The Reign of Cronos Ch. 04

Chapter 4: Seeds of Creation

For all the plans that Rhea and Gaia shared, that did not make it easy for them to execute. Waiting is easy when you know what you're waiting for, but Rhea was waiting for the unknown, so everyday that her baby grew in her belly, the Titan Queen could not help but be restless.

Day after day, this sentiment grew until the day when Rhea screamed out in agony. The birth of her and Cronos' first trueborn child was one that would be remembered in the annals of the grand halls of Mount Olympus. Anticipation mounted within Tethys and Theia as they could sense the fearful undertone emanating from Rhea while they acted as midwives.

Rhea could not be sure what she was emanating because her focus was on a different battle. What if she had a girl? That would not do for her plans with Gaia. But a boy? This soon? She was not ready to try and harm Cronos. Her mind raced back and forth. Then she wondered what he might do if she had a girl.

In the end, with all the thoughts running through her mind, Rhea prayed to Gaia and Chaos that she would not deliver a boy. She just was not ready to enact her vengeance against the Titan King.

Cronos stood nearby, unaware of his wife's internal struggle. His eyes never left Rhea's screaming, sweaty form.

For him, the path ahead was simple. If the baby was male, it was clear that he would need to act. If the child was a girl, he did not feel threatened since the prophecy spoke of a son taking what was his, so he could do nothing and breathe easier.

Rhea clenched her fists from her body being racked in pain. Another conflicted but determined cry escaped her lips. With each contraction, she drew strength from the primally instinctive forces within her; she would not die or be harmed by giving birth. There was too much to be done, and she could not be reunited with Ouranis in the land of the dead until those things were completed.

Every pain from her laborious pushes of birth brought her closer to Cronos' removal from power regardless of the sex of the baby. That was all she needed. Nothing else mattered. When the moment of his deposition arrived, then she could consider other possibilities, such as dying.

Hardening herself away from the pain, Rhea delivered her precious daughter into the world. She sweat and gasped when Theia handed her the baby girl, wrapped up in its blanket. Rhea got her breathing under control before looking towards her Cronos.

Cronos did not even look at his wife. She was a mess. Sweat was all over her face and chest. Her hair was in disarray from her screaming and throwing her head in pain. He only observed that his child was a daughter and not a son, and he breathed a sigh of relief before leaving his wife alone with the child and their Titanic sisters.

The soft cry of the newborn baby girl filled the room. When Rhea's heart should have swelled with love, she focused only on the future. There were no thoughts of family or home. She looked at her daughter before deciding on the name 'Hestia'. Her baby would exist only to further her plans.

Rhea looked down at Hestia as the baby grasped Rhea's thumb with her tiny fingers. Rhea smiled and kissed her much to Theia's and Tethys' joy. Rhea would find happiness one day; she knew that much of it, but until that day, she knew she would need to be the doting mother and wife to the lands of Greece, but in her heart, she would only exist with a single goal in mind.

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From the ground, where there were trees and streams that stood and flowed, to the sky, which had a golden light burning in the heavens with a beautifully blue canvas, there were many wonders to the land of Greece. Iapetus cherished them all. While his Titanic siblings looked upon the world and found one interest, Iapetus was amazed by it all.

Oceanus loved the water (from the lakes, rivers and streams). Crius was obsessed with the stars in Nyx's night sky. Coeus was always trying to figure out how the world worked rather than just cherishing what was. Hyperion loved light and fire. Well, that was not entirely true. Hyperion always enjoyed his travels.

For Iapetus, sitting on a cliffside in solitude, as he was, could bring him just as much joy as feeling the breeze on his skin. He could say that light was wonderful, the blue sky was fascinating, and that the blades of grass were unique in how they grew, but then, when his thoughts ran out of things to be amazed by, he recognized that he was always inexplicably alone.

He hoped to find love with one of his siblings, like Mnemosyne or Themis, but they never expressed interest in him. Before too long, he just accepted that romance with one of his sisters was not his destiny. Instead, as his siblings found love in one another and interest in their domains, Iapetus sat alone on the cliff, pondering life.

He exhaled deeply in those thoughts. His very existence sounded sadly hollow. There was nothing to be done though. It was what it was by Iapetus' estimation.

Returning to his thoughts on life, he wondered about the veil between life and death. After the demise of Ouranos, Iapetus wondered if all of the divinities were meant to live and die, and if so, what was the point of life if it ended?

If their lives were fleeting, what was the purpose of such impermanent joy?

Shaking his head, he could not help but find despair in all of his questioning. Rather than look at the waters beneath the cliffs he sat on, he turned his head up to stare at Hyperion's great flame.

There had been a lot of darkness in the living realm. The only true lights came off the divinities when they walked the living realm. As such, Hyperion, with the blessing and some power from Chaos, made a ball of fire and planted it in the sky. Up close, the fire burned with a thin ethereal light. Iapetus very nearly put his hand in it. Hyperion had stopped Iapetus, thankfully. Hyperion, before putting the fire in the sky, explained that the Flame on Olympus would consume ALL things it touched unless precautions were taken..

Considering what stories Hyperion had from other lands, it made sense that he could create such an amazing innovation. Iapetus recalled Hyperion's last story of a land called India, where the divine beings there battled relentlessly for supremacy. The Indian divinities believed it was necessary to do battle to establish a hierarchy of power.

Iapetus shook his head, glad not to be so barbaric and foolish. Regardless of his loneliness or even sorrow, he would never sink so low and kill other beings to prove his importance. That was when his mind circled back to how everything in life was simply sublime.

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It would be nearly a year after Hestia's birth before Rhea would see Gaia again. The other Titans had been procreating, bringing new Titanic beings into the world. It was more chaotic than the downfall of Ouranos because no one knew what to expect next.

Rhea found solace in the presence of Gaia. Maybe it was the peaceful nature of Rhea's mother, or another year passing meant they were a year closer to being rid of Cronos. Rhea's mind was preoccupied with the future.

"There is something I have been thinking about, Gaia," Rhea said with mild concern. The united goal of planning against Cronos seemed to have set the women on more equal footing. Rhea started to see Gaia as her counterpart, not her mother.

"And that is?" Gaia asked. For her, the changes did bring them closer, but Gaia was the mother of the Titans. That was just how it was for her.

"If I keep having children, like Hestia, and should Cronos fall to my chosen son," Rhea said carefully. "Won't we need a new Queen to stand alongside the next Ruler?"

Gaia sat in contemplation. On her island, where the two were, it was easy for Gaia to ponder the complicated nature of their quest.

"Do you not believe Hestia should assume the role of Queen?" When Rhea shook her head, Gaia sighed. "Then, I suppose, we must weigh our options, considering the other Titans are growing their families. One of them might have a daughter with the right potential to shape the world as we have."

Rhea shook her head at that suggestion. She had very nearly been a queen alongside Gaia with Ouranos. If she was not to be Queen on Olympus, she would hand that position to one of her sibling's children. "I had a different idea."

"Oh?" Gaia wondered. She could not hide the fact that her curiosity was piqued.

"I believe you said the Curse of Ouranos would affect the throne and its ruler, but for how long?" Rhea said, turning her statement into a question at the end.

Gaia stared thoughtfully out at the lands of Greece. The waters that surrounded seemed to swirl around before crashing against itself much like the thoughts in Gaia's mind. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I believe for a few generations." Gaia looked at Rhea, seeing that her answer was not enough for her daughter. As such, she went on in the hopes of putting her daughter's worries to bed. "If I was forced to guess," she went on, "I would think three generations."

Rhea considered what her mother said with a contemplative mind. "Is it likely the Fates chose three generations because Ouranos chose to harm three women?"

Gaia nodded to her daughter's question. "I would not put it past them. Their wisdom seems to have a certain...thinking...behind it."

"If that is true," Rhea remarked carefully. She considered her mother's words. "Does it not also make sense that the downfall of these kings should come from the right woman's line?" Gaia gave Rhea a scrupulous look to her daughter's question but slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Then, whoever deposes Cronos should have a Queen prepared to do the same to him, or at the very least, be ready to bear a child who can take the throne for the rest of eternity."

"I can agree with that logic, Rhea," Gaia replied. She felt the breeze on the wind. With the static charge in the air, Gaia could feel a storm was coming. "But then, we would need to cultivate that child from birth."

"Cronos has no interest in his daughters," Rhea reacted quickly. There was fun for her in the planning for the future. "We can find the right qualities necessary for a Queen and mold them into one of my daughters."

"Very well," Gaia nodded. "You have to understand that this could take centuries or millennia."

Rhea halted a scoff in her throat. Of course it would take that long. Did Gaia not realize how much thought that she had put into the task ahead? Was Gaia as committed as Rhea? She could not be. Gaia was the mother of Cronos, a Primordial who did not experience life the same way a Titan did, in Rhea's estimation. Rhea would have to guide Gaia's influence in the right direction as she aligned herself with her mother.

"If it means peace from these foolish and destructive men," Rhea said softly, "it will be worth it."

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Nyx paced back and forth in the realm of the Underworld. Her mind was full of so many feelings. She had felt them before of course, but it quickly felt as though she needed to deal with them.

This led her to the Temple dedicated to her daughters. She hesitated to visit the women that the Titans called the 'Sisters of Fate', but to Nyx, she felt the name the 'Moirai' was more fitting for her daughters.

Then again, so much had changed above and in the Underworld since Ouranos' demise. Nyx was struck by a sense of abandonment from her Primordial siblings. Gaia had paired with Ouranos and made their Titan children. Nyx understood that was their nature. Eros disappeared entirely early on, but Nyx could never understand why. The true siblings of the Underworld were Tartarus and Erebus, but since their absence, Nyx contemplated if it was her destiny to be alone, only ever a mother. Maybe it was her destiny to vanish from the world as the other Chthonic Primordials.

This led her to the inner chamber of her daughter's temple, where the very air was thick with cosmic knowledge. She gazed at her daughters. With their powers, she knew that she they were aware why she came.

"Mother Night," Clotho, the youngest looking daughter who saw the past and the Spinner of the Threads of Fate, began with otherworldly clarity. "You inquire about your romantic future."

Nyx nodded. Unlike most, she did not show emotion to her daughter's precognition abilities. She celebrated them in her heart and mind, but not on her face because if her children could see the future, she knew they must also, somehow, see her heart, which mattered more than proclaiming her adoration.

"Tell me, daughters," Nyx implored with love. "Am I meant to be alone?"

Lachesis, the middle daughter who often saw the present and the Weaver of the Threads of Fate, leaned forward. "You are not so alone now, Mother."

Nyx smiled, admiring her daughter's cleverness. "I believe you know what I mean, child. Cronos and the Titans above have their romances. Will I find the same?"

"Would you still want it knowing it could hold the same hardships that the Titans face?" Atropos, the eldest of the Sisters who saw the future and the Cutter of the Threads of Fate, inquired. Her voice was almost as emotionless as Nyx's, but at the edge of her words, they were tinged with mystery.

Nyx only smiled to the eldest of the Moirai as an answer

"Very well," Atropos replied in answer. For others, her answer might have been cold, but Nyx could sense the affectionate bonds of a daughter to her mother within the words. "There will be many who share your affection, but one shall stand above all others, Mother. A love that could last forever.."

Nyx's heart quickened with anticipation. "Who is this love, my daughters? Please, tell me."

The Sisters exchanged meaningful glances between them. They did understand their mother, even more than they understood the other divine beings. How could they not? She had helped bring them into existence.

It was Clotho who spoke up with enigmatic certainty. "The road of destiny is ever-changing, Nyx. The threads of the future can intertwine until they weave intricate patterns even without the complicated nature of love."

Nyx felt a curious yearning. Atropos' question repeated in her mind, asking if she wanted to know given all the problems on Olympus. All Nyx needed to do was look at the event of Ouranos taking Rhea. Did Ouranos love Rhea? Unlikely, but Nyx suspected the young, broken girl did love her father. Her love was destroying the Kingdom of Olympus, and by Nyx's estimation, it would lead to Cronos' downfall and an empty sorrow for Rhea.

Even still, with all of that destruction, Nyx did wonder. Wonder was not enough for her children. They needed her commitment to the task. "Please, give me a glimpse, Sisters. Who is this love?"

The Three Sisters acknowledged their Mother's request. Unlike the kings that came to them, Nyx meant the Moirai no harm, and what she asked was for herself. They would give her peace as she deserved the world if she asked.

As one, they looked through the Tapestry of Destiny. The power allowed them to see the choices that might lead to the dark Prince who would be Nyx's great love.

In the shadows of the starlit night,

Two souls shall unite, destined in sight.

A love born of darkness, an eternal embrace,

Where secrets reside, entwined in cosmic space.

From the depths of the Underworld's abyss,

Primordial of Night, with power and bliss,

Shall find her equal, a beacon of might,

A soul of fire, burning bright.

Together, they'll dance through twilight's embrace,

In Realms unseen, where mysteries trace.

One born of strength, a hero's birthright,

The other veiled in darkness, cloaked in night.

Their union, a harmony of opposing powers,

A bond forged through fates' weaving hours.

Their love, a secret whispered on the breeze,

A connection woven in cosmic tapestries.

Through trials and trials, they shall endure,

A love that transcends is steadfast and pure.

Their hearts entangled, a celestial dance,

A romance shrouded in a timeless trance.

So, Nyx, Primordial of Night, profound,

Embrace the mystery; let love be found.

In the depths of darkness, your heart shall ignite,

And in this union, true love takes flight.

Seek not the names that Fate has concealed,

For love's essence transcends what is revealed.

Embrace the enigma, let destiny guide,

As your great love beckons, side by side.

Within the Realms of gods and men,

A love so profound, it shall transcend.

Embrace the journey, trust in its design,

For in the union of souls, love shall intertwine.

The prophecy unfolds, a tale yet untold,

Where Nyx's heart finds solace and holds,

A love that defies the Realms of light,

In shadows united, love ignites.

Nyx listened to every word carefully. Without magic from her daughters, she could see a prince with a sword in hand slashing from lower parts of Tartarus to the Living Realm. She envisioned a powerful, black haired young man. He was full of laughter and fun. Immature, but somehow, still stoic in his duty to a King and... brother?

She could see a life with him forever. Her connection to Chaos and the existential forces of reality were wrapping her up in her destiny and doom. Should that doom mean her destruction, it would be enough. Though it all, she smiled. A small tear of liquid starlight fell down her cheek.

When her divided attentions returned to the moment in the temple, she looked to her daughters. She stared at them for a few moments more; they would say no more, but they did not need to for Nyx's heart.

"Thank you, daughters," she said, inclining her head in deference to them. "For everything." Returning to the shadow of her darkness of the Underworld, Nyx departed from the Fates willingly.

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