© Copyright 1996-1999 by Clayton J. Powers

Darphus made a mistake. Against Xena's expressed orders, he advanced his wing, which held a line from the walls of Corinth to the sea, to the east and opened himself to a devastating blow by a full corps of centaurs that was hidden in a fold of ground to his north. The centaurs rammed into Darphus like an avalanche and his wing, surprised and shocked, began to waver and break apart.

Xena knew what she had to do.

"Draco! DRACO!" she yelled, to the commander of her right wing.

"Xena!" The dark skinned, craggy faced general, a superb fighter who worshipped his commander replied.

"That bastard Darphus has just gotten our own left destroyed! Take command of both the right and center. I don't think the Spartans across the creek on our right are coming, so take what reinforcements you can from the right and hold the center. DO YOU HEAR ME? HOLD THE CENTER!" She pointed over to the tall hill behind which the bulk of Draco's wing was hidden. "Hold that hill AT ALL COSTS!! I'm taking the reserves to bail that idiot out! GOOD LUCK!!"

Draco slapped his arm across his chest in salute and turned and ran off. Xena put two fingers to her mouth and whistled, and Argo, beautiful Argo, trotted over under the limb on which Xena sat. She jumped down onto the horse's saddle, the dawn sun glittering from her golden armor. Then she pushed her war horse into a frantic gallop, a golden woman on a golden steed determined to risk all to save the lives of her men, and her mission to conquer all of Greece.

She galloped over to the Estragon, the newly promoted commander of her reserve brigade of infantry. The men were still at their breakfasts. "Get your men up! and follow me at the run. I DON'T MEAN DOUBLE QUICK! I MEAN RUN! The left has collapsed. GET MOVING!"

"Yes, MA'AM," he replied, and turned to shout orders.

The next stop she made was at the side of her cavalry commander, Marcus. The incredibly handsome Nubian was utterly reliable and brave beyond belief. Xena's stomach turned over, for she was tremendous friends with the cavalryman and hated the idea of sending him his death.

"Marcus, I'm taking the reserve infantry and the Immortals over to the left. It's collapsing! Darphus is gonna get us all killed!"

Marcus asked, "Why not take us?"

"Can't! You find Draco, stay with him." Pointing her thumb sharply over her shoulder, Xena continued, "If the centaurs over there come in, you'll be the only reserve he has left."

"I'm going with you!" Marcus exclaimed as he mounted his white war horse.

"Like Hades you are! You stay with Draco! That's a direct order! By Ares! You follow me, and I'll gut you like a fish myself!" Marcus, his eyes wide from his friend's very serious threat, saluted and rode off to do what he was told.

Xena began twisting and trashing violently in her cot. Sweat was forming on her brow. She loathed herself for saying that to her friend--BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE! Then, just as quickly as it began the thrashing ceased, but if anything the muscles on her lovely face worked even harder. The moment she mentioned the name of the God of War another warrior appeared beside her on an impossibly beautiful black stallion. It was Ares himself, dressed in black armor covered by a black cloak. His head was covered by a magnificently decorated golden helmet. The War God's face, hard, cold and as incredibly handsome as ever had a smile on his surprisingly soft and sensuous lips.

"Lovely dream you're having my dear. And thank you for invoking me, even if it is only a memory. You used to do that a lot, Xena." Ares said, in a manner so oily that Xena's skin crawled.

Xena couldn't reply, her dream was locked on a path it had to follow. Finally, she arrived at Theodorus, the commander of her personal guard regiment, the Immortals. When she arrived, she adopted an attitude of jaunty confidence, these men were the bravest of the brave, the most trusted troops in her whole army. Many of them had even shared the honor of Xena's bed as a reward for their courage. Xena was friends with them all, for those who had not been her lovers were like her blood brothers. She knew them all by name. Xena had to turn to these men. The situation was nearly hopeless, she knew. She had one incredible gamble to make. This attack had to succeed or all the men she led would be dead or staked out on walls somewhere by morning. Xena's show of confidence was a sham; for underneath, Xena, The Warrior Princess of Kalmai, was utterly terrified. But she could not show it. NEVER SHOW YOUR DOUBTS TO THE TROOPS! her thoughts roared.

"Theodorus! UP BOYS! IN THE SADDLE!" Xena shouted.

On the word of that order the one thousand Immortals jumped in to the saddle at once, their eyes fixed on the woman in the glittering golden armor and sitting a magnificent palomino mare.

"Boys!" she began. "The beasts have kicked in our left. If it collapses, they will be in our rear and it's all over. I'm making one gigantic roll of the dice! I need your help boys, for the sake of our loved ones and Ares we've got to shut the gate on them. Many of you will not come back today, but your deaths will save the army and our holy mission to save all of Greece! You are the greatest warriors in the world, and I love you all! Will you come and die with me TODAY??"

As the speech rolled through her mind, Ares, who was invisible to the troops but so close to Xena she could smell the coppery smell of blood on his breath, purred, "You are the greatest in the world at this, Xena. You're born to serve me. Yet you fight your fate. Here you are terrified, but you know that only the greatest risk can bring victory. Remarkable! No wonder I haven't beaten you--until now!

Xena's nightmare became more intense and violent, she began calling softly no "No NO!" Tears began rolling from her closed eyes.

The Immortals were whipped into a frenzy by those words. All one thousand of them would charge Tartarus itself for the woman who was comrade, wife, and mother to them. Xena saw the blood lust in their eyes and her fear disappeared. She was infected by the lust too, for it was absolutely neck or nothing now--survival or gory death for thousands. IT MUST BE SURVIVAL! She reined Argo around to the south showing her back to her warriors; as she did so, the rhythmic chant of her name began at the rear of the block of horsemen and rolled forward like a mountainous tide until the entire formation was swamped by the name of Xena. The Warrior Princess reached back and pulled her sword out of its scabbard and simultaneously one thousand blades did the same. She waved the heavy weapon over her head and exclaimed as if she had become war itself, 'FOLLOW ME!!'"

"Xena," Ares breathed. "I so underestimated you. You out smarted me, and you stood up to me alone, when my attempt to fool you into my service again, failed. I had to find another way to get you back. I've done it."

Gabrielle awakened to her friend's moaning and thrashing, as did Ephiny. Both women got up, walked over to Xena's cot and looked down at the writhing Xena with grave concern

"I've seen her have nightmares before, Ephiny, but nothing like this." Gabrielle whispered.

The Immortals broke into a gallop and charged towards the sea. When they reached it they turned east to clear a field of caltrops, anti cavalry devices, then turned back north. On that turn, Xena ululated, and that terrible sound arrested the battle for a second. Darphus' hard pressed men turned and saw their mother in her glittering armor at the head of the most dangerous fighting force in the world and they took heart; the violence of their exertions doubled.

"Xena, look at what happened! Don't you remember the pleasure of that moment? No warrior in history has ever had the effect you have on men! They worship you, and through you they worship ME. Look, they're fighting twice as hard. You love this; I KNOW you do."

Ares was right, and Xena hated herself for it. She was filled with huge amounts of conflicting feelings, rage, fear, love, all of them equally strong. The Immortals hit the centaurs like a gigantic sledgehammer, Xena grunting and screaming at their head.

"Watch, Xena. Nobody fights like you. Nobody leads like you. You are the greatest warrior in history, Hercules included. Don't make me force you into my service." Ares argued calmly.

Xena's spirit was tormented now as it had never been before. She saw faces flash before her. Heads, arms, legs, went flying through the air because of her blade. Her beloved Immortals and her other men fell by the hundreds. Noble centaurs, capable of fighting off ten men or more apiece died as if in a knackers yard. The stench of fresh blood flooded her soul. Death--Death--DEATH! Everywhere Xena looked and stepped was DEATH!

Xena screamed. Gabrielle's eyes went wide and so did Ephiny's The other Amazons were awakened and many moved aft to see if they could help, Pyronia among them. Soon Gabrielle was shaking her friend by the shoulder hard.

Elkton, ELKTON! The name flooded her heart. That was the name of the mystic that helped her save Gabrielle from the God of Dreams, Morpheus. He told her that a dream, even a nightmare, was under her control.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, ARES! This is my dream!" Xena's spirit screamed. No matter what you do, I'll never worship you again!"

"OH! You are so wrong, Xena." Ares said gainsaying her. "You have no idea how much I need your worship. You'll be back in my service soon. You see, I'll destroy everything you know to get you back. You will serve me even if you resist me. It's all set up. Your destiny is determined. You will do what you were born to do. I have the tools now. You'll have no choice at all. You are MINE again, Xena."

"Ares you are not wanted here. GET BEHIND ME!" Xena's spirit hissed in rage.

The God of War held his hands up in accession. "Until next time then." he purred and then he disappeared.

When the God of War left, the nightmare broke. Xena's eyes opened wide and she sat bolt upright, the sweat on her head and bosom gleamed in the light of the single oil lamp.

"Xena, what's the matter? Are you all right? You were screaming!" Ephiny exclaimed.

Gabrielle looked deeply into the glittering blue eyes of her dearest friend, and for an instant she saw a flicker of deep worry shoot though them. Then Xena's face regained the look of easy confidence that was her hallmark. Xena reached out and touched Gabrielle's outstretched hand.

"Nothing, Gabrielle--just another nightmare. I'm fine, really." Xena said.

"Wanna talk about it?" Gabrielle asked.

"Maybe later.

Gabrielle looked a little crossly at Xena and she shook her head. "The great stone face," she muttered.

"I think I'll take a turn on deck." Xena said while rising and putting on her cloak. It was an indication of Xena's power over others that the entire crew started to do the same thing until she turned and looked sharply at them. She did allow Gabrielle and Ephiny to join her.

It was another warm, brilliant Aegean night. A gigantic, red, full moon had just come up over the eastern horizon. Ephiny looked and stared at it in reverence, for Artemis, the Moon Goddess was the protector of her and her sisters. She turned to Xena and asked her to bring the rest of her sisters up to see it. and Xena nodded. In a few moments the Amazons tumbled up onto the deck to see the orb rise higher in the sky. Many of them bowed their head in reverence and prayed. Seemingly out of nowhere a huge cloud drifted across the face of the moon cutting off its light. The border of the cloud turned blood red. This upset many of the women warriors, the knew it must mean something but they didn't know what. The entire bay in which the ship was beached bathed in an eerie red glow.

Off in the distance a loud burbling noise began. Xena heard many sharp intakes of breath as the Amazons saw the phenomenon and reacted in shock. Xena, Ephiny, Gabrielle, and Pyronia looked towards the now churning water and then they all exhaled in consternation for a huge column of water began to grow in the bay. Up it shot until it shaped itself into the body of a man so huge it nearly blotted out the stars. Bearded and ruggedly handsome, the immense image of a man looked down upon the tiny boat beached on the tiny island.

"Poseidon!" Xena hissed.

Fear shot through the boat, but Xena raised her hand and the Amazons steadied. Xena got up on the bulwark of Lyceus and looked up at the skyscraping apparition. The God of the Sea looked and gained eye contact with the Warrior Princess just as the cloud left the face of the moon. Soon everyone on board could see the look on the God's face. It was one of great concern, even worry. The God then raised his hand in greeting and then turned into water and collapsed into the sea.

Gabrielle turned to Xena and asked, "What could it mean?"

"I don't know, Gabrielle." Xena replied.

Lysistrada, anyone would feel the way you did if they saw their beloved husband so possessed. It's all right to allow yourself to be scared."

"I know, Demodocus; I know!" The woman choked, nearly overwhelmed with emotion.

Demodocus took hold of the woman's shoulder and squeezed hard. "Yes, It must be terribly hard for you to go through this. Don't blame yourself. You could do nothing! Your husband was possessed by the god Eros, and he didn't know how to fight him. He was driven mad by the God's whim. You needn't shame yourself." Then the woman began to cry in great racking sobs.

"It's OK, Lysistrada. Go ahead and cry. It has to be hard for you. Remember, it wasn't your fault. Some god just used you cruelly." Demodocus said as gently as he could.

"It hurts so much Demodocus! I don't think I can bear it much longer!" The woman hissed.

"Like most things, this will pass. Well, we're done for now. Here." Demodocus leaned towards the woman and put both of his hands on her head. The moment he did, the priest's face exchanged expression with the woman on the couch. Tears rolled down the priest's face as the woman's gained a look of easy tranquillity. In a moment, that very expression returned to Demodocus. He had trained his students in every technique he knew to help disturbed people with talk. He taught them how to use valerian root and opium to calm them down, but nobody could do what Demodocus could do--ease emotional distress by touch. The priest had repeatedly asked Athena to grant his best students the gift, but she refused, saying that the wisdom he learned trough her gift would change everything and that he was the man to spread that wisdom. The gift was a tremendous responsibility, and a great strain on Demodocus. Every day he thanked ALL the gods that Athena was with him so often.

When he was finished, Demodocus assisted the woman to her feet and escorted her out of his room. There were five more of his patients that he had to see today but he took the time to adjust some records and to think about Athena. His relationship with the Maiden was unique. No other Greek god would ever enter into an intimate friendship with a mortal. He had heard of such relationships held by Hercules, but he was half god himself. Athena was unique. She was modest, so modest that she preferred to watch from Olympus subtly influencing people's decisions towards both spontaneity and responsibility. She created all knowledge, was responsible for the creation of technical skills, and most importantly influenced the decisions of all people regarding right and wrong, for people individually and the universe in general. She was also the Goddess of War. She didn't revel in blood and battles like her fierce brother Ares, she defended the proper and moderate use of force if and only if violence was necessary. Peace and magnanimity were her hallmarks. Yet she was mighty, so mighty that all the gods save Zeus himself respected and even feared her.

Demodocus sat back and interlaced his fingers behind his head. He shook his head in wonder that the most powerful goddess of all would become his friend and confessor. It was her will he thought. Then he rose, opened the door and called out "NEXT!"

Later that afternoon, after Demodocus had seen his single patients and went on his rounds, he returned to his modest cell in the Erichtheum, shifted his plain linen shirt and donned the rich blue robes trimmed with silver that symbolized his position as Chief Priest. Then he went out to undertake one of his great pleasures, celebrating the daily service to Athena. On his way to the magnificent temple of his patron, the Parthenon, he happened to encounter the mailman, trudging up the steep hill of the Acropolis like he did every day. Demodocus flagged him down.

"Any personal things for me today, Melas?"

"Yes, Master, as it happens I do." said the deliverer.

Demodocus smiled. He was an orphan now, his parents were dead and he was an only child. His mail usually consisted of official correspondence from the Athenian Council, or from other priests of the cult of Athena. It was usually crushingly boring, but his solitude was something that he greatly appreciated. He hadn't felt lonely in many years, ever since Athena discovered and nurtured him. Melas presented him with three pieces of mail, two packets of papyrus paper and a parchment scroll. Curious, he placed the packets into the tie of his robe and unrolled the scroll. When he read the title page he smiled broadly and emitted a delighted little cry for it read, "The Eyes of Athena" By Gabrielle of Potidaea. He realized that the packets were letters, probably from Xena and Gabrielle.

Turning his head over his shoulder he said, "Melas, take that pile to my office will ya? Thanks!" Then he turned and walked over to a nearby marble bench that had a fabulous view of the Parthenon. He sat, put the scroll aside and opened the first pack. The letter was from Gabrielle. She turned out to be a better letter writer than a bard. Her small, frilly hand wrote out acute observations of the people she met, detailed descriptions of hers and Xena's movements, and her hopes for what her next adventure might be. Every paragraph was filled with wit and joy. It impressed him greatly.

Now came the real excitement. He took the other pack out of his waistband and on it was a an address written in a strong, bold, but still feminine hand. Demodocus opened the packet and began to read.

Demodocus sat back and allowed his thoughts to drift. The inn in which Xena and he spent their one night together came back into his heart with incredible power. He put down the letter and closed is eyes and took in a deep breath so that he could remember the soft smell of cedar that permeated the little room in which they stayed and then, in his memory, he looked down at the long, deeply tanned body of the woman who had so suddenly become the most important person in the world to him. He looked at the scars on Xena's back and belly and remembered the scars he had felt on her courageous heart. "I can take away her pain but I can't take away the memories," he thought. A tear came to his eye. Then, he remembered getting back into the bed.

Demodocus moved over and wrapped his long arms around Xena and she stirred and rolled over. Her incredible blue eyes opened and caught Demodocus' gaze. She reached out and gently stroked the side of Demodocus' beard with the back of her hand. With a very sweet look on her face, Xena said, "Hello, Priest."

"Morning, Xena." Demodocus took Xena's face in a strong hand and kissed her lingeringly. He could feel what little tension in either of them that remained just evaporate. "How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful, Demodocus! Just wonderful. You're a miracle worker."

"No, Princess, the Maiden Athena is the miracle worker, not me. I'm just a drunk who wants to be human."

"No, you're very special to me." Xena said, and she kissed him again.

Xena rolled away from her new lover and looked up at the ceiling Her eyes drifting away into the distance. "I just didn't know I could still feel so much. All those poor people that had to die because of me."

"Xena, when people are ashamed of themselves or go through a terrible experience, they wall off the feelings of the moment and tell themselves that they never felt them and try to go on with life. Problem is, that doesn't work. The feelings just sit there, eating away at the spirit like acid. All I did was to break down your walls against those feelings. I took a big risk with your life when I did that. Nobody but you could have done what you just did--look at your own self hatred so unflinchingly and trust me enough to tell me about them. It was the bravest thing I ever saw." Xena looked at Demodocus. He was crying gently.

Xena became concerned. "Why are you crying?"

"It's courage, Xena. I've never seen anything like your courage before, it's beautiful--so beautiful!"

Xena rolled back again. "If I was so brave, why did I give up my son?

"Your son? I felt you were longing for someone. Want to tell me about him?"

"He's ten now. Beautiful blond boy. His guardian named him Solon." Xena eyes became soft and dreamy almost as if she was in another world. He doesn't know I'm his mother."

"Why?"

"I don't want him to be a warrior. Like me."

"What was his father like?"

"Borias was his name. A tall, rugged, sometimes wild, man. He was older than me. I met him when I was first forming my army to defend Amphipolis. He was the town chief of a village farther down the coast. He saw that I'd already done most of the organizing work and that we were moving against Cortese. I told you about him didn't I?"

Demodocus nodded.

Well, he proved to be an excellent leader, but he told me that I was just a wonderful leader and he never contested my command. He eventually took over command of a wing, about half my army."

"You cared about him?"

"I loved him. He was brave and sensitive. He used to write songs and play the lyre. I sang with him very often. For reasons I don't really understand, I could trust him. Well, when we weren't on campaign we became involved. He could understand me and listen, a lot like you. I'm afraid I was a lousy companion. I tried to control him and could only think about the army and plan for more campaigns. I needed an outlet and Borias was it. On campaign I wouldn't keep anyone too close to me, especially my senior officers. It would show favoritism and ruin morale."

"I understand."

"Well, one time in winter quarters I found I was pregnant, and I kept the baby after he was born."

"So what happened?"

"I felt that the only way that I could really save Amphipolis was to take as much territory as I could. I had succeeded in taking most of Macedonia and I was just entering Thesally and I ran into the centaurs. They gave me a hell of a tussle I'll tell ya. Borias disagreed with starting another offensive against them. He knew the centaurs and told me that they could be trusted. He wanted me to settle with them."

"Why didn't you?"

A great wave of regret washed across Xena's face. "My blood was up. I couldn't stop myself!" Xena choked. There was something else. Borias hated what I did to reward bravery in my army. I made love with men that showed exceptional gallantry in action. Borias thought I was degrading myself and that it would hurt the baby.

"Xena listen to me. War is to you what wine and women are to me. What was once was a necessity to save your family, became a pleasure, and then it became a necessity to you so that you could cut your feelings off. Even sleeping with men only because they performed on the battlefield was a symptom! You caught a disease. You are only partially responsible for it. Besides, Ares was exploiting you and you didn't realize it."

"Borias said nearly the same thing to me. Our last night together he said, 'Xena I became a warrior to bring some order out of chaos. You're a warrior because you love it.' He was right."

Demodocus put his arm around Xena and held her close. Xena continued, "Well, I started my campaign against Tyldus, the centaurs King, and Borias quit. He said 'You keep the baby. If he dies, you and you alone need to pay the price.' He disappeared. I found out that he had he had gone to Tyldus and gave up all my plans to the upcoming campaign. I wanted him back. He added a full year to the war!"

"Xena that was an awful thing for him to do to you and Solon."

"Yes, but it proved the point. I knew that the centaurs were honorable, but I was obsessed with beating them."

"What happened?"

"We were pursuing Tyldus and my army cut off a rear guard commanded by a centaur named Kaliaphas. I knew that Borias was with Kaliaphas. I had ordered that Borias be brought back to me alive but somehow he was killed and the body was brought back to me. I got another man I loved killed." Xena took in a sharp breath and forged ahead. "I knew that if Solon stayed with me, he would become a warrior. I was responsible for the death of his father, a man I deeply cared about. If Solon became a warrior I might have had to kill him too. I couldn't bear that!" Xena looked at Demodocus. Tears were welling in her eyes, but she continued.

"I couldn't take the baby, who was only a few months old, with me on campaign and I knew of how centaurs educated Hercules. They had always treated prisoners that they had taken from me honorably. So I called a truce and surrendered Solon to Kaliaphas. I then ordered the army to break its encirclement and keep driving south."

Xena rolled back to Demodocus. "I miss them both so. Solon is with me all the time. I can't get them behind me. I SHOULD HAVE QUIT TO STAY WITH SOLON! How can I forgive myself for that?"

"Sh! Xena, sh! You made a mistake, you mustn't blame yourself.

"Demodocus, I'm afraid."

"Welcome to the human race, Xena; we are all afraid. The only way to deal with that fear is to turn the outcomes of the events you most fear over to the gods, as I have turned them over to the Maiden.

"They've stepped on me so often. I don't know if I can ever do that."

"Don't worry about that now. You'll be ready soon enough. You just keep reminding yourself that the world without Xena would be a far worse world. Remember too, people love you. Me, and Gabrielle."

"I know, that's what's so amazing." Both people perked up, they had heard someone rustling around in the dining room.

"Sound's like Gabrielle's up. We have a busy day ahead." Demodocus said and he kissed his mighty love once again.

The priest's reverie broke, and he continued to read.

The Parthenon was, and remains, one of the most wonderful buildings ever constructed. Its gigantic marble colonnade was meant to awe the worshipper with the power of Athens and Athena, the city's divine protector. Demodocus walked up the main stairway astounded at the perfection of art that the building represented. The priest thought earnestly about Athena, and Xena. Xena's attitude towards the gods, any of them, concerned him. She mostly distrusted, even hated, them. She did have a working relationship with the god of the Underworld, Hades; that god did her a favor by putting her friend Marcus into the Elysian fields. Ares, the God of War, was stalking her. That god was desperate to return her to his service, but somehow, Xena resisted him successfully. Ares wasn't Eros. He was far more powerful and dangerous. When she told him about Ares' interest, Demodocus again thought that she might be a demigoddess, but he still had no direct evidence to support that thought.

Xena's attitude about the Maiden puzzled Demodocus greatly. During the Eros adventure, the Maiden had gone to her directly and treated her as an equal. The Goddess told Xena that all she had to do was ask for her fate to be assured. Xena refused! She was reverent over the offer, but firm. Athena let her decision stand. He had repeatedly asked Athena why she treated Xena so, but his patron never answered him. Demodocus shrugged accepting the fact that these questions would probably never be answered.

He walked down the arcade of towering pillars that made up the interior of the Parthenon until he reached the door of the Holy of Holies. He laid down on his face his arms out stretched in supplication to his Patroness and began the song of worship he chanted every day. His heart was sound and pure. Athena was his life. He rose, opened the door and entered. When Demodocus entered, he took down one of the carefully tended candles and used it to light a taper and in turn he lit an incense censer. Demodocus turned slowly swinging the device spreading its heady smoke throughout the chamber.

At the far end of the hall stood the great statue of Athena. Over thirty feet tall and made of ivory, the gigantic statue was ornately decorated with gold and jewels. It was painted in the finest materials and topped with a gigantic Mycenean helmet of solid gold. One of his proudest achievements as Chief Priest was to have the statue's head replaced. The face that gazed out upon the column festooned hallway was now the face of the Goddess he had seen and knew so well.

Demodocus experienced the peculiar sensation of both grandeur and intimacy he always felt in this room. He understood full well that he was beyond fortunate in his relationship with the goddess, and he was awed by it all. A part of him still couldn't believe that he had been chosen to be the Maiden's eyes on Earth.. He lay down on the floor in front of the statue, chanting the song of invocation and praise. He used this ritual of prayer and joy as a way to look down deeply into himself to see if his conduct had been wanting in his own eyes. He stood, walked over to the altar and took out some of the fruit and the chicken he had sacrificed earlier in the day and carefully placed the offerings at Athena's feet. The priest then threw out his arms to his sides and called,

"Mightiest of Goddesses! Hear me well! I humbly ask to give all people the wisdom to gain serenity and happiness. Save us all from the scourge of war! Preserve us to give you the glory you deserve for righteousness sake. In modest supplication I pray!'" Demodocus then turned his back on the altar took two steps and turned once again to face the mighty image. He fell to his knees. held his hands together and looked earnestly up into the eyes of the statue. The image's eyes were centered around two huge sapphires. The light of the sun wafting through the skylights flickered and sparked from the precious stones as if they were actually eyes. Softly, Demodocus added, "Protect the lives of Xena, Warrior Princess and Gabrielle of Potidaea. They are your greatest servants. And if the Fates decree that they should die, ease their passage into the underworld; let them rest in the honored glory that they deserve."

Smoothly, Demodocus regained his feet while still looking deeply at the statue's face. To his surprise, Demodocus saw the stones disappear! Now, a pair of gigantic, gleaming gray blue eyes looked down upon him! Then he felt a warm breeze, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He turned quickly upon his heel, looked behind him, took in a sharp intake of breath, and immediately fell upon his face. There, a gentle wind disturbing her diaphanous blue robe, stood a woman that wasn't a woman. It was the Maiden Pallas Athena herself.

The Goddess was the exact opposite of what one would expect of a deity. Most of the Greek gods craved worship. They trumpeted their achievements and bathed themselves in their own arrogant glory. This wasn't Athena's way. She was modest and demure. Her appearance reflected this personality. The apparition stood, her bare feet floating several inches above the ground. Athena's robe was simple in the extreme. Its yarn was spun from the fibers if reality itself, its weave clean and pure for Athena herself was the garment's weaver. Athena in this form was tall, somewhat taller than Demodocus, but not so tall as to prevent her Chief Priest from looking her in the eye.

Unlike Aphrodite, Athena's body was lean, hard, and superbly proportioned, a true ideal of the athletic woman. Every muscle, sculpted to otherworldly perfection, could be clearly seen. No artist could even conceive of such aching beauty. Her face was utterly shattering in its loveliness. It seemed to Demodocus that there were no curves to be seen in her visage, yet the planes and angles of her features were assembled so wonderfully that they were an indescribably elegant whole. The focus of the goddess's face was her amazing gray blue eyes, the eyes by which Zeus himself nicknamed Athena "My Gray Eyed Beloved". Those eyes always seemed to Demodocus to be peering deeply into him. The gaze always filled him with joy and wonder. The goddess' hair, gently wavy and trailing all the way down her back, was the color of newly harvested wheat that shined like the sun itself.

"Stand, dear priest." Athena said. Her voice was deep, rich and soft, but didn't sound quite human. Its tambre always reminded Demodocus of the base tones of a lyre.

Demodocus immediately rose and faced his patroness. He always found it hard to look Athena in the eye but the goddess always insisted. She even from time to time took his chin in her hands and made him look at her. "Your servant, Maiden!"

"I am here because you invoked me in the name of my beloved Xena."

"Yes, Maiden. I'm worried about her. I love her."

"Indeed, yet she still refuses to invoke me herself."

"She is very proud, and still in pain."

"Demodocus, Ares stalks abroad. Xena may be in the gravest danger."

Demodocus wasn't surprised. Athena and Ares went together like salt and pepper, the two half siblings needed each other However, the God of War was capricious and bloody minded, the more battles that were fought the happier he became. He needed to be restrained constantly. Athena was that restraint. Demodocus knew that if Athena mentioned her half brother in such a manner, she had lost track of him. This frightened Demodocus.

Athena went on, "The Fates have decreed great strife will soon strike Olympus and Earth at once. Gentle Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest is missing. Xena will be at the center of Earth's torment."

Demodocus was horrified. If Demeter was restrained, a great disaster could ensue, yet the weather remained fair and productive. There had been no crop failures or any indication of famine--yet. He couldn't even imagine a major conflict among the gods. Xena at the center of the Earth's torment? He continued to wonder. Why? How? Could Xena be the cause of this impending disaster? He couldn't believe it.

"What will happen, Maiden? The stakes are so terrible!"

"Do not ask me that Demodocus; only my beloved father Zeus knows all."

"Can anything be done?"

"I will inquire. This means I cannot return to Earth except in this capacity. Unlike my Father, I cannot be everywhere at once."

Demodocus' face dropped and his eyes opened wide with fright. Did this mean that she was ending her relationship with him he wondered?

Athena raised her hand. "Fear not dear servant. I can retain my link with you. Your work will continue unhindered. But, if war should break out on Olympus, I will need all my energies there. All my energies. If I don't give them everything I can, reality itself could come to an end."

Demodocus was terrified now. What would happen to him if his vital connection with the Goddess were to end? Without Athena could his gift drive him mad? Demodocus shook his head and strongly reminded himself that what he feared hasn't happened as yet. He resolved again to only live in the moment, as he had reminded himself many thousands of times before. Yet he was unable to change his focus. He stood before his patroness like a chastised schoolboy--rigid and shaking.

"Oh, Maiden; what am I to do without you?!"

A look of gentle concern came to Athena's face. This was followed by an expression of distress. Without a word, the Goddess put her hand on Demodocus' cheek and she withdrew his agitation. A look of tranquillity returned to the priest.

"Remember, gentle priest. You serve me well. No matter what happens, I will hold you in my mind, forever."

"Much better now--thank you," he said. Then Demodocus asked, "What of Xena?"

"I cannot say Demodocus. However, she is mighty amongst those on Earth. She is doing what the Fates have determined for her to do from birth. That is her great advantage. I must go now Demodocus. Have faith in me and yourself, friend."

Again she reached out and gently touched the priest and then the apparition evaporated. Demodocus fell to his knees, a single tear rolling from his eye.

A moment later he stood and ran out of the temple. Melas? MELAS!!?

The mailman answered, "Yes?"

"Run into town to any of the shipping offices. Book me a passage on the first ship to Halikarnassus. Please!"

"OK, Master!" The mailman said and he hurried off. Demodocus sprinted towards his cell, stripping off his robe as he ran.

Now the frightened villagers gathered around the brobdignagian pit that was once the little altar the unfortunate Priest of Demeter, Tryphoîn, had built to celebrate the first time a plow had bitten the land of the valley. Unfortunately for all of them, the giant that was buried here was Enceladus, a hothead of Olympian proportions. Enceladus was on the point of exterminating the people himself when the leader of the giants, Porphyrion, arrived just in time to prevent any more damage from being done.

"Stop, Enceladus! Don't hurt them! We don't know why they've come here!" Porphyrion exclaimed while grabbing Enceladous by an arm the size of a redwood tree.

"Rubbish! Of course we do!" Enceladus bellowed. "The gods have lied to us. They've welched on the treaty! The liars want more worship so badly that they'll do anything to get it! We've got to fight them or be destroyed!" As the enraged giant was yelling, the heads of its reptilian feet hissed, snapped, and flicked its forked tongue too and fro. One of the slashes of the tongues just missed one of the villagers who ran in terror and climbed the nearest tree. As this was going on most of the other giants came running up, the ground jumping with every pounding step.

Like any other group of humanoids, no matter how big, the giants had a range of personalities. Porphyrion was a calm and rational giant who believed that everything had a reason and that precipitate action was unwise. He never thought that the original conflict between the gods and themselves was necessary, but he had to change his mind when Ares attacked them and started the war to begin with.

"Be quiet Enceladus, we need to find out what happened!" Porphyrion said and he turned to the crowd of people who were staying a very respectful distance from his hungry feet. "Who is your leader?" the giant asked.

"I am!" answered Tryphoîn with a combination of fear and pride.

"Why did you plow this ground?" The giant known as Thoon asked.

"Because it was going to waste." Heystasia, Tryphoîn's wife yelled upwards while hiding behind her husband.

"Didn't you see the warning totems?" The giant named Anax asked, becoming increasingly disgruntled.

"We did!" A villager exclaimed.

Tryphoîn added, "But we didn't know what they meant. It was written in a tongue we didn't understand.

"All we were told was that beyond the signs was death." Tryphoîn's brother, the former priest of Demeter added while pointing up the path the people had used earlier. "We couldn't believe it. We all saw how beautiful and rich this valley is. You could see the herds of red buck and wild horses from the top of the ridge there."

"Yet you stayed out for such a long time?" Porphyrion asked.

"Fear is timeless." Tryphoîn said. "Sooner or later someone would have enough guts to take the risk. I was that man."

"Why YOU, puny human?" Enceladus asked, his voice dripping with contempt. The giant's snappish feet were making all kinds of predatory sounding noises.

"Because gentle Demeter said I was that man!"

With that boast, half of the giants let out terrible roars of rage, disappointment and anguish. The people dove for what cover there was even though many were convinced that a horrible death was coming to them. However, fate was on their side for Porphyrion and his several friends shouted for the hotheads to calm down. Eventually, they did calm down. While the villagers watched from cover in grave concern, another villager, a woman, made her voice known.

"Can't we find a way out of this predicament? Surely we can come to some kind of compromise that satisfies all of us?" The woman's voice was deep and rich. The rest of the villagers turned to look at the woman because her voice was strange to them. She was tall but dressed plainly. Her head hidden in a plain blue kerchief. Beneath the head covering, brown eyes glittered

"Compromise? COMPROMISE!" The hotheads bellowed at once.

"Yes, COMPROMISE!" Porphyrion agreed. "Why do we have to fight humans or the gods for a place to live? Surely there is a way out.

Behind the reasonable couple of giants, several others began tearing gigantic boulders out of the sides of the mountains that surrounded the valley. They began to stack them in a huge pile. Before to long the pile began to rival the mountains in height.

The woman in the kerchief then asked, "What would you need to satisfy yourselves?"

"Death to the gods! We can only accept OLYMPUS!" Screamed Gration, another one of the hotheads. His shout was so loud that many of the people put their hands up ears and screamed in pain.

Enceladus took up the yell, "Death to the GODS!"

Tryphoîn yelled, "We can't go back. Demeter might have us killed if we welch on our agreement. This valley ours.

"No, she wouldn't do that, just as she wouldn't deliberately break the treaty." Demeter is the sweetest of all the gods." The woman in the blue kerchief said.

"That's right." Heystasia called. "When she came to us she was wonderful and told us directly that this land was a reward for our faith."

In the background, the disgruntled giants continued to build their platform. The woman in the kerchief began to become very concerned. As the debate went on, it became gradually more and more heated. The argument got to the point that she had heard Enceladus mutter threats against the peace faction. Frustrated, she slipped off her kerchief and made a tiny gesture of her hand. In a moment a figure congealed out of thin air next to her. He was short, lean, red haired and handsome. He didn't look particularly remarkable, since he was dressed in a plain dark brown shirt and shorts. On his right breast was a small image of a caduceus embroidered in gold. On his head was an odd cap similar in color to his clothing, with a single prominent bill over his brow. However he was remarkable because protruding from holes in his brown socks, small bird's wings sprouted from both sides of both of his ankles.

"What's up, Sis?" This man asked jauntily.

The woman shushed him. "Hermes my intelligence was right." she said in a whisper. "People have invaded this valley. They've plowed the Earth. Gaea has released her children. Go home, tell every member of the pantheon, and for all our sakes find Zeus!"

"Fat chance, Sis. You know what he's like when he's out tomcatting."

"I don't care, just find him. Olympus is at stake! Tell the rest of the gods to man the battlements. I'm going to see if I can keep them talking. I am not optimistic"

"Right! I'm outta here!" Hermes turned and blurred out of existence.

Enceladus shouted, "If Demeter committed this crime she must be punished. I demand that she come here!"

"That's not possible!" The woman shouted.

Shocked, Tryphoîn turned and looked again at the strange woman. Now that he could see her face, he was deeply impressed by her intense, angular beauty--especially her lustrous brown eyes. However he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was the Priest of Demeter here. "Why isn't it possible. She answered my prayers before, I'll pray for her again!"

"It's not possible, for she is nowhere to be found." Now everyone turned and looked at the strange woman. The villagers were totally stunned.

Now Tryphoîn's jaw dropped. "How by the gods could you know that?"

"Yes!" Gration yelled. How do you get news from Olympus?

The woman then rose slightly into the air. Her eyes changed color from deep brown to gleaming gray blue. The air all around her began to feel as if gigantic energies were coursing through it. Hair stood up on the heads of many of the people. The serpents on the feet of the giants began to sway and hiss, their tongues flicking violently. Then the woman began to grow and grow.

"IT'S ATHENA!" someone shouted, and all of the people either scattered or fell on their faces. The apparition shot up rapidly, the goddess' modest raiment disappeared altogether to be replaced by a bright blue cloak hanging from a golden chain around her shoulders. Great bronze grieves appeared that extended from her knees to the tops of her feet. Her body was soon covered by a form fitting golden cuirass. A magnificent Mycenean helmet made of gold appeared that was pushed back upon her head. The helmet had upon it a long horse hair tassel trailing from a prominent crest on its top. Lastly, she swept her right hand out from her body and in it appeared a gigantic silver spear. Up, up the apparition expanded until she reached eye level of the tallest of the giants.

"I've looked for her." Athena said. "She cannot be found on Earth or on Olympus. My uncle Hades says she's not in the Underworld either. Demeter has been missing since a time before these people saw their vision. It is confusing because the weather remains normal and farmers world wide are not affected by her absence.

"Why should we care if Demeter is missing? The only thing that counts is that we have been cheated. You're probably lying like your slutty father!" Enceladus hissed.

All of the people, and many of the giants, recoiled from Enceladus' insult. They were sure that Athena would become enraged, but her mild expression did not change at all.

"You can't say that!" Porphyrion exclaimed. Athena CREATED truth.

"My father's character is not at issue here." The goddess continued. There is evidence that these poor people were induced into invading this valley under false pretenses. Only a god could have done that. We must find Demeter, and the god behind this conspiracy and bring them to Zeus' justice."

While this was going on, the mighty platform the unreasoning giants were building grew ever higher. One of the giants, Hecatoncheiroi, had picked up a boulder as large as a barn and had stealthily began to approach the mighty negotiators. Several of the other hotheads began to follow. Porphyrion was at the point of pleading with Enceladus to change his position when Hecatoncheiroi heaved the boulder at the back of leader of the peace faction. Porphyrion was struck in the back of the head and was thrown at least a mile. Immediately, Enceladus' supporters jumped on their unsuspecting brothers and mayhem broke out.

Athena immediately stooped and roared like a thousand thunderclaps, "GET OUT OF THIS VALLEY NOW!"

The townspeople did what the Goddess told them to do. They fled. Athena at first thought about trying to intervene, but she reconsidered and disappeared.

Tudhalias was in his adjoining apartment sharing a laugh with his advisors, Kumarbi, Arnuwanda, and Uhhamuwa. The Emperor stood looking through a viewing port that on the other side of the wall was cut through a tapestry. His face was pulled back in a cold smile. He turned and faced his men..

"Look at those sniveling idiots. I can tell by just looking at them, we've won already. Greeks are nothing but shopkeepers and degenerate artists!"

Uhhamuwa said, "You are so right Sire. How could they possibly have taken the Eastern sea? Every one of the Ionians we've met has been so slimy that they makes me sick. Thank the gods they didn't bring a centaurs with them!" The Chief Priest shuddered.

Kumarbi was more cautious, "These Greeks might be weak, but remember they outlasted the Trojans."

"Anyone can out camp an enemy." The Emperor said returning to his spy hole. "Look at them sweat. Uhhamuwa, the black propaganda is working great. I really was hoping to have a little war to blood the conscripts but it looks like the bastards are going to fold without it."

"How much longer now, Sire?" Uhhamuwa asked.

"Just a bit more."

The men in the office were all seated side by side on hard wooden chairs. They were very uneasy.

Petrarchus was the Foreign Minister of Ephesus. The brother of the King, the roly poly man he had been watching the Hittites for many years and was easily the most surprised of the members of the delegation. Members of his family had been trading with the Hittite government for centuries and suddenly his business had been cut off. He was desperate to regain that business or the cities creditors would eat it alive. Previous communication with Tudhalias had been couched in language that promised a return to business provided that a corridor of Hittite troops could guard the roads out of the city into the interior. Refusal would mean an attack.

Eurystheus, a short, plain and chronically sweaty man, was King of Atarneus. This was a tiny but very prosperous trading port that was another important transhipment point to the interior of Hatti. He was worried because he had nearly no military power to speak of, but he had a lot of money. He was hoping to buy off Tudhalias into leaving him alone.

Iphitas, a tall, elegant, conservative and effete looking man with a neatly trimmed mustache, was the King of Smyrna. This was a very large and powerful city that was a major center of trade throughout the Mediterranean. Its army was large, over 50 thousand, and very well equipped. The city was so prosperous that it even provided military support and built fortress villages on prominent terrain features across the base of the peninsula on which the city was built. The city was populated by many different peoples, Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Cretans, and most important and dangerous to him, there was a significant Hittite population as well.

Tudhalias knew this. Years before, and against the expressed orders of Emperor Suppiluliumsa, the then Foreign Minister had embarked on a campaign to deliberately upset Smyrna. As a part of this plan, Uhhamuwa had concentrated a black propaganda campaign against city. These brutal broadsides had claimed that the primary population of city were subhuman oppressors that must be stopped from vicious military expansion into the Hittite Empire. Tudhalias had also filtered agents provocateurs and tens of thousands of dinars into the Hittite population inciting them to resist Iphitas' authority

The entire city had been suffering riots, strikes, and increased crime rates, because of this Hittite covert activity. Several of Iphitas' government officials had been assassinated and few clues were left behind. Iphitas suspected that the assassins were Hittites; Hittite weapons were found at the crime scenes, but the evidence led nowhere. Iphitas really would have liked to put stringent controls upon the Hittites in Smyrna, but many of the most wealthy and prominent of city's citizens were Hittites. Making enemies of them would have been political suicide. Iphitas was therefore caught in a classical damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. He figured that if he did everything that Tudhalias wanted the Emperor would help him get control over his own city--maybe.

The final participant in the conference was Pausanias, Foreign Minister of Halikarnassus, a medium sized, but militarily powerful trading city on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. This man was a totally different kettle of fish, as was his King Erginus ,compared to the others at the conference. The Foreign Minister was a clean shaven, short, ugly man with a bulbous nose and a beetling brow, but he held himself proudly and talked with clipped rhetorical brilliance. Pausanias and his King knew Emperor Suppiluliumsa very well and respected the man and his political objectives. They also both knew that Tudhalias was a viper in a black uniform and that they had better keep very careful tabs upon the new Emperor. Immediately after finding out that Tudhalias had seized power, Erginius had determined that the only way that Halikarnassus could be defended was to build up its military power to the greatest extent possible. They had learned this lesson the hard way. Tudhalias had made them both look like fools in a small trade dispute several years earlier, even though at that time, they knew him to be untrustworthy. The military activity at the borders of the Ionian colonies was at its most concentrated at the border of Halikarnasus, So Pausanias was at this conference for two reasons, to determine as much as possible what Tudhalias was up to, and to stall while the City's army was built.

Tudhalias had changed from his Guards uniform into a relatively modest set of robes. He looked though his eyehole and saw that all four of the high officials that were in his office had squirmed long enough. Turning to his advisors, he nodded and walked through the doors as unassumingly as possible. "Your Majesties, My Lords," the Emperor said. "I'm so sorry for the delay. A sharp crisis developed in the Finance Ministry that needed my immediate attention. I do hope this will not be considered a snub."

Both of the Foreign Ministers rose to their feet and bowed their heads. The monarchs rose and proffered their hands, both of which were taken warmly by the seemingly avuncular Emperor. Turning, Tudhalias made a sweeping gesture towards his advisors. "You've met my Minister of Security, Kumarbi?" The soldier snapped to attention and bowed his head while clicking his heels. Both Foreign Ministers shook hands while both kings bowed in acknowledgment. This ritual continued until both Arnuwanda, and Uhhamuwa were introduced. All of the Emperor's men sat on a nearby divan.

"I asked you here today to reinforce our good relations but to come to terms with some difficulties that we have encountered recently. Firstly, you know that our empire is landlocked and has critical shortages of some minerals. We need to get more access to these minerals, and since we are landlocked, this has led us to some very severe economic consequences. Secondly, we are no longer satisfied with the agreements that my predecessors made with you about our borders and your right to stay on territory on what had been traditional Hittite land. Many of your people are ethnic Hittites and they are crying to be reunited with their Empire and their Emperor. These are very serious issues with us. Additionally, we are concerned about the military buildups that Smyrna and Halikarnassus are undertaking. We feel that these are grave national security threats and we must head things off before someone miscalculates..."

The Emperor's talk went on for some time, and he appeared to be rambling, but this was deliberate. He was trying to give the vague impression that he was crazy and unpredictable while wrapping it in the packaging of reasonableness. After a while, he surrendered the floor to Kumarbi, who took a much tougher line. He used veiled threats and demanded that access to the sea be granted to the Empire. Additionally, he also demanded that all territory that was predominantly Hittite or Luvian speaking be returned to the Empire.

For several hours both the Emperor and Kumarbi ratcheted up the pressure on the leaders.

"Finally, Let me state categorically, we have no territorial ambitions. We only wish to be reunited with our people and be granted access to the sea." The Emperor said.

Eurystheus looked terrified. "These look totally reasonable demands to me."

Iphitas was dubious, but he was sweating. "Your Majesty, I give you the concessions you want will you help me with the Hittites in the City of Smyrna itself?"

"Of course."

"So, then you are telling us that if we concede all of our territories with Hittites living in them to you, you will leave us alone provided we give you access to the sea?" Pausanias asked.

"That is our need and desire." The Emperor said.

"It is vital that we have access to the sea. We will neither get our just place in the sun nor will we survive if we don't. We want peace above all else, but we will do what we must to survive. That is why we have been building our military forces," Kumarbi added in a slightly threatening tone.

"This seems to me to be a reasonable proposition," Iphitas said. "I do understand that Hatti has been under great pressure from the Assyrians and the Caananites lately. Any rational statesman needs to have a strong military in difficult times like this."

Pausanias looked at the King of Smyrna in surprise and veiled disgust. He couldn't believe that the most powerful city on the coast of Asia minor was even considering giving up so easily. Turning to the Emperor Pausanias asked, "Your Imperial Majesty, how can we be certain that you'll keep up your end of the agreement and allow us to go on as before? Seems to me that if we give you the concessions you want, you could just use them as a base to strike us." All the other foreign officials nodded but Iphitas.

"Gentlemen! Please!" Tudhalias said in all sweet reasonableness. "What would we gain by such perfidy? The cost in blood would be very high on both sides and nobody wants that."

"Besides," Kumarbi added. "You are all wealthy cities with great resources just a shipload away. Who is to say you might not take this opportunity to expand at OUR expense, just like an earlier generation of Greeks expanded against us?"

"We did expand inland, and at the cost of a lot of blood, but that was hundreds of years ago, and treaties were concluded," Petrarchus said. "Why do you want to open negotiations now after so very long?"

"The Hittite people haven't forgotten that war." Kumarbi said in a raised voice. The near shout had the effect he wanted, all but Pausanias started in their chairs. "The treaties were concluded by an Emperor that was weak and insane. It led to the bloody war with the Assyrians. We will NOT EVER allow that to happen again. We are more responsible."

Pausanias said, "Those treaties were honored scrupulously on both sides. We have heard not one word of complaint, nor delivered any for many many years. They had proven to be greatly mutually beneficial."

"Yes, yes of course." Eurystheus chimed in. "The treaties have been great for business."

The Emperor answered, "Conditions have changed my friends. Our population longs for contact with their loved ones across the borders. The boarder controls and customs houses are a great burden to them, as are your, frankly rather punitive, tariffs." Tudhalias turned and looked out the broad glass window of his office out into the courtyard where there was a huge sundial. The shadow was just passing noon. "We have been having some minor problems with those Hittite citizens that must cross your borders regularly...

At the same moment, a great shout and a further roar of a huge crowd of people could be heard coming from near the main gate to the Imperial city. Tudhalias struggled mightily to keep from smirking. "Guard! Guard!" The Emperor yelled. Immediately one of the door sentinels arrived and snapped to attention. "Go see what the commotion is and report back immediately." The guard snapped off a salute and fled.

The members of the delegation looked alarmed, except for Pausanias. His face was held rigidly passive. In a few moments the guard returned winded and his face white with fright. "Sire! There's riot in front of the main gate!"

Tudhalias was instantly decisive. "Everyone quickly, let's see what's going on!" Kumarbi drew his sword and lead his Emperor and the delegations out into the long hallway and they walked as quickly as they could to the northern battlements of the city. When they arrived, they found at least 10,000 people crowded down the wide drive up to the gate. They were carrying many banners and signs reading things like "LET US SEE OUR COUNTRYMEN!" and "DEATH TO THE GREEK INTRUDERS" Many of them were carrying torches despite the fact it was noontime. All of them were shouting slogans rhythmically. Tudhalias, and his advisors lingered back slightly from the rest of the party and they stopped behind a watch tower next to the walkway on the battlement. When the visiting dignitaries, all resplendent in their Greek style uniforms, reached the vantage point on the battlement they heard someone shout, "THERE! THERE ARE THE BUTCHERS! BURN THE BASTARDS!" and bottles full of flammable materials were hurled at the walls of the city and the buildings of the town built around it. The enraged crowd then charged the main gate and began to batter at it.

Kumarbi took control of the situation. "Sire! go back inside! NOW! You too My Lords! SOUND THE TOCSIN! YOU!" Kumarbi ordered one of the guards, "Take another guard ride like hell to the 2nd Battalion Guards Charioteers and the 1st Battalion Guards Infantry. Get them here immediately! MOVE!"

"YES, SIR!" The guard saluted and vanished down the battlement. All the foreign dignitaries eagerly complied with Kumarbi's order and withdrew, shaken for the most part back the way they had come from the Emperor's ornate office. Pausanias was the only one that wasn't white as a sheet from fear. His face was flushed, his eyes were cagey, and he had a small smirk on his face. He also knew that right now he could do nothing. The troops finally did arrive and the riot took many hours to put down. The fires nearly destroyed the village outside the walls.

When the Emperor and the delegations returned to his office, Tudhalias quickly went to his desk and took out several pieces of parchment. On them was the proposed treaty. "You see My Lords, if we have a small riot now, sooner or later we will have a revolution and you will have no idea what you would be dealing with then. For the sake of the stability and safety of all who live in Asia Minor, its vital that you sign this agreement. Thenceforth we will tender all aid necessary to you in implementing this Pact of Iron." Eagerly, all but Pausanias rushed forward and shook Tudhalias's hand. The Foreign Minister held back with a stern look on his face. He had read and digested the treaty in a few moments.

"My Lord Foreign Minister, you do not agree?" Kumarbi asked sweetly.

"Your Majesty Emperor Tudhalias," said Pausanias gravely. "I am but Foreign Minister, charged with the negotiation of treaties, but not their ratification. Only my King can do that. I must take a copy of this proposed treaty to my Government for it to be read and considered. After due deliberation we will send you official news of our position.

"Surely your great King, Erginus will approve?" Tudhalias asked. His tone was still like honey.

"I cannot say. But I will venture a private opinion in my own capacity as Pausanias, a citizen of Halikarnassus if I might."

"You may friend." The Emperor said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. In all my thirty years of public service. I have never read a document so crammed with infamous falsehoods and distortions. On a scale so huge, that until this very moment, I did not think that any government on earth could be capable of uttering them. You are trying to foist upon us a virtual disarmament treaty that would serve only your interest, and you have reinforced this deception by that transparent performance we just saw. Acceptance of this document is appeasement of the worst sort, and will presage the destruction of all of the signatories. In short, I will recommend to my Sovereign that this proposed treaty be rejected that and immediate, massive preparations for defense be undertaken. I would rather die, and so would my people, than be chivvied into this kind of dishonorable surrender. With that, I intend to take my immediate leave of Hattusas. May I be excused?"

Kumarbi took a step forward his hand on the hilt of his sword, but the Emperor intervened and stopped him by putting a firm hand on his subordinate's shoulder. "No Kumarbi, let him have his say. He will be made to pay later for his sullen stupidity. Besides, he has diplomatic immunity. We must assure that all our foreign guests are treated honorably. You may go, My Lord. With that, Pausanias turned on his heel and stalked out of the office curtly waving for his retainers, who had been sitting all along on a divan in the anteroom, to follow him. Their footfalls could be heard ringing for a very long time away down the hall.

"Come now gentlemen, don't let this little temper tantrum disturb our merriment for this profound moment of peace." The Emperor said clapping his hands for his servants to bring wine with which to toast his achievement.

The signing ceremony was held in the great courtyard of the Imperial Palace the next day. Bulls were sacrificed to the Mother Goddess and a huge feast was prepared. Bells of celebration were rung in all the official temples in the city and they would ring for weeks as the news spread throughout the vast empire. Euystheus climaxed the affair by offering the Emperor many chests containing about five million dinars in gold. An emperor's fortune that Tudhalias accepted with modest pleasure.

Later that evening, Tudhalias had all of his advisors and their immediate subordinates in for a small gathering after the final gala diplomatic dinner and parting ceremony. All were in a very merry mood indeed. Several of them were on divans with lovely women, not their wives, in varying stages of undress indulging in a little pleasure. The Emperor was showing as much happiness as he could, which wasn't that much. His mood considerably brightened when Uhhamuwa called over to him. "Sire, that was the most brilliant piece of black propaganda I ever saw. You're the greatest of us all.

The Emperor laughed his tight little laugh "Yes, a meticulously planned spontaneous demonstration is very effective sometimes, no? I even burnt down that hotbed of opposition just outside my front door. Lovely!"

Kumarbi piped up, "But using the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Imperial Guard was a masterstroke. The boys never had so much fun in their lives. Precision rioting. I LOVE IT!!"

"I watched them all the time!" Uhhamuwa said in his high chirping voice. Did you ever see a more spineless bunch? Everyone shook their heads. "Sire, you know your opposition wonderfully!"

"I've worked with those cowards for twenty years. I knew that their kingdoms are rotten structures waiting to collapse as soon as we kick in the front door. What I DIDN'T know was that they were so weak that they would fall apart by my BLOWING on them!" Now the Emperor was really laughing now, a deep rumbling belly laugh that was totally uncharacteristic of him. Everyone in the party joined in.

"I loved getting Iphitas. All that money he spent on building up that army and his fortresses. It was totally for home consumption--propaganda. Total waste. I knew that he had no stomach for any kind of war at all. He is such a damn cookie pusher. He makes my skin crawl just thinking about him." The Emperor said shuddering.

Arnuwanda asked, "What about Halikarnassus?"

"Erginus is going to be a hard nut to crack." The Emperor replied. "He's very resolute and tough. He makes Pausanias look like a pushover. I had to invite them because without the Halikarnassus delegation being here, everyone would have smelled a rat. I wanted to kill that popinjay right then and there, but that would have been a diplomatic disaster. As it was, I succeeded in making his King look like a paranoid. That has got to look good when we work on the Greek Cities on the southeastern coast. I do know one thing. He won't be getting much help from mainland Greece. I'm getting lots of good intelligence telling me that the entire Greek nation is ripe for the plucking. We just need to be cautious and go one step at a time. We'll have to deal with him and Erginus after he gets home.

"What are you gonna do, Sire?" One of the women asked.

"Liquidate them of course, and get our man on the throne." The Emperor said in a businesslike manner.

Well everyone but the Emperor got themselves pretty drunk by the end of the evening, but Tudhalias was a creature of habit. He announced that he was going to retire to read then go to bed and he urged all to do the same. He clapped his hands and told his body servants to bring in some more of the banned scrolls. Uhhamuwa asked what he was reading and the Emperor tossed him a scroll. On the title page was, "Ties That Bind" by Gabrielle of Potidaea.

"I've heard of this Bard but never read any of her work. What does she write about?"

"She writes about this fantasy warrior woman called Xena, Warrior Princess. It's exciting, escapist kind of stuff, but this Gabrielle is too anti slavery for the general population to read." Tudhalias said.

Kumarbi said firmly, "Xena's no fantasy."