We sat down in a tent, set up just outside of town.
"So, now that we're in calmer settings, tell me. What is your quest, and why are you here, of all places?"
We told her everything, from the arrival of Daniel to Camp, to what happened at the Military Checkpoint. The only details I left out was that about Jenny. That was something I wanted to discuss in private with her.
I knew who Thalia Grace was, all Demigods from Camp Half-Blood did. She had been the Second-in-Command of Artemis ever since the Second Titan War.
After our Alliance with the Romans, the Hunters of Artemis distanced themselves further and further from the Greeks. Once the Heroes of the Argo II died out, they cut off all communications.
"I see," Thalia said, massaging her temple. "It seems believable. I'm sure the Greeks aren't just here because of this reason though. You're looking for Jenny Jackson."
"How did you-"
"After living for this long, I know what Demigods will do to save friends. We weren't exactly too subtle either. We're sorry for Kidnapping her."
"Why did you do it?" I said, narrowing my eyes.
"She's got connections to people even she doesn't realize. Artemis told us to get her, no matter what. A war is brewing, and rules are upturned."
"But where is she?"
"Now that's why I've called all hunters here. A small group of Hunters, along with her, went on an expedition to find a few symbols. Nothing important. We've lost all connection with them, and there's definitely trouble brewing in the air."
"Where did you send her?" I asked, my expression darkening.
"A Small City in Oklahoma. Tulsa I think it was. Why?"
"God damn it. We have to get them NOW!" I yelled.
"We're already working on it!" Thalia yelled back, not understanding why I was shouting.
"You don't understand! That city is inside Tornado Alley."
"Well... Yes."
"When Tartarus attacked Hades, he raised most monsters from the depths of himself. One of the most powerful being, Typhon. He's still weak from his battle with the Gods, so the Wind Gods have been able to keep him in a location they had been using to vent his rage for millennia. That's Tornado Alley."
Thalia paled and sat back down in her Campaign Chair.
"You are correct then, we have no time to waste."
"Hold on, wait a second." Julius interrupted, standing up from his seat.
Thalia raised an eyebrow. Two Huntresses pressed Knives to the neck of Julius. He stopped, a bead of sweat trickling down his nose. He held up his hands.
The lieutenant of the Hunters held up her palm, signaling for the two Huntresses to stand down. They followed their orders.
"Speak, Centurion." She smiled.
"We've still got a quest here! We have to take this Queen to Florida. I've lost too many men to fuck around like this."
"In that case, you may come with us until we reach our destination, then you can continue on your way to Florida."
Julius huffed but agreed.
"We don't have any time to waste, it's going to take us too long to reach the place by foot. We have to ask for help."
"Not the Sun Guy, please." A Hunter muttered beside me.
"We have to Katrin, we have no choice."
"Wait, Apollo is back?" I asked, a glimmer of hope in it.
"No, not quite. He has a... Replacement. You'll see."
Without saying anything else, Thalia walked outside.
Daniel
"Harold," I said, walking up to my second-in-command.
"Ah, Sir. It's good to meet you." He smiled, looking over me. I was wearing a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, and some blue jeans. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that I wasn't wearing any weapons. I smiled, knowing something he didn't.
"Well, I'm guessing you were also quite busy."
"Yes. I was. Now, before I tell you everything I changed, you have one thing to do."
"What?"
"I'll let you figure that out." He smirked, leading me outside of the town walls. A few hundred meters from them, a Podium had been set up. Daedalus and his two sons already stood next to it, all of them looking at me with smiles on their face.
"A Speech," I muttered.
"The soldiers need to hear something from you," Harold told me. "I decided to reform their uniforms as well, but you'll notice that quite quickly. Daedalus helped a lot with it, making new armor for the troops that needed it."
"Okay, call them here."
"Very well." He waved his arms at someone on the walls, and a horn blared a few seconds later, followed by dozens more, all taking up the call.
"I'll take my place."
"Uhh, I'm not one to give you tips on your fashion, but I think you should be in something less casual. It'll be better if they see you as an Assassin, and not as a Demigod from Camp Half-Blood."
"Oh right, yeah. Sorry." I closed my eyes, and I felt the warm touch of Chaos.
Harold Gasped.
When I opened my eyes once again, I was wearing my Robes, along with all of my weapons.
"How-"
"I learned a lot."
"Well, I can see that." He chuckled. "But let's talk later."
I heard the clunk of the Gate, and nodded, walking up to the podium.
In the matter of a few minutes, I started to feel the ground rumble.
The first soldiers cleared the hills, and I breathed sharply. Beside me, Harold was smiling.
It seemed never-ending.
The first thing that caught my eye was that every soldier wore a cloak on their back. They were different with every Group of soldiers marching.
"LEGION ONE. HALT!" Roared a Voice, which I realized was the newly appointed General Emilio Rayez
There were multiple cloak colors in the Legion.
General Rayez Wore a Golden Cloak, a design clearly imprinted onto it.
"That's your symbol," Harold muttered into my ear.
It was a phoenix, holding two swords, one in each claw. Its tail was black, and above it was a Black Crown.
Surrounding the General were two dozen soldiers, all wearing purple cloaks. Behind them were Hundreds of Men and Women, wearing either a red or a blue cloak, their plumes matching.
In the hands of the Red ones, were two meter long glaives, along with an upgraded version of the Shields I saw in the battle for Wilnos It looked less like a Roman Shield, and more like something from a Fantasy Novel. The Face of the shield was made up of small black scales of Chaos Metal, it's length covering the soldiers from neck to ankles, it's width spanning the entire soldier, and some of the next one too. The glaives didn't look out of place either, it's head decorated with beautiful swirls of Chaos Metal, ending in a spike. Next to the spike were two bardiche-like heads, and I knew how to use one just from looking at it. Its weighting was good enough to be used one-handed, in a shield wall, while it could still deal death in single combat.
On both sides of their hip hung two swords, one longer than the other.
Their Armor Looked familiar, and yet slightly different. Instead of plates making up their armor, like the traditional Roman way, it was now made of tiny Scales, just like the shield. They now had a face mask on, which protected them without also causing negative effects, and there wasn't a single area of their body not covered in Chaos Metal Armor. I smiled at that, knowing the losses of soldiers would be at a minimum now.
The Blue cloaks behind them were slightly different. Instead of shields, they had bows in their hand, nearly the same size as the Glaives, along with two Quivers on their back, and two short swords at their hip, similar to what the Red Cloaks wore. Their armor was lighter, Joints only had chainmail on it, not scales.
I took a closer look at the Purple cloaks and it seemed like a combination of both blue and red cloaks. They had a Shield in their hand, with my symbol on it, two swords on their hip, a glaive, a shorter bow with one quiver of arrows, and a small hatchet.
A line of a Few hundred Horsemen then appeared behind the First Legion, all wearing green cloaks. I had never seen horseriders before, but they were majestic, each of them in the same armor as the Archers were in, their horses also wearing special scale armor, and they had a longsword strapped to their back, and two shortswords on their hip. I noticed a Glaive slung into each saddle, along with a short bow and a quiver of arrows on the other side.
"FIRST LEGION." They roared, all of them saluting in unison.
This happened Four more times, each of them with the same setup. Every legion had at least Two-Thousand soldiers in it, making the people already in front of me number in the ten thousand.
A metallic clanking came forth from the top of the hills, and in came the Automatons. They were covered in black plates of Chaos metal, and they all held a multitude of weapons. Massive Two Headed Bardiche, Maces with spiked balls the size of the Automatons head, and a weapon I could not name. A wooden pole, with a chain attached to its top, and from the chain dangled a double-headed axe blade.
They didn't salute, just stood there, easily more than a thousand of them.
Drums sounded from the town after the metal clunking stopped, and soon enough, a group of about a thousand soldiers came over the hills. They were my Assassin Brothers.
I had never seen them wearing battle armor before, but now they were. Made up of scales, but far more flexible, they wore the standard gear we had before the Reformation.
In front of the Normal Assassins, Fifteen or Sixteen People walked, some of them wearing the normal Assassin Equipment, others with weapons I hadn't seen in an Assassin's hand before., but the black armor was also decorated with the color of copper. It was like what the Girl, June, was wearing now a month ago.
Finally, in front of them, my personal guard, the Guardians of the Mountain walked. Thirty-Two of them. They had their entire silver armor on, the black plumes flew from their helmets. They also held glaives, but along with that, they had two curved swords on their back, a quiver at their hip, filled with short arrows. No bow though, instead they had small crossbows hidden under their forearms.
They stopped right in front of me, before saluting.
A rumbling came next, along with the audible creak of wheels. The Siege weaponry arrived. There was so much more compared to last time, that I couldn't even begin to fathom what each new machine was capable of doing.
Ballistae, Scorpions, Onagers, Cannons, so many different things that I couldn't properly make out each and every one.
More marching, but this time, it was only audible, the ground didn't shake anymore.
Hundreds of soldiers walked over the hill this time, but they wore cloaks of Orange.
All of them Carried Muskets, with two Swords crossed over their back. They wore similar armor to what the Archers wore.
Behind them came a few hundred more soldiers, in a deeper shade of blue. They carried crossbows, with two quivers full of Bolts, and the same two swords crossed upon their own back.
I looked behind myself and noticed that the port, which gave a home to only Seven Ships only a month ago, now housed more than two hundred ships, including the Capital Ship, my ship, the Titaness. Crew members were running around them like tiny ants, preparing each ship for war.
Yet more rumbling, but this time, confusion replaced the smile on Harold's face.
Soldiers in gold and black dotted Armor came down the slope, lead by someone carrying a staff topped with a Phoenix. Each soldier carried two Short swords on their back and in their hands, they held a staff with a large sword blade on its top end.
"Jonathan," I muttered, smiling.
"The Temple Guardians," Harold said to himself.
They stopped at the very back, and then it was incredibly quiet.
I looked at Harold, who nodded.
Before talking, I wetted my lips, and the words came flooding out.
"BRETHREN. TODAY, IT IS FINALLY TIME. WE. TAKE. THIS. FIGHT. TO. THEM!"
They cheered in unison.
"NEVER HAS ANYONE SEEN A FINER ARMY IN THE HISTORY OF MAN. TARTARUS HIMSELF WILL TREMBLE BEFORE OUR NEW-FOUND MIGHT. I PROMISE YOU, BROTHERS, THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, THE BATTLES WE WILL RAGE AGAINST THE ENEMY WILL BE UNFORGOTTEN FOR GENERATIONS. SO LET IT BE KNOWN TO ANYONE WHO WAS IN DOUBT OF OUR POWER BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER WEAK."
More cheering, nearly drowning out my own voice.
"THEY ATTACKED US. ATTACKED OUR LOVED ONES. THAT IS SOMETHING THEY CAN NOT GET AWAY WITH. WE WILL SHOW THEM THE POWER OF CHAOS."
Every soldier started either stomping their foot or smacking their shield. So loud was it, that I could feel the ground shake underneath me.
"NOW GET READY FOR WE - WE. MARCH. FOR. WAR."
I looked at Harold, who smiled at me.
Sophia
We stood outside the Camp of the Hunters, only 18 of us left from the quest. Beside me stood Thalia, her black hair tied back in a ponytail, looking at her watch.
Surrounding us were ten other Hunters, all looking angrily at the sky.
"Where is he?" Thalia muttered. Only ten minutes ago, she had let loose a pigeon, whispering something into its ear beforehand. The Pigeon had flown straight towards the sun.
"Maybe it's burnt up?" Robert offered, getting a few angry glances from the Hunters of Artemis.
The sun looked the same.
"Aha, there he is," Thalia said.
I shaded my eyes, looking towards the sun. It did seem to get brighter a bit.
"Don't look at him while he lands, or you'll go blind," Thalia Warned, and we instantly looked away.
I felt the sun burn brighter and brighter, searing my skin. Then it was gone.
"Well, hello there ladies." Said a Male voice, followed by the slamming of a Car Door.
I looked up to see a tall man come striding towards us. He looked incredibly handsome, otherworldly in fact. He had perfect abs, and it could be clearly seen, for he wore a Chiton.
"Don't even try, Titan," Thalia Growled, stopping the Titan in his tracks.
She then sighed. "Demigods, this is Helios."
He grinned at them, and something fluttered in her heart.
Susan pinched her arm.
I looked at her angrily.
"Charmspeak." She whispered, before turning back.
"Helios, we need you to take us somewhere."
His grin turned into a frown in an ugly way.
"Is this what Apollo would have done?" He asked.
"Yes," Thalia said, without hesitation.
"Fine." He stomped back to his Ferrari and put his hand onto it. The Ferrari Glowed for a second, making everyone look away, and then it was gone, replaced with a Mini-Bus.
"Get in." He muttered, and one by one, we got in. There was space for all of us. "And where do you ladies and gents want to go?"
"Tulsa."
"Fine by me." He stomped on the gas pedal, and we were speeding up into the sky.
"We'll get there in a few minutes," He said.
"How come you're the Sun God, I thought you retired," Robert asked.
"Sun Titan." He corrected with a sigh. "And frankly, I don't know, Son of Hephaestus. With Apollo gone Zeus kind of forced me back into this job. I was so happy in retirement. Girls, Parties, Ambrosia to last for a lifetime, anything that a God like me could want. Then boom, I'm back in the Sun Chariot, except times have changed, and the horses aren't needed anymore. It's lonely work."
I suddenly felt bad for the Titan. The Silence was quickly broken, as the Titan laughed.
"We're gonna land in a few seconds. Get-" The Entire bus lurched to a stop in mid-air, which would have sent us flying, if not for the seatbelts.
"What are you doing Helios?" Boomed a voice.
"Zephyrus." He laughed. "Hello Old Friend."
A man appeared from thin air, Big bushy wings behind him.
"I thought you retired." The God of the West wind said, "And why are you riding with Demigods?" He questioned, looking at us.
"While Apollo is Gone, I'm taking his place. Zeus's Orders. Those back there are the Hunters of Artemis, they asked for some transport."
"You know what's in front of you?"
"Yeah, Tornado Alley. Lots of rogue winds."
"It's not just that anymore, it's now a prison for a Giant."
"You mean..."
"Typhon."
"How are you keeping him here? He isn't exactly in the same category as a god, or really a Titan."
"He's still weak from his defeat from the Second Titan War. That's helped us a lot."
"Ah I see, well, will you let us pass?"
"If you wish to die, or be crushed, feel free to go. But be aware, I cannot let you back out again. We were less careful a few months ago, but he's gained a lot of strength since then. You can go in, but not come out. Not from the Air at least."
I heard Helios gulp.
"We're going in there," Thalia said.
"It's your deathwish lady," Zephyrus said. "In that Case, good luck."
He disappeared with a pop, and Helios Shrugged, before starting the Mini-Bus again, and slowly rolling through an invisible barrier of air, before continuing at full speed.
"And... We're here." He said a few seconds later, landing the Mini-Bus close to the town of Tulsa. "Be Quick about it."
Quickly getting off of the Mini-Bus we looked around.
In the distance, storm clouds were gathering.
"Let's go, before it's too late," Thalia told us, before we all ran towards the town, knowing full well what those Storm Clouds brought.
Death.
Daniel
"So Harold Guide me through the Reforms, quickly. Daedalus you can help." I said, standing in the Meeting Room with the Leaders of the Island.
"We've made the Soldiers form into Legions, one Legion Containing Two and a half thousand soldiers, not counting the Commanding Officer and the Twelve Praetorians. There's One thousand Infantry Units, another thousand Archers, and Five Hundred Horsemen per Legion. Each Legion of Foot Soldiers can be Split into 20 Cohorts, Each one containing Fifty Archers and Fifty Infantrymen. Every Infantry and Archer group has a Centurion, each of them marked with a small phoenix over their heart." Harold Started.
"The Armor and Equipment Have been made similarly with each unit type, yet they have small differences to better fit them. The Scales are better than plates, allow more mobility, and they spread the shock of an attack over a big area. The Shields are made so that they interlock perfectly, with a release button under the fingers of whoever carries a shield. It releases an extra part of the shield at the bottom." Daedalus Said.
"A Shield wall is made the following way, and it's much better than how we've done it in the past. The First wall of Infantrymen have their shields face forwards, and behind them is a second row, who, with the help of the extensions can cover the top of the First and Second row. After the Second Row, we have a line of Archers, then a Line of Infantrymen again, and it goes on until the Cohort has no more units. This way, the Infantrymen Can cover the Archers, and still allow them to fire from between the Ranks if the need arises. The Glaives given to each soldier will bristle from the front, stopping any charge in its tracks."
"Amazing work. What of the Specialized units?"
"The Orange Cloaked Soldiers are the Musketmen, trained with Special Muskets. There are Eight-Hundred of them, and they can pierce through Literally anything. The Dark Blue Cloaked Units are Crossbowmen, One and a Half-Thousand of them. They have Repeating Crossbows, which cancels the need for a long and hard reload."
"The Automatons, while they have Strong Armor in General, Have been equipped with Heavy Plates of Chaos Metal, Apart from the Caterpillar Tracks, they could pass for Tanks. They hold a number of weapons that are perfect for Automaton Strength. A charge of all Two thousand of them can Easily Break anything in their path."
"And the Siege Engines?"
"I've created many new Siege Engines, however talking through the use of each one would take forever, so let's just say they are adequately good. Most of them won't be good in open battle, but for the defensive purposes need right now, they excel at it."
"The Assassins?"
"They'll Be wherever they need to be, nothing has really changed about them, except for the battle armor. There are Eight-Hundred and Sixty-Eight of them. The Phoenix Legion will be coming with me to Sardinia."
Then I raised an eyebrow and Jonathan.
"The Temple Guards?" He asked. I nodded, and he continued, "After much deliberation with the Oracle, we have come to the conclusion that the Duties of the Temple Guard can be overlooked right now, therefore you have two hundred Elite Guards at your service."
"Thank you. To all of you, for your hard work."
"We have more than Two hundred ships, and if we count the Crew of the Ships and the Siege Engines, we're taking more than Twenty-Thousand Soldiers with us."
"Very good. Do you have any news from the Encampment being built by the Scouts."
"While you were training, We sent a few hundred Worker Automatrons to help out, and recently we've gotten the word that it's nearly built. You'll be surprised to see what they've done in this amount of time."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Daedalus then looked at me.
"Sir, I have one request though, which I hope you can fulfill."
"I think we'll be able to do it. What's the Request?"
"You'll be Close to Rome when you travel to Sardinia, and I ask you to look for a Workshop, hidden for many millennia now. They Contain some things Blueprints that I could really use."
"Where is this Workshop?
"If I remember correctly It's in the Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa. It's under the Statue of the Virgin Mary, Under the Resting Place of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. You've got a Son of Hephaestus in the Phoenix Legion If I'm correct, he'll know how to unlock the many locks of the place."
"Alright, we'll do it."
"Thank you."
"Now to work, gentlemen. Get the Soldiers to board the Ships, and we'll be off. First, we'll land at the Fortress, and then we'll carry on from there, on the Titaness. I'll Leave General Reyes in command of the Defenses. Try and hold out until we return."
"Will try my best."
"Good, let's be off then," I said, clapping my hands together.