Chapter 1: Tidings of Dread

A slight shiver wracked Percy's body, goose bumps erupting down the lengths of his arms. It was a disconcerting feeling; one he had grown used to throughout the two wars he had fought it. A sign of danger, a sign that something was undeniably wrong with the world. The problem was, he didn't know why he was feeling it. There had been no trouble for nearly a year now after the defeat of Gaia, in fact, Percy had never had such a peaceful time in his life. Today was the perfect example of it. He was lounging on the warm sand of the Camp's beach, the gentle crash of the waves a calming presence. Next to him, reading a book, her stormy grey eyes roving the page with an intensity he loved, was his girlfriend Annabeth Chase. Blond hair tied up in a loose ponytail, and long legs stretched out before him. In the distance he could hear the cheering, and laughter, of the other campers as they went about their daily activities. Fortunately, due to their age and experience, Chiron was a bit laxer in allowing them to skip out on trainings. Unfortunately, none of this helped Percy get rid of his discontent.

"What's wrong, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, her eyes piercing him.

"It's nothing." Percy quickly denied, "I'm just tired."

His girlfriend sighed deeply, placing her book face down upon her lap.

"You know you can't lie to me; we've been through too much for that." She pointed out, and Percy jerked his head in acknowledgement.

"I just…I don't know." Percy hesitated, afraid of sounding paranoid. "Something just doesn't seem right."

Annabeth shuffled closer to him, her arm wrapping around his shoulders, and Percy felt himself slumping into her embrace. Her fingers rubbed a comforting pattern across his arm, and they sat in silence for a moment.

"Do you think, perhaps, that it's the lack of action that's making you feel this way? I know it's difficult after all that's happened to just have nothing go wrong. I find myself tensing at the slightest things expecting something to go wrong." She whispered, her eyes gazing into the distance.

Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, Percy tried to wet his dry mouth. "I…No! I mean, yes, but no!" He fumbled for an explanation. "I'm having that too, but this is different. Like something is coming, I don't know what, or when, but it's coming, and we're all going to have fight again. I don't know if I can do it. Not again…"

The waves crashed down a little harder as Annabeth buried her head in his chest, his hand automatically started stroking her back.

"Percy, I don't think anything more is coming. There can't be! We've beaten the Titans, and the Giants, Gaia is sleeping now. Even Typhon was beaten. All the old enemies are gone."

The words provided him some comfort, but they still rang false for some reason.

"Annabeth…" He started.

"No, Percy!" She stated firmly, "Even if something else comes, we will face it together, as we always have. We can beat anything, there is nothing to worry about."

Percy exhaled deeply, and nodded even though she wouldn't see it. "You're right. Of course, you're right. I'm sorry. Everything will be fine, and next year we will go to New Rome, and you'll get to study at their college."

Silence settled between them once more. The laughter from the other campers still floating through the air to them.

"Are you still talking to Will?" Annabeth muttered; her voice slightly muffled against his chest. The question sent a pang of guilt through him.

"It's difficult." He answered shortly, knowing that she wouldn't drop it, but hoping she would anyway.

"Percy, you need to talk about what we went through."

"I talk to you." He answered back, his voice taking a pleading note, "I don't want to talk to anyone else about it."

"You need to talk to others. If not Will, then maybe Chiron. Just someone other than me. It's not healthy to keep it to us, we both need help. I can't help you if I don't get help, and you can't help me if you don't get help." She told him matter-of-factly, pulling away and turning to look at him.

A dry chuckle erupted from his throat. "I know you're right. You're always right, but I just can't. How do you put it into words. How do you tell someone what that place is like when it's beyond comprehension. Even being there I don't understand what I saw. I don't want to understand what we went through. Let alone how do I tell them what I done for us, how we survived. They would think me a monster, I am a monster."

The silence lasted just a beat too long, the quietness damning, and he thought he saw the same scared look in her eyes that she held back then.

"Oh, Percy." She leaned forward and kissed him, but it tasted like ash on his mouth, and he was quick to pull away. "You're not a monster." A single tear slid down her face. He didn't know how to react, their conversations about the topic always seemed to lead back to this, and he could never bring himself to push it further.

Thankfully, a fellow camper came rushing across the beach towards them. His panting face red from exertion, though he had the typical look of a Hermes child.

"Chiron has called a counsellor meeting in the Big House. Now." He huffed out on his haunches. The pit in Percy's stomach grew. With his renewed unease, he stumbled to his feet, and started walking off, but Annabeth latched onto his arm first.

"This isn't over." She promised him, and he nodded roughly back, before they continued on their way to the meeting.

It appeared they were the last to arrive, the room was already in chaos with the Stoll brothers loudly arguing with Clarisse over the ping pong table. The Daughter of Ares gripping tightly to her spear, and Travis cackling madly. A few other demigods were seemingly taking bets on the fight, whilst in the corner some were playing a round a UNO, which Percy desperately wanted to take part in. Though it was then that he noticed Grover perched near the top of the table, eyes alight with amusement at the scenes in front of him.

"G-man!" Percy called, dragging Annabeth over with him to his oldest friend. "I thought you were still in Nebraska negotiating some treaty."

Grover pulled them both into a hug, but pulled away quickly. "Had some weird news I felt the camp needed to hear. Somethings happening, Perce, and I don't like it." Percy quickly shot a smug look at his girlfriend, and she playfully rolled her eyes back at him.

"Is that what the meeting is about?" He asked, but Grover shook his head negatively.

"Chiron put me off, said I could tell you all at this meeting. He seemed really distracted though, almost like…" before Grover could continue Chiron came rolling in, his wheelchair gliding across the floor until he was near them, giving Percy a respectful nod. The centaur seemed aged, dark bags hung under his eyes, and his skin was pale. Almost instantly the room quietened, all within having such respect for their mentor.

It was then that Percy noticed the person that followed Chiron in. A young girl, about eleven or twelve years old, though judging by her silver hunter's clothes she could be thousands of years old. Her blue eyes were shadowed, and her blonde hair hung limply across a pale face. A fresh cut marred one cheek, and one leg dragged more than other. Percy was startled at her appearance. All huntresses had this certain grace to them, an otherworldly aura that made them seem ageless, and imposing, like the moon. It was courtesy of Artemis' blessing, but it seemed lesser on this huntress for some reason. The silver glow dim.

"Campers, I have grave news to share with you." Chiron started, "but first, Grover, do you mind telling us what news you have of The Wild?"

Percy gave his best friend a pat on the back, hoping it helped to steady the Satyr's nerves when all the counsellors turned to look at him.

"Strange things are happening in the wild. Spirits are disappearing, trees dying, and animals are disappearing."

Percy frowned, it sounded a lot like what was happening in the build-ups to both wars, by the strained faces of the other veterans he could tell they were thinking the same.

"Then I heard a report from Arizona from a Dryad. Loud roars were heard from the Prescott National Forest. They shook the Earth, and fire rained down from the skies. The smoke was too thick for anything to be seen, but the forest was damaged greatly in the fires. Many nature spirits lost their lives. The Dryad said the roaring and flames lasted for hours, and by the time it died down the area was a wasteland. Nothing but ash, and skeletons by the dozens. I haven't been able to find out anymore, not what was causing the roaring, or who the bones belonged too."

Percy could feel the dread almost all over now. That sounded like a large-scale battle, something only seen during war times. The other campers started arguing with each other, all their voices blending into one. Though he noticed Clarisse giving him the same tired look that he was sure was upon his own face.

"Calm. I'm calling for calm." Chiron loudly stated, his face set into a frown. A few murmurs continued, but they eventually settled.

"Have we tried contacting the Romans? They're closer, maybe it has something to do with them." Holly Victor asked, one of the two heads of the Nike Cabin. Some others nodded in agreement, though others scowled at the thought, still a bit leery of the Romans. Chiron sighed in response.

"That brings us to another problem. Iris messaging has gone down. I do not know why, but no attempts have gone through in the last couple days."

"That's impossible." Butch, Cabin Counsellor of Iris, leaned forward, his bulging muscles straining, "My Mom would never stop Iris messaging."

"Not willingly." Travis Stoll muttered, before Connor elbowed him.

"Chiron, what do the gods say? Surely, they have information." Annabeth questioned, and Chiron grimaced.

"The gods have retreated to Olympus, all contact has been cut off."

Percy growled in frustration, a sentiment that echoed around the world. "Great, they've abandoned us to fight their battles once again. Typical." He spat to agreeing nods. Thunder rumbled overhead, but only a few deigned to give wary glances upwards.

"Not all gods." A voice whispered, and it took him a moment to realise it was the Hunter of Artemis that had spoken. Her voice cracked as if it was difficult to speak.

"Ah, yes, forgive me. Everyone this is Cassidy Beam, Hunter of Artemis and Daughter of Apollo." Chiron introduced her. Percy wondered why the Centaur had yet to heal her from her wounds, but the teacher had continued quickly.

"She arrived here last night with a troubling news." Cassidy snorted loudly, but Chiron continued as if she hadn't, "The Hunters of Artemis were attacked several days ago in Virginia."

The muttering erupted once more. There were very few things that were both capable, and had the motive to attack the Hunters. None of them were good news.

"Is Thalia okay?" Percy asked loudly, directing it at the Daughter of Apollo whom scowled back at him.

"I don't know." She answered shortly, looking away from him.

"Please everyone, quiet now." Chiron demanded, "Miss Beam, can you please tell everyone exactly what happened."

Fiddling with the frayed hem of her jacket, the girl spoke up. "We had been travelling for a while across the East Coast. Milady could sense a dark presence, she wasn't sure what it was, or at least wasn't willing to tell us. We were camping in the Cumberland Mountains, and everything seemed normal. Until it got really cold and dark, even the moon couldn't pierce the darkness. Milady tried to light the camp brighter, but the darkness was too intense."

"Wait, Artemis was with you when you were attacked?" Percy blurted out, wide-eyed. Annabeth slugged him lightly in the arm, and the Huntress growled at him.

"Lady Artemis was with us." She emphasized the Lady part. "Within moments we heard growls from all around us, and tremors from the ground. It felt like all hope had been sucked from us. Nothing but darkness, and dread, our worst fears creeping into our minds as the growls came ever closer."

Percy shuddered, his own fear rising to the fore once more.

"Out of the shadows came Hell Hounds, so many of them I couldn't count. In the darkness we couldn't keep track of them, they fell upon us like we were the prey. So many…" She trailed off, her head lowered, and Percy could see silent tears drip to the ground.

With a rougher voice she spoke on, though didn't look up. "There was someone else too. He went straight for Milady. I couldn't get a good look at him, but he radiated death. I knew when I saw him that we were all going to die, but then Thalia took charge. She summoned more lightning than I thought possible and cleared a path. She bid me to come here, to get help. I pled for the others to retreat, but she said it was impossible. That they had to hold the tide. I didn't want to leave them."

The words hung in the air, a grim aura pervading the room. Percy didn't want to think about who, or what, could have done such a thing. He didn't want to think about what might be the fate of his friend, and cousin, Thalia. Annabeth gripped his hand tightly.

"We have to save them. I call for a quest." Percy announced.

"I second." Clarisse followed, "The hunters are a valuable force to our side, we cannot abandon them in their time of need."

"Miss Beam, do you accept this quest?" Chiron prompted. Though much to Percy's shock, the blonde shook her head slowly.

"I have gained some minor prophetic power from my father," She informed them, "I'm not fated to be leader of this quest."

Percy felt as all the eyes in the room turned towards him, the silence deafening.

"I will not leave Thalia to fight alone, I nominate myself as quest leader." He stated firmly, pushing aside his own dread to focus on saving his cousin. No one argued, they all just nodded, and he felt perhaps they were too scared to nominate themselves.

"So be it. Percy, you must go visit Rachel, the Oracle of Delphi to receive your prophecy."

A/N: Yo, me with another story. I haven't updated my others in a while, but I can honestly say most of them have another chapter done, or just about done, and I just haven't posted them yet. As for this story, well to be honest it was built on two ideas. One was around a conversation two characters might have, and that conversation will be in one of the next two chapters. The other idea is also the basis the story, but won't actually reach it until near the end of this. So we'd see how it all goes. I hope you enjoyed the conversations, and the set up to what is going to occur. Perhaps you might even have theories about what will occur, has occurred, etc.

Please read, review, and follow. Thank you.