Prometheus did not know why the God-King would ask such an obvious question, but he still replied respectfully, "Your Majesty is wise; just so. These offerings are the tokens of the covenant between gods and men. According to Your will, they should be divided in two."
Zeus nodded lightly, yet a touch of compassion showed on His face.
He sighed softly: "Alas, though these are but foolish creatures of little wit and shallow spirit, they are living beings all the same."
"Humans may have been promised lordship over mortal life, and we, as gods, are lords of all things and all beings. Yet to require mortals to launch into broad slaughter for this… is, in the end, not quite right."
"This…" Prometheus was momentarily at a loss for words; his divine thoughts all but froze.
He could not make out what medicine His Majesty kept in His gourd.
Inwardly, Prometheus railed: Anyone listening, does this sound like a god's tale?
These are only low-spirited beings, no different in essence from grass, wood, earth, and stone.
When everyone drinks and feasts day to day, who ever spares a thought for the lives of these ants?
If one speaks truly, which god here does not already have uncountable lives' blood on their hands?
Not to mention anything else—take only the war of the two God-Kings back then: the beings annihilated merely by the spillover of that battle are beyond reckoning!
That was not counted by individual, nor by race, nor even by category!
Whole star systems—entire star systems—were erased!
Anything the least touched by that power was obliterated body and soul, not a trace left!
And never mind those witless mortals—even divine lives possessing true high wisdom, who died unjustly, caught in that long-drawn cosmic war's crossfire, are far too many to count.
The clash of God-Kings—calling it a cosmic cataclysm is mild; it was the end of the cosmos.
Then, whether the second God-King or Zeus the God-King, either one could smash a swath of stellar sea with a flip of the hand—deaths were without end.
And now, for a mere hundred bulls, His Majesty grows compassionate?
This little sacrifice—what does it amount to?
For such low creatures, the honor of serving as offerings to the gods is itself their glory!
But he dared only think these thoughts.
Could he truly, before all the gods, gainsay His Majesty the God-King?
He did not have long to be troubled, however.
For Zeus spoke again: "Only, since the covenant between gods and mortals has been set, it is not well to alter it on a whim."
"So let it be thus."
"Thanatos." The God-King suddenly called the name of the God of Death.
At this moment, among the ranks of the gods, the Night family stood arranged to one side separate from the Sky family; if not so stark as water and sand, they were black and white indeed.
All the new sky-gods now displayed their powers, pouring out their most splendid lights and signs to lend lustre to the God-King's progress and flaunt unbounded radiance.
But on the Night family's side, things were awkward.
Their domains… truly did not suit lavish display at a universal celebration like this.
Even the very few with somewhat gentler rights, beneath the atmosphere so thoroughly suppressed by the sky-gods' light, dared not stand out.
So now the Night gods all stood honestly in a row, reining in their auras and waiting modestly to one side.
Thanatos, hearing Father summon him, started upright at once.
He became a streak of silent black ghost-light, in an instant before Zeus's chariot, bowed, and answered hastily, "Great Father! I am here! Here, here!"
This Lord of Death, cold and unyielding in ordinary days, before his supreme Father the God-King, was no different at heart from a callow youth.
Zeus smiled slightly; His voice was gentle: "Thanatos, my just son. Mark this: from this day, any living mortal creature offered as a sacrifice to the gods—even if its spirit be low and shallow—shall not be counted as dying in vain, but must receive an added grace."
"In the Underworld you are to augment their souls with spirit, so that their spiritual wisdom will, in the end, be no different from mortals'. Take them in as your vassals of Death, to serve under your banner, helping you to govern, receive, and settle the departed."
Before all the gods, to be praised by the great Father as "my just son," and entrusted with so important a sacred duty—
though the matter itself might be small, it was enough to warm the heart of this ever-steadfast God of Death with pride and joy.
He straightened at once and cried in a ringing voice, "I shall obey the Father's command! Rest assured, Father! Thanatos will see this done well! I will ensure that all who die in fulfilling the holy covenant receive the richest grace!"
Zeus nodded with approval.
Thanatos bowed again, then returned briskly to his place.
If not strutting, he still held his head high and chest out, drawing many envious glances from his Night-kin brothers and sisters.
Only then did Zeus speak again, in a voice touched with compassion, softly: "We gods are lords of mortal beings. When it is not necessary, we must not lightly do killing. Seeing it alive, one cannot bear to see it die; hearing its cry, one cannot bear to eat its flesh. If it truly cannot be avoided, then keep far and do not look."
"Prometheus, go below and make ready. This matter of slaughtering the offerings—We and the gods shall not watch. Such a small thing—I trust for you it is only a turn of the hand."
"Go."
Seeing this "merciful" turn of His Majesty's, Prometheus was filled with feeling: The God-King is truly good! Too kind!
Thinking so, he bowed assent, then turned at once and descended to make all ready and begin the rite in full.
After Prometheus left, Zeus drew the gods into further talk, chiefly about fixing the gods' genealogies—the divine register.
That topic instantly seized every god's attention.
To the gods, this matter was far more important than watching mortals slaughter cattle!
This concerned the fundamental law of their rank and glory for ages without end!
For a time, in the highest heaven, discussion, debate, and flattery rose without cease, and no god gave too much attention to Prometheus and those tiny humans any longer.
The general course was set; what could go awry now?
That clever Prometheus could hardly botch so small a matter, could he?
Even Clymene, whose heart had been ill at ease, set aside her vigilance and worry for the moment.
When Prometheus had played at cleverness just now, proposing that "the God-King be principal god of worship," she had been thoroughly startled.
Thankfully, His Majesty did not seem truly to mind; she exhaled in secret and her face warmed again with a radiant softness.
In that instant she felt like a mother saved in time: joyful at her child's safety, and inexplicably sweet at the wise and gentle God-King.
She thought to herself that once back on Olympus she must find a way to make her beloved great God-King even happier!
After all, the furtive things of late had left her long-parched divinity filled to the brim by the God-King. That savor had… rather ensnared her.
As for the God-King? The God-King was surely already immersed and unable to stop.
Stealthy things have, after all, their stealthy charm ~
Clymene carried quite a few "buffs" upon her person…
As for the mortals upon the earth, who had been waiting in reverence, beyond hearing that holy proclamation the God-King had sent through the cosmos, they sensed nothing more.
But that proclamation alone was enough to set the hearts of all mortals surging and their eyes brimming with hot tears!
Was this not what all their sacrifice and toil had been for?
All that blood and sweat, the labor day and night—everything was worth it!
After Prometheus descended, he once more, in a voice of majesty, announced to all mortals the God-King's final decision.
Seeing the crowd slightly stir with excitement and elation, he raised a hand for silence.
Then, with a voice of utmost solemnity, he cried aloud: "All is set! Now we shall present offerings to His Majesty the great God-King and the holy Olympian gods!"
"This is the highest honor of all humankind! No hint of carelessness or slackness is permitted! With whole heart and soul you must offer the most exalted reverence to His Majesty the supreme God-King!"
"This will be an eternal, unforgettable, and most glorious moment! His Majesty the God-King, eternal Sovereign of all that exists, and all the great gods of the cosmos, have descended here in the name of heaven and earth to receive humankind's gift!"
"Your names will be sung by later ages! This is the honor of your lives—and the supreme honor of your sons and grandsons, generation upon generation! You must pour in your utmost for it!"
Prometheus ended with a ringing cadence; his voice sounded like a bell, and all who heard it felt their hearts surge!
"Begin!"
At his command, all the mortals present answered with a roar and began to move, tense yet orderly.
But as Prometheus looked upon the cattle drawn to a secluded place to be slaughtered, and then thought of those still in the tribes, hungry and faint, struggling on the line of starvation…
His heart was seized again with irrepressible sorrow.
At the same time he thought: all is set; the "covenant" between gods and men is already established…
In his eyes there slowly appeared a subtle and dangerous change.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.