Chapter
XI
Kratos' trek back to his hall was not quite as pleasant as his previous one. Artemis claims that Hades has a grand arena somewhere in the Underworld, where creatures yearned for combat. The idea was intriguing, but at the same time somewhat distasteful. Kratos had become a god! His days of conquest and combat were all-but behind him. There was undoubtedly a myriad of other ways he could entertain himself for the next millennium. But the old itch for battle still lay beneath his skin, down to his bones. He had been ready to slay those two hunting dogs, and he had almost leapt at the chance to hunt down a stag for Artemis. When compared with those feelings, life as a god had thus far been quite dull.
However, none of this could change the true issue: Hades. Kratos had slighted the god of the Underworld more than once in his past battles, not to mention climbing up the bone labyrinth to escape Styx when Ares had killed him. And even worse yet, those years ago when he had been forced to kill Persephone, Hades's wife, for destroying the World Pillar and nearly dropping all of existence down into Tartarus.
But he had been in the service of the gods, and it was they who had commanded her death. There was little that he could have done. And while she may 0once have been a fair maiden of the gods, she had become far too corrupted to live. And it had been Hades' influence that had done her in as well. Though somehow, Kratos did not believe Hades would respond to reason in that way.
These trifling thoughts carried Kratos quickly back to his chambers. Thankfully, his visage of Artemis's chambers had inspired him enough to devote his thoughts to other things. He remolded his throne to be deeper and taller to fit him more comfortably. He changed the arm rests to look like the heads and manes of Spartan war horses, matching the torches Athena had lined his hall with. Like the other halls, he had chosen to make his ceiling match the sky. His nights thus far had been slept out of exhaustion. His years at war and traveling the world had made him accustomed and attuned to the natural night; all of its sights and sounds. But the bed Athena had created for him had suited him well, so he merely changed the shape and color from rounded and blue to deep scarlet and square. Opening a wall behind his throne, he created a short hallway hidden by curtains and a separate room for his bed. It was time he began expanding.
Athena moved swiftly but gracefully down the hallway, stifling a yawn and instead savoring the fresh morning air. She carried a wide breakfast tray with a domed lid, both of the finest silver. She beckoned with her mind as she approached, and Kratos's doors opened. As the torches lit by her passing, she noticed several banners of red, gold, brown, and black lining the hall now. The archway leading to the bathing room had become much more detailed with clouds and spears, and had been pushed back toward the back of the room where the throne sat. The throne itself had also become more ornate, with war horses forming the arm rests. The statues of the minotaur and Aries had also disappeared. Apparently, he had done quite a lot of work the previous night. He might have been up for hours.
However Kratos, and the bed she had made for him, were nowhere to be found. She studied the walls for a moment, finally seeing a slight breeze blowing from behind the banner to the left of the chair. Stepping toward it, she found a hallway behind the banner. Stepping through, carrying the tray in one hand, she found the hallway led to a small bedroom. There was no ambient light in the room, save for a fireplace that occupied the far left corner. The fire-glow threw shadows across the room giving it a dark, but homely feel. To her right, she saw a grand square bed covered in what seemed to be animal furs. Kratos lay comfortably on his back, his sandals on the floor at the side of the bed.
She sat at the base of his bed, laying the tray down beside her. For the first time since he had been on Olympus, Kratos seemed to be resting peacefully. He seemed so tranquil; she almost didn't want to wake him. Rather, she could sit there for hours and just watch him sleep. But there were things to do on this day. She reached a hand out and shook his shoulder. "Wake up Kratos."
He stirred blearily for a moment, and blinked himself awake. He sat up, surprised to see her. "Athena! I… was not expecting you here." She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "I see that. You must have been quite busy yesterday changing your room around." He blinked the remainder of the sleep from his eyes. "Yes, I decided it was time to fit my chambers." There was a moment of silence, wherein she merely stared at him, and he at her. But his eyes fell to the silver serving tray. "What can I do for you this morning?" he finally asked.
She blinked herself, and suddenly remembered why she had come so early in the morning. "Oh yes. Father requests to speak with you this morning, and I thought I'd bring you some breakfast." She lifted the dome off of the tray. "Cooked eggs, ham, bread, and cooked potatoes." She could see that the smell had affected him, and with her renewed exposure, it had begun to affect her too. Thankfully she had eaten earlier. She laid the plate across his lap and waited as he began eating.
From the way he consumed his food, he must have been starving. Every muscle in his torso flexed as he seemed to shovel every bit down his throat. Or perhaps she had become overly perceptive of him… Regardless, there was little time to waste. She waited at his throne, admiring his work, while he dressed. His talents with the room were becoming quite proficient; perfect timing for the talk with Zeus. Within moments he was ready, and she led him down the halls to the elevator, bringing them upward this time.
As hey climbed, Kratos spoke. "Tell me, do you know anything of Hades?" The strange question caught her off-guard, and the mention of Lord Hades automatically put a crease of concern in her brow. He was not the most tasteful of gods. "Lord Hades has not come to Olympus in quite some time. His duties in the underworld keep him occupied, and he is…" She tried to think of something tasteful to say. Even though he was disliked by most of the pantheon, he was still her uncle. "He is very private." Kratos placed his elbow on his fist, and stroked his beard in thought. Why was he so curious? She remembered what had happened years ago, when he had been forced to kill Persephone. It was terrible business, but it had to be done. Perhaps he wanted to make amends? Curious.
Soon enough they reached the top of the elevator, breathing in the high, open air. It was fresh and pure. A chill covered her from the height of the mountain, but there was a comforting sensitivity in the air that existed whenever Zeus was nearby; the strange way you could feel someone when they were very very close, covered the area everywhere around her father. It was a fitting sense of omnipresence.
She led him through a set of ceiling-less hallways. They were carved directly out of the mountain, and covered in sigils. It was the beginning of her mother's garden, and fresh grape vines hung down over the tops of the walls. "Mother has taken quite a liking to these vines that Dionysus has crafted. She asked him to plant them across her a garden, and in return he would have a set place in the castle." Kratos grunted ponderously.
As they emerged from the labyrinthine garden, Athena saw her father speaking to Hermes in the middle of an open space overlooking the garden and off into the sky. "Tell him I'll not hear of it! Not on my mountain." Zeus's tone was clearly aggravated, and Athena was reluctant to approach him. Kratos had at last broken from this thoughts and realized what was happening. Athena watched Hermes's eyes dart over to them for half a moment, and Zeus turned his own gaze in their direction. The sight of his daughter softened his features immediately. He cleared his throat, finishing his message to Hermes. "And tell him I'd like to speak with him privately tonight." Hermes bowed to one knee, speaking "aye, my lord" before vanishing in a flash.
Zeus turned to face them at last. "Ah, daughter. I see you've brought the newest member of our pantheon." He smiled brightly, embracing Athena, before turning and trading grips with Kratos. "And how is Olympus treating you, my boy?" Kratos shrugged. "I've been finding my way here and there. I'm beginning to... enjoy it." A small smirk graced Kratos's lips, and Athena's heart skipped a beat. At last! Kratos was finally beginning to find a niche for himself here. Athena almost wanted to hug him, but fought the urge. Now was not the time.
"Excellent" Zeus began. "Now that you're making a home for yourself here, it is time you put some thought to the entitlements, accoutrements, and responsibilities of being a god." Athena's eyes brightened as she looked to Kratos, who seemed interested. "Now, the first thing is to establish a prayer well. All gods receive prayer from those who worship us, be they songs of praise or beggings for favor. Prayer wells allow you to see your worshipers directly from right here on Olympus, and will automatically attune to their words. It's something rather fantastic that Poseidon and I came up with. Haha." Zeus grinned to no one in particular, seeming to look back into the more glorious days of the past.
He blinked and returned his attention to Athena and Kratos. "Next, you should establish an area of dominion; a general gathering of cities over which you rule. Dominions are attained by convincing the mortals below to worship you. More followers means more power and the God of War, I'm sure you'll be happy with Sparta and several of its ownerships." Kratos's eyes brightened slightly at the mention of Sparta. He was either thrilled, or having second thoughts. Athena considered both possibilities. " Feel free to expand your interests" Zeus continued, "but be wary. I'll not have gods fighting one another for territory. Influencing and changing the tide of battle is one thing, my son, but I do not abide direct combat with other gods on my mountain."
Her father's face grew stern momentarily, but quickly reverted. Ares treachery still stained the minds and hearts of many a god. "Beyond that are the smaller things" Zeus continued. "For instance, agalma; the patron animal. These shall be your chosen vessels, or vassals, on the world below." Zeus leaned in to Kratos, as if sharing a secret. "It doesn't do well to show your true form amongst ordinary mortals. It does more harm than good, more often than not." Zeus chuckled, and Kratos joined him. Zeus's tales of merriment were well known, even in the mortal world.
But all-too-quickly, Hermes returned to the other end of the platform, clearing his throat. And she had so been enjoying Kratos and her father sharing time together. Her eyes lost a bit of light as Zeus straightened up. "My apologies, but I am very busy today. I'm sure Athena will be more than happy to discuss possibilities with you." He turned and kissed Athena's hand. "Daughter" he said cordially before turning and shaking Kratos's hand once more. "God of War. I shall see you both again in due time. Good day." With that, Zeus strode over to Hermes.
Athena turned back toward the garden, turning to make sure Kratos was following. He was indeed, staring into the sky above, bright with possibilities.
Author's Note: Hello, folks. Sorry about the change in format, but my writing style is evolving on me. I hope you like it. I know this is another shorter chapter, but for what I've got planned, it felt the right place to stop. Enjoy! And don't forget to let me know how I'm doing. Always appreciated :)