The Spark

War is brewing. Kronos has finally awoken from his slumber and now reaches out into the hearts and minds of those wronged by Olympus. Under the leadership of Luke Castellon, the son of Hermes, monsters and resentful demigods have banded together aboard the cruise ship Princess Andromeda. Day by day his army swells with recruits both monstrous and mortal, lured by the promise of vengeance against the gods. Castellon may have failed to deliver the master bolt to Kronos a year ago, but the distraction caused by the theft and the claiming of Percy Jackson provided an opportunity for Kronos to claim the third faction in this war; one he created in preparation for this conflict.

Thirteen years ago, Kronos cast a spell that took some of the essence of every Titan and bound to it a mortal soul, creating the first demititans the world had ever seen. He scattered these offspring into the world above where they would hopefully be found and raised in secret. His plans were hijacked by the goddess Artemis, who defied the machinations of Kronos and the orders of Zeus by giving these children to demigods handpicked by her to raise them loyal to Olympus. She monitored their lives under the alias 'Aunt Luna' and in time she grew to care for them as her own, going so far as to adopt one among them, the son of Kronos himself, as her own. Despite her careful planning, Kronos found a way to turn her own secrecy and lies against her.

The son of Kronos, Hector, was driven to camp by monster attacks after the seal on his heritage was broken by Kronos. Artemis severed contact with him in hopes of keeping his true nature hidden, and Kronos used her absence to manipulate Hector into going on a quest to accelerate his return. Approached by Hecate, Hector believed that his quest was in service to the gods' greater good despite the opposition of Zeus. Together with his friends Diego and Serenity he traveled to an ancient Temple of Artemis and retrieved Backbiter from where it was stored. Saved from Zeus's wrath by Hecate, who transported them away from danger and tricked Zeus into believing they were dead, the trio were finally granted the knowledge of their parentage.

The demititans soon found that they only option they had left was to go to Mt. Othrys, where they would be safe from the fury of Zeus. He had decreed their deaths, and thanks in part to Zeus's wrath and Kronos's whispers every action and word that Artemis took or spoke was twisted into a betrayal of Hector. When they reached the mountain and found demigods had been sent to kill them, the demititans were shoved firmly into the Titans camp. As Artemis mourned the 'death' of her son, Hector pledged his life and loyalty to the Titans.

As summer came to a close, the demititans were brought to the Princess Andromeda by Luke where they began their new lives in the armies of Othrys. Autumn passed into winter and winter to spring, and the demititans studied under the tutelage of demigods, monsters, and even the few free Titans that had joined Kronos to protect their mortal offspring. With summer approaching yet again, Kronos crafted a scheme in which Olympus shall suffer a loss regardless of their choices. He has ordered Luke to poison the pine tree that stands where Thalia, daughter of Zeus, fell defending her friends. Either the demigods will retrieve the golden fleece and provide Kronos another prophecy child to manipulate, or they will fail, and Camp Half-Blood will fall to an army of monsters. But events would provide Kronos with yet another opportunity: a chance to claim another ally in this war.

In the depths below the Pacific Ocean a call has been sent out. Across the sea Oceanids raced to spread the terrible news. Companies of mermen and other creatures of the deep searched from the ocean floor to the waves above. Even monsters of the depths were roused as creatures such as the Kraken were awakened from slumber and directed to search the lightless deeps. At the center of all this activity lay the palace of Oceanus: a beautiful edifice constructed of glowing green coral build into the continental slope of the eastern Pacific. Upon one of the balconies stood the Titan himself.

Oceanus was twelve feet tall with the body of a merman. His skin was a deep navy blue while his tail shimmered emerald green. His hair that tumbled down over his shoulders and his beard that extended to his sternum floated serenely. A dark green serpent coiled around his arm as he gripped the railing with such force that his knuckles turned white. He ran his gaze across the plains below where the shelf ended. He continued to search as a shark cautiously approached the palace. It appeared to be a great white, but at thirty feet in length it was far larger than any shark had a right to be. Oceanus diverted his attention to its approach. When it was near, he heard "We have searched the shelf above for any clue as to her direction. There are signs she was chased by something or someone, but we have yet to identify who, nor have we found her."

Oceanus's voice dropped to a growl as he replied, "Keep searching Kynigos! I don't care how long it takes or how many soldiers you need, just find her!"

The shark appeared to bob slightly in acknowledgement before swimming back up towards the shelf. Oceanus returned his attention to the ocean before him until he felt soft, gentle arms wrap around his back. He felt some of the tension leave his body as the familiar presence of Tethys greeted his senses. "We'll find her husband. Don't worry, she knows how to take care of herself."

Oceanus turned in her arms to give his wife his full attention. "It is a father's duty to worry, my dear."

Tethys stood at a similar height to Oceanus and in a similar form, but in contrast to him her hair was as black as the deepest trench, with pale skin and a tail of glimmering sapphire. She smiled at him and tried to smooth the creases in his face. "It is also a father's duty to know when to let go."

Her smile disappeared into a gentle frown. "Had you remembered that, perhaps we would not be looking for her."

"I know."

Oceanus sighed and turned his head away from Tethys. "I wasn't able to convince her that siding with my brother was the best course of action. She refused to work with Kronos, claiming that in the end he will always be a betrayer. She refused to believe that the gods would not listen to us, or that they would harm her. When I mentioned Achilles, she refused to speak about it further."

Tethys nodded in understanding, but the frown remained on her face. "Why would she run away though? You two have disagreed before…"

Oceanus looked down in shame. "My brother's terms included an oath of loyalty from her, as well as a betrothal for her."

"Oceanus!"

The disappointment in Tethys's voice cut him worse than any knife. "You promised her! You promised her that she would be free to choose her own fate!"

"I promised her that, but I have to protect her first. I don't want to lose her like we did Achilles."

Oceanus took Tethys' hands into his own. "Believe me, I thought about this for a long time and every other road led to her death. I just want what's best for her."

Tethys continued to scowl at him before she finally softened. "I know you did. I know you're not like our brother. But you hurt her, and you will make it up to her."

Oceanus nodded in acceptance and Tethys planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Good. Now tell me, to whom did you tie her fate?"

Oceanus's answer left Tethys stunned as they stood together on the balcony deep below the restless waves.

Three weeks later…

Hector crept through the underbrush as he followed the demigods' trail. Golden eyes were narrowed, focused as he scanned the ground for signs of their passage. A shoe imprint here, broken branches and trees there. Beside him a hellhound sniffed at the prints, searching for the demigods' scent. Behind him a variety of monsters were arrayed: three Scythian Dracanae, four Laistrygonian giants, and a single harpy. Hector could not recall any of their names: it rarely mattered on his missions.

Standing upright he directed the hellhound, "Seker!" The hound let out a single bark and set off down the trail. With a flick of his wrist he directed the rest of the team to follow him. With reluctance they followed him. Glancing back at their worried expressions, Hector could hardly blame them. Far too many monsters never returned when under his command. He tried as best he could, but battlefield tactics was something he simply could not wrap his head around. He was the Son of Kronos; however, he had to continue leading missions if only for appearance's sake.

Well, if this goes badly, at least I won't have to worry about leading anymore.

Hector felt a part of himself wince at the thought. Kronos had long ago lost his caring demeanor as Hector continuously either failed his missions or suffered so many casualties that other operations had to be stalled. When last he spoke with his father it was made clear: screw up this time and the only thing Hector would oversee was janitor duty. Hours slipped by as Hector and his team pursued the demigods. Evening was approaching when Hector stopped the group by a small spring. Turning he directed them in English, "The demigods are about twenty minutes ahead of us. They should be camping soon. Take a moment to drink and rest."

The monsters happily dropped where they were. Hector let out an exasperated breath and walked over to the spring. Kneeling he raised scoops of water to his lips so he may watch the forest. Sated he glanced down at his reflection. A more rugged and savage Hector greeted his eyes than the one that left home so long ago. Much of the baby fat had fallen off his face and his appearance was rougher, as if he was used to a harder lifestyle than what he had known. The biggest change was in his eyes, however. Normally soft and kind, the past few months had hardened them with a simmering anger that boiled his blood. It seemed that everything that could go wrong with his tasks did, embarrassing him time and again before the rest of the army.

Standing he examined the landscape around them. The greater part of the Sierra Nevada mountains lay to the east. Forest blanketed the slopes before giving way to ice and snow in the higher parts and urban sprawl in the lower reaches. They had been tracking this trio of demigods for days now. Normally they would not bother with such stragglers, but according to reforming monsters these three were well armed and well trained, while Kronos's spies at Camp confirmed that no quest has been issued. Indeed, it seemed as if no demigods were supposed to be in the area.

Once dusk had fully fallen, Hector motioned the rest of the group to follow. "Now's our chance, let's go."

When the monsters refused to move Hector's, eyes narrowed. "I said, let's go!" Switching to the ancient tongue he commanded, "Gengi!"

Reluctantly the monsters obeyed him and formed up behind his lead. Grumbling to himself Hector let them along the trail until they finally reached the demigod's camp. Holding a finger to his lips Hector bid the monsters to be silent while he crept closer. Peeking through some of the bushes, Hector was surprised. They were indeed demigods, but there were ten of them rather than the simple three he had anticipated. Stranger still, they wore purple shirts with gold letters emblazoned on them and all their weapons appeared to be made of Imperial Gold, one of the metals in Hector's own blade.

Retreating Hector contemplated his next move. Weighing the advantage of surprise in their favor he took a deep breath and whispered to the monsters. "On my mark."

A look of fear and concern crossed their faces to Hector's displeasure, but they complied.

"One, two…"

On three Hector and the monsters attacked with a scream. Hector led the charge, anticipating that these demigods would scatter like all the others had. To his great surprise they all snapped to battle ready and one among them with bond hair and blue eyes barked, "Into formation!"

The strange demigods snapped into their lines in an instant without any sign of hesitation or fear. Hector felt dread pool in his stomach. It was too late to call off the attack. He tried to warn the monsters, but it died in his throat as the demigods easily rebuffed the monsters' charge. Keeping his commands in the ancient tongue, Hector tried to rally the monsters back together, but his every command was rebuffed with a short order from the blond demigod.

The fight that broke out afterwards was brutal and swift. The monsters managed to kill two of the demigods but within minutes they had all been cut down. Hector saw his troops falling like flies and attempted to go for the group's leader. His muscles tensed as he pulled back on the flow of time, slowing down everything. He raced to deal the killing blow to the blond leader, but his attacks were deflected casually, almost lazily.

When the harpy was the last one left Hector ordered her, "Get out of here! This battle's lost!"

He couldn't be sure whether the harpy had heard him, but the flapping of wings grew more distant as all eight demigods focused their attention on Hector. He pushed his abilities to their max, desperately trying to hold them off. For a moment it seemed like he could retreat but the blond leader barked a quick command and the shuffling of feet behind him alerted Hector too late. A sharp pain flashed from the back of his head and his world went dark.

Upon coming back into consciousness, the first thing that Hector was aware of was that his hands and feet were bound. He was sitting with his back against a tree, his arms tied above his head and his legs bound together. The demigods were communicating with each other in a language that he did not recognize but seemed strangely familiar. Noticing he was awake, all attention focused on him before most of the demigods fell back into their conversation. Two more continued to argue with each other while gesturing to him, before the blond leader settled the argument.

Approaching Hector, he kneeled to face him. Now that he had a closer look, Hector was surprised by how young the leader was. The leader appeared to be just thirteen, no older than Hector himself. The boy looked at the bonds tying Hector, checking them for weaknesses before returning his attention to Hector. "Who are you?"

Hector remained silent. The boy pressed, "Who is your godly parent?" Another beat of silence. "Why are you working for monsters?" Again silence.

The boy sighed before standing up. "You'll talk, either now or later. Two legionnaires are dead because of the monsters you led. You will answer to Rome for your crimes."

Rome?! Hector kept his mouth shut but became more alert. Luke never mentioned Romans being around. Perhaps he could turn his capture into an advantage if he gets the information back to Kronos.

The leader appeared to be measuring Hector with his eyes before telling him. "If you help us, I can see about getting lenience for your sentence."

Seeing Hector was not going to respond he sighed, "Well, when you are ready to talk, as for me."

As the blond turned to walk away Hector asked, his throat rough, "And who should I be asking for?"

The blond turned back to Hector. Electric blue eyes bored into golden eyes as he answered, "I'm Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter."