A Titan Among Us

by thelurkerinthedark

An immortal being chooses a path of paradoxes. An existence littered with sorrow and happiness, luxury and destitution, asceticism and self-indulgence, wisdom and foolishness. He desires an escape from his eternal boredom even for just a blink in time A mortal being is thrust into a path not of his own choosing but by the vagaries of fate. He desires to achieve a sense of belonging

3. The Outcast

Far out in the reaches of the unknown, there is a place where immortal beings congregate. A vast well-lit amphitheater made out of white marble set among the clouds. On the central stage, a trio of eternal beings, one male and the others female, spoke to others who sat down among the seats arranged in a staircase surrounding the central stage. All of the assembled individuals radiated unparalleled beauty and divinity. The whole area was suffused with an aura of tranquility. This was a gathering of the gods.

Everyone was relaxed until they felt a presence approaching through one of the side tunnels that connected to the central stage. A sense of palpable dread leached out from the gathered beings as the presence made itself known. A male god of average height, wearing a thread bear toga and worn sandals stepped forth. He stood still at the edge of the central stage and slowly looked at all of the assembled deities. There was nary a sound for while his appearance was not as imposing as some of the other assembled deities, his presence extruded a sense of dread in any who looked at him. His eyes latch on to the male god at the center of the stage. A small smile started to form on his lips but that did not reach his eyes. He strode forward until he was a few steps away from the trio on the stage before he halted.

"Titan Polus, to what do we owe the pleasure?" the male god stammered. The titan looked up at him, "Ah, Heimdallr, just who I wanted to see" he said with a soft small smile. That smile did nothing to ease Heimdallr and his companions. It had quite the opposite effect. To them, it was like staring at the smile of a rabid chipmunk. "Can you please open the pathway for me to the lower world? I have been talking to several deities about some of the escapades of the other gods down below. I am wasting away with boredom over here and I would like to experience the wonders of the mortal realm."

Startled, Heimdallr stammered, "Of course, of course, Titan Polus, we can open the portal for you. May I ask where you would like to go?" He readily agreed to the titan's request. "Anything to get him out of here quickly." Heimdallr thought.

Polus put a finger to his temple. " Where did the Olympians go again? Was it the Dungeon City, Orario? Can you please take me there?"

"Lord Polus, I hope you will forgive me, we can use the bridge to bring you to the land near Orario but not the city proper. This is for the safety of the denizen of the lower world as anyone caught in the field of the bridge would be vaporized."

Polus smiled "That would be perfectly acceptable. Thank you, Heimdallr! Can you also provide directions to Orario from wherever I will be deposited? " "Of course, Lord Titan." Heimdallr raised his hand and a glowing aura surrounded the two deities as information was shared. Polus smiled at what he was seeing. "This is all very new and exciting! I think I am going to have a blast in the lower world! Please send me there forthwith!"

Heimdallr raised his hand and a multitude of colorful auras enveloped the Titan and slowly formed into a beam of the colors of a rainbow. With a flash, the rainbow shot upward and whisked the occupant away. Heimdallr lowered his shaking hand and let out a breath he did not realize he was holding. All around him, the assembled gods finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh man, a Titan's presence is sure something else. I was afraid of even breathing. Why do you think he asked about the Olympians?" a male god asked. "He can't be after revenge, can he? After all, Zeus was the one that set him free from Tartarus." A goddess chimed in "But it was Zeus and the other Olympians that put him there in the first place. Wasn't he the last Titan imprisoned? I heard it took all twelve Olympians to subdue him and that was only because he was taken by surprise and he was ambushed while he was deep in his studies. And what was sad was that he was not even supposed to be part of the fight. It was his brother that instigated the Titanomachy and he was just swept up along with it."

The whole amphitheater was quiet for a moment while the assembled deities tried to piece together the motives of the Titan. One of the goddesses standing alongside Heimdallr suddenly gasped. "Heimdallr, where did you send him? I don't sense him near Orario." Heimdallr was startled to action and closed his eyes to focus. He opened his eyes after a moment, blinked twice, and uttered " I am so dead when he gets back."

In a flash of light, Titan Polus appeared in the lower world. He stood atop a verdant hill, eyes closed and head uplifted to the heavens. A warm breeze ruffled his hair and clothes and caressed his skin. The rays of the morning sun warmed his body. The smell of salt in the air tickled his nostrils. All in all, his first sensations of the lower world were quite nice. He opened his eyes and took in the wide expanse of the sky with blue stretching to the horizon where the sky met the sea. "Why am I on an island?"

"If the information Heimdallr gave me about Orario is right, I should not be on an island. I should not even be near the sea." Polus closed his eyes again. "Did that bastard dumped me in an uninhabited place? If I ever find out that was what he did I'm going to carve something important out of him when I get back there. Like what that eagle did to poor Prometheus."

"Well, what to do now? First survival. Shelter, safety, and sustenance. Vengeance can wait for later. I need to find out where I am and learn more about this world."

Polus took in his surroundings. He was situated on top of a small hill. Spinning around he could spy on the topography of a small island. Hills descend into a gravel beach. He noticed a small group of huts down on the beach. "That would be my first target then." Polus proceeded to take his first steps toward the place. It took him a few hours to traverse the distance. Partly due to the terrain but also partly due to him getting used to his body. "Looks like l need to train this body to move better. I feel so weak!"

Slowly approaching the huts, he calls out a welcome. A moment later, 2 women rounded one of the huts and saw Polus. They sported toned tan bodies, and skimpy clothing, were armed with spears, and moved in a way that hinted they knew how to use them, a fact not lost to the titan. They stop a few paces away and spoke to him. Unfortunately for the titan, he could not understand a word. What happened for the next several minutes was a series of words, mixed with gestures, all in a futile attempt to communicate, until one of the women just motioned with a come hither gesture. Polus followed them to the middle of the huts. He spied a small wharf at the water's edge and a firepit located at the central clearing between the huts. One of the women patted a downed log and gestured for Polus to sit down then went back to the large cookpot on the firepit and proceeded to stir the contents. An enticing aroma wafted from the cooking vessel, so much so that Polus' stomach started to growl. He down on his body, alarmed by the unfamiliar sound. The woman looked at him and made a gesture that he took as "Wait a little while."

With nothing else to do, Polus reviewed what he had seen in the time he was led among the huts. His long imprisonment had given him ample time to practice sharpening his mind and powers of observation. He noted that this collection of dwellings did not seem to be a permanent settlement. Three of the huts had cots in them, while 2 were storage areas. It felt more like an outpost of some kind. One of the women was in front of him across the firepit and cookpot. He sensed the other one was behind him. "She is probably guarding me. Smart of her"

A thud from the waterfront broke through his musing. A small boat maybe about 16 feet long had tied up to the wharf and 4 other women disembarked. When the leader saw Polus she stopped and gestured to the one who was near the cookpot. They spoke among themselves in hushed tones sneaking glances at him. After several minutes, one of them broke off and approached Polus. She was well muscled, tanned, and had the same skimpy outfit as the other women but looking at her eyes and mannerisms Polus decided that she was the leader of this group. He stood up to his full height which was shorter than the woman. He smiled at her in greeting. "Time to turn up the charm." Thought the titan as he smiled. The leader stopped in her tracks though and swallowed. When she opened her mouth, a stream of words came out, hurried and stammered, and utterly incomprehensible to the titan. Polus just kept on smiling and shrugged his shoulders. Giving up, the leader spoke to the other women and three of them boarded the boat again and cast off. Polus, still standing and smiling, finally gave up and sat back down. "I guess my manly charm needs some work. That smile was supposed to charm her socks off, not that she had any socks on, but still, it did not have any effect!" What the poor Polus did not understand is that his attempt at a charming smile did have an effect, albeit a creepy one. He may have had millennia to practice honing his observation skills but solitary confinement without interaction with other beings will not grant good social skills.

The remaining women bustled about the camp doing chores aside from his guard. Polus just sat down and kept observing them. It did not look like they meant him any harm but they did not interact with him much aside from pointing to the log. He tried to help out by lifting some boxes that had been offloaded from the boat before it left. When he tried to lift one it was so heavy that he could barely move it. He even tried to drag it pushing with all his body weight but it would only creep an inch before it would stop. He just stared at the box until one of the women strode over and picked it up on her shoulder and winked at him. He looked at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Ehh?" The woman giggled at him and then turned around and carried the box into one of the huts. He noticed that the other ladies were also smiling. Failing to impress the ladies, Polus trudged back to his log and sat down with the tatters of his pride. "I guess I have to add strength training to the mix."

A short while later, the others gathered around the cookpot and started to serve what appeared to be dinner. Polus was given a bowl with bread and what looked like a stew. He thought it had fish and some plants but they were unfamiliar to him. It tasted pretty good to him and he again flashed the ladies a thankful smile. They in turn had a slightly nervous look to them. "Oh well, another thing I need to work on." He thought as he turned back to his stew to finish it. Afterward, he followed their lead in cleaning up and sat back down while they continued their preparations

As dusk was falling, one of the women passed him a blanket and gestured toward one of the storage buildings. "I guess that would be where I would sleep tonight." He thought as he made a space for him in between boxes.

Later that night, Polus was jolted upright by an intense pressure bordering on pain in his lower abdomen. "Did they poison me?" He stumbled out of the storage shed, alerting the girl on watch duty who asked him a question he did not understand. He turned towards the wood. "Need to get out of here. Figure out what's going on with me." He stumbled into the trees for a few dozen meters until the sensation was overwhelming. He pulled his toga upward to examine his lower stomach and nether regions while leaning against a tree. He did not see a wound or any discoloration but the sensation peaked and then a stream of liquid gushed out of his phallus and it kept on going. "Huh?" Dumbstruck, he stared at it and realized that the pressure was fading. " I guess, I need to figure that one out as well. Maybe, I was not poisoned at all." After a few minutes it stopped, he composed himself and started trudging back to the huts. Halfway back, he encountered the guard and another woman both of whom had followed him. He waved at the girl on watch duty and noticed that she was smirking. With a shrug and a smile, he decided just to go back to bed. This problem was for future Polus to figure out.

Dawn came soon afterward. He woke up to a foggy morning. The fog was thick enough to limit visibility to about 30 yards. As he emerged from the hut that he occupied, he noticed that a number of the women were already bustling about preparing breakfast, as well as building up a bonfire at the beach. Ever curious, Polus approached to observe them cook the meal over the fire. He caught the eye of one of the women, and he pointed towards the bonfire at the beach. She looked at the fire, then looked at him and jabbered something he could not understand. So he just shrugged and smiled at them. The woman seemed to understand that gesture. She made a gesture with her hand as though telling him to wait. Having nothing else to do, Polus sat back down at the same log he was using last night. He sardonically thought to himself, "I might as well claim this one. This is now my throne."

As the savory aroma of whatever was cooking in the pot wafted throughout the collection of huts, Polus noticed that there was a new sound. The sound of oars dipping into the water. He gazes towards the wharf and slowly notes the outline of a boat larger than the one that left yesterday. At the bow of the boat clutching to the line from the bowsprit, a feminine figure stood gazing back at him.

As the vessel drew closer, Polus, was able to discern more details. He stood up as he spied the person on the front. He slowly walk towards the wharf as the boat came alongside, locking eyes with a divine figure, staring back at him.

"A blessed day to you my lady." Spoke Polus in the language of the gods. "And same to you my lord." She replied melodiously.

"My name is Polus. I have just recently arrived in the mortal realm. I had encountered these wonderful women and they have been kind enough to offer me shelter and food. I would assume that they are with you, my lady?"

"Indeed, good sir, they are my children. More specifically they are members of my Familia. My name is Ravinia. Perchance, did I hear you correctly that your name was Polus? The Dread Titan Polus."

Polus detected a slight nervous inflection in her voice. "Please do not be alarmed, my lady, I mean nobody any harm. I just wanted to escape the boredom up in heaven and desire to have an adventure in the mortal realm. Forgive me, my lady, but since you know of me, then you probably know that I have been, let's just say isolated, for a long time. As such I have had not the pleasure of someone as beautiful as your acquaintance."

The beautiful deity answered somewhat hesitantly. "That's quite all right, my Lord. I came to be sometime after your unfortunate sequestration from divine society. I am Ravinia, one of the Oceanids, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. One of their 3000 daughters."

Polus stared at her. "Oceanus and Tethys? Daughter? Ah, did you say one of 3000? Oh my, I should congratulate Oceanus and Tethys on their massive good fortune when I see them again. So that would make you my niece, right? It is so nice to see one of my kin"

"That's quite right, my Lord. You and I would be related. My familia members told me that you came out of the woods. This island is uninhabited. How did you come about to be here?"

Polus shook his head."The answer to that, I do not know. Heimdallr was the one that transported me over here. I had asked to be sent to Orario. By any chance is it nearby? If you could point me towards Orario, I would like to be on my way."

"Orario? Orario is nowhere near here. You have to travel from this archipelago and arrive at Melen which is a coastal city near Orario. Travel time by sea is nearly a month. Longer if by land. So, no Lord Polus, it is quite far away from here. You will not be able to make the trip easily by yourself."

"Damn you Heimdallr! I don't know if I was sent here as a prank or if he made an honest mistake. I guess I will not know until I go back." Polus seethed in silence. He soon smiled at the other deity. "Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to see one of my kin, Ravinia is it? Would you please tell me more about your family? I have been out of touch for so long that I am in desperate need of catching up."

"Of course, my Lord. It would be my pleasure. It is not often someone like I would meet a celebrity like the Dread Titan. I welcome you to the mortal realm. I am sure you have a lot of questions."

Polus scratched his head. "That is so true. There is so much that I do not understand. And why do you call me the Dread Titan?"

Ravinia stared at him then with a start. "Lord Polus, you earned that moniker from your struggle with the Olympians! That tale is quite popular among the gods. It serves as both a source of entertainment as well as a cautionary tale. You are quite famous! Also quite scary to be completely honest."

"Ravinia, I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you please explain in more detail? I seem to be missing a few pieces of the story."

"Lord Polus, why don't we have a seat while my familia continues with their preparation?" Polus nodded and they sat around the campfire before Ravinia started with a tale of a colossal struggle between the hero gods and the Titans. Polus listened with growing understanding and apprehension until the tale was finished.

"Ohhhh. Now I understand why everyone in heaven was so nervous when they talked to me! Everyone was avoiding me. I had to resort to eavesdropping to gather information. A few of them even looked like they were going to puke or faint when I approached them! I'm not famous, I'm notorious!" said a crestfallen Polus.

"For what it's worth Lord Polus, your mannerism doesn't fit with what I have been told about the Dread Titan. You seem to be quite normal. No offense"

"None taken Ravinia. I don't mean any harm nor do I seek to cause any trouble. If you do not mind dispense with the formalities. I would like to get to know my niece better. As I said, I have not met with any of my close kin for a very long time."

Ravinia smiled at him."I would like that as well … Uncle. It would be nice to get to know you. Do you have any embarrassing stories about Mom and Dad? Something juicy perhaps? But the stories can wait until we get to my home and I set you up as a guest in my manor."

"There is no need for that Ravinia. I would not want to impose on you."

"That's quite all right uncle. I am quite happy to say that my Familia is doing very well. We are neither among the biggest nor among the strongest of familias, but we do quite well for ourselves. It would be my pleasure to help you. You would not be imposing on me. Now, let us have some breakfast before we leave for my manor. There we will be able to talk in comfort."

The next hour was occupied by a simple albeit hearty breakfast of stew and bread before the two deities and some members of the familia embarked on the boat to return to the Ravinia Familia manor.

As they cast off and turned the boat around Polus was surprised that they did not unfurl the sails but rather had the women take up the ores. What was also surprising to him was the speed of the vessel. He did not expect the vessel to cut through the water quite fast like that. He turned towards Ravinia. "Why don't you use the sails? Would it not be faster and easier?"I also noticed that they seem to be very strong. How did you find so many strong women and nary a man in sight? If we are going to your manor, why did you leave some of your family members on the beach and what were they doing over there."Came the rapid-fire questions from the Titan.

She smiled as she replied. "Well, sometimes they do use the sail but now they just want the exercise. The ladies that were left behind are going pearl diving. That's one of the ways we make money. That island was one of our pearl diving outposts. My children are strong. Stronger than normal mortals. Their strength comes from the blessing or the falna that we gods bestow on mortals. They belong to a race called Amazons and all Amazons are female. Did you not read the pamphlet they gave us before we came down? The Beginners Guide To The Mortal Realms. If memory serves me right, I think I still have my copy somewhere in the manor. It is required reading before your journey and it is supplemented with some lectures. Please tell me you at least paid some attention to those lectures?"

Polus placed a hand on his forehead. "No, nobody gave me a book. Nor did I attend any lectures. I might have jumped the gun a little bit. I overheard a lot of gods talking about going to the mortal realm, and how exciting it was, and I just went up to Heimdallr and asked him to send me down here to Orario."

"Of course, Orario is far away. I seem to have terrible luck. Anyway, I did come down to the mortal world to learn about it. I can take my time getting there."

"Good attitude uncle! Spend some time with us! Let's get you up to speed. You are more than welcome to stay with me. Said Ravinia with a laugh.

The trip took about two hours to make. During that time, the two deities spoke many things but mostly about other deities and godly intrigue. In other words divine gossip. All in all, it was a nice time to spend the afternoon.

Soon, they approached a bigger island with a larger settlement. Ravinia stretches her hand towards the settlement. "Uncle, welcome to my Manor!"

"Ravinia, that is not a manor. That is a whole town! How many children do you have?"

"Uncle. I told you we were doing well for ourselves. I have nearly 100 children in my Familia. When I first came down here, I met a tribe of Amazons. They were struggling to survive here. We agreed to help each other out and they became the foundation for my Familia. Since then, their descendants usually joined my Familia. I do not give them their blessing until they have come of age at 12. Not everyone who lives here is part of Ravinia Familia. A lot are just civilians like merchants, craftsmen, and the like.

"Still, that's quite a lot of children. I am happy that my kin has done so well for herself." Said Polus.

Ravinia turned to face him. "That is not a lot compared to other familias. Ares has the whole country of Rakia. Nearly everyone in that place is part of his Familia or part of a Familia of a deity that swore fealty to him. Telskyuria is another country that is just one big familia. Kali is the goddess of that familia. Both of those deities, as you probably know, are fond of battle. Rakia always wants to go to war with its neighbors. We on the other hand are lucky that Telskyura does not have any ambitions of external conquest since we are on islands that are off the coast of the country. If Kali does decide to invade we would not be able to resist. They are too many and more importantly too strong. They have multiple upper and first-class fighters. We do not have even a fraction of what they have. But let us talk about that later. First, let's disembark so we can get to the manor and get comfortable and then we can have a long talk."

Soon the boat bumped into the wharf, and the crew started to offload cargo that it had picked up from the different outposts. It took some time to form a human chain and boxes were passed from one person to another up to the dock. Polus tried to help out, but like before, he was not even able to lift one of the boxes. One of the women from the smaller settlement who saw him try to lift one of the boxes yesterday smiled again at him. "Probably too polite to laugh at me openly." He thought. So he smiled back and stepped out of the way so that they could do the job.

Once that was done. Ravinia led him to a large manor near the top of a hill overlooking the port town. It was still midday. She spoke to a few people who looked like servants before leading him to a large room on the upper floor. She turns to him. "Uncle this will be your room. I hope it is to your liking. There is a bathroom through the other door where you can freshen up. I will collect you in a little while so we can have lunch" Polus looks around the room and hesitates.

"I'm sorry uncle if the room is not luxurious enough," said Ravinia.

Polus was startled by that. "I am sorry. I did not mean to look ungrateful in the light of your benevolence. I'm not used to such luxury. Given where I was before…"

"Uncle, I thought we would drop the formalities. Please tell me what you are thinking."

"Do you have a smaller room?" he asked.

Ravinia nodded. She seemed to understand what was going on with Polus. She lead him through the servant's wing of the manor with her servants in tow. She was showing him room after room until he chose one. It was a small empty room. An empty pantry. One without a window. With space only big enough for a bed and a small desk and chair.

"Are you sure about this?" She looks him in the eye.

"Yes. And I am grateful for your understanding." He nodded.

"Then I need to show you the closest bathroom for you to freshen up. We will meet soon in the dining area for lunch then we can spend the afternoon getting you up to speed."

Ravinia showed Polus the nearest servant bathroom and how to use the faucets, toilets, and showers. She left him to his own devices and he washed up and headed out to the dining area.

"I see you found your way around, uncle. Since you are already here, please sit by my side as we wait for the members of the familia to arrive for lunch"

"Thank you, Ravinia. I was observing the layout of the manor as we were going around and I remembered the way here." He said as he sat down. " By the way, is it not going to cause trouble since I am the only man in the manor? Everyone else I have seen has been an Amazon. I would like to avoid any trouble if I can help it"

"Why uncle? Are you going to seduce any of my children?" Ravinia smirked at Polus.

His face paled at what she just said. "Oh no. I'm staying away from any of that. Like I said. I'm staying away from trouble"

"I'm just joking uncle. You need to relax."

Soon enough members of her familia filed in. When they were settled, Ravinia introduced Polus as her guest. Food was then served and people started to converse among themselves. Poor Polus could not understand what people were talking about so he just kept quiet and observed. Ravia gestured to a stunning tawny-skinned brunette with waist-length hair. "Uncle Polus, this is Tiarah, the captain of my Familia."

Polus glanced at her and recognized her as the woman who had noticed him trying to lift the boxes. Polus bowed his head. "Tiarah" Then gestured to himself "Polus."

Tiarah smiled at him and spoke in the language he did not understand with the only exception of his name. Then spoke to Ravinia and went to another table.

Polus looked at Ravinia. "I need to learn how to speak this language as quickly as possible."

"Yes, uncle. We will work on that. Here's the book that I told you about The Beginners Guide To The Mortal Realms. Also beside it is a dictionary in hieroglyphics and Koine which is the common language in this world. You can start with those. Lunch is about over now. Is there anything else I can help you with? Otherwise, we will meet in three hours. I need to finish my duties as the Familias goddess. We can talk after that until dinner."

Polus scratched his neck." Ah, I do have a question. I've been having these abdominal discomforts…." He proceeded to describe them to Ravinia. She looks at him and reaches for The Beginners Guide To The Mortal Realms. She thumbs to a chapter and gives it to Polus. Polus looks at it and silently gets the book back. He gives her a little bow and heads for his room. There he quickly reads the chapter in full. Then proceeds to the bathroom with the book for reference to practice the newfound knowledge. The chapter title? Toilet training: A guide to one of the necessities of mortal life.

Sitting on the toilet, leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left thigh, holding the weight of his chin on the back of his right hand. Polus thinks "Being a mortal is confusing."

After his training, Polus went back to his room to study. He came out only after he was certain that it was time to meet with his niece. He went up to a maid and said in halting Koine "Can you take me to Lady Ravinia?" She hesitates a little and understanding finally dawns on her and she says "Follow me, Lord Polus." or that is what Polus thinks she said.

She brings him to Ravinia's study, knocks, and introduces him. She turns and makes a small bow to him. Polus says "Thank you for your help."

"Uncle. How do you fare?"

"Much better. That book was a godsend. I wish this god was sent here with one." He laughed.

"I noticed you were able to thank Thelma in Koine. You have been hard at work it seems. That commendable. What else do you want to know?"

" Plenty. But let's resume our previous conversation. What do you mean by upper and first-class fighters, Ravinia?"

" When the children get the Falna the mortal is bestowed a level. The unbless are at level 0. Once they get the falna, they become level one. The power difference from the start is staggering. A small petite girl at level 1 is stronger physically than most unblessed men no matter how burly they may be. At level 1, the child now has to gather experience. We then unlock that experience by updating their falna. The more experience they have the stronger they get. Once they have gathered enough experience then they can be eligible to go up a level if they achieve a grand feat. Among all of my children, there is only one level 2, Tiarah, the rest are only level 1. Tiarah achieved her level up fighting a giant squid."

"In comparison, Kali has a multitude of level 1s. She has multiple level 2s, level 3s, level 4s, and a few level 5s and 6s. They got that strong by fighting each other in death matches. Orario has even more power because of the dungeon. Their adventurers are much stronger than anywhere else in this world. Rakia and Telskyura do not hold a candle against Orario."

"So what you are telling me is that if I start a familia anyone that joins and gets a falna would automatically start at level 1. How do you give mortals a falna anyway?.

"Why Uncle?" Ravina asked him. "Do you want to start a familia?"

"No Ravinia, not right now, but I would like to know the mechanics so that if I ever choose to do so in the future, then I will know what to do.

Ravinia nodded and instructed him on the steps needed to give his blessing to mortals.

"Uncle, you seem to be very interested in this topic. You are not thinking of making your army of high-level fighters now are you? Ouranos would not like that you know." Ravinia smirked.

"What are you talking about? And what about Ouranos ?"

Ravinia's face turned serious. "Ouranos is the de facto ruler of Orario since he heads the ruling guild. As for the other topic, I thought that you were also a god of War. I only assumed that since that is all I heard because that's what they would talk about. They said that it took all of the Olympians to bring you down, so I just assumed that you were a very great warrior and naturally you would like to start a combat familia."

"Oh, that. No, I'm not a god of war. In all honesty, I did not even want to have any part in that fight. I just got dragged into the damn war because one of my dumb brothers did something stupid. What idiot would geld their own father?"

"So there I was just minding my own business, maintaining the North Pillar of the Heavens, and then all of these hooligans came and started beating on me. At first, I gave as good as I got, and I was even able to push them back, then their damn reinforcements arrived. They overpowered me and that was the end of it and I was shipped off to Tartarus. Then after a lot of solitary confinement with some bouts of insanity here and there they let me go. Still don't know why they did that but I am not complaining. Since then I wandered around up there then I got bored. So here I am."

Ravinia just looked at him until "Wow! I have never heard that part of the story! They were always hush-hush when they talked about you! It was like they were all afraid of you! So if you are not a god of war then what is your domain? If you have not guessed, mine is water."

"I don't have a formal domain. I was tasked to maintain the Northern Pillar with 3 other pillars being maintained by 3 other titans. Otherwise, I was free to delve into whatever I wanted to study. " Polus proceeded to enumerate some of the studies he had conducted over the millennia. "I was curious about the cosmos and how things worked. I was not that interested in the intrigues of other gods so I became a bit of a recluse. So being left alone to hold up that pillar was a dream job for me. Does that answer satisfy you?"

That question hung in the air until the silence was broken by Polus's stomach growling.

Ravinia shook herself from her daze. "Yes, it does uncle! I know there is still much to learn however, it is getting late in the afternoon and I do believe it will be time for dinner.

"Before we go, could I borrow something to write on? Some ink and paper or clay tablets? Whatever you can spare." Polus asked.

I will have the servants give you some as well as assign someone to teach you, Uncle!"

In the following seasons, Polus spent his days learning and working. He had vowed that he would earn his keep while he lived with Ravinia Familia.

The first few weeks of his stay were the hardest. Polus was a fast learner and quickly adapted to the new language. However, his accent was atrocious and the others could barely understand him. However, through perseverance, his communication skills did improve slowly. He also noted that he could somewhat control his divine presence. Muting it down seemed to put the mortals at ease while turning it up made them avoid him. "I guess it's like body odor."

He asked for and obtained employment in the Familia. Since he did not have the raw strength that the familia members had he was assigned to tasks that used his mind and creativity to help out in several ways. He functioned much like a quartermaster would. Among his achievements were some that had a drastic effect on the Familia's day-to-day functioning.

He devised a machine that would allow easier lifting of cargo from the boats with the use of fulcrums and pulleys to increase efficiency. In other words a crane.

He taught them to add outriggers to some of the boats to stabilize them for longer voyages.

He convinced them to construct salt flats to help harvest salt which they traded as a commodity as well as use to help preserve food.

His days were usually regimented. Physical training in the early morning. Familia's duties as their employee from morning to afternoon. Reading books and other sources of knowledge after dinner then meditation in the evening before bedtime.

A couple of weeks since he started to live there, he noticed that the guards would hold a bi-weekly sparring session with most of the familia in attendance. It was explained to him that this is how they keep their fighting edge. He asked Tiarah if he could join to which she reluctantly agreed. First, they had him just observe them. That he did and then he repeated the forms they showed him. He was a very quick learner. He would usually be able to copy the movements perfectly after a couple of practice drills. Sparring, however, was not going well. Due to the massive physical difference between him and the amazons of the familia, he would usually end up biting the dust floor of the training area.

It was in the aftermath of one such beatdown that Ravinia approached him. "Well, uncle? How do you fare this day?"

"Lousy. I still cannot land a hit on any of them. They are just too fast and strong. And I am not getting stronger, but on the other hand, I am getting used to being a punching bag!" moaned Polus.

"They say your technique is perfect though. In that aspect, you surpass most of them. You can move very gracefully and your agility is top-notch. For an unblessed person that is." replied Ravinia.

"Yes, that falna is something else. In combat, physical prowess and technique go hand in hand. If you only possess one or the other you will not be a top-tier fighter. Since deities like us are eternal and unchanging, my strength will not increase so I will always be inferior to them in combat."

"Uncle. If you don't mind me asking? How did you manage to fight the Olympians?"

Polus looked at her. "Hmmmm. Ravinia have you ever fought any other god? Not here in the mortal realm but up there when our arcanum is not sealed?" She shook her head. " We don't fight with our bodies per se. We fight with our power. The bodily movements are just symbolic. For example, when a thunderbolt was hurdled toward me, I redirected its trajectory toward another god charging at me. I use my power and my mind to move that bolt aside. When my fist hits a pretty boy's face to cave it in, it's my power that hits the other god and does the facial rearrangement." Polus continues to describe divine combat using his previous fight as an example. " It is hard to show you while we are down here but I hope you can imagine it. Otherwise, you will just have to wait until you are up there again to test it out."

Ravinia looked a little pale. "Uncle, thanks for telling me more about your fight. I don't understand the nuances of combat though. But your story was very exciting! And I don't want to go back to heaven any time soon. I hope I will stay here for a very long time. I'm just having too much fun with my children!"

"Ravinia, how long have you been here?"

"About 500 years more or less. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to know if you ever get bored."

"No, I don't. There's always something new going on. New experiences. Some happy some sad. I treasure every moment that I spend with my familia. Their lives are so short and can be over in the blink of an eye, especially for us. But I would not trade it for anything else."

It was nearly a year into his stay with Ravinia that Polus made an interesting discovery. He noticed that he was slowly able to push his senses beyond his physical shell when he was in meditation. He was extremely excited since he had the power to explore the cosmos with his mind even when physically he stayed right beside his pillar. He thought this power would be sealed away with his arcanum as a condition of his entering the lower world.

Giddy with this new development, he immediately started to practice this skill. Tapping into his previous experiences exploring the astral sea, he tried to project his consciousness outward and perceive things with his mind. However, unlike when he was in heaven, this power lacked clarity. It was murky at best. He could only feel faint impressions like a vague sense of direction, a faint surge of magic power, or elemental energy. "Well, still better than nothing." He thought. He pondered long and hard about why it was different and even ask Ravinia for advice. She couldn't help him because she did not have the same power that he had. She did mention that some deities still had access to certain powers they had in heaven, like the charm of a goddess of beauty. Satisfied with this explanation, Polus decided to keep on practicing this skill.

As time went by, his detection skills were slowly improving. It was then that he felt an astral impression out towards the west. He would attempt to glean more information night after night but he would always end up learning nothing more than what he already knew. He felt a beckoning when he tried to focus on that astral impression. He suspected that it was that of a mortal soul that was attuned to him. He decided that he would investigate this in the future. When he mentioned this to Ravinia in one of their many talks she looked at him and said "You realize that that mortals do not live for a very long time. By the time you decide to investigate, this mortal might already be dead from old age. It's been one year since you have graced us with your presence. For you and I, that's a blink of an eye. But for mortals, the passing of the year marks a significant milestone in their finite lifespan. They even have a word for it - a birthday"

Polus excused himself to ponder on what his niece told him. As an immortal, he did not pay much attention to the passage of time. However, he realized that he would have to consider the march of the seasons while he was living in the mortal world. He didn't have the luxury of endless millennia to decide or to act.

He made up his mind that he would ask his niece if he could travel to Orario soon, buying passage on one of the merchant ships destined for Orario. This news was received by Ravinia with excitement for the possible adventures he would have and sadness for the loss of companionship with a fellow deity. His saved earnings as one of the employees of the familia would be enough to buy passage to Orario with some left over to set him up for a short time. He knew that he had to find work when he arrived in Orario. He had an idea that he broached with Ravinia about setting up a trading post to connect Orario and Ravinia Manor. He would serve as their liaison over in Orario, and procure trade goods to send to Ravinia as well as function as a point of sale for the goods that they produced, including the pearls that they harvested.

She was excited about expanding themselves into a small trading hub. Polus told her that since she had nearly 100 Familia members, she could probably spare some of them for the trading enterprise. Ravinia offered to have a few of her Amazon children escort him to Orario, but he politely refused, saying that he did not want to impose on her any more than what he had. They did agree to ask any ships that stopped to resupply at the Manor if they would be going to Orario and then buy passage on that vessel. It took several months before a vessel arrived that would be willing to take him on as a passenger but finally the day of his departure arrived.

Down at the wharf, Polus stood with Ravinia and Tiarah. "Lord Polus, I guess this is goodbye." Said Tiarah. "I speak for the rest of the familia when I say we have enjoyed your company. To think you would develop into such a respectable gentleman with impeccable mannerisms. A far cry from the creep that pounced on us on the deserted island."

"Hahahaha Tiarah. When will you amazons ever develop any respect for us gods?" Polus deadpanned.

"Oh, we respect Lady Ravinia a lot! But you Lord Polus are our battle buddy! You are one of us! And as battle buddies, we are allowed to be as informal as we wish!"

"Yes, you amazons have been entirely too informal with me. You do not hesitate to beat me up in practice, order me around, heck, some of you even started to change clothes in front of me as if I was not there!"

"Ehhh? We are amazons, and you are too much of a prude!" Tiara put her hand over her mouth and stared at him wide-eyed. "Awwww, don't tell me that you lust after us Lord Polussssss?" Tiarah laughed.

"Hahahaha. As if Tiarah. But I will say I have enjoyed my time here very much with the Familia, even you Tiarah."

Turning to Ravinia." Thank you very much for putting up with me and helping me out. I mean it when I say I enjoyed my stay. I promise I will come back and visit. When I am situated in Orario, I will send word and hopefully, you will be able to come in and visit as well.

"Likewise Uncle. It was a pleasure to have you around. I hope to see you again soon. Maybe in the next decade perhaps?" Ravinia replied with a hopeful expression.

"Hopefully sooner than that." Polus smiled. He had grown fond of his niece. "I think it's time for me to board."

Polus tuned and boarded a small trading carrack that had stopped at the Manor to resupply before pushing on towards Orario. The vessel was scheduled with a few stops along the way and its captain was impatient to leave and make money. The ship left its berth and was soon at sail. Polus stood at the railing and waved goodbye to his kin and friend. He stood there until he could not see them anymore. He remained rooted in that spot for some time, a fact noted by several sailors. They assumed he was lost in thought until Polus suddenly leaned forward and emptied his breakfast over the railing. Then he slid down into the deck with a sickly green tinge to his complexion. "Hmm. So that's a god, huh? Who would have known they would have weak stomachs like any other landlubber?" Thought the first mate to himself. "Looks like this is going to be an interesting trip for His Lordship over there."

Polus' first few days were miserable. His head kept on swimming, and his stomach kept on churning, and he had to keep on crawling to the railing.

"Oh, when I was talking about experiences in the lower world I was not thinking of experiences like this. This is just pure torture. I would wish for death but what's the point if I can't die anyway." He moaned.

One night, he slowly got up from the hammock he was assigned to the cargo hold. He sat on the wooden floor, facing the wall, and assumed a meditation pose, He again reached out with his mind, trying to look for that speck out there towards the west. During the previous episodes that his consciousness had touched the other one, Polus felt that he was attuned to a young soul. "I'm curious if I am going to meet him soon. Or is it her?"

His nausea slowly abated over the next few days and he developed his sea leg quickly after that. He was then able to move about the vessel, observe the sailors, and started pestering them with questions on how the ship worked and what it took to sail the ship.

The seamen tolerated all of his questions and answered them as well as possible. They did have some respect for a deity.

The sailing vessel pulled into a couple of ports to trade. Polus requested permission from the captain to observe the proceedings. He learned quite a bit about the trade routes information that he filed away for a later date.

It was nearly 3 weeks before the captain told him that they were approaching Melen, which was the closest port to Orario. Like an excitable child, Polus spent the day near the bow of the boat, trying to spot the port on the horizon. The captain bade him to go up to the crow's nest, so he could see better. Polus scrambled up like a monkey to get to the high vantage point. It still took a couple of hours before he saw a very tall spire way out in the distance. He turned towards the other lookout in the crow's nest and asked him what that was. The man replied, "That's the tower of Babel right at the center of Orario." Polus frowned. "Mortals were able to build something that tall? I'm impressed."

Soon after, they finally arrived at Melen. Polus disembarked at the port and bade his goodbyes and thanks to the captain and the crew. He went to the central market and found a wagon that was scheduled to leave for Orario. He paid for his passage and then boarded the wagon. Aside from the driver, he was to be the only living passenger. The rest of the wagon was filled with crates of dead fish. Dried fish hanging from the roof of the wagon, salted fish packed into sacks, and more interestingly fish that looked fresh piled up in a box. He asked about that and the driver told him it was a magicstone-operated device that kept things cold. Polus desperately wanted to pick apart the device to learn how it works but with a supreme amount of discipline tore his eyes off the device and started to mutter "Lead me not into temptation."

The wagon started its journey to the city. The trip took a few hours and by the time they were close to the walls, Polus saw a long line of people trying to get into the gate, long enough that it took another few hours before it was his turn. As he approached the guards at the gate, they noticed that he was a deity.

"My Lord what brings you to the dungeon city?" asked one of them. Polus had a lopsided smile as he stared at her furry ears jutting out the top of her head. "Oh wow, cat ears, they look so soft." He thought to himself. After several moments of silence from the deity, the guard shifted uncomfortably in place as Polus continued to stare at her. Embarrassment slowly turned into annoyance and the guard strode up right in front of the god. "PARDON, MY LORD! What is your purpose for coming to Orario, aside from ogling women?" The guard's shout started a few things. Polus was startled out of his trance and realizing what he had done, started to profusely apologize to the guard. The onlookers started guffawing at the deity's expense. The rest of the women of the inspection team kept glaring at the god while the men just smirked.

After several moments, they asked Polus to fill out a form for identification purposes. After the form was filled, another person, took the form and brought it inside bidding Polus to wait. A couple of hours passed before an important-looking individual came out and walked over to extremely bored Polus. This individual radiated a presence that was much stronger than the people nearby. Polus deduced that he was an adventurer and at a higher level than most. Accompanying the adventurer was a well-dressed young man, with spectacles and carrying a clipboard.

"Lord Polus. Welcome to Orario. Would you please follow me to the guild? You have been summoned for further questioning." said the adventurer.

"Is there a problem? I can't believe I just got here and I'm already in trouble. It was just those cat ears looked so fluffy that I could not help myself from staring."

"Nothing of the sort my lord Polus. At least from my end. The guards might beat you up though if you keep staring at them cat ears." said the adventurer with a grin.

"Will they really do that to little old me? a god?" The adventurer nodded to Polus who promptly said " Alrighty then! Shall we go post haste?"

The adventurer and the guild worker escorted Polus through the streets teaming with all kinds of people going about their business. They had walked for quite some time before they stood in front of an imposing building. Taking the lead, the guild worker led them in and bade them wait in the atrium. The young guild worker then went to inform his superior of the god's arrival. Whispered instructions were given and the senior worker took over escort duties.

Polus asked the newcomer. "I was told someone wanted to speak to me. Who is it?"

"Apologies Lord Titan but I am not at liberty to say. If you would please follow me, my lord, you will know soon enough."

"So he knows who I am." The guild employee led them deeper into the building through numerous doors until he was at the top of a dim stairwell stretching into the depths. The employee bade Polus continue down the dark corridor alone.

"Are you sending me to a dungeon?" Polus cracked a joke.

"No, my lord." replied the employee as he turned away.

Polus watched him leave. "Well, nothing risked, nothing gained." He started down the dimly lit stairs into the bowels of the earth. The foot of the stairs ended at the beginning of a corridor. Continuing down the path, the corridor ended in two massive double doors that opened as he approached. Through those doors lay a massive room at the center of which was a throne surrounded by lit braziers. An imposing divine being sat on that throne, gazing down on Polus

"Hello, Polus."

Polus locked eyes with the impassive visage of Ouranos. "Hello, Father."