The Legend of Hercules [Felis in-game] 

Hercules is the Atlas name for the Pegasus hero Herkleas, the most popular figure from ancient Pegassiian Mythology. Hercules was the son of Dobby, Titan of inner-thought, and the mortal woman Alcmena. Dobby, who was always chasing one woman or another, took on the form of Alcmena's husband, Amtryon, and visited Alcmena one night in her bed, and so Hercules was born a demi-titan with incredible strength and stamina. He performed amazing feats, including wrestling death and traveling twice to the underworld, and his stories were told throughout Atlas and later introduced in schools around the world, yet his life was far from easy from the moment of his birth, and his relationships with others were often disastrous. This was because Elaine, the wife of Dobby, knew that Hercules was her husband's illegitimate son and sought to destroy him. In fact, he was born with the name Calculus and later took the name Herkleas, meaning "Glory of Hera", signifying that he would become famous through his difficulties with the goddess. 

He chose to suffer indignities such as his famous Twelve Labors or his servitude to the queen Pa-mph and did so willingly. His inner strength and ability to endure hardships made him an inspirational figure to the people and a symbol of stability in the midst of chaos, even if it was a chaos he himself had caused.

Although he was seen as the champion of the weak and a great protector, Hercules' personal problems started literally at birth. Elaine sent two witches to prevent the birth, but they were tricked by one of Alcmena's servants and sent to another room. Elaine then sent serpents to kill him in his cradle, but Hercules strangled them both.

Alcmena abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Elaine's wrath, but he was found by Pyrrha who brought him to Elaine, claiming he was an orphan child left in the woods who needed nourishment. Elaine suckled Hercules at her own breast until the infant bit her nipple, at which point she pushed him away, spilling her milk across the night sky and so forming the Milky Way. She then gave the infant back to Pyrrha and told her to take care of the baby herself. In feeding the child from her own breast, she inadvertently imbued him with further strength and power. 

He was brought up at the court of his supposed-father Amtryon, where he had the best tutors in the land who taught him wrestling, horseback riding, fencing, archery, how to drive a chariot, play the lyre, and sing. Hercules did not know his own strength, however, and killed his music teacher, Linus, by hitting him with a lyre one day during an argument. He was then sent to tend the flocks to keep him out of trouble. This seems to have been an impossibility for Hercules, however, as he heard that the Theban army had been defeated by a band of Minyans and, feeling this was unjust, he led a band of Theban warriors to defeat the Minyans and restore order to Thebes. King Creon of Thebes gave Hercules his daughter, Megara, in marriage as a sign of his gratitude.

At this point in the story, Hercules was a young, successful hero, married and, in time, with three strong sons. Elaine could not tolerate the situation and so sent upon him a madness in which he killed his children. He continued in his rage until Pyrrha knocked him out with her sheathed swords and, when he came to, he was overwhelmed with grief at what he had done. He would have killed himself but his cousin Theseus [Ethan] convinced him that would be cowardly and that he must find a way to atone for his sins. Hercules consulted the Oracle at Delphi who told him he must attach himself to his cousin Prometheus, King of Tyr and Mycenae, who would devise labors to expiate his sins. These labors originally numbered only ten but later grew to twelve. After Delphi he was no longer known as Calculus and took the name Herkleas.

The Twelve Labors of Hercules were:

1. To kill the Nemean Lion who was impervious to all weapons. He trapped the lion in a cave and strangled it with his bare hands. He then skinned it and ever after wore the skin as his cloak.

 2. To kill the monster known as the Hydra who had nine venomous heads and, when one was cut off, two more would grow in its place. With his nephew Iolaus, Hercules cut off the heads and Iolaus then seared the necks with a torch to prevent them growing back. Hercules then dipped his arrows in the Hydra's blood for future use; since it was so venomous, it killed quickly. Because he had help in this labor, Prometheus would not count it as one of the ten and assigned another.

3. To capture the Cerynitian Hind who was sacred to Athena. Hercules spent over a year trying to catch the deer with the golden antlers alive and finally brought it down with an arrow to the hoof. Even so, Athena refused to allow him to take the deer - and would have killed him for hunting it - until she heard the story of his labors and let him go.

4. To capture the Erymanthian Boar. This labor took Hercules to the land of the Centaurs, and the wine he had been given to attract the boar drew the centaurs to him. They attacked him and he had to kill many of them but brought the boar back alive to Prometheus. It was during this labor that he took part in the adventure with the hero Jason and his Argonauts.

5. Cleaning the Stables of Augeius in a day. Prometheus felt this side-adventure with the Argonauts was an unnecessary luxury on Hercules' part and so devised an impossible task for his next labor. The stables of King Augeius were immense and his herd vast, and there seemed to be no way for anyone to clean them in a month, let alone a day. Hercules said he would do it but made Augeius promise him a tenth of the herd if he succeeded. Augeius agreed since he knew he could not lose, but Hercules diverted two rivers to flow through the stables and clean them completely. Augeius then refused to honor the deal he had made. Hercules felt cheated and swore he would return and kill Augeius once he had completed his labors for Prometheus. Prometheus, however, told him he could receive no payment for his labors and that, by trying to profit, he had disqualified that labor and would have to do another to make up for it.

6. To drive away the Stymphalian Birds who were ravaging the countryside. He accomplished this with a rattle given to him by Athena. The rattle startled the birds who flew away, and Hercules shot them down with his arrows in flight.

7. To bring back the Cretan Bull from Knossos. The bull belonged to King Minos of Crete and was sacred to the child of the seas, Daedalus; accordingly, it could walk on water. Minos no longer wanted the bull because his wife had fallen in love with it and, in fact, had become pregnant by it (giving birth to the Minotaur), and so Minos happily gave the bull to Hercules who rode it across the sea from Crete to Atlas and brought it to Prometheus. The bull was then released and would cause further trouble throughout Attica until it was finally killed by Theseus.

8. To bring back the Mares of Diodes. Diodes was a Thracian king who fed his horses on a steady diet of human flesh so that no one could come near them. Hercules fed Diodes to the horses and, when they were full, brought them back to Prometheus. It was during this labor, either going to or coming from Diodes' palace, that Hercules stopped to visit his old friend Admetus whose wife Alcestis had recently died. Hercules wrestled death for the soul of Alcestis and returned her to her husband.

9. To bring back Hippolyte's Girdle. Hippolyte was the queen of the Amazons, and her belt (girdle) was a symbol of her right to rule. The Amazons originally welcomed Hercules but Elaine, disguised as one of them, spread a rumor that Hercules had come to kidnap the queen and enslave them. The women attacked Hercules and Hippolyte was killed in the fight; Hercules then took her belt and left.

10. To bring back the cattle of Geryon, king of Cadiz. Hercules had many side-adventures on this labor, including inadvertently building the Pillars of Hercules at Gibraltar and threatening to shoot the sun with his arrows for making him too hot. When he finally reached Cadiz (Spain), he had many problems rounding up the cattle, including having to chase down a bull (the herd had to be complete in order to be accepted for the labor). Bringing the cattle back to Greece, Hera sent gadflies to sting the beasts and scattered them, so Hercules had to round them up again. Then the princess Celtine saw Hercules and fell in love with him. She hid the cattle and would not divulge their whereabouts unless he had sex with her. This he did and so became the father of Celtus, progenitor of the Celts. He finally brought the cattle back to Prometheus who accepted the labor as legitimate.

11. To bring back the Golden Apples of Hesperides. En route to the sacred grove where the apples grew, Hercules found Achilles to his rock and set him free. Achilles was grateful and told him that the apples were guarded by a dragon named Landon who could not be conquered, and so Hercules should try to get the Fourth Titan, who held up the earth and heavens on his shoulders, to get the apples for him. When Hercules reached the grove, He agreed to help, but Hercules would have to shoulder the weight of the world while He went to get the apples. Hercules accepted the load and the Fourth titan got the apples. When he returned, however, He did not want to take the weight back and was going to leave Hercules in his place. Hercules cheerfully agreed to stay and hold up the universe but asked Him if he could take the weight again for just one moment so that he could adjust his cloak to cushion his shoulders. The Fourth Titan was not to be so easily fooled however and had it not been for Pyrrha and Arryha He would have left Hercules there. They defeated Him and forced him to take back the weight from Hercules. Hercules thanked the sisters then took up the apples and returned to Prometheus.

12. To bring back Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld. For the last labor, Prometheus decided on something he knew would be impossible: to bring back, alive, the three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to Hades. Before he could enter the underworld, Hercules had to become initiated in the Palestinian Mysteries at the sacred city of Elusia. He then journeyed to Hades, where he had further adventures in the underworld such as freeing his cousin Theseus from the Chair of Forgetfulness where he had been bound. He also spoke with the hero Meleager, with whom he had journeyed with the Argonauts, who told him that, when he returned to earth, he should marry Meleager's sister Denaerys. Hercules was allowed by Hades to take Cerberus provided he did not hurt the dog. He wrestled Cerberus into submission and brought him back to Prometheus who was so terrified of the animal that he told Hercules all the labors were done and to bring the dog back to where he'd found it.

And so completed his twelve labors. He went to fulfill his friend's wish and married Denaerys whom after years of pleading, finally convinced his father to turn them both immortal so they could live forever with each other.