Chapter Seven: Prophecies and Mysteries.
Comment responses:
Guest (you know who you are): Yea it is my first fan-fiction story, I've written short pieces myself before but never anything for PJO and certainly nothing this scope, so I'm really glad to hear you think so highly of it!. Thanks for the compliment I appreciate it.
Posaitan: okay I hear you! Trust me I want to get to those sweet, sweet Percy chapters, because I assure you they are full of action and should answer just as many questions about what's going on as they ask! Just bear with me a lil' longer, good things come to those who wait!
Enjoy the chapter!
Nico Di Angelo, 36 Hours After Eripus
He was exhausted, his body felt paper thin, like the wind could blow him away at any moment. His eyes ached and his throat was raw from the crying. That part was done now, thank the gods. Instead he was filled with a steely resolve for what he must do. He had taken a small piece of ambrosia and downed some nectar after He and Jason had explained to Thalia what was going on over Iris' message. That had been some time yesterday, he wasn't sure exactly how long.
He was currently walking along the coast somewhere, The Ionian stretched into the distance on his right side, a dark black expanse unlit by the stars or moon. The sky was covered in a seething blanket of dark storm clouds, feeding into a supercell in the north where rain and wind raged somewhere against the mountains in the distance. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, he had no doubt his sudden disappearance could be seen as running away.
That wasn't the case, Nico knew that he had to get started on tracking down Percy, and Annabeth not to mention he couldn't be there when Thalia arrived, he didn't think he could have kept composed after he saw the look on her face when she was told Percy had fallen into Tartarus.
He couldn't bear to see the disappointment on her face in person, the pain and fear. Not knowing that he had been less than five feet from the pair of Demigods and had failed to do anything but cry and hold out his hand as they fell. He was disgusted with himself, he had let Percy and Annabeth fall into that hole, and the deepest darkest thoughts he kept hidden taunted him by saying if he had been half the man Percy was he would have jumped in after him.
Percy, his idol and the Demigod he had a major crush on, had jumped into Tartarus without a second thought after Annabeth, the love of his life. Knowing full well what was going to happen when he did it, the only thought he had was that she wouldn't fall alone meanwhile Nico had been too scared at the thought of ending up down there again to move any closer to the edge.
He had been too panicked to think of trying anything beyond holding out his hand and begging Percy to grab it. Then of course, Percy had to be the hero and tell Nico to lead them to the Doors of Death, which he had, without fail. Anything to make up for his cowardice, Then Jason and Gaea had ripped it away from him again.
With a cry of frustration he stalked through the night, the shadows writhing about him, like the center of some whirlpool of darkness. No animals or monsters came anywhere near the Son of Hades, as much as he would have loved a chance to vent some frustration he was looking for something specifically. The ground he now covered was rippled and cracked, like some strange wave frozen in the ground. Remnants of Gaea's anger he thought bitterly before he spat on the ground for good measure, Flipping off the distant hills and mountains as he stalked through the field.
He had spent the last several hours scouring the countryside. He knew they weren't dead, as he couldn't feel their souls in his fathers realm. For a brief moment he had almost thought he felt a trace of something, but it had been gone again in an instant, he assumed he had been tired. This was good in his mind, not being able to feel them meant that they were either in Tartarus or they had gotten out. He couldn't think of any other conditions under which he wouldn't be able to feel their souls, coming up with none he chose to believe in the latter as the thought of them trapped down there was too horrible to even think about.
He had shadow jumped back and forth across the Greek countryside, until he felt like his bones were made of Jell-O, Searching for any sign of the pair.
He was currently back at the Necromanteion or what was left of it, the place had collapsed between the strange magical surge that had destabilized the ruins. Then Gaea's enraged attempt to kill them as they had fled the House of Hades and made a mad dash to the Ship. The resulting damage was absolute, not a single pillar or brick still stood and instead a massive sinkhole of dirt and debris dominated the once proud temple to his father.
Nico, Hazel and Piper had been the only ones to argue for staying. But Jason, that self righteous prick, had cut the chains anyway, causing the doors to fade. Nico had almost killed Jason for that, right then and there. If it hadn't been for Frank, Piper and Hazel dragging him away as they fled through the tunnels to the surface, He was quite confident he would have killed the blonde dickhead long before the ceiling had caved in.
The whole event had left a rather sour taste in his mouth, he had failed Percy and Annabeth, not through lack of trying, but because his own allies his so called 'friends' had dragged him away. Torn his chance at redemption from him. Looking down on the crater, filled with old weathered marble and freshly churned earth did little to raise his hopes that there might be something intact down there, some clue or token with which he could track them.
He wasn't sure how long he sat at the edge of the crater, an hour maybe two? He knew he went through several more brief periods of intense sadness and anger. Yet another reason he had left the other members of the seven.
His powers, They were dangerous when he wasn't in control. His Father's domains were not pleasant and while blasting someone with lighting, summoning fire and controlling water were not necessarily work safe. Shadows coming to life and ripping everything around you apart? Hordes of undead from every age rising from the grave, mentally scaring images of spectres and other long dead, summoned by his presence. Not fun stuff, and not something he would subject Hazel Frank or Piper too.
He wouldn't skip on a chance to knock Jason down a peg or two however.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a girl's war cry, carrying on the wind as the sounds of battle somewhere above him drew his attention. His gaze snapping upwards, drawing a gasp as he saw what was clearly a Roman Demigod mounted on a wounded peanut butter brown Pegasus fighting an aerial battle with several Griffins as she made a mad dash for the ground and what remained of the ruins, no doubt seeking cover from the half dozen or so Griffins.
He didn't know who she was, but she clearly needed help, and he was in the mood to vent some anger. Just the thought of what he could, no what he would do to those Griffins brought a surge of energy to his weary body.
He drew his Stygian Iron sword, standing up as he did so and watching the approach of the rider, who was aiming for an open stretch of ground bathed in moonlight, two dozen or so low trees which had surprisingly remained upright formed a small corpse and would prevent the Griffins from swooping in from the air to attack her. A perfect place for her to turn and begin the fight on even terms Nico noted, whoever she was, she was smart.
He watched as she approached the corpse of trees and that's when everything went to shit. A common occurrence these past few weeks he thought to himself. One of the Griffins had somehow cut off the Pegasus and rider. Its claws outstretched, it had crashed into the pair and the three now entangled had dropped from the sky and crashed into one of the trees below.
"... well…. That could have gone better" Nico said to himself as he sighed. Drawing on his powers he focused, pulling on the shadows around him until they wrapped about him in a blanket of darkness. Then he let himself fall, like slipping into cold water he relaxed, not struggling as the shadows dragged him where he wanted to go.
Then he felt his feet hit solid ground again as he stepped out of the shadows and looked around the small copse of trees. It was quiet and dark, devoid of any life which might have lent some semblance of normalcy to the scene. Unfortunately, the smell of blood hung thick in the air, and several smaller trees ahead of him were snapped like twigs.
Nico scanned the trees and field beyond cautiously as he stepped deeper into the shadows, tightening his grip on his Stygian Iron sword as he did so. The weapon appeared as no more than a glint in the darkness as his nerves were shot, he tensed peering deeply into the shadows, muscles ready to launch his sword into whatever target decided to present itself.
Suddenly he heard the screech of a griffin and the same girl's voice screaming out another war cry as the sounds of battle filled his ears.
Nico rushed forwards and burst into the center of the corpse of trees, still hugging the shadows at its edge, marveling at the scene before him. Several smashed trees made it clear that the Pegasus Nico had seen, who was currently crumpled in the middle of the clearing had crashed, smashing through trees on his way to the ground.
The creature in question was clearly dying, large jagged claw marks covered his hide and leaked blood all over the ground, his wings were in an even worse condition. Bent and broken underneath him as if it had tried to cushion the fall.
The clearing was filled with golden dust and feathers, Nico made out grimly, However four more remained on the ground and two in the sky. Guessing by the amount of golden dust on the ground not only was this girl smart, but lethal.
The girl in question wore full Lorica Segmentata, it had clearly been well maintained at one point. However it was currently riddled with scratches and dents. Her Cassis had a large purple plume to match the long cape she wore on her back, which was tattered and torn. She wielded an imperial gold gladius in her left and a dagger in her right hand. She appeared perfectly comfortable with the weapon combination, twirling the blades with deadly efficiency as she squared off against the two monsters.
He studied her for a moment more before Nico's eyes widened and he gasped "Holy shit, Reyna?". He wasn't sure if she didn't hear him or ignored him but she gave no indication of either. Her focus was directed on the two monsters in front of her.
Behind her on the ground lay a large Scutum shield, which appeared to have been quite literally slashed to pieces, with several long claw marks that tore right through the metal, almost cleaving it in two. Seeming to sense some change or hidden signal the two remaining griffins in the air dropped down towards the ground as suddenly the other four monsters on the ground rushed towards Reyna.
Nico dashed forwards lifting his hands as he did so, he felt like his blood was turning to sludge as his breath misted in front of him, almost in slow motion two of the Griffins charging Reyna seemed to run through a large patch of shadows. Long arms of shadow reaching out and grabbing hold of the griffins, dozens of them. A wing, a Leg, a foot, wherever the shadow hands grabbed patches of shadow appeared like ink and spread across the griffins. With a final grunt of effort he closed both his hands and the shadows covering the griffins disappeared, however he had made sure to leave at least half of them untouched, and unprotected. The resulting explosion of flesh, blood and feathers as half of the griffins disappeared along with the shadows had been worthy of a Saw movie. 'Incomplete shadow travel, scary stuff' he thought to himself with a smirk. The shadows had effectively ripped the beasts in half in an instant, no chance to retaliate let alone avoid it.
Rule one of shadow travel: never rush it, the plane of shadows was a violent place and if one wasn't full protected and prepared against it, look no further than the currently dissolving half griffin piles of goo, that will be you but worse.
His body shook with the effort, while far easier than actually safely shadow traveling it was still a sizeable effort to do it on one person, let alone two Griffins. But the results had been a 'blast' he smirked as he thought to himself, dropping onto his ass in exhaustion as the two griffins in the air screeched and wheeled about in shock as the rear two Griffins disappeared for a moment only to reappear as a spray of blood and guts.
The two monsters charged towards Reyna had failed to notice the horrifying fate of their companions and Reyna for her part didn't even seem to care. She gritted her teeth and yelled out in Latin "Di gladii, mori gladio!" as she charged forwards no fear shown on her face.
The Griffins screeched a reply and ran across the clearing at her; wings flapping as they moved in short hops, allowing their front claws to take swipes and wings to flare out trying to intimidate the demigod. Reyna was completely unfazed as she charged forwards. Seeming to think they could simply run the demigod down the two monsters charged forwards aiming to crush her between them, might have worked on a lesser skilled opponent.
Reyna dropped to her knees and threw her back flat against the ground in a strange half slide right as the monsters were about to slam into her. So perfect was the timing that for a second Nico thought they had actually hit her. That is until the one on the left exploded as she slashed both of her blades across its unprotected stomach, nearly cutting it in half as it dove over her.
Suddenly her one leg shot out to the side, slowing her momentum as she stabbed her knife into the ground grinding her to a halt instantly. The sudden change in momentum flipped her from her back onto her chest as the knife popped out of the ground. In the same moment she was up and running, right after the Griffon who had just noticed he had missed his target.
With an indignant screech it made to turn around, its wings flapping furiously one moment. Then it only had one wing as Reyna sprinted to its side and chopped off the wing, a look of fury marred her blood splattered face as she butchered the Griffon. A half dozen slashes and stabs later, it had dissolved into dust and there was nothing left for the Praetor to vent her rage on.
So naturally she turned around and regarded the two Griffins who had just landed like they were a five star meal, and she a starving apex predator, which given her current performance hadn't been far from the truth Nico noted.
Both monsters seemed hesitant, regarding the demigod with silted eyes as they flexed their claws and wings menacingly. Nico was mildly impressed, she was in bad shape and outnumbered without a shield. Under normal circumstances and he would have joined in to help with the last few, however under the current circumstances he feared what Reyna would do to him if he took this vengeance from her. He could almost fell the intense emotions of hate and rage literally rolling of the praetor. Two was enough, maybe she hadn't noticed he prayed silently.
He knew what Pegasus that was, after seeing it up closer. He didn't know Reyna well, but he knew her well enough to know that Skippy had been her personal mount, and she had doted on the Pegasus. Constantly feeding it apples and sugar cubes whenever she thought no one was watching. Even new members of the legion quickly caught wise to the unspoken rule of: 'don't fuck with Skippy'.
A rule these Griffins had just broken, and guessing by the condition of the Pegasus, there wouldn't be a reprieve for them.
With a snarl Reyna stalked closer to them, her hands out wide as the gladius and dagger slowly weaved their own independent dances as she moved closer to the monsters. Her entire body tensed like a spring as she looked every bit the warrior goddess her mother was. Her posture screamed that she was a skilled combatant and after watching her dispatch the first two with ease Nico could honestly say he was right in his assessment.
The monsters screeched but seemed to realize they were trapped too late, as in order to fly they would have to move past the enraged demigod to build enough speed. They didn't seem to want to try that, so they had resorted to backing up towards the trees. However their large bulk and wings prevented that just as quickly.
Nico was in awe as he realized that Reyna was smirking, this had been intentional! Reyna had been ambushed by the looks of it, outnumbered and outgunned and had somehow picked the perfect location to fight them in. Nico had to give it to her, she was worthy of her title as Praetor of New Rome. The glory, respect and loyalty the roman demigods gave her came with the title, but she was worthy of it regardless.
With a grunt she charged forwards, veering towards the left Griffin who seemed to once again think it could crush her as it reared back on its hind legs and prepared to crush her under its clawed forefeet. Reyna's dagger flashed through the air, hitting the Right griffin in the eye as it screeched in pain, stumbling during its charge as it was now half blind it wasnt able to avoid reyna as the demigoddes slammed into it shoulder first, driving her gladius into its side as she knocked it over.
The sudden change of direction threw off the remaining Griffin who missed as he slammed into the ground several feet from the now prone Praetor. It turned to her with a screech as the roman demigod stood, yanking her gladius out of the corpse of the now dying Griffin before causally twirling it to free the channel of any blood. She stepped forwards before running directly at the creature as it flared its wings and bellowed. Smart enough this time to hold off and wait to attack once she was closer.
Reyna took a series of short sidesteps almost at random as she closed in on the griffin, her sword held loosely by her side. At the last moment she lunged to her left, drawing the creatures gaze as it reared up to attack her. She jumped, Right. Her trajectory launched her past the griffin on an angle, twisting her body as she did so kept her clear of the creatures claws. She responded with an attack of her own, her arm striking out like a snake as the gladius sunk hilt deep, right in the joint between the beasts wing and its neck.
Letting go of her sword she dropped to the ground with a clean and well practiced roll, grabbing a small utility knife from her boot as she flipped it open to expose an imperial gold blade. The Griffin attempted to let out a cry, but it was short midway and it exploded into dust leaving Reyna watching it coldly. She wearily walked forwards, grabbing her sword from the pile of dust as she let out a small groan, clutching at her side, a slow trickle of blood ran its way down her side and leg. Not enough to be lethal, but the wound probably hurt like hell.
"If you are here to finish what the Griffon's started I can guarantee you that it won't be a simple kill. I will take you with me if i must, now show yourself" Reyna called out from where she stood, golden gladius clutched firmly in her hand as she took her helmet off and tossed it to the side
Revealing her dark obsidian eyes and black hair, she glared into the forest as Nico finally stepped forwards and revealed himself. Reyna raised her sword at first before she paused for a minute in shock. Nico gave a short wave before he shakily replied "R-R-Reyna? What are you doing here?" She looked puzzled for a minute before she gasped and almost dropped her sword "Nico?!" she half whispered as she took a few more steps forwards.
"Yea Reyna… What are you doing here? I thought you were with the Legion in New York?" Nico asked quickly, his gaze wandering over the battered armor of the Praetor. The injuries to her face and sword arm look serious, a pair of deep cuts that looked several hours old being the most serious, the one to her side being first in the regard.
"We received a parley from some of your Camper Friends, who gave me a note. From Annabeth, it instructed that I come and meet you and the rest of the seven in Greece in order to escort the Parthenos home, well to your home." She declared her voice clear and concise.
"But, how? It took us weeks by boat… oh no you didn't" Nico said as he looked between the Praetor and the Pegasus. Reyna winced visibly before nodding, "Some sacrifices had to be made and your friend Annabeth made it clear that this was important. Time was of the essence and I couldn't wait for another way to get here" She gently rested a hand on the Pegasus's neck as she knelt beside him.
"That's incredible Reyna, you… you flew halfway across the world alone…." Nico said, doing his best to cover the awe in his voice. He had traveled the world for sure, but he could move at a moment's notice. Avoiding monsters and mortals alike, from the looks of it Reyna had fought half the ancient Greek world just to get here.
"He is the bravest of steeds, and I will ensure that his name is written along with all the others who gave and will give their lives to this war. Rest easy my friend, it's over now." She said quietly, a few tears in the corner of her eyes as she grabbed her long imperial gold dagger.
The Pegasus whinnied quietly as she drove the knife into its neck, looking into the darkness of the forest quietly as she waited for a second or two. Then yanked the weapon free as her friend was finally put out of his misery.
"Alright son of Pluto, where are we headed?" Today has been genuinely awful and I'd like to find this ship of yours as soon as possible. I need to have a conversation with Annabeth Chase, so that I can understand why I was called halfway across the world to bring HER mothers statue home." Reyna finished, her voice hinting at how exhausted she was as it wavered slightly at the end.
"Don't we all want to ask her questions…. I take it you haven't heard yet?" Nico asked as he sat down in exhaustion, his back leaned up against a tree.
Reyna shifted nervously as she walked over to stand in front of him. "What do you mean Di Angelo?" Reyna asked.
"Well it's simple really, Annabeth and Percy fell into Tartarus. They were supposed to meet us at the doors of death. They didn't, and now everything is so royally fucked." Nico said as his head fell forwards into his hands.
There was a sharp inhale, and Reyna's eyes widened as she looked at Nico in shock. That quickly faded though, replaced by determination, and a hint of curiosity. "Start talking, I want to know how exactly my Co-Praetor ended up in Tartarus." She said grimly as she took a seat beside Nico. hugging her knees to her chest as she started into the darkness waiting for Nico to begin.
"I'd rather not discuss this right now…" Nico started to say before Reyna cut him off.
"I would have rather not flown halfway across the world, only to at the end of my journey have to kill my best friend." She said as her gaze became fierce and she looked at Nico. "Humor me." Reyna finished pointedly before turning back to look at the forest, and away from the corpse of her Pegasus.
"Well… glad to see you're as accommodating as always Praetor…" Nico said mirthlessly as he sighed. "Here's the deal, we patch you up and eat something first and ill tell you everything while we rest, deal?" Nico said as he held out his hand, his stomach picked that exact moment to rumble like a medium sized hellhound. Reyna raised an eyebrow and looked at him, seeming to consider it for a moment before she shook his hand quickly and began unpacking some medical supplies and what remained of her rations.
They ate in silence, and Nico quickly helped the Praetor take off her ruined armor and clean up the shallow wound that ran across her ribs. Then with a few sips of ambrosia they had settled against some of the trees at the edge of the corpse, staring out in the fields. Nico took a deep breath Before launching into his recounting of the last few days with great reluctance, he didnt want to talk about this. But a promise was a promise he was gonna keep his and he wanted to get some sleep tonight, so he figured it was best to get this over with now.
Dream
She stood on the shores of a strange ocean, her bare feet touching the black sand of an endless beach. Which stretched out into the distance on both sides of her. Turning around she saw a forest of trees stretched along the endless shoreline. Broken only by the occasional jagged spire of red rock which reached for the roiling black clouds above.
The tree's were jagged leafless looking things, like blackened bones that sprouted from the rich blood red grass that covered the ground beyond the black sand beach. The forest was devoid of life, and the only sound came from the roaring of the ocean; she felt compelled to look at it, drawn by some power.
The water itself was a strange, swirling hues of green and blue crashed against the shore in waves. Massive black clouds covered the sky in every direction as red lighting crackled and pulsed over the nightmarish sea. However what captivated her gaze was the flicking fire that seemed to cling to the water's surface. Flashing colors ranging from a deep red, to yellow and white.
Like patches of oil, certain portions of the sea blazed with these flames, like beacons in the darkness. Further out to sea massive waves crashed against spires of rock jutted from the waters offshore, throwing fire into the air as the water hummed with power. This was unlike any Sea she had ever heard of let alone seen.
In the distance an Inhuman scream cut through the noise of the storm, stretching on for what felt like minutes. A scream filled with mind numbing pain and little else. Her head snapped in the direction of the voice. It sounded so familiar, as she felt the dream begin to guide her. As she walked forwards closer to the water, strange voices began to sing, quietly at first before they rose to a crescendo just as she reached the waters edge.
Suddenly a figure burst free from under the water, the sea literally exploded around them, as it began to boil. A pair of large manacles around his wrists descended into the water. She followed the chains and saw that they were mounted atop large spires of rock that jutted from the sea. The figure thrashed in agony, his screams rising higher and higher as his body glowed green and a white light shone behind his eyes.
Slowly with a whimper the figure stopped screaming , the glow faded and the seas calmed. As the figure slowly stopped thrashing, the water ceased to boil and froth until it seemed smooth as glass. The figure was slumped over, a steady stream of black smoke pouring out of something on the front of their chest.
She could clearly see whoever it was had died, just by the way they slouched over face down just inches above the water. Completely limp, their limbs twisted at odd angles by the manacles still attached to the heavy chains. She suppressed a sob, her hand reaching out, how was he here? Where even was here? Who did this to him?
She tried to call out, tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't work. She was forced to play the spectator as suddenly the body began to twitch slightly, first just a hand or a finger. Then came a sharp inhale as the figure exploded into movement rearing back out of the water in agony as a sea green aura enveloped him once more.
She watched in awe as the Ocean around her roared to life in response, a hurricane of flaming water spinning through the air around her, the chained figure still, their face tight with pain and concentration. She collapsed to her knees as the sound of singing which had been so calm and gentle prior now roared in her mind, drowning out everything else, she could swear there was laughter mixed in.
The Ocean seemed to be fighting back against the man, she could make him out now, broad shouldered. With tan skin and black hair, his stunning sea green eyes. They were almost blank as he stared ahead, unfocused. She could see now how bad of shape he was in, the skin around his wrists was worn raw, his body was covered in burns and cuts, a strange circular Tattoo on his left pectoral over his heart seemed to swirl slowly and the veins in his neck and chest had turned a dark blue color.
His skin was covered in deep cuts which oozed blood, and his chest heaved with exertion as once again the screams started. "By the gods" she whispered, already running before she even realized what she was doing.
She reached out for him as he cried out in pain, his eyes locked with hers and for a second there was a spark of recognition. He called out her name and the storm seemed to intensify at his call, the fury of the sea threw water into the air. Carried by the harsh winds it began splashing her skin as she screamed out in pain. Agony like she had never felt before, flared along her legs, hands and chest, the intensity of it drove her to her knees.
Like a frenzied animal the water seemed to grab at her, sensing her momentary weakness. She tried to fight back, but it felt like she was swimming in molasses as it dragged her under the surface. A scream tearing itself from her throat as the water filled her mouth and nose burning everything it touched.
Just as she thought she would die from the pain alone, just as her lungs screamed in torment. A strange green smoke swirled around her in the water, a cocoon of green gas enveloped everything in sight as she cried out and struggled against the water's grasp.
Suddenly the pain vanished, as she lay on the ground in a large circular room, ancient and crumbling. Shaking and sobbing as the after effects of the pain and the fear still clouded her mind. She stumbled to her feet, gazing about the massive chamber. The air smelled dry and stale, like a dusty attic or basement long forgotten.
She felt guided as she began to walk forwards, sniffling and clutching her arms to her chest. She slowly approached a large set of doors, which loomed before her, a stark white to contrast the gray of the old stone with which the place had been built.
She felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked over the ornate doors, clearly made of some sort of ivory, inlaid with gold and other precious metals and gems. The Doors depicted an elaborate scene with Apollo dragging the sun overhead behind his chariot, while a grand temple below him filled with worshipers prayed jubilantly to the sky.
The center of the relief was dominated by a female figure in a Vestal Shroud, her hands clasped about an amulet of the sun as her fair features were cast upwards, her eyes lifted towards the sun.
She walked to the door calmly, her hands reaching to lay against the cool ivory as she gazed in awe at the doors. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew these doors, she had walked through them so many times. Yet, at the same time she had never seen them before in her entire life.
As her hands touched the doors, a strange green smoke began to swirl about in the air in front of her, seeming to seep out of the doors themselves as the woman in the shroud, seemed to glow slightly.
Then eyes of the woman on the door flashed bright green as its mouth opened and screamed in terror. The shriek caused her to clap her hands over her ears and still the piercing howl drove her to her knees in pain.
The green smoke swirled about the room, as the voices of dozens of women, hundreds maybe joined in all at once. Hundreds of voices, from all walks of life and all places, united they spoke.
"Girl, Listen closely for your life and the lives of many depend on this. We have not the strength to hide you from him for long. He has bound us so tightly, to think that Lord Apollo is blind to his cunning, his treachery knows no bounds. It took all of our energy to guide you here" The voices groaned with strain in unison as the whole dream before her seemed to ripple.
"Listen close, The time of the Horse and Sword is Nigh. They have bound us, defiled the temple of Apollo, The god of prophecies is blind to the danger ahead, and his sight must be restored." The voices cried out as dust fell from the ceiling, the combined might of their cry shaking the foundations of the ancient building.
She paused, as the air took on the scent of death and decay, the hairs on the back of her neck rose and she could swear a strange hissing sound could be heard, slowly growing louder.
"There is no time! There is no one else to carry the message and you must not be caught here by him, or all hope is lost!" the voices cried out before they all spoke at once, with deadly certainty.
"An ancient pact shall be unwoven, the fate of shadows shall be broken, her herald found at long last, his sacrifice shall be his past."
The girl's eyes went wide as she realized what was happening.
"No no no no… you can't do this again!" she screamed as she looked around her at the swirling clouds of green mist. "TAKE ME BACK! HE NEEDS ME!" she shouted in anger at the whirlwind of smoke.
"Nine Demigods shall march in the face of Doom, the answer lies in wisdom's tomb. A foe from times long past, risen from the shadows cast"
"The blood of a king betrayed, the price in lives he paid, his people lost to one man's greed, the gods desires and foolish need"
"The Time of the Sword and Horse is Nigh, when Kings shall bleed and mortal men shall die beneath a crimson sky, Soon the hunting horn shall ring, with it our doom shall they sing."
"The nemesis of Apollo is risen, no sword or spear, shall pierce his hide. So powerful is the Great Chthoniosis. Pythia must strike the blow, her weapon, a legacy of Zeus lost in Scythia.
The voices rang out with certainty as the echoes of another great prophecy filled the ruined building. The smoke began to swirl more rapidly around her as visions began to flash within its turbulent currents.
She saw Chiron's face, lines of worry creased his brow as the look of dread in his eyes showed how afraid the immortal centaur was. Suddenly a coffee cup fell from his hand and shattered on the floor.
She saw Nico walking along the shores of camp Half-Blood, the Praetor Reyna beside him, both looked weary and battle worn, yet determination shone clearly in their eyes as they walked towards her cave.
She saw Annabeth and Thalia, screaming at each other, the former looking like hell, her skin pale and her chest heavily bandaged as they suddenly surged forwards hugging as they sobbed into each others arms.
She saw a great battle, the army of the gods crashing against a seemingly endless horde of monsters. They were losing, she watched as dozens of demigods died brutally, ripped apart and crushed. Thousands of mortals and monsters were rallied under the banners of Gaea.
She saw Olympus burning a blood red moon had risen in the background and snow swirled in the air.
The smoke swirled about her faster as the scent of death and decay in the air became overpowering. The horrifying sound like something heavy dragging itself across the ground grew louder still as a gentle hiss could be heard.
"Quickly before he arrives, there is more she must know!" the voices cried out as the smoke now a tornado, as it picked up speed and whirled about her with a furious intensity.
She saw a group of thirteen horsemen, standing atop a hill. Gazing at her, their horses covered in armor black as coal. Mist billowed at their mouths as the pawed at the frozen grass, the warriors themselves wore dark furs and strange metal armor, all of it covered in a thin layer of frost. Then the first rider raised a horn to his lips, and as he blew it a wall of snow and ice surrounded him.
More images flashed in the smoke, as she saw nine faces flash rapidly in the smoke. Piper, Leo, Frank, Jason, Thalia, Annabeth, Hazel, Nico and finally Reyna. They swirled about her all at once looking at her before a grand temple in the middle of a desert, with a lazy blue river and a middle eastern city in the distance filled her vision and the voices screamed out at her.
"FIND AND FREE US ORACLE OF APOLLO OR ALL HOPE FOR OLYMPUS AND THE GODS IS LOST!" The voices cried out one last time as something roared behind her, shaking the very foundation of the ancient temple.
She could hear it rushing her, the sound of its body moving became a roar as the stench of death and decay filled her nostrils. She whirled about and just before the dream faded she saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring at her through the tornado of green smoke.
The monster reared back to strike and suddenly the dream faded to black.
Rachel Dare
To be fair, prophetic visions and dreams were never pleasant, she usually spent an hour or so nearly catatonic after a possession by the oracle. However, whatever the hell had just happened had made every single vision Rachel had ever had seem like a walk in the park in comparison.
Rachel surged to consciousness, her whole body drenched in sweat as she sat bolt upright screaming in raw terror. Her blankets clung to her and she ripped them off, throwing herself out of her bed and lunging for the nearby garbage pail as she began to violently throw up.
Her mind was racing as she continued to throw up, her body violently reacting to the prophetic dream as she struggled to keep calm. After several minutes of dry heaving and crying she was able to get enough strength back in her limbs to stumble to the sink.
Splashing cold water over her face and rising her mouth helped to clear her mind and wash the foul acidic taste away. she looked in the mirror, Her vibrant red curls were a frizzy mess around her face and the dark shadows under her eyes stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. She stumbled away from the sink back towards her bed.
"Fuck….." she whispered quietly as she checked the clock on the bedside table. It read 3:42 am, which meant she wasn't going to be going back to sleep today. Her brain was overloaded as she ran the new Prophecy back, almost on repeat in her mind, quickly grabbing her journal and jotting down as many details as she felt necessary.
Her body was wracked with intense shakes as the exhaustion following a possession set in. She was still struggling to process the information she had been given. Prophecies were usually pretty vague, but this one was exceptionally so. A Third Great prophecy had just been issued, and the second one wasnt even completed yet.. it was unheard of, then again the events of the last few years had been a pretty wild ride she had to admit.
Rachel had no idea who the "Great Chthonios" was however the name sounded fairly Greek, She was sure Chiron would know who or what it spoke of. The fact that no sword or spear could pierce his hide was terrifying. The legacy of Zeus, lost in Scythia, was a strange line, something that she hadn't expected and whoever Pythia was they had a shit job apparently.
The rest of the prophecy sounded like complete gibberish, however the part about mortal men dying under a crimson sky and kings bleeding was deeply troubling and very ominous. Prophecies did not normally take time to broach the subject of mortals in any way, in fact it was the first time she had ever heard of a modern day prophecy that even mentioned them.
Figuring out who the Nine Demigods were was easy enough; what she had to guess was the oracle of Delphi herself, or its spirit maybe. Had shown her exactly who it was talking about. A little bit of concern bubbled at the back of her mind as she realized Percy wasn't one of those nine.
Almost immediately she remembered the voice screaming in her dream as she had stood on the beach, before her dream got hijacked that is. Rachel's eyes widened in panic as she realized that it had been Percy's voice, near unrecognizable but the more she thought about it and the more she knew she was right.
"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck….." Rachel muttered to herself as she paced back and forth in her room, the light from several candles made the cave feel warm and inviting even if at the moment Rachel felt anything but that.
She had no way of knowing if what she had seen was going to happen, had happened or was simply a possibility and it was infuriating. She nearly ripped her hair out in frustration as she cursed Apollo picking her to be his oracle had just about ruined her life. She didn't need to know this kind of shit, she didn't want to!
Rachel slumped to the floor against her bed, arms wrapped about her knees as she pensively stared at the walls of her cave. Before she had been given the sight she would have thought it a gift, something that you would want or at least be glad to have.
It was nothing but a curse she thought to herself bitterly. She could see what was going to happen, she had even seen glimpses of Annabeth falling into Tartarus, but the fates had their own laws and even the oracle was beholden to them. So here Rachel was, stuck knowing the fate of those she cared about and normally unable to even warn them in the slightest.
It was a terrible feeling, and one that sadly, she had gotten used to, there weren't many demigods in camp-half blood she hadn't seen die a dozen times over in her dreams. With a sigh she stood up, she wasn't a fighter, or a demigod. But she cared about everyone in this camp, she had friends who she could protect if she found a way to understand this prophecy and she wasn't about to sit here and wallow in her own despair if there was even a chance she could do something.
She was Rachel Dare gods dammit, she had thrown a hairbrush at Kronos she wasn't about to let a bad dream, regardless of how bad. Set her back or stop her.
Nodding her head to herself as she now had a plan, she grabbed her notebook and quickly rushed out of the smaller cave which served as her bedroom. Into the main chamber which housed all her painting supplies. Pausing just long enough to throw on a large shirt over her underwear and a painting apron as she quickly tied her hair back into a loose ponytail.
Throwing her notebook on a low table she immediately set up several canvases throughout the room and grabbed several paint trays and bottles. Once everything was set up, she walked over and started to prepare her paints, falling into a sort of trance as she hummed to herself.
Painting was one thing she had loved, always wanting to go to school for it even if her family thought it was a waste of time, a waste of the prestigious Dare bloodline. But, as a medium it allowed her to preserve her visions and study them in greater detail. Not to mention she enjoyed it immensely, which was a bonus.
She figured she had a few hours before sunrise and her inevitable meeting with Chiron, which she had little doubt would ruin the rest of his day, and whatever pair of shoes she decided to wear. She also had to warn the camp that a certain Son of Hades and a Praetor of Rome would be arriving shortly, given the hostilities between the Greek and Roman camps lately it wouldn't end well if the Roman Praetor just walked in without warning.
She grinned a little, It was time to do what she did best and paint. she could worry about all the other stuff once she was done with this. Although she had no doubt the artwork she would produce would be lifelike in its quality, she had some genuine doubts as to who would actually want to look at these paintings. Her dreams tonight had been dark, very dark.
She began to paint, her brush flowing across the canvas as her mind wandered, not really paying attention to what she was painting. If it didn't sound so cliché she would have said she 'felt the painting' but that wasn't quite right either. So she left defining her painting style to those who had more time and an inclination to devote said time to the subject. For her it was as simple as painting what she saw in her mind.
Time passed quickly as she painted, her five canvases rapidly filling as she moved back and forth between them at a whim, going where she felt she had to and painting only what needed to be put to paper. It was easy for your artwork to be meaningful when it was literally prophecies put to paper she thought with a smirk.
By the time the birds had begun to sing and the sun had risen enough to shine into her cave, Rachel sat in a chair, exhausted but finished as she stared at the five works of art she had produced that night. Each equally terrifying and beautiful, she shuddered as she quickly placed covers over each of them and lined them up against the wall.
Fifteen minutes later she was fully dressed, Jeans and a t-shirt with some white sneakers. Her hair still tied back in a ponytail, splatters of oil paint all over her hands and face. Dark shadows clung underneath her eyes. She knew she looked half dead and she had no doubt the few campers who saw her in the morning knew something strange was happening, Rachel never made her way into camp this early.
She was interrupted from her thoughts as she ascended the steps to the big house. Apprehension filled her chest as she raised her hand and knocked on the large barn door.
'KNOCK KNOCK'
It rang out across the camp in the early morning quiet and for a few moments Rachel was hopeful that maybe she had been wrong. She was just about to turn around and walk back to her cave, take a few more hours to sleep and then maybe come back and try to find Chiron when she heard the door behind her open.
'Fuck' she cursed inwardly as she turned around and looked at Chiron, who sat in his wheelchair, a cup of coffee in his hand. "Rachel.. To what do I owe the pleasure so early in the morning? I assure you if the campers have been bothering you again, just tell me who, I've been trying to catch the Stoll brothers red handed for weeks now." The old centaur declared with a slight edge of irritation in his voice.
"Don't drop the cup Chiron" Rachel said flatly.
"W-What do you-" Chiron started to ask her a look of worry crossing his noble features before Rachel cut him off.
"A new great prophecy has been issued, and I think the Oracle is in trouble" Rachel declared in an exhausted tone.
'SMASH'
"Chiron….. I warned you not to drop the fucking cup…" Rachel said without humor as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Authors Note:
Well as promised here you go, another chapter and the longest one 'yet' haha (trust me chapter 8 is a fucking long one... my hands hurt... bad). I really hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I did writing it and editing it! I know you all want to know what is happening to Percy and how Annabeth made it out of Tartarus. I promise all those questions will be answered soon, just one more chapter!
(Some minor changes were made to the dialogue in the second half of chapter 6, I was a little unhappy with how it came out and made some necessary changes. Nothing that happened changed just how it was said haha)
I have done lots of research for this story, and delved into lots of different mythologies from around the world(some of that will come up soon!) I AM BY NO MEANS a master of said knowledge and I apologize to anyone if I get something wrong. Before anyone calls it out I also took out the part of the letter where Annabeth explains they are in Tartarus, i just like it better that the seven are the only ones who currently know. (just to explain why Rachel and Reyna are surprised to learn where Percy and Annabeth are.)
Nico's shadow powers are pretty vague so I took some creative liberty with what he can do, sue me.
ANOTHER PROPHECY? Oh no... whatever will our brave heroes do? ( Rachel is awesome so.. there's that too)
There will always be updated on Friday around 9am EST every week, however ill try and get out extra chapters when and where I can. As always thanks to everyone who reviewed, or will review in the future I read them all and just wanted to say thanks! As always till next time!