Gaea has been defeated by the seven. And Iapetus gave up his life fighting Tartarus. But the web of fate is not done with him yet. Oh, no. The web of fate is just getting started…
Kind of like in the Trials of Apollo, Iapetus reincarnates as a mortal. A mortals named Bob, naturally. Little Bob is still alive and with him, though. Mostly just because they're too cute to kill off. But anyway, Iapetus is back. He doesn't know why, but as the book goes along we all begin to learn precisely why. Unlike the Trials of Apollo, which downgraded us from Gaea (mother earth herself!) to some boring roman emperors which history can't even certifiably prove were evil, the Trials of Iapetus will have a big villian. It's Ouranous/Uranus.
You see, Gaea's defeat sent shockwaves through the cosmos. A primordial deity defeated!? It's unheard of! But she was defeated . And so was Tartarus, her vile second husband. Two primordial beings were defeated in one quest. It unbalanced the cosmos. With them defeated, strange things began happening. And one of those strange things involved Ouranous. After millenia in a death like state, he has begun reforming.
And make no mistake, he is angry. His wife killed him, and all of his sons (with the exception of Oceanus) helped chop him into little pieces. These demigods have denied him his revenge (Kronos and Gaea and Tartarus have all already faced punishment), but Ouranous requires vengeance! He has lost his sanity, and he is a being who lives only for revenge now. He cares nothing for dying again. If he dies destroying earth, he will be happy. He will crush Gaea, consequences be damned!
And nothing can stand up to Ouranous but the combined might of everything. Mortals, Gods, Titans and Primordials. And it is now Iapetus's burden to bear. This book series would show us Iapetus reuniting with his wife and four kids, Iapetus reuniting with Nico and Percy and all the other demigods who showed him kindness, and Iapetus walking amongst mortals (all of whom carry his spark within them).
The Trials of Iapetus would present a clear, happy and definitive end to Rick Riordan's world of greek mythology. But it would also show us as many gods and titans and primordials as possible within a five book span. The big one who i'd save for the final book in the series would be Chaos. Chaos, the first being to ever exist. The essence of nothingness. Before light, before dark, before earth and before sky, there was chaos. His form is unknowable even to the Titans and the Gods. None may gaze upon Chaos without losing their sense of self. But he is the oldest thing in existence, and an appeal to him may be the last chance anyone has for defeating Ouranous…
But to get a being like Chaos's attention, you'd need to wake him. Before him, nothing existed. He is literally the oldest being ever. He was last awake when the first titans were born. Confident in his children's capabilities, Chaos let himself drift into sleep. It's been millenia since then, and he has never once woken up. To wake up him now would require a summons from everyone on the planet; be they god, mortal, primordial or titan. So the main goal of the Trials of Iapetus is to wake Chaos from his slumber. And in so doing, perhaps a lasting peace can finally be reached between the gods and the titans.
