Prologue

The whole north east side of America is engulfed in the rage of the gods. The seas howl their rage and the skies flash their anger. Electricity is so thick in the air it is almost solid. Earthquakes shake the land so strongly that structures are razed from their foundations. Much like their dominions, Zeus and Poseidon are in an upset. The brothers are for once united. United in rage, but united nonetheless. Hades is the only brother of this trinity not to be of the same mind. Hades is, in fact, the reason for the two brothers' uncommon agreement and the reason for their rage. However, the Lord of the Underworld himself is not wholly the target of his siblings' rage; only half of him is the subject of their wrath. The other half took the form of one Maria di Angelo. Together these two halves formed two small children, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Two small mortals that held the power to topple the immortal gods.

Upon his arrival to the Underworld, the messenger god who was tasked to bring Hades to the Lord of Olympus, found that his presence was unnecessary. Hades had received the message Hermes had come to deliver without the need of his services. Even miles below the earth's surface, Hephaestus radio blared the news of massive storms raging all across the country. The arrival of Hermes simply confirmed to Hades that it was at last time to deal with the repercussions of honoring his vow to Maria Di Angelo. With a pop, both gods folded in on themselves, disappearing only to reappear in the atrium of the throne room on Mount Olympus. The large room had never been louder than in the silent moments that preceded Zeus' thunderous voice.

"How dare you violate The Vow? You have completely destroyed any chance for peace among our children, not to mention the consequences-"

Hades' voice cuts through the beginning of Zeus' monologue with a tone colder than ice. "Do not think that I am unaware of your violations of the vow." The tension that forms in the long silence following Hades' proclamation is harder than rock.

"I have no idea what violations you are referring to. How dare you insinuate -" Zeus begins in a voice that hardly conceals his surprise and fear of the discovery of his own secret.

For the second time, Hades' voice stops his brothers': "Do not lie to me. I know that you, brother, like me have sired a child. However, you, unlike me, conceived this child well after the installation of our vow. My children were born before this vow was enacted, making them entirely legitimate. By thinking that you had the audacity to confront me about the matter only gave me the opportunity to confront you about your illegitimate child. Your eagerness to flaunt your power is your downfall, Zeus."

"Do not speak to me in that tone, brother," Zeus retaliates, having no real argument to combat the statement Hades has made. "Before things go too far let us come to an agreement."

"Wait one moment," Hades interrupts for the third time. "I have one more thing to share: I am aware that you," referring to Zeus, "are not the only one of us who broke the vow." At this, all the color from Poseidon's face is drained. "I have received word that a mortal woman impregnated by no other than you, Poseidon, is about to give birth. Making me the only one here who has not broken the vow. How ironic, considering I was brought here on the charge of being the only one guilty of this crime."

"Regardless," Zeus continues in a tone that suggests that this conversation was going exactly as he had planned, although the pallor of his skin would suggest differently. "We need to do away with the threat the offspring pose."

For the first time, Poseidon adds to the conversation. "Are you suggesting that we kill our own children?" His voice is strong, made loud by the intense anger brewing inside him, but even his powerful facade cannot conceal his fear.

"If that is what it takes to restore the balance, then yes." Zeus thunders in a voice that dares someone to challenge his authority. Hades does just this. "I will not kill my children- they are not the ones at fault here! If we are to punish anyone it should be the two of you-"

"You dare suggest that I be punished?" Zeus demands, thunder booming ominously as if to emphasize his power. "That suggestion is no more audacious than yours." Hades fires back, the air around him seeming to turn dark. If a mortal were to step into the throne room they would not be able to survive the sheer power radiating off the gods.

"Brothers, there is a simple way to fix this!" Poseidon cuts in before an all out war can begin. "By hiding our children away from children of the other gods we can prevent any discord. We can think of another solution when the deadline of The Prophecy demands it. If the children cannot interact with each other, no harm can be done in the meantime."

The other gods reflect over this for an eternity that lasts only several seconds. Hades is the first to respond. "I see no problem with this. However, I believe that to ensure that the children are indeed isolated and not in a possession to pose a threat, it will be necessary for them to be closely watched. I will hide my children in the Underworld. Poseidon can bring his child to his palace under the sea and you, Zeus, can hide your child on Olympus."

Zeus nods his agreement then replies, "Then it is decided. However, we must ensure that no other... mishaps occur. If, after the birth of the children, any complications arise- this includes interaction between the child and the outside world and interaction between one of ourselves and a mortal- the punishment must be severe. If any complications occur the punishment will be the death of the child and the mother. Are we in agreement?"

"Yes, Lord." The two brothers answer.

"Then let my will be done."

Hovering somewhere above the three gods, the Fates watched, unseen.

"They know not how this will impact The Prophecy" croaks Clotho, the spinner.

"They need not know. They have no control over the way the threads of Fate are woven, though they do so desperately try." hisses Lachesis, the allotter.

"Let them try. The fates of these heros were determined long ago. Even breaking an oath on the River Styx cannot change this," declares Atropos, the inflexible.

All three of the gods below look up at the snap of Atropos' scissors cutting cleanly through seven strands of golden thread. Though the Fates themselves remain unseen, the severed threads float serenely down, their paths through the air yet undermined but their final destination solidified by the all of laws of the earth.

And that is the newly revised chapter one! As you may be able to tell if you read the original version of this chapter (can be read on my "The Second Vow Discont" story ), I have a better idea of the larger vision of this story now than I did 5 years ago when I first published this. Any guesses on where this could be going?

For context, all of Hades' children are already alive, Thalia is a toddler, and Percy has not been born yet. All of those characters - and others - may or may not be getting their own time in the spotlight 👹. The focus will mainly be Percy and his life but who knows what will happen in chapters to come…

Please let me know what you think and leave any suggestions in the comments! Thank you for reading :)