Zeus 25 - Praxis

21 - Pythia

As days passed, Zeus's collection of fused glass and iron chunks which exhibited magnetos grew quickly. As Zeus spent more time with his collection, Origen took to spending the mornings at the House of Rock and Air and talked Zeus into getting him on the waiting list for Weightless training though he had no archery experience at all. It didn't matter to him that all the Weightless were archers. Even the Airmen who delivered the news carried the bow and quiver. I guess being huge and heavy your whole life makes the idea of wafting yourself about in the air with fans really attractive, Zeus thought.

Zeus's passion, on the other hand, became the font of knowledge available through Hermes Oracle, Pythia. Early in the first week of his training, Hermes called the Oracle forth for Zeus.

"Southwest," Hermes commanded, and the waiting doero turned his throne and dias toward a spot half-way between the entrance to Zeus's new workrooms and the main entrance from the House of Law and Punishment.

A highly polished and intricately inlaid wooden compass rose, with sixteen-points, was built into the floor below the dais of Hermes's throne. The rose's contrasting woods, fitted into the stone floor, had major points for every direction that the Clayman doero might be asked to align the throne to, and they aided him in doing so without error.

The current move faced Hermes 24 in the direction of his Oracle. Of the three large black circles inlaid into the throne room's gray stone floor, one was set in front of the West door, another protected the East balcony access, and the last, a much smaller one, surrounded a hemispherical depression, the Pit of Capture. Behind the pit was a hollowed-out wall where Pythia would appear.

The large circles were twenty feet across, each with a small black cup at its center to hold Hermes's Orb of Death, his ultimate defense and harshest punishment. The western black circle came closest to the throne while the eastern circle filled the opening from the short balcony corridor. The circles were at different distances from the throne so the choice of activating one, or both Orbs of Death at the same time, was Hermes's choice alone. By holding the middle syllable of the Word of Law, he could unleash the trapped lightning from the closer Orb or both at once. Because of these defenses, whoever sat on the throne never feared meeting alone with another mage as secrecy often demanded.

"The small black-circled pit and the Oracle behind it will be the heart of your power," Hermes began, "The pit is home to the Word of Capture and produces an Orb of Matter once each month when AvoDar's Blessing arrives. We will talk more of that later, but now you must meet Pythia and see my Oracle in operation. Today you will learn the highest purpose of the guilds."

"It's not to produce Punishers and warriors?"

"Those are the skills most Atlanteans are aware of, but when Apollo's Guild finds a truly gifted bard, or when Hermes's Guild promotes an exceptional Airman messenger for having a flawless memory, those guildsmen come to the aid of the councils of the three Houses in remembering all that's said when mages and lords meet. Even when I am not able to attend, the guildsmen who listen there can repeat to me later, word for word, what went on. The best of these perfect memories find their way to Pythia."

Zeus was familiar with Hermes's Oracle from stories told of it, but, of course, he'd never witnessed the process himself. The area the Oracle would occupy was a ten-foot wide arc behind the black pit—home to the Orb of Matter. Two golden shields, decorated with eagles, flanked the Oracle's space.

"On the back of my throne, beneath this aegis," Hermes said, indicating his golden war shield, "is a speaking tube worked cleverly into the ornate design of the wood. Pythia?" Hermes commanded.

An oval section of wall, at the back of the Oracle, pivoted to bring a beautiful young woman in a rust-colored gown swiveling into the room. A bright red cloth was draped over her head and wound about her body. Though Zeus was captivated by the woman, he also glimpsed the room from which she came, a room hidden behind the wall. There were men and women, both young and old, seated on benches there, presumably waiting Hermes's pleasure to be called upon. Zeus's glimpse was extinguished as the swiveling panel locked back in place.