PROLOGUE – Noah (1 Month Ago)

The lost boy laid his back against the large oak tree currently sheltering him from the freezing wind. He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking from the cold. 'Where did it all go wrong?' he thought to himself as he tried to calm himself down. He was having a terrible day, and hoped it would soon be over. He had set a trap that should stop whatever it was that was chasing him - he hoped. He'd always been good at hunting and setting traps to capture animals, but he never thought he'd have to do it on such a large scale. He had no idea what he was running from - Bigfoot maybe? It was humanoid in shape, but far too big to be a human. Those kinds of things weren't supposed to exist - monsters. They were supposed to be stories parents told their kids and something that people read about or watched on TV. It was supposed to be entertainment, but he knew that thing was real. It looked real. It felt real. He unconsciously rubbed his raw right arm, red and throbbing. He winced at his own touch, and sighed.

A distant howl made him snap upright, suddenly wide awake and panicking all over again. He got up as fast as he could, and the howl tore through the night again. That dreadful, dreadful howl that sounded partly like a wild animal hunting for blood, and another part unmistakably human. How he wished there was no howl. But of course, it was too late for that. He set off at a sprint, leaving his backpack behind - he was lighter and faster without all that - but not fast enough to outrun whatever it was that was chasing him, as he'd learned a few days ago. The howl came again, louder this time, and this time there was another sound. He could swear it was the sound of a tree being uprooted. His best chance was to keep running and hope that-

A broken tree smashed down right in front of him, and he ran straight into it, falling onto his back. Cursing his suddenly throbbing and bleeding nose, he scrambled up and took off in another direction, deeper into the impossibly large forest. The howl came a third time, sounding all too close, with the sound of hundreds of leaves being shaken off their branches. A loud and quick thudding came next – footsteps. He picked up the pace until he ran into a clearing, surprising him so much he stopped.

With a smash, the giant creature came hurtling out of the trees, heading straight for the boy. He managed to roll away at the last second, and the thing overshot and ran through the trees on the other side of the clearing. The boy pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and with a click, a small flame appeared, and he held it to the ground. He knew what he was running for, but he didn't think he'd be able to find it this easily again. The trap he had set in place days ago sprang into action – the oil-covered ground instantly caught ablaze in a circle around the creature, trapping it within the perfectly round clearing. The flames burnt through a length of twine tied to the ground over the fire, and a large creaking sound echoed through the forest, just before a giant log hit the creature full force in the side of the head. The creature howled and fell sideways into the fire. It tried to get up, get away, but the fire latched onto its flannel clothes, burning its skin, and it screamed. After a few painful minutes, the screams died down to a quiet sob, and finally to nothing. As the Cyclops lay still, slightly smouldering from the fire and beginning to disintegrate into nothing, the boy got up from where he'd fallen, scared out of his mind, and started walking aimlessly through the forest. After a long time - he wasn't sure how long exactly, his watch had broken days ago – he saw burning torches in the distance, and some strangely out of place stone arch. Confused, he walked towards it, on guard for any more threats from the forest.

As if on cue, a gang of armoured soldiers leapt from trees above him, landing in a circle around him. They held an assortment of weapons, and none of them looked friendly. Startled, the boy scrambled back and walked straight into one of them. Eventually, the people lowered their swords, and one of them took off their helmet. What he saw defied explanation – it was a teenage girl, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy gasped, and she smirked at his reaction. She stepped forward.

"What are you doing here?" She asked; her voice full of malice, "Who are you?"

"U-u-uh..." the boy stammers, her voice pulling him in, "I'm lost, I guess."

At that she gave a frown, tilting her head to the side and staring at the boy intently. After a second, her head straightened and she nodded, like she'd come to a decision.

"Follow me; I'd like you to see something." She turned away, walking briskly towards the arch. He hesitantly followed her, flanked by the others. She passed through the arch, and they all stared at the small boy.

"W-what? Why are you all staring at me?" He stammered, instantly on guard again because of the looks he was getting.

"Nothing... It's nothing. It means you're supposed to be here. If you weren't, you wouldn't be able to pass beneath the arch." The girl replied. "Come on. I'll take you to Chiron. He'll want to see you."

"What? We're going to see who? And why would a 'Chiron' want to see me?" He replied, perplexed by the whole situation.

"What's your name?" she asked; her tone softer this time.

"Noah." He replied warily, still unsure of whether or not to trust these armoured teens.

"Come on Noah. I'm sure he'll explain. The rest of you, back to guard duty" She said, and then walked off. The people behind him turned and walked back the way they came. Having no other choice, he followed the girl. When they crested the hill, what he saw defied explanation - or so he thought.

This was an impossible place, of that Noah was sure. This could not be real, he kept telling himself. This must be a dream. He pinched his arm, but nothing happened. Frowning, he followed Chiron back into the Big House. He had freaked out when he saw the centaur, half-man and half-horse, and had tried to run away in a panic. He didn't get very far, since the girl quickly clamped a hand on his shoulder. After a few minutes of talking to Chiron, he had calmed down, and they started the tour. They started at the Big House, a giant blue farmhouse where Chiron and the mysterious camp director lived, and it housed commodities such as the infirmary, the recreational room where they held council, and the attic that housed the mysterious Oracle of Delphi.

Chiron then showed him the volleyball courts where they watched a group of people playing against each other, some performing acrobatics that astounded him, flipping through the air to keep the ball off the ground; the arts and crafts centre where they watched a boy make a lyre and then play it to his friends, whilst a girl made a bust of Demeter; the canoe lake that had actual Greek triremes floating on it, and they watched them open fire at each other in a mock sea battle; and then they got to the cabins. The boy was awestruck. There had to be more than 20 cabins, arranged in an S shape. Each cabin was differently designed: one was decked out with barbed wire and a boar's head, another had a roof of grass, and another was made of white marble. Each was drastically different. Chiron chose this moment to challenge everything he thought he knew.

Chiron told the boy some things that should have been impossible. He didn't believe any of it at first, but then he remembered what happened to him during the past couple of days. He shuddered as he tried to take it all in.

Chiron told him that the Greek gods are real. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and all the rest - they exist. They also come to Earth every now and then and fall in love with mortals, making incredible children, called demigods. All the campers here were demigods. There was one cabin for each god, major and minor, and they were all decorated to fit the god's unique personality. And apparently, he was a demigod too.

"You couldn't have walked through the entrance without having some godly blood in your veins. The barrier keeps out everything else, even the weather." Chiron said, and gestured to the clouds that were making their way around the camp, but not one floated overhead.

He was shaking. He couldn't believe it. He was half god. He didn't know which god though, and apparently, neither did Chiron.

"You'll be claimed by your mother or father, and then you'll know." Chiron informed him, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, there's more to see."

Chiron showed him the forge, where they watched Hephaestus kids make an array of magic bronze weapons and armours. Chiron said that celestial bronze wouldn't harm mortals, but would easily kill a monster. He said that the bronze was needed because mortal metals can't kill them. He saw the armoury, where a son of Ares was sharpening a giant battleaxe. He saw the arena, where they watched demigods learn how to swordfight. He saw the pegasus stables, and they watched Demeter's children flying around on the pegasi. He saw the mess hall, with all the tables and the benches. He saw the climbing wall, and watched a satyr climb up as earthquakes shook it and lava poured down the side.

And finally, they returned to the Big House. It was dark, and Chiron took him back to the mess hall for dinner. He sat with Chiron at the head table, eating barbecue and watching the crowd of kids chatting and eating. He felt alone, and it scared him. He didn't think he belonged here - he didn't even know which cabin he belonged to. A tall lean boy walked up to him and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hi, my name's Connor, and I'm the Hermes cabin counsellor. Since you don't know your god, you get to bunk with us until you're claimed. After the campfire, I'll get you a bed. Cool?" Noah shook his hand and nodded. With a wry smile, Connor left to sit at his own table with the rest of his cabin mates.

Feeling more alone than he had in a long time, the boy sighed and picked at his food

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