Thank you all. This story has now tied the number of follows for Hero In the Stars. Lets try to break the number of favorites and reviews!
Haven't done a disclaimer in a while, so here goes.
The chances of me owning PJO is roughly equivalent to me capturing a full health level hundred shiny Arceus on the first turn with a lowly pokeball. Minus about 2 billion.
Little discussion on favorite stories. You have been warned.
I was not planning on favoriting any stories/authors, but recently changed my mind. The really good stories, those are the ones that deserve to be recommended for the world to see. I try to limit the number I favorite because I have seen people with thousands of recommended stories. No one is actually going to scroll through the entire list. But if you only have a few good ones, then people might give them a shot. To me, a story worthy of being followed has three main components. One, it is original. It has something unique or previously/rarely unused. This helps distinguish a lot of the really good ones. For example, there are a few good percy betrayed/chaos/returns to earth fanfics. But the vast majority are not. After a while of searching for a good one, I gave up, seeing so many of the sames themes and the same plot lines. My second requirement is the story must be well written. You might have the best idea in the world, but if you cannot express yourself, it won't matter. Finally, it must have decent length. I define this as 20ish K plus. Plenty of promising storylines have been left to fester for years with only a chapter or two. They are not yet worthy of being called favorite stories. I personally do not think any of my stories are at that level, nor will ever be. Yet that is what keeps me motivated, striving to do better. Before someone asks, the authors I have favorited and followed all have at least one story I will favorite, with the exception of the man, the man, THE LEGEND Anaklusmos14. All his stories are the highest quality I have ever seen. As he has so many, I cannot favorite them all. It is just heavily implied.
Tense silence filled the room. Nobody wanted to be the first to answer, afraid of upsetting the titan lord who was walking around with a creepy smile on his face in front of his army, twirling his scythe aimlessly. He finally turned and looked off to the side. Most of the other titans had been freed and now walked the earth, having sworn allegiance to Kronos. Though there were a few that did not answer the call. Foremost among them were Iapetus and Oceanus. Iapetus, he could understand. He currently had no memory and was serving Hades. Oceanus though... He growled at the thought of the coward, swinging his scythe out viciously, chopping of the head of a terrified (and rather unfortunate) Empousa. Oceanus had refused to help. After the last failed war effort, he had no interest in attempting to overthrow the gods again. He would get his comeuppance soon. He was next on the hit list after the gods went down. And without Jackson, they would surely fall. He would need to be careful with him. He could not risk him intervening, he had no idea of the extent of allies the demigod had. Kronos made a mental note to remind his army not to harass the mortals, on pain of... punishment. The other wild cards he cared little for. Mostly a couple of the female titans elected to stay neutral, such as Asteria and Tethys. They were of little consequence, and surely would not move against him.
This assumption would have a hand in his undoing. For it is written, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This was never truer, than in this circumstance. Dismissing his worries, he glance up and down the rank of titans awaiting orders, ranging from Hyperion to to the titan of the north Coeus, who had elected to join the fray. "Hyperion, Prometheus. Take a quarter of the army and march on Camp Jupiter. Raze it to the ground. No prisoners. Have the spies take out the praetors. Coeus, Pallas, take another half of the army and surround the Amazons. Do not attack them, but do not let them come to the aid of camp jupiter. I will take the rest of us towards New York. Understand?"
The aforementioned beings nodded and strode away, already taking command of their designated sections. Within half an hour, the campsite had been emptied.
(two days later at Camp Jupiter)
Hank and Moe Nardy were relatively new to the legion. They had gotten off of probatio just a week ago, and were still new enough at their new job of border guards to actually stand at attention and keep their mind on task. This attitude would change for the veterans, who knew border duty meant weary hours of baking in the sun with nothing to do. Thus it was that they were not taken completely by surprise. When the monsters sprang forward, Hank was ready and waiting, and slew the first out of the cover with a thrust of his spear. He took one look and turned, face ashen. "Goblins." He whispered. "He was a scout. Send the alarm. We are under attack!" He ordered to Moe, his voice rising.
The slightly younger brother fumbled with the horn before blowing the signal for an attack. A goblin, or Orc, are of approximately human shape with bowed legs and long arms and of varying size. Though generally smaller than humans and starkly different, they are physically stronger. Orcs are generally ugly and filthy, with prominent fangs and facial features tending toward the grotesque, generally a mixture of the ape-like and pig-like. Their skin is typically a shade of green, gray, black, brown, or sometimes red. All this information ran through Hank's head in a flash. "We have to get to the tunnel and hold them off. Most of the legion is relaxing in the baths right now, if we don't slow them down, it will be a slaughter." Moe nodded, understanding the danger. "Come on!" The two turned and fled, standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking the entrance. As a pack of orcs stalked towards them, the two stood their ground. Then the hideous hybrids leaped forward, and the engagement began. They were initially rebuffed by the large shield the legionaries carried, and in this place, in the confined space, the numbers were counterproductive. As the two fought desperately, trying everything in their power, they were forced back, step by step, down the long tunnel. They made an attempt to push forward as they saw daylight, but were unsuccessful. Sheer numbers forced the brave demigods out into the open, and Hank knew it was over. They could be flanked, and there was no way out. The Orcs knew it too. The fighting stopped and the leader stepped forward.
"I am he known as Grishnakh. You have fought bravely. I admire that. I will give you one chance to switch sides. Consider carefully."
The brothers glanced at each other, and saw the look in the others eyes. Moe spoke for the both of them. "Go to Hades." He snarled.
"So be it." At a hand signal from Grishnakh, the orcs surrounded them and attacked. The demigods made a last desperate stand, hoping for reinforcements, but it was only a matter of time. Moe over extended on a thrust, and he was dragged forward to where Grishnakh stabbed him. As Hank let out a cry, Grishnakh raised the bloody knife to the sky. "The first blood in a new war." He crowed. Hank bellowed and was surrounded by a deep, blood red aura. He lunged forward, fighting like a madman, not bothering to use his shield. He picked up a sword from a fallen orc and started to throw himself recklessly at the enemy. He started to take wounds, but he fought on in a rage. Finally, he could feel it. He was dying. With one last bellow to the skies, he hurled himself forwards, weapons flashing, in a last bid to take down as many of them as possible. Grishnakh stood, impassive, as he watched his guard fall. Hank's breathe expired and he fell forward at the Orc captains feet. He had singlehandedly killed over a dozen orcs, and the only survivor was Grishnakh. The orc snorted. "Huh. Impressive for a human." He spat on the corpse as he watched the first legionaries march out of the gates, wearing purple and carrying the golden eagle.