Scrolls Of Shakespeare: Immersed

8: A Nature Lesson

"-YQ!" I sat upright, my chest heaving from the nightmare, Thanastasia's voice colliding and blending seamlessly with the wailing voice still screaming in my head. All along, even before our encounter, she had been the one in my dream. As I reached over to turn on my nightstand, I chanced a glance at the alarm clock next to my lamp.

"Why did you wake me up at two in the morning?" I growled. She sat uneasy for a few moments, her beautiful eyes wide and her lips pulled down into a slight frown.

"I-I have been awake for a while," she said hesitantly, "when I walked past your room, I heard you scream."

"Well, we might as well get ready to go." I said as I got up and walked to my dresser. With clothing in hand, I turned to see Thanastasia leaving the room, her face a light shade of red. Once I had gotten dressed, I strode to the mirror which hung on the farther wall of my room. I combed through my bald eagle brown hair and tied it back. I peered closely and wiped the last of the sleep from my eyes, looking for this 'S' which I eventually gave up on finding.
I could never figure out if my eyes were green with splotches of hazel, or if they were hazel with flecks of green but they were a combination of both of my parents' eyes.The two colors were a perfect mix and showed both sides of who I was.
    I quietly walked to the living room to see Thanastasia sitting in the little stool by the living room window. She was staring at the line of shops that drew people to Capulet. Though her back was to me, she was still beautiful. She was wearing a gown that fell and folded at her feet. The silk wrapped effortlessly around her curves and the extra cloth of the dress had been thrown over her right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare.
      She turned her back to the kitchen, not notivig me, and the light caused her back to shimmer. Scars, much like those I had already seen, overlapped across her back. Some were gnarled and ugly, while others were not as noticeable. I was so captivated by the intricacy of her battle wounds that I was unconsciously stepping towards her. She turned slightly and looked at me, tilting her head down.

"Forgive me! I thought you were still getting ready." She apologized.

"Don't worry. I should have told you I was finished." My eyes were droopy and my mind was still trying to get over the rather unexpected awakening that had occurred earlier.

"I would to leave now, so I may show you the Underworld." She stood and glided across the hallway, beckoning me to follow her to Jace's room.

"The only way to travel to the Underworld, besides going to the main gates of Alepotrypa, is a Pýli̱, or portal. As we have no time to travel to Southern Greece, we will be traveling by Pýli̱. They are opened using a drop of one's blood, yet it does not work if you are fully human; nor will it if you do not know what your destination is.
Each portal leads to one destination.
     "Thank the gods Jace already created a Pýli̱. Sometimes it takes hours to conjure one that is fully functioning." Thanastasia babbled as she opened the doors the Jace's closet.
"Close your eyes." Thanastasia said as she took my hand, leading me through the wall.
     Stone walls the color of blood were all around me, the details were so clear even though we were traveling at such quick speeds. I could see remains dressed in attire from every era, dried bloody hand prints still decorating the walls. A light came to view mere seconds after stepping through the wall. I fell on my hands and knees as soon as we stopped moving, my chest heaving while a metallic taste was filling my mouth. Sweat coated my body I gasped for air.

    "I told you to close your eyes!" Thanastasia said as she dropped to my side, using her divine strength to aide me to my feet.

"I am shocked, no mortal has ever passed through a Pýli̱ such as you have, and been conscious afterwards." She thought aloud.

"Well," I began as I brushed dirt from my leather jacket," I guess I'm just full of surprises." I finished with a smile.

"That you are, Young Shakespeare. That you are." She chuckled and looked forward. My jaw dropped as I took moment to study my surroundings. The soil was pure black with thick, luscious grass and large pink flowers growing in abundance. Trees with charcoal bark and golden leaves grew plentifully in raised rock rings that encased them.

"Persephone's trees?" I asked as I pointed to a plump, delicious looking fruit hanging from a limb beside me.

"Very good, be thankful you already know to avoid them." Thanastasia looked pleased.

"Hey, I know some things from the so called myths" I retorted.

"This is true, although your knowledge of my world may be shallow and genuinely false, it is still knowledge of some degree." We kept walking slowly as Thanastasia taught me basic skills and what different things were. The pink flowers were enchanted lotus flowers, and smelled divine.
    Thanastasia took this time to give me a quick run down of the underworld. The gods would harvest the oils within them to make perfume for those they wished to seduce. We passed by an area of small bushes that had bunches of buds that I learned would soon be truly poisonous Lotus berries. When the toxic compound within them was extracted, they were supposedly quite delicious.

    "After you remove the toxin, what do you do with it?" I asked as we walked passed the plant.

     "A little over three millennia ago, Jace discovered a way to dilute it. Now, the lotus toxin is used as an anesthetic for a multitude of medical procedures, both here and on Olympus." She explained. Another plant, of which I cannot remember nor pronounce the name of, could be used for healing minor wounds and illnesses when boiled down and consumed.    
   Thanastasia began to show me a mineral that could be rubbed on an open wound to prevent infection when I looked off into the distance and could see a scarlet mansion, sparkling with light and warmth. Only a few yards off, I could see slight void and then a continuation of the terrain. An elegant Japanese style bridge linked the two parts of the earth.

"What's that, Thanastasia?" I asked as I pointed my chin in the direction of the void.
"That is the next destination. It is my river."

“Wouldn’t it still be Styx’s River?” I asked.

  "No. Once Styx appointed me guardian and faded, ownership of the river was transferred to myself. It is still named after her, because she created the waters with a drop of her blood. The river is the only part of her still living." She explained.
    "What is your river like then?" I asked.
    "No matter how elegantly I try to describe the waters of Styx,  they will never do her justice." Her eyes lit up as she smiled with glee.  With it ten minutes we were at the bank of the most gorgeous river I had ever laid eyes on.  
  Think for a moment, of shining a light through a piece of black obsidian and capturing the thrown off color. Next, imagine liquefying the hue and adding streaks of metallic green and iridescent purple along with vivid silver. The colours reacted like different oils. They were never mixing, but they would intertwine and dance as they rushed through.
"How is it like this?"
"I,  too,  had to place a drop of my blood in the river.  The waters changed from the clear black to this.  And that is when Styx faded. " Thanastasia said. I thought for a moment,  of how many people she must have lost over her many years here. 
   "If you would,  just wait a moment for me.  Then we shall continue on. " Thanastasia asked as she walked closer to the bank. I nodded and wandered tl a small pool forming by the bridge.  I knelt down beside the river and saw Thanatos.  She could not she me due to the slight incline I was on.  I followed her lead and watched as she cupped her hands and took a large drink of the water. She leaned in so that her face was closer to the river's surface and began transporting liquid from the running water, to her cupped hand and to her lips. With her back to me, I too took a fairly good amount of water from the river using my hands.

    The water gave my skin a weird tingling sensation as though it was massaging the stress out of my body. I brought my cupped hands up to my lips and felt a sense of relief cloud me as the water washed over my tongue. I savored the water for a while before finally swallowing; I was at peace.  I felt the strange pull again,  as I had in the kitchen the night prior.
    I didn't fight the pull,  I felt a tension throughout my body and welcomed it. 
   Then Thanastasia screamed.