[center][b][u]In the sky above Rome[/u][/b][/center]

 The wind rushed through his hair, whipping his short golden tangle about wildly. He held his helmet crooked under one arm, enjoying the feeling of the wind on his face, in his hair, in his eyes. He was running, faster than fast, through the clouds over Rome, toward the lower provinces. He was too high up to be seen, at least by mortal eyes. Hermes, though he had never been a lover of 'the rules', knew that revealing himself too openly to mortals would, at best, cause a panic. The thought made him chuckle through swift breaths. It was tempting, as he reached the Nile, to head down and run along the water. He wanted to feel the spray of the river he had conquered in his duel with it's patron god, Sobek, years before. And yet, he had prior engagements. All speed was necessary, and if he ran this fast anywhere near mortals, they would likely perish, fragile as they were.

 As the sky grew hotter, evaporating the clouds around him, the land below him gradually gave way to barren desert. Soon, there was not a mortal soul as far as his eyes could see. Celerity, his great hawk flew beside him, and screeched loudly as Hermes came to a sudden stop above the sandy desert.

 [color=fff200]"Sorry, friend, but you don't want to be where I'm going. Return to Olympus. I'll bring you a gift."[/color] He reached out to poke the bird in it's chest affectionately, which earned him a warning caw and a nip from the bird before it flew off. 

 [color=fff200]"Right then,"[/color] Hermes took a deep breath and donned his helm. [color=fff200]"Time to pay the creepy uncle a visit."[/color]

 On [i]visit[/i], Hermes started forward again, building speed until he was running as fast as his godly legs would take him. When he reached a speed that strained his body to the point of pain, he abruptly angled his run straight down toward the mortal world, toward the desert below. As he shot out of the sky, a streak of fire, the sands below began to shift and twist, until Hermes was running at top speed into what appeared to be a whirlpool of Desert sand. In the very Center of the whirlpool, there was a hazy, purple circle, ringed in black fire. Hermes, as a god who prided himself on being able to break any boundary, found it relatively easy to break into the Underworld. Even so, it was never an enjoyable experience. Hermes' clothes caught fire as he descended toward the portal, and would have burned up, had they not been of Olympian make. The desert sands had become a raging storm as the god bent nature to allow himself passage into the realm of Hades. Red fiery streak met purple portal in the ground, and suddenly, as suddenly as it had begun, the strange, mystical desert storm ended.

 [center][b][u]Hades, The Underworld[/u][/b][/center]

 Hermes shot out of the portal he had created, and crash-landed hard into a rocky outcropping he hadn't anticipated. The pain of the landing was jarring, but the overwhelming sensation he felt was cold. He was freezing. Only this place ever made him feel this way. He rose to his feet, steam billowing off of him from the sudden shift in temperature. As he rose, he looked around, taking in his grim surroundings, but looking specifically for Hades' palace. Not that he needed to actually find his uncle. If he knew Hades at all, the other God already knew he was here, and exactly where to find him. So, Hermes stretched his aching muscles, and then plopped down where he was,sprawling himself out comfortably, and removing his helmet.

 [color=fff200]"And now we wait."[/color]