Back on Golnar…
What is this weird feeling I'm getting in my arms? And why is my skin glowing? This is strange. Really strange. The strangest part was that I felt more powerful than ever. A lot more powerful, actually. I realized I could feel the air currents. I could see everything. I could hear everything. I felt like I could sprint a thousand miles. Blessings, I realized. The gods must have figured out I was gone. It's weird that it took them over a year and a half to realize I was missing. Oblivious gods. Dad must be devastated.
Dad. I hadn't thought about him much, because when I did, all I could feel was pain. The word actually felt foreign to me now, because I haven't used it in so long. I felt shame that I couldn't even remember my own father. I can't go back, though. Not yet. I don't think I could handle it. In the meantime, however, I think I'll get to work on these new powers. I figured I had Zeus's and Artemis's, and maybe even Hermes's since my senses were opened up and I felt faster and I could sense the air currents. I wonder who else I got. The heat didn't bother me at all now. Before it was a little uncomfortable, but now it feels nice.
I'm guessing that's the work of either Apollo's or Hephaestus's blessing. I think it's Apollo's, because I can look at the sun without getting blinded. How do I know that, you ask? Well, I'm currently being stupid and looking directly at the sun. I looked back down again to see that all of the scars on my hands have disappeared. That's weird. Aphrodite. No way. No. No. No. No. I do NOT want to be a ladies magnet. Please don't be true. Please don't be true. Please don't be true. I summoned some ice as a mirror. Great. It's true.
My face had changed. My eyes looked brighter and greener. My face was tanner. My raven hair was silkier. My facial structure had become more angular. I hated it. I wanted my old face back! Grrrrrrrrr. Curse you Aphrodite. I went back inside the house, fuming at Aphrodite. I think that's all the blessings I got. I don't feel anymore new powers. I went outside to start practicing my air powers, since those are the most destructive. Pretty soon I was flying around like Jason Grace. My heart panged at the thought of Jason. I wonder how he's doing. And Piper, and Leo, and Thalia, and Nico, and everyone else.
Despite their betrayal, I don't blame the campers. Not one of them had been at the battle, and Annabeth was a goddess while I was not. I would have believed her too. No, the only one I truly blame is Annabeth. I wonder how her life with Jerkules is going. Actually, no. Stop thinking about her. I'm never going to think about her again if I can help it. I'm over her. It still hurts that I was betrayed, but I'm over Annabeth. I don't think I'll be dating for a while, though. I let myself down on the ground again and went to do my daily climb.
Nine months later, I stood by my house, everything packed away into my cloak and bag. I created a belt for my throwing knives so that I didn't have to carry them. I finally mastered all of my powers! Now, I think I'm going to do something useful for a change. I remembered my conversation with Eira the first time I really talked to her. I'm going to help people, in the best way I know how.
Three months later, President Upendra's office…
The president was having a great day. He had recently acquired a new servant that he could torture and tax rates were higher than ever. Even the Avalans had stopped protesting against staying in the Snow Quadrant. He manipulated the air to swirl some papers into a neat stack. "It's nice, isn't it? To come up here and feel like you can do anything?" a voice from nowhere asked. Upendra jumped up and swirled around, looking for the speaker. "W-who are you, and what do you want?" he demanded in a slightly shaky voice that gave away his fear. A tall figure stepped out of the shadows.
The figure wore a floor length black cloak that hid his body, but Upendra could tell he was ripped. Muscles bulged underneath his sleeves, stretching them tight. The figure's hair was covered by a hood, but his face was covered by a pitch black mask. What really scared Upendra, though, was that the figure's eyes were nowhere to be found. "I'm g-going t-to say t-this once. G-get out." Upendra said, trying to sound intimidating. The figure laughed coldly. Definitely male. "That's cute. Why don't you sit down and we can discuss what I want." Upendra sat down in his chair, his legs shaking like crazy. "W-what d-do you w-want from m-me?" Upendra asked, not even trying to disguise his fear. The man ran a finger along the edge of the desk.
"I want justice. You torture. You steal. You forbid innocents from being free, simply because you are afraid." A moment of silence passed before the man spoke again. "You know, I've heard your son is a good person. He actually cares about the people." Upendra backed away, realizing where this conversation was going. "I'm sure everyone would be happy to see him take the rule." The man seemed to be talking to himself, but Upendra became more scared than ever when the man pulled out a pure black throwing knife from under his cloak. "I'll make it quick." The man said. That was the last thing Upendra heard as the man hurled the throwing knife with deadly accuracy.
A couple hours later, a guard stumbled into the president's office. "Sir, there are numerous citizens at the ga…" He trailed off, seeing what was inside. The president's body was lying slumped on the floor, a six inch deep gash in his chest. The gash was a clean line, not jagged like it would have been had he been hacked to death. No, the guard recognized this as the mark of a throwing knife. The only clues to who threw it, though, were a skull carved on the president's forehead and a black arrowhead lying on his chest, just above the gash. "Attention! Attention! The president is dead! I repeat: the president is dead! We need Yazdan in the president office immediately!" he yelled into his communicator.
The next day, the newspapers on Arba were all headlined "President Is Killed By Mysterious Black Death!" Yazdan, Upendra's son, had assumed leadership and immediately lifted the law banning Avalans from crossing into another Quadrant. Among these, an overjoyed Eira silently thanked whoever the Black Death was. From his perch on the roof of the president's house, a cloaked figure smiled. He had finally fulfilled his promise. The figure hopped off the building into a shadow and disappeared.
On Golnar…
Well, that was fun! His reaction was so hilarious! He was shaking so badly! I shadow travelled to my ice house and packed up all of my stuff. It was time for Koreq's check. He had already come once, but I had let him know I was still alive and that I wasn't ready to leave yet. I've already spent a year here! I'm twenty now! Wow, time moves by fast. That reminds me… It's been two and a half years since I left Earth. It feels like nothing! That's the scary part of it… Welp, anyways, Koreq's bus was heading towards me, right on schedule.
I willed the earth to make a platform that I used to carry myself up to the bus, since Koreq couldn't land. "Hello again, Koreq." He smiled at me. "Hello, Phoenix. Where will it be? Lanikal? Khaled? Maybe even Sanvi?" I thought for a minute. "Let's go to Orenda. It sounds interesting, from what you've told me." Plus, it will be nice to be somewhere with people. It has been over two years since I've had contact with more than one person. I need to get back out into the world." Koreq nodded and fiddled with the controls on the bus. "It will take twelve hours to get to Orenda. I suggest you get some rest. Pardon me, but you look like you could use it." I nodded at his suggestion. "Thank you, Koreq. I will get some rest." I made my way to the beds, where I fell asleep almost immediately.
"Phoenix! We are here!" I woke up to Koreq's familiar yell. I walked up to the front with my backpack. "I hope to see you again, Koreq." He smiled. "As do I, Phoenix. Let me know what power you get!" I hopped off the bus, waving to Koreq. A wave of nausea rolled over me and I doubled over. I fell to my knees. My head hurts so much. It feels like it's splitting open! I groaned. "Excuse me, sir, are you okay?" My vision was darkening. I caught a small glimpse of the speaker. It was a young girl of about sixteen with red hair and deep blue eyes. Rivule, if I remember correctly. I fell unconscious.
"I don't know what happened! He just fell down!" I heard a girl's voice in the background. I could tell I was lying on the ground. I groaned and sat up, clutching my head in pain. I have a massive headache right now, and my skin is tingling slightly. Overall, I feel just peachy. I could hear the girl asking for assistance. An older woman with pink eyes knelt down next to me. "Can you hear me?" she asked. I nodded. I couldn't speak right now. The woman smiled. "I am Aala." she said. The sixteen year old girl sat next to her. "Drink this. It will cure your head." she said, handing me a cup filled with purple liquid. I didn't want to drink this. It was a foreign substance. It could be dangerous. I didn't detect any lies in her statement (thank you blessings of Apollo and Hermes), so I drank the purple stuff.
My headache cleared up immediately. "Thank you." I told her. She smiled proudly. Aala turned to the girl beside her. "Can you tell me what happened?" The girl nodded. "He is a newcomer. He came on the Galactic Bus. The minute he stepped onto the planet, he fell. Then he passed out. That's when I brought him here." Aala nodded. "Thank you. You may go wait outside." The girl seemed to hesitate before walking out of the tent thing I was in. I looked around. It was a teepee kind of tent with a dark magenta covering and little rugs on the floor. Me, Aala, and a servant were the only ones in the tent. Aala, noticing my look, said, "This is a healing tent. We use this particular one for newcomers. You wouldn't believe how many people pass out or have pains when they first come to Orenda."
I nodded. "What power do you have? I know you are a Vitae, a healer, but do you have another power from being on the planet?" She nodded and opened her hand. I watched in fascination as a tiny flower erupted from her palm. "I can grow flowers. It is not the most useful of skills, but I am helpful in the plant houses where the magical plants are. My specialty is moonlace." I smiled at the thought of the silver flower and the person who first gave one to me. Aala stood up. "Come. I think you are ready to walk around." I followed her out of the tent and gasped. It was so different from Earth, but so similar as well.
There were people everywhere, but the vegetation was a variety of different colors. Oddly shaped buildings towered over the streets, but there were no vehicles. Instead, people just walked or rode in this weird bubble thing (A/N: Like from Meet the Robinsons). It was awesome. Aala turned around to look at me. "I will let Myuna take it from here." The teen ran over to us enthusiastically. "Hello! I'm Myuna!" I narrowed my eyes. That was a lie. Her name is not Myuna.
"Myuna", noticing my look, turned away hastily. "Come. I will give you a tour." She walked away, and I had to jog to keep up. Once I did, I grabbed her shoulders. "Look. You and I both know your name is not Myuna." She looked shocked. "How did you know?" I shrugged. "That is not important. What is your true name? Do not lie to me. I will know if you do." She looked scared for a moment, then defeated. "I am Cordelia Alravata, Successor of Thalassa." I let go of her. She's a Successor? "I did not realize you were a Successor. Why did you change your name if your previous name was not tied to a bad person?" She looked down.
"Because I do not like the attention. If people know my real name, they bow to me. They want to be my friend. However, the minute I changed my name, that all stopped. They just wanted to be my friend because I am a Successor, because I am famous. I do not want that. I want my friends to be my friends because they like me, not the idea of being friends with a Successor." She looked close to tears. I wrapped my arms around her, but she pushed away angrily. "Do not try and be friends with me! You just want to be friends because of what I am!" she accused.
I shook my head. "That was not my intention. I do not care if we are friends. I was simply trying to comfort you, because that is what a good person does. If if makes you feel any better, I too have changed my name. I have not heard my real one in over two years. Only one person to this day outside the people where I used to live knows what I look like, and even that has changed." She stepped back, shocked. "Why did you change your name?" she asked quietly. I sighed. "I wanted a new life. My name reminded me of everything that I have lost and that I miss. My name only brought sadness, so I buried it." To be honest, I am glad she didn't ask me for my former name. "But I do know this," I continued, "I want to be your friend because you are a good person and I understand how you feel." Her mouth dropped open. Finally, she whispered, "It is nice to hear my name again." I smiled. "So, Cordelia, would you mind showing me around? I am, after all, new to this place."
"And this is the Arena." Cordelia explained as she gestured to a large circular building. I grinned. "So, is this where Nahimana battles the civilians?" Cordelia nodded. "Yes. Nahimana challenges them. It is a fight to unconsciousness or a fatal blow withheld. If she wins, they owe her a favor. If they win, Nahimana has to grant them one wish. No one in history has ever defeated her." She looked sad. "What is wrong?" She waved me off. "Just some memories. I was young once too. I was reckless. About eight years after I had become a Successor, I visited this place. I was a fool. I challenged Nahimana, thinking I could beat her. I lost horribly, but she saw my power. She could tell I was a Successor. Instead of asking me to never challenge her again, like she does with most challengers, she asked me to become her servant. I had to swear an unbreakable oath, and I will not be released unless she wishes for me to be."
I nodded in understanding. "When is the next opportunity to challenge her?" Cordelia looked at her watch. "Six minutes." she replied. I smirked. Cordelia's mouth dropped open. "You are not seriously thinking…" I nodded. "Yes, I am. Who knows? Maybe this fight will help me to figure out what my power is. I have an idea already, but I want to make sure. If I'm right, I can take her." Cordelia shook her head. "She is skilled with a knife. Her illusions can fool even the greatest warrior. I see you have strong muscles, but you do not have a chance." "Thanks for the vote of confidence." I grumbled.
"Where do you challenge her?" Cordelia rolled her eyes and pointed to the left. There stood a large booth with a clipboard and a sign that said, "SIGN UP FOR FIGHTS HERE". "Oh." Cordelia chuckled at my obliviousness. I walked over to the board and signed my name in the second slot, just behind someone named Rai. Cordelia peered over my shoulder. "Your name is Phoenix?" I shrugged. "Yes. It seemed cool." Cordelia rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys." I punched her in the shoulder. She glared at me murderously. "Run. Now." I smirked at her, pointing behind her. A crowd was entering the arena, probably to watch the fights. Beside me, Cordelia said, "You go in too. Challengers will be called down from the stands to fight. I can see people are losing interest in this, though. Nahimana always wins. Some are even starting to believe she is invincible." I rolled up my sleeves. "Challenge accepted."
Hello dearest readers! So, what power do you think Percy got from the planet? Guess in the reviews!
Merry Christmas, readers! Or Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate!
Daily Question: What is your favorite holiday? Mine is Christmas!