With the war between Sparta and Athens dying down, the Olympians focused more if not all their attention to the kingdom of Castellan. It was quite intriguing to watch as humans and the undead coexist peacefully. But as much as they were interested in watching the kingdom thrive, they were more interested in the godlings that made up the royal council.

Starting with Ares' daughter.

Her routine unchanging. Every morning as Helios' chariot ascended the sky, she would emerge from the palace to do a light jog around the kingdom. She wouldn't be finished until midday. She'd disappear into the palace to freshen up before heading over to the temples. There she would make sacrifices to the gods before speaking a small prayer to her father.

She'd head over to Silena's Eatery for lunch with the child of Hermes that was clearly her lover. After spending time with him, she would make her way down to the practice fields to take over the lessons from either the daughter of Athena or the son of Poseidon. Some days her lover would join her and then on other days, the daughter of Poseidon would be by her side.

Ares had decided that this would be the perfect day to spar.

He descended from the heavens in the middle of one Clarisse and Ariadne's games [read: highly dangerous spars that should not be conducted without two medics on standby]. The girls had only barely managed to stop their attacks before their weapons pierce the gods' armor. The abrupt switch of movement left the two unbalanced and Ares could only watch amused as both rolled with the changes. When the two looked up, he could only feel his amusement rise as their iris glowed with bloodlust.

It was just as interesting the first time to watch Poseidon's daughter shrug off his aura while his daughter looked as if she was almost drunk off it. The two of them shuddered before bowing their heads in respect.

"Father, to what do we owe the pleasure," she questioned. Her blonde hair was slick with sweat alongside her clothes sticking to her. He had been watching the two of them spar and he liked the technique she had going for herself. She needed a little bit more spatial awareness, but she made up for it with her reaction speed.

"Did you forget about our spar," the god quizzed watching in amusement as the two girls exchanged slightly panicked glances. The two of them stare at each other for a moment as they seemed to have a conversation with just their gaze alone before the sea child laughed under her breath. His daughter was blushing slightly before the two of them rose to their feet and backed away.

"Forgive us, mi 'lord. May we have a second to collect ourselves," Ariadne questioned. The god inclined his head in agreement. He watched as the two of them made their way to the water jugs nearby. They shared one while the sea child washed away the dirt and grime they had acquired on their persons. Each of them ate small pieces of these ambrosia sandwiches with nectar filling.

That was another thing that was quite curious about these half-bloods. They ate and drank the food of the gods, but no one knew where they gained them. Nor why they continued to change them into strange shapes all the time. The only one who gained the most amusement from it all was Hermes. His sons had started a little business where they sold little trinkets here and there for demi mortal community.

Just like the kingdom itself, Stolen Treasures appeared overnight. Alongside Deadly Fashion that catered to all of Aphrodite's needs and held all of Hephaistos attention.

These godlings just got more and more interesting by the hour.

Both walked back over with his daughter standing slightly in front of the other girl. Ares summoned his sword. "I shall fight you both."

The daughter of Poseidon smirked a little as if there was a secret that she wasn't willing to share. From the glare his daughter gave her, he suspected that she knew what the other was thinking. His daughter hefted her spear while his cousin did some light swings with her sword. He could feel the eyes of the other Olympians watching them. He could feel the dangerous aura that Poseidon gave off id his daughter ended up injured. He knew his uncle was a foe to be wary of. Apollon and Athena were probably the only ones brave enough to face his rage. Apollon hadn't even blinked when Poseidon had to be restrained after his daughter had been poisoned. That wasn't even to consider the moment his son had almost went down under an entire platoon of Athenians soldiers.

Smiling lightly, he watched as the two girls circled him for openings. Of course, they wouldn't find any so it wouldn't be surprising when one of them- there it was. His daughter lunged forward. While he blocked her move, Ariadne made a swipe at his feet that he jumped over. She landed silently while his daughter's spear lit up with electricity.

"Ah, my daughter, what is your name?"

He couldn't just keep referring to her as his daughter.

"I am Clarisse of Castellan."

Clarisse.

He had never heard of a name like that.

Ariadne spoke to him quickly as her sword transformed into a staff, "It means bright and famous. It comes from a land not too far from where the Fates hid us in."

Interesting.

He ducked under the slice of the swing of Ariadne's staff while jumping back from Clarisse's spear. He was almost confused when his daughter pulled back to let Ariadne attack him with her trident. But he got a better understanding of what was going on when he felt magic try to transform his sword.

She was alright, but she was a couple centuries too young to try to change his weapon.

Flicking his hand, both girls went flying back.

He let aura flow out of him freely as watched amused as the two girls once again shudder from the feeling of it. This time even Ariadne looked slightly drunk from it.

"Aria-," his daughter began speaking through clenched teeth. "Fight it just like we practiced."

Ariadne fell to the ground clutching at her head before she began to shake the feeling off. He could feel his power flowing through her right as storm clouds emerge overhead and it began to rain. The feeling of water seemed to knock her out of her trance because she stood back on her two feet before leaping towards him once again.

Father and Poseidon were slightly surprised by that especially. But he almost flinched back from the wave of anger that Poseidon gave off when he almost cleaved his daughter in half. The girl faded away into water molecules before appearing back at his daughter's side. They shared another look before his daughter dramatically struck the ground and undead soldiers appeared to her add. It would seem that she had a limited form of his necromancy. It wasn't something he used regularly, and he mainly used it as a distraction.

He could use his battle precognition to see how it ended.

But where was the fun in that?

Smiling wildly, he lunged forward delighting in the screams of shock the girls gave as they forcibly dodged. He aimed for his daughter and was delighted to see that she could keep up with his attacks. He was of course holding back, but that didn't mean it wasn't still a good feeling.

The hair on the back of his head rose as he turned summoning his shield to dodge the sword aimed at his neck. His daughter took the time to hit him with her spear. The electricity was nothing like he felt from just sitting near his father's master bolt. It barely tickled, but it did draw his attention back to her.

Snapping his fingers, he summoned three wild boars to attack the child of sea while he played with his daughter. Even so, he could feel them vanquishing quickly as Clarisse rolled between his legs coming up on the other side. He turned in time to get hit in the face with one of Ariadne's water whips.

The daughter of the sea was floating in the air. Well, she wasn't floating. She was standing on a very very thin strip of water with the liquid twirling around her arms like silk. With every swish of her arm, the water struck out towards him.

It would seem the skeleton warriors had finally gotten into water position that his daughter planned for because he was suddenly surrounded by them.

They all jumped at him trying to obscure his vision. While he easily batted them aside, he was not prepared for the wave of water that landed in his face. He wasn't prepared for the small quake Ariadne gave off when she stomped her foot. Nor was he prepared for his daughter handing over her spear to the child of sea just for the girl to summon lightning and strike him with it.

Now that felt more like being around the master bolt.

As a sword began to form out of the water in the air, he could feel water wrap around his arms and legs attempting to pin him in place. Clarisse rushed forward snatching the still forming sword out the air only to point it at his neck once she landed on his chest.

The two girls were breathing heavily.

He could feel the others' shock at the skill the two displayed. Yet he knew that the girls were also downplaying their skills. It may have come from the fact that the two had already been sparring earlier and were now too tired to go all out.

Ares was amused. If this was the skill of just the two of them being tired, he couldn't wait to fight against them fully rested. His half sister and the daughter of Demeter would definitely make interesting opponents.

And it supposes it was nice to see that Poseidon's first demigod daughter was given more skill and powers than even his first demigod son from so long ago. To be able to summon his father's element was something he never thought possible for a child of Poseidon. But it makes sense considering that she is the child of the god of storms.

"Do you yield father," Clarisse questioned. He didn't. He really didn't. He wanted to continue. He wanted to see how far he could push these girls. He wanted to find their limits and then break them. But they were tired, and it was no fun fighting tired opponents.

"I yield," he conceded with a small smirk. He was going to have fun with these kids. "Though I do have one question."

Clarisse rose a brow at him.

"How did the two of you manage to fight off my aura?"

She blinked before blushing slightly, "I have a light form of your odikinesis and war manipulation power. I try to expand my control over it a lot and Ariadne helps me practice. But yours is so concentrated and so much more powerful than mine that sometimes we just can't resist."

"Ariadne did so during our first meeting," he pointed out.

"She was also about to faint from the aftereffects of her poisoning. She couldn't feel all of it at least, that's what Will said."

"She's about to faint right now," he heard Ariadne whisper. He turned to look at the demigoddess right as her eyes rolled back in her head and she hit the ground. Clarisse let out a small gasp rushing to her friend's side while Ares sat up as the bindings disappeared from around him. The sky cleared up once again.

He moved over to their side smiling at the concerned way she cradled her friend. "She must have overworked herself trying to beat you. I told her that doing those moves right after one another while she was still recovering would only hurt her in the long run."

Ah, the two must be close for her to be able to scold the other with facial expressions alone. He didn't hear them speak not once.

"I am no Apollon, but I can heal her," eh stated as he did just that. Pressing two fingers to the girl forehead, he could feel the last remnants of the poisons burn away. The girl relaxed even further into his daughter's arms as she succumbed to her exhaustion.

"Thank you, Father," Clarisse muttered as she heaved Ariadne onto her back. He snapped his fingers again. This time his sons Deimos and Phobos appeared with his chariot. "Use this to get back to the palace. Boys take care of your sister. Anything happens to her and it will be on your head."

"Of course, father."

He looked over his children and cousin once more before ascending back to the heavens. Poseidon was waiting for him with a fierce glare on his features. "You attempted to cut my daughter in half."

Ares waved his hand dismissively. He would pay for the disrespect later, but it would not do to keep his father waiting. As such, he lived on Olympus with his father whereas Poseidon lived in the sea. It was best not to tempt the king's rage.

"My son, report," Father stated as soon as everyone was in their thrones.

"It is as I have stated before. It seems that Poseidon's daughter is their unofficial leader. She is certainly quite powerful. From the little that I have witness, she would be able to fight against one of the minor gods or goddesses and prevail. And that is just her recovering from her injuries and being slightly exhausted. If she were at full strength, she may prove to be a challenge for us as well."

His mother furrowed her brows, "Surely, you jest. A mere mortal strong enough to challenge the Olympians. Husband, we must get rid of her and the others lest the prove too dangerous to defeat."

Uncle Poseidon slammed his hands against the arms of his throne, "We are not killing my daughter nor any of the other children."

Athena hummed as she looked back down to the kingdom. Ariadne was being fussed over by the other demigods as she laid unmoving in Clarisse's arms. They brought her to this pool of water in one of the locked medical rooms and just let her sink to the bottom. Her legs shifted until they were in the shape of green tail with gold and silver accents. "I renounce my vote on killing them. We need to know more about them before acting."

Apollon nodded his head as he too looked at the demigoddess who had declared her love for him for everyone to see. "It would do us well to abide by the will of the fates. I do not like it as their futures and past have been blocked from my sight, but I believe this is bigger than what we know."

Hermes was almost bouncing in his seat. "So, we don't kill them. That's fine. But how can we get to know them more? We can't keep just sending Ares down there without them getting suspicious. And Dionysus does have other duties to do than playing that mythomagic game with them."

Dionysus scoffed under his breath wincing when his mother shot him a glare for his actions. "You're just jealous that I got to meet them first."

Hermes stuck his tongue out at the younger god before he once again started tracking his three kids' movements. Father was smirking as he looked over the council, "Well, it seems that you are in luck, Hermes. Who better to gather information other than the herald himself?"

Hermes cheered before shooting a sly look over at Apollon, "Do not worry, brother. I will not steal your love away."

Hades laughed as Poseidon switched his glare from Ares to Apollon in response. "You go anywhere near my daughter, and I shall castrate you."

Apollon rolled his eyes in response.

"Let Ares finish his report," Hestia chided with a secret smile. "How do you feel about their defenses and kingdom as a whole?"

Ares thought it over. "I find it interesting. Their spiritual barrier will hold for these purely human unless guided by an immortal hand. There were also some slight curses load around the barrier that one wouldn't notice if not for being an immortal. I noticed that they kept the lightning fence and the flower defense also, but it seems that it needed to be activated. Maybe if invaders got within a certain distance. I could also sense underground bunkers, but I couldn't sense any openings. The children are probably the key to that. All in all, their defenses are good in case of an attack."

He reclined back into his seat as he thought over the kingdom he's been watching over since the start of this entire war. "I believe they have the potential to be bigger than Sparta and Athens."

The other Olympians murmured amongst themselves. Bigger than Sparta and Athens? Zeus frowned to himself as he considered his options. "Hm, Athena and Apollon are quite right. We do need to know more about them before acting. Proceed with caution all of you. As much as they are correct, Hera's words do heed a warning. They have the potential to be our downfall."

And with those lovely words, the meeting adjourned.