Yay! Chapter 10! Do I get too excited about this stuff? Yes, I do. Do I care? No, not really. So, this chapter is told from Nico's POV, and introduces a god I made up, and a bunch of made up stuff about him, so yeah. Also, you will get to know more about Blair, her family, and you will see her not-so-strong-and-heroic-side. And to make it even better... another line of the prophecy is completed. Oh yeah, Blair has super senses. It's awesome. Okay, moving on.
We arrived at the field Blair had seen in her dream, it was sunset. It looked a lot like she had described, but lit up in a golden glow. The leaves of the sycamore
seemed to glow, and the grass was a beautiful honey gold color. The shadow of the sycamore was touching us, even though we were at least one hundred fifty
feet away. For some reason, I felt drawn to the tree, and I could tell my friends felt the same urge, Blair especially. I walked towards the tree, and I knew my
friends were doing the same, but then Blair abruptly stopped.
"There's something there." She stated.
I turned towards her.
"There's a tree. It's a tree, Blair."
Blair looked sorta hurt, as if I'd just triggered a bad memory.
"No, something other than a tree." Blair's voice was nothing more than a whisper.
"What then?" I asked, gentler this time.
"I- I don't know... It- It's just there, a powerful force is in that tree, I can't hear him though, I just know he's there."
"That's not too vague at all." I stated.
Blair gave me a hard look, and I decided that I should probably shut up.
"HELLO, DEMIGODS." A voice boomed from the tree.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
'I can see him now," Blair said, "I- I don't know how to describe him."
I didn't know how she could see whoever "he" is, but I got the feeling that it was the voice from the tree, but when I looked, I didn't see anything but leaves.
"I'VE AWAITED YOUR ARRIVAL."
I looked at my friends. Blair was nodding. Hunter seemed scared out of his fur. Me? Well, I wasn't sure what to think.
Then, someone jumped down from the tree.
It was human, sort of. He was covered with orange fur with black stripes. His teeth were sharp fangs. In the place of his fingernails were claws, deadly as
knives.
"Hello." The cat-man said. His voice was beautiful, it reminded me of someone else's voice... whose? Blair's, it was just like hers.
Blair gasped.
"What?" I asked, turning towards her.
"Y-You're the tiger f-from my dream." She barely managed.
The cat-man nodded. (Or is it "Tiger-man"?)
"I am Tigris, The God of Tigers." He said roughly, as if he hadn't said that line in years.
I bowed, and motioned for my friends to do the same.
"Ah, it has been a while since anyone has bowed to me. Please, rise, and allow me to tell you my story before I go."
"Go?" I asked.
The god sighed, "Yes, I'm afraid that one decade or another I must."
That confused me.
"Many, many centuries ago, a sword was created. It's a truly beautiful sword, but it was too powerful. I was entrusted to keep it safe. My fellow gods gave it
to me because almost no one in Greece ever worshiped or built temples to me, therefore nobody would ever know who kept it or how to find it. I was forced
to never interact with mortals, ever. Because of this, there are no stories or myths about me. No one even knows the sword even exists, I don't believe my
fellow gods even remember. I have done this duty for the past three-thousand years. Though now, I'm afraid it's time. I must resign."
Silence.
"Wait... resign?" Hunter asked.
"Yes, brave satyr, I am fading. Gods may not be able to die completely, but if nobody worships or remembers us, well... we fade. I have been fading for a
very long time, only the power of the sword and my sacred tree have kept me intact with the mortal world all this time."
"I am so confused." Blair stated. "If you fade, who will watch the sword?"
"Ah, my fav-" Tigris seemed to catch himself, "yes, demigod. That is why you three are here. You see, the severe stages of my fading started a few decades
ago and I knew I needed someone, a demigod, that held as much strength as I do to wield the sword, so... I broke the rules and interacted with a mortal
woman. We had a child."
'Wait..." The pieces were clicking together in my head, "Blair?"
"Me?" Blair seemed to think I was crazy.
"Yes, you." Tigris said.
Just then, Tigris' form flickered, and the god fell to his knees.
"Tigris!" Hunter and I both surged forward to support him. Blair was still standing where she had been, shocked.
"Blair..." The god said weakly.
Blair stepped towards us.
"Father?"
"Yes, the sword is in the top branches of the tree, only you can get it."
I watched Blair nod and drop to her knees in front of Tigris. He reached out and took her hand.
"Mom?" Was all she asked.
"Florida, and.." Was all the god seemed to be able to get out, but he continued to surprise me. "Blair, I-I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I watched
you everyday, helped you discover your abilities, but I couldn't help you, as much as I wanted too. You- you needed to be strong, you have exceeded my
expectations, battlefield."
Blair nodded, "Thank you, for everything."
"It's time." Was all the god said.
Tigris' head slumped, and he turned into a shower of golden dust that seemed to illuminate the field, and bring life and warmth to the countryside. The
necklace around my neck felt as if it was trying to reach out and grab the power.
I watched, helpless, as Blair crumbled into tears at where his hand used to be.
I didn't know what to do, so I rested my hand on her shoulder.
We stood there in silence as Blair wept. My thoughts drifted off, and I realized that this was a line of the prophecy: To end his days, battlefield will weep
at his hand.
It must have been around nine when Blair randomly stood up and walked over to the sycamore tree.
I watched as Blair took a running head start towards the tree and leaped into the first bough of the tree, which was at least fifteen feet up.
Blair kept doing the same thing until I couldn't see her anymore.
Hunter and I hardly waited at all. Blair came jumping back down from the top, this time with a magnificent sword in hand.