Chapter 4: The Gifts

Zeus was true to his words. Artemis later learned she would have to earn the gifts she asked for. He only promised she would receive them but he did not say he would outright give to her without effort.

Yet it suited Artemis's heart most of all. She smiled and appreciated her father's wisdom. He had given her a new gift, one she did not even have to ask: the thrill of a new adventure and a massive hunt for the greatest treasures.

A few days after her visit to Zeus' kingdom, Artemis went down to the isle of Delos, where her mother still resided. Leto now stayed in a temple just East of the cave where she gave birth to Artemis and her brother, Apollo.

"Mother," she said to Leto. "I will hunt down the enemy that had taunted you, and you shall be worshiped along with your children for I shall bring fame in my name, but now I must go and find my gifts granted by Father Zeus."

"O my brave daughter, you and your brother are my greatest joy," her mother said and stroked her cheeks, "but you are also a god in your own right. If you so wish to seek your own path, I will not stop you from your adventures."

Artemis smiled and kissed her mother before bidding goodbye. The young maiden set out to find her first gift.

She came to the rugged countryside of Arcadia on a sunny day. It happened to be where Pan, the god of shepherds and hunters, and of the meadows and forests of the mountain wilds lived. Artemis found a man with the horns, legs, and tail of a goat, a thick beard, snub nose and pointed ears, and knew that it was her cousin, Pan. His hand held a reed pipe, which he enjoyed playing during his idle hours.

It was there that Artemis descended to retrieve her first gift.

"O Pan, is that you?" Artemis asked.

The god was feeding his hounds. He turned and smiled.

"Yes that is me, cousin," he said. As soon as his voice pierced the air, Artemis' hands shot up to cover her ears. Pan was not only hideously ugly but his voice was cursed to be so sharp that anyone, mortal or god, would feel melancholy and pain upon hearing it.

"Oh, little king of the wood and mountains, my favorite cousin, please give me some of your dogs - the best ones, please."

Pan looked genuinely surprised. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. It had been a long while since she first saw him in the house of the deathless god. Artemis was just a little toddler. Now she had grown fast and swift, and would soon be a full-fledged goddess herself.

Pan bounced with his goat legs towards Artemis. He lifted her onto a small boulder nearby to sit.

"Why would a lovely lass such as yourself want this pack of massive beasts?"

"Because I want to be the mightiest hunter," she said. "I requested for six wishes from Father Zeus and one of which was of your hounds, Lord Pan. You are the watcher of nature, over all that is natural and good. I dream of becoming a huntress and wish to call the wild my home. Will you give me your blessing and your hounds?"

For a long while, Pan simply stood there, pondering. His face twisted in deep thought. He would raise his hand every now and then to rub his chin and brush the beard on his chin. Artemis waited.

The god looked at her and waved his finger at her face, "Your father warned me you might come knocking this way. I have high admiration for your mother and a strong respect for your father. For these reasons, I grant you my blessing as the lady of the mountains and forest. If you truly think you can be the greatest hunter of all, then I shall give you my hounds as well."

Artemis' face glowed with a smile, "Oh thank you, Pan!"

"Never mind, cousin, now choose which dogs you fancy," said Pan and called out to his beasts. Three of them were huge black and white hounds able to catch a live lion and drag it back to the hunter. The others were lean white deerhounds, any one of them could outrun a stag.

"That one and that one and that one," she cried with glee. "And this one. I must have him...and him."

"The biggest one is a she, Artemis," Pan said.

"Oh, great, I must have her then," she said.

In the end, Pan gave her his ten best dogs. Artemis was wild to try out her new gifts. She sent her white hounds racing after two deer, bidding them bring back the animals unharmed. They obeyed and chased after the most beautiful ones then brought them to their mistress. Artemis decided those were her favorite of their kind, and she would harness the deer to her chariot.

"Very well," Pan said. "You seem to have mastered the art of the chase itself, young one. I wish you success in all your hunts."

Artemis smiled then leaned in closer and planted a soft kiss on the god's rough cheek.

"Ah, the kiss of a beautiful goddess, a kiss is itself a grand reward," he said. He then took his instrument and raised it to his lips. After taking a breath he played a series of slow, melancholic notes. It reminded Artemis that she had to find her nymphs and singing choir that her father had promised her. But first, she must get her own weapon. Her brother Apollo had been running wild with his golden bow and arrows. She would soon join his delight with her archery skill.

"Thank you for your gift, Lord Pan, and please tell my brother I passed by if he comes looking," she told the old god and bad him goodbye. The maiden turned to her large dogs.

"Ah, come."

They sprinted at her command. The beasts were usually large, standing all the way up to her shoulders when she stood. Their fur was thick and coarse like a body armor, able to deflect any flying arrow. She figured they may have been spawned from the same breed as Cerberus.

She smiled and patted each of their heads.

"Good dogs, now we shall visit the smith god, Hephaestus."

The god of fire and craft did not live on Olympus with the other gods but instead dwells inside the volcano Mount. Aetna. Artemis wasted no time and paid him an unexpected visit. She knew that Hera was his mother, but she hoped that the smith god would still grant her wish and fastened her the best weapon fit for a god. It was a long way and took Artemis and her hounds seven days and seven nights to reach the slope of his fiery home. Through the valley of trees and small streams, she passed until she came to Mout. Aetna. The land was dry and dead, burnt from the heat of the volcano that it sheltered.

"Stay here," Artemis commanded her dogs. "I fear we will not be here long."

She walked into the glowing cave. It was only after an hour of walking that she found herself staring at the forger's foundry, where all sort of divine weapons were created.

There was a low-lying volcano in the middle. With her every step she felt the fires crackling underneath but with the golden blood of Zeus coursing through her veins she felt no pain and suffered no injury.

After a long while of traversing inside the volcanic abode, she came to Hephaestus' massive metal doors and knocked with a heavy fist.

"Hephaestus!" she cried out for her half-brother. "Hephaestus! Brother! Open your door for me. It is I, Artemis, daughter of fair Leto and thunderous Zeus."

She heard heavy footsteps that shook the very earth. The doors swung wide open and in the doorway stood her elder brother, a man who resembled Zeus in every way save for the crippled leg. His face and chest were covered in soot.

"What do you want?" Hephaestus bellowed. Artemis peered behind him and saw he was busy in his forge, perhaps smithing something new like a sword or shield for the gods. There was trouble brewing in Troy she heard.

She curtsied and then looked up at him, "Our Lord Father has promised to give me a magnificent bow of true silver. There is no one in the land that can forge me one but you, brother. In Zeus' name, I demand you grant me this request."

"Nay," he told her and grabbed the door, intending to shut it on her face. "True silver is one of the rarest metals in the realm. I could forge you a bow and a quiver of arrows alike to your brother Apollo, gold but not silver."

"Why?" she challenged him.

"Never done it with silver. It's more difficult to work than gold. It needs a cool light of the moon and must be made underwater." Hephaestus replied.

"But our father promised me I would have all my gifts," Artemis said stubbornly. "And I must have them my way."

The smith god was silent. He could see the strong determination in the godling's brilliant eyes. At last, Hephaestus sighed.

"You're a fierce maiden," he said. "I shall tell you where to look for your desired weapon. You must go deep beneath the sea, off the isle of Lipara, where the Cyclopes are making horse trough for our uncle, Poseidon. He can grant you access to the hidden armory of the Cyclopes. Brontes, Steropes, and Arges reside there and they have you what you need. They forged the lightning bolt for our mighty father, and they shall have the same unique magic for your hunter bow. If you can make them fasten this gift, then you shall be the wielder of the Silver Bow."

Artemis nodded and waved farewell to her brother, "Thank you, Hephaestus. I will not forget your kind advice."

With that, she departed and headed back to her waiting hounds. With a glance at the sun and the high blue sky, she pondered her next destination. Within the hour, Artemis set sail for the deepest oceans where she could commune with the sea god, Poseidon.