A/N: Hey guys, here's another chapter. It's a bit longer than my other chapters, so enjoy. I'm still not so sure about my writing style so please review and tell me what you guys think. Also please review about what pairings you want! So far only 1 guy has told me, so please give me your opinions, guys. Anyway, I noticed that I accidentally changed the POV sometimes during my first 2 chapters, changing from writing 'Percy' to 'I', so I fixed it. Again, please review and give me some feedback. I'm not really asking for favs or follows, but I want to know what you guys think of the story and some ideas for the plot, thanks. And sorry for any grammatical or spelling mistakes that I made.
-Chapter 3-
Walking back from the washroom, I entered the small cabin that was now my home. I sat down at his desk and tried I skills at making breakfast for myself.
I imagined the taste of his mother's blue pancakes which I had not eaten in a long time and most likely would never try the original again. I soon found the breakfast food in front of me. I dug into the food, but not without tears forming in his eyes as he thought about his late mother. It's not the same. I'll miss your pancakes mom but I'll miss you more.
Once I finished my food, I picked up a book on the language of Ancient Greek. I looked at it, thinking that my dyslexia would hinder me further in learning a new language, but I found that I could clearly read all the letters and had a relatively easy time learning the language. In the next hour or so, I managed to learn the basic letters and words, and thought that it was way easier to read than English for some reason. Just then, a soothing voice rang out from behind me,
"Ah I see you're learning Ancient Greek. You see, demigods have quite an easy time learning the language, and your dyslexia does not affect you reading Ancient Greek." I turned around to see my patron smiling at me warmly.
I greeted her and we soon made our way to the fireplace, where she began to tell me of my past, and what had likely happened to me. She changed from her usually happy demeanor to one of a serious nature,
"Percy, I think I understand what happened to your mother and how you were born. Judging by your eye color and the things you claimed to have done, I have come to the conclusion that you are probably a son of the big 3, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. About 8 years ago, The 2 which are in the council started acting strange during meetings, and whenever the subject of their vows to never have anymore demigod children came up, they would tense up and become extremely defensive." She stated in a dead serious tone.
"How is that even possible, 3 fathers? Oh wait, about the Big 3... I had a dream last night about the 3. They talked about having me dead. I think they sent that guy to kill me, which resulted in my mom's death..." I revealed, causing tears to form in the corner of my eyes as I brought up the topic of my mother again. Hestia suddenly got a look of realization on her face,
"I see, I think that what really happened is that my brothers forced themselves upon your mother, and that somehow resulted in your birth, with you having inherited powers from all 3 of them." She said with a look of pity covering her face. My face went red in anger. I was furious! My eyes turned to contain hot flames and my hands caught on fire. Thunder crackled on the outside and the earth shook. Small cracks began to form in the ground as my anger grew.
"How could they do that to my sweet mom! Something like that is bad enough with 1 person doing it, but 3!? That's just cruel! And they even tried to kill me to cover up! I swear I will avenge my mom, even if it kills me!" I tried to calm myself down before i tore down the cabin. Once my anger subsided, the dam holding back my tears broke, I cried into my patron's chest as she pulled me into a motherly hug. Most people would have broken beyond repair, tried to kill themselves, but my mom, she stayed strong and raised me with love and care. When I regained my composure, I asked in a soft and sad voice,
"But who was that guy and why did he have to try to kill me with a dagger when he had a gun? Can't mortal steel harm demigods too?" I wondered. Hestia had a small smile showing her amusement at my curiosity,
"You see Percy, having 3 godly parents made it so you're actually mostly immortal. You have the power of a minor god right now, but you're still mortal. He'd need more than just 1 or 2 bullets to kill you." She responded as she embraced me tighter, "The man you killed was known as an Assassin of Olympus. They're an elite group of assassins working for the big 3 and them only."
I nodded as a sign of understanding. I pulled away from the goddess and felt and new feeling fill him. The feeling of purpose. To avenge my mother. I once again turned to Hestia,
"Wait, why couldn't they just have left me alone or sent me to camp or something? Why try to kill me?" I questioned. Hestia had a small frown that tugged the corner of her lips. Her brothers would do what they wanted and did whatever it took to cover their own asses.
"If the council found out about what they had done, they would most likely be punished. Zeus might lose his position as King of The Gods, they might even lose some domains. Some gods may be angry enough to banish them. Something like this has never happened before so the punishment may vary. Hera is near breaking point with Zeus's constant cheating on her, and Aphrodite is strongly against rape because she is the love goddess. TRUE love not forced. Artemis too. The only god I foresee who will not vote for punishment would be Dionysus, and that's only because he'll probably sleep through the meeting. So they thought if they killed you, there would be no evidence and they'd get away with their injustice scot-free." My patron explained.
Serves them right I thought. "You said something about me being the hero of prophecy right? What does that mean?" I asked, wondering how me, just a 8 year old little boy, with a dead mother, could possibly be a hero.
"The hero of the prophecy refers to the hero who is in the Great Prophecy, the one who will decide the fate of Olympus. The prophecy was revealed by the Oracle of Delphi, an oracle of Apollo who gives demigods prophecies for quests, years ago. It says:
A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in an endless sleep
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze
I think that you are going to be the hero of prophecy, Percy. Half-blood of the eldest gods. That's you. Son of the big 3, who are children of Kronos, making them the eldest gods. If I'm correct, it's likely that the final battle will be in 8 years time, when you become 16. Until then, you must train so you may become the hero of prophecy. Please, Percy, you can have your revenge after this, but if you are to become the hero of prophecy, you must train hard. Olympus to preserve or raze. That is your decision, and I cannot change it, but remember, some of these gods aren't that bad."
I numbly nodded. I still couldn't wrap my head around it. How am I supposed to become this big-shot hero who would decide Olympus's fate? And what does she mean when she says not all gods are bad? They have kids with random mortals just because they feel like it, then they leave them to defend themselves when the monsters attack. They're lucky the other demigods haven't rebelled yet. I voiced out my question about the gods. To which, Hestia chuckled,
"Not all the gods are bad, Percy. Some, maybe, but not all. Even if they are, they have their reasons. Except for Zeus, he's just arrogant and stuck up. I'd be glad to see you give him a good beat down. Poseidon is one I cannot quite understand. He's the best brother I have. I cannot understand why he did this. Hera is bitter to many demigods because she's against going from mortal to mortal, but she is a sweet woman once you get to know her. Artemis has her hunt, where she helps maidens, be it clear-sighted mortals or demigods. The others all have demigod children who they care dearly about. It's just that they can't openly show it because of Zeus coming up with the stupid Ancient Laws saying that they can't visit their children and interfere with their lives. But they still try to help, be it through giving weapons and armor or just gifts or guidance." She defended.
I was still bitter about the Big 3, but the way Hestia talks about Poseidon, I think something could have happened that made him do what he did, and it's not his fault. Maybe I'll ask them before I get the council to pass judgment. Zeus however was a tyrant of a king. He just assumes that he can push everybody around because he's the king, and he's terrible, even to his children. If he needed, he would not hesitate to kill his children, his flesh and blood, if they so much as questioned his rule. On multiple occasions he has killed Hades's or Poseidon's mortal lovers and demigod children, just because of his rivalry with his brothers. He's probably the one who came up with the idea of doing things to my mother.
He was so power hungry that he even kicked his own brother, Hades, off of it so that he would rule unquestioned. Hades and Poseidon could easily take him down, and because he's so paranoid, he made sure that the Olympian Council was mostly made up of his children, which are constant reminders to his wife, who has never cheated on him, of his constant affairs with other women. He was also the only one of his brothers who broke their pact after World War 2, and sired yet another demigod child, though now a pine tree.
I don't know much about Hades, but I do know that millennia of time in the underworld has made him cold and shut off from the world. Hestia said that he was the most protective of her brothers because he was the oldest, especially when the children of Kronos were stuck in their father's stomach, but now he was unemotional and preferred to stay in the Underworld. He grew distant from his family and got back at Zeus for constantly killing his mortal lovers and children by doing the same to him. Talk about sibling rivalry.
"I guess you're right. Maybe if I can, I'll ask Hera to check the memories of my fathers before the council decides their punishment. Other than Zeus, they probably were forced into this or something. The way you talk about them, it doesn't sound like something they would do, or they would have done it long ago." I decided. The way I said 'fathers' was meant to make it sound like the worst thing I could call them.
"Thank you Percy. And I think Hera will want to know why our brothers would cheat on their wives, or in Zeus's case, for the second time in a century. And that brings me to another point. Since nothing like this has ever been done, I have no idea what your powers could be, other than the ones you got from my blessing of course. Children of Zeus get control of the winds and lightning, letting you fly even. Children of Poseidon get control over water, some control over ice and the earth later, and you heal while in the water, and you might be able to make hurricanes of sorts. Being a child of Hades allows you greater control of the earth, being able to cause earthquakes, summon the dead and gems. Some monsters obey you, but others will not hesitate to kills you. Depends on their loyalties, be it to Hades or Kronos. Now do you see how you could be strong enough to be the hero of prophecy?" Hestia told me.
I nodded blankly again, not quite able to take in that I could be able to do all that cool stuff. Flying? Causing earthquakes and hurricanes? You'd think that's what only a superhero could do, but no. Apparently an 8 year old can do it. And if I get any friends, particularly demigods, what am I going to tell them? 'Oh hey who's your godly parent?' 'The Big 3' 'Oh wow which one?''All of them.' I thought sarcastically. My patron shook my out of my thoughts by speaking again,
"So Percy, how about we go outside to the field, let's see if you can use any of those powers I talked about." She stood up and led me to the door. We made our way to a blank part of the field, where things wouldn't be destroyed if my powers got out of hand.
I concentrated hard, trying to summon a lightning bolt from the sky, but to no avail. I frowned internally. I closed my eyes and thought harder about thunder booming and some lightning striking the ground before me, but once again, I failed. But when I opened my eyes, I noticed that there were small sparks dancing around my palm. Both Hestia and I smiled, ecstatic that I could manage to do something at all, after just knowing about my powers for a day or two.
For the next few hours, I trained with my powers and with my sword. Without much knowledge of how to channel my powers, I barely managed to do much with lightning, wind, water, or earth. All I managed were a few sparks, small gusts of wind, making the water move a bit, or forming a few cracks in the ground. It's better than nothing. I just have to keep training. I thought hopefully. However, with the Goddess of Fire herself helping me with my fire powers, I managed to summon fire, making it dance around in my palm. I could only do small scale things like this now, but Hestia said that soon, I would be able to shoot fireballs and such. I grinned at the thought of being able to do things like this.
I was happy to think that I could do such things. Controlling the elements was more of a childhood dream, something that every kid would kill to do. But of course, it had to come with a twist. I would either have to fight a war and have the entire fate of the gods which I just learnt of in my hands, or I would die before I even get to celebrate my sweet sixteen.
When I went to try out my hand at swordplay, I found myself moving the way that the sword seemed to want me to. I felt like the entire time I was bonding with my sword, which seemed crazy, but I felt that the sword and I were finding a sort of common ground, fusing my aggressive and rash nature with the sword's preferred style, which Hestia saw and told me was the standard Greek style of fighting.
Later, I went on to try out other weapons. Spears, throwing knives, dual-wielding, sword and shield, scythes, hunting knives and… Archery. I was decent at most of the weapons or combinations which I tried, but I preferred my sword, Riptide. It just felt right in my hands. But for a ranged weapon I chose throwing knives because… Well, you see archery isn't really my strong point. And by not really my strong point I mean I missed the bulls-eye. By 10 feet. 50 times. Also I somehow managed to shoot an arrow so bad that it went behind me. Physicists please explain. Throwing knives were relatively easy. Hestia taught me how to throw it, despite her not being much of a fighter, because she still observes the other gods and picks up certain things. With the right technique I managed to hit the target about 1 every 5 times. Not bad for a first timer if you ask me.
Soon, I was exhausted, so I went to take a quick shower then went to take a short afternoon nap. But apparently I couldn't have any peace because as soon as I entered my cabin, I was basically forced into a bow. I immediately dropped to a bow as I saw before me two goddesses. One was my patron, while the other radiated the power of an Olympian. On closer inspection, I noticed that it was none other than Lady Hera, most likely here to smite me because Zeus had cheated her yet another time.
"Rise demigod" She commanded. Her voice was much calmer than I expected. I expected her to be like 'I'm just going to kill you now, it's only going to hurt for a second', but instead, she just sighed and continued her conversation with Hestia.
"So this is yet another result of my husband's unfaithfulness. I guess I should be used to it by now. Why am I even surprised." She said casually in a nonchalant way.
"L-L-Lady Hera, why are you h-here? A-are you going to k-kill me?" I stammered out, scared for my life that I was going to die. Well, this is what you wanted yesterday right? The pessimistic part of me thought.
"No. For once I pity a demigod of my husband's creation. Hestia here has explained to me the circumstances of your birth. I truly pity you, Perseus." The Goddess of Marriage sighed, "She decided that I should be the only one to know, since my husband was one of the offenders in this case. I'm not angry at you, Perseus. The only one who deserves my rage is Zeus. I was always mad at him before because he would have romantic relations with other mortal women. Some of the things that he did for them, he never did for me for 2 millennia. But what he has done to your mother is unacceptable. I will not reveal your existence to the other gods until you wish to, and I will try to look into my brothers' minds to see why they did what they did. It's the least I can do for you. You're probably one of the only demigods my husband has sired that I actually think I will care for. Most of his stuck up kids would not have bowed to me immediately as they came in, but you did. There is hope for you yet, child. I will check up on you regularly, just as Hestia does if you do not mind."
She appeared ready to flash out of the room, but I opened my mouth to speak. She saw this and seemed to know exactly what I was going to say, so she stopped a while to respond, "You're welcome, and do not get angry at Hestia for revealing your existence to me. She knows me well enough to know that I would not have killed you." She smirked as she disappeared in a flash of light. I turned to Hestia, who now had a smile tugging on the corners of her lips. I then asked,
"Ummmm okay? Wait she can read my mind? And why did you tell her I was here and my backstory?" I asked calmly. Hestia always had a soothing nature which made it so I could never get angry at her.
"Because Perseus, she has the right to know. Zeus cares little for all the Olympians, even his own wife. He doesn't stop his cheating ways even though we have warned him multiple times. I knew that if I told her of how you were conceived, she would not get angry. And don't worry, she can hide her emotions extremely well, and she will not confront our brothers without your consent. As for your other question, all gods and goddesses can read minds usually. I will eventually teach you of how to block your mind from access from other gods, so they will not be able to enter your mind without your permission. But for now, you wanted to take a nap, did you not? I shall leave now so you may sleep." She replied, chuckling as she had just accessed my mind too.
She walked out the door and left me to my own thoughts. I shrugged off the shock that they could actually invade my thoughts and retreated to my bed. I lay my head on the pillow and thought of how eventful my future would be. Slowly, I let my tiredness claim me as I drifted off to Morpheus's realm.