Chapter 3: The Seeds of Rebellion

“And again, [Ouranos] begat children by Earth, to wit, the Titans as they are named: Ocean, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, Iapetus, and, youngest of all, Cronus; also, daughters, the Titanides as they are called: Tethys, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Thia.”

- Apollodorus, The Library (~2nd Century AD)

Nyx looked upon the dark loneliness of Erebus’ Realm. The recognition of her brother fading away was becoming more and more evident, but even with that knowledge in mind, she could see the dark lands becoming more like him. There was a warmth to this Underworld of his. She could feel his love in that place. Never wanting to let it go, she closed her hands. Increasingly, the Realm was filling with beings, and they all came to call her “Mother.”

There was a being that did almost nothing but sleep. Another looked grim and lonely. Every night Nyx rested, there was another. She could not think of how, but those present were, in fact, her children. Somehow, Chaos and Erebus must have been responsible for the new lives in Nyx’s world. Rather than being upset, as another Primordial might be, Nyx smiled, cherishing her children. She watched each of them, thinking of their names.

A year after making love twelve times, Ouranos was outraged to find there were still no children. Gaia may have expanded in size, and things seemed to grow in the land, but no new life had been brought into the realm, nor did she give birth. Water was carving through the earthly ground in significant quantities, and their actions formed rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Through it all, Ouranos stared at his wife’s burgeoning belly, impatiently grimacing. These so-called prophecies were turning out to be nothing more than ridiculousness.

Atop Olympus, he wondered what his recourse could be. He could return to Chaos and demand answers, but that felt as though it would be a fruitless endeavor. To compound that issue, the Progenitor made Ouranos feel small, and the Primordial King had no plans of allowing himself to feel like a fool again.

That left only one option open to him. Before too long, the Last Primordial would need to revisit the Fates.

“Dear sister, is he coming?” Clothos asked Lachesis. She had believed that their new abode would keep them safe from intruders.

“He is, but he does not know how to find us here,” Lachesis remarked to the younger sister. She turned to face her elder. “Will this be a problem going forward?”

“The Kings of Olympus will always seek us out,” Atropos answered with near-absolute certainty. “If they come with a serving heart, then they are deserving of our advice.”

“Will one do so?” Clothos wondered. Her question was dripping with skepticism.

“I believe with each passing generation, it shall get easier, dearest sister,” Atropos replied without as much certainty as the other Sisters would have liked.

Rather than let doubt fester, Lachesis chimed in. “What of the conquering King?”

Atropos laughed derisively. “Which one? There will be many.”

The other two looked upon the eldest sister. They wondered, at first, what was humorous to the thought of many Kings on Olympus.

“If Ouranos does find us, how?” Clothos wondered when she found nothing to laugh about.

Both Atropos and Lachesis exchanged a look. Lachesis could see and understand what Ouranos was doing at the moment. Atropos could see what choices would lead Ouranos to their home. The older two looked at one another as sisters do.

“Mother,” they both said to Clothos.

“Ouranos,” Nyx said, acknowledging her nephew entering the Underworld. “What brings you here?”

The Primordial King stood over his elder. “I was hoping you could help me locate your children.”

While not getting up from her sitting position, or barely moving for that matter, Nyx motioned to her more depressed-looking son. “Do you need Thanatos? He does not know what he controls yet, but I am sure he could help?” She motioned to her napping son. “Or did you mean Hypnos? I think he is why we sleep so well here, though I cannot be sure.”

Ouranos had no intention of growing agitated by his Chthonic sibling. She was made for the Underworld, so of course she was absolutely unlike him. “No. I need the Fates. The ones that see the future.”

Nyx held up a hand to stop him. “I am aware of which children you want, Ouranos,” she said, caution edging into her voice. “I will tell you where they are, but I do not think seeking them out is the right answer.”

“Oh?” Ouranos asked, curious. “Why is that?”

“They do not only look at the future, Ouranos, but also the present and the past,” she explained.

“And?” Ouranos asked, curious what this had to do with him.

“My daughters understand us, Ouranos,” Nyx warned. “They see what is within us better than we see ourselves. If you think they exist just to help you, you are sorely mistaken.”

“And?” Ouranos wondered. “What of it?”

“If you follow them without thinking for yourself, you will find yourself blindly being led.”

“If I get what I want from this, why should I care?”

“Because they might give you what they want for their own desires, Ouranos,” she said wisely. “Chaos left us to rule our Realms. You need to be in command of yours.”

Ouranos thought on the subject. While he wanted to trust his aunt’s judgment, it felt wrong to risk everything to chance, when he could simply ask the Fates and be given the directions he needed. “Where are your daughters?”

When he entered their cave, Ouranos could see so much more in their domicile than he had before in the living world above. His eyes gaped at the incredible nature of their home.

Upon their walls, a beautiful tapestry of thread had been woven to show events. From Chaos coming to the land of Greece and bestowing Ouranos a crown as ruler of the lands, to the coupling of Gaia Ouranos, and the birth of the Sisters of Fate, these were all on illustrious display.

When he entered their cave, Ouranos could see so much more in their domicile than he had before in the living world above. His eyes gaped at the incredible nature of their home.

Upon their walls, a beautiful tapestry of thread had been woven to show events. From Chaos coming to the land of Greece and bestowing Ouranos a crown as ruler of the lands, to the coupling of Gaia and Ouranos, and the birth of the Sisters of Fate, these were all on illustrious display.

Parts of the imagery were not sewn yet, but on the far end, Ouranos saw a noble fighting a younger man. He could not be sure, but somehow, one of the figures looked familiar, as if looking into a blurry pool of water. The Primordial King struggled to admit the resemblance because the visage was lesser. It was inferior.

This weaker version of himself wielded a thunderbolt in hand and wore bracers around his wrists with lustrous authority. This caricature of Ouranos had an opponent who was a small thing, yet there was something captivating about that being. Ouranos did not think the smaller being was divine, but he seemed to be wielding lightning, controlling the sea, causing the ground to crack and had smoky beings similar to Nyx at his back. He was dressed in white and gold and wore something on his feet with little wings on the side of the calves.

The right edge of the tapestry was unfinished, leaving the conclusion to the battle unfinished. The First King of Olympus was entirely entranced by what he saw. As he reached up to touch it, all three sisters shouted at Ouranos.

“Stop!” they exclaimed. Their voices echoed with a ringing clarity.

Ouranos halted. Their united voices were filled with a might that reminded him of Chaos. Though Ouranos had plans for Chaos, he did not possess the strength to defeat the Great Progenitor. Ouranos turned to see the sisters wearing cloaks to cover their bodies and obscure their faces.

“This? What is this?” Ouranos asked, captivated by the imagery. “Who are these people?”

The three sisters looked at one another, considering his question. They were careful in their response. “Divine beings of a possible future.”

“What are they doing?” Ouranos queried. He marveled at the two figures in the prospective future. While they were his lesser, something about them awed him.

“They are in conflict,” the one on the right explained. “In the future, many will fight for rulership in the lands.”

Ouranos laughed. “Of course they would.” He observed the contenders in a new light. In the future, there would be such small beings that they would fight for the scraps of his Kingdom. In the end, though, they would be under his rule.

The sister on the left asked, “So why have you come?”

The sister in the middle answered before Ouranos could speak. “Sister, His Majesty has come to inquire about the arrival of his children.”

The sister on the right added, “They will be here by year’s end, Majesty.” Upon hearing what he wanted, Ouranos turned to leave. Before he could summon the lightning to take him away, the sister on the right spoke up again. “We would like to remind our grateful servant we do not exist to guide his every step. Our Mother was correct; if you come for our counsel at every turn, you will be a slave to destiny. Keep that in mind.”

Ouranos allowed his great magical might to flow into his hands. He turned, preparing to strike the sisters for their temerity; however, when he faced them, he discovered that they had pulled their hoods down. The glare they aimed at him was filled with such ferocity that Ouranos recoiled.

While he could see a time, in his mind, when no one ordered him or forced him to hear their counsel, he recognized that the moment had not come. Restraint was required of the Last Primordial, and he would not be so foolish as to throw away all he had just to harm the daughters of Nyx. His retribution for their disrespect could wait.

Lightning encapsulated its divine master, and Ouranos disappeared.

Clothos looked at Atropos with disdain for their departed guest. “How many times will we allow him to be disrespectful before we punish him, dearest sister?”

Atropos looked towards their tapestry upon the younger god battling against a King of Olympus. “Perhaps we already have, my lovely sister, but let us allow him one more mistake before we invoke the inevitable.”

The other two seemed to accept the answer of the eldest sister. Together, they measured and then spun them while Atropos constructed a pair of shears. Soon, she would need to clip the first thread of life from Chaos’ Realm. As Atropos worked on her creation, she muttered, “Might we summon Thanatos if Ouranos forces our hand, dear sisters?”

“Of course, dearest sister,” the other two sang.

On Olympus, Gaia sat with her children.

She was so proud they were growing, becoming the size of small mountains. They would not be able to stay with her in the Realm of the Divine if they continued to grow. Olympus was wide, but Mother Earth was not sure how it would handle the height and weight of her large children, let alone their offspring.

Maybe with time, Ouranos could see the potential within them.

When she stopped thinking of Ouranos, her attention returned to her children. She shook her head as she considered her children’s actions. Cottus was banging one rock against another.

“Cottus, you silly boy, you cannot keep hitting things against one another.” Gyges was getting bigger every day. Briareos was making a bowl out of clay. “Oh, aren’t you creative, sweetie,” Gaia said, kissing Cottus.

“Momma?” Briareos asked. “When you have other babies, will you stop spending time with us?”

Though they were getting larger and larger, they were barely out of infancy. Gaia was discovering what all parents would come to know about babies becoming children.

“Oh! Honey! I would never!” Gaia exclaimed.

She did not care if they came to dwarf both her and her husband in terms of size. These were her little ones. They were to be loved and cared for, and they would know that they were loved by her.

“I don’t think Dad likes us much,” Gyges casually said. Together, he and Cottus were working on condensing the air until there was a shimmer of magic over the stones, turning it into the head of a hammer.

Gaia watched, amazed by the craftsmanship and talent of her sons. Never had she considered the creation of a tool. All she wanted could be grown or given to her by the very Earth itself. Their ingenuity brightened up her day and made her think all the more of her children.

“Oh! Yes, he does,” Gaia said with soft defiance.

She knew the complexity of Ouranos, but what she was not ready to recognize was her feelings towards her husband. She could not acknowledge the weaknesses of her husband; therefore, she was unable to see that she was turning a blind eye to him or hiding deep in her heart that she had just lied to her child.

“He has a hard time showing it to you,” she went on in defense of her husband while maintaining adoration for her babies. “He’s the first father, after all. It must not be easy. He is learning even as we are” Though she smiled and told those things to her children, the words rang hollow.

“He’s going to get rid of us,” Gyges said bluntly. The many armed child looked at his mother with soft eyes that held the conviction of truth inside of them.

“No!” Gaia exclaimed. “He won’t. I won’t let him do such a thing!” She wrapped her arms around her large son with all the love in Greece.

By the end of the year, Gaia had given birth to twelve new children. The experience was more painful than her first pregnancy and left her exhaustedly drained. For his part, the Primordial King did not notice that pain because he was far too busy being overjoyed for the fruition of his progeny.

Each child was unique to one another, but after the Fates had said, they were far more in line with Gaia and Ouranos than with the Cyclopes or Hecatoncheires. Even as children, each shined in their own way as these baby Titans were similar but altogether unique.

Gaia observed Oceanus never wanting to be around them. He was far too busy playing in the water. Gaia could see he was obsessed with puddles and pools as a toddler, but all too quickly, he grew up and was swimming in any body of water, from rivers to the ocean. He was strong and handsome like his Father, Ouranos.

Coeus spent most of his time staring at the night sky. Gaia wondered what was up there that had him so captivated. He was going to be a problem child; she could tell. He happily spent time with his hundred-handed siblings, and for that, Gaia was excited.

Crius was also obsessed with the heavens. But unlike Coeus, when Gaia asked what he saw, he said, “Stars, Mother. The stars are coming.” She had no idea what that meant, but his love for the heavens made her smile.

Hyperion envisioned a light for the sky. In his ingenuity, the young Titan created flames in his hands before condensing that fire into a ball right in front of Gaia. Much to Gaia’s surprise, after Hyperion created this ball, Chaos arrived on Olympus to breathe on the creation. After which, Hyperion threw the ball into the sky, and it became Greece’s first sun.

The oddest thing about Hyperion, in Gaia’s estimation, was that he spent more time away from the lands of Ouranos than his siblings as he got older. He traveled to the east of Olympus and continued to return with news of lands called Babylonia, Norvegia, India, Aígyptos, and Sinae. Gaia wondered what those lands would bring, but these were thoughts for the future.

Iapetus was obsessed with Nyx’s son, Thanatos. Gaia was unsure of what that meant. It was a blessing that her children were getting along with Nyx’s children.

Mnemosyne and Phoebe were the same yet opposites. They constantly spent time with the daughters of Nyx. Mnemosyne talked with Clothos about what had already happened, while Phoebe discussed what could be with Atropos.

Theia was as bright as the ball of fire Hyperion made, but it was more than that. When Hyperion came home to see Gaia, Theia was obsessed with him. Gaia found that to be adorable.

Rhea was different. She was beauty personified, with piercing ice-blue eyes and dresses that matched with a hint of silver. Her body was similar to Gaia’s in that she was shaped like an hourglass, one of Iapetus’ inventions. Rhea learned to copy designs from Nyx’s Daughters of Destiny, from which she could make clothes for all her brothers and sisters. She was the child to name her siblings, proclaiming they were so large they were Titans.

Tethys was obsessed with Oceanus but would never go as far as the ocean. She was more content to play with rivers, streams, and springs. That did not stop Tethys from always being affectionate with her brother.

Gaia considered which children would pair together; it made sense in her mind. Gaia had Ouranos. Nyx had Erebus, even if they were different. It seemed the newest generations would have pairs, too.

Gaia hated that Themis would lecture everyone about what was fair. To be scolded by her child was a new experience, much like everything, but Gaia navigated it well.

And then, there was Cronos. If ever there was a son Ouranos craved, it would be his youngest child. Cronos was the largest of his siblings and he was powerful in every sense of the word. He would wrestle and play-fight with all of Gaia’s sons, including the hundred-handed children and the Cyclopes, and scarcely lost. Only Crius was mightier than the youngest Titan. However, if Gaia had to guess, Cronos’ bald head and hairy body disappointed Ouranos.

To see all of her children’s differences brought joy to the Earth Primordial. Gaia was happy watching over all of her children and seeing them grow while imagining what they would bring to her life.

In the coming centuries, she would see them mature and change as all true mothers do. The Realm of Greece would flourish for their very existence. The other lands that Hyperion told Gaia about would some day recognize Greece, and by extension Mount Olympus, as the focal point of divinity.

Ouranos was pleased with his children. They were all so wonderfully different. Each was a mighty force in their own way, but they all kneeled before him as Father Sky.

Finally, there were proper followers to his greatness. They recognized him as the supreme being of the lands.

Having such obedience and supremacy, he wondered if destroying Chaos was possible. With that domination over the Progenitor, even Nyx would kneel before Ouranos, and he would have all Greece under his rule.

The Last Primordial would pay attention to all Hyperion said when he came back from other lands. There were some worrisome accounts. Some beings gave Ouranos pause.

Norvegia had beings called Borr and Bestla, who had three sons that were violent in nature. The so-called Progenitor in their land ... Ymir ... Imir ... Mirmir? What did Hyperion call them? Ouranos could not be sure, but the Primordial King believed that the family of Borr’s might just succeed in deposing their Progenitor. And if they could, why could Ouranos not do the same?