More varied than any landscape was the landscape in the sky, with islands of gold and silver, peninsulas of apricot and rose against a background of many shades of turquoise and azure.The silence was even more golden than the clouds in the heavens; so quiet was the heavenly mountain top that even the slightest rustle of leaves would be heard from miles away. The birds chirped happily as they sipped the nectar from the flowers in Demeter's and Hera's gardens. Any being that was outside would have felt the gentle caress of the wind, would have fallen asleep on the lush grass because of the tranquil atmosphere. It was so peaceful, so quiet.
In short, it was one of the most frightening experiences to ever occur on Mount Olympus. Never in the history of their Pantheon had the mountain been so silent. In the Throne Room, eighteen beings can be seen sitting around a long rectangular table.
They are the gods- well, some of them, anyway. At the head of the table was the King of the Gods, and the god of Lightning, Thunder and Justice, Zeus. His elbows were propped up on the table, his finger laced together under his bearded chin. The others are Queen Hera (Zeus' wife and sister, goddess of Marriage, Motherhood and Fertility), King Poseidon (ruler of Atlantis, god of the Sea, Stormbringer, Earthshaker, Father of Horses), Queen Amphitrite (wife of Poseidon, Mother of Fish and Dolphins), Prince Triton (son Poseidon, god of the Tides), Lady Demeter (goddess of Weather and Agriculture), Lord Ares (son of Zeus, god of War), Lady Athena (daughter of Zeus, goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy), Lord Apollo (son of Zeus, god of Music, Poetry, Art, Prophecy and the Sun, Twin Archer), Lady Artemis (daughter of Zeus, goddess of the Hunt, the Wild, Childbirth and the Moon, Twin Archer), Lord Hephaestus (son of Zeus, god of Blacksmiths, Fire and the Forge), Lady Aphrodite (wife of Hephaestus, goddess of Love, Procreation, Desire and Sex), Lord Hermes (son of Zeus, god of Speed, Travel and Trade, Messenger of the Gods), Lord Dionysus (son of Zeus, god of Wine and Insanity), King Hades (ruler of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead, god of Riches and Underground), Queen Persephone (wife of Hades, daughter of Demeter, goddess of Springtime), Lady Hecate (goddess of Witches, Sorcery, Magic, the Mist and Crossroads, as well as Olympus' double agent), and Lady Hestia (the Last Olympian, goddess of the Home, the Hearth and Hope).
The reason for their silence was obvious to the residents of the celestial mountain; their most recent enemy, Typhon, had mysteriously disappeared and was nowhere to be found- as well as Oceanus, Poseidon's sworn enemy. They weren't even in Alaska! And that wasn't the only problem. Suddenly, the massive doors opened. The gods turned their heads towards the entrance, their hands on their respective weapons. They relaxed when they saw it was just Iris, the goddess of Rainbows, Hermes' female counterpart. She stepped inside and the doors automatically slammed shut. As she walked towards the table, Zeus waved his hand and a seat appeared at the end of the table. She bowed her head in thanks and quietly sat down, conjuring up a crystal ball and placing it on the table.
"Are you ready?" she asked, looking each of them in the eyes before stopping at Hecate, Olympus' spy for Kronos. They murmured their assent. Both Hecate and Iris put their hands on the crystal ball and closed their eyes. A single column of light shone from the top of the sphere, and then that lengthened and expanded until it was a giant rectangular screen. Three old women sitting by a table appeared on screen. They were the Three Fates, the Moirae- Clotho the Weaver, Lachesis the Measurer and Atropos the Cutter.
"Gods of the Greco-Roman Pantheon," their raspy voices echoed, "we welcome you to the Future. As you know, a legacy of Apollo form a later time has informed the Titan King of his demise." At this, Apollo sighed in disappointment. Why couldn't that blasted augur just keep his mouth shut?
"To prevent this, Kronos has sent a score of half bloods to the Future, therefore altering Fate. We are greatly displeased. If these half bloods are not returned to their time period, Kronos will be able to defeat you, gods of Olympus, and wake Gaia. These particular half bloods are essential to the course of Destiny. They will be following a new prophecy, one that you need to see unfold. You will either witness the succession of preserving Olympus," they paused to share a look, "or razing it to the ground. Oceanus', as well as Typhon's, location is unknown.
"The score of half bloods are as followed: Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, Drew Tanaka, daughter of Aphrodite," Aphrodite grinned, "Michael Yew, son of Apollo, Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo, Will Solace, son of Apollo," a proud, genuine smile made its way on Apollo's face, "Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, Malcom Wallace, son of Athena," Ares smirked while Athena frowned at the lack of mention of her favorite daughter, "Katherine Gardiner, daughter of Demeter, Miranda Gardiner, daughter of Demeter, Pollux Fresco, son of Dionysus," said god smiled sadly, "Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate," Hades frowned (if they were going in alphabetical order, why hadn't his son been mentioned?), "Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus, Nyssa Leven, daughter of Hephaestus" Hephaestus grunted, "Travis Stoll, son of Hermes, Connor Stoll, son of Hermes," said god let out a quiet cheer for his sons, making Artemis roll her eyes at his 'immaturity,' "and last but certainly not the least, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," Athena relaxed, "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," Hades nodded, "Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus," Zeus and Artemis nodded as well, "and Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon."
Unconsciously, everyone looked at the sea god from the corner of their eyes and were surprised to find him with a stoic expression on his face. They then realized the cause of his monotany was sitting beside him; his scowling wife and son, Amphitrite and Triton.
"Anything that has been missed will be recorded and transferred to the mind of the god or goddess that has missed it. Enjoy." With that, they disappeared from the screen. A play sign popped up on the screen. The caption read 'Day One.'
"Everyone is able to see the screen, right?" asked the kindhearted Hestia. They nodded. "Then let us begin." Zeus leaned back in his seat, changing it into a leather recliner. Seeing this, the others changed their seats into something more comfortable, even going as far as to make popcorn and other snacks and drinks appear. On an unspoken cue, every god and goddess in the room muttered one word to begin playing 'Day One.'
"Commence."
The first sentence is from Cecil Beaton. I don't own it. Or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
-Mai.