The northern part of the island was very mountainous and had many jagged cliffs. The center part of the island was full of many hills and valleys. But the southern part was uninterrupted fertile plains. It was there that Hercules thought it best to land Pegasus, for it was here that he expected to find this mysterious woman.
As Pegasus began his descent Hercules looked down, but could see no buildings—no sign of life. Before Pegasus could even land Hercules leapt off of him to the ground, with his sword drawn. He figured that if Hades wanted Hercules to come here there must be some terrifying beast or warrior here waiting to destroy him. But he was surprised to find that this was not the case.
Hercules could hear the waves rushing up against the rocks on the beach and it was beautiful. He kept his sword in hand, but lowered it slightly. Pegasus was silent. “Hades said that there is a soul here who needs rescuing,” said Hercules as he looked over at Pegasus. “Together we must discover what evil lingers here.”
Pegasus didn’t look too enthusiastic, but nevertheless agreed to accompany Hercules.
Hercules spent several hours searching the grassland, but he could find nobody. Many thoughts erupted within Hercules’ mind. He thought that perhaps a great Titan or giant was keeping this woman captive. Or perhaps she was a magician capable of disappearing or somehow camouflaging herself. Or it also crossed his mind that perhaps she had already died on this island.
For the most part the island was very silent. And after several miles of walking the two felt very exhausted; darkness was falling upon them now and they knew they needed to rest. “Come Pegasus, let us sleep here for the night,” said Hercules. Pegasus nodded and found a nice spot to lie on the ground while Hercules slept up against a tree. A few minutes past and both laid down there under the stars and fell asleep.
******
Hercules woke up to the bright sun that peaked down through the trees. He looked around and saw that Pegasus was still asleep. Then he heard the sound of footsteps. It was soft and subtle, but enough for Hercules to hear. He thought that perhaps it was some devilish creature and looked over at his sword. He reached over and picked it up. He slowly got up from the ground and while Pegasus was still asleep followed the sound. He walked slowly through the forest, and looked ahead, but could see nobody. The sound continued, but he could see nobody. He continued moving forward and the sound got closer and closer, but he could see noone. He began to get nervous. He knew that whatever it was it was close.
Hercules lifted his sword and then spoke in his most demanding and intimidating tone possible. “Who’s there? Come and reveal yourself!”
Nobody emerged. He looked down and saw a squirrel scuttle around him through the trees. He was relieved. It was a large squirrel, but he figured it was large because of all the food it got on this island.
Hercules looked forward and suddenly saw something—a great fountain. The fountain was new and smooth and seemed to beckon him to taste the water. It was the first sign of civilization he had seen on this island and seemed to prove to him that someone did indeed live here, or at least used to.
The fountain was about three feet high and looked like it was made of some kind of magical white stone. He noticed that there was no vegetation around the fountain, and none that grew around the stone. The top of the fountain was one large, wide bowl which enticed Hercules to look into, so Hercules moved forward towards the fountain.
Hercules was thirsty, after one night of sleep and all of his travels, and when he looked into the fountain he saw water come up from the center. The water did not seem old and the bowl of the fountain itself was as clean as the outside of it. Of all of this, however, the most amazing thing about the fountain was the water itself. The water seemed to shimmer, shine, and sparkle like it was just made from the hand of God himself.
Hercules couldn’t resist drinking it and so he cupped his hands and dipped them into the water. He let his hands reach his open mouth and took a large sip of the water. Surprisingly to him the water was very cold, but not too cold. It was just perfect.
Suddenly Hercules felt a chill all around him. He felt like someone was watching him. He reached down, grabbed his sword, and slowly turned around. Then, there before him, several feet away, was something he did not expect.
Hercules was taken aback when he saw her, for she was no ordinary woman. Her hair was as black as the blackest night but her skin was as white as the whitest rose. She wore a light-purple Greek dress that seemed to glow, much like her entire body. Her feet were bare and her body clean of any scratch or defilement. In these moments he felt that he had strayed into a dream.
“Do you like it, the water from the fountain?” she asked, in a soft, soothing tone of voice.
Hercules did not know what to say for a moment. “Yes, I do…” he managed to mumble. He looked away and then back to her.
“What is wrong? Do you not believe me to be real?” she asked softly.
“How do I do not know you are a figment of my imagination?” asked Hercules. “After all I have been journeying a long time and you may be a figment of a distraught and malnourished mind.”
The woman smiled and walked confidently towards him. She approached him slowly and placed her right hand gently on top of his outstretched sword. “Do I look like something you could imagine?”
Hercules didn’t know what to say. She certainly didn’t seem like anything he could imagine. She was far too beautiful for that. “I suppose not…” Suddenly another idea came into his mind. “But what if you are not really a woman? What if you are really some terrifying creature, but transformed into a beautiful woman?”
“If I can transform into a terrifying creature then why didn’t I when you had your back turned?”
Hercules nodded and let his sword down. “I suppose you have a point…”
She smiled and then said, “There are two great fountains on this island. One dwells here in towards the south. Its waters are divine and one sip can relieve the thirst of a grown man for a week.”
“Does it ever dry?”
“No,” replied the woman. “It needs nothing, but is self-sustaining, an everlasting fountain of water. The water comes from the deepest depths of the earth, a place where no man before has touched. The water from this fountain could fulfill the thirst of everyone in the world, at least for a season.”
“What of the other fountain?”
“The other is in my palace,” said the woman. “I drink from it often. It has other abilities, abilities that are only for me and not for you.”
Hercules didn’t feel it appropriate to probe her further on the power of the other fountain and so dropped the subject. “What evil is there on this island?” asked Hercules.
The woman smiled and looked Hercules in the eyes. “None, unless you have brought it yourself.”
“You know this entire island?” said Hercules.
“Of course,” said the woman. “For this is my island! This island is my land, a land unlike any you have ever before seen Hercules! Come… bring your great white steed and I will show you it!”
Hercules was suddenly reminded of Pegasus, who he had accidently left behind. Hercules then rushed back to find Pegasus and wake him. The woman followed. “Who are you and how do you know my name?” asked Hercules to the woman.
“I have been waiting for you to come,” said the woman. “How did I know you were coming you might ask? Well, I have certain abilities, abilities beyond that of any mortal. And as for my name, I am called Megara, but you may call me Meg. Now, come, I have much on this island to show you. I am sure that you will be quite impressed!”
“Where are you taking us?” asked Hercules.
“Why, to my palace of course!” she exclaimed.
“You are taking us to your palace, but we are going north, into the heavy mountains,” said Hercules.
“That is correct,” replied Meg. “That is where my palace is. My palace is on the highest peak on this island, called Mount Pantokrator. The
entire island is mine, but my palace garden is only in the north.”
Hercules nodded. “Very well, lead on then!” Hercules looked back, but noticed that Pegasus didn’t want to follow this woman. He turned his head away and began walking the other way. “Come Pegasus! We must continue onward!” Pegasus didn’t want to but he knew that he needed to follow Hercules.
And so Hercules and Pegasus followed this woman as she moved through the forest towards her palace. She spoke softly and in a soothing manner. “This island is very skinny, but long. After wandering amidst these hills and small mountains you will see my grand palace!”
So she led the two north, through the forests, hills, and mountains.
Hercules had to admit that, so far, he was amazed at this woman. As she walked nature itself seemed to move aside for her. Apart from tree trunks (which can’t move with much ease at all), everything else seemed to part for her, as if she were Moses himself. Hercules thought this was odd.
“Tell me, are you a God?” asked Hercules.
“No.”
“Then why does nature itself move before you?”
“You may say that here I am a God—I am the God of this island!” said Meg. “Indeed, you may say that this place is my prison and palace. It is my prison because I cannot leave, but it is palace because I never would want to.”
Hercules nodded. He thought that this was quite intriguing. He had never been in a place himself that was a prison and a palace. Of course this only added to his curiosity—to his desire to know this woman more.
After several more miles of walking up and down hills and valleys they watched as the trees before them seemed to dissipate and what lingered in front of them was a great white gate, at least twelve feet high, surrounded by a wall as far as his eyes could see. The material appeared to be the same as the material that composed the fountain.
“How could we not see this from the sky?” asked Hercules, as he looked at Pegasus.
Meg smiled and turned around to face the two of them. “Because it may only be seen by those who are invited to come. Before you were not invited, but now you are.”
Hercules nodded, although he didn’t know what she meant by this. Hercules watched as Meg threw her arms up in the air. A few moments later the gate seemed to magically creak open.
“Do not worry my friends,” said Meg. “I know that you are hungry. I will soon have a great meal prepared for you, made from my very own garden.”
Both Hercules and Pegasus were amazed at what stood before their eyes. Beyond the wall was a great garden, with fertile trees and bushes scattered across the landscape. Flowers of all kinds grew up in clumps all along the ground. Grass grew all around so that no portion of dirt could be seen, although there were many rocks, both small and large. Then Hercules could see the land slope upwards greatly until he saw, what must be, her palace. And it was, from what Hercules could see, the most grand of any palace he had ever before laid eyes on. Because of the upward slope the first floor was held up by columns in the front of the palace that went across the entire building except in the middle where there was a long, wide, white stairway, with each stair at least three feet long. This stairway led up to the entrance to her palace (although there was no actual door). What lay inside Hercules was not yet certain. But he was certain of what lay on top of the first level. Three more levels of her palace extended upwards into the sky. All had balconies on at least one side and each level got gradually smaller in diameter than the one below it.
Hercules did not know what stone the palace was crafted of, but again it seemed like it was made of the same material as the fountain and the wall. There were no cracks that he could see in the exterior and, as opposed to any palace in the Greek World, there were no sculptures or images of Greek Gods or heroes. Hercules found this to be odd, for all the palaces he had been too had some kind of statue or relief sculpture of a God in the palace or on the palace itself.
“This is your garden? And that is your palace?” asked Hercules.
Meg smiled and nodded.
“Did you create all of this? Did you build that great palace?” asked Hercules.
“No, a God did,” said Meg.
“What God? What God created this for you?”
“A God who lives far away from this island now,” replied Meg, as she thought of Hades. Hercules didn’t know exactly what God Meg was referring to, but got distracted by everything around him that he dropped the subject.
“I will take you on a tour of everything!”
So for several minutes Meg led Hercules and Pegasus through the garden. Meg would often turn back to Hercules, smile, and point to a nearby bush or tree and say, “And this is my apple tree, or this is my olive tree.” She seemed very acquainted with everything there in her garden. As they followed her up towards her palace he saw wild olive trees, pear trees, pomegranate trees, apple trees, fig trees, and all sorts of trees. Bushes and grasses of all kinds dominated the landscape. Hercules could not describe the place except that it possessed a type of “natural order.” He could tell that the plants and trees were kept in order, but it was not a type of order that a human would or could create. The trees and plants did not grow in a line or to a certain established height, but to a height that individual tree or plant preferred, as if every tree and plant had its own personality.
It seemed like Meg could read Hercules’ mind when she said, “No one needs to tend the garden, because the nature here possesses its own order and beauty. There are no statues or temples to your Gods here. Nature is perfect here, for there is nothing that is man-made. There is nothing here to corrupt!”
“So it is just us two on this whole island?” asked Hercules.
Meg nodded. “And the animals…the birds…the rabbits…all forms of peaceful life. I assure you Hercules…here you will find a place away from all the evil of the outside world. Anytime you like you may pluck of the fruit of these trees. These trees possess fruit that is most delicious.” “Have others not tried them?”
“No,” said Meg slyly, but confidently. “Others have not.”
“Has anyone else been to this island?” asked Hercules.
“No mortal,” replied Meg. “You are the first.”
Hercules felt this was odd, but paid little heed.
“What about the weather? I am sure that the trees are not always green and do not always produce fruit.”
“Oh, but that is where you are wrong Hercules,” said Meg. “I don’t suppose you have been on a magical island before.”
Hercules shook his head. “No, I have, but not like this one.”
Meg smiled. “Here Hercules, I have everything that I ever need. Food here lasts me an eternity. There is no change of season here, yet I feel the effect of all seasons here. Sometimes I feel the frost. In others I feel the warmth. In others I feel the dampness and yet in others I feel the dryness. In this place all weather is melded into one. Now come Hercules! You must see the inside of my palace and then I will have a bounteous meal prepared for you!”
Meg approached the long stairway that led up to her palace, but then she stopped and turned around. “I am sorry, but your…” Meg looked down at the large, white, winged horse and suddenly realized she didn’t know what she would call the creature.
“Pegasus,” said Hercules.
“Yes, your ‘Pegasus’ may wander in the garden wherever he likes, but he may not enter into my palace. Do not worry. You may feed him after we are done.”
Hercules turned back and looked down to Pegasus, who seemed upset that he could not go with Hercules. Hercules figured that he did not like this woman in the first place and so this was not good news for him. “Please Pegasus; it will be just a few minutes…”
Pegasus snarled and backed away into the garden. “He will get over it,” said Meg reassuringly. Meg extended her arm to Hercules as a great invitation for him to enter.
“Made by magic this place was, and not by mortal hands!”
Hercules did not ta
ke her hand, but followed her into her palace. In front of his was a grand living room, held up by columns along the edge of the room. Silver and gold tables and chairs of different sized were arranged neatly all around her palace. Even her bed frame was gold. Paintings of the garden and of the oceans hung on the walls in her palace, but Hercules noticed that there were no pictures or statues of any Gods, which was much different than Pericles’ palace.
On the first level there were many rooms, which Hercules found surprising considering it was just her living on the island. They all had hard rock white floors that seemed spotless. She had a large kitchen with an elaborated carved gold table.
There were no statues in the palace, although there were columns and decorations. Hercules found that there were no lights at all or any torches, but large natural windows at various points throughout the house through which natural light could enter. Hercules again figured that this was to add to the feeling of naturality that pervaded the island.
The only backyard she had, before the sharp cliff drop-off, was a small courtyard surrounded by a columned patio. Then, in the center of the courtyard, was a fountain that looked identical to the fountain he had seen earlier. “This is my fountain—a fountain which you are not to drink. Should you drink of its water you would surely die.”
Meg then led Hercules up to the second level of her palace where Hercules saw one large room with walls on two sides and columns on the other two sides. Hanging up against the walls were many different items. Some were old weapons, such as the sword and shield (many of which were very rusted). Some were not weapons at all, but ancient cultural objects, such as stone tablets with foreign writing on it. Against the wall were small tables with different sized vases on the top. Some of the vases were partially broken.
The God of Olympus Page 13