Disclaimer: I don't own HP or PJO.
AN-1: I am so happy for all the positive responses this fic has received, and I hope that this one continues to please you guys over its journey to completion.
AN-2: As always, a big thanks to my editor LordLexx, and my beta Hades, who both have done great work on this chapter.
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"I still don't understand which god is your parent for you to have both fire and lightning," Gaphrus remarked as they sat upon the back of a grey Pegasus the satyr had. "Maybe Lord Apollo? A few of his children over the millennia have shown aeromancy, would not be too strange if one of his children got lightning instead."
"But you told me his children always have blond hair and blue eyes, or at least one of the two," Harry pointed out, reading the book on Greek Mythology the satyr had given to him. "Can it be one of the Minor gods? One who probably looks after the storms?"
"Hmm, quite possible," he nodded in response, "but that would bring your fire abilities to question, and no disrespect, but the children of those known as minor gods are nowhere near as powerful as you at eight years old. And I still don't understand how you have telekinesis. I have seen demigods summon objects with the Mist or aeromancy, but nothing like what you are capable of."
"My aunt and uncle always said I was a freak," Harry shrugged in response, reading about how Poseidon married Amphitrite to make peace between him and Oceanus. "Maybe they were right."
"That is something Chiron can only tell you about Harry," Gaphrus sighed, before he looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "I think you might want to close that book and drop it in my bag child. We are about teleport, and I would hate for that book to get torn up because an inch of it was outside the Pegasus' capability."
"Okay Graphus." He nodded and stuffed that book inside his bag, before he looked at the wings of the horse he was sitting upon. "Wait, what do you mean teleport? Isn't this thing going to fly?"
"Well it can fly," he said, patting the side of the majestic creature, making the winged-quine neigh and snort. "But I don't think it is wise for us to stay out of the Camp's protection any longer than necessary. When a demigod learns about his true nature, the latent divine energy inherited from one's divine parents starts to seep faster and faster into their bodies. And th-"
"Why does this divinity seep faster into demigods after they learn of it?"
"I don't know about that. I am a nature spirit, not a demigod or even a minor god, Harry, but acknowledging who you are has a profound effect on your mental self, it's not so much of a stretch that it would have one on your spiritual self as well." Graphus explained patiently, tugging on the reins of Pegasus, as the creature trotted forwards while flapping its wings slowly, the satyr continued. "Regardless, now that you have learned about your divine blood, your aura will condense and grow day by day, which means the monsters will be able to sense where you are. And make no mistake Harry, you are a powerful demigod. I was able to feel you from over a kilometer away, and now that you know about what you actually are, it is only going to increase. Once we are within the boundaries of the Greeks, monsters will chase after you like bloodhounds every time you are outside the camp… and therefore you need to learn how to wield weapons, how to fight monsters, and how to use your powers."
As Graphus started to talk about the Camp in detail, Harry listened with only half his mind, the other half more preoccupied with the feeling of leaving the ground for the first time in his life. Gripping the saddle tightly, Harry watched with wide eyes as the beach beneath him became more and more distant with each passing moment, the Pegasus ascending rapidly through the air.
He giggled a little as the Pegasus banked sharply, and the right wing's feathers tickled his nose. As if feeling his joy, the Pegasus neighed loudly and tossed its head, doing a little more elaborate movements as it journeyed higher and higher into the air.
The next second, the world blurred around him for just an eyeblink, like there was mist all around him—and before Harry could even see what Pegasus teleportation looked like, they were hovering just beyond the shores of an island…with the beach below him nowhere to be seen.
"Where is the beach?!" He cried out, turning back to make sure he wasn't imagining things, but all he could see were the blue waters of the Atlantic stretching upto the horizon. "Why didn't I feel anything?"
"Other than flying, Pegasi can also…travel instantaneously over the Atlantic Ocean, and some parts of the seas surrounding it," the satyr said, waving a hand at the ocean around them as the Pegasus began to glide towards the island. "But it is so fast over the waters that I just call it teleporting."
"Wow," he gasped, looking down at the grey equine with stars in his eyes, "Must be useful when you have to go to Europe."
"Yes, although, demigods nowadays mostly come from the States only." he said, and they touched down on the sandy beach, "Now, we shall first go see Chiron. He is a centaur, and has been training demigods since the Ancient Times, so be respectful."
"Isn't he a son of Kronos?"
"Harry," Graphus gasped, turning around and slapping his palm over the boy's lips with an alarmed, terrified face, "What did I tell you about taking an immortal's name?!"
Before Harry could even begin to understand what was happening, a chill enveloped the entire area, and the wind stopped moving in its entirety. The waves which had started to recede back into the Atlantic froze midway, and the birds flying above it too became stationary. But it was not Graphus' horrified exclamation or the sudden stoppage of everything around him that caught his attention first.
It was the sudden explosion of fire that came from the forest on the island.
The Pegasus reared back loudly, and unused to sitting on horseback, Harry fell off the magical animal on the beach. Thankfully, a cushion of seaweed and sand prevented him from any injury, and Harry quickly stood up as more and more explosions began to come from Camp Half-Blood.
"Monsters must have entered the camp once again," Graphus said from above him before he jumped down from the Pegasus. Pulling out a small metal tube from his satchel, the satyr handed it to him, "Take this and think about a weapon. At least having something on hand is better than having none. I am going to assist my kin, you go and find some demigods to stay safe behind."
With that, the satyr ran into the forest and disappeared amongst the trees, while the Pegasus nudged him once with her head and flew eastwards too. He stood there dumbly for a few moments, wondering about what to do with the piece of shiny steel in his hand…and as the waves behind his ankles resumed once more, Harry took his first step into the Greek World.
Chiron was not having a good day.
With the stress of having the Hunters of Artemis and Children of Apollo nearly pepper each other with arrows once again, he had been about ready to drink some of Dionysus' best…but of course, the Fates had other plans in store for him. He had just received the return confirmation from the satyr that had left for Europe yesterday when monsters had made their presence inside the camp known.
Gathering up his bow and quiver—which thankfully never ran out of arrows for him, a gift from Lord Apollo—he had run outside the Big House, where the Ares and Hermes cabins had already started to form together. The Apollo and Aphrodite cabins were just behind them, with the Demeter cabin beginning up the rear, and given the shouts and screams he could already hear from the forest, Chiron knew where the Hunters of Artemis were.
Galloping into the trees, he shot three arrows within an eyeblink, nailing the hellhounds creeping upon a rather young Huntress' back without even looking as he continued on. Arrows flew through the air like rain as the archers of Camp Half-Blood too entered the fray, killing and dissipating monsters into golden dust left and right.
Right after shooting a cyclops in the eye, Chiron swiftly grabbed another arrow from his enchanted quiver, swung out with it like a dagger, and stabbed a dracaena in its throat. Wrenching it out of the monster's throat, he took aim on another one as he kicked a hellhound with his rear legs, caving in its head and sending it back to Tartarus. Taking note of the monsters all around him, Chiron grit his teeth and started shooting arrows at a pace unmatched by any in the camp.
Save for the Lieutenant of the Hunt, the Daughter of Atlas.
She ran through the branches and the trees just like her Patron, her silver knives and glint of her arrowheads only visible once there was no chance for escape. Taking the eye of another cyclops and then its life, Chiron took stock of the battlefield. Ares and Hephaestus' cabins were in the thick of it, swords and spears and hammers swirling and cutting through the air as they tore through the monsters, their golden ashes falling to the earth as if it was by Khione's blessing.
"CHIRON!" A voice shouted, the immortal centaur turned around swiftly to find the little girl running towards him. The five-year-old girl had just been a few feet away from him, her little knife in her hand when a large tree trunk came soaring through the air. It all happened in slow motion for him, his immortal blood once again becoming a cause for sorrow.
The giant trunk hit the back of her head, and he could see every microsecond of how her eyes bugged out, how her face bulged outwards…and how her skin cracked before her head and half of her torso was gone in an explosion of blood and gore. The rest of her body fell right after, but on the dewy grass…her lower body slid all the way to his hooves, blood pooling out from where her lungs and stomach should have been—but all that was left was an empty husk, her intestines having spilled along the ground.
"ESTER!" Almost a dozen people screamed at once, but Chiron only had eyes for the destroyed corpse of the little girl who had come to the camp when she had just been in her swaddling clothes. The daughter of the Forge god had been a bright thing, cheering up everyone with her smiles and wide eyes…but that won't happen anymore.
All because these fucking cyclopes entered the camp again.
All because Lord Zeus had once again refused his petition for a barrier around the camp.
"Archers!" He shouted, knocking an arrow and killing the cyclops grinning at the death of Ester with a shot to its throat, "Take formation behind the Ares and Hephaestus cabins! And Aphrodite cabin, use your charmspeak to make the monsters stop in their place, or at least slow them down! Demeter cabin, coordinate with the Satyr and the spirits. Bind the hellhounds and the Cyclopes!"
"Hunters! Attack at will, take out the Dracaena first," Zoe shouted right after him, giving him a nod before she ran off into the trees. "Kill these monsters in the name of our Lady!"
However, before he could move up to the elevated platforms meant for him in place of watchtowers, a burst of fire exploded out from the forest a few hundred feet away from him. The flames reached a height more than enough to clear the canopy of a hundred feet, and the poisonous yellow color clued him to what had entered the demigods' home.
A Higher Drakon.
More than a hundred and fifty feet of coiling, sinuous, building-crushing strength, with a poisonous breath and devastating flames. Scales that even celestial bronze would struggle to pierce through without the strength of fifty elephants behind the attack, along with teeth and claws that had shredded more armor than any war in the history of Greeks and Romans combined. The trees were rapidly set ablaze, dying shrieks of the spirits within echoing in the forest amongst the screams of the monsters and demigods alike. From where he was standing, Chiron couldn't see the Drakon, but deciding to be helpful in any way he could, he started to shoot down any monster in his sights.
However, despite how many monsters he and the archers on the watchtowers killed…the real danger was always on their minds. The Drakon was advancing through the forest unimpeded, the majority of campers and hunters still busy with the hellhounds and dracaena and thus, the massive reptile was facing minimum resistance. The Satyrs were more busy trying to save as many spirits and as much of nature as they could than fight the monster…not that they would have been any useful with the way they had let themselves waste in the last few centuries.
And where in the name of Chaos was Lady Artemis?! Her hunt clearly considered upstaging the campers a bigger priority than at least slowing the Drakon down! Even from here, he could hear them taunting the campers and making fun of Lord Apollo's children.
"The Drakon is coming out of the forest!" Julia shouted from the tower to his right, and Chiron let the arrow on his string fly, before he shifted and laid sights upon the Higher Drakon that had invaded the home of his children today—and promptly wished that he hadn't.
A torso, and two pairs of legs were hanging out of its closed mouth, a silver parka and remnants of the blood-soaked Orange shirts telling him about the gruesome fate their wearers had suffered. Bits of intestines were still stuck to its lower jaws, and its whole maw was covered in blood, giving its already crimson-eyed head a much more terrifying face. Its paws were similarly bloodied, dirt and grass sticking to the large weapons of murder, yet they were unable to hide the red upon its claws. Even from this far away, Chiron could make out the bits and pieces of cloth and flesh stuck to various sharp points on the Drakon's body, from the spines on its back to the whip-like tail it had…the Drakon had completely butchered through the demigods that had tried to stop it.
As it tripped the wire laid outside the treeline and a vat of Greek fire blew in its face, he was finally able to make out the hundreds of injuries and wounds littering its giant body. A bleeding gash there, a dented set of scales there with arrows at almost every third foot. It was slightly limping from its right hind leg too, Chiron noticed, right at the moment the explosion of jade green flames dispersed into the air and the Drakon's face was revealed.
Or what was left of it.
A large chunk of its upper jaw was simply gone, torn away from its head along with the right part of its lower ones. Its purple blood fell to the ground in large splashes, the earth sizzling and burning due to its acidity as the Drakon let out a loud, guttural roar. The force of it was enough to remove a hanging piece of its gums away from its mouth, and Chiron grimaced as the Drakon whipped its tail in pain, tearing through dozens of trees at once—and killing the dryads within instantly.
"FOR ARES!" Melania, a fifteen-year-old girl shouted as she ran towards the disoriented Drakon, her large greatsword raised with fire swirling at its edge. The aged Centaur shouted out in a warning towards the demigod, but by then it was too late. She slipped upon the puddles Drakon's blood left on the ground, and a blood-curdling scream came out of her throat as her skin began to burn and drop off her body. Like a moth to a flame, the monster was drawn to her painful, soul-searing shrieks…and with a speed belying its gigantic size, the Drakon pounced upon her screaming, already melting body. There was nothing but a bloody smear left upon the churned-up ground once the Drakon moved forwards, the torn clothes and remaining flesh sizzling and melting away into the dirt.
With a shout of rage, Chiron and the archers all around started to pepper the Drakon with arrows, with the Greek FIre ones finally usable, and thankfully, the archers inside the forest too came to their help. A heavy groan came out of the monster's throat as Greek Fire exploded all over its mangled face, the magical flames burning through its flesh and bone and tearing open even more of its already ruined skull. Its eyes were the next to go, its lethargic movements and the damaged layer over its pupils allowing the arrows to sink inside with a burst of blood and clear fluid.
With lumbering, heavy steps, the Drakon rumbled in its throat, the insides of its brain and jaw muscles visible for all to see as green embers ate the monster. With a loud shout, someone launched another exploding arrow, the green flames painting its trajectory as it shot right into the ruined eye of the Drakon. With an explosion of brain matter, purple blood, and pieces of its flesh, the head of the Higher Drakon was no more…and the headless corpse twitched slightly in its place for a moment before it fell to its side.
However, even as it died, the Drakon took more than a dozen demigods with it. Its acidic blood, which had been blasted high into the air, came back down in heavy drops. The demigods closest to the beast fell to the ground screaming as the blood rained down on their faces and neck, eating through their skin and muscles and turning their screams into gurgles…before there was nothing but silence.
The earth shook as the large reptile fell, its gigantic body already dissolving away into gold dust which spread over the whole area, covering the disfigured bodies of the demigods in a shroud. Grief was something Chiron was long familiar with, the thousands of years he had been alive had more than made sure of that, but as he watched the wails of grief come from the demigods and Hunters alike for their fallen brothers and sisters…it still felt as raw as the first time he had witnessed one of his children die. Some things aren't meant to get easier.
Zoe Nightshade came to a stop beside him once he reached the ground, her stony face glaring at the golden dust as they both stood in silence, and it struck Chiron that other than him…Zoe was the only one who could comprehend how he was feeling.
"It never gets any easier," he muttered, looking at the tears streaming down everyone's faces. "How many Hunters have you lost this year, Lieutenant?"
"Twelve till this morning," she replied, taking out a cloth and rubbing the blood off her knives, "But after this battle…I think at least twenty more."
"Where was your Patron, Lieutenant?" He said after a few moments, the sharpness in his words surprising even him for a moment, "Why wasn't she here despite the several audible prayers I heard, spoken by her Hunt no less?"
"Careful Chiron," she spoke slowly, her dark eyes glinting in the fading sunlight, "That is Lady Artemis, an Olympian Goddess thou are insulting."
"Apollo is my witness today, Huntress," he snarled right back, standing up to his full, rather impressive, height and glaring down at her. "I, and dozens of my campers, heard your hunters bicker childishly with the demigods over hunting skills in the middle of a monster attack. Let the Olympians summon me if they wish, for I have had enough of your righteous, arrogant bullshit."
Thunder rumbled over their heads at those words, and with a flash of light, both of them were standing in a large, opulent hall. However, Chiron was so used to the precious metals, the overabundance of beautiful gems and paintings that decorated the throne room of the Olympians it didn't even register with him.
His eyes were only upon the Olympians, their large forms seated on their thrones as they all looked at him and the former-Hesperide. He bowed down to Zeus and Hera, the monarchs of Olympus looking as majestic and imperious as ever as they sat in the center of the council.
"Lord Zeus, Lady Hera," he greeted, raising his head to look his half-brother right in his electric-blue eyes. "May I assume the reason for our sudden summoning was the attack on Camp Half-Blood?"
"You assume correctly," Zeus muttered quietly, but it was enough for the whole sky above Manhattan to rumble. "Artemis has taken offense to your words, and the tone in which they were delivered…however, Apollo, Demeter, and Aphrodite have supported you and demanded action against her. That, along with your millennia of service and unfailing devotion has allowed you to air your grievances in regards to this matter. Therefore, we want to hear it from you Chiron, what exactly happened in the Camp, and what quarrel you have with the Hunt."
"Father!" Artemis interrupted, glaring at him with her silver eyes glowing and her fingers tightening upon her throne. "Chiron has not only insulted me, but he has also outright insulted my Hunt! He called them self-righteous bullshitters, as if the gir-"
"Shut up Artemis!"
The Moon Goddess instantly did that, her jaw dropping open as her brother, the ever cheerful Apollo nearly exploded into his divine form. His eyes were nothing but burning stars like the celestial body he was the god of, and Apollo nearly cracked the marble of his throne as he walked toward his sister. And while Chiron only had the eyes for the visibly furious Sun god, he could see how the rest of the council was interested in the forthcoming argument.
"Your girls what? Dear sister," he practically spat out, pointing a finger at Zoe, "Your girls what? They aren't self-righteous bullshitters?! That may be true for you Artemis, because you have always liked to assume that you and your handmaidens practically shit rainbows!"
"Apollo…" Artemis growled out, her own eyes erupting in a blazing silver fire as her bow materialized in her hands, "Take care of your words little brother, one more word about my hunt, and I wi-"
"And you will what? Artemis?!" He snarled back, taking a step forwards as his armor formed over his toga, and a sword appeared in his right hand, "Fight me? Need I remind you of the fact that who is stronger between us? I am the god of Sun and Knowledge sister. I know all and I see all, so unless you want your face to lick this floor and your defeat to become the latest news upon Olympus, you will stay quiet and let Chiron speak…Otherwise, I swear on our mother's name that I will roast each and every one of your hunters to a crisp for the millennia of insults I have tolerated from you and them both!"
"You won't be alone in that," Aphrodite's voice came next as she flashed next to the Sun god, and Chiron groaned internally as he felt her control over hate start to mess with everyone in the hall. "Her stupid, little bitches got more than twenty of my children killed today. You will answer for this Artemis!"
"Why do you even care?!" Artemis shouted right back as she stood up from her throne, "It's not like both of you care! You can just go after this meeting to have more of your kids like rabbits you both are! And I don't answer to you slut! Don't you dare assume that you can command me to do anything, especially when all you can do is act pretty and get fucked by anything with a cock!"
"Enough!" Zeus shouted, stomping his leg and shaking the entire hall with his rage as he glared at the three gods, "Apollo and Aphrodite, return to your places. Quietly."
"And Artemis," he turned towards his daughter, every word conveying his displeasure as clear as anything ever could, "as Apollo said, sit quietly and let Chiron speak."
"Yes..Father."
Once there was a semblance of normality in the hall, Zeus nodded at Chiron, and the aged centaur lowered his head as he trotted forwards towards the center. Returning his bow to its place back in the Big House, he looked at the burning hearth in front of him and prayed to Hestia to support his words once the ruckus would inevitably restart.
"Last night, Lady Artemis and her hunters came to the Camp, and as is their ritual, they all stayed in her cabin," he began, nodding towards the Moon Goddess, "This morning, Lady Artemis had already left before the Hunters came to the breakfast, and thus, she was unavailable to…control her hunters when they started to behave like they normally do when she is away."
"And what is their normal behavior?" Poseidon asked, looking at Zoe and Artemis both before he turned towards him. "I assume it is still the same as you told us five decades ago."
"Yes, Lord Poseidon," Chiron nodded, sighing as he looked down. "They insulted Lord Apollo's children over their lack of archery skills, and derided the children of both Lord Ares and Lady Aphrodite over their appalling, disgusting and laughable talent in combat."
"Which still does not warrant the severity of the words you said Chiron," came the reply from Zeus, who frowned slightly. "Even if they were serious with their comments, it doesn't warrant someone controlling them like they are animals."
"No, My Lord," the centaur shook his head, "It doesn't. However, once the monster attack started…I heard several hunters shout toward demigods about how they were not upto the task, or how they better leave the monsters to someone who could actually kill them. It wasn't every hunter true, but it was certainly enough that several of the campers got killed due to confusion and chaos created by their jeering and interruptions. Also, I heard several Hunters pray to Lady Artemis for assistance once the Higher Drakon appeared, but she never did answer them. We killed the Drakon eventually, but the casualties would have been much lower had she decided to assist us today. Once the Drakon was finally dead, I called out Zoe Nightshade on where her Patron was, and how her hunters' childish actions caused more deaths than what.. should have happened."
"Why didn't she hear the prayers?" Demeter frowned at the Moon Goddess, "Especially when it is only her hunt she listens to."
"What are you trying to say, Demeter?!" Artemis exploded out of her seat, her bow drawn back, and pointed at the Goddess of Harvest and Weather, "I never heard any of those prayers, or I would have answered them in an instant! And don't you dare ever insinuate that I neglect any prayers offered to me!"
"Your stance about what childbirth requires and means for a woman's worth in your eyes tell that pretty well Artemis, O Goddess of Childbirth and Children," Dionysus drawled out, lazily curling a strand of his dark hair on his finger, "Besides, Old Chiron is right. I have no doubt that your hunters, arrogant little things that they are, did all of that."
"Be quiet Dionysus," Zeus snapped, lightning flashing in his dark blue suit as thunder flashed above New York, dark clouds rolling in over the whole city. "Why Artemis didn't hear the prayers will be investigated later. For now, it is clear that the Hunters have crossed the line over what is considered acceptable and their arrogance needs to be curbed. Therefore, my verdict is this; For the next six months, the Hunt will protect the Camp upto the third wall, so that the Campers can rest and recover from this attack. The Demigods will patrol only the innermost, fourth wall, and if any Huntress tries to move against my decision, then she will be evicted from the Hunt and the Camp both."
"Father!" Artemis gasped, turning towards Zeus with an alarmed look on her face. "I mus-"
"SILENCE!" He shouted once again, this time actually summoning his Master Bolt to his hand, "I am not finished daughter. For the next six months, the Nymphs and Dryads at the camp will no longer serve any food to you or your Hunt. Moreover, For the next five years, you are prohibited from recruiting any demigod to your service that is already on her way to the Camp. You may provide her the safety of your Hunt until she reaches Chiron, but no mention of joining you will be made. Am I clear?"
"Yes…My Lord," she bit out, clearly unhappy with the decision, but powerless to stop it, "It will be done as you have commanded."
"I am not yet finished," he raised his palm, "Since the competition between your Hunt and the Camp has gone long enough, we will let the matter of superiority between you two be decided in a peaceful way. Have a game organized, which utilizes your strategy and combat skills without causing bloodshed…and this better be the end of it. Council Dismissed."
With a snap of Zeus' fingers, Chiron once again found his world filled with nothing but brightness, and then he was back in the Big House. Sighing at the task that awaited him, Chiron picked up the bottle of alcohol on his table and took a large sip before he walked out of the room into the Camp.
Apollo and Demeter campers were busy tending to the wounded—and of course, they were refusing to help the Hunters, who had seemingly had a shortage of healers. Ares and Hephaestus cabins were carrying the wounded and the dead to the Hearth, where they would be wrapped in shrouds and sent off to the Realm of Hades to be judged. He would need to have a meeting with Satyrs and the Dryads about their fallen, and the damage the forest had suffered. After that came the task of sending letters to the mortal parents who had actually cared about their children—which was frankly…a disheartening low number. And then he would have to break the news about the upcoming 'Games' to the camp-
"Chiron!" Elena, a daughter of Aphrodite, ran towards him, and his eyes widened as he saw a boy in her arms. "Found this guy near the shore when I went for a perimeter sweep. He was unconscious and was bleeding badly from a cut above his right eye. But Charles fixed him up quickly and then I brought him here—Oh! And he had this with him!"
Taking the black-haired child from her arms, Chiron looked at the weapon Elena held out toward him. It was something he had seen before, Chiron was sure of it…but for the life of him, he couldn't place the origins of the beautiful silver Xiphos. Deciding to check up on the weapon later, he turned the face of the sleeping child towards him…and dread filled every fiber of his being.
After thousands of years of knowing him and his children, there was no way Chiron wouldn't recognize Lord Poseidon's face.