Chapter 7: Uprising

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new.”

- Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1842

Getting all of her children together in one location had been difficult before Ouranos’ outrage. After his atrocious act against the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires, Gaia simply needed to request their presence. The male children all showed up in the clearing near the cliff where Gaia often sat to think.

Thankfully, Hyperion and Oceanus actively listened while Gaia and Cronos told their story about Ouranos bedding Rhea and how he could come for their partners. Coeus, Iapetus, and Crius were less engrossed in the tale, but in the end, Gaia believed it was Hyperion that she needed to win to her cause if their quest was to succeed.

Hyperion was the one who had traveled to other lands and seen other Divine families. If anyone other than Themis might condemn their father’s actions as evil, it would be the Titan of Light.

“So, you would have us turn on our father, knowing he defeated our greater siblings?” Coeus asked with doubting skepticism. In Gaia’s estimation, he was the most intelligent being in the Realm. If he was expressing doubts, they were not in a good place.

The others nodded in agreement.

“All things must pass,” Iapetus countered, despite his own acknowledgement of Coeus’ intellect.

That was good. If Cronos’ words could win over even one of them to the battle head, that would be worth fighting for in Gaia’s eyes. Two was better than one after all.

“They’re right!” Oceanus boomed like a violent wave. “If he would steal away Rhea, there’s nothing to stop his eyes shifting to Tethys or any of our partners! What he does wrong to one of us, could be done to all of us.”

His words crashed harder than any tidal wave of water. Hyperion and Oceanus both had the similarity of being enthralled with their partners, Gaia recalled. They just needed to empathize with Cronos for them to be brought to their cause.

Crius made a sweeping motion with his arm to encapsulate all of the brothers. “And should we succeed? What then? Who will be King? Or are we to be ruled by Gaia?”

They all turned to face their enormous mother.

Gaia almost struck Crius in annoyance. He was always their leader as children, but with Cronos being the one who had been hurt, much like Gaia had been, she understood Crius’ mind was aware of a shift in affection from their family. While he was the most powerful, he would not become king if his brother’s wanted the jilted brother to be rewarded for his suffering.

Gaia could not allow them to fight amongst one another just because one son wanted their father’s throne. “I believe that is a question better left for success. We cannot plan for what has not happened.”

Thankfully, Hyperion, the most powerful, and Coeus, the most intelligent, agreed to help. With those specific two giving Gaia their full support, even Crius fell in line.

They could be lying, was Ouranos’ first thought upon returning to Olympus. Shaking his head, he realized the Sisters had never once deceived him in all the time that he had known them. He could return and demand answers. However, the visions he saw were flowing with truth. The future was full of hope for others but devoid of any for him.

To make the situation worse, should he return to their palace, he suspected that they would not be there. They had condemned him for his rash act of anger. Had he held back his outburst, would his future have been saved?

Or had he been doomed since entering the room? He shook his head.

No. It was their fault. Somehow, he could rectify the situation. All that needed doing was the death of his sons. He could not be overthrown by ... what was it the Sisters had said? “Each King betrayed by their deserving bold.”

Deserving bold? Who qualified?

While he had seen the future when they spoke, the memory of the imagery was hazy at best. He could not rely on the Moirai to give him the answers. He would have to piece it together himself.

As such, his mind returned to the quandary. Hyperion or Crius would qualify, obviously. Hyperion was the most capable. His great flame in the sky testified to that. Crius had always been a leader. If they were both killed, there was no deserving son left.

Oceanus spent all his time with Tethys; Coeus was too smart for his own good. Iapetus was obsessed with the concept of life, and Cronos ... Cronos was too weak to even hold onto Rhea. None of them deserved his throne, nor could they overthrow him to sit on it. He would need to stop only Hyperion and Crius.

He turned all his subconscious away from Rhea. As much as he loathed to do so, he could not leave his focus on his prize. He needed to turn that attention to his ‘deserving’ sons. He could deal with the rest of his Titan brood once they were locked in Tartarus with the Cyclopes and the hundred-headed wretches.

This first generation had been a mistake. The world would not know or miss them. He would rid the Realm of them, and they would be replaced with more worthy specimens modeled after him. His daughters would see to that.

Blinded so much by his own prideful arrogance, he did not even consider what might come to pass if he did succeed and breed an army of warriors with Rhea’s help.

His gaze (along with all of his attention) fell upon the Realm of Greece, looking for Hyperion and Crius. To his surprise, they were together. Their company made him realize he may have been far too late.

The siblings stared at the items Cronos pulled out: the gauntlets for Crius, the torch for Hyperion, and the scythe for himself. Iapetus, Oceanus, and Coeus looked upon their brothers.

“What are we meant to do?” Coeus asked.

“To help if you can,” Gaia said. “You are all blessed with gifts from Chaos, just as we Primordials were. In so many ways, you might be greater as you also carry power from the union of your father and myself.”

The children, while firm in their convictions of themselves, were unsure. Ouranos had ruled for what felt like eons. At the very least, they had never known a day when he was not their king.

“Come now,” Gaia implored. “You must see it. Even your interests are a reflection of that.”

Crius put on the gauntlets and felt the heavens above illuminate. He looked up and made a motion for his siblings to see the sky brightening.

When the torch touched Hyperion’s fingertips, a bright flame burst from the opposite end of the item. He marveled at the light dancing on the tip of his beacon.

Oceanus felt water swirling around his fists. Iapetus stared at his hands and wondered what they might do to their father. Coeus simply began looking at the realm around him.

As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow across the vast Realm of Greece, the Titan sons prepared for the battle ahead. Their weapons glinted in the fading light as if to reflect their fixed decisiveness.

This very resolve would be put to the ultimate test, the result of which would resonate through the ages.

“How dare you!” exclaimed a voice projecting from above. The sons of Gaia and Ouranos looked up to see their father.

He was the Last Primordial, King of Olympus, The Primordial King, Father Sky, Father of the Titans, and Ruler Above. At that moment, he personified all of those qualities and more.

“How dare any of you!” Ouranos declared with words mirroring himself against his other foolish children.

Wrath was his only compatriot when he descended from the sky. His presence was imposing to all present. He would be the most formidable opponent imaginable, with abilities that had long kept all in check. On that day, they would be unleashed upon his very offspring.

Lesser beings would have quaked in fear or fled, but he had helped create the Titans. From him, they would find the very courage necessary to battle the Primordial.

With the availability of their weapons and newfound abilities, these wayward sons believed that they could alter the course of the realm and save any hope of a peaceful future.

Ouranos, enraged by his children’s mutiny, struck out against them. While his brothers showed apprehension, Cronos was firm in his convictions because of the burning rage he felt at his father’s betrayal.

The very thought of Rhea and Ouranos’ infidelity flashed through his mind, and Cronos charged out to meet his father. He swung the scythe even as his father unleashed a thunderous punch. The fist struck the adamantine and diamond sickle.

Power radiated in the air at the impact of the blows meeting. The clash created a retort that made the hesitant Titan sons flinch. The land of Greece suffered for the might being deployed.