The Hesperides

This is Twisted Mythology

History

Origins

Aigle, Erytheis, and Hestra slept inside their simple home within the orchard. Theirs was the task of tending the trees and fending off anything, or anyone, who would take their fruit before the sisters could get them to market. As they slept, they dreamed.
In their dreams, they shared a vision of trees blending together to grow new fruits. One was so yellow it was brighter than gold. It would have a more bitter, even sour, taste. The other was darker than gold. This darker fruit was sweeter and more complicated to blend. It would take generations to get right.
"Daughters," a voice whispered through their dreams with immense yet soothing power. This, was the voice of Nyx, goddess of Night and Crafter of Sunsets. "I have shown you the way to bring forth the most vital of fruits that need to someday grow all around the world. If you work upon this task for one year, I shall grant you the power to continue to do this for ages untold."
Each of the sisters, in her own dream, agreed to take up this task. They became the first Hesperides.

by GregMontani

Also known as the "Daughters of the Evening", The Hesperides began as a trio dedicated to protecting their new precious tree of "golden apples". As their tree matured and bore fruit, they obtained seeds. Chosing only the very best and most perfect seed from each batch to plant, they ever so slowly grew their precious tree into a grove. Overtime, their grove grew. To tend the growing number of trees, there needed to be more daughters.

The three daughters prayed to Nyx. During their prayers, Nyx came to their grove and tasted the fruit of their trees. Pleased with this fruit, she drew upon Erebos and crafted for them the Circle of Night. The Hesperides could now have a mortal woman willingly stand within the circle and accept the power, becoming a Hesperide.

by Dazzlinkat

314 BC

by OpenClipart-Vectors

The "golden apples" called hesperidoids, became well known in their hidden lands. Nyx came to them and asked for them to start a new grove in a place called Lixus. Seven daughters were chosen. They took with them a seed pouch and traveled under the protection of the night.

Once they arrived in Lixus, a town on the right bank of the Loukkos River, they took a boat out into the sea and followed the guiding star to an island. There, they planted seeds around a new Circle of Night.
Breaking their boat down into useful lumber, the sisters then climbed to a peak on their island where a villa blessed with comforts from Nyx awaited them.

by dimitrisvetsikas1969

by Pexels

As they had in their hidden land, the seven tended the seeds that grew into a fine grove.
In between their nurturing of the grove, they learned to play music on the wonderous array of instruments Nyx had gifted them within the villa.
Over time, these Hesperides came to be masters of music and song.

Hera

Once the trees began to bear fruit, Hera swooped in.
She proclaimed it HER garden though she allowed it to continue being called the Garden of the Hesperides.
To ensure the garden remained hers, she placed Ladon, a many-headed dragon, to protect the trees.
This prevented anyone but her harvesting the fruits, including the Hesperides.

by Dazzlinkat

by Barroa_Artworks

Unfortunately for Hera, dragons may be mighty and terrifying but, unlike hydras, they loved to sleep.
They also loved music. It did not take long for the Hesperides to figure this out.
With beautiful music, they sooothed the dragon to sleep while they worked within the grove, collecting their fruits as they always did.

Nesoi

After the Roman gods defeated the Greek gods, they had little interest in the mysterious island and its "golden apples".
Over time, few people came to think of it as precious or even beyond normal and the island vanished from mortal ken, becoming a Nesoi, or forgotten, island.
Ladon dug a lair that went deep beneath the grove where he could sleep without interruptions.

by hat-spass-gemacht

by GregMontani

When the Roman gods withered in faith as the new religions of the world rose, the Garden of Lixus became one of the fully hidden Nesoi islands. Sailing grew about the world but Lixus remained hidden. As sailing grew, so did the realization that the longer a sailor was at sea, the greater grew the risk of dying by sickness. Nyx came to the Hesperides and told them it was time to spread more groves about the world so their fruits would be plentiful when the time was right.

And so more Hesperides were 'made' with the two circles. Groves of their precious fruits, in an ever growing variety, spread about the world, some only tended by a lone Hesperide.
When the Revelation happened, the Hesperides were ready with their groves. To this day, they defend hidden groves all over the world, ensuring the power of citruses will thrive forever.

by Dazzlinkat

The Inner Workings

Unlike most organizations, the Hesperides do not have a formal leader. What they do have are wise ones like The Trio. Aigle, Erytheis, and Hestra who are the original trio.
After the Trio, as they are called, come the Four who complete The Seven: Arethusa, Asterope, Chrysothemis, and Lipera.
Finally, the brave Hesperides who journeyed to Lixus are considered the third tier of wisdom. They are: Aiopis, Antheia, Donakis, Calypso, Mermesa, Nelisa, and Tara.

The Revelation

In 1747, a mortal named James Lind discovered that adding the juice of the bitter variety of "golden apple" he knew as a lemon, warded off scurvy, the terrible disease of sailors.
This revelation proved to be so vital that all varieties of "golden apple" were treasured for their medicinal powers even more than for their flavors.
A second, more secret, revelation was also discovered. Its juice could replenish the used up power of a magic user. Over time, a method to refine the lemon's juice into a concentrate that both increased its potency and allowed the juice to be stored for a very long time was discovered. Soon, The Peddlers began to roam the world selling the precious lemon concentrate under their guise of simple folk.