Chapter Text
Poseidon glided through the sea. Today was the day he and his niece, Athena, competed for the city. Poseidon was glad for this distraction. He wasn’t sure his heart could take the latest grief.
The mortals may think Athena and him are fighting for the new city but the gods knew what this was.
Just a distraction from their losses. From precious gems dying in their arms. Barely taking a breath before death. Their tiny bodies turning to sand in their hands… like a laugh from the original six’s parent. Like he was still here.
Like their poor little bodies couldn’t handle the pressure of gravity and time took a cruel turn in making sure they died a death they weren’t old enough for.
You see, years ago the first six gods had been born. Those gods being Hestia, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, and Zeus. Their father, Kronos, had been a terrible man. He saw their power and grew wary of a curse his own father had given him. That his very own children would be the reason of his rain of ruling finish.
For them to be the ones to dethrone him and tear away his power like he had done his very own father. So he swallowed Hestia when she was born. Doing the same to every god born after her.
After Poseidon, the 5th child, was swallowed their mother Rhea was devastated. She wanted a child to hold, coddle, and care for. She wept and wept looking for help from someone. Anyone.
But no one was willing to go against their king. She wept to the earth. Gaea, all the titan’s mother, spoke to her. “There is a northern island far from here. Give birth there so Kronos cannot take your child. I will provide you a trick.” Whispered her mother. The Earth itself caressing her daughter’s face.
Rhea agreed and made her way to the Island. Giving birth there out came Zeus. Zeus sobbed loudly but was shushed by nymphs who would be his care takers until he was ready to do defeat Kronos. Gaea supplied Rhea with a rock as large as Zeus.
Rhea went back to Kronos’s palace, crying out in fake joy about a new child. As predicted Kronos swallowed the rock bundled in ropes without a thought.
Zeus grew up far, far away. His mother visiting every so often and telling him about how one day he would be the one to overthrow Kronos.
When Zeus was grown he went to the palace disguised as a cupbearer.
Zeus had given Kronos a horrible tasting drought, given to him by the titaness Metis, that forced Kronos to throw up his siblings.
War came after all of that. The gods fought against their father and his forces. The gods managed to snag Kronos’s scythe and using it just like Kronos had on his own father, they sliced him to bits and threw him to Tartarus.
However they were hesitant. Hesitant enough to give Kronos time to curse them. He cursed them the most horrible fate one could have.
“You rancid children! To overthrow me you shall gain a curse! All of you!” Kronos spat at them while Zeus held the scythe. “Your wombs will be empty! Your flesh and blood to never continue! Children will turn to sand in your arms never to see the light of day or breathe the oxygen made! All of you will suffer the pain of a thousand suns just to give birth. To see your offspring die in your arms!”
Kronos cackled as they sliced him to pieces and threw him down. Knowing they would never forget him.
They continued on with their immortal lives. Zeus married Metis for her help and created Olympus. They all made their own homes. Poseidon in the sea, Hades in the underworld, and so on.
They gained domains and powers along with it. Poseidon was the storm bringer but still so sweet to them. Hades ruled the underworld but they would never forget him or push him away for that. Demeter found home in the fields of earth and grew crops like no other. Hestia loved the feeling of home so much it seemed to ignite a flame in her. Zeus ruled the skies and thunder but he was never grumpy allowing clear skies easily. Hera finding human matrimony and togetherness beautiful.
However they were fearful of trying to have a child. It seemed like it would never happen with how Kronos had sounded. Only Zeus tried and it brought both he and Metis pain of too many.
In a craze she turned into a fly and demanded Zeus eat her while pregnant. Zeus was in shock not knowing what to do other than to obey his wife.
He was consumed with grief. His family there to help him though. Even Hades came forward for his younger brother.
Hestia became fearful of the idea of children. She swore an oath to never have children.
Years after Zeus complained about pain in his head. One day it became too much to bear. Zeus begged his siblings to crack open his skull and free whatever was causing this.
They were hesitant but Poseidon was ready to help his brother. He came forward and using his beloved trident he cracked Zeus’s skull down the middle. Out came Athena. Zeus was ecstatic before he realized she was fading before his eyes.
He found Metis’s domains in himself. The titaness long gone. He transferred the domain of wisdom to his daughter watching her frail body become more visible before him.
Everyone knows the rest after that.
Aphrodite becomes part of the Olympians after she revealed herself to be a god. They welcome her.
Zeus marries Hera. They had Ares who badly burns his mother and scars her with clawed fingers he didn’t mean to have. She still held him and cradled him while Zeus fed domains to his son.
Hera became pregnant again after. She attempted to give birth alone using a mountain as sanctuary. Her arms still so tender after Ares… she held Hephaestus after a long painful birth giving him the domain of fire. He slipped from her grasp as he burned her.
Hera forever felt guilty and an attempt to fix her mistake married Aphrodite and Hephaestus as an apology. The two loved each other however Ares loved Aphrodite too. Hephaestus wasn’t against sharing and soon learned that Aphrodite wasn’t the only one Ares was interested in.
Then came the two twins Apollo and Artemis. They came out feral and cruel. Killing things around them. Zeus begged Helios and Selena for help. The two gave domains to both helping bottle up what the twins couldn’t on their own. They still got feral some times but they were never as horrible as they could be.
Then came Hermes. Hermes was the result of a nymph named Maia sneaking into Zeus and Hera’s chambers, stealing his blood, and using it to give birth to his son. The pain burned her from the inside. While Zeus in a panic shoved whatever domain he had into the obvious god being formed.
He didn’t find Hermes until the god stole Apollo’s cattle. Hermes now the god of thieves was celebrated either way. Even by Apollo.
Dionysus had been a demigod born from Semele, a mortal princess of Thebes. The poor boy was sickly and barely survived. If Zeus hadn’t sewed the child into his thigh Dionysus would’ve died. Instead Zeus’s ichor enveloped Dionysus and turned him into a god. First the god of madness before he invented wine and took that over as well.
And so forth.
That was then though. This is now. Even now they barely have children of their own. Most remained childless and even loverless. Even their own children couldn’t have offspring.
Even Poseidon and Hades grew lonely with no lover.
Poseidon shook his head from rhat train of thought. Now was not the time to care about that. He should focus more on the island he was arriving at.
Poseidon stepped onto the island as Athena swept down onto the Earth with her wings gliding her down gently. The air offering a nice landing to his daughter.
“Are you ready, dear niece?” Poseidon smiled at her. A soft smile. Athena nodded stiffly. Obviously nervous even if she tried to act like she was not. It was easy to tell since her chest feathers were puffed up and her talons tried to preen them. Poseidon chuckled.
The snake people of this island came forward. Their leader came forward. “Thank you dear gods for taking your precious time to give us gifts. Please present them to us and show us your greatness.” Poseidon almost scoffed. It was insulting they wanted the gods to give them gifts to get the island.
Still he present his gift. A gift so amazing Athena’s eyes widened with worry and already accepting defeat. She couldn’t compete with the fountain he had made.
His fountain would allow them contact with anyone and travel anywhere no matter how far away as long as the mist was clear and they offered a coin as an ask for permission.
The fountain itself was beautiful as well. A pearly white marble found in Atlantis carved and polished nicely in a way that reflects the sun perfectly against the misty water being poured from the statue of the nymph in the middle. It had beautiful designs all over the sides in flowers and fish and the inside flooring of the fountain was decorated in an ombré of rainbow rocks all jagged and shiny.
The middle showed a statue of a nymph emerging from a flower hands spouting mist while also being incredibly beautiful and while being fake.
Poseidon’s tail wrapped around his leg happily.
However the stupid mortal like creatures went forward to drink from the fountain. Backing up and spitting the salty water back into the fountain like a moron. Athena watched in shock. Were these the people who they were competing over?
”I-i am sorry my lord but these waters are too salty to drink from…” the snake man’s voice trembled while Poseidon growled. Athena rolled her eyes at the mortal for being so incredibly stupid.
Then she showed her ‘gift’. These mortals only cared about sustainability. So she presented them something Demeter had encouraged her to make.
The Olive Tree.
”This tree grows the fruit of olive’s it came be eaten, cooked, turned to oil, and more.” She put it simply because these idiots probably wouldn’t be able to believe more than that.
They immediately declared her the winner. Poseidon shook his head and so did she. That’s when it happened. Pain shot through their skulls. They fell to the floor gripping their heads as their screams were powerful enough to kill the mortals before them.
The other gods who were watching scrambled down to come see what was wrong. Hades and Demeter helping Poseidon towards the fountain as a screaming godling emerged. Crying for his father.
Zeus and the others helped Athena try to put a domain in the godling that burst from the olive tree’s bark. It wasn’t working and Athena sobbed into her father’s chiton. Apollo went forward placing a hand on the crying godlings forehead. Putting the tiny creature to sleep.
Shockingly she didn’t die from sleep instead going peaceful and limp. The pain faded and the godlings were put in their parent’s arms.
Precious miracles.