Perseus: God of tides and childhood

Road on the Rockies

The goddess of the hunt was having a hard time holding up the sky. Its original bearer, Atlas, was capable of doing so barely just because he was the titan of strength and endurance. But Artemis was neither of those, nor her domains had any resemblance to those.

Artemis had lost count on how many days she had spent holding up the weight of the world. Many philosophers have said that the weight of the world is indescribable...and Artemis could abide by that statement. No matter how hard she tried to focus on her task, on other stuff, the weight of the world brought her up from her thoughts.

It was one of the worst punishments. Even Prometheus could think and meditate while he grew his organs back before the eagle came and ate again. But she was stuck there, holding up the sky. Physically heavy, emotionally unbearable, and mentally exhausting.

She knew that the choice had been hers. She could've just let the maiden hold up the sky while she stayed in a prison. But she couldn't do that to a fair maiden. A maiden who seemed smart and a great asset to Olympus. Artemis knew that demigods were an essential part of Olympus and, unlike most gods, she helped them whenever she could. It was mostly done by offering a place in her hunt to young demigoddess, but the point still stranded.

Two thoughts wandered her mind. The first one was very obvious: how freaking heavy the freaking sky is.

However, when she was not thinking about the sky, Artemis' mind wandered to her son. Hector Carib Troy, the boy who ran away, was most probably in Camp Half-Blood at that moment, with no idea what his mother was going through. He was probably training in the camp, not caring about her capture.

It hurt her. She knew that there was no other way to ensure Hector's survival than to abandon him, but it still hurt her in many ways.

She had failed as a mother. She had failed to witness his first steps, his first words, his first tooth falling, and she failed to breastfeed him. The sacred bond between mother and offspring that is enhanced by the process of breastfeeding, gone by a decision.

He was the only thing keeping her from giving up. The weight of the sky was a lot, but nothing was more unbearable than the constant reminder of her horrible decision. The fact that she had married the god of time, yet not even him could turn back time and fix their mistake. Holding up the sky was a metaphor for her holding up on the hope that one day she might be able to reunite with her son and form a family. But just sky, the hope was very hard to hold on to, and it was slowly slipping away with time.

"Well moon goddess, guess you're going to be stuck here for a long time. But don't worry, when this war is finished, the rest of the Olympians will come and take turns to help you hold the sky" Atlas, who came walking to stand in front of Artemis, said

Artemis golden face fumed, "the quest will come and your plan will fail. Soon enough you'll be back holding up the sky," she sneered

Atlas laughed, "do you really believe the quest will be able to save you? Just five minutes ago one member of the quest died in New Mexico, in Hephaestus junkyard."

"W-what?"

"What was her name? I think it was...Phoebe? I'm not sure" Atlas pondered

Artemis faltered st the news, letting her grip on the sky fall a little bit. This only made her struggle much harder, as the position which was most comfortable changed completely.

"So only two are left?" Artemis grumbled

"I'm not going to tell you information Artemis, nor am I going to explain my plan to you. It's so stupid that the people in movies and books always tell their plans to the enemy. No matter if I'm certain that you won't escape, I'm not stupid enough to tell you my whole plan" Atlas ranted, practicing movements with a sword