Chapter 1
Greetings readers! This story is a sequel to my first story, The Tale Of Perseus: Beginnings. If you are a new reader and have landed on this story by mistake, please read the prequel before reading this story. Everything in this story is based on the previous one. So you will be very confused by the events of this story if you don't read the previous one.
For those of you who have already read my first story, I hope that you enjoyed it! I hope that you will like this one as well :)
This may be an Adventure/Family story but romance will be just as pronounced and just as important. Since I have given the description that this is a Percy X Athena story, I thought that I didn't need to specify it.
This will be a T/M story. Meaning that it will generally be a T rated story but a few chapters, especially the Trojan War ones will be M rated. Of course, that doesn't mean that there will be any sexually explicit scenes or any foul language. It just means that those chapters will have a lot of violence and some mild gore, along with a few dark themes.
As always, I have listed out the acts and arcs of this story to make the story more navigable :
Act One:
The Mythological Arc - Chapters 1 - 5
The Hunters Of Artemis Arc - Chapters 6 - 10
Act Two:
The Protogenoi Arc - Chapters 11 - 14
The War Ascension Arc - Chapters 15 - 18
Act Three:
The Trojan War Arc - Chapters 19 - (ongoing)
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.
It had been four years since the Gigantomachy had ended and it had been a peaceful, prosperous and a somewhat stressful time for Percy as things on Olympus and Atlantis were finally looking good.
Having his mother on the Olympian Council had proven to be a masterstroke. Not only did her presence give more representation to Atlantis, her role as a master peacemaker quickly turned the Olympian Council into an even more cohesive group. This had helped prevent petty quarrels from turning into actual conflicts. This had proven to be very important.
He had known that even though the familial ties between the gods would not deteriorate to the pre-Gigantomachy levels, they would inevitably deteriorate ever so slightly due to the massive competition among Olympians. And his intuition had been right.
Ares and Aphrodite were already having some quarrels with Athena and Hephaestus and his father's rivalry with his uncles had already restarted. Albeit, in a very discrete and much less hostile way.
Unlike before, where they used to go out of their way to upstage each other, now they tried to outdo each other only when the opportunity presented itself. That was fine. Some healthy competition between the gods was always required. This way, they would always be on their toes and not get too arrogant.
He had also noticed that the Olympian Retinues had to some extent increased the competition between the Olympians and their support as patrons of the city-states had started to become more pronounced. Even though the Ancient Laws prevented them from interfering directly, the gods had discovered plenty of ways to interfere indirectly. That had initially troubled Percy.
These city-states had a very annoying tendency to go to war with each other over pointless reasons. And he could not allow the Olympians and their retinues to get involved in these mortal conflicts. That would destroy the equilibrium that he, his aunts and his mother were working very hard to maintain.
For that reason, whenever the cities of two gods got involved in a conflict, Percy would play the mediator's role. He would take out the involved gods and goddesses to a play at the Royal Atlantean Theatre and then, in one of Atlantis' numerous exquisite restaurants, he would diffuse the tension.
Admittedly, this type of mediation had proven to be the silver bullet in preventing internal strife. But he could not take all the credit. While the gods still competed with each other, their competition was fair and unlike before, it was free of any mutual animosity.
Any clash was on the basis of ideological disagreements. Thankfully, they had not drawn their followers and demigods into a conflict and the lack of hate and animosity certainly made his job much easier.
The result of all this was that the relations between Olympus, Atlantis and the Underworld were at an all-time high. And fortunately, there had not been any high profile divine conflicts between the gods. Even the minor gods were happy and were basking under all the worship that they were receiving from the mortals.
The Divine Council had done it's job in providing a solid counterweight to the expanded and even mightier Olympian Council. The Olympians could no longer bulldoze the minor gods and the Olympian Retinues had really pushed divine influence to the corners of the world.
Even his mission of rescuing demigods and then leaving them in Chiron's custody in order to be trained was turning out to be highly successful. In fact, he had already saved dozens of demigods and had realised that Chiron's small camp was getting overpopulated.
To solve that problem, he had commissioned an entire camp to be built for them and as a token of gratitude for saving their children, Athena, Hephaestus and Hecate had gladly acquiesced to build a camp only for the demigods.
He and Athena had already charted the blueprints for the camp and he predicted that it would be ready in a few months. Hephaestus and some of his children had already begun their work on building the camp and Hecate was in charge of surrounding the camp with near-impregnable safety wards and with that, his goal was providing a safe haven for demigods had almost been accomplished.
He had also been hunting monsters for the past four years. But thankfully, the number of monsters roaming the mortal world was negligibly low and he rarely needed to hunt down any monster.
The newly trained demigods were more than capable of taking care of weaker monsters. He only went on a hunt when there was either a congregation of monsters or when a strong monster surfaced. And in the rare occasions that he did find monsters, he made quick work of them.
On top of all this, he had gotten more involved in Atlantean affairs. Rather, he had been forced to get more involved in Atlantean affairs. Even though the Atlanteans held him in very high regard and had even erected numerous temples to deify him, he could sense that the general populace as well the nobility had gotten a bit anxious of his unprecedentedly close ties with Olympus.
In order to alleviate fears of him favouring Olympus over Atlantis, he had taken the mantle of Ruler Of Pearl. He had noticed that Atlantis was becoming overpopulated and they had needed an alternative as both the poverty as well as the crime rates in Atlantis were rising.
Pearl had proven to be the perfect destination for this goal. It had already been the second largest city under the sea when he took over but it was at a very distant second. It's economy was still heavily based on fishing and kelp farming. He had decided to change that.
He had first identified the brightest of the local populace and had sent them to learn under the best in various fields of medicine, art and science at Atlantis and during that time, Percy had completely remodeled the city to match Atlantis in infrastructure and safety.
He had noticed that the crime rates were high in Pearl and had immediately assigned an elite guard of Atlantean soldiers to patrol the city and ensure it's safety. This combined with his radical restructuring of the bureaucracy and his secret patrols had taken the crime rate to an almost nil percentage rate.
To compensate for sending away the brightest students of Pearl, Percy had hired experts and professionals from all disciplines to stay, work and teach in Pearl. He had realised that Pearl's economy needed to stop it's dependence on kelp farming and fishing and this was the best way to bring more diversity to the city.
Needless to say, it had taken some convincing and a lot of drachmas to actually get them to settle down in Pearl but the end result had been more than worth it.
The result of all these drastic changes was that in just four years, Pearl had grown so rapidly that it's economic output had nearly reached a third of Atlantis' and it was still growing. There had been a cultural, educational and economic revolution in the city and people were flocking to it from all across the sea and it's population had more than quadrupled.
To meet this exponential rise in immigration, Percy had commissioned the construction of more than three dozen new districts in the city. Due to these efforts, the city was growing at a rate where a new block was built every other day.
This economic explosion had also prompted him to erect hundreds of underwater vortexes to reduce the travel time between Pearl and Atlantis. This had been extremely successful in improving the connectivity between the two cities by reducing a journey of a few days to a journey of just a few hours.
Unsurprisingly, all these activities had kept him on his toes for the past four years. He spent two days in Pearl running the city. He spent three days on Olympus socializing with Apollo and Hermes, innovating, planning and sparring with Athena, maintaining peace on Olympus with the help of his aunts or sparring with Ares.
He then returned to Atlantis for the weekend and spent the remaining two days in Atlantis with his parents and brother. In the midst of all this, with Selene's help, he hunted monsters and rescued demigods. His life had become very hectic but Percy had chosen to live this life.
This busy lifestyle had given his life a new purpose. Initially, after the Gigantomachy had ended, Percy had found his sedentary and stable lifestyle to be hollow and uneventful. He was a general and strategist. He was neither a politician nor a bureaucrat.
He had no interest in being a part of the larger sphere of undersea politics. When required, he could take on the role of a diplomat and prevent conflict but he had neither the patience nor the requirement to intricately weave through undersea politics. His father and mother were more than adept at that.
He loathed to admit it but except for the two years that he had spent with Calypso, he had dedicated his entire life to the sole purpose of defeating the Earth Mother and her forces. Every breath that he had taken had been aimed at achieving victory for the gods.
When the Gigantomachy had concluded in their favour, he had been afraid that he had become one with his armour and his swords. He was afraid that he could not live without a war.
Due to that, he had taken up multiple roles to fill the vacuum in his life that had been left by the conclusion of the Gigantomachy. And it had been successful in assuring him that he could live without a war. It had proven to him that he was not just a heartless soldier.
In a way, it had even proven Calypso wrong. She had accused him of being nothing more than a loyal soldier and had told him that he could not live without constant conflict. Granted, she had said those things when she was in a very emotionally vulnerable state, but her words had stung him very deeply.
For now, he brushed those thoughts aside. He was returning to Atlantis after a very hectic week and he didn't want to get carried away by stoking painful thoughts. He wanted to make the most of the little time that he had with his family.
He had returned to Atlantis for the weekend and earlier this week, his mother as well as his brother had conveyed to him that they had something very important to share with him.
When he materialised in the centre of the Atlantean throne room, he saw that his parents and brother were already present and they seemed to be having a very intense discussion about something. However, as soon as they noticed his presence, they stopped their discussion and greeted him with wide smiles.
"Brother you're late." Triton impatiently stated.
"I know brother and I am sorry. I was planning a new weapon along with Athena and I lost track of time. But now that I am here, what did you want to tell me?" Percy apologized before questioning. His father's eyes gained a twinkle at his question.
"There is some good news son. You are going to have a younger sister as well a niece." Poseidon stated with a wide smile.
As soon as he heard his father's statement, Percy froze in shock. But a moment later, he gave a shout of elation before swooping forward and tackling his mother as well as his brother in a tight hug.
Amphitrite and Triton seemed a bit shocked by the suddenness of the event but nevertheless, they hugged him back just as tightly. Not wanting to feel left out, even Poseidon joined the group hug and the four of them stayed there for some time.
"I cannot believe it. I am going to be an elder brother and an uncle. Also, brother, how did this happen? You didn't even tell me you were courting someone." Percy excitedly stated after pulling away and then questioned. Instantly, Triton's face dropped and an uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
"I was not courting anyone brother. This, is a result of a one-night stand with a Naiad after being intoxicated by Nectar." Triton quietly admitted with a hint of regret in his voice.
"Triton, now is not the time for regret. It is time to rejoice. We have two new family members joining us in a few months. Let's be grateful that our younger sister will have a companion." Percy stated in a firm yet, gentle tone and placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Your brother is right son. How my granddaughter is born is inconsequential. All that matters to me is that I am going to be a grandfather." Poseidon seconded.
"Brother, I assume that neither you nor the Naiad you courted wants to be a part of any romantic relationship." Percy coolly stated.
"No. She has different ambitions." Triton stated with a sigh.
"It's alright brother. We shall raise her as a Princess Of Atlantis. Now I need to go to Olympus and inform them that I am taking a break." Percy stated with a smile.
"A break?" Amphitrite questioned with confusion.
"Yes mother. A break. I want to be a part of my sister's and my niece's upbringing. Not some distant figure in their life. And I cannot do that if I am only in Atlantis for two days in a week. No. I need to be in Atlantis for at least five days in a week. I will be back mother, I need to talk to Athena, Aphrodite, Ares and Aunt Hestia." Percy stated before vanishing in a blue mist.
"Is it just me, or does it seem like he's more excited than all of us at this prospect?" Triton muttered.
"Son, in his mind, this is his only chance to raise children. That's why he wants to be an integral part of their lives." Poseidon stated with a sorrowful sigh.
"He may claim to have moved on from Calypso but the truth is, even after four years, he cannot envisage having a relationship with anybody else. It hurts to see him like that. He is at a stage where he does not love Calypso anymore. At least, not as much as he once used to. But he is still not ready to open his heart to someone else. More than anything, he needs this." Amphitrite stated with a distant look in her eyes.
"Looks like the next few years in Atlantis will be very loud." Triton broke the morose silence with an icebreaker. A smile broke out on Poseidon's and Amphitrite's faces. The next few years were certainly something to look forward to.
It had been more than two years since Percy had taken a break from his duties on Olympus and he had spent most of that time raising his sister and niece.
Presently, he was teaching both of them gardening and the two immortal six year olds were sitting on his lap and intently listening to him with their big, teal blue eyes looking at him with curiosity. Despite being born to a Naiad, his niece Pallas was an immortal nymph and hence, she grew at the same rate as gods.
He had enjoyed every single moment of his sabbatical. Ever since his sister and niece had been born, he had spent a very large chunk of his time playing, teaching and taking care of them.
The satisfaction he was receiving in raising them along with his parents and brother was indescribable. They had filled a very big emotional void in his life and he had showered all the love and affection that he could muster on them.
"So that's it, you dig a deep hole, fill it with Nectar, cover it with soil and then plant the sea tulip seed. In a few days, a beautiful sea tulip will blossom." Percy explained with a gentle smile on his face.
"Percy, you taught us how to plant all the flowers in mama's garden. But you forget about the prettiest flower." Rhode told him with an adorable look of confusion on her face and pointed at the glowing moonlace. After listening to her question, Percy's face instantly sobered.
"A long time ago, that flower was given to me by someone I loved." Percy stated with a subdued voice.
"What was her name Uncle Percy? And what was she like?" Pallas questioned with an innocent inquisitiveness etched on her face.
"Her name was Calypso. And she was the sweetest, most peaceful and most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But that is a story for another time." Percy ended the conversation with stormy, sorrow-filled eyes.
Before Pallas and Rhode could ask him any more questions, he took them by surprise and started tickling them. Giggles and childish, joyous shrieks filled the water as the invulnerable Prince Of Atlantis played with his sister and niece.
Bythos was impressed. He had been teaching the two goddesses for two years and they had shown a lot of promise in their training. Like the rest of her family, Rhode had shown remarkable skill in wielding her trident and had even learnt many advance maneuvers.
On the other hand, Pallas had taken to wielding the spear as her primary weapon and despite his initial reservations, she had proven to be an excellent spearwoman. And now that they were about to be trained by one of the greatest combatants in the world, Bythos had no doubt that the two princesses would become forces to reckon with.
Bythos' mastery in weaponry was nothing to scoff at. He had learnt, fought and taught for a millennium. But even his skill paled in comparison to that of Percy's. The Champion Of Atlantis was in a completely different league. He seemed to be very keen on teaching his sister and his niece the most advanced maneuvers and Bythos had gladly acquiesced.
He had taught the princesses only the basics in wielding their weapons. Percy would take care of the rest. He was more than capable of training them. As a result, today was his last day teaching the princesses. He would not be training them until they turned eighteen years old. Coincidentally, Bythos' train of thought was interrupted by Percy when he stepped into the Royal Atlantean Arena.
"General Perseus." Bythos greeted with a small bow.
"Bythos, how many times have I told you to not bow to me? You were the one who taught me fight to the best of my ability. I feel uncomfortable if one of my teachers bows to me." Percy stated with annoyance evident on his face.
"General Perseus, I just guided you. You did the rest yourself. Besides, you are not only a Prince Of Atlantis, you are also the General of The Divine Forces. That mandates respect." Bythos stated.
Percy's face conveyed his displeasure but he did not argue any further. The trainer of mer-heroes was a very stubborn ichthyocentaur. He then turned his attention towards the now twelve year old Rhode and Pallas.
"Rhode, Pallas, before we start, I want both of you to know something. Just because I love both of you, I will not be going easy on you. In fact, you will hate my training. So, if you have any second thoughts, now is the time for you to share them. Once we start, we will not stop until both of you master your respective weapons." Percy stated in a strict, no-nonsense voice.
Immediately, Rhode's and Pallas' backs straightened as they recognized the battle-hardened edge in Percy's voice. They nodded at him with determination blazing in their eyes. They would follow his training and instructions to the letter.
A smile broke out on Percy's face as he had received the response he had wanted. He proceeded to teach them their first lesson. He would turn them into fierce, honourable and respected warriors.
Percy was staring at his eighteen year old sister and niece. He had trained them for two years and today, the entire royal family had gathered in the Royal Atlantean Arena to watch them battle with him.
"Brother, you shouldn't have called everyone. It will be embarrassing for you when you lose." Rhode taunted with a smirk very similar to Percy's.
"Yes uncle. However, if you want to save face, we can fight you one-on-one." Pallas added with a cheeky smile.
"Good tactic girls. Trying to taunt your opponent is a good way to make them lose focus. But I am the one who taught you that little trick. So, it's not going to work on me." Percy replied with an amused smile.
"Very well then. I hope you don't mind if we defeat you." Pallas stated with a confident smirk.
"By all means, do your best." Percy challenged.
Instantly, Rhode and Pallas charged at Percy from different directions. But Percy effortlessly blocked their strikes with his pitch-black swords and his eyes sharpened with a predatory glint.
Immediately, an invisible wall of force slammed into the two goddesses and they flew dozens of feet backwards before roughly landing on the ground.
"This is not fair uncle. You never told us that all abilities are allowed." Pallas complained after getting up.
"That is true. But I also never told you that this spar will be limited only to our skills in weaponry and physical attributes. For now, I am your enemy niece and you have to treat me as such. Your enemy will use everything at their disposal to defeat you. If you have any second thoughts or underestimate your enemy, you will lose." Percy stated in a voice that had a slight edge to it.
Rhode's and Pallas' eyes hardened and both of them sent two large pillars of solidified water at Percy. He retaliated with two pillars of solidified water of his own and the force of the collision pushed all three of them a few feet back.
Not wasting any time, Percy went on the offensive and as a testament to his battle prowess, he temporarily pushed back both the immortals who, in their own right, were very powerful. But after sometime, the two Princesses Of Atlantis finally managed to go toe-to-toe with him.
Percy sent two beams of sea green energy at them but they neutralized it with teal blue beams of their own. Rhode dashed forward and attempted to pin him with a stab but Percy deflected the attack and moved to land a slash on her exposed arm. But his sword was stopped by a shining spear and he barely managed to dodge another strike from Rhode's trident. He parried with a slash of his own but Rhode blocked it with her shield.
The three of them battled back and forth for quite some time as they traded bladed blows, energy beams and constructs of solidified water. Suddenly, Percy disappeared in a blue mist and materialised a few feet away.
A moment later, a large shockwave sent by him managed to overwhelm the two goddesses and slammed them into the walls of the arena.
"Girls, you are going to have to pick up the pace if you are serious about defeating me." Percy taunted with an infuriating smirk.
A proud glint made it's way into his eyes when they didn't get riled up by his taunt. Instead, they rushed forwards and fought with more determination and for a brief period of time, Percy was forced on the back foot.
Percy was surprised. He had not expected them to be able to push him back. He outclassed them in strength and raw power but they had more battle speed and agility than him. At least at this level of power.
Another advantage that they held over him was that their attacks were well coordinated. And that excellent coordination was helping them slowly gain ground. Realising that his current level of power would not suffice, Percy decided to go all-out. And just like that, the tide of the battle turned.
A whirlpool started to buffet the two immortals and Percy went on an unstoppable offense. The two of them did their best but they were rapidly picking up injuries and were soon on their last ropes.
They did not have Percy's unmatchable endurance and they tired very quickly in comparison to the whirlwind of a man in front of them. At this point, Percy enacted a double disarming maneuver and a moment later, both his opponents were weaponless and they nodded their heads to convey that they had surrendered.
He conjured three large pieces of Ambrosia and tossed one to both of the young immortals. They were greeted by an applause from Triton, Poseidon and Amphitrite.
"Percy has taught you well. Both of you did an excellent job." Amphitrite complimented with a proud smile.
"Mother, we just received the smackdown of our life. We only managed to keep up with him in the start because he was holding back. Or else we would have lost this fight a long time ago." Rhode stated with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"Uncle, why did you hold back? I thought you saw us as real opponents." Pallas stated in an offended voice.
"Trust me daughter, he saw both of you as real opponents. Or else he would not even have considered going all-out. He is a very dangerous opponent at full power. Normally, he only spars with me, father and the younger Olympians at that level of power." Triton stated.
"That is not true. Even after he upped the ante, I could sense that he was making sure to not attack our vitals." Rhode countered.
"Of course Rhode. This is a test, a spar. This is an opportunity for both of you to learn and improve. Injuring you to the point of unconsciousness is counter-productive. Rest assured, apart from not aiming at your vitals, I did not hold back in any other regard. Be proud of yourselves girls. I have been doing this for more than three decades and I have first-hand experience fighting in a divine war. You were able to surmount a big challenge to me. You have made me very proud." Percy finished with a charismatic smile.
"After this, both of you will be trained by Bythos and Aphros in Camp Fish-Blood for one year and then, both of you will officially be given areas to govern." Poseidon announced. Both Pallas and Rhode visibly deflated at this piece of information.
"However, both of you have earned a vacation. Gear up girls, the three of us will be going to Olympus where I have arranged for concerts with Pan, the Muses and Apollo himself performing. Aphrodite has graciously agreed to give you a tour of Olympus and will even take you to the famous market district. Finally, to finish your vacation, Dionysus, the god of wine and theatre will be at the helm of multiple plays that will take place in the Olympian Theatre." Percy revealed with a large smile.
Instantly, he was tackled by two excited goddesses who were bubbling with joy. A wide, content smile made it's way onto Percy's face. He would never get tired of his sister and his niece hugging him.
"Uncle, can we leave now?" Pallas impatiently questioned.
"Not so fast young lady. Both of you are still riddled with cuts, bruises and gashes. Go to Mavrus, get all your injuries treated and freshen up. Once that is done, you can leave." Amphitrite strictly ordered.
Rhode and Pallas grumbled under their breath but did not voice their disappointment. They knew better than to argue with the Queen Of Atlantis. No one won an argument against her. They nodded at her before vanishing in identical blue mists.
"I have to say, I am impressed brother. I didn't know that planning vacations was one of your numerous talents." Triton commented.
"Brother, do you really believe that I have the patience to chalk out an entire vacation? I am good at planning cities, invasions or battles. But ask me to plan a ball or a vacation and I will do a horrible job. I enlisted the help of Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite for this. The girls have worked hard for the past two years. They deserve this break because once they go to Camp Fish-Blood, Bythos is going to put them through a hellish training regime." Percy replied with a chuckle.
"Son, now that Pallas and Rhode have grown up and will soon be given their own territories to rule, what do you plan to do?" Poseidon questioned. A thoughtful expression made it's onto Percy's face as he searched for an answer.
Poseidon had enjoyed the past six years. Having two new immortals had injected a fresh breath of life into all their lives. As a family, all of them had grown even closer and most of all, he had truly enjoyed all of them staying in the same palace for most of the week. But like all good things, even this had to come to an end.
After a year, his eldest son, youngest daughter and granddaughter would be very busy governing their territories and would only be in Atlantis for three days in a week. Even worse, his youngest son would throw himself back into work and he would see him only two days in a week.
In the decade since the Gigantomachy had ended, Poseidon had seen Percy struggle with finding a purpose for living. The first four years had been the worst as he had continuously worked himself to the brink of exhaustion.
The next six years were much, much better as being an integral part of his niece's and sister's upbringing had given a new direction to Percy's life. But now that they had grown up, Poseidon was afraid that Percy would drown in his own work in a bid to find a new purpose.
"I will have to return to my duties father. I am still the General of The Divine Forces and I have left my job on Olympus unattended for the past six years. Thankfully, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo and Hermes have each taken up parts of my job. Even more fortunate is the fact that there have not been any monster sightings in the past six years. However, I do not want to take things for granted." Percy soberly stated.
"But, I will still be in Atlantis three days in a week. I need to be in Pearl for only a day and I'll spend the rest of my week on Olympus." Percy assured with a wide smile.
"I am glad to hear that son. Atlantis would feel empty without you." Amphitrite stated.
"Atlantis is my home mother. Wherever I go, how much ever time it takes, whatever happens, I will always come back here. These walls, pillars and doors have seen me before I was a champion and a general. And all of you are my family. My life is incomplete without all of you. So, I definitely do not want to miss any events involving all of us." Percy promised with his sea green eyes swirling in a soothing manner.
A smile made it's way onto all their faces. This was the Percy that they all loved, cherished and adored. They knew that if he promised something, even a primordial could not stop him from fulfilling that promise.
Underneath all the great power, divine physical attributes and unmatchable endurance, Percy was just a good man. And he did not need to be anything more to be a paragon of virtue.
Hey guys! Ok, honestly speaking, this is not really a prologue. There's no introduction of any sort so it's just another arc of this trilogy.
Initially, I hadn't even planned to write three stories but then I quickly realised that the story would reach 400K words and seventy-five odd chapters so instead of that, I decided to split it into three stories. Similar to this chapter, the next few chapters will deal with mythological events like this so once again, I am open to all suggestions in this timeframe.
Coming to the content of this chapter, I have tried to show how Percy has coped up with the end of the Gigantomachy and I wanted to show his fatherly side. I feel like this character development is very important for the rest of this trilogy.
Regarding Pallas, I scoured the entire internet but I was not able to find out who her mother is, so I took the liberty of mixing things up a bit. You would have noticed that Triton seems conspicuously absent from Rhode's and Pallas' upbringing. That's not a mistake, that's deliberate. I wanted to showcase his regret in a more subtle way.
Also, according to what I read, pure immortals grow at a rate that is much faster than mortals. But that rate is not specified so I have tweaked it to fit the plot. For that reason, in this story, pure immortals grow at three times the pace of mortals.
Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter! Have a wonderful day!