Chapter 1

Circa 545 CE
Justinian Dynasty
Thebes, Achaea

"Xanthe! Shall we go out to shop?"

The excited ten-year-old cheered as she bolted out of her room. "Yes, Mother! I'm coming!"

"Florian!" her mother called. "Come out with us!"

"Yes, Mother," a much less excited voice said.

Xanthe grabbed her bag and slipped into her boots. Her mother was waiting at the entrance with a warm smile. The two of them waited for Florian to come out. Xanthe was able to finish humming a song before her brother appeared, looking slightly disgruntled.

"Let's go!" Mother said.

As they walked, Mother began asking Florian questions.

"How long are you going to step away from your job? Did you get proper permission? You weren't released, were you?"

"Mother, I already told you! I have one calendar week off. I'm going back soon."

"Do you get to fight the bad guys?" Xanthe asked.

Florian looked down at her. "Of course! I'm actually off to Italia. I get to fight under General Belisarius. We're moving north up to Ravenna. If all goes well, we should have control of the city by the end of the year."

"Sounds exciting!" she grinned. "I wish I could fight."

"Women aren't supposed to fight," Florian said, waving her off. "You would be easily overpowered by any man you encounter on the battlefield."

Xanthe frowned. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair," he shot back.

They continued to bicker as they made their way to the market. They followed their mother as she went through to purchase a few items.

Of course, they couldn't afford much. They weren't a particularly wealthy family. In fact, if one didn't include slaves, they were of the poorest class in society. While Florian was in the army, their mother was just a simple artisan. Even if she was one of the very few artisans who knew how to work with a new product called silk, people often looked down on her.

Perhaps it was because she didn't have a husband yet had two children.

She was notoriously known as...

"That stupid whore," one of the women in a stall behind her muttered. The woman sneered at their mother behind her back. "Insolent woman. How dare she have children out of wedlock? And they still treat her like she has a place in this society."

"There are rumors that some of those who support her are pagans," her partner said. "Disgusting."

"And twice, she did it," the woman said, clucking her tongue in disapproval. "Anyone can see that her children don't look the slightest bit like each other."

Xanthe glanced at Florian.

It was true. When they stood side-by-side in front of a mirror, Xanthe couldn't find any physical similarities between them. He looked mixed: pale skin, light brown hair, sharp nose, dark eyes. She, on the other hand, looked local. Dark hair, darker skin, and odd sea-green eyes. Mother looked more like Florian.

"Poor children," the woman said. "They'll have to live with that stigma for the rest of their lives."

"Let's go," Florian said suddenly, grabbing Xanthe's arm and yanking her forward.

"Why do they say mean things like that?" Xanthe grumbled.

Florian shook his head in disgust. "People are just like that in this world, Xanthe. You're going to have to get used to it. Especially women. They have nothing better to do so they just gossip and talk about others behind their backs. It's utterly sickening."

"But Mother having children out of wedlock..." Xanthe looked up at her brother. "That's bad isn't it?"

"Yes, according to Christianity," he confirmed. He turned to her. "But not to us. We're different."

"Different?"

Florian nodded. "I'm actually a descendant of—"

"Florian!" Mother called from down the street. "Xanthe! Where are you?"

He caught himself and gritted his teeth, annoyed. "Over here!"

Their mother jogged over, wearing her patented smile. "There you two are! I almost thought I had lost you. I've finished up everything I need to do. Is there anything either of you need?"

"No, it's fine," Florian said.

Mother turned to Xanthe. Xanthe glanced at Florian, who looked almost angry. She turned back to Mother and shook her head, "I don't need anything, Mother."

"Very well."

Xanthe kept a close eye on Florian as they walked back.

She could tell something was wrong. Ever since he'd joined the army, he'd become more distant. She still remembered when they were young, when he'd practically taken care of her while their mother worked. Back then, she looked up to him as almost a fatherly figure. He was much older than her; Mother had had him at a younger age. But their differences only became clearer the older they got.

Neither of them were like their mother with regard to personality. Their mother was a pacifist and disliked aggression. She preferred obeying the rules rather than enforcing them. She was a person who wanted nothing but to get on with her life with as little trouble as possible. At least, it often seemed that way.

Florian, on the other hand, was strong-headed and authoritative. He cared greatly about his future, serving Rome, and enforced the law as if he was the emperor. He was strict, patient and orderly. He tended to analyze and advance on issues methodically.

Xanthe was similar in some ways. She was strong-headed and had some violent tendencies. But she wasn't authoritative. She was a free spirit. Free-flowing, disorganized and impulsive, with a little touch of insanity. Xanthe may have only been ten, but she knew enough to recognize that both children were like their fathers.

In addition, Xanthe knew she wasn't a normal child.

Unlike Florian, whose life was straight-forward and typical for a lower-class male, Xanthe had been involved in some weird incidents when she was younger.

They had once travelled to the ocean in Athens, and Xanthe remembered playing with another girl. They went to the docks and played while their mothers and elder brothers negotiated with fishermen about the price of the fresh batch. Somehow, although she didn't remember exactly what happened, she and the girl had fallen into the water and drowned.

Well, technically, only the other girl had drowned. Xanthe remembered how everything went black. But, as she grew older and learned that humans couldn't breathe in water, she wondered why she never felt like she was suffocating back then.

Another time, when they were transported on a boat that was travelling from Athens to Constantinople, sharks swarmed the boat. While the crew panicked, trying to get the sharks away, Xanthe thought she heard voices coming from the water. She remembered Florian panicking, but her mother remained calm and collected.

She remembered her mother telling her, "Just tell them to go away, Xanthe. Tell them not to scare us anymore. We are off to the capital of the Empire."

"Go away," she had repeated.

And the sharks went away.

They arrived back home after their little shopping trip, and Mother announced that she would head to her room to rest. That left Florian and Xanthe alone in the main area.

With a resigned sigh, Florian went to go pick up his army equipment. He grabbed a couple of stones, a bucket of water, and sat down on the ground, beginning to sharpen his sword. Xanthe slowly approached and sat across from him, watching as he worked on the iron blade.

They sat like that for a while. Florian sharpening his sword, and Xanthe carefully watching him.

Xanthe wondered what it would be like to hold a sword. She'd only ever held a knife, and even then, her mother had been quick to chastise her for holding such a dangerous weapon.

"Blades kill," she muttered, echoing her mother's words.

Florian stopped and looked up. "Of course blades kill. Otherwise there wouldn't be much purpose for them, would there?"

"Have you killed anyone in battle?" she asked.

Florian looked down and nodded. "Yes, I have. More than I can count on my two hands."

"How... how does it feel to kill another person?"

For a moment, he sat there motionless. But he suddenly continued sharpening his sword. Not once did he look up at her. "You pretend that the person on the other side of the sword is a monster in the shape of a human. That's really the only way to deal with it. Unless, of course, you're a monster yourself. Then you can imagine the person on the other end is a human. You tell yourself that the man in front of you will kill you so that he can survive, so what you have to do to survive is to kill him first. Whoever has more will to survive wins that fight."

There was another moment of silence.

"That sounds scary," Xanthe murmured.

Florian nodded. "You see why I want to protect you from all the fighting?"

"I know," she said. "Girls aren't allowed to fight anyway."

He watched her sadly for a moment. "I know I'm not around as often because I'm in the army. Yes, I've been distant. I understand that, but I promise you that it was for a reason. I needed to find out what Mother has been hiding from us about our fathers... about why she endures all of this... torture."

"Hiding...?" Xanthe looked at her brother with new-found interest.

"I remember when your father came," he told her. "I knew immediately... somehow in my gut... that he was a god. And not the Christian god. You can find old myths about the pagan gods around, and while the Empire is a Christian empire, there are still those who believe in the old ways. He looked just like you, Xanthe. There's no doubt now, after what I've learned, that you're the daughter of Neptune... the sea god."

The name sounded foreign to Xanthe. Everything about it screamed Danger!

"But I was surprised... How could I look at him and suddenly think that?" Florian suddenly stopped and watched the hallway. When only silence followed, he continued with his story. "How on Terra could I have suddenly thought... 'Oh! That's a god!' So I suspected that I was a child of the gods too."

"Wait!" Xanthe tried to comprehend. "What is this about... gods? I thought... I thought there was only one."

Florian's face fell for a moment before it morphed into anger. "I knew taking you to church was a bad idea. Mother should never have blinded you. The monsters have already started coming... big ones. If you don't join the legion soon..."

Legion? Xanthe furrowed her brows. What are legions?

He looked up and saw her expression. "Ah, right. You probably don't know. Legions are what armies used to made of. Back in the old days, foot soldiers were used more than cavalry. When Rome was a powerhouse in the world, the legions were indestructible. Back then, no one had figured out Rome's weaknesses. Of course, things in the mortal world change. But against monsters... against our true enemies... the Roman legions are undefeatable."

"They sound strong," she noted.

He grinned. "The legions are the whole reason Rome rose to become a major power in the first place." Then his grin faltered. "The Greeks were the reason Rome fell. They colluded with barbarians to tear down Western Rome, adopted Christianity and blended with the mortals. That's why Eastern Rome still stands. But I think I finally found our calling, Xanthe. I found my father. He's a leader of Legio XI."

"Legio... XI?" Xanthe believed every word Florian said. Even if it took a few moments, the idea that old pagan gods existing didn't surprise her very much. Somehow, she figured it was probably why she didn't drown that day... why telling the sharks to leave made them leave. But who was Neptune? And why did that name send chills up her spine? "What is that?"

"There are four legions left," he explained. "Well, technically three legions are left. One is a subunit of another. All of them were summoned by Caesar. The Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Legions. Claudia, Fulminata and the two Gemina Legions. I'm a part of Claudia. Right now, only the Eleventh, Thirteenth and Fourteenth are nearby. The Twelfth was shattered by an Ostrogothic attack a few years ago, and they fled to Frankia."

"It's hard to remember all of this," she frowned.

He gave her a soft look. "I know. I'm telling you a lot at once. But believe me, Xanthe. After I come back from Italia, I'll bring you to the legion. You're getting to the age when monsters attack."

"Wait... wait..." Xanthe put her hands up to stop him. "Okay, I'm confused. You said you thought your father was a god. Then you said you found him. Then you're saying monsters attack, but I've never seen monsters attack you."

Florian slumped guiltily. "I'm sorry. My mind is just racing right now. What I meant was that I thought I might be a child of a god, but when I searched through Mother's old collection, I found a spear marked with the Latin engravings of the Eleventh Legion. I found it through connections I have in the army and joined."

He rolled up his sleeve and produced his forearm. Xanthe gasped. On his arm, a mark had been burned into his skin. The letters SPQR were written along his arm. Above it was an image of two crossed spears and below it were four bars.

"I'm a descendant of Mars," Florian explained. "On my father's side. Mother, I found out, doesn't have any godly blood. But she's clear-sighted. A clear-sighted mortal."

"Clear-sighted?" she asked.

"That means she can see through the Mist. It's this magical veil that makes monsters look different to regular mortals. You and I can see things for what they really are because we are descendants of the gods. The Mist twists reality so that regular people don't really see what is actually happening. Clear-sighted mortals are the exception to that. They are mortals who can see what is actually happening."

"Regular mortals?" Xanthe looked at her arms. "If I'm the daughter of... Neptune, like you said. Does that mean I'm part god? Is that why those weird things happened to me?"

"Yes," he nodded. "But having the blood of the gods is a curse. The scent of your blood lures monsters toward you. They will try to kill you. The closer your generation is to the godly parent, the stronger the scent. The stronger the godly parent, the stronger the scent. That's why monsters generally avoided me. I learned I'm a twentieth generation legacy of Mars. That means twenty mothers and fathers ago, the father was Mars. Enough mortal blood can dilute the demigod scent... make it less strong... make less monsters chase after you. You, on the other hand, are a direct descendant of one of the most powerful gods, Neptune. That means you're a demigod... that you're going to be attacked by the worst of monsters."

Xanthe listened as her blood turned to ice. She suddenly felt dizzy, and she felt her body crash to the ground.

"Xanthe!" Florian cried.

"What do you think you're doing?" another voice said from behind him.

Xanthe was still awake and conscious. Although her head hurt, and everything felt fuzzy, she could see the furious look Mother was giving Florian.

Florian gathered his resolve. "I'm finally taking action on what I should have done a long time ago. If Xanthe is really a daughter of Neptune, she needs to join the legion. She needs the protection. The monsters should have already come swarming. I held off because you said you had it under control, but when I returned from the army, I saw several daemons and hellhounds waiting to pounce. She's ten now. She's old enough to learn about this stuff."

"You think I didn't know of the monsters?" Mother asked with a dark glare. "There are limits to your aid, Florian. Yes, I let you find out about your father. It was something I should have done a long time before, but I couldn't gather the courage to tell you. Especially when I met Pos—Neptune."

"Then you'll let me take Xanthe!" he argued.

"You can join the legion," Mother agreed. "But Xanthe does not belong there. She is different. She isn't who you think she is."

"You can't protect her forever!"

"I know that! I have plans for her! I'm not going to let my child die for nothing."

"What plans? How are you going to protect her when the monsters start coming?"

"The monsters have come for a long time, Florian."

Florian looked flabbergasted. "I... I've never seen you like this. You're a pacifist. You hate fighting. You want nothing but to get through her life with as little trouble as possible. Why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden?"

"Because the more attention I attract, the worse my situation gets!" Mother boomed. Her shouting voice was much louder than Xanthe remembered. "I already have blood on my hands, a cursed soul... I didn't need to show Xanthe the world until she was ready. And until now, she's been just a child."

"For how long are you going to try and protect her?" Florian demanded. "What can you do to stop the monsters?"

"Like I said..." Mother turned her palms upwards. Blue fire coiled from her fingers, shrouding the room in a hasty mist. "...I have plans for her."

Florian stepped back in shock. "You... you're..."

"I regret ever learning under Circe," Mother said, closing her fists and dissolving the mist. "But it has come in handy when I've sought to protect Xanthe. This magic... this sorcery... is much older than the Roman way. That is why... I beg of you, Florian. Xanthe is not yours to take."

"Surprise!" a voice hissed from above Xanthe.

Xanthe's vision suddenly cleared, and the bucket of water exploded. Water slammed into the creature hovering above her. Three metal darts—they were bronze—flew through the air toward Florian and Mother. Mother shoved Florian out of the way, and the darts slammed into Mother.

Except Mother wasn't affected. The darts disappeared as soon as they touched her skin.

"Daemon!" Florian shouted. He cursed at the iron sword at his feet, as if it was useless. He turned to her and Mother. "Run! I'll cover you. I'll head for Italia early. Promise me you'll be back when I return. Don't leave me alone."

"I swear on the River Styx that I'll return here if we survive."

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

"Come, Xanthe!"

Mother rushed to her side and helped her up. They began to run. Xanthe looked back and cried out, "Florian! Florian!"

And the last words the innocent, young Xanthe heard from Florian were: "Stay safe. I love you."

Yes, Xanthe and Florian, and their mother, are all personally-created characters. Just in case it wasn't apparent by the end of the chapter, this story takes place during the reign of Justinian I and Empress Theodora (circa 540-550 CE). There is a massive time gap and there is no mention of Percy. That is on purpose. Feel free to review or PM me if you need clarification on anything.

Cheers,

Sharky