Getting more adaptive to my thoughts and being able to put them on paper. However, I often have great ideas that I realize I can't implement because down the line they would cause plot holes or Percy would simply be too powerful. And we all love a little challenge. Onto the chapter!
Percy's POV
The lady on the train talked about the world of the gods, the amazing stories and legends born from it. She weaved an intricate tale about the start of how everything was born and how everything progressed through the ages. I had to say, while most of me didn't believe her, something deep down knew that she was telling the truth and it was all true. She came to the end of her story, and she summoned a book. It was an encyclopedia of deities and monsters in both the Greek and Roman mythologies. So, there were two? And they both were Greek? I was about to ask my question, but she held a hand up. "Before any questions, you didn't know who I was, I only told you, my name. Find me and figure out who I am first."
It was in chronological order, so I started thumbing through the sections. J. No. K. No. L. closer. M. Not quite. Ah there it was. N. I flipped through the section, coming to a stop and looking down at the image before me. I looked between her and the book. "You look nothing like this ma'am." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I change and grow all the time. I am a goddess, Perseus." I nodded, that sounded right to me. Nike, the goddess of victory and the patroness of wealth and prosperity. Seemed like she was important and strong, but she was listed as a minor goddess. How would they scale these? Nike seemed to read my mind once again.
"Only the Olympians are worshipped as more important gods. A lot of us minor gods and goddesses are seen as less important, even if our jobs are essential to the Olympians. Like me for example. If I hadn't been there for several of their wars to persuade tides to turn in their favor, would they have had victory? I bet it would've been a whole lot harder to do." Her face had turned sour. I see she had spite for the Olympians, but when she was telling the story of the Titans, she seemed to absolutely despise them. Confusing indeed.
I frowned. "But miss Nike, what does any of this have to do with me?" I shot the question towards her, pulling her from her musings. Her face brightened. "Why my dear, you are a demigod, and I have taken it upon myself to grant you the title of my champion. Not quite yet though. First, I will guide and train you to get better and grow more powerful." I was confused. Weren't demigods supposed to be very powerful beings? I couldn't stand up to those legends. Seeming to read my mind again, "You are young, and they weren't immediately powerful either. But you will become just as powerful as them, if not more so. I have seen the victory that lies in your path ahead."
"If I'm a demigod, who is my godly parent? My dad was definitely my dad. I looked pretty similar to him." I told her. She looked at my face, taking in my mixed features. I had known I was mixed since I noticed my dad was a light tan brown shade, with slightly almond shaped eyes, his own father bearing from northern Mexico. I, however, was slightly lighter, an olive tan kind of color. I had his nose and eyebrows, and his strong chin and jaw. That's where it ended though. My brown curly hair was always a mess, and I mean really curly. Most people would assume I had some African American DNA in me from how curly it was. My cheekbones were a little higher than his, and the biggest difference was my eyes.
She frowned, probably trying to figure out who I looked like. She didn't say anything for a while, lost in thought, before something clicked. She sprung up, proud of herself, but then something took over her. It seemed to be apprehension. She looked around over her shoulder, looking for someone, or something. She turned back to me. "I think your godly parent is..." Something cut her off. She looked unable to speak, although her mouth was forming words. I was very confused when all of a sudden, a woman was standing next to me, setting her hand on my shoulder. I looked up and we met eyes.
They were the same. They were red and flickered with orange and yellow, creating the appearance of a gentle fire inside of their eyes. I immediately knew this was my mother. I had no doubt in my mind this was the woman that birthed me. I didn't know how to feel about that. Where had she been to save my dad? Why hadn't she helped me? Where had she been for the whole 10 years of my life? But as mad as I was, I couldn't express anger. The soothing aura came off her in waves, likely subduing all negative thoughts. She sat down across from me with Nike, who was still struggling to talk.
"Your godly parent would be me, Perseus. My name is Hestia, the firstborn of the gods. I know I haven't been in contact, but I have been there. But I am bound by the ancient laws put in place to not communicate with you." She said but I immediately interrupted her. "But you're talking to me right now!" I said, not believing her. How could she not be in contact with me but also talk to me? "Well, this train is a very special train. Have you noticed that even though you've been travelling for three hours, your destination was a mere 30 minutes away? It is also concealed from the sight of the gods, namely the king of them himself. He is the most dangerous threat to you."
I was confused. Why would Zeus be a threat to me, his nephew? "Because he will see anyone that is not a child of his as a threat. That is his paranoic ways. But that is why I haven't been able to contact you. While he might not have noticed me gone from Olympus, he surely would've noticed if I was on earth for prolonged periods of time, going to the same place. I know in my heart that if I visited you once, I would have to keep seeing my little baby boy. I visited your dreams, I wished away your nightmares and I gave you the ability to leave your father behind. Without that, you would've surely perished in the hands of the cyclops."
I couldn't help but see the reason in her statements. She gave nothing I could argue with, and it seemed though she was sidelined, she still tried to help me. I couldn't help but cry, again. But hey I'm a little kid, I had no choice. I was hurt, for losing my dad, but also happy, for gaining a new parent. "I will be there for you from now on, as I now have a great new way to contact you." She looked to her side and Nike's eyes widened. Hestia waved her hand and Nike was able to speak again.
"Hestia! I had no idea he was yours I swear! I didn't even know you were able to have children. I thought you were bound by an oath like Artemis was. I didn't mean to contact your son." She was all but panicking, but I had no idea why. My mother seemed so peaceful and harmless. "Calm yourself Nike, I do not wish to punish you. Instead, I will congratulate you, for I am indebted to you. You offered to mentor my son, to teach him the ways to survive and thrive in this cruel world. I cannot thank you enough. However, if you do try anything, it WILL be the last thing you do." My mother had spoken calmly and gratefully the whole time, until the end, when her voice turned hot and spicy. Nike nodded.
"Well Percy, I must go tend to my duties, but I will always be watching, and I can occasionally visit." She handed me something. It was a ruby necklace. "Rub it and you will be able to mentally talk to me. It has a limit of 1 minute before it's signal can be picked up by other gods and it will cut off communication. Try to only use it in an emergency." She disappeared in a swirl of flames, which was really cool.
I turned back to Nike. She had pulled out a notebook and seemed to be forming a chart. She scribbled furiously, caught up in her work. I decided not to bother her, settling for just spinning my knife again. It didn't take her long to get done and show me the chart. It seemed to be all the possible theories of my abilities and what things I would excel at. I took the chart and saw there were a lot of cool things on here. Many of them I was excited to try. She snatched the chart away, but I had already seen things that I would try.
"Before we get into abilities, we need you to be in physical shape to survive. You've heard of the Lotus Eaters?" She inquired towards me. I nodded, remembering they were the time altering men that Odysseus had met and had managed to convince part of his crew to stay by eating their enchanted fruit. "Well, they have a lesser-known sibling tribe, the Lily Eaters. They have similar powers, yet different. You will head to Seattle and meet them. Give them this letter and they will give you something vital for your training." She handed me a letter and a small coin satchel. "I'll make a hero out of you yet, Perseus."
She disappeared before I could tell her that I liked to be called Percy. I looked down at the coin satchel, opening it up. It had a roll of mortal $100 bills, having at least 5k in it. There were also drachmas, but I had no idea how I would spend this money. The train came to a stop, and I departed the train. I looked for the connecting trains going all the way to Seattle and found there was a train going directly there, but it went through several major cities. I picked it and paid the 700-dollar ticket in cash to the surprise of the booth salesman. I settled down in my seat, and pulled the encyclopedia from my backpack, and began reading, trying to soak up as much of the vital information as I could.
Nike warned me of monster attacks now that I knew my heritage, I would become a beacon for them to hunt down and that I would have to learn how to defend myself. She had given me another book for learning basic knife weaponry. I was well on my way into the books when a train switch was called for. I packed up and saw that I had a small layover of about an hour in Boston. I decided to stick close to the train station, but my stomach was growling, and I was ready to eat.
I found a decent pizza place on one of the corners close to the station, and I dug into the slightly greasy, gooey cheese, pepperoni and sausage overloaded pizza and it was one of the local style pizzas I had ever had. I ate a whole pizza myself and got a small box of it to go with me back on the train, because it was too amazing to overlook. Just as I was about to get out of my chair, I noticed a weird smell in the air. It smelled like a wet dog that had been playing with burnt rubber tires. I hadn't ever smelled this before, so I looked around. Nothing in the pizza parlor seemed out of place, however when I looked across the street, I saw a huge dog. Like way too big to be bred normally.
It was the size of a fucking car. It was sniffing the sidewalk, slowly getting closer to me. I knew what it was from the encyclopedia. A hellhound, a monster from the Underworld. I looked for if there were any other exits away from the hellhound, but it seemed the only way in and out of the restaurant available to customers was the front door I had already come through. I unconsciously picked up my pizza and made my way silently to the door. The dog was currently sniffing with his head poking down an alley facing the opposite way. I opened the door, slowly, trying not to draw attention to myself.
I made it out of the door and was about to book it when the door closed with a bell sounding off with the usual ding. I winced and turned to see if the dog had noticed. He was staring right at me! He sniffed the air and gave an ear pounding bark and I took off as fast as I could. I made a right, and then a left, the whole time the hellhound was gaining on my small legs that were pumping as fast as they could. I rounded another corner, and the train station was insight when I could feel the hot breath hitting my back. I could almost feel my body getting snatched up and gnawed to bits when all of a sudden, as I was passing an alley I was roughly pulled in and the hellhound when careening past at full speed.
I don't think he even registered that I wasn't in front of him until he was at least a block and a half down from where I disappeared. I looked around but the only thing that was near me were leaves blowing in the wind. Suddenly the wind picked up and started swirling around me. It got so strong that it lifted me several inches off the ground before it dissipated leaving me with a windblown look of wonder. I heard giggling down the alleyway but there was no one there. Maybe I was crazy, but the wind had just helped me?
I peeked out of the alleyway, finding the dog from hell now where to be seen, and booked it back to the train station. I boarded the connecting one and saw it departed in 10 minutes. I was just praying with everything I had that the hellhound wouldn't find me before then. I didn't want to face off with a monster even with this handy dandy knife I now had. Thankfully, the time ticked past, and the train pulled off on its way without a single monster in sight. I let out a sigh. A trip to Seattle seemed nice. Hopefully I wouldn't attract too many monsters on my way there. Hopefully whatever was in store for me I would enjoy it very much. I also started to think about other demigods. Where are they? I wondered... maybe they had a little camp with a nice tree on its hill that overlooked a beautiful valley. Or maybe it was more militaristic. Both sounded fine to me, I just wanted some people to call family.
