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◆ Who: Zagreus and You
◆ Where: A city park fountain, near sunset
◆ Summary: Zagreus has never been on the surface for this long, and is having trouble getting used to it.
◆ Warnings: None.

The sensible thing to have done when first arriving and being appointed a greeter was to listen to that greeter's advice and take it easy, settle down in the little place that was to serve as his temporary(?) new home, rest up. But Zagreus never was one to be sensible, let alone rest. He'd never been on the surface for this long - never been allowed on the surface this long. It was as if, in this place, even the Fates couldn't touch him.

And so he'd taken to running across the entire city, full of boundless energy as if Hermes himself had blessed his step. It wasn't for hours that he was finally forced to slow down, the setting sun glittering as it bounced off the crystal structures that stood tall in view no matter where he wandered. Zagreus shielded his eyes from the harsh light he still wasn't used to, as he panted for breath, looking around where he'd ended up.

It was a garden... or, so Zagreus interpreted it. There was greenery abound, with cobblestone paths cutting through the grass and trees and shrubs. A fountain stood at its center! Exactly what he needed. Without even a second thought, Zagreus sprinted to the fountain's edge and leaned over the edge, slurping at the water.

It was a mistake.

He spit the water out as he wiped his mouth. "Eugh! What's in this water?" Zagreus squinted at the fountain as though he'd just taken a big sip from the Styx itself, mouth tinged with a metal taste. Beneath the shimmering water lay coins... countless of them, of all manners of size and shape and material, looking nothing like the drachmae Charon traded with. The water itself didn't look all too pure, either, and while it was far from the worst thing he'd ever put in his mouth, he wasn't pleased.

"Who in their right mind would tarnish a fountain with coin and dirt?"

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"Well, there are limitations on where they can get to, depending on how powerful they are... Oh, but not everyone who dies becomes a ghost! Most souls will pass on to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation. It's only those with a particularly strong motivation to stay in the mortal world who become ghosts. Usually it's something like a grudge or the desire for vengeance, but there can be other reasons."

Oops, Xie Lian was rambling a bit, wasn't he. It really was interesting learning about other worlds, though.

"Ah, forgive my rambling. So, am I to understand that the dead pass on to this Underworld, where you're from?"

Well, what Xie Lian was saying about the ghosts in his world was technically true of the shades in Zagreus's world as well. As for reincarnation, the concept of rebirth wasn't foreign to him, though it was primarily gods who'd be reborn.

"Every living thing that dies ends up in the Underworld, one way or another. Our Underworld exists to keep the dead from disturbing the living - and vice versa, really. No living mortal is allowed in, no dead mortal is allowed out. Even among the gods there aren't many exceptions. But your gods don't oversee the dead in your world? It sounds like the dead are free to stir up trouble as they please there."

"I see. That sort of system does sound like it would prevent some trouble."

Though the idea of never having the chance to meet San Lang struck him as very sad.

"The gods don't oversee the dead, no, but if the living are having trouble with a particular ghost they can pray to one of the martial gods. As long as that god is being dutiful and answering prayers properly, then they or some of their subordinates will go down into the mortal world at take care of it."

Zagreus tapped his foot in thought, hands on his hips as he contemplated that sort of way of doing things. Until recently, he'd never really appreciated the work of the House of Hades. But Zagreus had something most gods never held: empathy for mortalkind. And he recognized that it was just as important to care for mortals in death as it was to care for them in life - in no small part thanks to his conversations with Thanatos.

"And your Prince is one of these martial gods, sworn to protect the living from the dead who would cause such troubles." No wonder that talisman had made his skin itch. Zagreus couldn't help but smile. "It sounds like he and I would get along well." The fire-stepping prince then held a hand out for the sack of junk - sorry, 'scraps' - beaming wide. "Here, let me help you carry this back. It's the least I can do to repay you for burning up your talisman there."

"Yes, that's right. He's dealt with problem ghosts a number of times."

Xie Lian hesitated a moment before unslinging his bag and handing it over. It was deceptively heavy.

"There's reallyu no need to apologize, though I thank you none-the-less. It's right over this way."

He pointed and began to lead the way.

Zagreus took the bag with a bit of a grunt - expecting it to be heavy but certainly not that heavy. The priest was significantly stronger than he looked. How in the world did he manage to carry this thing around like it was nothing?

Of course, the weight wasn't much to Zagreus either, it just came as a surprise, and so he slung the bag over his shoulder as he followed after.

"Ah, sir, I didn't catch your name. Mine is Zagreus."

"Ah, how forgetful of me. My name is Xie Lian. Pleased to meet you, young master Zagreus."

He lead them to his makeshift shrine, a somewhat rickety old garden shed that looks like it had been in disuse for quite some time. So far, he had managed to outfit it with a small table, a simple basket, and a painting of himself as the Crown Prince who Pleased the Gods. It was a shame he didn't have San Lang here to paint him a finer one (and save him the embarrassment of doing his own self-portrait) but it would do.

"Here we are! You can just set that down in any corner. I'll go through it later."

"Xie Lian?" It was an odd name, definitely not Greek, but Zagreus couldn't help but feel that it reminded him of the name Guan Yu that Varatha had revealed to him. Probably just a coincidence. "You don't have to call me young master - my best mate Orpheus already does that too much. Just Zagreus is alright with me."

Zagreus wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting from a scrap collector for his shrine to look like, but this certainly wasn't it. He let out a small cough to stifle and surprise or comments, simply handing off the sack. Well, at least this Prince of Xianle had one follower, and one shrine. It was more than Zagreus had, or probably ever would have.

He curiously approached the portrait of the Prince, and squinted his eyes, looking between it and the man before him. The resemblance was probably also coincidence - perhaps people just dressed that way regularly in his world. Or perhaps he styled himself after the god as a devout follower.

"... I've never heard of a mortal becoming a god, you know. Half-mortals with one parent as a god, sure, but even the mortals most smiled upon by the gods were never granted immortality. This Prince of Xianle must have been exceptional."

"Yes, surname Xie, given name Lian... And very well, if that is what you prefer."

Xie Lian did his best to sat Very Neutral as Zagreus scrutinized his painting. Really, he could probably just admit to being a god, as Zagreus clearly wasn't an ordinary moral... But rules or no, it would still be embarrassing, at this point.

"Ah, well, he was rather exceptional in that he ascended very young." Too young, really.

"But all gods start as mortals, where I'm from. It's just a matter of having the right fortune and ability and achieving the right sort of feat. I've never heard of a god having a child after ascension..."

And if it were possible, surely Pei Ming would have managed it by now, right?

"Surname? Sorry, not sure what the difference is between a surname and a given name. I was given the name Zagreus, and that's the only one I've got." Even among mortals, surnames really didn't exist in ancient Greece, let alone among gods who had family trees that looked like Celtic knots.

Zagreus sat cross-legged like Xie Lian, though leaning back on his hands casually as he laughed at the mention of gods being ascended mortals who had no children. "Really! Then our gods are nothing alike. The rulers of Olympus were born from these bestial elder gods called the Titans, who came about at the beginning of time from Mother Earth, Gaia, and Father Sky, Uranus. As for children, Lord Zeus alone has fostered more children than anyone can count - including Lady Athena, who I heard was born from his head, without any involvement of a mother! The Olympians are one big happy family of gods." That last part was said with a great tinge of sarcasm.

"Oh, a surname is a name passed down from parent to child. My Father had the surname Xie, so I have the surname Xie." Cultural differences really were interesting!

"All those relations must all make the politics of your Heavenly Court... a bit exciting." Xie Lian didn't even want to imagine it.

"Ah, though there have been some blood relations among heavenly officials, that I know of. Pei Ming had two different descendants ascend, though of course they were from family he had before godhood." Better to not say too much about their fates afterward... "Oh, and a pair of brothers."

Edited 2020-11-29 02:55 (UTC)

"So a name for your family. I get it. I'm part of my father's House, but I don't share a name with my father." Zagreus couldn't help but feel like it'd be a little awkward, to have to share a name with his father. He wouldn't mind sharing one with his mother, though.

"Ah, yes, politics... the family can get a little overbearing with one another, I think, and usually it's the mortals that suffer when any of them butt heads. The Olympians especially haven't gotten along well with the Cthonic gods in the past. But the way I left things, everyone seemed to have finally made some semblance of peace with one another." However fleeting that peace might be, Zagreus would cherish it. "I'm curious to know, by the way... if you aren't from this Xianle yourself, what made you choose to worship this Prince? Those in Athens worship Athena because she's their patron god, for instance, but you said Xianle is no longer around?"

Ah, there it was. The question that mean he had to decide weather to lie and keep up the facade or just deal with the embarrassment.

"Yes Xianle has been gone for over 800 years. But you see, heavenly officials get their power from having believers pray and burn incense for them so..."

Well, it wasn't like embarrassment was anything new. Xie Lian heaved a sigh.

"As I happen to be that particular Crown Prince, it would be nice to maybe get a little bit of something, here and there."

He chuckled wryly.

If exclamation points could suddenly spawn from Zagreus's head, they would, as he gave a look of sudden surprise.

"Wait, you're the Crown Prince? You're a god??"

But after that long moment of confusion, Zagreus couldn't help but laugh, though it sounded a tad bitter.

"Come on, mate, don't mess with me! Have you made all this up just to play a joke on me? Let me guess, this isn't really a shrine or temple, and that drawing is just a poorly done self portrait, and you somehow heard about who I am and decided it'd be a funny little prank to make fun of the 'minor god' with no followers?"

"Ah? Oh, no, I'm not making fun of you, I promise!"

Xie Lian waxed his hands frantically. This was only supposed to cause grief for himself!

"I really am the Xianle Crown Prince. And as for followers... Well, I haven't really had any of those either, since Xianle fell. I didn't say so earlier because, well... It's a bit shameful, isn't it? Painting me own portrait and setting up a shrine to myself."

Zagreus's laughter had died away to a smoldering glare, though seeing Xie Lian's reactions and the sincerity in his voice, that too had cooled to a simple frown. He seemed to be telling the truth... though the odds of running into another Prince - a Prince god with no following, at that - seemed astronomically low.

Were the Fates still messing with him, even from so far away?

"...I never really considered the idea, gods obtaining their power from prayer. If you really are a god, especially a Prince who used to have a whole kingdom that worshiped you, of course you'd want someone to believe in you. Especially if you really are a protector.

"I didn't mean to... project my own insecurities onto you. I'm sorry, truly."

"Don't worry about me. That's nowhere even close to the worst I've heard said about me, haha.

"Anyway, I suppose I ow you a proper introduction, don't I. I Xie Lian, Crown Prince of Xianle. It 's nice to meet you, Zagreus."

He raised his hands in a proper salute, a tranquil smile on his face.

Zagreus let out a small sigh, returning the smile.

"Well, one proper introduction deserves another." And he sat up straight, his red eye shining and green eye glinting.

"I'm Prince Zagreus, son of Lord Hades, King of the Underworld. As my cousin Artemis has so kindly put it once, I'm only a minor god, with no dominion and no worshipers." It was empty jabs after he'd offended her once by not taking her boon, but her words still really stung. "Mortals have never heard of me before. No living ones, anyway. I suppose I've become famous among the dead."

"Wow, we really do seem to have some things in common."

Being more known among the dead than among the living, for one.

"Some modern-day mortals have heard of me at least, but... Well, my reputation isn't so great."

"You said you were born mortal, though," Zagreus said while leaning back forward, a look of awe returning to his face. "That's still amazing to me... I'm only a quarter mortal, on my mother's side."

His eyes lit up further as he remembered more of their conversation, realizing in retrospect it all pertained to the person sitting before him.

"You also said you were a martial god? I'm a fighter myself. What sort of techniques do you know? What weapons do you use?"

"Yes, I was born mortal, to a mortal family."

What would it be like to have a heavenly official for a parent, Xie Lian wondered. It must be quite a lot of expectation to live up to.

"I've studied both hand-to-hand techniques and sword techniques. I really do like swords best, but I'm afraid I don't have one with me now." He'd had such a nice collection, once...

"What about you?"

No kidding, Xie Lian. Being Prince of the Underworld certainly wasn't all it was chalked up to be.

"Ah, my instructor taught me hand-to-hand and sword fighting as well! He also taught me the spear, which was his specialty in life. He once wielded my father's spear, Varatha, which he gifted to me once he dug it out of the armory. Speaking of which..." Zagreus ticked off his fingers as he thought through his armory. "I've wielded sword, spear, shield, bow, fists, and this odd contraption made by Daedalus called a rail. But..."

Zagreus got to his feet, then, and held out his hand, summoning Stygius to his side. The red blade shimmered, even in the dim light, and Zagreus smiled proudly. "The other weapons were borrowed. This sword, Stygius, is my own. I imagine it's why I can still summon it, even in this place."

Xie Lian's eyes lit up at the sight of the unusual, and clearly powerful, blade. He leaned in to take a closer look.

"I've never seen anything like it! What sort of capabilities does it have?"

Truly, there was nothing quite so exciting as a splendid weapon.

Zagreus turned Stygius over in his hand, looking over it with some thought.

"On its own? Not a great deal. I can summon it to my side from anywhere, and it can cut shades down whether corporal or ephemeral. But like this, with my only my aspect alone, it isn't all that special."

Sort of like himself, really...

He shook his head to dismiss the thought, running his hand along the metal. "It's stronger now, though, than when I first wielded it. Stygius has drank deeply of Titan's blood, enough that its edge is sharper than ever before."

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