"That's him?" The lack of enthusiasm in the young demigod garbed in red gear could not have been plainer. He slowly lowered the binoculars from his eyes and looked down from where he sat in the tree, down to where Orion stood with his arms folded leaning against the trunk of the same tree. "The one you constantly speak about? The one who made it through Tartarus on his own?"
"Yes, Dante." Orion said tiredly, annoyed with the lack of trust in the demigod's voice. Dante leapt lightly down from the branch and floated lazily down to earth. He touched down lightly, his descent far slower than it should have been. His divine parent was a bit of a personal mystery to Orion as, to the best of his knowledge, none of the many gods he knew spawned demigods who had the ability to manipulate the gravity around them. "He is the one I have told all of you about."
Arrayed before Orion was a group of demigods, all of them garbed in red hunting gear slightly similar to the clothing that the Hunters of Artemis wore. Slightly. Those who served Artemis wore clothing that was made to provide ease of movement. Their clothing did very little in the way of protecting their flesh, favoring speed over defense, and that was the principal defense between them. The red armor was clearly designed for battle, the material thicker than that of which the Hunters wore. The sleeves had been cut off however, allowing the demigods to use their weapons with far more ease. Their weapons were another major difference between the two groups. Whereas the Hunters of Artemis all gravitated towards long knives or bows like their patron, the demigods in red possessed a myriad of weapons. The last difference between the two groups was obvious. The Hunters of Artemis were female. Orion smiled as he looked over his group. His Hunters were all male.
"He doesn't look like much." One of them said bluntly, glowering in the general direction of the camp. It was not hard to see the animosity dancing behind his eyes, nor was it hard for Orion to understand it. His Hunters were all forgotten demigods, ones whom the camps had not found and brought to them. Down to the last of the boys standing before him, they had each learned to survive on their own. They had stolen, scavenged, and fought for everything they had. Monsters had forced them to flee their homes lest their loved ones be pulled into their own misery. They had lived on the streets, or places like it, doing whatever they could to survive. Warriors, each and every one of them, and battle-hardened ones at that. When Orion had first begun to recruit them, it had not been easy. They mistrusted him instantly, and for good reason, and because of that wariness each one of them took time to convince to join his hunt. But the prospect of a better life is one that not many people, especially those with so little such as them, could hope to refuse.
They had not been easy to find, even for one such as Orion who had hunted and tracked prey for centuries. But years of fending off monsters had taught them to not leave so much as a trace of their presence. Many of them had been just as wild as Ryker had, some potentially even more so. Their independence had presented a challenge for Orion, one that he had not foreseen. They did not wish to follow any orders other than their own, and each demigod expected the others to follow their own command. The solution was fairly obvious to Orion; he needed a second in command. They followed his orders, only barely sometimes but they did, but he knew that he would not be able to be with them at all times. It had taken Orion less than a second to think of who he would take as his second in command. Though he had not started his own group of Hunters yet, Ryker had been the first demigod who had fought alongside him.
He had been there to witness Ryker's return from Tartarus, leading the army of demigods behind him. His Hunters had been there as well and Orion was sure that he had seen grudging respect on their eyes as they beheld Ryker for the first time. Unfortunately, that respect had quickly turned to scorn and contempt after he was so quickly dispatched by the Corrupted version of himself. Orion had brought his bow up without truly thinking about the consequences and had launched his volley of arrows just as quickly. But the damage had been done, and now it had just gotten worse. His Hunters had been watching the camp for several days and their opinion of Ryker had dropped quickly, especially after they had heard rumors about him being felled by a Hunter of Artemis in a single blow.
"Yes," Orion agreed heavily, looking over his Hunters again. They had hungry eyes, his eyes, ones that searched for a fight as eagerly as their next meal. "Right now I agree he is rather pathetic. I had thought that, perhaps, Tartarus would kill the last weakness inside him. From what you have told me, he was sentenced to the greatest punishment in the Underworld, the river Acheron. Perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was the sight of his mother falling. Regardless, that demigod you have seen is not the one whom I hunted with. That is a pale imitation that we must get rid of as soon as possible. The demigod that I hunted with, the one who will lead you in my stead, he is a hunter the likes of which you have never seen before. Though I am not sure how, we will find a way to bring him back. This pathetic weakling who is on Artemis's beck and call must be crushed out of him."
"The hunt might bring him back." One of them suggested slyly, readjusting the position of the broadsword on his back. The demigod who had spoken was of a darker complexion and bore three scars running parallel down his face, a testament to his run in with an empousai.
"Care to elaborate on that, Erik?" Orion suggested, gesturing expansively.
"We are all hunters here." He began slowly, drawing his eyes around to make contact with every demigod present. "Every one of us. We have proven ourselves, if not to each other than to Orion. But him? The only thing that he has proven is that he is lucky. So I say, let's give him something to hunt. That which sings to all of our blood, that which haunts our dreams. If this Ryker is even half the warrior you claim him to be, the hunt should awaken that side of him again."
"But that's not the only reason you are suggesting this, is it?" Orion prompted. Rarely did Erik have simply one purpose for saying something. He was another mystery to Orion, his divine parentage at any rate. His dark complexion and his straight black hair were a testament to no god that Orion could think of, and Erik's bright yellow eyes were at odds with the rest of him.
"No." Erik smiled, his eyes glinting with a wicked light. "It will give us a chance to test him as well. We all passed your test, I think it is only fair that he pass ours. Or is that too much to ask of your precious little pet?"
A chorus of agreement came from the others, all directed at Orion. The Giant mulled this over in his mind, his hand drifting over his massive mechanical bow absentmindedly as it so often did when he was deep in thought. Orion could think of no argument to their request, nor did he think that one was justified. Their request to test Ryker was fair and, to be honest, expected. To lead them, they would need to both fear and respect him. And the Ryker that now stood in the clearing of the tents of Artemis' Hunters was not one who was capable of inspiring either of those emotions in his subordinates.
"Very well." Orion said finally, taking a firm grip on his bow and hanging it over his shoulder. "You convinced me. You want to test him? Fine. Do it. Give him the best hunt that you possibly can. But I am going to lay down a few rules."
There was a burst of angry mutters at this, and more than a few glares. "There are no rules in this sort of thing!" One of them snapped. "Either he proves himself, or he dies."
"Which is fine by me." Orion shrugged carelessly. "If he truly has fallen that far, he is useless to us anyways. Kill him, in that case. But you will heed my rules. First, do not do anything that will cause the camps to fear or dislike you. No matter the feelings of anger you may have for them-" More than a few of his Hunters hated the camps, blamed them for not finding them and saving them from the hellish life they had lived, "They are necessary for the time being. Our prey is far more dangerous than them. After Tartarus is dealt with, we can deal with the camps however you may please. I'll leave that to you. But for now, leave them be as much as you can. We can't remain hidden from them forever and I would rather avoid a fight. The first time we meet, that is. Second, do not venture more than fifty miles from this spot in this hunt. Any more than that and I will not be able to respond should something… unfortunate happen."
"Unfortunate?" Dante barked out a laugh and shook his head. "That's a funny way to put us killing your little pet by accident."
"Oh, it is not him I am worried about." Orion's smile was far from friendly. "If he dies, he wasn't good enough. Anything that happened of an unfortunate nature would be what happened to you. Which brings me to my third point."
"Which is?" A fair haired, bored looking boy asked.
"Be very careful." Orion's unfriendly smile grew even more pronounced. "You may not want to believe it, but that demigod you make light of can be more of a monster than anything you have ever seen. A true beast. If you relax your guard for even a moment, or assume that he is weak… you will die. He will slaughter you without a second thought, and then turn to the next one of you. And I would really rather avoid that. You lot seem competent enough, I would hate having to track down a new batch of my Hunters."
"That Titan woman, Rhea, she made us immortal." One of them sneered. "We can't die."
Orion slowly turned his gaze on the demigod in question. This one, Leonard, was no mystery. His mother was clearly Nemesis, his dark hair and dark eyes both dead giveaways. "You will live so long as you keep the oath you made when you joined me." Orion corrected harshly. "Break that oath, and you lose your immortality. But take an arrow or a spear through the heart, and the next thing you know, you will be standing before the Judges. Besides, all of you saw just saw that goddess die. Not even true immortals are immune to death now. So, tell me, do you really want to test your immortality? Because if that is the case I will kill you right now. Your death will serve as an example for the others, and your statement will be proven false."
Chastened, Leonard took a step back and put a hand reflexively on the handle of the scythe protruding over his right shoulder. "No, I believe you." He said grudgingly, looking at Orion warily.
Orion sneered and turned away from him. "Now, I believe you said you wanted to organize a hunt?" He asked coldly, crossing his arms and staring at Dante and Erik. "I would suggest hurrying. The camps have such an annoying tendency to attract trouble, and during a battle might not be the best time for you to stage your little show."
His Hunters quickly dispersed, slipping without a sound into the surrounding trees. Orion watched them go, a note of pride in his heart as they left. He had hunted alone for centuries, granted by his own volition, but now he had his own Hunt. One that could rival, and possibly surpass even Artemis's own. But that was not the purpose of them, nor could he use them to exact further revenge on Artemis. That had been the deal he had made with Rhea so that she would provide him with the ability to bless his Hunters with the same protections and longevity that Artemis extended to her own. Orion's age old grudge against the Goddess of the Hunt was dropped, all grievances forgiven. But that did not mean that he had to allow his Hunters to fall under the control of the Camps. He would make sure of that.
