This is the first of what should eventually be five stories, charting Jason and Camp Jupiter's experiences in the years prior to the events of The Lost Hero. It should be canon compatible, so if you notice any inconsistencies that I've managed to miss please point them out!
I hope you enjoy reading; if you do, feedback is always appreciated if you have a spare moment to leave a review.
The last chapter is a glossary/Who's Who god list, so any Latin terms etc. should be defined there, without any spoilers.
Nulla. A note before we start…
Before I begin, I want to make one thing clear. I never asked for this. I didn't ask to be the child of one mortal, one god - in common parlance, a demigod or half-blood. Yeah, you heard right: the Roman gods are alive and kicking in the modern day and age, only now they're not based in Rome. They moved with the tide of Western Civilization, so now? The Roman gods tend to hang out in the good old United States of America.
I didn't want my dad to be Jupiter, king of the gods, and my patron to be his immortal wife, Juno Montea - my godly stepmom, I guess. I didn't want to be given to the wolves when I was three to prevent said pretty much all-powerful stepmom from getting a little… fatally sharp with the mortal part of my family: my mom and my big sister.
Of course, I didn't get much say in it, what with being three and half-mortal, and all.
Thing is, being a demigod comes with a whole trireme's worth of problems, from exploding pizza to monsters who want to tear you and your friends limb from limb for the sheer fun of it. So if what I'm about to tell you all sounds like a fun story, well. I hope you never find out what it's like to face it all in real life. Read what I have to say, laugh at the funny bits (and there are funny moments - eve for a demigod, life isn't all bleak), maybe cry at the sad bits (the gods know I did), and when you're done, close the book and put it away with a smile and think it's fiction (some days I wish I could). Dis, maybe you'll even wish it was true, that this was your life. You're lucky, because I can guarantee it's more fun to read about than to live. But go ahead. Daydream and enjoy, because among other things, being a demigod teaches you the importance of stories.
If it sounds familiar, like it actually could be part of your life?
Pack your bag and be ready to leave when the wolves come for you. And now that you've realized, they'll probably be on their way, because once you realize the monsters start noticing you in earnest and that means they need to reach you first.
Don't run. They're the ancient guardians of the spirit of Rome, and they're on your side. Mostly. Don't show fear. Don't show doubt. Follow them, and learn everything you can. They'll take you to Lupa, and if she thinks you're tough enough, she'll bring you here, to Camp Jupiter and the Twelfth Legion.
Trust me, it's the only way you're going to survive.