Πρόλογος

A baby's cry pierced the silenced-filled air atop a lonely mountain peak. Not a single sound was made except for the lone tune of a baby who craved its mother's touch. All signs of life seemed to dissipate for that tiny fraction of a second. It was as if it knew that change was coming. Then, just like that, with a snap of a finger, all harmonies of heaven shifted back in. Time ran its course again, its mild glitch nothing but a split second in reality. Not one single soul knew what had occurred there that day; not one knew what would be coming.


The early morning air was always accompanied by minuscule droplets of rain. Like the Amazon jungle, the peak of his mountain was humid, with the occasional breeze of cold air. There you good hear the soft hum of a lullaby. If you listened closely, it was as if the mountain and its wildlife were singing along as well.

I shall embroider, upon your horse's saddle,

with a mass of diamonds,

the come-and-go of the moon

across the water of the sea.

My darling boy, my darling boy,

my darling boy, let me have joy of you.

I shall embroider, upon your double-edged dagger,

that clear look of yours

out of your bright purple eyes

which I can never stare into long enough.

Not soon after, the soft lul disappeared, replaced with the chirping of the wild birds above, the rustle of trees, and the music of the sea.


Atlas sighed once again as he watched the sunrise from its lonely slumber. He deeply hated and loved this moment at this time and place. It was a reminder that no matter what, he was stuck here for all eternity as punishment for his role in the Titanomachy centuries ago. Did he regret it? In a way yes; but would he change his decision? No.

Nine months ago, no, it's been a year now since - oh how time flew - his child was born. A child who was one in a million. He still remembered that night, the night when he was relieved from his punishment for a brief moment in time; one might not see it as much, but to him, it was worth much more. As a result of that rift in time, fate had given him something to live by.

Just five months ago he lived as a titan who carried the burden of the sky. Now, he was a father. No longer did he see himself as the hollow shell he had become, and never again will he drift back to that path.

He was riding a new path now. A path where all the pain and burden he lifted was nothing but a speckle of dust and it was all because of the tiny bundle of joy before him. One look from those eyes filled him with hope and that was all he needed.

"Perseus," Atlas called out softly. Perseus, his son, was currently laying on a blanket holding a wooden rattle adorned with a single blue gem.

He didn't get a response unless you considered a garble to be one. Atlas let a chuckle as his son momentarily switched his gaze, allowing him to see the single tooth that had just begun to grow. The baby gave him what was to become a toothy grin and a small chortle of laughter before shifting his eyes elsewhere.

Atlas chuckled wholeheartedly, with his son's rattle rattling alongside it as the mini-Atlas waved his hand in joy. The sun grabbed his attention as the bright star soon began to descend. His cousin had just completed his job for the day; with their sibling rising as they too had a job to complete.

"Time for you to go to bed little one," Atlas cooed, His eyes drifted back down to the bundle of joy that had silenced considerably. "How naughty of you for not waiting for your sisters," he whispered in amusement, his eyes twinkling.

"Perseus-" his daughter's melodic voice called out.

"He is asleep daughter," Atlas smiled. He craned his head to look up at his daughter's closing figure. She wore an irritated look where her bottom lip would push out into a pout and her eyebrows would scrunch up like a frown.

She crossed her arms and tossed her head back, "He is always so sleepy," she sighed dramatically.

Atlas laughed softly, "Perseus is but a child, Erytheia."

He smiled as he watched his youngest child - his son - suck on his thumb as he fell deeper and deeper into his slumber.

"But he forgot his meal time father," Erytheia grumbled whilst pouting.

"As I said, Perseus is still a child and children will do that. I remember when you were a little toddler like him, you were-"

"Ok!" Erytheia yelled quietly. She winced and glanced at her brother who didn't appear to have heard her-thank the fates!

Atlas gave her a knowing look accompanied by an amused smile.

"Fine, I'll let the little hellhound sleep," Erytheia pouted.

The pout did not leave her face as she gently picked up her younger brother. She supported his head with her elbow and slipped her other arm under his bottom where she then proceeded to sway back in forth as she hummed an old bedtime song.

Making sure he was safely tucked away and sleeping soundly she knelt down and kissed her father by the cheek. "Goodnight father," she whispered before gracefully walking away.

"Goodnight my children."


"Percy! No, please do not do that," Erytheia cried.

Erytheia had followed her father's advice about not waking Perseus up. But now she was in a dilemma. He hadn't eaten last night and now the little bugger didn't want anything to do with his bottle.

Groaning, Erytheia gave the bottle back to an invisible servant who took it away. "Almost a year old and you're already proving to be too much to handle," she grumbled into his amused face.

Perseus giggled and reached for her golden locks where he played with them. He didn't pull hard which she was grateful for but when he tried to stuff a strand into his mouth with his grubby fingers did she stop him.

"Perseus stop, come on stop you little Karpoi," Erytheia scowled.

The youngest of the children of Atlas was doing anything except listening to his sister. Erytheia was currently sitting upon a silk blanket, her back leaning against a tree as she tried yet again to feed her brother. The keyword was 'tried' as the raven-haired wonder didn't do anything but laugh and swat the wooden spoon away; drenching his sister's grey chiton.

She quickly but safely placed him down in front of her while cleaning her chiton with some leaves before she remembered that she could just replace the entire thing with a snap of her finger. "Gah! You are so insufferable," Erytheia groaned as she replaced her soiled chiton with a snap of her petite fingers. The little boy only returned the gesture with a cheeky grin, his lips curling up to reveal two tiny dimples.

"Damn you", she grumbled before reaching down to grab him.

Now that he was safely tucked onto her lap with her stomach providing the tiny babe a place to lean; she began to feed him again. Praise Chaos he had finally settled down and began to eat his food. Slowly but surely Perseus began to finish up. With a satisfied grin Erythia gently patted his back; proceeding to help him burp.

Her job was done as the tiny bugger yawned. His eyes began to close indicating that it was time for him to fall asleep. So like always, Erythia stood up and started to hum a soft lullaby. She didn't associate herself as a good singer adding to the fact she didn't know any other songs; especially the so-called 'pop' songs that she often heard from the gossiping nature spirits.

On the contrary, her personal song collection had stayed the same after all these years, not that she didn't mind. After all, they helped keep her feisty little brother in his slumber.

Said brother was fast asleep snoring softly. He truly did have enchanted strength like their father. Although, it was still pretty weak which was preferred, for her finger was currently in her brother's tiny baby digits. The little boy had always been a sucker for grabbing hold of something; as an inside joke, she and her sisters would often jest about crafting a tiny sword for his tiny baby fingers to bear.

With her brother sleeping Erythia turned and began her descent to meet up with Ladon. Fate seemed to be on her side as she was able to get to Ladon and feed him without waking Perseus.

The one-hundred-headed dragon snatched the pieces out of the air effortlessly. Each head was able to seize a piece of each of the succulent red meat. That was another chore done for the day and a step closer to being able to relax.

Erytheia looked at the dragon thoughtfully. Ladon was truly a wonder and yet an annoyance. Today was the latter.

It trilled under her gaze, seemingly proud to make their mistress smile. A hundred heads were about to let loose a much louder song of approval before the overgrown lizard caught itself mid-roar, as one of the heads noticed the sleeping tod. With a hiss, the remaining ninety-nine heads stopped most having the decency to look abashed.

"Good job you big lizard," she praised with a snort.

The dragon hummed at the praise and purred as its belly was tickled by the daughter of Atlas. Returning the favor, one of the heads slithered down and softly rubbed its snout at the small babe as a second one did the same for her. They knew that the sleeping tod was their young prince so they made sure to be extra careful, something that Erytheia noticed. She was happy that Perseus was being accepted into their family.

Chuckling, she waved goodbye and went towards the eastern part of the mountain where a small garden was being tended by the nature spirits along with her sister, the youngest Hesperide, who was watering the plants. Arethusa was the definition of innocent with her unusual gold blonde hair that would shine under the sun. She was bright and always happen with an ever-so-sweet smile planted on her face, a smile that could catch the eye of many and a certain sun god.

"Erytheia!" the blonde chirped before quieting down with a blush after catching the sight of her brother's sleeping figure. "What are you doing here?" she smiled warmly.

"Why, am I not allowed to be here little sis?" Erytheia teased.

"What?!" Arethusa gasped and covered her mouth, again blushing when she remembered her brother was sleeping. "N-no, I didn't m-mean that. Y-you shouldn't be putting words in my mouth Erytheia!" she huffed quietly, the blush still evident on her face making for an adorable sight.

It was so easy to make the chirpy girl blush in embarrassment Erytheia thought with a smile.

"Relax little sister, I'm simply taking a walk with little Perseus here," Erytheia nodded to the still-sleeping boy. The mini Atlas was a heavy sleeper just like his dad.

"So cute!" Arethusa gushed whilst poking her brother's pudgy cheeks. "Can I hold him Erythia? Please!" she pouted and blushed for the third time. "Sorry," she winced.

Raising her eyebrow she shrugged and switched places with her sister. Her arms were now free to rest and relax. "I was about to ask you anyways, but thanks. Mind taking care of him for now? Past him off to Aegle when she finally decides to stop lip-locking with her books if you need to; but for now, I need to go complete the rest of my chores."

Her sister nodded feverishly before shifting her attention to their little brother. "Come on now Percy, let me show you the garden," Arethusa whispered.

"You know he's sleeping right?.." Erytheia raised her eyebrow. Arethusa seemed to not hear her and instead continued her triad.

"Thanks, Arethusa," she said once more before leaving.

"No problem sis'," Arethusa whispered, seemingly gaining the ability to hear her.

Erytheia smiled over her shoulder.

Just like that, Erythia went one way as her sister went the other. Who knew what she was going to do after she completed her chore; whatever it was, it for sure was going to be more fun without having to watch over her brother.

It was just another day on Mount Othrys.

A.N Just something that's been on my mind for a while. I've got the whole book planned from beginning to end so all I need to do is write really, but let's just see where it goes. For now, I think I'll work on the next chapter of IHH.