A/N: I'm back! Later than I hoped but later is better than never. I hope this chapter makes up for being gone so long. I do also have another chapter in the works. I've moved quite far and had to leave my job, so other than job hunting and general adulting, I have more time to write now. Should get another chapter out… next week, I think. I will be going back to the proper monthly schedule though. That seemed to work best for me.

I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Please leave a comment or a review with your thoughts! You know I appreciate them, and I have really missed reading them!

Hearthfire

Chapter 45

Hestia

"Right." Hestia said, leaning forward over the conference table. To her left was Torrhen while Bell, her darling captain sat on her right. Lili, their audacious vice-captain sat to Bell's immediate right. As for the rest? They were arranged around the table in order according to their new ranks.

With their increase in status, along with the Familia's imminent influx of new recruits, Hestia and the three leaders of her Familia had taken it upon themselves to restructure the command flow of the Familia. Starting with Hestia, as the goddess of the Familia, the command chain flowed down quite orderly. From Hestia, it went to Bell as captain and then to Lili as vice-captain.

Following them was the new 'executive branch' of the Hestia Familia. At present, this was made up of Aisha, Ouka, and Daphne. Unlike Freya or Loki, they didn't really have a large number of high-class adventurers available to make up their executive branch. Hopefully they would one day, but for now they prioritized leadership ability above combat skill when assigning rank.

For instance, Ouka and Daphne both had extensive leadership skills as a former captain and former executive in their previous Familias. Aisha too had such experience, but she was mostly there by virtue of her skill in combat which, at present, was second only to Torrhen given her status as a Level 5 adventurer.

The remaining members of the Hestia Familia made up what would become their answer to Loki's Second String division. The Principales, a name Hestia had personally chosen, would be their lowest officer division. At present, it consisted of all their non-executive members. Welf, Chigusa, Mikoto, Haruhime, and Cassandra.

With their recruitment drive on the horizon, it'd been agreed that any new members who qualified for the rank of Principales or Executive, either through combat ability or leadership skill, would be granted them after a probationary period so that the other members could get a feeling for their personality. It wouldn't do to promote someone who wouldn't fulfil the duties required of them.

As for Torrhen, he occupied an odd place in their command structure. Technically he ranked as an executive, but his official title was "Mentor." In practical terms, he answered only to Bell and Hestia, putting him on a similar command level to Lili as Vice-Captain. Mostly, his job was to train and guide all members of the Familia. Anything else he chose to do with his time was entirely up to the dragonborn himself. Even with his new status as an active adventurer, he didn't need to go into the Dungeon unless he wanted to.

"How are our plans looking?" Hestia continued.

"We're ready, Goddess Hestia." Bell replied. "The expedition to the 18th floor went very well and all our preparations for the recruitment drive are finished."

"Good." She nodded and picked up a piece of paper. It was a flyer. One that, at that very moment, hung on every gate, Guild announcement board, and in every tavern in the city. A flyer advertising the Hestia Familia's imminent recruiting day.

One would think that on such a day, any Familia would be happy to accept every single person who applied, right? Wrong. Every god or goddess had their criteria for who could join. Whether that was skill in smithing, combat, brewing, medicine, or whatever it was. Every god had their criteria and Hestia was no exception.

First was personality. She refused to accept anyone who was only there so they could learn from Torrhen or to ride the coattails of the new 'third strongest Familia.' No, she wanted people who would come to see her Familia and its members as a proper family. That was key.

Second, was combat potential. Not skill, necessarily, but potential. As an exploration type Familia, her children were expected to face combat in the Dungeon. Any member who wasn't willing or able to do so was a potential liability. Now, that's not to say she refused to accept anyone who couldn't fight. Anyone could learn to be a halfway decent fighter and, if they had other skills she was interested in having, then all the better.

Unless, of course, their skills lay in alchemy, healing, or smithing. In those cases, she would recommend they join up with Miach or Hephaestus and would write a letter of introduction. Both other gods had already agreed to this plan and would assess those with such talents fairly.

Along with personal criteria, there was one more mitigating factor that limited the number of people a Familia could accept. Space. It was a major problem if you accepted a huge number of applicants but didn't have room to house them so most Familia put a cap on the number of people they would accept during such a drive.

For Hestia, that was 20. They just didn't have the room at present to accept more than twenty new members and even then, they'd have to share rooms. Sure, they could expand the Hall again, but that was expensive and time-consuming.

Torrhen had paid for the renovations in full last time, but Hestia wanted the cost of all future renovations to come from the Familia fund. Each adventurer poured what money they could into the Familia coffers, which were used to pay for everything from food to toiletries, upkeep and renovations. She could happily say that their coffers were quite healthy, but an expansion of the Hall was an expense they couldn't afford at present. Not one that extensive.

Hearthfire Hall was a medium sized mansion at present. Big, but nothing on the scale of Twilight Manor or Folkvangr. The homes of the Loki and Freya Familias, respectively. If she was going to expand, then she might as well go for broke and upgrade the Hall to equal the size of their homes.

They couldn't afford to expand like that at the moment, not without breaking the bank, but with an influx of members and more quests from the Guild, it was only a matter of time before they could start the renovations. She just needed to be patient. After all, wasn't it already a stroke of luck that things progressed as quickly as they already had? Better to be patient and not push things too quickly.

"Let's run through the stages one more time." Hestia pointed. "Lili, you start."

"Right." The pallum girl nodded. "I'll be manning a desk at the front gate, where all the hopefuls will wait so we can take their information. Name, race, age, possible current Familia, all that. Then, either Cassandra, Haruhime, or Chigusa will take them further inside."

"We will take them straight to the training yard so that their combat assessment can begin." Chigusa added, sitting straight up in her seat.

"Once there," Torrhen chimed in, "Aisha, Daphne, and I will assess them for current skill or combat potential while they spar with Welf, Ouka, and Mikoto. If we like what we see, we'll be sure to mark that down on the files Lili will be creating. At the same time, we will be keeping an eye out for any who blatantly does not meet our criteria in the personality region. Bullies and the like. Those who pass both evaluations will then be escorted into the Hall."

"Where they will meet with us." Hestia nodded her head at Bell. "We'll ask them questions about their background, hopes, future plans, and other such things. If they do not lie to me, and we like their answers, then they'll be put under consideration."

"After we've seen everyone," Now Bell spoke, "the Familia will gather to consider the applications. We only have room for twenty people so if we have more than that, we'll have to be careful choosing who we do pick."

"Do you really think we'll have that many?" Haruhime asked.

Hestia nodded. "Our Familia is a hot topic right now. Things have calmed down a little since the War Game, but we're still a topic of interest. That's partially why I wanted to wait. If we'd started recruiting the day after the games, then we'd have been flooded with opportunistic hopefuls who likely wouldn't fit in well. Now that some time has passed, we're likely to get fewer people like that and have a better shot at finding a good number who really want to be one of us."

"No matter what though," Torrhen said, "we must be as courteous at possible. This is our first opportunity to interact with the general public as a Familia. We should put on a good front."

"That's right." Hestia agreed. "Best behavior all around but don't take any crap. Deal with any problems as nicely as you can but if someone gets in your face, don't be afraid to kick them out." Her statement was met with nods of acknowledgement and agreement from all those gathered around the table.

Torrhen

"Ryuu?" Torrhen asked, surprised. He'd been feeling a little cooped up in his workshop and gone for a stroll through the city. Just as he was passing the eastern gate, he spotted the blond elf woman walking back through with three other women at her side. Two were obviously sisters with both sporting long, vibrant red hair and similar facial features. The other was a blonde cienthrope sporting a white frock, a bright red hood, and a seemingly shy demeanor.

"Master Torrhen." Ryuu gave him a wave and ran up, hesitantly followed by the other three. "It's good to see you. We were actually on our way to see you and Goddess Hestia."

"You were?" Torrhen looked past her to the three girls. "I take it your trip to Solingen went better than expected?"

"Much." Ryuu smiled. It seemed like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The normally brooding and slightly depressed elf had been replaced with one whose smile was as bright as the sun. "I have a letter from Lady Astraea to Goddess Hestia that should explain things." She pulled said document from inside her coat.

Torrhen nodded. "Well, she should still be back at the Hall. Do you mind introducing me to your companions before we go?"

"Oh!" Ryuu jumped in surprised realization. "I'm so sorry! This is Erza and Pyrrha Lovell." She indicated the two redheads, "and this is Roderika. To make a long story short, Lady Astraea was hoping that Goddess Hestia would accept them into her Familia."

"Of course." Torrhen nodded in understanding. If the letter the elf woman carried explained things, then he would simply hold any questions he had until the goddess had a chance to read it. "My name is Torrhen." He introduced himself to the three girls. "I am a member of the Hestia Familia. If you'll follow me, I will lead you to Hearthfire Hall."

It took them the better part of an hour to wind their way through the streets of Orario from the gate where Torrhen had met the four girls to their destination at the Hall. Inside the gate, the dragonborn could hear Welf pounding away on something in the forges while just outside, Bell and Mikoto were sparring against Aisha, working together to try and topple the amazoness.

Opening the doors, he led Ryuu and her companions up to the lounge where he'd last seen the goddess. Sure enough, she was still there. Book in hand and her feet propped up on an ottoman. Introductions followed, and within a few minutes, Hestia was reading Astraea's letter while a slightly sweaty Bell plopped himself down next to the goddess. The white-haired boy had shared a friendly hug with Ryuu, excited to see her returned and been enthusiastically introduced to her companions.

"So, if I'm understanding this correctly," Hestia spoke up, passing the letter to Torrhen, "Astraea refuses to come back to Orario. Totally understandable, of course, but she wants the four of you to join me so that you can challenge the Dungeon. The deal would be similar to the one I have with Takemikazuchi, meaning that any of you who wish to may return to her Familia at any time, and I accept any of hers that want to come to the city, yes?"

"That would be correct, Goddess Hestia." Ryuu replied, nodding her head. "I know this is not exactly normal, but Goddess Astraea was hopeful you'd agree."

"Well," Hestia sat back with a sigh. Torrhen could see she was a little torn about it. Taking the deal with Takemikazuchi was one thing, but this would mean accepting even more people whose loyalties were split. Hestia, as goddess of family, could hardly begrudge them wanting to stay loyal to their original family, but this would set a precedent that she might be unwilling to accept.

Torrhen could see both sides of the argument. On the one hand, it was not the best idea to have too many such deals, because it could mean the Hestia Familia was hers in name only. If too many of her members were loyal to other gods as well, it could make things difficult. Especially if word of it got out to the Guild, other Familia, or the wider city. On the other hand, was she really willing to dismiss them when loyalty to family was one of the things she, as a goddess, prized most?

"I'll accept you." Hestia said, after a moment to the relief of the four girls, "but I have conditions." Ryuu looked up, a little startled.

"What… kind of conditions, goddess?" Erza asked.

Hestia sighed. "Deals like this are done in private. If anyone aside from me has ever done it, then the deal has never become public knowledge. I don't know if you saw the announcement, but we recently announced a recruitment drive." The four girls nodded, indicating that they'd seen the flyers.

"If we announced that the Hestia Familia will be recruiting twenty people next week only to accept four new members before that time, people would start to ask questions. Especially if we then only took in sixteen on the advertised day."

"I think I understand." Ryuu nodded her head. "You can't let other Familia know you've made a deal like this and accepting us right away would look suspicious."

"Exactly." Hestia nodded. "So, my proposal is this. You four will come on the day of our recruitment drive as prospective hopefuls and participate as such. You will be accepted," she emphasized, "but to the rest of the city it will look like you are just four of the lucky ones we chose to join. This deal, both with the four of you and with Astraea, will remain a secret. Nobody who does not belong to either the Astraea or Hestia Familias will know about it. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Goddess." Erza said, while Pyrrha and Roderika nodded. Ryuu looked hesitant.

"What about me, goddess?" She asked. "My name is still blacklisted by the Guild so…"

"Leave that to me." Torrhen said, speaking up for the first time. "I'll have a talk with the guild about it. With luck, we can simply re-register you with a new name and that'll be that. Perhaps the guild can quietly kill off the 'Gale Wind.' Later on. Or, if we're unlucky about it, then we may have to stage your death before you can join us"

"Whatever we have to do," Bell chimed in, "you have a place here, Ms. Ryuu. I promise."

"Thank you." Ryuu replied, giving them all a beaming smile.

Naaza

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt." Naaza winced and hissed at the sharp pain in her shoulder. She was lying back on a low hospital bed inside Pietro's laboratory on the second floor of the Blue Hospital. At her right side was the wheelchair bound, elderly half-dwarf who was in the process of attaching her new right arm.

Despite the necessity of it, Naaza despised the right arm she'd worn since her accident for what it represented. Their debt to the contemptable Dian Cecht. Her injury, the one which caused the loss of her arm, marked the initial downfall of the Miach Familia. Dian Cecht bankrupted them to pay for her healing and then sent them spiraling into debt with the cost of the prosthetic he'd made. Then he'd lured their members away to try and make sure they couldn't make enough money to pay off the debt! He was truly a horrible god.

Which was why, once she'd learned about Pietro's research and area of expertise, she'd wholeheartedly volunteered to receive his first prosthetic. The man was so excited, he'd begun work on it the instant his lab was up and running. The fittings and original trials had spanned a painful few days but now it was done. The final product was ready and actively being attached to her nerve endings.

The arm itself was nothing like her old one. Sure, her old arm had a full range of motion, but it was not made of the best materials and required constant maintenance. Her new arm was far superior in that regard. Made of a composite alloy and special materials, not to mention a little magic, the arm was a true work of art. Golden in color and of elegant design, she felt no discomfort as she flexed the fingers above her head.

"How does it feel?" Pietro asked, using a lever to raise her bed up to a seated position.

"Good." Naaza replied, putting the arm through its paces. "I don't feel any pain now that it's connected, and there are no hitches or resistance to moving it around."

"Excellent!" The researcher crowed. "I must thank you, Naaza for being my test subject. I'd gone as far as I could without doing any live trials, but I just couldn't get the materials. Without you, I may never have been able to prove my theories."

"I should be the one thanking you, Pietro." The cienthrope smiled at the man. "Thanks to you, I'll never have to wear the arm that bastard made. I'll never even have to look at it again." She glanced over to the table where her old arm now rested. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Dismantle it, of course!" Pietro replied, wheeling himself over to the workbench. "If I can reverse engineer Dian Cecht's technique, it can only improve my own. It's the first time I've been able to get my hands on his work. Probably because nobody is typically willing to give up a part of their body like you."

"Well, I didn't exactly give it up." She smiled, waving her new arm. "More like I traded it in for a better model."

Pietro chuckled heartily and laid a hand on his chest. "Thank you for that, my dear. Joining this Familia truly has been one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Thanking the half-dwarf once again, Naaza left his laboratory, made her way to the stairs, and out into the main lobby of the hospital. Dotted around the lobby were various people sitting in chairs or on couches while a small line waited at the front desk, currently manned by Sei. They'd only been open a couple days and already there were patients waiting to be seen.

Some were people who were sick while others were those with old injuries hoping for relief or adventurers who'd been injured in the dungeon. Of course, anyone who came in with life threatening injuries was rushed to the front of the line, but friends and family of the injured were allowed to wait in the lobby or the lounge until the patient was out of treatment.

Their first day had been a circus. First was the massive line of curious people blocking the way for actual patients, and then there was the huge number of people who really needed treatment. What'd truly shocked her was the number of people coming to them with easily curable minor troubles that had apparently gone untreated for years. Her curiosity was of course turned to rage when she found out that the only reason they'd gone untreated was that not one of the patients could afford Dian Cecht, or had been screwed over by him in the past, and simply decided to deal with their condition rather than seek treatment. These people were given preferential treatment, and the most lenient prices and payment plans she could muster. Well… really, she'd just sicced Miach's overgenerous ass on them and shackled Maomao to him so he wouldn't wave the debt entirely.

"Make way!" A voice shouted just as the doors were thrown open. A group of five adventurers thrust their way in, dragging a sixth between them. The front of the Bull-man's armor was rent open and caked in blood. From the top of the stairs to the second floor came Elise, all but flying down the steps with Hanatarou hot on her heels and her white lab coat flapping about her ankles.

"What happened?" The half-elven doctor demanded, helping the adventurers ease the man into a chair. "Hanatarou, get a stretcher!" She shouted, sending the young man running.

"A… almiraj." One of the adventurers panted. Her wolven ears were lying flat across her head and her hands covered in blood. "A whole pack of them. We… we gave him every healing potion we had but it just wasn't enough. He started bleeding again before we got back out of the dungeon."

"Severe lacerations." Elise muttered as Naaza ran up. Raising her new prosthetic, she lit up a Healing Hands spell. "Broken ribs, but I can't tell if any organs have been damaged until we get him into surgery. Can you keep him stabilized while we prep a surgical suite?"

"Of course." Naaza replied, keeping the spell up while Elise rushed off. Healing Hands could take care of superficial injuries no problem, and even help keep the dying alive for hours if the spell could be maintained. The issue was that if his internal organs were damaged, the spell could only do so much and while it would seal the cracks in broken bones, it would not collect the shards that might have escaped into the chest cavity. Those shards could possibly damage the heart, lungs, or other organs so surgery was their best option.

Naaza continued to hold the spell until Hanatarou and an orderly returned with the stretcher. Loading the injured adventurer onto it, Naaza watched as Elise ran back over and cast her own spell. Releasing the magic, the cienthrope captain let out a sigh of relief. Her magic reserves were decent but keeping the spell up much longer would have been difficult without a potion or two.

"Well, that was pathetic." A haughty, booming voice said from behind her. Turning, Naaza caught a glimpse of the one face she hated above all others. Pure white robes embroidered with golden thread. With white hair, beard, and a mustache, the man's face was twisted into a look of contemptuous disgust. At his belt was a jingling and overstuffed coin purse. "Is that really the best you can do?"

"Dian Cecht." Naaza growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, little girl," the god scoffed, "I've heard such wonderful things about this…" he looked around. "You call this a hospital?" She could feel the derisive scoff in his voice. "Well, at any rate, it's clear what I heard was complete nonsense. This dump is pathetic and given the way you treated that man; I can't say much for your doctors either."

"Get out." Naaza demanded, stepping up to the man. She hated that he was taller than her!

"Excuse me?" He looked taken aback. "I'm a god, little girl. What right do you have to order me to do anything?"

"I am the captain of the Miach Familia and the chief executive officer of this hospital." Naaza bit out. "You are disturbing my patients and their families, now get out!"

Dian Cecht scoffed. "Fine, fine, I'm going, little girl." He turned, nonchalantly and waved. Just before he exited the doors, he turned back around. "Oh, by the way!" He shouted to the crowd. "I just wanted to announce that the Dian Cecht hospital is opening a new feature. After a long wait, our new healing hot springs will be opening in just a few days! I encourage you all to come on by. I can guarantee the healing powers of the water are better than anything the pathetic doctors at this hospital can conjure up."

"Out!" Naaza shouted, pointing furiously with her new arm. She could see the surprise and flash of rage cross the god's face as he realized her arm was not the one he'd built but the pompous buffoon complied, sauntering out the door. Naaza whirled around and stomped up the stairs towards her office. Perhaps she'd grab her bow and get some practice in. She needed to blow off some steam.

Torrhen

Torrhen's gaze stared intently down at his needlework as he stitched the leatherwork together. He was working on Ryuu's new armor. The girl knew she couldn't wear her old gear any longer, or even use her old weapon, so he'd taken her measurements and was mocking up a few pieces for her to try once she joined up. He was thinking of keeping her green aesthetic but adding in some reddish-brown monster leather and foregoing the hood. Perhaps one attached to the vest, but nothing so prominent as her old one.

Of course, this was all just an excuse for him to be in his workshop right now. It was the end of the day. Welf was over at Babel, helping to close down his shop for the evening. The rest of the Familia were done with their own business and taking time either to themselves or together inside the manor. Aisha was likely either taking the opportunity to tease Haruhime or was out on the town trolling for some fun. It was kind of up in the air with that one. As for why he needed an excuse to be in his workshop? Well, it was about to walk through the door.
A long white cloak covered the figure as she stepped in, dropping her hood and revealing pure white hair, not unlike Bell's but cascading down the back of his female guest. Pale arms emerged, parting the material to reveal the barely-there black and red ensemble. He could see why most men, and some women, would be captivated by the sight. Even just standing in her presence, his highly attuned senses could detect an odd magical aura that seemed to be trying to tell him she was trustworthy.

Still, he was not one unused to godly beauty. After all, was he not once a servant of Nocturnal? She didn't dress very differently to the now revealed Freya. There was no denying her physical attractiveness, but he knew that she was just as dangerous as any Daedra.

"Goddess Freya." Torrhen rumbled, setting his work down. "I half expected you to back out."

"And miss the chance to meet you?" She asked, her voice like a melody. "I would never. I've heard so much about you. Besides, I doubt there isn't a god in this city uninterested in meeting a child of Akatosh." The goddess strode forward confidently and settled herself on a chair.

"Hm." Torrhen nodded. "Very well. "You are the one who requested this meeting so," he leaned against the workbench. "What do you want?"

"Oh, my dear demigod." Freya purred, "I want so many things. Officially, my reason for being here is to ask permission for my children to come to you for your smithing and enchanting services. You are, after all, the best enchanter in the city."

Torrhen nodded. "So long as you, Loki, and Goddess Hestia agree to a lasting peace, I will accept your members as clients. For as long as the treaty holds. They'll have to come to me personally of course, but that's easy enough. Now," he stared at her, "what's the real reason you're here?"

"Whatever do you mean, dear Torrhen?" Freya asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't insult my intelligence." Torrhen scoffed. "It's obvious you are here for more. You even said asking me for my services was your 'official' reason." He did air quotes at 'official.' "So, I will ask again. What do you want?"

Freya stood, placing her hands behind her back and pushing out her chest. "Well, I thought that was obvious." She stepped closer to him. "I want you, Torrhen. I want you to leave Hestia and join me. I want you to join me in every way a man could possibly join with a woman. To serve me and help bring my Familia to even greater heights!"

It was near instantaneous. He could hear her voice in the back of his mind, urging him to accept. Telling him he could trust her, that she knew what he wanted and could give it to him. That he should drop everything he'd built because serving her was all he'd ever wanted. The strength of her charm was surprisingly intense. Even his natural resistance to such things was hard pressed to fight it.

"You do this a lot, don't you?" He asked, his voice strained. "Tell me, how many of your members joined you without your charm?"

"Whatever are you talking about?" she asked, putting a hand on his chest. Torrhen growled.

"MUL QAH DIIV" The shout ripped through him, amplifying his normally suppressed draconic nature to its maximum height. His divine, draconic blood surged under his skin as the webs of the charm were torn to shreds. Dovah were naturally resistant to mind control because of their inborn drive to dominate. It was at the core of their beings, making the very idea of being subservient to another utterly abhorrent unless that other had proven their strength. Freya had not.

The goddess stepped back, eyes going wide with shock as the golden, ethereal dragon scales formed around him. Torrhen's now glowing eyes, framed by ethereal horns homed in on hers. A deep growl, like that of the Dovah rumbled in his chest.

"Tell me, Freya." He said. "Do you even care that you strip others of their free will?" He stood tall, towering over her. "Do you ever wonder what it feels like for them?" There was fear in her eyes as she scrambled backwards. "Perhaps I should show you." Torrhen cocked his head to the side.

"What…" Freya stuttered, walking backwards and nearly tripping on her chair. "How…"

"GOL HAH RAH"

A/N: So… that ending, huh? Let me know your thoughts!

I do have a few notes on other things in the chapter I thought I should clarify as well. Let me know what you think!

I was imagining Dian Cecht's voice to be a mix of Lucius Malfoy and Astarion. For those who know those characters, how does that sound to you?

Naaza's new arm is the Valkyrie's Prosthesis from Elden Ring.

Ryuu's new armor will be based on that of Tauriel from the hobbit movies. Her design is fantastic.

Translations: Gol Hah Rah: Earth Mind God. A variation on Bend Will meant for gods rather than dragons.

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Walkmanapprenticewordsmith: Well… I hope you liked his response to the mind control!

Monkey D. Conan: I hope you liked how it went! We'll see more next time!

NinjaFang1331: Thank you!

Haziq Saffari: Hope it went how you wanted!

Kkmememesha: I'll be getting more to relationships in a bit. We might see a little progress.

ViruzZyX: Hope you liked it!

Clagann: He does appear in canon. His name is Fels, and he is a weird character. Super creepy.

Frostwolf3227: He didn't make a four word shout but… he did modify one of Miraak's shouts. Maybe that's how he got the Daedra off his back…? Maybe not.

JensenDaniels32: Thank you!

On Ao3

Wingd_Knight: I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry about the delay on the update but I was moving. Usually I post once a month. I hope you like this chapter too! As for Hesatia, It's more that she's a lesbian. Not interested in men, but the male gods took her rejection of them to mean she wasn't interested in sex at all.

MagnustheRed: Your guess was more or less on point. Kudos.

Reikernation: She may have pissed him off. As for training Ais, that is coming soon!

Fofonte123: He knows all of them and even invented a few!

HapaLander: Not really a DM move. That's just Fels.

Hunter81095: I hope the wait was worth it! You were so close to guessing right with Bend Will too. Nice.

FrankTHaddock: I've thought about it, but I admit to not having played Hades. I'm not familiar enough with it to be comfortable writing it.