From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Prologue

High amongst the clouds of Mount Olympus...

The chariot-king of the sky, Helios wandered about his domain, rumbling in anger. Although the other Gods tried to placate him, his temper could not be tamed. This activity was unusual because Helios had a reputation for being calm and slow to anger.

Finally, shining Zeus approached Helios. "Helios!" said he, "Why are you raging around in such a fashion? Tell me your woes. I may be able to fashion a solution of sorts."

Faced with Zeus' commanding presence, Helios regained some of his composure. "Zeus, I am sorry about the commotion I have caused, but I have been betrayed by my own son!"

This caused a quiet murmuring among the present company. The Gods that were present beside Zeus and Helios were as follows: Apollo, who was passing by; Hera, who had been with Zeus when he approached Helios; Athena, who had heard Helios' cries of anger; and Hestia, who had tried to calm Helios earlier and gone to seek the help of Zeus.

Zeus merely arched an eyebrow, and prompted Helios to continue.

"You all know of my chariot--the one entrusted to me by Apollo. Since the beginning of time, it has brought light and life to the lands that lie beneath these clouds. Alas, Phaethon, my own son, has taken it--he drugged my meal and stole it whilst I slept a forced slumber. And now I am doubly shamed--first for losing the chariot, and second for losing my son."

At this point, shining Apollo stepped forth and comforted Helios. "Helios, for countless centuries now, you have shown the utmost in dedication towards not only the chariot but its four fiery steeds. I do not consider this unfortunate turn of events to be any fault of yours, so you may rest easy on that count."

Helios nodded toward Apollo before responding: "I thank you for your grace, but insist upon redeeming myself nonetheless. I will recover the chariot and the steeds, and bring punishment to my son." At this, he picked up a set of flaming reins and set off to search for the missing chariot.

During all of this, Zeus had neglected to speak, for he was deep in a private conversation with his wife Hera.

Athena, the craftiest of Gods, noticed Zeus and Hera's private conversation but thought it prudent to not draw attention to it. Instead, she called Helios back. "Helios!" she said, "Come back! Surely there are better ways to recover this fiery chariot than the futile quest you are about to embark on! Armed with only a pair of reins and the clothes on your back, how can you expect to catch Apollo's chariot? It is known not only by man but even by us, the Gods, to be the swiftest chariot ever created. It is a sure thing that we would not be able to catch it."

After listening to Athena's wise words, Helios rejoined the other Gods.

Finally, Zeus spoke to the gathering: "Athena is right to advise you as she has, Helios. Catching the chariot when it is pulled by those steeds would be an impossible task. However, what troubles me more is that Phaethon would do such a thing to begin with."

"We have always known Phaethon to be wildly ambitious. Even foolhardy. Is this situation any different?" Hera asked.

"No, I suppose not," sighed Zeus, "let us just recover the chariot and continue on with our lives."

To this, Athena said, "I have been thinking, and I may have a plan to trap Phaethon. Of course, we know that Apollo's chariot is unrivaled in speed. Not even Zeus' personal chariot can match it in a straight race. If we were to chase Phaethon in Zeus' chariot, we would never catch him. Phaethon surely knows this. However, Phaethon is still a youth, immature and unexperienced. He cannot compare to Helios in terms of skill when manning a chariot. Therefore, we can gain on him when he has to make a turn. Helios can make the turns much tighter than Phaethon can dream of. So, whenever Phaethon has to turn, Zeus' chariot will gain. Phaethon may or may not already know this, but he will surely notice when we start chasing him. Thus, he will be forced to run in a straight line in some direction into the cosmos. This is how we trap him."

Helios spoke up, "Wise Athena, I am humbled by your appreciation of my talents. However, there is no way to predict which direction Phaethon may choose to run. This is a hopeless venture."

In reply, Athena gave a knowing smile. "Simple Helios, this is where you are wrong," Athena said, "Of course, Phaethon could run in any direction. But the direction he chooses to run will not be random. What would he gain from leading an eternal chase into the cosmos? The dreariness of such a thing would be punishment in itself. There is nowhere in the heavens for him, so he will have to run towards the earth. This reasoning alone eliminates more than half of his possible routes. And on earth, there would be no place for him to escape our scrutiny for long. Therefore, he must be heading towards Hades."

Helios merely grunted. "I know my son better than anybody else here. Phaethon is too ambitious to resign himself to hiding in the depths of hell. Not even the highest Gods knows what he wanted with the chariot."

At this point, Hestia, God of Hearth and Family, who had been listening meekly all this time, spoke up. "Phaethon must be plotting against you, Helios. There is no other explanation. We must capture him and question him. I cannot imagine how the chariot could possibly benefit him."

Athena said, "We can worry about that later. For now, Helios should give chase to Phaethon, who will inevitably begin running towards Hades. Zeus should wait by the waters of Eridanos, for there is no other way to enter Hades than through that river. We will catch him there."

The plan having been set, the Gods disbanded. Hera and Hestia, with no part to play in the plan Athena had proposed, went back to doing their everyday tasks. Athena went to the river Eridanos, to lie in wait for foolish Phaethon. Helios prepared Zeus' chariot, and in no time was searching the universe for Phaethon. Zeus agreed to meet Athena at Eridanos, but went first to Hephaestus, God of the Forge and received a quiver of deadly thunder bolts. Then, he met Athena at the door of Hades, and they lay in wait for foolish Phaethon.

Later...

"Phaethon!" yelled Helios, "You cannot run forever! Come back while you still may achieve forgiveness!"

Phaethon spared little more than a sideways glance backwards and gritted his teeth. The muscles on his arms bulged and trembled from exertion. His cloak billowed all around him, catching fire and eventually surrounding him in a brilliant blaze. But he flew on.

According to the plan Athena had laid out, Helios began chasing Phaethon across the cosmos while Zeus lay in wait at the gates of Hades. This continued for 19 days, with Helios gradually gaining on Phaethon whenever he made a turn, but with Phaethon increasing his lead whenever he flew straight. On the 19th day, Phaethon, who was quickly tiring and running out of alternatives, began driving his chariot towards the cold river Eridanos. He would attempt to escape retribution by taking solace in the shadows of Hades.

Phaethon's confidence grew as he approached the gates of hell. "Father!" he turned around to shout back at Helios, "You easily placated fool! Why are your desires and ambitions so easy to satisfy? Among the Gods, you are no more than a humble servant, your role no more prestigious than that of a dog-faced coward. The Gods praise you for your consistency and this is sufficient for your pride. I am unlike you. My legacy will be far greater than yours. I swear this to you."

Phaethon might have said more, but at this moment, a mighty thunderbolt crashed into the front of his chariot. Zeus, God of Gods, had emerged from his hiding place, his wrath evident in the unearthly glow around his body. Phaethon was hurled from the chariot and into the unforgiving waters of the Eridanos. The frigid waters immediately doused the flames that had adorned Phaethon and hungrily consumed his body, pulling it into its sightless depths. Even Athena's all-seeing eyes could not penetrate the murky darkness of the waters to ascertain the plight of Phaethon. Not long after, Helios landed his chariot and bounded off of it, towards Zeus. Zeus himself stood before the mangled chariot Phaethon had tried to steal, deep in thought. The chariot, which had once been Apollo's pride, still held its brilliant flame even in its broken form.

Helios approached Zeus, "What have you done? I glimpsed the lifeless body of my son as it plunged into the icy waters. His actions deserved punishment, but was such a harsh end warranted?"

Zeus looked up sadly and rumbled, "What's done is done, Helios."

With that, he turned around and left. Athena, with nothing further to say to Helios, followed Zeus out. This left Helios to fall to his knees before Apollo's chariot and weep.

It was only when Apollo himself made his appearance that Helios stood up, his tears long dried up. "Apollo," he said, "The chariot is in shambles. But it is here. Pyrios, Aeos, Aethon and Phlegon are nowhere to be found. My son lies at the bottom of the river of the dead. What am I to do now?"

Apollo was in no mood to cast blame about, so he said, "Helios, do not trouble yourself with my chariot or its steeds. Both are irreplaceable, but to far less a degree than your son. Grieve for your son, for he was lost, and could only be found in his death. Take solace, Helios, for you are still in good standing with the highest among us Gods." With that, Apollo left Helios to grieve alone, as is proper.

((To be continued...))