Orion was more determined than ever to live up to his father's legacy and lead skilled warriors of his own. He recently asked Adrastos for more after-hours and intense training to help set him apart from the rest of camp, and even to increase his battle-image in the faces of many members of the Order. The boy had been waking up at 5:00 AM every day of the week, and after dinner had spent some time in the lake practicing his ability with water-based attacks and defensive skills. Adrastos pushed him to the limit during his early sessions, breaking Orion down mentally and physically, until the young warrior was fatigued to the point of collapse. On top of all of this he continued weightlifting and improving his footwork and agility, skills imperative when fighting against strong and quick opponents. During the day he practiced strategy, being a gifted tactician thanks to his mother, and alternated between sword training with automatons, campers, and group combat.

Weekly capture the flag was still an imperative part of camp, pitting sides against each other in an ultimate strategy, skill and strength competition between powerful opponents. Adrastos and Percy, as part of the preliminary phases of the task-force selection process, added a weekly stealth challenge, where campers in the dead of night would be faced with varying objectives involving sneaking past other campers and members of the Order, without detection and incapacitating participants on guard. The goal was to improve the campers' ability to sneak into enemy camps, take out enemies and key figures, and walk away unharmed with something of value in hand. They needed to be ready for anything, and a well-executed covert operation could prove key to bringing down an insurrection or an invasion.

Camp had changed in the decades since Olympus' fall. No longer were children at camp solely to learn how to survive as beacons to monsters in the mortal world, as the vast majority of monsters loose in the wild were subservient to Tartarus. While survival skills were taught, camp was mostly a boot-camp of sorts—a training ground for would-be soldiers of the Order. Percy and Annabeth did their best to keep fun aspects of camp around for the children but had eliminated certain activities befitting children of more creative godly backgrounds. Combat ability and strategy were a priority for them.

Since Percy's announcement, the attitude at camp had become far more serious. Campers were spending less time hanging around and more time studying magic, battle history, and practicing advanced weapon techniques. Adrastos had encouraged his brightest and most skilled campers to stay late and push themselves in training scenarios, and to his approval Orion had taken a leadership role in setting a shining example for fellow campers on just how they should raise the bar in practice. Two weeks had passed since the announcement, and the first round of cuts were coming very soon. The pressure was on.

·

Orion spat a mixture of mud and blood from his mouth, rising to his feet a little slower than usual. His ribcage was bruised on the right side of his body, and his lip was swollen and cut. His gray eyes stared deep at the skilled, centuries old warrior standing before him, motioning for him to 'bring it on.'

"Glad to see you can finally take a punch from me. Now advance! Figure out this fight!" Adrastos yelled to his student. A hand to hand bout with an incredible wrestler was no easy fight, not to mention the fact that Adrastos was much brawnier than the Champion's son. Orion sank into his battle stance and analyzed the situation at hand.

His right side was weaker and slower after getting suplexed onto a rock just minutes earlier. Not to mention getting pelted with body shots. He knew he couldn't take the Demititan straight up, realizing he had to think of an unconventional way to take him down.

The muddy ground had made it hard to move quickly, but Adrastos was a man of larger size and slightly slower than the boy, despite the blessings he received from the Primordials. Some parts of the mud field Adrastos had created for sparring were looser and wetter than others, too. There were also rocks and tree branches dispersed sparingly across the area.

Orion took a deep breath, an idea coming to mind. He was in a thick patch of mud and needed to reach a wetter area. He smiled at his teacher, putting his arms out to his sides, and paced around him slowly like a shark closing in on its prey.

"That was a good shot, Adrastos, I'll give you that much," he replied, speaking slowly as to give himself enough time to get to the position he wanted. Just a few more steps, he thought; he would be there in seconds.

Quick as an arrow, Adrastos feigned a forward lunge at the boy, and Orion stepped backward out of his range into an unbalanced position. He barely sidestepped in time to avoid a powerful takedown from his teacher. Adrastos was much closer than he wanted right now, but much to his delight, Orion felt small pools of water around his ankles. He breathed in deeply, beginning to concentrate on the water around him. He could feel the particles moving around him, and remembered a lesson his father taught him long ago.

Water is your ally, Orion. It has saved me more times than I can count and healed me in times where I thought I wasn't going to make it. While I know you can't breathe it in, being my son and not a sea god's, you have some control over it, and will be much more comfortable around it when challenged. Remember this, it may be the difference-maker in a battle someday.

Adrastos lunged once more, but this time Orion was ready. He shot up a blade of water to intercept the strike, lunging a rock in a blast right at the Demititan's face. The rock, no bigger than an apple, struck him square in the jaw, throwing him off-balance as he grunted in pain. Orion then kicked three powerful blows into Adrastos' knees and finished with a powerful uppercut to the jaw. The Strategos of the Primordials stumbled backwards, and catching his foot on a thick tuft of mud, fell onto his back with a crashing thud. Orion's eyes gleamed with disbelief—had he finally bested his teacher?

Adrastos' wide eyes and shaken look proved Orion correct. He smiled proudly, but composed himself before nodding his head to his superior. Adrastos nodded back with a straight face before it a smiled crept onto one corner.

"I knew you had your father in you. I haven't been knocked on my ass like that in decades!" he exclaimed, praising his student for his victory and progress. The two grasped hands in a respectful way, and Adrastos' motioned for Orion to head back to camp to wash up.

"Good fight, sir," he said, a new tone of respect in his voice. There was more to earning a spot on the squad, and potentially leading one, than just fighting. He had to learn how to act like a leader as well as a subordinate. Especially when it came to fighting under his father's command. Percy had always been a figure to look up to, sure, but also a daunting figure to grow up following. And on top of that he would push Orion harder than he had ever been pushed. I'm ready, Dad, Orion thought to himself, before walking back towards the main part of camp.

There was a ways to go from the makeshift mud-field to the main part of Camp Half-Blood. Orion walked past some tall trees, which swayed softly in the morning breeze. An eagle rested atop one of them, looking down at Orion. The boy stared back up at the magnificent bird, admiring its mighty wingspan and fierce talons. A strange feeling came to mind, but it quickly passed, as he wasn't able to identify it. He kept walking to his cabin.

The eagle's eyes stayed fixed on the boy, seeming to hone in on Percy's son. Its gaze examined every inch of the boy, eyes sharpening with every passing second. They were an odd shade for a bird: electric blue, with speckles of all types of colors scattered around its irises like stars dispersed across the night sky. The bird watched Orion walk into his cabin, then it flew away into the forest, disappearing into the sunrise.