Disclaimer: chapter one
Reviews!
LuisMStar: Okay, I see what you mean. The problem is if I do that now, it will make him out of character. But I'll see what I can do. Maybe add a playful side to this Merlin? That might work.
To the guest(s) about how Harry should have been more like the Harry in the original: bit of a rant, but please stick with me.
I am trying to move away from Harry knowing absolutely everything about everything. Let me provide an example to tell you what I mean. In the original, if you go back and read it, Harry was suspicious of Luke for a very flimsy reason. The entire reason he was suspicious of Luke was because I, the author, knew that Luke was the actual thief. In-universe, based on what Harry knew at the time, there was no reason for him to be distrustful of Luke.This, at least now to me, makes for a boring story if the protagonist knows exactly what the author wants them to, not what they realistically should based on the in-universe information they have been provided with, if that makes sense. And as for the Clarisse thing, neither of them were taking it seriously – Clarisse wasn't trying to hurt Harry, and Harry wasn't fighting back. I thought it was implied in the chapter even if I didn't say it directly. I'll be more clearer about such moments in the future.
Chapter Seven
How long had it been?
Even he had forgotten. It wasn't his fault, really. His greatest enemy had sealed him away, but he was always conscious. He hated everything about this, being sealed into a mural that also depicted his greatest rival. It was always a reminder, that he had been defeated.
He was always watching. Plotting. After all, he was the original owner of these lands and its people. He ruled as a god should, instilling both fear and hope. He still held authority over the land that he had born from, no matter how weakened he may be.
Time held no meaning on this plane of existence. Maybe it had been just moments ago when he was sealed. Maybe it had been centuries.
One day, he would have his domain and lands back. One day, he would destroy those who aided in his sealing. One day, he would strike back against his greatest enemy.
One day he would…
It was then the ones who sealed him had disappeared. Faded from this plane of reality. It allowed those… those usurpers and their slaves to come and take over what was rightfully his.
However, they were not the only ones who came to settle in what was rightfully his. They brought in those creatures with them. Oh, how he hated those monstrosities. They killed, and pillaged, like a blight that had been brought upon the country.
The country that was rightfully his.
But he couldn't do anything but watch.
Watch as the monsters targeted a specific group of people. The usurpers' slaves, or rather, their children.
It sickened even him. These beasts, who knew only how to hate and kill, tear into children and their parents doing nothing about it. Sure, he wasn't human. He had no human feelings. However, letting his own children die… he would never do that. Not until they had fulfilled their purpose.
However he was not a usurper.
He had authority over this land, no matter how—
So you seek vengeance?
Yes. Yes he did seek vengeance. He knew not who had been able to enter his own plane of existence. But he would not turn away any help, regardless of who was giving it. He was just that desperate. However, he was powerless at the moment. He had no idea how to get his revenge.
Then let me show you.
Yes. That could work. The images and visions that flooded his mind, however, painted a dark future. What he needed to do to avoid that, it was a difficult task. A very difficult task. It would require years, perhaps centuries of planning. Perhaps… no. It would work.
It has to work.
Of course, he was no fool. He did not trust this voice in the slightest. But the method of revenge he was thinking of, well, he was going to take all of them down with him. There would be no going out in glory, or even an end that could be considered honorable.
There would be no witnesses to his deed. No one who would have any idea of what he did. But when the usurpers would realize that something was wrong, it would be too late.
He only needed to get away from here, to a place that held its own dark legend. But who would move his mural?
Please! I don't want to die! I'll do… anything!
A usurper's child? Here? He cared not. He would save this child. He needed her.
That's right, young one. Place your hand upon this mural. I will show you how to save yourself.
When Silena woke up, she saw Harry sitting in a meditative pose, his eyes closed. Beckendorf was not in his bed, er, couch, but she could see the bathroom light turned on, so obviously he was in there.
It was still dark outside, so they must have woken up very early. Probably five or so in the morning. Silena stretched as she sat up, working out the kinks.
She thought about calling out for Harry, but decided against it. She didn't want to disturb him, after all. Fortunately for her, his eyes opened up after a second.
"Good morning," Silena said in greeting. "What time is it?"
"Good morning," Harry replied. "It's actually eight thirty in the morning."
That threw her in for a loop. "Wh-What? You're kidding me right? It's still dark outside!"
"I am aware. Whoever we're after, just set up a field of darkness around the entire town, or most of it," Harry explained. "Most likely to flush us out."
"I don't see how that would flush us out?"
In response, Harry pointed outside the window. "See that? And try to ignore the Mist," He suggested.
Silena narrowed her eyes. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was a normal town, with its buildings and…
Wait.
In the distance, she could make out a dark purple pillar. It blended in with the darkness, making it hard to see unless you were concentrating and trying to ignore the Mist in its general direction.
"What is that?" Silena asked, turning to Harry.
"Unknown at this point. I was trying to scry the location, but its shielded against that," Harry answered. "My guess is the obvious. Its the place where we'll find whatever is causing this field of darkness and the time stasis, along with the Fidelius. But… otherwise, everything is an unknown."
"Well, if it is this dark at this time," Beckendorf said as he came out of the bathroom. "Wouldn't the gods catch on?"
Harry looked at Beckendorf, his expression grim. "Really? Would they? They're a bit distracted at the moment. Whoever this entity is, that is causing this unnatural phenomenon, is either connected with the theft of the Master Bolt or an opportunist who took advantage of the situation."
Silena silently headed into the bathroom as Beckendorf sat down in front of Harry.
"I suppose," Beckendorf said. "So what do we do? I mean that place must be a trap for us as much as their base of operations, right?"
Harry nodded. "Yup. We're practically going in blind. And I can't plan for the events, location, or the enemy I have no knowledge of, so we'll have to wing it, essentially."
Beckendorf did not miss the tone of quiet resignation in Harry's voice. Like his siblings, Harry hated to go in to things, be it a Camp activity like CTF or a regular day-to-day task like doing your chores, without having a fully thought-out plan.
However, that required information, knowledge of the enemies one will be facing, their tactics, or even as simple as their identities, et-cetera. Here all Harry had was a location, and the fact that one of their adversaries was a mage. And was skilled enough to fire conjured arrows with good enough speed and accuracy to make the three of them run away and not retaliate. This told him that their enemy was also well-versed in regular archery.
The fact that this mage did not pursue them further also told Harry that to him, Harry and the others were not a threat. Otherwise, it was a simple matter of finding the only three fully conscious people in this whole town and killing them while they slept.
It was also rather obvious that a divine entity was involved. The area-wide Fidelius. The time stasis. And finally, this field of darkness. Even if the mage was a child of Hecate, he would not have enough power by himself to cast a single one of these, much less all of them at the same time.
But which one?
Most, if not all of the Olympians were out. Even if one of them was the thief who stole the Bolt, they would be too busy either guarding the Bolt or finding the Bolt. Among the minor gods, only Hecate had the ability to do all of these at the same time, but if she had, Harry doubted that Merlin would have sent him here.
That left but one possibility.
"I know that look," Silena said, knocking Harry out of his thoughts. He turned to her, only to notice that she was talking to Beckendorf.
Beckendorf turned to Harry, and then back to her. "Oh sure, I try to break him out of his thoughts, and I don't make any progress. You show up, utter a single sentence, that wasn't even directed at him, and he instantly perks up. This is some relationship goals."
Silena fought the blush on her cheeks, which failed as she saw that Harry was also sporting a blush of his own. "S-So, anyway, what conclusion did you come to?"
"We...may not be dealing with a Greek god." Harry said, to their shock.
It had been two, maybe three years.
That accursed quest that Hermes gave them, well technically, his favorite son, had gone sideways. The truth was, the only reason it had gone sideways was because of said son of Hermes. Luke had been the only one to accept some deal from the Titan who was imprisoned there.
And he had turned on them in an instant. Almost as if he wasn't himself. He had pushed both of them into Ladon himself, watching with an expressionless face as the ancient beast bit and tore into them before discarding them, throwing them off a cliff.
Ladon's poison was very painful, easily more painful than its bite. Fortunately Peter, the eldest one among them, had succumbed quite easily. He died a quick, painless death.
She wasn't that lucky.
Laura felt the poison grew stronger and stronger in her blood. It felt as if her insides were being melted, then frozen, then melted yet again. She could feel her blood boil. She was sure that she had been bleeding from her eyes, nose, mouth, and everywhere else as well.
Just as she thought that she would hit the ground, she had somehow landed into a cave.
It defied all logic. There was no cave in there. There shouldn't have been any cave. It was a straight fall, and by all intents, she should have died. But the fall was cushioned.
Laura would have preferred it that way, if she had died.
However, the only words that came out of her mouth were the ones that had granted her this second chance at life. This cave, whose interior was much like that of a temple's, held an ancient mural, depicting a flying serpent and a jaguar like animal, both of whom were fighting over something.
The mural did something to her. Laura was not sure what or how.
All of a sudden, Ladon's poison was flushed from her system. All of her wounds healed. She was as good as new.
'I have granted you this life. What shall you do with it, young one?' The voice from the mural had said.
"I want to see my friends, back at Camp," Laura had replied. "They must be worried sick about me. Probably think that I am dead, too. And I should warn them about Luke."
'And how do you think you will make it to this Camp? Just because I have healed all of your wounds does not mean that you are healthy.'
Laura was silent for a time. "…my godly parent will guide me."
'Will he, or she? Your divine mother, and yes, it is your mother who is a goddess, help you? When she didn't even help you during your quest? Or even as you lay dying?'
"How do you know that it is my mother who is a goddess?" Laura asked.
'I know many, many things. I am aware of many, many things. Ascertaining the identity of your mother was a trivial matter, daughter of Hecate.'
Laura gasped. "B-But that is! That is n-not true! I can't perform magic! I am much better with a bow and arrow!"
'No? But you are rather skilled at Mist manipulation, yes? It was how you disguised the three of you as aurae when you entered the Garden. Quite ingenious, and extremely difficult.'
Laura sat in front of the mural, her mouth open in shock and her eyes wide. "Regardless, my friends need to be warned about–"
'No they don't' the voice said forcefully. Then it quieted down into a more calm, serene tone. 'Look at you. All alone in here, abandoned by your parents. Your mother never even cared about you, yet you wish to go and help her, no matter how indirectly?'
"Yes. My parents may have abandoned me, but my friends never did! And Luke killed Peter! He is… was… well, it is not important! They need to know!" Laura snapped, her surprise giving way to anger.
'And how do you intend to prove this? It will be your word against his.' The voice stated calmly.
"...There would be inconsistencies in his story and mine. I could always press on that. Perhaps even make an oath on the Styx!"
'And then? Say they believe you. You get this Luke thrown out. Or killed. But the Titans won't rest would they? They'll get a new pawn, perhaps one who is far more powerful.'
Laura was once again silent.
'The one controlling Luke is none other than the one you call Crooked One. No doubt he has contingencies in play.'
"What do you want from me?" Laura asked, resigned.
'A complicated task. However if we succeed, then, well, imagine a world where demigods such as yourself could live, without having to fear monsters. A place where no monster would even hunt your kind. A place where you don't need to be afraid of every person you meet, wondering if they were a monster or not.'
"That sounds way to good to be true." Laura said.
'It is not. With your help, I can show you how to create such a world. But first and foremost, forget about your friends and the traitor. When we're done, it will be all the sweeter. You would have saved all the demigods of not just this age, but of all the ages to come. And the Crooked One's plans will be left behind in the dust, completely shattered even before they could do harm.' The voice was still as calm and patient as ever.
"And how do I know that you are not lying?" Laura asked.
'I swear upon the Styx that whatever I have told you is accurate.'
Laura took a deep breath as she considered her options. On one hand, Luke will be free to cause whatever damage he can under the Crooked One's influence. On the other, she helps this… god, and the world becomes a paradise for her kind.
"What… what do we do first?"
'First, I train you in magic. Then I'll tell you the rest.'
Harry, Silena, and Beckendorf walked into the open road. It was quite hard to see, given that the streetlights were off and it was pitch black all around.
Harry could use magic to make out everything around him, but instead chose to use electrical spells to power up the lamps in the streetlights to allow his teammates to see clearly as well.
"Makes you wonder why the streetlights aren't turned on, but then I remembered that it is technically morning. And all the operators are probably frozen in time," Beckendorf commented as he saw all the lights within a ten meter radius instantly light up.
"That is not all," Harry said. "This darkness is also unnatural. It isn't as simple as an extended night. I mean, look up. No moon or stars."
"And why aren't the gods doing anything about this?" Silena asked. "Surely this area of darkness would raise questions up there? Even when they are distracted from this?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I have no doubt that either they are deliberately ignoring this, which is foolish, or they have ensured that the gods won't interfere."
"What could they do to achieve that?" Silena asked.
"Any number of things," Harry answered. "But if Merlin sent me, or rather us here, they couldn't keep everyone out. And I'm quite sure that this also falls under 'no direct interference' or something."
Beckendorf stopped. "Guys, wait. Is it just me or is this… just too easy? I mean, if they want to stop us, why haven't they done anything else?"
That was what Harry was wondering too. "Good point, but–"
Harry was cut off by a large roar. An equally large monster approached them, that the demigods immediately recognized as a chimera. It was a good ten meters (about 32 feet) tall. Its lion head was the one roaring loudly, while the snake tail was dripping with a purple fluid from its mouth. The part of it that was the goat was just… glaring at them menacingly.
"Beckendorf, I absolutely hate you," Silena said as they readied themselves.
'We're running out of time,' said the god from the mural. 'They would be here any moment.'
Laura had no idea of his identity. They were never taught about non Greek gods. But he was powerful, despite having claimed that he had lost most of his power. She dreaded to think just how powerful he was in his prime.
'Why did you not talk to them and convert them to our side?'
Laura did not want to. To her, confronting them would be a lot harder than simply killing them. Sure, she would forever regret killing her friends. But it was necessary. Three demigods – along with this town – would die, but she would be bringing salvation to all others.
She thought of it as a simple arithmetic. Around a few thousand versus many, many more. It had to be this way. It was simpler that way. The funny thing is that she was sure that Harry of all people would see her side of things.
'This is why I suggested that you try and get them on our side,' the god said, exasperated.
Laura still didn't know if that was the right thing to do. How would they react if they knew that she was still alive? That she didn't contact anyone for the past two to three years? And the fact that this town had to die to save all demigods of present and future? It was quite distressing to her.
In all truth, she did not want to kill them. Conversely, they were trying to stop them, and therefore, they had to be stopped. Given the nature of the ritual they were going to do, she could not just knock them out.
'I could protect them if they were on our side.'
Laura steeled herself. "If I can't bring myself to kill three, I can't bring myself to kill off an entire town."
'If that is what you wish. But we must do this quickly. The more time I maintain this time stasis and darkness field, the more we risk the usurpers finding us out. My interference here would render their laws useless and they would wipe us out without any issues.'
"In that case, why wait any longer? Surely you have collected enough magical energy from the surrounding ley-lines?"
'I have not, not yet. But I am almost ready. There is, however, one last thing… that I must do before I have collected enough energy.'
"And what is that?"
'Place your hand on my mural and you will know.'
Magic, well most of it, did not work on monsters. At least not directly. On a chimera of this size, even if Harry were to put his entire magical energy into a single spell, it wouldn't even faze it.
However, this did not apply to certain spells that affected the mind and not the body. Or the spells that changed the area surrounding the monster into something that could harm the monster. For example, Harry could just transfigure the entire ground the chimera was standing on into lava.
The problem was the fact that if he did that, he would have to protect himself, Silena, Beckendorf, and every other mortal in the area from the scorching heat. The temperature of lava could go as high as 1300°C (2400° F) and at that high temperature, Harry might as well cast fire and heat protective spells on the entire city.
Which was why, even for a wizard/witch the simplest solution to kill a monster was to use tried and tested methods such as Celestial Bronze. Even though controlling the monster's mind was an option, it was never consistent. Some may prove more difficult than others, and that can backfire. Spectacularly.
Chimeras were very tough monsters. The Camp ranked them at a solid seven (out of ten) on the difficulty scale. The lion head could breathe fire. The goat could spew curses, in rare cases. The snake's poison was almost incurable. And Harry didn't have phoenix tears on him if they got hit by the snake's venom.
The tactic was not to engage directly, but attack from afar. But once again, they lacked long ranged fighters. Beckendorf preferred swords, war-hammers, battle-axes and the like. Silena had daggers. Harry himself had a sword.
None of the weapons were suited to fight a chimera. Harry tried to remember how it was defeated in the myths. Bellerophon, the hero who first defeated the chimera, had the original Pegasus to help him. He lodged his spear, with lead attached to it, into the chimera's neck. Then, when the chimera breathed fire, the lead melted, suffocating the chimera and killing it.
Wait…
That gave him an idea.
"Beckendorf… do you value that battle-ax you're holding?" Harry asked.
"Not particularly, no," Beckendorf replied as the chimera approached them. "Its just a generic one that I created."
"Good," Harry said as he turned to him. "Then I want you to throw the battle-ax towards that thing, with all your might. Don't worry about it not hitting; I'll handle that."
Celestial Bronze may be impervious to magic, but the handle was regular leather and metal. Harry could use his magic to guide it straight into the chimera. To be fair, he did not need to hit the neck.
He was going to cut the chimera in half.
Beckendorf nodded and prepared himself. With a mighty grunt, he flung the battle-ax at the chimera.
Harry immediately put his magic to work, not only increasing the force behind the throw but also changing its direction to target the chimera directly.
The chimera, who saw this all unfold, roared and tried to dive out of its way, but it was too late. With Harry guiding it, there was no way it would miss.
The battle-ax struck the chimera in its side, and as though the chimera was made of butter, cleaved it in two. Both the halves of the chimera promptly turning back into nothingness.
All of them looked at each other in confusion. "No gold dust?" Silena asked.
She was right; the chimera had not exploded into gold dust like any other monster. It had simply vanished, as if it was an—
"An illusion," Harry said. "And a damned impressive one."
Most illusions were obvious, they only targeted the sight and hearing. But they could not only see and hear the chimera, they had felt its very presence, smelled the venom from the snake, felt the air vibrate as it roared. This was no simple illusion. They had obviously taken into consideration that someone amongst the three of them must have known how to spot illusions.
Harry had a very bad feeling about this… whoever the enemy was, must have known about the three of them. They could very well be dealing with a traitor.
"I was wondering why that felt that easy…" Beckendorf muttered as he went to pick up the battle-ax.
"Yeah…" Harry replied. "Anyways, this goes without saying, but keep on guard. The next monster may not necessarily be an illusion."
Laura screamed as pain penetrated her entirety.
"WHAAA—! YOU S-S-AID TH-"
'Don't get me wrong. This pains me to do. I do not wish this to happen to you. But like you said… one life against many. If it gives you any consolation, your sacrifice will not be in vain. Now, Laura, sleep, for your work has ended.'
"Why," Laura sobbed as she fell to her knees. "You said… you promised… I would… I wanted…"
Her vision darkened. She shivered, despite the utter pain that she was in. Suddenly everything felt cold. Was she sweating? Or did everything turn to ice?
'I know. The truth is…'
Laura could still hear the god who revived her. But she could not see anything else. Or hear anything else. It was so cold...and she was so very afraid.
This isn't what was supposed to happen!
Why was he doing this to her? Wasn't she meant to have another chance at life? Bring salvation to all demigods? Wasn't that why she was revived?
So why?
Why was he killing her?
Why?
"… she had technically died."
What? That was her voice… but she wasn't the one who spoke.
"The best I could do was implant a part of my divinity into her body to anchor her soul for a few extra years. It was enough for me to prepare this ritual. It wasn't enough, however, to give her an entire life, no matter how much I wanted to."
This was the god! The very god who had took pity on her! Gave her this second chance! Taught her magics so obscure that she was sure no one else knew of its existence! When did he become so cruel?
"Cruel? No, son of Athena. This isn't cruelty. The way her mother essentially threw her aside was cruel. The way your own mother took all the knowledge of my people without permission is cruel. The way your gods usurped my lands, and the way my people were destroyed was cruel. This… this is justice."
What? Laura wasn't a son of…
Realization hit in.
She must have been unconscious for a moment.
Harry, Silena, and Beckendorf had arrived. She had to talk to them! At least before she disappeared entirely! Ask them how they've been! Apologize for essentially disappearing on them! Just… just talk to them…
"Right you are. I am not Greek. Do you recognize this mural? No? A shame. It depicts two… I suppose we are called Mesoamerican gods. Well, it depicts me and my greatest rival in combat. He would never have resorted to this, you know. He loved you humans. To the point where he essentially ensured that no human life would be sacrificed to the gods! To me! ME!"
It was getting colder and colder. Laura felt like crying. But she couldn't. She couldn't move, or open her mouth to scream. She could do nothing but hear her own voice as it explained something to her friends.
"But none of that matters now. The only things I regret, truly regret, is that your friend Laura had to die...and that none of your gods would ever know that I am the one ending them. Shame… I would have loved to see their reactions if they knew that Tezcatlipoca is the one who will bring them down."
sorry not sorry about leaving you all on a cliffhanger.
Despite my rant at the beginning, Harry did come to the correct conclusions, and I can now only hope that it comes across as he did so realistically with the in-universe knowledge that he has. Otherwise, I'll try harder to fix this issue next chapter onward.
Also I am thinking of cross posting both my active stories to AO3 given that this site can die anytime if recent events are any indication… I mean, if you don't know, there were new chapters not showing up on the site (the app was not affected and funnily enough, the app is quite good), the devs not saying anything and silently fixing it.
I hope you are all doing well and hoped you all enjoyed the chapter!