Gods of Old, Part1: Veles

Chapter 4: Isle of Misery

As they were indulging in pizza, the world's best comfort food mankind invented, according to Veles, he came up with an idea.

“I want to invite you to my home, but we need Vesna for that. You need a protection amulet to come with me and I don’t have one ready. I gave one to Vesna a few centuries ago as a summer solstice gift. I will ask her if we could borrow hers.”

“ So that is the veggie pizza for?” Ilona points to an untouched box.

“Emm, no. I ordered that one, because I didn’t know what you would prefer. You might just be vegetarian like my sister.”

“Considerate. I like it. But you could have asked me. Oh, why do I need an amulet?” Ilona  is quite pleased with the considerate act and a bit worried about that amulet.

“Because, my home is on the Isle of Misery in the Underworld. There are two ways to go there, but only one to get back. Because you are human, you need the amulet to be able to return.” He tells her frankly.

“ Meaning, if I don’t have the amulet, I die and stay there?” Ilona sounds really worried now.

“ Basically yes. In theory I could bring you back, but Morrana could be offended and take revenge. I would not want to anger her. She is known for some really creative punishments.”

“Who is Morrana?”

“Our sister, the goddess of death, misery, wengence and some other unpleasant things. She fell in love with Iceland and runs a spa there, but she is always aware when someone dabbles in her domain. I will also give you a key so you can come and go as you please.”

“ A key to your house? Isn’t it a bit early to discuss keys?” Ilona asks after a bite of pizza.

“I don’t think so. That way you can come to me whenever you want. Let me call Vesna before her pizza gets too cold. Just watch for a shimmer in the air.” He says to Ilona and mind links Vesna: Get home for a second, I need you and I there's pizza.

-/-/-

Ilona was looking around waiting for a sign, but she really didn’t know what that shimmer was supposed to look like. Veles nudged her, pointing to the love seat:

“Look, there. It is like warm air rising from the ground. She will appear in a few seconds.”

Slowly a form of a woman started to take shape. It started filling in with color and flesh and there she was in all her glory. Ilona never got tired of watching Vesna, the woman was mesmerising, her long blond hair and supermodel figure with legs that never ended, blue eyes and a megawatt smile that could melt a rock. Dressed to an inch of perfection in one of her own creations, paired with a set of Manolos.

“Holy hell, Veles! Did you just blow my cover? Tell me you told her everything before  you pulled this stunt!” Vesna practically jumps on him with the intent to strangle him. Veles just extends his arms and catches her in mid-air. He then calmly sets her down next to him.

“Yes, I told her. Calm down and have some pizza. And what were you thinking jumping on me like that? You were never fast enough to get a punch in anyways.”

Meanwhile, Ilona was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. She tapped her eyes with a napkin and continued to laugh, barely getting some words out:” You two are hilarious. I totally believe you now. I had some reservations about all that craziness you told me before.”

Veles acts offended: “Reservations? As in, you did not believe me?”

“Not everything. Some of it was just too far fetched, but I’m starting to think it’s all true.” Ilona smiles back at him.

“I see you’re getting along quite fine,” Vesna says around a piece of pizza.  “What did you need me for?”

“I want to take Ilona home with me to show her around and the park is really nice this time of year.” Veles answers her.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Vesna jumps from the sofa. “She can’t go to your house, she is human, she will die!” She starts pacing and cursing in a language Ilona never heard before. Veles seems to be amused, so she isn’t worried too much. 

“Hey, hey, hey, SHE is right here and doesn’t like to be referred to in third person! And just so you know, cursing is still cursing, even if you use a foreing language.”

Veles slowly gets up and grabs Vesna by the shoulders to calm her. He looks her in the eyes:” Are you done? Will you let me finish? I know I can not take Ilona there on a whim. I wanted to borrow the amulet I gave you some time ago. It will protect Ilona and enable her to cross between dimensions freely.”

“Oh, the one you gave me on a summer solstice night of 1454? That one is in my safe. You know, you could have started with ``let me borrow your amulet``?” Vesna breaks his hold and turns to her room. “I want it back someday soon,” she calls over her shoulder as she walks away.

“You are so bad.” Ilona comments with a smile and sparks in her eyes. “You enjoy riling her up. And you got me curious, you said something about a park? I love parks!”

Veles returns to her on the sofa and takes a sip of his margarita. “ Guilty, I love to see her all fired up. It is so easy to get her started. My whole island is a park.” He starts explaining to her. “It used to be all wild and overgrown. A group of warriors pissed off Morrana back in the 9th century, she dropped them on my island for their punishment. I think the joke is on her, because they chopped the bushes and trees and made the park that is there today. Half of it is what you would call an english garden and the other half is landscaped to perfection. With a pond, short bridge, manicured lawn and flower beds. They built a gazebo on a rise, the view is fantastic from there. The latest project is a miniature parthenon. It will be a lounge with couches and plush chairs.”

“I like the sound of that. I can’t wait to see it. What part of the park is your house in? No, no no, let me guess. The landscaped part?” Ilona talks with excitement. 

A mischievous smile forms on Veles’ face and he bites his lip. “I won’t tell you, you will just have to see for yourself.”

“I found the amulet, “Vesna states as she returns to them and hands it straight to Ilona. “ A few reminders for you, Ilona. First: never take it off in the Underworld. Second: never forget to wear it when you go there. Third: never, ever lose it. This thing can be dangerous in the wrong hands. And last: I want it back.” With that final warning, Vesna turns to the pizza box on the table and covers the lid. “I’m taking mine to go. I have to get back to work.” A few sparks fall to the carpet as she disappears from sight.

The amulet is a work of art. Hanging on a delicate chain, is a ruby, bright and flawless, encased in a fine web that forms a rose petal. Ilona holds it carefully and whispers: “is this a real ruby in a silver rose?”

“No,” comes quietly from Veles, who looks a little sheepish. “It is made of titanium and that is a diamond magically infused with my blood and a few protection spells to make it more powerful.”

“Are you sure we can take it? This is the most expensive thing I have ever seen.” says Ilona with reverence in her voice and tries to give it back to Veles. He just takes it and places it around her neck, closing the clasp gently not to get her hair tangled in.

“Now you are safe to come with me. And I promise to make you one more your style.” Saying that, he pulls a golden key out of his pocket and points to the door with it. “Shall we go explore my garden?”

“How does this work, exactly?” Ilona's curiosity spiked up a notch.

“In the human world, the portal key adapts to any door you choose. It will always lead you to the same door in the Underworld. That is the front door of my house. And when you're there, it only works on that door. Keep that in mind and never share this information. Only use the door from the inside.”

“Why is the side of the door important?” Ilona asks him as he inserts the key in the lock and opens the door. She can see a beautiful fireplace that takes up half of a wall in a huge living room with a few different seating arrangements. All walls are made of logs and two walls have huge windows with vintage lace curtains. 

“Welcome to my home, darling.” He smiles and leads her to the other side. The door closes behind them on its own. Veles leans down to her and whispers in her ear: “The side is important in case a portal key goes missing. The dead and other creatures living here must never know how to get to the human world. They could cause a lot of harm.”

“Oh, I would never have thought about that. There is so much to consider and it’s all new to me. are there more  Underworlds than this one?” Ilona asks now that her curiosity is piqued. “I mean, like the idea of hell and torture in Christianity? Does it exist?”

“Yes, every religion and every mythology has a different sense of the underworld. And those are different places as well. Let us go explore the garden and I will tell you more.”

Ilona looks at her priced high heels and back up. “I don’t think I can walk much in these. See, I can’t think straight with you around.”

“Not a problem, my dear.” Veles smiles and snaps his fingers. “I am the god of magic. Do you like your new Nikes or would you prefer a different brand? And don’t worry about your stilettos, they are waiting right there by the door.”

“You can do that? Just like: snap and something appears?” Ilona mentaly shakes herself out of stupid rambling. “Oh, of course you can! What am I saying? I just saw you did it! Never mind my random stupidity. Please show me the garden.” She indicates towards the front door. “Is it that way?”

Veles, amused by her random outburst, opens the door for her and offers his arm for her to take. They step out on the porch together and Ilona takes her first look around. He tries to look at the garden through her eyes. What is she thinking? He wonders in silence.

-/-/-

The porch runs down the length of the house and there are wide stairs that lead down to a path that goes through manicured lawn and rose beds filled with all kinds of blooming flowers, some of which she has never seen before. She sees a fountain with a statue in the middle that looks a lot like Vesna. And there are small birds gathered on the edge dipping their beaks in the water to refresh themselves. Further down, the path ends on a dock with a table and some comfortable looking chairs. Looking to her left, she sees a low hedge with an ornate iron gate that divides it. On the other side is a wild and messy area with a path that seems to disappear in the bushes. But on further inspection, the whole thing seems to make sense. There is order in all that random looking placement of bushes and trees.

“Let’s check out this side of the garden first.” Ilona walks towards the stairs and points to the fountain before them.” How far does it go?”

“This is the easy part. Mostly flat terrain with a nice path that goes for approximately one kilometer. There is a gazebo at the end of the island so we can rest a while before we return.”

“Tell me about the trees I see. I only recognise pine and oak trees. What are all the rest?”

“Oak trees are the only original ones. All the rest I have brought here from the human world. I collected them from all around. That huge beauty is a Red Maple. In just a month, it will shine in all it’s red autumn glory. Then we have an Eastern Redcedar, those over there are Red Spruce, White Spruce and a Black Willow. If you take a look on your left, you can see a rare Scarlet Oak. Just ahead of us is a White Ash.”

Ilona suddenly stops and changes her course. She goes off the path and runs to a tree with a stunning 40 meters in height and a 3 meters diameter trunk. The leaves are spirally arranged but twisted at the base to lie in two horizontal ranks. “It is just amazing. What is it? Where does it come from?”

Veles follows at a moderate pace and explains:” That is a Montezuma cypress. A stunning beauty I brought from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Magnificent, don’t you think?”

“Yes. A beauty she is. Let’s find some more!” Ilona calls and runs off to the next one. Like a child on a mission of discovering the world.