Tales of Olympus

Chapter 1: To be Free

"But, oh, to be free!...To be my own master. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world!"

-- Genie (as voiced by Robin Williams),Aladdin(1992), directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Screenplay by Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Copyright © 1992 Walt Disney Pictures. All rights reserved.

In the fifty years after the defeat of Typhon, Zeus consolidated power around himself as the undisputed leader of Olympus. Where Ouranos and Cronos had dissent from others in their reign (especially in that of Rhea and Gaia), Zeus had none. His victory over Typhon had been an act of such supremacy that no one else could do, so this event separated him from his predecessors.

Victory bred popularity amongst the masses, even if that rabble was divine.

That did not stop Hera from having her suspicions about the King of Olympus while she sat alone in her palace. Metis had been so sure of her own demise. Zeus was more powerful than ever, and with no way to analyze Typhon in his 'supposed' weakness.

Since her decision to not see Hades, Hera realized that it did not matter what she knew. There was no escape from the design of the other gods. She could see it.

Gaia and Rhea had spun an intricate design worthy of the Moirai. The Moirai knew the future, or controlled it; there was nothing to be done by someone of the likes of Hera. Zeus...He had power unimaginable to any single god. There was nothing to be done about him.

He would not be removed from power. Anyone that stood in Zeus' way would be destroyed. Hera could see that.

There was no future out of their control. She was bound to Rhea, and by extension, Gaia. Hera was part of a larger game that she would never be free of. There was a peace to be found in futility. When one was aware of the options that she did not have, she suddenly became aware of the choices she did.

She had no future in a husband in Hades, so her love from him and for him would wallow and falter; even she understood that. She had been coming and going from the Underworld since Hades ascended to power in that Realm, but that time was borrowed, which meant (in the end) that relationship would have to come to an end. She would someday be trapped in a marriage with Zeus.

The youngest daughter of Rhea recognized that truth as she stared at the wall.

However, something in that inevitability clarified the rest. She decided to take a small leaf from Gaia's tree. Looking down at her stomach, Hera was molding life within her. If she was to be Zeus' someday bride and carry his multitudes, her first child would be of her own making before he became an unfaithful, power-hungry wretch.

Her little Hephaestus would be a confirmation of her own grand designs. Hera would find a way forward in the Realm of Olympus, not as a powerless being, but as a future queen in her own right, and in the centuries to come, she would be a force unlike that of Zeus, Rhea, and Gaia.

---

The nucleus of Gaia's island had never before experienced such hostile friction and bewilderment as it did at that moment. Nestled within a grove, surrounded by trees from nearly the dawn of time, there was a table made of wood and vine. The legs of this table were firmly planted into the soil of the land. The top was smooth and polished by the magic of the mighty Earth Primordial.

Rhea and Gaia sat across from one another in chairs that had been summoned from the island itself. The air was sweet with the fragrance of blooming flowers while the tension between them only mounted by the moment.

Rhea's face was marked by lines of concern over the uncertainty that the last fifty years had brought them. The former Queen of Olympus had hoped that the unleashing of Typhon on Zeus and his Olympus would lead to Zeus relying heavily on the wisdom of herself and her mother; unfortunately, the event had backfired in the worst way possible.

By the edge of a calm lake, Gaia looked away from her daughter to appreciate the shiny depths of the water. As opposed to her daughter, the Earth Primordial appeared at peace. Inwardly, she recalled a time when the world was wild and new, when she had been Queen of Olympus. Her eyes were older than time itself, and they had seen wonders and tragedies of everything since the birth of Cronos.

Shaking her head, she almost wished that she could go back to when she was married to Ouranos. Perhaps, if she could have prevented Ouranos from seducing Rhea, Gaia could have prevented the Titans from overthrowing the Titans and the gods from overthrowing the Titans.

Loosing a sigh, she understood that this regret would take her nowhere.

"Gaia," Rhea spoke softly.

She did not want to break her mother's focus, but inaction would do nothing for the either of them, so she felt it necessary to speak.

"After my son's visit, Ibelievehe is committing to abandoning us as he once did," Rhea went on. "Should we not do something?"

"He is," Gaia breathed.

She shook her head toward the question Rhea asked.

"No. We should not. I never should have created Typhon; action was a mistake at that moment."

She turned her head towards the distant mountain that was separated from them by hundreds of miles of land and water. She recalled her last attempt at a Primordial in the being known as Pontus. Though, truth be told, that had been an accident as Pontus had been born from her mourning the loss of her husband.

"The balance of power in Olympus shifts away from us like a receding tide."

"Then what are we going to do?" Rhea asked.

"Do?" Gaia asked. Gaia's eyes, which once had been filled with ancient wisdom, were unfocused in her despair. She refocused herself to meet Rhea's gaze. "Our influence within Olympus has fallen while Zeus' magnificent feat makes him look all the more amazing. Should he reveal my part in the creation of Typhon, he will not need to destroy us; the other gods will do it for him."

Rhea gritted her teeth, holding her rage back. This would not have been an issue if in the early days of Zeus' reign, Gaia had sided with Rhea and Ouranos to leave the lands, but Gaia had been unfocused, and Rhea had thrown herself at her son's feet. It had saved them until Gaia's mistake.

The sun bathed the landscape around them to bring out the most amazing colors from the forest. In terms of prisons, it could be far worse. However, even Rhea could recognize that Zeus' favor (or lack thereof) came and went on a whim. There was time to rectify any loss, so lamentation could wait.

Rhea was starting to think that she understood the precarious nature of their position in the new political landscape of Olympus better than Gaia. Mother Earth was so used to having all she wanted granted to her. With the exception of Cronos' refusal to release the Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes from Tartarus long ago, Gaia had been denied nothing from those around her.

Thatmighthave been the cause of Gaia's true sorrow. While fifty years was not forever for immortals, it was not exactly a blink of an eye either.

"Zeus' victory has reshaped the heavens, or at least how his fellow gods view it," Gaia continued in resignation. "His authority is now unchallenged, and his dominion will be absolute."

"Thenwhatdo we do?" Rhea asked, frustrated.

She dared not strike her mother. Though she was likely the weaker of the two, killing Gaia would have left her to raise Eletheia and Aegis by herself and no ally against the political power players of Olympus. Rhea could see that the children were no longer children, so maybe they did notneedher, but Rhea did not want to lose her only company on the island.

"For now... Nothing... His wrath would mean our destruction," Gaia admitted.

Rhea nodded in silent agreement. Despite her own misgivings, she could not argue with her mother, and the last fifty years had been spent avoiding this very conversation. They had put their efforts in training the two children. Now that one goal was done, there was nothing to do but stare at one another.

Their legacies should have been enough to preserve them even amidst the shifting loyalties on Olympus, but there was nothing to be done. If Typhon failed to kill Zeus, and the event only seemed to make Zeus stronger, sending Eletheia and Aegis against Zeus would be tantamount to suicide.

Rhea's love of her daughter was similar to most of her love for any of her children. It was great enough that she did not want her daughter harmed, but distant enough to accept that she would likely not last forever. Regardless of that impermanence, Rhea did not want to send her daughter to die for nothing.

And so, Rhea came to the same conclusion as Gaia and knew it would be best to wait.

---

On that same island, but in the shadow of Gaia's trees, Aegis and Eletheia watched their mothers. Their concealment behind a curtain of foliage was clearly not discovered by how openly Gaia and Rhea spoke,

As children born of Zeus' dalliances with his mother and grandmother, it was always understood that they were not entitled to any position on Olympus. It was unclear how the gods on Olympus might view their status as bastards. In fact, divine society was not something that they were entirely sure of. They both had spent their whole lives on the island, which was limiting in terms of a worldly education.

However, their parentage nevertheless bestowed upon them an otherworldly beauty and power that set them apart even from the other gods.

Aegis was the son of Zeus and Gaia. From his parentage, he was tall and strong. His indigo skin shimmered in the dappled light filtering through the leaves above. He had hair that was the color of storm clouds; it fell, cascading in untamed waves around his shoulders. The striking resemblance to his father would have been undeniableifAegis ever were to go to Olympus. His eyes were pools of molten gold. He wore a tunic, made by Rhea.

Beside him was his half-sister. Eletheia was the daughter of Zeus and Rhea. She exuded a beauty that would rival any goddesses on Mount Olympus. Her skin was pale as a soft cloud on a sunny day. Her hair was the color of spun gold. There was an exquisite symmetry that framed her facial features. Her eyes were of the azure sky. Everything about her reflected the wisdom of her mother and the strength of her father. She wore a dress of crystal blue and silver made for her by Rhea.

As they listened to the conversation between Rhea and Gaia, the siblings exchanged glances of concern. Aegis motioned for Eletheia to come deeper into the forest. The sister complied all too willingly.

Aegis and Eletheia went to their own part of the forest. Aegis motioned to his sister, and she made a motion and a dome surrounded them to prevent others from listening in to them.

Aegis shook his head. "We're never going to be free of our mothers..." he said, trailing off sadly.

"What do you mean?" Eletheia asked, confused. "They were talking about Father."

Aegis considered the inquiry for a moment. He was not completely sure what to do. He did not like what he heard from those he had come to know as his mothers. This was all he had experienced in terms of life. A journey of dissatisfaction mingled with the words he had just heard to come together to make a potent mix in his heart.

"And why do you think that is?" Aegis asked rhetorically. "They want us to fight Father... We're just pieces in some weird game." He shook his head. "We're descended from the Great Progenitor, same as them. Eletheia, don't we deserve the chance to forge their own paths?"

Eletheia sat down by the trunk of a tree as Aegis leaned on another tree. Eletheis trusted Aegis. He had been her only friend on the island, so trusting him was as simple as breathing.

"We're just part of some scheme?" Eletheia asked back.

Aegis nodded. "I think so. We can't live our lives for them." He paused to look his half-sister in the eyes. "We need to live for ourselves."

"What would we do?" Eletheia asked.

"Leave," Aegis said succinctly.

---

Time had done much for Zeus. He had cultivated a few women to bear his children. Kids like Hermes or the Muses were harmless. After consuming Metis, however, Zeus was starting to see the advantage of cultivating a marriage. Both Ouranos and Cronos had a wife by their side.

The gods of Olympus wanted Zeus' attention. With him having fun, sharing the bed of many goddesses and titanesses, considering the layout of Olympus, and trying to anticipate the implications on the political landscape of Olympus was tiresome. He could not deal with the public dealings with his subjects.

He would need someone to work for him and his interest, but given how unique Metis was in her loyalty, he could not let his prospective partner know of his plans for the future.

Quickly, he discarded Hestia. She was too much in love with that stupid flame, and out of the three he was considering, she was the least attractive. Zeus knew, or at the very least suspected, that Hera had had sex with Hades, and while she was attractive enough, Zeus did not want his brother's discards. This left... Demeter.

Normally, he would not consider her. Some had called her a frigid bitch because she was the least interesting, middle daughter of Rhea. She had been overlooked because Hera was powerful with magic and bow, and Hestia was the eldest, so Dem was an afterthought at best; this could work out well for Zeus.

From the heights of his palace overseeing the rest of Mount Olympus, Zeus gazed down, scanning the assembly of gods coming and going among the beautiful splendor of his godly city. After a moment, he spotted Demeter.

Demeter commanded a certain attention with her striking appearance. Her own stories of how she had helped defeat Hyperion were spreading just as Zeus' victory over Cronos and Typhon.

He noticed that she was entirely like she had been in their youth. Her tanned skin was slowly gaining a green tinge that gave her a more leaf-like shine to her countenance. Her hair, which had always been an earthy brown, had developed a dark violet color near the roots and a few strands of silver at the top and sides of her hair. Regardless, the whole of her mane fell in luxurious waves down her back.

Her locks were bound in the back with the assistance of golden accessories. The clips only accentuated the natural, regal elegance that she possessed as one of the children of Rhea and Cronos.

This was part of her allure, and why Zeus could lower himself to have a relationship with her despite her chosen obscurity.

Clad in a flowing dress of white and purple, she had a familiarity about her that made her approachable by all of the other deities. What those other deities did not notice or perhaps were too good to bring up, her back bore the scars of battles from the Great War. Zeus could not be sure if it was a burn from Hyperion's Flame or if some lesser Titan had harmed her.

As Zeus watched, he was considering how it would look. The other gods could not complain at the match. In some ways, Demeter's love of agriculture and grain could be seen as a connection to Gaia. Gaia had been queen, but Demeter was not nearly as manipulative as Zeus' grandmother.

At that moment, Zeus felt there wassomethingintangible about Demeter. There was a quality to her that the others could accept, and she was attractive enough that he felt he could take her to bed.

That was an easy enough decision. Demeter could be his wife and bear him children, but that led him to his other, more private problem.

A nagging memory within Zeus, courtesy of Metis, reminded him that he would need to see the Moirai sooner or later.

There was time enough for that. For now, there was no rush, nor any danger. After Typhon, and his protectors in Cratus, Nike, Bia, and Zelus, Zeus was entirely untouchable.