Artemis
You would think that after all these years, after all that we had lost, that we, the gods, would have grown used to the loss of mere mortals.
But though we would never admit it, we were more human than they realized. We loved, we felt sadness and pain, and we certainly felt loss. Especially when those we lost were more important to us than they realized.
So it was with the burning of these shrouds. Silver tears slid down my cheeks as I wept for the hunters that I had lost in the final battle.
Their burial shrouds laid perfectly straight on a rectangular slab of stone as they burned brightly, symbols sometimes appearing in the smoke representing their godly parents, or patrons.
I was more stoic for the other shroud burnings. The campers I had not known as well, not to mention there were a fair amount of men among the deceased campers.
I would not disrespect their memory, for even I didn't hate a man that much, except Orion. But despite all my qualms about men, even I could not help the feeling of sadness that came from watching Perseus's burial shroud go up in flames.
Though we did not know what was happening with him in Tartarus, no one objected when his shroud appeared. We all knew too well the dangers associated with where he was.
All seemed to be affected in some way by his shroud.
Poseidon broke down weeping as his immortal wife held him and whispered into his ears.
Ares had shifted into Mars and was saluting.
Dionysus raised his chalice of wine up in a toast and actually seemed more sober than usual.
Athena had her arms around her weeping daughter who had broken down only when we had reached Perseus's shroud. Athena's head was bowed in respect, and several owls flew a few feet above her head, hooting in sadness. Athena had just recently made complete peace with Perseus dating her daughter, so it was understandable that she to felt the loss.
Both Aphrodite and Demeter were working their own respective powers with eyes filled with sadness. Flowers bloomed around the shroud and glitter fell gently over it while doves circled it.
Zeus had started a very light drizzle, not enough for anyone to actually get wet, but enough to know that he was saddened.
My usual idiot of a brother had actually toned it down with the flashy outfits, and was playing a sad melody on his lyre the brought many over the edge to tears.
Hephaestus had fireworks shooting into the sky and each one depicted a monster that Perseus had beaten. The Minotaur showing up several times as it seemed to have a vendetta against Perseus.
Hades stood somberly by the top of the shroud chanting the ancient death rites while black flames seemed to pour from him, surrounding Perseus's shroud with them.
Hestia stood opposite of Hades, tending the flames as she always did while she murmured words over the shroud, and tears of fire leaked down her cheeks.
Hera stood next to Zeus, hand in hand with the lord of the sky, a dark shawl covering her face, allowing no one to see the sadness it held.
Hermes was above us all as he floated about ten feet above the ground, his Cadaecus in its normal form with both George and Martha slithering around the pole. All could hear as they whispered, "Poor Percy, Poor Percy."
As Perseus's shroud finally burned out, many of the observers left except for myself, and my Hunters. I approached where the shroud had been, and I placed my hand gently on the stone, already cool to touch.
"I shall miss you Perseus," I said much to the shock of my hunters. "You were the only one to gain Zoe's respect, and mine as well. You have been the only decent man I have every met. I hope that you do return to us someday, for we all need to see your smile once again."
I turned away to see most of my hunters bowing their heads in respect to the one man able to gain their mistress's respect. All except Thalia, who immediately hugged me and broke down sobbing.
I held her tightly as I whispered assurances to her while the rest of her sisters gathered close as well to help comfort her. Eventually she composed herself again, and with another sad smile to the stone table where the shroud was burned, we walked towards my palace.
Thalia
Twenty years had passed since Percy had fallen into Tartarus.
Few had any hopes of him returning after so long.
The notable ones that did were myself, Poseidon, and the immortal campers.
Annabeth had admirably remained faithful for Percy for eight years. She had thrown herself into her studies and the projects on Daedalus's laptop.
But work could only stem off the pain of the separation for so long. I had noticed that my friend was becoming more and more withdrawn.
I tried to comfort Annabeth, but when that failed, I resorted to setting up an intervention for her.
All of her closest friends were there along with her mother, as well as Percy's. After a long conversation with everyone, she decided that she would try to move on for Percy's sake. A decision that everyone supported, for they knew it was what Percy would have wanted. Not for his beloved "Wise Girl" to wither away to nothing.
A year after the intervention and several dates later, Annabeth had found someone she enjoyed being with almost as most as Percy. And less than six months ago, they had gotten married, with myself and Percy's mother as some of the bridesmaids.
Before all of that drama, Poseidon had managed to make up with Amphitrite only a year after Percy's fall. She had forgiven him for being unfaithful, and had allowed him to sire more children with two restrictions.
The first being that he better not bed as many women as Apollo. She promised that she would treat these new demigods like family if they showed up. Surprisingly Triton had managed to swallow his pride when he heard his mother say this, and promised to do the same.
The second restriction being that he give her another child.
And so before a second year of Percy's disappearance had past, a new goddess of the sea was born.
They named her Saphi, and when she was six months old, she was granted her domains, goddess of the Sea Breeze, Beaches, and Shallow Waters.
Eight years after Percy's disappearance, she still had given no sign if she planned to marry. Nor, for that matter, if she was interested in anyone. Though I could swear that the few times I had seen her, which had always been during a gathering on Olympus, that I had seen her staring at Nico for long periods of time.
Sally and Paul had conceived another child, who was born four years after Percy's fall, and they named her Diane. Though she was mortal, she was introduced to all of her half brother's friends and several godly figures such as Athena, and Hestia.
Many of those close to Percy took it upon themselves to become her eccentric "aunts" and "uncles."
She was sixteen now, and on a higher intellect level than most high school honor students. A feat attributed to Athena herself tutoring the girl. It had started out as a way to repay Percy for all the kindness he had shown her daughter. But there were whispers that Athena was planning on asking her to be her lieutenant though such rumors would have ordinarily drawn the ire of her children. After meeting the young girl,however, they all agreed that she was perfect for the role.
Piper and Jason dated for five more years before Jason finally asked Piper to marry him. She immediately said yes and kissed him, only to be interrupted by Aphrodite who was ecstatic at the idea of a wedding.
That little scene I had later joked was the reason why Jason's face seemed to be slightly red at all times. Of course every time I brought it up, his face grew even redder. They were engaged for a year before they finally tied the knot. The after party taking place on Olympus itself due to Zeus being so happy about his sons marriage. The party was the first time I had ever seen all the gods together at once actually having fun. Even the minor gods were present and partying because of how large of a bash it was.
And last but not least were my sisters, the Hunters. We had great reason to be happy in the years after Percy's fall. Many new recruits came to us from the Roman camp, especially when the camp was being moved to New York to merge with camp Half-Blood. The new camp, Camp Olympus, was the first of its kind.
All the children of the gods finally working together as one. The ideals of both camps merged together, and a new breed of Heroes came into being. Empowered by both Roman and Greek training, these Heroes could easily hold their own against most monsters.
And when they stood united with their other heroes, they became unstoppable. The endless tide of monsters returning to the world seemed to slack off over the years. But they were still plenty to go around for the campers to fights, and for us to hunt.
