I tightened my sword belt a little. The sheath brushed my lower thigh every time I stepped, reminding me of just how far I had come in these past ten months.

I stood at the door of the Hermes cabin, and slowly looked around. The sun was coming up, tinting the sea a million shades of gold and bronze. I saw a large fin appear in the distance, then sink back down into the waves.

I turned my attention to the rest cabins next. The Apollo cabin had already started to glow, and its counterpart, the Artemis cabin, was fading back into a dull grey. I heard movement around the back of the Demeter cabin, and I smiled a little. Those kids were almost as early of risers as I was.

The rest of my cabin was still asleep, so I knew I had a good fifteen minutes to finish what I needed to do.

I slipped off in the direction of the arena, happy knowing that I was the only person who would even consider training this early.

But judging by the sound of metal hissing through, someone else had taken the opportunity to train in silence also.

I unsheathed my sword, and shouted to the other side of the arena "Up for a sparring match?"

The person turned around, pushing a hood off of their head. "You sure?"

Crap. It was one of the older campers. There was no getting out of this one, so I nodded, slipping easily into a strategic mindset.

He started walking towards me, slowly raising his obsidian sword. I could tell by the look on his face that he thought he had me beat.

Without warning, he charged. I simply sidestepped, letting his momentum carry him. The fight went on like this for a few minutes, both of us getting a feel for the others movements, watching for weak spots.

He apparently thought he had found mine, so he made his move. Raising his sword above his head, he tried to strike downwards and at an angle, to rip my sword from my hands. I blocked, and the shock ripped through my shoulders. He felt it too, and he dropped his sword.

I kicked it, flipping it off to the far right. He looked at me with a mildly amused expression, then ran forward and swiped my feet out from beneath me, flipping me onto my back. He picked up my sword, which had been knocked out of my hands when all of the oxygen in my lungs had been forced from my body.

"You probably-" I gasped out, "shouldn't stand there." His eyebrows arched, and I kicked him hard in the stomach.

Now we were both on the ground, gasping for breath. But my fight hadn't died out yet. He had gotten on my last nerve, and we were going to finish this.

I rolled onto my front, and got on my knees. My legs were unsteady as I stood, but I managed to stumble over to where he had tossed my sword. He grumbled something and rock up onto his feet.

"At least give me a fighting chance." He taunted, trying to inch his way over to his sword. I swished my blade beneath his nose, and he froze. I swung it above my head, then brought the sword down, smashing it four inches into the hard packed earth.

"There you go. Now we're both unarmed and winded. Happy?" I asked, wincing as my side pinched.

He just shot me another look. "My names Nico," He said, sticking out his right hand and pressing his left to his side. "It's nice to meet you."