Mountain of the Immortals

"In any case, what should we do while we wait?" I asked.

"Plan our attack?" Aphrodite proposed.

"There's not much to plan," I said. "My father's armies were decimated and after such a defeat, I doubt any of them would want to return to Mount Orthys to face the consequences and his wrath. Especially since they know my father now can't spare any troops to bring them back and punish them."

"So we just raid the place?" Aphrodite asked.

"There are nine hundred and ninety-nine steps up the mountain," I explained. "Cronus had a palace built roughly every two hundred and fifty steps. One for each of his children. I suspect that we'll have to fight our way up, especially when we reach each of the palaces. But I don't think there'll be much of anything more. There's no way my father would set up traps. I know that place like the back of my hand, so I'll easily notice if anything is amiss."

"In that case, maybe we should focus on our people?" Aphrodite suggested as the voices of celebrating people became audible in the distance. "They are happy now, but I know some of the buildings in Dion will be completely destroyed."

"And we should aim at repairing them as fast as we can," I said. "In fact, we should rebuild Dion better than we found it."

"I would suggest ceasing all construction here until Dion has been restored to its former glory," Aphrodite said.

"And how about you give them the ships that we commandeered during the nautical battle?" Artemis added. "Our harbormaster said there are a few adrift that might need repairs, but are probably worth a lot of money."

"That's a great idea," I said. "Aphrodite, can we ensure they go to Dion? They can use them anyway they want."

"Dion doesn't have concrete leadership like we do, but I guess if we gift them a few ships, they could keep the income—after deducting all operational costs—from one of the ships, and use the rest of the money to make the city better."

"Just to make this deal even better, I'd say we repair those ships for them," I said. "You think we have enough resources to do that?"

"Perhaps not yet, but it'll only take a single day before we have enough lumber to fix everything," Aphrodite replied, and then turned to Artemis. "You think your people can go to work soon?"

"As soon as everyone is out of the mines, and any of the traps left on the mountainsides are disabled, they'll be able to continue working. But I wouldn't send them back to work today. I think they need to celebrate."

"Oh, there's no doubt about that," I agreed. "Today is a celebration."

"And I suppose you'll want to address them again?" Aphrodite asked.

"Have some people bring out the best wines and meat we have stored. I want tables and chairs all over this place. I'll speak to our people in two hours. After that, anything goes."

* * *

I spent the next couple of hours at home resting. I hadn’t realized that using the siege overview had taken such a big toll on my body. By the time I reached my bed, I could barely keep my eyes open. The sun was high in the sky and I couldn't really believe just how tired I was after having been awake for only a few hours. Yet my body did not lie.

The sounds of hundreds of men and women chanting was what eventually woke me up again. I had spoken to my people right before the battle, making sure their morale was as high as possible. Now, after having utterly obliterated our enemies—without having lost a single soul to them—all I needed to do was remind them why this had been possible.

It was the time to create a moment they would remember for the rest of their lives. The moment they would share with their children, their grandchildren, and anyone who wasn’t yet a follower of Zeus, the god of thunder, and the gods in his guild. The stuff bards weaved their songs from.

I looked around the house and despite evidence that the others had returned at some point, probably to change their attire to something more festive, they’d already gone again. I was considering whether I should go in my armor or perhaps change to something more appropriate for a feast when I laid my eyes on one of the large couches just outside my room.

A long, dazzling white chiton lay on it, perfectly straight and magically free of any wrinkles, its golden lining shining. I washed my body and after properly drying myself, I threw it on to see if this was going to work.

Never in my thousands of years had I worn a more comfortable, airy, and elegant piece of clothing. The soft fabric had a cooling effect on my skin and despite feeling light, it was heavy enough to cover me without moving too much in the breeze.

Happy with this choice, even though I had no idea who’d made it for me, I also noticed a pair of simple sandals next to the couch and strapped them on. As I headed for the door, I knew it had to be Aphrodite who left it there. This was perhaps the best attire for the celebration, and that became even more evident as I emerged from the manor and it was hit by the sunlight.

The white fabric glowed as if it emanated a light of its own and a certain breeze followed me as I walked toward the people who were already deep in drinks. They all looked at me with bright eyes full of pride and elation.

I moved through the tables, congratulating everyone for how brave they’d been during the battle while also taking note of the average level of drunkenness. In general, the shorter and better articulated their praise, the less alcohol they’d consumed. Though that was only the case for a handful of them. Most warriors were barely able to sit straight, let alone spurt out a series of words that would befit a god's prowess in battle. Not that I asked for any of it of course. It was just a unit of measurement to help me determine how I should address them.

As I got closer to the heart of the celebrations, I saw a raised dais with a rectangular table on it, covered in a lavish dinner of a multitude of foods, ranging from the most mouthwatering succulent meat to the sweetest-looking fruits. There were two seats on each of its longer sides, all of them adorned with golden filigree and the occasional valuable gemstone. Ares and Aphrodite were sitting on one side, while Artemis and Hephaestus were on the other.

Ares had thankfully washed himself of all the blood and gore he’d been covered in some hours ago and was now wearing a white chiton, similar to mine in cut, though his was already stained with wine. It looked like his had no magic qualities that would keep it wrinkle and stain-free, and his sister wasn’t going to lift her finger to clean it for him either.

The goddess of love herself was, as always, dressed to impress. Her light pink dress did very little to cover the best that her curvy body had to offer and she looked stunning in her confidence.

On the other side of the table, Artemis was already enjoying her drinks while Hephaestus looked like his mind wasn’t fully there. If I had to guess, he was probably still thinking about all the things he was now able to craft. Artimus was wearing a dress similar to that of Aphrodite, though the cuts were somewhat different, giving it a distinct angular, almost sharp look, while Hephaestus sported an elegant silk, shimmering in metallic silver. It was draped around his neck and hips, exposing his wide arms along with his chest.

There was an empty seat at the head of the table, and this one looked more like a throne than a heavily adorned chair. I moved up the dais and pulled my seat out before picking up a golden chalice that was in front of me. I swirled around the wine in it and smelled the sweet aroma of the fine blend Aphrodite had imported from the far reaches across the western ocean. I closed my eyes to take it all in and by the time I opened them again, the rowdiness around me had significantly decreased.

Despite the drunken stupor evident all around me, I had noticed that none of the food had been touched yet. They were all waiting for me to start the feast and had managed to get themselves drunk in the meantime.

I raised my chalice and slowly turned to make sure everyone had seen me and I saw them all. Before long, they were holding their own drinks up. Some were holding glasses, others whole bottles, while a few had trouble even holding themselves up.

"Never in the history of Greece…" I started, and the rest of the voices died down swiftly in a wave of hushes from the less-drunk spectators. "No! Never in the history of the Apocosmos has such a strong army been so utterly obliterated."

I took a large gulp from my chalice and savored its complex taste while looking at the rest of the gods on my table, who were doing exactly the same. Our people joined in, and many did not stop at a large gulp but rather continued with multiple.

"This victory was possible because of all of you," I continued, planning on this being a short speech. "Your hard work, making sure everything was prepared before Cronus's armies arrived, was what made us so utterly undefeatable."

A cheer rose from all around us and I took another sip before continuing.

"Not a single one of our people is dead!" I shouted. "A testament to your will. The will of the citizens of Dion and of Mount Olympus. The unbreakable. The undying!"

This second wave of excitement was almost loud enough to physically disorient me but I fed off of it. This was what the people wanted to hear, so this was what I would tell them.

"This day will forever be remembered in song as the greatest victory of all!" I shouted. "All that's left to do is make this night one that will be able to compare to its counterpart. So drink! Eat! Fuck! Make this the best night of your lives!"

I drank the rest of my wine and took a seat at the table as the cheers turned to moans of satisfaction as the people were finally allowed to start eating the beautiful banquet that was waiting for them.

"You sure took your time," Artemis said, picking up a steak with a large two-pronged fork.

"I had no idea the siege view would take so much out of me," I replied.

"You did look like you needed your sleep," Aphrodite said, and caressed my hand with hers.

"Thank you for the chiton, Aphrodite," I said, and she smiled back at me. "It’s beautiful and it lets my body breathe."

"You're most welcome, darling," she replied, and turned to face the other two gods. "See? That's how you thank someone for preparing a beautiful, customized gift for you."

"I did thank you for the dress," Artemis protested.

"Only after complaining about how your whole stomach is uncovered and that it might fall off if you bent over to pick something up," Aphrodite replied.

"That's not the point," Artemis said, but was interrupted by Hephaestus before she managed to continue.

"Thank you, Aphrodite," the god of the forge said.

Aphrodite nodded appreciatively.

"So you all got new magical outfits?" Ares asked in surprise. "And you didn't think of giving anything to your brother?"

"A couple hours ago you wanted to come to the festivities covered in blood," Aphrodite said without even looking at him. "You're lucky I even sent you a clean one. And you’ve barely managed to keep it so for more than half an hour."

Ares scoffed and called over one of the dozens of people who were moving from one table to the next with more wine for a refill. In the meantime, the rest of us enjoyed the delicious dinner that had been served on our table.

With very few breaks between each dish in front of me, I quickly found myself happily full and ready to enjoy a long night of heavy drinking.

"Are you thinking about what you're going to craft again, Hephaestus?" Ares asked him once we were all done with our dinner and the dancing had started all around us.

"I am," he said, slightly embarrassed. "Is it that obvious?"

"It most certainly is," Ares replied. "Don't get me wrong. There's nothing bad about that. The prospect of new things and thinking of the best course of action is a rabbit hole I've fallen down one too many times myself."

Aphrodite sighed as she downed her wine, visibly bored by what her brother was saying.

"What are you going to do now that the war is over, Ares?" Artemis asked.

"Ah, but the war is never over, is it?" he said with a smirk. "Perhaps the war with Cronus has ended, since I have absolute confidence Zeus will ultimately bring him down. But after that... that's when the interesting part begins."

"Once Zeus becomes the new king of the Greek realms, a power vacuum will be created," Ares continued, intently listening to himself.

"Not to mention that the death of the king of titans will throw the rest of his ilk into disarray. Some of them might go into hiding while others will start making rushed, irrational moves." Artimes nodded.

I decided was going to drink until I passed out.

And pass out I did.