PROLOGUE
Standing in the centre of a circle made up of the ruling Gods within their magnificent golden palace on Mt. Olympus, the Oracle of Delphi, foretold the end of the ruling pantheon. "Your children are not content in their place; they have become bloated with greed, envy and a hungry quest for power. You all will be destroyed by the hands of the katikōs of your blood, but I fear they will not stop with your deaths. Fearing their dakōlă brothers and sisters, they will seek to destroy them too, so that ultimate power will be theirs without fear of reprisal."
"Is there a way to prevent these events from occurring, Oracle?" Zeus asked in his usual thunderous voice.
Undeterred by the power reflected in the voice of the King of the Gods, the Oracle replied. "The time of the Ruling Gods is near its end my King, there is nothing left to do but safeguard your dakōlăs."
"Safeguard the dakōlăs, why Oracle?"
"Just as I have seen the end of your reign, so have I seen the devastation your katikōs will beget." Pausing for a moment she continued. "Your dakōlăs will play an important role, in the decimation of your katikōs, especially your sons Poseidon."
"I only have the triplet Kings of Atlantis, Oracle, and they are not as powerful as Pyros and the others. How will any of our dakōlăs hope to defeat full gods; they are strong and resilient but they are still half mortal they will age, or are you saying that the battle they must fight looms close?"
"The battle will be waged in a very distant future, but your dakōlăs will not fight alone Poseidon. They will be aided by your nieces and nephews as well as three special women. Triton, Alexion and Lykos will endure until their mates come to them; three women with the mark of Poseidon; in them an inherent power will reborn into this world awakened fully only by their mates." Forestalling Athena with the raise of a hand, the Oracle answered the unspoken question. "I don't have the answers as to how your dakōlăs will live so far into the future but it was not from consuming ambrosia. In my visions they remained dakōlăs."
Fear not for his eminent death but for the sons of his heart consumed Poseidon; just as he was sure it consumed his brothers and sisters. They had many children, loved all, but the dakōlăs were special very to them, rarely had they become as vindictive and greedy as their children with power and immortality.
"The coming of the women will herald a new era for the world, Poseidon," the Oracle stated, even as she looked around at the Gods for what she knew would be the last time. "An era even greater than this one, will the world experience and rejoice in. Atlantis will rise again and the world will know greatness."
"Thank you, seer," Zeus said as he and the rest of the Gods bowed in respect to the Oracle of Delphi. "I assume this will be the last time we will hold council with you, so I bid you well and thank you for serving us all these years."
"It has not always been a pleasure your grace, but I will miss you all. I will do what I can to assist your dakōlăs, this I pledge." Turning the Oracle took her leave of the Gods.
"How do we protect them? Even if we protected them with our power, they will age!" Apollo exclaimed.
"They are a stubborn bunch of children to be sure," Athena said laughingly, "they will not take kindly to being coddled."
"I know, but I will not have any of them murdered or this world we created destroyed. They will be protected and we will warn them of impending disaster." Zeus stated. "Poseidon, will your sons object if we bought the rest of our children to Atlantis?"
"No they will not, and even if they did I would not tolerate that."
"Ok, go gather your children and bring them to Atlantis with all haste. We will use our collective power to protect the Tri- Isles, the aging problem I will have to ponder on. Go now!"
Forewarned, Poseidon sent a summons ahead of him to his sons even as he phased to the Tri-Isles of Atlantis.
ATLANTIS
"What do you mean, father? You as well as the other Gods have more power combined than your katikōs!" Lykos said as he paced the marble floor of his brother, Triton's palace. "I don't believe you all are actually taking the Oracle seriously."
"We are more powerful than they are but whatever they are planning is obviously more than we will be able to survive. Even gods have weaknesses my son." Poseidon sat on the throne in the middle of the room watching as his three sons paced the floor. He knew with a certainty that they would object strenuously to what would occur throughout the next few hours. "Your cousins will be arriving shortly."
"Why?" Alexion asked, always the calm one in the eye of a storm.
"We were warned to safeguard all our dakōlăs. Zeus decided that here was the best place to do so," he answered without giving much more explanation.
"Father, what did the Oracle say exactly? I am sure all dakōlăs would be better protected if we were separated and furthermore, why exactly do we need protecting? It is not to say we have full power like the katikōs, they could hardly think we would be a threat to them!"Triton exclaimed from across the room.
When he didn't answer, his three sons turned as one, looking towards him as he pondered on how much to tell them, if anything at all. Slowly, taking his time, Poseidon rose and walked to the window to the left of the throne. With his back to them he began to tell them of the visions the Oracle had had. "The deaths of the Ruling Gods have been foretold as well as the rule and destruction of our katikōs. The Oracle also saw a future with a world of peace, prosperity and love; an era she said that will be greater than even this one."
"Al... All the Ruling Gods!" The kings exclaimed simultaneously. With gaping mouths, they waited for their father to say differently, but when he didn't, Lykos exploded in anger. "Are you sure that woman is not insane, it is impossible to kill you all!"
"The Oracle of Delphi has never been wrong, therefore I don't believe she is now or that she has gone insane," he said quietly. "Our deaths are coming but a greater future awaits all of you dakōlăs. The three of you along with your cousins and your mates will restore this world and overthrow the ruling gods in the future."
Just as Triton opened his mouth to speak, there was a loud peal of thunder and Zeus and Hera appeared.
"All dakōlăs have been brought to the ballroom Poseidon; I believe it is time for explanations." Zeus holding his wife's hand walked to the doors leading from the throne room, expecting everyone in the room to follow him.
"I would say that is an understatement," commented Lykos as he stopped pacing and followed his aunt and uncle from the room, leaving his father and brothers to follow.
As they entered the ballroom, all conversation ceased, as one the Gods moved to the front ballroom and their dakōlăs faced them, some adults other still children, though on all their faces there was one expression, curiosity.
Without preamble, Zeus began to explain the reasons they had been brought to Atlantis. He told them about the Oracle's visions and their roles in it as well as the deaths of the Ruling Gods. Loud gasps echoed through the ballroom as the dakōlăs voiced their disbelief and shock.
"That is nigh impossible, uncle," Kaos, a son of Aphrodite said.
"It is not impossible Kaos. Though we don't speak of it even us Gods have weaknesses," Aphrodite told her son as well as the others.
"You all are to stay here until the Kings' mates come to them and it is time to fight, understood?" Zeus said commandingly, his thunderous voice echoing within the confines of the room. "Leave us now; we will call you to us when we have completed the safeguards."
When only the Gods remained, they gathered in a circle to begin constructing the safeguards for the Tri-Isles.
"Our power is enough to protect the island but I fear the only way to keep them from aging is if we put them to sleep," Zeus said as he called forth his power.
"Then that is what will be done," Athena replied, already glowing with power.
Calling forth the power of the Sun, Moon, Earth, Sea and lightning, Zeus, Poseidon, Rhea, Artemis and Apollo meshed their power together to build a bubble- like structure, in which the tri-isles were enclosed. They weaved the power of the other seven gods within it so that it became impenetrable to all their katikōs.
"It is done. None but the women will be able to pass through these safeguards safely. Neither the mortals nor the katikōs will be able to travel to and fro." They stared at each other as the first part of their task was completed; there were sighs of relief from the women as some of the tension left the room. For the first time since the Oracle had come to them, they were sure their dakōlăs were marginally safe.
"Zeus, how are we going to put the inhabitants of Atlantis to sleep? Not even one of us is capable of such a feat." Hades said, as he took a seat at the long table situated on the raised platform at the front of the ballroom.
Murmurs of acquiescence echoed around the room, they waited for an answer. "The combination of your power, Hades and that of Hypnos and Alester will send the dakōlăs to sleep until, the women arrive to wake them and raise Atlantis."
"They will never agree to this plan, Zeus." All nodded in agreement with Alester's statement, even as they all knew it was the only way to protect all the dakōlăs.
"It does not matter whether they agree or not. I have made my decision; we will put our children to sleep leaving only the mortal inhabitants of Atlantis awake to care for them from generation to generation. When they are asleep, we will use our power to sink Atlantis." Sensing they had little time remaining, Zeus ordered those in the room back to Olympus.
Phasing to solid form, the three gods Hades, Alester and Hypnos bought their innate powers together while concentrating on the dakōlăs on Atlantis. As one they entwined the power and pushed it to Atlantis, where it settled on the dakōlăs there. They all, dropped into a deep sleep as they sank to the ground. Zeus swept his hand in an arch and in an instant the dakōlăs were placed within the walls of the three castles.
Athena, recorded the events in several scrolls and sent them into the libraries of Alexandria, Atlantis and one set to the Oracle of Delphi. With the last of their power they swept Atlantis into the murky depths of the ocean. "Sleep deeply my dakōlăs; I hope you'll forgive us for what we have done when you awaken." Turning from the sight of the sinking Atlantis, Poseidon looked around at his brothers and sisters. Even he could feel the storm about to be unleashed. "It has been a great ten thousand years, but it ends tonight," he said with a scoff, "Imagine we are about to be overthrown by our children just as we took power from our parents."
"The irony of it is not lost on me, brother" Zeus said laughingly, even as they each took a seat in the circle of chairs in the room. It was the last the world heard of the Ruling pantheon of Olympus, in the blink of an eye they were obliterated, becoming naught but a memory to the world of man.
In the wake of their destruction, Leidon stood in the golden hall, surrounded by his brothers and cousins. A roar of victory sounded, as he declared in a booming and boasting voice, "The time of the Olympians is done. Now begins the time of the Katikos. Spread the word; Leidon, son of Athena and Hypnos is the King of the Gods, any who oppose us, will die."