With the flip of a switch, the small DC motor on his and Flippy's workbench hummed to life. The shaft started to slowly spin the Imperial Gold armature in the latest project Brontes and Steropes had given him, only to gradually speed up until it was a golden blur. As the golden armature spun he could feel the magnetic field that was being generated by it rotating between the plates of magnetized Stygian Iron; the field was growing stronger with every rotation and it made the telekhine pup began to paw at his sensitive nose. The other end of the armature was encircled by two rings, or brushes, of Celestial Bronze which were then connected to an array of lightbulbs by wires of Imperial Gold. The bulbs glowed brighter to match Knight's smile-
Only for every bulb to burn out with a 'pop'.
Steropes flipped the switch, and the power to the motor was cut. "That was-"
"Impressive," Brontes finished, his Celestial Bronze hand spinning one of the burnt-out lightbulbs from its socket. "You have successfully created a partial replica of the inner workings of Zeus' Master Bolt."
The one-armed cyclops tossed the bulb to the other one-eyed giant, who hummed with amusement as he rotated the delicate glass in his large hands. "You even made some improvements to the original design by incorporating Imperial Gold and Stygian Iron, but can you tell us what separates yours from the original? Why can't yours generate a lightning bolt?"
Knight closed his eyes and furrowed his brow as his ten-year-old mind raced to find the answer to his mentor's questions. The basics principles of the Master Bolt are that of a generator's. An Armature spins between two magnetized plates, the magnetic fields inducing current into the armature. Celestial Bronze has little resistance, meaning little energy is lost as heat. But even so the output of mine is only a few hundred volts max, compared to the hundreds of thousands the Master Bolt is capable of. Which means... "Op amps," he stated softly. "There is a stage after the power generation that steps up the output by magnitudes."
The smile Brontes and Steropes shared told him his answer was correct; and they would know, they had built the original. "That is correct," Steropes nodded, gently patting his short blond hair. "But can you tell us the primary problem with that, and how it was rectified?"
Flippy scratched at his nose, thankful that the harsh magnetic field was gone, before barking, "problem solved with magic!"
The son of Kronos smiled at his best friend's answer, which wasn't that far off. "An Op amp can only amplify the power to slightly below what is being fed on its supply pins. With that, it wouldn't make sense for those pins to be connected to the generator portion, but to a different source, namely, Zeus himself." Knight paused as he reflected on what he knew of the nature of gods. From many perspectives they were as close to infinite as something could get, yet the stories of them growing tired or even fading away proved that they were not all-powerful. And if that was the case it would make little sense for Zeus to draw upon himself every single time to unleash an attack; no matter how devastating it may be. "Then there is an energy storage system as well to ease the burden on my older brother. He can charge it as he pleases so it will be ready at any time."
Brontes whistled and slowly clapped his hands. "That's three for three. And now you know the fundamental theory behind our Master Bolt and why your older brother rarely let's go of that accursed thing."
"Some magic?" Flippy asked hopefully.
Knight smiled and reached up to scratch behind of the telekhine's ears. "Yes, some magic." Flippy, who was several feet taller than him now, curled into his touch and purred in delight. "The drawings you showed me of the Master Bolt had a built-in grip, I take it that is where the contacts are to siphon off the divine energy? And what is the design for the storage unit? Capacitance? Liquid alkaline? Ionized Celestial Bronze?"
The two cyclopes looked at each other with satisfied smiles. While Knight was brought into the world by Kronos and an unknown mother, they had just a much in hand shaping the boy as his grandmother. They nurtured his natural curiosity with the answers and patience so that it would grow with age. They personally tutored him on physics, math, engineering, forging, architecture, as well as the arts to keep inspiring him. They helped him create devices that not only improved the lives of his family, but the knowledge gained would be useful to him in the coming war. And even after three years, they still found it hard to believe what they had created.
"Well, Knight," Steropes began, leaning back against the workbench, "you have to remember the circumstances around the creation of the Master Bolt."
"We were under constant watch and only had scraps to work with," Brontes said as his arm changed into vacuum. "And the three of us had to work separately with only minimal communication."
"Meaning Arges went the cheap and easy route of capacitance," Steropes chuckled. "While Brontes and I busted our butts on the inner working and the output, or the thunder and lightning, Arges slapped two plates close together and called it a day. Which is why they say he gave the bolt its brightness."
Brontes closed his dark blue eye and shook his head in disgust. "While it can retain a charge for millennia, that dumbas- dummy singlehandedly added most of its mass!" The cyclops rubbed his forehead with his real hand and sighed.
Knight and Flippy shared a knowing look. Once again, he had inadvertently brought up their missing brother. A big no-no as the two would find something to complain about the missing cyclops at length, usually insulting anything Arges ever made. He didn't understand why though, as he had seen some of Arges' old drawings and found most of them to be every bit as good as Brontes' and Steropes', but he figured that there was just something he didn't know yet that only made them look good. Just like how he didn't know what caused the three brothers to part ways, only knowing that Arges decided to keep working with the gods and supporting their villainy.
He secretly hoped that one day the three would make up and that the he wouldn't have to face Arges on the battlefield or even punish him after they finally defeated the Olympians.
"Hey! How 'bout lunch?" Steropes practically shouted, interrupting his brother's ranting and raving. That was usually how all talk of Arges ended, Steropes creating a distraction for Brontes. "Remember we got those things in from up top for today."
Now that caught Knight's attention. The two cyclopes had various contacts on Gaea that sent down shipments of supplies every few months; mostly scraps of Imperial Gold and mortal metals, but also some mortal technologies, news, clothing (which is how he got his jeans and T-shirts), and other items that could survive the long fall. But every so often there would be something for him and Flippy besides materials and tools.
Things like... chocolate.
He had only ever had the strange brown food once, but he would never forget it. It was so radically different from anything else he had ever eaten in taste and texture. It actually melted if he held it too long and it began to melt the moment he put it in his mouth! There was no meat or vegetable that could do that! And the taste! He had never had anything so sweet before! The only negative thing he could say about it was one bar was hardly enough and he regretted not be able to share with Jack, Queen, and Grandma May.
"I think he's on to us," Brontes chuckled when the cyclops noticed the boy. "Alright, you two clean up and we'll be right back with lunch."
Without a word, he and Flippy went to work disconnecting the replica Master Bolt. They had designed it to be modular making it easy to assemble and disassemble at a moment's notice. The motor slid off the armature with ease and Flippy undid the alligator clips to the power supply, before removing it from the bench placing it in its proper place in the third toolbox from the left of the entrance. He removed the wires that were connected to the strip of now burnt out lightbulbs and with a grunt, picked up the heavy replica and placed it on the shelf that housed all of his completed projects (though he was already thinking about turning it into a waterwheel to supply more power for upcoming projects). And when they finished wiping down the surface, the two cyclopes reappeared, with Steropes holding his hands behind his back.
"What we're about to show you is the pinnacle of mortal invention," Brontes explained. "Possibly divine invention as well. They can last indefinitely if left in their packaging and can hypothetically survive radiation. They are moist yet can still absorb great amounts of coffee or milk."
"They are" -Steropes removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a white and blue cardboard with big red letters on it- "Twinkies!" The cyclops tore away a corner of the box and poured its contents out on the bench.
"Twinkies?" he repeated, holding one of the items up. It was golden and spongey in appearance and wrapped in clear plastic. Knight gave it a small squeeze and was delighted to see that, like a sponge, it reverted back to its original shape. He spun it around and saw that there was three holes on the bottom where some kind white cream could be seen.
"Yup," Steropes nodded, before tossing a whole Twinkie into his mouth; swallowing it with ease. "And you better hurry up and eat it before your friend devours them first."
Knight turned to the telekhine and laughed. Flippy's muzzle was covered with bits of the spongey thing, the white cream, and pieces of plastic. "Very good!" Flippy chirped before tossing a still wrapped Twinkie in the air and catching it in his mouth. "Very, very good!"
Not wanting to be left out, Knight unwrapped his, tucked the wrapper in his back pocket (plastic was still an amazing thing to him), and took a hesitant bite of the strange golden rectangle. It felt weird in his mouth, but not unpleasant, and there was nothing he could compare the texture to. It took a moment for the taste to register, but when it did, all hesitancy he had disappeared, and he chewed the strange treat faster.
"You like it?" the cyclops with a shaved head asked, using his mechanically hand to launch another into his own open mouth.
Knight nodded eagerly as he licked his fingers clean of even the smallest crumb.
"Then here-" Brontes scooped up the last six Twinkies, swatting away Flippy's webbed fingers as the telekhine tried to take his fifth- "share them with your family tonight. Your grandmother will be most thankful."
Knight nodded and took the offered treats after eating the last bit of his own. He wasn't sure if Twinkies were better than chocolate, but they were better than the Master Bolt.
----
"See you tomorrow, Flippy!" He cried back to the workshop's entrance, where the telekhine pup stood waving him off. "Have a good night!"
"Bye Knight!" his friend shouted, waving his arms and tail. "Twinkies good, yes?"
"Yes, Twinkies are good!" Knight laughed before turning away for the last time and began the long walk home.
It had been a little over three years since Lord Krios had first taken him to the workshop, and nearly two-and-a-half years since he began making the journey on his own. At first there was the occasional monster attack, and there still was, but the smarter creatures had learned to avoid him after having the ground collapse beneath their feet or being cut in two with ease from a single strike from Shatter. But he had also learned to avoid certain areas where some creatures never learned, sort of as a compromise. It extended his trip to around ninety minutes (give or take from attacks), but it gave him time to reflect on and absorb what he had learned that day, as well as other things.
One such topic was how to beat his siblings and the titans in combat without relying solely on the Imperial Gold Harpe his father has left him.
After the first time Jack had defeated Lord Hyperion, he too had figured out how to best the titan brothers. He could simply increase Shatter's weight and drop it at the titans' feet and immediately follow through with upward slash as they fell. But he knew that was a terrible strategy that would only work once or twice. It also would only work on creatures that couldn't fly.
So he began to think of new ways to fight, ways that incorporated the swordsmanship the titans had taught him and what he had learned under the cyclopes tutelage. It resulted in numerous gadgets and weapons that could potentially give him the upper hand, but every time he finished one he thought of a new scenario that would render it useless. Between the titan's colossal size and strength, his brother's never-ending supply of projectiles, and his sister's scepter there just wasn't one creation that could handle all of them.
Knight readjusted Shatter's position on his shoulder and checked to see if his precious cargo was still tied to its sickle. Content that everything was in its place, the shorthaired blond continued along his way and returned to the sanctuary of his mind.
The closest all-purpose device he had made was the Ancile, named after the Olympian Ares' shield, the defensive weapon that shot compressed air at all incoming objects. It had performed well in his first true fight with Jack, but its flaws became apparently quickly. Despite Flippy's improvements to the cooling system, it felt like he had a blow torch strapped to his back. And even though he boasted that it offered complete protection from all sides, there were some blind spots that Jack had managed to get through. But the biggest problem was its construction was rather flimsy for combat and had been utterly destroyed after their one fight.
Maybe separate it into multiple pieces? Arms, legs, and back? That would offer better coverage and spread out the heat. But then I would need multiple power sources as well, which in turn makes the whole thing heavier.
Knight frowned. One of the first things he learned from the cyclopes was that perfection was impossible, that all improvements came with a tradeoff, and that there was no titan or god that could defy that. And most of the time he was fine with that, but this was one problem that he wished he could bend the rules for just this once. As this wasn't just about winning against his siblings or trainers but winning against Olympus in the long run.
It was at this time he became aware of a familiar beating off in the distance, and he realized just how lost in thought he had been. For the young boy now stood on the border of Nyx's realm, a piece of Tartarus that was bathed in eternal darkness, with the only light coming from the strange glowing plants and animals that called it home. But there was one exception, one exception that Knight stared at from the time he entered to the time he left.
The Mansion of Night.
The Mansion of Night was the only structure to be built in the entirety of Tartarus; though some thought a shrine to Hermes had been built as well, but in truth it had merely fallen from Gaea. No one knew when or how it was constructed, the titans and cyclopes saying it had been ancient even when they were young. Its walls were pitch black yet glowed with an ominous blue light that made all that looked upon them tremble; even the titans and giants refused to go near the mansion. And if its appearance didn't keep the denizens of Tartarus away, the steady pounding that emanated from the dark mansion did.
And yet, every time he saw the imposing palace of Nyx, his curiosity only grew.
He wanted to know why it looked like the Mansion of Night was growing out of the ground, what it was made of, how old it was, who built it, why they built it, and most importantly of all, what was inside making the ever-present beating. He had ideas of course, but an idea was worthless without acting on it.
Nothing creates itself, Knight thought, recalling Brontes' words. And you never learn without doing.
He glanced once more at what he considered the greatest mystery in Tartarus, before continuing on his journey home. Someday soon he would learn its secrets, but today he had Twinkies to deliver.
----
Grandma May had never hugged him so tight as when he handed out the Twinkies that night after dinner.
Unlike Jack and Queen who were hesitant to eat the plastic wrapped treat, the older woman wasted no time in tearing open the plastic and devouring the golden sponge in two bites, tears streaming down her face as she did so. He thought he had upset her, but she only laughed through her tears and explained that she hadn't had any of the foods their father grew up with in ten years, that the sight and taste reminded her of another life. She then went on to tell them about all the other kinds of treats that she and their father ate up on Gaea, things called cakes, cookies, candy, and pies, and how their father liked chocolate chip cookies the best.
Seeing how much Grandma May liked the Twinkies, and knowing that he already had one, he gave her his. Jack and Queen in turn gave her half of each of theirs, and she nearly killed them all in one big hug.
Though, he still felt a little guilty that there was two Twinkies hidden in his bag. He just planned to save them for a special occasion.
----
Knight set his pencil and ruler aside and rubbed at his tired eyes. He was staying up late, far later than he ever had, but he was so close to finishing what he considered his most important design. He knew it wasn't as impressive as the weapons he and his siblings wielded, or the chronal-staggerer tucked away in the workshop, but it was for Flippy and the telekhine's family, and that made it important to him.
He readjusted his headlamp and picked up his tools with a stifled yawn.
Just need to finish the drains and-
"Knight, why are you still up?" his sister yawned from the bed beside him.
His head snapped to the right and his light illuminated Queen's face, and he smiled. Queen was always a restless sleeper, tossing and turning all night, and unable to decide if she wanted to stay covered up or not. This was a sharp contrast to Jack, who slept curled up and absolutely motionless; enough that sometimes they wondered if he was even alive. But because of her constant movement, Queen's long black hair was a disheveled mess, with one long strand somehow stuck to the side of her face. Her night clothes were all twisted up exposing one leg and part of her belly, and Knight wondered what Ivy, Zaire, and Zika would say if they saw her like that. And in the artificial white light it was easy to notice that her skin was a few shades darker than his and Jack's, though if Grandma May or the titans knew why they weren't saying.
"Ah! Turn that off!" She whined, shielding her eyes with one arm. Then for the briefest of moments, she emitted a harsh silver glow that made him squeeze his eyes shut.
"Sorry," he said, looking away and fumbling for the switch.
"It's alright," Queen said, blinking several times until the spots went away. "What are you doing up? You're going to be tired for training and you'll get in trouble." If he was Jack, then Queen's words might have been something of a threat, as she tended to tattle on their brother whenever he did anything against the rules. But for him, that was her showing concern. She wouldn't tell Lord Krios or Lord Hyperion that he was up late, as for some reason she liked him more. It was silly to him, as Jack was the one who brought her more stuff, but he figured that one day his sister would come around.
"I'll be fine," he yawned. "We only have Lord Krios tomorrow and I can take a nap at the shop if I need to." Once again, Lord Hyperion had been defeated by their brother with ease, giving them a week of easy training with the Titan of the South. Lord Krios, while moody, was the better of the two titans in Knight's opinion, as he wasn't excitable and thought things through. "And I just wanted to finish this design."
Queen stretched out her arms and swung her feet off her bed. "Is that why you've been staying up so late? Just what are you designing that's so important? Another bed?"
"It's a little bigger than a bed," Knight smiled. He then patted on his mattress and Queen quickly joined him on the now cramped bed. "Have a look." The son of Kronos turned on his headlamp once more so that his sister wouldn't have to strain her eyes in the dark.
His sister took the pad of paper from his lap and began to flip through the pages, stopping every so often to examine some detail that caught her eye. When she reached the last page, she returned the pad and turned to him. "Is it a temple?"
"Not quite." He could understand his sister's initial guess, as he had taken inspiration from the temples Dr. Thorn had drawn for them in class as well as some images from the scrolls and books Brontes and Steropes gave him; at least for the parts above ground. "It's a home for the telekhine," he explained. "Flippy and his family have to sleep in the shop if they want to be safe, but there's not a lot of room and I don't think it's comfortable. This though" -he flipped the page to the first of many designs for the underground sections- "would allow them to live comfortably in their preferred environment."
Queen furrowed her brow in confusion. "Preferred environment?"
"Underwater," Knight said, tapping on his drawing of a giant filtration system. "Salt water to be specific."
"Salt water? What's that?"
That had been his first reaction when he first heard of it, and he wanted to see if Queen's would match his when he told her all he knew. "You know the clear water Grandma May drinks?" Queen nodded, grimacing as she remembered its foul taste. "Well it's that, mixed with salt. And apparently that's what Gaea's oceans are filled with."
"You're making that up! Why would there be salt in water, and why would it fill the oceans?"
"No! I swear it's true! You can ask Grandma May and the titans!"
Queen huffed, still unconvinced. "Okay, even if this "salt water" is real, what are you going to build this thing out of? Wouldn't that take a lot of metal?"
She was right about his design taking up a lot of materials; far too many if it was built entirely out of the divine metals. Sure, there were a few pockets of Celestial Bronze scattered throughout Tartarus, but it wouldn't be worth it to extract them for just one building. But there was one material that could be found in abundance in Tartarus and only in Tartarus; it would just take time to gather. "Tatarian Ivory," he supplied with a slight grin.
"Really?" his sister asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "That ugly rock?"
Queen's disgust was somewhat justified. The rock that seemed to sprout from the very ground tended to take a yellow hue similar to old fingernails and then quickly change to a dark red when left exposed to the elements. It also absorbed whatever foul smells that were in the air around it, often making it smell of monster droppings. The stone, when left alone, also became greasy to the touch and they had to scrub their hands for what felt like an eternity before the grease and smell went away.
But like most things in Tartarus, he learned not to judge the stone by its appearance. Steropes had shown him how the dirty outer layers could be cut away to reveal a brilliant white surface, and when properly treated it wouldn't get dirty and smelly again. The cyclops also had demonstrated that Tartarian Ivory was surprisingly light and sturdy; almost as hard as Stygian Iron, but as workable as Imperial Gold.
"That's the plan, but..."
"But what?" she yawned.
Knight set aside his drawings and turned to face his sister better. "Tartarian Ivory is everywhere but only in small chunks. It would take a long time to find enough large pieces to-"
"No, it wouldn't," Queen interrupted. "I've seen mountains of the stuff," she yawned, standing up from his bed. "I'll take you tomorrow if you want." She then climbed into her bed and was asleep in seconds.
Knight could only stare after his sister with a slack jaw. She's joking right?
----
When Knight returned from the workshop the following day, he was greeted by a strange sight: three hellhounds sitting before the cave's entrance. There was a brief moment of panic, his mind thinking the three large creatures had somehow gotten past his defenses, but when he saw one was Chewie he was put back at ease.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Queen asked, emerging from the cave door with Jack at her heels. She tossed her braided hair over her shoulder, nearly hitting Jack in the face, but he managed to avoid it at the last possible instant.
"Go? Go where?" he asked, looking to his brother for help.
"Good question." Jack let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes behind their sister's back. "She's refused to tell me, or where she got those two hellhounds from."
"Isn't it obvious?" Queen smiled, holding up Soul Forge. "Roll over!" At her words the black jewel that rested in the Stygian Iron serpents' mouth began to glow with a purple light, and the two large dogs rolled onto their backs. She walked between the two hellhounds, knelt down, and began to rub their bellies. "Good girls!" One of Tartarus' top predators' hind legs began to twitch in delight at his sister's touch, its big black tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.
While Knight knew Queen didn't use her weapon's abilities for evil like the Olympians would, seeing the hellhounds obey her commands slightly unnerved him and he could see why the cyclopes and the titans feared Soul Forge above Shatter and Babylon. Once touched by the scepter's blade, no creature in Tartarus, from the smallest of insects to the mighty giants, could deny Queen's commands. And even the intangible creatures like the nosoi had no choice but to obey her, as while the scepter's blade couldn't cut them, its gem could seemingly absorb them. And if Brontes was to be believed, Soul forge's second ability could be used on any creature if Queen wished. But even though his sister spent her days adding more and more creatures under her control, he knew that she let them continue on with their lives and only called on them when needed.
"Pfft, Chewie can do that too! And without a magic stick!" Jack scoffed at their sister. The shaggy blond then turned to his own hellhound and knelt down. "Roll over, Chewie! Come on! Roll over!" The large hellhound pup tilted its head at its human friend, clearly baffled by his actions and words. Then Chewie leaned forward and licked Jack's face, making him cough and gag on the dog slobber that had entered his open mouth. "Ugh!" Jack spat, wiping his face on his sleeves. "No! I wanted you to- Forget it..."
Knight and Queen snickered at Jack's distress. Chewie may have been a truly intelligent and strong hellhound, and could understand where Jack wanted to go, but when it came to doing tricks the dog was at a loss. What was even funnier was that Chewie would listen perfectly to Grandma May and Queen, which only perplexed their brother further.
"So, where are we going?" he asked as their laughter died down. "Has to be pretty far if you summoned us some hellhounds to ride."
Queen made the two hellhounds roll back over and lay down so that she could climb onto one of their backs with ease. "You said you needed Tartarian Ivory and I said I'd take you to mountains of it." She gave a sharp whistle and her hellhound rose to its feet. "And it's not that far, only an hour or two walk depending on Tartarus, but I figured you might want to bring some back."
"You were serious?" Knight had thought that his sister had been too tired to remember their conversation from the previous night, or that her words were true.
Queen nodded with a cocky grin. "Yup! Don't you know you can always trust your big sister? Now, get on your hellhound so we can go. Grandma is making stew tonight and I want to get back when it gets done."
"We're the same age," Jack grumbled as he climbed onboard Chewie.
----
After several jumps through the shadows (which made him sick to his stomach), the three of them emerged on a cliff with a breathtaking view. For down below was a vast river valley, where three rivers of red, black, and yellow cut through the land and snaked this way and that, coming close to one another but never touching. Dozens of the horned, black aeternae could be see floating along the red and yellow waterways or munching on the grasses and reeds that grew along their banks. It was like nothing he had ever seen before (and he realized that maybe he should leave the workshop a more).
But the what truly captured his attention, was the five fang-shaped mountains that surrounded the valley. They ranged in color from a dirty yellow to a charcoal black and were jagged and worn from an untold eternity of harsh winds and the constant movement of Tartarus. But despite their rough appearance, Knight knew exactly what they were.
"Tartarian Ivory," he said in awe.
"Told ya," Queen said as smug as could be.
"We came here for a rock?" Jack scoffed from astride Chewie.
"It's more than that," he gulped as he surveyed the five mountains of the precious material. For years Brontes and Steropes had told him their plans for Tartarus and detailed how they would be useful in their war against Olympus, and he had even contributed to them. But one of the biggest problems they had faced was a lack of readily available raw materials. "This changes everything..."
Jack and Queen looked at him funny before looking at each other, sharing a look that suggested they both thought he was crazy. "It's a rock..." the two said.
Knight shook his head at his siblings' inability to see the importance of the mounds of Tartarian Ivory. Where they saw an ugly rock, he saw the future. "Let's get closer. I need to get a piece to show Brontes and Steropes."
"Told ya the hellhounds would come in handy," Queen smirked.
----
The problem with shadow travel was that one was never sure what awaited them on the other side. Well, he figured that maybe the hellhounds and other creatures that possessed the ability could sense what was on the other end, but he and his siblings could not. Knight learned this the hard way as he was knocked off his hellhound by a gust of wind that was no way natural; or what passed for natural in Tartarus.
"Knight!" he heard Queen and Jack cry over the shrill ringing in his ears.
His vision was nothing but a bright white light from having the back of his head smash into the very rock he wanted to a sample of. And a part of him knew that he would have died from the blow if it wasn't for the invulnerability their father had gave them. It was a scary thought, but it made him grateful that the worst he felt was a throbbing in the back of his skull and a sore back. "I'm okay," Knight groaned, sitting up and blinking the whiteness away, "What hit-"
When his vision cleared, he found that he had no need to finish his question. For in the few moments that he was stunned, the world had erupted into chaos. The sky, which had been a clear red only moments ago, was now black with storm clouds, with lightning and hail coming from deep within. The hellhound Queen has summoned for him was crouched next to him with its fangs bared, using its massive body to shield him from harsh weather. Chewie and the other hellhound were standing on either side of Queen, seemingly biting at nothing while his sister held her scepter at the ready, its gemstone glowing bright in the dark of the storm. Jack was standing a bit further up the mountain, the air around him burning with a golden light as he launched copy-after-copy of Babylon into the storm clouds above; several seemingly being targeted by lightning.
Knight's first thought was that everyone had gone crazy, but then he saw it.
It was only for a moment, illuminated by a bolt of lightning, but he clearly saw a shadow zip across the storm clouds. With another flash, more shadows appeared on the clouds, some winged humans and some more bestial in nature. "Venti! There's venti controlling the storm!"
"Duh!" Jack cried out over the howling winds, increasing the rate at which he fired off his vinculum. "We saw that when they swarmed out of those caves up there!" A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and Jack narrowly jumped away, and Knight found himself wondering how his brother always seemed to dodge everything what didn't come from him or Queen. "What's more important is what we're going to do about them!" Jack called upon more copies of Babylon and nearly blotted out the storm from view, any incoming lightning was forcibly redirected to the chained weapons.
He turned to Queen, who was leaning against Chewie to shield herself from the hail. "Don't look at me," She cried over the wind, flinching as the rock-hard chunks of ice bounced off her. "Soul Forge requires me to touch them to work! I think..."
"What do you mean you think?!" their brother shouted, as he seemingly attempted to slice the formation of venti into pieces. "Don't you know how that thing works by now?!"
"No!" Queen screamed, lifting Soul Forge above her head in attempt to further shield herself from the harsh weather. "Unlike you, I'm still not allowed to use it in training! And I don't go out looking for monsters to absorb, or whatever it does!"
"Well, you probably should!"
Knight tuned out Queen and Jack's bickering to look for an actual solution. He peered up into the ever-growing storm and could make out the storm spirits that it was composed of now that he knew what to look for. He could see that the swirling mass of venti were only fifty or so feet above them, which was low but still out of reach even if their weapons could work. He briefly considered having Jack launch him and Queen into the storm, but at best Queen would hit one or two of the storm spirits, and at worst they would be struck with lightning before they even got close; not to mention the hard landing in either event.
He followed the storm's shape and saw that further up on the mountain was cave where the storm spirits were emerging from, just as Jack had said. He could use Shatter to seal the cave, but that would only slow the creatures of air down and do nothing about the ones already out.
If only one of us could control the wind and blow them away. Knight shook his head at the absurdity of the idea. Controlling the wind? Like that's a thing.
But it did give him an idea...
"Guys! Take the hellhounds and run back!" Queen and Jack stopped their attacks and looked at him funny, and he knew why. They had been taught all their lives to never run from a battle, to push on until either they or their enemy had fallen. That is, unless it was a ruse or to protect a valuable asset. And Knight thought that the lives of Chewie and the other hellhounds were pretty valuable. He hefted his Imperial Gold blade over his head, and he knew that he had just became a tantalizing target for the venti. "Hurry!"
Seeing Shatter in the air, they had figured out a rough idea of what he was planning. Queen ordered her two subjects to scamper down the mountain, with Jack and Chewie chasing immediately after. Queen though, hesitated for a moment, staring into his blue eyes before running away.
Content that his brother and sister were far enough away, Knight swung down, rapidly increasing Shatter's weight as it approached the ground.
He couldn't control the wind, but he could create it. When he and Jack had their first all-out sparring session, they ended up creating Lake May and a cloud of debris that took the better part of a day to dissipate. Now Knight didn't remember the blow that made the crater lake, as he had been knocked unconscious, but it wasn't hard to figure out how to reproduce it.
And when Shatter's blade made contact with Tartarus, he knew he did just that. In what was a surprisingly slow reaction, the cracks in the stone spiderwebbed out in a cone before the blade. The ground then seemed to bubble up, and the son of Kronos could see the pieces of Tartarian Ivory rise up and reveal their whiter, unstained color before crumbling into smaller pieces. And as more and more rose up, Knight took a step back off the stone that was slowly crumbling beneath his feet and raised Shatter once more.
The son of Kronos struck Tartarus twice more before everything returned to normal. The chunks of dirt and stone rose up faster than the eye could see, deflecting the hail as it traveled up, and a deafening explosion drowned out the thunder. He felt more drained than he had ever been in his life, even more so than the time he tried to give Flippy a piggyback ride, and he had to lean against his weapon to keep himself from collapsing.
But looking up, Knight could see that his attack had worked. The explosive pressure from his strikes had been too much for the venti, and the storm spirits had been scattered.
Too bad they're just going to reform. But that was fine, he could-
"Why did you attack us?" a voice as subtle as a spring breeze whispered in his ear.
Knight spun around, Shatter at the ready, but the storm spirit had already disappeared. "Because you attacked first!" he shouted for all to hear.
"You did," another voice whispered.
"You trespassed in our home," another added.
"We didn't know this was your home! And we didn't come to pick a fight!" Knight's knees began to shake as they struggled to support his own weight. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open and staying awake. "I just wanted to gather some rocks," he whispered.
"Rocks?" one of the invisible storm spirits cackled. "We can give you rocks." All around him little whirlwinds kicked up and began to suck up the very debris he had created. "All the rocks you could ever want you foolish-"
The wind howled in agony before it disappeared. The whirlwinds around him came to an abrupt halt as if frozen in fear.
"Leave my brother alone," Queen snarled, "or else."
And then everything went black.
----
Brontes ran his real hand over the length of the smooth block of Tartarian Ivory and whistled in appreciation. "This thing is nearly four meters long and absolutely flawless! And you say there is more of it?"
Knight nodded from his seat on the other end of the ever-growing pile of blocks. "Four mountains worth for sure, but Jack says he's seen others past Asterion's sanctuary." He jumped off the pile and his knees almost folded under him, but Steropes caught him and propped him up. He was still incredibly tired and weak from his fight with the venti, even after a week of bedrest.
"Easy there." Steropes gently patted him on the head with a smile. "What's even more amazing is the free delivery service you got along with it," the ponytailed cyclops said, pointing to steady stream of venti flying the giant slabs of stone to the workshop. "How ever did you get the storm spirits to agree to do this?"
"That wasn't me. That was Queen's doing."
According to Jack after he passed out Queen had used Soul Forge to absorb several of the storm spirits, which made those that watched tremble in fear. Then she threatened to do the same to every venti in the mountain unless they met her demands (Jack said it was the scariest thing he ever saw or heard). Fearing for their lives, the storm spirits were eager to listen. Queen's demands were simple, the venti could keep their mountain home in exchange for complete allegiance. Knight thought that was a bit cruel at first, and that they would've been better off with just a promise to leave each other alone, but when he finally regained enough strength to ride Chewie to the river valley (which Queen had named Tartarus' Palm), he was thankful for his sister's demands.
In those few days he had been unconscious Queen had organized the storm spirits into the ultimate quarriers. Dozens of the venti would pick up tiny amounts of dirt and sand and then blow it back and forth across the stone like an invisible saw blade, cutting huge chunks of Tartarian Ivory from the mountains. And if friction method of cutting failed, the venti would blast away pieces with lightning. The cut pieces were then carefully floated down the mountain on a cushion of air, where another team of storm spirits cut away the stained outer layers and polished what remained. From there the finished blocks were piled at the foot of the mountains, where they awaited transport to the cyclopes' workshop.
Knight was initially worried that the storm spirits had become slaves, a concept his godly siblings practiced that he didn't like, but to his surprise they actually liked their work. The venti got to channel their destructive tendencies out on the mountains, as well as soar across Tartarus. They even began to expand the caves they called home so that they had more room to race and create the echoing howls and whistles they loved so much. They also formed something called a union, which he thought was a fancy way of saying they took two ten-minute breaks every hour.
"Is that so..." Steropes hummed, sharing a knowing glance with his one-armed brother. "Then perhaps you should make her something as thanks."
Knight nodded in agreement. "I was thinking of giving her one of the two Twinkies I have left."
"That'll work," Brontes grunted as he heaved one of the giant blocks off the ground. But the block proved to be either too heavy or too awkward for the shaved-headed cyclops to handle, and he quickly fell forward, landing face first onto the block of Tartarian Ivory. "I'm okay..."
Steropes rolled his eye at his brother's stupidity. "That's a good idea, Knight. And don't worry, we should have another shipment come in soon. We should also be getting more chocolate, honey, and Spam in this one; if they followed our list."
Knight quirked his head to the side. "What's Spam?"
"The epitome of the evils the gods inflicted on the world."
----
Knight slowly worked his way home, dragging Shatter behind him.
It had been almost a month since the venti began delivering the massive slabs of Tatarian Ivory to the workshop, and there was already over a dozen stacks piled higher than the cyclopes could reach. And yet the piles kept growing. It felt like they went from no materials to having too many overnight; which Knight knew was a good problem to have.
Since then, he was working from the time he awoke to the late hours of the night, often spending days locked away in his workshop working on bringing his dreams to life. There were a lot of issues to overcome before he even dreamed of laying a single stone or pipe. Minor things like, how he could quickly shape the stone, excavate the ground quickly and accurately, and how someone his size could even move the giant slabs of Tartarian Ivory.
But if there was one thing Knight prided himself with, was his ability to think on is feet.
The shaping and excavation could be overcome with the proper tools, and he took inspiration from Brontes' mechanical hand and its ability to transform into whatever tool his mentor needed. What he had in mind was definitely better than running back and forth to his workshop or lugging around a toolbox all day.
Though the toolbelt Steropes told me about would also worked. Too bad they lost it ages ago...
And as for the matter of moving the blocks, Knight quickly came up with a solution to that little problem as well. Within the workshop, Steropes and Brontes designed and built automatons of all shapes and sizes, which were then stored away for future use. However, there was one model that never made it past the planning stages: a minotaur of Imperial Gold. The schematics stated it was to be for security, but it sheer size made it nearly perfect for construction. And the issue of its intelligence disks never being fully realized was going to be, well, a non-issue with what Knight had planned.
Throw in the Ancile and the multitool, and you got yourself the greatest tool ever made.
It would just take time to finish it. A lot of time. But he knew it would be worth it, as Flippy and the rest of the telekhines deserved a home.
Knight stopped in his tracks and yawned deeply. He knew he should have spent the night in the workshop, but homesickness was beginning to set in, and there was no project or reading that could cure it. He needed to sleep in his own bed, see his brother and sister, and most of all, see his grandmother.
Because despite his unconventional upbringing, the son of Kronos was still a child.
Knight shrank Shatter to the size of a dagger and stuck it in his pocket before continuing his trek home. He knew that Lord Krios and Lord Hyperion would give him a lengthy lecture for walking through Tartarus without his weapon in hand, but he was nearing the edge of Nyx's domain where attacks were almost unheard of. And now nearly all the giants were up on Gaea, those few that were still in Tartarus were those that has recently reformed from being defeated by some unknown foe, and those were heading immediately to the doors for another chance; far away from his path home.
He stopped and yawned again. The steady beating from the Mansion of Night was rather soothing, making his eyelids feel as heavy as lead. Deciding that he knew several ways home like the back of his hand, and that any creature that would attack him couldn't do any real damage, Knight closed his eyes and began walking once more.
The hooves will have to go unless I want to add additional stabilizers...
Using the Talos design's feet would increase overall weight, but also allow more weight with the additional cavity space they add...
If I add variable control to the Ancile, I can use it as a sandblaster...
Air conditioning, don't forget that in heat dissipation calculations...
Does the tail serve a purpose? Or is decorative? Remember to check later...
Make the frame out of Stygian Iron to increase durability? Adds more weight, is trade off worth it...
Knight stopped once more and rubbed his eyes. He had many things to consider, but he was sure everything would become clear once he had proper night's rest... and maybe a Twinkie... The son of Kronos reached up and patted his shirt pocket with his eyes still closed and smiled when he felt the plastic wrapped sponge cake.
Maybe I better eat it now for a pick-me-up.
The blond lazily opened his eyes-
Only for his heart to stop as all traces of exhaustion fled his system.
For standing imposingly before him, was the Mansion of Night.
He had no idea when he deviated from his path home or how he hadn't notice the beating growing louder, let alone how he managed to get his close without stumbling over something. Nevertheless, he was there now, and Knight was overcome by a mix of fear and curiosity. Curiosity because he had wanted to see the sole structure of Tartarus up close, and fear because up close it was so much more than he ever imagined. So much more...
No matter how long he stared at the archway above him, Knight couldn't determine what it was built of. He couldn't even tell if it was stone or metal, or even if its black color that swallowed all light was natural or the result of eons of weather, dirt, and grime. And from the corner of his eyes the black surfaces seemed to be moving, but when his eyes darted to the source, it stopped.
Every inch of the black material was covered in carvings that appeared to have no rhyme or reason, other to unnerve any that dared gaze at them. Every fiber of his being was telling him to flee, to run and never look back, but the strange geometric symbols put an intangible weight on his mind that only increased with each passing instant. He had to move, had to turn away, for invincible or not, this place was going to kill him.
But the mansion had him in its grasp and no intention to ever let him go-
"Who dares intrude upon my doorstep?" A voice bellowed over the sound of whinnying pegasi.
The sudden intrusion was enough for Knight to pry his eyes free of the mansion's iron grip. But when he spun around, the son of Kronos realized that his troubles were only just beginning. For descending from the pitch-black sky, on a Stygian Iron chariots pulled by two midnight black horses, was the goddess Nyx.
The daughter of Chaos stood taller than either Lord Krios or Lord Hyperion and was as equally terrifying as she was beautiful. Two dark wings extended from her back that seemed to make the surrounding area darker with each graceful flap. Her eyes were pinpoints of bright white light that were just as enthralling as the Mansion of Night, but didn't hurt nearly as bad to look at. In a strange way, the primordial goddess reminded him of Queen, or at least the kind of woman Queen would grow into to.
"Shade! Shadow! Halt!" The goddess of night called out, pulling against the horses' reigns, bringing the chariot to a stop just above the son of Kronos. The narrowed her eyes and then stepped from her chariot, descending to the ground with a silent flap of her wings. "Well? I asked a question, and it's rude to keep a goddess waiting."
Knight was speechless before Nyx, but for a different reason. For if the goddess would have followed his gaze (and perhaps he was lucky she didn't), she would have realized that he was staring at her dress in awe. As this was the first time in his life that Knight had ever seen stars. He knew the concept of stars, that they were little lights that illuminated the celestial sphere around Gaea but knowing and seeing are two completely different things. He didn't know that they could be so colorful, as hues of purple, blue, red, and green surrounded the millions of little lights, that they could race across the sky with long trailing tails, or that they could pulse almost as if they were alive.
Simply put, they were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"Well?" Nyx hissed, leering over him.
Knight regretfully turned his gaze to the goddess' face, only to realize that she was also covered in stars, just far dimmer than those on her dress. "My name is Knight," he announced proudly as he had been taught by the titans and grandmother. "Son of Kronos. One of the rightful heirs of Olympus."
Nyx leaned back, clearly surprised by his announcement. "Night... interesting name.... Well," she hummed in amusement, "that is certainly something if true." The goddess of night flapped her wings and Knight's visions darkened for a split second. "So tell me, why would the son of Kronos trespass in my domain?"
Knight gulped but did not look away from Nyx. "Forgive me, my lady. I have been curious about your dwellings for some time and wanted to take a closer look."
The goddess wrinkled her brow, sending dozens of stars flying through the strands of darkness that were her hair. "My dwellings," she chuckled humorlessly. "In the countless eons I have dwelt in Tartarus, no creature or god has dared approach the Mansion of Night, much less darkened its doorstep. For that I will commend you for your bravery."
Knight let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. I guess she'll let me-
"But you still trespassed." Within her right hand a Stygian blue whip appeared. "And for that you must be punished!" Nyx let the whip unroll and raised it above her head.
"Wait!" he cried, raising his arms to shield himself. Shatter was a powerful weapon, but if he couldn't defeat a titan then there was no way he could defeat one of the protegenoi. But Nyx was a goddess, meaning she was vain by nature, and could therefore be tricked. "I brought you an offering!"
The goddess lowered her arm, while her two horses looked at each other in confusion. "An offering?"
"Yeah!" Knight reached into his shirt pocket and removed the cream-filled sponge cake that he hoped was going to save him from an eternity of pain. "This is for you," he said, bowing his head and holding the Twinkie up for the goddess to see.
Nyx pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as the whip disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What is this?" the goddess asked, taking the plastic wrapped snack cake between her thumb and forefinger. "Some kind of toy?"
Knight carefully lifted his head and had to stop himself from laughing at the goddess gingerly squeezing the plastic wrapped sponge. "It's food, my lady. You remove it from its wrapper and eat it."
The embodiment of night frowned at him and then the Twinkie. Then with a sigh, Nyx shrank down to a height that was between Grandma May's and that or Lord Krios. She didn't unwrap the snack cake, as the plastic simply vanished into thin air. Then she brought it hesitantly to her lips, sniffed it once, and then took one dainty bite.
As Nyx chewed, Knight began to sweat. While her anger was abated for now, there was a very real possibility that his offering would only anger her further if she found it displeasing. Steropes says everyone loves Twinkies, please let that be true!
As she swallowed the small bite, Nyx's eyes expanded into large red orbs before shrinking back down but glowing brighter than before. She shoved the rest of the Twinkie in her mouth and moaned in pleasure before licking her black fingers clean. "More!" she bellowed, licking her lips.
"What?"
"Is there more?!" Nyx cried, shrinking down further and placing her icy cold hands on his shoulders.
At that moment, staring into the goddess' supernova eyes, Knight wondered if he should have taken the whipping. "I can get more?"
"Yes! You do that!" Nyx cheered. "Bring me more- more-"
"Twinkies?"
"Yes! Bring me more Twinkies and I will give you all the blessings of night!" Her cheeks glowed purple and she smiled so brightly that he found himself smiling as well. "My first offering in centuries and it's better than any I have ever received! It was always meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! The fools were completely unaware I went vegetarian millennia ago! Goes to show you how much they really cared for me!"
"Umm yeah... I'm really sorry about before," the blond said, shivering under the goddess' icy touch.
Nyx stopped complaining about her previous offerings and removed her arms from the son of Kronos and stared deep into his eyes with an expression that was impossible to read. "Listen carefully Night, son of Kronos. For your own safety, you are to never come this close to this place again. There are things within those dark halls that no god, mortal, and anything in between can comprehend. Things that only she can witness. Do you understand?"
Knight gulped and nodded. He didn't understand entirely what she was telling him, but from looking at the outside of the Mansion of Night hurt that badly, he had no desire to see what laid within.
"Good, you can bring my offerings to the top of the cliff over there," Nyx said gesturing to a cliff across a chasm. The goddess then waved her hand and the two horses flew away with her chariot. She then sniffed him and furrowed her brow. "You smell of time, flame, and mortal flesh, but do not carry the scent of Gaea. You are neither demigod or god, but something in between." She narrowed her eyes. "Just what are you child?"
"I'm Knight," he shrugged. "My Grandma May says what I am doesn't matter, but what I do does. My lady."
Nyx scrutinized him with her deep glowing eyes before she cracked a smile. "Wise words. But I am still curious. Come, walk with me and tell me your tale. It has been many years since someone has piqued my interest."
He was about to tell her how tired he was and that he wouldn't be good company, when Nyx placed one pointed finger against his forehead. Instantly the weariness he felt disappeared and he felt as well rested as if he slept for an entire day. "How-"
"Did you think I would shield Hypnos from Zeus' wrath for free?" She smiled, tucking her wings against her back. "I made him repay me for my services by teaching me all he knew. Now come. The day is young, and I demand a tale from my newest vassal."
What did I do?
----
Knight didn't make it home until the following evening, the result of Nyx keeping in her company the entire day until she departed to perform her duties. She wasn't bad company, and he wouldn't mind spending time with her again in the future. Which was a good thing as her demands for more Twinkies guaranteed their time together. In a way the primordial goddess reminded Knight of Grandma May, as there was a kindness hidden within behind her dark façade, and she had a tendency to talk at length about her children.
And she had a lot of children...
Many, many children.
But there was one thing Nyx said before departing that had him worried: a warning.
While you have remained hidden to a great many, there is one that has always known of your presence here. They have ignored your presence as your existence was meaningless, but now they are beginning to take notice from the damage you have caused. If you value your life, do not anger them any further.
Knight had no idea who she was talking about or what damage she spoke of, but he felt that Nyx wasn't one to make things up.
"Well look who has returned!" The voice of Lord Hyperion boomed, snapping him from his thoughts. "I thought you had forgotten about us!"
Knight looked up to see the two titan lords standing guard; their weapons firmly planted in the ground with their hands resting on their hilts. Lord Hyperion looked to be in good spirits judging by the golden flames dancing across his body and how his Imperial Gold armor was fully repaired; no doubt he had come up with a new plan that would defeat Jack. Lord Krios on the other hand, had the same aura of melancholy that he always did as he stared up into the pitch-black sky.
And for the first time, Knight understood his quiet mentor's sorrow. The starless skies of Tartarus were nothing compared to the small patch of star filled sky that Nyx wore as a dress. There was no beauty to the blackness, nothing meaningful, and certainly nothing that would inspire the artists and poets he had read about.
"We were beginning to think you were tossed over the edge!" The golden titan laughed. "Wouldn't that be something?" he asked, nudging his silver-skinned brother.
But Knight ignored the Titan of the East's words and approached Lord Krios. "I saw the stars. I saw the way they gleamed in the darkness. How they painted the night sky in an infinite number of patterns." He gulped. "Can you teach me the constellations?"
"What are you on about?" Lord Hyperion barked. "Have you lost your sens-"
But Lord Krios held up his arm and silenced his brother before removing his ram-horn helmet. The silver-skinned titan then placed his helmet on his sword and kneeled down and began to draw in the dirt with his finger. "This is Cetus..."