Over the following two days, as the wedding day drew near, all of Athens sank into an increasingly festive and joyous atmosphere.
The Athenians, who loved entertainment and lively occasions, enjoyed the peace that followed the divine war in all manner of ways.
Delegations from different city-states, different regions, and different divine bloodline families gathered here one after another, passing time by touring Athens as a cultural center while waiting to celebrate the wedding of the shepherd on the War God Mountain.
By comparison, the War God Mountain as the wedding organizer was considerably busier.
The three Charites handled external reception.
The nine Muse Goddesses coordinated internal affairs.
Medusa led the Gorgon sisters and the strength of the Athens Academy to maintain visible order.
Typhon's descendants who could not show their faces stayed concealed in the shadows under Mother of Monsters Echidna's orders to stand guard...
As for Lorne himself, he shut himself in the great temple dealing with a mountain of accumulated work and basically saw no one outside of essential meal deliveries and meetings he absolutely could not put off.
Seemingly because of the sheer weight of matters needing resolution, over just two days and two nights, the overworked shepherd visibly grew considerably more haggard.
Fortunately, on the eve of the wedding, this long drawn-out battle of attrition finally came to a close.
Lorne processed the last official document on his desk, threw down the iron stylus, and under the lingering gazes of six sets of unsatisfied eyes behind him, fled the chamber of horrors, sprinting all the way to the Athens Academy and jumping into the lake to scrub himself clean inside and out.
Then he unceremoniously dragged the sound-asleep Teacher Chiron out of the lakeside cottage, pulled along this hastily assembled member of his groomsmen party, and together came to Hestia's residence to make preparations for the wedding due in the morning.
While the two were busy with their work, the three Goddesses who had been holding their private party in the great temple finally left as well, coming together under Hera's lead to inspect the nearly completed wedding venue, briefly standing in as the bride Thetis's family from the bride's side.
This was because in ancient Greek weddings, much of the preparation work needed to be handled by the bride's family.
During the preparation phase before the wedding, the bride's family would prepare the dowry, with the bride's mother personally overseeing the construction of the wedding venue.
As the Goddess presiding over marriage and Thetis's foster mother, Hera had at least some responsibility to attend to her foster daughter's wedding.
As for the Athena and Artemis dragged along to help, they could be considered in another sense compensating the bride with the groom's usage fees.
The three Goddesses carried out a thorough inspection of the wedding venue, corrected some errors in the details, filled in gaps in the preparations, and patiently worked away for most of the night.
Only after confirming everything was perfectly ready did they leave the venue satisfied and head toward the bridal chamber where the bride Thetis was staying.
According to custom, on the evening before the wedding, the bride would undergo a ritual cleansing, bathing with rock salt and minerals to purify and symbolize purification and tranquility.
As members of the bridal party, they naturally needed to go over and help, or at least show their faces to dispel certain suspicions.
Hearing the sounds outside, Thetis opened the door, saw the three bridal party members standing outside, and broke into a genuine smile, warmly inviting them to help perform the ritual cleansing together.
The three Goddesses and the bride entered the mountain bathhouse chatting and laughing, spending the final night before the wedding in an atmosphere of cheerful harmony.
At the same time, a crimson figure crept through the darkness and quietly slipped into the wedding venue.
Seeing no one around, the visitor played with the gold-embossed invitation in hand, a smile full of malice spreading across their face.
Then they raised their hand and placed a golden apple on a dish left on one of the tables.
In the moonlight, a line of text engraved on the golden apple's surface faced the entrance to the venue.
"To the Fairest!"
Having done all of this, the uninvited intruder smiled with satisfaction and transformed into a streak of crimson light, disappearing into the thick red haze.
Little did they know that everything they had done was observed in full by a white owl perched on a treetop.
And on a beam in the venue, a certain flickering inscription quietly let its last light fade.
At this moment, Athena wrapped in a bath towel and chatting with her friends by the pool paused briefly in her words, then spoke again, a teasing and expectant smile showing on her face.
And in Hestia's residence, the drowsy groom-to-be seemed to sense something as his eyes opened, his gaze flickering quietly while a playful smile rose on his face.
'As expected, here we go!'
'All that talk of taking revenge for not being invited.
Even if you had been given an invitation, with your nature of loving nothing more than chaos, you would probably not have behaved yourself anyway.'
'Good then. Consider it a bonus entertainment segment.'
'Without some kind of [surprise] for the guests, things would be a little too dull.'
Lorne gave a yawn and slowly closed his somewhat drowsy eyes.
.
.
.
Morning. Teacher Horse, who had been pressed into service came through the door and woke the soundly sleeping Lorne.
The groom rose accordingly, changed into a splendid outfit, and set out from his place of Hestia's residence, coming to the nearby lodgings prepared for the bride surrounded by friends and family.
Following procedure, Lorne took out the prepared bundle of rods and knocked three times at the bride's door, calling out his invitation to demonstrate his sincerity and determination.
The already prepared Thetis gently opened the door and stepped out accompanied by Athena and Artemis.
Seeing the two bridesmaids flanking her left and right, Lorne's eyelid could not help twitching as an image of those unforgettable two days and one night seemed to float before him.
'My lady. You should probably break up with those two best friends.
They use your car so carelessly with no mercy, just standing right up and pedaling!'
While muttering inwardly with quiet resentment, Lorne turned his gaze to his soon-to-be wife, and a look of genuine admiration showed in his eyes.
Today's Thetis wore a flowing white dress embroidered with golden patterns, with a flower crown woven from grapevine leaves atop her head.
In her hands she held wheat stalks symbolizing vitality and abundance, a constant reminder of future happiness and prosperity.
Her dignified and elegant bearing was the very picture of a gentle and devoted wife.
Coupled with her naturally ethereal look, she looked so damn beautiful.
He was naturally satisfied with such a wife, who combined innocence with sexiness. Gentleness with mischievousness.
Feeling that slightly warm gaze, Thetis's pretty face reddened as she gave a quiet reminder.
"How long are you planning to keep looking? It is nearly time."
The somewhat dazed Lorne came back to himself, smiled with a trace of apology, hurriedly gathered his thoughts, took Thetis's fair hand in his, and pulled her side by side toward the wedding venue.
The two bridesmaids left behind, watching the newly weds leaning close together ahead, immediately felt a twinge of jealousy in their hearts.
'Well, today belongs to her.
Besides, we already had our two days and one night.'
The groom was quite satisfying...'
With this thought, Athena and Artemis broke into teasing smiles and stepped forward to follow.
---
Under normal circumstances, the bride and groom would hold the wedding ceremony at an ancient local temple.
Before the temple, a priest or religious official would offer prayers on their behalf, praying for divine blessing and a happy and fulfilling marriage.
Then the couple would exchange tokens representing the marriage covenant, symbolizing eternal commitment and shared responsibility.
But since Lorne and Thetis were both among the Gods themselves, with true Gods waiting at the open wedding venue in person, there was genuinely no need to bow before a few statues in a temple.
So both skipped this step entirely, and surrounded by friends and family, stepped over a ground carpeted in petals to reach the wedding venue arranged before the cliffs.
One side faced the azure Aegean Sea.
The other side faced the towering War God Mountain.
At the same time it overlooked the entire Athens Acropolis, with a wide view and beautiful scenery.
Lorne and Thetis hand in hand crossed a rope stretched across the end of the marble steps, officially entering through the wedding venue's gateway.
The rope symbolized their entry into a new phase of life, the beginning of a new journey.
It also implied that as husband and wife they must work together in their future life to overcome difficulties.
And now it was also time for guests to present their wedding gifts to the couple.
This symbolized the visiting guests' blessings and support for their newly wed life.
Gifts might be gold and silver jewels, textiles, or items symbolizing happiness and wealth, with no specific requirements.
The straightforward craftsman God Hephaestus took the stage first, presenting the gift he carefully prepared.
It was a shield.
Heavy, enormous, and exquisitely crafted.
Around the rim a raised triple band of molding gleamed with brilliant light, reflecting against a pure silver shoulder strap.
Five layers made up the shield's body. Across its broad face a series of wondrous relief scenes had been cast, filled with his skill and craftsmanship.
He cast the earth, the sky, the sea, the tireless sun, and the full rounded moon.
And countless constellations like garlands adorning the heavens.
Beyond this, two thriving cities appeared on the shield face, breathtakingly beautiful.
One depicted a scene of wedding and celebration.
Friends and family were leading the bride out of her chamber, walking along the city streets, carrying brilliant torches, moving to the melody of wedding songs.
The three Charites stepped and turned in quick steps, breaking into joyful dance, rising and falling in concert with the sound of the nine Muses' lyres.
Gods and mortals present cast looks of wonder and blessing, perfectly mirroring the scene in Athens at this very moment.
The other city was like an orchard claimed by grapevines.
The relief carving on the shield face used gold as fruit showing deep-ripened purple blue, with creeping vines climbing silver-crafted frameworks.
Boundless storms shrouded the city from above, Gods roaring and stars falling, revealing an end-of-days quality.
But this city covered in grapevines enjoyed peaceful tranquility.
People came out from their various shelters to harvest grapes.
Groups of girls and young men carrying the purity of youth used willow-woven baskets to gather the ripened sweet fruit, drinking deep of fine wine.
Among them a young man plucked a lyre with a clear voice, playing an enchanting melody, opening an expressive throat to sing the long poem from the [Sacred Words], sounding beautiful and captivating.
The crowd chimed in with the sound, singing and calling out joyfully, stepping lively dance steps and beating out steady rhythms.
This city went without saying.
Lorne also guessed it was Thebes, the city he rescued during the war between the gods.
And finally, the mighty waters of the Ocean of Oceanos flowed surging along the edge of the indestructible battle shield.
The outermost patterns representing the chaotic mass appeared and disappeared, wrapping around the entire shield and also wrapping around the entire miniaturized [World] on the shield face.
Looking at this exquisite shield brimming with intense divine energy, Lorne asked instinctively.
"This is?"
Craftsman God Hephaestus gave a hearty laugh and answered with proud declaration.
"Dionysus Cosmos. Of course, you can also call it the [Small World Encircling the Heavens]."
(End of Chapter)