"The Patron Oath I want from you is what Raven took with her mother. The oath isn't permanent and will bond us while also severing your ties to The West, but it will also let you draw on my power instead. And once this war is done with, you can separate and take up new domains with Phoebe if you want."
...
Once Hestia finished both goddesses remained silent. Hestia leaned back in her chair and looked on as Athena turned her gaze down, unsure of what to do. To take the oath would be to commit, to step across the line and officially take a side in a war she wanted no part in. Pallas Athena, the Olympian goddess, would cease to be and she would become what? Even if she denied the oath and stepped back, Cloelia would be saved.
A small whisper of a thought came to Athena, her own paranoia tempered from millennia of Olympian life raising its head as she glanced at the primordial. Hestia had all the cards in her hand, or at least, did until she admitted to Percy's decision regarding Cloelia. She could have made Athena beg just like she did with Percy, she could have made the goddess grovel and submit as she signed herself away in the chance to save her granddaughter.
And yet instead she gave Athena the power to choose. There was no threat hanging over her head, no warning of making the wrong choice and a punishment to follow suite. Just the offer and what she would do with it. The sound of shuffling got the goddess' attention as she looked at Hestia as the primordial got up from her chair.
"You don't need to answer right now," Hestia said as she took a few steps towards the door. "I'll give you some time to think on it."
She continued to walk as Athena watched her, her fingers tangling with the sheets at her sides as she opened and closed them. Then, when Hestia's hand reached for the door handle…
"Wait!"
Hestia stopped, slowly looking back at her even as her hands staid poised to open the door. Athena felt like her heart was stampeding within her chest as she looked into those burning rubies.
"I…"
She swallowed nervously as she tried to meet the look. She was done sitting and waiting on the sidelines. Watching as others bore the brunt because she didn't feel forced to commit to it.
There was no going back after this…
"… I'll make the oath."
...
( Percy POV )
The dark god let out an exhale, a cool mist escaping him as he looked out across the expanse of forest and wilderness shrouded in shadow from his position atop the Primera Gate. He could see the Olympian camp from there, make out the bodies as they moved like agitated bees, unable to rest or even stay still. All it took was for him to tap into Hestia's domains of Hope and Unity to feel the unraveling of the demigods.
He was a little curious though as he felt them gathering closer to the western side of the camp, where Hephaestus' Smiths were if he remembered correctly. He shrugged it off though, knowing that if were anything big with plans, they'd have their own sources on it soon enough.
His eyes then shifted to the eastern edge of the clearing being used by the Olympians, seeing the last embers fading out of the funeral pyres that had been lit a few hours before. Over a hundred demigod lives ended in one night. He shook his at the thought, taking some solace in knowing most of those departed souls now rested in Elysium or were on their way to rebirth.
He then turned around and brought his attention to the far-off barrack built close to the Segunda Gate, now being used as a temporary camp and housing for the captured demigods. Most were rather young and inexperienced, the ones had little motive to fight in this war other than that they were expected and ordered to. He let his senses expand into the surrounding night as he felt out the camp and noted most were asleep besides the nymphs, gods, and volunteer mortals watching over them.
He was relieved most managed to fall asleep on their own rather than need sleeping medicine and sleep spells cast on them like the first night. However, he was brought out of his observations when he felt a mental probe from Rhea, his mental guarding immediately opening as he heard his wife's voice in his head.
'Percy, come quick to the temple!'
'Rhea, what's wrong?' he asked back as he already mentally projected the temple and stepped into the darkness.
A second or two passed before he stepped out of the darkness and into the hall leading to the council chamber, the shadows dancing to the flickering lights of the torches along the walls.
'You need to see this,' was her answer as he moved down the hall and grew with every step until he reached his natural hundred-foot stature. He walked into the hall to see about half of the council sitting around in their thrones, their eyes nailed to the center of the room. The central hearth was simmering lowly and above it floated several large screens, all showing various news channels or streams from around the world.
He moved around the hearth to his throne and noticed for the first time that Zoe was present as well, standing on the right arm of Rhea's throne and closest to his. The moment he sat down Zoe hopped to his left palm and tapped away at her tablet. All the floating screens shifted to the same stream she was playing as his eyes turned to them to read the headline 'IMAGES AND VIDEO LEAKS! BATTLE ON THE MOON!?' and listened in.
"—and even as new videos are shared via every social platform or news sites, the investigation to how these leaks happened is still underway—" the news anchor was saying before he was cut off by another commentator.
"Who cares how it happened! What we should really be worried about is WHAT are these things!?" he shouted as he pointed to the larger screen behind them as it began to play clips.
Percy watched as satellite images of the moon appeared before closing in on the surface, two distinct figures appearing in them. His eyes narrowed as the image became clear enough to make out his general form but not much more. Whatever was taking the recording then shifted over and the silvery figure was easy to place as Artemis even with the static of the image. More clips played as blurs of him and Artemis passed through the sight, at times needing to zoom out by significant margins to even keep they're blurry movements within view.
It was smudged up and clearly the release of so much divine power was interfering with imaging that could have normally taken perfect pictures of the lunar surface. The clips changed in angles and clarity meaning multiple satellites were in range for the recordings, but all suffered some form of distortion or interference, one clip being barely a few seconds as it caught a collision between him and Artemis before the pressure hit the satellite and likely destroyed it.
"Just what in the Lord's name is that?" one of the anchors asked softly, her voice quaking as one far off satellite captured the moment he released his manifestation of power and assumed a pseudo-divine form.
The sight of the dark miasma billowing around him as the very moon and satellite alike shook, the shadows writhing as even the vacuum of space became colder to the point frost grew along the edges of the recording. Then, one remarkably clear image of a dark, winged being and two glowing icy eyes.
The next clips played on silently, showing blurs and collisions before one massive explosion that shook the satellites and caused several to stop recording. Then the last one recording as the moon went dark and finally lost track of where he was.
All five anchors and commentators in the panel fell silent as the clips stopped on that image, many going deathly pale as they stared at it. The same commentator that spoke earlier was clutching onto her prominently displayed cross necklace, her lips moving in silent prayer.
After a few seconds one commentator cleared his throat and looked directly to the camera as the clip behind him changed to the logo of the network.
"As of yet no official statements as to what this was or what is to be done about it. However, in the last 24 hours the streets have begun to fill with the masses as panic sweeps the na—"
The stream cut off from there to other news sights from around the world. Reports of riots and mass hysteria as people look for answers, the fear of the unknown growing by the second. Even now Percy could feel the cacophony of whispers and prayers being made at the very edge of his mind, asking for guidance and strength or forgiveness and repentance.
He glanced around the council chamber to see how his fellow council members were taking it and asked, "How's everyone doing?"
Rhea looked worried as she glanced from screen to screen, her fingers drumming on her armrests as she slightly chewed at her bottom lip before she turned to him and said, "I don't feel much going on with my domains, but I'm worried about the mortals. That panic can become so much more if we don't do something soon."
He nodded at that, knowing that even now Andromeda was not on the mountain, so he guessed she was meeting with the mortal governments of Canada or the UK to run some damage control.
From her seat farther down, Styx was massaging her temples, at times only opening one eye to glance at the screens before muttering, "So many promises being made, and others broken."
"Are they binding?" Percy asked, wondering how the mortals would react to the consequences of breaking oaths now that Styx was a primordial force attached to that concept. After all, the penalties could be quite … severe.
"No, they're not binding," Styx replied with a shake of her head. "Aside from the demigods and the remnant believers of the ancient Greco-Roman religions, few know about swearing on my name. At most the act of making a sworn promise gained weight when I ascended but actual penalties and punishments can't apply."
"I see," he murmured as he looked to Nico, the primordial narrowing his eyes on the screens showing some areas around the world where riots are happening.
The clip of someone painting 'JUDGEMENT IS NEAR' on a wall in dark red paint was particularly noticeable. He grimaced at that image before looking at Jason, the primordial constantly shifting his gaze.
Another look of the room showed that Phoebe wasn't present, so he assumed she was in her office trying to manage the Strings of Fate and how millions of choices and decisions were being made or changed as the mortals became further aware of the world.
Thalia also wasn't present but he wouldn't put it passed her to be either in the Palace of the Skies or checking up on other deities that weren't living on the mountain. He felt out his bonds to his wives and found Hestia within her office … along with Athena.
His eyes snapped to Rhea to find that she was already looking at him.
"She's going through with it," Rhea said.
He let out a breath he hadn't realized her was holding before slowly nodding.
"So that will be taken care of soon enough and once Andy gets back, we'll plan what to do about the mortals," he said as he leaned back into his chair, watching as more news feeds changed…
...
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