All Percy Jackson characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

Last time, Cary and Amber processed the news of evil stirring on Mt. Orthys. But just because war is coming doesn't mean training is on hold.

Chapter 7: Clash of Swords

-RING- -RING-

"Good morning, Fifth Cohort! Rise and Shine!" shouted Jason.

"No one doze off, guys. Don't let me drag your butts out of bed," added Gwen.

The Fifth Cohort responded in a mixed fashion. Some of them bounced off their beds in a second, while others lazily crawled out of it.

Cary wanted to put a good impression around others, so he obliged to get dressed early and head to breakfast as soon as morning roll call was announced. Meanwhile, Amber was hugging her sheets tightly and struggling to open her eyes. Gwen had to dragged her to her feet.

"Hey Cary, glad to see you're up. I wanted to go over today's schedule with you. It's not too much is it?" Jason asked.

"Yeah sure, can we talk more about it at breakfast?" Cary added.

He and Jason strolled to the mess hall to organize today's training. Since Cary wasn't an officer, the two had to get settled at the regular dining tables, not that Jason minded.

"So today, we're starting off with warm-ups. Some push-ups, sit-ups, laps around the camp. Then follow up with armor inspection and sword training. Now, these are training weapons, so their edges are blunt. But eventually, we'll move up to using real swords and knives."

Cary couldn't help but wonder how the training will help when the battle begins. 'These days wouldn't you use firearms. Not that I know how to use them,"

"So, we'll start with melee and then moved to ranged weapons?" Cary asked.

"Ummm, actually, Roman battle doctrine is oriented around formation march and close quarters combat. We likely won't touch on archery or cavalry. It's a shame, since I think exploring new styles of fighting will refine our fighting prowess," Jason answered.

"Ohh, so we won't be marching up the mountain with guns?" Cary answered.

"Definitely no guns. At least for the legion. You see, monsters can only be killed with Imperial Gold. It's a special metal consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter and the Pantheon. We're actually dealing with a shortage of gold, so we can't just make bullets without any means of recycling them. And regular ammo and gunpowder won't deal critical blows to them. It'll just be like shooting spitballs and board darts at them," Jason replied, "I've been thinking about alternative ammunition, but attempts to bring the subject to the Senate have been buried over and over again."

"Do you think we can find other methods?" Cary asked. He wasn't fond of the idea of fighting monsters up close unless he had no other choice, "Can we use artillery? Flamethrowers?"

"Well, we do have some special weapons, but we'll need approval from the praetors to use them. Or retrieve them from outside sources once the auxiliary reinforcements come in," Jason answered, "Do you not like fighting with a sword?" Jason asked.

"I never fought with a sword, at least not with formal training," Cary only played with prop swords as a kid and it never was about life or death, "Not unless one counts rehearsing a play of The Canterbury Tales as experience. So will I just be watching today, or will I start with Amber and the cohort?"

"I'll let you join sword training with us. Now I think our food is coming let's dig in." Jason wrapped up the conversation as the servers brought their breakfast.

After a big hearty breakfast, the Fifth Cohort were out on the Field of Mars doing warmup. Now Cary was no stranger to daily exercises. It was a required for the grade back home. Participation and behavior were hard-wired into the P.E. curriculum. Amber joined the warm-ups sessions as well.

However, Cary eventually learned that Camp Jupiter's standards were a lot higher than Canyon Ridge's. The pushups and muscle training were something he struggled with. While he could do 30 pushups under a minute, the legionnaires can do 45 a minute. They were asked to sprint laps, not jogs as well. By the time these 'warm-ups' were done, Cary and Amber were about to drop out of exhaustion. 'Oh geez, add another reason as to why Amber ran away from camp to the list.'

"Hey Cary, you look like you're going to faint. You sure you want to keep going?" Jason asked.

"No, no. I can take it," Cary answered defiantly, "Just give me a moment …huff…to… catch my breath," as he took deep breaths in between words. It'll take a while to develop the stamina of a Spartan. Actually, Spartans are Greek, so he should be thinking, the stamina of a centurion.

"Well good news. Warm-ups are done. We're going into weapons training now. We don't have enough weapons to suit everyone, so we'll have to make do with whatever is offered. Is that okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, Jason. I'll go see what set of gear Amber wants… huff," Cary answered. Jason meanwhile went back to check up on the other legionnaires.

"Hey Amber. We're starting armor and weapons inspections. Are you ready?" Cary asked.

"Yeah… huff… I'll get on it… huff…just…head to the armory with the rest of them… huff…my size is women medium, and get the medium sword," Amber panted. Cary obliged to join the others and retrieve equipment. He found the armory and lined up to retrieve the equipment with Maylene handing them out. Maylene handed out a set of Roman armor, a shield, and a sword for each of the legionnaire. However, unlike the equipment he picked up on the first day, there was an apparent shortage of training items. Some of them were able to get decent equipment, but eventually, they started receiving an armor set missing some pieces or one being out of their size. Cary was lucky to get a medium armor for Amber but not for himself. He was also unable to get a sword of her size. Instead, he got one labelled large. Its grip was wider, and the blade was longer than others.

"Do you need a weapon, Cary?" Maylene asked, "I mean, we don't have any more gladius. No more blades except this rather odd-looking sword. No one really wanted it." She offered a symmetrical blade sword that was different from the gladius. The pommel was flattened, not rounded like the gladius and the guard was elliptical, not circular. Its blade was thinner but longer, so it resembled more eastern handiwork instead.

Cary was intrigued and had his attention with this sword, "Yeah. I was going to share with Amber, but if that's available, I'll take it." Maylene handed it to him before he made his way back to Amber to begin training.

Amber was understanding that Cary couldn't get the sword she wanted. Still, it didn't make it easier for her to use it. Since the grip was wider, Amber had a difficult time keeping the sword in her hand as she practiced her swings. She eventually, resorted to just dropping her shield to hold the sword two-handed.

Cary, meanwhile, was practicing with the sword from Maylene. There was something interesting about it. This sword reminded him of a jian, and yet it was just in the Camp Jupiter's armory. Cary wasn't wearing armor, and he was okay with that after hearing about the hundred-pound set everyone needed to wear. For himself, Cary focused on parrying, evading, and footwork instead of shielding. Right now, they were sparring each other like everyone else.

It was simple exercise: The goal was to break the opponent's guard and push him or her back. 'Come on, Amber. You've got this.' It was Amber's turn to try push him and land hits on him. Amber would shove with her tower shield and then stagger him. She would then follow up with a stab in the abdomen. Cary would step back to avoid being hit and keep moving back until he reached the end of the field. He could have kept his distance with his longer sword, but he wanted to give Amber the sense of satisfaction with progress that she felt she made.

"Alright, Fifth Cohort gather around. You guys are doing well today. Let's go into the training arena and start fighting the other Cohorts. Be courteous and bring honor to our Cohort," Jason announced. He was met with some groans.

"What's up with the displeasure, Jason?" asked Cary.

"Well, whenever we get to face off with the other cohorts in sparring, we don't have a stellar record compared to theirs. I don't believe ranks correlate to performance, but a lot of times, the other cohorts pick the better fighters since they get recommended while we get those with no letters. As a result, we don't start with better fighters. Doesn't mean we can't get better," Jason assured him. It felt like he was also trying to motivate him, "Take it easy, I don't think you'll get picked on the first day.

Cary nodded and took a seat on the bleachers. The arena was circular with an open roof, similar to the Roman Colliseum, except the grounds were a lot smaller and seating capacity was limited. Praetor seats were in the raised section reserved with other VIPs. The centurions were seated right under it to watch the sparring matches.

The Fifth Cohort took their seats just as the other cohorts started to arrive. Reyna and Sullivan were the last to show up to take their seat. Reyna stayed on her feet to announce. "Romans, today we put our swordsmanship to the test. Legionnaires from various cohorts will be paired against each other and fight for the honor of the legion. When your names have been called, walked down to the stage and draw your swords. Let us now commence!" Reyna called out.

"Amber Autumne, and… Primo Soldato! Step forward!" Sullivan ordered with a slight hesitation. The fact that these two are now paired up again is unsettling. After all, names are supposed to be randomized.

Primo walked up sneering in his armor and weapon with a rather unusual luster. In contrast, Amber dragged herself in her armor and oversized sword. Cary stopped her before she enters the floor. "Hang on, maybe you can use this sword instead," he handed her his sword so that she didn't have to struggle with hers. Amber pondered for a while and accepted it before making her way to the grounds.

Primo and Amber walked up to each other until they were only six feet apart. "What's wrong, probie, you should be using a gladius like me," taunted Primo.

"Legionnaire, take your stance! Swords up!" Reyna yelled. The two took their battle stances. "BEGIN!"

Primo rushed into the fight with his shield and rammed into Amber. Amber staggered back but held her ground. She had slid back a few inches from that attack, but kept her shield raised. With a more accommodating sword, she had a better grip on it while being able to hold a shield. Amber cautiously inched forward before taking a swing at him. Primo blocked and followed up with a swing of his own. Amber blocked in response but was unable to follow with what Primo did next.

Primo locked his sword under her guard and had her shield in his grasp. With a strong pull, he dragged Amber off her feet before tossing her behind him. Amber lost hold of her shield as she rolled back and landed on her stomach. Staggered, she couldn't recover in time as Primo dash forward and punted her in the head. "Come on then. Fight's not over," Primo taunted. However, he didn't stop. He brought his sword up and brought it down on Amber's prostrate body. Amber caught the blunt end of the sword as the blows landed. Without a shield, she started getting bruised and battered.

"Hey there, that's enough. Octavian. Call your legionnaire off." Jason yelled.

"That's enough. Primo. The victory goes to you," Octavian sighed out. He always expected the guy to win, but he hoped for something more.

"Oh no, I'm not done unless I say I'm done," sneered Primo.

"Mister Soldato, that's enough!" Reyna ordered. However, the legionnaire wasn't having any of it.

Cary watched the one-sided fight with disgust. It was just a sparring match, not a gladiator death battle. And yet Primo was getting far too into this beatdown. He had enough and walked into the stage with her oversized sword. He was hoping to catch Primo's attention and end this farce of a simple sparring match.

"Stop this now, Primo!" he yelled. Cary went up there out of instinct to protect his friend.

Primo was briefly distracted and looked toward Cary. "So, you finally show up, pleb. Took you long enough. Think you can give me a proper battle that your girlfriend couldn't give me?"

Cary took a battle stance and responded in kind, "Not my girlfriend," he growled, "Well, you want a fight. Come at me!" he signaled.

Reyna called out to intervene, "Mister Chang, stay out of this. You have not been called out to…" Reyna was interrupted by Sullivan, "Hold it, Reyna. If Primo doesn't objects, we should let this next fight play out. I approve this match." Reyna begrudgingly rolled along with this as Sullivan whispered into her ear, "I want to see this play out." Cary and Primo took their spot as Amber crawled out of the way.

Primo, however, wasn't done with Amber, and prick Amber in the arm as she left with enough force to break skin. In retaliation, Cary brought his gladius down on Primo, who blocked it with his shield and shoved him back. Primo followed up with a stab that Cary narrowly avoided as he steps back. 'I can't hit him as long as he's blocking. So, I guess I have to wear him down.' The sword that Cary was holding for Amber had just the same reach as the sword he gave Amber, but it was heavier and had a grip that needed two hands to hold. He couldn't swing it faster than Primo, but he could use this weight to his advantage.

Cary planted his sword in the sand to rest his muscles and give Primo a false sense of confidence. Primo charged at him, so at the right moment, Cary swung his sword like a baseball abt and let the momentum land a hit. Primo blocked it, but the blow had weight into it. Primo staggered back a bit before making another pass at a stab. Cary sidestepped in turn and swung again, this time catching Primo in the shoulder holding his shield. "Youch," Primo yelped; he tried to shield bash Cary, but Cary stepped out of range and followed up with another swing and caught him in the gut.

The blow dropped Primo to his knees and had him catching his breath. "Had enough…huff?" Cary asked.

"Not yet!" Primo swung his sword at Cary's wrists, forcing him to drop his sword. Cary was now weaponless. As Primo got to his feet, Cary took a sparring stance and raised his arms. 'Damn it, now I got nothing to defend myself,' Primo kicked the sword out of reach into the crowd leaving Cary with nothing.

"Come on, Cary. Show this punk what a real fighter looks like," Maylene yelled out. "You've got this, Cary," Jason cheered.

The cheers were picking up, but they were mixed with jeers from the higher cohorts. Cary didn't think long enough when Primo started delivering a flurry of swipes and stabs that Cary needed to keep avoiding. He had no weapon; however, he saw that Amber's sword was still on the stage just behind him. If he could just get past Primo, he can run down the stage, retrieve it, and fight back.

"Time to end this!" Primo yelled. He threw his arm back to deliver a large slash at Cary. Cary ducked and rolled out of the sword path then made his sprint towards the sword on the ground, with Primo in tow.

He grabbed the sword just as Primo caught up to him. He swiped at the Roman, who staggered back to avoid it. This brief opening gave Cary the chance to prepare a counterattack. With the lighter sword, he can wield it with more versatility. He launched his own flurry of attacks on Primo until eventually, the strikes were too much for the Roman and he fell on his butt. Cary kicked the shield out of his hand and held his blade at his chest. 'Oh shoot, did I just win?'

The legion looked with surprise at the outcome of the fight. A visitor had just bested a legionnaire whose reputation as a Mars legacy and a ferocious fighter. The crowd started giving a round of applause for a good fight all around. "Do you yield?" Cary asked. Primo simmered in silence. Sullivan stood up from the VIP section to announce the match, "Well, then. I believe we can call this outco-"

However, Primo clenched his sword hand and struck the blade away from his body before roaring out in anger and jumping to his feet. Primo tackled Cary like a quarterback at his torso and started wrestling him. With Primo's arms locked around his waist, Cary retaliated with his left arm around Primo's neck and kept it on. The crowd calls to end the fight went unanswered as it escalated.

In an act of defiance and unsportsmanlike conduct, Primo began to stab Cary at his left side. The blade made contact into his side. Cary felt a tingle and dropped Primo who continue to stab him repeatedly. Yet, Cary did not feel pain or the shock as the blows came. He clenched his eyes until Primo would stop.

"Cease the battle! It's over! The match is done, Mister Soldato!" Reyna demanded.

Two legionnaires ran over to drag Primo off Cary, but Primo shrugged them off. Two more legionnaires joined to end the match. More and more legionnaires, including a centurion, had to join in getting Primo back to the bleachers so that the medics could come in and assess the situation.

Jason and Sullivan rushed down to check up on the visitor after that outrage, "Mr. Chang, are you alright? Can you stand up and…"?

Miraculously, there were no grievous injuries on him, not even a stab wound from where Primo attacked. It was as if the sword had no effect. Reyna followed to inspect the situation and immediately figured out what happened.

"Mr. Soldato, hand me your sword now!" Primo handed it over with much resistance. Reyna took a quick look and realized something.

"Primo, this is a standard-issue Imperial Gold sword. These are prohibited in training. Why do you have those?" Reyna demanded. The crowd was in shock that a legionnaire brought a weapon with an intent to kill another demigod or legacy. And yet, the sword had no effect. Did that mean their visitor was… a straight-up mortal.

"Why not? If we're going to use real weapons in the field, we should use them in practice. The strong rule over the weak. If they can't handle, then they should quit!" Primo answered.

"You broke legion instructions and endangered your fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms. I'll be overseeing your punishment after today!" Reyna retaliated, "Everyone else, I expect you to follow our rules and honor your soldiers. Any conduct like this will not be tolerated! Continue on, Romans!" The crowd fell into silence at her outrage.

Reyna returned to the VIP section while Jason checked up on Cary. "You alright, Cary? That was a crazy fight."

"Yeah. Oh shoot, is Amber alright?" Cary quickly realized that he hadn't check up with her after her beatdown at Primo's hands.

"She's doing fine. She got some cuts from Primo. A little bloody, but she's patched up," Jason assured, "You're lucky that Primo was using a smuggled Imperial Gold weapon. Since you're a mortal, it has no effect on you."

"Thanks. I'm going to check up on Amber." Cary walked away as Reyna called Jason to have a talk with him. With today's events, the gossip train will start asking around about what a regular mortal was doing around here.

"Hey Reyna, Sullivan. What's up?" Jason asked. He took a seat next to Reyna in the VIP section to have a conversation. After Primo was suspended for the rest of today, they continued sparing matches.

"Well, the match was pretty eventful," Sullivan commented, "I think there's a future for your friend here Jason."

"I told you guys before, we can't let anyone without any divine lineage inside," reminded Reyna.

"Not to mention, our Imperial Gold supply is low. we can't afford to provide such weapons to the auxiliary force, let alone our legion," added Octavian.

"Well, we need a source of metals. How do you expect to march up Mt. Orthys with weapons that can't kill monsters? I know most of the Senate, and you Octavian, don't want to pursue other methods. But flamethrowers, acid paintballs, and fireballs are just as effective," Sullivan added.

"I appreciate your insight, praetor. But the Roman will stick to the tried-and-true method of Imperial Gold and infantry tactics," Octavian answered.

"Maybe we can search for caches of Imperial Gold around the country. Romans have been busy ever since they showed up in America," Jason suggested.

"Are you suggesting a quest, Centurion Grace? At a time when we need to stay close to home?" alerted Octavian.

"That means we need to act now. The more prepared we are, the better our chances of attacking the titans are," answered Jason.

"And I should just consult my auguries? Would you be willing to send yourself out?" mocked Octavian.

"That's enough Octavian. If Jason thinks we need to stock up, we should put into consideration. I need a rush order on a reading before dinner. Will you follow?" asked Reyna.

"Huff… Fine praetor, but just to entertain this folly," Octavian departed the arena and headed to Temple Hill to prepare a reading.

'What a headache,' Reyna pondered. It was true that they needed more Imperial Gold, but the timing could not have come at a worse time. She hoped this venture wouldn't be a liability.

"Let's switch gears. So far what should we do about Mr. Chang and Mrs. Autumne. We can't have Mr. Chang here for too long thanks to Primo. And Amber is still untested and unclaimed," Reyna listed off the issues that would come.

"Maybe we can bring them along with this quest, Reyna," Jason suggested.

"You really think they'll be a quest coming up?" Reyna asked. "I'm hoping for it," answered Jason. Jason wasn't a stranger to quests. He traveled to Sonoma, San Bernardino, the Rockies. For him, quests were a way to escape the burden of Camp Jupiter. It was a bit selfish, but Camp could sometimes be overbearing for a son of Jupiter.

The matches that followed were standard textbook of conduct and sportsmanship. However, the rivalry between cohorts nearly boiled over with Primo and Cary's match. It simmered down, but only for so long. Afterwards, the whole legion was dismissed for dinner.

Primo was scrubbing toilets as punishment for the rest of the day, but it was worth it in his mind. He had done what was asked of him. He smuggled in the Imperial Gold into training to hurt Amber as much as she can and expose Cary as the mortal outsider. However, the original plan was to cripple her, but the best he could do was leave some light wounds.

"Mister Soldato a word?" A male voice called him. Primo exited the washrooms to find Octavian having a word with him.

"What's up Octavian? Did I do good?" Primo asked.

"Yes, you did. Miss Autumne may not have as serious injuries as you could, but I think what you did was good enough. If things go right, I might be praetor this summer. And no one can stop me," Octavian smugly answered.

"So, what happens now?" Primo asked.

"Well, I'm going to Temple Hill to do a 'reading'. In the meantime, you take these almonds to Praetor Sullivan. They're tainted with a paralytic agent. Just enough to keep him sick. With him unable to attend to his duties, I'll step in to take over and we will be in charge of the Camp." Octavian was sick of Jason's nontraditional views, and he didn't want those ideas flying around. With him gone, he could take over and run the camp as more than just the augur.

"In return, my family gets to run things around here. Is my Uncle Bennie going to show up?" he asked.

"Yes Primo, he'll be here. Your other family members will also be sticking around once the war ends. When we send our opponents into the line of fire and leave our allies safe, there won't be enough of them to oppose us when we take over," stated Octavian.

"Good, well. Take care of the readings, Octavian. Try to skew the message a bit," said Primo.

At Temple Hill under the Temple of Jupiter pavilion, Octavian prepared to forge his findings for tonight. Normally, he would attend to the process with witnesses, but the rush order meant he would have to do it alone. This gave him the opportunity to pretend to do a reading. He wasn't going to do anything, but he was going to make it look like he did something. 'Scatter some ashes here and there. Throw some junk around and write down unfavorable results to deny a quest for anyone.' He wasn't going to get his way though.

"Octavian, have you finished the reading yet?" a recognizable voice called out.

Octavian turned to find Centurion Grace and both praetors present. He couldn't believe they stopped by. He assumed they stick longer overseeing Primo's punishment.

"Not yet, your praetorships. You don't really have to watch," he improvised.

"Nonsense, this is a reading from the gods. If this wasn't special, we wouldn't be here," Sullivan comforted. "Why don't we see you in the process?"

Octavian sighed deeply through his nostrils. He clenched the knife in his hand before answering, "Sure, go ahead and watch me do my work."

Honeymoon's over. The heavy work comes next. Take care everyone. Next time, the message will be revealed. And the questors will be revealed.