The Bane of Artemis
I do not take ownership
Chapter 2:
Alaska was a frigid place. The cold winds piercing his hunting gear. It was surprising how much the fashion trend had progressed. Back in his time he wasn't accustomed to wearing undergarments. Well he didn't wear any, they were very uncomfortable in his humble opinion.
Perseus looked through the scope of his beloved weapon the one his mother so eagerly created for him. The endless levers, strings, and pulleys that were essential in the creation. The steel bolts attached to his side and on the crossbow itself.
His target was about two thousand yards away. Grazing among the remaining grass that was still green from the cold. The same cold that had killed off the remaining plants and vegetation. The barren plains overlooking no other animals to hunt. The streams that flowed through the earth below level. The streams that once flowed during the summer, frozen through.
Perseus closed his eyes and took a deep breath and pulled the shot. The water vapor escaping his nostrils and mouth could be seen before the steel bolt was on its way to kill the stag. The lone deer was unaware that his death was imminent. Gracefully grazing whatever plants and vegetation that remained. The animal was dead and collapsed before it knew what had occurred. A very swift death. The way it was supposed to happen when a hunter met its prey.
As Perseus lowered his composed crossbow, he dropped from the tree he was stalked upon. He was stationed atop a heavy branch to have the view of all his surroundings in case of any movement. He had been tracking any animals that had passed through the clearings he roamed.
It was a few days he had gone hungry. But at last he was able to eat. The mile walk seemed like nothing as his hunger drove him further. The stag's lifeless and glossy black eyes looked at him with no drive or further signs of life.
With quickness, the Gigante hung the deer in one of the nearby tree branches. He proceeded to cut the underbelly of the stag as he pulled out the organs and intestines from the animal as they fell onto the snow bed. The thin pelt of the stag quickly cut with one of his stygian iron blades. Small hunting knives, a gift from his father.
His father wasn't very kind to Perseus, but his mother was very compelling. Gaea managed to convince Tartarus to create a weapon of his own for his youngest son as a blessing. Which was also given to his other brothers. They were given the best. Perseus on the other hand received small stygian iron hunting knives. Something insignificant compared to Polybotes' Trident, Clytius' Stygian armor and sword. He could go on, however there was no point in reminiscing on his father's distaste.
A few hours into the night and the deer was slowly cooking. Hung up on a robust branch over a very warm fire. The smell began to mesmerize Perseus as he recollected the fine hunting trips he and Orion had once gone to. The time they had gone to track a group of hellhounds that had escaped their father's domain. The time Damasen had tasked them with hunting wild hogs to eat for their brothers. All the orders given by Orion; all of his lessons which bled into his memories.
The crackling of the fire broke his train of thoughts of past memories. The meat was ready to eat. Before he commenced his feast, he gave his mother a prayer of thanks before cutting pieces of meat from the large portion of the deer.
As he expected he heard the heavy footsteps nearing him as he saw the large hand grab the entire deer and gorging it in half.
"The same as always Alcyoneus eating without manners." Perseus responded as he nibbled on the delicate meat.
"The same Perseus who refuses to act like his kind and more like a godling." He retorted back.
The youngest brother looked up at his eldest brother who stood forty feet tall. Meanwhile he looked rather insignificant. Not even half the size of his eldest brother. Unlike his brothers, he didn't obtain the rotten trait of having serpentine or dragon-like legs. Thankfully majority of his traits were from his mother.
Perseus looked at Alcyoneus' rusted legs which were once the color of gold, when they had grown up together. Rare jewels littered his serpentine legs which was only fitting considering he was born to oppose Hades and his Roman counterpart Pluto.
"You reformed rather quickly, I had sensed your aura in this isolated and cold place. Then it disappeared, I decided to wait, knowing you would come back. But why this place?" Perseus asked as he looked at his brother as Alcyoneus sat. His action causing the surrounding earth to tremor.
Alcyoneus took the deer out of his mouth and what remained was the bones picked clean of its meat as he threw them aside. He looked at Perseus with narrowed eyes almost understanding that his youngest brother was talking down to him.
"Watch your tone. I do not need to explain my whereabouts or actions to you." The forty-foot behemoth responded as Perseus' throat and chest began to vibrate with laughter.
His laughter ceased as quick as it came when his eyes turned cold and his demeanor and posture changed to rigid and serious. Alcyoneus knew that look before. It was the same look that would appear when his brothers would tease and mock their youngest brother for being the weakest of the bunch.
"You talk with conviction as if you're someone to be feared brother. But a trio of demigods were enough to destroy you and outsmart you." Perseus' eyes did not waver as his green eyes bored into Alcyoneus'.
"You little –" Alcyoneus was not able to respond as Perseus held his hand up, signaling him to stop.
"Mother has had enough with your failures, every one of our brothers as well. Even our half-brothers were a disappointment to her. Being overthrown by the godlings on Olympus." Perseus stared at the fire as it maintained its mesmerizing dance.
"Porphyrion is no leader. He's just another weakling like you. Those who boast about strength and power. Yet you lost the first war." Perseus mocked his eldest brother with satisfaction.
"I heard rumors from our father's minions that Polybotes has already lost the assault on the demigod camp. Porphyrion lost his hostage to Jupiter's spawn." Perseus paused as he looked at Alcyoneus who's confidence began to wane.
"In the short term our brothers will soon lose track on who the real enemy is. You will see our brothers begin to overstep their boundaries against Porphyrion. We will begin to fight amongst each other. My guess it will be Polybotes or most likely Clytius. Porphyrion's leadership over us will soon come to an end." Alcyoneus looked at Perseus with rage and half amazement. Although his brothers believed he was a weakling they never doubted his supreme intelligence even rivaling that of Athena's.
"What is the point of all this Perseus. Why tell me?" Perseus looked at his brother with no emotion in his face.
"This is how mother wanted it all along. She wanted the strongest of her sons to lead." Perseus got up and began to look into the heavens knowing that was where his real enemies hid.
"So, either you join me on my bid to lead our brothers. Or perish alongside those who do not." Perseus concluded as he picked up his crossbow and slung it over his back.
"Where are you heading next?" The eldest brother asked as he noticed that Perseus was letting his aura seep out of his being.
"To rescue our brother who has been exiled wrongfully." Perseus responded as he vanished into the night. Continuing his journey as the nomad he had become.
Tartarus manifested near the outskirts of Damasen's hut. The same filthy hut that maintained its ongoing smoke. Signifying that his son was still alive and well. Why didn't his mother just erase his essence he had no idea.
The Drakon's carcass was near the forsaken hut. With that he knew that Damasen had not lost his will to succumb to his eternal punishment. Tartarus' talons scratching the terrain of harsh sand and shattered glass under him. As he loved to torment any individual that wasn't on his good side.
Before he even entered the hut, he was greeted sarcastically. "Father what brings you to visit me after all these centuries?" Damasen asked as he kept his back towards his father.
"Still sensitive that your mother allowed such punishment?" Tartarus retaliated as Damasen continued to mash herbs and ingredients to make antidotes and potions.
"Why the youngest brother was allowed to escape punishment, but you were not?" Tartarus mocked as his sharp talons scratched the inside of the hut.
"He looks very much like mother. That and he is her favorite. Something I am not resentful for." Damasen continued, as he grabbed molded clay beakers from his shelves.
Tartarus began to get restless realizing that his mocking and attempts to anger his disgraced son wasn't working in the slightest. He could not believe how pathetic Damasen was born. Instead of being a war mongering zealot he was a farmer who held the ideals of pacifism. The same ideals that poisoned his youngest disgraced son.
"This about Perseus isn't it. Has mother decided that it was time for him to wake?" Damasen's voice spiked a bit, hope seeping into his speech.
"He has arisen. I have no doubt he will come into my domain and search for you and release you." Tartarus toyed as he sat on his son's cotton bed.
Damasen stopped his work as he grabbed the nearest cloth to clean his hands of the liquids from the herbs and plants. His hand-made apron tossed to the side as he looked at his father. Everything of a horrific father Tartarus was could be described through his appearance.
He was faceless, pure darkness under his battle helmet. The red eyes that could be seen from the darkness could only be described as frightful for any immortal. His purple and bulging skin showcased that he was unnatural. Full of power as he let black mist surround his being which was frightful enough. The black mist itself made Damasen weary, it absorbed monsters and immortals to supplement his power. The black talons at the end of his fingers having the ability to cut into anything. A terrifying figure for sure.
"Will you let him?" Damasen responded knowing that Perseus entering their father's realm was risky for his youngest brother.
His father laughed. The sound of breaking glass could be heard from his father's chest. His red eyes intensified as Damasen began to feel his eyesight burn from looking directly into them.
"He will enter. He will not get out. Perseus will receive the punishment he rightfully deserves. Gaea may be the earth itself in the overworld. But once he enters my realm, she has no say on the matter." Tartarus gleefully responded. Although he very much cared for Gaea, he would not let her intercede on his realm's matters.
"Of course." Damasen responded knowing that Perseus would not let him rot away any further.
"You're the bait my son. The only reason he will ever enter my realm is to free and release you." Tartarus reminded Damasen of the danger he was placing his youngest brother in.
"Maybe so. If he manages to do so, will you send Orion after us?" Damasen knew the response before he even posed the question.
"Do not fool yourself. You will not escape." Tartarus' laugh of crashing glass came in response.
"I will humor you. If you escape with Perseus, Orion will not be the only one on your trail. The godlings on Olympus will also be hunting for Perseus. That includes the rest of your brothers. They will receive that direct order from me." Tartarus finished as he began to sink into the bed as he was returning to embody his entire realm.
Author's note: I wanted to let all of you know that these updates might be spaced out. Although I am home due to COVID-19 closures, online classes have been a bitch with extra course work. In addition, sometimes I tend to go MIA for a while, but I will try my best to continue to work on my other stories.
Lastly, I know my sentence structure and grammatical errors are very apparent. However, sometimes I do not have the time to look over my writing. Adding on, with the coursework I won't have time to review my writings. So, if anyone wants to volunteer and help me out that would be greatly appreciated.
I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far. I hope this will keep you entertained throughout this pandemic. I also hope other stories on fanfiction can entertain others so we can all flatten the curve by staying indoors.
Like always enjoy the ride :).