CHAPTER LII:The Burning Of Athens

I came to in an open field instead of my prophecy room. The field was lit on fire instead of the peaceful fields filled with deer and snakes. Brilliant sparks of orange color flooded the fields surrounding Athens and black smoke colored the skies. Around the city of Athens lay war camps, all flying blood red Spartan banners, with troops along the walls and entrances. Athens was under siege, and they would never recover from this. Historians believed that the final battle of Athens was a matter of peace, this was thanks to Ares' influence on history, but it was actually an incredibly bloody battle. Athens didn't tear its walls down willingly, they were broken down and the city was burned. That was the story given by Athena though, she, of course, had no reason to look at Sparta with endearment. Was I looking into actual history, or history through Athena's eyes?

I stood up and walked into the main city past the walls, guards used to be up there, instead their posts were empty. The streets were littered with Athenian soldiers who had lost fights to keep their city safe. The Spartans were winning their war and were slaughtering their enemies by the dozen. In the distance I could see the statue of Athena watching over Athens, while the real Athena was in the streets disguised as a beautiful woman in a gorgeous white dress watching her people get slaughtered by the Wolves of Sparta. Athena was forbidden to intervene by Olympus laws, doing so would put the whole council at war with each other. It was days like these that Olympus laws helped the human race continue.

I only noticed her since I had seen the disguise before. The lily white dress that flowed beautifully. Like most god's clothes it would never get stained, in fact any blood that got on her dress flowed right off. Her stormy grey eyes and blonde hair were also her calling card on any of her forms. I followed her through the streets as she stepped over bodies and dropped weapons.

"Bastards! All of them!" Athena cursed as she picked up a banner of Sparta.

I moved to look at Athena's face. It was full of hate for the Spartans, she burned the banner with her power. However, I could see tears streaming down her face as she looked around at her beautiful city. Athena seemed to be addressing the loss of her city with pain in her eyes and hate in her movements.

Athena moved down to a soldier and closed his eyes, she soon after put two golden drachmas in his hand and continued walking. I moved alongside her watching as she did the same to many other soldiers who tried to defend her city. Many emotions crossed her face, but grief and hatred seemed to take the lead. I followed Athena up to the statue of Athena that looked over a burning city as she wept for the loss of precious life in Athens. As Athena got to her statue I stood to her side and watched her as she looked at the many offerings left for her.

"I'm sorry, my children, I couldn't protect you from this. I tried my best, but even gods must follow laws made by their superiors. Even the laws that seem unfair and unjust, I guess that's why wars start and nations crumble." Athena said through a broken voice and quiet sobs.

"Beautiful isn't it? I finally bested you, tactics don't beat sheer will and manpower Athena of Athens." A male's voice called from behind her.

I looked quickly to my right, behind Athena, and saw Ares' mortal form. He was tan and well built, Ares had brown hair with bits of grey that barely reached his shoulders. Over his clothes her wore Spartan battle armor, with his daggers at his side. This was before Ares' mortal form was burnt up, but he would never say how that happened.

"If I were you I would be careful who I was boasting the bastards of Sparta to!" Athena said turning around, she looked Ares dead in the eye and clenched her fists turning her knuckles whiter than my hair.

That was not an Athena I was used to seeing. The Athena I knew was typically calm and collected with a certain wisdom to her actions, the Athena that stood before me was a complete mess stricken with grief and hate.

"I know who I'm talking to. I'm talking to a sub-par god of war who can't lead her people properly so she has to leave coins on their bodies!" Ares said taking two golden drachmas from a generals body.

That was Athena's last straw. Disrespecting Athena and her city was one thing, killing her people was another, but disrespecting the dead was over the line for any god.

Athena's battle armor appeared on her, she thrusted her arm out and her lucky spear appeared in her hand. In her off hand the shield of aegis covered her arm.

"How about a wager then. If I can beat you in a duel then you will help me get the power to destroy Laconia, if you can beat me I will give up my title as goddess of war tactics." Athena said, calmly tucking her hair away into her helmet.

Ares drew his daggers and smiled. "Swear on the Styx to honor your deal?" He asked.

Athena tightened her grip on her spear "only if you do the same dear brother."

They both smiled smugly at each other knowing that this simple wager would change the fate of the world. Especially if Athena won the bet.

"I swear on the River Styx to honor my end of the deal if you win, Athena of Athens." Ares answered.

"I swear on the River Styx to honor my end of the deal if you win, Ares of Sparta." Athena said.

I watched as Ares held his daggers close and Athena held her shield close. Athena held her spear to the side of her shield, and got ready for Ares the strike first. Ares, of course, always struck first. Athena hit the knives against her shield, and retreated back.

I could see what she was thinking. If Ares keeps up his attacks and Athena doesn't bother parrying them, he's bound to get frustrated and reckless.

Ares moved in quickly slashing with his daggers in a frenzy of bronze blades. Athena dodged what she could and blocked what she couldn't. Athena dodged backwards and got back in her defensive stance. Ares moved forward again and Athena kicked him in the stomach, ducked under an incoming slash and smacked Ares in the face with her shield. Ares fell but quickly recovered from the blow. His eyes glowed red and he stood up.

"Do you yield God of Laconia?" Athena asked readying her spear.

"I never yield Goddess of Attica!" Ares yelled charging forward.

Athena waited for Ares to close the gap between them. Ares went to slash Athena with his daggers, but Athena blocked them with her shield. Athena quickly followed the blocking by stabbing her spear through Ares' lower jaw and out the back of his head.

Ares' eyes burned up as he screamed in pain. Ares' form burnt up as a flood of golden Ichor flowed down Athena's spear and onto the ground. A large garden of flowers grew where the ichor dropped. Ares let out a last howl of pain before his mortal form went limp. His eyes slowly dulled as Athena drew in heavy breaths. She was unscathed in her fight, and didn't have so much as cut in her dress. Athena quickly pulled the spear out and watching Ares' body fall.

"Be lucky it wasn't your godly form Ares, I would've given your spot to Hestia till you came back." Athena said calmly, she picked up the coins Ares took from the body and gave them back to the Athenian general who Ares took them from. "May Charon welcome you once more Child of Athens." She whispered softly, like a mother talking to hurt child.

I looked at Athena as her armor burned off, she stood up and looked over Athens. "I'm sorry Goddess. You shouldn't have seen your children tossed away like this." I said.

"I could've stopped this. They trusted me and I failed them! These damn Spartans aren't wolves, they're vultures! They burn everything in their path, and feast off the corpses! I will take pleasure in burning down Laconia to the very marble pillars that holds its shaky structures up! I will burn it all till all that's left is blackened bones and ash!" Athena yelled, her mortal form seemed to fade as she went into her godly form.

My whole soul suddenly left my body when I saw it. Instead of the beautiful Greek woman depicted in the statue behind us, Athena turned into Minerva. She stabbed her spear into the ground where vines grew from the ground and quickly wrapped around the spear wherever ichor touched.

"A….Athena?" I stuttered out.

Athena, or Minerva now, ignored me and smiled. "No matter the cost! I will destroy it all!" She yelled.

I woke up with a start and looked around, Athena was in front of me. She held a calm face, but her beautiful grey eyes carried anger. It was the same anger that led to a duel that unintentionally caused Greece's destruction at the hands of the Roman Empire.

"Miss Athena!" I said surprised, I went to stand up but Athena stopped me.

"Anger is a burden that even the wisest goddess has to deal with. So is loss, I thought I lost everything that day but I had so much more than I thought. I had Olympus, I still had followers and believers, I had my demigods, and I had my family. I personally threw it all away for revenge and anger. I became what the Romans called Minerva, and they defiled the very name. When you lose people Mary, promise me that you won't change. Promise me that you won't throw away the remainder of the world you know, just because you think it will bring back the few things you lost." Athena said, in that same motherly whisper I had heard in my dream.

"I won't Goddess of Attica." I said looking at Athena, whose eyes seemed to water at a very old name that she had lost.

Athena nodded and calmly walked over to Penny who had fallen asleep face first in a book. Athena gently moved her head up and replaced the book with a pillow, careful not to wake her daughter.

"Goodnight, Child of Athens." Athena whispered once more, before walking out of the quest room.