Chapter One
Persephone Jackson, daughter of Poseidon and Hero of Olympus, watched as the newest group of demi-gods gathered at the pavilion waiting to be claimed by their divine parent in a new ceremony that had been put together after the final battle with the Titians. After she had chastised the Gods for their blatant disregard for the lives of their children, she had used the boon given to her by the Gods to force them to claim their children by the time they turned eleven. The Hunters of Artemis would be responsible for finding and escorting any demi-god who could not make the journey on their own. The children of the Gods would no longer be ignored and used, like generations before, they would have a voice and they would have a chance to live beyond being an instrument of the Gods.
Most of the children in this group were excited to finally meet their divine parent, some were hazarding small guesses as to who their Godly parent might be, with the older campers also offering their opinion. A few looked nervous about the ritual, but the campers from the Hermes and Demeter cabins were helping get the new children prepared. Katie and Clarisse made their way over to her, both sporting large grins as they got closer.
"Hey Princess, hiding from all your admirers?" Clarisse snarked.
"No, I'm waiting for you to start another fight War Head." Percy shot back, smiling.
"I'll save your ass kicking for tomorrow, since I'm generous and don't want to scare the newbies."
Percy and Clarisse laughed at their banter, while Katie just shook her head. Thalia and Nico appeared as the flames around the pavilion flared brightly and a loud rumble of thunder echoed through the camp. Suddenly several figures appeared before the new demi-gods, causing a few to back up slightly at their sudden appearance. Zeus let the thunder echo for a few more seconds as Hades and Poseidon appeared on either side of him.
"Drama Queen." Percy whispered, making Thalia and Clarisse snort, while Katie tried to shush them.
Some of the other Gods and Goddesses noticed Percy in her small hiding spot and waved to her as Chiron appeared holding a large book, ready to record the new demi-gods, their divine parent, and the cabin they would be assigned to.
"Let all those children step into the circle so that they may be claimed by their divine parent!" Zeus roared as a glowing circle appeared making all the campers go quiet. This was the important part and the older campers were ready to greet any new siblings.
"Some of them look nervous." Nico observed throwing his arm around Percy's shoulder.
"Everyone was nervous at some point to learn who their Godly parent was, or that they had a Godly parent. Remember, not everyone knows that the Gods exist, most of the population believes that they are only stories and myths." Katie pointed out.
"At least this group isn't full of whining toddlers." Thalia added, making the group shudder at the memory.
As each child stepped into the circle, one of Gods would step forward to claim them. Aphrodite claimed two girls, Amber and Gabriella, both girls had the same striking looks as their mother, but looked different enough to show they had different fathers. Demeter claimed a boy named Andrew, his brown hair and green eyes helping him blend in with his new siblings.
Apollo claimed two boys, Vincent and Parker, and a girl, Jezebel, all three shared his smile and eyes. Ares claimed the last two children, both boys, Kenneth and Ben, just as big and burly as their brothers. Chiron finished writing down all the names and bowed to the Gods, signaling the end of the ceremony.
"Congratulations to our new campers, I am sure you will do your cabin proud." Zeus stated as the Gods stepped forward to talk with their children.
"Ugh, two more males. The testosterone levels are going to be ridiculous." Clarisse groused as she watched her father greet all the rough looking boys.
"There haven't been any daughters of Ares born in a while."
"Nope, damn cabin is turning into a sausage fest."
Laughing Percy decided to talk to her father before he had to leave. Poseidon lit up at the sight of his only living daughter. The two of them talked about Percy's next visit to Atlantis and how Sally was doing. The others had also broken off to talk to their new siblings or talk to their own divine parent.
Soon the festivities began to die down and the Gods began to depart one by one back to Olympus, or their realm. As the last God left, Percy returned to her small group of friends, feeling exhausted and just wanting to sleep for the next ten years.
"Sleep over?"
"Sleep over!" the other four chimed.
The group of five stumbled into Cabin 3 and barely managed to do their night time rituals before they collapsed in a dog pile in the middle of the cabin floor. Pillows and blankets kept the group from being uncomfortable. Percy smiled as she listened to the others drift off. Sending up a prayer of thanks for another peaceful day, Percy allowed her mind to drift off as sleep began to envelope her consciousness.
Dream Sequence:
Exploding rocks and screams surrounded Persephone as she stood in the middle of a wasteland. Burnt and broken bodies littered the area, their agonized poses showing the pain and horror that they felt at the suddenness of their deaths. A sudden explosion caused Percy to look up and gasp in horror at the gaping green hole in the sky, spewing out green comets that hit the ground and threw out shrapnel. Dodging the comets and the flying rocks Percy continued towards the hole in the wall where she could see the beginnings of a large green funnel.
Walking closer, Percy noticed that the funnel connected to the tear in the sky. Green figures appeared as she walked, swimming through the air, reaching out towards her with their misty arms, their screams echoing through the wasteland, bouncing through the air, and causing her ears to ring. Ignoring them as much as possible, Percy continued on until she heard a soft song that felt so out of place drift through the air. Intrigued by the sound, she followed it until she found a large red rock jutting up from the ground. Confused she reached out to touch it when a voice suddenly spoke.
"Now is the hour of our victory, bring forth the sacrifice."
Startled, Percy stumbled as she turned sharply, but there wasn't anyone behind her or in the surrounding area. Peaking over some nearby rocks, she found the end of the green funnel, but no people, there wasn't anyone anywhere she could see. Deciding that she needed to get closer to the funnel, Percy carefully made her way around the area, looking for a way down the embankment.
"Someone, help me!"
The scream jolted Percy's already frayed nerves, but she continued on, this was only a vision, she knew that now, she needed to find what it was about. Sliding down a small cliff, she found herself at the base of the funnel.
"You must help them; warn them, they are in danger!"
It was a feminine voice shouting, this one different, more powerful, haunting in its own way, reaching out to Percy as she wandered the area looking for clues. Reaching for Riptide, Percy suddenly found herself in a flowing white dress that draped over her body, making her look fragile. Her long hair was out of it's usual braid and trailing down her back in loose curls and she had no shoes on her feet, but there was no damage to be seen.
"Please help them, they won't survive without you, they will fracture and fall."
"Who is going to fall, who are you, and where am I?"
"The world is changing, they need you to bring them into a new age, stay true to yourself and you will be victorious."
More screaming started as soon as the voice stopped, the wind began to stir violently until Percy had to close her eyes to keep the dirt from shredding them. Sliding backwards due to the force of the wind, she was unable to stand her ground and quickly found herself flung back violently. A sharp pain in her face made her eyes pop open to find Clarisse getting ready to hit her again. Nico, Thalia, and Katie were waiting to see what would happen before summoning Chiron. Percy glanced down and found herself still dressed in the white gown from her vision.
"Well, that was different."