Chapter 14: Chosen Quest
Then there are the Titans. They differ slightly from us. They are more focused on the aggressive and primal aspect of the Enlightenment rather than its balance or philosophy. They have the belief that Enlightenment should rule the world, that Power is the main driving force of the universe. Saturn and his group identified with this school of thought and founded the Titan Pantheon. Their motto is 'For the Supremacy of those to come.' I think that can tell you more about who they are than I ever could.
Poseidon's Notes, Page 6 on The School of Hunters of Othrys
Percy and Bianca arrived in Percy's room, where Nico was waiting for them while he tapped his foot. He gave a look towards Percy, and when he avoided his eyes the temperature around them dropped significantly.
Bianca merely scoffed and clipped Nico behind the ears as Percy opened the door to his room.
"Nico please stop glaring at me it hurts." Percy said as he felt the intense gaze of the boy on the back of his head.
"You have my emotions in a twister." Nico said.
"Why?" Percy turned towards him.
"Because you want to fuck my sister!" Nico raised his arms.
"Wait how the—"
"Let's just go in." Bianca said, avoiding Nico's glare and hiding her blush.
Bianca decided that, if Percy was going to go with them to Underworld, then there were a few things that they needed to talk about. They had also called on Annabeth, much to Bianca's reluctance, and apparently she would arrive in a bit.
"Before Annabeth arrives there's something you should know. This has to stay between us, though. I know it, Nico knows it, and now you will know it too. It's something that the Heirs of the House of the Dead need to know, but since you will be going with us, I think you should also at least know a bit of what you're getting into."
"Yeah, yeah, absentee and all." Percy said, "So long as I don't need to, I don't know, pay tribute or something."
"Well, that's the thing." Bianca said.
"Wait what?"
"Each of the territories of the Great Houses are, on the most part, open to any Hunter. However there are certain places within each territory where only Heirs are allowed, mainly because they hold dangerous secrets that could be used against each other. Some of these places hold traditions and rites that go back to the dawn of the Olympians. The most basic tradition is the tradition of fealty."
"Uh…" Bianca chuckled as Percy went suddenly cross-eyed.
"You get to meet my father." Nico said simply.
"I get to meet your—oh fuck." Percy's eyes widened.
"Yes. Spooky. That's not the most important thing." Bianca said. "You see, aside from traditions there are also secrets that only us heirs know. One of these secrets is something called the Cage of Saturn, hidden deep within Tartarus. Only the House of the Dead knows about it, because if it gets out there it could cause devastation." Bianca said.
"What's the Cage of Saturn?"
"When a hunter dies, their bodies get burnt with the shroud of their house. It's a way to pay respect to the fallen. The most disrespectful thing one can do is deny a hunter his death rites." Nico said. "As the House of the Dead, it's our duty to record the death of every Hunter that has ever passed Olympus, or is within the Olympian Radar, that includes monsters. Father always complained about the paperwork of having a dead hunter."
Bianca chuckled.
"Yes, that's basically our domain. Death, and all that comes with. The Certainty of Death is the truest form of prophecy. That's our family motto. Death comes for everyone, and we must be prepared."
"How does this relate to the Cage of Saturn?" Percy asked, intrigued but not seeing the point.
Nico and Bianca looked at each other, and Bianca nodded.
"Saturn, the leader of the Titans of old, the Slaver of Humanity was not burnt. Pluto, the first head of the House of the Dead, didn't want to give Saturn the satisfaction of getting cremated as it is custom. Instead, his body was locked within a Titanium coffin and was used as the cornerstone to build Tartarus, the Great prison." Nico said, "In the centre of the prison, the Cage of Saturn sits under such a heavy guard and below the worst types of monsters."
Percy looked at Nico, then at Bianca, but still didn't see the importance of what he had just been told.
"So a dude hundred years dead is in the lowest level of the prison, big deal. I don't see why its such a great secret."
Bianca sighed.
"I sometimes forget you don't know as much as us." She kissed his cheek, "You see, when a Hunter dies, he's burnt with all his possessions and weapons, Saturn was no different. Inside his coffin there's everything he owned, including—"
The door slammed open and Annabeth walked in, followed by Luke.
"Oh good, you're here." Annabeth said. "Luke wants to have a word."
"Great." Bianca said, as she moved behind Percy to hug his waist. Annabeth ignored her, but Luke sent Percy a surprised look. Percy shrugged, and Luke smirked.
"Well, I'm glad that you're going with them Percy." Luke said, "Having Zeus after you is something not even I would want to deal with. Whatever is happening, there's no place safer than Underworld for you. Zeus cannot get involved directly or he risks war with Hades, so he will have to send whoever follows him. That cuts down most of his personal Hunters, for they would not risk Hades' ire. Anyone else I'm sure you can manage."
"Thanks Luke." Percy smiled at the boy.
"You're skilled, Percy, very skilled. However take care and never get confident. Here, Beckendorf made this for you when I told him about your little quest."
Luke pulled out a sword from a dark blue sheath. It was made from a strange silvery metal, engraved with a trident at the bottom where blade meets guard. The guard was curved, golden in colour, and decorated with pictures of waves.
Percy took the blade, and immediately he noticed that it felt…right. There was something about the blade that fitted perfectly.
"It's a blade coated in Beckendorf's enlightenment. He's a prodigy, even for Forgers—people from the House of Fires that can use their enlightenment to cover things they build. Few people can coat things in Enlightenment, and this is one of those few prized weapons that are simply a step behind a Symbol of Power. Fitting for the son of Poseidon, don't you think?"
"Why are you giving me this?" Percy asked, confused, wary, and reluctant. He remembered when people had seemed to offer him a hand, only to stab him in the back later. Few things made Percy more uneasy than a gift, for everything came with a price, and most of the times he wasn't able to pay it.
"It's a gift, Percy." Luke smiled, "For better or worse, you're the son of Poseidon. Hermes, the current leader of the House of Thieves, always thought well of your father. He helped him more than once when he was in trouble, often shielding him from Aphrodite or Hera when he pulled a prank on them. When he started grooming me to take over, he told me that if I had the chance to return the favour to Poseidon, that I should take it. I wanted to be there on your first mission, and then gift you this, but it seems that fate has other choices. I know you will wield her well."
Percy still was in shock. No one had given him something for free, it was always for a price. He had done things he wasn't proud of to pay his debt, and those scars ran deeper than others.
He smiled, for the very first time in recent memory, a true smile. He gave Luke a hug, and holding tears he thanked him.
"Thank you, Luke." Percy said, "It's amazing."
"Just make sure to take good care of it. Blades like these? They're nearly unbreakable. Only something like a Symbol of Power would be able to break it, but be very careful about that. You see, you can channel your Enlightenment and use a blade like this, coated in Enlightenment, to increase the tension of your barriers. You basically get a powerup when you Enlighten it, however it can also be dangerous for it could make you lose control if it breaks. Do what you want with that information, but I'd suggest caution."
Luke then turned to the rest of the group.
"Before I leave, you guys need to know something. Monsters are moving, quicker and faster than we thought, but nothing we can't handle for now. Underworld and its surroundings seems to be a popular location this time of the year, we've spotted several Monster groups around it."
"Another break in." Nico spat.
"Most likely." Luke admitted, "There's too many things happening right now, but one thing is sure. Zeus Masterbolt is in possession of someone who shouldn't have it, and if it gets into the hands of those monsters surrounding Underworld, they could siege Tartarus and break its defences within days. My group and I will be around the area, looking for Masterbolt, however keep your eyes open for it, and ears too. If you hear anything, Iris me, and I'll take it from there."
"We know what to do, Luke." Bianca said.
"Good, because there's something else too. Titans have been spotted."
There was a few seconds of silence, broken only by the sound of a curse.
"Fuck!" Nico yelled.
"Shit." Bianca said.
"Cancerigenousspore!." Percy said, much to the surprise of everyone. "What? I thought we were naming the first curse that came to our minds?"
"I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous this is." Luke said, ignoring Percy. "What I suspect, and Chiron agrees with me, is that the Titans were behind the break-in of Tartarus last time, but instead of going there themselves they sent a Hunter who had betrayed us and knew of the location. They were only able to free three prisoners, I believe that the Titans will be a little more involved this time."
"So basically the situation is that Zeus Masterbolt is missing just as Titans are moving, a large group of Monsters is preparing to siege Underworld and most likely will drive us back to Tartarus itself, and all this is happening while Zeus and the Pantheon are trying to get their hands on Percy so they can use him against Poseidon. Why in the fuck am I involved with these people?" Nico sighed. "From my latest talk with my father, it appears that Achilles, is gathering the army. Orpheus has been recalled, as has his army, and Thanatos is doing what he does best, kill anyone foolish enough to approach Underworld. Last I heard from Zagreus, he was also returning to Underworld from his latest mission. For now, we're protected, but if the Titans get involved…"
"Then I want you to use this." Luke gave Bianca a golden coin, "It's something that I use with my group, something to get us out tricky situations. It will open a portal, for a very short time, that will link you directly to New Rome. Bring Hades with you, even if you have to drag him there, we cannot afford to lose him if Underworld falls."
"You're telling me to abandon Underworld?" Bianca asked, enraged. "It's my home!"
"And it will become your graveyard if the Titans get involved. Look, I respect Lord Hades, I really do, but he's no longer strong enough to battle them, not alone. He needs the support of the rest of the Pantheon, and that means getting him to New Rome. The best thief is not the one who doesn't get caught, it's the one who escapes to plot a new heist."
Bianca stared, long at hard, with intense gaze at the shape of Luke. His scar, something that he had received battling monsters he said, seemed to twitch under her gaze.
"We won't need it, Underworld will not fall." Bianca said.
"I hope it stands as strong as your resolution." Luke sighed, "Just…just remember. I'm a natural thief, Bianca, and the first lesson I learnt was to always have a way out."
Luke left, leaving behind a reluctant group and questions that they didn't have the answer to.
Hello.
Short chapters this week. I'm posting this a day earlier mainly because I'm going off on Holiday, visiting a bit of Europe before Universtity starts again in a few weeks. I'm trying to finish up to part 3 and interludes before Uni starts, so I can have some time to write part 4 while balancing the workload. In best case, the full story of book 1 should be published by the end of the year, and then i'll take a bit of a break to focus on exams and that before starting to write Book 2. That's the plan.
As for the progress of the story, I struggled to write these 2 chapters as they don't have much going on for them. Chapter 13 is mostly about the implications of what happened in Undeworld and the beginning of Bianca and Percy's relationship. There are a few important things in their conversation that are...well...important to Percy's character and his conflict going forward, however I am not a romance writer so don't expect proficiency in my romance plot. I consider myself mostly a worldbuilder; I'm good when it comes to explaining what is going on and how things connect, but the fine threads that tie everything together...well, that's the reason why I'm writing this story. I want to get better at that, at writing.
I've begun to write a story of my own, an original story completely disconnected from Fanfiction and other elements. Its a story that will take lots of me, and maybe I will publish it somewhere if you guys are interested in it. I don't have much for now, I've mainly just written down the Magic system, a few tidbits of the world and society, and a prologue for that story. For now, the plan is that its going to be a Viking/Fantasy mix set in an Age of Exploration with some of your typical archetypes of the big-baddie trying to take over the world.
Back to Hunters of Olympus.
I have also begun to sort of plot some things happening into book 2, which has caused me to want to re-write some previous chapters, but I won't do that until I have this entire trilogy published. The plan is to finish the trilogy, let it cook for a bit, and then come back with a fine comb and tie everything together the way it was meant to be. This is, in a way, a prototype for that final product. A well revised prototype that i'm putting a lot of love into, but still a prototype. Some things may change, some things may stay the same, we shall see in the future.
I don't have much to say, only that please please please leave comments and reviews, it helps me learn what I should focus more on and what i'm doing right. Apparently people seem to like whats happening until now, so hopefully it stays that way.
We basically are at the 'Call to Adventure' part of the story. Percy has a legitimate reason to go to Underworld, outside from the 'You're my friends' trope, and from next week on we will see what Underworld looks like and how I've changed it from RR's version. Hades will also make an appearance soon, the first of the Olympians, and so will other characters that will have an impact on the story.
Bianca and Annabeth's relationship will also be a point that I will develop, I decided that this week after reviewing their interaction, and I think interesting things can come out of that.
Finally, we have our objective: Defend Underworld from those trying to break into Tartarus. What's in Tartarus? Who are the Horsemen? Why is it so important to protect Underworld? That remains to be seen, so if you're interested...
Thank you for reading, please leave a review, and as always take care of each other.
Happy Reading,
-CML