Trials of Artemis

Prologue

From the legend, when gods lose their believers, they would fade into the void, no one will ever remember them again. Like the god Pan. Or they would be turned into a different god or goddess, or turn into a mortal, and died a mortal death.

However, there are ways to save a god. If they faded into the void, people could start remembering their domains, and finally the god may regain their strength and come back to mortal world. If they were turned into a different god, there will be no chance to make the original god return. And if they became a mortal, they must face a series of trials to regain godhood, in doing so, they will retrieve a guardian, who is also the demigod master the god has to serve when they are mortal.

The third occasion rarely happens, because all the gods or monsters that faded chose the first or the second path. For example, some legends tell us that Dionysus was another god before he became Dionysus. Another example is Pan the god of wild faded into the void after learning that the nature was less and less. There was only one case where a goddess became mortal and regained godhood through a series of trials with her guardian, and this story is a file that recorded the trials they've been through.

Before you open the file, keep in mind that there are deaths, heartbreaks, hatred, jealousy and so many other negative emotions; but there is also life, happiness, understanding and so many other positive emotions. When you come to the death of certain character, please do not scream or yell that me for doing so, thank you very much.

Now, let me give you a background story. You all remember the second Gigantomachy that was recorded in a file called Heroes of Olympus, do you? Well, that son of Athena used mist when recording that file, that lead you, dear readers, to feel like its ending was so happy, no one died, my legacy sent himself to Gaea by a catapult, and that son of Hephaestus blew up half of the face of Uranus, and everybody lived happily together.

Well, the problem is, everybody died. My little sister mourned for her hunters' death so bad that she forgot herself and turned herself a mortal, and Athena, well, she almost faded when she heard of Annabeth's death, and Poseidon, seeing his son so distraught that Atlantic Ocean was relentless for almost a year.

Although almost all the council felt distraught, some gods were unaffected by the war. My father for one, didn't really care that much for his daughter and son's death. Hera, well, she was so happy to see that two children of Zeus were dead, she's still celebrating. And Ares, being the big head himself, didn't really care that much either, he's probably snogging with Aphrodite somewhere now.

Speaking of Aphrodite, she was sad too, but sad about some relationship that could've been eternal, like the one between Percy and Annabeth. She's not that sad about her children's death; to her, if a child of Aphrodite didn't break anyone's heart before going to Elysium or the field of Asphodel, she wouldn't care that much. As for Aphrodite's rightful husband, Hephaestus, he's probably fixing some of his automatons or inventing something, curse him for the Industrial revolution. As a doctor, I'd say that this could be a way of coping with tragedy, along with drinking, which is Dionysus' coping technique. And my dear old pal Hermes, he's also coping the tragedy with working on the Olympus Express, he indulged himself in those business, so, at that time, you might retrieve lots of your lost mails through Olympus Express.

As for me, I don't need any therapy, or any coping techniques. I am Apollo, the god of Medicine, Archery, Prophecy and so many other things. I am busy riding my sun chariot, I am busy hearing people lie, I am busy... Gods I am a failure to my children.

Please don't mind the last sentence. I miss Will, I miss Kayla, Austin, Lee and Michael. I am a god of medicine, and I couldn't save my children. That's hilarious, isn't it? I cannot save my little sister from fading, I couldn't give those gods who are mourning any advice, because heck, I myself was mourning, the whole Olympus was mourning, even the hearth of Hestia was so dimmed that no one could see the light of the council.