27 Seeking a weapon

" Ughhh!" I awoke with a searing pain in my chest. I don't remember anything that happened after I saw Hippolyta. I looked around the foreign room, trying to figure out where I was, and why was it so hot?

" Settle down, you shouldn't move too much. If you do, your wounds will open up again." A woman's voice spoke to me from the corner of the room. " You're one stubborn guy, you know that cousin. But I must say, I am impressed. To injure Poseidon is no small feat."

" Who are you?" I asked.

" Oh, can't you tell?" She asked whimsically. She approached me with a sword and shield, each bearing the insignia of an owl on them. " I'm Athena, and you little Timaeus, have caused quite a stir in Olympus." Athen spoke.

" What happened?" I asked.

" You don't remember?" She asked.

" No, I... I remember holding onto my wife and then nothing." I answered honestly. She's the goddess of knowledge and wisdom and battle strategy. No point lying to her.

" You stormed Mount Olympus in a rage. All of the gods felt your angered presence as soon as you arrived. You battled Triton and his sister and managed to overpower them both. And then you foolishly challenged Poseidon. And actually, managed to harm him. Bravo. If only you had composed yourself. You might have been able to beat him."

" Wow. I... really did all that?" I asked in disbelief.

" Yes, you did. And now all the gods are in an uproar. Some are calling for your head and others are hoping you manage to kill Poseidon. Personally, I wouldn't mind if you ended that arrogant bastard's reign of terror for good." Athen explained.

" Wait. The gods are calling for my head?"

" Yeah, Poseidon for one, Hermes, Hera, Aeolus, Dionysus and a few others. However, you should be grateful for Hestia. She managed to gather quite an amazing amount of support from the others. Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Hercules, Demeter, Artemis, Hades, even Triton has gone to bat for you." What? Triton has spoken on my behalf. Why? I wondered.

" And myself of course. Zeus has chosen to stay his hand from this. For what reason I know not... Yet." Athena explained.

" I see. Well, I must thank you for the vote of confidence, but I need to go." I told the woman, I still needed to free my daughter and I would not rest until I had.

" And do what? Your weapons are broken. You have no armor, and you are essentially defenseless. Facing Poseidon without a weapon is a death sentence." Athena spoke.

" I had a weapon last time, and apparently all I was able to do was injure him. What will the difference make?" I asked the woman.

" It will make all the difference because this time, it will be your weapon." I was confused by what she meant. Was the last trident I wielded not my own weapon? " I can tell your confused. When a god has their weapon forged, they themselves take part in it. When Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus had their respective weapons forged they each gave a piece of themselves to the Cyclopes, so that the weapons would come out stronger than any before. When Hestia gifted you that trident it was so you could face triton, not Poseidon. It wasn't really yours." Athena explained to me.

" So, I need to make a weapon of my own? How will that make me stronger?" I asked.

" The same way it made Poseidon stronger. It will truly be yours. Your essence, your power. Your will." I heard another woman's voice. I turned towards the entrance of the room we were in and saw a rather small woman with beautiful blonde hair and soft blue eyes walk into the room.

" Hello, Nephew. We haven't properly met. I am Hestia." The woman spoke.

" Lady er... Auntie Hestia, it's an honor to finally meet you. Thank you so much for everything you've done for my family." I got on my knees and bowed to the woman who had in a way saved my life more times than I could count. And had more than earned my respect.

" No need to bow my boy. We are family. A hug will more than do." Hestia spoke. She opened her arms and wrapped them around me softly. Her embrace was soft. Her scent calming. Her presence simply unearthly. I felt at peace in her arms. After a few moments she stepped back and pulled me to my feet.

" So, how will I make this weapon?" I asked.

" You can ask Hephaestus to make something for you. He is the greatest blacksmith in all of Greece." Athen spoke.

" No. Zeus has forbidden Hephaestus from making him anything." Hestia spoke.

" WHAT?! WHEN?!" Athen asked.

" A few hours ago." Hestia replied.

" But Hephaestus is the only one capable of making a weapon that can kill a god." Athena exclaimed.

" No... he's not." I spoke.

Athena and Hestia both turned my way and shock hit their faces.

" That's too dangerous... You don't have anything to offer them and even if you did, you'd need Hades Permission first." Athen spoke.

" Yes... But it could be possible. Hades loves Poseidon. But even he admits that Poseidon is too far gone. As much as it pains me. It may be his only hope." Hestia said to Athena.

" But if it doesn't work, he'll be trapped in Tartarus." Athena stated.

" If I don't kill Poseidon then I might as well be trapped in Tartarus. The question isn't who, but what. What will I make this weapon out of?" I asked.

" Adamantine of course, it is the metal of the gods." Athena replied.

" No, I don't want to beat Poseidon as a god. Even if I am his son. I've always been a human. As such I want something the humans possess." I declared. I wouldn't have it any other way.

" Is there any material that the humans use that can match the gods?" Hestia asked.

Athena rubbed her chin in thought, and for a moment she seemed to be gone from the world. After a few minutes of complete silence, she came back.

" There are materials that the humans use on earth that might be do the trick. But they are far and spread apart and even I do not fully know their locations." Athena spoke.

" I have traveled this far; at this point nothing is out of the realm of possibility." I told the woman.

" Yes, but for me to tell you, you must first know this warning. Adamantine is the material of the Greek gods. These other metals you seek will take you to the lands of other gods and I assure you, not all of them will be willing to just let you have them. Are you sure about this?" Athena explained.

I nodded.

" There are three human-metals I know of that are strong enough to hold some kind of measure against Adamantine. The first is located in Africa it is called vibranium and is protected by the panther clan. This metal absorbs kinetic energy and redistributes it, I would personally say it is better suited for armor than a weapon. There is another kind of vibranium called arctic vibranium. This one is different from the last in that it disrupts a targets molecular bond, which could be a better material for a weapon. This vibranium can only be found in Antarctica, in a very specific location of savages. The savage lands. The next metal is located in the same region just a little further north. It is a meteoric ore, that once cooled cannot be melded or bent. It is called adamantium. Of course, if you're looking for something stronger there is Uru, but only the Norse know where to find that." Athena explained.

She spoke of two lands. The west where the Norsemen reside and Africa, home to a multitude of gods. The African gods and of course the Egyptian gods. The possibility of running into any of them would be considerable. But worth the risk.

" Then, that's where I'll go. Africa."

" Very well, I'll give you a map of their general locations. But just know that I warned you." Athena reached into her robe and pulled out a map, that she just miraculously had on her. " You'll still need to be able to get to and from the underworld. And the only way to do that without dying, is to have the portal in Laconia. Hercules should be able to help you with that. Other than that, there is nothing else we can do for you." Athena spoke.

I took the map from the woman and bowed to her. I did owe it to her for allowing me to have this direct line of help.