8 Years before The Lightning Thief...

The Land of Skye

'Tap..tap...tap..tap..tap.'

The rhythmic tapping of his feet against stone steps helped to drown the turbulent thoughts plauging Silas' mind. He grown much since first being taught by the King of Heroes. Growing to around 5'1" in height, above average for a boy his age. He was dressed in a warm black coat and pants, with matching black sneakers. A silver scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face, helping only slightly in the cold of Scotland. "Five years.. five long years since I accepted the role as Gilgamesh's st-"

"Just who have you become a student for boy?" The snark filled voice of his progenitor filled his mind. Something he was long since accustomed to, having been dealing with hearing the voice of the King of Heroes ever since he made that decision five years ago. That of course didn't stop the irritation he felt at the interruption.

"I thought it was implied, after all you've been teaching me for these past five years?" Silas muttered back irritably, annoyed with Gilgamesh's behavior. "Or was your decision to start teaching me back the a ruse all along?" He questioned sarcastically.

"Watch your tongue boy, you are speaking in the presence of a king. My decision to take you in was so you can become a worthy servant underneath my rule." Gilgamesh retorted imperiously. "...However we both know that's not what is on your mind right now. Even after two years, you still have what happened on that night on your mind?" Gilgamesh inquired, his voice taking a softer tone that is rarely heard by those he does not consider close. Perhaps three individuals in the king's past life had heard him speak in such a tone since he matured.

"..." The young boy's silence telling that the King was right on the mark with his questioning. The demigod turned his eyes to the left, eyeing their only companion up to this point trotting alongside them up the stone steps of Dunscaith Castle.

A lupine face with bright yellow eyes, down-turned ears, and bright white fur, gazed into the demigod's red eyes. His turmoil flowing through the bond that they share. This being is Lobo, Silas' companion and familiar. A constant in his life of the past two years, the white wolf was already as big as chest while standing upright and would only get bigger with time.

"Two years ago..." Silas muttered thoughtfully, his mind going back to the event that brought another great change to his already chaotic life.

(FLASHBACK)

San Francisco

Blood..so much blood. Running with as much urgency as he can muster, the young demigod of eight years sprinted to where his enhanced senses were telling him of a place reeking of blood. Human blood.

"Quit rushing you fool! You have no idea what could be over there, at least think of the situation before you get yourself killed." The stern voice of his progenitor barked in his mind, angered by his foolish decision to chase the blood trail without thinking.

"No! You and I both know whoever is over there is in need of my help, and any moment i waste is a larger chance they die! Isn't this what i trained for?" Silas roared back in his mind at his worrying ancestor, the mix of natures from his parents making him unyieldingly stubborn in this issue. Gilgamesh's blood having replaced Tyrian's in his bloodstream only enhanced the stubbornness that he gained as a child of Artemis.

"You are going into this situation blind boy! You can barely use three to four portals of my Gate of Babylon as it is. Picking a fight with a horde of monsters is suicidal for you. Whoever those monsters are after will be long dead, as is their fate as those who cannot survive." The King of Heroes did not mince his words in how he felt, his opinion of survival something the other demigod has long since grown used to.

A snarl took over Silas' previous expression of urgency, unwilling to yield the point to the hero. The young demigod despite Gilgamesh's best intentions, refuses to accept the elder hero's ideals on how to govern or view people. His own views of course being affected by the Golden Hero, his nature he inherited from his mother, and the many heroes he learned of in Gilgamesh's tutelage.

'Sniff..sniff' Silas halted briefly before increasing his speed, having gotten much closer to the origin of the smell. He could definitely pick out the monster's scent now even with the heavy scent of blood, able to pick out the smell of hell-hounds and empousai. With a few final leaps, he broke through the clearing immediately freezing upon arriving.

"What...what is this?" Silas muttered in horror. A mess of body parts were seen haphazardly directly in front of him, mutilated and clearly ripped apart by hell-hounds. Among the body parts his shocked mind could tell that some of them belonged to children no older than himself. The very thought nearly sent him to his knees, in revulsion and anger for the atrocity committed. His ancestor's voice eerily silent among the thoughts swarming in the young boy's mind.

"AAAAAGGHH," A loud yell of pain broke the young boy from his contemplation, determination etching his features as he pushed onward.

"After.. I promise," Silas muttered to the grisly remains, promising to give them a proper burial after doing what he can for those still alive. Pushing onward another block, Silas came upon the previously missing monsters surrounding a badly wounded demigod. Within a glance, he could realize the terrible situation he was in and how his ancestor was correct in that this might've been truly foolish. He could count at least 25 hellhounds and 8 empousai, all cackling gleefuly as they surrounded the bloody teenager. Silas could make out that the demigod was a boy, a few years older than himself. His features would've been handsome for his age had they not been terribly marred by his injuries, including a missing arm that was causing him to lose a lot of blood. Undoubtedly Silas' mind relayed, that this boy was a child of Aphrodite. He was clumsily waving around a gold sword, attempting to ward off the monster horde. Unfortunately, Silas spent too long in his contemplation and didn't pay attention as he still moved, stepping on bunch of sticks that clearly got the monster's attention. It did however, take their attention off the wounded demigod they were previously circling.

"Tch.." Silas muttered, cursing inattentiveness. His facial features hardened into a mask of stone as he swallowed his trepidation and confronted the monsters.

"Ooh, what's this? This demigod smells even more delicious than the appetizers we just had." The guttural purring of an empousai filled the air, amused the the turn of the events their night had.

"...Appetizers? These people... were just appetizers to you?!" Silas muttered in anger. His young voice despite it's higher pitch, clearly carrying to the monster's ears at their callous response.

"Why of course.. they were certainly delicious. However, you clearly smell absolutely divine~," the previous empousai retorted, her voice unashamedly smug. Her smile widened upon seeing the demigod look down, his posture and shaking being something she mistook for fear of the situation. "Just come along quietly little demigod...I promise to make your death as quick as possible." She purred as she slowly strutted to the still boy.

"How..." Silas muttered, catching the monster's attention as she stopped. Staring at the boy curiously as he begun trembling in earnest, his fists bunched till blood bled from his fingernails.

"Oh? Do you have any la-," The empousai began to drawl, only for her words to be cut off. Violently.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!" Silas howled in anger, his rage manifesting as not three or four, but SIX golden ripples behind his body. Divine weapons shaking with golden energy to match the boy's fury. The weapons fired at an unspoken signal, punching into the monsters as if they were tissue paper. The empousai and her fellow monsters barely had the chance to yell in shock before they were eviscerated in the barrage of divine weapons.

"Appetizers..nothing more than food," Silas muttered disbelievingly, falling to his knees in exhaustion from the mental and physical stress of his ordeal. Forcing his body before it's ready to use six portals of the Gate of Babylon was something not without it's repercussions.

"Now do you see why you need to think first boy?" The sardonic voice of his ancestor a welcome change to Silas' continued horrified thoughts.

"Gilgamesh!" Silas said aloud. "Why we-," his question cut off midway through.

"Not now you buffoon! Aren't you forgetting about the reason you came here?" The hero admonished him, interrupting his question about his absence beforehand.

"!" Silas made a noise of shock, having been caught up in the events previously and forgetting about the surviving demigod he came to save. Quickly glacing around, he spotted him about fifty feet away collapsed onto the ground. Hastening over, Silas flipped him over and pressed his ear onto the boy's chest. Hearing a faint heartbeat, Silas quickly tied off the bleeding gap where the other boy's arm used to be.

"Nnnngh!" A muffled exclamation of pain escaped the boy's lips, his eyes opening in response to the unexpected action.

"Listen, I'm here to h-" The son of Artemis tried to assure the boy before being cut off by the other boy's words for the first time.

"Don't bother.. there's no chance to save me.. I don't want to be saved." The boy muttered, his tone reeking of defeat. His body racked with hacking coughs, skin paling as well due to blood loss.

"No chance to save you? Why wouldn't you want to be saved?" Silas confusedly muttered. The ambrosia he pulled from his gate still in his hands at the other boy's unexpected words. The injured demigod looked up at him, his blue eyes hollowly boring into crimson.

"We were a group of defected demigods from Camp Jupiter. We tried to escape the life of the Roman legion and not too long after escaping Lupa's dogs we were surrounded by monsters." The demigod spoke, to the best of his ability as his voice slowly failed him. "None of us were ever claimed by our godly parents, all we ever had was eachother. Even then... none of us were really living. A tortured life as a 'soldier' fighting monsters, or an escaped slave being hunted by monsters. Either way is not truly living... if that's the only options we have.. I'd rather die." The boys words despite his slowly depleting life, were filled with both conviction and resignation. Stunning Silas completely in it's defeatism. The names ringing unfamiliar in the boy's ears.

"No..NO! I refuse to accept that! You didn't come this far just to die like this. You have so much time left to live!" Silas pleaded with the demigod, holding his hand with the ambrosia towards the demigod. The boy in return lightly lowered Silas' hand, shaking his head negatively.

"Your name... what is it?" The demigod whispered, his breaths becoming shallow.

"...Silas. Silas Eclipse, son of Artemis." Silas muttered, looking dejectedly into the demigod's eyes. Realizing at last the demigod won't accept his help.

"Son of Artemis..? Truly an interesting world we live in." The demigod chuckled quietly. "My name is James Ridley, son of Venus." He bloodily smiled at the Son of the Moon. "Your eyes aren't like mine. They still haven't given in to this cruel world yet." James quietly whispered, his eyelids slowly covering his eyes. Never to open again.

"..." Silas looked at the demigod's body, torn by the loss of life. He blamed himself for not being able to get there faster, despite pushing his body to it's limit and using the gate to the best of his ability, he wasn't good enough to save at least one person. He slowly bit into his lip until it came close to bleeding, only to be interrupted by his ancestor.

"Enough moping boy. Life is full of loss such as this all the time. It is nothing new in the grand scheme of how this world works." Gilgamesh's words came across as cold and callous to the younger demigod's ears. "However that boy had his resolve in the end, and you should respect it. You should respect his decision. This world will try to break you the best it can, only you can show you are worthy to rise above it." Gilgamesh's voice softened slightly, barely enough to be noticeable but the boy noticed it all the same. He smiled lightly, thankful for the words from his usually haughty ancestor.

"Hnnnn" A low pitched whine caught Silas attention, he quickly glanced around noticing a lack of monsters but unable to pinpoint the sound. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing, able to focus on the sound that was about a block to his right just past some bushes. After making sure to secure James body from any wayward monsters, using his Auto-Defensor from his vault, Silas crept upon the last spot he heard the sound. He blinked upon finding a body of a large wolf, clearly dead from the lack of breathing he could notice. His eyebrows rose in surprise when he noticed the sound to be a wolf pup nuzzling the body of what he presumed to be it's mother. The wolf was a small thing, likely the runt of the litter, being snow white while the larger wolf a stormy grey. Upon walking closer, the wolf took notice of him, gazing upon him with it's bright yellow eyes. Growling as loudly as it could, the wolf postured aggressively at him. Of course with it's small size it only looked cute doing so, something that caused Silas to smile while raising an eyebrow at the curious animal.

Upon moving next to the body, the wolf looked to jump him only to freeze has he lowered himself to the pup's level and his hand out to it.

"You've felt loss too haven't you," Silas smiled warmly at the wolf pup, his mind feeling lighter if only a little upon meeting the little fur ball. He couldn't explain why, but just being the near the animal made him intrinsically feel better. Perhaps something he got from his mother.

The wolf pup barked lightly at him before looking at his hand steadily. Curiosity getting the better of it, the wolf pup tentatively nuzzled his hand and licked it. Drawing a light bit of laughter from the demigod.

"How'd you like to come with me?" Silas questioned, as he moved his hand to slowly rubbing the pup behind it's ears. The pup in question nuzzling his hand further, looking curiously at him. As if understanding his words, the wolf nodded at his question.

"Hoh...?" Gilgamesh muttered from inside Silas mind. Able to see through is eyes, he vaguely recognized the wolf pup Silas has unknowingly bonded himself to. The wolf's presence being vaguely similar to a heroic spirit giving him a good clue on the wolf's identity. He promised himself to keep an eye on the wolf, to see how thing's developed. "I look forward to seeing what you do next.. Silas." Gilgamesh smirked, his words going unheard by his young charge.

(FLASHBACK)

Following the funeral rites he granted the demigods, who he hoped had moved onto Elysium, Silas took the at the time unnamed wolf pup with him out of California. He decided to name the wolf Lobo, after the mythical King of Wolves. If Lobo's reaction was any indication, he definitely took to the name well. The wolf seemed to take a disliking to the presence of any human besides himself. The move away from California was a mixture of decisions between finding out about the existence of Camp Jupiter and the Roman Gods, and a need to get away from a place that will continue to plague his mind. He did swear to eventually investigate the place further, the concept of child soldiers in this day and age sending him mixed feelings. His pragmatic side from Gilgamesh could see the use in training demigods in such a manner to survive. While his side from his mother protests heavily for the children's sake. They continued to travel for the next two years, his training taking a step up to further master the Gate of Babylon. His training in arms not progressing, due to Gilgamesh preferring to use the vault as artillery himself.

Silas' own curiosity and Gilgamesh's own wish to further add to his treasury led them to Scotland, the former land of the Celtic Gods. The Celtic Gods being one of the first to have faded, according to Greek knowledge. It didn't make Silas any less leery of adventuring into what used to be another pantheon's territory to potentially pilfer divine artifacts.

He smiled a gave a nod to his partner, glad for his concern. The wolf huffing in amusement before trotting slightly ahead of him up the stone path.

"It will always be on my mind, but i'm better now... somewhat." Silas replied to Gilgamesh. He's well aware that James' death will be on his mind for possibly the rest of his life, the first death he feels personally responsible for. "Let's just get in and get out quick and easy alright? I feel nervous enough in this place as it is." He stated to Gilgamesh placidly. Unwilling to stay for longer than necessary in a place as eerie as DunScaith.

His steps took him further into the castle that looked similar to any ruin elsewhere on the planet. His eyes keenly looking around but spotting no illusions or any hints to what they were looking for. He continued to scan around with his limited magic knowledge, finding only faded runes embedded in the walls.

"Growl" Lobo's faint growling caught his attention to a section he passed previously. He cautiously moved forward, touching the wall brick by brick. His fingers lingered on a spot in the top left that shone bright upon his touch, erupting with blinding light in reply.

"Bark!" His companion barked worriedly from a barrier than sprung between them. Silas glanced frantically around noting the environment around him changing drastically. The previously barren and faded stone being restored before his very eyes. The world seemed to distort into a vaguely purple color.

"An illusion?!" He whispered furiously, unable to believe he missed an activation rune or the residue for the magic upon his arrival. He met his partner's eyes and nodded reassuringly. "I'll be fine boy, see if you can't find me a way out of here." Silas muttered, smiling more confidently than he surely felt at the moment. His wolf companion looked at him for a few moments longer before taking off from his sight. He tentatively eyed the barrier in front of him, pulling a sword from his Gate. Gram, Dawn of Ruin, the legendary sword wielding by Sigurd in Norse Mythology. It is a sword that would be the precursor for Caliburn, and one his ancestor tended to favor in close combat. He pulled another sword that was a personal preference for himself, Durandal. The Peerless Sword, true to it's name, looks truly impeccable and will never lose it's luster or sharpness. Both swords are heavy in his small hands, but he'll get used to their weight eventually.

Silas attempted to prod the barrier with either sword and was met with mixed results. Slashing it with Durandal was met with retaliating force but was met with no damage to Durandal. While slashing it with Gram completely blew up in his face. His ancestor who was watching him during this, laughed uproariously. Even at the concept of potentially losing one of his treasures with his stunt.

It stung Silas to know that two of his greater weapons had no effect on the barrier, and he was running out of options himself on how to get out. His knowledge on magic is very limited, and he's still learning a lot about what he keeps in the Gate. EA is not an option because he is neither worthy nor strong enough to use the blade yet without possibly killing himself.

"Forward it is then.." Silas intoned, glancing around the pristine keep before venturing forward further. His steps as muffled as he could possibly make them, glancing around the keep cautiously. Unsure if residual magic was at work here, or if someone was actively powering the wards in the keep. Whatever is going on, he's not sure he wants to find out what's going in this keep.

Pressing forward he could admire that the keep is definitely a lot better to look at in it's prime. His knowledge of the keep was admittedly not as good as it should be, only vaguely remembering that DunScaith was a castle in the Land of Shadows. White, black, and violet seem to be the most prevalent colors he can see. White and black marble making up the walls and floors, with purple crystal glowing eerily from the walls.

A glowing red light caught his attention up ahead as he moved into the throne room. It was empty, but no less majestic to look at it. As he gazed around his eyes alighted curiously on a blood red spear hanging on the wall behind the throne. Beautifully covered in a red vine design, with a barbed spear tip. His mind unable to think of where he had seen the spear before. It looked suspiciously similar to a spear in his vault Gae De-..

"MOVE BOY, NOW!" Gilgamesh all but screamed his ears. He listened unhesitatingly, his senses already picking up the whistle of a spear passing where his torso had been previously.

"CRASH" A resounding boom sounded out, as another blood red spear impaled itself onto the floor. Silas tried to calm the frantic beating of his heart as he tried to identify the location of his attacker. His eyes swept around the room before alighting atop one of the support pillars in the room.

"!?" Silas eyes widened upon seeing his attacker, barely moving in time to dodge another spear. To his shock, the individual throwing them doing so almost lazily. He fired several weapons from his Gate in reply, forcing his assailant to dodge. After a moment to catch his breath, they both assessed each other.

He noticed his assailant was undoubtedly a woman now that he can look at her clearly. Long reddish-violet tresses framed a heart shaped face and piercing red eyes the same shade as his own stared back at him. She was clad a pair of a formfitting black bodysuit that exposed her stomach and parts of her thighs, as well a violet bodysuit underneath that covered where the black one didn't. A pair of small silver spaulders covered her shoulders, and a black cowl covered her mouth tightly, while a black veil covered the back of her hair. A blood red spear, different yet similar to the one he saw displayed, was held loosely in her right hand.

Had he been any older, he probably would've been struck dumb from how beautiful the woman is. Thankfully, his lack of interest in women due to his age and utter fear he feels at the moment is keeping him from such distracting emotions. He didn't have much more time to think as the woman pressed him quickly, crossing the room in a single bound. He barely had time to raise his swords to clumsily block her strike. The force of her thrust knocking him over fifteen feet backwards. The difference in power and experience becoming readily apparent between the two. He managed to use the distance she forced between them to launch several weapons from his 10 ripples. None hit their mark as she gracefully avoided his attacks, driving close again. Silas attempted to guard while creating distance, but the woman managed to slide a few strikes beneath his guard.

"Grrrk!" Silas barely withheld a scream of pain as the spear stabbed him twice. Once in the stomach and once in his left thigh. Silas urgently began firing several more nameless weapons from his gate to create distance. He panted heavily he glared at the woman, shakily standing up. The woman in reply raised an eyebrow while looking at him.

"Impressive," the mysterious woman muttered. Her voice silkily smooth while conveying deep power. Her eyes narrowing as she noticed the boy's blood was heavily flecked with gold, appearing more so than red. "I thought another magus or foolish god was trying to break into my castle. Instead I find a curious trespasser like yourself. Name yourself, demigod." Her similar eyes boring into him with an intensity that unnerved him greatly.

"Her Castle?" Silas thought befuddled. "The only known previous owner of DunScaith was..." Silas trailed off... coming to the horrifying realization of the woman's identity. His slim chances of survival plummeted even further of the knowledge of just how powerful this woman is. Determinedly, he squared his guard the best he could, unwilling to give up easily.

"Silas... we may have a chance to escape. If you give me access to your body I can try to get you out, you have no chance against this woman." Gilgamesh offered solemnly. He is well aware of the identity of the spear-woman and knows that even when Silas is older and far more experienced, he'd be hard pressed to beat this woman.

"It won't work.. the only reason you were able to take control last time was because i was forced unconscious. In my body's current condition i'd just outright die if that was the case.. there's no doubt about her identity considering i can feel my wounds not healing at all despite my best attempts to do so. That spear she wields is undeniably Gae Bolg, I'll just have to fight as hard as i can." Silas mentally replied, determined to survive. The woman let him have his internal struggle, seeing his resolve only caused her other eyebrow to raise and a smirk to quickly form on her face.

"That's quite the stubborn look you have, are you going to keep trying to fight?" The woman goaded Silas lightly, prodding to see what his reaction would be.

"I'll survive no matter what it takes. I have too many things i need to do to just roll over and die to some old witch who refuses to leave her castle." Silas gritted his teeth at the woman, his fury causing him to rise to her provocation.

"Old woman..? Ufufufu..." The woman chuckled menacingly. "Show me what you can do..boy!" She purred, before charging in at greater speeds than before.

Silas anticipating her move, if only barely, shot several weapons from above to force her to move towards the right. He tried to hit her with several strikes from his Gate as well as his twin swords to no avail. Her strikes unlike before, were lighter and seemed to be focused on wearing him down rather than outright killing him. This angered Silas, unwilling to be toyed with, causing him to force his energy into Gram, forcing it downward into a sword strike that narrowly missed the woman, but trimmed off a few of her hairs.

"Oh.. so the little wolf has some teeth?" The woman taunted, eager to see more from the boy.

"RAAAGH!" Silas screamed, going on the offensive completely, pushing through the pain of his injuries to desperately try to land a strike on the woman. His over-extension cost him and the woman managed to disarm him of his weapons and knock him onto his back several feet away with a strong kick.

"After all of that... was that all you were capable of?" The woman tutted in mock disappointment, as she slowly walked towards the downed boy.

"I..." Silas muttered.

"?" The woman raised an eyebrow noticing the boy's attempt to speak, only to feel a worrying spike in energy from the demigod. Her eyes widened noticing him slowly rising to a knee, a single golden portal opening by his right hand. His hand reached out and grasped the handle of a sword that came back first from the portal. Upon pulling out the sword, her eyes widened in confusion. The sword, if it could be called that, looked more like a cylindrical drill. Colored black with convex patterns of red that glowed ominously.

"I won't die here.." Silas growled at the woman. He could feel his accumulated wounds weighing on him heavily, his reserves nearly running dry. The situation he's been forced into here, along with with the cruelty of the world giving way to a determination he was previously lacking. "I refuse to let my story end here.. I'll survive and change this gods forsaken world. I won't rest till i know she has a bright future ahead of her!" Silas roared, feeling his diminished reserves draining further into the sword he carries in his hands.

"Such a bright spirit.." The woman thought, amazed at the determination of the child in front of her. "It's so much like him.." Her thoughts reminiscing of many years past. Her mind made on her next course of action upon seeing the boy begin to charge his energy into the weapon he holds. Countless replicas of the spear she wields appeared by her side, ready to be fired on her call. She then skillfully drew a rune hovering in the air in front of her, with the celtic word for greater protection.

"Enuma..." Silas droned, his body blanketed with pain from holding the sword and charging it. It's three pieces beginning to rotate in different directions, spinning with increasing velocity. The woman's eyes widened at the buildup before sending the spears forward with a mental gesture. Attempting to use them to block some of the coming attack.

"ELISH!" Silas screamed, his body overloaded with pain as he put all he had left into the Sword of Rupture. A colossal torrent of power was unleashed, batting away the spears with ease and crashing into the barrier. The woman grit her teeth as the attack stressed the barrier she fueled with power from the castle's leylines, even causing cracks into it.

"Incredible.." She muttered, in awe of the power of the weapon the boy wielded. Such a thing should not be possible at his age.

Silas watched as the woman's barrier held true, if only barely against the best attack he could muster. Of course, the backlash from using the greatest Noble Phantasm before he was ready to use it while depleted had its repercussions. His mind blanketed with pain, forced him into unconsciousness, even with the worried shouts of his ancestor faintly ringing in his ears.

(LATER)

Silas' return to consciousness was gradual, a heaviness that he had trouble shrugging off hindering him. As he fully woke up, his eyes opened wide in shock, glancing around himself in confusion upon realizing that he was still alive. He padded himself down, realizing he was now shirtless, exposing the red tattoos of his ancestor on his bare chest. He was thankfully still wearing his boxers, but that only leaves him with more questions about what happened after he passed out.

"BARK!" Silas' eyes snap seeing the familiar form of his wolf companion bounding onto him a leap. He laughs brightly as Lobo licks him all over, happy to see the wolf again.

"Good to see you too partner." Silas muttered happily.

"Glad to see you decided to wake up." His ancestor snarked at him. "Any longer and i'd think you decided to just hibernate for the winter." Gilgamesh jested lightly.

"Gilgamesh!" Silas exclaimed aloud. "What happened while i was asleep?!" Silas questioned, noticing that by the tint of the room even without a window, he can see he's still in the Land of Shadows.

"I'll let your host tell you that." The hero replied calmly.

"Host?" Silas questioned aloud.

"That would be me. It's nice to formally meet you, Silas." The familiar silky voice of his opponent entered his ears, causing Silas eyes to snap to the familiar woman who was now unmasked. Her pale skin on display, a teasing smile on her lips. His confusion was prominent, having not remembered giving the woman his name previously. "For formal introductions my name is-" The woman began only to be cut off by the boy in question.

"Scathach, the ruler of DunScaith. Legendary warrior and trainer of Cu Chulainn." Silas muttered softly, having realized her identity during the end of their fight. All the clues were there, but it took her mentioning ruling the castle to fit the pieces together in his mind.

Surprisingly, the woman had a pleased smile on her face at the interruption. "Well done, I'm impressed a potential student of mine managed to not only hold his own, but figure out my identity." Scathach praised, smiling lightly. "Even after all the grievous injuries you sustained, you continued to intrigue me."

"...student?" Silas blanked completely at the word she said. The previous statement of his ancestor making a lot more sense now. Although the boy was still drawing a blank at how the woman knew his name, and seemed to change so heavily in demeanor. Going from wanting him dead to have him as her student is a big swing in his eyes. At his dumbfounded question, the legendary teacher only nodded, looking down at him.

"You did exceptionally better than any expectations i had and have the makings of being something amazing. Your determination even in the face of overwhelming defeat is something I can respect. I wish to help you take the next step for my own personal reasons. So. What do you say?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she stared at him.

Silas thought deeply about her question, her previous hostility and lack of it still befuddling him but he tried to think earnestly about her question. One does not get offered often to be trained by a legendary hero... well unless you're a demigod in Camp Half-Blood, but that doesn't count. Chiron is a teacher to all Greek demigods that make it to the camp, none of the demigods of course reaching the level of heroes he had trained previously. Achilles being a big name to think about in that case. He was also in the wrong to begin with for breaking into her keep, no matter if he thought it abandoned at the time he entered it.

Making up his mind... Silas opened his mouth to voice his decision.

Annnnd cut. I really wanted to get a lot of things done in this chapter but a lot of it feels like some info dumping. Personally i felt i should've cut this chapter in half, but i really wanted to introduce Scathach in this chapter. Giving reasons that will show to Silas motivations for moves he makes later on. As well as introducing some characters I feel will be very important to the plot going forward. Scathach is a personal favorite of mine in the story of Fate and i don't quite know if I did her justice here. Scathach will serve as the teacher he desperately needs, as Gilgamesh's methods of teaching when it comes to combat are very limited. His arrogant nature clashing with Silas from time to time, who isn't fully like either of his parents(including Gilgamesh) completely.

Furthermore, in the coming chapter's i'll focus more on Ellenore and Artemis, hitting on why Silas hasn't tried to make contact with them just yet. Points to whoever recognized the description of Scathach or Lobo (Silas' familiar). I'll probably put the reasoning for Gilgamesh's input on the situation as well as Scathach's knowing of his name is implied due to Gilgamesh possessing his body during his unconscious state.

I'm still heavily debating how to do the power scaling in this story, having decided to mesh it with Fate will cause a lot of areas i need to work. Silas in particular's power increase will be gradual, learning how to not be just a one trick pony like Gilgamesh when it comes to firing weapons with impunity. Furthermore, his mixed nature with Artemis will cause him to take his opponents more seriously from the beginning, unwilling to hold back for the sake of pride. As shown during the chapter, him using EA even in the slightest is dangerous for himself. Not even mentioning that the very power of the weapon will draw the attention of gods from any pantheon if they are nearby. I still have more characters from the Fate franchise i plan to introduce, any ideas you have or suggestions will be welcome because I'm still brainstorming what i plan to do moving forward.

The OC I had as a son of Venus came to me because Aphrodite/Venus is one of the most promiscuous of Gods, having likely the most children around next to Hermes/Athena. Of course other stories I've read on fanfiction have given credence to the thought that we don't truly know how many demigods don't make it to the camps, and in the case of the Roman Camp, desertion is something I'd see as a capital offense punishable by death.

I also really stressed on how i wrote Silas expressing his resolve, the things he's mostly focused on is how unjustly demigods are sacrficed in this monster filled world that the gods rule lazily. Of course, he also loves no one else in the world more than his sister, who is currently being raised by his estranged mother. That relationship will definitely be hard for me to write, due to misunderstandings clouding it.

Thank you for reading!

Noble Phantasms mentioned:

AUTO DEFENSOR - A series of golden discs that intercept incoming attacks and opponents.

GRAM - The precursor to Caliburn, it is heralded as the strongest demonic sword said to rival Excalibur. The appearance of the weapon changes in the hands of the wielder.

DURANDAL - The Peerless sword, a sword that will never lose its sharpness.

GAE BOLG - The legendary barbed spear that pierces with death. The spear was given to Cu Chulainn by Scathach, a lesser version of her own Gae Bolg-Alternative. When activated it will pierce the enemies heart without fail.