After the sun had finished rising Perseus ventured back to his home, collecting all the supplies he was bringing with him. He had a collection of clothes, including the black trousers and shirt he was wearing which were designed to be flexible and sturdy enough for battle, his crimson red cloak, his leather bag slung across his back along with his bow crossing the other way with the string over his chest. He had his books in the bag along with two short daggers, one silver and the other bronze, he also had a long double ended spear in the form of a short staff in the bag and lastly some of the produce and other foods he had farmed and preserved.
As he walked out from the house, he had a feeling that Hestia was coming soon and was both excited to see her and nervous to see the outside world for the first time first-hand. Checking himself over Perseus made sure that he had everything he would need and after a third check he finally stopped and looked up at the fire that hadn't gone out in all this time outside the front of his home. As he watched the flames they suddenly grew, and the warmth of the flames spread throughout the surrounding area comfortingly as the flames leapt from their place and formed the familiar figure of his mom.
As the flames subsided the two raced to each other embracing each other, their tight grips expressing the emotions that neither wished to put into words as they let go of the sorrow from their separation. As they broke apart the two observed the other, looking over one another for injuries or any signs of unwellness, upon the observations completion the two re-embraced one another just as tightly.
"Are you ready to come with me?" Hestia questioned, her eyes full to the brim with joy and glistening with unshed tears. Rather than responding Perseus simply nodded his head and grasped Hestia's offered hand. Upon contact the two were drawn into the fire in a flash of flames and re-emerged in a similar fashion within a large yet cosy feeling room that was lavished with the most expensive objects from all over Greece.
"Welcome home son." Hestia said with a large smile adorning her face.
Perseus explored the room and the object within it in awe, turning around he saw Hestia observing him with joy as she saw him take in her home. As Perseus looked at her he noticed her twirling the necklace he made her in her hand, "You still wear it?" Perseus inquired, not having expected her to, given all the amazing things she seemed to own.
"Of course, I do, I love it. Even Aphrodite was jealous wanting to know where I got such a beautiful necklace." Hestia responded with a bright smile. Perseus realised as she said this that they were probably on Olympus meaning his mother would be nearby.
Hestia, realising what she said and figuring out what Perseus was thinking was quick to respond, "I'm sorry my child but you cannot meet your mother again yet, Olympus has been going through a lot recently with Heracles, a stupid and arrogant son of Zeus that is a big deal, Zeus' ego has grown with this and if someone were to threaten his glory he wouldn't hesitate to strike you down.
"It's not a problem, if this demigod is strong enough to get the awe of Olympus then I'm probably no threat to his glory."
Hestia chuckled at Perseus' modesty, "You do not understand how truly skilled you are dear, with your control over your plentiful powers and expertise with your weaponry you could very likely stand up against one of the big three. You threaten Heracles' fame with your appearance, but I fear if Zeus found out your skill and power, he himself would feel threatened. Zeus is not the king we wanted him to be, it has been such a short time and he is already following in my father's footsteps." Hestia spoke the last part with her voiced laced with worry.
Perseus walked up and put his hand on Hestia's shoulder speaking reassuringly, "It's ok, I understand, and I'll be careful, you don't need to worry." Hestia brought him into another tight embrace in response.
"You can stay with me in my palace for a bit but if you're here too long people may grow suspicious. I'm sorry but you must stay in the mortal world so that you're safe, but I can still come and see you when I can."
"That's ok, but for now I have some recipes that I came up with that I won't to try with you and some stories to share." Perseus answered with a smile on his face.
"First put your things away, these a bedroom just down the hall on the left that way." Hestia spoke signalling towards a doorway that lead out of the room.
Perseus returned to the communal room they had been in previously after dropping off his things and changing his clothes to a pair of soft brown trousers and brighter red tunic that whilst being of a high standard was still comfy. From there Hestia brought Perseus to the kitchen within her palace where they had a range of amazing equipment to cook with such as a large fire place and fire heated hot plate as well as a tap that dispersed water from the system that ran throughout Olympus.
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The next few week were spent within the confines of Hestia's palace but were anything but boring for the two as they shared stories and cooked and ate together enjoying both their activities as well as the company that had been missed sorely for so long. Too early the time had come for Perseus to depart for the mortal world and he had his things packed and the two had returned to the same place that they had entered the palace weeks ago with Perseus in the same outfit.
"I will miss you, but remember if you ever need me, no matter what it is for, all you have to do is reach out and I will come. I love you my child and wish you the best." Hestia said with a smile, handing over a pouch of mortal money for him to use if needed.
"I promise I will make you proud mother, I will see you soon." Perseus answered, placing a kiss on his mother's cheek.
"You already have my dear." Hestia responded with a teary smile before teleporting from their location to where they emerged from a dying fire in a forest clearing somewhere in Greece. Hestia said a last goodbye before flashing away through the fire back to her palace for the meeting that was about to begin that Zeus had apparently called.
Observing the clearing Perseus was somewhat disappointed with how much damage the people who were here had done to the forest, they had burnt much of the grass with what was likely a large fire and hacked off parts of the live trees as well as ripping up the surrounding shrubbery. Channelling his nature powers Perseus returned the life and energy back to the forest that had been damaged, bringing back luscious grass, shrubs growing from torn up roots in a beautiful array and the trees restoring their damage. Once Perseus had finished, he re-observed the clearing and was satisfied with how it looked, the area now was far livelier and more beautiful than any other area of the forest.
As Perseus was watching the reinvigorated forest, he heard a rustling behind him and spun around inhumanly fast reaching into his cloak and grasping his bronze dagger that was positioned on his belt. Out of the bushes came a very pretty person but they were unlike anything Perseus had seen before, she had green skin and clothes made of nature. That's when Perseus remembered, this was a dryad or tree nymph, the spirit of trees, he had heard of them from some birds but there weren't any on his island, probably Poseidon's doing, Perseus thought angrily.
Once the dryad had emerged, she dropped to her knees in front of him and looked up at him with a large, warm smile and awe filled eyes. "Thank you so much milord you have saved my tree from those savage men who passed through, I am forever in your debt." She spoke bowing her head at the last statement.
Perseus moved forward and gently grasped her arm, lifting her to her feet before speaking, "There is no need to bow to me and please, my name is Perseus. I am sorry for what these people did to you and your forest and I'm happy to help, you are in no debt it was simple for me."
The dryad responded with joy filled eyes and a bright smile, "You are a very generous and kind lord, regardless of what you say, I am in your debt and it is my role to serve you, I can sense that you are a lord of nature, and a very powerful one. I shall spread the word amongst my people, we shall rejoice in our new forthcomings." She spoke, hugging him after disregarding her original genuflections.
From the trees emerged more nymphs, not only tree nymphs but also those of the forest breeze, creeks and ponds. All of them had obviously heard what had happened and after bowing came to him touching his arms and giving words of gratitude and joyfulness.
Perseus spent about an hour conversing with the nymphs who were very friendly after disregarding the subservience the original nymph he now knew as Fysi, had shown before, although the nymphs had unanimously decided to keep calling him Lord Perseus, explaining that it was not due to his power but their respect and love for their new lord.
After a while Perseus had decided that he should venture further to find out more about the world and what it is made up of so he bid the nymphs farewell, much to their sorrow and they said that they would spread the word quietly after he told them he didn't want the Olympians finding out about him.
With no knowledge of where he would find anything, Perseus flipped up his hood and decided to follow after the 'savage men' that Fysi had spoken of and possibly teach them a lesson. After following the trail of damaged nature, whilst constantly giving off nature energy that restored the forest to a greater condition than it had ever been, for a few hours he found himself faced by 3 large hellhounds with open maws lined with sharp teeth and dripping saliva that sizzled on contact with the ground.
Despite the menacing appearance of the three Perseus dispatched two of them with a twirl between them, slashing places he knew vital organs and arteries ran with each of his drawn daggers, by then the third had backed up but hadn't dropped the menacing façade it put up. As Perseus approach with confidence, daggers at his side dripping with it' brethren's black blood, hood drawn over his head with violently glowing eyes shining through the darkness, the hellhound whimpered and lowered to the ground trying to appear small. Knowing what the hellhound had intended to do and would do to others Perseus brutally sunk the daggers into its head on either side without any mercy.
He then continued to follow the trail he had been on until dusk began encroaching the horizon and he felt energy filling him as if he were feeling the effects of a long fulfilling sleep, he heard something that shocked him into action. In the distance, in the direction of the trail he heard a loud scream pierce the brisk evening air of what must have been a young woman. In response Perseus began racing towards the sound reaching it within a matter of seconds despite the almost kilometre distance away it was due to his inhuman strength and agility kicking in.
As he came to a stop silently at the edge of the clearing what he saw brought a plethora of emotions forth, from shock to rage. The group was obviously the one Fysi had mentioned and that he had been following but what caused his reaction was their current actions. It seemed as though the 6 men of the group had come across what looked to be a pretty, young girl who must have been only 15 years old who by the looks of it was out collecting herbs given her basket and clothing. The men had grabbed the girl who stood no chance at fighting back against the large men and were hitting her telling her foul things which Perseus would never repeat, if not for the disgust it brought him then for what his mother would do if she found out.
Their next actions spurred Perseus from his shocked stupor, four men had grabbed an arm and a leg each and held her spread out and another walked in front of her and began ripping her clothes up, all of them laughing as they did so, with the sixth man, obviously the groups leader of sorts, watching with a smug smile and lustful gaze.
Perseus stepped out into the clearing silently before speaking in a deep and cold voice, devoid of emotion and the sort that would immediately send shivers down one's spine. "Let her go and I'll consider being merciful."
The men all turned to him with anger in their eyes before each and every one gained an arrogant and prideful look. "Hahahahaha, kid scram before we teach you a bloody lesson. There's six of us and one of you, or did your mommy never teach you maths." The leader spoke up. Perseus would have snorted at the fact he called him a kid if not for the situation given, he, at 6 foot 7 towered over the other men and was obviously more muscular by far despite his form mostly being hidden by his cloak.
"I do know maths but unfortunately for you I also know how to slaughter disgusting animals." Perseus spoke with a cold voice laced with menace and hate. The man who had been ripping the girls clothes up approached him whilst his friends dropped the girl, when he got close the man reared back his fist to strike him but as he swung Perseus leaned ever so slightly out of the was and grabbed the extended limb before stabbing the silver knife he had stored up his sleeve previously up though the bottom of his jaw and into his brain, killing him instantly. As Perseus let go he lightly pushed the body away as it collapsed next to him instantly creating a pool of blood around the head as his dead emotionless face stared up into the sky. The other men all grew enraged at what they saw happen to their friend and all drew swords from their things that had been discarded off to the side and ran at him.
Perseus swiftly executed each of the foul beasts and they came at him one by one with almost no skill until three of the other 5 men also lay on the ground next to him disarmed with stab wounds to the head, heart and neck each. Perseus still remained in the same place not having moved more than a step, with a single dagger drawn and not a drop of the vermin's blood on him. The last two approached him more cautiously and it was obvious they both had al least a bit more skill. They attacked at the same time swinging their swords at the same time, upon their attack Perseus realised how much he had overestimated the pair as he spun low between the two strikes, kicking his leg out and tripping the leader whilst severing the spine of the other from behind with a slash stronger than humanly possible with a blade that was sharper than humanly possible.
As Perseus raised to his feet the leader, who lay on his back beneath him, cowered and began whimpering just like the hellhound had done earlier. With an emotionless chuckle at the comparison he drew between the literal monster and this man below him he drove his dagger down through his skull killing him swiftly and leaving his punishment to his uncle in the underworld, both to save him the task and to spare the girl who must already be traumatised from witnessing such a thing.
Wiping off his bloody dagger on the leaders now blood splattered tunic, Perseus put away the blade and approached the now trembling girl, lowering his hood to reveal his face as he did so. Despite her fear, when the girl saw his face, she gasped at the beauty of it as well as his now warmly glowing purple eyes. Perseus knelt down next to the girl and calmly withdrew a change of his smaller fitting clothes along with a belt from his bag and placed them in the girls shaking hands without a word. He then got up and turned to the men collecting what little money they had on them and taking his time as the girl took the opportunity to change into his large clothes. As she finished getting changed Perseus turned back around and approached her once again, this time she didn't fear him as much due to his actions just then and, not that she was aware, but due to Perseus' use of his powers as Hestia's son to calm her previously frayed nerves.
"Hello, my name is Perseus. I am very sorry for what those foul savages did to you, no one deserves such a thing."
"Th-that's ok s-sir. Th-th-thank you f-for saving me." She said, stuttering due to her obvious nervousness, "My name is Callie, I am from Tegea, I serve the palace kitchens and family and was sent for herbs that could only be found here." She continued growing more confident.
"It is nice to meet you" Perseus spoke, bowing his head slightly in greeting with a smile forming on his face.
"I am forever in your debt sir; you have protected me when you didn't have to and for that I am eternally grateful."
"There is no need for that, you needed help and I am not one to let those who don't deserve it suffer. Please call me Perseus."
"These clothes," Callie spoke looking down at his clothes that she wore, "They are of the finest quality, too good for a serving girl such as myself, in my shock I have overlook such things, may I inquire where you are from, I assume you are a lord?" Callie spoke, bowing her head deeply.
Perseus chuckled, lifting her head with a finger under her chin, "As I said there is no need for that, it matters not where I or you are from, I had clothes so I gave them to you as you needed them, that is all you must concern yourself with." Perseus spoke with a bright smile.
Callie, now recovered from the shock of what had happened, returned the smile happily with joy filling her eyes as she peered at her saviour, a blush adorning her face as she once again realised how handsome he was.
"I have travelled from afar and am looking for a place to settle for some time, to familiarise myself with the area. Would you mind if I were to join you back to Tegea, it sounds like somewhere I could stay for a while?" Perseus said, both wanting to make sure Callie was safe and not thinking it was a bad idea to see this city she spoke of.
"Of course, it would be my pleasure, but it is getting too dark to travel, would you mind waiting till morning to venture there?" Callie responded
"That is fine with me. I will gather some wood for a fire just wait here for a moment." Perseus answered before walking to into the nearby trees without waiting for a response. When he returned, he found Callie sitting against a tree looking around nervously, probably afraid of the dark wood and looking for him. Perseus walked into the centre of the small clearing and set the twigs, branches and logs he collected and whilst Callie was distracted, looking into the tree line, he lit the fire with his powers then over a few minutes he tended to it whilst using his powers to make it catch up faster and give out a comfortable warmth.
He back away towards Callie once he finished and knowing the night was already cold and only going to get colder, he removed his cloak and lay it on the ground next to the fire, "Here, get some rest, I will keep watch over the camp and wake you in the morning when it is time to go." Perseus told Callie indicating the laid-out cloak.
"You have fought for me and need sleep, I will keep watch, you must rest as well" Callie responded.
"No, I'll have none of that, here just get some sleep tonight and we'll call it even" Perseus said with a soft smile. Not having the energy to argue Callie decided to go along with it and decided she'd just do more later to make it up to him for all he's done.
As Callie laid on the cloak she was amazed by how nice it was; the dark red leather was soft and smooth, of the finest quality and there wat an intricate gold clasp between both sides that went across the neck of the cloak and looked like natural vines despite the colour, the insides were made of the most amazing fur she had ever felt, It was a void black silky fur that was so warm and soft it felt like she was laying on a warm puffy cloud. Having worked most of her life for the rich, then in the palace, Callie had seen riches beyond her dreams and even the clothing of the king himself.
Despite this Callie could tell that the cloak she lay on now was of a finer quality than that of her kings, who had the riches clothing form across Greece, and she knew that wherever Perseus got this, whoever his family was, he was definitely a royal of some sort as she was sure he wouldn't have stolen it. As she drifted to sleep, she decided that she would find out who Perseus was and also make sure she did whatever she could to repay him for all he's done for her.