Chapter 7 (2,500 words)
The next few days I threw myself into my training, upping the amount of time I meditated and hit the arena, my new routine comfortable and easy to follow. I joined Luke more often at the arena since he literally spent most of his free time there. I also started taking my fire and water manipulation more seriously; Percy's display of accidental aquatic anarchy from Clarisse's 'Welcoming Committee' inspired me to stretch the limits of my elemental skills.
At first, I could only manipulate two orbs of water or fire the size of my head in a circle around me while sitting down and concentrating really hard, and I could only toss them about as fast as my walking speed. That grew exceptionally quickly though, to two orbs of each, the same size as before but able to go as fast as I could throw a baseball by Thursday. Honestly, I was really surprised how quickly my power grew, that in three days I literally doubled my total output and more than tripled my control. I chalked it up to the meditation and my newfound motivation and didn't linger too much on the how, because it probably wouldn't be enough anyway. The orbs were only a measure of my maximum output in optimal conditions, however. Rather than simply sitting around and letting orbs of water and fire orbit around me, I concentrated more on how I could use my abilities in a fight because just throwing head-sized orbs around would be an annoyance at best to the monsters we would have to fight and tire me out pretty quickly.
'Which is good, I can use annoyances,' I thought as I practiced flaring some fire in front of me as quickly as possible, and then gathering a ball of water the size of a softball from the nearby pool in the same hand and shooting it as fast as possible. It hit the stone wall of my cabin (configured in its non-flammable version) in front of me with a snap as splashed on the cobblestone, and I cycled back again to flaring fire as quickly as possible.
It was a simple repetition of a simple move, focussing on getting them out as quickly and with as much quality as I could. After a few hundred reps, I took a short break and then started with my other hand, hiss, snap, hiss, snap, hiss, snap, an obsession with ambidexterity I held from training hand-to-hand and swordplay. Eventually, after reaching the same amount of reps as with my other hand, I paused, brought up my other arm, and alternated flame and water with each arm, this time slowly.
I tried to concentrate on the formation of the flame and the ball of water, feeling the pressure that built up near my hands -almost like a suction cup on my palms- the rushing of my blood as it pulled with every draw on my power and snapped back as I let the water and fire fly, like a bow being drawn and released, or a rubber band stretching and contracting rhythmically.
It was Friday night again, which meant everyone else was off playing Capture the Flag. I was jittery all day that day. I knew what was at stake, and today would be the most likely day Poseidon would claim Percy. After about an hour of exhausting myself with my fire-flare water-ball combo, I stopped, tired but still distracted by the impending end of the world. The anxiety I had carried all week had built up slowly, and I was very impatient to get this show on the road. And while training allowed me to clear my head, tonight was just not doing it.
I sighed and stepped outside to clear my head. I smiled as I felt the summer night breeze brush across my face, cool and soothing. Crickets chirped, fireflies danced along the tree line, and there were more stars in the sky than I could ever see in the city. I stood at the top of the hill overlooking the dining pavilion and flopped onto the grass, hands cushioning my head as I looked to the sky.
"Would I lose this, if we fail?" I asked myself quietly. "I mean, nuclear winter would probably blot out the sky. And I have decent chances of surviving, but a lot of people would die. Could the other pantheons even do anything? Probably not, they can't interact too much with mortals either. I think."
I was interrupted from my musing by campers emerging from the forest. They were strangely quiet, muttering amongst themselves and glancing at Percy, who just looked kind of shell-shocked. Annabeth skipped alongside Chiron, a shit-eating grin on her face. Clarisse was grumbling angrily and holding the remnants of her broken spear, and Luke bore an easy smile, an arm slung around Percy's shoulders companionably. I stood up and approached the group.
"All hail Perseus Jackson, son of the Earth-shaker Poseidon," I said with a bow as dramatic and fabulous as I could make it.
Percy groaned as Luke and Annabeth laughed. "Wait, how did you know? You even weren't there!" He complained.
"Why, my lord! I am but the humble son of a humbly humble River God! Forsooth I, a humble water boi, would not simply know when the son of the biggest water daddy where in my presence! Nay, I— ah fuck it that got old really quick," I cut myself off and straightened from my bow. "Minotaur, water powers, boom your dad's obviously Ocean Man."
"Um, what?"
"Di immortales Seaweed Brain, who did the Minotaur fight in the legends?" Annabeth asked.
"Um, the thesaurus guy? With the string and maze, right?"
"Theseus, yes, and who was his father?"
"Poseidon, I guess," he said, sighing.
"And that is why you should have listened more in class, Percy," Chiron said, chuckling lightly. "You live in a world where the monsters and grudges of the ancient world lay around every corner. It is important to study our history to live another day."
"Wait, so if you and Annabeth knew, who else knew?" Percy asked us with wide eyes.
"Well, obviously Chiron knew since before I did," I replied, Chiron nodding in agreement. "I found out like, a couple minutes after I found you, Annabeth found out when we told her you killed the Minotaur, probably most of Athena cabin knew as well for that matter."
"Wait, why?"
"It isn't often powerful monsters go after individual demigods, Percy," Luke answered for me. "The more powerful your parent is, the more more powerful monsters go after you. Also, monsters can have grudges too, so they'll go after certain demigods; I know Athena kids get cyclopes after them a lot, and I've heard Zeus kids get hydras and the Nemean Lion." At that, Annabeth's mood darkened, and Luke seemed to have a sad, yet angry face mentioning Zeus kids.
"Yup. Also, Luke probably also knew who your father was," I added.
"You did? What was the point of testing me all week then!"
Luke laughed. "It wasn't just to find out who your godly parent is, it was also to measure where you are physically. Also, we can't just declare someone the child of one of the Big Three out of nowhere, that'd get you smote!"
"Huh, I guess that makes sense—"
"And I just enjoyed watching you flail around," Luke finished with a grin.
Percy groaned.
"Anyway," Luke said, tugging Percy along with him to Hermes' Cabin. "Let's get your stuff to your new cabin, huh?" They went off with the rest of Hermes' kids, and Annabeth turned to Chiron.
"So now can I go on a quest?" She asked excitedly.
Chiron smiled thinly.
"As much as I dread my charges going out into the world, it appears it is time for you and Gwyn to do so. Tomorrow, I will send for Percy so he can receive his quest," He said, sighing. "Tonight, I recommend you prepare heavily. I foresee that you will face more than one world on your quest." His final, ominous words seemed directed at me, and I bemusedly watched him trot away to the Big House.
"What does that mean?" I mused.
"Who knows," Annabeth replied, shrugging. "But I'm gonna go get my stuff ready. See you later Flame Brain." She skipped away to Athena's Cabin, and I continued making my way to my own.
'Other worlds? What in Hades does that mean?' I thought as I nudged my cabin door open. I sighed and just forgot about it. It was already late, and if tomorrow we were going on a quest, I would have to rest well.
The next morning, after breakfast, I got dressed in combat boots, cargo pants, and a plain, durable shirt after getting my things ready. My things being: A backpack with a first aid kit, a survival kit, two changes of clothes and four of underwear rolled in a sleeping bag, and some drachmas and mortal money. Strapped to my bag's side I carried a Xiphos (a leaf-shaped one-handed sword) and a dagger, both made of Celestial bronze, taken from the armoury that morning. I was confident that the Mist could take care of the Xiphos if I kept it on or in my bag, but I wouldn't take the chance that some mortal would see a baseball strapped on my hip as anything more than a weapon. I had also managed to get a large, long water skin, as I had remembered that most of my water-based tactics relied on me actually having a supply of water nearby. I slung that over my shoulder over my backpack, made sure my hair was tied up and not caught in anything, and went outside.
"Yo Gwyn, where you going?" I heard Rob calling from the lava wall as I made my way to the Pine Hill.
"I gotta go see my dad! Got a dream from him a while ago!"
"Ah cool, see you later then!"
"Yeah bro see you! Tell the bros I said bye, and you guys can use my cabin if you want!"
"Cool man, good luck!"
I smiled and waved at my friend, who was resting at the top of the lava wall. I could see Annabeth already standing on the hill, her own backpack sitting comfortably on her shoulders, and Percy making his way with Chiron and that satyr, Grover.
"Hey guys, ready to go?" I asked as Percy reached us.
Annabeth scoffed. "I've been waiting all morning for you and Seaweed Brain to show up!"
"Yeah well I was busy getting old people smell all over my clothes," Percy snarked.
"So this is the group?" I asked. "Percy, me, Annabeth, and Grover?"
"What, no! Grover can't come!" Annabeth exclaimed, panicked.
"Why not?" Percy asked offendedly on his friend's part.
"I'm afraid, Percy, she is right. Any more than three to a quest leads to disaster," Chiron said.
"Yeah Percy, sorry man but if I come, one of us will probably die. Especially if I'm there," Grover said sadly. Annabeth grew sad, and she squeezed Grover's shoulder reassuringly.
I shrugged. "I don't see why he can't come. I'm probably going to have to leave you guys at some point anyway, so if he comes, your group won't get the chance to get to lucky number one instead of automatically defaulting to three."
"Wait what?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, I'm only going with you guys 'cause I need to go see my father."
"Demigod dream?" Annabeth asked.
"Demigod dream," I nodded.
"Demigod dream?" Percy just looked lost again.
"Aww, look at him, he's so confused! How cute," I said, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry Perce, live long enough and you won't get your mind blow every second." He shoved me off as I giggled, fluttering away from any retaliatory action.
"Hey, wait up!" We turned to see Luke cresting up the hill, a pair of shoes in his hands.
"Just wanted to say good luck, and give you these," he said as he held his shoes out for Percy to take. "They came in handy during my quest, and I figured you might need them." Percy took them, and Luke grinned. "Maia!" The shoes sprouted wings and started flying around his head.
"Whoa, awesome!" Percy said as they settled back into his hands.
Luke just smiled. "Lot of people are riding on you, Percy. So just… Kill some monsters for us, alright?"
"I'll do my best," Percy replied. "And thanks, Luke."
"Hey, no problem!" He said, shaking his hand. "And I know you'll do well, Percy, just listen to Annabeth, she's smart… Sometimes," he smirked as Annabeth rolled her eyes with a smile. "And Grover, trust his nose, he's got a good one," Luke shot him a confident look, and Grover just smiled weakly. "And finally…" I didn't perk up as he turned to me. That's just your imagination. Luke just shot me his trademark smirk that stretched his scar and wrinkled his eyes playfully. "Don't, under ANY circumstances, let Gwyn drink coffee." I groaned as we fist-bumped.
"Well, I gotta go, check and see if anyone's replaced the Aphrodite's kids' lipstick with glue yet. Good luck!"
We watched him leave, and all of us were smiling, a tension I hadn't even noticed gone from my shoulders.
Percy sighed as he looked down at the shoes Luke gave him.
"I can't use these, can I?"
Chiron shook his head. "He meant well, but the sky is Zeus' domain."
"Well, does anyone need these?" He asked us.
"I've got my hat, and I don't think Gwyn needs them,"
"Nope,"
"So you should probably give them to Grover. He's the least protected of us, and flying shoes would probably help," Annabeth said.
Percy shrugged and handed them to Grover, saying, "Hey Grover, want some magic shoes?"
"Awesome!" Grover grinned as he took them and traded his normal shoes for the flying ones.
Shouting, "Maia!", he took off, weaving around chaotically. I laughed as he almost face-planted at one point. As Grover was trying out his new shoes, I saw Chiron hand Percy something, a pen maybe, definitely magical though, because he uncapped it and suddenly he was holding the most finely crafted Celestial Bronze Xiphos I had ever seen. Chiron said a few things I didn't quite catch, as Grover practically crash-landed on top of me screaming "Maia!"
"Oof, Grover buddy, you been eating more cans lately? You're way heavier than you look," I remarked as I pulled him to his feet. Grover smiled sheepishly —goatishly?— as Percy started walking to the van at the side of the road down the hill that would take us to Manhattan.
"Come on, let's go," I tugged Grover along as we followed. I turned and waved at Chiron one last time as he shouted, "Godspeed to you all!"
AN: Oh, hello again. I hope you are doing well. Apologies for the late update. I hope to return to my usual update schedule next Monday, but don't get your hopes up.
Anyway, today was a bad day. Kentaro Miura died, and well... Yeah. Sad. It may sound a little silly, but Berserk really helped me in the moments I was down when I first picked it up, almost ten years ago now. It formed a lot of who I am today. It showed me that we must continue struggling, no matter what we are up against. Whenever I ask myself "Why?", I remember, "Because we must." There's no need for there to be a greater reason, when for me, "To continue struggling" is enough. Life smacks you down, and all that's left is to continue struggling, single-mindedly, higher and farther than last time. For there is hope for a home on the horizon. And honestly, I always feel sad whenever an artist or author or actor or musician of the highest calibre is taken from us. And make no mistake, Kentaro Miura was a true master, and created one of the best works of fiction of all time. Best dark fantasy of any medium for sure. So continue struggling, and have faith that it can get better; I know you can do it.
Apologies for getting kind of deep. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 20k words in and we've only just got out of camp in the first book? Well, I'm going to be picking up the pace (hopefully). In all honesty, and I've said this before, I have the main points I want to write, but I leave everything else to develop organically (as I write it). So we'll see what happens to the pace, because not even I know!
I hope you have a good week. Until next time.