The Champions of the Gods: Champion of the Hearth

by 1AboveAll

Percy Jackson and Company have gone through many hardships, but they luckily came out on top. But what if they had some help along the way? What if there were those working in the background ensuring Percy survived- and Won? The Story of the Thirteen Champions that ensured Fate ran its Course, all the while One certain Champion bent Fate to his will: The Champion of the Hearth.

1. Chapter 1: Gods and Mortals

Chapter 1: Oh God… Oh, Gods!

OW! What in the world was that? I opened my eyes. At least, I thought I did. I saw nothing but white. Or was it light? Or was it white light? Very quickly, that light was replaced with darkness before it reappeared again a moment later. This happened a few more times before I, quite literally, slapped my forehead with a shake of my head. I was blinking. And so I kept blinking, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden flash bang.

As I did so, I heard murmurs behind me, and I turned around, half expecting my vision to regain itself the moment I did. I was still being flash banged. Although, my eyes were slowly getting used to light, finally letting my eyes take in the sights of… twelve other people similar to my age. They too, were disoriented and a few were clutching their eyes just like I was. At least we can bond over this horrible moment, I thought with a snort. Remember when we- Wait. Where am I?

I looked around, turning both my body and head as I took in the sights that surrounded me. And trust, they did surround me. An entire room, as large as a warehouse itself, was made entirely out of some white smooth stone. Marble, perhaps. I'm not a stonemason, what am I supposed to say? I placed a hand underneath my chin, letting it rest on my other arm as it rested across my side, as if stroking a long beard. Yes…. yes, the stone was white. It has some dark gray coloring here and there… Did I mention it was smooth? Yes, this stone could only be… Who knows?

Well, who cares about what this warehouse-sized building was made out of. What mattered was what was in it. And by gods -heh- it had quite the number of things inside. Since I had turned around to face those twelve other teens my age, I was looking at a giant double door, also made from the white stone. It was… something, alright. My vision isn't exactly the best, but even I could see the amount of detail and effort that was made into creating these doors. And the reason I was able to see even the smallest of detail- like a baby choking a snake?- was because… the doors were giant.

But I don't mean they were big to allow some rather large things on. No, these doors were huge. Like… you'd have to crane your head straight up, lean back, and then take a few steps back just to see the top of the door. Your eyes would trail up the intricate lines and ridges carved into the doors, making the doors seem even more grand… forcing you to drink up every detail and scene that was drawn onto these doors. These doors were… I couldn't explain it… they were divine, a word I never thought I'd use to describe something. And to think my first time would be doors. I shook my head before catching myself, Wait-

From these doors was a long hallway, it would take at least a minute or two to walk down it at a brisk pace. But then again, that was assuming those doors were comically big and… there wasn't something that reasonably fit through those doors, thus crossing the "hallway" in a matter of seconds… What a fantastic thought to have! The hallway was empty. I mean, there were no windows or anything. It wasn't as grand as the doors you'd use to enter. Although, for good reason.

Because the moment you walked out of the hallway, walked down a few small steps, you'd be faced with the view that I was looking at. In the middle of this circular room was a giant bonfire encompassed by giant stones, almost like a campfire. But calling it a bonfire would be insulting- this thing was HUGE. The tallest of flames reached nearly half the door height. Meaning you'd have to crane your head just to see the tip of the flames. And although it wasn't as wide as the flames were tall, the stones surrounding the fire in a circular fashion would still take you a good amount of time to walk around completely.

The odd thing was… it felt comforting being so close to it. I felt safe. However, as great as these flames were, it was what was surrounding this fire that was far more grand. Giant thrones, each with their own design, and none more grand than the next -although some were kind of cooler than others. There were exactly twelve of them, and each one was large enough to fit a being that could reasonably fit through those giant doors. Man, my intuition is crazy. Large door? Large someone. Large someone? Large throne. Very cool.

Since you'd have to walk down those stairs I mentioned, you'd be forced to look up at these giant thrones, even if you were big enough to fit into them. It made those that sat in those grand seats look down upon you. As if you were below them- figuratively speaking, that is. Those that sat were far above anything that came into this room and stood in the middle. They were above all else. They were beings far above anything else. They were… gods.

Oh, yeah, did I mention the worst part? Each and every one of those thrones was occupied by a being staring down at me directly, as if looking straight into my soul. On my far left, a throne, on my far right across the fire, another throne. From these two thrones even more of them sprouted, slowly forming a half circle that met in the middle, directly centered with the fire and thus forming a half circle. For the sake of explanation, just to make sure I don't pass out from the pressure these beings were exerting on me by simply staring, let's explain from left to right.

The first throne on the left was a beautiful silver color, glowing slightly. It was not enough to make you squint your eyes, but it was bright enough to make it stand out. And stand out it did. Carved on its sides were two crescent moons, each end pointed towards the fire in the middle. Crossing the moons was a bow that was so beautiful I wondered if it was even real. I couldn't possibly describe it, I didn't even dare. But it was the best bow in the world, that much was obvious. Surrounding the edges of this silver throne were small animals. A lot of animals. Some I recognized, like the boar and snake, while others I looked at rather confused. An octopus? But instead of many limbs it had many heads? Well, whatever it was, the beasts covered the edges of the throne, going from the bottom, traveling up the sides, the arm rests, and then eventually meeting at the top. The best part, in my opinion, was the fact that no beast was repeated, and it seemed that from the bottom were common animals, such as a deer or some kind of bird, and then the top were unfamiliar beasts where one looked eerily similar to a dragon, save the wings.

However, the throne could not compare to the being that sat on it. If one were to describe her in a few words, I would shun them for thinking they could ever. But for the sake of it, let's try: A regal Princess that was the apex predator. I couldn't tell you why I thought she was the apex predator, but her eyes seemed to explain it well. Imagine the fiercest eyes you can imagine, now imagine those eyes on a tiger. Now imagine this tiger was sentient, and it knew that it could hunt for anything it could think of… and kill it. There was no doubt, no pause to think. It knew its hunt would end with the tiger's victory. It knew it was the apex predator. A predator that stood at the very top. Now imagine that but ten times more dreadful, and there you go: her silver eyes.

Yet she was also as beautiful as a Princess, shaming anyone who thought themselves royal. Her hair was an auburn color, tied into a tight ponytail with a silver cloth behind her head where it was braided so as to ensure it wouldn't get in her way. Her eyes matched her throne: a silver that seemed to reflect all light, almost blinding you yet they filled you with wonder, and y0u couldn't help but want to stare even more. Your curiosity could not be satiated.

However, once you got past that hurdle, you would see her skin was slightly tanned. It was obvious that it had been exposed to the sun many times, and yet it seemed to not tan all the way, as if ensuring that the color was light enough to still reflect light, but also dark enough to show that the sun spent a fair amount of time hitting her skin. Her clothes were… interesting? I honestly had no clue what she was wearing. It was some giant sheet that was draped across her body, loose fitting and yet there were belts that tied it to her waist, shoulders, and thighs. Although the sheet was still long enough to drape over the belts on her legs, and easily down to near her ankles, revealing no skin ship. Her shoes were… Nike's? Silver, in fact, with silver laces. What in tarnation? Talk about curveball from left field.

To her left sat another throne, very much different to the last, and yet similar in color. It was a hard gray. I'm unsure how to describe the color. While the first throne was an obvious shiny silver, this color was the exact moment when a rain cloud was forming. A gray that was both light and dark. It's a cool gray color. I'll just say that. The throne was… beyond me, to be frank. Carved into the gray stone were intricate waves, angles, and lines that seemingly had no end. But they all seemed to have a purpose. As in, they all had a meaning- there was no randomness in these lines. They all had significance, and were just as important as the last. I couldn't tell you why I thought this, but I felt it was right.

But it wasn't just those waves, angles, and lines that were carved into the. Along with the numbers- numbers?- that made up the edge of the throne, much like the last one was outlined by the animals, were three other carvings. Covering most of the left side was a spartan helmet. At least, I thought it was spartan. I don't know, I've never gone to Rome. It was a well made helmet, and even me who had no experience in any armor could tell this helmet was one of the best of the best, if not the best. The shield on the right side also matched this general feeling. Although, I couldn't tell you what exactly the shield was. The only thing I could tell you was that the moment my eyes even got near it, I felt my blood pressure drop, my body begin to shake, and pure terror hit my body full force. It's just a shield? But that shield held some kind of… woman screaming with wild hair?

Shaking myself, I kept examining the throne, and saw the final and third carving on it: a book. Huh. Kind of tame compared to the other two. But that's all it was. It was just a book. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was carved beautifully into the throne, but that was it. There was nothing special about it. There was nothing that could make me feel like it was something. Then again, that shield was still having an effect on me so maybe I missed a detail or two.

However, those feelings of terror were completely drowned away in another stronger emotion as I looked into the eyes of the woman sitting in that throne. Have you felt fear? Imagine worse. Dread? A closer emotion. Imagine so much fear and dread that those emotions alone were enough to kill you. Your body shook in terror, your brain and limbs no longer responded to you, as you look into your death. Again, and again. From the first instant my eyes connected to the piercing storm gray eyes of the woman on this grey stone, I knew she knew how my life would be from now until the moment I died. Every possibility. Should I take a step to the left or right, she already knew the consequences. But that wasn't the terrifying part. Sure, she had already imagined a thousand ways my life would be, but those eyes staring down at me had already imagined a hundred-thousand ways to kill me… and counting. It wasn't even a second. It wasn't even a moment. It was the first instant our eyes connected that she imagined all of this.

I whipped my head away onto the next throne. I couldn't even bother checking what she was wearing. The same kind of sheet as the first woman? But no belts. The gray-eyed woman was dignified, I suppose. She held herself as the very best in her own accord, different from the first woman. They were the best. At what? I didn't know. I just knew they were the ones who stood at the pinnacle of whatever peak they were on. However, the moment I directed my eyes to the next throne, I realized something: Big mistake.

Now, I've never been drunk. In fact, I've never drank at all- not of age, ya know? But I have felt dizzy. I have felt nauseous. I've… felt my mind be in some kind of drunk state. Out of whack, as some would say. And by GOD, was I feeling like that when I was staring at this woman on the third throne. What did the throne look like? I don't know. Pink? Some kind of velvet red? I'm not sure, some light shade of red. All I know was that it was a beautiful color. Mesmerizing, even. Maybe there was a dove carved in there, some kind of swan and a red fruit. There was also jewelry mixed into the throne, making it shine obnoxiously that made you want to look away. But you couldn't. Because of one sole reason: the woman sitting on the mesmerizing throne, absolutely outshining the thing she sat on.

Once more, I couldn't possibly explain what I was looking at. It was a woman. I knew that much. But… My mind swirled, and I had to extend a foot back just to make sure I didn't lose my balance and fall. That threw me off guard. Off topic, but I'm a pretty logical person. That is, when something doesn't make sense, I have to know WHY or HOW it doesn't make sense. Now, why would I, a relatively healthy male, suddenly lose my balance by simply staring at a woman? My mind, which was in some kind of trance, suddenly righted itself. I felt confused. I felt curiosity. But I also felt a bit angry. What was making me feel like this? And WHY?

I looked at the woman on the third throne again, narrowing my eyes and clenching my teeth to make sure I stabilized my mind. It didn't help. So I bit my lip. Hard and drew blood. It let me focus once more. On the third throne sat a woman that was beauty personified. Literally. Imagine the most beautiful woman in the world- Scratch that, imagine the most beautiful woman in your dreams. Well, that girl looked like a blob fish out of water compared to the woman that was looking down at me with mirth in her dark pink eyes. I mean, maybe a cute blobfish since it's the girl of your dreams but still. I couldn't describe her. Well, I could, but I knew it would be wrong. Her hair seemed to be ever changing. Was it blonde? Was it brown? Was it black? A tint of red mixed in? It… I… I grit my teeth, physically slapping myself and making the woman narrow her eyes ever so slightly. I looked away from her hair and down to her face. Yeah, same story. Most beautiful girl of your dreams looked like a blobfish standing side by side with this woman.

The lips? I don't know. She was wearing red lipstick, I guess? Her nose? Perfect. Her face was… I shook my head and went down to her clothes just to make sure I didn't lose my mind again. Big mistake. I quickly whipped my head to the fourth throne, looking down as I tried to cover the blood that was rushing into my face. Yeah. Beautiful. The epitome of beauty, as I said. Or did I say beauty personified? Well, whatever. She was wearing the same sheet as the last two, except far more jewelry on it. On the neck was some kind of necklace that was made entirely of jewels, and matching bracelets were on her wrists and ankles. Gold strands seemed to tie the sheet to her waist, revealing the drastic difference between her waist and hips. It was… I shook myself. Whatever. She was beautiful. Hot. Perfect. I don't know. Nor do I want to. Oh yeah, did I mention she was showing a bit more skinship then the last two ladies? It wasn't obscene, but I'm sure she would be called a harlot back in some ancient civilization. Cover thy ankles.

I swear I heard a snort from my right and also from the woman with the eyes that imagined-a-hundred-thousand-ways-to-kill-me-in-an-instant. I chose to ignore them since I was not going to look back there and see my life flash before my eyes. Literally. I shivered and looked to the fourth throne before I… calmed down? The fourth throne was much less lavish than the last two. But it wasn't any less grand. It was made entirely of branches, leaves, and plants that sprouted beautiful flowers. The branches were intricately woven, showing delicate care with each weave and braid. Yet it also showed the sheer strength of the branches, all the while showing the incredible skill of whoever created- or maybe even grew- the throne. The effects from the last throne were still in my mind, so I couldn't exactly describe the throne however much I wished.

All I could say was that it was impressive. Any gardener in the world would kill just to see something like this throne. The flowers, especially, were amazing. Now, I'm no botanist, nor do I have gardening as a hobby, but even I could tell that that rose should NOT be next to those winterberries. Yeah, I've seen those small berries that seemingly were always ripe in winter. Tried a few, regretted it, tried some more, wondered why I did that, and then went about my day, forever loathing that dang insult-to-berries. Flowers from all over the world were intermixed, showing a dazzling bed of blooming flowers that made you feel like you should give thanks to the flowers for existing.

However, that was not all. On one side of the throne was a scythe. A scythe? I thought for a moment, thinking about what flowers and trees would have to do with a scythe. Maybe to get rid of grass or weeds quickly? But why not use a lawnmower? Like I said, I'm no gardener. On the other side was… wheat? Giant wheat, I should add. It covered a good portion of that side of the throne, but it was laid flat against the flowers, not imposing nor covering anything less important than it. Wonder how much bread that can make. I followed the intertwining branches, slowly making their way up and up until it revealed a… torch? Fire hazard, holy moly. HOW HAS THIS NOT CAUGHT ON FIRE? It was behind the throne, but the light coming from a flame could not be mistaken for anything else. I didn't exactly have time to focus on the torch though, as the person sitting on that throne occupied my attention.

For a split moment, I began lifting my foot to step forward. A single word, a single feeling, passed through my body: mother. That made me recoil slightly. But at the same time, I knew I wasn't wrong. The woman had curly hair that went far past her shoulders, a warm brown that reflected light slightly but was almost comforting to look at. Her eyes were the very same, a warm light brown that seemed to have something in them. Life, a small voice in my head said. I shrugged, Life it is. Her eyes held life, and such a tender amount of care in them that it almost brought me to tears. The longer I stared into her eyes, the more I felt torn for whatever reason. I felt hurt. I felt as if I was being killed and yet I still persevered. I didn't know why.

I shook myself, forcing myself to ignore the small amount of pity that was coming into her earth-colored eyes. Her attire, much like the rest of the woman, was that sheet once more. Except this one, was a very light brown. A beige almost, and rather than being some kind of silky smooth fabric that shined, this one seemed more… friendly, I suppose. I couldn't exactly describe it, but all I knew was that if, for whatever reason, my life was in danger, I would rather lose it being near her than any of the rest of the people on the thrones I was looking at. No offense to them, but that's just the vibe -vibe?- this woman gave off.

I shook myself and examined her clothing for ever so slightly longer. It covered most of her skin, much more than the rest of the precious ladies, yet it was obvious her skin was slightly tanned. Same as the first girl, it was evident that she spent a good portion of her time outside. I gave a soft bark of laughter. Gardening, perhaps, I thought with a small smile on my face. Rings held the sheet all the way to her wrists, the excess flowing beneath her arms. There also appeared to be another sheet resting over her knees. The cloth matched the shiny and silky look as the last three sheets did, almost as if saying "Yes, don't think they are grander than I." It flowed and stopped until her shins, the entire sheet itself stopping at her ankles and revealing… clogs? They too, had floral patterns on them. I cocked my head to the side. Yeah… makes sense, I guess.

I went onto the next throne, with a very clear mind unlike the last few which I greatly appreciated. I then proceeded to curse myself for jinxing it. Now, personally, I've never been in front of royalty or anything of similar manner. Best I got is seeing a few CEO's and they… were far from royalty. The woman on this fifth throne, however, absolutely exuded the feeling of royalty. No offense to the first lady, but while she was a Princess, the woman in this fifth throne was a Queen. Imagine a queen in her thirties. Grander. More regal. Far more presence. Still more regal. Imagine as if she was Queen of the world. Nice. Now imagine that times one hundred. There, you may have someone on equal footing with the la- Queen? With the Queen sitting in front of me.

I scrunched my eyebrows, looking down and stroking that invisible beard once more. I'm not one to assume, nor am I one to willingly call someone a Queen of all things. And yet… I glanced up at the woman, who was staring down at me with a raised eyebrow. Yeah, nevermind. She's a Queen. The Queen. Do I bow? Do I kneel? Do I apologize for being in her presence? For even breathing the same air as her? Now, I would have, and was tensing my legs to prepare to kneel, but I saw the every so slight show of humor in her eyes that made me pause. Was she… reading my mind? Quick! Think of something outlandish! Outlandish! I stared at the woman with a level expression and watched for any sign of change in her face. Nothing. Maybe not… OR MAYBE SHE IS!

I pictured a horse, riding a human, while a bird held reins in its talons as it flew behind the horse. The bird cried its caws, urging the horse forward which made the horse hit the human's head with a hoof, urging the human forward. I watched her face once more, and saw no change… I let it go, shaking my head softly at my foolishness. On that note, I examined her throne.

I had to force myself to not be disappointed. It was white. It was carved very beautifully, that much was obvious. It showed the majesty of… well, her Majesty. I SAW IT. I SAW THAT QUICK SMIRK. I'M NOT GOING CRAZY. THEY'RE IN MY MIND! I narrowed my eyes. …Well, I'll ignore it for now.

On one side of her throne was a peacock. A beautiful peacock, really. It was all white, of course, but I swear I could see the rainbow colors on its spread out tail glinting down at me. Man, get me the guy who made these thrones. I want a cool little statue where I'm holding a sword! On the other side of the throne was a crown. Huh. Upon closer inspection, A.K.A squinting my eyes, I could tell that the amount of details on this throne was much more… everything, compared to the other thrones I've seen. The amount of detail, the tiniest of details drawn, and just the overall quality of the stone and work. This was a throne fit for a Queen!

And if there's a Queen… I looked to the right, and saw a man, stopping the pattern of ladies. And as soon as I rested my eyes on him, I recoiled. He was staring at me with such ferocity that I felt offended. I felt angry. Did I mention I'm rather proud? I wouldn't let it control me, but my pride mixed in with my intelligence that refuses to not know something, made it so if someone did something to me for no reason, I refused to take it lying down. So I stared right back, with a slight sneer on my face. You know what? I won't even bother with this guy.

He had dark hair. Ice colored eyes, and was wearing a suit- a suit? No… he was wearing the same kind of sheet, same as the rest of the ladies. But this one seemed to be built into a suit. Huh. Whatever, he was dressed like someone important. He was also holding some kind of rod of light that almost blinded me. Another reason to not look at this guy anymore.

And so I moved onto the next man and was slightly… puzzled. He had black hair, eyes that hid behind sunglasses, and an amused grin on his face. It was contagious almost, but then sudden bewilderment seemed to clear my senses as I realized something. A Queen often sits next to the King. I glanced back at the man I completely ignored and slightly shuddered. Let's hope they can't actually read my mind… As I looked at him for a few moments more, I realized that yes, he was THE King. Everything about him represented a ruler. A grand King that ruled over all below him. A King who ruled over all. Did I mention I'm rather dramatic?

But that just made me even more confused. Because next to that man, on his left, was… another King? No… But also, yes? I just could not explain it. The King was the King, yes. But the man with sunglasses was also a King. That much was obvious. Like I said, I've never met royalty, but you know when you see someone who stands at the top. They have a certain type of care-free attitude about them. A certain type of relaxation that only the very best and exude. The strongest. The most powerful… My breath picked up slightly as it suddenly dawned on me.

The man sat on a dark blue throne, waves carved into it with a Crown carved into one side and a trident into the other. He also had a trident. As in, this near thirty-foot man held a trident in his left hand with the three pongs straight into the air and the butt of the weapon into the ground. It reached the ground. It was… I wasn't even sure. Taller than me, that much was clear. Double my height, maybe. No… triple? It's kind of hard to tell with the distance. And I also kinda gotta look up at them.

But the trident made me quickly look to the right from that throne. A slight light yellow throne that had carvings of scrolls, books, and sandals. On one side was a carving that, like all the other symbols, covered a good portion of the side it was on. It was a sandal with wings on one side, and some kind of staff with two serpents intertwining on the other. Oh God… Or should I say, oh Gods… The man looked down at me curiously, a slight glint in his eyes as if he knew what realization dawned upon. He had light brown hair and shining blue eyes while his skin showed wear, showing just how much distance he has crossed but still paving forward. He was…

Continuing from him, I let myself control my breathing once more, and looked at the next guy before having to squint my eyes. His throne reflected all light in the room. Or… was the throne shining itself? I couldn't exactly describe it since I was trying not to blind myself, but I could see the laurel and wreath carved onto each side respectively. Looking at the man sitting on this blind throne, I saw a man, leaning back in his throne and throwing a two finger wave at me, grinning a smile so bright I had to close my eyes to not be blinded. I felt my breath quicken once more, my mind whirling faster and faster.

From this glowing man, came a surprise that I expected. I would be rude to call the next man ugly, but you couldn't compare him to the rest of the people sitting on these thrones. In more ways than one. Sure, his looks were worse, but his arms and hands told so much more. Arms covered in old scars and burns, with hands so calloused I wonder if he sanded things down with his hands alone. Sparks flew from his hair as he regarded me with a small narrowing of eyes. Which, for some reason, I nodded in return. His throne was actually very impressive. It was made of machine parts, and seemed to be a complex machine itself. It seemed so futuristic and advanced, I was sure that I could spend my entire life trying to replicate it and the best I would do is make some kind of scrap metal chair that looked like those cheap plastic chairs you see at a dollar store.

From him was a man who could put the world's greatest bodybuilders to shame. Strength. Power. Fighting. These things filled my brain as I looked at him. It made my blood pump and I had to restrain myself from reacting to his sneer at me. I knew exactly who this was, which only made my heart quicken in panic. His throne was a dark red. As dark as blood. And it seemed to fit the bloody scenes that were carved into his throne. Battles, killings, and wars were carved into the throne, surrounding a spartan helmet and a sharp spear point. These people… No…They aren't people.

The last chair to my right was… empty? It was made out of grapevines, which surprised me since I wasn't even sure how it was standing, and just staring at it put me back into that drunken state similar to when I stared that the woman with pink eyes. Except this time I think it actually made me drunk.

I tore my eyes away to see if there was another throne past it and was stunned to find that there was. A dark throne sat next to the empty throne, making my frown in confusion since the throne had no carvings. It wasn't that it was so dark that it was like a void, drawing everything and anything into it- No. It quite literally was just a black throne. Just a giant recliner- without the actual reclining part and it looked like a throne, obviously. Sitting on it, however, was something that filled me with fear. Not dread, per se as the gray-eyed woman. Just fear. The pure fear of death.

A pale man with pitch black hair and eyes that matched were staring down at me with such a piercing gaze it seemed to peer into my soul. And he most likely was. I looked down, hoping to forget the crying souls I saw in his eyes but found only reminders. He wore a cloak that seemed to have faint souls silently screaming at me, as if mocking me for being alive while they were reduced to this. The longer I stared, the more I saw. The more I saw, the more I was sure. Sure that I knew where I was standing; who these people were; and just who I was staring at. I slowly looked back up into the eyes of the pale man before quickly glancing at each and every individual that surrounded me in a half circle.

My heart rate picked up, almost sending me into a spiral panic as my clothes clung to my body with swear. My eyes were struggling to focus as I realized I was panicking. These people… These beings… They weren't… They were- I suddenly relaxed. I felt all my worries leave my body, and calm and joy fill in its place. I heard the groans behind me slowly quiet down as the feeling seemed to extend to the other twelve teens in the room. I turned around, facing away from these beings on their thrones and looked past the fire- which I now knew was a hearth- wondering if I'd see who I thought I would. And there she was.

Standing on one side of the hearth, overlooking the other teenagers with care. A woman in her early thirties was staring back at me with the kindest eyes anyone could ever have, and a smile so warm I knew I would be safe no matter what. Involuntarily, I smiled back. Whether in relief or in thanks I didn't know, but I smiled nonetheless. Light brown hair that reached her shoulder in soft curls, and dark brown eyes that would comfort you even in your darkest moments. She wore a simple brown dress underneath a dark brown robe that covered her limbs, which confused me for a moment, since it was somewhat lacking compared to the others' sitting on the throne who had either chitons, suits, or their own personal clothing that matched their personality. But it mattered not, for I knew exactly who I was staring at.

In a moment of clarity, and realization that I would be safe since the woman by the hearth was here, I quickly helped the other teens up, but quickly found that they couldn't. A sudden snap of fingers to my right made me look over, finding four logs surrounding the hearth. The woman smiled at me encouragingly, already helping one girl to lean against a log. I followed her lead, gently leading them one by one to the logs. The lady covered one log with three teenagers, while I brought the rest of the nine onto the last three. Three people on each log, excluding me and the lady at the hearth. I looked down at them with a frown before one began to stir. A girl my age, with dark hair and light skin. She wore nothing but simple jeans and a windbreaker.

In an instant, her eyes snapped open and she stood up, quickly realizing her mistake as she stumbled back. I reached her side before she could fall, and gently sat her down on the log, nodding to her as if to explain that I'm a friend, not a foe. I did this because her eyes were… something. They were just a dark green- a very dark green, a color that could almost be mistaken for black. But they examined each and every part of me that she could see, seemingly okay with what she saw before she looked around her. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the first throne before they widened in shock.

"She… She!" the girl tapped my arm, looking at me wildly as I nodded in confirmation.

"Indeed, she is." I gestured to the lady that sat on the silver throne with a bow, "The Goddess of the Hunt, Maidens, and the Moon. The Goddess Artemis."

The Goddess herself regarded me with a slight narrow of the eyes. If she was surprised I knew who she was, she didn't show it at all.

The girl looked at the throne sitting next to her. "Then…"

"Goddess of Wisdom, Craft, and Warfare," I bowed once more, confirming her thoughts."

"...Athena," she breathed.

"Rather fast on the uptake, aren't we?" I was just as confused as she was, and barely realized who these beings were just a few seconds ago. Compared to her, who recognized the very first Goddess she laid her eyes upon in a moment or two, I was very lacking!

The girl seemed to ignore me before looking at the next Goddess. Big mistake.

She held out her arms, attempting to catch her balance before I moved her head gently to look at the next Goddess.

"Yeah, I don't recommend staring at her for too long." But I still bowed and held out an arm into the beautiful lady's direction. "Goddess of Love, Beauty, and… uhh," I dawled, trying to rack my head to finish her titles.

Luckily I didn't have to. "...Passion. The Goddess Aphrodite," the girl finished, making me raise an eyebrow at her. "Then the one I'm staring at is the Goddess of the Harvest, Agriculture, and Fertility…"

"Demeter." I bowed my head at the kind looking Goddess. "Indeed."

She spun her head looking at the rest of the divine beings. "Then that's Hera, Goddess of Marriage… Queen of the Gods. Zeus, God of the Sky…King of the Gods…. Poseidon, God of the Sea and King of Atlantis. Hermes, Messenger of Gods and God of Travel."

I had to stop her there, since I was rather surprised. "Wait, what? I thought he was the god of… messages or something?"

She turned her head to give me a bored look. "How could someone be a god of messages?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna tell me that that is the outlandish thing here."

At this she narrowed her eyes at me before looking away. "God of Archery, Prophecy's, and the Sun. Apollo."

The God moved down his glasses to wink at her, making her slightly recoil with a sneer before she moved onto the next God.

"Hephaestus. God of forges, smithing, and volcanoes. Ares. God of War and Courage. Then the last one should be-" Her breath hitched as she looked at the final God seated.

"God of the Dead and King of the Underworld… Hades," I spoke for her.

"He shouldn't be here," she breathed.

Hades narrowed her eyes at her, making her step back in fear.

"I assume you mean because he only shows up-"

"At the Winter Solstice, yes. But also because it should be Dionysus…"

"The God of… Wine?

"And Madness."

"Lovely," I muttered, looking around. "Not sure which one I prefer."

She frowned at me. "Well, to be frank, Hades might be better."

"Oh? Because out of all the Gods here, his myths aren't the worst?"

"Pretty much. Although I'm not too familiar with all the myths of Hades and Dionysus…"

I looked at her, and slowly said, "Well you seem to know a good amount of these Gods."

She shook her head. "I just know the basics, and a little bit more about ancient Greek religion and mythology."

"Interesting…"

We both stopped and nodded at each other, looking around with blank faces. I cleared my throat, scratching the back of my head. She did the same, although she seemed interested in some nonexistence dust on her shirt.

"I think you're dying first."

"Probably," she agreed instantly.

"Sacrifice?"

"I hope so."

I tipped my head in her direction, agreeing. "Probably better than anything else, really."

"I'd rather remain…"

"Clean?" I offered.

"Clean."

"Yeah…" I looked anywhere but at the King of the Gods, saying, "A man- or woman- can hope."

"It's not looking good for me."

I laid my hand on her shoulder. "I'll carry on your will."

She nodded, placing her own hand on my own shoulder. "Live on in my memory."

The tiniest of smirks began to show on my face before a male voice behind me spoke up. "Who's dying? Should I cry genuine or fake tears?"

"Fake," I answered instantly, turning around to see who the third to wake up was. "Make it very convincing though. I want to feel the sadness in your cries."

A boy, younger than me by a year or two if I had to guess, was crouching, trying to balance himself. "I don't recognize that voice…" he muttered.

"It's your long lost grandfather," I said, making my voice shaky. What? I was kind of hysterical and doing whatever I could to calm my nerves. "It's been too long, my boy."

He scrunched his face at me, shaking his head and standing up. "I've never met my grandfather, and he definitely doesn't look like you."

I raised an eyebrow at the boy. He was wearing baggy pants, baggy shirt, and an oversized sweater. Huh. Fashion choice or his only resort? "I'll have you know that back in my day, I was a spry young buck that looked nothing like I did in my elder years."

"Alright, Grandpa. Let's get you back to bed," the kid said, slightly chuckling.

"Kids these days…" I shook my head, looking past the pale black haired boy to another teenager stirring. "Back in my day, we treated our elders with respect! You youngins don't know what it was like: hiking back to school and home! Having to trek through Mount Everest just to have lunch! Kids these days don't even introduce themselves…"

The kid rolled his eyes. "Fine," he conceded, holding out a hand. "Matthew. Some people call me Matt. I don't like those people."

I grinned at his words, kindly surprised at his abruptness. "I'm…" I paused for a moment. How much do I reveal…?

"Eryl," I decided finally, grasping his hand firmly in a hand shake. "And this young lady is: who knows, she didn't introduce herself."

"Yeah, this guy who didn't bother introducing himself either is right." She nodded at the kid as a sign of greeting. "My friends call me Aundrea, though."

"Well there you have it, who knows, she didn't introduce herself can be called Aundrea if you don't wanna bother with her actual name."

I promptly received a rough shove on my back, making my stumble past the kid and allowing me to help the other teenager standing up. She had dark red hair, appearing almost brown and light brown eyes, regarding me curiously. She looked tough.

I smiled softly. "How do you feel?"

"Like a truck hit me," a light Georgia accent said. "Were you driving?"

"I sadly didn't have that honor, miss." I extended a hand, helping her up. "Eryl."

"Scarlett," she responded with a nod.

"'Ppreciate that," Scarlett grunted, letting go of my hand and looking around. "So, where are we?"

I raised my hand to Aundrea who was preparing to answer. "Let's wait until everyone's up. I'd rather not explain it ten more times," I offered, tilting my head to hear her response.

She nodded.

"You mind waiting a few minutes, Scarlett? Just to get your bearings and all."

The girl slowly gave a single nod and I smiled reassuringly.

I quickly reached the next boy who awakened. He seemed a year younger than me, like Matthew, so about seventeen or so. This one had dirty blonde hair cut short, and as he fluttered his eyes open, adjusting to the light, I saw his black eyes stare into my own.

I nodded to him, extending a hand with a soft smile. "How do you feel?"

The boy stared at my hand for a moment before shrugging and grasping it firmly, hauling himself up. "Not too shabby, for someone who just woke up in God knows where. And meeting whoever you are."

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll explain it very soon once everyone wakes up. I think we're safe though. I'm Eryl, by the way."

"Brady. You can call me Brad," Brady said, a rather thick accent of something I couldn't recognize. Canadian?

"Alright, Brad, I'll let the others that have woken up introduce themselves to you." I pulled him close, whispering into his ear, "Just stay cool, and don't look at them for too long. Got it?"

He pulled his head back, looking at me confused but I refused to let him go.

"Got it?"

"Sure…"

I smiled at him, patting his back as I walked past him to help another person up. A girl this time. She seemed older than me by a few years, although the only reason I guessed that was because of her skin. It was weathered, and looking at it reminded me of something: hands. I've shaken many people's hands. Some were children and people who never worked a day in their lives. They had soft hands- hands that weren't made for hard work. There wasn't anything wrong with that, but it was a stark difference compared to someone like a craftsman or farmer. I've shaken hands with people of that caliber, and was I surprised to find how rough that handshake was! Like shaking hands with tree bark.

The girl had a disgruntled expression, regarding me with a slight leer as I crouched down next to her. She had black hair wrapped into a tight bun, although many strands were loose, which I thought kind of defeated the purpose of tying her hair back. Her clothes were dirty and ragged, and her face covered in dirt. It confused me but I didn't let it stop the smile on my face. After all, she was just… kidnapped? like I was, and while I had to figure out everything alone, I knew I would feel a bit more reassured if someone dependable was there to help me up. In more ways than one, of course.

"Hi, I'm Eryl," I said in my best attempt at a soothing voice, crouching down. I will admit, I spoke as if I was talking to a child. "How are you doing?"

She narrowed her eyes, crawling backwards to put distance between her and me while getting into a crouch. "Who are you?"

I looked back at Aundrea and the rest. "See? Now this is a normal response."
Aundrea rolled her eyes. "Would you rather have had a scream or a punch to the face?"

"Fair enough," I mumbled, looking back at the girl. It was at that moment that I realized something that made my heart twist.

Her hair looked like it had been unwashed for quite a while. Her clothes were a few sizes too big and strings tied around her limbs ensured they didn't fall off. Her shoes, which I assumed were once some kind of sport shoes, had been worn out completely. The soles had practically no grip and the laces had been reduced to a few threads. …She's homeless.

"I'm Eryl," I said again, nodding in reassurance. "I'm eighteen years old and woke up here same as you a few minutes ago. I'll explain what I know in a few minutes after they," I said, gesturing to the other teenagers that were also stirring, "wake up."

I turned on my heels, still crouched and gestured to the rest of the teens I had introduced myself to. "You can go with them or you can stay here if you'd like. We won't hurt you. Or, at the very least, I'll do my best to make sure you aren't hurt."

Her eyes widened for a moment, shocked at hearing those words. Her suspicion had worn down but she was still hesitant. I saw the gears turning in her head before she seemed to decide on something.

"What's your name?" I asked, still speaking softly.

"...Crystal," she said.

I smiled gently. "Alright, Crystal. You can sit here if you'd like, or move to the group standing. It won't make a difference, but I'd rather you choose whichever one is more comfortable to you."

"Alright," she spoke after a few moments. "I'll sit here."

I nodded. "Then after everyone's awake, I'll make sure to explain what it is that I know. Don't worry for now."

With that I stood up with a soft grunt, walking to the other side of the hearth and catching someone who had almost fallen.

"Woah, buddy. Let's slow down for a moment," I said, holding their shoulders. "You're alright. Just take a few moments to catch yourself, don't worry."

The teen, who was about my age, squinted at me with his blue eyes, breathing haggardly.

I nodded in reassurance. "Just take your time. You're fine."

It took a few moments, with the kid never taking his eyes off me before he finally took a final deep breath and moved my hands off his shoulders, looking around. He had black hair which was long, although not long enough to have it tied in a ponytail just to keep it out of the way. His clothes were… were those designer? I narrowed my eyes, trying not to let my bias get the better of me. I shook my head. No matter who he was, he was still young and probably panicking.

He whipped around and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, yanking me towards him. "Where am I?" he said angrily.

He was not panicking.

The boy shook me and I may have overreacted.

I shoved him back. Hard, making have to take several steps back to make sure he didn't fall. "Don't touch me." He whipped his head up at me after securing his balance.

"I'll explain to you where I think we are, and what's happened. But for now I suggest you calm down," I raised my voice in that last part, making it boom in the large room.

"Where am I? Who are you? And what am I doing here?" He whipped his head around, looking wildly at the thrones.

"And who the hell are they? Who… What? Why…"

I made him turn around and look at me. Now he may have been panicking. "Look, dude. Like I said, I'll do my best to explain to you what's happening. But for now, I'd rather you hold your questions just for a few minutes until everyone wakes up," I jerked my head behind me. "My name is Eryl, and I woke up here same as you just a few minutes ago. What's your name?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally uttering, "Grant…"

"Alright, Grant," I greeted. "Think you can stay still for a minute or two as I wake everyone up? I'd like it if everyone woke up with someone there to help them."

Grant flinched slightly, nodding his head once. "Alright… Eryl."

"Sorry about pushing you, by the way."

"No… It was my fault. It was my bad."

I stuck out a hand and he grasped it firmly. The kid seemed dependable. I mean, sure, I couldn't exactly say good things about our first tiny meeting, but the fact that Grant instantly attacked me as soon as he got his bearings was rather impressive.

I turned around, nodding to Scarlett as she walked up to the two of us. However, another two were waking up and they just so happened to be next to each other. I made my way over to them, and let them attempt to get their bearings for a moment. It was two boys, appearing my age, and were groaning next to each other, covering their eyes with their hands and rolling dramatically. None of us are surviving in a horror movie, I swear.

One of the boys had dark brown hair, although it wasn't dark enough to be mistaken for black. It was unkempt, and I couldn't help but think the most this kid did to make himself presentable was just run his fingers through his hair a few times and call it a day. The other boy had hair that was a near opposite of the unkempt one. He had a comb over- gel and everything. The sides were short, and the hair was cut to remain a certain length.

They also had one other major difference- their eyes. Both of them were now blinking the stars out of their eyes, slowly focusing on my face as I stared at them with a grin. The kid with unkempt hair had dark green eyes, murky almost, but the color could not be mistaken. The one with the comb over, in contrast, had bright blue eyes, almost like ice. Both were staring at me curiously.

"I done got kidnapped," the boy with the green eyes said.

"We done got kidnapped," the boy with blue eyes corrected.

"Well, at least I won't die alone as my organs get harvested."

"That's right! Both of us, together, isn't that right…"

They both paused as they realized the voice they heard from the other was one they did not recognize. Instantly sitting up, they whipped their heads to look at the other. Confusion filled their faces before the kid with blue eyes lifted his hands in an "en garde" motion.

"Who are you?" the green eyed boy said.

"That's my line," the other responded.

"We all died," I cut in with a dead voice. "Repent, O' sinners."

"I thought God would look… different."

"I thought God would be taller."

"Yeah, well thank goodness I'm not him, and we're all still alive." Although maybe not for long. I offered them my hands respectively and hauled them up. "Name's Eryl, with whom do I share the honor of experiencing death?"

"Zachery," the green eyed one responded, slapping my hand gently then clasping it. "People call me Zach."

"And the honor's all mine, Eryl and Zach," the blue eyed kid bowed dramatically. "You are blessed with the presence of the great Benjamin!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright, Franklin, let's settle down for a moment."

Zach let out a bark of laughter while Benjamin faked offense.

"I'll have you know that if my face were on the five dollar bill, I would have picked a better angle." Zach grasped my wrist and I did the same. "Call me Ben."

I nodded with a smile before turning serious. "Listen, Zach, Ben. I'll explain what I know in a minute or few, if you think you can keep quiet for that time. As you can see," I gestured to the rest of the kids that were slowly getting up, "There are others with us. I'd like it if I was the first to greet them. Ya know, make sure they don't have a panic attack. You mind keeping to yourselves, or introduce yourselves to that group in a quiet manner?"

They both frowned at my seriousness, but one look at their surroundings had them nod their heads as they pursed their lips shut. I gave them a wide grin and patted their backs.

"Don't worry, guys. It'll be alright. Trust me," I assured.

With that, I walked to one side of the hearth, smiling gently at the woman in the brown dress, and met the three girls that were setting themselves on the log as they blinked their eyes rapidly. They too looked around my age. From oldest to youngest, there was a girl a year or two older than me. She was clearly a college student: her eyes held no life. Her sweatshirt also had some initials that ended with "U". She had long black hair that she let go wherever, although it seemed she still had quite the hair routine for it to look that healthy. What? Even I know a few things. Her eyes were a dull black, which I didn't know was possible. They were black, yes, but they seemed almost faded. For a moment my heart crashed in pity, thinking she was blind before her eyes snapped up at me, meeting my own directly. Definitely not blind.

The other girl, who looked about my age, was… woah. For a moment, my eyes glazed over before they quickly snapped back. Did I just… think this girl was so attractive I stopped thinking? That definitely cleared my mind. Afterall, I didn't want my mind of all things to be influenced by anyone but myself. But still, I had to admit this girl was… good looking. She had light brown hair, almost auburn, and it shined in the light coming from the opening in the ceiling. Oh yeah? Did I mention there was a giant spotlight in the ceiling, opening up to the sky? Whoops, must have slipped my mind.

But anyways. Yeah, she was attractive. Her eyes were sharp, and yet her gaze was soft. It didn't help that she had the brightest green eyes I have ever seen, almost drawing me in before I looked over the rest of her. Yeah. She was… good looking. There was no denying that. However, I ignored both their gazes to look at the final girl.

She was a year or two younger than me. Is this a pattern? One older, one my age, one younger? What could this mean, Eryl?! What does the universe wish to tell me? Uh huh… Oh! Of course! Nothing. I shook my head, stopping myself from diverging too deep into my mind and holding a conversation with myself. The girl had dirty blonde hair cut short, barely reaching over her ears as she regarded me with caution. She had dark brown eyes, and her clothes were shorts with a jacket. Nothing too crazy.

Well here goes nothing.

"Well! Three at once," I glanced over my shoulder and Aundrea. "That's a new record!"

I gently clasped my hands, diverting their attention back to me, smiling gently. "So. I'm not sure how to tell you this, but all of us are in an unfamiliar place and we have no clue what we're doing here. My advice: hold back your questions for less than a minute and I promise that I will answer most, if not all of them, to the best of my ability."

I paused for a moment, letting them soak in my words and they each gave their own sign of affirmation. "Try not to get too worried, and just do your best not to stare at them for too long. You'll be safe. Trust me." I smiled at them kindly. "Oh right! My name's Eryl. Do y'alls mind sharing your name?"

The older one spoke, with a somewhat bland voice. "Since you said not to panic, I may as well: Scyla. Don't ask how you spell it."

I quickly closed my mouth, replacing it with a smirk seeing her expression.

"I'm Elizabeth," the middle one said. "And since I still feel off, I'll trust you… Eryl."

I smiled at her warmly, nodding. I know I'm being somewhat dramatic, but I don't want them to start yelling at me with questions about their families and friends…. Why aren't they asking about their family and friends…? I put that question on hold and kept the warm smile and looked to the younger girl.

"...Rebecca," she said, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "You said you'd answer our questions in a minute. It's been a minute."

There was a certain edge to her voice. I did not care. "I did say that, you are right. Then I'll have to apologize because I forgot to mention that I'd answer all your questions after all of you wake up."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "All?"

I gestured to the eleven others that were either sitting or standing with each other. "All," I confirmed. "How about it? Do you mind letting me talk to the last one here?"

She didn't respond so I smiled warmly at her, standing up straight. "Don't worry, everything will be okay," I reassured them.

Elizabeth nodded and Scyla simply looked around, preoccupying herself. I turned to the final girl and widened my eyes, quickly rushing over. She was hugging herself tightly, rolled into a ball and cuddling into her hoodie. Her body shuddered and silent sobs escaped her little refuge. I quickly reached her, unsure what to do. She looked younger than me, so it should be fine to treat her like that, right? Also, in my defense, my mind was a bit rattled seeing someone having a panic attack. I was also not thinking straight with the fact that literal Gods were right in the room with me. So I did what I thought was the best move: I hugged a random stranger who I never knew existed up until a few moments ago. What? I was very overprotective, and I figured I'd take the task of taking the lead for now.

As I brought her into a hug, I felt her stiffen and I soothed her gently. I knew that shushing them or saying "There's nothing wrong" was far from the best thing to say to someone crying, much less having a panic attack. So I hugged her, wrapping my arms securely around and covering most of her body.

"You're safe. You're not alone," I whispered gently to her. "I'm here. We're both here. We're both okay. We're both safe. You can cry. Just know that you aren't alone. I'm right here with you."

With each sentence, her shudders slowly disappeared. With each word, her sobs slowly became tears, until she was just sniffling. Her breath which she struggled to catch had finally returned to her, and she took deep breaths.

"There you go," I soothed, massaging the side of her head with my thumb. "You're alright. You're okay. You're safe. Don't worry. There's nothing to worry about."

I held her until she began to stir, and I slowly removed myself. I may have imagined it, but once I was no longer hugging her, she seemed to shiver. She wiped her tears and sniffled, the final cries finally passing. Slowly, she uncurled herself from her little ball and tried to stand up. I gently caught her, placing an arm on her back and setting her down on a log.

"Don't worry. Take however much time you need. You're safe. You're alright," I gave a gentle nod, a smile on my face as she hesitantly nodded.

I wondered how much I should say until the woman in the brown dress put her hand on my back, making me turn to face her. For a moment, I felt disappointed in myself. As I looked at the woman's face, I saw a gentle smile. A warm smile. A kind smile. A smile I thought I replicated, but I knew nothing could match the warmth and gentleness she gave in that single smile. I bowed my head, and took a step back as she flashed me a grin.

"You've done good, Eryl," she said softly. "Allow me to do the rest."

---

Chapter 2: 'I Choose You!' No, I'll Choose, Thank You

I bowed my head lower before turning back, but not before flashing the girl one last smile which I hoped was reassuring. As I glanced back at the other teenagers, I noticed a few of them looked at me differently. Others had a small smile on their face while others nodded at me. A slight frown flickered on my face before I made my way to the front of the group, facing the thrones. I looked straight forward, narrowing my eyes and the rest noticed, following suit. A few gasped and others gripped my arms, using something to lean on or just as a way to feel safe. I did make a promise after all.

"Don't worry," I said quietly to them, using the same level of softness I did when I spoke to the young girl. "You're safe... Trust in me."

Before any could respond, a large BOOM was heard, and a shockwave nearly blew us off our feet. Luckily I stood firm, ensuring those that grasped my arms didn't fall either. I looked to my sides and found Grant and Zach standing straight as well. Aundrea stood right beside me, using me as a shield of sorts which I wasn't bothered by. Elizabeth, Scyla, Brad, Rebecca, Matthew, and Crystal were holding onto my arms. Three hands on each as they tried to grip my forearms even harder after the shockwave.

"MORTALS," a deep, commanding voice spoke, making me clench my teeth at the volume. Zeus spoke. "Now that you all have gathered yourselves," his eyes met mine for a moment, "You will answer us accordingly."

No one said anything for a few seconds before I bowed my head slightly. "Of course," I spoke in a clear voice, hesitating on how to address him and glanced at Aundrea. She mouthed a word and I nodded. "Lord Zeus. We will answer as you wish."

He seemed satisfied as he kept talking. "You all have been chosen. Be honored for we Gods have picked you all out of everyone on Earth," Zeus declared, as if he just gave us all the money in the world.

After a moment, I spoke up once more in a firm voice, "We are honored, Gods and Goddesses, for choosing us."

"Oh? I quite like this one," a voice on my left said, slightly softer than Zeus. Aphrodite. She winked at me the moment I glanced at her.

"He seems like a kind soul," Demeter spoke, softening her eyes a little at me. I nodded gratefully.

"Ha! Seems like he knows his place, though," laughed Ares from my right, his voice oozing masculinity that almost made me gag. "He quickly made himself the leader and bows his head to us! Strong in front of the weak and weak in front of the strong!"

"The boy quickly took control of the situation," Athena corrected. "He set himself and others up so they wouldn't panic when put into an unexpected situation. He adapted, understood what was happening, and took the best course of actions. Someone who could figure out who we were in forty-six seconds would figure out how to address us."

I bowed my head deeply at the Goddess of Wisdom. She blinked in response.

"He was quick on his feet, I'll give him that. It isn't bad for a mortal," Hermes acknowledged. "I'm sure he'll continue to prove himself in the future."

Apollo laughed heartily, "I agree, Hermes. Great things will come from this boy."

Another BOOM was sounded, making me tense and ensuring no one fell. I looked up to see Zeus had stomped his foot once more, looking ever so slightly irritated.

"As I was saying, you mortals have been chosen for a grand mission. It will bring us great glory, and bring terror to all those who stand against us. You all who will become known in the Greek world will be regarded as silent heroes, working behind the scenes to ensure Olympus remains in rule and in safety."

There was another pause and I took the opportunity to speak up, wondering, "As great as that sounds, what exactly were we chosen for? And why does it sound as if we have no choice?"

Zeus's eyes suddenly sparked in lightning, and he regarded me coldly. "Are you claiming you would deny a command from the Gods?"

"I am… claiming that I wish to understand everything about this command. I would feel very much assured if I knew more things from several people rather than a single one."

Zeus began to sit up before booming laughter made him pause. Next to him, the God of the Sea laughed heartily, slapping his knee once and wiping a tear from his eye.

"Poseidon…" Zeus warned.

"Peace, Brother," he chuckled. "The mortal speaks reason. As far as he is concerned, he was forcefully taken from his home and then suddenly had a Divine Being telling him to be honored. Let the boy have reason. After all, I believe that if he agrees, the others will be more likely to follow."

I narrowed my eyes slightly at that final part, but said nothing and instead bowed my head at the King of Atlantis.

Ares coughed to my right. "Well, maybe the mortal does have courage. He defied my expectations."

"You humans," Hera spoke, prompting me to bow my head, "have been selected to carry out the Council's will. Should we command anything, you will do it. But as my husband said, it will all be for the good of Olympus."

A pause. "Thank you, Lady Hera, for soothing my worries. And although you did answer a big portion of my question, I'm afraid I am still confused." I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts before speaking, "But how can us… mortals possibly exert the Gods' will?"

"Ah," Artemis realized. "Perhaps it was better to begin from there."

Athena nodded, before looking at me. "There are exactly thirteen of you mortals in this room. There are exactly thirteen gods in this room." She held up one finger on each hand, continuing, "One mortal for one god. And the way you mortal's shall carry out our wills will be by representing us and our domains."

"Patrons," Aundrea gasped quietly at my side.

Athena's gray eyes glinted as a small smile appeared, confirming Aundrea's words. "Indeed. Each God and Goddess here will become a patron to one mortal here. That mortal will become that God's Champion."

"That Champion," Hera interrupted, "Will gain a portion of our power, and with that they shall carry out our wills. As mortals, the Fates should ignore you for the most part, which means nearly any will can be carried out without a problem."

They stared at me expectantly and I slowly nodded, digesting the information. I racked my brain for a moment, looking down, making myself remain calm and re-examining their words.

I suddenly snapped my head up, my eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why us of all seven billion mortals? I assume there is more than one reason?" I questioned.

I grit my teeth, forcing my emotions from taking the better of me. "I assume that… you have chosen people who have nothing to lose?"

I remembered Aundrea's full acceptance of death. I mean sure, it was done in a humor, but she seemed too willing. Then Matthew who's first response to someone dying was whether his tears should be real or not. Then Crystal, who I believed was actively homeless. Then Grant who reacted defensively. Now that I had a moment to think, I realized that for a split second, he was terrified before he turned to grab my collar. Why? Sure, maybe he was scared of being kidnapped, but he reacted that way only when he went to grab me. He was terrified of confrontation. He was terrified of… getting hurt.

Zach and Ben also reacted pretty indifferently to the thought of themselves being kidnapped. Perhaps that's just the way they are, or perhaps that's the only way they can deal with things. How they survived through tough situations. Then Scyla, who I glanced at, still had those dead eyes. There was, quite literally, no will to live. Elizabeth seemed perfectly okay at the prospect of being at some random place she didn't recognize, and followed the same attitude of the other teens here: absolutely zero concern to anyone that might care for them. Then Rebecca, who was the only reasonable person since she reacted suspiciously. And then… the girl that had the panic attack.

I turned my head, and found that she was still there. She seemed to have been staring right at me because our eyes connected instantly, dark blue with a light hazel. In a moment, she looked away, not meeting my eye. She was also a reason for worry. Sure, maybe she just hadn't gone through a lot and just panicked easily. But that response was way too instant. Curling up into a ball that is. She knew it was the best course of action. It was a reflex, maybe. It had happened to her before.

And then there's me… My childhood memories are gone. I don't know why, nor can I care because I don't remember anything. Not like it mattered though, since I was in an orphanage since twelve. No one was out there that would miss me. Not even my two part-time jobs.

I stared at the King of Gods furiously. The teenagers standing next to me, the teenagers that have placed their trust in me, have no one. No one would miss them. No one would care if they… disappeared. We were disposable. We were… pointless. And that made me angry.

A few of the heads around me looked at me in shock. The Gods merely looked indifferent. "I'm right, aren't I? You chose people that could disappear, and no one would care. No one to miss us. If we disappeared… there would be no consequences. Isn't that right?"

"I don't like your tone, boy," Zeus growled, lighting crackling on his clenched fist as thunder shook the building. "So what if that's one of the reasons? Is it not a good one? When choosing a job, you don't grab the leader of a nation do you? No, you grab some random vagrant-" I saw Crystal flinch "-who no one would miss! Who no one would care if they disappeared! Should they fail to finish the job-"

"You just choose another…" I scoffed. I chuckled, my entire body moving up and down before it turned into a growl. "Fine! Turn us into your Champions, I will show you all your way of thinking is faulted. I will prove you otherwise… On a few conditions."

It felt like the entire world shook as thunder rocked the building, a few Gods glancing at their King. "YOU DARE COMMAND ME?!-"

"I DARE LISTEN TO YOUR COMMANDS!" I shouted right back, making him pause in confusion. "You are asking me to throw away my life just to carry out a God's will! And if I refuse, then who cares?! Just bring in another! It doesn't matter! There's seven billion to choose from! Let's see how long it takes… right? So all I ask is a few things… that won't be a bad deal to you, nor anyone in this room. In fact, they'd benefit you."

That caught the attention of a few Gods, including Posiedon and Hades. And since they were curious, Zeus couldn't exactly kill me instantly anymore. Maybe after a minute once their curiosity faded. So I had to be fast.

"Before I say anything however," I boomed, looking around, "I do have to ask… have the Champions been predetermined or is that a task left to us?"

"Why would we leave a God's selection of their Champion in the hands of a mortal, boy?" Artemis asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Because they would be more willing," I said, unflinching at her stare that could cause anyone to shudder in fear. I didn't. Mostly because I wasn't looking at her but still. "If someone is tasked to do something by someone higher than them, sure they listen. Not like they have a choice. But what if that someone is told why they were chosen for the task. They would find the logic behind it, the reasoning, and finally understand why it is them. And since they understand… they'd be far more willing.

"Let's give an example. I tell someone to go grab a branch from a tree that's hanging almost halfway off a cliff. I don't tell them why, nor do I tell them why them. Do they take the branch? Sure. Let's say they do. But they did it in fear; they did it begrudgingly; they did it because they were forced to do it."

"But if they were told the reasons for grabbing the branch, and explained why they were chosen, most likely because they weigh almost nothing," Athena muttered, which could still be heard, "then they would be less fearful. They knew the logic behind it… The reasoning… And so they understood. They would be far more willing; it wouldn't be forced. They'd do it…"

"... on their own accord," I finished, nodding at her. "Perhaps even because they want to do it."

"Now how do you suggest you mortals pick our Champions," Hera asked. "How could you possibly know which one is the right one?"

"Ah," I sighed. "So there is a right choice. Let us figure that out ourselves. We will find which mortal matches their respective patron god. Should a Champion be picked wrong, at the very least they would be more understanding why they were wrong since they understand if someone matches that God or Goddess more."

"The boy speaks reason," Hades declared, finally speaking. "As he said, the few things he asked would still prove to be beneficial to us. Even should he be wrong, the correct Champion is still chosen, albeit-" he nodded at Athena "-far more willing."

Hades had a powerful voice, but not in the way you expected. His voice was like a snake slithering across water. You hardly notice it, but the moment you pay attention, by god does the realization hit you like a truck. So you can't help but pay attention. I know that doesn't exactly describe what he sounds like, but trust me, understanding how he talked rather than how he sounded was far better. And with his voice, being one of the Eldest in the room, the other Olympians couldn't help but consider his words.

Demeter was the first to speak up. "I see no problem with this. At most, we wait a few minutes, and we still end up with our Champion."

Poseidon slammed his trident into the ground, nodding. "Hades and Demeter speak reason. There is nothing wrong with this choice. At most, we simply lose insignificant time."

And with that, one by one, others agreed. Aphrodite was next, then Apollo, Hermes, then Artemis and even Athena. And with Athena agreeing, there was no room to argue. The decision had been reached. For my first deal, they would give us time to decide who our Patron would be, while still choosing the Champion they wanted originally should we be wrong. Once it had been decided, they all turned to stare at me and with a start I realized that they were waiting.

"Whoops." I turned around, forcing the others to let go of my arms. "Let's go sit down by the Hearth. It's better there."

They nodded and followed. It only made sense. They were absolutely stumped. None of them had even captured anything that Eryl and the Gods said, although Aundrea was following along. All they knew was that Eryl was going to decide something once more. They chose to trust him once, and it didn't end with them being forced to do something. They chose to trust him once more.

I sat down on one of the logs, the one next to where the lady in the brown dress sat, smiling to her gently when she looked at me with pride. I motioned for the others to follow suit, either sitting on the logs or on the ground between us. One the log with the gentle lady sat Aundrea, Grant, and Brad. On my log sat, excluding myself, Matthew, Rebecca, and Zach. In between the logs sat Elizabeth, Scyla, Crystal, Scarlett, and Ben.

"Well then," I said, clasping my hands and looking at them with a bright smile. "I'd say that that ended rather not too badly. None of us are dead, I saved us from death, and I still have no clue what I'm doing."

Aundrea groaned, dropping her head into her hands as Zach and Ben laughed. A few others shook their heads at me, while others smiled softly.

"As much as I want to address the fact that I'm deciding our fates for you all, I'd rather make sure we don't get smited by a god. So please," I spoke sincerely, making all of them look at me. "Just for a little while, ignore the fact that gods really do exist, and just focus on the task at hand. Once we do that a few times, we'll have clear heads and we can go from there. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Gotcha."

"All ears."

"Hear ya."

"Hm."

"So! What does it mean to be a Champion?" I asked rhetorically. I was surprised to find someone answer.

"The only thing closest to a Champion would be Greek Heroes in mythology," Aundrea answered seriously. "But even then, there were no Champions. Patron God or Goddess, yes. Lady Hera was the Patron of Hercules, and Lady Athena the Patron of Odysseus if I remember correctly.

"But even then, 'powers'" she pronounced, doing air quotes, "weren't given. Advice? Sure. Gifts maybe? Yeah. Help? There was lots of that. But there's nothing like this…"

"Huh… Well would you look at that, you learn something new everyday," I nodded. "In that case, why were those Goddesses in particular Patrons of those Greek Heroes?"

She shrugged. "Hercules went through a lot of things, the tasks given to him by Lady Hera…" She narrowed her eyes, the gears in her brain turning. "I think Athena was impressed or fond of Odysseus' cleverness, and also her dislike for Lord Posiedon…"

"Ah, wonderful. Let's be petty," Matthew muttered, earning him hard stares from a few gods.

"Hmm…" I thought for a moment. "So if I'm understanding correctly… there's no correlation between who is chosen and who isn't?"

Aundrea frowned, trying to rack her brain and remember what she knew about ancient Greece. She ended up shaking her head, "I… I don't know. I guess so?"

"Hmm… To be a Champion… means to carry out the God wills…"

"But it also means to represent that Patron god," Elizabeth said, surprising me a little.

"Represent?" Scarlett asked. "Like what? I'm the god of death, so die?"

I glanced at Hades, glad that Scarlett had her back faced to him. Even so, she still shivered as a coldness traveled up her spin.

"No…" I muttered, biting my fingernails as I organized my thoughts. "Death isn't just that… It's about order. The end of the cycle of life. People think death is bad, sure it is, but it's not discriminatory… It…"

"It's fair," Matthew answered, staring at the ground with an angry expression. "There is no list. There is no sign that says this person should die simply because death wills it so… Death is much more than that. It's the end. The finality. It brings peace and closure. It is uncaring of the living, yet entirely depends on it. It's… as you said, Eryl. It's just a part of the cycle of life. There is no vindication…"

I stared at Matthew with sympathy for a moment before I nodded. "You're right. Death isn't something simple. It's not as straightforward as killing someone. And to be the Champion of the God of the Underworld…"

"You have to understand that," Aundrea finished. "You have to understand…"

"...who you're representing," I finished for her, my eyes lighting up as I stood up and slapped my hands in celebration. "That's it! To understand your Patron allows you to represent them! And if you know how to represent them, you're the best choice to be their Champion."

My excitement seemed to be contagious as a few chuckled and Ben yelled, "Eureka!"

Grant nodded. "It does make sense but," he paused for a moment. "Now what?"

"Now we figure out who understands what each god represents best," Zach responded.

I pointed at both of them before giving them a thumbs up. "Exactly!..." I stopped for a minute and scratched the back of my head. "Uh… exactly yeah… How would one do that?"

Scyla, the oldest, stood up and gestured to Artemis and Hades. "Start with one, end with the other. Just choose," she dawled, her blank voice slightly retreating.

"Let's start with Lady Artemis," Aundrea offered. "Since we understand a little bit about Lord Hades, it should make things easier when we reach him."

I looked at everyone. "Sounds good?"

They all gave their affirmation one way or another.

"Remember," I grinned. "One step at a time… One task at a time.

"Now then! Goddess of the Hunt, Maidens, and the Moon, Artemis," I bowed my head deeply, even bending my knee slightly.

She regarded me coldly.

I smiled in response. "We shall now see who fits who best." I rested my head on my hand for a moment. "But if we don't get a good pick, let's just go onto the next God or Goddess, and then eventually, we'll make a full circle and have less choices," I prompted.

"That sounds like a plan," Zach declared. "But how exactly do we do this?"

I scrunched my eyebrows and thought for a few moments. "Anyone got a pen and a piece of paper? I have a feeling we'll be writing a couple of things down…"

I heard a snap of fingers and a simple brown notebook and brown pen appeared in my hands. "Oh! Why thank you very much," I beamed, looking around, "to whoever snapped their fingers."

"Now then!" I dropped onto my knees, opening the notebook. At the top I wrote "Goddess Artemis" and looked up. "What exactly is she goddess of?"

"Hunt, Maidens, and the Moon, like you've already said," Aundrea answered. "But also Chastity, Nature, Wilderness, Childbirth, and Childcare."

I wrote all of that down on one page underneath the "Goddess Artemis." "Alright… Alright. Got it! Goddess Artemis; Goddess of Hunt, Maidens, the Moon, Chastity, Nature, Wilderness, Childbirth, and Childcare- Wait a minute."

I stopped and slowly turned to look at the Goddess I just spoke of. She raised a sharp eyebrow at me before I slowly turned back to look at my fellow teenagers. "Can't we just… ask? Ya know, what she's the goddess of?"

Aundrea put her head back on her hands with a groan, something a few others followed while Zach and Ben chuckled silently.

I looked for the nearest girl to me: Rebecca. "Hey, Rebecca," I started.

In response, she just raised an eyebrow, just as Artemis had done.

"Ya mind asking what she's the Goddess of?"

"Why can't you do it?"

"...Are you familiar with ancient Greek mythology, by any chance?"

"Do I look like I'm familiar with ancient Greek mythology?"

I stared at her for a moment with a frown. "Maybe not." I clapped my hands and kept them in contact, looking at Rebecca. "Well, the thing is, a certain number of myths surrounding Lady Artemis cause many to label her as… How do I say this?"

"A man-hater," Aundrea finished for me. "It's one of the few things she's known for in this modern era. Although it's not exactly true."

"She's right," I affirmed. "She doesn't hate all men, she just hates the bad ones. The ones who… deserve any form of punishment."

"Exactly." Then, after a moment, Aundrea added with a slight smirk and a shocked expression, "Eryl, does that mean you assumed that Lady Artemis treated all men unfairly."

"In my defense," I started, raising my hands in the air. "I am stupid."

A few of the girls shook their heads disapprovingly, and I clutched my chest, stumbling back in fake shock. "Betrayed by the very Maidens she protects…" I cried, wiping a nonexistent tear from my eye.

I looked up and saw Artemis regarding me with a blank expression, an almost bored one. "Uhh… I apologize, Lady Artemis, for falling under the assumption that was placed unto you by man, and assuming they were true. I hope you understand that I meant no disrespect and simply spoke foolishly."

A loud belly laugh was heard behind me to my right. Apollo. Makes sense.

The God of the Sun slapped his knees, kicking his feet onto the ground, still laughing. "This kid… is too funny! Haha!" He chuckled a few more times, wiping tears from his eyes as a few other Olympians stared at the two in amusement. "Don't kill him, sis. I want to see how he'd apologize to another here!"

Artemis ignored her twin, speaking in a level voice at me. "You are not wrong with my domains that you have mentioned, boy. But if you were to add one, just for the sake of having all the ones I believe will help you make a decision, then I'd say archery."

I bowed at her, smiling appreciatively and turning back to the group. "I didn't die! Woo-hoo!" I cheered. Apollo laughed once more.

I added "Archery" in the notebook and then nodded. "Alright, thanks to Lady Artemis, we have Hunt, Maidens, Chastity, Nature, the Moon, Nature, Wilderness, Childbirth, Childcare, and Archery."

I rubbed my hands together, clearing my throat awkwardly. "Uhh… one of yalls like hunting?" I glanced back at the notebook. "And the moon? What do we feel about the moon, yalls? C'mon now, it's a safe space here. We all know the Lady on the Moon."

Apollo laughed even harder and Hermes coughed, covering up his laugh.

Rebecca raised her hand, and I gestured for her to speak. "I've used a bow to hunt before. But… I don't really like hunting. It… doesn't feel right to me."

I noticed the pained expression that appeared when she said that, so I sat down next to her, not too close though, and looked at her gently. "Doesn't feel right? How so? Can you not hunt comfortably, or is the hunting itself that feels wrong to you?"

She thought for a moment, looking down. "It… feels wrong. I know others hunt deer and such to survive… but whenever I went hunting with my dad… he just did it for the trophy. He'd cut the head, not bothering with anything else and just… left it there."

She shuddered for a moment, recalling the memories and shut her eyes to stop the tears from falling. A warm hand caused her to open her eyes and stare into dark blue eyes that looked at her with warmth.

"That's very honorable of you, Rebecca. If I assume your Dad did this more than a few times, then rather than thinking it's normal to kill for trophies, you stuck with your ideal that hunting is nothing more than a means to survival… It's something natural, that should be respected."

Rebecca nodded her head sadly, her chin wobbling as she spoke with a shaky voice, "They didn't deserve to die… I… I remember the first time I killed a deer. I didn't want to kill it… It…"

She began to sob and I pulled her into a hug, wondering if her father was still alive so he could experience what it's like to be hunted. Where did that come from? And why do I feel so overprotective of her… of them all. I held her for a few moments before she took a few deep breaths, finishing what she was going to say.

"It had just given birth to a fawn… Her fawn. It wouldn't survive alone. It wouldn't survive without its mother. And the mother couldn't…" she clenched her teeth, forcing herself to take deep breaths. "She couldn't move. She had just given birth and I… I didn't want to! I begged my dad to choose another deer. It didn't matter what I had to kill, it just couldn't be her…

"But he didn't let me. He said that I either kill the doe or… he shoots the fawn," she finally choked out, sobbing. "I didn't know what to do! I should've missed or- or maybe shoot my dad, I don't know… I should've done something differently because almost every week, I have the same dream over and over again… The doe, looking up at me as I pulled my bow back. It didn't try to move, it knew it couldn't. And… it stared right at me. Straight into my eyes. I don't know how… but I just knew what it was feeling. It wasn't angry. It wasn't resentful. It wasn't sad. It didn't feel regret. It… It felt thankful, as if it understood what was happening. It felt thankful because… because she would rather it be her than her fawn. And each and every time I have that dream, I hate myself more and more…"

Rebecca didn't know why she was saying this. Never before had she shared this with anyone- although there wasn't exactly anyone to share it with. But speaking with Eryl felt different. He meant no harm. He was harmless… Yet she knew she could depend on him. She knew that she could trust him, letting him take the lead and choose what's best. And so she gave in, letting out her sorrows that she hadn't let out in nearly a decade, sobbing into Eryl's shirt as he hugged her close, rubbing her back and soothing her.

I let her cry, simply holding her firmly. I was the world's most secure lock, and no one would harm the thing hiding beneath. I couldn't imagine what Rebecca had felt at that moment. And to think she relives it every week. Like a constant reminder of her sin… It took a few minutes, but eventually she stopped sobbing, seemingly running out of tears. I looked down at the younger girl, finding with slight amusement that she fell asleep. I wiped the tears from her eyes, looking at her with sympathy before Nike shoes found their way into my line of sight on the ground.

I lifted my head up and stopped myself from reeling back. Artemis was standing right in front of me, the size of a regular human, and looked down at the girl. Without thinking, I held her closer, turning her slightly away from the Goddess. She raised an eyebrow at me before I realized my foolishness. This was the Goddess of Maidens. She wouldn't hurt her. But I was unsure of what to do. So I simply returned to the position I was originally in, facing the Goddess and just holding Rebecca while she slept.

Artemis stared at the girl for a few minutes before nodding. "I'll take her."

"Huh?"

"My Champion. I shall take her to be my Champion."

I was stumped for a few moments before looking back at Aundrea, finding her eyes ever so slightly red from tears. She saw me looking at her and gave a slight nod.

"Uhh… alright," I said, looking down at Rebecca. "Do I leave her here or…?"

Artemis gently took Rebecca from my arms and I slowly retreated my own back. The girl still slept peacefully, although she did shiver slightly after I no longer held her. That made the Goddess frown before snapping her fingers and a thick blanket appeared on her decided Champion.

The Goddess turned back to look at me, regarding me with something I couldn't quite place. "I will simply take her back to my throne. Fret not, she will remain safe so long as she is with me. That, I promise."

I was surprised that she was promising me that, but then I looked back at Rebecca and thought for a moment. To hunt is to perform a sacred act. It's an honor, and should not be regarded as entertainment nor without purpose. Rebecca understood that perfectly. So I nodded, bowing at my hip at Artemis.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis…" I hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding. "I'll leave her with you."

The Goddess looked at me, slight mirth in her eyes before she nodded, walking back to her throne, a few of the Olympians looking at the mortal with sympathy. "You have left a note in my book, Eryl," Artemis called, making me turn around. "You are an honorable soul. Do not let it be tarnished."

I didn't know what she meant, and she knew that. Nonetheless, I bowed my head, giving my thanks.

I looked back at the hearth and sighed, placing my face in my hands. One deep breath later and I stood up, firm determination in my eyes as I walked back to the group. I clapped my hands together, smiling brightly.

"Well! Although certainly unexpected, that is one Champion now decided for."

Scyla looked at me with disappointment. "So you're just going to completely ignore what happened just now?"

The older girl flinched when I turned my head to look at her. "I'm not," I growled, the anger at the comment evident in my face.

I took a deep breath again, letting the anger drain away before picking up the notebook off the log and quickly writing down on the first page: "Champion decided: Rebecca" before flipping onto the next page.

"Goddess Athena," I both said and wrote. "Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare, and Handicraft, right?"

Aundrea nodded, but then frowned. "You're not wrong, but I feel like she's the goddess of so many other things… "

She looked up at the Goddess herself, before deciding something and standing up. Aundrea took a few steps before stopping suddenly. I turned my head to see Athena holding up her hand.

"You aren't wrong in saying that I do represent many things," the Goddess mused. "But for the sake of ease, those three domains cover a good portion of what I represent."

The girl nodded, bowing her head before sitting back down.

"So…" I started. "Anyone here really wise?"

"I can say some rather wise things at times," Brady said.

"Like what?" Ben snorted. "'When not thinking, it's your actions that matter'?"

I looked at the boy with an impressed expression. Ben quickly shook his head and hands.

"No, no. That's not wisdom. It's just putting the obvious into words." He thought for a moment before continuing, "Like saying you can't worry about the future since you cannot know what will happen, so it's better to live in the moment. Like, yeah? Obviously? And then people think you said something absolutely revolutionary when, once again, you're just saying something like 'Water takes the easiest path down the mountain, and yet all rivers find their way into the ocean. Why worry about what path you take when we all end at the same point: death.'

"Like, thanks Einstein, but that's just silly." Ben shook his head, "No. That's not wisdom."

"It actually is," Aundrea muttered. "Wisdom isn't necessarily intellect nor intelligence. It's just about… knowing things and experiencing things to get wiser and wiser."

"If anything," Grant jutted in, "You should be Athena's champion. I mean think about it, it takes someone wise to realize that what he said was wisdom, and that wisdom isn't about intelligence."

Aundrea thought for a few moments, her eyes going through many calculations before looking up at me. "Write my name on that page then, but just put 'Candidate' or maybe 'Best choice.'"

I did exactly that, turning to the next page and looking up to see who was next before immediately looking back down. "Oh Gods…"

"That's me!" Aphrodite's sing-song voice called. "Now tell me… which one of you understands what I represent best?"

"Love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and sexuality," Aundrea griped.

I wrote it down. "Uh… Oh… How do I say this…?" I thought for a moment.

"I'll volunteer," a voice said.

I looked down at Elizabeth, stunned. "Wait, what? Why?"

She raised an eyebrow, gesturing to her body. "Who else?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, a slight sneer on my face. "I refuse to write your name down if you think your body suddenly means you can represent her domains. And even if it did, it would just be beauty.

"But that's the funny thing about beauty," I stressed, a slight smile on my face. "It's in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is in everything. From the tiniest of flowers to the largest of clouds. From the heavens to the underworld, everything- mostly- can be considered beautiful. It all depends on who calls it such.

"And we also have to consider love," I added. "Possibly more important than the rest. Love is an interesting emotion. It supposedly conquers all. It can cause wars, yet also end all wars. It can create life, but also end it. To love is to exist. But to exist doesn't necessarily mean to love."

"Huh?"

"He's saying that if you feel love, you can say you're alive. But just because you're alive doesn't mean you are qualified to feel love," Aundrei explained to Scarlett.

"Huh."

"Well, then who else could it be?" Elizabeth asked. "I can learn what love is, and beauty and whatnot. I can learn whatever I need to learn. I… I want to learn."

I looked at her, confused. "You… want to be Lady Aphrodite's champion?"

"Oh?" the goddess gasped.

Elizabeth struggled for words, giving up a few times but the look on my face demanded an explanation. Surprisingly, she relented, faltering as she spoke, "I've… I've never known what it's like to feel love. To experience it. I… I tried it one time, but all it ended up doing was making me hate myself."

She kept quiet for a few moments, seemingly looking at her memories as she shook her head. "I know that lust, passion, and pleasure all stem from love. At least, it should," she attested. "They all work hand in hand, yet they all depend on love. Sure, you can feel lust for someone, and maybe even experience pleasure from them, but it's the love and passion alone that suddenly… make it whole.

"You're right in saying beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I know it is… But for the past several years, the eyes that looked at me weren't filled with love. And I hated that." She hesitated, before seemingly deciding against something and continuing, "So I want to learn what it's like to love, or at the very least understand love. What's the best way to understand love than becoming the Champion of the Goddess of Love?"

Before I could say anything, a girlish squeal was heard behind me, getting closer before a blur of white and glints from jewelry barreled past me.

"Oh, look at you, look at you!" Aphrodite squealed, human-sized. "You are just the cutest thing! Alright then, I'll take you as my Champion!"

I looked at Elizabeth for a few seconds before I caught her eye. "Do you accept? Of your own accord?"

She nodded, making Aphrodite bring her in for another hug. But even though everyone else around the Goddess of Love started to get queasy, Elizabeth seemed just fine. If anything, she seemed slightly uncomfortable.

I wrote her name down as Aphrodite led Elizabeth back to her throne, but not before I called out to her. "Know that there are different kinds of love. Some romantic, some familial, and others of friendship. Perhaps one is stronger than another, but they are just as sincere and important as the next. Don't tarnish the views of… good people," I tried, a small grin on my face, "and not let them get close. To love is to accept, but to accept doesn't mean to love. That takes time."

I raised a hand at her, despite several meters separating us. "Give me time."

Her eyes widened, and for a single moment, there seemed to be a flicker of something in her eyes before she blinked and it disappeared. She nodded, letting herself be led back to the Goddess's throne. Eryl and Elizabeth knew they wouldn't forget his words, and he'd make sure everything she knew about love is destroyed and rebuilt by him. Although, I hope she understood that I meant as a best friend or something. Eryl paused for a moment, writing down "Decided: Elizabeth" before flipping to the next page, and nodding. Yup, that's definitely going to lead to a misunderstanding. Well, shoot.

I flipped the next page, and wrote "Goddess Demeter." "Lady Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, harvest, and fertility, correct?"

"That sounds about right. Although," Aundrea muttered, "She can also be considered the Goddess of the earth."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "The Earth?!"

"The earth. As in, lower case. The ground- land, and such," she clarified.

"Ah…" I turned around and looked at the Goddess herself, bowing as I prepared to ask her.

"The domains you have written are correct," Demeter spoke softly, answering before I even asked. "However, I also preside over the Sacred Law, and hold domains over the seasons and motherhood."

"Oh dang," I marveled. "I could've guessed motherhood, but the seasons? Very cool."

She regarded me with the slightest humor in her eyes. I bowed, thanking her before turning around.

"So… Anyone think being a mother is cool?"

"Eryl!"

"What?! It's a genuine question."

"Why don't you just ask if someone likes farming or something?" Matthew offered.

"Farming? That does make more sense now, doesn't it…" I muttered. "Anyone? But, just like the past several minutes have shown us: it's more than just liking it. You have to understand it…"

"Like what? Understanding that we need farming to survive, or something?"

I nodded at Matthew. "Exactly; Its significance is important. We rely entirely on agriculture to survive in modern day society. Heck, it's the literal foundation of civilizations…"

I looked around at the rest of the group, none of them looking overly excited. "I see… I think gardening is cool… But I don't think I'd be able to connect to it, much less represent it. Let's put Lady Demeter on hold for now-"

"Eryl," a gentle voice spoke, catching my attention. The lady in the brown dress spoke.

I bowed my head quickly. "Yes?"

"Selena has something she wishes to say," the lady spoke, smiling softly at the girl in her arms.

I looked down at the girl, who I now knew as Selena. Since I was focused on soothing her panic attack, I didn't exactly note what her appearance was. Now, I realized that she looked… fragile. I didn't know how else to explain it, other than she looks like she couldn't take a lot of stress before crumbling like old paper. And it seemed I wasn't entirely wrong in saying that, since that's what happened seemingly the moment she realized where she was. Or rather, when she realized she didn't know where she was. However, despite looking like words itself could topple her over, she was rather pretty. Pause, me. We are NOT having these thoughts. Well, even so, she had black hair cut in such a way that the front portion of her hair was cut short, while the back portion was left alone, letting the hair flow over her shoulders and onto her back.

She still wore that hoody I mentioned. It was some shade of beige. Let me rack my head… Cream? I think that's the color. Either way, it was just a very light brown. It covered her waist and stopped where her thighs began. And the cream color transitioned into thick sweatpants, splotched with black and white. In a word, her clothes were warm.

But Selena, despite her hesitance, was still trying to meet my eyes, constantly flicking her light hazel eyes to and fro the hearth and myself. So I figured I'd make it easier and stood in front of the log she was sitting at with the lady in the brown dress, directly next to the hearth. I smiled gently at her, crouching down so I had to look up at her.

"How are you doing?" I gently asked.

"...I'm better," she responded after a few moments, not looking at me and instead looking at her fiddling hands.

"I'm glad." I gave a large grin. "And you have something you would like to say?"

Selena nodded, albeit a bit jerkily.

I gave her a chance to speak before saying, "Does it have something to do with gardening or something of the like?"

"Yeah," she spoke, very softly, making me turn my head ever so slightly to hear her better. "I… had a little garden where I… where I lived."

I caught her little stumble, choosing to direct the conversation away from that. "Did you…" I thought for a moment, "feel as though you understood just how important crops and agriculture is?"

She nodded. And I looked at her with slight surprise. It was a firm nod. She was sure.

"That's impressive," I told her, smiling gently. "Although many people know how important it is, not many can say they truly understand why…"

Selena didn't respond, but her shoulders sagged ever so slightly. It seems my words made her less tense, if ever so slightly.

"Do you mind if I write your name as a candidate for Lady Demeter's Champion?"

It took a moment, but she eventually nodded. It was a small nod, but it was resolute.

I smiled, giving her a nod and doing so before standing up straight. "Alright, thank you for speaking up. And don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure all of us are kept safe." Man, I sound so cool. If only I could get rid of this feeling of panic that's engulfed me ever since I realized where I am.

Selena nodded, meeting my eyes for a moment to give the tiniest of smiles, making me grin even wider before I turned both myself a page in the notebook.

"Alright!" I said to the group. "We have a potential candidate for Lady Demeter. We're making rather steady progress if I say so myself."

"Not even halfway there," Scarlett grumbled.

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine. Anywho, let us move onto the next Goddess," I said, bowing at said Queen of the Gods. "Goddess of Marriage, Family, and Women. Do I got that right?"

Aundrea frowned, thinking for a moment. "I'm pretty sure she also presides over childbirth and queenship."

"Queenship?!" I gasped. "Holy… Imagine being the goddess of literal Queens- Actually that makes a lot of sense, I don't know why I'm surprised."

I wrote that down, spelling them aloud as I did. "Alright! Anyone…" I glanced at the book, "Think marriage and family is cool?"

No one responded and I nodded very slowly, understanding. "Yeah… me neither. At least, I think," I muttered. "How about women and queenship? Aundrea, help me out here: there's a word for this!"

"...A feminist?"

I snapped my fingers, pointing at her. "You're a genius. Anyone here a feminist? I mean… women are pretty cool… No one? What about being a Queen or something then?"

Scarlett and Crystal shook their heads no, sending a clear message to me before I raised my hand, signaling them to not worry. Aundrea could not do it, neither could Selena… "So all that leaves is…" I looked down at Scyla and she slowly turned her head to look at me, a bored expression on her face. "Our wonderful Scyla!"

"Ugh," she sneered. "So I'm just a last resort?"

"To be honest, I already thought you were a good choice for Lady Hera's Champion."

She raised an eyebrow. "You think I understand marriage, family, and what? Queenship?" Scyla let out a bark of laughter, "You're wrong, I'll say that much. I don't understand or relate to those things in any way."

"Hmm…" I looked down, nodding. "Alright, then. Th-"

"What about the Goddess herself?" Grant spoke, asking Scyla.

"What about the Goddess?"

"I mean, if you can't relate to the 'domains,' then what if you relate to the goddess or god."

Me and Aundrea frowned at that, before I spoke, "Well, that's not a bad idea in figuring out who is chosen. After all, the more you understand what the God or Goddess represents, the more you understand that God or Goddess. Who says it can't be the other way around?

"But there is also a problem with trying to understand them," Aundrea explained. "If we use the myths, and myths alone. Because if we do… Uh, well…"

"Let's just hope the mortals who wrote those myths were just wrong in one way or another. Or entirely fake," I muttered with all the hope in the world.

"Then what are Hera's myths?" Scyla asked, her eyes filled with some smugness. "Summed up."

Aundrea sneered at the older girl, slightly, her face clearly offended at being told to do something. I quickly interrupted, hoping to distract her, insisting, "That's not exactly the easiest thing to do, especially since a single myth can have several versions, especially due to translations and whatnot… But if her myths were to be summed up…" I looked at Aundrea with a pleading expression.

Said girl took a deep breath, closing her eyes and releasing it slowly. "If they were to be summed up… from what little I know," she muttered, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, "Then it would be something like 'A spiteful victim of infidelity who took the constant reminders of her husband's lack of self-control and reflected her anger back on his children that were not hers.'"

I glanced at Sycla, who was looking at the ground for some reason. "So," I recapped, "the husband of the literal Goddess of marriage and family… completely disregarded what she represented… several times."

"Ironic," Grant scoffed. "But also sad."

"Very," Brad agreed. "Well? Does that help you a little, Scyla?"

She had lifted her knees to her head, making her rest her forehead directly on her kneecaps, and didn't answer for a minute or two before she finally whipped her head up.

"Yeah," she said, her voice slightly wobbly. "Write my name down on the page, then."

I did as she said, glancing at her. Her eyes weren't red so she hadn't cried but… It seems she resonated with that summary, as much as I hate to say. "Alright," I finished, flipping the page. "Then… The King of the Gods- God of the Sky, Air, Lightning, Thunder, and… I got nothing."

"And law and order," Aundrea said. "Those are the things he presides over. Although yes, he is the God of the Sky and Thunder and whatnot, he is also the King. As such, he presides over those two things."

"Huh… Well there you have it." I wrote the final two words down in the book. "So… anyone look at the sky and think 'Man. That's so cool?'"

Ben and Scarlett snorted.

"Fair enough… How about thunder or lightning? Anyone… feel anything about that?"

Brad, Zach, and Grant lifted their hands. I nodded at them, letting them speak in that order.

"I just think it's terrifying."

"I think they're pretty neat."

"... They're powerful," Grant wearily said. "Terrifyingly so. In a way that it's almost difficult to comprehend. A simple strike and boom, that's it… No more. The end.

Grant grit his teeth, the muscles around his mouth clenching. "And that end is stupidly random. Sure, it may go after the tallest thing usually, but on the off chance that there's no overly tall thing… it's all fair game. A tree? A bug? Some random animal? …A human? It doesn't matter. It strikes wherever it wants. And the only warning you have… is one that's too late."

He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose and letting it sit there for a moment. "Thunder always warns of the danger of lightning… after it's already striked. It's no warning, though. It is mockery. Laughter," he said in a hard voice. "A reminder that it striked something and it ended it instantly… The sky kills… and then it laughs."

I stared at him for a moment, before looking at him with an offer. Extending a hand, in a voice of reason, I said, "Grant. What if you were offered to control where that lightning struck? Offered to control when thunder mocked those below it? …Would you take that offer?"

"...Without hesitation," he whispered harshly.

"Alright, I'll write your name," I nodded before looking up at Brad and Zach. "You two wanna be written down as candidates as well or-"

"Nah, I just thought lightning was cool."

"I'm not much of an airplane guy, so I would rather not…"

"Alright, then." I turned the page, and looked at our next Patron God. "God of the Sea, Storms, Flood, Drought, and Earthquakes…"

"And horses," Aundrea added. "Although that's not exactly what he's known for."

"...And horses. Well… anyone think they can understand the concept of the sea?"

"You're not gonna ask if anyone likes it?"

"I think we've learned at this point that it's less so about liking the domain, and more so understanding it," I answered Ben. "So in the case of the sea and storms, as well as earthquakes, I suppose, it'd be about understanding them. Their reasons for happening. Their effects. The…"

"Power."

"Mm. Yeah. You have an idea, Zach?"

"I… I know first hand just how terrifying the ocean is. How unforgiving it is. It should be feared, and for good reason. It's wild, uncontrollable. It bends to no one's will… and respects no one's will." Zach, clenched his fists, saying, "You have a family? Who cares? You're in the sea's domain, you're irrelevant. You have someone you love? That's great. The sea does not care. All it takes is a single storm. A single wave. And a human who thought he could survive the sea suddenly disappears in it…

"But," he sighed, letting out the tension in his body and looking up, "it is necessary. Not the killings, I mean, but the oceans themselves. They provide water. They provide storms- rain. They also provide food for millions- if not billions of people across the world. It's a necessary thing to have in this world, and it gives us life. As well as the millions of species within those oceans… It brings life, destruction, yet things we need…

"...It's a force of nature," Zach finally said. "And I would know…"

"..." I looked at Zach, then at Rebecca still in Artemis' arms, Aundrea, Elizabeth, Scyla, Grant, and finally Zach.

They were not chosen at random. The Gods were right, there were many reasons as to why it was us. Everyone here was a perfect match to represent a God here, that's a fact, I thought harshly. We understand the domains of these Gods, and are the perfect Champion for them… My brain paused, and it was as if time stopped for me as I looked down. I rested my elbows on my knees, folding my hands so I could rest my forehead and stared at the ground. I stared at it with wrath. So why does that make me so mad?

I calmed myself down and looked up, looking into Zach's eyes. "Would you like to represent what you understand very well, Zach?"

He nodded. "Write my name down."

I did so, turning the page with a sigh and voiced my thoughts. "We were picked for a reason. I hope we all understand that. Like At- Lady Athena said, one mortal for one god. A perfect match."

Aundrea nodded gravely, muscles tensed. "But why us? Surely there's others who would understand it more?"

"..."

"Our lives suck."

"Our lives are trash."

"Our lives have no purpose."

Scarlett, Crystal, and Matthew looked at each other, surprised they synced up so easily. It made me snort. "You guys aren't wrong. With how my life is, I wouldn't hesitate to change… my life…"

"What?" Aundrea asked, noticing the change in my demeanor.

"... They chose us, because we understood their different domains. What they represent." I paused, before continuing, "And we were chosen because no one would miss us, to put it in the simplest way possible. But also because…

"Because… we'd take the chance for a new life. A better one… A hopeful one…" I breathed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...As great as that is, Eryl, and as much as I wish that were true," Aundrea muttered. "That doesn't make sense since… we'll just be doing what the gods tell us to do, no questions asked."

"That is true, isn't it?" I said quietly. "Yes… That's true… That's true… And yet I can't help but feel… hopeful."

"...I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same," Ben agreed, "But I think it's too early to start getting hopeful."

I nodded. "Right, one step at a time… One task at a time…" And I'll make sure our lives are better. I may be in the Gods' hands… but by the Gods will I make it so they can't let me go.

---

Chapter 3: Oh, Yeah! I Forgot Me!

"So then," I glanced over my shoulder. "Next is Lord Hermes. God of Travel, Thieves, and Trade, right?"

"Pretty sure he's the god of a lot of things," Aundrea answered, thinking. "Like… a lot."

"How about we ask the God now that we aren't choosing the Champions of Gods who, based on myths, would kill us if a single strand of our hair so much as flicked in their direction."

I buried my face in my hands, groaning loudly. "You're going to get us killed, Grant," I grumbled.

"At least he knew what we were thinking," I heard Aundrea mumble.

"At least."

Matthew cleared his throat. "Well, we only have a few of us left, right? So it should be easier."

"Right… You, Scarlett, Crystal, Brad, and Ben."

"Glad you put me last."

"I'm glad you're glad."

"Ha!" he barked.

"...Right," Matthew said slowly. "So we have the God of Travel, God of Sun, God of Forges, God of War, and God of the Underworld left."

"That we do," I nodded. "Well, let's keep up this pace, shall we? More than halfway there!"

I got up, taking a few steps towards Hermes, before bowing my head. "Lord Hermes, would you add any of your domains to our list that you feel the Champion should be aware of?"

"...There are quite a few, such as Roads, Athletes, Speed, and Orators. However," Hermes interrupted as I began to speak, "You'd do well to only write down Orator and Speed.

"And make sure you add 'Messenger of Gods' to that, will you?" He let out a long sigh, adding, "I know it's not a domain, but it's… sadly-" he muttered- "my job."

I gave him a sympathetic smile and bowed. "Thank you, I'll make sure to do just that."

He nodded, and I turned around, opening the notebook and doing as I was told.

"So, anyone… good at giving messages?"

"Orator would be better," Aundrei helpfully added. "And assuming we get powers like Lady Hera said, maybe someone who's fast as well."

"She- Lady Hera said that?" It had completely slipped my mind.

"She did. I thought you knew since you told Grant he could control lightning and thunder," she reminded.

"I… I just meant that 'cause I thought he'd be able to choose where lightning strikes or something… not actually," I sputtered, shrugging, "control lighting itself."

"Wait," Ben interrupted, "Then does that mean we should keep in mind the powers we'd be given from the next Gods?"

"'Powers' is an odd word," I muttered. "But I suppose, yes?"

"Lord Hermes', if we were to guess in a very simple manner, would be speed. Lord Apollo's might include something to do with light and… sound waves?"

"Sheesh, Aundrea," Ben whistled. "Quite the imagination."

She scowled at him, but ignored him. "Lord Hephaestus' would probably have something to do with forging itself, and maybe even… lava? Lord Ares would most likely have increased physical attributes, and maybe something to do with being able to fight very well. Lord Hades…

"I'm actually not too sure," she muttered.

"You'd think it'd have something to do with the dead, though?" Matthew said. "Like… zombies or something?"

Apollo let out a bark of laughter.

I shrugged. "We'll see, I guess. Remember, one task at a time."

They nodded.

"So, Lord Hermes. Being fast and a good orator." I thought for a moment, before saying, "Is anyone here just good at… talking? I know that sounds silly, but it's a pretty good ability to have."

Aundrea agreed. "In a fight, rather than resorting to something physical, if you could stop the fight before it even happened with just words? That's quite impressive."

"And just with fighting," Scarlett added quietly, surprising me a little, "Running is the best thing to do. So being fast and good at talking go hand in hand."

"At being a coward," Brad whispered harshly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Running isn't something cowardly, Brad. If anything, having to fight is even more pathetic. Because you have to resort to physical means to deal with a problem rather than words. And like Aundrea said, why bother lifting a finger when you merely need to lift your tongue a few times."

"Less effort, with a better result," said girl added.

"And like Scarlett said, running will always be the better option than fighting." I looked right into Brad's eyes, sneering slightly, and said, "And preferring to fight is rather pathetic… preferring to hurt someone… is pathetic."

Scarlett nodded.

"..." Brad kept quiet for a few moments, before looking down. "I know… It's just… I've always ran from fights… and wiggled my way out and into things using my words. But…"

"But what?" I asked.

He clenched his fists and teeth, biting his lip to calm himself down through pain. "But… but the moment I got into a fight… the moment I couldn't use the two things- the only things I had going for myself, I was beaten to a pulp."

Brad looked up angrily, sneering at me and snarled, "What's the point of being fast or talking smoothly if you get caught once, huh?-"

"Then don't get caught," I replied calmly. "Talk smoother. And on the off chance that words don't work, just run."

"But how," he seethed. "How could I possibly be faster than the rest? Fast enough to not get caught by anyone?"

I pointed behind me, to the throne with winged sandals. "Lord Hermes," I questioned, turning around and facing the good, "Is the chance of getting increased speed, in one way or the other, outside the realm of possibilities when becoming your Champion?"

"No need to speak in riddles around me, Eryl. I am far more tolerant than my fellow council members," he assured. "But no, it's not out of the realm of possibilities. It is very much within it. In fact, it's guaranteed. Super speed, that is, to put it in a term humans would better understand."

I bowed at my waist, thanking him before turning around and raising an eyebrow at Brad. "So?"

He looked at me, then at Hermes, then back at me before nodding. "Write my name down."

I gave a crooked grin, letting my head drop slightly and gave him a knowing look. "Got it. Writing it down now…"

"So now we have Lord Apollo, Lord Hephaestus, Lord Ares, and Lord Hades left."

"Not sure if we still remember what I said in the beginning…" Matthew started.

"Yeah, should I just write your name down for Lord Hades?"

"I think it'd be the best idea, unless someone else thinks they understand the end of life and all that."

I looked around, Scarlett, Crystal, and Ben all shaking their heads. "Alright… 'God Hades, God of the Underworld, Dead, Wealth… Matthew'. Okay, then that means we actually have Lord Apollo, Lord Hephaestus, and Lord Ares left."

"So with Lord Apollo, his domains would be Archery, Prophecy, the Truth, the Sun, Music, Poetry, Dance, Healing, and Oracles. Although, I'm sure there's a couple more of them since, like Lord Hermes, he's the god of many things," Aundrei noted.

I handed the notebook to her, saying, "Here, you write that down since I don't remember a single thing you just said."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing the pen and notebook from my hand and doing exactly that. "There."

"Thank you. So, if one were to represent Lord Apollo, they'd have to understand a few of those things… but that's rather difficult, no?"
"Difficult how? A few of them are obvious," Scyla spoke.

"There are. Like archery, music, dance, and poetry. But then there's 'Prophecy, the Sun, healing, and Orcales,'" I explained, reading what Aundrea had written.

"The Sun could be included in the 'obvious,'" Aundrei air quoted, "Since, well, I mean who doesn't understand the importance of the Sun?"

"Speaking of the Sun," I interrupted, saying, "Did we even consider the Moon when choosing the Champion for Lady Artemis- Oh wait, never mind."

"Yeah, she kind of chose that for herself," Aundrei reminded. "But I'm sure Rebecca will have some connection to it, one way or the other."

"Alright… So, music, dance, poetry, archery, and the Sun. Anyone here… really resonate with those things. Huh? Huh?"

Matthew let out a long sigh.

Ben laughed.

"Thank you, Ben. But alright, seriously. Music is such a large part of modern day society, especially with the creation of new technology. Poetry is a bit outdated… but if you're good at it, or understand it, then it's something incredible to read…

"As for the Sun…" I thought for a moment. "Do any of you guys wanna reveal you're a lizard? Since, they like to sit in the Sun and all that."

"Back to the whole part of 'liking' again?" Scyla mused.

"What? I mean it's a good place to start- by God!"

Ben had raised his hand, shaking his head in amusement. "I'm not a lizard. But… now that you mention it, I do like sitting in the Sun and just listening to music. It's… a good way to distract myself from this world."

"Alright, that means you, quite literally, resonate with music… What about poetry?"

Ben frowned for a moment, thinking. "I… I have written a few poems. I don't think I'm good at writing them, but," he said, patting his shoulder, "Not to pat my own back, but I'm pretty good at understanding poems. Like, since sometimes they make zero sense, I can usually get their meaning immediately… At least I think I do."

"Alright, alright," I said, impressed, looking around. "Anyone against writing Ben- writing you as a candidate for Apollo's champion."

They shook their heads, and Ben nodded. "Go ahead, man."

I did so before looking at the final two teens: Scarlett and Crystal. One with red hair, the other black. And to be honest, they looked rather… concerning. Scarlett looked as if she had been holding in her stomach for the past few minutes, and Crystal was trying to merge with the log she was leaning against.

"You… Do you guys need a minute?"

Scarlett glared at me, gaining color in her cheeks for a moment. "I don't think I match with any of these Gods."

I frowned, turning a page in the book. "'God Hephaestus, God of Forging, Smithing, and Volcanoes.' 'God Ares, God of War and Courage.' These are the Gods sitting that are left… And you're saying you don't match with them? How so?"

"... I definitely don't match with 'forging' or anything- I'm not good with creating or building something." Scarlett paused for a moment, letting out a shaky breathing, before saying, "And I definitely don't match with… war, or courage for that matter. I… I don't like fighting…"

I frowned once more. Man, I sure am doing that a lot. "But…" I thought for a moment, noticing the cold sweat Scarlett was slowly accumulating. Yeah, she definitely doesn't like fighting. There might be trauma there… just like practically all of us here. Whatever God they represent, they seem to have some kind of trauma or bad experience in that "domain."

"Alright…" I relented. "Let's put you on hold then, for now. We'll figure something out, okay?"

She nodded hesitantly.

I smiled softly before turning to look at Crystal, keeping that smile on my face. "I assume you don't like fighting either?"

It took a moment for her to respond, but it was what I expected: "I'd rather not fight anyone… I've… I'd rather not."

For a moment, she was going to say something else but decided against it. In response, I nodded. "Alright, that's perfectly fine," I said softly. "Then how about… creating things with your hands? Maybe not forging since I hope you're not a blacksmith.

"But just in general… you look at something and…" I racked my brain, trying to remember all there was about Hephaestus.

As I recalled a few things, for a split moment, I had a horrible thought. A bad one. A bad one that was a good idea. I clenched my teeth, taking a few deep breaths and taking that time to look around. A few of the Gods were staring at me expectantly, a few of them thrumming their fingers against the arm rests of their thrones. They were getting impatient. Or, at the very least, we had wasted too much time. If I don't hurry up… then there'll be no point in giving anyone a choice here… And I made this deal with the intention of letting us choose our patron god. But in reality… it just makes us more willing to go along with the Gods' plan. I released my final breath, thinking with all the hope in the world, Please, don't let this be the wrong decision.

I looked up at Aundrea, my eyes slightly hardened. "If you don't mind, Aundrea, just like you did with Lady Hera, could you… sum up the myths of Hephaestus… or, more specifically, his beginnings?"

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, frowning at me. Aundrea was a smart girl, that much was obvious. So it took only a few seconds to figure out why I had asked her this.

"Sure… Although I don't know all his myths, I could probably say his birth and all that in a few lines…" She thought for a moment, tapping the side of her chin as she thought, something I noticed she did quite often. After a moment, she began saying, "Lord Hephaestus was… born lame and unwanted. This caused him to be cast off Olympus since he was different from the other gods, and eventually found himself skilled at forging, smithing creations so great they caught the attention of Lord Zeus which… Well, it eventually led to him becoming an Olympian god.

"...An unwanted God who was skilled enough to become an Olympian God- through… questionable means," Aundrea summarized, before adding the last part silently.

"...He was made an orphan the moment he was born?"

"Pretty much," Aundrea shrugged.

"How did he survive?" Crystal asked.

"He was found by… Tethis? Or a cyclops, and he was taught to forge. They saved him, and then he found purpose in forging, thriving."

Rather than saying anything, Crystal turned to look at the very God she was asking about. I didn't do the same, but I did follow her onyx eyes. The first looked up, seemingly staring right into the God's eyes before going back down. His nose? Ears? Lips? Or would it be his beard…? Shoulders. Arms. Hands. Still hands. Still staring at hands… Back to eyes again. Crystal stared at them for a minute, before clenching her fists and turning to look at me, a determined look in her eye.

"Just write my name down, then," she sighed.

I did just that, turning the page to look at Ares'. "Well, then that just leaves Lord Ares and…" I smiled apologetically to Scarlett. "I'm sure-"

"Wait, Eryl," Elizabeth called from Aphrodite's throne. "What about you?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"W-What?" she sputtered. "What do you mean 'What do you mean'? I'm talking about you! Who's Champion will you be?"

"...Huh." It had completely slipped my mind. Actually, scratch that, it never entered my mind in the first place.

"Wait, yeah!" Aundrea exclaimed. "You never considered yourself when choosing the Champions did you?"

I lifted a finger to protest, but put it down just as fast. "In my defense… I am stupid."

Ben laughed loudly, Zach followed, and Grant along with Scyla shook their heads in amusement.

"This guy…" Matthew breathed unbelievably.

Brad was chuckling lightly, along with Elizabeth as I squinted at her. Even Selena was hiding a smile with her hand.

"Okay, look," I explained. "In my defense, I was kind of focused on… oh, I don't know, making it so we could choose the Patron gods in the first place.

"That's a lie, though," I immediately confessed. "I just genuinely never thought about that."

"Then you can have Ares," Scarlett said. "I don't… I don't want to have a God who likes war."

I silently grumbled, looking up at Ares and trying to hide the sneer on my face. The War God sneered right back, eyes lighting aflame.

"I don't want to be your Patron God either, punk," Ares said to me. "Besides, I think you're all forgetting something… or someone."

Aundrea seemed to have understood what he said immediately. "There's thirteen of us… and only twelve thrones… Who's the thirteenth God?... Dionysus? Or Heracles?-" "Heracles?" "- I think he became one after the Gigantomachy? Who…?"

I remained silent for a moment, before glancing at the Hearth in the middle of the room. It felt… so warm. It felt so kind. Just being near it calmed my nerves. It… I didn't know how it made me feel. But I think I could understand… I just didn't. But if you were to ask me to try, here's the comparison I'd give you: A mother's hug. Specifically, a mother's hug when you were a child. A child who knew nothing more than your parents being your protectors. Your parents being the ones who would always keep you safe. Who would always be there. Who would always love you and you'd love them. And so when you fell and tripped, scraping your knee after playing outside, you'd cry and cry…

I felt tears welling up into my eyes as I stepped closer to the hearth, feeling the heat right on my face. They threatened to fall, and I clenched my teeth so hard that even the voice in my head quivered. Who knew you could feel so much pain? You didn't like it… So you'd cry, and you'd cry, begging someone to take that pain away. And it'd be your mother who would run out the door, her child on the ground, holding his knee in pain, weeping. She'd ignore her own broken heart, and instead rush over to you. In a moment, when you felt you were all alone, your mother would hug you, ensuring that you knew you'd never be alone no matter what. Her warmth would spread to you. She'd hold you close, soothing you as your tears slowly went away.

I placed a hand on the giant stone bricks that held the hearth. I felt the heat, but it didn't hurt. It simply soothed my own feelings of turmoil. Turmoil from the fact that, no matter how well I could describe this scene, I will never experience it. Perhaps I did at one point, but it was gone forever… And even though the pain in your knee was still there, you were sure of one thing: that you were okay. That it was okay, so long as she was here. If she was here, you knew you'd be alright. And as she picked you up, still holding you, and carried you back into the house, you knew that you were safe. You knew that your mother would take care of you. Even when she let go to grab some bandages, you still felt the warmth from the hug, because no matter what happens… she will always love and protect you… As your family, and as your mother….

"Eryl?" Aundrea asked gently.

"..." I sniffed hard, wiping my tears and my eyes hardened as I turned around to answer their question. "The Eldest Child of Kronos… The Goddess of the Hearth, Home, Family, and Flame… Our Thirteenth Patron God: Hestia."