Home of Author, J.E.Spatafore

A Barrier Raised

All the gods of Olympus stood in a circle looking at their great piece of art below. Each one, except for Ares and Dionysus, felt a sense of loss at the rejection of the humans to permit them to partake in their own creation. A few minutes before the stroke of midnight, Hades asked what would happen to his kingdom since it was a part of the realm of Maserun. The gods agreed that Hades realm would be locked so none within can get out of the realm, unless they were part of the naturally living. They started their chants to implement the spell which would bind and block themselves from ever setting foot on the land of Maserun again.

A light wider than the planet itself descended upon Maserun, turning the night sky brighter than even the brightest day. The creatures of Maserun all felt the sorrow of the gods as the barrier expanded outwards. The barrier of the gods then faded into nothingness as the magic completed the invisible barricade against the gods of Maserun. Many inhabitants celebrated the ejection of their creators from the land, none of which ruled the lands in question. Every ruler of the land felt a great sadness as their direct interaction with the gods seemed to be taken away.

A few days passed after the event. The gods, missing their interactions with the people below, reached out to the rulers of the nations. They summoned the rulers and any person with a special interest to their individual summoning rooms, getting each person acclimated to the new methods in which they were to meet. Over time, the gods and people of Maserun grew accustomed to the new summoning rituals and meeting places, returning to their daily meetings and updates with each other.

Rejection Of The Gods

The gods were already bickering upon Zeus’ return to Olympus, a special appearance by Hades warranted by thousands of souls suddenly appearing at the gates to his realm. Zeus watched his wife, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews argue and bicker over what Heracles he had done on the planet below. Ares congratulated the demigod for his destruction of the many lowly beasts below. Dionysus, always smiling and befuddled, mirrored the God of War’s actions. Hera sat in her throne, a long look of disappointment spanned her fair face. Zeus entered the dining hall and called all the gods to take their seats, confirming the situation was in dire need of supernatural intervention.

Zeus started the meeting of the gods. “As you all know, my son took it upon himself to aid the humans below. In doing so, he has created a rift between the gods and our creations. A rift which violates the trust that exists between ourselves and our people. We must decide how are to handle this situation and prevent such an issue from arising in the future!”

Ares was the first to protest the God of Thunder’s declaration. The God of War made a case in which the humans always need to know the power of the gods and should remain subordinate. Athena quickly shot down the God of War’s argument, asking how well such a method worked out on earth when the god inspired wars ravished the lands. The meeting went on for over a week, the gods arguing all points of Heracles’ assistance to the humans and the subsequent destruction of their homelands. When the gods were ready to make a decision in the matter, Clade of Harlow’s Lake requested an audience with the great Zeus to discuss the ramifications for Heracles’ actions.

Zeus stood before his loyal follower slightly humbled, understanding the difficulty the human must be facing in standing before the father of the greatest disaster to hit the continent of Mirater.

Clade spoke first, “Mighty Zeus, your son’s actions have reminded us of your power. We fear angering your kind now with such a reminder fresh in our hearts. We would like to discuss the event of Harlow’s Lake and how we can prevent such a calamity from occurring again on our world.” The human stood taller than one would expect in the presence of a god, showing to Zeus the man was in fear but confident in the relationship he held with the God of Thunder.

“Go ahead Clade, state your desired terms.” Zeus stated flatly, his tone even as the scales of the justice were balanced.

“We do not believe we should request the gods of Maserun to undo that which was done. We understand it was our request for assistance that lead to the disaster.” Zeus’ eyes widened in surprise. His gray and thick eyebrows raised, expressing the shocking news to his human follower. “Don’t be so surprised, God of Thunder, you did make us humans intelligent after all,” Clade stated in response to the god’s look. Zeus smiled wide as he discovered a newfound pride in his human race. “But,” Clade continued, “we cannot afford such a situation to occur again in the future. We cannot afford to fear our creators. We must have assurances our creators cannot manipulate our own creations. But we do not want to lose our access to your great knowledge and wisdom if we were to ask for your removal from the planet.”

Zeus raised his hand to the human, reiterating the request to make sure he understood. “So the humans of Harlow’s Lake would like to request the gods not be permitted on the land which we created, but would like to maintain contact with us through other means?” Clade nodded at the statement, confirming understanding of the request. “I will take this request to the rest of the gods and we will talk to the other kingdoms of the land. If all are in agreement, we will create a barrier to prevent our physical presence upon the land of Maserun. I will return with our decision within the next week.” Zeus turned to leave.

“Oh, Zeus, tell your son we will be calling his creation Harlow’s Hovel.” Clade stated as the God of Thunder readied himself to depart.

Zeus smiled wide, returning a comment of his own, “Surely my son will enjoy hearing you’re naming your town after him. The name truly represents the mess he created! The name will surely remind us of the reasons for your request.” Zeus departed quickly to Olympus to inform the gods of the human’s request.

For five days, the gods met with all the various humans, elves, and dwarves of the land. They introduced the request from Harlow’s Hovel. The gods explained the disaster of Harlow’s Hovel, with most responses being of surprise that such a simple mistake could cause such a disaster. Every ruler they met with agreed that removing of the gods presence from the land would be best for their own security. They further agreed they did not want to lose their direct communication with their creators. When all the discussions were completed, the gods met once again to carry out the request of their intelligent creations.

Zeus returned to Maserun to take his final steps on the soil of what was referred to as their great canvas. Clade stood before the great deity, awaiting the response of the gods. Zeus informed the human the request would be granted. A great barrier would be created which would prevent the gods from ever setting foot on their planet again.

The Fracture of Mirater

Over the next four centuries, the people of Mirater founded scores of settlements and built many cities. Towns dotted the landscape as the people naturally congregated and formed their communities. Trade and industry flourished throughout the land with many of the coastal cities offering promises of new discovery. Many of the adventurous types took to the seas, discovering new continents and mapping the world of Maserun. Life was very peaceful and disputes were settled using non-violent means. Life was good and the gods were proud.

The great forests in the northeast corner of Mirater were, without a doubt, the most prosperous land on the continent. The human settlers had all the knowledge they needed to capitalize on every opportunity for growth, and they did so. The towns spanning these great forests, also known as the Forest of Hope, had almost everything they wanted. The only lacking feature in the region was an above ground spring to supply water to the populace. Over time, water became more and more rare to the people, creating concerns and doubt within the inhabitant’s minds.

Being people of faith and with close ties to their supernatural deities, the shaman of the local town, a man by the name of Clade, requested an audience with his creator. Zeus answered the summons of the man and listened to his request, a simple request of providing more water to the people of the great forest. Zeus informed Clade he would send help soon, as he intended to talk to Poseidon to discuss which way would best serve the people of the land. He told the well intentioned human he would like to see if Poseidon would prefer to cut a stream through the lands or if Zeus, himself, should provide more rain for the region to meet the human needs.

A demigod with incredible strength, being one of Zeus’ offspring, watched as his father returned to Olympus. Witnessing the exchange between Zeus and Clade, he knew he could help. Heracles’ heart always had a need to do miraculous things and help the mortals his father had such an affection for. Heracles changed his outfit to hide his supernatural form. He donned a heavy and torn gray robe along with worn out sandals and made his way slowly into the town, searching for the man known as Clade. He met the man among the high trees of the forests.

“Clade? My father has sent me to fulfill your prayers.” the strong demigod lied. “Where would you like your lake to be created?”

The man quickly pointed a few hundred feet away, to a recently cleared area bearing nothing but stumps. “May I ask your name, good lord?” Clade requested of the demigod.

“Certainly. The name is…” Heracles struggled for a few heartbeats as he remembered a rule the gods made where demigods were not to be caretakers for the people of Maserun. “The name is Harlow.”

Clade nodded and his lips turned up in a smile. “We will name your creation after you, my lord. Harlow’s Lake will be known throughout the kingdoms of Mirater as a great symbol of your power and generosity!” Heracles returned the human’s smile and nodded in approval. The demigod made his way to the center of the circle of stumps and pulled off his beggar outfit, exposing the half-blooded god for all his true glory. He made a fist and pulled it back far above his head. He jutted forward and slammed his fist into the ground.

The entire continent of Mirater shuddered and jolted at the powerful blow, the soil immediately before the god sank deep into the ground, forming a large hole that immediately filled with water from the underground streams which provided life to the high growing trees of the area. An invisible wave of energy erupted from around the lake, forcing the closest trees to bend sideways and uproot from the blast. Clade’s eyes widened in terror as the invisible shockwave threw him backwards, tossing him hundreds of feet from the false savior known as Harlow. Heracles, recognizing the error in his approach, quickly ran to the human’s aid, catching him and covering him as the splinters of hundreds of trees tore through the air.

The damage of the false god’s blow did not stop there. A few miles out from the center, the shockwave gained momentum as the friction of the vegetation lit the blast into a fiery inferno. For dozens of miles, the trees of the great forests were quickly stripped of all their life as the fire engulfed the blast zone’s perimeter. Heracles’ eyes filled with water as the devastation he caused tore at his shattered heart. He heard the screams of thousands of humans as the fiery blast took their lives.

A thunderous clap was heard throughout the land and the heavens above quickly turned gray, clouds immediately taking shape and releasing water upon the land. Zeus used his powers of rain to extinguish the devastation as quickly as he could, dumping millions of gallons of water in the path of the vast inferno. When the fires were put out and the world calmed, Clade heard another thundering boom, this time with the result of Harlow nodding and staring at the heavens.

“Yes father, I will return,” the false god stated towards the heavens. Heracles turned to Clade, his eyes still full of tears. “You may call this land as you wish and I will never bother you again. I am sorry for the devastation of my actions and my unintended transgressions toward the people of these lands. My real name is Heracles, son of Zeus, and I have disobeyed my father.”

Clade looked upon the demigod with sympathy and contempt. He pushed away from the creature and yelled, “And what of our land!? What will you do to fix this!?” Heracles dropped his head in sorrow at the human’s disappointment. “I await an answer, false son of Zeus. You have destroyed our home and set our world ablaze! And I thought us humans were the less intelligent between us!” Heracles’ heart told him to take his beating from the disappointed human, but he could not sit idly by as a lesser being treated him with such contempt.

“You hold your tongue, human!” Heracles’ voice boomed through the wasteland region of Harlow’s Lake. “You ask for aid and assistance from those who create you, and then you have the nerve to be upset when that assistance is not exactly as you had hoped? Do you not have a lake in the area of your choosing as you have requested!?” The demigod stood tall and faced the human with his shoulders square. “Perhaps you should find a way to serve yourselves instead of always asking my father for support! My father has given your kind everything, and the one time one of us makes a mistake, you would damn all gods? I will not stand by and…”

Heracles words were cut-off as a bolt of lightning streaked into the ground between Clade and Heracles. The king of gods stood tall between the human and demigod, his size almost twice that of the human.

“Enough of this!” Zeus’ voice thundered at the two bickering before him. “Heracles, you are to return to Olympus immediately! I will fix your mistake only after I consult with the gods and our good follower, Clade, here.” Zeus gave a look of sympathy towards the human, his eyes telling the human he would do what was necessary to fix his son’s mistake. Heracles looked to his father in disbelief, a feeling of betrayal that his father would choose the lowly humans over his own flesh and blood washed over him.

Heracles stared hard at Clade, “As I said human, call it what you want!” Heracles’ final words departed his lips as he quickly turned into a flash of light, the beam departed the realm of Harlow’s Lake towards the heavenly skies above.

Zeus’ turned to Clade, his sympathetic gaze falling upon the human. “What would you like done about this situation?”

Clade returned a look of anger at the God of Thunder. “Leave us be.” was all the human could mutter.

Zeus bowed his head, understanding the great loss felt by his human follower at the time. “I will return in a few days as you discuss the situation with the remaining survivors of the land. The gods will support whatever course of action you choose as this was our doing. I am truly sorry for the loss and destruction.” Zeus looked up to the heavens and within a flash, a bolt of lightning streaked to the heavens as he disappeared. Clade stood among the devastation created by Heracles’ fist, his thoughts ranging from awe at the power of a half-god and contempt for the gods overall. He knew he should not decide the next course of action for a while.

Meeting of the Gods

For two and half centuries, the world of Maserun remained populated with both magical and natural lifeforms, but none of the intellect of the twin world millions of light years away. The earthen Greek gods enjoyed their artful masterpiece without the threat of their titan parents or requests from their followers. For two and half centuries, the gods watched as their unique creation grew in population and evolved both of magical and natural beasts. What the gods did not enjoy was their obsolescence on planet earth as the faith of the millions dwindled from their followers and moved towards human idols and worship of a single deity. After awhile, the gods started to miss their worshipers, the people who requested their involvement and their guidance. Some of the gods missed manipulating their little puppets. The deities decided to call a meeting to discuss the future of their artistic masterpiece.

“We must have heroes and heroines on our new planet,” Zeus’ mighty voice carried through the dining hall of the gods home, Olympus. “I want humans on our new planet. Humans to rule over the creatures and maintain a balance within the realm!”

“What kind of balance could humans possibly add to our beautiful and natural work,” Artemis chimed in, her voice sounding sweet as a child’s even when attempting a tone of contempt questioning. “Look at what those despicable beasts did to our parent’s original planet. They cannot survive without war. They destroy my creatures and each other in their grabs for power and prosperity. I cannot support such a decision to doom our peaceful planet to the same fate as earth!” The Goddess of Nature sat back in her marble chair.

Ares, a full figured muscular youth and the God of War, smiling at the notion of the feuding nature of the humans of planet earth stated, “I concur with my father! This world needs some excitement. Some murder and mayhem, strife, and struggles! The peacefulness of this lovely piece of art, as you call it, disgusts me to my very core!”

Zeus’ smile faded to a solemn frown. He lamented the words of his son. Internally, he struggled to accept how Hera and himself could have possibly created such an evil and vile creature such as his son. He had to remind himself of the necessity of misery, a test that pushes all living creatures towards prosperity and growth. Zeus raised his arm to silence the crowd as the gods started to argue with each other over Ares’ outrageous remark and support for his father. “Silence! My son’s motivations may not be the most honorable, but his point is true. The land of Maserun is in need of more if it is to grow meaningful to us!” The group of gods silenced and conceded the point of their father, king, and brother.

Apollo, son of Zeus and God of the Arts rose to his feet and leaned forward, placing his godly hands upon the vast marble table stretching far before him. “So what plan should we put forth for this budding creation of ours, father? We have created a great canvas for our creatures to paint upon. We already have several colors spread across our land in the form of the various inhabitants. I see no reason not to offer more colors to the palette in which to paint with.”

Zeus leaned back in his large stone throne lined with feathery pillows and fine silken covers. “I would like to see humans. I have always enjoyed their creativity, impatience, and immense capacity to grow. While they abandoned us on earth and angered us by referring to us as myths and legends, I think we could prevent that for our future creations. Regular visits with the ruling parties, perhaps? What do you think, Poseidon?” Zeus turned to the god on his right, his brother and God of the Waters. “You are always quiet in such discussions and I care deeply to hear of your ideas.”

Poseidon’s eyes widened as his brother addressed him, his blue orbs appearing to flow like the oceans as he considered his brother’s question. “Brother, I agree we need more intelligent creatures on the planet”, the God of the Sea started.

He was quickly interrupted by Artemis, “What do you mean more intelligent creatures? Are the dragons not superb in intellect to even the smartest human on earth? These wonderful beasts carry the blessings of Athena herself!”

Poseidon quickly raised both his arms in front of him, palms up towards Artemis. “Calm yourself, niece. Let me finish my thought, would you? Do not act so innocent in this endeavor. Are you not also the Goddess of the Plagues and responsible for many more deaths than any war Ares himself could ever orchestrate?” Poseidon’s final statement drew a narrow-eyed stare from Artemis and a chuckle from his nephew, Ares, from across the great table.

Poseidon continued his point, “We have made many mistakes on earth with our followers. We created hundreds of children, demigods who carried many of our phenomenal traits and we considered them above all others because they were our own. We manipulated our followers to do our bidding by sending them on journeys to strike down our rare and magical beasts, often to their own demise. And we wonder why our followers abandoned us?” The God of the Sea watched the engaging eyes of his fellow gods as he let the question linger in the air for few moments. “If we are to populate this planet with beings of intellect similar to our own, then we must do so differently. We can not allow our pride and preference get in the way of our children’s needs. And do not mistake that our creations are not our children.”

Hera, sitting directly to Zeus’ left, applauded at Poseidon’s last statement. “You speak wise and true, great God of the Waters.”, Hera started, “If we do this, we should treat these creations as our children. However, I do not believe any of us can truly be unbiased towards our own children. Such would be unnatural. Anybody else have opinions to share in this matter?”

Dionysus slammed down his mug on the table, drawing stares from all in attendance. He smiled and looked around wildly as the many eyes engaged him, waiting for the God of Madness and chaos to speak. After a few moments of silence, Poseidon questioned the god with a smile widening further as he spoke, “So, anything you would like to add Dionysus? Surely one of your stature has an insanely intelligent contribution to this discussion just waiting to be told.” The subtle insult to the drunken god escaped his intellect. The rest of the gods, however, offered up some laughter at Dionysus’ expense. When the laughter ceased in the chamber, the God of Chaos offered up a couple words of wisdom none of the gods would have suspected. “Magic.” the God of Madness stated between burps and giggles, “They need magic.”

The God of War, sitting to Dionysus’ right, slammed his hand hard on the table in agreement. He echoed the insane god’s words, “Magic! Definitely! Give all creations such a wonderful power in our realm! Such would give all our wars more depth and power!”

Athena, Goddess of Intellect and Warfare interjected immediately, rising to her feet with her gray colored eyes looking to each of the gods. “Do not give all creatures magic. Only intelligent creatures should receive such an offering. Does it really make sense to provide a rabbit the ability to cast a fire at a hunter? Surely such a situation would cause unnecessary chaos and lead to a faster destruction of the planet and its resources.”

Zeus leaned forward in his throne, “Not all creatures will receive magic. I do concur that Dionysus’ idea has great merit, but should be limited as Athena has suggested. Thank you, Dionysus, for your most intelligent contribution.” Zeus glanced at Poseidon and the God of Water gave a grin back at his brother, understanding the God of Thunder had taken a victory in showing even the most insane god can still have ideas worth listening to. Zeus leaned back in his chair, “Any other suggestions?”

Hades, God of the Death and Ruler of the Underworld, advised the gods that creation of such a race will require an underworld like the days of past. The gods agreed with Hades’ assessment and asked if he would be interested in continuing his rule of the underworld, thereby leaving Olympus. Hades agreed with the request and immediately made his way to the bowels of the planet to create his realm for the soon-to-be departed souls of Maserun.

The final suggestion presented to the God of Thunder was made by his own wife and seconded by the Goddess of the Hearth, Hestia. The suggestion was a condition that whichever creations were made, the gods doing the creating were to spend no less than fifty years on the planet with their creations to teach them as much as possible.

The decision was made and three of the gods at the table decided they were interested in creating additional lifeforms for the planet. Zeus quickly laid claim to creating the human race in the image of those which already existed on earth. Humans were created with as a sturdy and strong race designed with relatively short lifespans and a high amount of passion towards progress. Since the creation of the race required Zeus to remain on the planet of Maserun for fifty years, the ruling of the gods was tasked to Poseidon. Hera, knowing Zeus’ past digressions and cheating heart, decided to join her husband on the planet and care for the new race, leaving her post to the goddess, Athena.

Hephaestus, God of Fire and industry, was next to lay claim to a race. He decided he wanted a hardy and strong race of people who would highly value labor and dedication to cause. The God of Fire, being a cripple himself, placed little value on the appearances of his race. He made his followers short and strong, giving them a low center of gravity so they could maintain an extraordinary strength. He also gave his creations the ability to see in the darkest of night and an incredibly long natural lifespan. He called his creation by the name of “dwarf”.

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, was next to claim a race but wanted to aid her husband, Hephaestus, in raising his own. Her claim was the love of two gods would give his people a stronger family core and enhance their dedication to cause. The goddess wanted a race of beauty and peace placed upon the planet. She gave her designs to Apollo and requested that he create the race as she wished. Apollo, often in agreement with Aphrodite’s views, agreed to be the creator of her race and raise the children of Maserun as his own. After Aphrodite gave her plans to Apollo, his sister Artemis offered to raise the children with him. Apollo and Artemis decided to create the race that was later to be known as elves: a race more beautiful and slightly smaller than the humans, but having the lifespan of the Hephaestan dwarves.

The six gods of Olympus descended upon the planet of Maserun. The gods descended upon the land of Mirater, the smallest land mass on the world of Maserun. Zeus and Hera started their human population in the forests found on northeastern part of the continent. The husband and wife team taught their children everything, with no specialty or preference given to their teachings. They guided their populace to thrive and spread out, eventually settling in every terrain on the continent.

Hephaestus and Aphrodite created their dwarven creatures in the mountainous areas of the continent, spending several years with each population to teach the skills of mining, hunting, and smithing. The dwarves of Mirater grew fast, their magical talents directed mostly at creating weapons and armor with enhanced features such as sharper than normal blades and unnatural defensively powered armors.

Apollo and Artemis, sister and brother, placed Aphrodite’s creations in the central forests of the planet. Apollo, being a God of Arts, taught the elves all he could about music, art, healing, archery, and prophecy. Artemis taught the children all she could about living with nature and only taking enough to survive from their surroundings. The brother-sister duo raised the most peaceful of the newly created races, which also resulted in a race that was very careful in their actions, both in nature and in warfare.

Once fifty years had passed, the gods returned to their places in Olympus and admired their creations and their ability to grow without their future involvement being required. However, as part of the agreement, the gods made regular visits to their followers, offering any help they could provide to the devotees of their teachings. The planet of Maserun enjoyed a long and peaceful history.