Stolen Seasons: The Myth of Persephone and Hades

Welcome Mortal [[Proceed]]

You have traveled very far to seek out my knowledge and divination. Speak your earthly name! (input-box:2bind $Name,"X====") [[Continue]]

Ah yes... $Name I already knew that.... NO MATTER! It is time I lift the veil between mortals and the Gods. Be warned, $Name, that on your journey, not everything is exactly as it seems… [[Chapter 1]]

You awaken in a field of beautiful lush flowers, smelling of lilacs and cedar. You look around to see a clear sky with the bright sun shining down on earth. You look down to discover that you are dressed in a beautiful gown adorned with intricate patterns of various flowers and wildlife. You see life through the eyes of the goddess Persephone, the goddess of spring and nature. You notice a movement beyond the tree line. Do you remain where you are, or do you go and identify what is making the commotion? [[Remain Where You Are]] [[Go Over and Investigate ]]

You decide to remain where you are. You continue taking in the aroma of fresh nature around you, but the sound beyond the trees is getting louder. You have to go and investigate. [[Go Over and Investigate ]]

You begin your journey into the tree line. Once you reach the tree line, you hear an animal crying. It's high-pitched, and you understand an animal is in pain. You begin to run. You encounter a small clearing surrounded by trees, and you spot a wounded deer, clearly in distress. You begin to feel immense grief as you observe the deer until you notice the woman who has walked into the clearing. [[Who is the woman?]]

As the veiled woman steps into the sunlight breaking through the branches, you recognize her immediatly. Your mother, Demeter, has come to heal the animal. As the goddess of nature, Demeter is always ready to protect the children of nature, especially Gaia's children, the animals. You have seen your mother bring all sorts of animals back from Hades’s doorstep, and you expect this time to be the same. Except this time…your mother isn't healing the deer; she simply sits beside it, just letting it die? [[Remain Hidden Among the Trees]] [[Intervene ]]

You study your mother closely. Why is she just sitting there? As you lean in closer //CRACK// A branch gives way under you, she knows you are watching. [[Intervene ]]

You step into the clearing, asking your mother why she isn't helping the wounded deer. Demeter looks at you with empathy, and she explains that it is not our job to save everyone; sometimes, allowing nature to take its course and being a comfort for a dying animal is all that is required. Demeter explains that all life must take its course, and to ensure balance in the world, Hades must have a proportionate amount of souls for new ones to enter Earth. You disagree with this sentiment; you curse Hades under your breath for being so selfish. Your mother disapproves of your anger and instructs you to go and see that the hunters are not targeting the animals at the edge of the forest. You begrudgingly agree and wander off to tend to your duties. [[Chapter 2]]

''Chapter 1 '' Persephone [[To Gaia]]

Chapter 2 Hades [[To Mt. Olympus]]

Elsewhere, high above the forest floor, we soar past clouds and stars until we reach the top of Mount Olympus, the home of the Gods. We enter Zeus’s throne room. The room is filled with pure white marble with gold ornate designs. Pristine white statues adorn the hall, as the King of the Gods sits atop his throne in the center of the room. The millions of candles levitating around the room all blow out as a strong gust of wind whirlpools around it until it materializes into the center. A cloud of black smoke engulfs the center of the room until a tall man with a piercing midnight black robe and stern dark features steps forth. [[Hades Enters Zeus's Throne Room]]

They both stare at each other for a moment, sizing each other. Until the King of the Gods stands up from his throne, descends the marble stairs, and wraps his baby brother in a monstrous bear hug. Today is the first day of the autumnal solstice. This is their annual visit, where Hades is permitted to leave his home in the underworld and come up to the realms of mortals and gods. [[This Visit Continues]]

Zeus begins the conversation by enthralling Hades with his recent smiting and endeavors with mortal women on Earth. Noticing Hades’s immediate disinterest, Zeus inquires why Hades is less chipper than usual. Hades responds by saying he is tired of being alone in the underworld. He is constantly surrounded by the dark, dead, and dreary and grows tired of his duties. Zeus is not amused by his brother's remarks, and he is sternly reminded that the only god qualified to watch over the dead is Hades. Zeus offers his brother a bit of advice. He has 24 hours on earth; maybe he should act like the other pantheon gods and roam the earth, finding humans to curb his desire until he meets his fill. While Hades never approved how his siblings abuse humans for their whims, he dares not push back against his brother's remarks. As Zeus rambles about how hard it is to be king, Hades longs to find someone he can share a genuine connection with. [[Chapter 3]]

Chapter 3: The Taking [[To Persephone]]

You can not stop thinking about the deer that your mother let die without even trying to save. As you wander deeper into the woods, you contemplate life without death. How free would that feel not to have to worry about the constant fear of losing one's entire existence and then being subjected to an eternity with Hades? The thought makes you shudder. You don't understand why you dislike him so much. You think that it is because he is the personification of death and decay, which means he has to be an awful person, let alone a deity. Why else would Zues contain him in Tartarus? You come across a long stream and notice something that catches your eye floating down its surface. You bend down and take notice of a desiccated Lilly flower floating limply down the stream. Strange, considering there is a trail of them heading down the stream. [[Investigate the Source ]] [[Continue on your Path]]

You change course and follow the trail of dead flowers until you reach a large pond, where you notice a tall man kneeling beside the water. Almost as if he is admiring the nature around him. You are taken by surprise as you have never met a man before, let alone someone as attractive as him, and you can't help but look away. You feel attracted as you begin to notice his strong features against his soft blue eyes. You can't stop staring. That is until he notices you in his reflection, He looks up from his daydreaming, and you lock eyes. It feels like an eternity of stillness; the only thing separating the two of you is the small body of water. It feels as though time has come to a standstill. Then, everything goes dark. [[Chapter 4]]

You disregard the strange occurrence of dead lilies and hop over the stream. You continue to reach the animals at the forest's edge. Until You begin to see small patches of white, rain from the sky. Ash? Now you must investigate. [[Investigate the Source ]]

Chapter 4 Tartarus [[To the Underworld]]

Smoke. Darkness. Despair. The last thing you remember after the man you couldn’t stop staring at is the feeling of a strong gust of wind overtaking the small valley, then the sudden smell of char and fire, until everything went dark. Now you open your eyes, and all you see is rot and decay around you. You see the souls of the dammed being ushered down the river Styx. As far as the eye can see is an endless sea of souls, jagged rocks, and no sign of life. You stand atop a massive balcony adjoined to a castle made from black ash and smoke. When you begin to feel all of your senses return to equilibrium, one thing is certain. You are in the underworld. [[How did I get here!]]

Did I die? What just happened? Who was that ma- Oh no… You see the same man from the pond standing to your left. Hades. You begin to scream and demand he return your soul. But he replied by saying that you are still alive and that he never took your soul. He just granted your wish—a life without death, which is only possible in the underworld. How did Hades hear my inner thoughts? That can’t be. You demand he return you to the mortal world. Hades responds by stating that he can't let you go. You are to be his wife and to live here in the underworld with him forever. [[4 Months Later]]

Quite some time has gone by. Initially, you hated Hades even more than you did before. How dare he steal you away from earth, from your duties as a goddess, from your mother. As time went on, Hades remained a gentleman as always. He brought you along when he conducted his duties, like helping ferry the dead to their afterlife destination and consoling the ones whose life was taken too soon. This was a side of Hades that you never knew, the compassionate person he was. Over time, you started to grow feelings for him, as your perception of the God of the Underworld was not all that true. You two began to talk about your lives and aspirations, and Hades granted you the ownership of ferrying the souls of all the animals who have passed on. That was the greatest gift that anyone has ever given you. [[Why do I feel hungry..]]

In the 4 months you have resided in the Underworld, you realize you have not eaten anything, and your living body is beginning to feel the repercussions of no food for months. Unfortunately, no food grows in the underworld until Hades brings you a special gift he brought with him on his visit to Earth. Seeds of the pomegranate fruit. He planted them down here in hopes of producing food for you. Magically, a single pomegranate grew from the stalk. Hades picked the fruit and offered it to you. [[Starve]] [[Eat the Pomagranate]]

As nice as Hades has been to you, You dare not accept food from him. But, the temptation of any sustenance is too much to bear. You accept his offer. [[Take the Fruit]]

You feel the heat rise in your cheeks, He planted seeds in a place where there is no life, just for you.. [[Take the Fruit]]

As you peel back the layers, you notice that the fruit has already begun to decay, but you eat 6 seeds to satisfy your hunger. Before you can finish, you and Hades take notice of the drastic influx of the animals that have entered the underworld. Hades takes note and mentions that this much death occurring on Earth is not in balance with the natural order. You know something is wrong; you plead again to Hades to let you speak to your mother. This time, he agrees. He summons an orb that can conjure anything you can imagine. [[Conjure the Earth]] [[Conjure Mt. Olympus]]

The ball spins, and magical flourishes erupt to reveal a dreadful sight. The entire earth has wilted and died. Everything on earth has decayed and lost all semblance of life. The rivers have run dry, the trees have desiccated, and the animals are dying because of no food. What has happened? The ball spins once again in a flourish, Your mother is shown endlessly searching for you, disregarding her duties. In her pursuit of finding you, the earth has wilted in her negligence. Understanding the gravity of the situation and the distress it has caused you, Hades releases you back to the earth. [[Chapter 5]]

The ball spins and reveals Mt. Olympus. Every God in the Pantheon stands inside the great throne room of Zues. You have never seem them all in one place before. Why are they arguing? and where is your mother? [[Conjure the Earth]]

Chapter 5 Reconcile [[To Withered Gaia]]

In seconds, you open your eyes to the mortal world. You see your mother standing across from you, and you both run to each other and embrace. Almost immediately, the love from both of you radiates beyond and brings the entire world back to life. [[Gaia Returns]]

Rivers erupt with clean flowing water, all plant life is rejuvenated, and all the animals begin to dance. As you begin to tell your mother about your absence and her misconceptions about Hades, a bright light, as bright as the sun, shines in front of the both of you. [[Zeus Appears]]

As your pupils adjust, Zeus himself appears in front of you both. He is happy to see the earth has returned to normal, and he is happy to see his sister, Demeter, happy again. But Zeus turns to you and asks if you have anything to eat while in the underworld. You explain to him that all you had were 6 pomegranate seeds. Your mother begins to weep as Zeus explains that eating food in the underworld is forbidden, and no being, mortal or god, is permitted to do so. As Zeus continues, the earth begins to wilt and wither as Demeter is distraught about losing her daughter again. Immediately, Zeus intervenes and makes a proclamation. He is willing to override this rule if you spend exactly 6 months of your time on Earth and 6 months in the underworld. Or you may remain on earth, but you will become a mortal and lose your immortality. [[Spend half of the year in the Underworld with Hades]] [[Remain on Earth and become a mortal]]

You quickly realize you have fallen in love with the Lord of the Underworld. He treated you kindly and gave you freedom and power over the dead; you make no haste in spending half of your time in the Underworld with Hades and half with your mother on Earth. [[Return to Hades]]

As you contemplate this decision that will define the trajectory of your life, you catch a glimpse of your mother's eyes, you can't leave her again. [[Become a mortal]]

You return to Hades to finish the remainder of your debt, but you quickly realize that spending time in the underworld is not as bad as you first assumed. [[Queen of the Underworld]]

During the 6 months you spend in the underworld with Hades, your mother has a hard time tending to her duties, resulting in some nature and wildlife dying. In response, when you return to earth, your mother rejoices and compensates by flourishing the world with life. Over time, you become accustomed to your new role as Queen of the Underworld, and better yet, you also start to enjoy the company of your husband. [[The End]]

''The End '' Thank you $Name

As Zeus proclaimed, He allowed you to remain on earth and spend the rest of your mortality as a human. Breaking free from your duties and giving you the promise of death has provided you with a brand new outlook on life. You will travel the world, experience new things, and see everything the world has to offer. But as you embark from journey to journey, nothing makes you more excited than the day your life will finally come to an end. And you will be reunited with your husband once again. [[The End]]