Author Notes: Man, this flu is really persistent. Even after so many days, I am still on meds.
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Young Chiron stood on his four legs, his arms holding the dulled sword and shield in a stance.
Within the Grove of Dodona, where countless beings of various natures resided, thanks to the god in front of him, the young immortal born of Kronos and Philyra stared intensely at his teacher, ready for any trick that the god might pull on him in this match.
Yet, he underestimated the god's martial prowess nonetheless.
At once, Brolios burst forth with speed that blindsided the young Chiron, forcing the four-legged immortal to dance and weave between the punches, kicks, jabs, palm attacks, and so much more.
As the two continued their sparring, Chiron eventually ran out of stamina first, leading to a slip-up in his footwork that allowed the god to land a powerful punch on the immortal's face.
Letting go of the sword and shield and picking himself up from the ground, Chiron glared playfully at his teacher.
"You really don't have to go so far with your attacks, Lord Brolios. You could have stopped the punch before it landed and would still have made your point."
Brolios just grinned at Chiron's words.
"I could. But then, you wouldn't have remembered the lesson properly. Pain is the best way to remember a mistake, after all."
".....That is some twisted logic, my lord."
Brolios just shrugged and extended his hand to the half-man, half-horse being. A creature that many would call a Centaur, but was in truth a completely different being altogether.
The moment the spar was over, various different animals, monsters, and even different types of nymphs surrounded Brolios as he led Chiron to the shade of the tall Oak trees to rest, much to the exasperation and fond annoyance of the Olympian and the amusement of the young immortal.
In Chiron's eyes, it was inevitable that Brolios would always face this kind of thing no matter where he went due to his chosen domain and how compatible said domain is to his innate nature.
The Olympian God of Nature who was kind to all kinds of living beings, no matter their shape or size.
To a being like this, it was natural that everything living would be attracted to him in such a way.
Of course, this did not mean that the god was naive. After all, his other domain, the God of Destruction, was not earned by being kind. It is just that Brolios knows the difference between when he should let loose his innate kindness and when to restrain his heart and perform his duty.
Chiron still remembered one of the first lessons he learnt from Brolios, right after Mother Rhea freed him from the stasis that the Crooked One had placed him in for all those years.
'Kindness and Respect is only given to those who are worthy of it, Chiron. Because these acts are the privileges of the strong, and those who are strong must always remember to exercise their privileges carefully.'
'Because kindness and mercy shown to an enemy who does not deserve it will always result in a tragedy.'
It was a bizarre piece of advice, one of the many his teacher had taught him. Many of which were quite contradictory.
However, when Chiron asked Brolios about these contradictions, the answer the god gave him was just as baffling and, to an extent, terrifying for the young immortal.
'Because life is never black and white, my dear student. There exist various shades of grays and other colors that you can't even begin to understand.'
'Especially in a world like ours, which is still in flux outside of our realms, where 2 + 2 can often mean oranges.'
He still remembered the Olympian's wry smile as he gave Chiron that strange lesson.
'Hypocrisy, idiocy, willful negligence, these are all traits that are already starting to form in the various beings that call Olympus and the rest of our realms home, so I think the day is not far away when you will see for yourself what I meant by only giving Honor and Mercy to those who deserve it.'
'I just hope that, when the day comes, you can still retain your morality. Because it is easy to lose yourself in your own power and start looking at everything and everyone as mere toys.'
Suddenly, Chiron felt a palm on his shoulder, pulling him back to reality and to the raised eyebrow of his teacher.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"Nothing. Just remembering your previous lessons is all."
Brolios nodded at those words and waved at the group of nymphs with a smile who approached them with Nectar Pithos.
Chiron did not miss the way the nymphs swooned but restrained themselves, a struggle of love and hate dancing in their eyes at the beautiful way the Olympian dismissed them.
A sight that the young immortal had long gotten used to thanks to his teacher's....unique..way of doing things.
If it were any other god in Brolios's position, where the nymphs and Oceaninds were practically throwing themselves at him, they would have long since taken advantage of it and sired who knows how many children by now.
However, the way Brolios viewed things was quite different from that of any other god.
To him, it is not beauty that attracts him. It is power. And even then, he searches for emotional connection as well, something that is practically impossible to find in these realms at the moment.
There are powerful Goddesses and Titanesses out there who held more than enough power to attract his attention, yet they lacked the heart that he wanted.
And there are countless immortal beings here who held such a heart, such an emotional connection he wanted, but they lacked the strength.
Someone who held both qualities at once? That was someone who simply did not exist yet in these realms.
'Well, except for Lady Hestia, but she is a prospect that teacher does not even consider for some reason. The same goes for Lady Hecate.'
The young immortal shook his head at the bizarre way his teacher looked at things and focused back on reality, and took the chalice of Nectar and drank from it along with his teacher, whose gaze was now set far away.
Knowing exactly what he was thinking, Chiron spoke up softly.
"When are you leaving?"
"In a month or so."
His eyes softened considerably as he sported a tender smile.
"Right after little Persephone's birthday, which is coming up soon."
Chiron nodded, knowing how much his teacher loved his family, especially the very first children born of his family, the Horai, the Muses, and soon after, Lady Persephone, born of Lord Zeus and Lady Demeter.
In fact, Brolios doted on the Horai, the Muses, and Persephone so much that it bordered on unhealthy according to Chiron's opinion.
Still, it was a beautiful, pure love from Brolios that Chiron could not help appreciate.
Even if his teacher was still angry at Zeus and Demeter for their fling that resulted in the birth of Lady Persephone in the first place. An act that he felt was a betrayal of Zeus's vow to his wife, Metis.
As for the Horai and the Muses, since their mothers gave birth to them before Zeus's marriage, he did not mind their mothers' relationships with Zeus.
Unfortunately for Brolios, this tender care of his was also one of the many reasons why the various nymphs, oceanids, titanesses, and lesser goddesses always pined after him at every opportunity they got.
Chiron sighed at those thoughts, but then regained his calm and spoke seriously.
"You need to be careful, teacher. We still don't know what lies beyond our realms because the Crooked One and his kin never thought to venture out and see for themselves."
"Even Lord Helios and Lady Selene are ignorant of what lies beyond our borders, despite their task of circling the world every day. It just goes to show that Mother Earth hides too many mysteries from us."
"Hm. You are wise to be worried. However, you should also know that there is literally nothing in this world that can truly harm me at the moment. And if there is something out there that can really harm me, then we have more important things to worry about than my safety."
Chiron paused at those words before nodding, knowing that the god was right.
According to Mother Rhea, Brolios was already peerless even in the times of the Titans. A time where their realms held the same kind of flux as the outside world, with no concepts truly solidified, no truly set rules, where the raw power a being held mattered little, and only their mastery of their domains and concepts determined their position in the hierarchy.
And now that the realms had stabilized into what has become known as the Greek realms? There was literally nothing that could even scratch the young Olympian. Not even Mother Earth.
Not even the Fates.
However, with the journey that is to come, A journey that his teacher voluntarily took to explore and see what lies beyond the Greek Lands, there was literally nothing that their people knew about the outside aside from the fact that it was still in the same kind of flux as what their realm had before the ascention of the Olympians.
That day, the teacher and student remained in comfortable conversations in Brolios's personal sanctuary in the Grove of Dodona until the time came for the young immortal Chiron to return to his home on Mount Pelion, where the student was secretly preparing a gift for his teacher before his departure, while also preparing a gift for Lady Persephone's birthday.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon
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