AN: Thanks to Brother Bov and Imoneoldfart for name suggestions. I decided to combine the two of them. Sorry for not updating, not much of an excuse I can give, so I won't. In other news, I am currently taking a course on ancient Greek and Roman religion so that is interesting. I am learning things.

I edited this chapter. I am fine btw, I just didn't really proofread, sorry.


After the couple had returned the deity set about making new robes. The robes were very similar to the ones they had for themselves. A hood, long sleeves, and it flows down to the shins of most people. The fabric was white and expensive, they knew this because the couple had told them when asked. When the couple relayed their tale to the lord of Mars they said that they had told the merchant they bought from this fabric was for the new god.

That had only reduced the price of the fabric slightly, but their honesty and commitment to doing as the deity had requested were wonderful. It was partially out of fear, but partially out of a desire to prove both themselves to the divine. The lord of all machines told the couple to go to their home and bring back objects they used in their professions. Though apparently, the wife was in a role of domestic maintenance. That was normal, in this land, or so the deity was told by them and Korban.

'Man and woman are not equal partners, not here and now. Something to change, the mind is just as great if not on occasion greater in women than most men.' though that just meant exceptional women were better than average men, obviously true really, 'Many of our great priests were born female before their cybernetic ascension.' Regardless of that, it was not an immediate concern, so the pair were told to bring objects.

As the trinity started to construct the robes they speak with Korban, the priest was often looking at the tree as they both did so. "Tell us Korban, you have asked us to tell you of what we may do later, what about you? More prayer?" the question brought the Athenian's gaze back to the new red robes of the deity.

"I-hmm, I am not sure. I had been praying when you found me but I had promised to help someone later today with their broken door. While being a priest is nice, it isn't as if being a priest is a full-time position. I have to help out around town to earn my keep somehow. That, and it helps break up my weekly activities." the deity turned their robes to look at Korban, never pausing their work.

"What do you mean it isn't a full-time position? And does your spiritual guidance not earn your keep?" the old man shook his head.

"No, I do offer guidance but most people don't need much from me when it comes to the gods. Though I am seen as somewhat of a leader here, mostly due to my age, but also because of my skills and reputation of wisdom from a travelled life." this was certainly different to the lord of steel.

"How is it that you are a priest then, why would you need priests if you have no need for guidance?" Once the lord of machine spirits finished their sentence Korban spoke in an informative tone.

"Priests perform rituals better than those who are not trained. And are at least back in Athens an important position you are voted into. I was an oddity back in Athens, I was never appointed as a priest but I worked at the temple and as far as the priests were concerned I was one." the part-time priest of Athena seemed to sigh but continued his speech.

"I did all the rituals and prayers so well that no one saw a need to appointment me. Everyone I interacted with already treated me like a priest. And outside of Athens, becoming a priest isn't really democratic. When I came here to stay I already knew some people here so they trusted me. A lot adds up to make my situation unique." the robes nodded, that made sense in its own way.

A robe was finished and was set aside. As another was started, "Tell us, we have not deeply looked into this but your people are ruled by a king yes? There is a king that presides over this village from the city of Creteonus?" Korban nodded.

"Yes, King Basil of house Kaftos I believe. There are only minor protections for the village, a few patrols, roads. But the taxes are very light. So no one complains, at least that I have heard." keeping the political landscape in mind would be important, their future followers lived in that landscape after all. A long pause of silence, "Omnissiah what do you think your new tree should be called?"

The question gave the Machine God pause, "How does Rust Root sound?" the question was genuine, they had thought of it from the iron rust that gave Mars its colour, but they did not know how others may see it.

"Hmm. I suppose it is as good a name as any. Has a bit of a rolling sound to it." the conversation continued on from there.

As the two spoke and robes were made the couple returned, after a quick explanation of what they were doing and the couple's new duties. The lord of all machines bestowed machine spirits on the objects they had brought. Though since they were not machines their spirits were weak. They had given a lot so he gave them several machine spirits. 'Walenty and Adga, the both of you have done us a service. Hopefully, our gifts repay you'

Walenty took himself and Adga away to their home again, and soon after the robes were complete. Seven robes, all of them were given the same dye pattern as the deity's own robe. Red all over but at the cuffs, hood, and bottom. There, white patterned teeth like of a cog. Korban bid his goodbyes saying he had better go keep his promise about that door. And the deity stored away all of the new robes.

'Now we go to Tritia.'

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Creteonus at that moment

The officer who had visited the smith and obtained a new sword was rather happy. After he had given the bronze blade to a friend he owed drinking money Nadim returned to his duties. Nadim was of course his name and in the hours since the morning where he had met with the smith. It was now a bit past the time of midday meal and he had already spread the word around the guards he knew.

He had shown the sword to some of his fellow guards, especially those under his command. Even a few other Captains who seemed to him at least, envious. They didn't have anything but his word of its quality but steel was unique both in colour and weight when brought into contrast with bronze. He had said he had bought it from the less popular smith and it wasn't much more expensive than his regular blade.

It was then when a higher officer came up to him. Nadim was an officer, a Captain, above a Hoplite soldier. The officer that approached him was a Battalion leader. The higher officer spoke, "The king has ordered a meeting for all officers down to Captain, follow me. We're having trouble rounding up all of the officers since even lower-ranked officers like you were summoned."

Nadim wondered what could possibly need all officers to be present. The two approached the palace and saw a great many officers walking together. Soon enough the large group was in the courtyard, it was the only way to have all of the officers stand with some comfortable distance between each other.

As the officers quietly talked among themselves Nadim noted that they were all wondering why they were called together. "My soldiers." the king was standing on a stage in the courtyard. His voice was strong and confident. Nadim hadn't really heard the king speak outside of speeches, and he realized he probably still hasn't.

"You may be wondering why I have called you here, let alone so many of you. It is simple, when I slept last night I found myself in a dream. In that dream, I soon found myself visited by three women." a few murmurs among the officers. "One was a young girl not yet even into her tenth winter, another was a vibrant woman who appeared to me without perceivable flaw," the king's words worried some, and were terrifying to others.

The king at the mention of the woman seemed partially lost in thought before he continued, "And the last was an old woman with wrinkles on her face and a hunched over back." now only the densest of the guards were not already seeing where this was going. "When I woke up this morning I had begun to forget what they said to me, as with all dreams, but I spoke what I did remember aloud. Armed with what I drew from my vision I immediately consulted with my advisors."

An intentional pause, "I hope I do not need to tell you, any of you. How important a message not only from the gods but from the three Fates themselves are." Dead silence met his words, most were wondering why they were being told this news, some were hoping this wouldn't spell doom for the city or at least them and their family. "When I told all I knew to my advisors they told me we could not act on it unless we informed more people."

Most people didn't breathe, a few were shaking, "So I come to you, all of you, with my vision and hopes you find what I, no, what we need." a spattering of quick words jumped from a few of the officers' mouths before falling silent once more, "I do not remember all the flowery poetry that made up the prophecy I heard from the three sisters. But I remember enough. 'Find the one with the sword of silver shine, and trace it to its source. To embrace or cast it out is the line, the latter shall bring destruction in due course.'"

If the guard officers weren't scared before they were now, Nadim, nearly pissed himself. 'It, it can't be. I-' his thoughts were cut off as the few Captains he had told met his eyes, 'I-I ca-' the king spoke again.

"I will need you to help me find this 'sword of silver shine' and wherever it came from. I trust you will all act with the haste needed to revolve the matter, I expect such from my officers. Any questions?" a bit of chatter came from the group of officers.

"Your highness?" an officer spoke, the king nodded to the one who had to continue, "Well, I was ah, wondering why you told any of this instead of just ordering us to find the sword." the others nodded, the news was frightening, ignorance could have been kept.

The king nodded, "To give you motivation, but I suspect one of the things I forgot is related. I have a general impression I had to call as many of my people in on this as possible." a pause, "That is the best I can offer you no-"

Just then Nimba couldn't take it anymore, "Sire!" his voice coming out louder than he thought it would. All eyes that could see him turned to look at him.

"Yes? What is it... Captain? Do you have a question?" if the king was annoyed at being interrupted he didn't show it. Likely worry dulling any temper, perhaps.

Nadim hesitated before he realized he wouldn't be able to hide this even if he tried, given he had been showing off his sword. "I uhh," he swallowed hard before continuing, "I think, I have a lead, maybe…"

The king seemed surprised, "Really? What is it? Step forward." The questions and then order made the Captain all the more nervous if that were possible. The man stepped forward as instructed and moved to stand before the stage. This seemed odd to the king and those accompanying him, the words to tell him that he didn't have to come front and center were about to be said when Nadim slowly started to pull his sword from the sheath.

It was painfully slow, with no sudden moves. When he was done King Basil saw a sword that shone like silver, though it was rather grey too. Nadim slowly held it out and upward to the king tip facing to the side so as not to seem threatening. The king moved and took the blade by the small bit of exposed handle carefully. Once the sword was fully transferred to the king he examined it in silence. The whole of the courtyard in a silence that made all the other silences seem loud by comparison.

"Where did you get this sword…" the words were tense, or at least they felt that way to Nadim. Quickly clearing his throat he spoke back to his king.

"I-I got it from the smith this morning, Sire." the king looked at the Captain as if trying to gauge his answer.

"Qadir? One of his assistants?" the guard shook his head and the king frowned slightly.

"No Sire. The smith I use isn't from Qadir's workshop; he is an independent and solo smith that lives down by the city walls. I- if I may confess I don't recall his name…" the king thinned his lips and looked at the sword.

"What can you tell me about this sword? And the smith, what is your impression of him?" the king was now swinging the sword, testing it for himself.

"I can not tell you much of the smith, but of the sword, I know enough. The smith called it Steel, I saw him demonstrate the quality he claimed it to have and that he had made it through trial and error. Beyond that he would not share.." the king frowned.

"What do you mean by the 'quality he claimed it to have,' I can see quality craftsmanship yes but what do you mean?" the Captain nearly smacked himself but stayed at a stiff and obedient position with his arms by his sides.

"A-Apologies my king. What I meant to say was that he told me that the blade is harder than bronze, from the Steel, it gets that...from the Steel." his nervous speech went uncommented on.

The king instead looked more intensely at the blade than he had before, "Well…" King Basil turned to the rest of his army officers. "Return to your duties immediately, do not speak of this meeting to anyone. Not even each other. Am I understood?"

Many shouted back in "Yes Sir!", others in "Yes your majesty!" regardless, the message was delivered. As the officers filed out, Basil looked at the still and stiff Nadim.

"What is your name Captain?" if at all possible the guard straightened up further.

"N-Nadim sir." the king smiled. The king hopped down from the stage and was followed by his advisors.

"Well Nadim." the sword was passed back to the Captain. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like destruction is ever good, especially in relation to us. Let us pay your smith friend a visit, hmm?" the guard nodded and put his sword in the sheath. "Let's go then."

As he had said that the monarch motioned for the guard to lead. The group of six, Nadim, King Basil, three advisors, and two personal guards walked through the palace. When it became clear the king was leaving the palace, more of the king's personal guard joined the group. Under his breath the king muttered too quietly to be heard, "Let us all hope this ends well. Zeus, please have mercy on us."

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Earlier, that morning, in a sacred garden

Demeter looked up from her work, currently, she was attending to one of her trees. The reason for her interruption was something...new. 'Likely Kore, that girl is always making new plants, a bit odd that it isn't a flower this time… ah well I think if I am feeling this right it is a flowering tree.' these thoughts were accompanied with a smile.

It had been two weeks since she had had Kore back, she suspected her daughter would soon have a few friends come over. 'Kore would be miserable if she couldn't meet with Artemis, Athena, or any of her other friends. I am glad to have her all to myself for a while though.'

A few nymphs came over to Demeter and walked away with a small bow once she had given them a few orders, 'Prioritizing my focus on the newly planted crops always makes managing the rest of my domain difficult. If it weren't for the nymphs I'd give myself a headache trying to balance it all without any problems.'

The goddess was in her usual outfit of dark greens and browns. Her almost silvery hair was rather striking. And seemed out of place, unlike her bright green eyes which fit quite well with her on the whole. She returned to her work as another thought struck her, 'It is always busy this time of year. It's to be expected, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.'

Elsewhere in the home of Demeter, Persephone sat while tending to some food crops. Gods didn't need to eat, so long as they got a steady amount of belief from rituals, burnt offers, drink offerings, and general faith then they would be fine. Of course, there was ambrosia and nectar to consider, only gods were supposed to have either of those. On occasion, exceptions were made, for other immortals. But nymphs and others like them were already in with the company of the gods.

Though one could suppose that a difference between gods and other immortals is that gods had true forms. Not that the human-like forms they were in most of the time weren't their actual forms. Merely that gods possessed a form that showcased their domain and power. These forms were rarely ever shown and when they were, never to mortals. If they were shown to mortals, well, Dionysus can attest to what happens.

At the same time as her mother, Persephone felt something new form in the plant kingdom. 'Huh...I didn't think mother for the type to make something new, or at least truly new.' a bit of feeling about in her domain caused a small chuckle to escape her mouth, 'Well, maybe creating a flowering tree is her own little way to express happiness at my return. You'd think after two weeks back she'd have stopped being so bubbly.' a small smile to herself.

She returned to her work and thought. As she thought about how she returned here, she also thought of her husband and son, she missed them already. Her friends in the underworld were of course also on her mind from time to time. But that didn't change the fact that missed her loving husband and cheerful son. 'Even if I wish they didn't butt heads. Hades can be stubborn, and Zagreus, well… stubborn. They were very different though and it leads to a lot of conflicts.

It was usually about the company Zagreus kept, aside from his fellow chthonic deities, a lot of his friends were among shades and the servants. Somewhat unbefitting of a prince but it was good, though Hades didn't see it that way. 'Doesn't change the fact those two have a special bond, not close, but certainly loyal. Boys will be boys, doesn't mean they can't still be boys after settling an argument without trying to get the last word in.' a small sigh escaped her.

Persephone herself had friends here in the living world, and she was especially excited to see her half-sisters again. They weren't the closest being in existence but the good memories they had and made when they all met up certainly made that not matter. Though to have to live in two worlds, even if those worlds were no longer at one another's throats wasn't perfect.

Picking out some vegetables Persephone made her way back to the house. It wasn't very big, sure her mother had a palace on Olympus. And she had servants here and there but the house wasn't very big. Still bigger than most mortals' houses but for a goddess and her goddess daughter it wasn't large. A bit humble, especially with regards to finery.

Once inside she saw her mother and greeted her, "Mother, you seem in a good mood." The goddess of the harvest looked at her daughter and smiled.

"Yes, can't imagine why." both goddesses smirked at the other, each thinking the other responsible for the Rust Root. Though neither knew its name, and both were wrong, obviously.

Persephone turned from her mother to set the vegetables on the table, "Hmmm, well while we are talking. I have been meaning to ask you." her smirk now gone, replaced with a neutral expression, "What happened at the meeting last night. You came home after the sunset and you seemed worried, you went to bed before I could ask. I don't want to sour your mood but what happened?"

The goddess of the soil frowned slightly, "Ah that. Nothing to worry about. Well, not that we have found." At her daughter's confusion, Demeter informed her of the Gaia and Uranus situation. And how none of the gods had found anything of note. Nothing that confirmed anything out of the ordinary. "You haven't noticed anything have you?"

Persephone thought for a moment, "No...has Hades been informed?" her mother frowned.

"No, not that I know of. Why do you ask Kore?" Persephone almost sighed, whenever her mother heard about her husband she called her 'Kore' with a bit more force than usual. As if to say she was Kore and not Persephone. Even if Kore wasn't a name.

"Well, this is significant. So he and the underworld should know. Besides, what if whatever happened is noticeable down there?" Demeter frowned further.

"I would think that Hermes would have noticed it." Persephone shook her head.

"No, Hermes just drops off souls to Charon, and our ferryman isn't very talkative." Demeter was a little saddened at the 'our' but nodded.

"Yes, I suppose. I will ask Hermes to inform my little brother himself the next time he comes by here." she moved across the room to Persephone, "I suppose we are lucky he is due to bring us some ambrosia and nectar tomorrow for our usual crops." A pause and sigh from the goddess of the harvest, "But that is tomorrow. Come let us make preparations for lunch. Some nymphs will be joining us so we had better be ready to make large amounts." Persephone smiled and nodded, she may be a woman but spending time with her mother wasn't something one should grow out of.

'I was going to suggest calling Hades myself," Persephone thought on that as she peeled and chopped, 'Mother knew that, most likely.'


AN: Hades is a good game. This is not a Hades fanfiction, doesn't mean I don't steal a bunch from it. It's all ancient mythos what you want? Also yes Rust Root.

Yes, the fates noticed.

Also, guys real quick, after the Machine God left the gods' meeting he went and made changes to the chapel. Then went to Tritia. Then came back and talked with Korban at sunrise, Mairus talked to the Captain that morning. The DNA stuff and making the tree happened in the late morning. Then in the afternoon, the stuff in Creteonus happened right? And the whole of the story is like 4ish days, right? I make these author's notes to help me keep it straight for myself when I am writing. So confirmation would be nice.