Welcome to Gaia! ::

After exitting the Empire State Building, Persephone wandered the street trying to find exactly where she was going. Never having been to the mortal world before, she was failing miserably. The people in the city all looked very serious and she was intimidated by these new creatures. She was afraid to ask for directions, afraid that they would immediately know what she was and that she did not belong there.

Her mortal form was close in appearance to her form as a goddess. She kept her fiery hair, emerald eyes and angelic face. The only thing that truly changed was the way she was dressed. She'd seen pictures in magazines that young girls still carried with them across the Styx of what a young woman in New York City might dress like. She did her best. However, people still stared drop-jawwed at her, which only made her hide behind her hoodie even more.

After walking many blocks in one direction, she finally found an old man outside of a shop. He stopped her and told her she looked lost. She said the name of the parlor she was looking for and he kindly gave her directions and sent her on her way. She paid him a thank you and a winning smile, walking off toward her destination.

When Persephone finally reached the psychic's parlor, she walked in through the crystalline curtain. It revealed a lavish interior, much to her surprise. She walked up to the old woman at the table, who asked what she was here for. "Ψάχνω το Μαντείο των Δελφών [I seek the Oracle of Delphi]," Persephone stated.

The old woman's crooked mouth twisted into a smile. Her knotted finger beckoned pale Persephone as she walked back behind an old changing wall. Behind it was a door, which the woman, Madame Penelope, unlocked with a long finger nail. Behind it, there was a shroud of white smoke and something was moving behind all of it. The door clicked closed behind Persephone. She squinted and saw that the moving figure was a girl. A young pretty virgin, about fifteen years old. Her clothing was white and translucent, but in the darkness she revealed nothing. The girl stopped her fluid motions and locked eyes with the goddess. "Who calls upon me?" she asked, in a chorus of voices that could only be described as ancient.

Persephone swallowed, "Persephone of Olympus, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, wife of Hades."

The Oracle's face contorted into a wicked smile, "What do you seek, Persephone of Olympus?" she asked, almost mockingly.

"What shall be the outcome of the oncoming war for me?" Persephone asked, trying to seem unperturbed.

The Oracle began to move again, in an ancient dance of the possessed. She finally curved around and locked eyes with the goddess again, this time looking entranced,



Persephone paled. "I release you," she murmured. The Oracle cackled and began her fluid motions again, curling around hazily in the smoke. Persephone hurried out of the room, slipping a few golden drachmas to Madame Penelope. She hurried to catch a taxi cab, figuring it was the safest way to get around the city. She paid the driver in full and in golden drachmas and he asked no questions when the young girl asked to go to the Alley Bar. It was a place, she had heard, that was popular among the gods. And she really needed a drink.