Chapter 7: Wise Counsel

Brontes, Arges, and Steropes (the Cyclopes) stared at their Hecatoncheires brethren: Briares, Cottus, and Gyges.

“What should we do?” Arges wondered. “These sons of Cronos seem to want us safe.”

“No. They want us on their side,” Cottus countered. “They mean to control us when we are not meant to be controlled.”

“They are asking for assistance, not compliance,” Brontes said.

“That is the great difference between us,” Briares said. “We have been trapped by our father, betrayed by our brother, and we have no intention of seeing if the next generation will do the thing.

“And you’re of one mind?” Steropes asked.

The Hecatoncheires all nodded in unison.

“But you will help them with these weapons?” Brontes wondered.

The Hecatoncheires all nodded. It was Briares who spoke. “But when the time comes for our nephews to fight our brother, we intend to leave.”

The Cyclopes nodded as they worked on the weapons for the sons of Cronos and their allies. The war was coming, and they knew without these tools, the young gods would never be victorious. These weapons would be their finest works to be remembered for all eternity.

When Iapetus did not leave Olympus, Cronos had to think quickly. Well, the truth was they both could not think quickly, and he did not. However, as the Titan of time, all he needed to do was focus and use his large pool of divine power to slow the movement of time in Greece. No one would notice but him.

Rewinding time on outside divine beings was near impossible. The divine nature of the Cronos’ family made it impossible for Cronos to affect them. As such, he could not resurrect Iapetus by rewinding time. He would not want to, as Iapetus might turn the others against him.

Instead, he slowed time to a crawl. He used this time to think. Cronos had to be sure of his next course. His rash decision to decapitate Iapetus put Cronos in a precarious predicament. If the other Titans discovered that he murdered their brethren, they might support Zeus’ reign.

The easiest solution was to blame the murder on Zeus, but Cronos had to think that through. How had Iapetus been caught off guard. How had he been decapitated? If the answer was not strong enough to stand against scrutiny, Cronos’ reign was over.

As such, he sat in contemplation until, he was sure. The how was simple, Zeus had been given aid. Who had aided him? Cronos had to think on that. Rhea was out, so was Gaia. Rhea was on Olympus at nearly all times. Gaia was on her island and a recluse. She did not like to have visitors. There was Oceanus, but Oceanus did not interfere with anything unless it interfered with his precious sea kingdom.

The Cronos considered the shaking of Olympus. The Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires had helped hold up the Underworld to the mortal realm. They allied, they must have in Cronos’ estimation, with Zeus, and Cronos’ wayward son must have freed them so he could have their weapons. After all, the torch, scythe and gauntlets had made a difference for Cronos and his siblings against Ouranos. Perhaps after escaping Cronos’ grasp, Zeus had found out the story of Ouranos’ defeat by his children, and Zeus went out to find the ones who made the weapons.

It was the easiest solution. He would have to come up with some other explanations, but he could not help but think that he had the options.

Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus returned to the entrance of the cave at around the same time. Poseidon had the Titaness Metis by his side. Hades had nothing, and Zeus had information.

Zeus was the first to speak. Looking at Metis, he lowered his head. “Who is this?”

“I am Metis, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys,” Metis said for herself. “My father sent me to offer you counsel in the battles to come.”

“Why would we need counsel?” Hades asked, gruffly.

“This shall be the first war,” Metis declared simply.

“War?” Poseidon wondered. The looks on Hades and Zeus’ faces mirrors their brother’s confusion.

“When two people fight one another, it is a fight,” Metis said, sighing in exhaustion. Her confidence and readiness to speak told the sons of Cronos that she had given this explanation before. “When more people join, it is a battle. When there are many battles, it is a war.”

“And you have a lot of experience in this?” Zeus asked, somewhat skeptical.

“Not with gods, but with animals. We can learn from the smaller beings. Ant colonies will battle other colonies for territory. Lions eat lesser animals. Conflict exists. We, as higher beings, have a responsibility to learn from those experiences.”

“Then what are you the Titan of?” Hades wondered.

“Wisdom, intelligence,” Metis said simply. “I want you all to succeed but only if we learn from the mistakes we make and the mistakes of our predecessors.”

Hades and Zeus nodded their heads to her.

After which, Zeus turned to Hades. “How did your adventure go?”

“I believe Nyx will help us, but she is old and powerful, so only she will decide when.”

Zeus leaned back annoyed. “It makes sense. She is a Primordial being. She answers to no one.”

“And what of you, Zeus?” Poseidon wondered. “Have you anything for us?”

“Gaia said much the same as Metis here. We must learn, be careful, but she will not interfere for or against us when it comes to Cronos.”

“But why not?” Hades wondered, slightly angered.

“Because Cronos has Rhea’s daughters,” Metis pointed out. “If Gaia loves Rhea, and loves you all enough to help you, then she loves her granddaughters just as much. To love them means she cannot aid you.”

The brothers nodded.

“What should we do next?” Poseidon asked.

“You should see what they have for you,” Metis said, pointing to the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires.

The brothers saw the layout of weapons.

“For you Hades, we have the Hooks,” Brontes said. “They were made from part of our chain. As such, these hooks and the smaller chains, which will be wielded by you, will be indestructible and can survive great heat. And for closer combat, we have constructed you a bident. It will work like a spear, but as Zeus had the thunderbolt, which has a single point at the tip, and Poseidon has a trident, which has three points, we believe you should have a weapon with two points.”

“You would think as the oldest, I would have one or three,” Hades mused.

Arges laughed. “We did consider that, but your weapons should not be made because of who is oldest but by which qualities suit each of you best.

“And for me?” Poseidon wondered, as the second son of Cronos.

Brontes answered. “For you Poseidon, we have made a sword. This Sword of the Sea will harness your powers for when you cannot use your trident. It will not harness the ocean as well as your trident but it shall never break and will harness your powers when you cannot readily use your trident.”

Poseidon bowed his head.

“As for you Zeus, we offer a golden fist. It can be used as a way to defend yourself with one hand while you harness your thunderbolt with the other hand,” Steropes explained.

Zeus graciously accepted the fist, seeing it was a little unwieldy, but he would learn. They all would.

“Begging my pardon,” Metis said, interjecting. “But what of those other weapons?”

Behind the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires, there was a shield, a bow with a quiver of arrows, a staff, gauntlets, and an ax.

Cottus the Hecatoncheires laughed. “I see she is the smart one.”

Gyges looked her up and down. “Which one should it be for her, then?”

Briares reached into the pile and handed Metis a shield, which looked a little like the sun. In the center of the shield was a face of some kind. “This is the Aegis, your shield,” the Hecatoncheires said.

Metis accepted the gift.

“As for the rest, you will need to decide for yourselves who will be given these weapons, Sons of Cronos,” Briares went on. “As for me and my Hecatoncheires brothers, we shall depart these lands before the battle begins.”

“But why?” Zeus wondered.

“We do not distrust you, nor do we mean you ill will, son of Cronos,” Briares explained, “but we do not wish for conflict. We wish to be far away no matter who is the winner.”

“But we need allies,” Poseidon protested.

It was Metis who intervened on the Hecatoncheires’ behalf. “Yes but allies should be on your side because that is what they choose to be, not because they are forced, Poseidon. Let them leave in peace.”

While Poseidon was still wanting to keep the Hecatoncheires on their side, both Hades and Zeus nodded their heads, so Poseidon had been outvoted.

As the Hecatoncheires left, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus stared at the small collection of weaponry.

The staff, bow and arrows, gauntlets, and axe would need to find a home. One way or another.

“Father!” Prometheus cried.

All of the sons of Iapetus (Menoetius, Atlas, Prometheus, and Epimetheus) came to Olympus accompanied by the other brothers of Cronos. Hyperion, Crius, Coeus, and even Oceanus made their way to Olympus to see the decapitated body of Iapetus.

Cronos wept, claiming that Iapetus came to Olympus, seeking to advise Cronos in the battles ahead.

Atlas and Menoetius quickly pledged themselves to Cronos.

Prometheus held his faith. “Please, Lord Cronos, let us take our father to the mortal realm to bury him.”

Upon Cronos’ declaration, the sons of Iapetus carried the body down Mount Olympus.

When the children were far enough, Cronos turned to Oceanus. “Do you see the threat my sons pose to us, to Olympus?”

“Fish shit!” Oceanus countered. “I don’t believe it.”

“Excuse me!” Cronos turned, anger flaring.

“That blow, those markings on Iapetus’ neck, they are just like Ouranos’ neck! If you expect me to believe that you didn’t kill Iapetus, you’re out of your mind!” Oceanus cried out.

Cronos shook his head. “I would never turn my scythe on any of you. We fought to rule! We defeated our father! I would never betray you, any of you!”

Crius stood between Oceanus and Cronos, as it seemed they might come to blows. When Oceanus realized that none of his brothers would see things his way, he waved them off and walked away. A pillar of blue light shimmered as he returned to his palace.

“Should we not go after him?” Hyperion wondered.

Coeus shook his head. “No. We have fights to prepare for. As such, we should aim our focus there, not on Oceanus. When we have won, we will repair our relationship with our brother.”

The other Titans nodded in agreement.

“What should we do first then, Coeus?” Cronos asked.

In the caves of Othrys, the sons of Cronos were sitting, thinking.

“With the Hundred-Handed ones gone, what is our next move?” Hades wondered.

“Do you not have siblings?” Metis wondered.

“We have sisters,” Zeus offered after a moment. “But they were raised by our mother. We can’t know if they will be capable of combat.”

“Why would they not be?” Metis asked, an edge of annoyance in her voice. She looked at Zeus with suspicion, expecting a good answer from the lightning prince.

“We can’t know they were prepared for battle.”

“But we can’t know that they weren’t,” Metis said carefully. “When you have no allies, you can’t be picky with your options.”

Poseidon laughed, motioning his support to Metis with a hand. “You know? She’s right.”

“Is this how he always is?” Zeus asked Hades. While there was mild annoyance, Zeus had a fun-loving look on his face, unable to contain himself in celebration his connection with his brothers.

Hades nodded grimly. “Yes, and it pains me to admit this, but he is correct. We should free our sisters.”

“And what of our mother?” Zeus wondered. His voice edged on hysteria. “She freed me and made it so I could free you. We cannot abandon her.”

Both Poseidon and Hades looked uncomfortable. As advisor and not the child of Rhea, Metis was quick to answer.

“But we are not. If we save your sisters and leave your mother, Cronos will not think we care for her.”

“Or Cronos will think that we were too weak to save her,” Zeus countered.

“I don’t think so,” Metis said. “Everything I learned about your father was that he is prideful. He sees his goals in a linear fashion. If he can’t complete his task directly, I think he falters. We can do this.”

Poseidon inclined his head and motioned with his hand to show his agreement.

Hades nodded. “She is right, Zeus. We have to try.”

“If our mother dies because of this...”

“She won’t,” Metis said, simply.

Despite Zeus’ apprehension, the brothers started their plan with Metis. With her as the war counselor, they had no doubt about the course ahead.

As they went to the mountain that they had grown up on, Prometheus worked on burying his father on the top of the mount.

“Is this how Father will be remembered?” Atlas wondered. “Forgotten on the top of a nameless mountain?”

“Mount Iapetus,” Prometheus declared. He patted the dirt over his dead father’s grave. “The mortals will not know it, but we will. We will remember forever.”

The brothers basked in the silence for a moment. However, it was Atlas, overcome by anger and feeling, who spoke up.

“Who wants to be named after a mountain? Who wants to spend their life on a mountain,” Atlas paused looking at their preserved remains of their decapitated father. “Or their death.”

Epimetheus and Menoetius lowered their heads lamenting their father’s passing.

“I will stand with Cronos,” Atlas said. “Any of you with any sense will come with me.”

Epimetheus looked to his twin brother. Prometheus shook his head. Menoetius motioned his support for Atlas.

“What? Zeus killed our father!” Atlas asked, angrily.

“Did he? Did he though?” Prometheus asked with uncertainty. “I am not so sure. Maybe he did, but why? If he had the power to attack Olympus again, why attack our father and not Cronos.”

“He’s right,” Epimetheus said, considering everything in the light of hindsight. “Cronos is the one who wronged this Zeus, not Father. It would make no sense for him to attack our father. If Zeus was strong enough and Father got in the way, then why didn’t Cronos strike Zeus down.”