Our stamina could not last, and I could see around us that the Titans were proving just how much better they were at fighting than we were. Scattered throughout the valley, I could see the injured bodies of our Kouretes allies. I cursed under my breath. I turned toward Zeus who nodded. I growled, and retreated back to the safety of Olympus.
We licked our wounds for several days after that. Neither Zeus nor I had any injuries beyond our bruised pride, but the same could not be said for Hades. Our brother could not join us on the practice field to work with the Kouretes whose injuries were minor. And when I was not honing my skill with my blade, I helped the Hundred Handers collect rocks to add to their piles. Zeus hid himself in the forge with the Cyclops, repairing broken weapons for we had lost many in the battle with our enemy. Hades kept watch over the valley and reported every sighting of the Titans that he made.
Our sisters did not sit idle either. With the Kouretes protecting them, they ventured down into the valley to gather every broken weapon they could find, and when they were not doing that, they helped the nymphs prepare the bandages and make the healing herbs.
And this was how we lived for several years following, although with each battle between us and the Titans, our stamina improved. Word of our battles slowly spread and the occasional ally begged to join our camp against the Titans. Almost daily, it seemed, new arrivals ventured up the mountain; with them they brought not only weapons to help our cause but their pathetic tales of harsh treatment under Cronus’ long rule. If Zeus did not assure them of our success, I did. Their tired smiles gave me hope but it seemed to take its toll of Zeus.
“They are looking for a promise that I don’t know if we can keep, Poseidon,” my brother confided in me one day.
I only patted my brother on the shoulder. Let him have his doubts, I thought, and let him think that I shared them. I knew we would be victorious, and I would take advantage of any weakness in Zeus to use against him later. And as the days passed, the list I would use against him grew ever longer.
Our stash of weapons from our growing number of allies allowed the Cyclops to focus their attention on other creations. A few of the gods who joined us had enough skill in the forge to help the Cyclops by repairing whatever broken weapons we brought back with us. Or least this is what Zeus told me.
I had other matters to address. Among our new allies, I had a growing number of supporters who drank all the tales I brought back from our battles against the Titans. The words seemed to spill off my tongue with an ease I did not know that I possessed, and I quickly learned how to use our darkest defeats to my advantage. Slowly, more of our new allies joined me in my corner of the courtyard.
I could not hide the growing smile on my lips seeing that fewer and fewer gods gathering around Zeus. And I did not let it bother me that Demeter lingered at my younger brother’s side. Hades stayed across the courtyard; I found my elder brother preferred being off to himself, though when he chose to keep company with any of the other gods, it was Zeus. There was a darkness about Hades and once I became King, I decided, I would see him banished to the Underworld.
In the days that followed, the Cyclops finally emerged from their workshop with weapons that would, I could only hope, help us against the Titans. They presented their gifts to Zeus first; the insult stung but I had to remind myself that it had been my brother, and not me, who had rescued them from their dark imprisonment. They held out lightning bolts to my younger brother. I could see my brother grin from where I stood near the entrance to the palace.
They presented themselves to Hades next, and this time I could not help but growl under my breath. Logic told me that Hades had stood about halfway between me and Zeus. I could only hope they would gift me with a weapon as impressive as what they gave my brothers, if not more. In time, I reminded myself as they handed my brother a helm that made Hades vanish from sight the instant he put it on. It would prove a most useful weapon, if I could come up with how to use it to our advantage.
As the Cyclops headed my way, I could see my kin and allies approach my brothers and admire the gifts they had been given. But as soon as the three blacksmiths stopped in front of me, I gave them the entirety of my attention. I gave them a smile as they bowed their giant heads at me.
“Lord Poseidon,” they said in unison as one stepped forward with a three pronged staff in his hands, “we present to you this trident.”
“Strike the ground, and it will make the earth shake,” the one who handed it over explained to me.
“Thank you,” I told them. “This will make our victory come more quickly.”
The Cyclops excused themselves, claiming that they had to get back to the smithy to continue the repair on the growing pile of broken weapons. I said nothing else as they walked away to reveal Demeter coming up to me to admire my weapon.
My sister smiled at me. “A fine weapon, brother,” she said.
I nodded and extended my hand in her direction. “It would honor me, dear sister,” I said, “if you would join me for the evening meal.”
Demeter returned my nodded and slid her fingers into my hand. Once more I foolishly thought I would be convincing her to share my bed with me that evening.
Chapter 6
I cursed my brother’s name as I heard his voice fade in the distance. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my nephew chained to another pillar, but Zeus did not approach him. How dare he make me suffer for any longer! I was a King, even if I stole it out from under my brother’s feet. I was the better warrior, and I had more supporters from among the allies who had joined us. When not in battle or practicing on the fields, Zeus kept company with Hera, or at least that was what I had thought. I did not know then just how much of a wondering eye my brother had.
Five days after the Cyclops had presented us with our new weapons, we received a new set of allies in the form of the Titans Prometheus and Leto. When they arrived, to my gratitude, Zeus was nowhere to be found. I had guessed then that he was in Hera’s arms once again; I had not seen my sister lingering by the fire with Hestia until after I had met the two Titans at our door and heard what they had to say.
Prometheus bowed his head at me and Leto curtseyed, a welcoming smile on her face. I took it as a promise that she might be interested in me wooing her over the evening meal. (I would curse her name for rejecting my advances.) I nodded my head at our guests and smiled.
“What brings you to my door?” I demanded. “Do you bring news of your King’s surrender?”
Our guests kept their eyes cast down as Prometheus answered my questions. “Cronus has no intention of surrendering, my lord. He is bent on your defeat and will not stop until this happens.”
“Then why cross the valley?” I snapped.
The Titan raised face, and I could see fear in his eyes. I grinned; a small amount of fear could go a long way. After a few seconds of silence, Prometheus found his voice once more.
“I have the gift of foresight, my lord,” he said. “I have foreseen your victory against the Titans.”
I felt the grin on my face widen. “I thank you for your kind words. Welcome to Olympus. We are about to enjoy the evening meal. I’ll have the nymphs set places for you at the tables.”
The Titans nodded and followed me to the tables. I saw Zeus emerge from the castle, with Demeter at his side. My eyes flashed towards the hearth where I saw my other sisters. A curse escaped me lips. I had to keep my temper in check, I reminded myself as I waved the Titans to a bench across from where I would be sitting. Hades and Zeus joined me an instant later.
Over the meal, Prometheus spoke of his vision of our victory. “I see the Titans defenseless, my lords,” the god told us.
“You see them without weapons?” Zeus asked.
Prometheus nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my brother smile. He had a plan forming in his head. Of late, Zeus was coming up with plans that were giving us the victory rather than the Titans, and to my gratitude, he said nothing when I took the credit
for them upon our return to Olympus.
“What are you thinking?” I demanded when my brother remained sitting there with only a grin on his face.
Zeus turned to me. “We thieve their weapons away from them.”
I snorted. “And how do you plan to do that?”
My brother’s grin grew wider. “The Cyclops did give Hades a helm of invisibility. Or have you forgotten that, Poseidon?”
I smiled and chuckled. My brother did not need to say more; I knew that we would have to send Hades under the cover of darkness, and that it might take longer than a single night to steal all the weapons the Titans possessed. And there was one weapon among the Titans that would not fall into our hands: the sickle of father had used to unman Uranus. I had heard rumors that Cronus slept with it; on more than one occasion, other Titans had try to pull the weapon out of their king’s hands to their own peril. But that mattered little to me. Cronus could not battle us all by himself. Let us see just how the King of the Titans handled being our principle attacker.
“We begin tonight,” I commanded.
Hades nodded in agreement. After the meal and the sky had turned black, Zeus and I, we escorted our brother to the base of Othrys. Three times, Hades climbed the side of the mountain to gather up our enemies’ blades. The three of us made our way back to Olympus and distributed the weapons amongst our allies. We had not stolen all of their weapons that night, but we got enough of them to give Hades the ability to collect the rest on his own in the nights that followed.
In the battles of the following days, the Titans resorted to using whatever they could get their hands on to fight of. They collected rocks and pulled trees out of the ground. Their new weapons were no match for us now. Their blades had been sturdier than what we had been using before. After many of enemies had lost their makeshift weapons, they abandoned the field. Some ran up the side of Othrys to hide behind Cronus while most decided their own lives were more important than experiencing the wrath of their King. We had spent many nights after our victories listening to our father’s voice bellow across the valley.
After Hades had stolen the last of their weapons, we celebrated throughout the night. A few of the Titans tried to storm Olympus in the early hours of dawn the following morning in a failed attempt to frighten us. Between my trident and Zeus’ lightning bolts, we pushed them back easily. We kept watch over the valley that day to see if the Titans came down from Othrys to call us into battle.
I knew that we had not yet won. I could sometimes see Cronus pacing in front of the path that led down to the Valley from Othrys each day. Zeus saw him, too, always with a frown on his face. I could tell my brother was thinking of what do to next. All I had to do was wait for his plan and take the lead. It did not take my brother long to come up with our next move.
“We have to challenge Cronus directly,” Zeus told me. “It will have to be the three of us.”
I nodded. “I agree with you, brother,” I said. I could see that Zeus was about to something else, so I said it first. “We need a night’s rest before we storm Othrys.”
“I was about to say the same.”
Chapter 7
Zeus’ voice carried across the courtyard. I could hear him scolding Apollo for his foolishness, and that he would receive the same punishment that I would get. My brother sought to punish me! Had my brother forgotten which of us was King? I cursed under my breath. I had led us to victory against Cronus, not him.
In truth, I had gotten little sleep before I descended Olympus ahead of my brothers the following day. I had my doubts that either Zeus or Hades had gotten much more than I had. We were all weary to the bone from all these years of battle. We had one more battle ahead of us, and I knew that we see to our victory.
We crossed paths with several Titans as we crossed the valley. They gave us no trouble. They either stepped out of our way or ran away in fear. I could not help but crack a smile. It made me more confident that our father would fall against the might of my brothers and me. I had the better skill, no matter how much Kelmis had praised Zeus’ skill over mine.
At the base of Othrys, we were stopped by a Titan with broad shoulders who raised his right hand to keep us from going any further. “Have you come to negotiate your surrender?” he asked us.
“No,” I smiled back as Zeus raised his lightning bolts to throw at him.
I watched the Titan’s face pale and his eyes widen at the sight of behind me. He stepped aside and gave us no more issue. We found Cronus sitting on his throne in the courtyard when we reached the summit of Othrys with his sickle leaned up against the stone chair he sat on. At the sight of the three of us, our father came to his feet. Even from across the courtyard, I could see that he towered over me and my brothers. For an instant I felt doubt rise up in my heart. Thoughts of Demeter crushed the fear inside of me. It would impress her, I knew, if I defeated Cronus. I only had to find the words to raise my involvement over that of my brothers.
Our father grinned. “I will see the three of you returned to my belly,” Cronus told us as he raised his sickle up.
“We need to get the sickle away from him,” I could hear Zeus whisper behind me. “Hades, put your helm on, and be ready to make a rush for it when it gets knocked out of his hand.”
Cronus chuckled, the grin on his face growing wider. “Your tricks will do you no good.” The Titan reached for his sickle and then took several slow strides in our direction. I raised my sword and took a deep breath. I could hear Zeus behind me unsheathing his sword. His being ill prepared for this encounter reminded me that I was the better warrior of the two of us. I smiled then I let out a battle cry and raced in my father’s direction. I watched him lift the sickle and when I was within two or three steps of him, he swung it at me. The impact of the blade against my body sent me across the courtyard. My fingers lost their grip on both my sword and my shield. Both fell to the ground before I hit a wall. Around me, I could hear the rocks of the wall loosen and each one was crushing around me even before I hit the ground.
Buried under all that rock prevented me from seeing how Zeus was fairing. While celebrating our victory over the Titans after our father’s defeat, I heard whispers saying that it had been my younger brother’s skill that had loosened Cronus’ grip on his sickle and not my prowess with weapons. Impressing Demeter filled my thoughts as I rose up from the pile of rocks. At first my vision was a little blurry, but even I could see that Zeus was holding his own better against our father than I had; my dear brother was obviously tiring the Titan out for my benefit.
I remember telling Demeter later that our brothers had been only a minimal help to me when I challenged our father. Once my vision cleared, I crawled my way over what remained of the wall and fetched both my sword and shield off the ground where they had fallen. I rushed to my brother’s side, and Cronus quickly sent me flying to another part of the courtyard with Zeus close behind me.
Cronus’ laughter filled the courtyard as my brother fell down beside me. Neither of us had lost our weapons this time. I was grateful for that small victory. I watched the Titan spin around where he stood and raising his arms up.
“That helm of yours cannot hide you forever, boy,” our father shouted. “One way or another I will find you.”
“We can use his searching for Hades to our advantage,” Zeus whispered beside me. “Every time his back is turned our way, we make our move.”
I nodded and let my brother make the first attack against Cronus. Zeus hit our father on his right shoulder. The King of the Titans did not lose his grip on his sickle but a scream bellowed from his throat. Cronus stood still for a moment, giving me the chance to take a swing at him. I hit him in the opposite shoulder. With his free hand, he smacked me, sending me back into the corner where I had started this attack. It proved to be the distraction Zeus needed to knock the sickle out of our father’s hands. An instant later the weapon disappeared into Hades’ hands.
I rushed to my feet and kept a firm grip on my sword. I
came around so that Cronus could see my face as I swung my blade and sliced him across the chest. Our father fell to his feet and out of the corner of my eye, I watched Hades come into view beside me. Zeus came around the Titan, sliding his blade under our father’s chin.
This time, my father heard me chuckle. Hades handed over the sickle and I took the few steps to my father. I shoved the sickle into the gash I had created in his chest, a smile forming on my face. Cronus cried out in pain.
“What should we do with you?” I asked him in a whisper.
“Send him to Tartarus,” Zeus answered. “The prisons had created there for the Cyclops and the Hundred-Handers are still there. Our uncles would be honored to be his jailor.”
“I will escort him down,” Hades offered.
We had won; the rest of the Titans were nothing without Cronus. Their surrender was just moments away. My brothers and I, we escorted our father to the valley floor and when the other Titans saw that their King was our prisoner, they surrendered their weapons. With Hades leading the way, the Hundred-Handers escorted the Titans with the exception of Atlas down to their new prison. It angered me at first that Zeus had saved Atlas from joining the rest of the Titans in Tartarus for he had been the fiercest of our enemies, doing the most damage against us.
“I have a different punishment in mind for him,” Zeus told me with a smile. “If you agree, of course. There is damage to the sky, and it needs to be held up. It will give Atlas little time to plot against us. I fear he will if we send him to the depths of Tartarus.”
I hated to admit that my brother made a good point. We saw Atlas installed in his new prison and returned to Olympus. By the time we reached the courtyard, Hades had returned as well; our brother sat at the hearth with Hestia. He came to his feet at the sight of us.
Twisted Mythology: Three Tales of Greek Mythology Page 12
