Chapter Text
“Ecce, non voleban esse semideum.”
…
“Mount Olympus?” Perseus asked his Latin teacher, “Is there really a palace up there?”
“Not anymore, Perseus. The home of the gods, the convergence point of their power, has moved- just as the gods have. And they're now here. In Vesperia.”
Perseus was dumbfounded. He had never truly believed in the gods...
He was twelve, and his life up to that point had been shitty enough to make him think that, if the gods were even there, they didn't care...
...the sight of his mother as she was murdered by the Minotaur right in front of him was the most recent, most compelling proof of that...
“The gods of the West move with the Heart of the West...” Chiron continued.
“The what? You mean the Flame?”
“Yes, Perseus. The Fire started in Egypt, and there it burned brightly for thousands of years. It became the Flame of the West when Alexander the Great became the new Pharaoh and claimed it for the Hellenistic world as the conquering son of Zeus...
Then it moved to Mount Olympus- the first translatio of the Flame.
Only two centuries later it moved again...”
“The conquest of Greece...”
“Precisely. The legions took Corinth, and the victors took the Flame to Roma...
...there it has remained for over two thousand years.
But now... The Eternal City is no longer the heart of the Roman world, Perseus- though it has spread Roman civilization to distant corners of the world, even to this hemisphere. The modern West is Roman but, like it or not, its seat of power has moved to Vesperia- and the gods with it.”
“It was because of the War...” Perseus guessed.
“Yes. The Second Germanian War...
Sixty years ago the Empire nearly fell, while the Vesperian Republic was left untouched by the war, with the Sea of Atlas between it and Roma...
Unfortunately, Roma and Vesperia has been locked in the Cold War with the powers of the East ever since...”
The East. The Enemy. The Yellow Peril...
Perseus had been brought up with the propaganda of the West his whole life- like two generations of Vesperians had been before he was even born...
“Does that mean...”
Perseus was shivering- and he had recently killed the Minotaur...
“...that their gods are real, too?”
“Of course. Zeus is the ruling god of the West. You know who the ruling god of the East is...” Chiron said, clearly expecting Perseus to pass that test, as well...
Perseus answered, dread in his voice...
“The Jade Emperor...”
…
“But Zeus and Poseidon had, like, a bazillion kids in the old days,” Perseus said, thinking of what Chiron had told him about Alexander the Great being a demigod, “why are their cabins empty?”
Silvius the satyr shifted his hooves uncomfortably...
“Sixty years ago, after the Germanian Wars...” he began, “the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes...
...their children were just too powerful, you see; they were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage...
...it was only a matter of time before one of them started another war, bringing as much devastation to this world as he did...”
Him.
The leader of the Germanian rebels- the man who nearly toppled the Empire...
The son of Wotan...
Thunder boomed in the sky...
“The Big Three swore an oath on the river Styx: no more affairs with mortal women...”
More thunder followed...
…
Thunder rumbled across the valley.
The storm clouds had reached the edge of the beach...
“Zeus and Poseidon,” Perseus guessed, “are fighting over something valuable... something that was stolen, aren't they?”
Chiron and Silvius exchanged looks.
The centaur sat forward in his wellchair...
“How do you know that?”
Perseus' face turned hot...
“Well, the weather has been weird since Saturnalia, like the sea and the sky are fighting... Then I talked to Annabeth and she overheard something about a theft, and... I've also been having these dreams...”
“It is his quest!” Silvius blurted out excitedly.
“Hush.” Chiron shot him down, “Only the Oracle can determine that.”
The centaur stroke his briskly beard...
“Nevertheless, you are correct, Perseus; Zeus and Poseidon are having their worst fight in centuries. Something valuable was stolen...
...a lightning bolt, to be precise.”
Perseus laughed, nervously, “A what?”
“Do not take this lightly! I'm not talking about some tin-foil covered zigzag in a school play- I'm talking about a two foot long cylinder of high grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives...
...Zeus' master bolt! The symbol of his power, from which all other lighting bolts are patterned.
The first weapon made by the Cyclops for the Titanomachy- the bolt that ended the war by shearing off the top of Mount Etna and hurling Chronos from his throne.
The master bolt- which packs enough power to make modern hidrogen bombs look like firecrackers! Quite possibly the only weapon in existence that keeps the armies of the Jade Emperor at bay...”
“And it's missing?”
“Stolen.” Chiron said.
“By whom?”
“By you.
At least” the centaur held up a hand, “that's what Zeus thinks...
During Saturnalia, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon were having an argument. Afterwards the king realized his master bolt had been stolen- taken from the throne room, under his very nose- and immediately blamed Poseidon...
Zeus believes Poseidon convinced a mortal hero to do it for him. He just wasn't sure which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt...
And then you show up, Perseus Iasonicus!
Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son and you were in Nova Eboracum during Saturnalia: you could have easily snuck into Olympus-”
“But I've never been there! This is madness! We don't even know if my father is guilty... right?”
Chiron sighed...
“Most gods agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style... but your father is too proud to convince Zeus of that. Now they both demand the crisis be solved within the summer soltice- or it's going to be war...
The summer solstice is eleven days before the Kalends of July- ten days from now...
And now that you have entered the picture, neither god will back down.”
It started to rain.
Perseus had never felt angrier in his life...
...the whole castra was going to be punished for something he didn't even do?
Weren't the gods supposed to be better than this?
“What better peace offering” Chiron said, “than to have the son of Poseidon return the stolen bolt to Zeus and clear his father's name?”
“But how can I possibly find this thing!?”
“I believe I know where to look for it...
…
“So, let me get this straight: I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead...”
“Yes...”
“...find the most powerful weapon in the universe...”
“Yes...”
“...and get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice- in ten days!”
“That's about right. Two companions may accompany you. Silvius is one, the other has already volunteered- if you will accept her help-”
“Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this!?”
The air shimmered behind Chiron.
Annabeth appeared, as she removed her helm of invisibility.
“I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Aqualad. I could care less about clearing your father's name- but this is about saving the world. I'm not letting you or anyone mess this up!”
Annabeth Eltimadur Athenasdottir had the signature curly blond hair and light grey eyes of a Vinlandian- a far cry from from Perseus' Roman black hair and green eyes...
Her looks were the main reason (apart from her athletic physique and headstrong demeanor) why Perseus felt uneasy around her...
...she looked a bit too much like one of those Germanian savages- you know, the northern ogres who were the terror of Roman children, who have been the sworn enemies of Roma for the past two millennia...
It didn't help that she spoke Latin (but not ancient Greek) with a heavy Norse accent.
“If you say so...” Perseus said.
“Do you want my help or not?” She shot back, sounding like a Viking eager to go on a raid.
“A trio. That'll work- I hope...”