The throne room of Olympus shimmered in the haze of celestial light; this light may have come from the sun that hung on the horizon, but that was just a projection, one that followed the mortal world's cycle. The floor was made of white marble, reflecting the supposed purity of the gods, and in comparison to the gold-gilded room, there were twelve large mismatched thrones curved around a dais carved with the constellations.
These were the thrones of the gods, representing their authority and place in Olympus.
Athena's seat, carved from grey marble with inscriptions of owls and Greek heroes, was empty. She was temporarily away from Olympus on a personal task. It was because of this that when Hermes entered the throne room, his winged sandals allowing him to float over the ground, his golden staff tucked beneath his arm, and a scroll held loosely in his hand, he looked for her and found only the empty throne.
His entrance drew the gazes of the gods who were still in the throne room at this time.
Aphrodite was relaxing on her throne, her head resting against the dove-themed armrests as she read a romance novel.
Ares lounged in his throne with his arms crossed, his red cloak slung carelessly across his shoulder. He was bored with the lack of conflict and oozed restlessness; if it weren't for the threat of his father not starting a conflict, he would be traveling outside, fighting anyone he found.
Demeter and Hera were discussing matters of Hades in a quiet voice, ignoring Zeus beside them. Though it has been going on for millennia, whenever her time with her daughter ended, she would become cold and distant, forcing Hera to continue attempting to calm her sister from doing something stupid, at least until spring came around, when Persephone could take over and soothe her mother's heart.
Hermes spoke out to the gods in the room, his voice relaxed but with a hint of mischief.
"I have brought some interesting news from the mortal realm."
Zeus straightened at once, leaning forward. "Interesting? How interesting?"
Hermes smiled, "Very. Interesting. It concerns Olympus."
The interest in Zeus' eyes vanished, replaced by solemnity. "If it concerns Olympus, then call for the others; it is time for a council."
"No. No. No. Uh," Hermes rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness. "Nothing that deems a council meeting, the news mostly concerns Athena, but since she isn't here, I'll just say it. Some mortals have located the Parthenos."
It took Zeus a few seconds to digest what was spoken. "The Parthenos? Are you certain?"
"Certain enough." Hermes offered the scroll. "Transcript. They're calling it a breakthrough. The mortal in question was A historian with a record of unearthing minor ruins. But in this lecture, he referenced the journals of a Roman legionnaire who claimed to have seen the statue taken during the sacking of ancient Greece. According to him, the Athena Parthenos was moved eastward. Constantinople."
Hermes continued. "He claimed, with more time, he could triangulate its current resting place."
Zeus' hand tightened around the throne's arm. "The statue must be returned to Olympus; with it, Athena can be restored."
Ares raised a brow at that remark. "Restored? What do you mean?"
It was Hera who explained to her son, "Athena separated part of her wisdom, authority, and her soul and imbued them into the statue; should they return to her, she can become whole and restore herself to her full power."
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes in thought, "Oh? It seems everyone is too trusting of the information from this mortal. Maybe the statue had been moved afterward, or the account was false; you shouldn't expect to find anything. Although, if what you say is true, that this statue is important to Athena, perhaps we could send some of those demigods to find the statue? That is why they are trained is it not?"
"Demigods," Demeter echoed. "As always. Why would we send them when we could do it?"
Zeus scoffed at his sister, "You know well enough why, gods shouldn't have too much interaction with the mortal world; it could disrupt the balance. That is the purpose of the demigods, to bridge both worlds; this task falls under their task."
Seeing the opportunity to gild his children, enhancing his reputation, Ares spoke out, "Since we have decided on giving the demigods a quest, then I shall go and summon my strongest child and have her lead the quest. After all, my children possess the greatest likelihood of finding the statue,"
Before anyone could stop him, Ares disappeared, leaving Olympus and heading towards Camp.
The gods started arguing after Ares' departure, even bringing the returned Apollo into the forefront. As the others argued, Aphrodite tucked a finger between the pages of her book and glanced out the edge of her eye, her expression unreadable.
...
Lucas sat at the edge of the amphitheatre, letting the cool stone seep into his legs.
The sun was pale overhead, casting long shadows across the empty seats. Elysian buzzed in the distance, but here, he was able to be alone, enjoying the silence. It was in this silence that he heard the soft footsteps approaching.
Annabeth.
She sat at his side, her face unreadable, but hope shone in her eyes.
"My mother has just contacted me, she has given me a task," she said. "A relic of hers, the Athena Parthenos, has been discovered; she wants me to go on a quest and find it."
"I want your help," she said.
He nodded at once. "Of course, I'll be happy to help, though according to tradition, a quest normally consists of three people. Who else have you invited?"
Annabeth smirked.