The Last Ballad of Olympus: The Waltz of the Vulture and Owl

The Rising New Moon and Tides

Misty winds blew in gentle swirls. The evening tide was a tranquil song with calming fog that danced amidst the humble village's busy pavements.

And on that night, little did the hard-working merchant know that upon entering his borrowed home, his fate was sealed with good luck once he faced the ethereal being lingering with his family.

After he closed the door, his children came to bestow his sweet kisses and wrapped him in their warm embrace. After the reception, the father of the house looked up, saw his wife entering from the cooking area, and gaped in utter surprise when he saw the silver-eyed lady—a familiar face and beamed a sun-lit smile while walking beside his sweetheart.

"By the hand of Zeus!" The merchant exclaimed as he gradually moved forward towards the women. "I do not know what I had done to gain such a blessing. Oh, dear virtuous one, the divine feminine, the wisdom of all wisdom—why, of all the household that revered your name, have come to us?"

Athena was speechless—grateful for his praise and amazed by how accurate he was even if she had not uttered a single word about herself.

"My gift has not failed me. You are indeed a kind man, having both brain and talent. Never fret, for I have not come to give you a piece of advice for some quest—I have come under your roof for no longer I was the Athena you all knew." The fair maiden gracefully said, hoping to make the father understand her misfortune hidden behind the playful note.

The merchant father paused in his tracks, trying to decipher what Athena meant.

"I am quite confused, Your Grace." He honestly said.

Nimble and mild, heart stepped in along with Vivinna's intention to explain to him what happened to their beloved goddess of wisdom. "Paeon, darling—" She called him softly, "Lady Athena had been through a lot. We will discuss it with you later, but for now, lady Athena no longer possesses her divinity."

Aghast, Paeon stood still while holding on to his wife's endearing hand. He gazed at Athena once more and realized the crippling despair behind her beautiful face and hopeful smile. Paeon felt like a father in pain as he looked at her more deeply. There was frailness behind the disciplined poised—a sense of loss behind her display of valor. Drawing closer to the silver-eyed beauty, he now truly understood what she meant.

"Say it is not true that our beloved Pallas Athena, Etruria's Minerva, lost her status." He uttered in sadness.

Despite turning red from the flattery, Athena was calm and collected as she smiled at him—radiating with positivity that gestured to let the sorrows leave slowly and surely.

And during their hearty dinner, Athena repeated everything she shared with his wife and children.

Revelation after revelation, the gracious maiden's words were like withered follies slowly climbing onto a scroll with detailed tales inked on it. It was like listening to a gnarly plague that ate its victim to its bones.

It was a pity what happened to her. A sad chapter of knowing the gods were no more, and heaven was as empty as the jar of the consumed drink. However, despite the tragedies Athena faced, Paeon noticed the good humor and how the lady managed to be in better spirits and thinking. A goddess no more, but Lady Athena still managed to capture her devotees' hearts with charm, elegance, and intact wits.

Later that evening, when crickets sang and fireflies danced on top of bushes and shrubs, Phoebus, Helena, and their little brother Bion went into their room and slept as the day was about to conclude. And when the children slumbered, Paeon and Vivinna offered their quaint room to her so that she could rest easy.