Page 3 of Styx

But power is a slow poison.

Ouranos was unhappy

having to share rulership with Gaia,

who had been more than his consort.

She was also his maker.

In his quest for solitary dominance,

Ouranos committed a terrible outrage

against Gaia and her children.

And in return, my youngest uncle,

Kronos, the God of Time,

usurped his father’s throne

to teach him a lesson.

Still, Gaia wept for her consort.

She wept for what was lost

inside the mouth of vengeance.

It was grief which led her

to speak her words about me.

Grief that curdled

her premonition

into my curse.

My Father Was So Furious

on hearing Gaia’s words, he took me into his arms

and carried me away to the golden sands:

tiny quartz crystals that had developed

under the weather and wear of his oceans.

He walked with me for hours

until his favourite brother, Coeus,

God of Intellect, was sent to calm him

and bring us home. ‘Styx is loved by many,’

Coeus told him, ‘but no one