Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: Champion of the Pit: Destiny's Warrior

Chapter 11: Daughter of Erebus and Nyx

Mines of Tartarus

Percy used his new found time powers to shorten the trip back to the mines by half. He stumbled across a few half-naked Keres on his way to his hellish home, but they were easily dispatched. He walked into the mines and passed the workers. He never looked at anyone as his mind was centered on reaching his home with Perses. He walked down the long hallway to his home. He passed a few Empousae; they were again naked from the waist up and barely had much on below that. They swayed their hips and blew kisses toward Percy, but when he glared at them with swirling green eyes that glowed with a golden outline they all froze with wide eyes. Percy stormed passed them until he reached the door to his home. He knocked on the door and waited for Perses to answer. The Titan of destruction opened the door; his molten eyes stared into the swirling green eyes of the son of Poseidon. A broad smile stretched across the stony face of the Titan.

"You have done well," Perses said.

Percy grinned at his mentor. "Kronos wasn't even that tough," he said.

Perses chuckled. "I should hope not, but defeating him was minor. The real test was the trek to the prison," Perses explained.

Percy nodded. "Kampe was tougher, but once I defeated Kronos, even her power was no match for my own."

"I should hope not, you have the power of the Titan lord, he was close to fading, therefore he was unable to wield his full power, but you can. You must master his powers before you can go to your next test," Perses informed.

Percy gave his mentor a curious look. "Next test, I thought I was gathering more power for the arena?"

Perses nodded. "Life is full of tests, you gather power for the arena, but most of all you test yourself."

Percy nodded, but it was clear that he didn't really understand. "When is the next quest?"

"On your return, I was ordered by Lord Tartarus to bring you to his palace," Perses replied.

Percy's green eyes darkened. "That doesn't sound good."

"Don't worry, Tartarus may not be the nicest of deities, but he is honorable," Perses said.

"When do we leave," Percy asked. Tartarus opened the door to their cell. "No better time than the present," he replied as he motioned for Percy to leave. Percy sighed. "No rest for the weary," he added.

Perses led the son of Poseidon out of the mines and toward the great palace of Tartarus. Two giant guards dressed in blood red armor flanked the entrance to the palace. Perses and Percy stepped up to the giants. Perses looked at each giant closely before he said, "We are here to see Lord Tartarus."

The giants bowed their heads and opened the doors to the throne room of the palace. The Titan and the son of Poseidon entered the throne room before they began the short march to the great red and black throne that stood at the end of the room. They reached the throne and bowed their heads before a puff of red smoke filled the room, it settled upon the throne. The smoke began to spin and coalesce until the primordial god of the pit sat before them with a wicked grin on his face, his long canines shined brightly in the low light of the room.

"Perses, it has been a while my old friend," Tartarus said.

Perses stood and bowed his head once more toward the primordial god. "Yes, my lord, as you can see, young Perseus has fulfilled his quest."

Tartarus turned his gaze toward the son of Poseidon. Percy's head was bowed as he knelt on one knee. "Perseus," Tartarus said. Percy looked up. "You may stand."

Percy stood to his full height. Tartarus smiled; Percy had grown a little since his time in the pit. It wasn't unheard of for a young immortal to age some here in the pit considering the strange effects that the pit had on immortality. Percy now stood six feet two inches tall, instead of his previous six feet. "Yes my lord," Percy said. He looked into the blood red eyes of the deity. He saw a flicker of recognition in Tartarus's eyes. "You asked to see me my lord."

Tartarus nodded. "Yes, I wanted to congratulate you on the defeat of the Titan lord. He had been growing weak and therefore he wasn't much of a threat, but as an old wise man once said, "The test is in the journey," Tartarus said.

"Thank you my lord," Percy said. He had learned much from Perses, but one of the most important lessons was to respect those more powerful than you. "If that is all my lord, I would like to return to my training."

"In just a moment," Tartarus began. Tartarus stood from his throne before he stepped down to address Percy eye to eye. "You wish to fight in the arena, is that correct?"

"Yes my lord," Percy replied.

Tartarus smiled. "To be eligible to fight in the arena you must have either fought in a previous tournament or defeated one of the previous champions in combat," Tartarus informed. Percy looked at Perses, but the Titan just shrugged his shoulders. "I take it that my old friend left that part out." Percy nodded. Tartarus chuckled, but the sound was anything but comforting. "Well, you have never fought in a tournament here in Tartarus before, therefore you must defeat a former champion. "I understand my lord," Percy said.

"Good, I have scheduled a fight with a former champion at the end of the week," Tartarus said.

Percy nodded. "Thank you my lord." Tartarus nodded before he stepped back to his throne and sat down. "You may leave." He waved his hand; Percy and Perses left the throne room. The doors to the palace closed behind them when they exited.

Percy glared at Perses. "Why didn't you say anything?" Percy asked.

"It would not have helped your training," Perses said.

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "We better get back to start training," he groused.

The two walked back to the mines as they walked down the long corridor toward their home. Percy saw the monsters watching him and whispering about his fight with a champion of the pit. It was clear to Percy that the monsters didn't give him much of a chance in such a fight. Perses opened the door to their cell before they stepped inside. Percy walked into the room before he strode toward the training area. He opened the steel door and entered the large warehouse-like room. Perses followed him. There was tension in the air, but Percy couldn't hold a grudge, especially against his mentor.

"Do I stand a chance against a champion of the pit?" Percy asked worriedly.

Perses sat on the ground cross-legged before he looked into the boy's eyes. "Yes, only if you train yourself to use your new power."

Percy nodded before he too sat on the ground with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes before he concentrated on the water within his blood. Percy stretched out his feelings toward the ground below him; he had learned to use the power of the earth. He wasn't as powerful as Gaea or a child of the earth, but his control of earthquakes had grown since he began training with Perses. The ground under Percy began to shake, but nowhere else. Perses smiled at his student.

Perses pushed a bucket of water between the two of them. "Concentrate on the water in front of you."

Percy's concentration intensified. The bucket slid across the floor a few inches before a ball of water floated into the air. The small earthquake continued beneath the son of Poseidon. The ball of water changed into a small trident, and then into a sword.

Perses picked up a rock and threw it at Percy. On pure instinct the water ball intercepted the rock. The rock floated in the air surround by the ball of water. "Move the water around the rock, begin to wear the surface down," Perses instructed. The ball of water began to move around the rock like a stream. The water began to carve into the rock, but at a slow pace. "Now is your time powers to create a field around the ball of water, increase the passage of time within the field. Percy concentrated harder until a golden light formed around the ball of water. The water appeared to pick up speed, but it really hadn't, instead seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and hours became days. The passage of time increased within the sphere of light until the water had completely evaporated away. The rock fell to the ground and the golden light faded.

Perses picked the rock off the ground and examined it. Once, the rock was the size of the Titan's fist, but now it was a pebble, the size of button. The edges of the pebble were worn down smooth until the rock was small ball. Perses's grin widened. "You may open your eyes," Perses said. Percy opened his eyes before Perses tossed the pebble to the demigod. Percy caught the object before he opened his hand to the look at the small rock that sat in the palm of his hand. "Cool," he said excitedly. Perses chuckled at his student's attitude. "We must continue training, you only have a week to train for your fight," Perses replied.


The Canadian Wilderness...

In a cave deep within the Canadian wilderness a throne made of sunbeams and clouds floated within a cavern the size of a three-story house. On the throne sat a beautiful woman. The woman had platinum blonde hair with sky blue eyes. Her skin was tanned and her long hair flowed passed her shoulders. She wore a white Greek chiton that reached her ankles.

A burst of fire in the center of the cave drew the attention of the woman. She looked down at the fire and smiled. Suddenly, a young girl about eight years old stepped out of the fire. She wore a mousy brown robe with a hood. She pulled off the hood to reveal long brown hair that was braided down her back, her eyes smoldered like the flames of the fire she had stepped out of. The young girl bowed before the woman on the throne.

The woman on the throne smiled at the young girl. "It is good to see you again Hestia," the woman said.

Hestia stood from her bow and smiled at the woman before her. "It is good to see you Hemera," she said.

Hermera's smile widened from her throne. "It is always delightful to be visited by one of my great grandchildren."

Hestia's smile faded away. "I'm afraid that I bear bad news."

"What kind of news my dear?" Hemera questioned.

"My family is close to being torn apart, my power hungry and paranoid little brother's rule is close to an end," Hestia replied.

Hemera frowned. "Although Zeus has brought this upon himself, I can see the pain in your eyes. I fear as you do, that much bloodshed could occur because of such a conflict."

Hestia nodded solemnly. "I agree; I just wanted to inform you. What will you and other primordials do in such a conflict?"

Hemera sighed. "We did not fight with Gaea, except for Tartarus, and he could only help from the pit. There are very few of us left, as long as the world is not in danger, we shall not interfere in your family's conflict." Hestia smiled at her great grandmother's words. "However…" Hestia's smile faded. "However, I have grave news of my own. I was visited in a vision by my grandfather and grandmother."

Hestia looked at Hemera with a questioning stare.

"You are thinking who my grandparents are?" Hemera questioned. Hestia nodded. "My parents were Erebus and Nyx." Hestia nodded again. "Erebus was not a child of Chaos." Hestia's surprised expression did not shock the goddess. "You were taught that all the primordial gods came from Chaos and his children, but that isn't true."

"I was taught that Chaos wasn't a being, but more of a celestial object or power source," Hestia said.

Hemera nodded. "Yes, unfortunately, that isn't true." Hestia motioned for the goddess to continue. "Chronus and Ananke were the first beings. They created the universe from the great cosmic egg. Once the universe was created they had three children, Aether, Erebus and Chaos."

"They are three male gods. How were the other primordials born?" Hestia questioned.

"Chaos was the most powerful of the brothers, and therefore he created children directly from his essence. His children had no mother," Hemera explained.

"That's why all of Chaos's children are alive, while many of the other primordials have faded," Hestia reasoned.

Hemera smiled at the goddess's logic. "Yes, there are very few of the children of Aether and Erebus left. However, that doesn't mean that all children of Chaos are evil, like Gaea. Far from it, most children of the primordial gods are not peaceful, unless they are provoked."

Hestia took in all of this information. She knew that her niece Athena would love to speak to Hemera about the true origins of the primordial gods. "So, you were visited in a vision by Chronus and Ananke."

Hemera nodded. "Yes, they said that a great danger moves towards this galaxy; a danger that threatens the universe, but Earth in particular."

Hestia's face paled. "What danger?" she asked.

Hemera leaned forward on her throne. It was hard for the primordial goddess to conceive of the danger that approached them. "Chaos and his minions are coming."

AN: This story is based greatly on the Orphic tradition of the creation of the universe and the primordial deities as was discussed here by Hemera and Hestia. Hemera is grandparents to the eldest Olympians because in the Orphic tradition Ouranos was the son of Aether and Hemera. Which champion of the pit will Percy face in the arena? Will there be a civil war on Olympus? How will the Olympians react to the news that Hestia will deliver? Stay tuned more to come.