Ares had gone to sleep in Bulgaria -- and woken in his temple on Olympus.
Even that wasn't right; this wasn't his temple. And yet, it was. It was positioned correctly. The defenses were right. It was filled with his trophies, all the ones he recalled (and some he did not). There were weapons of all sorts, various ingenious devices of war... but overall, the place carried an air of the unfamiliar.
Nevertheless, his attendants were still his attendants, still cowed to his commands. As they should. He'd gone up onto the roof of his temple, then, to take in the Mount from a position of strength. What he'd seen wasn't at all reassuring.
The other temples were identifiable; they were even mostly in the same order as he recalled. But most carried a sense of grayness, as if the deities who should be there were somewhere in Concept. It wasn't uncommon for Olympians to do that, from time to time, but yesterday most of them were present -- here on Olympus, at least, if not also playing their age-old games on the mortal plane. All of the temples also carried the same unfamiliarity as his own temple, as well.
Below him, movement caught his eye. He stepped backward so that his impressive form was not so prominent, and watched the approach of a not-as-familiar female form. His eyes narrowed. When she called his name, they narrowed further.
But this summons would not be ignored.
Taking the steps required to jump from the top of the roof, Ares landed a few paces behind the woman -- goddess -- who looked very much, but not quite exactly, like the lover he took with the most frequency.
"Who are you?" he demanded, advancing with menace.