-Tell me then, oh Muses, how it happened-
-The youngest of the Mother was the instigator. It was he who used his guile and cunning to trick the Crooked One-
In the throne room of Othrys, Zeus watched with glee as Cronos carelessly drank from the Nectar he poured for him. His infiltration of his father's home for so many months showing its fruit.
In front of the king sat Atlas, the general of Cronos's forces. A general in name only as there was no force alive that dared go against the king. But still, a general nonetheless.
Hyperion, the Titan Lord of the East.
Koios, the Titan Lord of the North.
Iapetus, the Titan Lord of the West.
Krios, the Titan Lord of the South.
And so many other brothers, nephews, and cousins of the Crooked One in a grand banquet. A banquet that the young Zeus had arranged for the king.
As the titans discussed things, laughed, joked, and enjoyed the merrymaking with Zeus helping to make things livelier, they were none the wiser to the plot brewing within them.
Zeus continued pouring the nectar into the goblet, the titan king and his guests engaging in a drinking contest reminiscent of when Zeus had first joined them.
With his wit and skill, Zeus distracted both the titans with his jokes, having them laugh and drink all night long, until finally, the titans started to fall one after another, thanks to the effect that the Nectar has on divine beings after being consumed too much at once.
Cronos, ever the competitive Titan, refused to stop until all the Titans in his presence dropped from the overdose, making him laugh in triumph.
Yet, this triumph would also be his undoing.
For in his final drink, the young god in disguise poured all of the potion that Metis gave him and poured the mixture into the laughing and drunk king's goblet.
-The emetic devised and prepared by the daughter of the Ocean skillfully mixed into the nectar of the gods. A trick so skillful that even fates may have been deceived had they been the victims of the great thunderer-
The king did not think much and drank straight from the goblet, never suspecting the young 'titan' cupbearer. Complacency that would be his undoing.
At once, the king lurched as a familiar pain flared in his stomach. One that had been plaguing him for the past decade.
-While the cunning of the young Thunderer was afoot, the Destroyer within the stomach of the wicked one was not idle either-
-It is said that he rallied his siblings for what is to come. It was the Destroyer who enacted the grand play. The beginning of the end of an age-
However, alongside this familiar pain and the familiar drain on his essence, Cronos felt something else.
A revulsion.
An urge to regurgitate everything within.
At once, he understood the plot at hand. Yet, he refused to give up that easily, even in his heavily incapacitated state.
He firmly held his mouth shut even as his stomach started to bloat outwards. The Emetic forcing the contents of his stomach out, while his children within finally unleased their own attacks from within in a desperate and spiteful bid to escape.
-The Crooked One's mouth unhinged, and the first one to come out was the rock of Mother Earth. The sacred stone, the Omphalos, which sits at Delphi-
Zeus saw the stubbornness of the king and knew that he had to do something. If not, all of this would have been in vain.
So, for once, he gave up on his cunning and finally deployed his strength.
The god hesitated not one moment and grabbed the king's jaw. Veins bulging on his arms and forehead as he fought against the king's stubbornness.
And quickly, under the glares from the king, he finally managed to pry open the king's mouth.
With the mouth now open, there was simply no stopping the contents of his stomach from falling out.
So came the Omphalos. The stone that was given to Cronos to eat instead of a young Zeus. A stone fashioned by the earth mother herself and imbued with Rhea's divinity, acting as a message and a memory imprint for her children within the wicked one's stomach.
-Then came the Asterion. The Destroyer's rage palpable for all of the world to feel as his power tore apart the jaw of the Crooked One-
Brolios came out screaming.
His rage, pent up for more than a decade, finally finding his target.
With bare hands sheathed in baleful purple, he grabbed Cronos's lower jaw and tore it off outright. Stunning Zeus with the awe-inspiring sight.
For nobody had ever managed to harm the king to such an extent since the death of the sky father's physical form.
-And so, the Asterion held the Crooked One's mouth wide open, ensuring that the tyrant would not imprison his kin once again-
-And so, the Earth Shaker came out next. His roar shaking the very world to its bones-
Poseidon came out just as fast. His roar mixed with his divine essence and natural affinity.
With his roar, the very world quivered, destabilizing everyone and throwing the Titans into confusion across the realms.
The moment his feet touched the floor, he was on his father. His powerful arms restraining the king's right arm.
-The Wealthy One came next. His very presence darkening the throne room and filling it with an air so eerie that even the sleeping Titans felt the fear of the dark while their minds wandered the realm of Hypnos-
Hades did not come out with a bang like his brothers. His presence was instead more subtle but equally heavy.
His arrival plunged the throne room into darkness, consuming Titans whole and trapping them in a labyrinth of shadows, just in case they woke up prematurely.
Desperate for escape, the Titan King swung his free arm, aiming to knock away Brolios and Poseidon.
But Hades intercepted the blow. His arms straining to contend with the king's power despite the monster's decrepit and weakened state.
Yet, just like they planned, Hades forced the king's arm back on the throne, completely immobilizing the Crooked One.
-Then emerged Argreia herself. As regal as the queen she was meant to be despite her decade-long imprisonment-
-And immediately after came Thesmophoros. As beautiful as the bountiful harvest she commands-
The sisters wasted no time.
Demeter shot to Poseidon's side and helped him restrain Cronos while Hera did the same with Hades.
Meanwhile, Zeus finally came to his senses from the shocking sight and did not hesitate either.
With untracable speed and unfathomable strength, he grabbed Cronos's hair and pulled his head back, wishing to reduce the strain on Brolios, who held the king's mouth wide open and restrained his legs all by himself.
-And finally emerged the Prymeneia herself. Her divine grace and dignity as the first of her siblings to be born and the last to be reborn apperent to all-
The moment she emerged, Hestia moved towards the center of the throne room. A place that her instincts guided her towards.
With her divine presence flooding the very world, she concentrated within herself and her divine essence. Calling out to that which is unseen but still felt.
And the world answered.
A divine flame, peerless in presence and unfathomable in strengthe emerged from the very earth. Floating gently in front of the goddess, who cradled it as if it were a delicate child.
-With all of his siblings free, the Asterion finally let go and spoke words that would bring pride and honor to the mother-
Brolios finally let go of the king's mouth, which was already healing under his time manipulations.
A power that the king was already using to try and stop his children.
Yet, they had long since grown past what he could control, thanks in part to devouring his own essence from within.
Brolios stared down coldly at the king. His mind holding nothing but Destruction.
And yet, as he beheld the visage of the titan who had imprisoned him for so long. The creature that robbed him from his mother whose anguish he could only imagine. His aura flickered between the purple of Destruction and the brilliant emerald of Rage.
And so, with this flickering power of his, the god reared his fist back and delivered a punch so devastating that all of the realm heard the thunderous noise.
The Crooked One lay immobile on his throne, unable to even muster the strength to speak or glare as the left half of his torso disappeared in a tempest of Destruction and Ki.
"That, was for Mother."
With his rage satisfied for now, knowing that they did not have much time, he turned to young Zeus.
"I am Brolios."
Zeus grinned at the introduction, finally able to put a face to the name that his mother had long since whispered to him, along with the names of his other siblings.
"I am Zeus, the youngest of us. Brother."
The rest of the gods instantly understood what was going on.
Without a word spoken, Brolios flared his divinity, eliciting a response from all his siblings, including Zeus.
Only then did he relax and nod.
"Very well, Zeus. Do you have a plan from here on out?"
"Yes. But first, there is something I must do."
Zeus walked forward and glared down at Cronos, who tiredly stared up at his children.
Both sides were stuck in a state where they knew they could not fight each other just yet.
Cronos was already healing rapidly. Within a few more moments, he will be back on his feet. And given the fluctuations they could sense from behind them, the rest of the titans would not be too far away from breaking out either.
On the other hand, Cronos also knew that even if he were to fight them right now, it would only be a stalemate due to the numerical superiority of his enemies, as well as the state they were in compared to his own pitiful state, as well as that of his kin.
Cronos did not have his weapon nearby, and neither did the Titans, since they never expected this kind of betrayal, so they could not bring out their full strength to bear.
Something that even Zeus knew. So the young god took a deep breath and declared.
"Today, we, the children of Rhea, declare war on you, Kronos."
-And so began the long war of Gods and Titans-
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Author Notes: Here are the meanings of the Epithats used in the Muses' poem.
Asterion: Brolios
Earth-Shaker: Poseidon.
The Wealthy One: Hades.
Argreia: Hera.
Thesmophoros: Demeter.
Prymeneia: Hestia.
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Atlas, The General: (Click here for image)
Hyperion, the Titan Lord of the East: (Click here for image)
Koios, the Titan Lord of the North: (Click here for image)
Iapetus, the Titan Lord of the West: (Click here for image)
Krios, the Titan Lord of the South: (Click here for image)
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