ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

αε.

αε. acrophobia - fear of heights

Aza didn't find the fifty-foot bronze wall that encircled the fortress to be particularly welcoming. She assumed the first hurtle to face would be entering Aeolus' palace, but the gates opened simply for them, like a pair of motion-sensitive doors. A winding path of glimmering purple stones led to the main citadel - a multi-floored, white-columned rotunda. The roof was covered in solar-panels, satellite dishes and radio towers.

"That's bizarre," Piper said, furrowing her eyebrows as she peered at the eye-sore of a roof. 

"It's powered by Apollo," Aza explained, motioning towards the solar panels. "He's their biggest sponsor - it means he's more likely to get his way."

"Get his way?" Leo asked, and the three demigods turned to her. Aza smirked at them. A small, semi-masochistic part of her enjoyed knowing things about her world - their world - that they hadn't learned yet. Small, silly little things - like Dionysus' alcoholism morphing into a Diet Coke addiction, or the Olympians controlling global weather on their slightest whim.  

Aza didn't answer, instead leading them into the central greens, on the shimmering purple path to the rotunda. The circular grounds were quartered, each representing one of the four cardinal winds. 

 "Boreas," Aza motioned to their right - an icy white wasteland, with small barren trees and a frozen lake. It was peppered by evergreens, and a soft snow fell from the sky. "The North Wind."

She motioned to their right, across from the tundra, where a barren desert lay - tumbleweeds blew in the hot wind, scratching Greek letters into the sand. "Notus, the South Wind."

Aza motion to the other two - beside Boreas' land was: "Eurus, the East wind," Aza explained - it was an autumn park, the still brilliantly green grass poking through the few spots that weren't buried under leaves. She then motioned towards the last, beside Notus'. "Lastly, Zephyr, the West wind." His dedicated portion was a green pasture, with sheep formed from soft fluffy clouds. She could see the breeze flowing gently, far more gently than the others. Zephyr's felt far more appealing than all the rest; warm, and gentle. Like he was with Psyche, Aza remembered. 

"I'm loving that pasture," Gleeson licked his lips, glancing towards the demigods. "You guys mind-" Aza covered a laugh - satyrs were all alike. They can't pass a green lawn or a recycling bin without having a buffet. 

"Go ahead." Jason replied immediately. Aza noted he looked immensely relieved to send Gleeson off before they traveled inside. Aza felt the same - the last thing they needed was Gleeson trying to beat Aeolus upside the head with a wooden club. And that was coming from Aza, who typically aired on the side of beat-something-till-you-win. The four demigods continued forward, passing through the cathedral-high doors and into the grand foyer, decorated with purple banners that advertised Aeolus' channel. It reminded Aza of a horribly tacky mansion, with white-and-black tiled floors and pseudo-vintage walling. 

"Hello!" A nymph - an aura, a wind spirit - floated up to them, giving a small smile. She held a white tablet in her arms and asked, "Are you from Lord Zeus? We've been expecting you."

"Uh, I'm the son of Zeus, yeah," Jason said, shooting Aza an unprepared glance. She gave him a reassuring nod - she knew he would be able to handle everything that happened, as their leader. 

"Excellent," the nymph twirled in the air and began to lead them through security doors towards another lobby, looking at her tablet as she walked. "My name is Mellie. Please, right this way. We're out of prime time now, so that's good. I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot."