[I'm fine.]
Seeing the message appear on the golden ring, Thalia's and Annabeth's eyes grew calmer. A day had passed, but that hadn't eased the tension, if anything, it had only grown more intense.The atmosphere felt explosive, as if a single spark could set off a massive detonation. The war between the two pantheons had begun twelve hours ago. Tyr, the Norse God of War, had crossed the borders and slain a significant number of lesser gods.
The same happened to the Norse Pantheon, whose borders were breached and whose gods were killed by the goddess Athena and the god Ares, both of whom took the front lines, fighting with ferocity on the battlefield.
Honestly, during the first clash, the Greek side suffered a higher number of divine casualties. Unlike the Norse Pantheon, which had never stopped waging war, the Greek gods had long since become spoiled and cowardly beings.
Gods who believed themselves immortal died like pigs at slaughter, bleeding and perishing like mortals. The gods' immortality kept them from dying of old age or illness, but they were far from immortal in every sense.
If such a thing existed, gods would truly be invincible, but the will of the universe was benevolent enough to give mortals a small chance to actually kill gods, and for other gods to kill each other to grow stronger.
It seemed to be an iron law from which no pantheon was exempt.
Gods can be killed.
At the same time, with the war raging, an unusual situation occurred. With the deaths of these gods, divine positions were left vacant. Knowing just how tempting a divine position was to gods themselves, Zeus and Odin used them as rewards, spurring even the usually passive gods to head to the front lines.
The consequence was that the front line essentially became a divine meat grinder. Gods went mad for the chance to finally grow stronger after thousands, or tens of thousands, of years.
Thalia and Annabeth were worried about Godwyn because of this, they had no idea if he was safe amid the chaos of this divine war.
Suddenly, Thalia and Annabeth noticed that the letters on the ring changed again.
[At night in the forest]
Seeing this, Annabeth and Thalia exchanged glances. Would Godwyn be bold enough to enter the Greek camp? The thought passed through both girls' minds, and they reached the same conclusion.
He would!
Godwyn was stupid enough to do it!
-
That night, in the forest of Camp Half-Blood.
Two figures appeared in the dangerous forest full of monsters used for training. The forest was also home to the dryads, forest nymphs. These beings were barely considered gods, yet they were immortal like the gods and often served as favored attendants of powerful deities.
With Thalia at her side, Annabeth wasn't afraid of the forest's monsters. She peered into the deep darkness around her with a hint of cunning. There was nothing nearby, only the calm rustle of trees and bushes. But that, in itself, was suspicious.
The night had always belonged to animals, and there were plenty of creatures with nocturnal habits, so a silent forest was very strange. Especially since she had heard other sounds when they first entered the forest.
That meant the area around them was under the influence of something, likely a force field.
Suddenly, Annabeth felt a hand on her head.
"Don't touch my head, Thalia," she said in an annoyed tone.
"I'm not touching your head, little owl," Thalia replied, scanning the surroundings for a familiar golden figure.
Annabeth's eyes widened, and she turned around, only to meet a pair of golden eyes staring at her with a playful, teasing look.
"Boo!" Godwyn said, trying to scare her. But instead of a startled reaction, what he got was a hug. Annabeth wrapped herself around him like an octopus, softly crying.
Godwyn was surprised at first but soon relaxed, gently stroking the little girl's soft hair. "Looks like I worried you. Forgive me, little owl," he said in a gentle, apologetic tone.
Thalia glanced at Annabeth clinging to Godwyn, a flicker of envy in her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but she wished she were in Annabeth's place. Godwyn's embrace must have felt so warm and safe…
Realizing where her thoughts were going, Thalia shook her head and pushed such feelings aside. Ever since she had recognized her feelings for Godwyn, she found herself thinking about him constantly, always remembering the moments they'd shared before coming to Camp Half-Blood.
"Sorry for taking so long. I had to speak with a certain dangerous woman," Godwyn said, setting Annabeth down. He wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to Thalia with a smile.
Thalia nodded silently. A heavy silence settled in the air.
"Are they treating you well?" Godwyn asked, breaking it.
A smile touched Thalia's lips, but Godwyn caught the sadness in her eyes. "They fear me. They call me jinxed. No one except Annabeth, Luke, and Grover wants to be near me," she said in an indifferent tone, as if she didn't care about what was happening.
Godwyn knew she cared deeply, she just wanted to appear strong.
"Then come with me," Godwyn said plainly. Since Thalia was suffering here, he might as well invite her into his small terrorist group… ahem… self-help group. Besides, Thalia was strong and definitely had the potential to become a powerful goddess of the Golden Order.
The Greeks didn't want Thalia—but he did!
Thalia's eyes widened at Godwyn's proposal, her heart pounding faster. To her, his words were no different from a confession of love.
If Godwyn could hear her thoughts, he would be speechless. Women in love could be very dramatic.
Annabeth, overhearing their conversation, widened her eyes and spoke in an excited tone. "I want to go too!!!"
She had grown to dislike Camp Half-Blood, especially after seeing how the campers treated Thalia, calling her "jinxed" and avoiding her like she was a leper.
"That's not possible, Annabeth," Godwyn said, shaking his head in a solemn tone. "What I'm about to do is even more dangerous than our trip to Camp Half-Blood."
He was going to travel through the Nine Realms, how could he possibly take a seven-year-old child to such dangerous places?
Annabeth's eyes filled with tears again. She bit her lip, feeling more miserable than ever. "Is it wrong for me to want to stay with you? Camp Half-Blood doesn't feel like home to me."
Godwyn's gaze softened at her words. He crouched down and looked into her tear-filled gray eyes. "Do you understand what it means to follow me? You'll be betraying your mother, father, and family. You'll be treated as a traitor. This isn't a game, Annabeth, this kind of decision isn't something a child like you can make alone."
His words shook her. The image of the beautiful brown-haired woman flashed in her mind, and just the thought of betraying her brought a terrible feeling to her small body, as if she craved that woman's love and approval.
Seeing her reaction, Godwyn smiled faintly. "Let's meet halfway," he said in a warm tone.
"When you're twelve, I'll come back and ask you the same thing I asked Thalia," Godwyn said solemnly. "If you accept, I'll take you with me. That time will be enough for you to decide what you truly want."
"Do you promise you'll come back?" Annabeth asked tearfully, sniffling.
"Of course. We'll always be family," Godwyn said with a smile, even making it a promise.
Holding Annabeth's hand, Godwyn turned to Thalia and spoke in a solemn tone. "I want to create my own pantheon. Just like I told Annabeth, you'll be seen as a traitor if you follow me."
"Do you really want to come with me, Thalia Grace?" Godwyn extended his hand, looking straight into her electric-blue eyes.
Thalia looked at his hand and smiled. "I always knew you were trouble."
"What can I say? Trouble seems to find me," Godwyn shrugged, mirroring her smile.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Thalia realized she couldn't. Godwyn's proposal carried far too many consequences, none of them small.
Still, whether it was her feelings speaking or the rebellious blood in her veins, Thalia stepped forward and took his hand.
"I'll join your pantheon, my king," she said solemnly, relief on her face and a smile on her lips.
"Welcome aboard the pirate ship, Princess," Godwyn said with an amused grin.
-----
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/GOTSW
Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.