CHAPTER 1 – Kurt (Present Day)
The boy in the dark bronze armour cut a swathe through his opponents like a chainsaw through butter - he was relentless. He was alone against a dozen opponents, each of them wearing armour and wielding an assortment of weapons, but none of them were a match for him. He swung his greatsword with pinpoint precision and blistering strength, cutting through two in a single swing. He used his head, his elbows, his hands, his knees and his feet as deadly weapons, as well as the greatsword itself, until he had felled every single assailant. He was unbeatable, he thought to himself as he knocked down the last armoured opponent.
When he was sure he had taken down all his opponents and he was sure they weren't getting up any time soon, Kurt took his helmet off and strode through the Field of Mars, his greatsword resting against his shoulder, grinning at his victory. The platoon of Roman soldiers lay around him, groaning, signalling the end of the day's training. They weren't too badly hurt since Kurt had avoided cutting any of them too badly, and if they were, then the camp healers would clear up any major wounds. With training done for the day, he pushed the Imperial gold greatsword into its scabbard on his back, flexed his arms and set off towards the Via Principalis. He began to unstrap his armour as he walked, and he nodded at several people that passed him, until he stopped outside the entrance to the Bath House. Roman baths were the best, he thought to himself. You hadn't lived until you'd had a proper Roman bath - they were to die for. Entering the Bath House, he laid his armour on a nearby bench, followed by his clothes. He smiled to himself as he stepped in slowly, sitting down and sinking up to his neck in the piping hot water. He sighed and closed his eyes, utterly at peace.
An hour later, he had finished bathing and was ready for something to eat. He dressed in his regular clothes, and gave his armour to a probatio, a new kid that hadn't earned a full place in the Legion yet, to take back to his barracks, and he proceeded to make his way to the Mess Principia, the mess hall. He sat down with some friends from his cohort, and an aura, a wind spirit, placed a plate of barbecue in front of him – his favourite food. Grinning, he dug in, relishing every bite. The barbecue didn't last long. He ate two plates of the stuff and drank down three glasses of Pepsi before he'd had enough. When he finished, he stood, bid his friends goodnight, and left for New Rome.
This place wasn't like any other camp. It was special. Named Camp Jupiter after its patron, it was a place for Roman demigods to live in safety. There were 4 sectors to the 'camp' - The Via Principalis, which contained the barracks, the baths and the mess hall; The Field of Mars, a barren plane where they trained and where engineers built fortresses for capture the flag games; Temple Hill, which housed temples to the main Roman gods: Mars Ultor, Bellona, Pluto and Jupiter Optimus Maximus; and New Rome, the city, where demigods and legacies - children of demigods - could grow up, start a family and go to college. It also contained the Senate House, Forum, Coliseum and Circus Maximus. Around New Rome was the Pomerian Line, guarded by the Roman god Terminus, who inhabited stone busts at each entrance and exit to the city. The camp is protected from mortals and monsters, which made it a safe haven for Roman demigods.
As for Kurt, he was the model Roman demigod - well-built with big muscles, but in a lean, athletic way. He usually wore his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, black jeans and trainers, and he always carried his main weapon around with him – a solid Imperial gold greatsword, sheathed on his back.
The next morning, as he had woken up, washed and dressed, Kurt received a message from one of the centurions – he was being summoned to the Senate House to meet with the praetors of the camp. He hesitated, nodding before getting up and wrapping his bedsheet around him – his toga – and he left for New Rome.
Walking down the streets of the Via Principalis, he tossed one gold denarii, Roman currency, towards a homeless faun begging on the side of the road. The faun cheered and thanked Kurt profusely, before leaving to spend it on food. He greeted several of his friends and as he approached New Rome, greeted Terminus when he reached him. Terminus smiled at Kurt and looked him over to check that everything was in order. Terminus was the god that inhabited busts at every entrance and exit to the city. He was New Rome's border police, and stopped anything and anyone entering New Rome that shouldn't be. Kurt unsheathed his greatsword and gave it to Terminus' assistant, a girl called Julia. She gave him a lopsided smile, and took the sword away.
Walking through the streets of New Rome, he knew why he was being summoned. He had left his weapon with Terminus, as was law. No weapons were allowed inside the Pomerian Line, in case anyone decided to attack the praetors, senators, or anyone else in the city. It was also to make sure what happened to Julius Caesar never happened again. Kurt stopped outside the Senate House to marvel at the architecture as he did every time he got to visit the city. It truly was impressive. White marble columns lined the entrance to the Senate House, atop white stone steps that were smooth to the touch. This had all been here for centuries, but it all looked new thanks to the various architects and engineers that renovated New Rome every time it was getting too worn down. Smiling at the beautiful environment around him, he entered the Senate House.
Stepping in, he was greeting by a large empty room, with the same architecture that was present outside. Large columns lined the edges of the room, interspersed with large windows that showed off the beautiful city. White marble benches filled the room, all facing the throne-like seats the praetors were sitting on at the other side of the room. They were talking in hushed tones, but stopped and looked up as he entered and walked towards them, standing to attention once he was close.
"At ease, centurion." said one of them - a girl.
"Do you know why you're here?" asked the other. He was a large boy with a perfect military haircut, square shoulders, a chiselled jaw and large muscles. Word around camp was that he didn't always look like this. Apparently he used to be baby-faced and clumsy, like a baby ox, but when he went on an important, world-saving quest, it changed him – and he returned a praetor. Kurt couldn't be sure if this was true though, since he had arrived a year after the big quest.
Kurt shook his head to be polite – discipline was important in Roman times, and it was important in the Roman camp – and the girl stepped forward. A dark skinned, thin girl. Kurt had soon learned to take everything she said completely seriously and without hesitation. She had been a praetor here for a long time, nobody knew for how long, and had been through more in her time than most adults go through their whole lives, and emerged in one piece and victorious at the end. He hadn't actually been here to witness any of her daring feats, but nevertheless she was still formidable in his eyes, and he could tell the stories were true just by looking at her – she was a battle-hardened, seasoned warrior, with fire in her eyes and grim determination seeping from her every one of her pores.
"There's been a severe outbreak of monster activity near here, in the national parks." She said.
"The national parks? What, all of them?" Kurt replied, frowning slightly.
"Every single one. There's Leydecker, Marina, Coyote Hills, Agate Beach, Tamales Bay, Sam McDonald, Mosswood, Portola Redwoods, Fremont, Angel Island, China Camp, and... Mount Tam." She confirmed, her voice darkening when she spoke of the location of the now destroyed Mount Othrys, base of the Titan Lord Saturn, when he returned a decade ago to destroy the gods and usher in a new 'Golden Age'. Demigods from Camp Jupiter destroyed the base, a boy called Jason Grace fought and defeated the Titan Krios single-handedly.
"So what, you want me to go to each one and kill monsters? Sounds like a blast." Kurt replied, taking the opportunity to exclaim his bravery at such a task. Strength and honour were also important in Roman times, and Kurt felt the need to be seen as strong and honourable almost all of the time, but mainly in front of higher ranking soldiers, and praetors.
"No, we've sent the First, Second and Third Cohorts to take down most of the monsters in the parks. We're sending you to Mount Tam... Atlas is free," Reyna replied ominously, "We don't know how, and we don't know who has the sky. The Hespirades should assist you when you're there, but this is going to be dangerous. You can take a group of 4 with you; you'll need more than 2 this time."
Hearing this, his smirk dropped instantly, and he stood straighter, fists clenched, like someone had reached into his head and flicked a switch from 'Relaxed' to 'Combat Ready'. He nodded defiantly, and turned to leave.
'Good luck, Centurion' were the last words he heard from Reyna.
/
PLEASE REVIEW!