AN: Apologies Jim, no worries on not having DMs.
School and laziness struck again, curses. Half of this was written and then sat for a semester.
Also, if this chapter is something you don't like, tell me, I am willing to listen to reasons to change it.
"Entrench it?" Zeus asked as lightning continued to flash around his new headwear.
A nod, "Hades and I sought out the goddess Styx to ensure we keep to our agreement. I do not see how such a thing would work here since the agreement would likely have to bind most, if not all, members of your council and myself. Not only that, but she is in the underworld, so the question remains, how will we insure our agreement against oathbreaking?"
The family all looked at each other, "Well, presumably, the result is for us to fight in some capacity, literal or otherwise." Ares spoke before getting glares from some members of his family, "Oh, don't give me that look; if he or us don't hold up our ends for whatever reason, we'll either argue until it is resolved or get into an actual fight, nothing I said is wrong and dancing around it won't help."
Athena spoke up with a frown on her face, "As much as I dislike the initial wording and bluntness, I have to agree that being clear is important here. Conflict, whether verbal or physical, will be the result, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that is not what we want." the daughter of Metis received nods from her family.
Hera spoke next, "So to summarize, you will follow the agreements of secrecy with us outside of where you are already revealed, you will not help any of your acolytes should they leave Crete, and Olympus shall not interfere in your activities outside of circumstances where you have or will break these terms. If these rules are followed by both, there shall be peace."
After the queen spoke, her blacksmith son quickly added, "And perhaps even friendship." he got nods of agreement from Hermes, Dionysis, and a few others, including a slightly hesitant one from Athena.
A small lapse of silence fell before a hum rang from the guest, "hm, well, if that is what you propose, then I suppose it shall work. Do we want this in writing?"
Hades chuckled, "You are a very judicious god, but while I was in a sense debating domain with you. This agreement with Olympus will likely not need a paper to signify it unless you think otherwise, brother, it is your agreement after all?" the Unseen One spoke to his youngest brother.
Zeus shook his head, "No, I think a verbal agreement is enough. I do hope you don't mind us checking in on you every now and then to see that you are holding your end of the agreement." his tone was seemingly friendly.
"So long as I am allowed to enter your domains without issue to see and speak with any among you who I need to meet, then it is balanced." a bit of silence before he clarified, "I would attempt not to intrude, but I do not wish to be denied entry without a proper reason, I would give you one too should I ask you to not."
Dionysis cut in, "Soooo, we are done, right? Gifts are given, are agreements made. We can party, relax, have a good time?" he asked as he took a sip of his beer. Those present looked at him, "What? Oh, come on, we got the serious stuff out of the way, so let's get to the fun parts; plus, how are we gonna be friends if we don't, right?"
The god of revelry smiled, which was matched by his brother next to him, "After all the running around I've been doing for this party, I am up for a bit of relaxation. Word of warning, keep an eye on your valuables." the patron of thieves seemingly joked.
Aphrodite spoke, "We've all been away from our other guests for a while; why don't we disperse and socialize?" a glint was in the goddess's eye.
The king and queen looked at each other before giving assent; at that, several people sitting at the table stood. Ares walked at a pace a little too quick to be normal. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked as he came within two metres of the Machine God.
A few council members were talking to each other, but several eyes were on the Lord of Mars and the god of war. "Very well. Do you have anywhere you wish to do so?"
The god thought for a moment before he answered, "Let's walk." the two of them began a slow walk from the group, "You are probably wondering why I approached you." the question wasn't verbally answered before he continued, "I noticed when you gave me my gift that each of the gauntlets is decorated with an engraving. Some very… life-like renderings of my sisters, Hebe, and Eileithyia…how and why?"
"I saw you with them. And I figured it made them more personal, a reminder of home; I am given to understand you leave for war often. Are there always wars in progress?" the words of the trinity caused the god to still.
The war god narrowed his eyes but continued to walk, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you've seen that. As for war, no, there aren't constant wars, nor do I appear in every battle if you were wondering. But there are wars every few years at least, and I participate at least once, whether seen or not. Of course, myself and my entourage are disguised, but we are not always seen." a pause, "Despite the clear violation of privacy, I will let this go on the condition that you promise never to do it again. With the understanding that if I find out you have, I will cut you to ribbons…thank you for the gauntlets. War is something I enjoy, but it is good to remember that not everyone does; the men that fight wars do so for something. Whether the money for back home or defending home, rarely is a soldier completely selfish."
A hum came from the Lord of Rusted Soil, "I see, you found something deeper than what I intended, though I suppose that is good. Very well, I shall refrain from an intentional invasion of privacy."
A light-hearted scoff came from the god of courage, "Not even going to apologize, are you? I suppose I did say I'd let it go." a chuckle came from Ares, "You know you are rather dry, at least from what I have seen, it is a good thing we have you here for a party, saves us time trying to get you to talk in tones other than neutral."
A chuckle came in response to that, causing the war god to open his mouth slightly in surprise, "Well," the Omnissiah spoke in a far more friendly tone, "I don't think I've ever been called dull before, my friends tend to find me quite exciting, though perhaps that is simply due to how much has happened in a mere eight days." the pair talked for a little while longer about Ares' work, walking through crowds and paths. They attracted a few eyes as they did so, but eventually, the god of commerce met them.
"Well, it looks like you two are done with your serious talk, whatever it was about; I hope you don't mind, brother, but I'd also like to borrow our guest for a bit." a smile was met by the walking pair with nods. Ares moved off to elsewhere in the celebrations while the walk moved on, with Hermes filling in for the other council member. That two members spoke to this person back to back was noticed but not by many.
"Well, given that I heard Ares talking about sword techniques just before I interrupted you, I'd assume you two resolved whatever had him tense." the Lord of All Knowledge raised a brow, "Hmm? Oh, are you perhaps wondering how I knew he was tense, simple, known him for centuries? Anyways I just wanted to thank you for the radios, though they are probably going to make it, so I am called on by my father more often. When you left, Hera suggested I give one of the radios to him so he can call me when he needs me. Well, I guess even if he didn't have it, I'd have to get to him when he calls anyways, so this just saves time." the words seemed to spill out of the excitable deity.
For the first time in a long time, He of Energeia was without a response, "Ah." the small filler word was taken as the cue to continue.
"You know there is something that has been in the back of my mind, but I've been too busy to think on it. You had openings in your house that were made of solid and clear material; was that glass? I've seen it in jewelry and other valuables, valuables of course being among my expertise, but never seen glass so clear, large and thin." the words continued to come out very quickly without rest.
'If this was how Hermes usually talks, then he must have truly been tense to have talked so slow before, have good self-control, or he is intentionally talking faster than usual for some reason.' After this thought, it was clear Hermes was waiting for an answer, "Yes it is glass. It is unsurprising, you on Olympus would have little need for it and thus would not produce it. Or perhaps you simply haven't, regardless it is just glass."
"Ah ah, it is rare, and while we on Olympus could probably make it if I gave the idea to Hephaestus and a few other gods. However, among mortals, none do or can have such quality. And that greatly interests me." the two spoke for a bit more before they arrived back to where the meeting was just held. "There were a couple of others who wanted to talk to you after Ares, so see you around the party. Goodness knows that is where I'll be."
The One of Crimson Robes looked at the departing god who was going back towards the crowds and revelry. The maneuvering of the two of them back to the others was smooth; the Omnissiah had not suspected that to be the intent behind the conversation, even if the god of lies could have just asked him to come back if the others wished to talk.
"Well, I do hope he didn't pull you away from anything important." the god of the forge spoke in an almost apologetic tone. The blacksmith received a shake of the head as a response, "Well, I hope you don't mind, but I've spent some time looking at my gift and a few other gifts. I have to say the steel I saw in Ares' gift was something I will have to think about, let alone the complexity in the things I've actually examined. I honestly do not know where to start talking to you." the forge god's excitement was hidden, but its undercurrent was not hard to spot, and his friendliness certainly was obvious.
The Granter of Directed Motion did not speak for a moment out of surprise, "Well, why not start with steel since that is the simplest, I am surprised that you know of it; I have seen no use of it. Only bronze and iron."
"Know of it, yes, but my experience with it has been limited. The only reason I knew what it was is that when I saw it in your gifts and examined it with my domain. The stuff I have made in the past was clearly low quality, at least in comparison to yours. I suppose I must have been in a rush when I made it and thus didn't improve it." the god of fire explained, causing a raised brow on the Omnissiah.
"From what I've heard of you and what little I've seen, you do not seem to be the type to do something like that. Surely you'd have truly tested many angles until you made it better and seen the worth of steel?" the Lord of Rusted Soil spoke in a tone of confusion and curiosity.
"I didn't have the time to. I am rarely not busy; most of Olympus's building projects involve me. And when I do experiments, sticking to more familiar materials for my projects is usually what I do. Not to mention all the things I haven't discovered in my domain, even after centuries, I've not stopped improving my works, don't even get me started on godly materials and metals." the rambling explanation came back around, "Regardless, I didn't see the value in it, so I didn't pursue it, my time was precious and seemingly better used in other ways."
"Why don't you tell me about what you did to make it?" the conversation proceeded for a short while, a majority of it was Hephaestus talking about his experiments. The things that particularly interested the Machine God were the mechanisms. Gears, traps, weapons, and not truly autonomous metal creatures. Made up of advanced gear systems but primarily animated by domain magic. The magic acted as both the source and direction of its movements and actions.
That led to a conversation about magic, most gods know some amount of magic. With the most powerful magic user being Hecate, goddess of magic, magic allows gods to influence the world outside of their domains to a degree or empower things in their domains to greater effect.
Eventually, the topics began to talk about the rough numbers at which you would reach a temperature to melt metals. Seeing as the All Saviour had yet to examine magical or godly metals, only Hephaestus could speak with authority on them. A cough brought the attention of the two away from discussing magical metals, "Not to be rude, but Hephaestus, you've been talking with our guest for almost an hour now. And I am not the only one who'd like also speak with him." Apollo spoke in a joking tone, attempting to lighten the mood, "Though, honestly, it is surprising that they've been talking for just as long." the god of medicine looked over to a group of Olympians to show who he meant.
The group was the six children of Kronos, with Persephone standing near her husband. The eldest sister spoke in a seemingly friendly manner with the queen of the underworld, while the remaining five gods and goddesses seemed to be tenser. At one point, Zeus would look over to see two of his sons and his guest also looking at him. "Not a clue what they are all discussing. Probably you, but I haven't the slightest what specifically or in what way. But if it was bad, they would have probably called more of us over." the god of music rambled before looking over to see that his half-brother was giving him an unamused stare.
"Ah, regardless, I meant to thank you for your gift; it took longer than I'd like to admit, but I think I am getting the hang of the 'violin' you gave to me. Would you mind showing me how you play and then guide me for a bit?" Hephaestus raised a brow.
"Let's talk again, hopefully before you leave the party." the patron of the lame moved away, leaving Apollo with the One of Gold Feathers. The god of poetry smiled, brushing some stray golden hair from his face. The halo behind his head seemed warmer and less bright.
"I did offer before, so I will help but do not expect me to be a master." from there, the pair of them began to talk and play. Apollo seemed to take to the instrument like a fish to water, such skill made the Omnissiah wonder why the god of music asked for help.
After about quarter of an hour of back and forth, the god of prophecy spoke in a different tone, "So, you said you'd come by our domains, right? Well, when you come my way, how about some more one on one tutoring in a more private setting, I'm sure we can learn a thing or two from each other." the slayer of python send a smile that seemed smug to The Lord with No Face.
Ironically for a god of prophecy, Apollo did not foresee getting a light knock to the head. "Ah, what the hell? Art?! Why?" the one who hit him was his very own twin, who was giving him a glare so unimpressed it made Hephaestus's stare seem kind in comparison.
"First off, I told you not to call me 'Art'; just say my name or sis or something. Second, you know damn well why. We just stabilized what could have been very shaky first relations with an entirely new and important deity, for reasons you know or at least should. And you are asking me why I am mad that you are immediately trying to seduce him?" at the end of her words, the eyes of the Omnissiah widened slightly.
'That wasn't smugness, that was…first Styx now…' the One of Crimson Robes continued to listen to the elder sister berate her younger twin while pulling his hood up for the first time since sitting down at the meeting. 'I should really ask someone I trust how to deal with this if it keeps coming up… Korban is probably the best bet, even if he is also probably not ideal. Jace is another option, I suppose….'
A few of the other Olympians looked over at the twins, Aphrodite looked on with the focus of a mastercraftsman analyzing materials. All the while, the twins went back and forth about the limits of being 'friendly' and inappropriate behaviour. "Go use your new instrument to seduce someone else. I need to talk with our guest, and your flirting is not helping."
"Flirting implies it isn't serious or something the person actually wants to do." spoke the god before he widen his eyes and sprinted off, violin in hand, as his sister charged.
The lunar goddess stopped after a few meters but still shouted, "Get!" she then turned to the red-hooded primordial. "Sorry you had to see all of that." she cleared her throat, "And sorry about my brother, he ah, takes after the family in certain ways, unfortunately." the goddess received a hum in response. "Yes, well, thank you for the crossbow I've had a bit of time to practice. But I'd like to see what you can do with it." after a few moments of silence, "What? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Apologies, but right after your brother's… request to have help with his gift, I am hesitant." the goddess of the hunt looked puzzled for a sec before her eyes widened, then frowned as she coughed. She was clearly
"Oh wow, uh, that is a first. Someone is worried about my advances… Moving on, look, I don't know how much you know about me, but you do know I am sworn to maidenhood, correct?" she received a nod, "Well, that stops anything…like what Apollo did, no?" she was clearly uncomfortable with the subject matter but got another nod, so she cleared her throat, "So what do you say? Are you willing to show me more of what you can do with the crossbow, there is something else I want to talk about as well if you need another reason?"
The trinity spoke after a moment, "Very well, though I do have a question. You keep saying 'crossbow.' Do you mean my rifle-bow?"
"Ahhh, that was it; I didn't remember what you had called since I was focused on your demonstration for several reasons. But it was a something bow, so I just called it that because of the two crossed sections of wood that form it. I think it fits better than 'rifle,' was it? I don't know what that is." she stood there for a moment.
"I suppose. Where did you wish to practice?" this got a small smile from the goddess.
"Ah well, the best range is by my palace; I don't go there often, but it is still mine, so it has to be the best if I am gonna justify ever leaving the wilds to stay here for any length of time." her words were slowed, and she took on a more relaxed tone. In some ways, it was the opposite of how Hermes spoke.
She got a hum in return before he spoke, "Lead on then." she nodded and started to walk away from the party. Once they were through the crowds, the pace picked up, and the two of them soon arrived at a palace with a heavy emphasis on greens and blues. Once they were in the firing range, the two took turns using the cross-bow before correcting each others' forms where they saw issues. Soon enough, both were attempting to move while reloading and shooting. It was hardly smooth, but given how little time each had to use the cross-bow, it was not unimpressive.
Artemis steadied her breathing before she finally gave a satisfied sigh and spoke, "Well, alright, that was nice, not going to lie. Thanks for helping out, hehe, even if in some ways I ended up teaching you more." She smiled at the end of her sentence. The trinity assented before she continued, "Well, the thing I wanted to ask you about was…" her pause was accompanied by a conflicted expression on her face. "Could you bring me some cross-bows for my hunters and friends? I have a feeling it would be good for some of them to use this instead of a bow; not all of my most devout followers are immortal or want to be. And thus don't have the time needed to learn the bow to mastery, while the cross-bow is not perfect, it is easier to use."
The Lord of All Machine Spirits was surprised by the proposition and asked a few questions, "How many? And what do you offer in return for this service?"
She thought for a moment, "Half a dozen for now. As for what I can offer, well, I suppose myself and my hunters could teach you about hunting by you coming out with us on a hunt. Many useful skills taught by the best that could teach them, and certainly not something I've offered to anyone who I don't intend to join my hunters."
He gave a hum, "While I am sure that is true, I hardly think that number of cross-bows is worthy of just one lesson. Nor do I think I could learn their worth in one hunt. And while those skills are useful, they are far less so for me than in the hands of one of my own worshipers."
Artemis grunted and grumbled for a moment in thought before she exhaled and nodded, "Alright, we can have it be regular weekly lessons until you are proficient in the bow, stealth, skinning and other skills you'll learn. And you can bring one mortal with you to learn also provided that if whoever you bring is a man, he must promise to keep his hands and eyes to himself or else."
There was a moment of silence before he spoke, "I can bring more than one human, up to the number of cross-bows I give you, increasing should you ever ask for more."
She glared at him for a moment, clearly not liking that she had to bargain, "Only if you agree to repair any cross-bows that break beyond our ability to repair."
"Very well, are we in full agreement then?" she nods, "I shall return here in a week then, I trust either you or someone else will guide me from here to where this hunt shall take place when I arrive here?"
"I'll make the arrangements, don't worry about it. Now please leave my palace, I want some time to myself." her tone wasn't hostile, but it was blunt.
"Hmm, were you not chastising your sibling for being rude?" she smirked at him as he said that.
"He was being inappropriate. If I am being honest, in the short amount of time we have interacted, you have not stuck me as the kind of person to care about polite niceties beyond the fact that others do. Besides, it isn't rude to ask you to leave…okay, maybe a bit, but I would appreciate it if you did. My family was driving me up the wall before you got to the party, and I need time to decompress." he nodded before turning to leave.
As he returned to the party, he drifted through the crowds; a few of the attendants eyed him, whether from having seen him with one of the Olympian council, his robes, or some other reason he did not know. Soon enough, he heard a voice he recognized, "Well, well. There is our guest; where did you go off to I wonder?" he turned to see Aphrodite, "Well, I don't need to wonder about that actually, since I saw who you walked off with and who I presume you were spending the past half hour with."
Her smile made the words flirtatious, and teasing feel inadequate as terms despite that being the perfect example of each. She continued, "I must say I am awfully curious about what you were doing with her, all alone, for such a long time, in her palace, after chasing off someone else who was vying for your attention…" her smile filled in what she did not say as her words drifted off, "Speaking of which Apollo said some very interesting things no? Though I suppose he isn't your type," her smile turned to a smirk as her eyes narrowed in a pleased teasing, "after all, with the way you and my ex-husband were talking even before Apollo butted in, I wouldn't be surprised if you two were caught in the ac-" whatever she was going to say was cut off as he moved to leave, her words had yet to yield anything of value or interest.
"Wait!" the Granter of Directed Motion halted and looked over his shoulder as the goddess walked to catch up, "I apologize, I just don't get someone new to tease very often, I'll stop…for now. I had something else to talk to you about, it isn't incredibly important, but I thought I should introduce you to someone."
A raised brow before reluctantly following the goddess, "Omnissiah, this is my son Eros." said son was a very handsome god with feathered wings of various shades of red and orange that faded to white. He had a bow and quiver filled with arrows by his side; the metaphysical connection the Machine God felt between the arrows and Eros suggested they were made by him from his magic.
The god smiled before speaking, "Ah, hello, it is good to meet you, uh, this is my wife, Psyche." the goddess also had wings; these were rather more colourful than her husband's and seemed to like those of a butterfly. Something about her was if it had to be given a word, beautiful. It was like a wave was hitting his more metaphysical senses. She smiled at him as well before Aphrodite spoke.
"Alright, I think you two should get acquainted, a least a little, before you both do something else." she pointedly ignored her daughter-in-law.
As the love goddess left, Psyche spoke, "I see a friend I've not seen in a long time I'm going to go talk to her for a bit I'll be back soon, love." a quick kiss and the god of love was left with the Gift Crafter.
"Ah well, it would seem we have both been dumb into this meeting alone. Anyways as already said, I am Eros, I am the god of love, specifically the more lustful side if you want to get specific. Not sure what else there is to say...I am sure you've heard about my job, I shoot people with my arrows, causing them to fall in love with who they are looking at."
The tri-part deity paused; thoughts came rapidly before he replied, "I recall hearing something like that, yes, though I must admit that is, concerning… the removal of choice."
"Concerning? I mean, I can almost see where you are coming from, but the point of love is that it isn't something you can make yourself fall into, so it doesn't really have to do with choice in the first place. And sometimes people just fall in love without there having to be some reason like, 'you treated me to a nice evening.' And that is where I come in; besides, love is good, and the world is improved by more of it." the god received a hum. "But enough about me, tell me about yourself, I don't think I've seen you before."
A moment of thought, 'I am repeating myself so much, I look forward to when I don't need to do this.' Clearing his thought unnecessarily, "I am the Machine God, the Motive Force, and the Omnissiah. I hold domain over all machines, knowledge, the directed motion that is life, and the spirit."
Eros frowned before speaking, "Huh, that is quite the mouthful. I would have thought that the last one was the domain of Hades, but I guess domains are sharable. Given, well, my mother and me, though, I still feel like I had it first…somehow... What was I saying? Oh yeah, I guess you could throw my wife in there, too, since she is the goddess of soul. Does make me wonder how we have never met, though?"
The Machine God deferred that question, "Ask one of the council members if you must know. Regardless, it is good to make your acquaintance Eros, I think I had best cut this short it looks like your wife wishes to talk to you with her friend." the god of love looked back and forth before nodding and saying goodbye, walking towards the love of his life.
Once more, the Lord of Invisible Works was walking through the party, 'I should head back to the table where the discussion took place, with luck I can pick up that conversion with Hephaestus again; the metallurgic knowledge was useful to greatly understate it.' the ideas that were bouncing around in his head from that conversation until now focused on the automaton the forge god had spoken of, it had sparked the Motive Force to ponder limbs, movement, and much more.
Those thoughts were once more interrupted, but this time by someone far better than the love goddess, who he found himself not liking much. Athena walked to him, "Hello."
"Is it your turn to talk to me?" the goddess hummed after he said that.
"I wasn't aware we were taking turns; perhaps I missed the lot drawing, hehe." her laugh was soft, but her tone returned to serious, "I wanted to thank you for your gift." he nodded, "But aside from that I wanted to talk about to you about domains, seeing as we share one I thought it would be prudent."
The Lord of All Knowledge replied in an intrigued tone, "Is that so, well, I must admit I am unsure of that? You are the goddess of wisdom, not knowledge, no?"
"Wisdom requires at least some knowledge; the more knowledge you have, the more likely you are to be wise." her voice was not hostile and was like that of a teacher; her logic brought a hum from him.
"Hmm, perhaps. Though that does make me wonder, just because it requires knowledge doesn't mean you have domain over it by having domain over what requires knowledge. At least not necessarily." she hummed this time.
"Well, perhaps, but I have found domains to rarely be so clear cut and dry even. Overlap is a given and inevitability." after she said that, the two conversed for a bit, discussing their understanding of domains. Something so deeply tied to them and yet something not yet fully understood by either. Though Athena did send him a skeptical look when he dismissed the latter when she brought it up, stating that he would one day regain his omniscience and know it. She criticized him, saying he may not do so if he even can if he assumes it will be the case and doesn't pursue such questions as if he may lose the chance to know it. This led to them talking about fate, how some choices may lead to the opposite of the intended result, and to what degree the moirai influenced things. Did a god play into the tapestry of those three sisters because they interacted with, were affected by the mortals who were affected by what the Moirai did, and several side topics? The discussion jumped from topic to topic, seemingly digging deeper rarely agreeing on something conclusive since they had to dig down to make their considerations. "That does make one wonder, are the causes necessarily determinate in their effects, and how do the Moiroi play into that, do they determine or are they also determined? For my part, I should think that isn't the case at all. Chance has a part to play in showing us why things can't be predetermined even if we are not completely free."
A reply, "Chance seems to be something we need to define if we are to get at if that is true. Though for what it is worth, I find myself agreeing with you to a degree Athena, to claim either complete liberty or determination by causes seems to require a massive burden of proof. I-"
The conversation had lasted at least a couple of hours and had drawn a small crowd of minor gods and nymphs who sat and listened. In fact, one of them seemingly was writing down their dialogue. Later, after a while of debate and discussion, the Lord of the True Path ended it, "Perhaps we should take up this discussion another time, I should see if anyone else needs to speak with me, and I wouldn't want to take up all of your time either." the goddess nodded and agreed with a smile.
The Lord of Rusted Soil moved along the path. The next few hours were not especially notable except that each of the Olympians, to some degree, thanked him for the gifts. Though the conversation with Hephaestus was taken up again for a small while.
It was approaching evening when Hera approached him by herself while they were on a small hill overlooking most of the party, "Queen Hera." the Lord of Crimson Robes greeted.
"Hmm," her hum was a mixture of amusement and curiosity, "I do believe that is the first time you've addressed any Olympian by a title unless I am mistaken."
"And I addressed your husband as king Zeus, and just like him, you are not my ruler, but you are a ruler. Though I suppose even if they are not my lords, I did not call other council members lord or lady, regardless they didn't object to being addressed by name only." he hummed before speaking again, "Apologies I was rambling, how would you like to be addressed is just your name acceptable?"
"Hera is fine though I would prefer Queen Hera." her expression was neutral before she frowned, "Yes… my husband." the Lord of Knowledge followed her gaze, which seemed to flick between some of the council members. Apollo was seemingly playing his violin for some nymphs and only stopped when he noticed his twin behind him giving him a very unimpressed look, to which he smiled nervously. Hermes and Dionysis were seemingly in the middle of a crowd, some form of drinking game, difficult to tell. Her gaze went elsewhere to gods she didn't look at for very long, he didn't recognize, or both.
"I do not wish to sour your mood and certainly not do so further if it is already so. But I do have a question, with regards to yourself. I have asked this question to a friend, but he did not know." she turned to him with a raised brow but waved for him to continue, "You, at least within the stories I have heard, have punished people for your husband's… dalliances." her jaw set but her expression but the near definition of neutral, "If those stories are even half true it is clearly upsetting for you, and understandably so."
She interrupted him, "Yes, to put it lightly and vaguely. What is your question?" her tone was cold but not hostile.
"I presume that you can't punish him, and that is the reason you punish who you do in those tales, but putting that aside. If his actions are upsetting, why do you not break off the marriage?" her eyes widened as she glanced around before replying.
"I do believe you are the only person who has ever in the time of my long life asked me that. I do not recall anyone ever asking something similar to it, at least not without several layers of implication." she took several deep inhalations, "I am the goddess of marriage, the household, childbirth and several smaller things. When I married Zeus… marriage is different for me; it is more than just a promise, something already more difficult for gods to break than it is for mortals. Mortals make a promise, and all that holds them to those promises are the consequences of breaking them and their own morals. Those still exist for a god, but when a god makes a promise, they also bind a small part of themselves, especially concerning their domain. Breaking such promises is like…bruises, something unpleasant but recoverable, even ones involving one's domains. Marriage… is itself a kind of oath, one I enforce… in addition to that, it is my most prominent domain. I don't know what would happen if I were to annul my marriage. Well, I don't know what would happen, but aside from that, I have another reason to not do so."
"Hmm, that is a very different answer than what I got when I asked my friend; he suggested that you were attempting to set an example for mortals that you, the goddess of marriage, couldn't undo your marriage because that would be an insult to your domain. I pointed out that the reason for annulment would be that your domain is being insulted." the goddess listened, but her expression was somewhat resigned.
"Both of those statements are true, I suppose. But my greater reason is this: Zeus will insult my domain no matter what, whether I am married to him or not. I am not his first wife." she looked out, and he followed her eyes to find Athena, who was speaking with Ares, Hera had a smile that faded as she turned back to him to speak, "Metis was a good person… I am under no illusions that even with the tales of what has happened in my marriage spread to a massive degree among both gods and mortals. He would find a wife, some new wife after me and have 'dalliances' while married to her. And she wouldn't be able to do anything about it, not unless she has more power than me despite the fact breaking of marriage vows falls directly under my authority and greatest power. If I am going to be insulted, I may as well take the option that stems the flow and gives me some more authority. As both Queen of the gods and goddess of marriage, I have far greater leverage than anyone else could against Zeus' dalliances. Including myself as an independent."
The two of them were silent for a while, with both of them looking out over the party, before he responded, "Of all of the answers, self-sacrifice and lesser evils aren't what I was expecting, but I suppose it makes sense, it is logical." The Life Sparker looked at the goddess of the household. She was still looking out at the party. Still, her expression remained neutral she was blinking rapidly as she replied.
"Yes…an excellent rationalization… doesn't make it easy." she continued to blink and not look at him, but her voice and face were steady, "A part of me, larger than I would like to admit I think. Loves him. Even after everything, despite everything, I love my husband. I could take the insults far better if the insult to my love didn't hurt."
There was a long stretch of silence, the sounds of revelry and merriment filling the void, "I don't know why I told you all that, I guess I just needed to talk about it with someone new. Someone I don't care about."
The surface-level contradiction was pushed past as he spoke, "For what little pittance it is worth, you have my greatest sympathies. And if I ever should catch your husband, however unlikely, dishonouring your marriage, I will drag him before your feet. Though considering he would likely resist that, I can't say he would be unharmed."
At that, she let out a genuine and loud laugh the tears she had been blinking back spilled a little, but she was able to play them off as a part of her laughter. Calming her laughs and clearing her eyes, she gave him an amused and almost beaming smile, "Well, that would be a sight to behold, a silver lining then." she lets out a breath kept her smile and continued, "This has been a more interesting conversation than I thought it would be. Farewell, Omnissiah."
After she had walked away, he stood there for a moment before noticing another approach. Zeus walked up to him, his natural crown of sparks flicking along his new crown. "Have to say." the Ruler of the Skies began, "Your gift has been rather good at listening in from afar, rather difficult to do in a party like this given it just increases what I take in even if it is focused, but for something like you and Hera a bit away from the crowds, works wonders." that he was listening to most if not all of their conversation when unsaid, "You know I wouldn't blame you." he said as he came to stand around where Hera had before looking out at the party, "If you dragged me before her I mean."
The Preserver of Faith raised a brow, "You would not resist?"
"Not what I said. And don't think for a second that you would have an easy time of it," the king of the gods turned to look at the Machine God, "I would resist, but I wouldn't blame you, Hera doesn't deserve to be hurt by my unfaithful acts."
The trinity still had a raised brow, "If you think that, then why do you do those actions, or have you only come to this opinion recently?"
"I came to feel that way relatively recently, I think, within the last few centuries. Before my last few 'dalliances,' as you say." a reply was cut off, "I still had those relationships because…well, as much as I would like to remove all responsibility from myself, I can't. I can, however, say that I am far from the only one responsible, and no, I don't mean Hera, I mean Eros."
"You know this?" at that, Zeus frowned, shaking his head with a tired sigh.
"Know? No, have great support? Yes, you can seemingly never see the bastard, even I can't. Strikes with stealth and precision. He isn't involved with all people that feel immediate attraction, but the strongest examples are almost always his work. If he has struck a mortal or god with his arrow, if they are lucky, the target of their affections was also struck. If they are unlucky, their beloved is in a relationship." the god paused, taking several calming breaths, "That is what I have felt each time, at least recently and several times before in the far past. A strong pang in my chest that just won't go away when I see some goddess or mortal woman. I don't just chase every pretty face, I have seen plenty of pretty women without feeling anything, even the prettiest there are. I helped Eros' own wife, Psyche, when she was still a mortal. Though she isn't the prettiest physically, she always had something about her, and becoming a goddess just revealed that fully. But even in that instance, nothing, sure she was pretty and had a good personality, but I didn't care, felt nothing."
The Lord of Invisible Works listened; his face was passive, and the youngest son of Kronos spoke again.
His face bordered on murderous for a moment as he continued in a sharp but quiet voice, "But I've been pulled like a puppet by that feeling too many times! Too many heart-breaking and rage-filled arguments with Hera! Too many insults by my subjects, both mortal and immortal! Too often, too long, too far, and…" after saying all of that, he was sparking more and more. The sparks lowered, and then his voice became very subdued and neutral, "Too much to not think it more than just my own desires. When I was young, it made sense, I think that was all me. Eros was not even there, and even after he was, for a while, I don't think it was him. After I was married to Hera, we argued a lot, I think at least some of my earliest affairs came from dissatisfaction with our marriage. But eventually, I noticed that those feelings would hit me like a mountain; sometimes I would resist even if it felt like I was dying, but I wouldn't always win those battles of will."
"I was under the impression that Eros' magic and arrows last forever." the god of lightning looked at him and shook his head.
"No, but far longer than most mortals live. And by the time it would have run out, it can be sustained or replaced by lust and love acted upon by whoever was shot. Or if the one who is loved does some betrayal that can disrupt or fully destroy the effects of the arrow. So unless a great betrayal or slap in the face of that love comes along, you are left with two options. Loving a person but never once acting on it for a large portion of your life, or loving that person, eventually replacing the love of the arrow anyways."
Zeus readjusted his stance with his hand going behind his back, "That is why I said it isn't all my fault, because it still is partially. Because even before I think I started to be hit by arrows, even before Aphrodite bore Eros into the world, and before my first wife, I would sleep around." his had an undercurrent of annoyance, "But after everything, it hurts." annoyance turned to anger.
He looked at the Motive Force for a moment, "Nowhere near what Hera feels, but it hurts to hurt her, and I hurt her more than I think even she knows when I fail. And that is without the consideration that " the arbiter of Xenia continued, "I am not trying to give an excuse, though I suppose I am. Maybe I am such a hurtful and selfish person that it has gone all the way around, and I have hurt myself. Being self-destructive in my selfishness, the worst part is that I can't even know: I am fully at fault or I am right, and Eros has been doing a part of it."
"Are you not his king? Could you not confront or overrule him with authority?" the triune asked, confused.
"Yes, and no." I am technically above him in authority, power and seniority, "But…he is like you, I suppose." that got the Omnissiah's attention even more than it was already on Zeus, "There is something ancient about him, something I don't think even he understands. Something rather incomprehensible, rather fitting for love, but it isn't something to be ignored or go unfeared." there was a long pause, "I say that he is like you because that reminds me far too much of a primordial to be a coincidence, I had dismissed the possibility when the thought came to me a long time ago. But after you were all but completely confirmed to be one, the possibility doesn't seem so unlikely."
"Why are you being so open about all of this? I can't imagine you volunteering this information to someone you don't trust without good reason." the ruler of Olympus chuckled.
"You are right, I don't trust you, but you said you can see faith. Do you think you would be able to tell if I was affected by Eros' arrow?" the All Saviour focused on Zeus' faith and form. Examining a god's faith was one thing but searching a god's metaphysical form this thoroughly was very different; spark to bonfire seemed apt.
"I am not able to detect anything, but it could be that all magic from the previous arrow has faded. I have not examined a person recently shot by one, so I can not tell with certainty. However, within a week, I plan to return here for an arrangement I have with Artemis and will be making weekly trips for the foreseeable future. I can constantly observe you, so until I can determine a better method, then the best I can offer is to check on you once a week. If you feel such sudden love as you describe, try and contact me, and I shall examine you."
The king of the gods looked at him and then narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "I know I asked, even spilled by heart to a degree. But you seem rather willing to help."
"Aside from the fact that degeneration of the leader of the people I am trying to befriend is bad." Zeus held back a growl, "As I said to Eros when we met today, his job is… concerning; what you have told me makes me think that to an even further degree." Zeus frowned at that but nodded before he responded.
"I will let the others know you had to leave, you were looking ready to go both before and after my wife talked to you. Let me know if you think of something better; if you can, think of something to prevent the arrow from taking effect or detect Eros before being hit." the Lord of Olympus walked off. The Lord of the True Path left not long after; there was little to collect, after all. He would return to his chapel earlier than expected, but it had still been most of the day.
AN: I would like some opinions on what magical/godly metals aside from adamantine to include in this setting. Could you guys give me a hand in that regard? I said the gates of the underworld were bronze that had a lot of energy, so that could be celestial bronze, but I don't know if I want to rip off PJO like that. Ugh, continuity. Well if I do take a page or two from Riordan, then I should edit the gates to stygian iron or something.
Also, tell me if my thoughts on domains and magic are dumb. If you have better suggestions, especially with regard to Hera, I'll consider them. If you are confused, I can explain my reasoning.
But that conversion is much easier if I can pm you.
As always, tell me if I made a mistake. People who have binged by story know it better than me.
Tell me if what I did with Hera and Zeus was dumb, I just started writing, and the ideas kept coming. This was outside my plans. I can edit it.
Note to self: This ends on day 8, the day of the party in the early evening, 7 days until meeting up with the hunters.
