Whatever else he may be, Ares could be called neither timid nor humble. Gladly he gave the reins to his son, loosing them in midair, expecting they would be caught. He reached down, grasping the spear driven hard into the floor; a wrench of his wrist pulled it free from the chariot's gilded floor, the point of the spear gleaming murderously in the evening light. All around him Ares felt the rising rush of battle, that crushing din that broke so many upon its violent wheel. Courage he spread, and cowardice as well, sowing both equally among the fighting sides. He cared nothing for their causes, their schemes, their meaningless plans. All that mattered now was blood and steel and death, all to the glory and honor of the gods who rode, unseen, in the midst of it all.
As they swept through the field, the evidence of his son's work was plain to his eyes. It was endlessly pleasing, this blessed reassurance that even sleeping, his son had not been wholly cowed. Ares was certain he owed at least a portion of this gift to his sister's intervention; even through veiled eyes he had seen Eris' influence at work, calling to those parts of Phobos that had not been fully hidden in his host. He would thank her, he decided - whether upon waking or in some other, more fitting time, he would show his appreciation in whatever way best presented itself. But these were thoughts for another time, for waking hours, when the copper scent of blood did not captivate him so.
"On," he cried, raising the spear above his head. All around them the clamor of destruction rose, until at last it was a deafening roar. With Phobos at the reins they rode down one would-be deserter, his flesh and bone pounded into pulp beneath Phlogios' and Aithôn's burning hooves. His shoulder snapped forward, his spear flying from his hand. Its impact threw backward a surging group of soldiers, striking home in the bodies of three; together they slumped to the ground, joined in death by that single brutal shaft, their bodies a shattered jumble of limbs and battered flesh.