Aaron moved out of the Big House around dawn, the feeling of power sharp in the air now that he could focus on it. He felt dozens of auras, all of a variety of inhuman powers, radiating light and darkness in varied measures. One power, reminding him of the might sea, drew his attention more. He ignored all of these as he approached the dining hall-looking area, where the brazier was present. He knew, from the grimoire, that food was to be sacrificed to the Gods to signify loyalty, something he only did when he could to make allies but also to conserve food while homeless. He wanted to make an offering now, cast for allies among the mighty gods.
Walking in the thin light of dawn, he reached the pavilion only to realize he was not alone. A small girl was present, dressed like a prairie girl with her brown shawl and brown dress, she had no powerful aura or light about her. She was entirely human, and yet when she turned to him with those sad brown eyes, he felt a rush of pain in his chest. He knew she was more than human, no human could look so sad, so muted. She was far too emotive to be mortal.
She was tending the fire with a small stick as she stared at him, so he spoke with the first line to come to his mind. "I didn't expect to see a vestal virgin here?"
She giggled. "I am no vestal virgin, they are roman and this is a camp for Greek Gods, sweet Aaron."
He knew then he was right, she was no mortal. " Hestia then?"
She nodded. "A sharp eye on you, yes I am Hestia and please do not bow."
He did not bow, instead, he held out his hand. "Then I guess you are to start in my quest to thank the gods who allowed me entrance into this sanctuary if I can ever figure out who let me here specifically..."
Hestia shook his hand, but sighed. "I can tell you who let you in, but I will not. The deity who allowed you entrance is not always kind, her heart is filled with darkness and light in equal measure. I will also tell you that she has caused great harm but also helped a great many people. That is all you are getting from me. Now, sit by the fire child, drink in it's warmth, and relish in the fact that you are safe."
"Hmmm." He sat back, and just as she said he enjoyed that simple truth for as long as he could.
All the while somehow not freaking out he was literally right by a freaking Goddess!
:::
Hestia rarely examined the souls of others, she was rarely curious enough to break that respect for the person and yet here she was curious enough to do just that. Diving into the boy's soul with a glance, she read a lot of things. The boy was smart, that stood out first. Brighter than most of Athena's children and just as curious. He had a knack for magic that was no mystically generated but born out of devotion.
He also lacked any sort of fate whatsoever. It was rare for someone like him to find their realm, it happened though, it was bound to happen with the sheer number of Fateless beings untied to any of the pantheons. Someone was bound to slip through the cracks, to find and bind themselves to that pantheon. When they did, either nothing of note happened or something major happened. The untied being could make changes others could not simply by virtue of being untethered and not following patterns or biases...
The boy could become great or fade into the background, and magic gave him the perfect angle for that.
"My boy, do you realize you have no fate?" The boy turned to her, eyes wide. "You are untied to any gods or realm, your fate is entirely free... why join with ours at all?"
The boy went silent, then smiled. "To matter, to have power... and to be more than myself."
She smiled then and realize that just maybe he would be something great and not fade away as so many had before.
"May the gods bless you, child, and may you gain all you seek in this world."
"""
Hestia and her empty presence vanished from Aaron's sight just as Chiron, in full Centaur form, trotted over with countless other kids of various ages. Demigods he knew they were, and they all started to sit down. He personally went to the head table, where Chiron and Mr. D was, finally figuring out that Mr. D was Dionysius. As he sat down, he counted the tables and realized there were twelve of them, for the twelve Olympians, but only one table had kids of different parents and they were all stuffed into place. It was sad, and he swore he tasted their resentment in their auras, something he could only barely do at that point.
"Welcome, everyone, and all that rot..." Mr. D said, huffy and whiny. "I guess I must introduce you to the roaming mage, Aaron Mathews, who will be staying here for at least a few weeks but if all goes differently he may be here permanently."
Aaron stood, bowing softly. "Thank you for having me."
There were some murmurs and then Chiron said. "To the Gods!" And everyone started to eat as what he assumed were Nymphs hurried over with plates of all sorts of things. He helped himself, then walked to the braiser, tossing in some food.
"To whoever let me in, to Dionysius for letting me stay, and to Hestia for her kind presence." The fire churned but did not change, he did smell a thousand things that should have never gone together but did. It made him heady and rushed as he walked back to the Head Table where Dionysius nodded to him with a pleased look that was almost a smile. Sitting next to Chiron and some Satyrs, he said. "I met Hestia."
The man turned. "I am... not entirely shocked, she visits from time to time. Was she the one to let you into our camp?"
"No, but it was a she, and she is filled with Dark and Light, or so Hestia said. That leaves me with three goddesses, maybe four... and one was Hecate, but I killed an Empusa so I am not sure she would like me too much. They are her kids after all... so other than that, I am unsure..."
"Who are your guesses?"
"Three goddesses with equal parts light and dark... Sky Queen, Underworld Queen, and Grey-eyed Goddess... I do know that names hold power."
"Words hold power is the key to spell crafting, I would be shocked if you did not know this... "
"So, tell me how does camp work, why are so many campers secluded to one table when there are so many to choose from?"
Chiron groaned. "That is a long story."
"We have all of breakfast, spill."
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write, and I really loved it.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
