In the golden city of the gods, there was one palace that shone brightly in the night and it was in this ornate palace that the muffled sounds of a woman's sobs seemed to permeate the air, wafting across the eerie silence of the night. In a room overlooking the courtyard, was a goddess sitting beside the window and looking to the moon as she silently shed tears of grief and sorrow. Every so often she would take a glance behind her and would break out into harder sobs as she felt her heart break, piece by piece.
Laying immobile on a bed, was her sister-in-arms and her lieutenant, Thalia Grace. Not only was the young demigoddess a trusted follower of hers, but she was also her a half-sister. She as a powerful huntress trained in her domains of hunting and yet here, she lay. Barely alive, in such agonizing pain that despite being fed the nectar of the gods, her face was contorted in extreme agony. Her critical injuries had been healed by the children of goddess' twin. But the damage that was done couldn't be undone without breaking the ancient laws. Her other sisters and followers were all dead and despite knowing how selfish it was, the goddess was glad that they died instantly and without suffering. The auburn-haired goddess cried her heart out in the night as her guilt and regret ate her up. Memories of that fateful night flashed before her eyes as she sat there crying.
Ever since the war with the Mother Earth, the Gods had kept careful track of the immortal beings such as monsters and Titans to prevent another tragedy. In fact, the God of prophecy, her twin brother, was made mortal by the council and faced off against the remnants of the Earth Mother's allies and those who wished to cause turmoil for the gods. It was his punishment for violating the ancient laws and the orders of the Council. Even the children of the gods were sent on quests to eliminate gatherings of monsters before they could do harm to the mortals and the gods. It was to clear up the last fragments of the Second Gigantomachy that the Goddess of the Hunt was assigned a mission.
A mission to locate a rogue Titan. From what little was known, it would appear that Mother Earth was furious about the slaying of her children and her defeat that she had brought into existence a new immortal being, a Titan. But knowing that the Gods would hunt him down, she hid him away from their eyes. Many had died before the Gods even learnt of the existence of the mysterious Titan. Not wishing to risk the lives of their children, the council had decreed that the Goddess of the Hunt would locate and capture the young Titan.
And so, the goddess and her followers scoured the lands, looking for signs of any unknown immortals in the former strongholds of Titans and monsters. Their efforts were in vain as no creature had ever seen the appearance of the Titan and none knew his name. The only one who had witnessed the Titan's birth was imprisoned in the depths of the Pit by Mother Earth. A place that even the Elder Gods couldn't intrude upon. Tired from their constant search for the Titan, the goddess' followers, the huntresses, had set up camp, after their mistress had left for a meeting of the council in the Godly City and were relaxing when it happened.
A sudden surge of energy was felt a few miles from their camp. It was no doubt from an immortal but its power felt repulsive. Like it was pushing away from everyone and everything. It felt like a stroke of luck to the huntresses and they immediately began pursuit of the mysterious energy. The lieutenant of the huntresses had mentally relayed a prayer to her mistress, notifying her of the latest development and sought her guidance in achieving a successful hunt. The council watched the huntresses as they sped through the forest following the trail of the energy burst. Words couldn't describe the emotions that flitted through the goddess' mind as she watched her huntresses encounter the familiar child of the sea. Confusion, worry and a sliver of fear crept through the goddess' heart. Without a glance, she could feel the worried anxiety of the Sea God seep into her. Just like the elder god, she was worried. But her worries were for her huntresses. Why would the trail of energy lead to the Hero of Olympus? More importantly what was he doing away from his school?
In the moments that followed the council could only watch helplessly as the huntresses were slaughtered in the fraction of an instant. Even before the daughter of the skies could finish her prayers, the goddess of the Hunt teleported herself, ready to strike down the hero and avenge her sisters. She raised her godly weapon ready to obliterate the hero with one strike. No matter the consequences, she wasn't going to spare the man who single handedly decimated her entire hunt. So, the surprise and betrayal she felt were evident as her twin brother himself stopped her from striking down the boy.
Anger, hatred and rage coursed through her immortal being as she witnessed the trial. She couldn't kill the upstart demigod but he was a part of her domain now and she would make sure he would live to regret it. His ascension to immortality would take a century or so and she would make sure he suffered through every single agonizing moment of it.
The goddess swiped away the tears on her face and looked to the moon, a symbol of her power and her domain, making a silent promise. She wanted nothing more than to get her vengeance on the cause of all this sorrow. But it appeared that Fate had a different plan. Had only the goddess paid any attention to the course of events, she would have noticed the disappearance of the black bow the hero held and recognized it for what it was. Nor would she have missed the way the mysterious energy seemed to disappear when her brother struck the hero and the way her brother had manipulated the council into focusing on the boy as opposed to what actually led them there. The mysterious trail of energy.
It would appear that even the Gods could lose reason when emotionally compromised, no matter their power, wealth or age. Fate truly works in mysterious ways… Doesn't it?