Gaia's heir

Chapter 4

Gaia's cave was located on a side of a mountain in a thickly wooded area that was rarely even accessible to humans, she had wanted to take advantage of that so Aspen wouldn't feel so closed in and trapped under the earth as it would leave the boy with a bad connection to his future domain which could cause problems for him later down the line.

Athena and Hephestus went wild in their work aiming to create something so spectacular that it would over shadow all of their previous works, with their only guidlines being open, airy, and bright the two were over joyed to work on their project. taking advantage of the mountain side the two decided to create the earth palace with the main guest areas at the base of the mountain while the more important and private spaces were built up the side and deeper inside the mountain.

by the end the mountain had nearly been gutted in the two deities eager zeal of creation, the entire mountain had been warded against humans and wizards alike with the mist heavily layered and locked into place by Hecate herself so no human would stumble across their home accidentaly. 

the receiving hall was at the very base of the mountain and one of the few entries into the fortress, it started as a wide stone path that extended out a few meters from under the cave entrance with beautifully carved collems that were set on either side of the path with beautifull carvings depicting the different seasons, plants, and land animals. the inside of the hall had polished ivory floors with tall marble walls that lead to a high celling that was painted with a mural depicting various plants, nymphs, and gods that made up their family that was only interupted by marble pillars that helped tohold up the celing. 

the receiving hall lead to the throne room that her grandchildren insist she have, the room was slightly larger than the last one with more ivory floors and marbel walls but the pillars this time had golden vines climbing up their sides with gems cut in the shape of fruits embedded in the stone. at the end of the throne room there was a massive throne that was made of gold with silver and bronze accents that wrapped around the throne as if they were plants crawling up the sides while gemstones of every shape, size, and color was embedded along the sides; it wouldn't have been the comfiest seat if it hadn't been for the plush red cushion that covered the inside of the seat.

set behind the throne was a casscading wall of water that helped to water the aray of flowers, bushes, and trees that were growing along the wall and around the throne. from the throne room there were two ways a person could go, a door to the left led to the more public spaces that would be used for entertaining the different gods and godesses that dropped by while the door on the right would lead up a set of stairs to the private quarters and playrooms that they had set up for the child. 

the door to the left of the throne opened up to a massive ballroom that had all of the luxurious extravigance that was expected of the gods with beautiful stone making up the walls and floor while precious metals were used for decorations and a giant chandalier hung from the center of the room. her favorite part of the room however was the massive opening in the far wall that showed a view of the mountains cliff face that had been dug out a bit so a large beautifull courtyard could be placed there, there were flowers and trees of nearly every species on earth growing there with a nice stone path set down that allowed you to move freely thru the yard while benches and statued fountains seperated the greenery in certain areas.

the last room conected to this wing was a massive dinning room for special occasions that could easily hold a hundred people and was just as extravagant as the ballroom, Gaia's favorite wing however was the one that rested on the right side of the throne room. after climbing the staires you would be greated with a large but cozy open plan living room that transitioned into a dining room and kitchen, the floors were a dark walnut hardwood while the walls were a light earthy brown.