Children of Ares
"You're expecting me to follow your path, which I can't! You're breaking my heart, Ares! I love you! Our children love you! Stop!", she yelled. "There's no turning back, Agnes", said Ares. "Then, I'm sorry. I love you, but I'm so sorry", said Agnes. She took a few steps back and she was at the edge. One more step, she'll die hitting Kronos's lava. Ares knew what she was trying to do. "Agnes, stop", said Ares. "Forgive and forget. How hard can that be?", said Agnes. "Agnes, please…. Don't move", said Ares. "She's right, Ares", said Zeus, weakly. "I don't want to hear anything from you!", yelled Ares. "Goodbye, Ares. I love you", said Agnes, before she fell into the lava pit. "AGNES!", yelled Ares.
One morning, an old man was sitting by the water, fixing his fishing net. Then, a young boy – his grandson came by to sit next to him. "Can I help you grandfather?", asked the boy. "Oh no, my dear boy, it's alright. I'm quite finish here", said the old man. "Grandfather, I asked father and mother about the gods and they said they don't believe in them, but you do. Why is that?", asked the boy. "I was raised by my mother – your great grandmother to believe in them", said the old man. "Your father?", asked the boy again.
The old man sighed and said, "Have I told you about the gods?". The boy nodded and said, "Yes, but mother said it's just hogwash". "Have I missed any of the gods?", asked the old man. "I think we stopped at the god of war", said the boy. The old man laughed. "Ares, the god of war, how could I ever left him out? I hope he forgives me", said the old man. "Well, since mother and father are away, perhaps you have the time to tell me the story", said the boy.
"Ares was the god of war. He was driven by his blood lust to fight, but I think from where I stopped, I was telling the story of Agnes, yes?", said the old man. "She was the cousin to Queen Andromeda, who was born a bastard, but the gods took her side and she lived well till she died", said the boy. "Did I ever mention that Agnes was Ares's lover, the only one that can calm his blood lust?", said the old man. "Tell me the story, grandfather", said the boy, eagerly. So, the old man began his story.
"Long ago, men began losing faith to the gods and the gods began to lose their powers, but one woman stayed faithful. She was the sister to King of Argos, who ran away to be with her lover. She prayed to every god, thanking them every day for whatever blessing they gave her. One day, she gave birth to a daughter name Agnes. The child was blessed by the gods, especially Aphrodite who gave her the beauty that can match the goddess herself. Agnes was said to be the most beautiful maiden in Greece and even the gods favoured her as they did to her mother. Like her mother, Agnes was faithful to the gods and she prayed to them every day…"
"…Once, there was a plague that wiped half of Argos, including Agnes's parents. Her mother prayed Apollo to spare Agnes and so Apollo did. After the death of her parents, Agnes managed to survive with the help of the fishing skills her father taught, Poseidon, who helped her with her catching and Demeter, who helped her in her vegetable plants, but when Princess Andromeda, Agnes's cousin pleaded to her parents to take Agnes under their protection, they refused…"
"One day, as she walked home from the harbor, three drunkard men followed her and attempted to rape her. She prayed to any god to save her and came down Ares. He bashed the men with his hammer and sent them off running. When he turned to her, he saw her beauty face to face. Ares fell in love with her. He helped her home and left, but the next night he came back to be with her. He claimed her as his and she too, fell in love with him. Eventually, she gave birth to a boy named Theron, whose name means hunter was born at night, in the presence of the goddess Artemis and she vowed to watch over the boy…".
"…The boy grew up with his father watching him. Ares was becoming forgetful of his godly duty due to his joy of having a son who was worthy enough to be a god. Zeus, although he loved his grandson, made a decree that the gods and goddesses are no longer allowed to interfere with their offspring. At the council, Ares was furious. He had been angry with Zeus, who favours his mortal son Perseus than Ares. He watched Theron and Agnes from above and he longed for her love and warmth of her heart. Out of frustration, he rebelled and went down to be with them anyway. Then, Agnes gave birth to a daughter, whom Ares named Chrysantos, meaning the golden flower…".
"…The goddesses Aphrodite and Athena argued to be the godmothers until the goddess Hera resolved their problem by appointing both of them to be Chrysantos's godmothers. Ares vowed to never abandon them, but when Zeus was at wits end with his son, he dragged Ares back to Mount Olympus and banned him from leaving. Ares went mad because he could no longer see Agnes, Theron and Chrysantos. At that time, Agnes was with child and she had a difficult labor. She gave birth to her second son, Aries after his father, but Agnes had lost the will to leave, now that Ares was no longer by her side. She was too weak to feed Aries. The child cried for three days and grew weaker. No woman would want to nurse him. Theron was worried. He prayed to the gods to save his family. He couldn't leave to fish because no one would want to look after his younger siblings and his sick mother. The goddess Hera took pity of her grandchildren. She went down and feed Aries, which satisfy his hunger for a week. Agnes, too weak to do anything and knew she would die soon; she used the last of her energy to pray to the gods to spare her children. She bid them farewell before Hades herself came to gather her soul and welcome her to the underworld…"
"…The people of Argos didn't want them there, so they banished them, despite of Princess Andromeda's protests. The princess helped Agnes a few times with the children and she loved them just as much as Agnes and Ares loved them. As the children of Ares, they were strong. They roamed the land of Greece under the watchful eyes of the gods, but they were humans. They grew weak and nearly died. After the 12 Olympians pleaded Zeus to spare the children from death, Zeus himself broke his own rule and went to see Perseus. The demigod set out to find his nephews and niece, leaving his wife to care for his new born son, Helius. When he found them, he brought them back; he and his wife, Io nursed them back to health and raised them with Helius. As for Ares, Aphrodite told him what had happened to Agnes and the children. Ares went on a rampage. He shut himself for days, mourning for his Agnes…". The old man stopped to catch his breath.
The boy thought for a minute before asking, "Aries? Isn't that your name?". "Yes, that is my name", said the old man – Aries. "Then, you're a demigod too? Like Perseus?", said the boy eagerly. "Yes I am. My father was Ares and this is what happens next", said Aries as he continued his story.