers in response to that I reflexively found myself caught up in. It was hard not to feel inclined to participate in cheering for peace, even if I found it's originator to be a detestable pig of a man. Zeus waited for the cheers to die down before continuing, "The rules for the olympics are as they always were. The only place for violence is on the competition field. Athletes are given a blanket pardon for any violence they inflict upon their peers. Lethal damage in a non-combat sport will disqualify an athlete. If an athlete dies in the match he may only be resurrected after the olympics have completed."
"He or she, beloved." Hera chimed in pointedly. "Remember the terms of Bastet's participation."
"He or… she." Zeus repeated. seemingly more amused than annoyed by female athletes. He grinned even wider as a thought seemed to dawn upon him as he looked out at the massive carnivores chowing down in the distance. "For whatever species wishes to participate. Unas, Sekhmet, and whatever else may come…"
Hera's face twitched only slightly but I caught the irritation. He clearly hadn't discussed the participation of crocodilian Unas or the leonine Sekhmet with her. Hell, he might not have planned it before she corrected him in public.
"In their own category, of course." Hera intoned. "As we already separate the Jaffa and human competitors."
Zeus actually paused for a moment then conceded the point. "Of course, my love."
Hera didn't say anything in response. She just smiled that terrifyingly chipper smile.
"We are getting increasingly generous with the prizes this year. In addition to the normal awards of riches, slaves, and land for the athletes we have something special in mind for this year." Zeus continued. "And you all have the Lord Warden to thank for it!"
"Oh fuck." I groaned, looking at Enlil. "What's he up to?"
"I have no clue, Lord Warden." Enlil replied sincerely.
"You may have noticed the inclusion of certain 'vice laws' that weren't previously requirements of the festival. You may thank the Lord Warden for those." Zeus' hologram continued unabated over us. "I suddenly find my pantheon in the possession of an abundance of servants and slaves that can't be used for their intended function while keeping in line with my treaties."
"That fucking dickhead." I snarled, realizing what he was up to. "That unmitigated asshole."
"So - instead of just disposing of them, I figured "what the hell?" Let someone else get some proper use out of them." Zeus grinned widely. "So to whichever nation outside of olympus goes the greatest victories, goes my sudden surplus of slaves! Use them as you will for as long as they draw breath - or as short. They are yours to decide."
"Ul'tak?" My voice vibrated with barely controlled contempt.
"Yes, Lord Warden?" My First Prime replied.
"I've got a message for all of our athletes." I growled. "The kids come with us. Losing stopped being an option."
"Victory through strength." Ul'tak agreed.
Not for the first time I wondered if solving Zeus' murder was more reasonable than just killing him myself.
He was entertaining the children with an exaggerated story and was so enthralled with keeping them amused that he didn't notice me passing him to sit down until he paused for breath - frozen in pantomime imitation of a large canine with it's leg cocked to one side, halfway through a pretend tail wiggle. He sputtered and abruptly stood at attention, much to the children's consternation, stutter speaking, "My Lord Warden - how may I serve you? Do you desire food or drink?"
"Not at the moment," I waved away Amun's offer of a plate before reconsidering and taking it from him. Part of the obligations of guest and host was to trust that one's host would see to your welfare. One needed to eat the food offered and do so visibly to avoid causing a social gaff. My subordinates certainly seemed to be devouring food without apparent harm being done to them.
Grayson pouted and turned to Ms. Mary, "Aww, he was getting to the good part!"
"Duty first, child. He has made a promise to serve his lord." The fairy paused after saying that, waiting for the children's response.
The three children I'd brought with me replied almost instantly, in near sing-sing cadence. "And a promise is a promise."
The Child who'd previously been my "wife's" host did her best to repeat after them, but she wasn't skilled enough with the dialects of the Goa'uld to do more than just repeat the vague impression of the sounds she'd heard. She seemed mostly confused by what was happening around her but understood enough to realize that the children she was with were treating her as family.
Enlil placed his hand on the child's shoulder and said something to her that was too quiet to be heard, earning a titter of laughter from the child as he pointed at me and made an exaggerated puff of his cheeks to punctuate his statement. He grabbed two braids of beard and waggled them at her to make the bells in them jingle cheerily as he did so. The child slapped his hand playfully in reply, earning a brief nod of approval from Ms. Mary.
I turned to Bob the Mummy and stared at his silent form for an embarrassingly long time before it occurred to me that he was still under orders not to speak. He was liberally interpreting my previous command just to be deliberately stubborn but it was within the letter of my last order to him not to speak till I declared my conversation with Hera to be "over." Malicious obedience was a primary talent of any spiritual entity bound to the will of another.
"You have permission to speak, Bob," I replied.
"Oh, goodie." Bob replied sarcastically. "You realize that I'm entirely pointless as an advisor if you don't give me the ability to advise, right?"
"I'm asking you now, aren't I?" I jibed back.
"Yes… because this is suddenly so much more private. We have so many chances for me to honestly answer your questions." Bob rolled his eyelights at the multitude of sub-lords sitting in concentric circles of cushions around my place of honor. He was right, of course, all of them were only half focused on their own revelries. They were all keeping one eye on me, likely trying to find out where they fit in the new court dynamic.
"Ok - fair." I admitted. "We'll go over the evidence once we've gone back for the night. There's a lot to consider."
"Which part? The impossible entrance? The endless list of suspects including the most likely suspect who couldn't have done it? The victim who doesn't seem to want this mystery solved?" Bob let out a snort that shouldn't have been possible without lungs. "Or the fact that your butler is better at political games than you are?"
"You noticed as well?" I chuckled. My Lo'tar was apparently as dangerous with a seating chart as Ul'tak was with a staff weapon.
With the exception of my wives, Amun seemed to have seated my subordinates proportionally to their ability to follow me in our procession. Those who'd fallen after only a short jog were exiled to the distant cushions bordering on the delegations from Pelops and Bast. Conversely, Ihy and Wepwawet were actually seated along with my wives and children in the inner circle. Neither one of them seemed entirely certain of why they'd earned this seating or if they should consider it a good thing.
Amun didn't say anything but he had a wicked little smile on his face that told me he knew exactly what he'd done. My Lo'tar was becoming formidable in his own right.
Fortunately for me, indiffernely ignoring my sub-lords was an assumed constant of my sensibilities. I instead addressed Tyat, pointing to the knit cap and dress that the child I'd taken from Werethekau was now wearing. It was an elaborately tailored little dress, lovingly adorned with patterns of dancing egyptian birds wearing funny little pharoah hats and beards.
"Your work, I assume?" I inquired of the crone. I was growing to like the dottery old biddy.
"Obviously." Tyat didn't bother to look up at me. "After who had her, it seemed the fitting thing to do."
"Thank you." My lip curled in disgust at the thought of Werethekau. "She deserves nice things."
"Well, I can't have the physical proof of that mewling quim's exile looking anything less than stunning, can I?" Tyat's malevolent glee once again uncomfortably reminded me of Mother Winter. Her ancient hatred of her fellow wife simmered in long delayed satisfaction as her voice became an outright purr. "That child shall be an icon of her hubris. She will live a long and prosperous life that the bitch will never even imagine."
Right, Goa'uld - even when she did something nice it was at least partially out of spite. I gave her what I hoped was a conspiratorial nod of agreement, then turned back to Bob and Enlil. "Do you recognize everyone here?"
"No, but that's hardly a surprise. There are thousands of pantheons and lesser pantheons who've splintered away from each other over the centuries." Enlil pointed to several different delegations he recognized, counting them internally before continuing. "I know some, but not all of them. Those are from Olokun's delegation over there - well… as much as it can be called a delegation."
Olokun's delegation was… well… tiny. He was traveling with numerous Jaffa but no sub-lords. There were many empty places in the part of the hall that seemed to have been designated for his use. I furrowed my brow as I tried to remember what I knew of Olokun. "He's an Ocean god, right? Like Poseidon?"
"Not like Poseidon, no." Enlil laughed, jiggling the bells and bangles in his beard as he pulled out a compact mirror and adjusted his makeup. "Poseidon is direct, forceful, and immediate. His power is peer to that of Zeus. Olokun is…. circumspect. Nobody entirely knows how powerful he is or what he actually aspires to achieve. The man moves under the waves of his ocean worlds like a shadow. Nobody is sure what moves beneath the surface."
"I'm guessing that they were expecting him to bring more people?" Bob intoned idly as he picked up a pastry and started rolling it over his bony digits for no other reason than to fit in with everyone else who was eating. "Or does he just have an extreme fondness for his personal space?"
"Both, I suspect." Enlil intoned. "Poseidon was his ally. He couldn't not come at all without potentially being seen as a co-conspirator but he can withdraw the majority of his people in protest."
"Ballsy to come by himself." I let out a whistle.
"Necessary." Enlil corrected me. "A pantheon that attends the Olympics must send their Head of State or not attend at all. It's part of Zeus' method of keeping the peace."
"I suppose it makes sense." I admitted. "So everyone's ruler is here."
"Well… almost." Enlil conceded. "Supposedly Manannan mac Lir has some sort of an ancient agreement that his wife can come in his stead as long as he stays in orbit."
Enlil pointed at a black-clad redhead standing in the center of a group of Jaffa whose garments seemed closer to that of a knight in shining armor than the armor favored by most of Ra's pantheon. "Morrigan is the exception that proves the rule. She comes in his stead. Don't waste time trying to figure out which one of her entourage she is. She commonly swaps bodies and has sub-lords pretend to be her."
Mannan mac Lir and Morrigan were both mythological figures about whom I knew simultaneously quite a lot and virtually nothing at all. They both figured into Celtic mythology heavily, figures of potent magical power and importance in both Celtic and Arthurian lore. Neither of whom was on the "good guy" side of mythology in the slightest.
I could almost swear that Morrigan could hear me thinking about me. She whipped her head around to stare back at me with her clover green irises. I could just barely see the arrogant smirk upon her lips, a self satisfied smile filled with cruel mirth.
"It's the redhead." I replied immediately, a shock of insight running up my spine as the woman focused piercing green orbs upon me from across the room. Even separated by half a football field worth of revelers I could feel the immediacy of her interest in me. It wasn't magic - just pure intensity.
I pulled my gaze from her and asked Enlil. "Anyone else I should know about?"
"Most of the pantheons that attend this event are of little note and lesser power. I don't recognize many of them, mind you, I've been rather out of the loop politically for thousands of years." Enlil admitted grudgingly as he looked around the room. "Khali, Zipacna, Pelops, Amaterasu, Tengri, and - oh my - Quetesh?"
"Oh crap," I groaned, remembering the sexually aggressive overtures taken by the goddess to woo me on Delmak. "Quetesh is here?"
"Indeed, she's over on the other side of Kali's delegation." Ul'tal pointed her out. "With a curiously small entourage as well."
"There's no mystery to it, at all." Tyat scoffed, only choosing to interpose herself in our conversation at the apparent opportunity to gossip at the cost of her rival. "Ba'al has been taking her strongholds one by one. I don't even know if she has more than a dozen hidden strongholds to her name any more. She probably has no more than what you see."
"Ah - she's hunting a pantheon to join." Enlil sounded thoughtful for a moment before saying. "But not ours. Quetesh's treatment of her slaves wouldn't fit in with your new order."
"And she doesn't have the resources to merit bothering to borrow her enemies." Tyat agreed as she continued her needlepoint. She appeared to be sewing a picture of the party in progress. How she'd managed the absurd degree of detail since I'd sat in place was a testament to her millennia of practice.
"She didn't impress me." I agreed, looking out at the scared looking Goa'uld and her sub-lords. She hardly seemed like the woman I'd met on Delmak at all. She seemed terrified of everyone around her. "But I doubt she had the access to be relevant of our investigation."
"You've already met Bast and her subordinates, of course." Enlil continued his previous rant, "That's pretty much the relevant parties to your interests, anyway."
"I was surprised they invited her," Ihy interjected. "Given the implications in her war."
"Ah." I actually hadn't considered that but he was right. In inviting Bastet and not Heru'ur, Zeus was essentially declaring who Olympus recognized as the official ruler of the contested Egyptian pantheon. Which, unfortunately, meant that he was also recognizing Nekheb as the official seat of power for Sokar's former realm. "Dare I ask of Apophis has a delegation present?"
Enlil seemed to be following my trail of thoughts. "Lamentably no - I wouldn't worry about it in the immediate. Apophis was bound to declare war on Nekheb eventually and it's considered traditional for all attendees to enforce the olympic peace upon someone who tries to use the Olympics as a pretense to declare war. And we still have Gehenna between Delmak and Nekheb."
"Only a fool believes his enemy will act with caution when audacity might win him all." Wepwawet flashed his mouth full of Iron teeth, the manic glint of his eyes simmering with pathological bloodlust. "Apophis was second only to Ra. If the conditions favor us, it is only in the immediate."
"I would have thought you to be properly humbled by this morning, Wepwawet." Enlil jibed idly at the man he'd recently shot.
"If your life to this point hasn't humbled you, Enlil, all of us can keep our heads held high forever." Wepwawet replied with ... not kindness but certainly a more jovial brand of malice. He shrugged his shoulders and I realized that I could hear a distinctly mechanical sound as he did so.
"Be civil." I intoned idly, not specifically directing it at anyone. "We are guests."
It was kind of funny how well parenting tactics stolen from the Carpenter household seemed to be equally effective on misbehaving godlings. Though - it would seem - less so on the actual children in my care.
"How did you get those teeth!" Squealed the eager voice of Arran as she practically vibrated with excitement in her chair. "They're so cool."
Wepwawet's eyes flashed with rage at being directly addressed by a human before the ferocious glare of Ms. Mary from behind the little girl reminded him of exactly to whom the child "belonged." For lack of a more practical response, Wepwawet found himself actually answering her question and seemed confused that he was doing so. "I made them to replace the teeth I lost in a fight."
"What were you fighting?" Grayson asked eagerly. "Was it a vampire?"
"A troll, actually." Wepwawet seemed to be considering how much to actually say before settling on. "The Vampires were later - back when Ammit and I were evacuating the First World. I was one of the Generals Anubis left behind to fight with her before the Great Ritual."
"That is quite enough from the two of you." Ms. Mary childed the children, though I'd note only after she made sure that Wepwawet answered their questions. "Now is the time for you to eat in silence."
Ul'tak approached me and saluted, "Sir - the High Priestess and the witnesses have been returned to the palace."
"Already," I blinked in surprise. "That was fast."
"I used a ring transporter. Hestia has apparently authorized us to use them in the pursuit of this investigation." Ul'tak replied.
"Hestia, not Zeus or Hera? You're sure of that?" I chewed the inside of my lip.
"Yes, Lord Warden." Ul'tak replied. "Her human servants were quite clear it was by her direction that our use of them was to be permitted."
"That means something…" I muttered to Bob. "Damned if I know what, but it does."
"I'll add her to the list." Bob shrugged, shifting himself on the cushion he was seated. I wasn't sure if that was a nervous tic or if Bob actually had some proxy of physical comfort that he was aspiring to achieve.
There was a loud chiming of bells and my attention was drawn to the center of the room where Zeus and Hera stood together on a raised platform. They were doing a good job of not demonstrating how much they hated each other's guts, not that there was any point to the artifice. We all knew the reality in spite of their theater.
Zeus' voice boomed across the room, magnified by some unseen technology as an image of his face hovered over each delegation. His bombastic greeting bordered on an outright assault on the ears as we were inundated by his aggressive joviality. "Hello and welcome to the Olympic games. It is wonderful to see you all once more. Be welcome in my home and may the peace of Olympus be upon you."
There was a loud rise of cheers in response to that I reflexively found myself caught up in. It was hard not to feel inclined to participate in cheering for peace, even if I found it's originator to be a detestable pig of a man. Zeus waited for the cheers to die down before continuing, "The rules for the olympics are as they always were. The only place for violence is on the competition field. Athletes are given a blanket pardon for any violence they inflict upon their peers. Lethal damage in a non-combat sport will disqualify an athlete. If an athlete dies in the match he may only be resurrected after the olympics have completed."
"He or she, beloved." Hera chimed in pointedly. "Remember the terms of Bastet's participation."
"He or… she." Zeus repeated. seemingly more amused than annoyed by female athletes. He grinned even wider as a thought seemed to dawn upon him as he looked out at the massive carnivores chowing down in the distance. "For whatever species wishes to participate. Unas, Sekhmet, and whatever else may come…"
Hera's face twitched only slightly but I caught the irritation. He clearly hadn't discussed the participation of crocodilian Unas or the leonine Sekhmet with her. Hell, he might not have planned it before she corrected him in public.
"In their own category, of course." Hera intoned. "As we already separate the Jaffa and human competitors."
Zeus actually paused for a moment then conceded the point. "Of course, my love."
Hera didn't say anything in response. She just smiled that terrifyingly chipper smile.
"We are getting increasingly generous with the prizes this year. In addition to the normal awards of riches, slaves, and land for the athletes we have something special in mind for this year." Zeus continued. "And you all have the Lord Warden to thank for it!"
"Oh fuck." I groaned, looking at Enlil. "What's he up to?"
"I have no clue, Lord Warden." Enlil replied sincerely.
"You may have noticed the inclusion of certain 'vice laws' that weren't previously requirements of the festival. You may thank the Lord Warden for those." Zeus' hologram continued unabated over us. "I suddenly find my pantheon in the possession of an abundance of servants and slaves that can't be used for their intended function while keeping in line with my treaties."
"That fucking dickhead." I snarled, realizing what he was up to. "That unmitigated asshole."
"So - instead of just disposing of them, I figured "what the hell?" Let someone else get some proper use out of them." Zeus grinned widely. "So to whichever nation outside of olympus goes the greatest victories, goes my sudden surplus of slaves! Use them as you will for as long as they draw breath - or as short. They are yours to decide."
"Ul'tak?" My voice vibrated with barely controlled contempt.
"Yes, Lord Warden?" My First Prime replied.
"I've got a message for all of our athletes." I growled. "The kids come with us. Losing stopped being an option."
"Victory through strength." Ul'tak agreed.
Not for the first time I wondered if solving Zeus' murder was more reasonable than just killing him myself.
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- Location
- Academy City
- Pronouns
- They
You and everyone else who's met the man, Dresden. Fucking mood.
Really liking how peeks behind the political curtain are being handled; it's an effective way to imply depth without having to waste too much screentime and words on giving it to the readers.
RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Well, after that introduction, there was only one thing I could say.
"Mab, Mab, Mab."
"Mab, Mab, Mab."
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Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
@Todeswind, 14 was never threadmarked <.<
mouli
Terrible QM
- Location
- United States
I mean, he does have 'Begrudgingly threadmarking' in user title slot
.Checks out, I think.
Stratagemini
Totally a Fire Ferret.
- Location
- Central Park
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Who murdered Zeus? Ha'Ri!
Todeswind
Begrudgingly thread marking.
- Location
- Ry'leth
Not yet.
Shippou
Kitsune Trickster
It's treason then.