"Is this what has happened to my gift?"
Joel whirls to see, to his shock and horror, another satyr...this one strong, powerful, very male...and yet radiating power unseen. His horns curl once but his eyes are ancient...
"Mortal, I fear that one has corrupted my gift and my intervention is limited. The one named Cedius, I think, has deceived many of my worshipers and seeks to build an orgy of those who worship him...to give him power to, I fear, ascend to godhood."
"Muahh?" Joel tries to say.
"Joel, is it? Speak with your mind. I am Pan. I am a god of passion...and passion takes many forms, not only in carnal pleasures, but in knowledge. My gift is one of freedom, not damnation."
*Change me back!*
"I ask you think on this. I will gladly restore your voice and reason..."
*I don't want to be a goat or a satyr...change me back!*
"Calm yourself, human!" Pan commands. "I offer you the choice to become human, but with all things, there is a price. It is reasonable given what is happening. I will make you a satyr, as this will give you what you need and will protect you from Cedius. To gain the choice to become human, Cedius must be defeated. This is something that must be decided by human-borns...for the gods to intervene directly would cause...as you humans say...collateral damage."
Pan's words put images in Joel's mind of catastrophic disasters directed to contain this growing threat...Zeus throwing lightning storms, Poseidon with tidal waves...
"Once Cedius is defeated, you may become human again if you wish. I can give you now your mind, your will, and a harmony with your passion so that you may make your choices unfettered by lust. In addition, I will give you the sight to see who is untainted by Cedius."
*what should I do?* Joel thinks.
"I offer only suggestions, as the ingenuity of mortalkind is the best advantage we have. Even Zeus himself valued the actions of Perseus. One, is that you go back and meet with my follower, Shanna. She has a very...powerful gift, as are those she transforms by the ministrations of my children." Pan chuckles. "She and her followers also can hold a conversation in the midst of an orgy, so gifted is she. You and her will help save others from being wholly under Cedius' sway...but you must become a satyress to do so, and learn how to shed many human norms quickly. She has already kept many from becoming victims of Cedius, or even Circe, by guiding them to the glade.
"Another idea is that you become a male satyr and meet with more active fighters. There are groups of transformed, satyrs, centaurs, fae, and the like, who seek to return this island to one of pleasure, not of malice. You will be male...but your role will be...how you say...in the line of fire."
Pan looks serious, then gets a wry grin as his divine member comes out of its sheath. "You must, however, taste of my seed soon before the potency of Shanna's gift unbalances you...the incomplete transfer will turn you into a simple beast. If you have another plan to hear, let me hear it soon."