Ares, Hermes, Zeus and Mercury debated furiously as they walked through the main chamber of the library complex. With each step paced by the brothers, the ethereal notions that brought them to that place took on a meaning that was firmly rooted in matter. As the ideas flowed and the moments passed, who they were gave way to who they were becoming. Stacks of nearly empty bookcases radiated outwards from a large, circular reading table in the middle of the room. The rows of bookcases grew in height the farther they were placed from the room's heart, until they towered to a neck-kinking height. As the brothers planned and then executed their design, the bookcases filled with the knowledge of what they were creating. The written record was an idea of Ares; he sold the plan to his brothers in the guise of a history that their distant offspring could turn to for guidance, but in truth his motives were entirely litigious. The more rooted they became in the world of matter, the weaker their connection to the source of all knowledge became, until one day the connection would be lost entirely. Once that day came, their matter-based minds would be their only source of recall; such a limitation would be open to misremembering, to arguments, to betrayals and to war. The library would be their safeguard against such deadly misunderstandings, be they genuine or contrived.

The brothers eventually sat around the table as the limitations of their new forms became too much for them. To a brother, they all welcomed the rest. Zeus took charge immediately, much to the annoyance of Hermes, who turned away sharply as his brother began to speak.

"I honestly do not see the need for a debate," Zeus began. "Saturn has made his choice. He is in opposition to us, and that must not stand. If he takes this city, he will take the world outside. With portals into much of human history, and one directly to the modern world under his control, he will destroy everything. How will it look if our efforts to atone result in the destruction of humanity? What punishment then, brothers?"

"And if we banish him from this place, what chance of his redemption?" snapped Hermes. "We are all redeemed, or we are all damned. We have been over this!"

Zeus smiled.

"He is beyond redemption, brother," said Zeus, simply. "If his damnation means our damnation, then so be it."

"And what if his salvation is the point of this test?" asked Hermes. "What if it truly is an all or nothing arrangement? We all see the error of our ways, and seek forgiveness, or we are all damned for eternity? It would not be the first time that our Father imposed such a collective punishment. The hordes of angels under our command, yet distant from our decision to rebel, were annihilated. They were entirely innocent and yet they paid the price for what we did. Our brother may have chosen a different way, but if we are being entirely honest, we don't know that his way is the wrong way. In the eternity that we dwelt in our Father's kingdom, can any one of us say that we truly knew Him and what He wanted? I am uneasy with this. If we cannot love and forgive one another, why should we expect love and forgiveness from our Father?"

From all about them there came a familiar sound. It was slight, like a sigh. The brothers turned as Saturn stepped out of the still air in front of them.

"Forgive me brothers," said Saturn, as he walked towards the table with the confidence of one who was not in the least bit bothered by the interruption he was causing, or for their forgiveness. He pulled out a stone chair from under the table as if it weighed nothing, and he quickly sat down. The gesture was pointed; they may be turning their backs on their power in favour of the material world, but he was not, and he never would. The haste with which he took his seat spoke of his disinterest in debating whether or not he should be there.

"I must have misplaced my invitation to this most important discussion," said Saturn, meekly.

"It is the fact that you come and go to this place whenever the mood takes you, that concerns us," said Zeus. "Accept our rules for this sanctuary and you will be welcomed with open arms."

"Why?" snapped Saturn. "You come and go as you please. You set these rules. That is your choice. That is what you have decided to do with the gift of freewill. I elected to follow another way. That does not make me any less. If anything, it makes me brave; it makes me more."

Zeus jumped to his feet and he banged his fists on the table, sending a violent soundwave echoing through the cavernous library.

"And we don't want to destroy all of creation," yelled Zeus. "We don't want to start a second war with our Creator. We want forgiveness; you, so it would seem, want damnation."

Saturn stood up calmly. He slowly paced the length of the table.

"You sit here, and you scheme," said Saturn, as he looked at each brother in turn, with accusing eyes. "And at the same time, you rebuke me for scheming. And, brothers, you know nothing more about why we are here than I do. What makes your plan so righteous? We have been exiled to this place for one reason; to provoke us to action. We have been given free will not as a temptation, but as a challenge. He wants us to grow and to be more. We are His children after all. To sit here passively and accept this as our punishment is the true rebellion. Your way is an afront. Why then are you so certain in what you believe?"

"It feels right," said Zeus, meekly. "We have a chance here, a real chance to make things better. We can learn from our brothers, mankind. We can teach them something of His grace and love if they too choose obedience. If you do not wish to help, then we want you gone. Go back to your mountain. Feed on the corrupt life-force of your damned prey. Indulge your sick fantasy. We will leave you in peace to do so."

Saturn laughed.

"Leave you with the power of this city?" Saturn asked, incredulous. "That hardly seems fair, brother. You get to feast on the divine human spark until you are fit to burst, while I wait in squalor for the odd crooked soul to come my way? That will not happen. You may trick mankind into giving themselves over to you; I will not do that. I will take back what was taken from us and bring the human abomination to an end."

They fell silent for a few tense moments. As Zeus and Saturn locked eyes a mighty surge of energy began to build between the pair. A moment longer and that energy would have been unleashed, tearing through the universe of matter in an instant and returning it to energy—no longer the pure energy of the Creator, but something new, and tainted, and sorrowful.

"Might I suggest a compromise, brothers?" Hermes interjected.

No one spoke.

"We can all use this place, but none of us will possess it," Hermes explained. "We will be free to come and go as we please, but we will not use our power against one another in this city. You can build your empire of darkness on your mountain, and we will occupy the lands on the other side of this mountain. Those lands will be protected. None of us, or our offspring will wield power in those lands. Any attempt to do so will result in instant oblivion for the offender. If we swear it, it will be so. An unbreakable truth that will bind us all."

Saturn snorted with derision. A moment later and he saw the value in what was being proposed.

"As you say brother," said Saturn, peacefully.

It was clear to the brothers that Saturn did not entirely like the plan, and that alone gave them some comfort regarding the righteousness of it. Hermes knew as much, even if the others, including Saturn, merely believed as much. Saturn would one day have to attack and destroy his brothers if he wanted to challenge the Creator, and that would not be easy if he and his army were forced to fight as mere mortals. Hermes grasped the possibilities of these new limitations long before his brothers, but it would only be a matter of time before they too were stuck by the same level of enlightenment—how they responded when that moment arrived pierced the joy Hermes felt with doubt and dread. Saturn was not the only one amongst them who enjoyed the trappings of absolute power.

"Then we will bind the agreement?" asked Zeus, to no one in particular.

The brothers all nodded in agreement. There was no flash of lightning, or rattle of thunder, or any other portent to indicate just how significant that moment truly was, but the deal was set into law, and that law was immutable. None of them could, from that point onwards, break any aspect of the agreement, even if they wanted to—the punishment for doing so, though unspoken, was clearly understood—an instant sentence of non-existence.

Saturn grinned widely, and then he vanished.

"That was easy," said Zeus.

"Too easy," added Hermes. "But more than we could have hoped for."

"Well of course, too easy," said Zeus. "But as you say, it could have been much worse. We know our brother will try to find a way around the agreement. He may already have one in place. He will certainly push the terms to the limit. But we will push back. Regardless, we must not let him stand in the way of our plans. We will deal with Saturn when we need to. If we need to." The others nodded in agreement.

"We will leave this place, as agreed," Zeus explained. "But we will keep a very close eye on the comings and goings. We will bring our children back from the mortal realm and they will join us as we populate our kingdoms."

"Then what?" asked Hermes.

"Then, brother, we go to war," said Zeus. "All things are brought into being, and cast out of being, through war. That is our way, and our fate. We will live as matter, and our children will live as matter. We will go to war with one another until one is left, and the victor will challenge our brother in the final battle. We are the light born out of darkness. If we lose, Saturn will return all creation to eternal darkness. Remember that brothers, when we face each other on the field of battle. We will not slaughter one another through hate; we will join swords out of love for our Father and his perfect creation. For now, let us live one last time as gods."

The brothers arose from the table. As they walked towards the entrance of the library the shelves around them began to fill with books and scrolls. The reading material appeared as if from nowhere. The brothers showed no interest in the shelves as they filled. They knew what was happening. All knowledge from the material realm was being added to the library. The brothers knew all of the information in the books, even if that knowledge was fading fast from their memories. The materialisation of the books in that moment served one more essential purpose; it was for the benefit of one other. A brother who had vanished at the time of the fall, and whose reappearance was longed for. The missing sibling had accepted the harshest of all punishments offered to the rebels by the Creator. He had chosen to forget. The war, the new paradise, the Heavenly kingdom, and most importantly, who he was. All gone in an instant. He simply could not live with the shame of what he had done to his Father. He was the most worthy of the brothers, but he was gone; beyond the reach of his siblings, and beyond the reach of his own memory. But they had created miracles and they had miracles created for them, and they hoped, beyond all hope for one more miracle.

Under the bright light of the easterly moving sun the brothers looked down from the mountainside at the mighty river as it sliced through the valley. The realm of Saturn had extended from the dark mountain to the edge of the water. As they observed from the peace of tranquillity of the city, the darkness next to the river began to recede. As it retreated towards the dark mountain, trees, and lush meadowland took the place of the carpet of oily blackness. The brothers looked at one another with hope.

"Surely a sign that the pact we have made is favoured?" asked Zeus.

The brothers felt content. They set about moving their belongings, and then themselves to the lands where they would build their kingdoms and fight one another in an endless round of wars.

Inthe receding dark forest, a young woman skipped with uncertainty towards theriver, and the city. With goodness in her heart and with a soul of brightpurity, the girl continued on her journey towards an encounter with another.