Hi everyone, here's the next chapter. In the end, my trip to the US got cancelled which sucked big time but I travelled up the whole coast of Peru (my home country) which was fantastic. And, I finally got inspired for the next chapter.
As always, big thanks to all readers and reviewers and sorry for the delay. Hope you had fun on your trip Katherine.
Chapter 14 – Lupa's advice
"Come," said Lupa. "Dakota, Perseus, follow me. There are some things you must know." She paused for a second and spared a glance to the huge group of demigods gathered behind her, waiting for orders. "The rest of you," she barked loudly, "back to work!"
The crowd gave a unified sigh and with a feeling of collective resignation, the many demigods turned around and left in different directions. Percy managed to see Jamie and Liam among a group of teenagers dressed in purple but they looked somber and they simply stared intently at him before they were gently driven away from the lawn.
Lupa then walked away, not in the direction of the broken down praetorium, where some bricks were hanging loose and rocks were still rolling softly to the ground, but instead she took the road that led towards the southeast corner of camp. Percy followed her silently, with Dakota by his side, feeling strangely the same way he'd felt when he'd followed Mr. Milkgoat into the school basement for detention. They made their way through the southeast area until they were standing before the two buildings where kids were going in with books and musical instruments. The buildings were so large that they seemed to make one of the sides of Castra Roma, a straight line between the east wall and the south wall, leaving a small triangle of land concealed behind them.
With a small glance at them, the she wolf took a narrow path that led between the two buildings, with both structures standing tall on either side of them. The path was so cramped and the walls angled in such a way that Percy felt weirdly that he was far away from the Bay Area and that he was walking down a city alley somewhere else he knew quite well. But before he could pinpoint any exact location, they made it past the walls and Percy was shocked when he saw a miniature forest appear in front of them. It wasn't very large, no bigger than a square mile, but it was a relief in a place that otherwise seemed like a military industrial complex.
Lupa guided them into the trees and they soon reached a quiet river that flowed lazily in front of them. Percy heard the water moving and recognized it; it was the same body of water they had jumped into the day before, the same one that had guided him through the mountain. In the middle of the river, there was a very small boat-shaped island, decorated with some trees and statues and connected to the mainland by two wooden bridges, one on either side. In the middle of the island there was a strange monument, a water fountain with a small statue behind it, showing Roma standing over Lupa, who was lying down and tending to a couple of human children that seemed to be crying.
When they reached the island, Lupa transformed again into her wolf form and then she looked perfectly in place in the middle of nature. For a moment, looking at her and at the setting, Percy felt himself completely removed from the present. The place had a sense of timelessness, as had the wolf before him, so that it seemed as if the very location was paralyzed and unaffected by the passage of time, like every rock and tree and bird had been there, unchanged, since the foundation of Rome.
Lupa paced around the island before turning to look at him. When she spoke, no sound was uttered, it was as if she was thinking aloud and her thoughts could be registered by all those present. "These woods remained here at the request of the fauns," she said. "A small sanctuary for nature, a place where the Wild can still be felt, a forest in the corner of camp. But it isn't just that, this place has a significance of its own. Perseus, do you know where we are?"
"My name is Percy," he answered at first, with an unfamiliar quirk of annoyance. "And… no," he continued more seriously, "there is something special about this place, I can feel it but I don't know what it is, I don't understand it."
"When the gods move from one place to the other," replied Lupa, "the important locations move as well. Olympus is now in New York, Pluto is in Los Angeles. But here, we are in Rome, Percy, the capital of our empire. And this particular place is of the utmost importance to our city. This is, for all the power of the gods, the river Tiber and this island is the very place where the river god Tiberinus put Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, into my care."
"Right…"
"This isn't just a historic detail Percy; this place is the heart of Rome's power. Just like the thrones in Olympus are the anchor to the god's power in the world, this forest, and in particular this statue, is Roma and my own anchor and it must be protected at all costs." She walked over and surveyed the water fountain and the small statue of herself. "If it were destroyed, Roma and I would fade, and the spirit of Rome would fade with us. There is no way to tell what the effects would be, but it could unravel everything Castra Roma is made of, it could end us."
"So why have you brought me here? And why are you telling me this?" asked Percy.
"This is the place where my power runs strongest," replied Lupa. "Lord Jupiter has ordered me to remain in Olympus and I am currently disobeying him. He is… preoccupied… at the moment, but when he realizes I am gone, he will search for me. Here, I can avoid his eyes, even if only for a few minutes."
"But why?" said Percy. "Why take such a risk?"
"To give my final orders to Castra Roma," she answered, "and because the Cumaean Sybil came to me and told me that the future would depend on me giving you a word of advice and an order." She walked back from the statue in the middle of the island and stood close to the praetor.
"Dakota," she saidsuddenly andwith utter seriousness, "while I am gone and until Jason is found, you will be the commanding officer in Castra Roma. War will soon be upon us and it will be like nothing we have ever seen. You must make sure they are prepared, either to mobilize north or to sustain an attack against our very fortress."
"An attack?" said Dakota. "Here? None of the reports have given any evidence…"
"It has happened before!" said Lupa violently, cutting her off and obviously angry at being contradicted. "It could happen again. You must be ready."
"Yes, ma'am," said Dakota quickly.
"Also," continued the she-wolf, a strange expression taking over her face. "Do you remember the plan that we discussed when Jason first disappeared?"
"You mean the one Hazel came up with?"
"Yes," said Lupa. "Carry it out. And no one must know about it."
Dakota looked shocked. "Are, are you sure, Lupa?" she asked, her voice shaking a little bit. "I mean, we're not even sure if…"
"Yes," said Lupa firmly, cutting her off again. "It is the only way."
Lupa paced a bit more around the island and they shared a meaningful look before the she-wolf turned again to Percy. "As to this young man here," she continued, "he is telling the truth about his memory and his entrance into Castra Roma." The she-wolf then walked to him and stood an inch from his face, "I will be blunt Percy, I don't like you and I don't want you in my city. I would rather have you cast away as Aeneas wanted to, or see you killed. But I have spoken with Vesta and Roma myself and he was truly accepted here on probation."
"But what does that mean?" asked Dakota. "There's never been any demigod here on probation, what's he supposed to do?"
"He is, for all terms and purposes, an outsider," replied Lupa. "He can be a camper here but he will not be made part of the Legion, he will be unable to gain in rank, he won't be given any privileged information and, of course, his training will be particularly… erm… intense."
"Isn't that a bit unfair?" asked Percy, suddenly. "How am I supposed to be a camper and not be in the Legion? I will be left out of everything!
"Yes," said Lupa simply, ignoring him. "As to his cabin, you must have realized that he is a son of the Earthshaker but…"
"WHAT?" cried out Dakota. "Neptune? But the Big…
"BUT HE WILL NOT BE CLAIMED," said Lupa, running over whatever Dakota was going to say, "that already happened once and it will not happen again. So you can do whatever you want with him, you can tell the other campers about his lineage or not, you can put him in Cabin Three or with Mercury Cabin or in the middle of the woods. It doesn't really matter."
"A son of Neptune," said Dakota, her eyes shining suddenly bright with interest. "I will see it done, ma'am."
At that moment, there was a rumble of thunder in the air and they all looked up towards the sky, only to see it darkening quickly over Castra Roma. "Lord Jupiter has noticed my absence," said Lupa. "It won't be long before he finds me. Percy, I still have to give you a word of advice and an order. Do you know what a Pyrrhic victory is?
"No," he answered quickly.
Lupa shook her head with exasperation before explaining. "When Rome was young," she said, "Pyrrhus was the Greek King of Epirus, a land to the northwest of Greece. He invaded Italy, heading directly for Rome. My people rose to the challenge and a great battle was fought between both armies at Heraclea. In that battle, the Romans were defeated and King Pyrrhus took the field. However, at the end of the day, he surveyed what he had won and what he had lost and he was dismayed. When his generals approached him to congratulate him on his victory, Pyrrhus replied 'another victory such as this, my generals, and I will be utterly undone.'"
"But he did win, didn't he?" said Percy.
"Yes," said Lupa, "he took the battlefield, but the victory had a devastating cost to him, so much that another victory such as that one would have ultimately caused defeat. So, you have to wonder, did he really win that day? What does it mean to win a battle? And that's my piece of advice to you, Percy. To win, you don't always have to win."
"What?" said Percy. "That is just plain…"
"Before the year is out," Lupa interrupted him, "you will remember this story and live it again. You are very much like Pyrrhus, young man, willing to sacrifice all in a fight, but you must remember that a victory is worthless if you lose everything to obtain it. The Romans knew that lesson well and Pyrrhus had to learn it the hard way. Make sure you take after the true winner in that battle."
Percy didn't say anything and simply nodded. "You also said you had an order for me," he replied.
"Yes," said Lupa. "You will…"
In that moment, a great rumble filled the sky and lightning came down crashing in the spot between Lupa and Percy. He was blasted away from the island, landing in the river, which cushioned his fall. He looked back towards Lupa and saw that her hair had been singed and that she had been thrown to the ground.
"I must leave," she said gravely. "I wish I had more time to explain, but my order to you is two-fold. First, protect Castra Roma over everything and anyone, even those you love. Remember that the needs of the many will always outweigh the needs of the few. And second, don't be a prisoner to a past you do not know. You know who you are even if you don't know how you got there, so start over again and build on that. One day you will recover your memories but until then, live in the present."
And with that, the she-wolf turned around and galloped away. She jumped gracefully over the river and disappeared into the woods. Percy would not see her again for a very, very long time.
Hope you liked it. Please review.