Chapter Thirteen: Calma prima tempesta
Zoë's POV
When I saw the vortex of sand appear, I knew that things were very bad. I knew the primordial god well enough that Chronus would only appear in front of the council if it were absolutely necessary. He didn't seem to acknowledge the other gods very much, going so far as to ignore Athena's questions. I didn't pay much attention to the words exchanged; I knew that Percy would have to leave for now. Sure enough, he glanced over his shoulder at me when Chronus began to leave. I nodded that it was okay and Percy, after the slightest hesitation, entered the vortex of sand and disappeared. 'Be safe,' I prayed. I had seen that look on Chronus' face enough times to know that things were going to get worse.
Back to reality, the council was in an uproar. Nearly every god and goddess was shouting and trying to be heard as they all said the same things. A few, like Zeus and Artemis tried to gain order, but only succeeded in adding to the overall confusion. Poseidon alone sat silently in his throne, deep in thought.
"It's a shame, isn't it?" a voice said. I turned and saw Hestia sitting beside me. I gave her a slight bow before answering.
"I suppose, but Olympus has always been this way," I said. "Even in the most dire of circumstances, the gods can find something to argue about."
Hestia smiled softly before becoming serious. The fire from the hearth dimmed a bit and the temperature dipped slightly.
"Is something the matter, Lady Hestia?" I asked. The goddess frowned and the fires in her eyes seemed to flit about restlessly.
"I am worried, worried about my family," she said. "Eris has only ever been a bane upon this world, but there was little we could do about her. Some believe the Titans, the Gigantes, or even Typhon to be our greatest enemy. But, Eris is worse than them. It is because of her that we are what we are now."
Her words surprised me, to say the least. "What do you mean," I asked. "Surely Eris could not be that terrible."
Hestia expression became grim. "I wish she wasn't," she said sadly. "Eris is the embodiment of chaos and destruction. We have always harboured a resentment and fear towards her, but we went to great lengths to appease her. Unfortunately, our mistake came in the simplest of forms. "
"Thetis' wedding," I guessed.
Hestia nodded slowly. "In her indignation, she nearly broke apart Olympus. She didn't even have to lift a finger. For ten years, she had us fight each other in a war we forced mortals to partake in. Brothers fought brothers, and Olympus hasn't seen darker days since. What's worse, her actions resulted in the eventual founding of the Roman Empire, yet another weakness of ours."
"Rome was hardly weak," I pointed out.
Hestia shrugged. "Perhaps, but do you know what the transition from Greece to Rome resulted in?" I shook my head. "Our personalities were split down the middle. I was no longer just Hestia, but Vesta as well."
Hestia's appearance slightly until she sat before me in her Roman form. Though her eyes still glowed with warmth and comfort, there was something else in them now. She seemed less like a gentle mother and more like a stern guardian who wouldn't hesitate to deal out punishment when necessary. After a moment, Vesta returned to her Greek form.
"You see, many think us to be the same, but we are very different," Hestia expla \ined. "These differences have nearly torn us apart throughout history. When our children, the Greeks and the Roman would fight, we would be caught between both and unable to choose."
"So, that is why you separated the two camps then?" I asked. "To protect yourselves and not necessarily to keep the demigods from killing each other."
Hestia bowed her head in what might have been shame. "I do not deny that that was a motive, but we were thinking of the half-bloods when the decision was made," she explained.
"I'm sorry for saying that, it was uncalled for," I apologized.
Hestia smiled softly at me. "Don't worry about it," she said. "But, back to the topic at hand; Eris has been very clever. Her children, though few and far in between, have been responsible for many of the greatest calamities in history. On June 28, 1914, a Serbian son of hers, Gavrilo Princip, killed an Austrian Archduke and his wife. This resulted in the First World War. Again, her son, Benito Mussolini, began the world on the road to the Second World War when he created the facist party in Italy. Drawing the attention of Hades' son, the esteemed Führer of Germany, he deeply influenced his decisions and drove him to war. Both of these times and so many more, Eris has had a hand in it all."
I was amazed at how much strife Eris had caused. I knew that she was bitter towards Olympus and had caused some trouble, but I never knew it was this bad.
"Wow, I never knew about any of that," I admitted.
"Yes, Eris has always been our greatest enemy," Hestia said. "Now there is this daughter of hers that can imprison Artemis and defeat her hunters like they're nothing… it scares me. It truly does."
I hadn't gotten to known the goddess of the hearth that well in the many times I had been in her presence, but I knew well enough that it took a lot to shake her. "What do we do?" I asked.
Hestia stared forward without seeing anything as the other gods continued to argue and bicker amongst themselves. "I do not know, Zoë," she said sadly. "I do not know."
Percy's POV
Darkness. Darkness is all that surrounded me. Or perhaps I simply had my eyes closed, I wasn't sure. Where was I? What was I doing here? Who was I? What was my name? All these questions and more swirled around in never ending circles in my mind. My head hurt, but I didn't know why. I wanted to touch it, but I couldn't move my arm. I couldn't feel my arm. Was I supposed to be here? What was I doing here? Where was here?
I didn't remember what happened to me. Had I died? Was this limbo or something? I felt like I wanted to scream, but I couldn't make a noise. I wanted to struggle, but I didn't have a body to move. I began to feel scared as the nothingness around me began to close in around, suffocate me.
I tried to breathe with lungs I didn't possess. If I was dead, how did I feel fear? I wanted to open my eyes, see anything besides this oppressive darkness. This nothingness. It might have been a few seconds, or eons, but I didn't know. I wanted to do something, anything. But, I could do nothing, because I was like all that surrounded me… nothing.
"Perseus," that single word tore across my whole non-existence and bathed everything in a bright, magnificent light. It seemed to speak in a whisper, but also seemed impossibly loud. The nothingness became consumed by that voice and the presence it heralded. In an instant, I remembered everything. My name was Perseus Jackson, and I was here to speak with…
"Khaos," I replied, though I didn't have a mouth to speak. "Are you Khaos?"
"I am," the voice spoke from around me. It seemed neither male, nor female, nor human, nor machine. It contained no emotion, but raw power filled the space around me. It came from everywhere at once and I felt incredibly small in comparison to my master.
"Khaos, I need your help," I said.
"I know," Khaos said.
"Will you help me?" I asked when Khaos didn't elaborate.
"Perhaps," Khaos said.
"I need to defeat, Ari," I explained. "But, I cannot do so alone."
"Will you help me?" I repeated when Khaos remained silent.
"Perhaps," Khaos said for the second time
"Please, I need you help?" I begged.
"Why?" Khaos asked.
I knew that I shouldn't be mad with Khaos, but this wasn't going as planned. "Ari is too powerful," I said. "I am too weak to defeat her."
"Power," Khaos said simply. Then, my consciousness was overloaded by a wave of pure, unrelenting power. My mind ceased to work; it registering only pain across levels I never imagined possible. I didn't know how I could endure such a force as this, but I was forced to for what felt like eternity. Finally, the energy stopped.
"You have tasted the true power of Khaos and passed through unharmed," Khaos said. "Is this what she used to defeat you?"
"No," I admitted. "It was nothing compared to that."
"Then what have you to fear?" Khaos asked.
"Nothing, but she is still very powerful," I said. "I do not know if I can best her."
"You can," Khaos said.
"I can defeat Ari?" I asked.
"Perhaps," Khaos said for the third time. "That is yet to be seen."
"You do not know?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like a feeling of amusement spread across everything for a moment.
"Go, Perseus," Khaos said. "Bring Order to the Chaos."
With Khaos' words, the plane of existence I didn't existed in seemed to dissolve around me. I had the sensation of being burned intensely before a freezing sensation spread across me. Finally, I opened my eyes to see Chronus in front of me. All strength left my body and I almost collapsed. Fortunately, Chronus caught me before I hit the ground.
"What happened?" he asked. "Did Khaos lend you aid?"
I took a moment and sucked air greedily into my screaming lungs. "I… I'm not sure," I said painfully. "Khaos said that I was ready, but I don't feel any stronger."
Chronus seemed relieved regardless. "Well, Khaos works in mysterious ways. Perhaps he has given you a strength that will only become evident when you face Ari."
"Perhaps," I said and instantly thought of Khaos. "I… I need to lie down for now. I'm really tired."
Chronus nodded sympathetically. "Of course, Perseus," he said. "Just rest for a little bit."
I made my way to my cabin with Chronus' aid and laid down on my bunk. I fell into a dreamless sleep almost immediately.
3rd Person POV
Octavian sat in the temple of Jupiter, as usual, and sacrificed countless stuffed animals in an attempt to discern the will of Olympus. With every failed reading, his frustration grew and his concentration shrank.
'Why do you abandon me?' he thought desperately. 'I only want what is best for Rome. But I need your guidance.'
"Octavian," a voice called. Octavian turned and anger welled up on him and when he saw Reyna standing in the entrance of the temple. Despite his true feelings for the praetor, the augur gave an exaggerated bow to his superior and put a relaxed expression on his face.
"Yes, my praetor, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" he asked.
Reyna glared at him, unimpressed by his display of loyalty and respect. "Jason and I have begun to notice things," she said. "Things that would destroy the reputation of the individual responsible if anyone were to find out. I believe you know what these things are, Octavian."
On the inside, Octavian was screaming in rage at Reyna's obvious blackmail. But, he maintained his facade of camp collectiveness on the outside.
"I'm afraid that I don't know what these 'things' are, my praetor," he said calmly. "But, I urge you to tread carefully. You seem to be walking a dangerous path, and I would hate it if something were to happen to you or Jason."
Reyna narrowed her eyes at the auger. She very much hated that silver tongue of his. Only her and Jason's combined leadership was enough to overpower it.
"Indeed, have a good night, Octavian," Reyna said before turning and leaving the temple.
Once she was out of earshot, Octavian furiously slaughtered the rest of his stuffed animals to relieve the anger he felt.
"Damn you, Reyna," Octavian hissed as he gripped his knife so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "You seek to lead Rome town a path towards suffering and destruction. I would see its glory restored, but I cannot so long as you and Jason are praetors."
"Perhaps we can fix that then," a feminine voice spoke.
Octavian spun around quickly in surprise and confusion. It had sounded like some one had spoken to him, but no one was there. "Is someone there?" he asked.
"In a way," the voice said.
Octavian was less than satisfied with th is answer. "Who are you?" he asked with decreasing amounts of patience.
The voice laughed at his annoyance, only adding to Octavian's anger. "For the sake of formalities, you may call me Chaos," the voice said.
"Very well, Chaos, what do you want?" Octavian asked.
"I merely wish to aid you in your goal, augur," Chaos said. "Restore the glory of Rome, crush your enemies, kill Reyna and Jason, those kinds of things."
Octavian was caught off guard by the directness of Chaos' offer. Intrigued, but surprised. "Really, and how exactly would you go about doing this?" Octavian asked to humour this mysterious ally.
More laughter. "Simple, destroy the Greeks," Chaos said bluntly.
This was not what Octavian was expecting. True, he had long suspected the existence of Greek demigods, but he had never considered them worth worrying about. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "The Greeks exist?"
"Of course they do," Chaos answered. "You were right about their existence, and you were right about their intentions."
"Intentions? They truly mean to usurp the power of Rome?" Octavian asked in part amazement and part fear.
"Yes, they're on their way here right now in fact," Chaos said. "They'll arrive at the Wolf House in two days."
So close, this was bad. "What are we to do?" Octavian asked. "Is it possible to defeat them? What are their numbers?"
Chaos laughed and the sound echoed across the domed ceiling of the temple. "Calm yourself, augur," she said. "I have a plan that will destroy the Greeks and grant you undisputed leadership of Camp Jupiter. You will restore the glory of Rome, destroy your ancient enemies, and claim the title of praetor for yourself. Who knows, perhaps you might even be crowned emperor."
Emperor, Octavian liked the idea of that very much. A small part of his mind called for caution, but a larger part, the part that had struggled and clawed its way into a position of power, saw this as the message he had been waiting for. This deal was too good to pass up.
"What must I do?" he asked.
From the shadows of the temple, Arianna Veil smiled in triumph. She had Octavian right where she wanted him
"This is what you must do," she began. "Go to your praetors, tell them that they must go to the Wolf House immediately. Send them with those most loyal to them. When they arrive, they will be greeted by a Greek war party. As powerful as your superiors may be, they won't stand a chance. However, you will realize that you've even deceived and rush to your comrades' aid. You won't arrive in time to save them, but you will avenge them. With Roman blood spilled upon Roman soil, your people will call for war. You shall grant them what they want."
With every word, Octavian became even more enraptured by Chaos' words. It all seemed so perfect. How could he say no?
"I'll do it," he said excitedly. "Those fools will finally get what's coming to them. Rome will be the center of the wold once again!"
Without warning, Octavian rushed out of the temple to set the plans into motion. Arianna's smile widened as everything went precisely as planned. She disappeared into a shadow to await the main show.
A/N the story idea for this fic belongs to Anonemuss14. Please thank her for writing such an excellent story.