The Time of Zeus Book 5: the Coup
Copyright© 2025 by Carlos Santiago
Chapter 26: The Dawn of Man
“Out of every hundred men in battle, ten should not be there. Another eighty are mere targets. Only nine are real fighters, and we are lucky to have them. But one ... one is a warrior. And it is he who will bring the others home.”
— Heron (as portrayed by Derek Phillips), Blood of Zeus Season 3, Episode 8: “A Champion’s Challenge” (series finale), originally aired May 8, 2025. Written by Charles Parlapanides & Vlas Parlapanides; directed by Jae H. Kim & Joshua Covey. Series created and written for Netflix by Charley Parlapanides & Vlas Parlapanides; produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios; animated by Mua Film and Hanho Heung-Up; distributed by Netflix. © 2025 Netflix/Powerhouse Animation. All rights reserved.
In the famous secluded grove beneath her late husband’s sky, Gaia stood side by side with her daughter: the Titan Queen Rhea. The air was thick with the scent of moss and stone.
They stood before a pond of crystal clear water. They stared at their reflections, knowing of the events of Mount Olympus.
“I am surprised you did not have us intervene,” Rhea remarked.
“Your son is built of sterner stuff than most on Olympus can know,” Gaia remarked, amused.
“He is rather tenacious. I recall you enjoyed that quality about him before Cronos.”
“As I do now, believe it or not, Daughter,” Gaia replied. “But so long as the Fates are on his side, the greater the opposition, the more powerful he will be at the end of any endeavor. It was for the best that we not involve ourselves until such a day that we can remove him from power.”
Rhea’s lips curved into a wry smile, a soft laugh escaping her as she regarded the endless turmoil on Olympus.
“Then they all think themselves so clever though,” she remarked. “Zeus, Hera, and Athena are all playing at games they do not understand and plot and scheme only to find themselves caught in the same conundrum we have struggled with for centuries.”
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