Chapter I: The New Great Prophecy
Moonlight shone in between the pines that filled the forest, illuminating the dirt track before him. Nico di Angelo trudged along and swung his Stygian Iron sword at the high grass and bushes as he passed, leaving the dismembered branches and leaves scattered on the ground. A minor path of destruction and not the last one this half-blood would make.
It had been four hours and he was still yet to find what he was sent for. Four hours and he still didn't understand why Will couldn't find this herb himself. What good is a healer if he can't find the ingredients for his own medicine? Nevertheless, Nico felt compelled to go and take matters into his own hands. His desperation for Will's love embarrassed him. And yet his feet still moved forward one after the other.
Eventually, Nico got tired of cutting his surroundings and re-sheathed his blade, sliding the cool, black metal back into the case that hung low at his side. The weight of it made him realise how much his feet hurt, how much his legs ached. Yet, returning empty-handed didn't feel like an option. Because it wasn't. The thought of letting Will down and seeing the wave of disappointment flood his face was not a situation Nico wanted to ever experience.
He paused for a moment, lifted his chin up and glanced at the moon. It was full that night and left a glimmer in his deep brown eyes. A pale glow. A silver spotlight, shining on him. Sighing, he let his head fall back to the path ahead, partially obscured by fractions of his unruly black hair. He needed to concentrate. Focus, focus, focus. Dittany, he needed to find dittany. He thought Will was joking when he first told Nico what he was to look for. The herb was originally only found on Dicte, a mountain in the Crete island of Greece, the exact same mountain where Zeus was born, meaning Nico more than anyone would be obliterated for even looking in the direction of it. Luckily, that was ancient times and the plant has migrated across numerous continents, but it still looked like every other drop of nature in the forest. He was growing hopeless. He felt as if he couldn't even tell the grass from the trees anymore.
A low, grumble shook Nico from his thoughts and the sound was rising. Zeus was mad about something, and clearly getting more agitated. Nico was unsettled, it was never a good thing when the King of the Gods. The thunder transformed into rain, harsh rain. The water pelted down and hit his body like pins as the wind began to pick up violently. He decided to run. Turning back on his heels, he sprinted through the dirt that was forming into thick mud. His breaths became ragged and they stung his throat like fire, but anything was better than getting struck by a spiteful strike of lightning direct from the God of the Sky.
A shimmer of light broke the darkness and Nico squinted against the sudden brightness. A translucent screen materialised ahead, rendering him to a halt: an Iris message. The sea-green eyes of his cousin was the only discernible feature as the rain distorted the image to a state far from clear. The eyes were wide, sharp with fear and concern.
"Nico! Nico, thank gods!", Percy's voice was frantic and it he hardly seemed to stop for a single breath, "You have to come back to camp, there's a ne-"
The IM faded as quickly as it appeared, and in it's place, a woman. In the midst of the chaotic storm and the dishevelled Nico, she seemed as calm and nonchalant as ever. A faint smile event graced her lips, though the blotchiness of her eyes showed that the night had not been quite so kind to her as she had presented. The woman stared at Nico, her dark eyes boring into his. She opened her mouth.
"It seems the Fates have quite a dislike towards you, demigod." Even though the words flowed quietly from her lips, they still managed to reach Nico's ears perfectly amidst the roar of the storm. Her golden hair swirled around her as the breeze swept it up in spirals, but unlike Nico's, the rain had not left it drenched.
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" He had to practically shout the words, which was difficult as his throat was painfully sore from sprinting. He felt lost, nothing was making sense. The woman dropped her smile and her calm stature became grave. "There is a new Great Prophecy, and it seems you are the subject."
Everything seemed to stop. Nico's thoughts raced and he questioned how anything he was heard could be true. A Great Prophecy? He had hoped that the Fates would only grant him two during this lifetime, but no. Perhaps the woman was right; they did have something against him. He wished she was lying, but Percy's distressed message dampened his hopes.
"Your father has asked me to assist you. To take you somewhere for your protection." She did not shift her gaze from him. Nico's eyes narrowed.
"Why should I trust you?" Nico challenged. Her black eyes seemed to glow brighter, becoming golden and matching the elegance of her hair. He regretted his words instantly: this was a goddess.
"I am Hecate," she revealed, "and it is imperative that you come with me. You have no choice in this, Nico." His name rolled of her tongue with ease and he felt comfort, unnatural comfort. He hardly acknowledged Zeus' rage surrounding him anymore, as a wave of serenity washed over him. It was her. He didn't care. She stepped forward a lightly tapped him on the shoulder, flooding his vision with white.
His vision cleared, and the forest was still there as was Hecate, but the sun shone in the still sky and Nico was overwhelmed with confusion. The Goddess of Magic picked up on this, and began to speak in her hypnotic voice.
"We're on the border of your sanctuary. It's a place I've protected myself and impenetrable to the ones that are unaware of it's presence, including your uncles," she explained.
"Uncles?" Nico furrowed his brows, hating not knowing what was happening. "They're both angry? What have I done?" He was beginning to sound fearful and weak, an image he despised projecting. A look of severity reappeared on Hecate's face.
"It's not what you've done, it's what you will do. The Oracle of Delphi has given a dire prediction:
The lone child of the afterlife
shall face all with a Stygian knife.
Return to being a kin once passed,
Sky or sea, only once can last.
And when all is cleared of the mist and fog,
Death's victory will be the epilogue.
It is quite clear to everyone that that child is you." The prophecy burned Nico's ears and his world began to spin. Nothing could ever be easy. No breaks for a half-blood. "Zeus and Poseidon are… concerned about the meaning of 'sky or sea'. They're uneasy at the thought of their destruction at the hands of their nephew, so I'm sure you can understand their reasons for wishing to hunt you down."
"...Hunt?" He felt sick. To think he thought being shunned from the family was bad enough, now he was being treated as game.
"Not to worry yet," Hecate assured. Nico wanted to laugh. "Your father and I have had a quick discussion and such rash decisions like these have had disastrous consequences in the past. Hades has asked a favour of me to place you under my protection at a school attended by my followers." Nico couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Nonetheless, he let the goddess talk. "You should be safe, but the time will come when the Prophecy must be fulfilled. Some of my siblings are somewhat sympathetic to your cause and, while they will not help directly, they have agreed to offer their support. Iris has prevented any connection through her messaging system to you; no communication to or from the Son of Hades."
He was stunned. Droplets of rain still fell from his soaked hair and he silently hoped Poseidon couldn't find a way to strangle him with it. Hecate seemed to hear his apprehensive thoughts.
"This school exists unbeknownst to the other Gods and Goddesses, with the exception of your father, of course." She paused and the silence between them grew too loud for comfort. The Goddess of Magic gestured to a space between the pines, where the demigod could make out a grand, stone building covered in turrets. The sun skirted the tips of the towers and cast bronze rays in countless directions. "Welcome, Nico di Angelo, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."