So one evening, instead of throwing a feast in honor of the dead, he invited his family, his brothers, and their wives to dinner. In the invitation, he noted that he would order his servants to get food for the feast from beyond the underworld. He wanted his family to know that this wasn’t one of his tricks. This was his way of extending an olive branch – a symbol of peace. Hades wanted to change. He wanted to be himself again, and he thought that starting with his family would be a good start.

The lord of the dead ordered that one of his favorite halls in the underworld be decorated with great ceremony. He was looking forward to his family visiting him and the palace finally being filled with the ringing sounds of laughter. he was eager to show them his fortress, to talk about old times, to share stories and prove to them and to himself that he was still the same old good old hades. and he was eager to talk to his brother zeus. perhaps to reconnect with the bonds that had been broken for many years.

the demons burst into the great dining hall, slipped on cerberus' spit and skidded across the shiny black onyx floor to crash into hades' throne. they struggled to untangle their snagged horns and looked up at their master in fear.

his hand shook in panic as he handed hades an invitation to the celebration of the upcoming birth of a new hero. when hades opened the envelope, an iridescent winged horse made of paper flew out and swirled around his head. hades snapped his fingers, causing the invitation to burst into flames.

hades wanted to speak, and then, completely without warning, taking hades by surprise, a girl appeared in his hall. At first, Hades thought they were late guests who had finally arrived, and he felt stupid for being so upset. But when he looked at her, the lord of the underworld realized that she was clearly not the wife of Poseidon or Zeus.

“Welcome to the underworld, my honored guest. You have arrived just in time for the feast I have prepared especially for you.”