"Ok, it's almost time for capture the flag to begin!" A booming voice covered the night sky. The voice that floated within the sky belonged to Chiron, the centaur trainer of heroes. Chiron possessed a rather thick, brown beard complete with matching side burns and his brown hair was mid-length. His bottom half consisted of a brown horse's bottom. All in all, not only did Chiron look eloquent and intelligent, but he looked rather magnificent as well. "You all know the rules. Each team takes their flag to opposite sides of the forest and plants it. It must be visible, and you can have a maximum of two guards at the flag. They also cannot stand more than ten feet beside the flag. All weapons are fair game, including magical ones! And please, no killing. The teams will be the Olympus demigods on the blue side, and the minor demigods on the red side!" Although the Olympus demigods were generally stronger than the minor demigods, the sheer volume of the minor demigods more than balanced it out. When this is combined with the fact that Hera's cabin constantly remained empty, Aphrodite's cabin would more than likely be too consumed with their own looks to take the game seriously, and that Artemis' cabin also remained constantly empty, the Olympus demigods were admittedly worried, even if only slightly. "As you know, for this game of capture the flag we have two generals leading and planning, one from each side. Will you two step forward?"
From the blue team, a young African-American male stepped forward. His night colored hair was fashioned short, in a fade cut. He had a very light mustache/goatee combo upon his face. His eyes were the color of bright emeralds, and his very facial expressions possessed the very essence of the word 'calm.' He had a very slender body frame, although he had a toned build. Due to the fact that capture the flag required the use of armor, the young man had been covered head to toe in battle wear. His torso was covered in white armor plates, along with his waist, shins, shoulders, and entire arm. The parts that weren't covered with the white armor, was covered by black chainmail which was worn underneath the armor. Truth be told, his armor was the armor of a European knight rather than a Greek warrior, and he was often told to switch by his counselors. However, the armor was given to him by his close friend as a birthday present, so it holds sentimental value to him. He had a bracelet upon each wrist; one black and one gold. "Orion Hamilton. I'm leading the Blue team today, since I'm the leader of the Poseidon cabin." The young man's voice sounded calm and relaxed as he spoke.
From the red team, a second young African-American male stepped up, although he was maybe a shade lighter than Orion. His hair was short and black, with a boxed up fade style. His eyes were silvery, and rather captivating. Like Orion, he too was wearing armor. His armor was mostly gold, and covered his entire body, and included a helmet. It was rather ornate, as if a lot of care went into building it. However, what separated this armor from the rest was that dust, rocks, and anything in the area seemed to push away from the young man. His armor was magical, and seemed to possess a small layer of wind around it. "Zephyrus Black from the Aeolus cabin. I'm leading the red team today." Orion didn't particularly know Zephyrus. He had seen him around of course, and with the fact that he was one of only five residents of the Aeolus cabin he stood out. Zephyrus kept to himself for the most part however, so they never had a conversation.
"Alright, here are your flags! Now everyone set up at the opposite side of the forest and wait for the starting horn. Remember, the river is the boundary line. You must cross the river with your opponent's flag to win. Good luck!"
"Okay." Orion stated once they had reached the boundary line. "We'll put the flag here, that way it'll still be visible, just really far away." Orion chose two of his own cabin mates; two Cyclops, to guard the flag.
"Captain Fayt Roberts reporting for duty, sir!" A young man jokingly saluted Orion as he appeared beside him. He was several shades lighter than him, but still African-American by human standards. His black hair was cut short, and he had a light mustache/goatee combo. His eyes slanted upward slightly, but most people paid more attention to his azure colored eyes than that particular trait. He was bulkier than Orion, but not overly muscular and his muscles weren't overly refined. He placed a gold, Greek helmet overtop his head which matched the gold plated armor on his chest and matching wrist guards and shin guards. The armor was worn over top of his dark blue jeans. Orion and Fayt were the best of friends, to the point where people considered them brothers, which wasn't too surprising seeing as their fathers were Poseidon and Zeus, respectively. In fact, Fayt was the one who had given Orion his armor for his birthday, after Orion kept complaining about his dislike for the Greek armor.
"And Lieutenant Mariella Covas reporting as well!" A female crept up behind Fayt and Orion, gently squeezing Fayt's hand. Her human heritage was half African-American and half Puerto Rican, which gave her a skin tone slightly darker than her boyfriend's but lighter than Orion. Her hair reached her shoulders and was dyed blonde, with the exception of her lime green bangs which hung across her face. Her eyes were a magnificent dark green, although streaks of brown flickered through them. She was rather curvy, although she was in shape. She was wearing a golden breastplate which fit her figure perfectly, which had an engraving of a sun on her stomach. She also had matching wrist and shin guards. Mariella got along rather well with Orion, mostly due to the fact that Orion was what Fayt constantly reminded her, her future brother-in-law. She gave Fayt a little peck, much to the delight of the Aphrodite campers.
"Get a room." A second female's voice appeared behind Orion. This female's human half was a mixture of white and Filipino, which gave her a tanned appearance. Her hair was rather long and black, worn in a half ponytail which engulfed her ear tips. Her eyes were a mysterious gray color, and her mouth had been motioned in a half smile. Despite being short, she was rather athletic in appearance. Her torso was covered by two toned armor, with the top half being metallic silver, while the bottom half was white with black streaks. Her left shoulder and majority of her arm was hidden away by silver armor, while her right arm had a white sleeve upon it with black streaks. Her legs were covered in a familiar sleeve-like cloth similar to her right arm.
"Iliana, get a stable." Fayt retorted, pointing fun of the fact that her boyfriend was a centaur. The four teens and cabin leaders hung out a lot, and were rather good friends. To them, this was simply daily banter.
"Alright Orion, what's the plan?" Iliana questioned. The entire collection of demigod campers had been staring at Orion, awaiting orders. Orion wasn't the type to fold under pressure, but he wasn't exactly the type to excel under it either. Like the seas themselves, Orion just went with the tide of things.
"Ok, I've got the absolute perfect battle plan. It's never failed in a battle so far." Once Orion finished that sentence, the starting horn sounded. Orion's bracelet's then transformed into full out weapons. The gold bracelet, which was composed of celestial bronze turned into a miniature scythe-like sword. The handle was completely blood red in color, while the blade, which curved inward like a hook was pure bronze. The other bracelet, which was composed of the rare stygian iron, formed a trident. Both the handle and the bladed part itself were composed of pure stygian iron. "LLEEEERRROOOYYYY JJJEEENNNKKKIINNNSSSS!" Orion cried out loudly, while drawing his voice out. He then charged in the opposite direction towards the area where the red team would be coming. The entire group stared in awe for a moment, before shaking their heads. Fayt's hand became briefly surrounded by lightning, which collected at a small golden ring on his finger. The ring transformed into a large lance. It was slightly longer than Fayt's full body, with the actual blade part appearing to be a combination of a spearhead and a sword. The blade was made out of celestial bronze, while the handle and pole part was gray.
A small charm bracelet on Mariella's wrist formed a long bow. The bow was forest green in color, and nearly as long as Mariella herself, curving at both the top and bottom. She slung a quiver overtop her shoulder, which held arrows composed of both celestial bronze and stygian iron. Iliana ripped a small necklace off her, and transformed it into a half-length staff. It resembled her father's Caduceus with the exception that instead of twin snakes encircling the staff, it held twin ravens. The wings on the staff were rather sharp, allowing Iliana to use the weapon like an axe. "Attack!" Fayt cried out, as the main campers prepared to charge.
"LEEEERRROYYYY JJJEEENNNKKKIINNNSSS!" The entire blue team cried out as they charged, mimicking their captain. They quickly caught up with Orion, just in time to meet with the red team at the dead center of the river. The two teams began to fight, attempting not to let anyone past. Under the veil of the fight, Orion, Iliana, Fayt, and Mariella went on ahead while fighting the stragglers.
Meanwhile, the red team's elaborate plan had worked. Forgetting to account for the fact that Zephyrus could fly, the blue team was so heavily distracted by the others that he slipped right on by. The two Cyclops spotted him once he hit the ground, but they were quickly dispatched by a well placed gust of wind. Zephyrus grabbed the flag, and flew back into the air to return to his side. "Zephyrus is in the air and he has the flag!" One of the Cyclops bellowed with all of his might, which managed to allow his voice to be heard from the other side of the field.
"Oh, crap. I'll handle it, you guys continue onward." Fayt slid to a halt and looked up into the skies. Being a child of the king of the skies, both Zephyrus and Fayt shared something in common: they both could fly. Fayt left his three friends and shot off into the air, catching up with Zephyrus feet before he would have passed the river. Fayt and Zephyrus were well acquainted and good friends, so they both knew what each other were capable of. The two flew at each other full speed and attacked; Zephyrus throwing a punch while Fayt swung his lance. The resulting collision caused a huge wave of wind to blow through the trees and other campers. He then caught Fayt off guard, knocking him aside with a powerful gust of wind. He then began moving towards the river again. "No!" Fayt flew full speed in front of Zephyrus and began to surround his lance with lightning. "Sky rider!" Fayt screamed the name of his lance as he surrounded it with lightning. The attack pushed Zephyrus back towards the blue team's starting point, away from the river he needed to cross. Meanwhile, Iliana had been teleporting between the two guards of the red team's flag, and striking them. She finished the first guard with a rising strike with her half staff, and then teleported to the next one, where she kicked him in the face and knocked him out. This gave Orion enough time to grab the flag and run back towards the river. He began to form a shield out of water which blocked the arrows that were flying towards him. The arrow launchers were then picked off by Mariella, whom had been jumping from tree to tree firing them. Her heritage as Apollo's daughter served her well, as not a single shot was wasted. One arrow for one target, she made sure to keep this up to allow Orion the time needed to escape.
"Blue team wins!" Chiron cried out, as Orion crossed the river. The blue team cried out in joy, while the red team groaned in disappointment. They raised Orion high into the air in a victory cheer, before letting them down. The stakes were that the losing side had to wash the winning side's cabins, and the red team had a lot more cabins than the blue side. Their celebration was cut short however, when the resident oracle, the crimson haired Rachel wondered upon the scene. She walked as if she were in a trance, her eyes glowing a bright green color. The strangest thing however, was that she walked directly up to Orion as she spoke.
"Demigods will answer the call,
Attempting to save strife from the West's arch
Quarrel over the one with cursed blood, and all will fail
For common enemy, they doth share
The mixture of evil, spawn of many fears
The one who conquers will be the most modest of them all."
With that, she returned to normal, excused herself, and wondered back to the cabin. The campers began muttering and chatting amongst themselves. "Alright, alright people. We'll decide what we're going to do about this tomorrow. For now, everyone to bed." Chiron trudged off and the campers groaned as they went to their cabins.
Later that night however, people started pouring into the Poseidon cabin. "Great party, Orion!" A first year camper from the Hermes cabin announced, as he ran past him in an attempt to get an older Aphrodite camper to dance with him. The campers had changed from battle armor, to the typical camp half-blood t-shirts and jeans. The party was one of the few times that Mariella was somewhere that Fayt wasn't, since Orion requested that the members of the Apollo cabin provide music.
"Hey Zephyr, you going to Orion's party?" Fayt questioned the Aeolus demigod. Fayt had been walking, or rather sneaking to meet up with Iliana and go to Orion's party at the Poseidon cabin.
"No. I don't do parties." And with that, Zephyrus walked away towards his cabin.
"Hey Fayt…hurry up!" A few feet down, Iliana called out in a hushed voice. It was well past curfew and they weren't supposed to be out the cabin, even if they were cabin leaders. The two got to the party and entered, greeting Orion.
"Hey Fayt, Mariella is doing a great job singing lead. I think one of those Ares kids is eyeing her though." That was all Fayt needed to hear. He thanked Orion, and proceeded to move closer to her.
"Oh hey, here you go. In honor of you leading us to victory and all." Iliana tossed a small, black box into Orion's hands. He stared for a bit before opening it up, revealing a small gold chain with a small bottle of sapphire colored water attached to it.
"Isn't this mine?" Orion questioned, taking it out and putting it on.
"Yep. Swiped it from ya earlier today." Iliana grinned a bit, proud of her accomplishment. Orion stared with his usual blank expression for a bit, before shrugging his shoulders. Iliana threw her arms up in frustration. "Mark my words Hamilton, I'll get a reaction out of you yet." Just then, Mariella and Fayt walked up to join the conversation. She had let her eldest half brother take over, so she could enjoy the party. Mariella sniffed the air a bit, before looking at her friends puzzled.
"Does anyone smell grapes?" She asked, while Fayt, Orion, and Iliana sniffed the air as well.
"Yep." Orion simply stated, throwing his hands into his pockets.
"Oh no…" Fayt realized what the smell meant a second too late. A portly, yet strangely terrifying man appeared in front of the door; managing to enter without opening it. Mr. D, also known as the constantly grumpy Dionysus discovered the party. Iliana, and in fact all of her fellow Hermes cabin mates instantly teleported back to their own cabins, while everyone else sat in silence.
"Everyone, you have ten seconds to get back to your own cabins and if you aren't there, I will wrap you in vines and hang you there for the rest of the night." Mr. D didn't get a chance to begin counting, before the campers began to run out the door. "So, Riona Hamlet…"
"It's Orion Hamilton." Despite Mr. D mocking his name, he still managed to remain calm.
"That's not important. Cleaning duty. One month. Now go to bed." Admittedly, Mr. D had gotten frustrated because of Orion's lack of a reaction. He turned and vanished, purposely leaving an explosion of grape juice all over the cabin, knowing Orion would have to clean it before morning.
The next morning, all of the camp leaders were at a table discussing the prophecy, and more so the fact of assigning a quest to Orion. "Well, we now know what the prophecy was hinting at." Chiron began. "We received an Iris message from Eris last night, while you all were enjoying your…festivities." Chiron threw a hard look at Orion, before continuing his explanation. "She's in trouble, in Saint Louis."
"The Saint Louis arch is there. Isn't that considered the arch of the west?" Fiona Richmond, the Athena cabin leader spoke up.
"Right. So Orion, your quest is to go help Eris. We'll give you four people besides yourself to take. Apparently, they all have to be demigods so chose wisely." Chiron looked at Orion, awaiting his choice.
Immediately, Orion chose Fayt, Mariella, and Iliana. Iliana sighed a bit, knowing that her boyfriend couldn't be chosen as he wasn't a demigod. She then remembered he was away on camp counselor business anyway, so it didn't actually matter. "For my last choice…Zephyrus." Zephyrus looked particularly shocked at his choice, considering that he never actually spoke with Orion before.
"Why me?"
"Why not? Besides, Fayt knows you and you fought well against him." Orion then stood up, and left to pack, beckoning his quest mates to do the same so that they could leave right away. About an hour later, Orion was ready to depart. He had changed into regular clothing: dark blue baggy jeans, with white and blue high top sneakers. He had on a white tee shirt, with a dark blue hoodie over top of this. The hood was pulled over his head, while the sleeves were rolled up to show off his two bracelets, which held his weapons. Zephyrus arrived next to Orion, also wearing more comfortable clothing. He wore a black, sleeveless hoodie with black jeans. His sneakers were black and gold Jordans, which lacked even a single scuff mark on them. Finally, he wore black headphones overtop his ears, which were actually his magical armor in resting form. Iliana literally popped up beside the two, thanks to her power of teleportation.
"Fayt is waiting on Mariella and they'll be here. Only reason I took so long was because I was talking to Aiden on an Iris message. Iliana had on black stockings with a pleated crimson mini skirt overtop of it. Her shoes were high tops with small wings painted on each shoe. She was also wearing a black tank top with a red tie on her neck, worn very loosely. Finally, she wore a beanie with wings stitched upon them. Fayt and Mariella walked up next, hand in hand as was their usual fashion.
Fayt had been wearing dark blue jeans with matching shoes. He was also wearing a skin-grasping blue vest, with short sleeves and a high collar. It was zipped up almost completely, and he also had on a long, blue mesh scarf over his neck. The scarf was fashioned, so that two tails extended down his back. Finally, he had on a white flat cap, and a blue earring in each ear. Mariella on the other hand, was wearing a black, sleeveless turtleneck that ended at hip level. She also wore a pink skirt, which had a small cream strip hanging down it. She wore knee highs to go along with her skirt, matching in color, as well as black flats for shoes. Each one of the five demigods had a bag filled with clothing and other supplies.
"Shall we?" Orion lead the way, as the five demigods left the safety of camp half-blood, and set route to their destination.