<strong><span class="bbc_u">Antheia’s Dream</span><br/><br/>Antheia found herself standing in a dark room lit only by the large forge in the center of the room. The smell of molten adamantine filled her nose and the clank of metal being hammered by metal was like music to her ears. She followed the sound around to the other side of the forge to see Hephaestus hammering away. A closer look revealed that it was another hammer. Curious, Antheia moved closer.<br/><br/>Her movements alerted Hephaestus to her presence and he looked up from his work. The broad smile that covered his tanned, slightly greyed, sweaty face warmed Antheia’s heart. He was so lonely here by himself, she could tell. The past few nights he seemed so grateful for her company.<br/><br/>Hephaestus set his tools down and smoothed his hands through his bright fiery orange hair. He limped slowly over to Antheia and pointed to a soot covered map on the wall that she hadn’t seen before.<br/><br/>“Antheia,” his voice was deep and rumbly from breathing in the fumes of the forge for so many millions of years. “I need you,” his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I need you to follow this path, Antheia. Find the clearing in Redwood Forest. A great task will be presented you by my father.” Hephaestus’s hand left the map and reached toward Antheia’s face, almost as if he wanted to caress her cheek. But uncertainty clouded his eyes and he dropped his hand. He looked down at his feeble legs in their golden bracers and turned, limping back to his stone forging table.<br/><br/>He picked up the product of his hard work and held it out to Antheia. She walked over and took it from him. It was an exact replica of the hammer he now held in his hands, except smaller, fit for the hands of a woman. She looked up at Hephaestus, confused. He nodded to her.<br/><br/>“It is for you, Antheia,” Hephaestus grumbled. “A replica of my own. Projects will still take as long, but you will be able to make everything with exact precision. Now please go. I have much work to do.”<br/><br/>With that, Hephaestus began hammering away on another piece of work and the scene faded from Antheia’s sight.<br/></strong>