It was an ordinary day at the Sword Heart Sect.
Everything was normal.
Very ordinary indeed.
"You stupid moron!" Daedalus shouted. "What compelled you to teleport an entire house and drop it here like this!?" He roared angrily as a pipe burst and sprayed him in the face. He quickly fixed it before throwing his wrench to the side with a huff. "There, the plumbing is hooked up, as is the power and all utilities."
His anger somewhat abated, though, when he saw the 'newest member' of their little sect out back, playing with his daughter.
The Lesser God—who was now technically mortal—was playing with his daughter on a mountain peak in the middle of the Midwest of the United States, without a care in the world.
On a grassy courtyard and looking over a steep drop, with clouds waving between mountains, with celestial birds flying overhead, and a charming harmonious wind blowing through the sect archways.
Daedalus found himself losing his anger completely and just sighed again in reluctance.
It made him think of his own son, and likewise, he thought back to how he was living before coming here. All alone in his Labyrinth, doing the same things day in and day out. No real motivation, just passing the time and scared of death.
His body wasn't even his real body anymore.
He had no real friends and no family left.
At most, he kept in contact with Chiron every now and then, but that was about it. In his long life, he burned nearly every bridge he had, only to reach a lonely conclusion with no one at his side.
Even his own mother had abandoned him, never casting her gaze his way again. He wasn't some young wide-eyed demigod looking for motherly affection, but he still remembered the look his mother gave him when he killed his nephew.
That was the last time he ever saw her.
Rightfully so.
But for some reason, that look of hers still lingered fiercely in his heart.
Yet, for some reason, his life had changed drastically. What even was he doing here? He often asked himself that same question. Be run around like a worker mule, doing farm work, and doing some ridiculous research into making some fantastical medicine.
Admittedly, that last one was showing progress, which was in and of itself infuriating to some degree. His scientific mind was thrilled at opening up new avenues of research, but the petty side of himself would refuse to acknowledge it because of where it came from.
He couldn't give that damned Cyclops the satisfaction.
He also took care of most miscellaneous things. He would repair stuff; he would set up 'formations,' as the Cyclops called them. He was their resident magic expert, for what that was worth. And even now, he was fixing Pipes after the younger Cyclops had been nice enough to forge some new ones to fix the issue.
The architecture of this place was strange, something Eastern. He wasn't overly familiar with it, but somehow, the designs, the layout of this place…the more he walked the stone pathways, the more he would spend time here, the more it started to feel like home.
The questions of what he was doing started to fade. But there was another new question that he started to ask himself.
Did he deserve something like this?
A life so…fantastical?
He didn't know how else to describe it.
It sometimes felt like he was living as a god overlooking the mortal world, high up on his mountain.
He had gotten stronger. His old bones—even though he didn't actually have proper bones anymore—were feeling more energetic than they had been in centuries.
Obviously, whatever it is they were doing was working. He had understood that aspect fairly early, which was originally the whole reason he put up with everything at first. Now though, he had a secondary thought, a dread. He didn't want to go back to living how he was before.
He put his tools away and went back towards his own little home on this strange mountain. It wasn't far away from the snakes, to the point where they often came into conflict due to proximity.
He looked out at a cleared patch of land, for what that was worth on top of a mountain.
Daedalus, despite all his rigorous scientific knowledge, was still absolutely baffled at how they managed to make this place on top of a mountain. There was enough room to literally grow fields of crops.
He was originally going to expand the garden and experiment with some new herbs that he had…acquired from some dubious sources.
They may or may not have been from a popular shipping company.
But the stupid Cyclops had told him to clear out some place for the God of Cheese and Bees to start his work.
He grumbled as he cleared out his preparations. He admitted that having a source of those two things would be rather convenient. He wasn't some connoisseur of cheese, nor someone who used honey every day. But he was a man of Ancient Greece; his palate and expectations of food were certainly skewed to a degree.
Daedalus got to work spreading random weeds and grass seeds on the recently tilled fields. He grumbled the entire time because he had just gotten done clearing these fields; now he was filling them back up.
Goats and cows would need plenty of food to naturally graze on.
And Bees would need wild flowers as well.
He spent a few hours working until his back got sore and the sun overhead began to dim. "It was enough," he cursed in his mind, "that the damned Cheese God could do the rest by himself when he's ready."
"Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist!" Tyson came running over. "Help, Fellow Daoist!"
"Hmm?" Daedalus grunted. "What's wrong?"
Tyson unfolded his cupped hands to show a bird, letting out muted chirps. "I found this birdie. He fell and got hurt!"
Daedalus looked at it. "It has a broken wing; just splint it and let it rest for a few weeks; it should heal."
"Uh…"
He sighed. "Hang on a second." Daedalus went to grab some discarded pieces of wood for some other projects in his shed. He found a clean piece and an axe and carefully whittled it down into an approximate size before grabbing some thing cloth with him. "Alright, hold it steady; let me take a look."
Tyson held the bird gently as if a single movement would shatter it in his hands.
"No bones poking through." He carefully examined the bird. "Birds have hollow bones, which let them fly. This also means that their bones are more brittle and can break and pierce into them easier." He carefully tied the small piece of twin to keep the bird's broken bone from getting worse and set it in place better. "There. Keep him in a box, somewhere safe; make sure it eats and drinks plenty."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist!" Tyson smiled.
Daedalus just grunted as Tyson ran off.
He was about to head back before another interruption startled him.
"Bawhoo"!
"You damned fish!" Daedalus nearly jumped out of his shoes. "I'll hack you into ten pieces this time!" He shouted angrily.
Nessie just ignored him. "Bawhoooo." She held something in her mouth, her little pink stereo that she listens to music on as she sat out at the entrance to the Sect. She carefully set it onto the ground in front of him.
Daedalus looked at it, then at Nessie's sad expression, and let out a long sigh and snatched it up off the ground.
He fumbled it around a bit, messing with a few pieces before he found the problem. "Did you get it wet again!? How many times do I have to tell you to stop getting it wet? It's an electronic! Electronic! It can't handle water!"
"Bawhooo!" Nessie covered her face with her flippers.
Daedalus grumbled and went back into his shed to fetch a screwdriver and unscrewed some of the back parts.
He popped out some of the internals, giving them a look over.
"Stupid fish, you're lucky this time! You fried some things, but it's fixable." He grabbed a few tools as he worked on it for a few minutes before snapping it shut and screwing it back together. He walked out, set it down, and pressed the button.
It immediately started to play music, much to Nessie's happiness.
"Bawhooooo!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
"Don't get it wet again!"
Nessie just nodded and grabbed it with her mouth and slowly began to scoot away.
Daedalus rubbed his temples as he watched her disappear. One more headache finished, and he saw another approaching.
"And what do you want!?" He said to the snake, walking back to her home.
"Well, I want to go home, but there's some loud old man throwing a tantrum in front of me." Medusa deadpanned.
Daedalus scoffed. "Weren't you out on a mission?"
"Finished." Medusa shrugged. "It's much more convenient to just lend my stone-turning services rather than having heroes come and cut my head off. I don't know why I never did this sooner. They even pay me for it."
"...."
"....."
"What?" She finally asked him.
"No, I'm just trying to reconcile the image of you and the actual intelligence in that piece of information."
"You want to go, old man?" She narrowed her eyes from behind her sunglasses.
"Hmph." He grabbed his sword just as Medusa grabbed the giant sword on her back. "The loser wants to challenge the winner."
"You're barely winning. You have four more wins over me."
"Sounds like the talk of a loser." He mocked.
"That's it—"
"Sword Heart Sect! Assemble!" A certain Cyclop's voice reverberated through the sect.
"God's dammit."
"I swear, I'm going to go beat him up if he ever calls out to us like that in public!" Medusa hissed.
The two put away their 'grudge' for now and quickly answered his summons. Despite the annoyance, and the embarrassment at the calling, they did in fact drop what they were doing to answer him.
At some point, it seemed to just become natural that they followed his lead.
They descended to the training courtyard; Ocean Song was standing there, as were Calypso and the Cheese God.
Tyson quickly joined, and everyone else but Aristaeous's family, who were more extended members and not full members.
"Greetings, everyone. You all are probably wondering why I brought you here today."
"Probably something stupid." Medusa answered.
"Possibly." Ocean Song answered easily, then kept going as if it wasn't a roadblock at all. "It's time to officially welcome Daoist Cheese to our group. He will begin his cultivation journey in earnest from this point forward. His duties will include, making Cheese, and raising Bees, and other things I have yet to think of. He gets the special privilege of making three cheese related puns a day for free. Everyone please give him a clap."
Ocean Song, Tyson, Nessie, and Calypso all clapped happily at his arrival.
"Cheese Daoist, introduce yourself."
"I'm Aristaeus?"
"Well done." Ocean Song nodded. "You joined just after fellow Daoist Calypso, but unfortunately, you are far behind her in proper cultivation. Calypso is the most talented student amidst our Sect, so you don't need to feel disheartened."
"Come again?" Medusa asked.
"Yes?"
"What do you mean most talented?"
"Hi." Calypso waved.
"There's no need to be jealous, fellow Daoist. Her sword arts are simply more proficient than yours."
"What do you mean? I've never even seen her pick up a sword?" Medusa pointed at her. "Not that I'm insulting her…" She had a gentle demeanor, so Medusa didn't want to actually get her sad.
"Tsk tsk, fellow Daoist. Judging a book by its cover. She has already mastered the ability of using something heavy as if it were light, look. Tyson, go fetch Fellow Daoist Calypso's sword."
"Okay, Senior Brother!" Tyson said as he ran off.
Medusa crossed her arms with a huff. She was very competitive at heart and didn't want to be put below anyone else.
Tyson came back quickly, or rather, they heard him coming back. But it sounded…off. Like there was monumental effort being used and something dragging behind him.
"Senior Brother, I brought it!" Behind him was a giant piece of forged steel bigger than he was by several heads. "I made it just like you asked.
"Is that for me?" Calypso asked. "You made that for me?"
"Yeah! I made it just for you!" Tyson smiled brightly.
"Aww! That's so sweet of you; it's been so long since someone's given me a gift!"
"There's no way—" Medusa's words were cut off as Calypso walked over and lifted it up like it were made of cardboard.
It looked rather comical as the small body of hers held a massive sword whose handle was thicker than her entire body and probably weighed multiple times her own weight and loomed over everyone's head, casting a shadow due to its sheer size.
"....."
"..."
"That's cheating…" Medusa finally forced out. "You said…you said some stupid things like 'swinging a heavy sword like it's light and a light sword like it's heavy.'" She pointed out.
"Yes?"
"How is that…any of that?"
"Fellow Daoist." Ocean Song said pointedly. "Are you going to tell someone holding a sword that size, swinging it around, that they are not a master of their craft?"
Medusa looked at him, then at the cheerful Titaness that was waving around her utter monstrosity like it were a toy.
"I hate you."
"Moving on." Ocean Song smiled. "Next on the agenda. Fellow Daoist Daedalus, I have a job for you."
"No."
"I need you to make the Sacred Popemobile flight capable."
"I beg your pardon? Are you asking me to make the stolen Pope's car capable of flight?" Daedalus asked.
"Yes."
"Does….none of what I just said register in your tiny little brain?"
"No."
Daedalus facepalmed. "Give me a good reason."
"Fellow Daoist, Cheese's daughter needs to attend school. You wouldn't make her walk down the entire mountain and back up it every day, then trek to the nearest city some miles away, would you?"
Daedalus held his mouth open, staring at Ocean Song. "I hate you."
Ocean Song clapped his hands. "Excellent, we will count on you. Now, we shall introduce Fellow Daoist Cheese to your sacred sword arts. It's time to begin a unified day of training to show off skills! Nessie, if you would! I have brought motivational music to help with the training."
Daedalus watched Nessie put down her pink stereo, the same one he fixed not long ago.
She used her flipper to hit the button.
It started with a drum.
~Let's Get Down to Business~"
"Beat him up." Medusa's face darkened.
"Ahem, fellow Daoists, no need to—"
The sun disappeared as a massive sword came down and slammed down on Ocean Song, planting him firmly into the ground.
Everyone silently stared at Calypso as she lifted her massive sword back up. She looked a little shy at the sudden gazes. "D-Did I do it right?"
Medusa shot her a thumbs up. "As expected of a genius. Well done, keep going; it's part of the training."
"Oh! Great!" She continued to slam her massive sword down on him.
"Is…this normal?" The Cheese God asked.
"Pretty much." Medusa nodded.
"It can get stranger." Daedalus didn't deny it.
Nessie tried her best to sing along to the Disney song as the surroundings shook with each hammer of Calypso's massive sword.
Daedalus didn't say it to him, because he would figure it out rather quickly regardless. But this place, as strange as it was sometimes, would start to feel like home rather quickly.
[Line Break]
A/N
A normal day in the Sword Heart Sect
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