Interlude: On Olympus

Hera looked over to the empty thrones when the council gathered. The flames in the hearth burned lower as Hestia poked at the flaming coals. Apollo looked sickly and pale, Artemis was by his side, for once tending to her twin brother rather than chasing him off. Poseidon looked sullen, as Amphitrite consoled him. Aphrodites usual radiant glow was dim and occasionally flickered. Hephaestus sat silently staring off into the distance, the knick knacks he usually tinkered with forgotten on his lap. Demeter and Persephone huddled together by Hermes who spoke calming words to the mother and daughter. 

There was a flash of gray light and three old ladies appeared at the foot of the throne room. The Moirai, the Fates, looked at the assembled gods and goddesses.

"Olympians, we have come to give you a warning. The Titans are marching forward as we speak, we fear it is too late and the demigods have failed. Typhon has laid waste to the coasts and is making his way to Olympus."

Hera shuddered at the strangeness of all three Weavers of Fate speaking at the same time. Their voices echoed all around the remaining Olympians and minor deities. 

"What more can we do! Ares has been killed, Kronos has faded my father. My sister is missing and as you say the demigods have fallen." Artemis called out. 

"Hope is not lost goddess of the moon. Your queen has come up with a proposal." 

Everyone turned to face her, she looked over to her husband's empty throne wishing that he was still there. Despite all his flaws and unfaithfulness, Zeus knew how to properly work a crowd in his favor. Hera sighed before speaking to the remaining council. 

"I have found a hero, powerful, with a good sense of morality. He is currently building up his power. Once he is ready he will be able to come to our aid." 

Artemis scoffed at the mention of a male hero. "And where is this hero? I have never heard of a powerful male other than the bastard children of my uncles." 

"He's in another world." 

Murmurs broke out in the council. Hestia smiled yet no one paid her any attention. The goddess of the hunt frowned. 

"You would put the fate of our very lives in the hands of an outsider?" 

"He will come, and he will aid us in defeating the titans. I have been speaking with him since Zeus faded." 

Artemis sneered at her, "Already planning on moving on? Some goddess of marriage you are." 

Something snapped in her, rage frothed from her heart. She leapt to her feet and unleaded her godly aura. Power filled the room minor deities feel to their knees and some of her fellow Olympians tensed. 

"Watch your tone Artemis, you forget that I am still the Queen of this council. I have been guiding him on the right path, nothing more." 

Her godly aura flared  and Artemis stumbled back shocked that the normally composed goddess had snapped back. The silver clad goddess looked down in shame. 

"I apologize Queen Hera, I- I fear for all of our lives. I lost myself." 

Hera sighed before taking her seat again, she continued to speak a moment later. 

"As I've said, once he is ready he will come and save us from impending doom."

"When will that be sister?" 

She looked over to Poseidon, "Sooner than you'd expect. He is nearly powerful enough to stand against our father." 

"We don't have much more time, maybe three months before Typhon and the Titans rally under Kronos' banners. I've even heard talks of a primordial amongst their ranks." 

"Fear not Olympians, we shall ensure that our hero is powerful enough to save the Flame from being extinguished." 

"Will he be ready in time?" Hera asked

"That is up to him to decide. We shall continue to watch over our champion. Queen Hera it would behoove you to maintain communication with our hero. He may need your insight soon. He will be facing his greatest trial yet." 

Without another word the Fates flashed out of the throne room leaving everyone stunned. Hera glanced over to her sister at the hearth. The two shared a look as unspoken words were exchanged. 

"Hermes gathers the remaining demigods. It's time we did what we are supposed to be doing and helping our children. Apollo, Artemis gather the wounded and tend to them. Everyone else, we're locking down Olympus. We must be ready to weather the oncoming storm." 

As everyone got up to do their assigned tasks Hera slumped in her throne. Hestia and Poseidon approached her moments later with looks of concern clear on their faces. Hestia set a hand on her shoulder as they shrunk down to mortal sizes. Poseidon followed suit and took her hand gently squeezing it. He released her hand and summoned his trident. Hera tensed for a moment before noticing that her brother held no harmful intentions. 

"Are you confident in this hero sister?" 

She looked at him wearily. "I am, I've watched him change the fates of people who had been doomed. He will turn the tide of this war." 

Poseidon nodded. "Then I shall put my faith in him as well. Would it be possible for me to give him my blessing while he's in another world?" 

"It will be difficult but not impossible." Hera replied. 

"Very well, how will my blessing reach him?" 

"Just take my hand, I will push the blessing through my connection with him."

Poseidon took her hand, as she prepared to access her connection Hestia took her free hand. Hera looked at the goddess of the hearth. 

"I shall make him my champion if you allow it sister." 

Hera nodded, he would need all the power he could get if he was to survive long enough to reach Olympus. She closed her eyes and her siblings mirrored her. 

"Chanel, your intention now. I cannot maintain the connection for long while also guiding your blessings to him."

Poseidon and Hestia pushed their wills through Hera who began to glow with golden light. The Queen of Olympus gasped as power shot through her and into the void between worlds before finally reaching the slumbering hero. Releasing their grasps on each other's hands, the trio took in lungfuls of air. It had taken quite a bit of power and effort to send the magic through. Poseidon shook his head to clear the haze that had settled in his vision. Hestia returned to her spot by the hearth. 

"I must return to Atlantis, my people must be relocated before Typhon passes through."

Hera bid her brother farewell as the sea god flashed away. She looked around at everyone working on their tasks. Apollo and Artemis returned in a bright flash of gold and silver light. Between them stood two dozen hunters and a little over twice as many demigods. Everyone looked battered and tired. Apollo led them to his temple so that he could begin administering medical aid. 

"The camps were destroyed, we gathered the survivors that we found." 

"Thank you Artemis, please. Tend to your huntresses, they need help too." 

Artemis gave her a great full smile before flashing away with her hunt. Hera flashed to her temple and sat at the steps leading to the entrance. Her thoughts blazed through her mind. She leaned against a pillar and closed her eyes. She had never felt more like her age than before. A flash of gray caused her eyes to snap open. She turned and looked inside her temple where the Fates had appeared. 

"Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos… What can I do for you." 

"We simply came to inform you Queen Hera." 

"Inform me of what?" 

"We have given our hero an incentive to gain more power."

"What have you done?" Hera said with trepidation. 

"Only what must be done in order for this plan to succeed."

"Speak plainly, your cryptic words give me a splitting migraine." 

"We have spoken Queen Hera. Guide him on the right path. So that we may yet live to see a new millennium." 

The Fates flashed out of her temple and she sighed, remaining rooted to the spot she was standing in thinking about what the Fates had said. 

She soon made her way to her room and took a seat on a chair facing her vanity mirror. She picked up a brush and slowly brushed her chestnut curls. She couldn't stop the golden tears from staining her cheeks as she silently wept. She prayed that Blake would forgive her for subtly manipulating him to save her world. She reached out with the connection and smiled as she cleared her tears away with a wave of her hand. 

It seems that Blake and Selene had intertwined their lives together through their love for one another. The couple were in the midst of a passionate night. Hera cut off the connection to give the couple some privacy. She got up and lay in her bed, the empty space caused another pang of sadness to seize her heart. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to the realm of Morpheus. 

She shot awake as Blake opened the connection. His voice rang out in her head, distress evident in his speech. He must have discovered what the Fates had done. 

'Hera! What the fuck. User input bypassed?'