(I've thought of more or less 10 new ideas other than the new chapter for Percy Grows Up so, yeah. It's been pretty hard trying to choose which document to write, and I still need to live my life. Nonetheless I'm BACK! Onwards.)
2,640,578 B.C.E.
The planet was just entering its prime under her rule. The vegetation and wildlife were flourishing under her care, the reptiles soaking up the sun in the cool air and the birds cheerfully chirping a song to attract mates. Yet, all was quiet. She walked softly across the Earth, her dainty steps made absolutely no sound. They couldn't with what she was planning. The moon was giving her an ethereal look, one of unmatched beauty. It was all the work of her granddaughter, Selene. Yet her face was marred by a scowl. She had to get to where she was going before Eos took her sister's job, introducing dawn to the Earth to give the Titaness some respite, and giving some time for her goofball of a brother to wake up and drive the sun. It was no secret that Helios was quite the slacker.
She reached the mountain, Othrys, which if everything went to plan would soon be the most important place on this planet. The woman headed for a secluded spot under a tree, where he'd never see her. She raised her hands, parallel to the Earth, and willed it to crack open, without a sound. The crust parted to form steps, of which she elegantly glided down to her destination. The earth closed up around her, showing no signs of anything suspicious, not a single blade of grass looked disturbed.
As she descended slowly and in solitude, she had a lot of time to ponder on the events unfolding before her very eyes. Her son and husband was without doubt a massive jerk. He hated his children with an impossible passion, as if his own brothers were the bane of his existence. He cast her middle children, the Elder Cyclopes into into the pit of his uncle and brother-in-law, and stuffed her youngest children the Hekhatorines back into her womb. They were powerful having 100 hands and 50 faces. Therefore her husband's arguments about why he stuffed them into her womb before throwing them into the pit with their elder siblings were void and invalid.
He discarded them like trash because they were ugly, or as he so eloquently put it, 'These hideous beasts are disgraces to both you and I.' They could change their faces for the sake of Chaos and the Protogenoi! If they wanted to they could change the way they looked to look handsome. The mother mourned for her son Briares, the most powerful of the 3 brothers. Cottus and Gyges were the primeval gods of violent weather, while Briares was the god of violent sea storms along with the powers he shared with his brothers. She knew his already low confidence would drop even lower, her poor child.
She could never understand the actions or thoughts of her husband, but she had a pretty good idea why he did what he did. He was jealous. Jealous of the fact that the Elder Cyclopes were masters of lightning/thunder storms and the fact that they were master craftsmen. Envious of the fact that the Hekhatorines were tall enough to reach the skies and were incredibly powerful, not mention he feared them. He thought that they could overthrow him. He didn't like the fact that they had power over his domain, the atmosphere. Yes, her husband was the Lord of the Heavens, Oranous and she was Gaea, Mother Earth.
As she neared the end of her journey down the seemingly never-ending stairs she was left to think about how truly stupid and oblivious her husband was. He jailed the Hekhatorines and the Elder Cyclopes out of fear, but left the Titans, his eldest and most powerful children to roam free. He didn't think his favorites would ever dare uproot his throne and destroy his legacy. She smirked 'Oh how wrong you are husband, how wrong you are.'
She finished her descent to be rewarded with the sight of a tunnel. She waved her hand and the torches on the wall lit up. Gaea looked at the stopwatch Chronos, protogenoi of time gave her as a wedding gift. She walked through the maze with a little more urgency as she realized that she was late. After some time she arrived at the chamber filled with 6 other occupants.
"Mother where have you been?," the youngest of the thirteen titans, Kronos asked.
"I just got a little held up," and they left it at that.
"I assume you have no idea why you're here, or where your sisters are?"
The 6 nodded simultaneously.
"I need to tell you 6 a story," at this the less interested titans perked up and stared at their mother expectantly. Sure they were adults, but entertainment wasn't exactly vast these days. They took what they could get.
"It's about your father," they looked even more interested as they didn't know much about their father. They knew he resided in the sky and didn't like descending to the Earth, where he had no power over things.
"I don't think I've told any of you that you have 6 other brothers," she took a deep breath while they looked confused. If they had brothers, why hadn't they heard of them. What did this have to do with Lord Oranous? Oceanus voiced all their thoughts. "Why does have to do with father?"
"I'm getting there my child, be patient. You and your sisters' have 6 other siblings, born in two groups. You're the eldest, while my middle children are the Cyclopes, and the youngest group of brothers are the Hekhatorines."
This time it was Hyperion who voiced their thoughts, "What happened to them?"
Gaea's eyes fluttered shut, as if reliving a painful memory before opening again. "They're gone," she said simply.
"How?," the ever thoughtful Koios asked.
"Your father," she said simply, and their eyes widened, thinking he'd somehow made them fade. It'd explain their mother's almost grimace earlier. As if sensing their thoughts, Gaea told them, "No he didn't destroy their essence," they relaxed at that, and stiffened at what she said next, "No, it was much worse."
She took another deep breath, "He," she faltered before catching herself, "He threw the cyclopes into the pit of my brother," she sounded almost dreamy at the mention of Tartarus, but she stopped herself before they'd notice.
"As for the Hekhatorines he stuffed them back up my womb," if her 7 daughters were here, she had no doubt that they'd gasp. They were still squeamish, even after all this time.
"When I, um, gave birth to them a second time," here their faces scrunched up, "He threw them into that wretched prison in the Abyss, to join their brothers." Again her part of her subconscious told her that Tartarus would be a much better husband than Oranous. 'Shut up' she said in her mind, before she realized she'd said it out loud and the six looked at her strangely. She stuttered, almost blushing, and continued the story, "They have 50 different faces, and his excuse to throw them into the pit was that they were ugly!" Six surprised faces stared at their usually peaceful mother, shocked by her outburst, but what she said next had their jaws dropping and hearts stopping, at least 5 of them.
"Your father has been very cruel to his own children, brothers, brethren. He needs to go." Kronos, the boldest of the six and the only one to not be surprised by what she said asked, "What do you mean, mother?"
In response she held out her hand, and a brandished scythe made of flint stone rose out of the ground. The titans gaped at the beautiful creation, 6 feet tall. They could tell by it's aura that it would be powerful enough to cause even a second generation Protogenoi to fade, or at least get rid of him for a long time. The fact that frightened them was that was exactly what their father was. The truth hit them like a freight train. Their mother, their sweet mother was willing to kill her husband.
"There's a reason your sisters aren't here you know," she smiled wickedly, "I need a volunteer, and they wouldn't be able to do it."
5 moved back to show they weren't interested in the matter, or at least the actual killing of their father. 10 eyes stared at the only one moving forward. Kronos gripped the scythe and stared in his mother's earthly green eyes. "I accept," were the words he uttered.
"Perfect," she whispered, as her children saw her in a new light. A loving mother, yet protective of her children to an almost dangerously evil point.
She took him to a secluded spot on the other side of the room and spoke to him. When they came back, she said Kronos would explain to them their conversation on his own accord.
"I'd like to present you, the future king of the universe," Hyperion looked instantly jealous. Iapetus knew that look, the titan wished he had taken hold of the scythe. He was almost as power-hungry and ambitious as Kronos.
"I'm going to need at least four of you to help me in aiding the downfall of our father."
Hyperion was the first to accept.
"Ok, you'll take his left arm, in the East."
Kois and Krios stepped up together.
"Koios, you'll take father's right arm in the North. Krios will take Oranous' left leg."
Neither Iapetus nor Oceanus stepped forward.
"I refuse to participate, I'm happy with my domain in the ocean, unlike you Titan of time," Oceanus mocked, and you could tell that Kronos was absolutely livid.
"I'll deal with you later," he practically growled out. He then turned to Iapetus expectantly. Said titan weighed out his options. 'I don't want to participate in this treachery. Yet I do not want to fall out with my family.'
"Alright."
Kronos smiled a maniacal grin, "Great! You can take father's right leg, in the West. Everything goes down in 3 days, enough to sort things out. Everyone filed out, leaving only Oceanus and Iapetus left.
"You didn't have to join them. I have my own sanctuary in the ocean, as do you, in the Underworld."
Oceanus left and Iapetus was left to ponder his words. True, he hadn't wanted to join them. Although he was the titan of violent death, it didn't mean he liked it. Although, he couldn't help but think of being the titan of the west as accurate. It was where Helios and Selene went through the delicate process of switching places in the sky, or as he liked to call it, the sunset. It was quite the play on words, the sun, or Helios, setting and being replaced by his sister. Koios would be proud.
At the reminder of his brother, he couldn't help but think about the whole ordeal. He hadn't wished to be involved in the killing of his old man, no matter how vile he was. He decided he'd enjoy his last 3 days of freedom with no oppression from the outside, or the inside. He knew if given the amount of power he'd get as one of the rulers of the world, he'd become cruel. He'd forget himself. Little did he know that he'd be able to return to his old self.
Because he was ruler of mortality, yet he should be the titan of morality.
