Prologue:

A lonely fortress stood on a barren desert planet. Wind whistled through every arch and hollow space the walls didn't meet. Every day, the inhabitants were met with cold climates, so far away from their star that their days were bathed in warm red light and their nights were the same as this one: hanging icicles and a dark feeling of foreboding.

The landscape was as harsh as its weather; few venture far from the fortress in fear of falling from great heights or piercing themselves on the jagged rocks surrounding the area. Not many know of the planet, but those who do claim a world once full of beauty. A time once existed where vines climbed across the rocks, covering the sharp edges with orange flowers and the vast empty basins filled full of sparkling clear water.

Few know the true story of the planet, that its first inhabitants began to war and fight amongst themselves, slowly deteriorating the planet until the final stroke occurred, nearly destroying the atmosphere as the planet covered itself in clouds of ashes. All lifeforms died off slowly and painfully whilst the ash clouds suffocated the air. No starlight toughed the planet for centuries as the waters began to shrink and freeze till it was as if the paradise never existed. By the time the atmosphere recovered and the air was cleansed, the planet could not support any forms of life.

Luckily for the inhabitants of the fortress, the unpopularity of the planet was exactly why they chose it for nesting—well, that and there would be no need to worry about any waves destroying their fortress like what happened to their last one. Food and water could be brought from places off world and the need for warmth could be settled easily with some thickly lined black cloaks.

The fortress invaded the desolate planet a little less than five centuries ago, tall and fortified as it sat inches away from the vertical drop of an empty basin. It was a plain sight really, with black blocks as dark as obsidian the only material used to build the L-shaped building. Few windows adorned walls, and even fewer entrances existed making any outsiders view the place as a deathtrap—perhaps it was a good thing the planet catered to no life.

Inside the fortress wasn't a very welcoming complexion either. Corridors dark and drafty with only violet torches garnishing the walls for light. Every room and floor was positioned in a way that simply made sense: food and provisions stocked on the first floor, sleeping quarters on second and third, throne and meeting rooms on fourth, prison cells in the low-level dungeon, and the highest floor the private quarters of Order.

Few people had clearance to travel to the highest floor, and even fewer ever did so out of earnest. The floor wasn't anything different from the others, with the same violet torches and dark demeanor, but the unknown was sometimes even scarier than the known.

On this cold, pitless night, only two lifeforms rested on the fifth floor of the fortress, both in the same room. One sat on a cushioned wooden chair by a desk, twisting a metal ring around their finger with their thumb in a slow melodic manner. The other stood before the sitting figure, cloaked in mahogany brown and looking like death itself as they shifted their scythe to their other hand.

"How soon?" the standing one asked, their voice hushed even though no one was anywhere on the floor to hear the conversation.

The sitting one seemed to ignore the other for a long moment, instead studying their ring with admiration on their face as if it was the first time they've seen it on their finger. They didn't draw their gaze from the small metal piece when they spoke, "The final effort nears, the coup de grace, all of my mastermind plan shall come to a conclusion." A smile graced their lips, "My general and assassin both left in advance to subjugate more allies. My forces gather as we all prepare for a five-feint attack that will—"

"Five?" the other questioned, before stiffening their frame. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but … I thought we were only attacking them in four different places."

A bark of faked laughter came from the figure in the chair, "To leave my sister anywhere near the attacks so that she could help would be a mistake. There may be Ancient Laws that bind us from completely aiding our opposing causes, but it would be far safer for the two of us to draw her out and temporarily dispose of her."

"And how do you plan on achieving that?"

"Simple, actually. You hand her over a bit of false information as bait that will send the pathetic, soft-hearted fool running towards us blindly, then I distract her long enough for you to strike."

The standing one fingered their cloak, pulling slightly at a loose mahogany thread, "You want me to … try and stab her?"

"Oh, don't tell me you've grown soft in your years. You'd only be temporarily dissolving her essence; she'll just annoyingly gather back her pieces in a week or two." They huffed, letting out millenniums of troubles with one breath, before pulling off their ring from their finger and tossing it to the cloaked figure in front of them.

They caught the prized metal possession, stumbling slightly not to drop it. "Use this when the time comes," the other said from their seat, "and by the void above, I'll mark you with the Skull of Ramgrund if you lose it."

They nodded their head in acknowledgement, slipping the ring on their finger. "And so, it begins."

"Just as soon as it will end."

Author's Note: Confusing? Don't worry, I plan to tie this story up with a nice little ribbon when I'm through. I currently have all of the chapters drafted for part one, but I'm going through a large process of editing and detail refining. This is more like a sneak peek to hopefully get everyone interested, but once I do post the first official chapter, updates will likely be every few days.
Now, as for concerns to the story content, I promise you that you won't find another plot close to this. Yes, I have decided to use the idea of Chaos and Order, but I swear on Styx there is no bloody unreasonable betrayals or powerful dudes randomly offering Percy powers that make him too strong. Also, I'm going to follow cannon pairings, and while there is not too much romance in this, Percy ain't gonna be with anyone but Annabeth. Sorry if any of this bothers you, but I hope you choose to read, if not for the sake of good writing.