There was no end or beginning, only Chaos.
But, from that Chaos, came the Fates: Clotho the Fate of Birth, Lachesis the Fate of Life, and Atropos the Fate of Death.
They were there when their siblings were created (when the earth and the sky and the sea became the world).
They were there when the Elder Cyclops, the Hekatonkheire, and the Titans were born (creatures so strange, so unusual, so terrifying when they were brought forth into existence).
They were there when Kronos chopped his father, Ouranos, into pieces and became the Lord of the Heavens (a curse was uttered when the blood of the sky was spilt).
They were there when the Gods were born (and so the wheels of the prophecy were set into motion).
They were there when Zeus choppedhis father, Kronos, into pieces and became the next Lord of the Heavens (a child has overthrown their father once more).
They were there when the Giants were born (a mother's love was fierce in its rage).
They were there when the Gods defeated the Giants (into the most silent of nights did the earth return to its slumber).
And they would continue to be present until the end of all life itself (they will be there when the very stars burn out and everything returns to their creator).
The Fates were ancient beings with powers beyond comprehension, the oldest living creatures since the existence of the Universe. But just because they were some of the most fearsome things in the world didn't mean that they didn't make mistakes. Unfortunately, for most of the living souls in the world, their mistakes often had very large and very horrifying consequences.
It all began when Clotho, the eldest of the three Fates, decided to celebrate the finished manuscript of the newest Great Prophecy with a bottle of champagne.
"Lachesis! Atropos! Look what I have here!" Her two sisters stopped their weaving to stare at the grinning Clotho, her hands holding a bottle of champagne with an unusual glow around it.
"Clotho, for the last time, stop stealing Lord Hades' champagne stash of Ichor Gold. This is the sixth millionth four hundredth seventy-three thousandth six hundredth thirty-seventh time that you have stolen it." Atropos growled at her, her wrinkly hands snipping a particular string of yarn next to her in a harsh manner.
Lachesis nodded in agreement, her silvery-white hair waving back and forth. "You're giving us a bad name, sister dear. Not to mention, it's never good for you to get drunk when we're working with Fate."
"Yes. Yes. But today's a special occasion! We finally finished the manuscript for the newest Great Prophecy. All the players were chosen, the options are now open, and the endings will be seen. So, I say, let us celebrate! After all, we deserve a break, don't we?" Clotho smiled, her crooked and yellow teeth covering up most of her face.
Lachesis bit her lip in thought. The idea of getting a break from the constant back-and-forth weaving sounded appealing, especially since she would get a nice glass of Ichor Gold. But it seemed like the irresponsible thing to do. After all, she and her sister were lightweights. Still . . .
Atropos snorted before grabbing the Ichor Gold from Clotho's hand and popping it open. Both Clotho and Lachesis looked on in shock as Atropos guzzled down one-third of the bottle. She wiped some of the spilt champagne from her wrinkled face and glared at her gaping sisters. "If anything bad happens, I'm blaming it on Clotho."
Lachesis sighed, it seemed that the choice was already made for them.
Clotho grinned. "Hahaha! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's party!"
And so, the three Fates all took a gulp from the bottle of Ichor Gold. And, subsequently, became drunk. In fact, they were so intoxicated that they accidently snipped the string of Adolf Hitler a little too early, making it so that he would die by his own hands. But this is what you get when you have a group of powerful entities that couldn't hold their alcohol.
Their intoxicated state lasted for quite some time, creating much chaos. However, the greatest blunder in the universe only occurred when Lachesis, in some kind of drunk madness, threw the finished manuscript of the newest Great Prophecy into a portal that led to the Oracle of Delphi.
It was the most idiotic thing that the Fates have ever done.
The thing is, Great Prophecies are very powerful. Very, very powerful. Unlike the Fates, who have to set up the pathways and courses to get a specific outcome, Great Prophecies will always happen. There was a certainty to them, they couldn't be denied or changed. They were a set point. No matter what happens, Great Prophecies will come true.
Great Prophecies are also, to a mild degree, self-conscious. Great Prophecies want only one thing: to come true. That is their purpose. Because of this, Great Prophecies didn't care what happens, they didn't have any preferences or anything, they just wanted to become fulfilled as fast as possible. That was how they were made.
Now the Fates also want the Great Prophecy to be fulfilled. However, they wanted it to be fulfilled in a way that would benefit them. They planned for Perseus 'Percy' Jackson to be the 'Chosen One'. They planned for the Great Prophecy to be revealed close to his birth. They did this all so the Second Great Prophecy would follow up on the First Great Prophecy which would lead to a new era of peace among the Gods. But that would only happen if Percy Jackson was the Chosen One of the First Great Prophecy.
However, the Great Prophecy was already sent to the Oracle of Delphi, which meant that it would be revealed during WWII. And Great Prophecies didn't care for the plans of the Fates. All they wanted was completion. That meant that one of the demigods during WWII would be chosen to complete the Great Prophecy as fast as possible. And if one of those demigods were chosen, it was possible that Olympus would sooner raze to the ground then be preserved.
This was the situation that the Fates had made for themselves. A horrible situation, really. Olympus was soon to be razed to the ground, all their plans have gone off the rails, and they were probably going to wake up tomorrow with a hangover. Ah, the decisions people make when drunk.
"We're doomed! Doomed, I say!" Atropos waved her hands in the air, pacing back-and-forth in front of the guilty looking Clotho. "All this hard work, all this careful planning, out of the window! Dear Creator, how in the world are we going to salvage this?!"
Clotho shifted guiltily. She would have said something, but being scolded within an inch of her life by her younger sister made her hesitate.
"Not all is lost." Lachesis tried to sooth Atropos's anger. "The Oracle of Delphi hasn't had the opportunity to reveal the prophecy, still searching for a dramatic time to drop the bomb. We can still hold back the Great Prophecy from being spoken for a couple of years."
"And what of the Chosen One?! Sure, we can hold back the prophecy but the Great Prophecy will still choose it's own Chosen One, one that would perhaps be the downfall of Olympus!" Atropos yelled. She shook off her sister's hand and began pacing more furiously, trying to dig a grave into the ground with only her feet.
"What about Nico di Angelo?"
Atropos stopped what she was doing to face Clotho. Clotho, who was the target of her youngest sister's stare of rage, began to examine her cracked fingernails in fake fascination.
". . . Nico di Angelo?" Lachesis asked in consideration. Seeing that it was Lachesis who asked instead of her more frightening younger sister, Clotho nodded her head vigorously.
"The Great Prophecy has already been sent out. Which means that Percy Jackson will not be the Chosen One. We cannot change that. However, we can somewhat salvage our plans.
Niccolo 'Nico' di Angelo is the son of our Lord. He was one of the people who helped Percy Jackson on his way to becoming the Chosen One in the Great Prophecy. Not to mention, he was born during WWII. He only came to Percy Jackson's aid due to being stuck in the Lotus Eater's Hotel, allowing him to not age when he came back out during Percy Jackson's time." Clotho explained.
Atropos hummed in thought. "Are you suggesting that we should use Nico to help set the world on track?"
Lachesis frowned. "Nico is the only viable option to help us. The only other candidate is his sister, Bianca di Angelo, but she is not suitable to take such a burden. Not to mention, Nico is on the side of the Gods. I can easily see Bianca taking the side of the Titans if manipulated. In the end, only Nico is the perfect choice. He will become the new Chosen One of the Great Prophecy."
Atropos sighed, her face twisted into a scowl. "Fine. It is decided then. Nico di Angelo shall become the Chosen One of the Great Prophecy. He shall help us set the world on course. If only to salvage our plans."
"We should bless him, sisters, if we are to go through with using him to clean up this mess." Clotho suggested. Her two sisters glanced at her before nodding their heads in agreement. Together, the three sisters circled around a glowing bronze string, one that symbolized the status of a demigod, and began to lay their blessings on unborn child.
"I, Clotho, the Fate of Birth, shall bless him to be bornfirst. He shall become the heir of our Lord."
"I, Lachesis, the Fate of Life, shall bless him to be our Champion. He shall always be able to see the tidings of Fate."
"I, Atropos, the Fate of Death, shall bless him with the knowledge of what should have come. He shall know the end of all things."
(The thing about Fate, that only the most wisest of creatures will ever know, is that it isn't so much about predestined course of action as it is about choice. Fate would give a choice, a choice is made, and a consequence will follow.
Choices can be changed. Consequences, however, cannot. Not even the Fates could do so without incurring the wrath of their Creator.
Which is why poor, little Nico will now be tasked with the errand of fixing the entire mess left behind. Pray for his soul.)