The Epic of Traecus











A long time ago, there was a man. He braved perilous quests, and faced monsters from the

depths of hell, and won the hearts of many a lass. This is his story.


Marathon, Greece, 300 b.c.


A dark, stormy night. The Hero was waiting in the shadows. He drank from The Chalice. He

was apparently waiting for someone. The door of his cottage opened. In strode a tall bull of a man. His

face covered by a large veil, a faint snuffling, just as a dog would have, could be heard. When he spoke,

it was a loud, but surprisingly soft monotone.


He said the time was right. It was set to begin. The Hero was shocked at this news. He hadn’t

thought that the ceremony would happen for weeks. The coronation was about to begin. The Hero

began pacing. The news was unexpected, yet the ever knowledgeable hero knew that the plan was to be

set earlier than his informants note had described. The man said to The Hero that the plan that they

spent years devising would be moved to right then and there. The Hero leapt to his feet, and shouted

“And so it begins”.


Athens, Greece, the next day.


The crowd was deafening. The royal palanquin bearers carried the veiled king-to-be to the foot

of the Parthenon, where he would be coronated. The patron god of Athens is Athena, and with her

blessing, the man would be king. Unbeknownst to the king-to-be, The hero was speeding on his way, to

challenge the king. On this journey, The Hero thought about his mysterious past.


Sparta, Greece, 325 b.c.


Poseidon, god of the sea, paced in the chamber at Mount Olympus as Hermes, messenger god,

read his report. He came with the news that a child of Poseidon had been born. Poseidon himself wasn't

worried, just pondering the fate of the child he sired. No good thing could happen to a child of part god,

part human origins. He sought the counsel of Apollo, god of prophesy. The god had grave news indeed.
The child was to go on a quest to oust the tyrant king that would inherit the throne of Athens. He would

not make it back alive. Apollo did admit that the future is forever changing, and it might change. Also

admitted was that the future of this hero was very clear.


Athens, Greece, 300 b.c.


The Hero sped to the Parthenon, where his star-crossed enemy awaited him. The chariot, pulled

by winged horses went 10 times the speed of normal ones, so the journey was short lived. The Hero

was wondering what to say to the king when he arrived. The man accompanying him told him that it

was his destiny to confront the king, and it would come naturally because of this. The reassured hero

started to slow the chariot down as he approached the city.



Finally, The Hero entered the city limits. He saw the Parthenon in the distance. People that

worked the country-side came and formed an aisle in which the Hero raced down. The people cheered

him as he rocketed past. At last, the city was filling the Hero's vision. He gasped, amazed at the

wonderful buildings making up the city. The Hero, apprentice to an architect, knew that the city was

one of the wealthiest, because of the grandeur of the huge temples and complexes.


The king, about to be crowned, faltered as he saw the cloud of dust coming from the south. He

knew that only a powerful person could travel as fast as that. The person needed the blessing of a god,

and the king, who hadn't gotten the blessing of Athena yet was worried that the person might be coming

to oust him from his un-rightful throne. He thought fast. Challenge him to a quest said his cunning and

devious mind said. One that he cannot return from. As the Hero approached him, he smiled an evil

smile.


The king-to-be welcomed the Hero to his hall, and proposed a feast in honor of his crowning,

and for the Hero. The king introduced himself as Menelaus. The Hero said that of his many names,

Traecus was his most common one. Traecus said that, once the feast was over, the king was an unjust

being, unfit to rule a great city, such as Athens. The kings longtime friend and aid, Dorkus, came to him

and whispered that the Traecus was greedy for the throne himself, and Menelaus knew that this must be
his motive. So he stood up and said: “By the power of I, the king of Athens, challenge you, Traecus, to

a quest.”


Traecus was nervous at the prospect of a quest, but soon gathered courage from the man who

had accompanied him. His name was Jason. He was actually a descendant from the minotaur, and was

consequently half bull.


Traecus asked what his quest was. The hero thought that he saw a ghost of a smile on the old

kings face. The quest, said the king, was to take a goblet-full of water from the spring of the gods on

Mount Olympus. The hero scoffed that this was to easy of a quest. The king agreed. The king then said

your task is not to get the water, but to go to the underworld, and return with his lost love, Elena.


The hero gasped. No one had journeyed to the underworld and lived to tell the tale.


“You have until the sun rises thrice, and sinks twice. Go, and may what luck there may be

follow you.”


Somewhere in the Greek countryside, towards Mount Olympus, the Second day


Traecus had not slept, but rather sprinted to his horses, and galloped off to Mount Olympus. He

knew that for his quest, a journey to the underworld was expected, so he was trying to find the one

person that he knew of, that could take him there. Persephone, goddess of Springtime. She had been

forced to marry Hades, Lord of the Underworld, but Zeus had proclaimed that she spent the Spring and

Summer on Olympus, and Fall and Winter. As far as he knew, she was the only Person, immortal or not

that knew the secret ways of the underworld.


As he rode, he saw a magnificent glow that nearly blinded him. It persisted, until it was almost

to hard to bear. As he grew almost level to it, the glow vanished. Dazed, Traecus couldn't see for an

hour. When vision returned to him, he nearly fainted.


What he saw was the palaces of the gods, each unique to that god or goddess. There was an

abundance of greatly varying architecture. He rode through the gate (it was gold, silver, and platinum),

being cheered by the muses, graces, and minor gods and goddesses. He waved, not sure what to do, but
then a path was made by the immortals toward a gigantic barn. He knew that Persephone's mother was

Demeter, goddess of Agriculture. He approached the building, not sure of himself. The door opened, as

if by magic. He walked cautiously into the palace.


He saw two thrones, one of grain, the other of flowers. They were occupied.


The throne of grain played host to an old, large women with the air of your grandmother, kind

but strict. The throne of flowers held a delicate being, one of young, beautiful attire, like the kind of

girl that lived down the street, familiar, but unapproachable. The older spoke first.


She asked who he was, and where he came from. Satisfied with the answers, she gave him

counsel. He said, politely, that he was here for Persephone's help. Looking somewhat disappointed, she

allowed him to talk privately. She left with a bang.


Persephone asked of what service she could provide for the young mortal man. Traecus told her

of his quest, and of the necessary conditions. She agreed to help, but once in the underworld, she would

wait for him to come back with the kings Elena. The hero quickly agreed to her conditions, secretly

nervous to the fact that he would have to navigate the underworld.


He asked where the underworld was. Persephone said that the Earth was like a second skin

above it, and it was continually underneath them. She said, however, that directly underneath Olympus

was the palace of Hades himself. She told him their best bet was to go twenty miles south, so that they

would assuredly be out of Hades' reach.


The last thing that Persephone confided in the hero was that he should consult the oracle of

Apollo. The hero said he would return when he was done. The sun had just fell, so Apollo was

definitely in his palace.


The palace of Apollo was a huge dome painted crimson, for the god was also patron of the sun.

The gods appearance shocked Traecus. Apollo literally had flaming hair, and was robed completely in

red.

Apollo said “approach hero, and ask what you seek”.



The hero bowed on bent knee, and asked of the god whether his quest was in vain.


The god replied “I know you will finish your quest, but what you partake in for the prize you

seek is unknown, even to me.”



The Hero replied that his counsel was as good as he could have hoped for.



Traecus, almost happy at the counsel given to him, ran back to Persephone. When she had heard

what Apollo had said, she told him it was time to go. He went to his cart and said “we're going” to the

sleeping Jason. When he woke with a start, he bowed to the goddess.



She said “Rise, and be comforted. I am your guide to the underworld.”


End, Part 1