Mountain of the Immortals

When we got back to where the miners were, we saw only the minimum number of guards stationed there. When she questioned them, Artemis found out that the miners had all left the mountain to help with the preparations. We hadn't explicitly ordered them to do that, and it was great to see that they’d taken their own initiative at a time when it was needed.

As we got closer to the exit of the mines, we came across hundreds of people. Most of them were too young, too old, or otherwise unable to fight. The large metal cart the pygmy blacksmiths had created was going back and forth, constantly bringing more people in. The caverns that had been cleared of monsters and prepared for the civilians were getting crowded now, but we were informed that most of them had already arrived.

Most of our town’s people were able to fight, but Dion had a fair share of people who couldn't, which was why I didn’t recognize many faces among those who came to worship us as we made our way out of the mines. Since they wouldn’t be joining us in the main square before the fight, I decided I should stick around for a few minutes and say some comforting words to them.

I had nothing prepared, but it wasn’t too hard to put their minds at ease. This wasn’t the first time that some of them had been sent into the mines for their own safety, and they had already done a great job of easing everyone else's spirits. As afraid as most of them were, having other people tell them that this was just a precautionary measure helped them a lot.

Trying to build on that, I stressed that what we were trying to do was ensure no lives at all were lost in the coming battle. For this reason, it was of paramount importance that those that could not defend themselves or heal others stay away from the battlefield. And there was no safer place for them than the inside of Mount Olympus.

Having reassured them of this, and leaving them truly believing that this was only a very temporary situation—as we would definitely win the battle—we left the mines and split up to take care the last of the tasks we had to carry out in preparation for the attack.

The sun was now setting, and I knew we had less than fifteen hours now before the enemy reached us. First, I made sure that all the preparations on the mountainsides had been completed, that the traps and alarms had been set up, and that our people had all returned to the town.

Knowing that this part was done, I was able to put the town into full defensive mode. I accessed the town's overview and selected the walls. When I activated them, they began to emerge from the ground with a sound that was a lot milder than I would have expected from thousands of tons of stone and metal, and the walls were raised higher than ever before. The people of our town were forced to light their torches slightly earlier than usual, since the sun's rays could no longer reach their homes. But their sighs of relief upon seeing the majestically large walls around us more than made up for the premature loss of daylight.

The next order of business was making sure the magic thunder coils were also extended out of the walls. This process was a lot quicker and almost silent, though perhaps whatever sound there was got lost on its way down to the ground since the walls now reached quite some distance above us. The coils didn’t look as menacing from below but I knew that their range was large enough to strike anyone on the ground, outside or even inside our perimeter.

The garrisons on top of the walls began lighting fires along their length, creating a long halo of flames around our city. The golden dragon heads reflected some of the fiery light, making them look even more menacing than they did during the day. On the one hand, I hoped we wouldn’t need to use them, but on the other, I’d have liked to see them in action—to see the destruction they would wreak upon our enemies.

I went through the general formation of the soldiers with Ares once more and made sure that all of the lieutenants knew exactly where and when to go in every possible battle scenario. It was important that we were ready for anything the enemy might throw at us and this was where my prior knowledge of Cronus's military capabilities came in handy.

Since I knew the approximate number of flying battalions—and added a fair bit more to my estimations since I was sure my father was hiding a lot of things from us— ground troops, and nautical vessels, we placed our warriors in the most efficient positions we could think of. And with an idea of the monsters and creatures in Cronus's armies from the information our operatives managed to procure, we were also able to select the best equipment for the job.

All of the magic items, weapons, and equipment that our pygmies had crafted, that Aphrodite had purchased, and that our altar had manifested had been handed out to our troops. And we had expended our considerable amounts of ambrosia on our best healers. This way, if they were targeted and fell, they would at least have a second chance at healing themselves and resurrecting more warriors before it was too late.

Another task that needed to be taken care of was talking to the harbormasters, both in Dion and up here on Olympus. Neither of them were happy about the situation they found themselves in, but that was a good thing as a compromise was exactly what we needed in order to make this work.

Dion's harbormaster was displeased because he wasn’t able to bring all the ships through the portal to the top of the mountain, which meant that some of them had to be sent away. Our harbormaster on the other hand wasn’t very happy about the lake being crowded with ships, since it would make maneuvering around it quite difficult. But I couldn't have been happier with the result of our efforts.

The last thing on my list before I retired for the day was informing the troops that they all needed a good rest and that I wanted to talk to them before the enemies arrived, close to sunrise. It was important that they all heard what I had to say—the conviction of the person in charge had been a deciding factor in many battles.

I was sure that the armies of Cronus were fighting because they’d been ordered to by their deity, an absent god that just sent them to their deaths in his glory. My people would not fight because they were told to. They would fight because they wanted to.

This was a fight for their lives, for the lives of those they loved, for their homes, and for the glory of Mount Olympus. For the gods that fought beside them, risking their lives to protect them. And it was imperative that they heard about this before the fight. With that in mind, I retreated to our manor and tried to fall asleep.

As hard as it had been to fight the magma golems and elementals in the endless waves dungeon, it was nothing compared with attempting to fall asleep knowing that there was a big battle ahead of us. At least down there, I could focus all of my attention on killing whatever monster was headed for Hephaestus.

In my bed, however, there was nothing I could focus on besides my own worries and anticipation. Was I too cocky to think that we had nothing to fear from the incoming armies? And even if I was, would that have changed anything?

Thinking of everything we’d done in preparation, retracing our lines of thinking and conversations, I couldn't come up with a single thing I would have done differently. I had absolute confidence in the defenses of our town and guild core. I knew that the massive amounts of stored MP would be crucial to the outcome of the battle and that everyone had done their best.

But then why was I not able to sleep? This was going to be just another battle. One that would ultimately bring us closer to my end goal: revenge for my siblings and ending Cronus's reign of terror.

"You can't sleep, dear?" Aphrodite asked, coming into the room while brushing her long hair.

"I'm trying to," I said, turning onto my back, "but sleep won't take me."

"Are you worried about tomorrow?"

"Not terribly worried about the battle," I said, "but that’s what's worrying me the most."

Aphrodite sat on the edge, looking at me as she continued brushing.

"You're worried that you're not feeling worried?", she asked.

"Kind of, yes. I’m confident about everything we’ve done so far and no matter how hard I think about it, I can't find anything I would have done differently. At least not with the information we have right now."

"I think this is a turning point for you," Aphrodite said, and then placed her comb on a bedside table before laying her head on my shoulder. "You are becoming more detached from situations, at least your emotions are. I know that can be worrying."

"It's not that I don't care," I mumbled.

"No," Aphrodite continued, and focused on me. "It's not that you don't care. But you see things from a higher perspective now, one that knows feelings can only cloud your judgment. You are becoming a true leader and king of gods. It is normal that that would frighten you."

"I'm not scared of it,” I protested.

“Yet here you are,” she said, raising her eyebrows as if making a point, “not being able to sleep because you worry that you’re not worrying enough. Change is hard, but I think this change is making you better."

I mulled over her last words. They did seem to make sense and actually explained why I was so unsettled even though I was certain we had done everything we could to prepare for what was coming for us. But I wasn't just going to give that to her.

"Since when did you become so wise about the psychology of gods?" I asked.

"I think I had to, once I got entangled with you," Aphrodite teased.

I pulled her closer to me.

"Thank you," I said, holding her tightly in my arms. "I’m a better person for having you with me."

"You're such a softie sometimes," Aphrodite said, and kissed me on the cheek.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, keeping in mind what she had said. This was a changing point for me and I had to embrace it. With a slow exhale, I let out all the worries and frustrations that were clouding my thoughts. I closed my eyes and was soon carried off to the land of sleep.