Chapter Text
Aid, O Calliope, you who had guided me in my songs of pastures, farms, and commanders, to tell now this new tale as I, in travel between the cradle of Greece and the solemn and great land of our august Caesar, home of the personage of whom this shall be about, write and speak with what strength remains in this fail mortal body. For few stories are told of the wealthy one, Dis Pater and Orcus both one and the same, whose other dreaded ancient names I dare not invoke, as he dwelt with fair Kore his wife, deep within his vast domain beyond life, between highest heaven and deepest Terra. Fewer still are spoken of the children, save in the fringes of mystery and darkness where their worship endures in the utmost secret.
So it should be no surprise that I, poor wretch feeling the end of my life begin to draw near, should pause from my ponderings on our great city’s ancestor and his exodus from his homeland in splendid Ilion, to speak of his descendant, he who blessed our capital and its seven hills with his immortal name, and of his brotherhood with the man he called twin. It is a story which begins after the adventures spoken of furtively by that wisest poet sovereign of a past age, where one day it is revealed, within the emerald twilight that bathed adamant columns of a most infernal abode, that the prince of the underworld, meant to complete his appointed rounds amongst the shades in the chthonic realms, has simply vanished with no trace…
I look forward to the completion of your impending journey, and thus the experiment. Let’s begin.
A gasp. A crash of glass. A scream as the world shifts, and the body contorts.
He trips on the suddenly too-big cape, and flies as his memories do, flies into nothing and-
Splash.
He is gone.
~ Melinoë, princess of the underworld, goddess of nightmare, slayer of monsters, subduer of time, beloved child of the crossroads, champion of the blessed, heterochromic mistress cloaked in sa- ~
“Oh, come off it now, Homer,” she huffed as floated over her sigil circle, opening her eyes. “There’s no need for the congratulatory platitudes on my behalf. I’m just waking up.”
~ Erm…in any case. Our erstwhile princess revives from her slumber, ready for another night of chasing possibilities to suppress. ~
“Just a question of which I want to pursue,” Melinoë, who was indeed all the aforesaid mentioned, murmured as her feet gently landed; once she could walk, she turned to her frog, gently scratching it on its dome. “Top side or down below. What do you think, Frinos?”
The frog, for his part, simply leaned into the touch, letting out several pleased croaks at the contact. He didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to.
“Hm. Maybe down below,” she mused. “It’s been a couple days. I think my parents might appreciate the visit. Perhaps I’ll even get an infernal contract…”
With a yawn and a stretch, she entered her tent. Still the same with her various interior upgrades, the poster of Zagreus’ boyhood idol and her cabinet of potion ingredients, and of course the new family portrait. That last thing aside, her room and all the nice things in and around her home were courtesy the ideas from her friend and renewal project supervisor.
Speaking of.
“IMpudent whelp!” The shade popped up, eyes glowing a menacing gold as their hair shadowed their terrifying vestige. “You trespass on the lands of a POWER which you CANnot perceive or withSTAND! TREMBLE and BEG for mercy, puny MEATBAG!”
“O-oh dear!” Melinoë couldn’t help the smile that played on her lips. “Please forgive me, spirit, I was unaware of-wait,” Then she blinked. “Meatbag?”
“Eh, yeah, I was just testing that one out,” Instant the monstrous shade of untold aura popped back into a thoughtful Dora. “Too extreme?”
“More like unexpected!” Melinoë chuffed. “I didn’t even know that could be a way to term the living. You’re more creative that you give yourself credit for!”
“Can’t claim credit for this one, though. I overheard it in the taverna awhile ago,” Dora shrugged. “Speaking of happenings outside the tent, though…I think we got some visitors while you were up on the surface and whatnot.”
“Oh? Who?”
“I dunno.” Of course, Dora wouldn’t know. Which, in all fairness, didn’t surprise her. “I think what’s-her-face is one of them.”
“Well, I see I should check for myself then and find out who what's-her-face is!” Melinoë gave her friend one last smile and a salute. “See you later.”
“Yeah, yeah, meatbag.” Dora stopped. “Ok, yeah, that was mean…hmm, probably should soften that…wait, should I soften it…?”
Melinoë ignore Dora’s musings on the topic, instead exiting her tent and strolling towards the cauldron. She was quite curious as to who had come. Selene, perhaps-she enjoyed speaking to the Unseen with what little time she could spare. Nyx had come often to check on Nemesis and Moros, and Charon.
Her brisk walk was stopped dead in its tracks as she saw who was talking to Hecate.
Wh…mother?
Persephone, goddess of the grain and queen of the underworld, was talking to not just the witch of the crossroads, but Selene, moon incarnate. Her expression seemed especially worried.
I… She slowly walked forward. What is she doing here?
“…has not returned to the House. I see.” Hecate turned to Selene. “And you cannot say you have seen him either.”
“My light touches much, and I can see all, but I am weakest during the new moon.” Selene gracefully shook her head. “If I indeed missed seeing him at any point, then it is my failure.”
“You needn’t blame yourself, dear Selene. If there is anyone who can beat clear this up-” At this, Hecate’s cyan eye fixed on her. “Ah, there she is. Come closer, Melinoë. Perhaps you can aid us in this.”
“I…” She walked forward, awkwardly crossing her arms. “This is…unexpected. Hello, mother.”
“Melinoë.” Persephone looked like she wanted to hug her, but refrained, instead clenching her hands, her posture stuff. “It’s good to see you, my child, no matter what the circumstances.”
“…Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Melinoë was no fool. The atmosphere was too tense, the words overheard too worried. This was no mere social call. This was something else entirely.
“…I suppose then that I should get to the point, then.” After a moment, Persephone took a deep breath. “My child, you had done your nightly run on the surface last night, during the new moon, correct?”
“Er, yes.” She nodded. “And defeated another remnant of Typhon.”
“And who aided you?”
“The Olympians, of course.”
“And Zagreus?”
“And—big brother?” Melinoë blinked. “Well, no. I didn’t see him or find an infernal contract.”
“He…wasn’t accompanying you at all.”
“Of course not. He can’t…remain…?”
Melinoë’s voice trailed off, and she looked at her elders. Her mother’s expression only became more concerned, as did Selene’s and Hecate’s. The hair on the back of her neck began to stand up.
“If he wasn’t with you, he’s missing.” Perspehone’s eyes darkened, not with rage, but fear. “No one’s seen him in three days. We thought at first he might have been able to withstand the surface due to the letter, but…when he didn’t rematerialize in the Styx, we came here.”
“And not without good reason, as your proof showed, my lady.” At this, a scroll materialized in front of Melinoë. “Your parents were led to believe that he was possibly with you, Melinoë.”
“Me?!” Now that was a good one. Zagreus had not been enchanted to survive on the surface as she had. “Hang on, let me see. What is this?”
She unfurled the scroll, eyes scanning over it once, twice, thrice. Zagreus’ handwriting was a bit messy, almost rushed.
Mother and Father,
If I’m not back from my run today, it’s because the special boon I received today worked! So I will be spending a few days up on the surface helping out Melinoë! Don’t worry, I’ll be back once it wears off. And please don’t tell her, I want it to be a nice surprise for her.
-Z
P.S. I made sure to tell Cerberus I’d be coming back, so he won’t trash the lounge again.
P.P.S. I promise I won’t step on a rake around my little sister. Or smell that oleander flower thing. Or yell really loud near a mountain.
Dread began to pool in the pit of her stomach. Her brother was missing, and all anyone had was a note of him indicating he was going to meet her. Had she somehow missed crossing paths with him? Was he now trapped somewhere in Ephyra, or gods forbid, the rift? Could he even swim, if that was the case and he somehow fell overboard-
Breathe, Melinoë. Focus on what you know to be true right now, not on what you don’t.
“A special boon…he was going to meet with me, somehow…” Scanning over the letter for more clues, Melinoë finally pursed her lips. “Wait, why’s he worried about stepping on a rake-?”
“Irrelevant.” Hecate’s voice cut through her thoughts. “It’s clear this requires investigation. If he was not with you, and he has not returned from the surface to your family’s House…then perhaps his disappearance was an inside job.”
“An inside…” Surely not. Not after all that’s happened… “Headmistress, you aren’t thinking this is Chronos’ doing?”
“That…would not be an unreasonable suspicion, lady Hecate, and we thought it possible.” Persephone bowed her head. “However, Chronos…well, we have been watching him quite closely as we agreed, and he’s not been committing any actions that are out of the ordinary or would otherwise arouse any worry. Indeed, he seemed as taken aback as any of us when we informed him of the situation.”
“Then…”
Then clearly, I know what I must do.
“…Headmistress.” Melinoë turned to the witch, bowing her head low in obeisance. “I know this request of mine will interfere with my current mission, but-”
“Now, now, don’t be silly, child.” Hecate waved off her conflict wryly. “The Queen of the Underworld clearly requires your aid. Far it be from me to forbid you from helping the House of Hades-much as it may have seemed otherwise, it was always a crucial aspect to our overall goal. And-in the face of your mother, I am but a mere handmaiden in her service. Who would I be to refuse her?”
Not simply a mere handmaiden, Melinoë thought. Family and more to us, and to me. But those are semantics we simply cannot voice here.
“Very well.” At this, Melinoë looked over at her mother. “If you’d give me a few moments to prepare, I think there might be an incantation that can aid me to finding any clues about what happened to my brother.”
“Is there?” Hope sprang into Persephone’s expression as she clutched at her dress. “Wonderful. If there’s anything I need to do, please tell me.”
“Actually, I just need a lock of your or Zagreus’s hair. I have the rest of the ingredients I need.”
Three moly, one zodiac sand, two fate fabric…cattails and stardust, much like for latent memories. She pulled out an eagle feather. Hmm.
“The Intuition of Afterthoughts,” Hecate mused as her mother ran fingers through her hair, finally producing a few strands. “A clever solution.”
“Will this work in place of his brother’s blood?”
“Prometheus was his twin brother. It should suffice for your purpose.”
“What are you doing, Melinoë?” Persephone tilted her head, proffering the locks. “Is this for an incantation?”
“It will allow me to retrace and track my brother’s presence in the past, to a point.” She accepted, putting the hair in her pouch. “Anyone who shares blood with Zagreus, actually, and anything he may have touched and bled on. But only up to a week prior; anything earlier than that will be untraceable by this spell. When did you last see or hear of Zagreus?”
“Your father last saw him at the gates to the Temple of Styx three days ago.”
“Good. Perfect.” It was a good place to begin and investigation, and better still, it was close to Ephyra. “All right, let’s do this.”
She opened her pouch, emptying the necessary ingredients into the cauldron. Instantly verdure smoke belched forth, and the pot trembled, as Melinoë lifted her arms in supplication.
“Show me the past that time may conceal from the present, as if embraced by mine eyes!” Her fiery feet lifted, and she hovered over the ground as she chanted. “Aphara aramoth, thomara arabro!”
A barroom emitted from the cauldron as the liquid within swirled, then smoked once more before the mist dissipated, the offering for the spell accepted.
“So mote it be…”
“So mote it be.” Hecate murmured in time with Melinoë. “Remember, echoes of before are more faded, child. Do not let them confuse your investigation.”
“I won’t.” Gently landing on the ground, the princess turned to her mother. “Let’s go see what Zagreus may have gotten himself into. I hope what whatever it is, he’s all right.”
Yet despite her assurance, and despite her mother’s smile at this, the feeling of dread in Melinoë’s gut didn’t subside. Zagreus may have lost some of his edge in battle, but he was hardly a wimp. He’d gotten her enough times in those Elysium exhibition games to prove that he was nothing if not a fearsome fighter. If he’d not returned home after all this time, and she hadn’t seen any trace of him…
Something is wrong. The thought refused to leave her as she led her mother to the warded entrance that ascended to Ephyra. Something is very wrong.
~One can, I hope, forgive the paltry nature of this introduction to this unexpected tale of mine. I learned long ago that brevity is as useful a tool as longevity, and I can assure you that the tale that is to unfold is quite the long one indeed. May the Muses aid my in finding my way-and may I learn who keeps moving the parchment with which this tale is meant to be written down.
Stasinus, did you take it? No? Strange. Where could it have gone?~