Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO, that all belongs to Rick Riordan. Please R&R, I can't bother putting actual effort into a story if it doesn't seem like anyone's interested in it.

Akantha, Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength, was born the daughter of a servant girl and Poseidon, God of the Sea in Sparta, twelve years before the Battle of Thermopylae. When Leonidas and his army marched to war, she disguised herself as a man and followed. She was the only survivor and after she had many adventures.

Many fights later attributed to male demigods were in fact Akantha's victories. And, as a reward for her service, Akantha was made into a goddess as she lay dying from the wounds she had received wounds from Porphyrion, the king of the Giants. She was the only one Zeus completely trusted, for she was physically incapable of being disloyal. She was also the only deity able to openly aid demigods as they were within her domain. And, unlike other demigods turned gods, Akantha never forgot what it was like to be a half-blood. The Romans named her Valeria.

January 15th, 2001

Thalia had been walking for hours by the time the sun finally set and she sat down in an alley to rest. 'Jason is dead. Mom killed him. Jason is dead,' circled around in her head. It didn't seem real somehow, especially without a body. How could her innocent baby brother be dead? Beryl should have been the one to die instead. Beryl had been the one to sleep with Zeus, Jason shouldn't have had to pay for being born. "It's not fair!" She burst out suddenly. "Why him and not me? He was just a baby! Godsdamnit!" She found herself sobbing hysterically for the millionth time in the past two days since she'd come back from the car to find Beryl crying and Jason gone.

"Oh, my dear," a voice said sadly and Thalia's head snapped up. "I know it's not fair. Unfortunately, the life of a half-blood rarely is." The woman looked like she was in her early twenties. She had long raven hair that cascaded down her back in corkscrew curls. She had sun-kissed skin, features like an Ancient Greek statue and ocean green eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a lilac blouse with Greek sandals on her feet. Usually strangers made Thalia uneasy, especially if they knew her heritage. It typically meant that they were monsters about to try and kill her. Something about this woman made Thalia feel safe though.

"Who are you?" Thalia asked after a moment. The woman has remained silent while Thalia was assessing her but now she moved forward crouching beside the daughter of Zeus.

"I am Akantha," she said. "Lord Zeus sent me to help you." This wasn't quite true, Zeus couldn't directly tell her to help his daughter but he had mentioned his daughter offhandedly to her and Akantha had known what he wanted. The goddess almost always claimed that the parent of the child had outright sent her, it helped them to feel their parents cared.

Thalia scowled however, wiping her eyes stubbornly. "If either of you wanted to help you should have come two days ago when Jason was-" she cut herself off, unable to continue.

Akantha looked at her sympathetically. She knew well the pain of loss. If not for the rules segregating the two sets of demigods, Akantha would have told Thalia that her brother lived. But the memories of the wars between the two weighed heavily on her mind, Akantha had suffered the most from their enmity, her domains were badly damaged. She would not risk another civil war and if Thalia knew that Jason lived, she would stop at nothing to find him.

"I am sorry for your loss, young hero," Akantha told her instead. "And Lord Zeus grieves for his son as well, I assure you. He sent me to ensure he would not have to grieve for his daughter also."

Thalia cast her gaze downward for a moment before looking back at Akantha again. "Okay so how are you supposed to help me then?"

Akantha waved her hand and a backpack and a mace canister appeared in front of them. Thalia yelped in surprise looking back up at the woman in front of her in realization.

"You're a goddess," she breathed. Akantha nodded, smiling gently.

"I am the Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength," she explained. "As a demigod, you are under my domain and so the Ancient Laws allow me more leeway then the rest of the gods. Now, in your backpack you have food, a water bottle that will automatically refill itself, a Swiss army knife, a compass, some money, clothes and a book of Greek tales. It's really an encyclopedia I suppose. In it you will be able to find a description of almost every monster and a weakness of theirs too. It's written in Greek so your dyslexia won't hinder you." Thalia nodded, wide-eyed.

"This canister serves a dual purpose," continued Akantha, picking it up to show the young girl. "It works as a regular pepper spray against mortals but will never run out. There are more than just supernatural threats out there, especially to girls." Thalia looked shaken as she nodded. "But it also turns into a spear for fighting monsters." Akantha demonstrated how to transform the canister into the spear and back again before handing it to Thalia who clutched it tightly. The goddess stood and Thalia scrambled to her feet as well.

"The last thing I have for you is some advice. Go to Charleston. There's a dragon lair there. If you decide to go there, you will gain something more valuable any gift I have given you." Then she moved closer and wrapped the girl in the gentle hug. Thalia stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the goddess's embrace. If was more comforting and loving then any hug Beryl had ever given her.

"Your path is long and hard, young one," Akantha whispered in her ear. "But I swear, there will be things that make all the grief worth it." She stepped back. "It may not always be obvious, but we are always listening and we always answer in some way." She began to glow and Thalia snapped her eyes shut, remembering when Zeus had been around and done the same thing. When the nine year old opened her eyes, Akantha was gone.

Olympus

Akantha knocked on the door and waited for Zeus' permission to push it open. The large door was decorated with elaborate scenes of Zeus' various heroic acts.

Some people thought it was strange that the Lord of the Skies was so fond of his brother's daughter. But for several reasons, Zeus trusted Akantha more than anyone else.

Akantha had been raised to revere the gods and she had never had the flaw of arrogance that so many of her peers had borne. She had been respectful from the start, going so far as to swear eternal loyalty to the Gods on the River Styx while still a mortal. As well as that, she was the goddess of loyalty. Being disloyal was impossible for her to do. Before the coup, Zeus had not been so paranoid or distrusting, and Akantha had been the one to find and release him. Despite her loyalty to Zeus however, Akantha had a close relationship with her father.

Akantha entered Zeus' chambers, ignoring the ostentatious décor. "My king," she bowed to him and he nodded in reply.

"Well?" He asked and she smiled.

"She is going to be one of your greatest children I believe." Akantha said. "Even if she is not the Prophecy Child, she has great strength and a good character. She will do well I believe. I sent her in the direction of a runaway son of Hermes. They will make an excellent team I believe." Zeus nodded before shifting into Jupiter. Akantha changed to Valeria in response.

"What of my son?" Jupiter boomed. "Have you assessed him yet?"

Valeria pursed her lips. There was little difference in either of their appearances. Jupiter looked older, sterner and was dressed in a formal toga with a purple cape and a laurel crown resting on his salt and pepper hair. His features were of course Roman instead of Greek.

Valeria also had Roman feature and her eyes were more blue then green. She was dressed in a knee-length toga with a breastplate of Imperial Gold and had an Imperial Gold gladius attached to her belt. A purple stola rested on her arms.

"He is young still," she considered the boy thoughtfully. "But I believe that with time and tutelage from Lupa, he will grow to be a strong leader for the Legion." Jupiter nodded looking satisfied.

"You may go," he dismissed her. "As always, your loyalty is beyond question." Valeria bowed and disappeared. She went to her current lover's apartment. The goddess had less children then most deities, but she was strongly attracted to people with kind, loyal personalities. Her current lover, Thaddeus Michaels, was one such man.