Chapter 4
Greetings! I want to use this note to thank all of you for your support. The story's third review asked for more descriptive chapters and I could not be happier to do that. I had been a little edgy about dragging the chapters but now that I have viewer confirmation, I'll do that.
I know the story has a very unconventional picture I created that picture because I wanted to use a picture which was not cliché.
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan. Also any similarities in the name and characteristics of OCs and real life personalities are purely coincidental and are not meant to offend anyone.
The moment Percy shot off and crashed into the statue, Poseidon was overcome with a severe bout of grief. He had lost his old lover only a month ago and now his toddler son had been met with what seemed like a severe injury; Poseidon was terrified of losing him too. Though, to his shock and in direct contrast to what he had feared, instead of seeing an injured Percy like he expected, he saw a smiling Percy sitting in Amphitrite's lap and giggling at their expressions as all three of them were staring dumbfounded at the reddening bruise on his forehead, instead of the deep cut that should have been there due to the sheer magnitude of the crash.
In the thousand years it had been since the Age of the Olympians had started and he had taken up the domain of the seas, he had never seen something like this and he just could not comprehend what forces were at play. His first thought was that maybe the sea had healed Percy immediately after he had been hurt, but that couldn't have been true, there would still have been an indication of the wound at the least. Clearing his head of all assumptions he summoned Mavrus, The Chief Physician of the Royal Palace.
Mavrus was an old man even by merman standards. He had been born before the first titanomachy and had treated the children of Kronos whenever they were injured during clashes with the Titans. Poseidon had rewarded him by making him the Physician General of Atlantis. Under his exceptional expertise and management, Atlantis had grown to house the best healers in the entire godly plane. His medical prowess could only be matched by Apollo and that's how Poseidon knew that Mavrus was his best shot at figuring out this anomaly.
After making sure that there was no other wound on Percy, Amphitrite pulled the toddler closer and gave him a deep hug. She had not realised how much Percy meant to her until that gut-wrenching collision - in that moment, the fear of losing her little Percy, a fear simply driven by maternal instincts, gripped her heart like a vice. She did not know how he had gotten away from such an accident with only a bruise, like her husband, but nevertheless she thanked the fates for saving her boy, not really caring about the how.
"Percy sweetheart, if you want to try something new, you have to tell us before. It is very dangerous for you try these things on your own." Amphitrite gently told Percy, her hold on him still tight as a reflex.
"Ok Mama!" came Percy's obedient reply, the toddler still unaware of the importance of what had taken place.
Meanwhile, Triton had been cursing himself for his stupidity. He knew he had to be careful around Percy, he should have figured out that the toddler's fierce determination to learn new things would prompt Percy to try and replicate his water jet manoeuvre.
Poseidon could tell his eldest was blaming himself, he knew how to read his son and his internal turmoil was written plainly on his face. He reached out and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, trying to reassure him that this was not his fault. He had had his fair share of similar scares and guilt trips when raising Triton and he had come to learn the hard way that children were just too uncontrollable.
A few minutes later, Physician General Mavrus arrived with his emergency kit, his trained healer's eyes immediately scanning Percy for injuries. Mavrus had once been a tall and well-built merman, something one could still tell even though his blue skin was now wrinkled and spotted, his back slightly hunched and his hair a pearly white. He looked like old wisdom personified but he still held himself with the air of someone much younger and his eyes still sparkled, full of life and curiosity. He had been going through his medical supplies when he had received the information that King Poseidon urgently required his assistance in the Royal Courtyard and the glasses perched on top of his head betrayed his hurry.
"My lord, there is nothing you need to be worried about, this appears to be only a small bruise. Judging from its colour and with your son's constant presence in the sea it will be gone in a few hours." Mavrus exasperatedly replied, barely restraining an eye roll due to the respect he held for his king. He knew of Poseidon's overprotective tendencies, they had already manifested with Triton's childhood, but this was pushing it.
"No Mavrus, I did not call you here for that reason. Percy here crashed head first into that statue, but as you can see he does not seem to have sustained any noticeable injury. I called you here to see if you could find out the reason for that, I've never seen something similar from a demigod before."
Considering the whole story, Mavrus assumed that Percy must have subconsciously used the power sea of the sea to heal himself but he would still indulge his king, he knew the Royal Family would not calm until he had reassured them that the boy was okay. He checked Percy's vital signs, all of which seemed to be perfectly normal and in accordance to his theory. He also wanted a blood sample, as it had been a month since Percy had arrived and he hadn't checked up on the boy even once. Mavrus tried to prick Percy's arm with a very small and thin needle and not in a thousand years did he think that it would break on contact with the boy's skin. Now that was something unexpected, unexpected enough to leave him speechless and everyone else around them frozen on the spot.
"So, he's invincible?" Triton asked with a bit of awe creeping into his voice.
"No Prince Triton, it seems like his skin cannot be pierced and it repels or destroys any sharp objects that come in contact with it. But, judging by the bruise formed on his forehead, I think that very strong blunt force trauma may cause some internal injuries. Rather than invincible, I would say that he is invulnerable. I assume that all attacks will be considerably less damaging to him. If I'm right, that might also be the source of his unnatural strength." Mavrus replied, his initial shock gone and his curiosity peaked.
"Is there anything else you can tell us, Mavrus? Amphitrite questioned.
"Forgive me, my lady. This is the first time I have witnessed such an event in my millennia long life span. A blood sample may have narrowed down the possibilities but as you can see, that is not a possibility, not with a regular needle at least. I will need to run a few physical examinations later on to see how this affects his other attributes but currently, I am as much in the dark about this as you all are."Mavrus apologized.
"Thank you for your aide Mavrus, you have provided us with enough information for now." Poseidon thanked and dismissed him, the doctor leaving with a deep bow.
"Well, this certainly is very convenient. Sure, we will always protect him, but it's comforting knowing that there will be a backup in the slight chance that something manages to get through all of us." Triton mused, looking at both Poseidon and Amphitrite, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"While I still want to know the cause of this, Triton is right, we should not look a gift horse in the mouth. With the coronation and its impending consequences, this is definitely a welcome discovery. We can look into it more at a later date but for now we have enough on our plates, let us focus on this." Saying this, Poseidon left to meet his generals in order to fix a proper date and figure out the details of Percy's coronation.
Triton nodded at his mother in goodbye, gave Percy a smile and left behind his father to speak to the guard about tightening the security in Atlantis for the coronation.
Amphitrite had her own plan though, she needed to figure out how to rein in any backlash from Olympus and she happened to be good friends with just the right goddess to help her.
Hestia had been waiting for the arrival of her sisters when she saw an Iris message from Amphitrite.
"Hello Hestia, I hope I'm not intruding?" Amphitrite politely asked.
"Not at all, I was just waiting for my sisters who are going to be here in a few minutes ." Hestia replied.
"Would you mind coming to Atlantis after that, I want your personal advice on something, as a close friend." Amphitrite requested.
"I'd be happy to help; I'll be there as soon as my sisters take their leave." Hestia promised.
"Thank you" Amphitrite gratefully replied before slashing through the Iris message.
Amphitrite's tone had suggested that whatever she wanted Hestia's advice on, was confidential enough that an Iris message was not a secure enough medium for sharing that information. Hestia could only hope it wasn't something that would cause a rift between Olympus and Atlantis – that was not something they could afford right now, especially not with her rising.
As soon as her sisters left, Hestia took out one of the pearls Amphitrite had given her – a gift with the ability to bypass the Ancient Law of Domains. These pearls had been enchanted by the queen of the sea in such a way that, whenever someone crushed one of these pearls, they would be transported directly to the Atlantean throne room.
She barely registered the crunch of the pearl beneath her foot before she was enveloped in a cloud of blue mist. When the mist cleared, she found herself facing the famous thrones of Atlantis. She smiled widely when she saw Amphitrite seated in one of the grandiose chairs but the expression froze on her face at the sight of the toddler in her friend's lap, a toddle that looked like a mini version of Poseidon.
"Hello Hestia, forgive me for summoning you so urgently, but as you can see, this was not something I could tell you over the Iris message." Amphitrite greeted.
"It was no problem, it has been quite some time since I had visited you over here in Atlantis after all. The toddler in your lap, is he…?" Hestia trailed off hoping her long time friend would catch her drift.
"Yes, he is, His name is Perseus. Percy, say hello to your Aunt Hestia." Amphitrite told Percy.
"Hi Aunt Hestia" Percy cutely chirped before adding "Papa says you are the nicest of all his siblings".
Hestia could tell she was already in love with the boy, internally cooing at him before replying. "Hello Percy, it's so nice to meet you. And yes, your father has often declared that I'm his favourite sibling."
The goddess felt already that the demigod in front of her was special. Power rolled off him in waves - as if emitted from a young god rather than a demigod child. In fact, the moment she had laid eyes on him, she thought he was one before deducing that Amphitrite would not have called her here in confidence if that had been the case.
Hestia gave Amphitrite a look that said she did not want Percy to hear this conversation, the younger goddess nodding before she called Triton, who in a few moments materialized in front of them. Triton gave her a smile which she gladly returned before he picked up Percy from his mother's lap and took off.
"Now, do you mind explaining why you are raising a demigod son of Poseidon here in Atlantis like he is your own?" Hestia questioned Amphitrite once she was sure that Percy was out of earshot.
Amphitrite sighed sadly before responding with a subdued tone. " As you may have noticed, Percy has a very powerful scent. It was inevitable; he and his mother were discovered by hellhounds and, before she gave her life to protect him, she prayed for Poseidon's help. You know how protective he is of his own, he brought Percy here to Atlantis without a second thought. I staunchly opposed it at first, I have to admit, but the mother in me could not fathom the thought of leaving an innocent child to suffer in the harsh wilds of the world. Thus, we decided we would raise Percy in Atlantis under our protection, we are all the family he has left."
"Olympus will erupt into chaos if they find out you are raising a demigod son of Poseidon here in Atlantis as if he were your own. Zeus has always overlooked Poseidon's interaction with his demigod children, so as not to provoke his brother into a conflict, but he will not stand for this, he may even order the entirety of Olympus to hunt Percy in his anger." Hestia worriedly told Amphitrite.
"We know that there will be backlash from Olympus, which is why we are going to be officially coronating him, as a warning that an act of aggression against him will be met with the wrath of the sea. Everyone knows that Olympus cannot afford to stand divided right now. We hope that this declaration will ensure permanent protection for Percy." Amphitrite told her their plan.
She had to admit, it was an ingenious plan if all things went accordingly, but the consequences could be disastrous if it backfired.
"I have to warn you Amphitrite, this is a dangerous game you are playing. Everyone on Olympus is already on edge with her rising. What if they take this as an attempt by Atlantis to dethrone Zeus?" Hestia argued. She was very afraid that her family would be torn apart at a time where it was imperative that they stayed united.
"If war with Atlantis is what Olympus wants, war is what they will get. I will tear their precious mountain apart myself if they even think of harming my son." Poseidon fiercely declared as he materialised next to his sister, his sea green eyes dark and swirling like a brewing storm.
Hestia did not doubt him one bit. Poseidon had always been the most relaxed and benevolent of all her siblings. But he was also the most dangerous and ruthless when he was angry or was protecting someone close to him. She was sure that he would slaughter anyone who tried to harm his son, without an ounce of guilt to stop him. She also knew Poseidon would not hesitate in attacking Olympus with all his might if they did anything that would harm Percy, even if the other gods were also his family.
"Brother, please, calm yourself. Let us focus on finding a way which will suit the dual purpose of ensuring Percy's safety and preventing civil war between Atlantis and Olympus. Now is not the time for heated decisions." Hestia tried to pacify Poseidon.
"A peaceful solution is all I desire Hestia. But Percy's safety is paramount to me, and I will eliminate any threat to his safety." Poseidon unflinchingly declared.
Hestia took a moment to rack her brain, trying to find a solution for this conundrum, when an excellent idea revealed itself.
"You plan on training him don't you Poseidon?" Hestia asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with what we are talking about?" Poseidon asked, the confusion softening his whole exterior.
"Why not tell Olympus that you are raising him in Atlantis as a wildcard against her? I know that creating a soldier is not the reason you brought Percy here, but it certainly is a proposition against which any argument falls short. This way you can claim that you are doing this for the sake of our survival while at the same time ensuring Percy's safety." Hestia suggested.
"I am not putting my son on the front lines of a divine war! You know first-hand how deadly they can be to all mortal life. We wiped out entire villages of mortals when we took our divine forms against the Titans. If this war against her is going to be anything like that, his soul will be incinerated." Poseidon angrily countered.
"Relax Poseidon, I am not asking you to make him fight divine beings. Instead, his help can be enlisted in hunting down any powerful monsters that come to her aide. He can be sent along with Triton to wipe out resistance in the sea - with how strong he already is, I have no doubt his power will easily match that of Triton's when he's older, especially if he is trained properly. Besides, even the most pessimistic estimates we have suggest that it will be at least two decades before her threat completely materialises." Hestia carefully explained her reasoning to both of them, understanding the parental instincts that were standing in the way of the gods seeing her logic.
Amphitrite had been silently absorbing all the information that Hestia had been laying out. This could be the perfect plan: Percy definitely had the potential to be as strong as Triton and, with Poseidon training him, it could be a reality. Truth be told, she would not even have considered this possibility if they had not found about his invulnerability a few hours earlier. After all, if his skin truly could not be pierced, then that reduced the risk exponentially. Of course, they would have to find out its root in order to effectively utilise it but, all in all, what Hestia was suggesting, was perfectly plausible, keeping the current state of affairs in mind. There still was another problem that had to be addressed though.
"Olympus will not fall for this very easily Hestia, even you know that. They will want to have someone they trust over here in Atlantis to make sure that Percy really is being trained. That cannot be allowed - it is too much of a threat to Percy's safety to allow an insider of Olympus into Atlantis. Also, allowing an insider of Olympus will cause an uproar among the Mermen. Some may even defect to her side, something that we can't afford since it will have a disastrous effect on Atlantean morale." Amphitrite voiced out her concern.
"I know that the Olympians will want to keep a check on him; that is, if they accept this argument. I also understand that the Mermen are quite sensitive to the presence of outsiders. This only means that we will need someone who is trusted both by the Olympians and someone whom the Mermen view as honourable. We need someone whose involvement in this matter can bring peace between the two sides while at the same time, have Percy's best interests at heart." Hestia announced her thoughts.
"You have someone in mind, don't you Hestia?" Amphitrite knowingly asked.
"It cannot be a God. Any God, Olympian or Minor, cannot be trusted to hold Percy's best interests in heart. It has to be someone who is renowned for his dedication to looking after and teaching heroes." Hestia replied.
"Chiron." Poseidon slowly whispered as realisation dawned on his face.
"Yes brother, think about it, Chiron is the perfect candidate for this job. He can teach Percy a number of things which you can't, he is explicitly trusted by the Olympian council and at the same time is respected by the Mermen for his dedication to role as a mentor, so they will not take offense to his presence in Atlantis." Hestia explained.
"But what of the Ichthyocentaurs? They may be miffed that we overlooked them." Poseidon put forward another concern.
"Then we will send Percy there for a year like we did with Triton. Let Chiron train Percy in the basics, after which he will go to Camp Fish Blood for a year to perfect his skills. This way everyone is happy, Percy will be trained by the best and will always be under a trusted and watchful eye." Amphitrite tactically suggested.
Poseidon hummed in agreement, there could not have been a better alternative. What Hestia was suggesting would allow Percy to have a safe childhood and keep both the Olympians and the Mermen satisfied . It also has the added bonus of turning Percy into an unstoppable force of nature. Poseidon excitedly grinned at the thought of fighting beside a fully trained grown-up Percy . He knew his son had the capability to be on equal footing with a god, especially with his invulnerability.
"Alright Hestia I concur. How do you suggest we move forward with this plan?" Poseidon eagerly asked.
"The annual Winter Solstice council is due in a month. Schedule Percy's coronation on the day before the solstice. In the ceremony, deliver the message of your protection, make it fierce and ruthless, as only you know how. This will be our first deterrent. Zeus will be angry, but he will wait until the next day before making any declaration, to try and gain the sympathy of the council. In the meantime, I shall reason with my sisters. They will listen to me. You will also have to bring Hades on our side, I will explain our plan to him, but convincing him to stand on our side during the meeting is your responsibility. With all five of us on the same page, the other Olympians will see the logic behind our argument and Zeus will relent. I know him Poseidon, he may publicly show displeasure, but deep inside he will be relieved to have your support. As for Chiron, we shall talk to him and request him to train Percy in Atlantis, once the Olympian council agrees with us." Hestia discussed the execution of her plan in a detailed manner.
"Thank you, Hestia, your help in this regard has been invaluable." Amphitrite gratefully told her.
"Yes, the House of Poseidon owes you a great debt for your help, sister." Poseidon seconded.
"You owe me nothing brother, Percy is my nephew and he is a very special boy. I am not refering only to his power, I can sense a strong spark of kindness in him and I will do everything in my power to protect that." Hestia proudly declared. Tired after this lengthy conversation, she gave both of them a hug and teleported out of the throne room in a flash of flames.
"Come Poseidon, we have much work to do." Amphitrite told her husband, who nodded and followed her. They needed to make sure that Hestia's plan would be properly executed. He whole-heartedly trusted his elder sister, she had always been the best of them, so he knew the best course of action was to follow her instructions to the letter, even if it meant that he had to make peace with Hades. He would need to reason with his brother and he knew just the right place to do that.
Hey guys, I know that this chapter took a day more to come out, but I wanted to make it a bit longer and more detailed. I wanted to use this chapter to dwelve a little deeper into Percy's invulnerability and showcase the intricate politics of the divine world. Read and review, have a great day!