Ocean Song breathed in the morning mountain air.
It was perfect.
"Yes, this is where we will build our sect. This mountain will be our home, the defining moment by which we gather and—"
"Wrong mountain." Medusa interrupted him.
"....wrong mountain?"
"Wrong mountain." She repeated and pointed a bit further down at a slightly taller mountain in the distance. "That mountain."
"I knew that." Ocean Song spoke with full convincing ability. "Where's Tyson?"
"He saw a deer and ran off to chase it. I don't think he's ever seen one before." Medusa answered.
Ocean Song pursed his lips and swept his Divine Sense out to see where his brother was, and he was sitting down with a family of deer, happily petting them.
He found himself smiling and pulled back, deciding not to disturb them.
"Tell me about the mountain, Senior Sister."
"It's – " She stopped. "What did you call me?"
"Senior Sister. If we're to be in a sect, of course I must refer to you as my senior sister, as we're all brothers and sisters of the sect, and you're older than me." Ocean Song smiled.
"...okay." She felt a strange twinge of something in her chest, and her disgruntled tone shifted to something lighter. "It's not the tallest mountain, but it has a large river nearby and a town about twenty miles away by road. It's not used by many mortals to hike or travel, so I thought it would be a good place."
Ocean Song nodded along.
Truly, he recruited only the best of the best.
"Come, let us see our new home!" Ocean Song threw out his sword again, enlarging it to give room for her to hop on.
Medusa gracefully sat down on the back. "I better be able to learn to fly, or I'm going to be very pissed to be stuck here in the mountains."
"Fear not, Senior Sister. With but a few hundred years of dedicated cultivation, many learn to fly!"
"Wait, what?"
"Off we go!" Ocean Song shot into the air, though they only flew for a little bit before going over to the other mountain, landing at the peak. "Ah, beautiful. You did a wonderful job, Senior Sister."
Medusa crossed her arms. "And what now? Do we start cutting down trees to build some huts?"
"I'm going to call my uncle!" Ocean Song simply replied, and before she could utter a word, he had already thrown down a small altar. "Uncle, it's me!"
"I'm aware." A voice came back, tired. "I do hope you're reaching out for something important."
"Yes, Uncle, I have need of your workers now; I have found my new mountain!" Ocean Song, said excitedly.
Hades, while still tired, perked up slightly, and his gaze landed fully on Ocean Song and the surroundings.
He could see where his nephew was and couldn't find anything wrong around him. It's not like anyone made that area their territory, so he wasn't going to step on any toes. At least, nothing that mattered; there were some monsters around the area, but he didn't care so much about that.
"A deal is a deal." Hades spoke. "I will open a door to the underworld."
Hades was not stingy with rewards. Especially when they came with a job of rescuing his children.
He doesn't often do something like this, but it was a particularly odd situation in and of itself. That is, he couldn't recall the last time someone asked for…physical resources. Sure, he'd get the request or such to be reunited with a loved one, to say goodbyes to a deceased. He was rather against such things on principle, believing the dead shouldn't be interfering with the living. He has made a few exceptions in the past, favors granted or services rendered that required certain allowances.
However, in this case, it seemed almost entirely mundane.
Right near Ocean Song, a literal door pushed up out of the ground, decadent and regal in appearance. A cold air immediately surged in the surroundings as it cracked open, and thousands of whispers could be heard if one listened closely.
Even Ocean Song felt the twinge of tension as the door manifested upon reality.
But that was immediately alleviated as the door was kicked open.
"Alright, people, we have a job to do!" A woman strolled out, hands on hips, taking in the surroundings. Her eyes landed on Ocean Song, and she gave him a scrutinizing look. "Well, at least you're something to look at; otherwise, I'd never let Hecate live it down."
"Greetings, fellow Daoist!" Ocean Song greeted her. "May I have your illustrious name?"
The woman pursed her lips as the dead filed out of the door behind her. "Melinoë, daughter of Hades and Persephone." She introduced. "Dad sent me to help you with your thing." She waved her hand flippantly.
Ocean Song nodded; he recognized the name of the Goddess of Ghosts.
In fact, she looked exceedingly like Hel.
Half of her body was black, half of it a pale white. Though, she had a certain beauty to her just like the Norse Goddess of Death.
It made sense considering that literal ghosts were pouring out of the door, carrying equipment, materials, and other devices.
Medusa just stared a bit slack-jawed at what was happening, unable to properly formulate the right words needed to speak.
"This lowly cyclops is honored by your presence, Great Ghost Queen, and I thank you for your assistance." Ocean Song clasped his hands and politely bowed his head.
Melinoë's lips curled up. Like many gods, who didn't like to have someone act so humble before them?
She clapped her hands. "Alright, you slower old choots, get out here!"
A few more people walked through; these ones were…more whole. They were less ghosts and more like vivid pictures. Ocean Song almost wanted to call them zombies, but he wasn't sure they had actual flesh, just really solid ghosts.
They were in the traditional Greek attire and wouldn't look out of place upon Mount Olympus.
"Let me see what I'm working with."
"A mountain? What is this? Where are my schematics? Where are my workers?"
"I need a table and some chairs; I can't work in this condition."
Several voices sounded out, grumpy, irritated, and with a surefire arrogance to them.
Melinoë took out a pipe from her robes, breathing it in before blowing out a puff of smoke. "Alright, I'm just here to babysit the ghosts, make sure they don't get any ideas. I'm handing them off to you, Cyclops boy. If you need me, I'm going to be in the town about 20 miles south of here getting a drink. I don't come up to the surface that often; Dad doesn't let me, so if anyone asks, just tell them I'm wrangling a few idiots who thought they could run."
Ocean Song gave her a salute before she disappeared into the darkness.
He turned his attention to the group of old men and clapped his hands. "Greetings, fellow Daoist. I believe you're who I need to discuss my plans with?"
"I'm telling you, the stars are wrong for a twenty by twenty column, astrological dome!"
"Bah, what do you know? Your work is amateurish, and you stole credit from your students.
"Why you! If we weren't dead, I'd be throwing you off the mountain right now!"
They ignored Ocean Song, arguing between themselves. Ocean Song clears his throat, trying again. "Fellow Daoists, I have plans here. I believe I could use your input to devise—"
"A Roman what? Do you have any pride!? We're Greek!"
"It's not Roman; they stole the designs from us!"
"It has Roman in its name, you buffoon!"
Ocean Song smiled, lifted his sword up, and swung it. Immediately a whirlwind swept up the surroundings, nearly knocking everyone off their feet as all eyes landed on the source.
They then looked to the sides to see all the nearby trees falling down in short order, perfectly cut right through.
They all silently stared at him.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoists. Let us introduce yourself, yes?" Ocean Song kept his happy smile.
Though to everyone else, they felt a bit of sweat dripping down their necks.
"I am Ocean Song, Sect Master. You have been entrusted to help me build my sect by Hades, my uncle. This is Medusa." He pointed to his senior sister. "Yes, that Medusa. I invite you to consider if a ghost can turn to stone should the need arise. Thank you."
They looked at Ocean Song and Medusa, then turned back to Ocean Song.
The first one cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I'm Ictinus. I was the mind behind the great Parthenon and one of its builders."
"No, don't you dare steal credit!" Another stomped forward. "I'm Callicrates, and I helped him both design and build the thing, along with several others."
"I'm Hippodamus. I helped my mother in designing Athens. I'm a child of Athena." He said proudly.
"I'm Pheidias; I was the chief builder for the Parthenon." A man with a slight hunch pushed the first two out of the way. "Don't expect any great designs from me, but if you give me something to work with, I can build it."
"I'm Chersiphron—"
"—And I'm Metagenes."
"We built the Temple of Artemis, hailed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world." Chersiphron finished.
Several more introduced themselves, but Ocean Song lost track. He wasn't particularly knowledgeable about ancient builders and architects, but he knew his uncle only gave him the best to work with.
"This lowly Cyclops welcomes you, honored elders, and I thank you for your assistance." Ocean Song was sure to be polite. He wasn't being as deferential as he would be to a god, but a proper Cultivator expresses etiquette even to those weaker than himself if they're offering aid and wisdom.
They calmed down, and the tension from a moment before mostly disappeared.
"Show us what you got, boy." Ictinus spoke up for them.
Ocean Song happily handed over his intricate designs.
They all crowded around and looked at them.
"....Did you draw these in crayon?" Callicrates said incredulously.
"Did you ask something, fellow Daoist?" Ocean Song asked, holding up his sword.
"What wonderful designs."
"Truly a prodigy."
"A magnificent…bird."
"It's a building." Ocean Song corrected.
"Of course." He corrected himself.
"What exactly are you looking for us to do? You have nearly an unlimited amount of resources and manpower." Pheidias asked.
"I have many thoughts, but what can't you do?" Ocean Song returned.
Pheidias cracked a smile. "Boy, we're ghosts backed by the Lord of the underworld."
"Can you make the mountain taller?" Ocean Song, asked.
Medusa groaned, wanting to smack him. "You can't ask them to make the mountain—"
"Sure." Pheidas answered.
"...taller…" Medusa finished quietly.
"How tall do you want it?"
"How tall can you make it?"
"Well." He scratched his beard. "Don't want to disrupt the humans too much; they got those fancy flying machines these days. And I don't think Olympus would take kindly to your mountain being taller than theirs."
Ocean Song nodded, pleased he had experts. Truly, he wouldn't have thought about such things like these.
"Steeper too." Ocean Song paused. "On the fourth page, I drew a picture."
They flipped the pages over to get a good look at what he was talking about.
"Do you want the clouds included?" He asked.
"What kind of question is that? It clearly adds to the ambience." Ictinus scoffed. "Look here, do you see the sharp edges, the plated roofing? The roaming clouds will offer a much-needed contrast."
"And it looks cool." Ocean Song added.
"And it looks cool!" Ictinus agreed.
Ocean Song felt like he found a fellow like-minded person.
Chersiphron and Metagenes grabbed one of the papers.
"We need more information. What do you want the motif of this place to be? When we designed the Temple of Artemis, the Goddess told us that she wanted it to be welcoming but watchful." Cherisphron asked.
Ocean Song pondered the question. "Majestic, but tasteful. Noble, but not distant. Dignified, but not decadent." He paused for a moment. "Auspicious."
They nodded along as if mentally taking notes.
Theme was important for architects and builders of their level.
"Looks like we're going with stone over marble."
"Agreed."
"Maybe some marble for the insides?" One of them rubbed their chin. "In moderation."
"Let's start with some basic designs."
"We need to pick out the wood."
"How much gold?"
Ocean Song left it to them at that point. He wasn't someone who could add much to their discussion; his expertise started and stopped on how to swing a sword.
And they basically knew what he wanted at this point; he showed them the designs and everything.
Ocean Song looked over the other things. The ghosts continued to file out of the door, setting a great many supplies onto the ground. Wood, stone, metals, and all sorts of building materials.
He eyed a few boxes too; curious about them, Ocean Song went to investigate.
He popped one open, and his eyes lit up.
"Medusa, quick!"
The snake girl trotted over to see what he was so excited about, and her eyes landed on a sword in a box. "Is that what I think it is?"
Ocean Song took the sword out of its box, gave it a few swings, and then he put more force into it, swinging it towards the side.
It extended, the blades separated, and it revealed a whip hidden inside; with a crack , a tree was severed in half, and the whip returned and folded back into its normal form as a sword.
"This is yours now." He offered it to her.
Medusa picked it up, unsure of what to do with it, but still thanked him for the 'gift.'
In the next box, Ocean Song opened it up to find the other thing he asked for.
It was a proper zither.
It looked like an antique as well. It was immaculately crafted, and it gave off an air of nobility just by sitting there.
Ocean Song plucked one of the strings as it produced a nice hum.
Truly, he was a proper Jade Beauty now.
Even if he didn't know how to play it.
He carefully stored it away into his storage pouch for safekeeping.
"Can you watch the builders, Senior Sister?" Ocean Song, she asked her.
"Why? What are you going to do?" She questioned.
"I have another important task to fulfill for the sect."
"Whatever." Medusa didn't even want to know at this point. She was still reeling from the fact that the Lord of the Underworld had sent a proverbial army of ghosts out to help build whatever it is they were building.
This was already far past the threshold of ridiculousness she'd had to deal with in her life.
Ocean Song nodded, throwing his sword out and hopping on it before darting away.
It was time to find a Sect Protecting Divine Beast.
@***@
A/N
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