The sea has always been sentient. From the very beginning, from the moment that water appeared on Gaia, from the moment that Pontus first appeared, the sea was sentient. Not even Pontus, the primordial of the sea, had full control over the water, or full say over how it acted and behaved. Unlike every other divine being, unlike every other primordial, Pontus did not choose his domain. He did not choose to rule over the sea and have influence over water. No, the sea is a sentient thing, and the sea chose him.
It is how it always has been. The sea chooses its ruler. It chooses who will take over and when and how. It chooses how much influence those born from the sea have over water. It even chooses the names of all those who have the blood of the sea. It's how it always has been, and how it always will be. As those who come from the sea always say – the sea doesn't like to be restrained; so it made sense to all those who knew and understood, that the sea would never accept someone who would keep it restrained.
The sea has always been sentient.
Poseidon's siblings always viewed him as the quiet one. Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and Hades. They all saw him as the quiet one, the observer. He had heard them say, once or twice when he first appeared, that maybe he was slow, that maybe he just didn't know how to talk yet, that maybe he would learn with time; but as the years continued passing and he stayed quiet, they simply became used to him being the quiet one, and those whispered faded away. He barely spoke, simply watching them as they brooded or talked or tried to find some way to pass the time while confined in their father's stomach.
He often wished he could talk with them. That he could laugh and joke and simply talk with his brother and sisters. But he couldn't. He had known that simple fact from the moment he was born. He had felt the calling, the calling of the sea, mere minutes after emerging into the world, and he had known. He had known that he was destined to be of the sea, destined to live and rule the vast water that covered so much of the world; he had felt the whispers from the sea in his mother's ear, telling them what his name was to be. And just as that knowledge had been instinctively known to him, so too was something that only those of the sea knew – the sea held many secrets in its dark depths after all.
Those of the sea couldn't talk.
He had always known that he couldn't talk, known that he was essentially mute, known that he had been born with vocal cords that wouldn't make the sounds used to communicate on the surface, above the sea.
Sounds of the surface just did not work as communication in the sea, where the water interrupted the sound waves and sent it spiralling everywhere. They had their own methods of communication, the knowledge of how to communicate in the sea born already in their minds: humming and soft wails and clicks and squeaks, much like whales and dolphins and other creatures of the sea; a telepathic communication between creatures and those of the sea; and a language of signs and movements. But even if their voices would not work on the surface, those with the blood of the sea had learnt to communicate with land dwellers, had created a way to keep the secrets of the sea. It simply took time to learn; the air was full of water particles after all, and those of the sea could manipulate all water, not just the sea like was widely assumed – all water ended up back in the sea eventually. So, with enough practice, one could make those water particles vibrate in the right ways as to mimic the speech of those who lived on the surface.
Poseidon knew that the whispers from his siblings about him simply not knowing how to talk weren't wrong exactly, had known that since he was born. His sisters and brother were not incorrect in thinking that he just had to learn to talk. They just didn't realise how right they were, or how difficult it was to learn in the environment they lived in. After all, there wasn't much liquid in the air inside their father's stomach, so Poseidon didn't have much to practice with or to use when trying to speak.
So, for now, he would simply go with his siblings' view of him being the quiet one. It didn't matter much while they were trapped in their father's stomach, with no way to get out or escape. He knew what his fate was, he knew where he was destined to go; the sea would always be waiting for him, it was just a matter of when he would reach it. So, for now, he would simply observe. He would create bonds with his siblings without spoken word, he would enjoy being as much of a family as they could within their confines.
For now, he would be as calm as the sea right before a storm appeared.
It finally came time for the three sons of Kronos to choose their domains, to choose the kingdoms they would rule over for the rest of their immortal lives. Hades had already decided that Zeus could have first pick, and Poseidon was inclined to let him; their younger brother had been the one to get them out of their father's stomach and was the one who killed their father in the end. Besides, he already knew where he was going to go, knew that the sea would only accept him and not either of his brothers; he had already felt it accept him, felt the rulership of the ocean pass over to him at the same moment their father was defeated and the other titans either surrendered or were taken down.
"I shall rule over the skies," Zeus decided, choosing one of the three cards that lay in front of the three brothers. "The sky, lighting, and thunder. And King of the gods."
"As you wish, little brother," Hades said, before turning to Poseidon. "Do you have a request, Po?"
"Can I … can I have the sea?" he asked hesitantly, even if the voice he projected to them sounded strong and only a little unsure; he was still unuse to talking or projecting his chosen words through the air, even after having been free for ten years – time of war was not an ideal time to start learning to talk more, even if he was the strategist of their army.
"If that is what you wish," Zeus said, and Poseidon could tell that he was uncaring of which kingdom his brothers ruled over, as long as he got the sky; the ruler of the sky had always been the King of the divine, since the time of Ouranos' rule.
"The sea, earthquakes, and storms?" Hades asked. Poseidon nodded. "I can not say that I am displeased about the idea of not ruling the seas. You shall be the king of the seas Po."
"Thank you."
"That leaves you with the Underworld brother," Zeus said, and Hades frowned before nodding.
"The Underworld, the dead, and riches under the earth," Hades said. "I am content with that."
"Are you sure Hades? You don't sound overly thrilled," Poseidon said quietly. Hades shrugged.
"It would not have been my first choice, but neither would sea or sky. I did not have a preference either way. And if your choices make you happy, then I will rule the Underworld without complaint."
"Very well. If we have our kingdoms chosen, let us inform the ladies and perform the ceremonies that will bind us to our domains," Zeus declared before walked away.
"Thank you, H," Poseidon said, stepping closer to his older brother and leaning against him slightly; he had always been affectionate, using it as his way to show his care rather than through words, and took comfort in it.
"Like I said Po, I don't mind, and it makes you happy. And I don't think I had a chance to say it during the past years with the war, but I'm glad to hear you talking. I like the sound of your voice; it's soothing, in a way." Poseidon smiled, hugging Hades before pulling away so that the two of them could follow Zeus to wherever their sisters were.
Being under the sea was a relief. He finally felt at home, in a place where he could truly be himself. He did not have to use his powers to be able to communicate in the sea, simply being able to sign and hum and make all the other noises that were instinctively ingrained in him as communication. As he had grown up, he had done his best to suppress the urge to sign to himself like his siblings talked and muttered to themselves, had suppressed the urge to hum or wail or squeak or click while thinking or when he was nervous or when he just wanted to say something. And now, being under the sea, in the place that had claimed him since birth and would always be his home, he didn't have to do that anymore.
He was free to sign to himself or absently make the noises that he never could while in his father's stomach; he could have, but then he risked one of his siblings asking him about it, and he just knew that it was something to keep secret.
He took joy in ruling over the sea, in helping his numerous subjects with their problems that they brought to him during court that he held once or twice a week. The sea had claimed him, and he felt at home in it. He was where he belonged, doing what he was born to do.
He still visited Olympus and the surface world, still visited his family, and remained close to them. But his visits never lasted longer than a day before he returned to his home and place in the sea. Visiting his family was both good and bad. Good, because he would always love his siblings and cherish the time spent with them, even if he was nowhere near as close with Zeus as he was with his older siblings – they hadn't had the same bonding experience, especially since he had bonded with his siblings without words while in their father's stomach. But it was bad as well, because on land he had to revert back to silence, communicating only through projecting vibrations through the water in the air – he missed the type of communication of the sea when he was on land and around land dwellers.
As time passed, Poseidon's powers grew and developed. The sea guided him as he learnt to control his different abilities whilst also allowing him to discover his limits and the full reach of each of his abilities on his own, teaching him how to create an earthquake, or cause a storm, or create a hurricane, or cause a flood. The other gods all struggled as they learnt about their powers, honing them, and teaching themselves what they could do and where their limits were, a struggle that Poseidon never had to worry about. The sea guided and Poseidon listened.
As the years passed, more gods appeared, from the mating between the six Kronides and other divine beings, be they a primordial or a titan, or later the other gods that appeared. Poseidon rarely ventured above the sea for any reason other than to sea his family, so only rarely did he have any children. He was content in the sea, ruling his kingdom. A kingdom that was full of those who communicated the same way he did, that listened to the sea in the same way he did.
He could feel that the ocean needed a Queen and, rather than pursuing a land dweller or trying to find his own Queen like Zeus and Hades had, Poseidon waited. He knew that the sea would choose a Queen, would let him know who had been chosen to rule beside him. He knew that the sea would choose a good Queen, someone who would be just and fair and someone who would fight alongside him to defend their home and subjects.
He didn't have to wait long before he felt a calling from the sea, pushing him to venture from his home in Atlantis to find the Queen that had been chosen for him. So, he followed the call, quickly finding the one chosen to rule beside him. She was an Okeanide, one of Oceanus' daughters, named Amphitrite by the sea. She was beautiful, with a strong mind and a strong will, and he could see why the ocean had chosen her.
She, too, had felt the sea calling to her, whispering how she would rule the sea, and agreed to go with him to Atlantis, where the kingdom of the sea was. They married and had a child, a merman who was chosen as the heir of the sea, the name of Triton whispered in both their ears within moments of his birth. They both loved their son and found joy in their duties as King and Queen of the sea, and soon began to truly love each other, though it would never be romantic love, simply a close friendship. They had agreed to allow each other to see others in intimate ways if either of them yearned for another child, neither of them minding each other's escapades as long as their duty to the sea was put first, despite them being married. The sea had only called for them to have an heir and rule side by side, but it would never push them to love each other in ways they did not feel they could or to have any children that weren't fated to be born like Triton was. As long as they were happy with their relationship with each other and remained just and fair in their ruling, the sea would remain as a guide whispering in their ear at times of need.
The two rulers of the sea spun a different story for the rest of the gods, saying how Poseidon had pursued her for days and weeks before she finally allowed him to court her after much begging from her friend Delphin, the God of Dolphins and the general of the sea's army, the two of them quickly falling in love and marrying. They spoke of how she had been crowned Queen after their marriage and how their son was born not long after.
None of the other gods needed to know their relationship was simply platonic, one of friendship. None of the other gods needed to know that Amphitrite had been crowned Queen the moment the sea chose her to lead, to rule, marrying Poseidon only to strengthen their combined ruling and allow her to officially be crowned in the eyes of those above the sea. Their subjects understood, but none of the other gods would, so they did not need to know. The sea had many secrets, after all, and anyone not of the sea would simply not understand.
Years passed and more and more gods appeared, born from various couplings between divine beings – mainly Zeus. Soon, there were hundreds of gods and goddesses and Zeus decided they needed a ruling council. Poseidon came to Olympus when his younger brother called, accepting his place on the council, accepting his place as an Olympian.
He said nothing as Zeus declared that Hades had no place on Olympus, no place as an Olympian or on the council. He said nothing as Hestia argued against Hades being banished from Olympus, managing to get Hades an invitation to one council meeting each year. He said nothing as Zeus filled the council with his own children, from both his marriage with Hera and his other affairs. He said nothing as Aphrodite appeared and claimed a seat on the council; despite feeling her faint connection to the sea, he could tell, just by being near her, that even though she was born from the sea, that she had rejected the sea, could tell that she ignored the calling of the sea and had embraced her links to land – she could speak above the surface, wouldn't understand the communication of the sea, didn't know the secrets the sea held; she may be from the sea, but she was not of the sea, in any way.
He said nothing, not out of choice, but because he hadn't visited the surface in years. Because he had forgotten how to speak when the air was so full of tension, when the atmosphere was dry and sparking and filled with the power of arguing gods.
He wanted to say something, to speak up on behalf of his brother who he was so close with. He wanted to speak up in agreement with his oldest sister, who did her best to keep their family together. He wanted to speak up and protest the whole council being full of Zeus' children, protest that there were others that should be on the council instead, like Hecate of magic or Morpheus of dreams, rather than Athena of battle strategy and wisdom which could be covered by both Ares of war and Apollo of knowledge. But he couldn't. So, he sat in silence as his family argued and yelled and made decisions.
He had to relearn how to speak above the sea. He had to learn how to project his voice when the air was fraught with tension and saturated with the power of arguing divinities. For now, though, he would go back to being the quiet one in the family. He would remain silent on the surface and simply observe. And though the others may question his silence, his older siblings would hopefully understand that he was going to be quiet again. They were the ones who knew how long he had been quiet for when he was first born, so hopefully they, at least, would understand.
Hades didn't understand. Poseidon knew that Hades didn't understand, and he understood why. Hades felt betrayed, betrayed that his brother who he was so close to had said nothing in his defense when he was banished from Olympus. He felt betrayed that Poseidon had sat by and done nothing, unlike Hestia who had fought for him. And Poseidon couldn't explain.
Since Hades was banished from Olympus, he had stayed in the Underworld. So Poseidon hadn't had a chance to try and explain. And even if he could, he tended not to speak in the Underworld; it was dry and hot and being in his older brother's domain just made it that much harder to speak. Poseidon hated that the sea's claim on him had caused his brother, who he had been so close to, to resent him, to feel betrayed by him, to pull away. He would never abandon the sea, and he would never change the fact that he had been born for the sea. But he sometimes wished that he could talk like his siblings, could communicate in the same ways that they did.
Hades had always been the sibling he was closest with, the one he felt the most comfort from. Hades had always been the one who he went to when he just wanted a hug, had been the one who would just sit and talk with him even without expecting a reply. And now his inability to speak had caused his favorite sibling to turn bitter against him.
Hades used to understand, understood that he didn't talk. But he had talked for centuries after leaving their father's stomach, and so Hades just assumed that he always talked now. So when he didn't talk, when he couldn't, Hades just assumed that he had nothing to say. Had assumed that he hadn't wanted to say anything, that he had agreed with Zeus.
Demeter and Hera didn't care about his retreat into silence. They had tolerated him and his silence when they were younger and still trapped. They had put up with him because of the bond they shared as siblings. But they never went out of their way to do anything with him, not wanting to work out how to communicate with someone who couldn't talk.
They had started caring a bit more once they were out of their father's stomach and he started learning to talk, but not by much. He had always tried to remain close with them, valuing the family bond they shared, but they had not cared either way. So they didn't care that he was silent again.
Hestia though… Hestia understood. She cared about all of them, and understood that sometimes, Poseidon would be silent. There were times when he came to visit her and just didn't have the energy to use his powers to communicate, to project his voice so he could talk. So she understood that with all the changes occurring on Olympus – a new council, Hades being banished, and the new Laws being put in place concerning what they could and couldn't do – that Poseidon would be silent again. She didn't know why, but she understood that sometimes, he just wouldn't talk.
She didn't bring it up or say anything, but he could feel her understanding gaze on him whenever they met as a council once a month. And he was glad that at least one of his siblings understood. He was glad that he still had one sibling he could rely on and lean on and depend on and find comfort in. And while Hades was his favorite sibling, Hestia was his favorite sister.
It had been centuries since the Olympian council was formed. Poseidon still spent most of his time in the sea, ruling over his subjects and caring for his realm. He trained and spent time with his son, helping Triton learn of the duties he would finally be taking over as Heir of the Sea, or Heir of Atlantis as the rest of the gods saw him. He spent time with Amphitrite, talking of the issues of the sea and the issues in their lives and their individual families. He was content with his life and everything he had from the sea.
Hades was still distant from him, but he had accepted that years ago, had accepted that there was nothing he could have done. He had tried to fix their relationship, but by the time he had started speaking on the surface again, it had been decades and Hades was bitter. But his duties in the sea helped him, gave him something to focus on and soon he didn't care to think of what the Olympians thought of him. His family were his wife – his best friend, and his son – his heir, and the rest of his subjects and citizens. He was of the sea, and he would hold his feelings deep inside him like the sea held its secrets in its dark depths.
So when the other Olympians started coupling with mortals, started having children that were part mortal and part god, Poseidon didn't care. He had the sea – his kingdom and his citizens, to care for. He had Amphitrite and Triton. He had no need to seek the embrace of a mortal he did not know, had no need, nor want, to be intimate with a land dweller.
However, one day he had nothing to do and was feeling restless. Amphitrite was visiting her sisters and Triton was busy overseeing the training of the army. He had nothing to do in his kingdom, had no pressing duties to attend to and he didn't hold court for his citizens for another two days. He was restless and needed to do something, so he ventured to the surface.
He appeared in a town full of land dwellers, humans, and took on an appearance of a human, rather than a god. He wandered the town, before he reached a temple dedicated to him. A woman was inside, praying to him, asking him to help her conceive and have a child; while there were others that were dedicated to childbirth and fertility, many people prayed to him for help conceiving, hoping he could help them be as fertile and life giving as the ocean. He entered the temple and approached her as she stood up. She turned, her eyes widening as she took in who he was, before she dropped to her knees again.
"Lord Poseidon," she murmured.
"You wish for a child? You wish to bring life like the ocean does?" he questioned.
"Yes, my lord. I long for a family but my husband and I have been unable to have one."
"I shall help you in return for your husband becoming a priest for my temple. I can give you a child who shall carry my blood," Poseidon offered.
"Thank you, my lord. Of course, we shall both be honored to have your child and my husband will of course become one of your priests. Thank you, my lord."
And so, his first godling was born.
When he returned to the sea after that first venture, Poseidon explained what he had done to Amphitrite. She didn't mind, such was their relationship, and encouraged him to watch over his yet to be born child. She suggested that it would be interesting to see how the sea reacted to the new child of the sea, a child who was not divine nor immortal, and Poseidon was inclined to agree.
He watched from afar, using one of the viewing glasses that was in the palace, throughout the pregnancy and as his child was born. He felt the sea around him react as his son was born, a slight whisper being heard before his son was named – the sea had accepted him as one of its own and named him. Poseidon visited his son that night, wanting to see him in person just once; the child, while a demigod and a child of the sea, was also the son of the couple he had helped and so he did not need to be involved in his son's life. He could feel the sea in him as soon as he laid eyes on his son, could feel the power of the sea residing in his blood, and knew that the child would control water when he was older, to what extent was the only question.
As the years passed and the newest child of the sea – the first godling child of the sea – grew up. Poseidon continued watching from afar, and Amphitrite often joined him, interested in seeing how a godling child of the sea grew up on land and with mortals. They discovered quite quickly that, just like the others claimed by the sea, Poseidon's son wasn't able to communicate the same way that land dwellers did. He was three and a half by the time he was able to learn and master the ability to be heard and appear to speak on land; the ability was instinctual, but he had to have enough power and control to be able to do it.
As he matured more and stated tapping in to his other abilities, the two royals of the sea saw that the godling was able to manipulate water, much like they were, although not to as great an extent. They also discovered that water healed him and gave him energy, and that he was able to decide whether he got wet or not. And, like all those who were claimed by the sea and were unable to communicate vocally above the sea, he was able to communicate with sea creatures and instinctively knew how to communicate underwater via the various methods they used.
Eventually, when the godling was 14, he swam into the sea and continued down until he reached Atlantis. He stayed there for a year, learning about the sea and what it meant to be a child of the sea. He was welcomed in the kingdom as anyone born of the sea was and was allowed to stay in the palace and was treated like the rest of the royal family due to his position as a son of Poseidon.
And that set the precedent for all of the future godlings that were claimed by the sea.
More and more years passed, and Poseidon occasionally had more godling children that the sea claimed. He didn't venture above the sea more often than he had to, so while he had around 10 godlings a century, the godlings he had that were claimed by the sea were few and far between – usually between 2 and 5 a century; neither he nor Amphitrite could work out why the sea claimed some of his children and not others. Even if they didn't know how the sea chose who it would claim and who it wouldn't out of those who had sea in their blood, they did know that the godlings who were claimed by the sea had more godly abilities than his godlings that weren't claimed. Those that weren't claimed had the general water healing and energy boosting, plus the ability to breath underwater and not be affected by water pressure, as well as being able to communicate with sea creatures, and later horses once Poseidon created them; those that were claimed had the general abilities plus some extent of water manipulation and some were able to create storms or hurricanes or floods or earthquakes, as well as some manner of heat and fire resistance and perfect bearings at sea; those that were of the sea were also born just like all others that were chosen by the sea, with vocal cords that wouldn't let them communicate on land.
Poseidon's godling children, and all the godlings born of sea deities, all had such different powers and abilities depending on what the sea wanted them to have or not have on top of their godly abilities from their divine parent; it meant that they all had to learn about their powers on their own, through instinct and experiences, rather than learning from their godling siblings like godlings of other divine beings did, which is what made them such powerful godlings – they discovered their own powers and limits, rather than being told what they could and couldn't do.
However, despite them all having different powers and abilities, all of Poseidon's godlings that were part of the sea, as well as all the godlings that were born of other sea deities, were brought to visit Atlantis, and wherever their divine parent lived if they weren't born from either of the royals, between the ages of 13 and 15, but most of them were 14 like Poseidon's first godling was. They would stay there for a year to learn about the sea and what it meant to be part of the sea. The godlings that only had blood of the sea, but weren't of the sea, were invited to visit Atlantis as well, but did not stay for more than a day; the sea and its subjects simply didn't accept them in the same way.
The routine continued for years, and as more of Poseidon's godlings, and the handful of godlings that were Amphitrite's or some other sea deities', continued to come and stay at Atlantis for a year – or longer, depending on their situation – Triton started becoming more protective of his half-siblings. He understood his parent's relationship and knew that he would always be the Heir of Atlantis – the sea had given him that title, after all – so he wasn't jealous of his parent's godlings. However, when they first started appearing, he simply treated them as another person of the sea, rather than as siblings. But as he got more used to them appearing, he started acting more and more like a brother towards them; he had always wanted a younger sibling to be protective of and care for, and now he had a lot, even if they were half-siblings.
It was a routine that everyone liked; it meant that those of the sea could meet their brethren who lived on land, it meant that the godlings of the sea could live in the sea and understand their full connection to the ocean, and it meant that the godlings could see that their parent, mainly Poseidon but sometimes Amphitrite, did care for them, even if they struggled to show it while above the sea. Sometimes, the godlings who didn't have any strong links to land, or have any family they had to stay for, would return to the sea a few years after leaving, and live the rest of their life out in Atlantis or somewhere else in the sea.
It was a routine that none of the other gods were even aware of.
That routine was interrupted when Zeus created a set of laws, which would become the Ancient Laws, to better govern the gods. Most of the laws made sense and Poseidon didn't have a problem with them. But there was one that he hated and would ignore, would let the other divinities of the sea know to ignore; divinities were to not interfere in the lives of godlings on a quest or other request of a divinity, and divine parents were to not interfere or interact with their godling children. When Zeus had announced that law, there had been a mixed reaction; some of the Olympians had been outraged, but many already ignored their children or simply watched them from afar and did not care. Poseidon had simply blinked before moving on, content to ignore the new law and continue followed the whispers of the sea, and it was the sea that had first called him to invite his godlings who were of the sea to stay in Atlantis.
More and more years passed and Poseidon and Amphitrite, and all the other sea deities, continued to ignore the particular Ancient Law that forbid them from interacting with their godlings, who were now called demigods. They continued to bring their demigods down under the sea when they were around 14, which now still classed them as a growing child rather than a new adult. They simply had to be more careful about how they summoned their children or called them to come to avoid other gods noticing.
But Camp Half-Blood became more and more popular, and it became harder and harder for demigods to survive in the mortal world without being killed by constant monster attacks. Mortals were no longer aware of the godly world, hidden by the mist that Hecate created. And that made it so much harder to hide the demigods of the sea venturing down to Atlantis for a year. But the sea couldn't and wouldn't be restrained, so they simply changed how they did things. Rather than having the demigod come down for a year, they came down for the better part of a year and a half or two years, going back to the surface and the land dwellers for summer and to attend camp so their disappearance didn't attract attention.
When Camp-Half Blood was first created, Poseidon didn't particularly care that only the Olympians got a cabin there, as only a handful of demigods would go there year-round, and only a few dozen more would come for the summer months. He simply assumed that an Olympian would act as a Patron and allow demigods of other deities who had similar domains to them to stay in their cabins. However, as the years passed, he discovered that that was not how camp was running, and that the demigods whose parent weren't Olympians were simply being shoved in the Hermes cabin, taking advantage of his hospitality as the God of Travelers. And he would not allow any child with the blood of the sea, whether they were of the sea or not, to live in cramped conditions, especially when there was a cabin designed for those of the sea.
So he started claiming all the demigods who had a parent from the sea. The demigods, once they moved in to his cabin, would then receive a note or a gift or some sign from their actual parent, and a note from him to explain what he had done and why. The children of the sea never cared that they were incorrectly claimed, feeling much more comfortable around others with similar abilities and affinities, and feeling more at home in Cabin 3.
Cabin 3 became their safe place, somewhere where they didn't have to constantly pretend – they could sign and hum and squeak and whistle to communicate as much as they wanted, surrounded by others who did the same or at least understood them. All children born from someone with sea in their blood – be it a divinity or some other immortal or the rare occurrence a demigod of the sea who had children – could understand the communication of the sea; even if they weren't claimed by the sea meaning they couldn't use the communication, they could still understand it.
And Poseidon didn't care that that started making him seem to have a lot more children than he did, that it made him seem like a man-whore like Zeus was: his first duty was to those of the sea and their children, and it was a duty he enjoyed and would continue to enjoy, even if it did change how the rest of the Olympians and other gods viewed him.
Many of the demigods who history knew as his children only knew them as that as he had claimed them in place of their real parent, although there were a few that were really his – Theseus was his son, while Orion, for example, was Amphitrite's son who wasn't claimed by the sea.
Poseidon had one of his viewing mirrors constantly watching the cabin, even if he only used it every now and then – the others with children living there were also welcomed to use it to watch their children. And as more demigods started living in the Sea Cabin, as the children called it, they started bringing back stories of their times under the sea and the things they learnt. The demigods all knew not to talk about it outside of the safety of their cabin, even to each other, but they often stayed up late trading stories and tales of their time in Atlantis and other parts of the sea with their parents. The demigods who were too young to go yet enjoyed the stories, becoming more and more excited to become old enough to live under the sea that often called to them.
Poseidon frowned as he felt the emergency summoning to Olympus. He quickly swum through the palace, using the water boost his speed, until he reached the throne room, where he knew Amphitrite was holding court; they held court separately so they could help their subjects every day while still attending to their other duties. He entered the throne room, everyone turning to face him as he entered, inclining their heads in respect. He nodded to them, waving them away and gesturing to Amphitrite.
'I have been called to an emergency council' he signed. Amphitrite nodded.
'I will send for Triton and have him cover your duties.'
'Thank you. I will let you know when I return.' Poseidon left the throne room before preparing himself for the shift between the sea and the land above and disappearing in a shower of bubbles – mist and bubble transport were infinitely better than flashing, which was the usual way gods travelled, in Poseidon's opinion at least.
He reappeared on Olympus in the throne room in a swirl of mist. He walked straight to his throne, which as a fisherman's chair mirrored his throne in Atlantis minus the decorations of the sea and the sea life that clung to it. Once he was seated, he looked around the rest of the room and the other Olympians as they arrived, his gaze quickly falling on the spare throne near the hearth that his older brother was sitting on, just like he did during Winter Solstice meetings. Whatever was important enough for Zeus to call an emergency meeting for must be big if he had invited Hades there, especially during since it was just nearing the end of summer.
Zeus was the last to arrive, flashing in, a boom of thunder accompanying his entrance. Poseidon let out a quiet sigh before focusing on his younger brother.
"There is an urgent matter that we need to discuss," Zeus announced.
"Obviously brother, or else you wouldn't have called an emergency meeting. Just get to it, some of us have duties we actually have to attend to," Demeter grumbled. Poseidon rolled his eyes; she was probably just annoyed that she was pulled away from spending time with Persephone.
"Apollo just informed me of a new prophecy that his Oracle spoke, which speaks of the downfall of Olympus," Zeus declared. Silence followed the declaration. And then basically everyone started talking at once. Poseidon remained quiet, manipulating the water molecules so he could hear the conversations all around the room, despite the cacophony. Zeus let the mayhem continue for a few minutes before banging his fist on the arm of his throne, which was accompanied by a bang of thunder.
"Silence. Apollo, tell us the prophecy."
"The prophecy is as follows. A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds, and see the world in endless sleep, hero's soul cursed blade shall reap, a single choice to end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze."
"Raise like bring up, or raze as in destroy?" Athena asked.
"R-A-Z-E, raze as in destroy," Apollo said. "Hence why father said it speaks of the downfall of Olympus."
"So what can we gather from the prophecy? Any clues about who this 'hero' is?" Athena asked.
"I'd assume that the 'hero' it speaks of is a boy, since it mentions reaping 'his' soul," Aphrodite said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"And the half-blood is obviously a demigod child of either Hades, Poseidon, or Zeus," Apollo said.
"Why not Demeter? She is technically elder," Artemis rebutted.
"Because in a prophecy, the wording is extremely important. It mentions of the 'elder gods'. That means that there are multiple gods who are the elders, but it also specifies gods, not divinities or deities. So it most likely won't be about a demigod of Demeter, since she is technically a goddess," Apollo explained.
"So either Poseidon, Hades, or father is going have a half-blood kid, who turns sixteen and then makes a choice to either save or destroy Olympus and then gets his soul reaped," Ares summarized.
"That is what it seems to be," Zeus agreed.
"It does seem that way. But you have to remember that prophecies are never as straight forward as they seem, and they often rely solely on a few words and their different meanings," Apollo added.
"So what do we do? How do we guarantee that the demigod of the prophecy will choose to preserve Olympus rather than raze it?" Hermes asked.
"We can't," Dionysus said. "No one can predict how the brats are going to act. Just look at the war that just tried to destroy the world. None of us could have predicted how the brats of father, Hades, and Poseidon would act or that they would start a war that spread to the whole world." Poseidon sighed but remained silent. The child of the sea who had been at the front of the war with Zeus' son had been a rare child of Oceanus who had a limited amount of control over the water – Oceanus had lost some of his power when Poseidon took over, leaving his rare children with less influence as well; Oceanus had been a peaceful force of the seas for millennia, having surrendered the oceans to him when he felt the sea shift the title of King, and Poseidon claimed his rare demigod child just like he did all the other children with blood of the sea.
"Then we stop it. We prevent the prophecy," Zeus decided. "My brothers and myself swear an oath on the Styx to not have any more demigods."
Poseidon frowned slightly, thinking over the consequences of swearing such an oath; he didn't have that many demigods that were actually his, but swearing such an oath would mean that all sea deities would have to stop having children, or be resigned to their children either staying in the Hermes cabin, either unclaimed or claimed; if he claimed any child of the sea after the oath, his brothers – or at least Zeus – would do his best to kill the child. And if the sea called to him to have a child, like it had once or twice when the mortal world had greatly benefitted from a son of Poseidon walking among them, then his child would be born under a broken oath.
"Why should I have to make the oath. I am not an Olympian. I do not care for the fate of Olympus," Hades sneered.
"But we are still family brother. And if we fall, you will not be far behind," Poseidon said as he pulled out of his thoughts, finally speaking up and projecting his thoughts as sounds through the air. Hades glared at him.
"You speak of family as if you care. You have just as many children at the demigod camp as Zeus does, showing you do not care for your wife, and you don't even give them gifts or send them signs as a reward like the rest of us. What do you know about family?" Hades snarled. Poseidon flinched slightly, but kept his face passive, even as his emotions were running rampant under the surface; Hades knew nothing of what he did or how he felt, but there was nothing he could do about that – the sea had its secrets, no matter how painful keeping those secrets were.
"Regardless, Poseidon is right Hades. If Olympus falls, the Underworld and the rest of the gods will not be far behind," Hera said. "It is the best interest of everyone that the three of you swear the oath."
"We shall vote," Zeus decided. "All those in favor of my brothers and I making the oath to not have any more half-bloods."
Hera, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus all voted for the oath along with Zeus. Poseidon was pretty sure he could guess why the others didn't – Hades hated the idea, that much was obvious, Aphrodite would not want to lose the opportunity to have more demigods to play with in regard to their love lives, and Apollo would disagree purely on the fact that you couldn't prevent a prophecy; as soon as a prophecy was given, the events that the prophecy spoke of were set in stone and were already fated to happen at a specific time, even if the outcome could be changed depending on decisions of all those involved, especially when the prophecy spoke of a choice and multiple possible outcomes. There was no stopping or even delaying a prophecy – it would happen at exactly the time it was intended to happen, regardless of what you did to try and prevent it.
"Majority vote. We make the oath. I shall go first, and you shall repeat my exact wording," Zeus announced, glaring at both Poseidon and Hades, both who hated the idea of the oath.
"It's not going to change anything," Apollo grumbled. "A prophecy is a prophecy. There's no escaping prophecy, no running from Fate." Zeus ignored him.
"I, Zeus, god of the sky, lighting, thunder, and King of Olympus, do swear upon the River Styx to abstain from siring any demigod children until the newly stated Great Prophecy comes to pass."
Thunder boomed, and the thirteen gods in the throne room could tell that it was not just Zeus trying to be dramatic, like he was prone to do. The Styx had accepted and sealed the oath. Poseidon stared at Zeus as his youngest brother alternated between glaring at him and glaring at Hades, neither of the older sons of Kronos wishing to make the oath.
"You shall make the oath, brothers. The council agreed and you shall follow the wishes of the council," Zeus demanded. Poseidon tilted his head minutely, hearing the faint whispers of the sea in his ear.
Make the oath, chosen ruler. The consequences of a broken oath shall not be allowed to pass on to any of child of the sea.
"Very well, brother," Poseidon said. "I, Poseidon, god of the sea, storms, and earthquakes, King of Atlantis, do swear upon the River Styx to abstain from siring any demigod children until the newly stated Great Prophecy comes to pass." As Poseidon projected the words to the rest of the gods in the throne room, he hummed, clicked, and squealed the same oath, quiet enough that none of the others would hear, knowing that the oath would only bind if he actually voiced it and not just projected it. Thunder boomed, sealing the oath, and causing everyone to turn to Hades.
"Very well. I, Hades, god of the dead, darkness, wealth and riches, and King of the Underworld, do swear upon the River Styx to abstain from siring any demigod children until the newly stated Great Prophecy comes to pass," Hades muttered, arms crosses and a scowl on his face, clearly showing his displeasure. For a third time the thunder of the Styx boomed across the sky, sealing Hades to his oath.
"Are we done?" Hades demanded after a few seconds of silence.
"Meeting dismissed," Zeus said. Hades immediately vanished in the shadows, closely followed by Apollo and Artemis flashing away. Poseidon had one last look around the throne room before disappearing into mist.
He reappeared in his office in a shower of bubbles. He swum out of his office headed to the throne room, which was now empty, court having finished at least an hour ago. Once in the middle of the throne room, he let out a loud, shrill whistle, followed by a deep, thrumming hum; it was a call for a council of sea deities, and was a call that every one of the sea would echo until it was heard all through the sea.
The first to appear in the throne room were Amphitrite and Triton, which was unsurprising since they would have been in the palace. Delphin swam in next, and the rest of the sea deities, including both Oceanus and Tethys, flashed into the throne room within the next hour. While waiting for everyone to arrive, the deities took the time to catch up and mingle, the room filled with a variety of conversations of both verbal and signing. Finally, the last of the sea deities arrived, an ambassador for the Ichthyocentuars. Poseidon let out a loud click, calling their attention to him.
'Thank you for coming and coming swiftly. I called you together to tell you of the happenings of an emergency council that was called on Olympus this morning,' Poseidon began, pausing as clicks and squeaks erupted from the deities in the room; the last time he had called them together to tell them about an Olympian council was when Zeus had created the Ancient Laws.
'As you know, the proceedings would usually not concern us, however, today it did,' Poseidon continued once the room quieted again and everyone was looking at him. 'A Great Prophecy has been issued, speaking of a half-blood child of one of the eldest gods who will either save or destroy Olympus. This prophecy does not affect the seas or the seas children, however, the Olympian's response to it will. My younger brother forced Hades and I to swear an oath to have no more demigod children, in the hope of preventing the prophecy.'
Poseidon paused again as the throne room burst into noise again, mainly from outrage and disbelief that someone would try to stop a prophecy. It was common knowledge amongst the sea that, just like you did not try to force the sea or ignore its will, you did not try to prevent prophecy or change fate. It took a lot longer for the throne room to fall quiet this time, but eventually the deities all calmed down and turned their attention back to Poseidon.
'I understand how you feel. I felt much the same way. However, Zeus made the oath and then forced Hades and I to swear it as well, and the sea told me to agree to the oath. I simply wished to inform you as this oath means that I can no longer claim any of your demigod children at Camp Half-Blood if they are born after today without calling the fury of Zeus and possibly Hades down on them. It is your choice whether that means you stop having children with mortals, or if you simply allow any future children to stay in the Hermes cabin with the other unclaimed or children of minor gods.'
Many years passed since the oath had been made, and Poseidon remained happy and content under the sea, rarely venturing to the surface. He found it easy to keep the oath, not having the same urge to procreate and mate with mortals that the rest of the gods, especially the Olympians, seemed to have. The other sea deities had all agreed on the same course of action – none of them would have a demigod child until either the prophecy passed, because it would pass, or their King had a child first.
Eventually, though, Poseidon felt a presence near a beach along the West Coast. The presence felt young, and extremely similar to what Zeus felt like when he was near the sea. Curious, Poseidon travelled to near where he felt the presence, free to investigate as court had broken an hour beforehand, leaving him with no more pressing duties to complete that day. He headed towards the beach, following where the feeling was coming from. He soon found where the presence was coming from; a woman and her young child, a girl who had to be less than 2 years old. He could practically feel the power of the sky radiating from her; she was his niece, a daughter of Zeus. Poseidon watched the young girl, who he heard the woman, her mother, call Thalia, play with the sand for a while, before sighing and disappearing back to Atlantis. The girl would have a hard life and most likely a tragic end at a young age, due to being born against an oath on the Styx. She would be forced to live with the punishment of a broken oath until she died.
It had been just over three years since Poseidon had seen Thalia, Zeus' daughter, and discovered that his younger brother – who had been the one to insist on the oath in the first place – was the first to break the oath. As the days passed, Poseidon felt himself getting more restless, and was unable to work out what the cause was.
Then came the day that Amphitrite went to visit her sisters, as she did once a month. Triton was overseeing the training of the newest recruits for their army, so Poseidon was left alone in the palace. He had finished his duties and the restless feeling was growing. So, much like he had done centuries ago when he was in much the same situation, he travelled to the surface. He stepped out of the water on a beach along the East Coast, close to where Camp Half-Blood was situated.
He wandered along the beach for a while, until he saw a young woman who was standing in the shallows of the water, simply watching the ocean. She was incredibly pretty, and Poseidon could tell, just by looking at her, that she had an attitude like the sea; calm and collected, but if you got her mad, she wouldn't back down; peaceful but rebellious and fierce in both her opinions and her defense of those she cared about. He felt an attraction to her and wanted to get to know her and could feel the slightest nudge from the sea to approach her. He did what he always did and followed what the sea suggested.
At first, the conversation between them was stilted, although the quiet between them was somehow comfortable, despite them being practically strangers. But Poseidon continued to come back each day once he had finished with his duties to the sea, and their acquaintance turned into friendship. Sally could see through the mist, and he soon found himself explaining everything about the Greek world to her, including who he was. And then somewhere along the way, the friendship turned into a romantic relationship. Poseidon kept them from becoming intimate, not wanting to break the oath and force his child to live under the consequences of a broken oath – despite the reassurance the sea had given him when he first made the oath – or to give his child the life of a hero, which always ended in tragedy; it always broke his heart when he felt the death of yet another mortal child of the sea, and he knew the rest of the sea felt the same disturbance as another demigod of the sea died.
The summer ended, and Sally returned home to New York. Their relationship didn't end though, as she would continue to visit the beach on the weekends when she could, and Poseidon would visit her in her apartment sometimes during the week. And then towards the end of November, Sally confided in him that her greatest wish had always been to have a child, to have the chance to be a mother.
Poseidon crumbled then and gave her the choice of having his child. He warned her that his child would be a demigod, telling her of the dangers their child would face should they be burdened with that life. He told her of the risks and the challenges and mentioned how every demigod would have to go to Camp Half-Blood at some stage during their life to learn to survive – Greek demigods were fated to go there or die trying to. And after hearing all the risks, of hearing about what children of the gods had to go through, Sally still asked to have his child, still said that she longed for a child and loved him enough to have his child, despite the dangers and challenges that would come from it.
Soon enough, Sally was pregnant. Poseidon could feel the traces of the sea from the growing child in her and knew that his child would be of the sea, knew that the sea would claim the growing child. He visited as often as he could throughout her pregnancy, offering as much support as he could in all the ways he was able to, although Sally rarely accepted his help; she was a very determined and independent woman.
As Sally past 7 months pregnant, Poseidon could feel the power of the sea almost radiating from his son who was still growing. He could tell his son was going to be an incredibly powerful individual, could feel that he would be one of his strongest demigod children. And he could also already sense the acceptance of the sea in him, could sense that his son was already chosen by the sea and accepted as a child of the sea, which he had never seen happen; all those of the sea were only claimed and chosen after their birth.
But knowing that his son would be of the sea also told Poseidon that he would have the same issue with his vocal cords and communication on land that the rest of those of the sea had, meaning he could warn Sally ahead of time. Normally, he would be able to tell if his child was chosen by the sea when they were born and he visited them for the first time, after which he would tell their mother if necessary. This time, though, he could warn Sally before their son was born.
"Sally, there is something I need to tell you about our son," Poseidon said, sitting on the couch next to her in her apartment.
"What is it Poseidon? Is something wrong?" Sally asked worriedly, her hand moving to rest on her stomach.
"There is nothing wrong. However, I feel I must tell you that some of my children are slow developers at first, especially when it comes to speaking. I believe our son will be affected the same way."
"What do you mean?"
"I do not understand why, but some of my children take years before they start to talk. They make noise and babble like all babies do, but they do not say their first words for years, some of them going as far as not talking until they are 5 or 6. I believe our son will have the same issue, so please do not be worried if he does not speak for years. And many of my children who are slow to start talking often end up having some form of selective mutism," Poseidon explained, using the same explanation as he did with all the mothers of his children who were claimed by the sea, which explained all they needed to know while still keeping the sea's secrets.
"Why?" Sally asked, glancing down at her stomach.
"I do not know. It may have something to do with my blood and their connection to the sea, but I could not say." Sally was quiet for a while, simply leaning against Poseidon with her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for telling me. I can always teach him ASL when he is younger. That way we can communicate before he starts talking, and he can have another way to communicate if he does have selective mutism," Sally suggested.
"You know ASL?" Poseidon asked, having not known that about her.
"I knew it as a child, and I can always brush up on it. My dad was deaf, and one of my best friends in primary school was hard of hearing, so I used it a lot while I was younger," Sally explained.
"You are amazing," Poseidon said, leaning over to kiss her forehead, before having to say goodbye and disappearing back to the sea.
Poseidon was holding court when he felt a new connection appear, felt the sea celebrate the birth of a new child of the sea, a new prince of the sea at that; his son was born. Everyone in the throne room where he was holding court felt the shift in the sea as it acknowledged a newly claimed child of the sea, a newly claimed Prince, pausing and staring at their King.
Poseidon had his head tilted slightly, listening to the sea as it whispered his son's name to Sally; she had had a name chosen he knew, so he was interested to know how similar the name from the sea would be. He smiled as he heard the name the sea chose; it was the same as the one Sally had been thinking of. He felt it would suit his newest son well, simply based on the amount of power he had felt from him. And he smiled as the sea then whispered its own message to him.
Do not fear, chosen ruler. The sea protects its own. The broken oath shall not be allowed to kill him.
"My King, may we know the name of our newest Prince?" one of the guards in the throne room asked through a series of clicks after stepping forward. Poseidon nodded, rising from his throne to stand in front of those gathered for court; he knew his declaration would spread quickly and that the whole sea would know within hours.
"Hail Perseus, my newest son and the newest Prince of the Sea," he declared.
"Hail Perseus, Prince of the Sea," everyone in the throne room said, bowing towards their King.
Poseidon watched over his son as much as he could as Perseus grew up, often using the viewing mirror when he had nothing pressing to do. He watched as his son learnt ASL and then how Perseus taught himself to mimic speech on land. He watched as his son used the signs of the sea rather than ASL, and how he absently used the sounds of the sea when he was alone. He knew he couldn't go to visit his son other than the first night Perseus had spent out of the hospital, as that would make it easier for monsters to find his son and bring his brothers' attention to Perseus. Poseidon simply watched his son from afar as much as he could.
He hated how Sally had married a disgusting man called Gabriel Ugliano. He understood what she was doing, understood what her aim was; she was trying to protect their son. He had already started to attract monsters at a young age, and Ugliano masked his scent. Poseidon just wished that the man would treat them better – they both deserved better. He could do nothing as he saw how badly Ugliano treated his past lover and his son; he had promised Sally that he would not interfere with their lives, that he would let her care for their son until he returned to the Greek world.
Poseidon continued watching his son as Perseus grew up, going through school after school, unknowingly escaping monster after monster. And he was incredibly proud of the person Perseus was growing to be.
