Plans of Mice and Gods

Well, that didn't last long.

I was wandering about the city trying to help out as much as I could while everyone else was back at our little base. Clearing the dead, burying our losses, checking on the earthworks. Anything to keep me busy not not dwell on myself.

Then I started noticing a lot of commotion going on and followed it to it's source: Aphrodite. Kennedy is attractive, Hal is attractive, Lexi is downright gorgeous, but Aphrodite in her full godly-state... that... it was hard to tear myself away from that sight. I just wanted to sit there and soak in that beauty... I... I had to close my eyes and make my way back to the group on sound alone.

Things were tense and none of us knew what to do. In moments, Aphrodite was turning the city around on us and we were going to loose everything. Then Lexi pulled out a playing card and before I knew it, Munin was replaced with Loki. Loki, who gave us an escape route through a tunnel of fire right to a shrine to Artemis. I have to give the huntress this, she may hate me, but she's not taking it out on everyone else by proximity.

Anyway, we found ourselves without a base or army, and it was just down to us, the einherjar, the werewolves, and the gods. Donnie and his band were left behind, I don't know what became of them. Some of us discussed setting up anew in Therungia, which isn't a bad idea, at least that had a castle and natural defenses, but without an army for defense, another god like Aphrodite could show up and take that from us, too.

Loki offered a "give-and-take"; we descend into the norse underworld and find out what's going on with his daughter, Hel, and in return, we get an army of the undead. I doubt it's going to be as easy as a house-call, but when is it ever?

Getting to the underworld involved uncovering the roots of one of the ash trees in Artemis' grove and doing a bit of bleeding on it's roots. Hal bled extra for Lexi. And into the roots we went, then found ourselves among the branches of the world tree.

It's going to be a long climb....

Something Begins, Something Else Ends

I managed to keep my issues buried for the duration of the battle and the events leading up to the battle. We met for dinner (I didn't eat anything) and discussed battle strategy. Well, every one more qualified to discuss strategy did so, I kept quiet and listened.

It was agreed we'd need Poseidon's wrath to be held off, since control of the seas would be of major importance for logistics. Everyone turned to me to answer the call for sacrifice. Nobody, except Claire, knows I'm just Poseidon's bastard daughter. I didn't know how much weight me leading the ceremony would carry, but I agreed to do it. Andrew volunteered to help me, since he knew the most about these things.

From there, Claire delegated out tasks while Andrew and I prepped to make the rounds to the local farms. Since this situation was spearheaded by Claire, everyone (even Hal, who's probably the most prone to arguing his point of view into the ground) shut up and let Claire take charge. It's the first time our band has had anything resembling a leader, rather than arguing out every decision to consensus.

Andrew told me Poseidon's traditional offering was a prize bull, the choice cuts burned on a sea-side altar. So, I compensated and upped the quantity, getting as many prize bulls as I could from as many farms as I could. I didn't have much time to work, we'd learned the centaur army would reach New Troy by dawn and there was an unnatural storm rolling in. I constructed the altar and made the sacrifice, pouring myself into the ritual. I should note, though, that it was just as much Andrew as me, as he was giving me advice as we went, so I got the right cuts and performed everything right.

I don't know if it worked. It's too early to tell.

We rushed back to the city and Claire assigned me to the front ranks. Even Artemis gave me that "fellow warrior" nod as I ran to my position. It wasn't long until the battle hit us and it wasn't just Centaurs. Three large metal birds came in with the storm (I have no idea what they were) and the Centaurs' ranks were filled out with satyrs and maenids.

I let myself get lost in the fight, blunting the charge with a shockwave from my ax. It's easy to loose track of what's going on in a big battle like that and I found myself quickly surrounded. Felling grunts wasn't going to get me very far. I shouted for direction in my walkie talkie and I was steered towards a general. I heard several loud explosions, which I was told were anti-air missiles against the birds and a mortar strike on another general (overkill?). A few fast and powerful strikes of my ax and I took out the other general. A loud bellow from Claire shattered what remained of their moral and off they ran.

After the battle I began a detail to clear the battlefield of the dead. Others were working on making sure our dead got a proper funeral and the Morrigan insisted the enemy's dead be piled up and burned ( I wasn't going to argue).

I noticed Claire, up on her rooftop, talking to Artemis. Not long after, she and I had a short talk. It's officially over between us. I can't help but think that, while yes, I made a huge gaff that cost me Claire's trust, that this is another one of Artemis' ploys to twist the knife and take her anger at Poseidon out on me. She certainly made our discussion worse, the other night.

If I dwell on it I'm only going to make myself feel worse. I'm going to spend some time apart from the group unless I'm needed. Though... pulling an Achilles and sulking in my room isn't going to do anyone any good. I'll see if I can find something productive to do.... alone.

FML

(The writing on this page is marred with half-written sentences, hastily scribbled over and restarted. The handwriting is messy and erratic.)

F<scribble>
Dammit I <scribble> <scribble> How do I even----

Let's start at the beginning. I guess... relatively speaking...

Triton showed up to wave Poseidon's cock around for him. <scribble out line>. My "father" decided he wants sacrifices made to him again. Every divine asshole with a grudge started coming out of the woodwork. God da---- Ares was there, supporting Donnie in this mess.

<scribbled out entry>

What am I going to do? I--- getting off track.

Claire revealed what she'd found out over the last month. The Gods want to be important again and the whole situation is going to pot because Olympus is going to tear itself apart over New Troy.

The match that lights the fuse, as it were.

Claire was brilliant. She came up with an amazing plan to put a woman in charge of Olympus, applying her Tuatha logic to the situation. Since Zeus is fated to die and be usurped by a son, not so much a daughter or any other female for that matter. Claire even convinced Ares to switch sides and support Claire's gambit. She turned this whole conflict on its head in several masterful speeches.

I was so amazed and proud of her.

Now, I---<scribble>

We <scribbled out line>

I don't even know.

We had a fight, I guess you could call it.
Artemis decided she wanted to weigh in on it, too.

I'm not sure I can write what happened.

I got called out over not supporting Claire, I got accused of still pining for Brynhildr, I got told I'm no better than my father.

Oh yes I-- <scribble>

Poseidon raped my mother. She was a servant of Artemis. Artemis killed her. Artemis hates me because of it. <several scribbled out lines>

I couldn't get anything more out of Claire. I appologized as much as I could, but she kept talking like she could never trust me anymore. I don't know what kept her from ending it, she sounded like she wanted to. She told me that she'd always hated the idea of me also seeing Bryn. ALWAYS! <pencil tore through journal>

I'm such a mess. I feel horrible. I feel like I just want to stay in this room and not come out unless I'm needed. But, Claire needs my help. She needs all our help. We don't need this drama muddying the issue. Claire's our leader in this. <scribble>

I can't think straight. I want to be alone.

<scribble>
I'm so lost. Why did Artemis give me this pendant if she hates me? Why did Claire ask about my emotions? Why didn't she dump me. Does she love me? Did she ever love me?

I still love her.... don't I?

<several half-started sentences follow, but Cindy clearly couldn't continue writing>

Negotiations and Bombs

Well, that didn't go well at all.

We arrived in what Donnie and Harmonia have named "New Troy" symbols representing Donnie's new enlightened rule all over the place. Most everyone in the band reacted poorly, thinking he's on a horrible ego trip. We also had an honor guard of Goras' men with us. I... didn't like having them around.

When we got into this older building that Donnie was both using as a residence and as an open museum, I slowed my pace to look around. I was taken by Donnie's attempts to show off the glory of ancient art and relics of ages past. I should mention, too, that the building and the town had it's fair share of military check points. I don't blame Donnie, I'd try to be prepared if I knew a demigod general was knocking on my front door.

We met with Donnie who was going over plans to expand mining in the area to help the city's economy and give people jobs. Yes, I was paying attention to these things.

The first part of our negotiations didn't go well. Donnie had well made up his mind about how things were going. He was well aware that he and Harmonia had had their heads fucked with by Aphrodite and he'd pretty much said "fuck off" to the Gods when it came down to fighting it. He and Harmonia were willing to stand together against what would come.

Tempers were flairing and before things devolved we decided to take some time to relax and sit down to lay out proper negotiations later.

I don't think we'll get the chance.

Someone set off a bomb, trying to kill Harmonia and Donnie.

Aside---
I've been putting some thought about all this and, well... I like what Donnie and Harmonia are doing with New Troy. They're building a life for the people here and in this whole conflict, the two have been victimized by the machinations of their petty parents and now, they're going to be crushed by a Demigod who just wants his own land-grab. A lot of innocent people in this city are going to die... and I'm not sure I can let that happen.

I worry about how the group will react.

I worry how Claire will react.

Downtime

It's been about a month now since the events in Delphi. We've all gone off for a bit to pursue our own agendas in preparations for what's coming. Claire and I have spent some time together, but I suspect she's still mad. She won't tell me what her plans are and I feel bad. I'll try to find a way I can make it up to her. Though I'm only really good at making jewelry.

 I've pretty much resigned myself to the Trojan War happening again, regardless of what we do. It's pessimistic for me, I know, but I flipped back through the Homeric legends and I think that, even with the pretense of preventing war, egos will flair, lines will be drawn in the sand, and battle will be joined.

I've distracted myself by starting a business venture. I'm creating a line of jewelry for sale and it seems to be taking off remarkably well. I don't need a lot of money, I rather enjoy living simply, so I take what I need from the income and donate it to things that need funding: schools, hospitals, that sort of thing. Patronizing a few aspiring artists, as well.

That's not all I did in a month, though. I did a bit of globe hopping, which is really easy with the mists as your form of travel. I visited several Amazon communities hidden around the world. I wanted to see my mother's culture and found them to be... xenophobic, at best. I was only admitted in because of Kyria. There's been a lot of activity going on with them. Raids into mortal territory and a general sense of unease. I fear they may have a role to play in the upcoming conflicts.

I wanted to do something for them. I want them to integrate better into the world. To do that, I had to start forming bonds with the settlements. I did some things I'm not proud of. For all my talk of protecting mankind I found myself leading some of those supply raids. A few of those villages wanted me to bear divine-blooded children, but I managed to settle for training their warriors instead (Not that I don't eventually want children, but I don't need to get pregnant when a war is on the horizon. And Claire would probably have a fit.). Still, despite that, it feels like some good training for what's coming.

The easy decisions are gone now. Life's going to get more grim as our divine lives start to impact the world around us. We're going to change the world, whether we try to or not. The best we can do is try to change it for the better.

Sacrifices and Bargains

I'm still not sure what just happened, I was tuned out for most of what Claire and Lexi were getting up to.

Okay, so, it turns out that the raven on Claire's shoulder was actually the Morrigan. That kinda... scared me, to realize that that goddess had been hanging around the whole time.

So, in return for the prophecy, Claire had to sacrifice a human. Lexi and I didn't really stomach that well. I mean, yes, I tried to off a troll we'd taken captive, but that was a situation of our safety over it's life. And it's a titanspawn besides, right?

Anyway, I managed to calm myself by taking some solace in that they'd be killing someone who deserved it, like a murderer or something. Lexi... still wasn't taking it well. She didn't want Claire to become a murderer, herself. The poor girl was pretty messed up over it.

Claire and the Morrigan headed off to find a victim, but another aspect of the Morrigan showed up, because Lexi wanted to strike a bargain. Yeah, the Morrigan is three-goddesses... how does that work? Do they share the same mind? Are they separate entities? That makes my head spin.

Anyway, a lot of discussion had also gone on about how to stop the Trojan War 2.0, Claire, in her usual form, wanted to nuke the site from orbit. I don't really know how she'd expect that to work without making the whole situation worse. Though, no one asked, and I think that's whats been getting under her skin.

Myself? I think that we're screwed, no matter how hard we try to fight it. Sure, we -technically- stopped ragnarok, but all we really did was keep the time from coming, so, it's still there, just forestalled. I've read my Greek tragedies, those who fight fate and prophecy only make it happen. Oedipus' parents tried to keep the prophecy of their son killing his father and bedding his mother from happening by leaving him in the wilderness to die. Yeah, didn't work out so well, for them.

Anyway, I stopped listening to Lexi's bargaining because Goras' men showed up, again. They did that same surrounding pattern again, but they didn't seem to be watching us as intently. Kennedy sent a random dog with a note to find Nikolas so we would know what was up with him. We managed to find out he wasn't there, but we did learn that Goras had shown up and taken Nikolas with him.

Lexi concluded her negotiations and from what I could gather, Lexi kept Claire from killing her victim (who, from what I could overhear, would have deserved it), though she (Lexi) put the almighty fear of god into him to make him change his ways, and in return, sacrificed her toe to the Morrigan, and kept the victim's toe for herself so she could check up on him. Clever girl.

That now leaves us in a mess, though. We need to figure out how to proceed from here. The general idea is to try to talk Donnie and Harmonia down enough to see reason. We don't want to prep in-case negotiations go sour, lest our war-prep feed into Fate. Claire's having none of that and I don't think anything we do will work. Yeah, I'm such an optimist. I guess this is what life is like for Bryn, always controlled by fate and powerless to do anything about it. I think I understand her better now.

Closed for Business

Well, that was a colossal waste of time.

Okay, so, we got to Delphi and the entire city was engaged in a massive orgy. Yeah, you read that right. Everyone, just... drinking, partying, dancing, screwing... all of the things associated with an old roman orgy going on.

Hal put on the scary face and managed to have his car lead the way through the city to a building where the Oracle was supposed to be. Only she wasn't there. Fun.

The woman who was there (who I suspect was a Harpy, given the feathers I spotted on her and the bad attitude) gave us the address to find the Oracle, who'd failed to show up to work that day. At the time, I didn't blame her, as anyone with sense wouldn't have gone out in that.

We muscled our way back through the crowd, with Hal's aura of menace keeping the revelers at bay (Claire got some footage of the action with her cell... I snapped a few photos, myself...) and got to a flat where the Oracle should have been. And she was there, a young lady named Cassandra.

I'm not quite sure what to make of what happened next.
We tried to ask her to help, but heres the thing about being an Oracle, the asker has to give something up, like a memory, and the bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the truth you're told. What nobody mentions in the myths, however, is that the Oracle has to live with the memories she takes, and that's a big psychological strain. So, she refused to help. It seems pretty selfish (especially since her friend/roommate/lover/whatever was the one who put the city into the situation it's in (I have no idea WHY, honestly.))

Claire was willing to leave it at that (since Fate doesn't like anyone trying to use Divine Be-My-Friend mojo on it's representitives) and I wasn't one for pushing the issue, but... Hal... Hal got self-righteous and got into a pissing match with Cassandra over who's life has been screwed over more (and, for whatever reason, this 3000 year old girl was planning to go to prom. Yeah, I don't know either.). I guess she's been locked in that age and never really matured.

Lexi was able to put on the charm enough to find out where some other Oracles are, but we're currently debating things out. Hal is more than happy to jump into the mists again and run off to Egypt to consult THAT Oracle, since the only other one in Greece belongs to Zeus. I don't even know anymore. I don't know if this question Nikolas wants to ask is worth the trouble. There's a lot of serious issues going on. Claire got really upset, and that made me cool my jets a bit. I think she was getting mad that we kept debating and not listening to her.

Lexi grabbed her sax and did some Fate consulting of her own, while I went to comfort Claire who'd stepped to the edge of the aura to brood. Her raven clacked it's beak at me. I'm still not sure where it came from...

When Lexi was done, we learned that General Goras was not behind the Titan attack. I didn't think he was, but something fishy is certainly going on with him. What WAS useful and was information we could act on was that Donnie and Harmonia were at a place called Hissarlik. I asked Claire to google it, since I'd never heard of it. That's when I finally found out what the deal with that raven was all about as Claire directly addressed it.

She called her "Grainne" and she turned into a human... who very closely resembled the Morrigan. She gave us a dire portent about something sounding like a big war. Nations against nations, brothers against brothers, mortals against the divine. A war that would cover the region and wake the "sleeping father under the mountain".

That still didn't tell us where/what Hissarlik is, though.... (google)
Oh. It's in Turkey. It's what is suspected to be Troy.
Oh fuck me.... Paris took Helen to Troy. I'm gonna slap Donnie. Fate's gonna have a field day reinacting this.