Bride of the Sea God

Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

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Mt. Olympus, home of the gods.

The white marbled acropolis sat below the main peak of the mountain range. With steps leading up the side of the peak, the main palace was lit up by glowing fires in bronze braziers and reflected the surrounding starlight in the sky. Dozens of smaller pavilions and gazebos dotted the mountain areas below before all fading into a circle of clouds below. The clouds and Mist served as a barrier between the humans and the gods. Should any human look up at the peak, all they saw were wisps of clouds and the tips of the peaks poking through the white.

Meanwhile, in the white marble walls of the acropolis, minor gods, satyrs, and nymphs danced about as the Muses played their lyres and sang. The smell of freshly brewed nectar and baked ambrosia permeated the clean streets.

None of the majestic beauty of the palace of the gods fazed Percy. He was a relatively young god, but over the years the majestic sight had dulled in his senses.

He stood at the door to the main hall of the Olympian Gods, half-listening to their annual War Council meeting.

"The prisoners are still bound in their chains," Hephaestus informed the council with his gruff voice. He had been tasked to ensure that the prisons he made were still in functioning order.

"I could have told you that, my errant brother," Ares complained. "I would have sniffed out any Titan that dare to have even a thought of escape."

Athena tapped her fingers on her throne impatiently. "But the truth remains that they are still thrashing about, stirring their minions to harass the mortals. Their consciousness permeates the humans' dreams and turns them towards darkness."

"Weaklings." Ares snorted. "Both in mind and body."

"Yes, you would know quite much about being weak in the mind," muttered Athena under her breath.

Percy's thoughts flew elsewhere as the gods argued among themselves. Year after year, everything was the same.

As his father's lieutenant, Percy accompanied Poseidon on his official duties to Mt. Olympus. Otherwise, Percy wanted nothing to do with the gods. He didn't even spend much time in the sea, preferring to wander the lands, despite being a minor sea god.

He never wanted to be a god in the first place.

"Our policy is to remain away from humans." Zeus boomed. "And we shall keep to it. If any mortal succumbs to the Titans' allure, then it is all the best of our interest to eliminate such sinning mortals. That includes our own children."

"But Father!" Athena protested.

A vein on Hera's temple twitched. It was no secret that Zeus often broke the sanctimony of their marriage and had fathered many spawn on the earth.

The gods took up their arguing again. Percy's mind wandered away again.

Soon, the Olympian gods adjourned their annual winter meeting. Zeus called for the Muses, and a symphony of lyres, harps, and pan flutes rang out. Other gods flooded into the hall and began dancing as the winter banquet began.

Percy's sight landed on a god sitting before the twelve thrones. The god exuded darkness with his midnight black chiton and linen cloak woven out of nightmares. Here and there, a tortured soul would try to escape, but the magical bounds of fabric would hold it in place.

As if feeling Percy's gaze, Hades turned his head. Percy nodded politely to his uncle but made no further move to greet him. Percy had stopped that approach nearly two decades ago.