"Hera! Hera! Wake up, today's the day." The cheerful voice of her older sister, Demeter, pulled Hera from the depths of slumber. Groggily, she cracked open her eyes and squinted at the sunlight streaming through the curtains.
Demeter's excited face was hovering above her, framed by blond curls that caught the morning light. With a yawn, Hera rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. "What are you going on about, Demeter?" she mumbled, her voice still heavy with sleep.
Demeter bounced on her toes, heading to the door, her heterochromatic eyes dancing with anticipation. "Don't you remember? You're 10 years old now, which means it's the first day of your classes with Father. I've already heated your bath for you."
Hera's drowsiness evaporated as the realization hit her.
"Oh, right!" Hera exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, landing gracefully on the cool chamber floor, and hurriedly began to prepare. Today was the day she had been eagerly awaiting–her first day of classes with her father, where she'd finally get to learn about her divinity.
With a sense of purpose that had replaced her initial drowsiness, she approached the wooden chest that held her clothing. The anticipation hummed within her, like the distant song of a lyre calling her to a grand symphony.
Opening her chest there, laid on top of neatly folded clothing, was a beautiful peplos along with a strophic and perizoma, undergarments. Taking up the undergarments, she headed to the bathroom, then stripped and entered the heated bathtub. Cleaning herself as quickly as possible, she dried herself, put on her undergarments, and dashed out of the bathroom. She quickly took up her peplos and began to put it on.
The bodice was devised in a deep, regal sapphire that grasped her upper form with grace, its fabric a smooth cascade of richness. This enchanting shade gave rise to the illusion of gazing into the depths of a tranquil lagoon. As one's gaze descends, the fabric morphs seamlessly into a torrent of vivid emerald green. The colour was both captivating and lively, akin to the lush foliage that surrounds a hidden oasis. But the true spectacle unfurled as the peplos swept downwards, the lower hem transformed into a mesmerising palette of deep amethyst and royal indigo. These shades meld creating a celestial gradation that echoed the twilight sky's transition from dusk to night. The finishing touch, a delicate embroidery adorning the edges in patterns evocative of ocellus. Metallic threads glinting with a discreet opulent shimmer capture the interplay of light, crafting a spectacle that mirrors the artistry found in nature itself.
Adorning herself in jewellery, she left the room and made her way to her father's classroom where she saw her elder sisters along with Atlas sitting beside Hestia talking with her they paused to greet her before going back to their conversation. She made her way to a seat beside Demeter and nervously awaited her father. After a short while, they heard the booming sound of steps coming towards them. Hestia and Atlas immediately stopped talking and turned around, sitting upright.
Entering the room was her father, dressed in his usual black toga and accessories. He smiled at her, easing her nervousness before his demeanour changed and he began to speak.
"Alright class, today we will be having a new student. You already know who she is so there is no need for an introduction." Pausing, he looked towards Hera. "Hera, whenever class begins, you should no longer address or think of me as your father. I am your teacher during class, not your father. Do you understand that?"
Hera nodded her head as she spoke.
"Yes, I understand didáskalos."
Kronos nodded his head in affirmation.
"Now then, while I get Hera caught up to the rest of your levels, you three will be doing some work."
He handed sheets of papyrus with questions to them before focusing his attention on Hera.
"Hera, as you already know, we are divine beings, deities with great powers unimaginable to mortals, but me and you are different. I'm a titan while you are a goddess. Most pantheons are made up of gods like yourself, but not mine. We're all titans, yet my children are born gods. As a goddess, your divinity is more closely attuned to your divine aspects, unlike me. That means that normally you'd be stronger than me, but you won't be due to my divine aspect of time, which is a more powerful aspect of the cosmos. Do you understand?"
Hera paused as she began thinking of a few questions about things she didn't understand.
"Well, what exactly is divinity or divine aspects and what's mine?"
Kronos smiled as he walked to the board so that he could show her a diagram.
"Firstly, divinity is something within us. It's our life force. It's similar to the mortal's soul, but unlike them, we aren't weak. Our divinity allows us to connect to the pillars of the cosmos and work with it, and not bend it to our will. To my knowledge, this is something new and radical that you'll never find anyone else teaching you, as we deities are prideful to the point where we could never imagine being partners with our divine aspects. And while you could forcefully use its power, it would be harder to use, for it'll always fight back, which is why it normally takes years for deities to master anything new within their divine aspect. When you can agree, it's better for both you and the aspect."
He quickly drew a large pyramid and began drawing several symbols, some that were familiar to Hera and some that she had no idea about.
Kronos turned around and chuckled at the wonder he saw in her eyes.
"Every symbol that you see here is the known divine aspects. There'll be more as mortals grow and progress, but for now, these are the ones you'll need to know and learn. That'll be your homework to memorize all the divine aspects after this class. This pyramid shows the difference in the ranking of strength between each aspect. What we call divine aspects are the things that hold and maintain the cosmos, its pillars. Such as this one." He pointed to the top of the pyramid at a symbol of hands clasping the universe. "This one is the most powerful divine aspect, Creation. Creation is the very source of everything imaginable and unimaginable. Without this, the cosmos itself wouldn't exist."
His hands moved downwards before stopping at a symbol of the stars.
"This is the most powerful of your four divine aspects, the aspect of the stars along with marriage, women and the sky. While the aspect of the stars is your most powerful one, it is the one that you are the least connected to. While you're most connected to the aspect of marriage. After the first two weeks, your classes will be more about your divine aspects personally. Now let's conti-."
The doors suddenly opened and Arke suddenly came through with a serious look on her face. She immediately walked up to Kronos and bowed slightly before coming closer and whispered in his ears.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson, sire, but there is a female visitor from the East who is here to meet you."
Kronos went into deep contemplation before whispering back.
"How far east is she coming from?"
"Her attire is of the land of Kengir, sire, so it's not that far east."
"Kengir? Hmm, interesting. Did she give any reason as to why she's here?"
Arke paused, seemingly trying to find her words.
"Well, she says that she's your sister."
A shocked look came upon Kronos's face as his mind interpreted what she had said.