Some events I won't or can't interfere with, destiny is a thing in this world so some events have to happen.
"So how does magic work? I mean you're mortal, you have no divine blood, ichor?" Percy asked, looking at the bigger boy. Aaron was so unnoticeable it was strange to think he was a mage.
Aaron smirked and held out his hands. A thin veil of purple energy formed on his fingers. "Magic is the expression of energy via thought and emotion, it requires a medium, conduit and catalyst in some cases. Magic comes from any form of energy it can get a hold of, the sun, sacrifice like Thalia's death or so on. In my case it, since I am so new, it is my lifeforce, but since I am mortal the expression is stressful on my limited quantity. You hold a drastically more potent lifeforce as you are half god, and the son of a really powerful god."
Percy nodded, confused but also kind of getting it. "So if I tried..."
"You'd have an easier time casting bigger or more spells. Until my aura becomes more mystical, that I have naturally generated magic, I have to deal with just my lifeforce being taken for each spell. It's why I use spell bags and potions and runes and sigils, things that draw in passive magic in the air like the Mist. Your blood, since it is divine, would be an amazing catalyst for my spells, but the backflow might kill me if I did the spell right."
"Wow, that's... a lot, what happens if you use to much power?"
"Weakness, bloody noses, headaches, fainting, death... spiritual damage if I draw on my soul for power." Percy gaped, shocked. "It's fine, there are warning signs if you go too far."
"What is the first thing you learned."
"To see past the Mist actually, and then to see auras. I liken it to opening the Third eye, I can see the veil of magic so present in the world. I can sense magic and energy at all times, it can get distracting actually."
Percy nodded. "Any disadvantages despite the lifeforce, I mean from being mortal?"
"My magic is thinner, less dense, and weaker. The spell I cast on my sword and hoodie will need to be recast every month, or after enough exposure to corrosive forces. IT is a pain in the ass, but hey I am magical at all so that is awesome enough to counter balance it."
Percy stopped. "Why get into this at all, you can be free but you... you choose to be a part of this, to even work for a goddess?"
He sighed, the Older boy turned to Percy, who really did not understand. "I,... I choose to matter, to make a difference Percy, and this... this is an assured way to do that. Does that make sense?"
"I guess so..."
"I also have no family, and this gives me community, so there is that." That gave Percy a lot to think about... "We are friends now, Percy, if you ever need a spell, just ask okay?"
That made Percy smile. "Sure, any time."
"""
That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.
At last, it was time for capture the flag.
When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.
Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Aaron turned to Chiron. "Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"
"More often than not." he said, turning to the boy. "You are not playing today?"
"Not at all. I am too mortal for this, and unskilled in combat. I can help you with patching people up, I can do some basic first aid and I have some healing magics. I do feel the magic in the flags, I assume magic changes them?"
He nodded, his face proud. After a minute, Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic, as will Aaron. Arm yourselves!"
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.
After a few minutes of gathering supplies, the other kids hurried away just as Chiron and Aaron moved to a high uphill. A rainbow appeared before them, filled with Goddess Power, and they saw the entire battlefield from above.
Aaron was amazed. "Iris messaging right? I heard Castor mentioning sending one to his and Pollux's mother."
Chiron smiled. "She is an old friend, she likes to help. Now, let us watch."
For a while, not a whole lot happened. Kids from various sides moved about, popping towards each other's side. His eyes moved to Percy, who's potent aura could be felt even from through the rainbow. The boy was by a creek, looking ridiculous with his massive shield, never noticing the rushing forms of five Ares cabin kids. They oozed hate and rage and rushed towards him with a spear in Clarisse's hands that oozed power.
"Chiron, look there!" Aaron said.
The man saw it and sighed. "Annabeth's plan, likely, knowing that they would attack him for the bathroom incident." The man was so blase about it, about what would likely be a vicious assault, that it drove Aaron to madness.
"They are going to obliterate him, all because he defended himself from one of your sociopathic campers." Aaron, drawing on the feeling of Percy's aura, shot forward into the woods. He ran, and for some reason, a rainbow appeared before him and he saw Percy and the Ares cabin kids up close.
On the other side of the creek from Percy, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.
"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.
Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight.
Percy managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid as the Minotaur. They surrounded him and Clarisse thrust at Percy with her spear. Percy's shield deflected the point, but the magic was radiating from the spear and he knew it was blessed by a god.
Another Ares guy slammed Percy in the chest with the butt of his sword and he hit the dirt. The idiots laughed.
"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."Percy got up, and he raised his sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. "Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."
"The flag is that way," He told
"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"You do that without my help,"
Two of them came at Percy. He backed up toward the creek, and tried to raise his shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck him straight in the ribs. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across Percy's arm, leaving a good-sized cut.
"No maiming," Percy managed to say.
"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege.
He pushed me into the creek and Percy landed with a splash. They all laughed but the air thrummed with tremendous power, Percy's aura spiked to near god level power.
Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get him, but he stood to meet them. He swung the flat of his sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off.
Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at him. He slammed one in the face with his shield and used his sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quickly. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, Percy caught the shaft between the edge of his shield and his sword, and he snapped it like a twig.
"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"
She probably would've said worse, but Percy smacked her between the eyes with his sword butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.
Aaron broke through the forest into the creek where Percy just kicked ass, just in time to hear yelling, elated screams, and he saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.
"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. The Blue side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over but Aaron was not done. Turning, he socked Clarisse in the face so hard she collapsed, her nose entirely broken. "You grouped up at him, attacked him because he defended himself against you? Are you kidding me you nasty little shit? Touch him again and I will lock you in your cabin and set it on fire with all of your worthless siblings." His tone shifted as magic filled it, the girl actually looked afraid.
Suddenly a howl ripped through the forest, stopping his words.
The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek.
Annabeth drew her sword, as did Aaron.
There on the rocks just above them was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.
It was looking straight at Percy and Aaron was only one of two people that moved. Annabeth tried to do something but it was Aaron that succeed, calling out. "MOTUS!" Forcing Percy backward enough so that the lunging hound missed him entirely. Suddenly there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hound's neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at Percy's feet.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."
Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.
Clarisse yelled through her bloody broken nose , "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"
"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her only for Aaron to socked her again, this time filling air with a loud crunch that left her screaming. No one cared, not even Chiron though the man sighed softly.
They watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.
Then, before anyone could say a word, a hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming appeared above Percy's head. A three-tipped spear: a trident.
"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."
"It is determined," Chiron announced.
All around Percy, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.
"My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered.
"Poseidon. " Aaron said, before Chiron could. "I could have called it, I figured it out after the bathroom incident." He shivered as a force took over him and he knew the words to say. "You are Percy Jackson, son of Posiden. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."
