Skssss
The sound of the forge. It had always comforted him.
Skrrrr
When his mother had thrown off a cliff, she had helped him in more ways she actually could've, as his mother.
Clang
It gave him a real mother.
Clang
It gave him a passion.
Clang
It gave him the forge.
Hephaestus reached for the nearby towel and sniffed. It smelled clean and fresh, yet had the oh so familiar Oil and grease stains marked upon it. Hephaestus dabbed the towel on his forehead wiping off the sweat that was slowly dribbling its way to his beard. He'd needed a shave for quite some time now. But that was something for later. For now, he needed to finish this sword.
Lifting the blade off of the anvil, Hephaestus went over to his tub and threw the sword in. Next, he went over to his bag of coal and threw some coal in the tub, before blasting the tub with fire.
He could cheat a little.
Letting the sword normalize, Hephaestus sat down and collected his thought. What had he been thinking about?
Ah yes,
Hera.
As the flames picked up and the tension from the metal released, Hephaestus found himself thinking again of his early years, what he had gained. He found himself upon the ever so controversial topic,
What he had lost.
He looked down, and saw his donkey-like knees, His face in the water of the nearby bucket. His eyes, devoid of any sense of life.
Yes, this was the gift his mother had granted him.
But Hephaestus had no time to dwell on these thoughts, he had work to do.
With a mighty Heave and maybe a little Ho,
Honestly, who did those mortals think Ol Saint Nick was based off?
But certainly not without much tribulation, He got off the stool, a groan emanating from the far-too-small-to-be-sat-on structure. Hephaestus then plucked the sword from the flames, which hardly did much more than tickle him, and put it in his cooling bucket. He turned, grabbing the stool with one hand, and dragged the small thing over to his whetstone, gifted to him by his father during the feudal era.
Hephaestus then reached over, grimacing as he did so, and picked up the cooling bucket, judging the sword to be cold enough by now, before starting the whetstones turning, and placing the sword on the stone. He sat down, and began sharpening.
SkreeeeeEEEE
He remembered his first day on Olympus well. The disgusted look his mother gave him, the horrified look on his fathers face, and the gentle compassion on Hestia's face.
Right angel, that one.
SkreeeeeEEEE
He remembered accepting his domain as the forge god, and his admission to the council. He remembered his 'Mother's' attempt to 'reconcile' by offering the palace at the edge of Olympus,
SkreeeeeEEEE
And his arranged marriage to Aphrodite.
SkreeeeeEEEE
Hephaestus, observed the sword, noting it could do with a little finer sharpening, but overall was done. His best creation yet.
Hephaestus walked over to the table, sword in hand, and began sharping the finer edges using sandpaper.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
Aphrodite was perhaps the greatest yet worst thing to ever happen to him.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
She constantly engaged in act of infidelity with Ares, even going as far to actually sleep with her partners, instead of creating mind children, like most married olympians did.
Cough* Zeus Cough* Poseidon.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
But her constant violation of their marriage gave Hephaestus an excuse to be in the forge. Alone.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
But he didn't mind. Out here, he was alone. Out here, he had only one friend.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
And that was his forge.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
Well, except maybe one.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
Perseus Thesus Jackson.
While he had no love for the man, Percy was the only one who treated him with respect, bar Athena and Hermes. He'd even made an effort to visit ever once and a while, always with a pack or two of beer.
Schhhhh Schhhhh Schhhh
So that was why, for his official coronation as the 15th Olympian, Hephaestus had decided to forge him the very sword in his hands.
γαλακτοπαραγωγός
"Earthshaker".
Hephaestus held the sword in his hands, remembering the man who had changed his view on the world.
His friend.
No, his best friend.
Percy Jackson.