Pantheology

Page 6

“No Olympian may raise a hand against Rome, but the Aesir made no such promise.” Odin gave his all knowing smile and continued. “The commander of the Carthaginians, Hannibal, is a man without ability. If we leave him to continue his plans then they will come to nothing. I will go to Earth, and advise Hannibal, and I will let him inflict great victories against Rome until the Roman people once more turn to their gods for aid. Then I shall leave him to his own devices and he shall be beaten, and the Romans shall praise the gods.”

“Why would you do this for us?” Athene was ever suspicious; she not only looked a gift horse in the mouth, but sometimes went so far as to dissect it and check each organ one by one. “What do you want in return?”

“Centuries from now, your Romans will dominate the lands to the north, and bring with them their technology. When they withdraw, our mortals will take those lands and benefit from the legacy left by the people of Rome. So our reward will come in the future.”

“But Zeus promised Aphrodite that her son’s empire would live forever.” Athene spoke with a gleam in her eyes, imagining Aphrodite’s endless whining as her empire fell apart.

“Not even Zeus can predict the course of time. I myself only know what I have been able to learn from prophets and seers. All empires diminish in the end, and after Rome has spread to encompass the world, its tide will one day roll back.”

“Let it be so.” Athene rose from her chair and took up her spear. “As for now, I shall return to Olympus with your words. May you have success with your exploits in Carthage.” Athene turned and left the hall, laughing to herself about how much her sister would rant and rave when she saw Dido’s curse come true: her Romans defeated on the field of battle by Hannibal, or rather, Odin. She approached Ares, who was by now struggling to his feet and resuming his customary growl.

“Where is he? I’ll tear him apart!” Ares attempted to push past Athene and charge into the hall to find Thor and vengeance. The bright-eyed one sighed and wordlessly shot out a hand that grasped hold of the war god’s hair. She paid no heed to his complaints, and dragged him along to the edge of Bifrost before finally releasing her hold.

“Our task is complete. We will return to Olympus.”

“Not until I’ve gone back there and hacked his head from his shoulders!” Ares put his hands to his sword hilts defiantly.

“You can return to Olympus peacefully now, or you can return in pieces,” Athene raised her spear as she said this, “If you chose the latter then I’ll cut you to pieces now, and then Zeus can do the same once you return.” Ares paused in his rage to consider this, and finally decided that he was beaten. He mumbled something about how he could go straight through her if he wanted and then destroy Thor with his bare hands, but how it wasn’t worth the effort. And so the two Olympians left the realm of Asguard.

The Roman commander surveyed the battle lines, imagining the rewards he would reap for destroying this foe. Hannibal may have already won a few victories in Italy, but here at Cannae he faced the largest army Rome had ever put in the field, numbering some 76,000 trained Roman soldiers to Hannibal’s mere 50,000 barbarians. The commander smiled. He would show the world what a real Roman army made of Hannibal’s horde. He raised his sword arm in the air, and gave the signal to charge…