“Vary astute,” Orpheus replied, hopping up onto Hitomi's shoulder. “I'm a little bad about explaining some of these things since the gods ceased to interact openly with mortal affairs. There are specific things we aren't supposed to talk about, even with their champions. Eurydice is worse about it, but this is important, so I'll give it a shot.
“The amulets you and the other magic girls wear where created at the end of what was known to the ancient Hellens—the people now called Greeks--as the Mythic Era. This was a time of great literacy and prosperity in the Bronze Age. Magic was a well developed and understood field of study at the time. Scholars of arcane lore were capable of great feats, and warriors with a modicum of education or prosperity were able to supplement their prowess with minor incantations or talismans.
For the Hellens and many surrounding people this period ended in a confluence of tragedies.
Firstly, the gods of Olympus were beginning to feel taken for granted. Many mortals demanded miracles or talismans when they had once come as supplicants. Some anarchists, demigods, and warriors had even grown so powerful that they could challenge lesser gods and force the greater powers of Olympus to unleash their full wrath in order to put them down. As you may imagine—certainly many modern storytellers have—such conflicts can devastate the world for miles around. The best remembered example would be when a trio of powerful men endeavored to do by force of arms what I once nearly succeeded in doing with art and diplomacy. They descended into the Underworld and laid siege to the gates of Hadese realm—presumably to retrieve fallen loved ones
“Hades is a good man—honestly a good deal more dutiful and reasonable than most of the gods of Olympus. When Cerberus was sorely wounded, he responded as most men would upon seeing their dog limp up to them whimpering and covered in blood.
“Hades girded on his jeweled armor, mounted his chariot, and took to the field of battle. He drove the interlopers across the River Stix and back to the mortal world before unleashing his full strength.
“Once he was well clear of the fortifications that imprisoned the Titans, he unleashed a furry of fire and brimstone that destroyed the mortal invaders in a single blow—along with the a good 70% of the Isle of Crete and every living thing on it.”
Orpheus paused, then shook his head. “Maybe I'm getting off topic. History does not flow from the heart in the same was as music.
“This period ended in a series of wars among mortals when the gods went silent, pulling their support from their people on all sides of every conflict. In the aftermath the Hellens—just to focus on an area I know best—lost their arts and sciences, even their alphabet. Supernatural creatures that did not normally answer to the gods, or who would have but wanted no part in the agreement—began to prey upon people rendered defenseless in the aftermath of the war.
“The muses wooed Hephaestus to wind his aid in creating a talisman that would grant a portion of their power to a girl who could use it. Throughout the centuries, those talismans and others like them—along with a few secret societies who remembered or reclaimed the old magic--have been used to locate the monsters who defied the silence of the gods, destroy them, or seal them away.
“From the Greek perspective, Zeus eventually found out about his daughters defiance. He was angry for a time, but eventually praised his daughters for their carefully devising a way to protect humanity without violating the spirit of the agreement. I believe Ares made similar talismans in an attempt to protect he Amazons. Their culture eventfully fell, and memory of it can now only be found through the lens of patriarchal cultures. Many women today try to rediscover them—through both history and imagination. Their culture is lost, though, and I no more wish it to rise again than I do many cultures. Your world has taken many great leaps of improvement in the last century. The past should be learned from, maybe celebrated, but not recreated.”
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