My name's Jak

by lordchrysaor

A story of a young demigod through time. A story about how even minor God's can mistreat their children (not a good summary but please check it out.)

Uh, hi. My name's Jak, and I'm a half-blood. You probably already know the stories of the older ones. Heracles, Odysseus, Theseus, and Jason, to name a few. You might even know Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, and Leo Valdez. But you probably don't know any of the Underworld heroes.

You see, I was around as the Civil War was starting. The demigod one. I was undetermined, and unimportant. I wasn't one of the sad ones, though. I was happy where I was, and I trained hard. I became a decent warrior, respected.

I had a few useful skills. I was good with a blade, and I was relatively clever. Most began assuming I was a son of Athena, or Ares.

I wasn't so sure. I didn't feel a connection to any God or goddess. I felt... different somehow.

As the war was building up, the entirety of Camp Half-Blood was feeling anxious. Quickly, a small few became the leaders of Camp.

You see, the children of Zeus and Poseidon were amazing, and powerful and took up the majority of hardcore battles. They were the firepower. These children, and a select few others were the people the campers most looked up to.

But they weren't the only heroes. There were plenty of people who went on missions just as dangerous without as much recognition. The powerful, yet not the most powerful. I was with them.

We were like, the second best. And we were finally were getting an important quest. You see, the Romans had this huge Dragon. I'm talking, the biggest Dragon in the past thousand years. And we were being sent to kill it.

The quest wasn't actually issued to me. It was issued to a son of Hephaestus. A huge man, 6'6 with arms the size of a cannon barrel. This was the kind of guy that would make Cyclopes look small. They had nicknamed him 'Thunder", loosely making a reference to that old Norse God Thor. Why did they compare him to Thor? His hammer.

This wasn't the kind of hammer you use for nails. This was a two ton piece of metal, made by Hephaestus himself. You see, Thunder wasn't all powerful. He had some awesome strength, sure, but he wasn't actually strong enough to lift two tons. He can only lift because of a power from his father. The one secret he had, but that's something important later.

He was given the quest because, well, he was strong, and smart.

Now I'll tell you the story in full.

Chiron had just finished telling the Camp what was going on, sadly informing us of who we had just lost. "We lost a son of Ares today. Joshua, was his name, and the Romans destroyed him without hesitation. We must retaliate. And I know how to."

Everyone busted out talking, every demigod at the dining pavilion speaking at once, it was rather annoying, but I knew Chiron would shut them up, he always did.

I was soon proven right, as Chiron stomped his foot "listen, listen." He said, shutting them up. "One of our own has already been given a prophecy and a quest. Thunder, step forward."

At these words, the large demigod stood. Everyone seemed surprised, they had expected one of the children of Zeus, most likely. Maybe Poseidon. Not a Smith.

"Aye, I have been chosen to slay the great Dragon of the Romans. I shall slay the mighty beast with help from Shay, daughter of Hermes, and Jam son of none. That is, if they wish to accompany me."

Shock again rippled throughout the demigods there, including myself. I've never been one even thought to be good enough to go on quests. I was undetermined, and although people liked having me on their side during war games, I still wasn't quite powerful enough, or important enough to be considered for a quest.

"I accept. I shall accompany you." I said, standing as I did so, but then I surprised myself with what I said next. "You have my blade, until we slay this beast" I said, drawing my sword with a flourish. Everyone loved that, taking it as confidence, and for once I felt they didn't doubt the quest any longer.

"I may not be the most skilled archer, but you have my bow." Shay said, standing now as well.

"I'd rather have your feet." Thunder said, his voice rumbling as he chuckled. She was the fastest person at camp.

"You guys shall leave tomorrow." Chiron said, before dismissing us to our cabins.

That night, I slept in the Big House. I can't explain why I wanted to, but it felt natural. I crashed in one of the spare bed rooms, and immediately began to dream.

If I said they made sense, I'd be lying. I saw bits and pieces of half formed people, and I didn't understand. It felt like my spirit was being drug around, like I was a ghost being controlled.

This all made my sleep restless, not to mention the fact that I heard whispers in my dreams as well. Half formed prophecies and promises.

Then, all the badness faded away and I saw a woman. I could tell she was a goddess. How? I could not explain how.

She was short and plump, but she had pitch black hair. She was beautiful in a strange way, something about her reminded me of musky underground places, yet she also felt reassuring, like she knew exactly what I was going through, being a hero and all. It was nice.

"Who are you?" I asked, surprised that I could speak in this dream state.

"You shall know soon. Take my gift, but tell no one."

I didn't have time to question her, because I then woke up. And I knew immediately what her gift was. There was a knife in my hand. Moving quickly, I sat up, and unsheathed the dagger. It was about a foot long, and made of some black metal.

"Stygian Iron.." I muttered to myself, I had only ever read about it a few times. It was an underworld metal.

An hour later, I reported for the quest. I was dressed in a nice pair of boots, and a shirt. A long blue over coat covered that. Strapped to my side, was my sword. A wickedly sharp hand a half, double sided monster. But it would look like a regular mortal saber to the mortals. The dagger was safely tucked in the inside pocket of my overcoat, along with a flask of nectar.

As I slowly walked up the hill, I saw my two companions waiting on me at the top. The dragons camp wasn't all that far away, so we were walking there. We were supposed to be stealthy, and this seemed the easiest way.

"Hello." I said, smiling slightly as I reached them. "Are you two ready?"

"No, not really. Let's go." Replied Thunder, yet I could tell he was more than ready to get a move on. He had pent up energy, and he wanted the thrill of battle.

As we walked out of camp, I studied my two companions.

Thunder had been my first friend at camp, and the maker of my sword. He was tall, strong, and bearded. He wore full Greek armor. He was shrouded in mist because of all the magical metals, so to mortals he'd look like a normal person.

Then, there was Shay. Shay looked like a huntress. She was skinny and lithe, and could run faster and longer than anyone at camp. She wore boots, leggings, and a tunic. A bow and quiver slung over her shoulder.

"I think we should stop for break." Shay said a few hours later, the sun now high in the air.

Apparently, it wasn't time to take a break. As soon as she said , we were attacked. Somehow we had walked directly into an ambush. Fifteen or so Roman legionaires had us surrounded, gladius's all drawn.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Graeceus scum, eh?" Said the one who was clearly in charge. A tall, brown haired guy, around seventeen. He was kind of skinny, but held himself with confidence.

"Your doom." Said Thunder, and he drew his hammer. It was a scarier sight than the enemies that surrounded us. Much scarier.

"Ha, you wish. You Greeks have no chance. And you'll never make it to our Dragon, youll die here!" He yelled, his men now charging toward us.

You see, for most demigods, this would be a huge problem. Thankfully, I'd fought alongside these two many a time, and it felt natural.

It almost felt like capture the flag, Thunder stepped forward, and began demolishing our enemies, two or three at a time. He was a force of destruction. Shay was much different, she was covering him. They took on the bulk of the force.

You see, our strategy at always been the same. Those two took crowd control while I struck down the powerful people. I charged at the cocky demigod who was in charge, swinging my blade at him.

That's when it started. He deflected it with his gladius, and I immediately went back in, hacking and slashing at him, making sure to keep him off balance to the best of my ability. He seemed to never get the upper hand, but I couldn't either.

"Who.. are... you..?" I asked, continually striking and parrying, my insticts doing most of the fighting.

"Jonathan Miles. Son of Mars." The other demigod said, oblivious to the fact that most of his force now lay unconscious and wounded.

"I'm Jak. Son of None." As I said this, I fiented, and then struck his legs, knocking them out from underneath him, then I kicked his head, knocking him out.

"So, it appears as we won this one. It feels too easy." I said, sheathing my blade as I walked to the other two.

"It was. " Thunder agree simply.

"I know why. These aren't demigods." Shay said, a knowing sparkle in her deep green eyes. "They're legacies. These are the main foot soldiers. But that Mars kid, he's the real enemy. He kept up with Jak, and he probably wasn't top of the line."

"I'd hate to have to face their best then. I train to take on the strongest, but even I don't have the power to face down a son of Zeus. Or Jupiter." I said, slightly worried about how we'll end up if we have to fight many more.

"I think we should leave now. I don't want to kill them, but they'll keep following us." Thunder said, a scowl on his face.

"Aye, lets." I said, and then we continued on, but things seemed different now. The few monsters we fought along the way seemed to not even be trying very hard to kill us.

Hours later, we were sitting on top of a large hill, the moon high in the sky, a fire crackling nearby. Shay was asleep already, and Thunder and I were deep in conversation about something.

"So, Jak, can I tell you something? Something I've never told anyone before?" Thunder asked, suddenly a serious look on his face.

Glancing over at him, then looking back at the fire that my gaze had mostly stayed fixated on, I nodded.

"You ser, I have a power. A power I don't like to brag about. I can control metal. Not very well, like I can't make it do stuff from far away or anything, but I can lift metal things way too heavy to lift, and I can make stuff easier to Smith and things like that. That's how I use this hammer, and how I wear armor like this and still move fast. I can even make sword swings slower, and things like that. It's how I best so many of my opponents ."

I wasn't sure how to react. You see, having something like this that you could do was something no one would ever expect. It wasn't the most powerful thing in the world, but if you could find a way to boost this power, or somehow give him more strength, he could best armies.

"Why haven't you told anyone? Your ability could be the key to winning this war." I said, hoping it didn't sound like I was scolding him.

"If people knew, they'd try and use my power for their own agendas. I'm not the brightest at that kind of stuff. I'm big, I'm strong, and I'm good at making stuff. But humans confuse me." He said, his voice cracking slightly as he talked. He sounded more pained than I had ever imagined.

"It'll be okay, big guy. We're going to kill this damned dragon, and then we're going to be heroes. All we need is each other, eh?" I said, trying to smile at him reassuringly.

Within a few minutes, Thunder had gotten up and gone to sleep. Leaving me here to my own thoughts, and soon, my hand ended up fiddling with the handle of the knife hidden in my pocket.

That was the only night that I slept without nightmares. It was uneventful. That is, until the next morning. We were now facing an even scarier opponent than the Romans.

I heard a loud scream. It had woken me and now I was suddenly on my feet, my sword in my hand, and I was already heading to where I heard it. It was Shay's scream. I was sure of it.

She was at the bottom of the hill, by the river. And standing in front of her was.. the most terrifying thing I've seen in my entire life.

A warrior, dressed in golden armor. He was tall, 7'9 or so. But that wasn't the scary part. He held a golden sword in his hand. But that wasn't the scary part. He also radiated a kind of power that I had never encountered before. But that was not the scary part. The scary part was his helmet. It was a replica of Medusa's face, and it radiated terror.

Shay was backing away, too scared to actually fight the swordsman. And I was too, but I couldn't let her die. I had known her too long. Too many memories. I couldn't just let her die. So I charged.

"Argggghh!!!" I yelled like a war cry, catching the mysterious warrior off guard. I sliced at him with my blade.

He parried it with an evident ease, but I didn't stop. I kept fighting. I wasn't going to simply stop and let this monster, I assumed it was a monster, kill my two closest friends.

I had no chance. This man was quickly toying with me. He kept deflecting my blows, seemingly taunting me from within his armor. "I am the golden sword! You have no hope of defeating me!" He yelled.

Then, he kicked me. Square in my chest, and I went flying. Normally, that kind of thing makes me wish I had powers. Something to protect in situations like this. I had no idea where Thunder was, and I was here fighting some Medusa worshipping swordsman.

Then he stepped forward, his helmet off. He had blonde hair, and blue eyes. He was tanned, and looked surprisingly handsome. "Don't feel bad," he said, placing his foot on my chest, applying a lot of pressure to where I could barely breathe. "No one can beat me with a sword."

As if to illustrate his point, my sword flew out of my hand, as if by some sort of magic. Then i can't explain what happened. I felt a sort of pressure in my chest, then I was floating. I was insubstantial. I was like a ghost, my body see through and everything.

I felt the same sensation in my chest, then I was solid again, this time behind the Golden Sword. Then I knew what to do. I drew the Stygian Iron dagger, and stabbed this swordsman in the back of his neck, sending him to tartarus.

Then I began to notice the sounds around me again. I had blocked them out in the heat of battle.

Shay was crying out. "Jak! Help us!"

I turned to see an entire Cohort of Romans. Too many for even us to fight. Grabbing my sword, I did the stupidest thing of my life. I charged into battle with Shay by my side, he bow taking out our enemies one on one as she ran along the outside of the battle.

I had again let my insticts take over, my new power helping me do what I was doing. It was like my godly parent was helping me, like this was her way of claiming me even if I didn't know who she was.

I wove in and out of my physical form. Appearing somewhere, and striking out with a dagger and sword, taking on a lot of enemies, but I could soon feel myself weakening. I was a good warrior, and this new burst of power was helping, but we were still hideously out matches. And Thunder was nowhere to be seen.

That was, until I heard him roar. I knew it was Thunder. He always roared before he charged into battle. It was actually really scary if you were on the wrong side.

But something was different. He wasn't alone. He charged in, an automaton warrior alongside him as he fought. It had a spear that it used to easily take out romans, with a precision past that of any mortal or demigod.

And soon, we began to push them back. We weren't winning. I was weak now, I could barely manage to deflect the blows coming at me, but I didn't stop. I kept fighting as best as I could, trying to push back the Romans with all my strength. And eventually, they retreated.

"Jak, how did you do that thing?" Thunder asked, raising an eyebrow

"I don't know... wait, where were you? I had to first take on some sort of golden swordsman, then fight the Romans. Everything's kinda hazy." I complained. Then I passed out.

This time, I dreamt I was in a cave. This cave was full of spirits, moving around restlessly, trying to escape into the mortal world as fast as they can.

In the midst of all these restless spirits, there was a woman. Looking at her was confusing, because it looked kind of blurry, as if you were seeing to different people at once. She was both angelic, and beautiful beyond compare, and demonic, with darkness inside of her.

She was a goddess.

She was my mother.

I knew it.

I don't know how.

But I knew it.

"Jak, i am Melinoe. Your mother. Goddess of ghosts. I am sorry, but you shall never return to camp until you have made your own."

Then I woke up.

Waking up in a tent with a 12 year old girl I didn't know kind of weirded me out. I was covered, and had obviously been healed since the battle. Yet, there was a young girl with a bow slung over her shoulder, which was the person who had probably healed me.

"Who are you?" I asked, wondering where my weapons were in case I had to fight my way out.

"With the hunters of Artemis." She replied, staring at me coldly.

"Aren't you guys supposed to hate males, though?" I asked, immediately wishing I had just kept my mouth shut.

"We showed up to save the girl. Not to save you." She retorted.

Ignoring her, I rose from where I lay, and I stretch. "So, where's my weapons?" I asked finally asked her.

"They'll be returned to you whenever Zoe sees fit." The Hunter said, anger creeping into her voice.

Sighing loudly, I then left. I walked out of the tent, muttering to myself about how I'd like to shove her quiver somewhere. Then I stopped. I wasn't undetermined anymore. I knew who my mother was.

I stood still in the middle of the Hunter's camp, smiling dumbly to myself for a few minutes, before I finally got my bearings. As soon as I had recovered, I headed for the command tent.

As I opened the tent flap, and stepped in, I heard it.

"I pledge myself to Artemis." Shay said, finishing the oath. She was now a Hunter of Artemis.

"NO!" I yelled, not sure what this would mean for our quest. "You traitor. We need you!"

A young girl, no older than twelve stepped forward. "Quiet, boy. She has made her decision. Do not disrespect my Hunters." It was Artemis.

"I'm sorry, milady.." I said, "But we are currently on a quest. She cannot leave us."

"We shall aid your quest. The Hunters have a score to settle. " Artemis replied, then in a flash of light, I was gone. I was back in my normal clothes, my sword and dagger sheathed.

I now stood overlooking the Roman camp, Thunder beside me. Then we charged. We didn't say a word to each other, we just knew we were going to fight.

The Roman camp was huge, with soldiers rushing here and there, more tents and weapons and so much more than I had ever seen in one place. It was likely that we would be destroyed by the Romans, before we ever got to the Dragon in the center of their camp. We didn't care.

We charged in, taking down any who got in our way, Thunder demolishing them with his hammer, or I would slice them apart with my blade. I felt unstoppable, becoming ethereal and avoiding a few attacks, then becoming solid and taking out enemies by surprise.

We soon reached the thing we were meant to kill. The Dragon. It was all too easy, the Romans let us get this far. Then it happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the arrow. It was perfectly shot, and it did the one thing I didn't think was possible. It killed Thunder. It was a Hunters arrow. And it killed my best friend. I was alone in a Roman camp.