Personnel Files: Persephone (Part 2)

The most outspoken detractor of the methods employed by The Bureau of Death was the Goddess Demeter. It is possible that she truly cared for the well-being of mortals, and thought it morally reprehensible that their suffering is nothing more than a means to an end. Yet it is equally possible that she just felt slighted that she, the Goddess of harvest, as well as the cycles of life and death, was so ignorant to the goings on in her own domains. Regardless, there can be no doubt that the blame lies with her for being too foolish to put together the connection between her two spheres of influence. (In her defense, a lot of Gods have unrelated domains. Like, what does The Sun have to do with music? –Sis) (Perhaps the connection is a secret we’ve decided you can’t be trusted with? –Chloe) She proclaimed that this trespassing within her domain was heresy, and demanded that Hades be punished for it. Hades wanted nothing more than to return to the way things were. For reasons that are lost to history, he believed that kidnapping her daughter, Persephone, would achieve this. (If I keep having to write notes every time we’re unnecessarily mean to someone, my notes will take up half the book –Sis) (Then stop –Chloe) (Editor, see to it that this childish bickering is left in, that new Reapers may know what to expect of the younger of The Moirai –Atropos) Demeter grieved, and intentionally began to neglect her duties as The Goddess of Harvest. Crops withered in the fields, and mortals starved. Yet Hades was unswayed, as he stood only to gain from the accelerated death of mortals. Even against the pressure of the other Gods, he remained steadfast. Eventually, Demeter conceded. If her daughter was returned, she promised to allow the harvesting of mortals to continue as it had.

Though Hades accepted the offer, he would not relinquish his queen so easily. He plotted to use The Old Rules of The Underworld to his advantage. In particular, one which states that “he or she who partakes of The Fruit of The Dead is bound to The Underworld, to remain among The Dead for all Eternity”. Though the law has since been repealed, largely due to the backlash surrounding this particular incident, Persephone is still subject to it, as it was Eternally Binding at the time that she ate the seeds of the pomegranate.  The ensuing case, Hades v. Demeter, ended with the following verdict: Since she had eaten only six (6) of the pomegranate’s seeds, she would be bound to The Underworld for only six (6) months of each year. At the time, she went on record claiming that she was deceived into eating the seeds, yet a later audit revealed that this claim was, itself, a deception. To this day, her motive for eating the seeds is known only to her. There is no ongoing investigation into the matter, and none is planned. The official stance of The Fates is that Persephone is trustworthy, and unlikely to act against the interests of The Bureau of Death. One can speculate about her reasoning all they like, but it is ultimately a personal matter, of concern to none but Persephone herself.