Huh. Another chapter?
Neat right?
I appreciate all the reviews. They make me happy.
On with the story right?
Persephone and Dionysus appeared on the porch of the Big House, spooky Chiron and a few satyrs who were in the middle of a game of pinochle. Chiron seemed, to Seph's amusement, to be winning. As usual. Upon further inspection, they seemed to be wagering aluminum can tops.
"Ah. Lord Dionysus. I see you have returned from Olympus. And Seph my dear." Chiron smiled warmly. "It's good to see you alive and well." He rose from his seat to greet the two.
"Perhaps a little too well." Persephone sighed as she walked over to her mentor and gave him a hug.
"Yes…hmm…I was informed of the situation. Perhaps I should be calling you Lady Seph now." Chiron suggested with a humored twinkle in his eye.
"Gods no..." Seph pushed him away playfully, but Dionysus coughed. "That would, perhaps unfortunately, be correct. Chiron if you could gather the cabin leaders? We will announce it to them first before disseminating the information across the Camp."
Dionysus seemed a little more…serious to Persephone. It was a big deal, but he seemed…..different somehow.
"Of course. I'll go gather them now." Chiron trotted off, leaving the satyrs, now a fair bit more nervous in the presence of the two gods. Dionysus waved his hand. "Leave us." He commanded, sending them scurrying off, presumably to consume the can tops they gathered off the table.
Mr. D walked over and took a seat at the table. As he leaned back, he motioned for Seph to take a seat as well. "Well, we may as well get this bit over with before your friends show up. I'm sure they'll be thrilled that you're still alive." He sighed.
Persephone sat cautiously. Dionysus was definitely different. He still seemed like the somewhat haggard unwillingly sober god she had come to know over the past several years but…somehow as she looked at him, listened to him, he seemed different.
"You think that I am different." Dionysus spoke, as though he were reading her mind. The shock was clear upon her face because he chuckled as he conjured a can of his favorite Diet Coke.
"How did you…?"
"Know? I am a god of the psyche. Though unlike Athena, who is a god of wisdom, my domain of madness does still allow me some insight into the minds of others, even gods." Dionysus took a sip. "Furthermore you were staring rather blatantly, which I found a little rude."
"Ah…sorry." Seph looked out from where she was sitting, not sure how to broach the topic. She hoped Mr. D would first, but he seemed content to slurp from his can of Coke. "So…" she began. "…why do you seem so different?"
Mr. D took a long, loud sip. He set the can down. "You are aware that the Greek World is tied to Western Civilization. I'm sure Annabelle told you all about it at some point." Seph nodded. "Right."
"And you are aware that we the gods….not so much you, but most of us, are also tied to Western Civilization correct?" Mr. D asked. Seph nodded again.
"I'm not as good as Athena at this. But as she puts it, we gods exist because people believe in us." Persephone nodded again. "Right. Your power is tied pretty heavily to our worship of you and the symbols and myths and all that." Mr. D shook his head. "No it goes deeper even than that." He raised a finger and slowly tapped it on the table.
"Our very image. Our sense of self, is tied to the people to whom we are connected." As he spoke, his form began to shimmer. Dionysus' beer belly began to melt away. His unkempt hair began to smooth out. Persephone watched in awe as he shifted from his usual form into that of an effeminate young man, perhaps no older than her. His hair was lush and fell to his back. His tiger print shirt burnt away in purple fire and was replaced by a toga, and as he turned to her, Persephone shivered.
His eyes, usually bloodshot and slightly closed in a half sober state, were wide. His irises purple and pulsing with power. There was a gleam in his eyes. Something…wild, uncontrollable. A certain madness. His power crackled from him, purple licking around his skin.
Mr. D had always seemed…tamer than Persephone had expected. But now…without a shadow of a doubt, knew she was seated before a god. An Olympian at that.
Dionysus smiled, revealing canines sharpened to a point. "This was what I was Persephone. Take a good look. You may never see it again. This was what I was to the mortals of Ancient Greece." As his form began to shimmer and return to his familiar pudgy body, Seph released a breath she hadn't known she was holding.
"Far more fun than this old sack of flesh I appear as now no?" He gestured. It took Seph a moment to realize he had made a joke. She nodded slowly.
"Alas…" Mr. D sighed. "We must adapt. Mortal perception of drunken revelry has…changed. And as such, as have I. Think about some of the other gods you have met? Ares for example, likes to appear as a biker or a soldier. Zeus shows himself in a suit because that is what you mortals associate with authority."
And…it made sense to Persephone, in a sort of roundabout way. "But…why are you different to me now?" She asked. Dionysus nodded. "Well…we take on forms and attitudes that mortals can appreciate. But you are no longer mortal are you? Though you do not know it yet, your psyche has…advanced." Persephone nodded slowly. "Wait…attitudes? Does that mean…?"
Dionysus rolled his eyes. "No it's not all an act. I do truly hate being down here, just not exactly because I dislike you brats. Though you do cause me an inordinate amount of trouble." Seph looked at him. "You know I have a wife."
"Oh…" Of course. Dionysus probably just…missed his wife. "I cannot be with her while I am down here. While this was a punishment for…my unfaithfulness, I have accepted that. However, you know of the other half of my punishment. I cannot drink." He sighed. "I understand the reasoning, but to be separate from my domain in such a manner…that is the true punishment."
"Oh…" Seph repeated and Dionysus chuckled bitterly. "Yes. Oh. I am cut off from one of my domains and I can scarcely find the time to visit my dear Ariadne. You'd be bitter too." He flicked his half-empty Coke can and it spluttered before dissolving into purple mist.
"Does that mean that none of the gods are actually how we've seen them?" Persephone asked. "Am…am I going to change like that too?" Dionysus frowned.
"Many of the gods are how you might imagine them. But when around mortals their personalities…become exaggerated. Take Hephaestus and Aphrodite. Aphrodite and Ares little…affair is something of a legendary thing amongst you mortals. But in truth, it isn't so sordid as you might be led to believe. Aphrodite is the goddess of love. To ask her to truly contain her love to a single individual…would in truth be as much punishment as it is to deny me alcohol."
Persephone frowned. "But all of Hephaestus' traps and…" Dionysus rolled his eyes. "It's all for amusement. You don't truly believe that the god of war could be caught unaware by a bunch of metal spiders or a golden net do you?" Seph flushed. She….had thought that. "It's all in good fun. A…what do you mortals call it? It's a sitcom to them. The point is for Hephaestus to catch them and for Ares to become enraged."
"Huh." Persephone hadn't thought about it much like that. It did kind of make sense since neither Hephaestus or Ares seemed to upset about all of Aphrodite's demigod children either. "So you're saying that the gods are actually a lot more…chill?"
Dionysus shook his head. "No. Far from it. I am saying that you mortals see…what you can most easily comprehend. We are the Greek Gods. We may as well have invented backstabbing and cruelty. Just as you do not see some aspects of our better nature, so too have you missed some aspects of our crueler nature…."
"Do you think that your father is not aware of every drowning at sea? Every boat swept away? Every corpse dumped into the harbors at night?" He asked and Persephone stilled. "He knows. He is aware. And yes…if he truly wished, he could save all of them. But he does not. It is not in his nature. The sea is as merciless as it is bountiful." He gestured to the campfire spot, where Persephone's eyes followed.
Sitting at the campfire was a young girl in a dark brown dress, poking at the ashes with an iron rod. As she rose, she seemed to feel the two gods' eyes upon her and she turned. Persephone couldn't help but stifle a gasp. Her eyes were empty. Sockets of pure fire. She smiled and waved. "Is that…?" Seph asked.
Dionysus chuckled. "Hestia. Kindest goddess of 'em all right? Goddess of the hearth and family and all that. She gave up her throne for me." He waved back. "But she is also matron of the sacrifice. She is the keeper of hospitality, but also the goddess of civic union. Fire burns…perhaps even moreso than it warms. You will find Persephone…" Seph turned back to Dionysus as Hestia vanished in a ripple of heat. "…that the gods are both far greater…and far worse than you have ever imagined."
He sighed. "But as you discover more of us and more of yourself….you may come to a point where you question many things. In that moment of doubt try to remember that you once fought for us. You believed in us. And we…the gods…we believed in you. We left our back to you Persephone. To you and your friends. And we had faith that you would bring down Kronos." Dionysus finished gravely. "Do not take that lightly. Because we certainly did not."
The sky rumbled for a moment and seemed to darken just a fraction before Chiron came into view, waving his hand. Behind him were a large group of demigods. Persephone's friends….and a few new faces.
"Why don't we go speak to your friends?" Dionysus asked and Persephone nodded slowly. She rose and he helped her, allowing her to go first.
"Please do not forget…" he whispered as he watched her run towards Annabeth.
-Line Break-
Chiron had all of the cabin heads gather at the Amphitheatre. The old space no longer fit all of them. Apparently, the demigods had come together to make a request in Persephone's honor, believing her to be dead as the gods had been rather tight lipped.
New cabins for the minor gods had been created. Also something about…compulsory claiming. Persephone didn't really hear much about that. It was something Annabeth had thought of and…to be honest her head hurt enough as it was.
"Demigods…" Chiron announced to the assembled crowd after everyone else had been cleared out. "What I am telling you right now needs to remain an absolute secret, at least until dinner tonight." Annabeth spoke up.
"Why?" she asked. "What's going on?" Chiron smiled wearily. "If you'll allow me to get to that…" Annabeth nodded, suitably chastised. "As you all are aware, Persephone has rejoined us in camp today."
A small number of murmurs of assent. "I am sorry to say that she won't be staying for very long."
"What? But she just got here!" one of the Stoll's demanded.
"Yeah that's not fair. Why does she already have to go?" Katie Gardner asked. The crowd began to each speak up, but Chiron stomped his hoof down.
"Quiet!" He snapped, causing the Amphitheatre to go silent. He sighed. "Children. Please. Give me a moment to explain." He took a deep breath. "During the final battle with Kronos, Persephone sustained…a good deal of damage. From what the gods have told me, moments before death, Kronos assumed his true form and Seph…was forced to stare right at it.
"Wait but a mortal can't look upon a god's true form and live." Annabeth interjected.
Persephone chuckled weakly. "Yeah…about that…" She shrugged. "Surprise. Not a mortal anymore."
I know it seems like a weird spot to end the chapter on, as we miss out on a lot of Persephone's interactions with her friends, but this story isn't about the demigods. They will actually appear…very little throughout the story.
That being said, this draws Dionysus' chapter to an end. I'm not sure exactly which god is going next. Leave a review if you'd like to make a suggestion.
Thanks for reading.