27th October 2012
06:43 GMT +3
"Lord Hades, King of Erebos."
I make a point of bowing to ninety degrees, a formal display of respect and deference. I'm also in formal robes, and my aura hasn't died down to anything like normal resting levels. Hades read my mood rather well, and the petitioner was politely but firmly escorted out by his guards when I arrived.
Zagreus was already here, along with his sister Macaria. I haven't had anything to do with her, though I suppose that technically I've achieved the aim that she sets for her followers on two occasions. Or was the first time too selfish? Honestly, training her up as a judge makes more sense to me than getting Zagreus or Melinoë more involved in running Erebos.
Canis doesn't bow, instead just looking around. He doesn't have that near-manic expression he gets when he sees something really interesting, but he is taking the opportunity to have a look around the last resting place of the dead of Greece and anyone who couldn't find anywhere better. Zagreus gives him the occasional look, but otherwise there's little reaction by the gods to a New God.
"Paul, Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Rise, rise." I straighten up but otherwise remain fairly rigid. "It does not require the judgement of a god to know why you are here."
"Lord Zeus."
"My brother's treatment of Diana is… A feeble smokescreen to disguise his intention."
"Nearly as feeble as the attempts by those involved to prevent me from finding out."
"If you do not want a reputation for highly aggressive responses to those who wrong your allies, then I suggest killing fewer order-lords. And if you want your other allies to have concerns about what you will do should they fail to react in a way they find pleasing, you may want to consider threatening them less."
"This isn't as bad as the Nabu situation, and they've had less time to think things through. What I wish to know is what you intend to do."
"I have explained to my brother why he should not behave in this way. He in return made certain observations concerning my own marriage and suggested that-. That was why he was disinclined to seek my advice on the subject."
"Did you intend to do anything else?"
"Not at this stage."
"Do you believe Lord Zeus for a moment when he claims that the inmates of Tartarus are at a heightened risk of escape?"
"I know of no corroborating evidence, and quite a detailed survey was made after the incidents with Donna Troy and Deva."
"What is the mechanism to talk Lord Zeus out of making a poor decision?"
"We talk to him about it until either he decides not to… Or it's too late. Princess Diana is a powerful demigoddess dealing with beings who have been imprisoned for longer than human civilisation has existed. She is in no danger, and I see little harm in her checking my work."
"You are not insulted by Lord Zeus ordering someone to check your work?"
"If the actual reason for him sending her wasn't completely transparent, then I might be." He leans forward slightly. "I will be clear now, Illustres. Much as I disagree with what my brother has done, distasteful as I find it, I will not support the sort of aggressive action with which you have become associated. I will certainly not undertake it myself."
"And if someone else did?"
He contemplates me for a few moments.
"What are you planning, Lantern?"
"A dozen or so things. But at the moment I am simply gathering information. Amongst…" I fan my hands out to either side. "Mortals, dropping waste material in a public street is a criminal act. It's not a serious act, if the quantity of waste is small. Usually a person would just get told to pick whatever it was up." I shrug. "They might get a small fine. It's not a big deal. But.. it.. is a criminal act. And a person can be taken to court over it with all the expenses that involves, and if they don't pay there are interest charges and ultimately debt recovery charges. Someone can be arrested, have their property seized… I think a person can even end up in prison for Contempt of Court if they're really intransigent about it. It's against the law, and that needs to be enforced."
"I think that I understand, but perhaps you could clarify."
"A prideful god sending a devotee on a snipe hunt isn't that big a deal. Not really. But it is a misdeed and it is likely that her friends will pursue the matter. However far they must."
"My brother does not usually respond well to efforts at compulsion."
I smile. "Neither do order-lords. In my experience."
"Do you?"
I shrug. "Diana asked me to promise not to attack Lord Zeus. I did. To an extent my hands are bound." I see Zagreus sigh with relief. "But there are ways to make a person's life awkward which do not require direct violence. And I am to my knowledge the only one so bound."
"I hear what you say."
I bow again, this time not quite so far.
"Thank you for your time, Lord Hades."
He waves his right hand in dismissal, and I turn and walk out of the throne room.
"An interesting experience." Canis pulls himself up onto Brut's back. "A less powerful figure than Darkseid."
"True. I much prefer it this way."
"I also." We head towards the exit at some speed, Brut loping along beside me as I fly. "I can scarce imagine a universe containing two Darkseids. I would be filled with a most profound confusion."
We exit the palace grounds and head 'west', towards our next interviewee.
"I was a little surprised that Melinoë wasn't there."
"Your ally, the Goddess of Nightmares and Madness?" I nod. "Truly a shame. I hoped to consult with her."
"You want to paint madness and nightmares?"
"I wish for her to unleash the full gamut of her wrath upon me, that I might make art while my mind is so afflicted. Or perhaps her efforts might be in vain; having quailed before Darkseid, other sources of fear are far less concerning."
"Maybe later."
"The witch-goddess we are visiting. I do not recall her appearing in your records."
"I've never met her before, though she has blessed Donna a few times."
"A risk, then. What knowledge do you seek that you cannot find elsewhere?"
"Hades is far more powerful than most Olympians due to his bond with Erebos. But he accepted Zeus becoming the ruler of the gods."
"He has a similar bond to some being."
"That would be my guess. But it's not mentioned in Themyscira's holy texts, and neither Hades nor Melinoë nor any of the others have mentioned it. I need to know what and I need to know how, because once I do, then I have all the leverage I need."
