"The Replacement Luna..."

Battle...

Ares:

"What happened to this place?" I asked as I held his right hand gently, about to leave this place and return to our group.

"When the gods declared war against the Titans, this cavern became the secret meeting place of Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. This was where they planned their course of action against their parents. The moon goddess, Selene, offered this location to Zeus because they were secret lovers at that time. She provided Zeus vital information regarding the daily activities of the other Titans like herself: where they usually went to hunt, to frolic, and to rest. These details became key to the strategy that Zeus and his brothers planned to overthrow the Titans. While this was going on, Zeus continued to shower Selene with his love, attention, and gifts. The moon was spared the wrath of the gods merely because Zeus forbade anyone to hurt her. They had two offsprings, but even after the gods became victorious against the Titans, Zeus could not claim Selene as his wife for it would go against their original plan to be rid of the all the Titans. As a testament of his undying love to the moon however, Zeus transformed this huge cavern into an altar of worship where he continued to secretly meet with Selene nightly. Their romance continued until they were discovered by Zeus' wife Hera. In her fit of anger, Hera smashed everything that you now see before you: the altar made entirely out of sapphire, the broken marble statues of the gods, the precious gemstones that lie scattered at your feet, and the intricately carved relics on the cavern walls. What was once a glorious temple of adoration carved by a god's hand, became nothing more than a cavern in ruins."

"Then why keep this place? Why not just convert it into something useful?" I asked, confused.

"This temple is useful as it is. It is a magical conduit for the bloodline that I am a member of. The Rosewater bloodline is a direct descendant of the fifty daughters of the Moon and her lover Endymion. My father is one of the purebloods that hails from that union."

"Fifty daughters? Endymion? I thought Zeus was..."

"When Zeus could not marry Selene, it almost broke her heart. She did however, became enamored of a particular shepherd King named Endymion after several years passed. To ensure that this time she does not lose the man she loves, Zeus placed Endymion under a deep, eternal sleep so he would neither age nor die."

"And they had fifty daughters, all while he slept?" I asked skeptical.

"Remember the astral plane where you called out to me? That's where they did the deed." Glare giggled beside me.

"Does that mean, I could become a father? That we could have children?" I became excited to hear the possibilities of this astral plane.

"The process is a little more complex. If the child was formed in the astral plane, I will also need to conceive said child in that plane where I am only in my spirit form. It will be painless, and without complications. It will take a complete moon cycle though before I bear you a child."

"A whole month for you to stay in the astral plane?"

"Or two, depends on the moon's phases. Beats nine months though if you ask me! Being in an extended sleep state here would guarantee that my spirit form is in perfect condition to bring forth  a child for you."

"But then the child will be nothing but a spirit as well. How can we bring our child to this world?"

"Once I return from the astral plane with the spirit child, it will then form a physical body to adapt to its new environment. That's what magic is all about. The child will have all my magical powers combined with your Lycan abilities. There is a limitation though for our child to be... he, or she, will only be able to use magic at night."

"I want one. When can we start? How do we..."

"You'll never know. Perhaps I've already taken advantage of you while you slept." Glare laughed beside me, his body emitting a soft glow. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I pondered his reply.

"Well then, in that case... you're welcome to take advantage of poor defenseless me." And we began to exit the ruins while Glare's laughter echoed around me.