Death and His Many Friends: Prologue

Nobody asked for me to become a hero. Back then, I thought it was a silly thing, being a noble person and all that. Heroes? They die, and then what? Sure, they accomplish 'good deeds' and stuff, but in the end, they all just die, get sent to the Fields of Punishment, with the lucky ones getting sent to Elysium.

Me? Oh, in case you're wondering, I'm a son of Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. You probably think this is all just a childish fairy tale that old folk used to tell the youth. I'm happy to tell you that the Greek gods are alive and well, at least for now.

You might think of Hypnos as some old guy with sleepy eyes and a drowsy demeanor, but for me, he was some young guy, albeit in his 30s, with wings strapped to his head and looked like he was going to kill you with boredom. Well, it was no surprise, as his mother was the primordial goddes Nyx, also known as the night.

I know what you're thinking; some family. But for me, they were all I got. The first time I ever got to meet my dad, was when my mother died during World War Two. The year was 1945, I think. After the officer had left my house, I felt a large hole in my heart, mostly because my mom died and I'd never seen my father, although my mom used to tell me he was with her until I was born. Some father.

I rested my head on my pillow, and suddenly I was standing in the mouth of a huge cave, with abosultely no light to guide me. I walked inside the darkness, and found it to be pitch black. I tried to see in the dark, but all those carrots my mom used to force me to eat did nothing much to help me. I used my sense to guide me, and soon enough, I could feel a kind of marble wall deep into the cave. I had bumped into it several times until I finally found the entrance.

This time, it was no longer pitch black, but a couple of torches that emitted black light had guided me across the room. The light conditions were terrible, but I managed to get across the room, and saw the black marble pillars that held up the ceiling in the palace. The place itself had no doors at all, so it was quite easy for me to get to my father's court.

Once inside, a saw a sleepy woman drooling into her desk, which was littered with thousands of pieces of paper. I prodded her with a pen I found in her desk, to which she replied, "Mmmmf...."

I had roughly translated this as, "Go inside. Someone wishes to speak to you."

I gritted my teeth, and walked further into the court, and saw a young man, sleeping on a black couch and another person, also clothed in black, who looked strikingly similar to the sleeping one, now staring at me oddly.

"Ah, yes, Gerard." the man said to me. The look on his face had changed into one that wolves use before they bite your neck. "Your father is waiting."

"Waiting?" I said to him, "Or just dozing off. Looks to me like this is some sort of place for people who just can't get enough sleep.Oh yes, is it Gothic week? I've seen more cheerful faces in a graveyard."

"Hah, you have quite the mouth on you," the man said, "reminds me of my brother, Hypnos."

"Thanatos, will you shut up?" the sleeping man had said to him, albeit waking up on the wrong side of the bed, or couch.

"I can't, brother. Your son Gerard is standing before you." Thanatos had said to him.

Until now I had thought this was some dusty museum or something and that I was having this really weird Gothic tour around this place. But my father, here? That was quite a shock.

Hypnos, had slowly opened his eyes, and lurched up into a sitting position. His stormy gray eyes looked just like mine, so I wondered if this man really was my father.

"Ah, my child," he said to me. "Isobel has died, no? That grieves me deeply."

He let out a sad sigh, and contined to speak. "If only my brother Thanatos," he pointed at the man standing next to him, "had let Isobel live from those artillery rounds, she might've told you herself that I am your father."

"Well, my mom is dead." I said to him. "And I don't see how your brother Thanatos would've helped anyways. What're you, a doctor?"

"Aha," Hypnos said, "Thanatos is the God of Death. He could have let your mother live."

"Wait a second," I said. "did you just say... god?"

"No," Thanatos said in a sarcasitc tone, "he said goat."

"And I am the God of Sleep. I asked my son Morpheus to grant you an audience with me, and he had complied." Hypnos said.

Great, I thought to myself, I have a dad who is actually a god and an goat for an uncle that is conveniently the God of Death.

"Anyways," Hypnos continued, "I have sent you here for a reason. Something evil is stirring in the Underworld. I've been hearing things about the pact between the Big Three, so I guess I need to act fast."

My head started to ache with pain. What's all this rubbish about gods and the underworld, I thought to myself. Surely I was dreaming. But then again, one of Hypnos' sons is the God of Dreams, so I guess I actually was in a dream.

"I will have you fall into a deep sleep." Hypnos said to me. "You'll probably awaken in the 1970's. I can't have you die during the World War. I've already lost Isobel, and I can't afford to lose you...!" he said, not in his usual sleepy voice.

"W-what's h-happening...?" I said to Hypnos, outraged at what he had just said.

"Take this flower," Hypnos said to me, holding out a red poppy in his hand.

"Are you a pacifist?"

"My sign of power is the poppy. It will keep you safe while you slumber. Once you awake..." he switched to a more cryptic voice, "...if you awake, you must look for somewhere demigods can be safe. Please my son. You have no idea how you are important to the gods, though they do not show it. I trust you, Gerard. You remind me so much of your mother. I will see you very... soon. Goodbye, my child."

Suddenly my surroundings started to blur, and suddenly I felt so weak and tired. I buckled to my knees, and slowly crumpled to the floor. I felt that my life was slipping away, yet I felt a twinge of happiness. At least I got to see my dad, I thought, and that's when it all went black.