Hey everyone,

I'd like to announce that although some myths contradict with others, I may need to change the order in which historical myths took place to be able to fit the characters I want into the story.

Although the setting is ancient Greece, I will make the characters talk in English and informally, as if they were regular boys/men or girls/women in the modern world. It makes writing this a little bit easier, and the characters more relaxed than if they talked formally all the time.

I would like all of you avid readers to vote for the poll. That's right, there is a poll up on my profile page regarding this story. I believe that the idea is a little original, no popular FanFic about the original Quest for the Golden Fleece, at least that I know of. However, I am wondering whether you want me to write about the Trojan War as well. My personal vote is yes, but please put in your opinion. Thanks.

Just a note about copying and pasting author's notes...in the past, I have had readers who did not read the author's notes until later chapters. I just want to keep reminding. If you have already seen the author's notes, you can just skip them and go straight to reading the story. Thank you.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719

Chapter 6

The Old Seer

Percy panicked at first. He almost called for the boat to turn around to get Heracles back on the Argo, but he remembered that most of the Argonauts did not want the son of Zeus on the quest. Percy changed his mind and just hoped that the hero knew his way back home.

The routine was the regular: wake up in the early morning, eat breakfast, go out onto the upper deck to practice water powers, eat lunch, practice water powers, eat dinner, practice water powers, watch the sun set, practice archery, go to sleep.

Archery he found to get progressively easier, Atalanta showing him the stance that he needed to keep. He figured that by practicing with water would help him. He'd listened to Theseus' advice and used his emotions to control the water. The angrier he got, the more water he could control. The memory he thought most of was the hellhound killing his mother. Percy was beginning to be able to create distinct shapes instead of just a blob of water.

The crew of the Argo began stopping more frequently now, having rowing contests and boxing matches while betting. Percy found it all right that the men were doing that as it gave him more time to practice his powers. Even though Jason wanted to get the Golden Fleece, and so did many others, they were grateful for the break, not wanting to think about dangerous quests all the time. Percy was also sure that most of the men were tired of paddling.

Theseus continued giving Percy wise advice when sword fighting. He would spar with Jason as well, asking Percy to watch to see how more techniques can be used. Since Percy was a quick learner, he began executing the sword fighting techniques with more fluid motions, rather than the robotic-like way as when he began.

One of the matches between Jason and Theseus looked like a real sword fight, as if they were trying to kill one another. Percy knew better. They were just fighting at their hardest. Both had the ability to twist their swords in a split second.

At the start of the match, Jason told Theseus that the counterattack of the disarming technique would work against sloppy fighters, not experienced fighters. Theseus raised an eyebrow and challenged him to that fact.

Jason agreed, and they leveled their swords at each other.

Jason made the first attack. He lunged forward and feinted a jab before twisting and swinging his sword from the ground up. Theseus barely managed to parry that strike and was being pushed back. Jason made a flurry of strikes, attacking from the sides, above and the bottom. It was his special ability. Only those who trained with Jason knew that he had quite a bit of stamina. He would wear down his opponent with wild but quick strikes.

Theseus, luckily, had trained with Jason, and knew of his tactic. Theseus fought much like Percy, tactically. The only difference was that Theseus had developed more power and had less speed than Percy, even when Percy had an unbalanced sword.

At that thought, Percy pulled Anaklusmos out and stared at the gleaming sword. He'd never had a balanced sword before, all swords he'd trained with being either too long, too short, too heavy, or too light. Anaklusmos was perfect for him.

Percy remembered what Heracles had said about the blade. He had received it as a present from one of the Hesperides. Percy wondered what would happen when the son of Zeus went back only to say he had given to sword to some random ten-year-old boy. He was sure she would not be too happy about it.

Its name was intriguing, though. Anaklusmos. The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea.

He tapped the point of the sword and it shrunk back into a hair clip. He clipped it back onto his finger.

Theseus swiftly maneuvered around Jason avoiding the quick strikes that the son of Aeson were throwing. Then the son of Aeson made a downward slash that would have taken the head off of Theseus' neck. But the son of Aegeus held his sword up with both hands, keeping the sword inches away from his forehead. Jason continued pushing down, which was his mistake.

Theseus slowly inched his own blade to the side until his sword was at an angle, not parallel to the ground. He then strafed to the side and pushed Jason's sword down with all of his might, sending the sword clattering to the ground. Jason quickly recovered and kicked Theseus' right hand right at the nerve. He stepped forward, ripped Theseus' sword out of his hands, flipped the son of Aegeus to the dirt, and held him at sword point.

"Do you yield?" Jason asked.

"I yield."

Jason helped Theseus up and they laughed, talking about how fun the match was. They went up to Percy and offered to spar him. Having nothing else to do while the rest of the Argonauts were holding a boxing tournament, he agreed.

He fought Theseus.

When Jason called the start of the match, both opponents stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

After five seconds of no one moving, Percy decided to make the first strike.

He was surprised that Anaklusmos still felt swift in his hands. He hadn't engaged in combat with the sword since fighting Jason and he was surprised that it still felt new in his hands. He copied Jason's movements, though with less power. Theseus was easily able to parry Percy's strikes until Percy started using the power of the sword.

Percy had never been good at controlling water, but he could always be fed power from water. Sea storms were the exact same. They were heavy winds fed by heat in water, the water vapor. Percy could feel power pulsing through his sword and back into himself.

Percy then ceased the attacks, stepping backwards, slowly, toward the ocean.

"Oh, no," Theseus said. "You're not getting power from being in water. Come back here. You can't control water on land as well as you can in water. Don't even think about—"

Percy flashed him a smile before turning and sprinting into the water. Energy coursed through his body, just like he'd eaten his mother's "biscuits." The sweet taste from the food had made him energetic, as far as he could remember.

Then feeling powerful, he blasted himself out of the ocean, landing in front of Theseus and attacking as wildly as he could. It wasn't tactical, but Percy wanted to try fighting with power. For some reason, the winds had picked up and were whipping at Theseus like crazy. And only Theseus.

He was backing up from Percy, his eyes wide with fear. The son of Poseidon continued advancing before deciding Theseus' cowardice was preventing their sparring. He lashed out at the son of Aegeus and knocked his sword out of his hands.

The sudden burst of energy he'd felt when stepping into the water dissipated, and Percy suddenly felt really tired.

He put Theseus at sword point. "Do you yield?"

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Percy blinked, his head getting dizzy. "Do what?"

"The...cyclone."

With a shock, Percy realized he was standing in his own personal storm, though it was disappearing.

"Percy?"

The son of Poseidon blinked hard, feeling more tired than he'd felt in a while. He collapsed down onto the ground when his legs fell under him. He clutched his head before the world spun once more and he fell into darkness.

He gasped and sat up straight.

"He's awake, Atalanta!" a voice from above him called. "You don't need to get Argus."

Percy looked up and saw Theseus standing above him, sand and dirt coating the young man's tunic. Theseus' green eyes gleamed in the fading sunlight despite his facing showing signs of weariness and lack of sleep.

"What...what happened?" Percy asked groggily.

"You somehow summoned a personal storm, one that circled around you like a cyclone," Theseus reminded him. "I think that power that you sucked up from the ocean was more than you could handle without the ocean's power feeding you. It's probably why you fell unconscious. Jason had the Argonauts set up camp here for you, just for you to heal up for tonight."

He flopped back down onto the sand. "Tell him thanks when he comes."

Percy heard approaching footsteps in the sand when a pretty face appeared above him. It was Atalanta. "Hey," Percy greeted.

She frowned. "You missed archery practice."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Used too much power to summon miniature cyclone."

"Yeah, I saw that," she said. "Even though that was impressive, you could have seriously injured myself."

"That's why I need to practice my powers on land," he responded. "In the water, I could probably do anything."

"That is only because of your father," she countered. "You still missed practice."

"I can practice at night, Atalanta. It's better that way. Helps train my vision."

"Whatever. Just rest now. Trust me, it is better for you than it is for me."

"Yes, my lady."

Atalanta smiled and turned to Theseus. "Send him over to the makeshift archery range when he is finished dinner, tired or not."

"Sure, Atalanta."

Then the lone female Argonaut jogged away. Percy sighed and sat up again, turning his body so that he was facing Theseus. "Was the cyclone impressive?"

The son of Aegeus nodded. "It wasn't a strong as the winds were on the night we slew King Cyzicus, but it was strong. It was why I backed away from you. I did not want to get caught in that. Now, if we can train you out of water, I am sure that you will be able to sustain that hurricane for at least a little while."

Percy smiled, impressed with himself that he was able to accomplish such a feat. Creating storms did not sound easy. It didn't feel easy either.

"Come on, Percy," Theseus said. "Let's go for dinner."

He used Theseus' leg to pull himself up. Then he walked alongside him as they made their way to the campsite.

"Why didn't you bring me to the campsite?" Percy asked.

"Jason just ordered them to set up camp next to the ship," Theseus explained. "We were about to move you over to the campsite when you suddenly woke up."

"Oh."

They continued walking. Percy could still feel the after effects of summoning the storm, his legs still weary and his head pounding. But they weren't too uncomfortable to deal with, so Percy did his best to stay awake and conscious.

When they reached the campsite, dinner was already prepared for them. It was fish, something Percy was hesitant to eat. When he finally gave in, he could only hope that those fish were annoying. Even then, Percy ate little meat. He settled for eating a lot of cos lettuce, a healthy salad rather than meat.

After dinner, Theseus escorted him to the archery range where Atalanta was nailing bulls eyes almost every single time. When she heard them approach, she turned and smiled. "Good to see you look fine now. Earlier you were really, really pale...much unlike your usual tanned skin. Ready to learn how to hit the target more than five times out of ten?"

"Well...I may not hit the rings, but at least I hit the target," Percy said.

"Let's try hitting at least the outside ring, all right?"

"Sure."

Theseus patted Percy on the shoulder. "Good luck, buddy." Then he stalked away toward the campsite, which was now pretty much the only source of light left.

The son of Poseidon turned back to the daughter of Iasus. "So..."

"Grab a bow and arrow," she commanded. "Then nock an arrow and pull back. Don't release."

Percy followed her direct orders. He shuffled over to the equipment box and grabbed a bow. Then he stole a quiver, slung it over his back, and put a few arrows inside of it. He finally grabbed a lone arrow, nocked it, and walked over to where Atalanta was. She pointed at the target in front of her, and he stepped in her position. He brought the bow up and pulled back. Like she'd ordered, he didn't release it.

"Okay, so far I have been telling you how to aim, calculating distance, trajectory and power, but your stance has been quite awkward," she summarized. "So, now I'm going to teach you how to have a good stance while shooting a bow and arrow. Before you say anything, you need to know the basics of the stance before you can shoot."

"But what if I'm crouching?" asked the curious son of Poseidon. "I can't use the same stance every time I want to shoot."

"That is why I said basics of the stance," she said, emphasizing those words. "There is always a base with however you choose to shoot a bow. Getting power and accuracy comes with the stance as well as your arms. If you are standing with your legs shoulder width apart and facing your target, how will you get the power you need?"

"That is true."

"All right, let me fix your stance, and see if your shooting gets better." Atalanta came up to Percy, moved his legs and arms until he was in a good stance. She walked around him, making sure all of his body parts were in the right place.

"My arms hurt," complained Percy with gritted teeth, trying to hold his position. "I can't hold the arrow for much longer."

"Aim and fire," she ordered.

Percy moved the tip of the arrow slightly up, so that the distance the arrow had to travel would affect the arrow's trajectory. Then he let the arrow go.

The arrow flew in the air before hitting the target on one of its inner rings.

"Whoa!" Percy exclaimed.

"Now, you just need to learn how to get in that stance naturally," she said. "I am assuming that it did not feel natural shooting the arrow like that."

Percy shook his head. "No, it didn't."

"Okay, then. Try getting into that stance after jogging a lap around the archery range."

He gave her an exasperated look before obeyed and running a lap. He then stepped up to the spot he was at before and fixed his stance. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and nocked it. Then he pulled it back and released it. The arrow flew and smashed into the outer ring of the circle. Percy's face lit up and he hugged Atalanta.

"I hit the outer ring!" he exclaimed proudly. "For the first time without your help!"

"That is good," she said patting the boy's back. "Now, keep practicing. In a few years, you'll be hitting the bulls eye half of the time."

Until Selene shone brightly in the sky, Percy trained and trained with the bow and arrow until every single one of his shots hit the outer ring. He smiled, happy for his success. He was beginning to wonder if he could learn shooting as quickly as he could adapt to sword fighting. Maybe but to be a good hunter he needed years of practice.

The next morning, they set sail for the Euxine Sea.

Percy stood with Tiphys at the helm, helping Ancaeus guide the Argo to their destination. According to the map, which was old, there was a small inlet that connected the Euxine Sea to the Northern Mediterranean. It was so small that it seemed like a river...at least, that was what Tiphys told him.

It was a passage between Thrace and Asia Minor where the legends foretold of a formidable challenge that must be completed before entering the Euxine Sea. Jason had called that a bunch of garbage, but Tiphys warned him that anything was possible.

When they came at a crossroads, they became stuck. There was the North Mediterranean all around their left side, but a large strait that was much larger than a river, a body of water at least four times the length of the Argo.

Jason ordered to set up camp at the beach, the navigators to decide whether the strait was the way to go overnight.

The Argonauts paddled over to the supposed land of Thrace, crossing the large strait. When they stopped at the beach, the men began setting up camp while Tiphys, Ancaeus, Jason and Percy discussed at the waterfront about whether the strait was the direction to go or not.

"I think it has to be," Jason said. "The men who made this map must have either been drinking or over exaggerating. I believe that this strait is the way to go. There is no other river or stream mapped here, so this has to be it."

Tiphys looked doubtful. "This could be this. This one, right here." He pointed to a body of water that pushed inland a little. It was hard to describe.

"That is true," Ancaeus agreed. "It could just very well be that right there. But what this is, I have no idea."

"But that wouldn't be up to scale," Jason countered. "If this is that, this must be at least two hundred times wider. This is only four Argo's long. This has to be the strait we are looking for. There is no other possibility."

"We cannot be certain—"

"But what if I turn out to be right? What if we search around only to find that this is the correct entrance to the Euxine Sea? I would much rather spend a day or two around here to find out rather than sail. Sailing would make our men work more."

"I don't know about you guys," Percy spoke up, "but I'd go with my gut feeling rather than trying to figure out other possibilities. It might be dangerous, and you might be wrong, but your gut feeling is usually correct."

The other three turned their heads towards him.

"You know, Percy? You may just be right," Jason said. "My gut feeling still stands with my decision. I think that this is the place we need to be going through."

Tiphys and Ancaeus shared a look. Tiphys opened his mouth. "I don't know. I could be that—"

"Jason! Tiphys! Ancaeus! Percy!" Theseus shouted as he sprinted towards them. "There's an old man hobbling near camp. He said he wants to speak to the one called Jason. How he knows your name is a mystery to me, but you have to come over."

Jason frowned but nodded. "All right. Come, let's go."

They jogged over to where the old man was staring blankly ahead, Argonauts standing uncomfortably around him. Before Jason could even speak, the old man held up a hand to halt him. He turned towards Jason and smiled. "Why hello there, Jason, leader of the Argonauts?"

"What do you want?" Jason asked.

"Getting straight to the point, I see," the man said. "Well, I am called Phineas. I am a son of Poseidon and blind."

"You're blind?" Percy asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Then what do you want?" Jason snapped. "We are on a mission and a quest to—"

"Retrieve the Golden Fleece," Phineas finished. "I know all about that mission. You see, I am a seer, and I know that if you do not help me with my deed, you will all perish once you reach the Symplegades."

"What are the Symplegades?" Jason demanded.

"Help a blind old man like me, and I will tell you all that you need to know," the seer smiled.

He couldn't have been younger than forty and his skin was wrinkled and pale, gruesome looking moles and bumps growing on his face. Percy had a feeling that he'd done something very wrong to himself or the gods to get this way. He was naturally curious as to what had happened to the old man, as frankly, he'd never seen a man older than forty. Phineas wore long, brown robes that were left trailing in the dirt and sand, though it didn't seem like the man cared.

Jason had his lips pursed in thought. Percy saw him share a look with Theseus before he turned to the old seer and bowed. "We will help you, Phineas, in order for you to save our lives."

"That is great!" Phineas cried. "Now, what is cooking for your lunch? I am getting fairly hungry."

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719