bigstories - Ad Asterius- Part 1

Asterius has been at Theseus' side all throughout the afterlife, but when Theseus disappears, it's his turn to step up and be a big hero. Enjoy!

*************

There was no sleep in the Underworld; time in the Underworld was the ultimate sleep. Once upon a time, Asterius' only relief in life had been in sleep— he dreamed about being accepted by his father, finding love, being the hero instead of the monster. In another life, in another world, Asterius thought he might have been a great warrior king of Knossos, the heir to the great Minos. With his god-like strength, he could have given to his people protection at home and glory beyond, not unlike…

"Ah, Asterius! My good friend!"

Theseus, bronze-skinned, golden-haired, and ivory smile. The Champion of Elysium— and the man who killed Asterius. For as much as Theseus, the Darling of Athens, had based his reputation on slaying the Minotaur of Crete, for all the righteousness with which he had fought to save his people from the monster, when death came for Theseus, he had petitioned Hades himself to raise Asterius into Elysium, to enjoy paradise as a fellow honorable warrior. Since then, they had been inseparable. Asterius was grateful; in their mortal life, they had fought a battle to the bitter end, and Theseus established himself as a hero and slayer of monsters. Now, however, things were different.

Theseus wrapped his well-muscled arm around Asterius' thick neck, embracing the minotaur with an outpouring of affection. He collapsed next to the larger minotaur, joining him in the shade of the large olive tree he had taken refuge in from the golden light that poured over Elysium, the Paradise of the Underworld. "So— how fare you, brother?"

"Hm?" Asterius arched his brow. "Oh, I was just… thinking." He looked over, seeing Theseus listening to him intently. "I… sometimes wonder about how things could have turned out differently. I was the son of a king, same as you— I just…" he sighed. "No one sings songs about the mighty minotaur. Only of his defeat. I sometimes feel like… it would be nice to be remembered as the hero."

Theseus furrowed his brow. "You mean, if our fight had gone differently?"

"Oh, no, actually," Asterius huffed. "I think my chance to be a hero was long since gone when we fought."

"Well, that is good to hear," Theseus clapped his hand on Asterius' shoulder. "It's not healthy to dwell on such things— we cannot change the fact that I was the superior warrior."

Asterius paused, the bull-headed beast man looking over to Theseus. "Excuse me?"

"Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say, no?" Theseus said with a bright smile. "The past cannot be changed— I won, as I was the superior warrior. But that matters not now. The battle is over, and between us, there will be nothing but eternal peace."

The minotaur forced a smile, Theseus had never been good at consoling some of these matters. "Right, of course."

Theseus pat Asterius' back, reaching around to squeeze at his shoulder. "I'm glad that's resolved— It means a good deal to me, to have you here at my side. At any rate— shall I go and prepare for tonight? Dionysus is gracing the honored spirits here with a feast, and naturally the Champion of Elysium and his boon companion must needs make an appearance."

Asterius smiled a little easier— he had always gotten along well with Dionysus. Apparently he credited Asterius with getting him together with his half-sister Ariadne, which was true— in a very roundabout sort of way. "I look forward to it." He swallowed his thoughts musing on the past; Theseus was the hero, not him.

The Dionysia was as everything in Elysium was; it was immensely pleasurable, the company was enjoyable, the wine was intoxicating, and the party lasted well through the night— like any good party, Asterius could hardly remember anything about it. There was one thing that stuck out in his mind, as he groggily lifted his large head and looked about the fields; Theseus had pulled him aside to tell him something, only to get interrupted by a hooded figure that began by complimenting Theseus' strength, and then Asterius didn't see him for the rest of the night.

Dread and sinking suspicion began to sink in as others in Elysium began to ask Asterius where Theseus might be, and increasingly, the minotaur had to insist that he hadn't seen the Champion of Elysium, but that he was certain everything was alright— even as he began to fear something was very off.

He sat under his favorite olive tree, brow furrowed. All the other souls in Elysium, warriors and heroes themselves, seemed largely unconcerned— if anything did seep up from the lower reaches of the Underworld, they could handle it themselves. But Asterius had come to know Theseus' soul better than anyone— and he admitted, he felt incomplete without the Hero of Athens by his side. When no one else knew what had become of Theseus, Asterius resolved to go to him himself; which, unfortunately, meant he had to go to the one person in the Underworld he never wanted to see.

Asterius traveled to the banks of the River Styx, to the temple where souls were judged by a trio of judges; Aeacus, Rhadamanthus, and Minos— Asterius' step father. When the towering bull-man approached, Minos, regal with sacred pythons resting upon his shoulders, sneered with contempt as Asterius approached.

The minotaur bowed his head and kneeled, showing the sacred sign of familial reverence. "Father."

"Do not call me that." Minos spat. "What do you want, creature?"

Asterius winced; Minos' words stung. "I was born to your wife, the Queen— I share blood with your daughter, and grew up in your halls. The Gods themselves demanded you accept me as one of your own."

"As a punishment for a foolish fancy I had taken, and dearly paid for," Minos snarled. "I stand here to judge every soul that passes— I do not have time for this dribble. What is it, Asterius?"

He looked up, glaring at Minos. "The soul of Theseus. As a judge of the Underworld, you know where all souls linger— he is not in Elysium, so where is he?"

The Cretan King scoffed indignantly. "If there is one person I would like to see less than you…" He sighed, consulting a scroll. "Theseus is in… Tartarus."

"What?" Asterius leapt to his feet. "That— that's impossible!"

"This scroll does not lie," Minos said. "Perhaps he is settling old scores."

"That— no, he wouldn't do that, not without telling me." The minotaur shook his head. "Something is wrong."

"You have a great show of concern for your slayer," Minos said. "Could it be you're grateful to him about ending your pitiful existence?"

The bull man glowered deeply at Minos. "We are all dead, Lord King. Why do you have to cling to how things were in the past life? Do… do you have no words of kindness for me? I served you loyally— you sent me your enemies, and I did as I was told. I never gave you reason to judge me disloyal— I… I had the strength of any hero of Greece. I could have been a Prince of Crete. Maybe even a King— I would have protected your people, as easily as defeated your enemies."

Minos threw the scroll down at Asterius' feet. "You didn't defeat my enemies, you devoured them! You were a dog! A beast! A monster! You were the shame of my palace, a freak sent by the Gods to spite me for keeping a Bull of Poseidon! And you wanted to be my heir, treated as one of my sons? You are a monster, Asterius— you will never be sung of as a hero. Now begone from my sight! Go to Tartarus to fetch Theseus— may you both fall into the abyss."

The minotaur bowed his head, clenching his fists— turning away in shame, he collected himself and left the judgement place. He hung his head low and trudged back to Elysium, where perhaps Theseus would return. He sat under the shade of his tree for what passed for days, with no sign of the Champion of Elysium. Minos' words cut deep, and he kept his great, shaggy head and horns turned low, no pleasure of Elysium able to soothe him.

He might have stayed there for many more sleepless nights, but a gentle hand rested on the bull's shoulder. He looked up, shocked to see the beautiful face of his half-sister, Ariadne.

"Asterius."

"Gods— Ariadne." The minotaur rose up, dwarfing her entirely as he took her hands. "What're you doing here?"

"I know about your concern for Theseus— and his disappearance. Even on Olympus, we've noticed that Elysium's champion is missing." Ariadne explained. 

"I don't know where he is," Asterius rumbled. "No— I do. He's in Tartarus. Probably fighting monsters because he can."

Ariadne gave him a level look. "I know that… there are complicated feelings, under all that happened in life. Between you and Theseus. Between you and me. But you are my brother— and I know father gave you some… harsh words." The princess sighed, closing her eyes. "Asterius, please. We— the Gods— need you to go find Theseus. He is so far in Tartarus, not even Hades can fully see him anymore."

Asterius furrowed his brow. "Elysium is full of heroes. Why not send any of them?"

Ariadne reached out, gentling cupping the minotaur's chin. "Because none of them know Theseus like you do. Please, Asterius— it's Tartarus. You resided there yourself for a time. If anyone can withstand such a place and find Theseus, it's you."

The minotaur's shoulders slumped. "I… don't know if I can. I… I am not as strong as Theseus. I drew strength from… devouring innocents. From… being a monster."

Once more, the princess gently guided Asterius' head back to face her directly. "Then perhaps what we need is a monster." She reached out for the minotaur's thick hand, placing a token in it. "I helped Theseus throw the labyrinth— and now, I'm going to do the same for you. If you feel you are Theseus' second in strength, it is only because Elysium doesn't have what you need to grow strong. You can harness the power of Tartarus' souls with this."

The minotaur looked down at the token— it was a clay circle, and his eyes went wide at the symbol stamped into it; an inverted anchor, the sign of the Titans. "Asterius," Ariadne explained. "You were not born of men— you were not born of the Olympians. The circumstances of your birth—"

"Marked me as a monster, I know," he muttered darkly.

Ariadne shook her head. "If you are a monster, then you belong to the Mother of all Monsters, Echidna— daughter of Gaia. You, brother, may be an inheritor of the Titans."

Asterius' eyes went wide. "...What?"

"This symbol is theirs. Carry it with you; if you face the monsters of Tartarus under this seal, and do battle in the Titans' name, then they may grant you their power. With that, then you may have the strength to save Theseus. But I warn you, if you drink too deep or too greedily from this power, the Titans may call you to free them— and then all war would break out across the cosmos." Ariadne wrapped his fingers around the clay token. "Keep this safe."

Asterius shuddered at the thought, then looked to Ariadne. "I— I don't understand. Why are you trusting me with this?"

"Because. You're my brother. I know you— and I trust you."

The minotaur puffed up his chest, gripping the token tightly before stowing it amongst the folds of his chiton. He grabbed his favored weapon, a great axe, and nodded solemnly to Ariadne. "...Thank you. I won't disappoint."

"I know. Go, brother— find Theseus, and bring justice to whatever force has taken him."

Asterius, his sister's words ringing in his ears, girded himself and then began the long descent, past Elysium's fair views and across the Grey Fields where the quiet multitudes of the restful dead resided. Past there, he kept his eyes down as he passed by the gates of Hades' palace, and then came to the blazing, fiery streams of Phlegethon— the River of Fire. Here marked the boundaries of Tartarus, and here, he would begin his search.

The minotaur breathed in deeply, then crossed over the one lone span— only to be met with a hard smack that sent him flying. Asterius hit the ground hard, wincing in pain from the glowing embers and hissing steam rising from the banks of the Phlegethon, and clenched his jaw as his eyes widened at the approach of his opponent. Sprawling out of the yawning gate to Tartarus was a creature of bone and sinew, of malevolent magic and hunger— the skeletal remains of the Lenean Hydra.The massive creature, filling out the space around the gateway to Tartarus. It unleashed a thundering, warbling roar coming from four separate mouths, and lunged for Asterius.

It was all the beast man could do to not be thrown into the fiery river as the hard bone of the beast slammed into him— his axe was sent flying, and he tumbled to the stony ground as the hydra loomed large over him.

"Grah!" Asterius snarled, hissing as he gripped the Titan's token. "Titans! Echidna! I invoke you— if I am yours, then grant me your strength!"

There was a resonant tone that rippled through the caverns of the Underworld. Asterius felt a sudden heaviness, seeping up into him from the earth itself— it was the embrace of stone and rock, weighing in his steps, starting to gird his body— he let out a defiant roar up to the hydra as a rush of power flowed into his body. His dark skin and fur bristled as his large body could no longer contain the blessing flowing up into him— and needs must, had to expand. His legs started first to expand, growing as thick and hardy as oaks, thigh muscle rippling with hefty 

definition. His chiton grew taut as if it were a sail catching a strong wind, his torso filling out in magnificent fashion growing outwards in every direction. Hefty flanks stretched out like he were wide as a stone wall, his abdomen rippling into sets of small hills, cast in the shadow of the mountainous girth of his heaving chest. From there, his shoulders flared out in tandem with his magnificently sculpted back, and at last, his arms— already so thickly roped with brawn, they flared out into augmented monuments to raw strength, his triceps like mammoth slabs of granite, biceps like boulders, and forearms vambraced with enough girth to outshine many a warrior.

Asterius barely had time to see the mass of his newly blessed, titan-forged body before the hydra lunged for him again. The minotaur growled deeply, swinging his thick neck to block one of the hydra's heads with his horns, glancing at it— he knew the old story well of how Heracles had sent the beast down here; no heads would be taken off today. But with his newly augmented brawn, he could choke them into compliance.

The minotaur launched himself at the hydra, his hefty thigh muscles coiling like springs. Mighty arms wrapped tight around the hydra's necks with inescapable strength, holding them tight against his heaving body until they began to still. 

Holding one head against his canyon of a chest, gripping one tight and jamming the peak of his bicep between its jaws, and planting his foot atop another, Asterius glared down at the hydra. "Enough! As far as you are concerned, beast, I am your master now— so I bid you, show me if you can where Theseus is. Disobey, and I will throw your body whole into the river below."

The hydra writhed, letting out a pitiful moan before its eye canted towards the yawning entrance of Tartarus. Asterius nodded grimly, letting it go. "Lead on— and know that you now answer to one chosen by the Titans." 

As the hydra slithered out of Asterius' grasp, the minotaur shook his head— that bravado sounded a lot more like Theseus than himself. Still, he looked at the gaping, black gate of Tartarus. "I'm coming, Theseus. You've got a monster at your side, now."