Chapter Ten: Preparations For War

"It seems as though the two camps have finally joined My Lady". A kneeled man said as he faced the darkness.

Laughter resounded through the cavern. "Excellent..." it whispered from every corner. "The two camps cannot stand one another; it would be too easy to spread discord and indecision amongst the two."

"It seems as though there has already been one major disagreement My Lady. Apparently only the new god could stop them. He was most displeased."

Then we shall turn them against one another and they destroy each other easily. Once they are gone, the gods shall have no one to champion for them!"

This time, it was the laughter of several beings that rocketed around the stone and earth walls, magnifying their voices until it seemed as though it was unending in the darkness.

After Percy felt as though he had adequately calmed down, he made his way back to the Camp the normal way. No flashing, no moving at instant speeds, just walking casually, and taking the time to enjoy the feel of the ground under his feet, the sounds of giggling from the nymphs that lived in the trees as they caught sight of him intermingling with the music of the forest, and the scent and touch of the sea breeze against his cheek.

'That's one of the reasons why I love this place,' he thought, 'No matter where I am, I can always smell the ocean.' He hummed contentedly as he neared the first outcrop of the camp, and saw that everything was pretty much deserted by now. The only evidence that there had been a massive disagreement was the few satyrs scattered around who were just cleaning up the last of it.

Nodding to each of them as they bowed when they saw him, he swung around and headed off to the eating area; if the camp was this empty then it was most likely that's where everyone was. Or the amphitheatre. Judging by the time of day, it would most likely be that everyone is eating. He had some recollection of telling everyone that they'd eat once they'd settled down, and after that mess, he could definitely say they were settled down by now.

Nearing the columns that announced the doorway to the open area, he took a deep breath and schooled his features into a calm, serene expression that was nothing like the cold mask that he had worn earlier on when his anger at the campfire. With steely determination, he turned to face the music.

The moment that he stepped through the twin columns flanking him, all talking ceased. Percy noted that there were extra tables set out with each cabin for the Roman demigods, and Lupa was seated to the other side of Percy' chair on the big table. With deliberate steps he gracefully prowled forward, and every eye was on him until he reached his place. When he seated himself with completely no haste whatsoever, and apathetically stared at them all from his chair, they all knew that they weren't forgiven yet.

"You," he pointed to a random demigod seated at on the extra tables. The demigod he had chosen immediately stumbled to his feet, white-faced and answered "Yes sir?"

"Could you defeat an army?"

The question caused the demigod to become even paler as the connotation hidden in the question cause his mind to summon all kinds of gruesome situations, each one where he died horrible and outnumbered.

"No."

"And you," he selected another random hero, seated at a different table, who also hurried to stand. "Could you defeat a god?"

Again, the implications were thickly layered in the question, and the chosen once again answered with a solemn refusal. All of them knew that they wouldn't be able to stand against an army or a god, with a chance of winning without some miracle.

"Now, if you couldn't defeat and army, nor a god, how do you think you would fair against a Titan?" Both answered that they would never be able to, which led Chiron and Lupa onto the idea of what Percy was doing.

'Very clever, Percy' Chiron thought, as he watched the rapt audience as they waited for his next question.

"Now, I never expected you to be able to face any of them alone. So what if I asked you, could you face an army with just your camp standing with you?"

A couple of the older ones started to get the idea, particularly the ones who had fought with Percy before. Clarisse let a feral grin spread across her face as she remembered the way she had chewed out the Ares/Mars campers after Percy had left. 'Thought they would've been smarter to know not to go against a god' she snorted mentally, and she turned her head to scan the other elder demigods.

Travis and Connor were trying to maintain straight faces it seemed, and she could definitely see the glint of humour in Will's eye as he saw the panic on some of the kids faces. Even Nyssa and the leader of the Hephaestus cabin Jake had also twigged onto what was happening. But the ones who didn't know Percy were completely convinced that Percy was serious in his veiled threats.

The nymphs who served seemed to have a general idea of what their Lord of the camp was trying to say but still they shivered at the thought of his anger as it had been earlier. None of them wanted to face a god's anger again. With Dionysus, it was never an anger like Lord Perseus' but rather a madness that would take root in your mind and fester if he so wished it to. Percy was unpredictable like the sea that he had been born form and that in itself could be more terrifying as they never knew how he would react.

Those who had seen him in battle were also more than a little scared, especially those who had fought with him during the last stand in New York. The way that he had fought had been breathtaking and frightening at the same time, especially when he had faced off against the Titan Hyperion.

Percy leaned forward slightly and the look in his eyes intensified. "So? If your camp was standing beside you, would you fight an army, a god or a titan?"

Some of them began to shuffle, until one of the Ares campers stood up and said, "Damn right I would! And we'd beat them too!"

Percy just looked at him, before turning to face the Roman equivalent. "And do you think the same?" His voice was much softer now and smooth as though he had expected the same answer.

"Yes, sir. " They answered as one.

"Well then. This is interesting. If you would both stand with your camps to fight against overwhelming odds, and you both believe that you would win, why can you not stand together and give yourself and your camps the greater chance of survival? He rose an eyebrow into what he knew was a condescending look, as he waited for them to figure it out. 'I wonder how long it'll take them, by the looks of it some of the older ones already know. Maybe they can actually sort this mess out on their own...'

It was after the meal that Percy, Lupa, Chiron and the Councillors of all of the cabins met in the dining area. The usual meeting room that was used n the Big House wasn't large enough to hold all of them, as there was twice the number of leaders there as usual, so they converged at the middle table near the fire.

'I swear, as soon as this war is over, I'm going to build a meeting area at this camp.' Percy grouched n his mind as he watched them all beginning to settle down. Lupa, Chiron and himself stayed seated at the head table.

"Now, I believe that the first thing to do would be to strengthen the fortifications around the camp. We already have Peleus guarding the Golden Fleece, but if he is overcome then the majority of our defences will fall."

Clarisse and the Roman leader for the children of Mars, Rick, stood up together. "We can organise a rota for teams to patrol the borders." Rick said.

"Yes," Clarisse agreed. "With twice the number of demigods, it will make it easier on all of us, and we can have more on each team."

"Also, we can have a variety of demigods in each group." Rick continued. "Instead of just having a group of swordfighters, there should be a child of Apollo as well, as an archer and healer, as well as at least one from each cabin. That way, we can have several different skills on each team so that they'll be more well-rounded, and able to deal with threats."

Nodding absently, he agreed "Yes, it means that the teams are less likely to be overwhelmed, and more able to deal with threats. Spreading out the talents evenly."

Chiron turned to face Percy and said, "It also means that we'll be able to increase the training regime for the cabins that don't usually focus on fighting techniques, as we won't have to include them in the patrols just to make up the numbers."

At this, the daughter of Venus, Marianne, stood up, "We have already talked to our Greek siblings, and they have agreed to join our training until they are able to fight well-enough."

"Agreed, but once they're up to par then they'll have to be introduced to the teams, so that there isn't too much pressure on just part of the camps." Percy said to her, which she accepted with grace before being seated once again.

Percy turned this time to Lupa, who was seated at the other side of him. "Lady Lupa, whilst we were at you Legion camp, we saw several of your training practices until the attack. Would it be possible for you to replicate them here, to help bring the weaker cabins up to scratch? We would, of course, introduce your demigods to our own training methods, but it would help cover weaknesses in both camps."

Lupa stared at him for a long, tense moment, before speaking. "We do not disclose our methods of training very easily but in times of war it may be necessary. I shall oversee the training of the young warriors if Chiron would do the same for mine."

Chiron inclined his head gratefully, "Of course I shall." He responded with a smile.

'He's probably desperate to find out how they train,' Percy thought to himself fondly, a small smile playing along his lips, 'Always wanting to know more...'

"Anyways," someone broke his train of thought from knowledge-mad centaurs and he looked up to see that it was Chris who had spoken, "The demigods who went to the Roman camp can also help supervise and help out, if we can get together with the others who are planning on leading the training?" His voice lilted at the end, making it a question, and some of the other leaders around the table nodded. Already, the bare bones of the war were starting to be formed, and the only thing they could do now was prepare.

Just before the meeting was about to end, Percy called out "One final thing. I may not be here at certain times, as I will be trying to find out more about the enemy and I will need to report to the council, but when I am here, I will be teaching the heads of classes certain techniques, which they are to then pass onto the classes they teach and so on. We will also be holding mock tournaments for half of the camp each week, on rotation, so that the camp will not be completely defenceless, but also to give the demigods a chance to try out these new skills. Until then." And with a nod to Chiron and Lupa, Percy vanished.

When Percy reappeared, he was standing in front of the thrones of the Olympians. They were all seated, and had apparently been in the middle of a discussion which he'd interrupted.

"Lord Perseus." Zeus intoned. "Report."

CHAPTER END