A Pantheon in Ruin

Indie oc Greek mythology rp blog. Please read the About and Rules pages. Ask is always open. Opens can be found in the 'open rp' tag.

[the-olympians]

; open

[the-olympians]

The sight of the syringe filled him with dread; it took him a moment to actually register her words. “Yes,” he said with a voice hoarse from disuse. Unconscious for a week? He had been gone for too long, far too long. His men needed him, and he needed to be there. His breath hitched as he considered his absence. How many men had died while he was sleeping? How many men would die before he was well enough to return to the battlefield? He cleared his throat and released her wrist, his hand falling to his side palm down on the fabric. “I’m sorry, miss, I’m not usually this aggressive. Forgive me.”

She certainly seemed suited to the job with how soft-spoken she was. He wondered if she had been here long. What had she seen?  “Is there any news from the front?” Any news of my men, he wondered, though he stopped himself before asking.

“How bad is it?” He asked. The pain was there of course, but lying still as he was it wasn’t as intense as he thought it might be. Blue eyes turned up to gaze at the woman, and he was struck with how helpless he was. Never in his life had he been in this predicament before, and . Hephaestus was too afraid of the pain to chance sitting up against her wishes. “How long until I get back out there?

[the-olympians]

The men were somewhat reluctant to get up, but once they were up they were all ready to get to work. Ares never felt more relaxed or at home than when he was at sea. Every rock of the ship and every splash of the waves was familiar to him. He was built for this life.

In fact, he was so built for life at sea that the hours ticking by were a blur to him. Every once in a while he would check up on his bride, but his focus was mainly on the sea and getting his men home. They were all anxious for it, and most of them barely ate throughout the day. Their only goal was to get home. It was only when the sun began to sink lower along the horizon and the sky began to turn orange and then purple that land was sighted. Many of the men let out cries of excitement; everyone was itching to see their families again, even after such a short time away.

Ares lifted the horn at his hip to his lips, and let out a loud blast. They needed to know that the men were home.

He found Anna shortly after. “It won’t be long now,” he said as the men around him moved to get in their rowing positions. “My home is right there.”

With one hand he pointed out across the darkening sea towards the ever growing stretch of land before them. “Once we arrive, I may need to deal with any matters that may have arisen in my absence, but I will be sure to bring you home before I do.”

The least he could do was bring her somewhere safe from prying eyes so she may have a moment alone after a voyage surrounded by people.

[the-olympians]

; open

When he first woke, it took him a moment to remember what had happened. He had been running through the trench with the others; Heph could remember the smell of the battlefield, and the screams of dying men. Lying in the bed, the soldier could almost still feel the weight of his gear on his back and hear the sounds of bullets being fired over-top of the trenches.

Blue eyes scanned the room he was currently in. He was on some sort of bed under a thin blanket. To his left hung a cloth partition of white fabric, though it was covered in a layer of battlefield grime, and he could see the faint shadow of another bed on the other side. The walls were made of the same cloth, as was the ceiling, and the light inside the room was dim. Heph tried to sit up, and was struck with a pain in his side. The shell hit us, he thought as recognition came back to him. A shell had struck close by, he couldn’t recall how close it was. He had been thrown back from the force of it, and anything after that was lost on him.

A small sound to his right caught his attention, and he slowly turned his head towards it. It felt like he was moving through water every time he tried to shift or turn, and he squinted his eyes to get a better look at the person standing next to his bed. With one large hand, he reached out to grab their wrist.

“‘Scuse me,” he began with a voice that sounded more gravelly than normal, “where am I? W-What happened to me? Why can’t I move?”

[the-olympians]

Zeus gave a thunderous laugh, and nodded. “I s’pose I earned a night on the couch. If you’d wanted a drink, all you had to do was ask.” Now asking him not to be an ass was a bit much; his personality had been the same for his whole life, and he wasn’t about to change now. “Whiskey or beer? For you, I can do either.”

“Now, now, no need to threaten my life. You’d miss me too much.”

[the-olympians]

“C’mon now,” the god said with an exaggerated southern drawl, “you can’t stay mad at me forever. What can I do to make it up to you?” He wasn’t phased by the sudden flare of temper by the other; he was used to dealing with Hera’s temper, and his own was no joke. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying this.

[the-olympians]

Zeus chuckled as he watched her deny him. It wasn’t often that women did that. “Let her try. I doubt she’ll get very far. Well I know that I want to go to the human world, but I’m not sure where exactly we should head to.” He raised a hand to run through his dark hair as he considered her question. That was the problem with being a god; anywhere that they could go, they would be able to. They had all of the power in the world. “Why don’t we just go wherever the drinks will be most plentiful?”

[the-olympians]

A month? There was no way he would be willing to wait around for a whole month before he tried to break out. This would have to happen now.

“A shapeshifter?” That could be useful, if he could get them out of the chains. He glanced down at the metal, and shook his head. Having been trapped in these same chains before, he knew all too well how difficult they would be to get out of. “I know who made these. He and I don’t exactly get along, but I have to admire his craftsmanship. He isn’t the kind of person who would do this.” 

No, Hephaestus was not this kind of person. He may dislike Ares, even hate him, but he wouldn’t stoop this low. Zeus would never stand for it, and neither would Hera. This was the work of someone else, which meant that they were both in serious danger. He barely listened to what the other was saying--his mind instead was racing to figure out a way for them to escape relatively unscathed. “Can you reach me?”

[the-olympians]

Dark eyes turned to the other as he strained against the chains, muscles burning with the exertion. He let out a grunt, and leaned back in he chair. He’s a prisoner, he realized. So it seems that he had yet to meet the captor that had beaten him bloody. “Well, Alexi, son of Loki, I am Ares, god of war. I will not be staying here for long.” 

No, the prideful god couldn’t bear to remain chained like this. It was far too vulnerable, and his pride was already damaged. He spit a glob of red onto the floor, and leaned forward to stare Alexi down. “How long have you been here?”

[the-olympians]

She was smart, smart enough to think of a strategy for them when he could not. Anna was right of course; she would have to stand alone against the women, or else they would never leave her alone, never leave them alone. It seemed he had married a true warrior, even if she had no training. “I suppose you’re right. Well, at least allow me to supply something for you to use, should you need it.”

One hand moved from her shoulder to his waist. Typically his sword hung there, but he also had a small knife that normally would be used for slicing meat at feasts. His calloused thumb ran over the small blade as he considered it for a moment, before he passed it over her shoulder. “Here, take this. If you want to handle this yourself, you should be prepared with something. I certainly like you enough to keep you around,” he said, and winked at her.

The ship jolted under them as the waves rocked it back and forth, and he looked up. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to wake the men if we hope to get home before dark.” Home. He wondered if she would ever think of his home as her own. He had heard other Jarls talk of their wives’ sadness, how they missed their homes. He was prepared for that, especially if she would face such opposition from his people, yet he still hoped that she would come to feel comfortable in his birthplace. He squeezed her shoulders again, before leaving her to kick at the boots of sleeping men in his eagerness to get back.

[the-olympians]

“You’re gonna regret this,” the war god said around a mouthful of blood. His handsome face was bruised and bloodied, and every part of his body was sore. He was tied to the chair with the same ancient chains forged by Hephaestus himself to humiliate Ares during his rendezvous with Aphrodite. He didn’t know where he was, or who held him. All he knew was that when he got out of those chains, they were going to die in the bloodiest, most painful way possible. “What do you want with me?”

[the-olympians]

The king of the gods grinned bashfully, dimples showing in aged cheeks as he looked down at his feet. “Well, I never could control my wife. At least short hair looks nice on you,” he said. Even speaking quietly, the thunder god’s voice had a booming quality to it. It was no wonder that Hera had known of their previous escapades. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that Hera is indisposed right now with Aphrodite and Hephaestus.”

[the-olympians]

“Look, running a pantheon is tough work and sometimes, a god has got to take a break. Why don’t you and I go down to the human world and cause problems like the old times?” he asked in his usual southern drawl. It had been far too long since Zeus had been able to walk among mortals, and he was itching for some excitement.

[the-olympians]

Ares sighed. He hadn’t wanted to scare her like this, but she had to know. “I know,” he said quietly. He wouldn’t always be around to protect her. The women could be vindictive, and they had an advantage over her physically; all of them had grown up training and fighting or working on the small farms. The shield-maidens were a force to be reckoned with. He could think of the ones that would most likely give her problems: Freya, Signe, and Astrid. I’ll need to point them out to her. She needs to know who is dangerous and who is not, he thought. 

He squeezed her shoulder when she mentioned her death. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her. I have to bring her with me when I leave until they settle down, he thought. He wouldn’t allow her to be placed in harm’s way, and anyone who tried to hurt her would have to answer to the giant man. He would need to make that perfectly clear when they landed. “They will never touch you. I’ll make sure of it.”

[the-olympians]

Her questions were understandable. Why wouldn’t the women in his home try to remove her, especially if they wanted him for themselves? He wouldn’t lie to her; there had been women before her, and they were all aware that being his wife would lend them certain perks that they would not get from other marriages. Ares could almost imagine that they may try to make Anna lose favor with him; divorce was an option for his people after all. He had considered marrying within the village once, but that time had clearly gone. “There may be,” he admitted, “though they will not openly try to undermine you. As my wife, you will be a threat to them should they decide to try and push you out.”

The viking squeezed her shoulder lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Is this something you fear?” he asked, raising a brow at her. He was confident that she would be alright in his home, but he did was to dissuade her fears, should she have them. “You do not know me well at all yet, but I will not allow them to get rid of you.Your place is by my side.”

[the-olympians]

He looked over her head at the horizon. “Not long now; at most, I would say we should reach my home by nightfall. We’ve traveled farther than I expected to during the night. The gods must be smiling upon us,” Ares said. He glanced down at her, and smiled. He had taken note of her stillness, and it pleased him. Happiness in this sort of situation was not something he would have expected, nor was comfort, but he could hope that she might have felt an inkling of either. 

“Are you anxious to get back to dry land?” She would spend a good amount of time there; Ares would need to teach her about sailing if he wished to bring her along on their expeditions. Even if she proved not to be cut out for the life of a shield-maiden, she may someday still travel with him. One could never be too certain of the future, and he would not neglect giving her the skills she may one day need.

“Don’t be alarmed if the others seem...standoffish when we land. My people can be distrustful of outsiders, especially with such a tumultuous past between us.” His people would eventually be curious about her, his foreign bride, but he knew all too well how they may react to her initially.

[sacrosanctvm]

plot: based on this open to: m/nb

If there was one thing that Bradley was, it was a homebody. She preferred being in her own space; she preferred being with her antiques and oddities rather than being out and about…with people. A few close friends had insisted on dragging her out that night though. Apparently, they’d gotten tired of her constantly declining their invitations anywhere in favor of her work. She’d already told them that she wasn’t going to do anything with them for Halloween night, so going out to a bar a few days before seemed like their next best option. Of course, she’d kept up with the conversation and had actually started almost enjoying the evening until she’d made the grave mistake of not going to the bathroom with her friends and a vulture had descended. She kept her eyes down on her drink as he spoke to her, sloppily trying to flirt and almost making her nervous but definitely making her uncomfortable. “Look, I… Can you…please l-leave me alone?”

[the-olympians]

He had spotted the pair from across the room from his seat at the bar. Drunken men and uncomfortable women weren’t uncommon, certainly not when alcohol was flowing as freely as it was tonight. This is why I hate the holidays, he thought. People would take any excuse to make themselves a danger to others, and Ares had frequented this bar often enough to spot an encounter waiting to happen. He lifted his pint glass to his lips, dark eyes locked on the girl. Part of him considered just leaving it be; the girl had friends, so clearly she would be taken care of. The cynic in him was likely to assume that the girls friends would be more interested in getting drunk and having a good time than protecting their friend, however. He rose slowly—rolling back his broad shoulders and sighing as the cynic in him won—and he approached. Ares stopped just at her shoulder, and looked down at the woman briefly. He wasn’t entirely sure if she would pick up on his hints, but tonight he did not want to resort to aggression. Getting kicked out of his favorite bar was not on tonight’s agenda. Dark eyes turned to stare down the man as he addressed her.

 “Sorry I’m late, babe. Did I keep you waiting long?” 

[the-olympians]

“Really?” She had been popular with the boys in high school, and had had her share of them, but he had truthfully been the one that got away. She had assumed that he felt nothing more than brotherly love for her, and after graduation she had distanced herself from almost everyone in their hometown. Hearing now that he had shared her feelings felt so bizarre, though she couldn’t help but be pleased. “I’d like both, if you’re willing. It’s not often that I get to see old friends.”