Old Wounds

Few gods were more feared than the Kraken. The ferocious god of the sea was a mighty warrior armed with a magical weapon and legendary rage. Strength, aggression, and martial arms had gotten him so far. There was no denying it, but his unsung intelligence made Poseidon a truly devastating deity to oppose.

Poseidon's strength and anger a chronicled in many tales. His part in the overthrowing of the Titans is a crucial element of the doctrine of the Faith. His trident is a symbol of both righteous rule and absolute authority. His sexual virility is famed among brothels, especially in coastal regions where whores and priests alike speak of him as a more prolific lover than even Zeus. However, much less emphasis is placed on his sensitive and artistic side.

It is easy to see why. Ruler of the Waves. God of Water. God of the Sea. God of Storms. God of Disasters. God of Destruction. The Earth-Shaker. The Kraken. The artist? One of these epithets does not fit a particular image, but that does not mean it was less accurate. Much like the water over which he ruled, Poseidon was a man who was wrathful and dangerous when troubled but was also capable of being gentle, calm, and beautiful to behold. He had hidden depths not seen on the surface. He was a warrior with the soul of a poet.

Elysium was a chance to reshape one's legend. Poseidon could have embraced this opportunity, but the loss of Amphitrite in the exodus left Poseidon more wrathful than he had ever been. Though this served the Olympians well in the Elysian Campaign, it doomed Poseidon to play the part of the Kraken once again.

Poseidon dwelled on this sort of thing as he stood on the bridge of an airship. With his arms folded and brow furrowed, the sea god felt a sense of seclusion. Standing in this manner, Poseidon was rarely disturbed. Only gods dared inquire about the workings of Poseidon's mind, and only a few of the divine ever bothered to do so.

"What's on your mind, uncle?" asked one such divinity.

Poseidon relaxed his arms, adjusted his topcoat, and shuffled his feet. Poseidon averted his eyes from the observation aperture, turning to face the goddess. "Athena," he said with a stern tone and only a hint of a smirk buried deep in his long beard. "I was..." he began but stopped, remembering her ability to detect lies. "I was engaged in self-reflection."

Athena chuckled as she adjusted her glasses. She walked closer to gaze outside the aperture. "That is an inspiring sight, uncle. I can see what might have provoked such rumination."

"Indeed," he said as he wiped his brow, stroking his hand over his clean-shaven scalp. The sea god then folded his arms and looked at the eldest child of Zeus as she stepped back from the aperture. "Quite the marvel you have built."

"We built," Athena corrected him with a smirk and a wink.

Once upon a myth, Athena and Poseidon were bitter rivals. Though they had been allies, such as during the Trojan War, the two had intense feuds over the patronage of city-states, the fate of Medusa, and their influence over Zeus. But that was no longer the case. It was all water under the bridge. With Elysium serving as a fresh start, Athena went to her uncle about leaving their past grievances behind them; and Poseidon pushed it further, suggesting they collaborate on a unique project that would challenge both of them.

If he were being honest, Poseidon was partially motivated to suggest combining their talents to test his niece's sincerity. Athena's pet project at the time, the Republic of Athens, struggled to keep itself defended from incursions from the Empire of Sparta. Meanwhile, Poseidon's island nation of Atlantis prospered in seclusion. Poseidon feared his niece may have approached him as a political ploy to leverage Atlantis into a mutual war against Sparta. However, he was pleased to find that Athena's act of contrition was just her embracing the redemptive spirit of Elysium.

Many years after putting their troubled past behind them, the god and goddess designed the great Elysian airships. Then, nearly a century later, they were here, on the bridge of the newly built flagship of the Athenian Republic's Sky Navy, the ARS Aegis - named for Athena's great relic shield.

"Yes, well, you did most of the work," Poseidon said with a humble nod. "Actually, I dare say your Republic's engineers are the true heroes here," he said in a manner that many a mortal would consider heresy to hear if it had not come out of the mouth of the divine.

Athena raised an eyebrow, paused, and scanned her surroundings. Then, once assured that no mortal ear had heard such blasphemy, she turned back to her uncle and shook her head. "Caution, uncle. We mustn't challenge the mortals' belief that we provide the providence they seek and inspiration that allows them to thrive."

Poseidon let out a long sigh and turned his gaze to the aperture and the beauty beyond it. In the distance, the sun was setting behind the red-faced cliffs known as Mars' Shield. He knew his time on this test flight was nearing its end but was uncertain if that was a comfort or a concern. Pushing that thought aside, he returned to the words of his niece. From the corner of his eye, he could see that she was still expecting his reply. He owed her at least a thoughtful response.

Atlantis' isolation gave the island nation a more secular view of the gods' divine nature than in other parts of the world. Even the progressive Republic of Athens was seen as a zealous theocracy by Atlantean natives. Much of this was owed to Poseidon's style of governance. He was not a politician like Zeus or a diligent taskmaster like Hades. Poseidon did not enjoy being shackled, and he tried not to subject his people to the same. But Poseidon's laissez-faire leadership was not the only explanation for the Atlantean free-thinkers.

Much of Atlantis was founded by the devout mortals that made the exodus from Earth. The island that would become known as New Atlantis had been the gods' original staging ground for their invasion of this world. After the invasion, the Quorum decided that these relics of another world should be sequestered from the remainder of Elysium, mortals included. Poseidon volunteered to govern these people, having grown fond of the island's remote place among the sea.

"I give credit where it is due," Poseidon said after a lengthy pause. "Some truths are harsher than others," he added as he met his niece's gaze without flinching. "Forgive me for being blunt, but that is who I am. That is the role I was meant to play. You are the strategist. I am the weapon."

Athena almost bought that but shook her head after giving it her consideration. "You are no mere blunt instrument, uncle," she said as she adjusted her glasses and chuckled at some unspoken joke. Then, looking back to Poseidon, she shifted her posture, presenting herself now with authority and insight, befitting the goddess of wisdom and reason. "You claim you cannot act up your divinity as the Quorum, of which you are a member, has decreed we must look for our survival. However, you also play up the role of the dour destroyer to perfection when there is more to you... You have depths, uncle. The people of Atlantis know it to be true. Demeter knows it. Triton knows it. I know it."

"Maybe," said Poseidon, side-eyeing the aperture as he saw the ship veer toward the Athenian capital. Docking procedures would now be prepared across the airship by its crew. The sound of distant shouts confirmed this. The sound reminded him of his son, Triton, a stalwart ship captain if ever there was one. "When is the last time you spoke to him?"

Athena scoffed. "Changing the subject, are we? Look at you being all strategic and political," she giggled. "I told you. You are more savvy than you like to admit," she said, poking his chest with her prodding finger.

Brushing her hand aside gently, Poseidon did his best to suppress a chuckle and appear stoic but was only somewhat successful. "You are evading the question as well, niece."

"You first," Athena said with a smirk. "I mean... how does that old adage go, again? Age before beauty?"

Poseidon chuckled. He could not argue with that logic. He was an elder god, outdating nearly all the other deities of Elysium other than Hestia, Hades, and the truly ancient ones that survived the exodus. As for Athena, she was one of the three that shared the honor of being the goddess of beauty. Poseidon gave her what she sought with a simple nod when his smile faded into his beard. "I am not often seen as an enigmatic sphinx, niece... but you are not wrong to say that I am more multifaceted than appearances suggest."

"That sounds like Amphitrite," Athena said, invoking the name of Poseidon's lost wife. Hearing her name hit him hard. It always did. Athena could be permitted to speak that name in his presence, though. She knew Amphitrite better than most others. After all, Athena had been the mother of Amphitrite's first grandchild.

"It should," he admitted. "Those are her words... Now, let's hear your words," he said as his body instinctively shifted with the jostling of the ship as its speed decreased and elevation changed.

Grabbing a rail for stability, Athena stood her ground like a seasoned sailor of the skies but lacked the uncanny seamanship of Poseidon. As she bore the brunt of the adjustments, she seemed distracted for a moment. "Remind me-"

"When is the last time you spoke with Triton?" asked Poseidon, his arms folded.

"We consult often," she said with a nod, glancing at the aperture.

"When is the last you spoke without the presence of counselors, advisors, and attendants?" he probed further, his brow furrowing.

Athena paused, sucking on her lower lip. She weighed how much she wished to say. "What is there to discuss?" the goddess asked. She brushed some hair off her face and leaned her forearms on the rail. She let out a long sigh, punctuated with a chuckle. "I mention your depths and now you try to dive into mine? I see your angle, old one."

Poseidon stepped closer to her, leaning on the same rail beside her. His head shifted to eye her profile. "He still loves you."

"And I him..." she said, avoiding eye contact and staring straight ahead. "I always will... but it's difficult to love him."

"Because he's my son?" Poseidon asked with a half-chuckle.

Athena shook her head. "No," she was quiet as she smirked briefly. "Triton takes after his mother."

Poseidon scoffed and nodded, chuckling with his niece and former daughter-in-law.

Letting out a long sigh, Athena finally turned her head to eye the sea god. "It's difficult to love him because when we are alone, and I see his face or hear his voice, I cannot help but imagine Kalliste standing beside him."

Poseidon let out a troubled breath. He put one hand on Athena's shoulder and nodded. "I have heard an eerily similar sentiment before."

Raising an eyebrow, Athena tried to deduce what her uncle was hinting at, but she could not be sure. "Did Persephone say as much when she lost Zagreus?"

The god shook his head. "Nay... Triton says the same about you."

Her amber eyes popped open at this confession, but Athena hid her shock by turning away to adjust her glasses. "I find that hard to believe."

"It is the truth," Poseidon said, letting out a long breath as he looked forward, gazing at nothing in particular.

"He left me."

"He was grieving."

"So was I."

"I'm not saying he was right to do it," said Poseidon as the nails of his right hand scratched the palm of the other. "I told him he should have taken you with him."

"He tried."

Poseidon's hands went still. His head shifted. His eyes measured the goddess of justice. "Why did you not join him?"

She let out a long sigh. "I was a Princess of Olympus. I still am. My place is with the Olympian people."

Poseidon nodded, but he sensed she was withholding something else. "And?" he asked, probing her for the whole truth.

"My place was with Kalliste."

"Kalliste was dead," he said with his usual brutal brand of honesty.

"I was grieving, too," she replied. "Triton sailed away to give himself the distance to forget her. I chose to mourn her and swore to always remember her."

"He did not forget her," Poseidon promised.

"No," said Athena, shaking her head. The ship lurched and croaked as it slid into the dock and the enormous mechanical clamps took hold of it. "But he tried," she said as she shifted her arms, placing her palms on the rail and pushing herself up and off. "And that is what I find most hurtful."

The goddess then strolled away, adjusting her wardrobe as she prepared to disembark into the eager mass of journalists ready to cover the story and grab a quote or two from the Republic's patron goddess.

Poseidon's calloused hands massaged one another as he watched the goddess reconvene with her crew and review some paperwork before her departure. Before their rivalry, Poseidon had a good relationship with Athena. Imprisoned in Tartarus together since her birth, Poseidon had been the one to teach Athena to fight with a spear and shield, as was his fighting style before he had acquired his legendary trident. They only grew closer with her marriage to Triton and her birthing of Kalliste.

Kalliste's death had sent shockwaves among the Olympians. Of course, it hit Triton and Athena the hardest. But where Athena had the comfort of her Olympian family, Triton retreated. By the time he was prepared to discuss it, Athena had unintentionally soured most of the Olympian court against him. Poseidon and Amphitrite supported their son, but few others outside the Court of the Waves heard Triton's side of things. It seemed Athena was no different, even after all this time.

Poseidon had to wonder if his perceived strong and silent demeanor had a part in Triton's treatment. Had the gods and goddesses just assumed Triton was his father's son, one who would sooner sail away and be left alone until he was prepared to handle things on his terms? Perhaps. However, Poseidon could only dwell on what Athena had said moments before. *No, Triton takes after his mother.*

Thinking on this matter only dampened the god's mood. Channeling that, he pushed off the rail and joined Athena as she disembarked, greeting the reporters with the look of the intense god they were expecting to find.

## Characters

### Gods

* Poseidon
* Athena