I love this chapter and in the next chapter we will get to see Aaron's powers.
"This place is so messed up, so much favoritism, it is no wonder I felt malice and hate and pain in their auras."
Aaron froze as he approached the cabins, each wildly different, oozing auras replicating that of their chosen gods. Warmth and healing for Apollo, Light and Shadow for Artemis, Power and Sternness for Zeus and Hera, Life and Strength for Demeter and so on. He was intrigued by their magics, even as a most amateur mage, he was deeply interested in all things magical.
"Perhaps I could cast a low grade leading spell, I mean like my salvation spell... or maybe I could just pray." Closing his eyes, He focused hard and prayed. "To whoever led me here, who allowed the magic to transport me to this realm, help me find you. Find my path here so I can give proper thanks and maybe set things up so I can stay here rather than live on the run."
For a long moment, he felt nothing, but then he felt it, a strong tug on his soul. He was led away, not towards the cabins but towards a garden to the far left of the cabins. There were Saytrs playing spells to lure away ants and encourage growth, he tasted the sunshine and power in their songs. He saw the two Dionysius kids, Castor and Pollux encouraging growth and strength with their powers. He walked right into that garden and felt power surge up through the earth, into his feet where he swayed, and before he knew it, his very soul fled from his body.
It erupted from his head, oozing purple energy, and it flew with vast speed across vast distance, so fast that the world blurred into nothing before he saw that he was flying toward a beautiful garden that oozed life and light. He landed by a white gazebo, one with a stunning figure in it's center. It was a woman, tall and mighty, with slender features and waves of black hair falling in perfect waves down her back. Her skin was tan and lush with life, almost bronze. She had the most stunning blue eyes, like the sky itself, going well with the sky blue dress that wrapped around her body hugging her every curve perfectly.
She was, by far, the most perfect woman he had ever seen. Something made even more poignant when he took in her aura of power, miles above Mr. D's, and far, far darker.
"Hello, Aaron, how are you?" She asked, her tone playful.
"Uh... I... um... huh?"
She laughed. "Am I so beautiful you are without words?"
"Sorry. " He bowed. "I... um, Never thought any powerful deity would help me. I assumed it would be the most minor of minor gods, not a stunning figure that has so much power at her fingertips. Queen Persephone, you are nothing like I could have imagined."
"Oh, you guessed my name, very nice!" She said, smirking. "Your intellect is exactly why you were chosen, you taught yourself magic on a wave of pure faith and intelligence. So few beings, even those born to the gift, could have learned like you have. Be proud of that, you are the most amateur of amateurs, but you will be great, I will ensure that. I am well acquainted with Hecate, the Mother of magic, trust me this is something I am very familiar with."
Pride in his chest, Aaron bowed again. "So what do I owe the greeting... wait, my book said that my mind is not flexible to handle astral projection yet, wouldn't this hurt me?"
"If I did it too long, yes, but in summoning you I offered protection. I could have not done this, but that is why you were led to a garden, where my power flows inherently. Now, we do not have long, so please listen. The world is at a precipice, many things are coming together that endanger us all. I do not have any say in the mortal world. I will not cheat on my husband and have demigods, and yet I know how powerful mortal magic can be. I am the Queen of the Dead, I know firsthand the power of mortal ingenuity. I am counting on that to gain a voice in the world, for the Underworld. I am choosing to hedge my bets on you, to name you my Champion, to name myself your Patron, but you must continue to prove yourself worthy of my aid.
He nodded. "I understand, I guess I already owe you for taking me to this camp... so what do I do now?"
"Train, grow in power, and continue to learn. Learn all you can, become the most powerful force you can, and serve me in my name, in my honor. There will be times when I call you to action, to do things for me and the Underworld. Without the alliance of a god, you hold no power in our world, and you will forever be limited where you can go. Artemis would hunt you down if you asked her for help, most would laugh or curse you. I am all you have right now."
He sighed. "Then I guess I will have no choice but to serve you... but my lady, I beg of you, do not ask me to do anything unseemly, if you do not have to. If there is no choice, I get it, but until then..."
She nodded. "I can agree to that. We have an accord."The world trembled with the weight of her oath. I will declare you as my Champion tonight, before the gods. Now... I must send you back, but as you go, know that to help prepare you for your path, I have added a spell to your grimoire, to transform anything into a weapon that even a mortal can wield. Cast that on a weapon of your choice, and armor of your choice, and ready yourself for all that there is to come. Most Patrons just give a weapon or a blessing but with this you will always have the means to fight! Better in my mind."
He vanished then, in a blur of shadow, only to awaken back in his body, his head sore, but his body filled with energy from the Earth's majesty. He, oddly, was still standing. " Well, that was interesting..." Grabbing his grimoire from his bag, he turned to a page in the back, where many pages were empty. There, written in lovely Latin, was in fact a spell to craft a weapon by magical means... and like that, Aaron actually felt like he had a chance in this world.
Even if only slightly.
Determined, he walked away from the small fruit garden and moved towards the Forges, ready to see if they could help him create a set of armor and a weapon beyond his pocket knife to use when things got hard.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write,
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
