Chapter 5

Kratos and Diana landed in Themyscira, greeted by the sight of hundreds of warriors fully armed and ready to impale Kratos at a moment's notice.

"What is the meaning of this, Diana?" a woman with brown armor stood before the army of female warriors with her spear in hand.

"The Goddesses did not inform you, General Antiope?" Diana asked her aunt, surprised by the welcome that they had received. She turned to see how Kratos was reacting to the sudden ambush but he seemed indifferent mostly, even a little happy.

"No. Why?" Antiope could tell something was off when Diana brought a man to Themyscira but she still had to follow procedures. Now that Diana brought up the goddesses, she was completely confused by the current situation.

"This is Kratos, son of Persephone and Hades," Diana hurried to introduce her cousin. "He has been granted permission to stay here while I teach him about the modern world and how to find his own path."

The Amazon's were shocked to hear that Kratos was a god, immediately following to their knees to bow. Antiope was about to do the same when Kratos spoke up.

"No need to bow. You are some of the fiercest warriors to ever be blessed by the gods and I am nothing more than a demigod at the moment, trying to find my purpose. I have done nothing to earn your bows," Kratos didn't want to accept their bows simply because of his parents. He wanted others to bow before his own prowess and prestige.

"I-I see," Antiope responded while motioning for the Amazon's to stand and no longer bow.

"I was bested by Diana in combat so I am sure she has learned from the best. I hope to learn under you," Kratos lowered his head to the woman. If she was the general, she was surely one of the greatest fighters among the Amazons. "I wish to be able to defeat Diana as soon as possible so I can regain my honor."

'A god who can bow their head? A god wishing to learn from those beneath them? He may turn into a fine Amazon after all.'

Antiope nodded in appreciation. She had left the Amazons once before because she could not stand being under Zeus and the gods who plotted against them several times so seeing one that was willing to lower his head to her filled the Amazon with pride.

"Then you shall be trained, just as any other Amazon. Can you limit your divine strength?" Antiope asked, not sure how to train someone already with superhuman abilities. Even Diana started out the same as anyone else before growing into her powers.

Kratos nodded as his body seemed to shrink in an instant reducing him from 7'9" to 6'4. He also got slightly thinner but not to the degree that a normal person would notice. The Amazons were surprised to see such a huge change in Kratos, but it made sense since he was releasing the divine power in his body. Diana nodded as she noticed Kratos was obedient so she decided to go over the rules and expectations for his training.

"Good. First, we will go over the three rules you must follow while you train. You may not use your divine powers, you cannot use your divine weapons, and, above all else, you may never kill another Amazon," Diana spoke seriously. The first two were rules made specifically for Kratos but the last one was a rule all Amazons had to abide by. Those that broke were exiled at best or executed at worst. "I will also be teaching you about the world of men and you will have daily television time. Grey's Anatomy will be the first show you shall learn from."

"Divine weapons?" Antiope asked but didn't probe when Diana gave her a look that said 'I'll explain it later.'

"Of course. To kill your fellow warriors is disgraceful," Kratos agreed to the third condition of his training first. "As for the other conditions, it only makes sense. I wish to regain my honor by defeating you and the only way I will do that is by putting my all into my training."

Antiope nodded, appreciating Kratos more and more. 'I will forge him into a second Diana. I wonder which will be stronger when be goes all out.'

'I'm not sure whether Mother knew of his arrival and did not inform anyone to test him or she is ignorant that the son of Persephone and Hades is present but either way, I must present Kratos before her if he is to stay here,' Diana thought while shaking her head. Her mother was several thousand years old and Diana knew of the countless tricks and games she could play. "Let us go and inform Mother."

Antiope nodded, having similar thoughts to Diana about her sister. She had know Hippolyta even longer than Diana and knew just how wise her sister was. She waved her hand to dismiss the Amazons that had gathered so the warriors retreated but most were still gazing at Kratos, the first man to step on Themyscira in almost 70 years. And the last one brought with him an army of men that killed nearly 200 of their warriors.

The same gazes followed Kratos' group ad they traveled through the island. With Diana and Antiope by his side, none of the Amazons tried to attack the demigod but they still looked at him with gazes that were full of curiously, fear, and hatred. They had been taught from young about the evils of men with some having even experienced Heracles... attack so when one was walking upon their soil and roads, it was natural they would feel this way.

Kratos ignored the gazes as he admired the city. It was just like how many of spirits had told him about their homes but looked even grander in person. The entire place embodied aspects different cultures of Greece, ranging from Spartan to the Trojan. The way the people of each place described their homes, Kratos could see small amounts of it all over Themyscira's white, stone buildings.

Diana saw Kratos appreciating the city and smiled to herself. She was proud of her home and would be happy when anyone could appreciate the beauty in it.

The trio quickly arrived at a massive white palace that had 5 statues in front of it. Antiope and Diana kneeled before the statues, with Kratos quickly following.

He looked at the statues and noticed they looked identical to the paintings his mother had showed him of her sisters, aunt, and mother but the paintings were lacking. Each statue did not simply resemble the 5 goddesses but looked at is they were the goddesses themselves captured in marble.

His gaze went over them each, taking the time to admire his aunts/cousins, sister-in-law, and grandmother. Each woman was so beautiful that he could understand why Paris had to be bribed with other gifts. Trying to pick the most fair of them all was impossible as they each had their own unique charms.

After paying their respects, Kratos and the others stood up to enter the palace. They passed by several guards who glared at Kratos but no one obstructed them so the trio were able to reach the throne room with ease.

When they arrived, there were only two individuals in the room. One was a woman who looked very similar to Diana but with longer, brown hair and more mature eyes. The other looked like a younger version for Diana, being only around 16 or 17 in age.

Kratos stepped forward and kneeled before the woman on the throne.

"I am Kratos, son of Persephone and Hades. I offer my greetings Queen Hippolyta, Queen of Themyscira."