Beauty/Tragedy | Percy Jackson

Blame the gods

On the Pulse of Morning
BY MAYA ANGELOU

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow,
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness
Have lain too long
Facedown in ignorance,
Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out to us today,
You may stand upon me,
But do not hide your face.

They were unsuccessful in their attempts to save their people from the panic of the situation.

The news spread fast that the land slowly being swallowed by the sea. The temple of Poseidon was half submerged in water.

None of that was a good sign.

Many people tried to cross the growing gap between the two kingdoms. Few lucky ones were able to step foot on the foreign land. Though, no one knew what happened to them after that.

Some suffered brutal death.

The Fates were not in the favor of Aristo.

Imports and exports of goods had become near impossible. The royal treasure could only provide for the king who ruled over five villages for so long.

The doors of the palace were always open. Whether day and night, they made clear to their people that they could call for help any time they need it.

But even that was a risk. The palace was near the sea.

First, the temple. Then, it would be the turn of the symbol of royalty of Aristo. With no sign of unity, everything will be a wreak.

They had no contact with Agatha. They had no way to call for help or rescue of the situations become dire.

It could only be assumed that news had been spread of the kingdom blessed by Poseidon that is drowning. Hopefully, kindness will be shown.

Deep inside, even Ariston knew it to be impossible, because if the sea god could drown a kingdom, he could certainly drown any ship.

No matter the might of the craftsmanship, no matter the strong mast, no matter the room to carry hundreds. Nothing could stand a chance against the rage of one of the Big Three.

It was clear, the times called for a miracle.

It was clear, the days of slow living were over.

It was clear, gods were not in their favor.

It was clear, it was all because of a fatal flaw.

The curse of a god befell upon them because of the fault of another god.

Cruel creatures. Cruel game of fate.

Perseus drifted in and out of consciousness those two weeks.

For some reason, the physicians could not tell the reason behind his state more than that his body needed rest. But that was obvious to them too.

It hurt Kallias to a great degree to see him give them a strained smile. His eyes told a completely different story. They were tired, almost like he was in constant pain.

He was awake for only for a few hours and Kallias spent every second of it by his side, even if they did not speak to each other at all. Silence brought him comfort around Perseus. It was the only type of silence he could live with, as long as he was there; and maybe even in Elysium if the fates bless him.

(Oh Kallikrates. The god of prophecy is already writing poems of this new tragedy he is shaping.)

At the end of the second week, when Perseus showed no improvement in his state, Kallias took his father's advice to pray to the god of healing and medicine.

They sacrificed food that valued them an immeasurable amount at the time. They sung the sun god's praise. They bowed before his name.

Then, the temple was filled with sunlight on a day when thick clouds treaded the lands of Aristo.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Apollo clapped his hands, his voice a forceful cheer.

"Lord Apollo." The king bowed even deeper, almost falling off. Apollo just chuckled and batted a hand in a gesture to command the mortal to get up.

He turned his eyes to Kallias. "A surprise indeed!" He sang, this time, with a grin on his face that did not sit well.

Something was terribly wrong, Kallias could feel it in his heart.

"You will not get on your knees for me?" The god questioned.

Aniston hissed, "If you value your life, you-" He was cut off by Apollo tsking.

"Let him speak, king. Or do you have a habit for speaking to always earn a god's ire. I heard you lost Poseidon's favor."

Ariston shrunk back, trying to hide in the nonexistent shadows.

"My husband does not talk very highly of you." Kallias spoke for the first time.

Apollo hummed, "Is that so?" He raised his eyebrow.

"It is the truth." Kallias played. "I will not disrespect you by lying to your face, Lord Apollo."

In a blink, the sun god was now standing inches away from Kallias. "Perseus sure influenced you." The god was only confirming Kallias' suspensions. At least, some of the many he had. Two weeks was a lot of time to overthink everything.

"And Perseus needs your help. He is not healing from his current state. No physician can see the reason for it, and this does not help in finding a cure."

How was it possible that every doctor was clueless when it came to Perseus' illness?

"I can read between the lines, little prince." Apollo sneered.

"Lord Apollo, all I am saying is that we, the people of Aristo will be grateful to you should you heal the prince."

Suddenly Apollo laughed. It sounded crazy.

He was enjoying the misery.

(He was enjoying the turn of events.)

"Such devotion. Oh, you've won my heart." The god dramatically put his hand on his chest. "Of course, I will help!"

(Poseidon could prevent the sun god from eavesdropping or coming uninvited on his blessed kingdom. This- this was a summon.

The kingdom is blessed no more Poseidon. Atlantis whispered in his mind.)

*

Kallias: *suspicious*
Poseidon: *suspicious*
Apollo: *panicking to find a way out of the mess he created* Of course, I'll help!