Goods.
Zeus.
Seated on his throne atop Mount Olympus, Zeus, father of the gods, lord of the skies, and king of the gods, watched as his youngest daughter, Thalia Grace, fought with her life at stake.
It was a daily event for the god to observe how the demigoddess faced various obstacles and vicissitudes; the god's actions were not dictated by love or concern but by curiosity.
The ruler of the gods was curious to see how his last instrument performed because this was ultimately his last child for the man, and it was also why he had fathered her.
In fact, unlike the common belief, Zeus was not just an excited bastard who ran after the skirt of every beautiful woman. Certainly, Zeus would not deny that lust had influenced many of his choices. Still, the god was also a careful planner and manipulator. Thanks to these qualities, he was able to sit on the throne of king of the gods instead of his older brothers.
And it was precisely to cope with the influence of his brothers that, over the eons, the king of heaven had delighted in generating as many demigods as possible so that they would support his power base, such as the sea realm and the underworld. argued Poseidon and Hades.
This was the greatest strength of his brothers and his greatest weakness. Zeus was well aware of it; his kingdom, unlike that of his brothers, did not have many inhabitants, individuals who obeyed his orders and were faithful only to him.
Indeed, as king of the gods, Zeus ruled over all the deities, especially his sons Olympians, but this was only true on paper more than once over the centuries. His sons had disobeyed or plotted against his orders.
To keep all these threats to his crown under control and limit, Zeus had turned to the demigods, individuals who were not only limited by the ancient laws but also had the strength to carry out the tasks entrusted to them.
The demigods were the perfect tool; they did not have enough power to seriously threaten the gods, but they were strong and fearless enough to succeed in feats impossible for mere mortals.
Over the centuries, Zeus had become particularly good at manipulating and using demigods for his own gain; the task had never been complicated; the basic demigods only wanted acceptance and recognition. By leveraging their desires, it was possible to make them do so All.
But this was only one side of Zeus's strategy, the carrot. The other side was entirely opposite the stick. To prevent the demigods from realizing their strength and daring to raise weapons against him, the king of the gods needed to divert the demigods' attention from him and make them focus on other deities instead.
It was enough to circulate a rumor, a rumor, a piece of gossip to direct a demigod against a specific god; the process also worked in reverse by making a divinity angry against a mortal. Hera was particularly susceptible to this all-too-eager strategy of torturing and persecuting any demigod.
The queen was so eager for the blood of demigods that she did not need much justification for spilling it; in some cases, the very birth of the child was a sufficient reason for the goddess to desire his death.
Thanks to his wife and his boundless hatred for demigods, Zeus managed to find the one who turned out to be his greatest executioner. The mortal means by which the reign of Zeus had reached its golden years was when the king's power was second to none, where the word of the father of the gods was law, and not even his arrogant brothers dared to disobey.
Heracles had undoubtedly been Zeus' masterpiece; his most excellent instrument and executor, Zeus' probably most famous son, had been an unstoppable and unattainable force for anyone who came after. The greatest sword and shield Olympus had ever known, Zeus had never been more powerful or honored than when this hero was alive.
Over the centuries, Zeus had tried to repeat the feat but had never achieved the same success as any other demigod; Dionysius had come closest throughout history.
But while the man who was to become the god of wine had accomplished such exceptional feats as to make him an Olympian, he had never managed to impress himself on the hearts and souls of others like his half-brother.
Dionysius may have been the most powerful of the possible substitutes, but he wasn't the only one throughout the ages. Zeus continued to use multiple demigods as his tools to consolidate his power and topple that of his rivals.
Despite failing to recreate someone on the level of his most famous son, Zeus had maintained his habit of using demigods for his own ends with varying degrees of success; the god would have continued so for eternity were it not for the great prophecy.
The oracle had taken them by surprise, Zeus, and no one else expected a prophecy of this level nowadays; the times were gone when the enemies of Olympus were strong and threatened the domains of the gods. The universal order was decided eons ago.
The times of great clashes and valiant heroes were over; even the confrontations between the various deities were nothing more than trifles compared to the great tumults of antiquity. Olympus was quiet, and no one was eager to create an uproar to take power; thanks to the use of the demigods, Zeus created a balance that, in its simplicity, was good for everyone.
A balance that had been broken by the arrival of the great prophecy, the demigods of the big three were no longer the force on which the entire support structure of Olympus was based; they had become a poison that threatened to destroy everything.
For the first time in centuries, the Olympians had trembled, frightened by the possibility that their existence and reign could end; under this possible threat, all the gods had unanimously decided that the three great ones would no longer produce children.
In the beginning, Zeus had favored this amendment, fearing that his power could be threatened, so reluctantly, he had given up the possibility of creating the perfect instrument to help him govern.
His purpose was simple; the more time passed, the more Zeus felt his popularity and power waver without more children shouting his name and greatness. The demigods still worshiped him, but he always came after their godparents in their prayers, making Zeus more embittered.
But it wasn't just petty jealousy that tormented Zeus; it was also fear, fear that the oath could be broken by one of his brothers. Thanks to the chosen demigod's support, these could drive him from his throne.
It was something that Zeus could not allow, and to avoid this situation, he started again to generate demigods so as not to be subjected to the actions and decisions of others.
Of course, generating a demigod was a risk Zeus was aware of. Still, he was confident that with his vast experience, he could control his new son, making him perfectly faithful to Olympus and especially to him.
Even in case of betrayal, Zeus was prepared. The prophecy spoke clearly the danger would arise only during the child's sixteenth birthday, so it would have been enough never to make the child make that birthday to avoid any threat to the gods.
Many would have called Zeus cruel and heartless for even thinking of this plan, but for the king of the gods, the death of a child, even if his own child, was the least he was willing to do to keep himself firmly on his throne and with it the universal order.
That's why he was checking his daughter to make sure of both her fidelity and her potential. To his vast disappointment, Zeus finds the girl lacking in every aspect.
Thalia was vital for a typical demigod displaying even some rudimentary control over electricity. Still, for a daughter of Zeus, her abilities were average; they were nothing compared to her more famous and skilled brothers and sisters.
The girl was still growing, improving daily, but remained behind the growth curve that Zeus had set for her, proving to be even slower than that of her younger brother.
Jason, a demigod worthy of the name for Zeus, the son of his Roman counterpart, was growing up assertive, respectful, and humble towards the gods. It was a pity that Jason could not be the son of the prophecy being Roman, and the oracle had clearly referred to a Greek child; otherwise, the blond demigod would have been perfect to elevate Zeus even higher.
Thalia, on the other hand, showed slower growth than her brother and a growing desire for rebellion and animosity towards the gods, proving to be more and more unstable day after day, a bomb ready to explode.
Much to his chagrin, Zeus had to admit that Thalia was proving to be a failure, one that if she continued on this course, he would be forced to eliminate; it was a real shame Jason couldn't take her place.
Thalia's fall was only made worse after Zeus lost his watch over her for a few hours during his trip to the zoo; what was supposed to be another obstacle for the girl to experience the harshness of life as a demigod had turned out to be something more.
Since then, the girl had begun to doubt the desire and plans of the gods for her, to complain of the lack of any real help from the gods, finding that the assistance of the gods the few times it was sent was negligible at all.
What were common problems for any demigod he had to face and endure if he wanted to continue to survive had become boulders that seemed to crush the girl.
The poison and resentment that the girl had begun to harbor were fueled day after day by the son of Hermes, who seemed even more disillusioned than the girl.
It was almost as if two demigods had been shown an alternative to the gods' way as if they had met another demigod with a support network that was stable and strong enough to let it flourish.
Luckily, the two teenagers hadn't yet managed to corrupt Athena's daughter, who was still following the path the gods had traced out for her. And it was Annabeth who had attracted the king's attention of late, the little girl still maintaining a clear mind unaffected by the venom of her traveling companions.
With a mind seldom seen even among Athena's children, the girl was an even more relevant potential tool since she'd gotten her hands on a rare weapon.
Zeus didn't know where the little girl had found the black fang-like dagger she was using. Still, the god had never seen anything like it; the blade wasn't of divine origin. It possessed no particular power, but nothing seemed to stop her.
Unrivaled sharpness only in this way was Zeus able to describe the unique feature of the dagger; it didn't matter if the dagger collided against stone or steel, the blade was able to cleave everything as if it were butter, the same air seemed unable to even touch the dagger making it capable of cutting even fire and lightning.
A simple but more than adequate lethal power in the right hands, otherwise reduced to a simple prestige trick. And Athena's daughter was revealing herself day after day, increasingly skilled; with the dagger in her hand, the little girl seemed similar to a tiger that had sprouted unstoppable wings.
Finally, having an attacking power worthy of the name in her hands, she had allowed Annabeth to explore and implement strategies and plans that were previously unfeasible due to her weakness.
Perhaps it was the dagger that attracted Zeus' attention but the more time passed the more the king of the gods felt that this was being kidnapped by the little girl, Annabeth Chase was revealing herself as a surprising girl and not the simple pawn that the god had thought at the beginning.
Brzzz-Brzzzz
With a soft hum, the image of the demigoddess disappeared as the god leaped up from his throne. Zeus couldn't believe his senses; for less than a second, the king felt an unknown power appear.
In all his life, Zeus had never encountered anything like this, yet he instinctively felt fear towards this unknown sensation; the king of the gods, the lord of the sky and lightning felt worse than when he first met Typhon.
This could not be allowed; whoever caused this had to be destroyed. Instantly, the gods' eyes lit up as they filled with electricity as Zeus scanned the world for the culprit.
Thanks to his vast power, it didn't take Zeus long to locate the cause of his disturbance in Puerto Rico. Still, just as he was about to identify who was the culprit, the god was pushed back by a purple barrier.
The shock was such that Zeus tripped as he put a hand to his aching head; the fear he'd previously felt increased fivefold as he realized who else was involved.
There was only one deity who was arrogant enough to take purple for herself, and that was the last one Zeus wanted to deal with. Eris may have been, on paper, only a minor goddess, but in reality, she was one of the most dangerous powers of the Greek Parthenon capable of bringing all of Olympus to its knees under the right circumstances.
Once before, the machinations of the goddess had given birth to what had almost become a civil war, and now Eris was in correlation with an unknown and sinister power that did not bode well.
"STAY OUT OF IT!" As if to confirm the gods' fears, the voice of Eris shook all of Olympus as the goddess loudly screamed her warning.
When the waters calmed down, the god slumped on his throne, his head aching and his heart pounding with anxiety; Zeus could not allow this. He was the king of the gods, not a mortal; whatever things like fear and uncertainty must have been foreign to him.
God wouldn't accept all of this. He wouldn't be stopped by threats from Eris or anyone else. I needed to think carefully before acting.
The appearance of this unexpected variable required prudence; Zeus could not afford to act rashly. The horizon could be clear, but the god could see the first signs of a storm and had to act accordingly.
Athena.
Goddess of war and wisdom, the greatest warrior of Olympus, strategist par excellence, and the closest to inheriting her father's throne. But at this moment, Athena was none of that. She was simply a proud mother looking on with satisfaction at her daughter's triumphal achievements.
The goddess had always known that her daughter Annabeth was destined for greatness; from a young age, the little girl had displayed her talents with remarkable strength, dwarfing even her older brothers and sisters in some areas.
It was a potential that the goddess hadn't seen in a long time, one that made her fear and hope. In fact, Athena knew herself better than anyone else. She knew very well that if Annabeth's growth continued like this, she would be tempted to give her a coin and set her on probable no return.
Athena didn't even dare to think about this. Annabeth was still too young, and while the goddess's desire to get back her precious artifact was strong, she wasn't so desperate and reckless as to send a little girl to complete the task.
But in the future, the temptation would be too strong to ignore simply because Annabeth might have a real chance of completing the task.
In fact, the little girl had a monstrous intelligence of hers and a weapon capable of keeping up with her elaborate plans. Athena didn't know where her daughter got such an exquisitely crafted blade but believed its appearance was just another proof of her daughter's skill.
Many could deny it, but Athena knew better luck was also a skill and something that had marked for better or for worse only the greatest of heroes, and her daughter seemed on the right track to become one of them.
Athena could already imagine that the name of Annabeth Chase would be compared with that of the great heroes of antiquity, such as Jason, Theseus, and Bellerophon.
And thanks to her, Athena could realize her long-held dream of seeing all Romans humiliated and destroyed.
The thought of seeing Bellona defeated and humiliated at her feet was such as to bring a smile to the face of the goddess of wisdom. Of all the Roman deities, there was no doubt that Bellona was the one Athena detested the most. The Romans created her to replace her and deprive her of as much of her power as Athena could not hate her.
To add insult to injury, the Roman goddess was not at all worthy of being compared to her, resulting in more of a domesticated version of Ares than a proper stand-in for the goddess that Athena really was.
In Athena's opinion, Bellona could hardly be qualified as a goddess of war, too focused on the test of valor and courage to take into account the fundamental aspects of the art of war, such as strategy and planning.
A narrow mind that thought that action and valor were the most exciting and essential parts of warfare, that knowing how to swing a sword correctly was all it took to survive in battle. Not realizing it was with careful planning and strategy that one managed to survive and enter the legend.
The goddess was jolted from her thoughts as a power fluctuation struck her, something foreign and dangerous momentarily tickling her senses. Instantly, Athena set out to find the source of this unknown feeling. She wasn't the only goddess. She could also feel that the other Olympian deities were on the prowl.
His search was stopped by what Athena could only describe as the most dangerous and hated deity, Eris. The goddess of wisdom had never gotten along with that of discord. Even before the apple affair, there was no love between the two.
In fact, both saw each other as the greatest threat to the other being the two most intelligent and cunning deities of the entire Pantheon; over the centuries, they had faced each other several times, and Athena had to admit that there were almost more defeats she had suffered than the victories he had won.
"STAY OUT OF IT!" Eris' scream was not only a warning but also the prelude that a new challenge was starting, and this time, Athena would not lose her, and her daughter would eventually be the winner.
Aphrodite.
Aphrodite wasn't happy then, which was rare for the goddess of love, who was usually famous for her sunny personality. Still, right now, the woman's mood was more like that of a thunderstorm.
Anyone who knew her knew that when the woman was in this mood, it was best to avoid her; Aphrodite's anger and temper exceeded even Hera's.
"Who dares? Who dares?" screamed the goddess as she ransacked her entire temple, unable to accept what had happened to her and frightening her maids, who ran into hiding to avoid her wrath.
Trying to calm the goddess of love, I try to mentally retrace the succession of events that had led to her humiliation:
The morning had started in the best way. Aphrodite had woken up in the arms of her two lovers; satisfied after an evening of unbridled passion, she had allowed herself a rich breakfast with delicacies from all over the world.
As always, after a meal, the goddess had done a quick check-up on her many children; Aphrodite didn't consider herself a loving mother in the slightest but still liked to keep an eye on her children to ensure they grew up her way.
It was during this check-up that she came across an anomaly: Piper was a peculiar child born with more power than most of her children; under normal circumstances, Aphrodite would have called her her masterpiece, but instead of following her instincts and desires as her brothers and sisters the little girl limited herself, held back almost as if she were a daughter of Athena instead of her own.
That's why Aphrodite was surprised when she found a strong desire boiling inside the little girl; curious about this change, the goddess decided to look deeper.
What had greeted her was the most sublime sight her recent memory could muster, a delicacy that made even ragweed seem drab just by looking at it.
Just seeing her, Aphrodite could understand her daughter's growing obsession; for someone who carried her blood in her veins, such a delight was almost irresistible.
Chocolate and sweets of all kinds were deeply linked to the concept of love, being able to define itself as the food that best represented it. As the goddess who ruled over it, Aphrodite heavily depended on them.
So much so that she couldn't resist the temptation to taste the delight just a few steps away from her daughter, taking advantage of their shared obsession the goddess had connected to the little girl in anticipation of what would become a wonderful mother and daughter moment.
Heaven was at hand, but Aphrodite had been stopped by a brat; the boy had dared to deny her and her daughter the much-coveted prize; it doesn't matter that Aphrodite had used her daughter's Charmspeak to the maximum. Incredibly, the boy had managed to resist.
The refusal had taken the goddess entirely by surprise, who had not expected to be contradicted, especially while using the charmspeak; thinking about it better, Aphrodite should have controlled the child better, but she was too busy with her retirement she had not thought about it at the time, and then had no more way to do it.
Just as she was about to turn the arrogant boy into an ugly toad, she was stopped again; an overwhelming presence appeared behind her. The newcomer's aura was so powerful that it could only belong to a deity, a goddess from the little of her figure that Aphrodite had been able to see before being chased away.
The presence was familiar and, at the same time, foreign. Even if Aphrodite had no doubts about knowing the enemy goddess, given the familiarity with which she had addressed her, she had difficulty identifying her. Aphrodite could say with certainty that the woman was another goddess of love, but this did not help her to identify her quite the contrary, the two pantheons closest to the Greek one and therefore more likely to be those of the culprit, were the Egyptian and Norse ones but the mysterious woman belonged to neither.
Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love, was still sealed off from the suspect list, while her Norse counterpart Freya, while a preferable suspect, was also not the culprit as she was holed up in her own realm, too overworked to come out for trifles like that.
Apart from the two, however, dozens if not hundreds of love deities of more or less great religions with whom she had come into contact over the centuries: Aphrodite and Venus.
Finding out who it was to exact righteous revenge wasn't going to be easy, and to make it all the more difficult was that he could no longer sense Piper and Tristan.
The loss of Tristan didn't affect her much, as the goddess of love, Aphrodite, was used to having countless lovers, so much so that she often forgot even their names. So, while Tristan had been a sweet and lovely man, his absence didn't pain Aphrodite much.
Piper was quite another story. The goddess of love had plans for her young daughter. Each of her children represented her and her magnificence, living monuments of her greatness, and Piper, despite her too-controlled temperament, had all the potential to become a magnum opus.
A demigod worthy of Aeneas, the eldest of his sons, a man who, even millennia after his death, still brought her honor and glory, and Piper could have done the same with his deeds.
Piper's loss was, therefore, tragic but not devastating. However, luckily, Aphrodite still had a daughter who could claim the Selina throne. In some ways, the girl was even more worthy of her younger sister.
Rumble
The temple of the goddess seemed to shake as if shaken by an earthquake; stumbling in surprise, Aphrodite tried to compose herself and understand what was happening as more divine auras erupted around her.
Curious about all this hustle and bustle, the goddess decided to abstract herself to investigate; from Zeus to Athena, every god of Olympus was projecting her conscience into unknown places. Curious, the goddess of love decided to follow the trail.
Her hunt led her to a purple dome; at the mere sight of this, Aphrodite withdrew as burnt, emitting a disgusted sound. The goddess of love and discord only got along after the famous story of the apple.
Love was one of the first causes of discord, thus making Eris not only one of the few deities immune to Aphrodite's charms but also, in fact, the only goddess who could compete with her for beauty on a subjective level.
Athena and Hera are also claimed to be the most fascinating. Over the centuries, even Persephone and Hestia had been proposed for the crown of the most beautiful Olympus. Still, the goddess of love had considered only a rival goddess, Eris.
"STAY OUT" Eris' scream was meant to be a warning, but to Aphrodite, it was a declaration of war.
The goddess of love was a vengeful and twisted creature who coveted what others possessed or wanted; for her to appropriate the possessions of others was the most sublime of pleasures, especially if the person she was stealing from was her rival.
Aphrodite was not the goddess of wisdom, but she knew the world would change. A storm was about to erupt; Eris' declaration was just the latest sign of the wind rising. Aphrodite intended to still stand as beautiful as ever when everything calmed down.
To do this, Aphrodite and her children had to prepare; it was a shame that Piper was no longer available, but the goddess of love still had many arrows in her bow, and the time had come to use them; in the end, everyone would learn that in the world it didn't exist strength greater than love.
New chapter, new editor. I hope this one is better.
Releasing one chapter here means two more are available on my P. a treon, if you want to read ahead feel free to visit. There, you will also find some incredible fan art about this story.
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