A translation of the Latin Spells are in the AN on the bottom of the page...
This is the first entirely original chapter for this rewrite. I plan on showing the whole year for Aaron, with some time skips naturally...
"Deus magne inferno vocavi te rogo atque hortor succursum responsionibus. In opus magis et virtutem, virtus mea ultra mortale forma, quae ultra imperium concedit in sanguine meo, ego quaeritur te ad designandum in via. Ad designandum viam novam Fatum meum est, liceat mihi Fatum, quod in- servire aliis diis, et ultra non possum et in tempore." Shivering, Aaron summoned his blade, placing it on his hand he hesitated only for a moment.. then sliced down, carving a thin path across his palm. Hissing, he quickly tossed his blood onto the fire in the braizer in his room. The blood popped and hissed in the fire, but there was only a minimal charge of magic in the air. "Hades, please... I offer my blood to you, this mere mortal blood of mine, and I ask again this time in English... how do I gain the power and knowledge I need to be of service?"
Silence... painful, agonizing silence.
Aaron sighed, stepping away from his brazier, moving to his desk where a collection of potions and salves were placed. He had spent the last month working on them, using the basic information in his Grimoire to cast new spells and craft as many elixirs as he could to really master his magic as high as he could. So far he had managed to create over thirty vials of burn salves, healing paste and a pain reduction elixir... of course none of them were very effective due to his inexperience, low power and the low potency of the potions in question. He was a beginner witch, without any major divine allies other then the bare connection he had to Hades.
He was practically worthless, without even new knowledge to expand his craft. Sure he had his Grimoire but he had read it entirely and realized that it would only take a handful of months to master what he was reading. The book contained about a hundred spells, potions and whatnot but they were all basic level, introducing someone to magic more then the actual practice of it. It would be helpful but only to get him started, he would need more if he was to survive the war against Kronos.
"Sigh, well that wasn't helpful. Either he can't or won't help me, my spell was strong enough to get his notice or I did it wrong. Damn, maybe a better sacrifice to invoke his presence more? I don't know... " Reaching over to his desk, he grabbed a minor healing paste and smeared on small bit of the light brown paste on, ignoring the stinging, burning feel. Closing his eyes, he took in several deep breathes as he had been taught, drawing on the power of the Earth into his body. It was slow and steady, not unlike a leak in a balloon slowly letting out the air only in reverse. He didn't actually cast any spell, just let the magic linger in his system, replenishing the little magic he used to light his brazier and say his prayer spell to invoke Hades. It had an added bonus of easing his pain and helping his wounded hand to heal, a perk of magic, any magic really. Enhanced healing.
Tired but determined, he stood from his desk and walked out of his room, feeling the runes he had carved into the door frame and covered in blood ( Blood was a wonderful catalyst) casting their barrier over his door. It, he hoped, keep people out and alert him to intruders. He had never tested it out, he wasn't even sure he had enough power to manage it. He could only hope at this point, one of the lovely perks of being a new but weak witch without divine help.
'I shouldn't even be doing this crap yet, according to my Grimoire most new acolytes start by acting as servants to the older more experienced witches and priestesses, doing minor magical tasks to build their skill and natural reserves. I should have to be practicing for war just yet. But I have no choice, none of us do really.'
Slowly, he made his way to the front of the building where Chiron was sitting oddly alone. Dionysius must have been napping, which was sort of fortuitous for Aaron. "So, my prayer didn't seem to work."
Chiron turned to him for a moment before nodding with a low sigh. "That is to be expected, he cannot openly help you fight my father or learn without showing too much support. Still, I would be patient, most prayer spells like that take time to come into effect. The gods receive many prayers a day, many an hour, your spell only pushed it forward in terms of importance, not suppressed the others. I would keep my eyes open to signs or other things that show Hades has in fact helped you."
"If you say, I can only hope..."
Chiron turned a pitying eye on him. "You've made great progress so far, you have made many potions on your own, I saw that runic spell on your bedroom door, I know you use your telekinesis to summon back your arrows when you fire then into your target which takes precision. Never forget you are human, so you learn everything at a natural pace, nothing is supernaturally enhanced for you."
"I know... sigh... I think I am going to go work out, clear my mind. Thanks for the chat, it did help despite my attitude, I promise." Nodding to the man before him, Aaron strode away, walking towards the sword arena.
"""
The arena, as always, was prepared and ready for his assault. He instantly summoned his shield and his blade, taking the rose pattern on the flat of the blade for a moment, before falling into his stance. Waiting only a moment, he flew into action slicing across the Dummy's belly before rolling to the side and slicing upward knocking off an arm. He bashed forward with his shield, pushing just a little too far so he actually stumbled forward with it's weight. Cursing a little, he tried to take it in stride and used the motion to swirl around and slice diagonally across the Dummy's front.
This went on for about twenty minutes, but for whatever reason every mistake resonated far more within him then normal.
"Damn, why... am I screwing up so much. Percy had weeks of sparse training and took on a literal war god, but here I am barely getting by on my own against these damn dummies." Growling out, he was pretty tempted to toss his blade away in irritation, only holding on out of respect for the weapon and it's craftsmanship.
Huffing, he sat down on the ground and put his head in his arms, letting his sword and shield sit beside him.
For what felt like hours he sat there, contemplating his own uselessness, but then it started to get cold. Uncomfortably so, which was odd since it was August, so he shivered and stood up, grabbing his stuff figuring it was dusk... only to find, to his shock, that it was still the afternoon. The sky was high in the sky, and it should have been incredibly warm.
"The hell?" Turning about, he looked for... something. An fan, an open door that created a draft... something that would explain why it was so bloody chilly. "Is anyone there?" He tightened his grip on his weapons, slowly falling into a stance, ready to fight no matter how relatively unskilled he was.
Silence... nothing, not a shred of any sort of voice or presence, just that odd chill... for a solid minute this was all there was, and then he felt it. A push, soft and gentle, like a tiny breeze, pushing him towards to door of the Arena. Cautious, he moved with the breeze, slowly and with his weapons out. Step by step, he approached the door... and saw nothing more, no one was there and yet he felt more pushing, more urgent and forceful.
Without saying a word he allowed the breeze to lead him away, following it as it led him through the Camp. No one else seemed to notice it, or him for that matter. No demigods looked at him as he went by, no satyrs sniffing at him when he walked past the volley ball court, not even Chiron looked at him as he walked near the Archery targets. He knew then that something was going on, something... odd.
More cautious then ever, he let the breeze take him towards what he presumed was the final target... the Bonfire, the place where they had Campfires and burned their dead. Only, there was no fire there. In it's place, oddly enough was a large crack five feet wide in each direction, with a set of black steps leading downward. Stunned, he just looked at it for a moment, with the breeze getting more and more urgent until it was practically a gale that knocked him over with the force of a punch.
"Fine, fine... I'll go... just... be patient with me."
Flexing his weapons, he walked over to the odd crack and put his foot on the first step, hesitating only slightly to go down all the way.
Oh Great God Hades, I call to you, I beseech your aide and beg answers. In need of more power, power beyond my mortal form, power beyond what my blood allows, I ask of you to point the way. Point the way to my new destiny, a destiny that will allow me to serve others and the gods more then I can at the moment.