Following her encounter with the foreign deity, fiery tempered Cyprus had come to learn of her uncle’s heinous attack against her and her family. Through His enigmatic interaction, the forging goddess had evidence of the warmonger’s wrongdoing, including attempt at infanticide, bewitching her mother with madness, followed by sexual assault. With His mission completed, the immortal being gave Cyprus a crystal documenting all that transpired within her home, under the condition His identity remain anonymous. Though she was unsure of the foreign deity’s motive, Cyprus chose honored His wish before the spirit vanished into nothingness. Upon her return to the waking world, Cyprus was greeted by her half-brother, the panic inducing Pavor, son of Mars and brother to Malicious Metus.
Her time spent with the ancient god revealed to Cyprus of her half-brothers' involvement in their mother’s suffering; though the pair did not personally assault of their mother, they nevertheless had a role to play in her attack. Before she could act on her malice, Pavor would attempt to pacify his half-sister. The personification of fear revealed that he was to assist Cyprus in her endeavors, by order of the unknown god, who visited him not too long ago. Understandably, the forging maiden was skeptical of her half-brother’s claim and sudden willingness to help her in dishonoring her uncle, his father.
“In helping me, what gain do you hope to find,” Cyprus demanded. “You expect me to trust you despite the role you played in nearly breaking my family apart? Do you think that selling out your cruel father and brother will spare you from Father Jove’s wrath?”
The embodiment of freight could only stare into the smithing goddess’s eyes, and it was there she saw what he personified: genuine fear. Similar to her encounter, Pavor had sensed the ragged man’s power and realized it was foolhardy to defy a power that surpassed the ruler of the skies. Despite her misgivings, she begrudgingly took up Pavor’s offer, who vowed to keep an eye on his father and gather additional evidence to use against him when they meet with Lord Jupiter. Cyprus, in the meantime, would return home and feint ignorance of the entire ordeal.
“My father is no fool, dear sister,” Pavor whispered. “My brother aside, many more eyes watch over your father’s compound. If they suspect that you know anything regarding his handling of our mother, he will hastily retaliate in order to silence you."
Taking her half-brother’s word to heart, Cyprus returned home to support her now broken mother, trusting the cowardly spirit to keep true to his promise and help bring down the older god of war.
Many seasons would pass since the Mother of Rome’s downfall. Having been branded an oath breaker and left in a catatonic state, the once pristine goddess of beauty, fertility, and desires had become a pariah to her peers, serving as a cautionary tale for those who don’t honor their vows. Even her husband and children were not safe from the onslaught of mockery brought upon Venus’s decline in popularity; many of the deities' would ridicule Vulcan for his naivety and make snide remarks toward his children for associating with a “promiscuous wench.” Cyprus, who knew the truth of what happened, tried to keep the peace in her house but was left with minimum success.
Vulcan, grief-stricken over his wife’s condition and possible betrayal, secluded himself in his forge – leaving only to check in on her and the twins before returning to his fiery hole. As for Aphros, the bond his sister and he had shared was severely fractured, as he blamed her for allowing the assault to happen. From thereon, the pair went their separate ways, with Cyprus continuing her studies as a blacksmith and Aphros focusing his attention on the art of fashion. Though Cyprus would attempt many times to reconcile with her brother over what befell their mother, her efforts fell on deaf ears as he wanted nothing to do with her. The last thing he would say to her following another failed attempt being, “It should have been you.”
None could fathom the anguish building within fire goddess as she silently watched everything in her life fall to ruins. With her family’s reputation in shambles and her ever-growing isolation, it was a miracle Cyprus did not fall to despair; instead, she continued to hone her skills as a smith, all the while caring for her mother and father’s well-being and keeping watch of her brother from afar.
Many moons would come and go before the Parcae decided to take pity on the goddess. While resting by a window, Cyprus was greeted by a dove with a message from Pavor. The letter urged the goddess to meet with the King and Queen of the gods and reveal to them the truth behind Venus’s attack. Fearing the worst, Cyprus quickly departed to the home of her grandparents – Father Jupiter and his consort, Juno – and confessed to them the long-kept secret she hid from her father, brother and the entire Pantheon.
When it became clear that neither deities would believe her account without genuine proof, an idea came to mind as Cyprus remembered the crystal gifted to her by the mysterious man in rags. The smithing goddess presented the gemstone to the king and queen, who upon touching it became witnesses to their son’s heinous act. Taking advantage of their shocked state Cyprus, speaking in a tone of voice that resembled her mother, attempted to persuade the pair to her side and prosecute their son for all his wrongdoings.
“What wrong has my father committed that he be mocked by his supposed community? What right does my uncle, your son, have to go about and violate a man’s wife like some common wench in a brothel,” the goddess pressed. “My mother, despite her past infidelities, attempted to do right by her husband and lord, and set an example for her children to follow. Instead, she was punished for her virtue and made into a joke with her family having to bear the burden of her supposed crime, all the while the actual criminal goes about life with no actions taken against him.”
Already, tears began to streak down Cyprus's onyx-colored face as she bore her heart out to extended family, the suffering she endured etched on every word she spoke. "Is this not a just court? Are you not a Pater who cares for the well-being of his subject? If you [and your majesty] have any compassion, I beg that this wickedness be undone and honor restored to the house of Vulcan, your son, who had faced much hardship since the moment he drew breath in this world.”
Cyprus was momentarily saddened at having to reveal the truth to her grandparents; as much of a nuisance as the war god was, he was still their son and none would have expected him to do something so underhanded, especially to his own. That sense of pity immediately evaporated upon meeting the eyes of two fuming gods — their hearts hardened with disgust over what they witnessed and of the damage their son had caused. At that moment Cyprus could not tell which emotion engulfed the pair first; to her, it was as if a violent maelstrom was forming, unstable, without control, and threatening to destroy all within its wake, and in the center of it stood her elder grandparents. Wasting no time to have his son punished, Jupiter called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Mars, and asked Cyprus to testify against him. Juno was about to rebuff her husband’s decision, believing it would be too problematic for her beloved granddaughter. Cyprus, however, agreed to her king’s request as she felt emboldened by the decision and optimistic of what would follow soon after.
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News spread like Greco-fire following the arrest of the agricultural guardian. Though the reasons behind it remained unclear, the majority of gods knew it related to Cyprus and her mother, the catatonic Venus. Rumors began circulating around the court case, with stories such as bewitching, seduction, coercion or manipulation being the topic of most. These allegations did little to calm Cyprus’s nerves and, instead, made her anxious and on edge. Despite her many pleas to see her father, her Lord and paternal grandfather, forbade her from leaving his home until the trial commence. Juno, taking notice of her granddaughter’s conundrum, attempted to comfort her by agreeing to pass along any message she wanted to the lame Vulcan. Though she appreciated the assistance, it did little to ease her aching heart which seemed to worsen with each passing date.
The day of the trial arrived, with many lesser deities and nature spirits presiding over the event as though it was a grand festival; laughter was heard, bets were placed, and all were ecstatic to see the dramatic story play out before them. Crude as it was to make light of one’s suffering – especially during a serious court case – those who felt cheated and overshadowed by the higher ranked gods took delight in them getting their comeuppance, so long as they kept their wits on them and didn't step out of line. When the sound of thunder boomed across the aether sky, the attendees fell silent upon the arrival of their king. Acting as grand judge, Lord Jupiter selected Minerva to be his leading prosecutor and designate nine other gods as his jurors: Mercury, Diana, Sol Apollon, Bacchus, Ceres, Juno, Neptune, Vesta (who is filling in for Venus’s spot), and lastly Pluto. Standing at the edge of the tribunal was Mars Ultor, depowered and in shackles, but bearing an unreadable expression. With every god accounted for and a quick summary surrounding the case delivered, the trial commenced.
Acting swiftly, Minerva called Vulcan to the stand to recount his whereabouts on the day of his wife’s “supposed” attack. Swearing by the River Styx, the lame god informed the court of how him and his son began their trek to the underworld after leaving Cyprus in charge of Venus. While on their journey, they were harassed by animals and monsters inflicted with dread, men plagued with nightmares, and other distractions before arriving at their destination. After acquiring what they needed, they returned home to see Venus in her current state with Cyprus returning hours later. Prior to his departure, Vulcan had enacted various golems to keep an eye on his home, in order to keep the two goddesses safe. After the incident, he attempted to look through the animatronics’ memories to understand what happened, only to discover their minds wiped clean.
Originally, Vulcan suspected his wife in sabotaging his machines but remembered she lacked the clearance needed to perform a complete memory wipe. His suspicions soon fell on his own daughter, as he believed that she may have harbored enough animosity toward her mother to the point of vengeance. Vulcan didn’t want to believe his own daughter would be capable of something so horrible but couldn’t ignore the possibility of his seed reenacting the cycle of betrayal as his father had done on his grandfather. Not wanting to incriminate his child in any way, Vulcan allowed the rumors surrounding Venus to flourish, much to his own shame.
Disbelief murmurs echoed throughout the assembly upon the smith god’s testimonial confession. Some of the attendees silently mocked the smith god for doing something so foolhardy, but there were a select few who commemorated him on his choice. His son and daughter seemed the most affected by this revelation. Aphros, envious of the supposed favoritism his father had for his first-born daughter, was furious over the act, but did not let it show. Cyprus, in stark contrast, seemed more upset over her father's internal struggle and wished she could have told him the whole story all those moons ago.
The next witness to come forth was Pavor, the personification of fear. Prior to the hearing, Cyprus begged Minerva to grant her half-brother clemency, due to his help in bringing down the militaristic god. Against her better judgment, the strategy goddess decided to honor her niece’s request, but had to apply enough pressure on him to ensure his complete cooperation. When Minerva met with Pavor, she made her demands clear to the minor deity.
“You will reveal what you know to us and testify against you father," she spoke authoritatively. "Or you will face the same punishment him and your brother will inevitably face. The choice is yours.”
Whether by fear or a mutual understanding between the two, the fearful god agreed to her terms. Taking his place on the stand, Pavor gave his account of his father’s growing bitterness following his mother’s return to her crippled husband. The Roman god would rant and rave about feeling betrayed by his favorite mistress as his sons' try in vain to calm his fury and encourage him to move past the supposed insult. Alas, their warnings fell on deaf ears as Mars slowly reverted to his Greco tendencies, formulating vengeful plans to enact on the woman that shamed him. Fortunately, most of Mars’ children and allies possessed enough intelligence not to follow in their father’s footsteps and dismissed his wrath as childish and fool-hardy.
That all changed when Mars vanished for a few days following another heated tirade. Though he had no knowledge of his whereabouts at the time, Pavor noticed something peculiar regarding his father. Despite his return in attitude and sudden indifference toward his brother and sister-in-law, the embodiment of fear felt something was off. No longer did his father radiate an aura befitting a guardian or war god, but a force that was foreign and vile. Foolishly, Pavor dismissed his suspicions and felt relieved that his father had somewhat returned to normal.
It was not until the day of the incident that Mars's true intentions came to light. After meeting up with their auntie, Warfare Bellona, Mars instructed the three to cause a ruckus on Vulcan and Aphros during their travel, under the impression of wanting to pull a prank on the pair. Pavor was uncertain of his father's motive but went along with his father's request, infecting humans and beasts with terror and freight. With his assignment complete, Pavor was about to make his way home when a vision forced its way into his head. Not only did the vision reveal his father's true intent, but also the names of those need to defeat him. Guided by the revelation and motivated by vengeance, Pavor journeyed for Cyprus and later his brother, passion-afflicting Cupid, to bring down the older Olympian for his crimes against their mother.