Prologue

So... Hi... Uhm, this is my first time writing down my fan fiction, I normally just draw characters and stuff... Hope you like the first part of the story :)...

"But I don't understand why!"

The girl was blatantly hostile now.

"It -" the goddess couldn't bring herself to say it. The child had already been pushed past the limits. "Because, dear, you are... Different," she spoke hesitantly.

"Different?" Mageía screamed. "Hestia, you know how it feels! To be ignored! Nobody ever noticing what you do or say!" She gasped for breath. "But, wait!" She sneered, "people do notice you, and they talk to you too! Nice, long, hearty conversations. Me, I get a 'hi'. Then it's like I never existed. No 'how are you?', or 'how was your day?'. Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all."

Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were wild, the pupils constricted to pinpricks, in pools of damson streaked with silver. Not grey, but pure, metallic silver, as if someone had taken mercury and drawn spirals into her eyes.

"Well, they aren't fully capable of seeing your true potential," Hestia began explaining. "You are much more powerful than they are, you just haven't realized it. If only you knew-"

"If only I knew? If only I knew what, exactly?" Her voice was now a whisper, barely audible through the din of the background. It had a doubtful quality, and was actually quite sinister. "All my life, I have been through more than you have, in your three millennia of living," she said. "I've been chased and hunted down by monsters, cornered and surrounded... and alone. Always alone."

Mageía looked down.

"All these children here," she began, "they have parents, and they know who they are. I, on the other hand, don't have parents. Ever since I can remember I've been solitary. Working by myself, for myself. It's been less than a week, and I know I don't belong here. I don't even know how I got in. They say it's because I'm a half-blood. But I have no powers or skills remotely close to theirs. I've never been special, and I never will be."

Hestia waited for her to carry on, but she didn't. So she said, gently, "that is because you are unique."

Mageía looked up. She was dangerously calm. After she had displayed such huge emotion, it seemed strange she could be so steady.

"You say that I'm different. That I am powerful. That I have 'true potential'. How do I know that? How do I prove myself?"

She had a steely determination in her eyes.

Hestia regarded the 13 year old with a hint of sorrow. "That, I cannot say. But I can give you a guide. You may choose to, or not to, follow it. What you do during and afterwards is beyond my help."

"When do I start?" Mageía asked. She was extremely excited. Hestia could see it in her poise, the way she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, and her eyes, which had a new, brighter, happier shine, and there was the hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"When you are ready," Hestia stated, quite simply.

"I am ready," said the child, very eager.

"Are you?" asked Hestia, smiling slightly at her willingness.

"Yes," said Mageía, a little impatient

"Have you anything for the journey?"

"I have no possessions. I carry my own weight, and that's all."

"And provisions? Food and water?"

"I'll get it along the way," Mageía's face fell. She was quite confused. She had absolutely no idea why the goddess was being so motherly, making sure she was prepared.

"If you say so. But you might need a weapon," she said.

Mageía blushed and muttered, "Oh. Yes. Well, I forgot about that..."

"So it seems. You do not have one of your own?"

"No," the girl's excitement had been dimmed now and she was trying to hide her sadness.

"Then I think this will do."

Mageía lifted her head slightly, then jerked it upwards, as she saw a light shimmering in the air above her.

The light grew and expanded, throwing flame-like ribbons that caught the light in a mesmerizing way. Mageía couldn't believe her eyes. The sight was one of such beauty that she thought it wasn't real. To test that, she reached out her hand, tentatively, and her fingertips just brushed one of the tendrils. Immediately, her eyes squeezed shut, her arm pulled away, her legs stumbled back and her mouth opened to let out a strangled cry of pain.

She haltingly peeked through her lashes at her clenched hand. She sighed in relief, then did a double take and widened her eyes. Her fingers were reddening, swelling up and forming blisters.

She sighed again, this time in exasperation, for this what what had happened to her all her life. Her curiosity always got the better of her.

Then she glanced at the flames again. They were now weaving themselves together, forming a precise, pretty pattern. As she watched, it lengthened to about a metre and a half, and was given an intricately designed handle and grip.

The glow dimmed, growing smaller and smaller until only the sword remained, with a slight luminescence about it. When she looked closely, Mageía could see that the blade was slightly curved. It looked heavy and she thought she would look clumsy holding it, but she picked it up anyway. It was surprisingly light and comfortable in her hand, and the grip was perfectly fitted for her hand.

"It is a makhaira," said Hestia, a hint of affection in her voice. "Made purely of fire, it is a weapon normally used for cavalry, but I found it the perfect match for you."

"It's... Beautiful," whispered Mageía. There were truly no other words to describe it.

"Now, you are ready," said Hestia.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia," Mageía said as she looked the goddess straight in the eyes. Fires burned brightly in them, but they weren't vicious. They were warm, friendly and inviting. Some might even say homely, but Mageía wouldn't know; she had never had a home.

"It is only my greatest pleasure."

And Mageía took off, bounding with long, easy strides, to the boundary of Camp Half Blood. She took one last look back, and whirled around. In a matter of seconds, she was out of sight.

"Go well, child," Hestia murmured, and as she turned, a single flame seemed to detach itself from her auburn locks, and it sped off in the direction of the the girl, pulsing, like a heartbeat, and shrinking, as it went further and further away, and led a child, though not knowingly, to her doom.

To all those people that found this chapter boring, sorry, but it was just introducing my own character and it is ONLY the beginning, so please don't judge so soon...

Thanks for reading ;)