Earlier that day in another location
On a mountain there were a series of palaces, each was unique. But within one of them was a goddess, she wore white and blue clothes which seemed to be custom-fitted to her body. She had golden braces on her arms, and a golden helm was placed near where she sat.
Usually, she would wear armour but not when she was relaxing. Her skin was a rich brown and held an almost imperceptible radiance. Her hair is light brown and curly reaching to the base of her neck. Her eyes were blue, like the sky or ocean with a depth to match both. Each eye spoke of a soul that encompassed more than one might see, a non-visible piece of importance lay behind those eyes. Wisdom and knowledge.
Athena sensed a small tug on her power, she looked up from her tapestry for a moment before she shrugged off the minor distraction. The minor tugs at her domain were an uncommon thing, but this tug was so short-lived that it wasn't a cause for concern.
Typically when something tugged at her domain, it was because one of the other gods started to tread in it. It was not entirely uncommon for gods to have some similarities in Domain.
Pan and Hermes both held some domain over herding, and while the wild god was considered to have more power in that department. They occasionally tugged at the other, it wasn't malicious or painful. It was just the result of their being only so much space for dominion, some gods took it better than others. It was the reason that the three sons of Kronos had made very clear lines on what was theirs to govern.
All that small tug almost certainly meant was that one of the other gods was acting smarter than usual and it was noticed by the mortals, it well could have even been a mortal. If the tug had gone on longer then it would have been a sign of the mortals placing emphasis on that. Despite the gods being rather steady and powerful, there was a reason they wanted worship and sacrifices. It made gods stronger to have more faith and weaker to have less faith. But at a certain point, it became harder for the loss of gain of faith to have an effect on a god's power. In a sense, there were diminishing returns and diminishing losses. For example, Ares was still formidable despite not receiving much worship compared to the rest of the Olympians.
It would be accurate to say it felt like they were drained without it. Without worship and sacrifice, they would weaken and begin to experience a feeling that resembled mortal mental taxation. If there was a drop in worship they would feel uncomfortable before eventually settling into the new norm. If there was a rise, they would experience a boost of energy and power.
The intervening period of noticing a difference in power was usually a year if the drop or rise was small. If the fall or increase was large then it would take less time based on magnitude. Such as it was, they didn't feel the strain or jump of every rise or fall, only the larger cases. This was also the reason gods often got angry at bad offerings or little amounts of offerings. Of course, if all a person could give was a small amount then their faith would often make up for it.
If someone made large sacrifices but didn't worship the god genuinely, it didn't count for much more than a small offering. Athena wasn't necessarily used to the feeling of the tug at her domain. But that doesn't mean she cared about something so short-lived.
After all, it meant no threat to her strength in much the same way a small drop in offerings was no threat. Just an annoyance and something to look into should it need correcting.
Her attention was on her current work, she was weaving a new tapestry as a gift for Persephone. Demeter hadn't trusted many with her daughter before the goddess of flowers was kidnapped. Athena and Artemis were someone the few younger in terms of gods meant that the trio had kept good company together.
A sort of friendship formed, though Athena was sure that was true. Sisterly bonding was more accurate. This was all so long ago now, much had changed since then. Not the least of which being that Kore was her sister's name till she was wed. The fates did love dramatic changes, didn't they, those sisters and their prophecies.
Now, whenever springtime came about and Persephone rose from her shared domain Athena would visit at least a week or two after. Nothing was stopping her from coming earlier but the first few weeks of her Kor's return were precious to Demeter. It was a courtesy not to take too much of her sister's time till later in the year.
Though it also helped that Spring was busy in terms of planting, and thus the help Persephone gave to her mother was invaluable. The same in early fall before the final harvest. Athena's half-sister always returned to her lord and husband, Hades before the final harvest.
The tapestry was an intricate piece, it depicted a simple lake, with a tree next to the viewer's gaze. With Athena's skill, you would have a difficult time telling the difference between it and reality if you placed it a few feet away from someone. By the time the tapestry is done, she will visit her half-sister.
In the intervening time, when she isn't working on her latest piece she sees to her worshippers. Offering minor guidance and the smallest of blessings. Nothing greater than bestowing wisdom at times of need, it was just small pushes for a better future really. Giving mortals a hand and seeing them better themselves from there.
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Underneath a mountain of roaring flame came the sounds of a steady rhythm. It wasn't musically, nor did it sound pleasant in its right. No, the loud sounds of metal crashing and ringing were not pleasant in their own sense. Not unless you had an appreciation for the work each swing came from.
Deep in the volcano's depths, a god stood over an anvil. Some would say slaving away at the red hot metal in the god's grasp. But slaving would imply that he didn't wish to do so. He had a squared and boxy set of features on his face, a nasty scarred gash ran over his forehead and the top of his head. This left his hair with an odd dent in it that came from the lack of hair in the scar.
This had never bothered the god, however, as he had often shaved his black shiny hair to near baldness. His beard was large and unkempt, small embers seemed to form in the hairs even though the god was always skillful in keeping himself safe while he worked. Not that simple fire could ever hurt him, 'But it was good to keep in the habit should it ever do so' he had told himself.
The god's eyes were a steely grey, his skin a light olive beneath the black soot of his work's dirt and grime. He was ugly, well, at least to most. He was strong and his body showed that, but his odd and damaged face made it difficult for most to see him as handsome. Certainly, he didn't seem godly or divine.
Hephaestus hammered at a piece of iron, the deity was workshopping a new machine. Many of his fellow gods called the less impressive of his works 'toys' as if they were not marvels of skill and science. Oh yes, science, the magic the god of the forge wove into many of his works was an art in its own right.
But the absolute basics of the world being used to their fullest, without the magic of a god to back it up. Made the 'basic' works like that of the mortals, where what made it extraordinary was not necessarily who made it, or what magic it had. But how it was made, and what it was meant to do.
Just as he made the final swing of his hammer he felt a tug. He looked up from his work for a moment before shaking his head and quenching the hot metal. 'Some mortal must have gotten good at forging. Maybe they won a war with his weapons and he now has a minor cult or something.' the god gave pause as he thought, 'Or maybe Ares actually learned how to make his own weapons instead of just maintaining them.'
Another pause led to a small chuckle, 'No, it's more likely that some skillful soul down there invented some new technique in something. Maybe I should take a look sometime, after all. How often do I get to learn something, even if I master it on the spot, mortals are an excellent source of fresh ideas.' Putting those thoughts aside the god got back to work.
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Present time on Crete
The priest of Athena sat inside of his small home, he sat across from a robe that hid the entirety of the wearer's form. The cloth was a faded white, it was not dirty, just old and well worn. Partway into their conversation, the priest asked as politely as possible, if it was possible for the Machine God to take a physical form so he knew where to look when the two conversed.
After a moment of thought, the deity had asked Korban for some old clothes. The man had complied at the time and produced garments of decent quality. Though they were plain, the robes served their purpose. By applying pressure outward instead of inward as they had done with the fake body of smoke, they created the illusion of a body beneath.
While not perfect the older man had seemed content. The pair's conversation had and continued to be on the supposed origins of the world. When it became clear that the deity was unfamiliar with the story behind not only the gods but the world itself. Korban began to tell of the creation story that had been passed down from the gods to mortals.
By the time Korban had finished explaining the creation of the world and the origins for each Olympian, dusk had started to settle. "I believe that is the majority of it, my lord." The priest had not consciously realized that he had begun to refer to them as 'my lord' as opposed to simply 'lord'.
It was a small change that meant little, but it showed a relaxation around the deity which was appreciated, if only because fear without reverence was distasteful. Thus they found respect without fear preferable to fear with no worship. They spoke to the man in response, having remained mostly silent during the tale, "An interesting interpretation and tale, how much of it is true we do not know. But there are a few things we need confirmation on. If you would be so kind, Korban."
Korban had expected more questions earlier, though it was most often children that were told about the start of creation, the small ones did love to question. "Of course my lord, what is it?"
A question to answer a question, "Chaos as you call it, we can not tell why but its' name troubles us. Can you go into more depth about this entity, their appearance seemed brief for such a large and central entity?"
The former Athenian pondered for a moment, "I am afraid I can not say much. I suspect that the gods themselves may not know much about Master Khaos. Perhaps now that creation exists the primordial nothing is gone to sleep, or perhaps simply observes from afar, content to see what happens. The first of the primordial siblings is certainly mysterious."
As the deity spoke the hood of the robe looked away from the human towards the ceiling, "Hmmm, primordial nothing. The name is the only line of connection then, we remember much darker and maddening connections to that word. A thought for another time." Looking back at Korban the man had a look of confusion on his face, "Our next question is related to the Olympians."
The man tensed at the possible question the lord of knowledge may ask, "I will do my best to answer."
"Of the twelve Olympians, Hestia was once a member as she was a child of Kronos. The eldest in fact. Though you briefly mentioned that Dionysus took her place, what do you mean?" the man calmed slightly.
"Well my lord, goddess Hestia abdicated her seat to lord Dionysus. The true reason is not known, though it is theorized by some she grew tired of her position and saw the young demi-god as a way to leave." the deity hummed at the answer, the sound a neutral tone though it was hard to tell.
"Our last question for now, out of the twelve. Seven are children of king Zeus. And four are illegitimate, does queen Hera not take issue with this. I know you explained that she acted against the titan Leto and the Dionysus in their tales. But why does she not simply divorce him due to repeated adultery?" the question seemed to make the priest a tad uncomfortable.
"She is the goddess of marriage, to be unmarried is one thing. To leave a marriage, whether or not she attempts another would set a bad precedent among mortals I think." the mortal moved his hands in such a way as to show uncertainty.
The deity hummed again, this time with a slight tone of disapproval, 'My servants never married, but their parents almost always did. As a couple, they would work together to best support humanity and my cult as a set of role models for their children, and eventually, that would lead to a proper adept from their line.'
Eventually, it was never guaranteed, three generations of cult members and skilled offspring from that were the minimum requirement to become an adept and learn to become a Tech-priest. "But it is a good precedent for adultery to go unimpeded. What is the point of marriage if it is taken lightly?" the voice actually had a tone to it, sounding almost rhetorical. "It matters little right now. You may go to sleep Korban. We shall leave for now."
Before the robes floated completely out of the door the man spoke, "Wait! Lord," the robes paused, "You said for now, what will you do when you return?"
The figure turned to face the man, "I plan to establish a cult, I see no reason not to start here. Will that be a problem?"
The man gave a moment to consider, "Only if you do not force them, they are good people. I am sure you could convince them to honour you, but please be understanding."
The man's fear was thick in the air, a sort of unease at opposing something he felt too strong. "Forcing servitude does not create good faith, only bitter resentment. No one shall worship me out of obligation, only out of a sense of faith and duty."
The Robes left the house, leaving Korban alone. As the older man began to wind down from the day the deity left to see to other matters.
AN: What's that you say? You don't know why I chose to make those two gods look that way. Why it's simple really, look at Athena's art in the game "Hades". The forge boy was my interpretation though since he doesn't have art there. Also, If you are not familiar with Theogony I recommend the "Overly Sarcastic Productions" summary of it on Youtube. Btw let me know if I ever slip up and use 'I' instead of 'we' when the Machine God speaks.
AN2: I changed how faith affects the gods in this chapter, they can grow stronger or weaker but only to a point. Let me know via review or pm if I need to edit my story here or elsewhere to be in line with this.
