The Gift of the Lethe

A Weapon Remade

The forge is burning hot when she arrives. Athena knocks once against the metal-covered table, loud enough to alert Hephaestus to her presence. He looks back and nods at her before turning back to the furnace in front of him. He steps back from it a minute later, holding onto a long metal pole with a glowing point. Hephaestus places the item on his workbench and takes a hammer to it, flattening the point further. He looks up at Athena.

"Anything you want to add, now is a good time for it. The spear goes in the forge one more time after this before it is complete."

Athena nods and moves toward the table, pulling her summoned aegis from her shoulders. A knife appears in her other hand and she slices out a portion of the aegis before swinging it back around her shoulders. The piece still in her hands grows until it is a smaller version of her own.

Athena wraps it around the base of the still glowing spearpoint and the fabric melts into the metal to leave a design stamped into the metal, a score of lines that create the form of the aegis. She presses her thumb to the metal further down, where Pallas always holds her spear. She presses simple enchantments into it first, many of them the same as the spear had before.

One to make it lightweight, so as to counteract the increased weight of a fully metal spear. An enchantment to prevent it from breaking and to always remain sharp, and a final enchantment that will allow Pallas to hold the spear without need for an additional grip, as metal on its own can often become slippery. There are some others, but they are so routine that she doesn't have to concentrate on them.

When Athena is satisfied with those enchantments, she adds something new. The pad of her thumb burns for a moment before she pulls it away. Just above where Pallas would be holding the spear, there is now an emblem of an owl etched into the metal. It will allow her to both speak with owls and request their aid, and in times of trouble the emblem will become a true owl and aid her in any form she needs. Athena steps back from the spear and nods at her brother.

"That should be everything."

Hephaestus looks down at the spear for a moment before he wraps his hand around the metal just below the aegis etching. The metal glows red until he pulls his hand away, and it takes several seconds for it to fade even then. It wasn't the glow of heating metal, there was no shimmering mirage in the warming air. The glow was more aesthetic; the illusion of the metal heating but nothing more than power to make the celestial bronze glow. Hephaestus gives Athena a small smile over his shoulder as he carries the spear back over to the furnace for its final heating.

"I hope you don't mind me adding something of my own. Your enchantments on the spear were well enough, but I noticed that you would have left it in only one form. Even if Pallas may prefer to use a spear, I am aware of what happened and this way she can turn the spear into an alternate weapon with a thought."

Athena keeps her expression calm even as a flutter of panic arises in her chest. Why didn't she think of that? Her brother is right, Pallas may say that she's fine. She might think she's fine, but it is possible that she is more uncomfortable with the spear than she will admit. Options for her won't hurt, regardless of where she actually stands. There are some situations where another weapon will work better than a spear would. Athena holds back a sigh and smiles at Hephaestus.

"Thank you for doing that brother, but I must say I'm surprised."

He hums, his attention still occupied by the furnace. "Why, because I'm favoring her? You're my sister and I care about you. She is important to you, so by extension I will care about her too. Besides, you don't want to know how excited Aphrodite has been over you two."

Athena groans, resisting the urge to put her face in her hands. "Why did I even entertain the thought that she would keep it to herself."

Hephaestus snorts. "She's actually doing a decent job of it. She hasn't slipped to Ares yet. I only heard because she was talking to herself."

Athena cracks a grin at that. "Of course she was."

Hephaestus pulls the spear from the furnace and plunges the tip into a bucket of water beside the furnace. The water hisses, steam rising from the surface until he pulls the spear from the bucket. He sets it on the bench and lightly touches a finger to the point. Golden ichor is quick to well up, beading on the surface of his finger. He nods and holds the spear out to Athena.

"It's ready."

Athena takes it and dips her head in gratitude. "My thanks again, brother."

He just waves her away and turns away, picking some indiscernible item up from one of his workbenches to fiddle with.

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What did you think of the enchantments on the spear? Will Pallas like them? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out