Chapter Sixteen

## Sixteen

As the council meeting concluded, the gods did as they usually did; they drifted together in their cliques and socialized. They were family, and they could often go incredibly long periods between seeing one another as their interests spanned the entire world, so many sought to fill up on their social needs during these momentous council sessions, especially one that had the full Twelve and a significant portion of the Natural Order in attendance. It was even more monumental, considering it had been put together on short notice—with three recently injured members, no less.

Usually, most council meetings had between seven and nine members. While for matters of absolute importance, where there was no sense of urgency, a full council was preferred to conduct a session, but for most matters of less importance or where time was of the essence, a majority of seven, with at least one monarch; or a council of nine with no monarch, was all that was necessary.

When a meeting was required, a member of the Twelve or an appropriate delegate would issue the call via the Haven's aviary. Particular automata, designed by Hephaestus in the shapes of different birds, would fly out an aperture in the ceiling of the aviary, carrying messages. These mechanical messengers would then pierce the ether to appear in Elysium near the closest Ascension Chain to the god they had specifically been designed to home in on. By way of sophisticated essence tracking devices and having been built using arcane enchantments, they could locate their particular divinity. Upon finding their target, the automata would relay a simple short message and then take a simple response back to the aviary.

This time had been different, though. Many just happened to already be in the Haven, while others were known to be close to one of the twelve chained temples. Only Hermes, Dionysus, and Athena were at an unknown location when the call was sent out. Nike stumbled on Athena and Hermes when she chained down to Sparta to alert Hephaestus, Ares, and Aphrodite of the summons. It was a good thing she arrived when she did, as Ares had ordered the templars to seize Athena just moments before. Nike's arrival had temporarily defused an intense situation. The whole event was exceptionally fortuitous. The only automaton had to be dispatched: Poseidon's albatross.

Having realized that her mind had wandered away from her, Hera returned her attention to the matter. Athena was still yammering about how the Spartan Empire's officials had initially lied to the Republic of New Athens' officials about the airship fiasco. She simply could not be satisfied. Hera had immediately pulled Ares aside as the council meeting ended and specifically told him to accept that the airship had been hijacked for now as their petty squabbling was not an ideal situation to have at a time when a renegade Titan was on the loose and whatever else was going on with the recent heretical actions.

But even though Hera had personally steered her son into a conversation with Zeus and Athena, gift-wrapping her son's apology, Zeus' first daughter simply could not drop this issue. Instead, she had to highlight Ares' faults or paint his mistakes as an opportunistic power move to topple her precious dollhouse of a nation.

"So then do you concede then that the Imperial Council of Elders should issue an apologetic statement?" Athena asked, folding her hands and tapping her foot.

"No," said Ares, shaking his head. "I apologized to you and you seek to have my nation embarrass itself and yield to yours? Unacceptable," Ares said with contempt. "I have admitted that this action was likely the work of some Athenian separatists and I no longer put you or your nation at fault for the murder of dozens of Spartans. Yet, that is still not good enough for you."

"You lied about the Advancer having crashed originally," said Athena with a glare. "You accused us of having lost one of our own and yet… you knew full well that not only was that a lie, but your own empire had shot the ship down in the first place!"

"After it was attacking our sovereign people!" Ares barked back.

Zeus let out a sigh and stepped between the two. "Enough of this. Both of you. Athena, Ares admitted he was wrong earlier and now sees that this is work of heretics. He is not the Imperial Council of Elders and I doubt he counseled them to deceive the Republic. Even if he had, I believe it was in the interest of national security as the Advancer had attacked a town very close to a supposedly secret military installation."

Ares smirked and nodded, satisfied by seeing Athena get knocked down a peg by their father. Hera enjoyed seeing it, hiding her smile by drinking Nektar to mask her lips.

"And Ares," Zeus continued, turning his gaze upon his son and causing Hera's smile to disappear at once, "Grow up and stop being so damn stubborn. Accept a reasonable compromise even if it knicks your pride a bit to do so, especially when the compromise would save thousands of mortal lives that belong to our worshipers!"

Ares scoffed. "Alive or dead, what does it matter? They are still our worshippers if they are dead."

Athena slapped her face as Hera dropped her eyes and breathed a sigh into her Nektar.

Zeus smirked as his eyebrows lifted. "You still have not learned that the dead don't make sacrifices?"

Rolling his shoulders, Ares seemed unfazed by Zeus' insinuation. "No but the essence release from a violent death is captured by our worship retrieval efforts anyway."

Hera reached out and placed her hand on her son's sleeve. "Dear, let us not get into this conversation."

Listening to his mother, like the diligent son he was, Ares nodded and seemed poised to abide by Hera's direction. However, Athena would not let Ares off the hook so fast.

"Do you prefer to get your wine from the cask or puddles on the floor, brother?"

Ares took the bait with a scoff and accompanying smile. "A cask of course. Why?"

"Think of mortals as casks," she said as she manipulatively shifted her posture into a more relaxing posture with a less grating verbal tone, "and the wine inside would be their-"

"Blood?"

Athena sighed and shook her head. "No, but close, brother. Essence. Think of the wine contained inside the casks as essence. Now, casks come in all different sizes and shapes and likewise mortal bodies can store a certain amount of energy or essence, correct?"

Ares nodded, idly scratching his whiskered cheek. "I have heard as much. Priests or children contain more essence than a common criminal."

Athena bounced her head back and forth a bit. "More or less, but stick with me. Now, before wine can be made and the casks filled, we need to plant seeds, care for the crop, and harvest it. Then when we make the wine, we fill the cask and let it ferment. Now, that is the process by which a mortal gains essence. We plant the seeds of belief, we care for our worshipers, and then when they time comes we ask them to repay our care by making sacrifices for continued care. When mortals generate that worship specifically attuned to our needs, it's like we dip our glass into their cask and partake of a portion of that essence. If they are regular worshipers, it is as if the priests regularly top those casks off with a new batch of freshly fermented wine; but if we empty the cask, we can take a little time and effort to refill it, right?"

"Of course," said Ares, nodding.

"But if kick the cask over and shatter it on the floor? It's gone," she said with dramatic flair. Then, she smirked. "We can still slurp the wine off the floor. Sure. We can even sift through the remains of the cask and see if portions of wine are still among the curved scraps of the cask. But not only have we destroyed the cask, making it unusable thereafter and having a need to resort to licking wine out of the dirt, but the wine we drink has lost its taste, we've lost our dignity, and there is only so much we can get before it is soaked into the ground and lost to us forever," Athena eyed her brother for a long moment after this. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

Ares began to chuckle. "Not at all, but I do know I am thirsty now. Thank you, sister," he said with a sinister snicker as he strolled away to sidle up to Dionysus as both made the trip to the Nektar font together.

Athena rolled her eyes and looked at her father. "Certainly he is proof of Hera's own infidelity."

Swallowing her mouth full of Nektar, Hera shot a glare at Athena. "I am right here."

"I am aware."

Hera's brow furrowed more. It took considerable restraint to not tap into her eldritch, primal essence and attempt to turn Athena's nose into something more resembling a swine's snout. Then Hera decided that what Athena needed was not cosmetic tweaking but some harsh schooling. "Speaking of infidelity," Hera said, resting her flute of Nektar near her chin. "As we were just discussing Pandora, maybe you would like to comment on your involvement in her creation?"

Athena sucked her lower lip into her mouth, narrowed her eyes, turned, and walked away.

Declaring victory, Hera turned to Zeus with a smile, but her husband did not reciprocate. Instead, Zeus shook his head at his wife, compelling her to ask, "What?"

Zeus let out a long sigh. "Kalliste was my granddaughter. I do not appreciate your disrespecting her memory by mocking what her mother did in her grief. And let us remember the identity of the other part of that engagement. Our son."

Hera narrowed her gaze at Zeus. "Not here. Not now."

"I could not agree more," and having said that, Zeus walked away.

Hermes stood facing his throne, watching Pan shift about on the goatskin seat. The satyr was trying to find a comfortable seating position and failing miserably. "It's not really comfortable," he said. "I don't know how you do it."

"I don't think it's meant to be that comfortable," said Hermes. "We're not meant to sleep in them."

"Doesn't stop him," he said, motioning across the chamber to where the sea god Poseidon was fast asleep on his throne.

Hermes chuckled and nodded. "We're not meant to sleep in them. That doesn't mean that some of us don't do it," he chuckled. "His invitation probably disturbed one of his naps or something."

Pan hopped off the throne and chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't know if I could do this whole 'Council of Twelve' thing," he confessed. "Better you than me then," he said as he strutted away, prompting Hermes to follow him at a relaxed pace over to the font. There, Pan produced a wood-carved cup from his satchel and scooped Nektar. He then turned to face Hermes as the god also helped himself to the drink made from celestial honey. "So, where do you go from here?"

"Good question," said Hermes as he stroked his chin. "My investigation still continues, but I need to decide which lead to pursue first."

Pan raised an eyebrow. "I thought your assignment had been to prevent war and from what I can see, you did just that."

Hermes shrugged and sighed. "Maybe so, but it still feels incomplete."

"How so?" asked Pan, sampling the Nektar with a quick sip and then approving with a broad and wet grin crossing his lips.

"I do not know why the navigator's corpse was defiled," said Hermes, apparently plucking the first thought from his mind and putting it into words, "or who that woman was that attacked me."

Pan nodded as he swallowed his Nektar, letting the fluid warm his eldritch body from the inside. Nektar did not make the gods drunk like many mortals assumed; no, the gods could enjoy the recreational thrills of alcohol and other intoxicants just as mortals could and were prone to do so. Instead, the effect Nektar had on their body was mainly nourishing. Infused with the essence of pure creation, the gods felt more robust and faster when on a Nektar high, causing their minds to surge with extrasensory information. It was like it put them in touch with their surroundings intimately. While the thrill of this could be equated to the buzz of alcohol, as some mortals described it, it was much more intimate for the gods. And as Nektar had a way of being absorbed into every fiber of the god's being, mixing Nektar with wine or other intoxicants only made the high that much more intense.

"It sounds like she was a goddess," added Pan, "based on what Athena said."

Hermes looked at Pan and nodded. "I have not spoken to Athena concerning what happened exactly. I was taken immediately to Asclepius for treatment..."

"Well, maybe now is your chance," said Pan, noting Athena breaking away from her conversation with Hera.

Hermes glanced over his shoulder and saw the goddess. Then, with a head motion, he invited Pan to follow his lead, and the two cut Athena off from exiting the throne room.

"Hermes. Pan," Athena addressed each of them. "Can I help you?"

"What happened with the one who shanked me," Hermes said with a smirk, "and stole my caduceus?"

"I gave chase. We fought. She attacked me with this strange device. Then before I could get a good look at her, she flew out the skylight of the temple," Athena said in a brief summary. "Oh, and... I have your caduceus," she confessed. "I wrestled it from her," she said to Hermes' relief. "I gave it to Hephaestus to make sure she hadn't damaged it while clobbering me with it."

Hermes sighed and nodded but then had a sudden moment to pause. "She flew?" asked Hermes, his interest piqued.

Athena nodded. "Yes, brother."

"Was she wearing a flight device or was this air manipulation?" asked Hermes.

"It was dark," Athena said, "but I didn't notice any flight device. Still… when she launched off, it reminded me of your talaria."

Hermes nodded. "I am sure it was wind essence manipulation then," he eyed Pan and sighed. "I was afraid of that. That will make it harder to identify her. She could be any number of air nymphs, such as a member of the aurae."

The mention of the aurae filled Pan's mind with the mental picture of the beautiful frost nymphs. He took a sip of his Nektar as he did so and allowed the Nektar to make the imagined thought all the more vivid.

"Well, there was something else she said," said Athena. She then cleared her throat and spoke with a strange register, clearly attempting to feign a voice that was not hers and doing a poor job. *"You'll have to catch me... but this time, I won't be so easy, as I have dozens of limbs now."*

"Arachne?" asked Pan.

"Maybe," Athena said, then after a long moment, she shook her head. "I thought that at first, too. But, I mean, it's possible. She does hate me and the family… and she's more or less a heretic herself and could definitely be sympathetic to their cause. But I don't think it's her."

"Why?" asked Hermes, sipping his Nektar.

"It just didn't feel like her," Athena said with significant doubt in her voice. "Whoever this was knew how to fight... like exceptionally well."

"Better than a Goddess of War?" asked Hermes, raising an eyebrow.

"Goddess of Strategy," Athena corrected him.

"Who could it be then?" asked Pan.

Hermes had the answer before Athena. "You are afraid it's Mnemosyne, aren't you?"

The mention of the Titaness' name caused Pan to shudder. His Nektar-swollen mind recalled her haunting face vividly, and with it, he thought back to the usurpation so long ago. Mnemosyne had been the Titan put in charge of interrogating Hera after her capture by Kronos. Hera's own formidable power allowed her to resist the Titanic onslaught of Mnemosyne, but it was only a matter of time before she would break, and so the gods launched an attack to draw the Titans into battle and allow Hermes and Pan to lead a small rescue team into the Haven to rescue Hera.

That rescue had consisted most notably of Ares, Athena, and Hephaestus. While Pan and Hermes were simply meant to lead the team into the secret entrance the mischievous young gods had discovered, Hephaestus came to get them access into the Haven by bypassing systems and alarms. Hephaestus stayed in a supply room with Hermes and Pan to protect them while Ares and Athena went in to complete the rescue operation.

Pan only heard about what happened later. As he recalled, Ares and Athena had a little problem navigating the Haven. However, as most of the Titans were busy defending the Haven from the gods' assault, and thus the two were able to explore the Haven unmolested. Some mortals served the Titans, primarily guards, servants, and concubines, but none stood a chance against the determined deities. Most kept a wide berth as Ares and Athena slew any that crossed their path.

When they found the chamber in which Hera had to be kept in, they attempted to rescue her but found her catatonic, trapped in a nightmare as part of Mnemosyne's interrogation of her. When they decided to carry Hera out of there, Mnemosyne discovered the intrusion and blocked their exit. Unfortunately, though, Titaness was unaware of the three gods in the supply room. After hearing the intense scuffle in the corridor, the trio managed to sneak behind the Titaness and distract her, thus allowing Ares and Athena to strike.

Though violence was not Mnemosyne's forte, she was still a Titaness, and her power proved to be more than a match for a young Ares and Athena, as this was before they had been endowed with their purview. But unfortunately, their opportunity was unexpectedly shut down by the surprisingly deft Titaness. Hermes and Hephaestus rescued Hera as the warrior gods kept the Titan engaged. But Pan stayed behind, unwilling to leave Ares and Athena to the Titaness' whims.

Mnemosyne blasted Ares and Athena down a corridor, disarming them. She then opened her hands and conjured fierce blades of entropic power. As she moved in to finish the gods off, Pan let out a pitched wail intended to be a battle scream as he charged forward and rammed his tiny horns into the Titaness' backside.

The Titaness' rather shapely buttocks were unharmed, but her pride took a blow. With a snarl of rage, the Titaness turned around and skewered the satyr with her blades, lifting him off the floor and causing him to scream out in pain as the crackling blades shot their entropic essence into his tiny body, threatening to dissolve him from the inside.

Then amid all this agony, Pan looked into Mnemosyne's eyes and smiled. He saw that which she could not. He saw his salvation as Ares and Athena looked at one another with knowing glances and attacked in perfect synchronicity. Striking the Titaness' shoulders with their reclaimed weaponry, Ares and Athena lopped the arms off, causing the essence channeled through them to dissipate and drop the injured Pan to the floor.

As the gods returned to their base camp, the four gods carried a trophy. Ares dragged the armless Titaness out by her bound legs, Hephaestus carried his mother, Athena cradled Pan in her arms, and Hermes swung the severed arms about as if they were toys.

Back in the present, Athena nodded. "I am speaking of Mnemosyne," said Athena. "She has something against both Ares and me."

Pan sighed. "I hope it's not her, because then she may be coming for me too."

"She might already," said Hermes, stroking his chin and drinking his Nektar. "These satyr slayings... I am concerned, due to the timing of all this. These nymph and satyr killings may be connected to Epimetheus, the situation with the Advancer, and this mysterious woman that attacked us. If it is Mnemosyne, perhaps she is hunting satyrs and nymphs, hoping to get to you."

"It can't be Mnemosyne, though," said Pan, shaking his head. He had to believe that it was impossible. However, the alternative was too unsettling for him to consider. "She is still in Tartarus, right?"

"Last I heard," said Hermes. "Maybe that is where I should go next."

"Tartarus?" asked Pan.

"Yeah. Want to come?"

Pan scoffed and drank from his wooden cup.

"How about you?"

Athena looked at Hermes. She had an expression of surprise and then replaced it with a look of concern. "I do not know. I should probably return to Acropolis. I am not certain I can trust Ares to not agitate matters further and cause a new border war," she glanced over to the Nektar font where Ares and Dionysus were idly chatting.

"You'll need to get your caduceus back from Hephaestus," Pan said, nodding before drinking.

Hermes looked about the throne room, concerned.

"What?" asked Athena, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you know where Hephaestus got off to?" the god asked.

"Probably went to his workshop," said Pan, smirking. He was proud that his answer seemed perfectly acceptable.

Hermes sighed and nodded. "If he took the caduceus to his workshop then it probably is in need of repairs," he said with a sigh, slumping his shoulders. "No bother," he said with a smirk. "I have another idea. Come on."

Athena raised her eyebrow. "What are you up to?"

"I'm going to the Underworld and you two are coming with me," replied Hermes, grinning like a fool.

"Uh-uh," said Pan, shaking his head.

"Come on. You know you want to see if the Titan is still in Tartarus… It will make you feel better."

Pan rolled his eyes. "And if she's not there, how will I feel then?"

Hermes did not answer that; his eyes had already focused on his sister. She looked unconvinced, with folded arms and a cold glare on her brow. Hermes scoffed. "Don't be like that. Come on! Live a little! I promise father won't let Ares blow up your nation while you're gone."

## Characters

### Gods

* Hera
* Athena
* Ares
* Zeus
* Hermes
* Pan