Hektōr took heed to the words of his Queen, rushing back towards the walls of Ilion while Ariadnê faced a monster in human skin.
Lord Akhilles growled in frustration. The foolish woman kept him away from his glory. No doubt, Hektōr thought he could safely strip Pátroklos, without giving him a thought, since he was far away. Pátroklos left him behind, a much greater man, to take out his revenge. He will drain strength from the prince's limbs— dogs and birds will tear him into miserable pieces, while Achaeans are burying Pátroklosis.
The son of Pēleus rushed her once more, spear aimed to take her out quickly and yet—
She caught the spear in her hands, brought her leg up in the air before bringing it down harshly on his spear arm. "Come now, Ahkilles, you say this is a battle between men and yet you come at me like a young boy not yet weaned from his Mother's breast."
She laughed, bright and cruel as she pulled his other arm so strongly it moved out of its socket. "Show me a man, son of Pēleus and I might... no promises whatsoever... stand aside."
The man went sailing through the air once more, thrown so craftily that when he landed his shoulder popped back in place. He looked upon her with eyes of Chalcedony sparkled with cruelty and as dark as the sea at night.
"I am sea born just as you Ahkilles, but my heart is war crafted," she called out. "My Father stands on your side of war for what Aléxandros did to me, taking me away from my Family and people as if I were a common prize. And look now, Ilion trembles before my might. I am Queen. Stand down, son of Pēleus. I hold great respect for your Mother, and it's because of her that I have allowed you to come this close to my kingdom's wall. Leave and I shall spare your life and your mother will not have to set you on a funeral bed and there lament the son she bore. Continue forward and I will salt the earth with your blood."
Ahkilles growled, holding his arm to his body and retreated away.
Ariadnê cackled loudly, not giving the chase he longed for. "I've seen pups tougher than you, son of Pēleus! Are you a coward, swift-footed Ahkilles? I stand before you, under the guidance of Árēs Andreiphontês and Aphrodítē Androfónos. If you face me, I promise to be fair."
She banished her sword back to its dormant form, closed her eyes and put one arm behind her back. There was still a teasing grin on her face as Ahkilles fell back into the ranks of Αἴας, Odyseús, and Menelaos.
"She will be a hard barrier to breach," Menelaos noted, dark eyes watching as she twisted about the battlefield. The troops on the ground from both sides stayed carefully out of her way as she danced to a song only that she could hear.
"It matters not," Ahkilles growled. "I will have to pass her to get to Hektōr. For what he have done to me I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could cut him to pieces and eat him raw myself. I need to pass her. Tell me, cunning Odyseús, how is it that I may do so?"
The older man mused, eyeing the daughter of the earthshaker in contemplation. "Troy could not be taken without you, Ahkilles, but you cannot move past her lest she kills you. We would need to drive her away from the walls and her Family alongside her. If god-like Diomēdēs still lived, we could have used him. She is no Athênê, no goddess Éris, who destroys whole cities."
He hummed. "She wants peace and to not see any more families broken apart. I fear Ahkilles to placate her; you will not have the revenge that you desire."
The son of Pēleus shook his head. "Όχι, that I cannot agree. She said it before that this war shall not end until I am brought to the doors of Death by the hands of Troy's chosen and Troy is but rubble amongst the earth. And your honor, Menelaos, shall be restored for it was to the lovely Helénē of the House of Atreus that Aléxandros fell to. As for my own death, I accept it whenever Ζεύς and the immortal gods see fit to bring it to me though I pray it is after I send Hektōr to the dwellings of Aïdao."
"Still, I know not how to overcome her. The girl's strategy was unpredictable at best, dominating the battlefield through sheer strength alone."
She turned towards them, eyes opening so that they could see how the blue hue of her eyes spread from her pupils to her sclera.
"She is a god amongst men," Menelaos grimaced.
Αἴας hefted his sword. "Well. if you make a god bleed, people will seize to believe in them."
The Son of Telamōn rushed towards the Queen who welcomed his approach with a delighted smile. Her voice was soft, and enchanting, a sickly saccharine promise sat at the tip of her tongue: "You're going to regret that."
Percy stared at the Prince that was cradled in the embrace of his wife and his parents while he held his son.
And then he turned his attention back past the gates where he could hear his sister's delighted cackles making their way back to them in echoes.
"Hektōr," he drawled, eyes on his sister twirling about like a ballerina. "Is there a reason why my sister is out there alone, and you are here?"
"Tis not a choice that I made lightly," the Prince told him. "Not even one that I made myself. Your sister, my Queen and commander ordered me back behind the walls of Troy. She intends to find glory in bringing Ahkilles to the embrace of Death."
His voice was tinged with caution, and he was pleased to note that there was no doubt in his words.
"My sister is stronger than many would believe," Percy stated proudly. "There aren't many that claim equality with her. If Ahkilles wants you, then he will have to die and be born again to get to you."
Percy did recall her arguing plenty with Connor and Nico (especially Nico) about Dante's poem Inferno and his depiction of the "first circle of Hell". Apparently, the "virtuous pagans of classical history and mythology" reside there in some medieval version of Elysium so it could not be hell according to Ariadnê.
Connor agreed since he because of his powers; he knew a lot about the Netherworld and he could somewhat see where most of them resided. He had been afraid of his powers for a long time so he couldn't dive too deeply, but he knew that he knew those on the side Menelaos and Ahkilles found themselves on the Isle of the Blessed while the trojan heroes stood tall within the Elysian Fields.
Nico had then gone on to end the argument by stating that any hero who possessed a hero-cult in ancient Greece was presumed to be transferred to Elysion and that when the concept of reincarnation gained currency in the classical world the two Elysian realms were sometimes tiered. Something about when the soul was reborn three times and made it to Elysium, then on its fourth death they would be transferred to the Isle of the Blessed.
Of course, their argument then had to come to a stop when Háidēs heard of it as the dead was to remain a mystery to the living. He also stopped it as to not offend Dēmḗtēr, Persephónē , and Hekatê as they were the chief goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries whose initiates were promised the path to a blessed afterlife.
Will appeared back in Ilion with his hellpup, Ambroise, at his side. The blond immediately went to Hektōr's side and began healing what he could. Aineías appeared also, holding his own son while they kept their eyes locked on their Queen.
"We should not be hiding away here like lambs to the slaughter," Aineías muttered.
"Tis true," Hektōr mused. "All of our life we've lived by a code and the code was simple. Honor the gods, love our women, and defend our country. Ilion is mother to us all. Why should we not fight for her? And yet—"
"And yet the gods favour the Achaens and no longer hold any love for the House of Príamos," Aineías told them, eyeing them sadly for his wife, Kreousa, was the daughter of Príamos.
Percy kind of vaguely remembered something about Aineías escaping the sacking of Troy and Kreousa ended up staying behind because it was her fate to remain there.
(Ariadnê, Drew, and Silena had liked to pretend that when Aineías was raised to godhood then Kreousa was waiting for him because Rheia and Aphrodítē rescued Kreousa from being enslaved by the opposing side.)
Another cloud of smoke blew through the air and a body flying even higher above it.
"Is that," Príamos started. "Is that Αἴας?"
And indeed, it was.
He was falling towards them like an anime character being thrown through the air. He just knew that when he landed then he would look like Yamcha after being killed by the Saibamen.
"I highly doubt that my sister will fail," Percy told them watching the soldier's descent. "And I highly doubt anyone will get past her, but on the chance that they do…"
Αἴας landed harshly, a crater cradling his prone body. Seven swords made of ice surrounded him before morphing together to form a transparent igloo. It was topped off by what looked to be a bottle of dishsoap and engraved in the ice in english was AJAX, Stronger than Grease.
Anyone who said that Ariadnê wasn't a troll was a dirty liar.
Percy shook his head. "My sister is strong. Stronger than most and stronger than what she knows what to do with at times. But she's human also and she's going to get tired eventually…" Something that he sort of doubted was happening anytime soon. She was running on pure spite and the chance to fight one of the greatest heroes in greek history. The only way she was leaving the battlefield was if she was chained down and dragged away and thrown somewhere else in time.
"First thing first, we need to eat. Will, how is everything back home? Think you and Katie can whip up something to hold the armies over." They had already moved the merchants and cooks over to Castellan, so there was no one in Ilion that could do that for them now.
"The invasion is winding down. Rachel used most of our own defenses against them and she learned a couple things when she went off to Delphoi. The army is standing strong. We had a few guests from the Sea People, but we have enough provisions for at least a third of this army. Some of the refugees have taken to making meals also so I'm sure that they're willing to help their people."
Percy nodded sharply. "Alright, after that, we need all hands on deck to check on the troops. Will, we're going to need all of your healers. We need to know who's out of the game, who just need to walk it off, and those that need to be on the field yesterday."
"I can help with that," Travis said. "We're going to need a twenty-four-hour rotation on the wall and some guards over the other exits."
Because if there was one thing the sons of the Divine Trickster and the Prince of Robbers knew was how to find exit plans. There were a lot of holes in the defenses for well-hidden pathways.
"We can get some of our lovely ladies to cover that," Percy said with a look at the Queen. "A few of our mages can guard them and keep anyone from coming that way."
"We may need to put some soldiers with them," Annabeth mused in english. "I have a few clones ready to go, but the women haven't been trained for battle. They would need protection in case they got overrun."
"That's true," Thalia nodded, easily switching to english. "The Hunters had been recalled back to Castellan to face the invaders there as Lady Artemis didn't want them to be picked off here. The entire kingdom is already on lockdown. I need a detailed map of the kingdom and the battlefield alongside the hidden exits. I can move some of the Trojan soldiers there while messing around with the Argives for weak points so it would seem as if they were gaining ground. Remember we can't place too much attention onto one side. We are neutral parties."
The group of them grimaced, ignoring the way the people stared at them in confusion.
Percy shook his head. "I need three separate bowls of water, preferably some straight from the sea. Ari and I can both do with a refreshing taste of the sea. Do we have any ambropops? I want them distributed to every demidivine person within the kingdom."
"I can get some from Castellan," Travis told them.
"How are we looking for funerals," Percy asked. "We need to send every soldier off with full military honors."
"Nico was already marking them down," Will said. The Ghost King had been working alongside Thanatos when he left for that. "He's anticipating a few more from this side though."
They pretended to not notice how his gaze moved to the Crown Prince.
"And we all know that Ari is determined to keep Hektōr alive."
"We need to be more careful though," Will stated. "We don't want to look as if we were challenging the gods. This war has been fated for years."
"And the destruction of Troy with it," Annabeth said solemnly.
A crazy plan came to Percy. One that he never thought possible.
"Maybe we can work with that," he mused.
They never said how it needed to be destroyed after all.
WORD COUNT: 2356
WORDS TO KNOW:
Árēs Andreiphontês - Manslaying Árēs, the Destroyer of Men
Aphrodítē Androfónos - Aphrodítē, the Killer of Men
