Hey guys,
Sorry for slow updates. Had two assignments and one exam this week - Yay.
Anyway, I tried to make this chapter longer, and it would've been a filler chapter, but hey, who likes fillers?
So yeah, there's some action/drama in it. It was just over 4100 words and I'm going to try and keep the chapters at least 4000 words each.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters belonging to the PJO series.
Power of the Unknown
Chapter Two - Pranks and Prophecies
The scent of blossoms filled the air. Perhaps this was because flowers bloomed all over three of the pale green walls; the other wall showed a detailed replica of 'La Primavera', a famous artwork from the Renaissance that depicted Flora the nymph as she was turned into Chloris by Zephr. A ten year old girl with waist-length blonde, wavy hair sat on a solitary bed. She turned over the book that she had found upon walking into her cabin. It was a simple hardcover, plain white with the title 'Power of the Unknown' written in a clear, legible text. She opened it up to the first page. One sentence greeted her.
And then, without warning, the unknown enemy shall strike and Olympus shall be in ruins.
"How cliché," Daisy muttered before tossing the book across the room. Before it hit the wall it exploded into red dust, but she didn't notice. "Stupid children of Hermes. Pranks suck."
Daisy left her cabin to give the Hermes kids a piece of her mind. It was two days since her victory. And, to her enjoyment, she had officially made an eternal enemy in a group of maidens.
A great birthday present.
It was the 23rd of July. Daisy was officially eleven and no one knew except her best friend, Vickie. Oh, the joys of being a unique demigod.
Daisy chuckled lightly to herself. Arriving at the Hermes cabin, she examined her canvas. A smirk played on her lips and she waved her hand. Roses bloomed over the roof and lilies sprung up from the ground, forming a carpet around the cabin. For good measure, she threw in some poppies over the outer walls. She laughed again, imagining the faces of the Hermes cabin when they came back from breakfast.
"Pot Plant!" A male voice called from behind. The daughter of Chloris cursed to herself and turned to face the caller.
"What do you want Fairy?" Daisy growled.
Oscar raised his arms in surrender. "Whoa. Cool it. Calm your flower. Just wanted to know what you're doing."
"Getting some revenge on some idiotic children of Hermes. They chose the wrong chick to mess with."
"You know, for a ten year old flower girl you're pretty badass."
"Eleven," she sighed.
"Um… What? You said you were ten two days ago."
"That's because I was ten two days ago."
"Uhh… I still don't get it."
"It's my birthday today, you dolt."
"Oh… Happy birthday, I guess. Oh, and for your present I'll help you prank the Hermes kids. Trust me, I'm great at pranking. There's nothing a little magic can't do."
"Oh, I never doubted that fairy-boy. I only doubt your evil genius."
"Excuse me? You doubt my evil genius? Well just wait till you see my plans."
"Each take a cabin. Best prank wins?"
Oscar nodded and grinned. "I've got Aphrodite. You've got Hermes. We have till the end of the day to plan and they must unfold tomorrow."
"May the most evil win, fairy."
"Ditto, flower."
"Get out of here you freak! Why can't you stop using a bow, man up and be the warrior you're supposed to be?"
Matthew quivered. He slung a small backpack over his shoulder and thrust the door open. It swung outwards with a soft creak as the outcast sprinted away, into the woods he seemed to call home more often than the Ares cabin. Laughter could be heard behind him and the sound washed over him, echoing in his mind. It consumed him and taunted him, reminding him of his past. Matthew had nowhere now. His family awaited him in the underworld, and his siblings' teasing pushed him to speed up the process of seeing his family once again. The thought of his sister's death brought up a wave of barely consumed hatred and anger at Artemis and her hunters. He shared a similar loathing for Aphrodite and her children for what she had done to his family. Because of Artemis and Aphrodite he was alone. He had no friends and no one that understood his pain. Matthew leaned down against a tree, pressing his back against its firm wood. Head in hands, he sent his mind back to when his life had begun to fall apart.
"Julie, please. Don't. I've lost everyone else and I don't want to lose you. You're the only sister I have left."
"Matt, shh. I'll be okay. You won't lose me, and I'll still be able to come and see you."
"Won't lose you? I'll never be able to talk to you again! You think that, and I quote 'turn my back on the company of men' means you are allowed to be friends with a male? You'll turn into a stuck-up, sexist little bitch along with the rest of them! After losing Mum and Finn do you think I can risk losing you?"
"Again Matt, you won't lose me. I'll always be your sister, and I'll always love you, and an oath will never change that. I'll always be with you."
"Always be with me, huh? After this little talk time you'll be with the Hunters and Artemis will chase me out of here firing at me or turn me into an animal. Where will you be? Among the crowd that are laughing their heads off when I'm given a one-way ticket to Hades. Will you defend me? Tell them that they're wrong about men? Leave the Hunters and curse Artemis for killing me? No, you won't Julie. You'll be a man-hating Hunter and be laughing with the rest of them."
"Matt, you know I won't do that. I just have to escape this curse."
"We're children of Ares, Julie. We should stand together and face up to the task, not run away and leave one person to bear the load. There's no I in teamwork, that sorta thing. We were given this curse so we have to stick together to overcome it."
"Matt, you're my brother. You're strong and I know you can handle it. You're strong enough to avoid the curse. There's got to be a way around it."
"Aphrodite didn't curse our family so we can overcome it and call ourselves heroes. She made it impossible to overcome on purpose. So our lives will be ruined."
"I'm sorry, Matt. But I've got to do this. I'll always love you, Hunter or not." Julie Rivera looked at her broken brother before sweeping out of the tent. Matthew was unaware of what happened, hopefully his younger sister turned down the offer to join the Hunters. The spark of hope diminished when he heard the mumbling of a pledge, and saw the silver burst of light even through the tent. A pit as deep as Tartarus opened up in Matthew's chest and he realised that he was now truly alone.
The old centaur swished his tail back and forth nervously, letter in hand. It was addressed from the Gods, and he knew that the Gods never contacted camp unless something was wrong. Slowly he unfolded the piece of parchment and set his eyes on the paper. The handwriting was the fancy cursive of Lord Zeus. A small gasp would have escaped the centaur's lips if he had not years of training at being calm when problems arose. The centaur pursed his lips and read over the letter and his fingers stiffened on the paper. Just like he thought, there was a problem. An unbalance in power.
"Father, I don't think it would be wise to-"
"I don't care about wise, that's for that bird brain Olympian. No, I care about power. Strength. An operation cannot run on wisdom alone, strength overcomes all."
"Uh, yes Father. It does." The young demigod completely disagreed with her Father; however he was too obnoxious to notice.
"Power comes from within. It is the very force of how we exist, why we exist, if we exist. The Olympians are fools to class me as a minor god. They underestimate how much chaos can be caused with a slight tip in the power scales. And they don't even realise that I control those scales. Now, my daughter. Investigate the power levels at the camp. I don't have time to do it myself, I am busy gaining allies. Go see Iaso to fix you up before you go. And because you need a real weapon, not that sissy bow and arrow, go see Enyo and Enyalius before you go. Tell them that you're ready for the gift."
"Thank you Father." The girl bowed awkwardly, her straight blonde hair brushing over her face. She left in a hurry, eager to get away from the overwhelming presence of the god. But then again, she was heading to three gods right now. Out of all the gods and goddesses that supported her father, Iaso was her favourite. Iaso, goddess of cures, remedies and methods of healing, was soft and affectionate. How she got along with her rugged and demanding father, she had no idea. All the demigod knew was that her father and Iaso were great friends. She creaked open a door, peering inside. The goddess of cures was sitting on a black leather swivel chair, seeming so out of place in the hospital-like room. She had clear, flawless skin and short, bobby caramel hair. She welcomed the demigod with a warm smile.
"Ah, Jacinta. Come in dear, your father has alerted me of your mission. I do hope for your sake, and for all of ours, you succeed. It would do great deeds for the Unknown." Iaso smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Lady Iaso. It means a lot to me." Jacinta felt warm talking to the goddess. It was the same feeling she had every time she spoke to Iaso, perhaps it was part of her sweet, remedial aura.
"Oh, dear. You don't have to refer to me as Lady Iaso. That title is for more, ah, formal purposes. Iaso is fine, my dear."
"Thank you, Iaso."
"You're welcome honey. Now, I assume it's the regular ambrosia and remedial fix up? And a full body healing before you depart?"
"Yes, and I would appreciate some of your fatigue cure."
"Most certainly, Jacinta." The minor goddess waved her hand and a leather pouch appeared, the top spilling open with supplies. She fastened the clasp with a muted click and waved her hand, offering the bag to Jacinta.
"Thank you, Lady Iaso. I would stay around, but I must go visit Enyo and Enyalius. My father told me they have a weapon for me." The demigod turned, leaving the small infirmary with the leather pouch slung over her shoulder. The warm feeling inside her faded slowly, and she heard the voice of the goddess call out behind her.
"Make me proud, my dear! Bring the minor gods the respect they deserve."
Oscar crept behind the Aphrodite cabin, internally puking at its colour. He hated pink. Almost as much as he hated rats. And, hey, Oscar hated rats so much that every time he saw one he would throw whatever he had in his hands at them. It was how he broke his first iPod.
He brought out his staff and gripped it in his left hand (Oscar was proudly left-handed) and used his right to slide open one of the two arched windows that adorned in the back wall of the cabin. His violet eyes flitted around, checking that the coast was clear before hauling himself into the window. Scouring through draws and chests, he found what he was looking for – foundation. The grooves and carvings on Oscar's staff glowed as he muttered a spell. The foundation glowed a bright green before the colour died down again. When the light diminished Oscar felt drowsy so he returned to his cabin. Teetering slowly to the front door, he muttered something about sleep and how the Morpheus children better give him good dreams. As soon as he dropped onto the bed he began to dream.
"My daughter shall accomplish her mission. It is in her blood to succeed." An intimidating man with folded arms sat up straight in a black chrome seat. He had power radiating off of him in waves that seemed so overwhelming and powerful that he could send Ares crying to Hera.
"Yes, but one lone demigod to scout the camp. It would work better if you send someone like me, perhaps." Said another person who had curly red hair and a beard. His face was pointed and his eyes were deep and golden. His features reminded Oscar of the children of Hermes, cheeky and elf-like but this man's were darker. His skin was pale and he was muscled, but nowhere near as much as the man he was talking to.
"Momus, do not mock my daughter. She is of my descent, she has great power."
"Yeah, yeah. I guess it will be pretty hard to fail at scouting that camp. Even that weak demigod could do it. Maybe. Anyway, you should let me do it. I want revenge against Zeus for exiling me from Olympus. I mean, for Ouranous' sake! All I did was criticise him for being violent and his lust for women! Even if I did also criticise Aphrodite and Hephaestus, I have enough reason! Those Olympians are foul. Just like my mother Nyx used to say 'Don't let others brighten up your darkness,' I get what that means now! Everyone is so stupid. I need my revenge. That demigod won't be enough, so I should go. I do have more hate for them than her, so really, I would do-"
"Momus, that is enough! Do not criticise my daughter, or I will have you in Tartarus!"
"Whoa, jeez boss, calm down! There's nothing wrong with a little mockery and resentment. What would your father say? I'm pretty sure Styx encourages the hate. Come on boss, let me mock her some more, just a little bit."
The stronger man growled and let loose a wave of red energy, blasting back all the nearby furniture and shaking the walls. Oscar's dream shattered like glass and fell into blackness.
Daisy smirked and readied her bow. She wasn't the best shot, but hey, she didn't need to be for the task ahead. Strung to her each of her arrows was a fine cord covered with 'NEW Long-Lasting Mount Olympus Sticky Stuff! Now Stronger AND Lasting Over Five Hours!' that she had purchased on her most recent field trip to Olympus. She pulled back the string past her cheek, right arm bent with two fingers on the string and left arm straight, fingers clasped around the bow. She held the position for one second… two seconds… then released. The string sprung out of her grip, grazing her arm and launching the arrow across the room of the Hermes cabin. Daisy cursed, inspecting the wound on her forearm. A few layers of skin had been taken off, and now it was bleeding slightly. The daughter of Chloris promised herself that she would attend more archery lessons.
One look into his eyes. That's all it took for her to fall in love. Her oath, Lady Artemis, the Hunters, all of them floating away behind her. His deep blue eyes were pools she wanted to plunge into and forever lose herself in. And then she decided. She was in love. And she would leave the Hunters.
Returning to the Hunters' camp from her scouting mission, she found herself face-to-face with a goddess. And her expression was as dark as an eclipse.
Julie bowed. "Lady Artemis."
The goddess' eyes were steely cold. "You had the potential to become a great maiden. But you allowed yourself to become corrupted by a man. Why?"
"He's… Not just any man. I-I believe in love at first sight now that I have seen him."
"You have not even met him. Is this what you have come to? Deciding to weaken yourself by loving someone you have not even met?"
Julie lowered her eyes. She racked her brain for something to say, but she was coming up blank. Slowly, she felt herself tire. She felt weaker, and with a shock she realised she was aging again. Sighing, she turned away from the goddess and started to head back to civilisation.
Disbelief.
Anger.
Surrender.
A mix of emotions swirled through her head as the blast of silver energy struck her from behind, and she was blasted forward, pain ricocheting throughout her body. As she came in contact with the ground she turned, so that the shoulder took the brunt of the hit. A cry of pain escaped her mouth and in her dying moments one memory came to mind. The words of Aphrodite that had haunted her for her entire childhood.
"I swear, as long your mother believes that my lover is hers, that you shall never find happiness in love. Your love will get you killed from the most unexpected and uncharacteristic of reasons.
And before she passed into Hades' territory she thought one name.
Matthew.
Miles and Bryce stood together in front of their cabin, expressions full of worry. The cabin counsellor, Bryce, and his 'right-hand man' Miles could feel a distressing dream from somewhere. They couldn't feel exactly where (thanks a lot, unpredictable minor demigod powers) in the camp it came from but it was strong. Someone was having a nightmare – or most likely a vision that was distressing. They both turned their heads to look at each other at the same time, in a cliché kind of way.
"Well, Styx. What the Hades was that?" Miles said, using one hand to push a loose strand of hair out of his eyes.
"Gods, you have to stop cursing. But yeah, I have no clue. Probably just another divine force trying to ruin someone's day." Bryce replied.
"Oh okay, nothing new then."
"Nope."
There was a period of silence, both boys awkwardly shuffling their feet. Miles was the one to break it. "Should we alert Chiron?"
"An immortal ruining someone's life… There's nothing we can do to stop it. But I guess Chiron should know. Come on" And together the two brothers walked to the Big House.
The centaur contemplated when to break the news to the demigods. Tonight? Tomorrow? Now? His usually clear thoughts were slightly jumbled, but he came to a conclusion. Tonight at the campfire. He would have a quest issued and have the leader receive a prophecy from the oracle… Or perhaps he should go and retrieve a prophecy now… And choose who to go on it afterwards? And what about the Hunters… They were currently visiting camp, would they be included in the quest? After moments of deliberation, contemplation and conflict he decided to receive a prophecy himself and at the campfire he would tell the campers and Hunters, and then fill in the gaps. Before he could canter off to the cave that held the oracle, two campers stopped him in his tracks.
"Chiron," said Miles, son of Morpheus. "Me and Bryce-"
"Bryce and I, oh smart one." His half-brother interrupted.
"Bryce and I, whatever! We sensed a distressing dream somewhere in camp. A nightmare or more likely a god or Titan visiting someone's dream. Intentional or not."
"Hmm, this probably is connected to…" Chiron tried to hide his spoken thoughts by coughing and turning away, but he didn't fool the brothers.
"Chiron, what is it?" Bryce asked.
"It will be explained at campfire tonight. Please go around to all the cabins and tell them that campfire is mandatory tonight. And please save any other inquiries."
"Okay, then. I'll take girls you take guys?" Bryce suggested.
"Oh, come on! There are so many gods' cabins! At least there are some maiden goddess' that you don't have to do."
"Well, unless you want to do the Hunters, I guess you're doing the guys." Miles shivered at the memory of the capture the flag game. The Hunters that he had caused to fall out of trees had their revenge. His arm was still in a sling, but thanks to the Panacea and Epione cabins (the new healers in camp, since the Apollo cabin specialised in medicine, whereas Panacea was the goddess of healing and Epione was the goddess of the soothing of pain) it would be off in a week.
"Fine, I'll get Elijah to help me." The two left Chiron to do their job, tackling each other along the way. Chiron smiled, and then remembering the task at hand, composed his expression. He cantered off to the oracle's cave, brushing aside the purple curtain that adorned the front of the cavern. A young maiden with curly brown hair was seated on a red leather couch reading a book.
"Katherine, how are you?" Chiron asked.
The girl on the couch looked up from her book. "I'm good, and I trust that you are as well, but I don't need the spirit of Delphi to tell that you did not come to ask how I am."
Chiron pursed his lips together. "Well, yes. I need a prophecy."
"Ask away."
The immortal trainer pondered for a moment before speaking. "How can we stop the rising threat?"
Katherine's eyes glowed green. Smoke billowed out from her open jaw and a hissing sound resonated throughout the cavern.
"One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea,
Down under they will find the one from the tree.
Accusations will eventually lead them astray,
Vengeance will drive one to betray.
Power will rise when the heroes are weak,
And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek."
And with that the smoke retracted and the oracle's eyes returned to their normal hazel. Her head thumped against the back of the couch and she passed out cold. Chiron took a quick glance at the maiden before leaving the cave. He knew she would be alright when she came to her senses. All the centaur could think about was the prophecy. One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea, obviously Poseidon. Down under they will find the one from the tree. Chiron cast his mind back to thirty years ago, when Percy Jackson and the satyrs had trapped Hyperion in a maple tree. Did this refer to him? Accusations will eventually lead them astray, Vengeance will drive one to betray. That didn't sound good, but unfortunately prophecies were unavoidable. Power will rise when the heroes are weak, which probably meant that they would find power within themselves to accomplish their quest. And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek. One shall fall. Chiron should be used to heroes passing during quests, but he still regretted the loss of life and the waste of talent. Thoughts rebounded off the walls of his mind, echoing around his head. The one from the tree. Lead them astray. Betray. One shall fall.
The fire burnt a kaleidoscope of colours. Sparks of green and orange flew around while the main fire burned red and yellow. The Hunters of Artemis were standing a distance away from the rest of the campers, talking among themselves. The squashed campfire area was filled with chatter that only paused when Chiron stamped his hoof.
"Heroes! I have received word from Lord Zeus that there has been a sudden shift in power in the south. Just like how the Gods cannot venture too far north because it is land beyond them, they cannot go too far east or south either. Therefore, a quest has been issued. I have already received a prophecy."
"What is it?" shouted Jasper Ignite, son of Ares.
"Give the horse a breather, Ignite." called Elijah.
Chiron thundered his hoof again. "Calm down, children. The prophecy goes like this.
One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea,
Down under they will find the one from the tree.
Accusations will eventually lead them astray,
Vengeance will drive one to betray.
Power will rise when the heroes are weak,
And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek."
The campfire burned a low shade of purple as the campers and Hunters processed the information. A long silence filled the area, broken every few seconds by the crackle of the fire.
A gasp broke the period of deliberation. Campers and Hunters turned to see what was so interesting, and a similar sound escaped their lips. Standing on the side of the clearing that faced the beach was a tall, broad shouldered man. His skin was tanned and his bright blue eyes had a twinkle in them. Messy blonde-brown hair covered his head like a clump of seaweed. He had an aura of spectacular and wonderful thoughts and miracles.
"Who are you?" a male voice called from the sea of campers.
"I am known as Thaumas, god of the wonders of the sea. But in the prophecy, I am simply known as 'the sea.'"
That's right. I pulled a Rick Riordan. Slight cliffhanger, because I'm mean. Reviews are appreciated, hate or praise.
Also, I've never tried doing prophecies. Suck at rhyming and making sense, so I naturally suck at poem/prophecy things, so can you let me know what you think of the prophecy so that I can improve in the future? Thanks!