Ares had gone missing.
At first no one had really minded, it had been wonderfully quiet without that noisy maniac.
In fact, had it not been for the circumstances, they would have used this opportunity to relax, but there was no reason for relaxation.
Olympos was besieged by two adolescent Gigantes, the Aloiadai. They were attempting to pile up a mountain, so they could take over the home of the gods. They threatened the Olympians and on top of that were harassing Hera and Artemis.
Ares had had enough of their nonsense and had gone to face them – despite having a bad cough, that idiot. But he still hadn't returned.
Which was bad, because now they had a gap in their defence, should the twins succeed in reaching up to the heavens.
And it was slowly, but surely getting too quiet.
Hermes and Apollon had admitted to missing their older half-brother's constant teasing.
Athena was growing more and more tense. She could have kicked herself for not knowing how badly she needed the annoying idiot. She missed the constant fighting. With Ares things never got boring, he was her adversary, someone to let steam off with. The blue-eyed goddess was getting seriously bored, restless and (not that she would ever admit it) worried for her half-brother.
Where was he?
Hephaistos suggested that something must have happened to him, because why would he go off, fight two Gigantes and then stay away for a year, not letting his family hear anything from him?
Aphrodite had turned into a nervous wreck and was constantly fearing the worst, which made her spiral into panic attacks every thirty minutes.
Eileithyia and Hebe were concerned too.
Even Zeus and Hera seemed to be worried.
The King of the Gods was constantly wandering to and fro in his office and the Queen was ruffling her hair in stress.
Since she and Artemis both were being harassed by those overgrown brats, they even had put aside their quarrels and could sometimes be seen sitting together at Hestia's hearth, talking and bonding over the ridiculousness of the entire situation.
To everyone's surprise Hera also turned out to be a stress baker.
So it came, that one evening the Olympians sat together in the assembly hall in a low mood, munching cake.
Finally Dionysos spoke up: "Who wants to get shitfaced?"
But before anyone could take the invitation, Zeus shook his head. "This is no time to get drunk", he chided the youngest god and poor Dionysos lowered his head in shame. "If my son returns home in good health, that will be a reason to celebrate."
"Athena really didn't like the way her father specified "if he returns in good health".
Zeus knew the future; Apollon had got that from him.
And whatever Zeus was seeing, it had to be bad.
Even though he appeared calm on the outside, the weather gave away, that he wasn't; his anxiety had manifested in a never-ending rainstorm, that had flooded all the lower areas of Olympos (the gods couldn't leave their palaces to walk on the pavements, without being knee-deep in the water).
After Zeus' statement, no one spoke another word.
Aside from the heavy rain and howling wind, there was just icy silence.
Finally, it was Apollon, who couldn't take it anymore.
"Father, how much longer do you want us to sit here?!", he snapped, "It's been more than a year already and he's still missing! We have to do something! Ares may be a stupid jerk, but he is still one of us! They must have captured and imprisoned him somewhere, that's the only logical explanation for why he is still gone! What if those gigantic brats overwhelmed him and are torturing him in their evil lair?! What if they chained him up and are now doing unspeakable-"
"SHUT UP!", Aphrodite shrieked all of the sudden and burst into distressed sobbing.
Hera went to pat her shoulder comfortingly and then proceeded to glare at her step-son.
"Way to elevate everyone's morals, Latôios¹! If you were as tactful as-"
"Enough!", Zeus barked and everyone fell silent. "We will find him and until then-"
Right in that moment Iris burst in and announced a visitor.
Athena blinked in confusion.
Who could possibly have shown up here, on Olympos, in this weather?!
Eriboia was at loss as to what the Erebos that abnormally large bronze jar was doing in their cellar, why her step-sons wouldn't let her near it and what the heck they were doing in the cellar so often to begin with, when they weren't piling mountains on top of each other.
The overgrown youths were constantly bugged with these questions: "What is that ugly, huge bronze jar doing downstairs?", "Why won't you let me go near that thing?" and "What the Hades are you two doing so much down there?"
After months of prying, it was Ephialtes who finally caved: "Alright, alright, shut up, I'll tell you! We caught the son of Zeus!"
"Which one?", Eriboia deadpanned, "Zeus must have fathered at least ten percent of the population of Hellas. Be more specific."/p
"Well, Ares! The god of war! You know, the only legitimate son?"
Oh no.
"Anyway, we caught him and wanted to use him as hostage, but Zeus hasn't reacted so far, and now that damn war god won't stop struggling, screaming and trying to free himself. But he can scream and struggle all he wants, because we bound him with extra strong chains! They're magical, you see, they grow tighter every time the captive moves. If we keep that loser down there long enough, they'll crush him! And until then he's a fun toy to play with, when we're frustrated or bored!"
Holy goat!
"Ha! It's like he wanted to be played with! He seriously took on us both and thought he could beat us all on his own! Now no one can bring us down! Soon we will conquer Olympos and all the gods and then-"
A piercing scream came from the cellar, cutting Ephialtes' boasting off.
As they looked into the room, they could see the ugly giant jar was quaking.
Eriboia was just a normal human – maybe that was why she felt the uncanny vibes coming from the jar so intensely. And it would have put her off, but the screams of agony appealed to her conscience way too much.
The teenage giant only smirked, before turning back to his step-mother. "Right then, we're off. Gotta pile up more mountains, so we can reach Olympos! Don't let him out, mother!"
With that he was gone.
Now Eriboia was entirely different in character from her step-sons, nor did she share their way of thinking. She had nothing against the gods and definitely didn't condone hubris – that and the way Ephialtes had just called the god of war a toy was beyond creepy.
Gingerly she approached the jar and pressed her ear against the bronze.
Now that she was close enough, she could hear the war god's faint voice whimper in agony.
"Help …", it rasped, "Help … please … let me out … let me out …"
Her heart twisted painfully and she really wanted to help. But she wasn't strong enough to topple over that huge metal jar and maybe it would have hurt the captive too. So she knocked against the jar to show him, that she had heard.
"Hey", she spoke, "Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you. I'm a mortal human, who wants to help. I'm not strong enough to get you out of there, but I will get help as soon as I can, okay?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then a strained voice answered: "Thank you … please hurry … please."
She frowned; it sounded so fragile, broken and weak.
Can the Deathless Ones die after all?, she wondered.
There was no time for long pondering, though.
She disguised herself and took off to Olympos to tell Zeus, where his son was.
Alone, there was a problem: how would she, a mortal, ever reach the Heavens?
Ares had never been so glad to hear a mortal's voice.
That woman – he just assumed it was one, judging by the voice – was his only hope.
The chains were cutting deep into his flesh and many of his bones had already broken under the pressure. He sank onto the side. The movement caused the chains to tighten even more, which caused him to cry out in mortal agony.
Ares was dying and he knew it; not only was he being crushed, he was also starving, dehydrating … and the Aloiadai had inflicted the worst kinds of torture upon him. He couldn't breathe. If someone didn't get him out of here soon, he would perish.
As much as he had always wanted to believe, that his immortality was absolute and that nothing could truly destroy him, he knew that Ephialtes was right. It would happen, if-
"Ares?"
The oh-so-familiar voice of the Messenger of the Gods nearly made him cry, but he had no tears left.
"Ares! Ares, where are you? Answer!"
He could only cough weakly.
Looking up, he saw Hermes' face come into view and peek into the jar.
"Oh, finally, I found y-HOLY FUCKING SHIT, IS THAT YOU?"
Ares let out a laboured chuckle: "Took you long enough, squirt."
"Holy shit, what the Tartaros, what the fuck-"
"Just get me outta here!", the war god croaked, "But careful, these chains are-"
The rest of the sentence died in the coughing of Ikhor.
Hermes shook his head and pulled his half-brother out of the accursed jar as carefully as possible. Then he picked him up bridal style and carried him back to Olympos as fast as his winged sandals could carry him.
He was flying at the speed of the wind, but the flight still seemed endless. Especially when the Messenger noticed, that Ares was starting to pass out.
If he passes out, he might never wake up!
"Ares, you have to stay awake! Do you hear me?!"
"Dunn' think I can – ngh!"
The war god grunted in pain and spewed more Ikhor, as his chains grew even tighter.
Hermes felt sick at the sight, but he had to keep him awake.
"You can do it, man! We're almost there! Here, we just passed through the gates!"
"… What's with the weather?"
The messenger cringed. "It's been shitty ever since you disappeared. Dad has anxiety."
Ares grinned weakly. "Hey, the wind 'n' rain … feel good … nice 'n' cool …"
Oh no, he's falling asleep!
"Hey, Ares, look! There's Hephaistos' forge! Remember the incident?"
The response was a weak glare.
"Okay, sorry, sorry! Remember the Gigantomakhia? We all kicked arse and you killed Ekhidnades and Mimas?"
"U-huh."
"And how father clapped your shoulder and said 'Well done, son'?"
A rattling laugh: "How could I … forget? Best day of … my shitty life …"
The older god's ribs and sternum broke with a nasty crack and he spat more Ikhor.
"Hermes cringed at the sight more disturbing than anything he had ever encountered in Hades' domain.
"Okay, Ares, hang in there! There is Athena's olive garden! And there are Hera's apple trees and pomegranates!"
It didn't help; the other's red eyes were closing.
"Hey, Ares, don't pass out! You've gotta stay awake! Think of your family! Your kids!"
Ares smiled faintly. "My kids …"
"Yes, yes! They need you!"
"M-hm. Hey … how long was I …?"
"Thirteen months. Today it's the 3rd day of the Gamelion²", Hermes supplied.
Ares groaned in despair: "I missed everyone's birthdays!"
Hermes was surprised, but also felt compelled to make the older feel better.
"When I visited Harmonia in Elysion last year, I wished her a happy birthday from you."
"Good. Can you do it … tomorrow night too? Today … it's her birthday. And … bring her roses … I promised her … flowers from here …"
Hermes smiled: "Doing it still today."
Ares forced a smile. "Thank you …" And promptly passed out in his half-brother's arms.
"No problem and-ARES?! OH NO, BY KHAOS, PLEASE, NO! WAKE UP! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! ASKLEPIOS! APOLLON! ATHENA! HEPHAISTOS! FATHER! ANYONE! HEEEELP!"
The chains were even darker than the gods had feared at first.
They couldn't even be removed normally, someone needed to neutralise the dark magic. Only one goddess was capable of this and thus Zeus sent for Night-Wandering Hekatê. And indeed, with powerful ancient spells the ever-shifting Titanis made the chains release their hold on their captive.
Now the healing deities could finally take the war god to the sickbay, where he was laid into the Pool of Paiôn³. Apollon himself, Asklepios and his wife and daughters had all come together and poured their entire healing powers into the water non-stop for three days.
But his injuries (both external and internal) were so grave, that he would be in the Healing Coma for at least another year.
Later that night, the Olympians held council and listened to the reports of the divine doctors and of Hekatê.
"The number and kinds of injuries we found on him is truly disturbing", Asklepios stated, "His inner organs all crushed, not a single bone unbroken and … and …"
He hesitated.
"Go on", Zeus urged.
Only, the son of Apollon was obviously unsure of how to put into words, what he really wanted to say – it took him a while to find a way to put it into words.
"Well, my wise king, it seems like the Aloiadai … uhm, used him to elevate their boredom."
Zeus tensed up and the air suddenly became extremely heavy and charged.
"What?", he asked slowly.
Asklepios swallowed, before he continued: "Apart from the wounds and bruises inflicted by the chains, we also found scratch marks and hand imprints all over his body and … injuries between the thighs."
The meaning of that was obvious.
For a moment everything was quiet … too quiet.
Then, all at once, the wrath of Zeus was unleashed in a thunderstorm of mythological proportions.
Deep down in the underworld, a loud rumble was heard and the inhabitants trembled in fear.
Persephone looked up from her work. "What the here is going on up there?"
Hades shrugged: "Probably your father throwing a hissy fit or something."
Finally Zeus calmed down enough to dial it back with the lightning and thunder and cleared his throat: "Ahem. My apologies. What were you saying?"
Poor Asklepios (who wasn't remotely as used to Zeus' temper tantrums as everyone else) stuttered the rest of his report: "Uh-uhm … h-his injuries a-are nothing my ch-children and I c-can't fix, b-b-but his soul … he-he'll be traumatised."
Zeus took a deep breath, before he could unleash another European hurricane, and nodded. "Thank you, grandson. You may go."
Asklepios left the hall as quickly as was appropriate, obviously relieved to no longer have to be in the enraged sky god's presence.
Zeus sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
Then he turned to Hekatê and asked for her report (ignoring the eyes floating in the air around her head and upper body as far as possible).
"I have wandered the earth ever since I could walk", she lisped. "But never have I seen anything so sinister. More so I'm puzzled, that the Aloiadai even got their hands on these. If you would come closer, so I can show you what I mean?"
The Olympians all came closer and surrounded Zeus and Hekatê.
She placed her hands onto the metal and eldritch symbols began to show.
"As you can see, ancient and powerful magic has been woven into them. This", she pointed at a certain line of symbols, "Is a tightening spell. It detects the slightest movement and causes the chains to constrict in response. Of course Ares would have tried to free himself and inadvertently made it worse."
She pointed at another row of symbols.
"This is the curse of mortality. Every divine being's essence is encompassed by a thick shell and that's our divinity. But these chains infiltrate the protective shell and pump the impurity of mortality into your very essence."
Hera gasped: "Does that mean my son is now a mortal?"
"No. Fortunately, Hermes found him just in time. But one more day and it would have been too late. You have seen how faint his divine aura was."
The Titanis sighed and went on: "This spell here is the worst. It drains the life out of the victim and transfers its life force onto the person holding power over the chains. In other words, while Ares was their prisoner, the Aloiadai grew stronger at his expense. They fed off his very life force, like parasites. Although I don't think they were aware of it, considering their age."
Now it was Athena, who cried out: "So, even if he hadn't succumbed to his physical injuries, he would have wasted away, until finally all of him was drained, leaving him a lifeless husk?!"
"Yes."
"But this is awful! This is evil! How- they're only Kouroi⁴!
"Indeed", the Titanis agreed. "But watch, it gets worse – step back, everyone!"
They did and Hekatê sang another ancient incantation. The eerie glow of the shackles intensified, grew darker and darker. Then Hekatê suddenly leapt back and not a moment too soon; a substance began to ooze out of the metal like wafts of black mist.
There was a collective gasp and several of the attenders fainted.
Poseidon's and Zeus' faces turned ashen and their black eyes widened with horror.
"No!", Zeus whispered, "It can't be … this is impossible!"
"But … but how?", Poseidon screamed, "We sealed them away, they shouldn't have-"
"Father, uncle", Athena spoke up, "I beg you, do not withhold this from us – what is this?"
Zeus squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath to compose himself.
Finally, he revealed, that those were the chains that once bound the Elder Kyklopes and the Hekatonkheires⁵, who were first imprisoned by their father Ouranos and then by Kronos.
"They were forged from the pure darkness of Erebos and the baleful essence of Tartaros. For the Titanes, we used different bonds, as we didn't want to use the terrible old ones. My siblings and I collectively decided, that something so appalling must never be used again. So we hid the chains, where no one would ever find them – or so we thought."
He turned back to Hekatê. To his dismay, she was weeping from her floating eyes.
"Do forgive me", she apologised. "The horror of this whole situation just breaks my heart."
Zeus nodded. As king he couldn't weep, but the awful weather on Olympos spoke volumes.
"We all feel the same way. Anyhow, now that this has been done to my son and heir, I decree, that we must make sure something like this can never happen again. Sealing these chains away obviously wasn't enough. Hekatê, can you destroy them?"
""No, I'm afraid that's not within my power. I could break them, but destroying them completely would require the power of one of the Protogenoi."
The Olympians exchanged uncomfortable glances.
The Protogenoi. The Firstborn Ones.
Which of them could they summon?
Athena addressed the problem: "We have to make a choice. On one hand it would be wise to call upon Nyx, Erebos and/or Tartaros, as their essence is the main component of these chains. On the other, it would make sense to summon the Protogenos, who made them."
"That was my father."
Everyone stared at Aphrodite, who had just woken up and was standing up.
"I was born from the essence – hold your tongue, Poseidon – of Ouranos, the Sky. He is the one who made them, as Zeus already said."
"Can you summon him?", Athena enquired.
"I can try", Aphrodite replied, "I can speak to him, but I'm not sure, if he will actually help us."
"Do try", Zeus requested. "You are the most beautiful of his children. If anyone can convince him to destroy these disgusting things, it's you."
Aphrodite consented, but declared crossly: "Mind you, everyone: I'm only doing this for Ares! This is my father's fucking fault! These fucking chains did this to my love and I will not fucking rest, before they've been fucking obliterated!"
Then she stomped out into the rain.
It seemed like an eternity, until Athena noticed, that her father was growing uneasy.
"He's coming", he informed everyone. "I can sense a supernatural shift in the atmosphere."
And sure enough, Aphrodite returned with a majestic looking man of lofty stature, clad in a long robe covering his entire body.
His skin was the night sky, his hair and coat resembled the thunderclouds outside (in fact, his hair seemed to be composed of the clouds outside). He radiated the sheer primordial power and very essence of the holy heavens.
So this is Ouranos?
There was something about him, that made Athena's very flesh crawl. His face was void of all emotion, his silvery eyes were cold.
Psychopath/em, was the first word that came to her mind.
"Welcome to my home, venerated forefather", Zeus greeted the old god with ostensible calm.
"Thank you", the Sky replied coolly. "Now, why have you dared to summon me? My daughter here told me, that it is important, otherwise I would not have come."
"Yes, indeed it is. I reckon you remember these?"
He pointed at the broken shackles, still lying on the floor and oozing darkness and bale.
The Sky stepped closer to examine them. "Ah, yes. It was I who made them."
"We know that. Now, if you could-"
"Why did you free the Kyklopes and the Hekatonkheires?", Ouranos demanded to know. "I sent them to Tartaros for a reason."
Suddenly Athena felt a surge of rage. And she wasn't the only one.
Zeus' coal black eyes grew hard. "You imprisoned your children, because they weren't graceful and fair-faced, like the Titanes. My siblings and I liberated our uncles, because they were talented and useful and never hurt anyone, unless we asked them to."
His passive-aggressive outrage caused more lightning and thunder outside the hall and in Ouranos' cloudy hair. As response it waved in what was probably irritation.
"You're the son of Kronos and Rheia indeed", Ouranos remarked scathingly.
Athena intervened: "Do forgive us, Dome of Heaven. Surely you must know, what these chains have done to a god, who despite all differences is one of us. So you need to understand, that we're quite … on edge."
Understatement of the millennium, but whatever.
Ouranos turned and looked the bright-eyed goddess up and down.
"You're the granddaughter of Okeanos, the only honourable one of my sons. Yes, I see him and your mother in you. Well then, for your sake and that of my daughter Aphrodite, I will forget this argument ever happened."
"Thank you, honoured forefather", Athena said politely. "Anyway, us gods are in agreement, that such dangerous means of confinement should never be used again. We couldn't possibly imagine anyone more capable of preventing another such tragedy, than you."
"I understand", the Sky nodded, "You want them to be destroyed completely. Hmm …"
He picked the adamantine chains of darkness up effortlessly, but frowned, before continuing: "Something has been done to them, that wasn't my work. I remember each component that I used to create these. The parasite spell and the mortality spell were not among them. These two must have been added by the Titanes, I can't think of another explanation. The only other Primordials, who could have done this, wouldn't have."
Ouranos grimaced. "I agree with you, these things are really disgusting. Something so hideous must not be allowed to exist."
"His hands began to glow as bright as the sun, countering the dark essence of the chains … until eventually the chains just faded into thin air. He informed the gods, that whatever of this evil had remained would be erased by the holy essence of Great Khaos itself, then proceeded to strut out of the palace to become one with the Dome Above again.
A few moments later Zeus finally groaned: "Oh thank the Moirai, he and the grisly chains are finally gone!"
Upon hearing this, the other gods returned to their seats and allowed themselves a moment to let the tension seep out of them.
For the first time that night the (still heavy) rain and howling wind actually felt … relaxing.
After an uncertain amount of time, Hekatê asked: "May I go home?"
Her vibrant violet hair had greyed and she had rapidly aged throughout the night; she had arrived a little girl and was now a crone. A sign, that it was almost dawn.
Zeus allowed her to go and thanked her.
She smiled: "Don't mention it. I like to help."
With that, Hekatê took her twin torches back from Hestia, said goodbye and vanished into the dead of night.
Once she was gone, Apollon sighed and rubbed his temples. "Shit … is it really morning already? Man, I haven't slept in days, putting my healing energy into the Akesian Sleep⁶ has completely drained me and there is still so much to do! This will be a long day …"
"Don't worry", Hera muttered, "I'll make a few calls for today, so you should have less duties to attend to. Consider this a sign of gratitude for helping my eldest son."
"Much appreciated", the younger god thanked her. "And you're welcome."
Zeus stood up. "I think we all need sleep. It will do no good to any of us to have no rest."
"Wait, father! We're not done yet!", Athena claimed and everyone sunk back into their seats with a groan.
The King of the Gods frowned. "What's the matter, my daughter? What did we forget?"
"Getting rid of the chains was only one part of the problem", she pointed out, "We still need to take care of the other part: the Aloiadai, who did this to Ares."
"Yes, but what shall we do? What if another of us goes to face them and is captured as well? You've seen, what they've done to Ares. What if they have more of those chains?", Hephaistos worried.
"I don't think they do", Athena replied, "I don't think they even knew what the chains were. Anyway, we need to dispose of them, before they can kill us all and force Hera and Artemis to-"
"I say we vaporise them!", Aphrodite hissed, "Reduce them to ashes, like my father did with the chains!"
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?", Athena questioned. "Remember how Ares' immense power didn't impress them at all? We need to-"
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!", the goddess of love shrieked and began to glow red with rage, "I DO NOT FUCKING CARE, PALLAS ATHENA! LOSING MY DAUGHTER WAS BAD ENOUGH, NOW I NEARLY FUCKING LOST MY LOVE AND THE FATHER OF MY DIVINE CHILDREN! WHAT DO YOU FUCKING EXPECT ME TO DO? SIT IDLY BY, AS THEY GET AWAY WITH ALMOST FUCKING TORTURING HIM TO DEATH?! I DO NOT FUCKING FORGIVE AND FORGET! EVERY FIBRE OF MY BEING CRIES OUT FOR REVENGE! I WANT THEM TO FUCKING SUFFER, LIKE THEY MADE ARES SUFFER, IF IT'S THE LAST FUCKING THING I DO!"
"SHUT THE TARTAROS UP!", Athena roared, losing her last shred of composure. "WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE WE'LL LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT?! WE ALL! WANT! REVENGE! THEY HARASSED HERA, EVEN THOUGH SHE IS OUR QUEEN AND ARTEMIS, EVEN THOUGH SHE'S A VIRGIN GODDESS LIKE ME! WE ALL WANT THEM TO SUFFER AND BY STYX, THEY WILL!"
"Ahem … excuse me, ladies?"
The furious goddesses blinked and turned to Zeus, who was looking slightly unsettled.
He sighed: "Calm down, both of you. You're scaring everyone." And gestured towards the table with his thumb.
Athena and Aphrodite sweatdropped, as they spied the other Olympians hiding under it, huddling together, whimpering and shivering in fear. The two disputants stuttered an awkward apology and helped their fellow Olympians to come out.
Hera, first to recover, addressed Aphrodite: "Next time you get angry, please tone it down with the F-word. It's unbecoming for a member of the Dodekatheoi⁷."
"I'm sorry for that", the older goddess apologised, "I don't know what came over me."
"Anyway", Athena groaned, "We need a plan. Raw violence didn't help Ares and it won't help us. We have to be more cunning than this. Besides, his state is partly our fault, as we failed to rescue him for more than a year. We're all upset and out for blood, so does anyone beside myself have an idea how to get rid of them?"
Artemis raised her hand. "I do. And I'm confident, that it'll work. It involves you and me and the help of discord-sowing Eris."
Ares remained in the Akesian Sleep for longer than Asklepios had predicted.
During that time, everyone who cared came to check on the unconscious god.
Athena was surprised by how many people that were, and even more surprised that she was among them.
One day she saw Hera crouched against the glass of the healing tank, weeping bitterly.
"My son, my little boy, my champion, my little whirlwind …"
It had been many thousand years, since Athena had last heard Hera use those nicknames for her son. It reminded her that, deep down under all her cold and queenly exterior, Hera loved her children, even though she had the worst ways of showing it sometimes.
Sometime later Athena saw her father Zeus and Hera stand in front of the healing tank together. He was holding her in his arms and she was crying into his chest. It was a rare moment of harmony between the two and Athena couldn't help, but smile.
Of course Aphrodite came a lot too. Day after day she lingered by the tank and prayed to Khaos, that Ares would get better and back to his old self. But other than that, she never wept. Like Hera, she stayed strong for her children, which was quite admirable in Athena's eyes.
Ares' children too came every day.
One evening, Athena found the twins Phobos and Deimos snoozing against the glass, apparently they had fallen asleep waiting for their father to get better. Instead of waking them up, she had just carefully scooped them up and carried them back to Aphrodite's house. Their mother had smiled at the sight of Athena carrying two pre-teenage boys in her arms, but had allowed the younger goddess to help her tuck them in.
Hephaistos too came to check on his older brother.
The sight was painful.
Ares was floating in the Pool of Paiôn unconsciously, just skin and bones, paler than Hades and covered in wounds that were healing way too slowly.
"Dammit, Ares", he grumbled, "What were you thinking? Taking on two Gigantes by yourself! You fucking idiot."
He pushed his wheelchair next to the glass.
"You know, if someone had told me fifty years ago, that one day I would be visiting you in sickbay, I would've called them mad. I'm just glad that you and I got to reconcile, before this shit happened. One regret less I would've had, if you had actually died."
He couldn't help but wonder, if the Akesian Sleep was dreamless or not. He hoped it was, because if not, Ares would certainly be trapped in unending nightmares about what he had gone through.
"You probably can't hear me, but … we're missing you. Hard to believe, huh? But it feels kinda too quiet and empty without you. Maybe you won't believe it, but we care about you, deep down, even though you're a prick."
He chuckled bitterly: "I know exactly, what you would say now: 'If you care, then why did it take you over a year to find me?' Well, and you're right. I guess it took this crap for us to realise. Don't get me wrong, we still don't like you. And as soon as you recover, you'll probably still be a huge prick, albeit one with major issues and traumata. So that'll be a thing."
With a last sigh, he turned his wheelchair to leave.
"Get well soon, okay?"
In a rare fit of generosity Zeus even allowed Ares' best friend Eris to visit, on the condition that she and her kin wouldn't wreak havoc.
Eris was sour about the condition, but agreed.
So she, her children and the Keres were uncharacteristically quiet, as Asklepios allowed them in one by one.
Eris was the last in line, letting her children and sisters go first.
They left Olympos right after making their sickbed visits, knowing better than to overstay their welcome.
But Eris lingered. She couldn't just leave a postcard and go, not with Ares.
It was almost nightfall, when Athena found the Mother of Woes still stand in front of the healing tank.
The abhorred daughter of Nyx looked oddly subdued. Her mane of tousled black and white hair and her black wings were drooping.
As Athena was about to make herself known, Eris spoke: "He was me charge, back when he was a wee kid."
"I know. Hera told me, that you were his nurse first and then his guardian", Athena answered softly.
"Did she also tell ya, why I became his guardian later on?"
The younger goddess had to admit, that Hera had left that detail out.
"He an' the Horai were born still durin' the Titanomakhia. Everyone says it lasted ten years, but that's Olympian Years. An' despite all the commotion, Zeus still had time ta fall for and marry first yer mother, then Themis, then Hera, who is now his queen. Mortals an' younger gods think it 'appened later, but they're wrong."
One Olympian Year was a mortal decade, Athena knew. So the war had actually lasted a hundred years? And why was Eris telling her this?
The personification of strife chuckled: "Neanderthals and mammoths an' such were still around. Ares loved playin' with 'em. Ye know, when I first met 'im, he was such a wee laddie, he didn't even reach up to me hip."
That was hard to imagine; Ares was a quite tall man and had been lanky even when Athena had met him as a preteen. Eris was rather slight and dwarfish in comparison.
"He was, like, seven. I found it a bit weird, 'cuz I already had been his nurse before. Bu' when Hera told me the situation, of course I said aye."
"Why did Hera make you his guardian?", Athena finally asked.
The Daimona scowled: "She tol' me he'd been kidnapped by Kronos an' his cronies. They did sum' really sick shite ta him, if ye know what I mean."
Suddenly the goddess of wisdom felt like she was going to puke.
Eris sighed: "'Course he was traumatised. An' ya know yer father's attitude about that shite."
"Yes, I do", Athena nodded soberly. Zeus was the biggest arsehole in that regard (and a lot of others, but that was irrelevant right now).
"Anyway, Hera could nae 'andle him, so she gave 'im back into me care. She knew he'd be safe wi' me. No one likes me, so they would nae come ta me lookin' fer him. Turned out he still remembered me; always had a really good memory, he had. Leapt right into me arms. I took care o' him fer three years, then Eileithyia was born an' he wanted to go back. I helped him cope wi' the trauma an' taught him how ta fly an' deal wi' the voice in his head."
So she knows about it too.
Eris finally turned to face Athena.
Her ghostly white face was grim and her gleaming red eyes were hard. Her spidery claws balled into fists.
"Listen ta me, Daughter o' Metis. Ares is like a son ta me. When ye asked me help to put down the Aloiadai, I asked fer nothin' in return. Tartaros, if I was as strong as ye, I would've ripped them apart with me bare hands."
Athena nodded, knowing what Eris was going to ask of her.
"Ye know exactly what I want from ye. Don't evah go easier on 'im than ye did before and don't evah mention, what I just told ye. But promise me this: whether ye hate him or nae, whether ye two are allies or adversaries, I wan' ye to prevent this from e'er happenin' again. Keep an eye on 'im, lassie, aye?"
Athena nodded solemnly.
"By the waters that drip from the river Styx, you have my word."
1) Latôios: "Son of Leto", one of Apollon's epithets
2) Gamelion: the first winter month in the Attic calendar (Januar/February), dedicated to Hera. At the end of this month, the Hieros Gamos was celebrated, in honour of Zeus' and Hera's marriage.
3) Paiôn: "The Healer", an epithet of Apollon and Asklepios.
4) Kouros: an early to mid teenage boy.
5) Hekatonkheires: the "Hundred-Handed Ones", three giants with a hundred hands and fifty heads each. They were imprisoned in Tartaros by their father Ouranos after birth, much to the outrage of their mother Gaia. Kronos later freed them, but re-imprisoned them, after finding them no longer useful. Eventually they were freed permanently by Zeus and in return helped him defeat the Titanes.
6) The Akesian Sleep, or sleep of healing, is my invention. It's a reference to the Stygian Sleep, but a healing sleep instead of a sleep of death.
7) Dodekatheoi: Twelve Gods, another name for the twelve Olympians.