Chapter 108: DA : Chapter 108: Anthem of Anarchy IV
( Athena POV )
Next Morning
She gasped as she awoke, light drops of cold sweat running down her forehead as she glanced around quickly with a small celestial dagger held in her hand. She then spotted her daughter at the door, looking back at her in concern as Athena's heart slowed to a more sedate rate. As she calmed she rubbed her forehead, setting the knife down while hearing as Annabeth approached slowly.
"Mother?" she asked tentatively as Athena looked at her, their equally grey eyes locking onto each other.
Athena knew there was a slew of questions within the gaze and she wondered to herself if letting anyone else know of her latest 'visions' would help in any regard. So far she had made little of them, finding them too fragmented and inconsistent to really gain a conclusion to their purpose. All she could actually be assured of what who they concerned; Hestia.
Distorted images, usually with the kidnapped goddess bound in shackles, the sound of her voice in bare whispers asking for help. She'd been able to make out some of the background, giving Athena the vague sense of being outdoors and close to a water source.
But then before Athena could try to make a connection to try and communicate, Hestia would be blocked out by the familiar shade form of Umbra, the living shadow giving her a sinister smile every time before she would wake up just like she did now.
"Mother?" Annabeth asked again, sounding more concerned and making Athena noticed that she'd gotten carried away with her train of thought again. "Are you okay?"
Athena looked at her daughter carefully but then decided against mentioning the worrying visions. She could tell they weren't fake thanks to feeling little traces of Hestia's presence within the visions, something demigods could not distinguish making them easy targets for false visions and traps.
"I'm fine," she replied as she hastily got up, brushing aside Annabeth's gaze as she got dressed into her clothes for the day.
She really didn't want to worry Annabeth further, not with the tasks for the day ahead and knowing adding her visions of Hestia would only be a distraction for now. Until she got something more conclusive about Hestia's possible location, it was best to keep the information private.
At least with it she knew her aunt was still alive and didn't seem harmed as far as she could tell but unless she could find Hestia, it would be best to stay silent on the matter and not get everyone's hopes up.
With that in mind she finished dressing in a chiton before donning a standard breastplate, overlapping plated skirt, bracers, shin guards, and her helm tucked under her arm. Fully dressed she walked out of her room in a private barracks built specifically for the staying gods.
Ever since Umbra's attack on Olympus the entire mountain has felt cold and desolate, the feeling radiating from the throne room making most of the gods too uncomfortable to even reside there.
Annabeth, her lieutenant, followed behind dutifully, also dressed in full armor and ready to head out. The silence was less than comfortable though, both between the pair and the camp as they made it outside.
Much of the loading for the Argos III, IV, and V had been done the day before and now all that was left were the actual demigods themselves. Many paused and bowed their heads to her in acknowledgement which she just returned as she moved on her way.
In only a few minutes she had reached the fields of Mars, the grounds spanning out as the three ships gleamed in the morning light. Each Greek inspired trireme spanned over 150 feet with a wider hull and an automated ballista every 25 feet in between. Decorating the front were dragon heads of celestial bronze inspired by Festus and programmed through the efforts of Leo.
Athena honestly had to give it to the god of Forge and Advancement. Originally she had not expected much of the second domain but after having seen the performance of these ships, even without drivers, she had seen the great potential for modernizing a great deal of their weaponry and armor.
Some of their archers had now become sharpshooters with fully bolt-action rifles, many of the children of the late Ares/Mars carried re-enforced Desert Eagles with Greek fire rounds, and even short range communication sets had all come along thanks to Leo with the support of Hephaestus to push things along.
She had added her support to moving past the more traditional methods as well. All in all, with the increase in numbers and exponential advancement in warfare tools, the demigods have never been stronger, and through their sacrifices/prayers, the gods have become stronger as well.
Athena kept scanning over the demigods she passed before heading to the lead ship with her father already on board. Behind him stood Hera in armor much like Athena's own but with a girdle similar to that of the Amazons and her helm using peacock plums.
Behind them Athena could see Leo already at the control panel farther back on the ship. She glanced to thee two adjoining ships, the second with Hephaestus at the panel and Hermes looking over his shoulder out of curiosity while Apollo stood near the main mast as his gaze followed his own chariot with the sunrise.
She gave those that looked at her nods before she moved to the third ship since she was the pilot. Even with the advanced mainframes and controls coming from Festus Beta, Gamma, and Omega, much of that programming was to manage the internal functions of the ship along with combat while Leo left programming for travel and take-off on bare minimums such as setting steady courses and keeping the ships stable in case of iffy drivers.
Demigods were already beginning to board the ships and proceed to the quarters beneath, leaving her a little irritated that she failed to get up as early. Those damn visions were really starting to be a nuisance.
"Sister," Artemis addressed her curtly as she walked up the plank to the Argo V, her newest named lieutenant Aria at her side.
"Artemis," Athena replied as she walked past her and towards the control panel, her sister and daughter following closely behind. "Are all yours already on board?"
"Yes," Artemis replied as they arrived to the panel and Athena began the initiation sequence while listening to Festus Omega use clicks and beeps to communicate in Morse Code to her. "Bellona has already joined on father's ship with her complete infantry group while yours was split between Hephaestus' ship and this one."
Athena nodded to that as she checked over the displays for the ship. Engine was at full capacity, weapons ready, hull stocked and full, and even a favorable weather report. All in all everything was looking good.
She then looked up and across the field to the other ships, meeting the gazes of Hephaestus and Leo, getting agreeing nods from them. She then turned her gaze to her father, giving him a nod which he returned.
He then turned to address the crowds of civilian legacies and few reserve legionnaires remaining for the defense of the city. They along with Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, Terminus, Chiron, and a multitude of minor gods were responsible for New Rome.
Athena could feel the nervous tension amongst the crowd, some younger unable to fight yet, both demigod and legacies, watched on with either awe to see their heroes prepare for war or fear, wondering if they will come back.
"Lift off!" Zeus boomed with a crack of lightning above, making several jump in surprise before Athena turned the lever to activate the magical oars of the ship.
With a thrum of power the ships started to slowly ascend, the newly created solar sails engineered with the combined efforts of Leo, Apollo, and Annabeth flaring into golden hues as they caught the sunlight. As they ascended they could hear the calls of the crowd. Words of luck and encouragement, to make the demons pay, and such.
"It's finally time," Artemis murmured as she looked to the north, a steely glint in her eyes.
"Careful sister," Athena warned softly as she too looked north. "I don't know whether Umbra and his lot are demons or angels or what have you but you cannot forget that they are dangerous. We need to stick together and work as one … or we will be destroyed."
Artemis met her gaze, the anger still prevalent but she gave a slow nod even as the grip on her newly forged daggers since the attack on her Hunt.
Athena looked away after a few minutes as well, noticing that the three ships were already well into the thousand foot height they steered to the north east and over the Rocky Mountains. Flashes of golden light to the sides made her look to see nearly a hundred chariots being pulled by all manner of blessed creatures, each chariot holding two or three minor gods accompanying them to battle.
"I dare say this will be a war unlike any we've had before," Athena murmured as she returned her attention to the front of the ship, the bronze plating gleaming in the morning light as they sailed to the strong hold of demons…
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