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.
Later on, I might actually decide that Percy may have a pairing in this story, so in a couple chapters I will be shutting down the poll about the "Trojan War" story and starting one up about pairings. I will choose what I want, but I would like your opinions on it.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719
Chapter 7
The Boreads Go Hunting
It turns out, Phineas was starving. At first, he'd looked like an old man who hadn't eaten much in the last few years. That's when he explained his curse.
Jason gave him a part of a fish to eat. "So, Phineas. Other than being a seer, being blind, and being a son of Poseidon, what are you?"
"In truth, I am the king of Thrace...or was the king of Thrace, before I became a seer," he smiled.
"What happened since then?" Jason interrogated. "You say you used to be a king of Thrace and not a seer. How did that turn around?"
The old seer smiled and looked up. "Hm. Let's see. Ah, yes. You see, the gods came to me for a punishment one day after my second wife killed the children of my first wife. They asked me whether I would rather have a long life and to foretell to future, or be able to see."
Jason nodded. "Keep going."
"So, obviously, I chose long life and foretelling the future," he said. "I would never see the sun again, but I would become a seer and live for a long time. I thought that this was a fair punishment, seeing as I got the good end of the deal. But none of the gods told me of further punishment. Harpies, little devil-like creatures that can fly, were sent to steal my food whenever I was eating. Those chickens keep stealing my food. It is so annoying! Zeus punishing me, bah! What did I do to the gods?"
Jason stared at the old seer with darkened eyes. "So the gods have punished you."
"But tell me, Jason," the old seer pleaded, "what can you tell from my story that I have done wrong? My second wife is dead, she has been dead for many years. In fact, I was kicked out of my kingdom when I grew past fifty years of age. They had not seen anyone this old...ever. Most believed it was a bad omen, so I was thrown aside like nothing. However, I do have this table of food...for now, I have covered it up. Harpies are stupid, so they don't know that it is still there. Miraculously, they cannot smell the food. But what have I done that is wrong?"
The son of Aeson knit his eyebrows, looking straight at Phineas' eyes. It was almost as if he were looking into the seer's soul. "The gods wouldn't punish you if your second wife killed her step-children. They would punish her. That means..."
Phineas' face contorted into one of anger. "I was angry, alright? I—They were the closest ones to me. I regret my mistake, but you must see that I am in need of help."
Jason bit his lip and exhaled slowly. He looked out towards the ocean. "This is the strait we are looking for, right?"
"Yes but the Symplegades block your path."
"Show us the Symplegades, and we may negotiate a deal."
"Alright, alright." Phineas sighed and stood up. He reached around aimlessly, shuffling his feet as if he were walking on a narrow plank of wood. Slowly, he somehow made his way toward Percy. Then Phineas pointed at him, his finger a nail's length away from his eyes. "You. You smell like the ocean. A son of Poseidon...Perseus, named after the very first."
Percy gawked at him. "How did you—"
"I have an enhanced sense of smell...plus, I am a seer." Phineas brushed at his robes. "Would you mind leading me to the Symplegades? It is kind to help the elderly, you know."
The younger son of Poseidon shook his head to recover from his shock. Then he frowned. "Yeah...but helping the elderly who was punished by the gods...?"
"Here, I'll help him." Periclymenus stepped forward. Phineas turned to the sound of his voice.
"My...the prince of Pylos, Periclymenus," he said in awe. "Your power, given to you from Poseidon, is very powerful." Then the seer frowned. "But that is a mighty downfall, a great weakness. Still, you are very kind."
Reminding Percy of Periclymenus' power was not very effective in making the son of Poseidon happy. Admittedly, Percy was jealous that his father did not give him any shape-shifting abilities. But a mighty downfall? A great weakness? That didn't sound good.
Jason got up and called for Theseus and Atalanta. Percy was invited to come along in the adventure to the Symplegades as well. After five minutes, the group had assembled, all but Phineas wearing Greek armor, wielding a sword or spear, holding a shield, and in the case of Atalanta and Percy, a quiver and a bow.
Periclymenus aided Phineas as he told us directions. They were to stay against the coastline at all times, just because the forest around could lead them into some traps. Jason told Phineas that they were not scared by a little forest, but the seer turned to him with almost black eyes and said, "This is not Greece, Jason. Monsters you have never seen reside here."
Along the way, Phineas told them of the lands of the east.
"Yes, the lands of the east are magnificent," Phineas said. "The three main lands of the near east are Colchis, Asia Minor and Media. Colchis is beautiful, a mix of mountainous, grassy and forested areas. I believe that there are some desert parts, but that would be a little too far east."
"That's where we're headed, though," Percy noted. "Our destination to find the Golden Fleece is Colchis."
"The land of King Aeëtes," the seer nodded. "Phrixus managed to arrive there safely on the golden-fleeced ram. Then he married one of Aeëtes' daughters. By the way, Jason, he does have more daughters."
Jason shook his head. "It is not my point to hunt for wives on this quest. The original purpose is to reclaim my throne back. I have re-thought about that ever since we messed up on Lemnos. We wasted six months there. I would have rather spent a year helping you. Percy, Theseus, Atalanta, Argus and Heracles were there to snap me back into focus. Without them, I'd still be on that island."
"Heracles, you say? Why did I not see him?"
"He got lost," he replied. "I am not sure where we left him, but I am sure the demigod will be able to find his way home. He is Heracles, after all."
"True."
Percy, for fun, stepped on a branch as hard as he could. It snapped under his foot causing the others to jump a little. Atalanta glared at him, but he just grinned. "So, what about Media? What is Media?"
"Oh, the Medians." Phineas rubbed his hands together as if he was preparing to chop us all up on the spot and eat us like a cannibal. "Those are interesting men. They are native tribes of the desert. They live and thrive in lands between India and Asia Minor. It is incredible how they can live in the desert. They are like the Egyptians of some sort, though much less developed as a civilization."
"They have darker skin, right?" Percy asked. "Maybe they descend from Egyptians."
"I see the future, not the present," the seer said. "I am not sure about what you ask. Maybe they have, maybe they have not."
"Then how did you know about us," Jason asked.
"From a little while ago," he replied. "I saw that you would be coming, saw us introduce ourselves, like this. I know a lot, young man."
They passed through a small grove with a row of steles.
"A graveyard," Periclymenus noticed.
Usually, mourning the dead was a good thing, but Percy thought that mourning strangers, kings or not, was kind of creepy. He figured that since he was the son of Poseidon, he was afraid of most things that his uncles controlled. That would mean anything underground, belonging to the Underworld (like spirits), heights and being in the sky. The only thing was that he'd never tried testing out if he was afraid of those things because he couldn't. At least, not yet.
Then the crossed the graveyard and delved back into the cover of the thick forest, close enough to see the shore.
"What about Asia Minor?" Periclymenus asked. "When we passed by Imbros and Hellespont, there were notes of 'Trojans' there. Who are the Trojans? The people of Imbros regarded them as superior. Why have we never heard of them?"
"The Trojans, eh?" Phineas tapped his chin. "Yes, they are another eastern tribe. They are only well-known because they have earned the favor of a major god, Phoebus Apollo. Phoebus Apollo is now considered one of the more major gods. Alongside him are Zeus and Pallas Athena."
"What about Poseidon?" Percy asked.
"Yes, Poseidon is a major god in terms of fishing and boating and sailing, but on land, usually most favor their patrons and of course the king of the gods, Zeus," was the answer he received. "Not even gods and goddesses like Artemis and Ares are really major. They are powerful as well, but not considered to be their patrons. That is why you see most boasting that they are better than Artemis, as she is not regarded as highly as the major gods and goddesses."
"What about Hephaestus and Dionysus?"
"Those two no one cares about," Phineas snorted. "Hephaestus hides himself away all day and Dionysus spends most of his time looking for a wife, sometimes chasing nymphs."
"Oh."
They began to hear a bang at even intervals. It sounded like clashing rocks or something. Percy and Jason shared a look. Maybe the Symplegades were clashing rocks. Percy had a feeling that it is was true. He couldn't say he wasn't scared, but he couldn't say he wasn't willing either.
Phineas smiled. "Ah, the Symplegades. Can you not just hear the wonderful sounds of clashing rocks at intervals?"
Theseus stopped right in his tracks. "Clashing rocks?"
"Yes, the Symplegades are basically clashing rocks."
Late at night, they appeared out of the forest and saw the Symplegades for real.
The Symplegades were huge boulders that magically clashed together at regular intervals, sending ripples down the strait. The only problem was that the boulders clashed at too quick of a pace to be able to pass through. Phineas was right. There would be no way to get past this without help via magic or a seer. And a seer we had.
"You see, without my help, you would be crushed by the colliding rocks instantly whether it crushes your entire boat, the front half, or the back half. It will still make the Argo sink. But with my help, as I know a way to get past those, you will be able to pass into the Euxine Sea."
Jason sighed. "I suppose there is no other way. Let us get back to the campsite and we will get going on the quest."
Phineas laughed. "But I never said the quest was going to be easy. No, I will require the aide of the Boreads, Calaïs and Zetes. Their quest is to come with me to kill the harpies, no matter how long it takes."
"Wait, what?" Jason stared at the seer incredulously...and with anger. "We need to get going on our quest and—"
"Do you want my help or not?" the seer asked. "I could just let you go on your own. Besides, your uncle thinks you will die. No matter how quickly you arrive back, it will still be an incredible feat."
Jason hesitated before making eye contact with every single one of his companions. Then he turned back to Phineas. "We will do it."
Percy continued training as the Boreads went off, practicing controlling water. Every single day he continued getting better and better until his power matched that of the second weakest son of Poseidon in the crew of the Argo.
He could not have asked for better practice other than the fact that the Boreads were taking so long. He knew it could have taken long, for Phineas had warned them; however, he also really wanted to do something most interesting, even more dangerous, than sitting around waiting for the Boreads and Phineas to come back. He was grateful for the time to practice.
Two months had passed since the Boreads left. Percy hoped that they were doing all right, not getting lost. Calaïs and Zetes were good men, good to hang around with, even he did not do so often.
At the moment, he was practice to control water and much higher degrees than before, raising the water up as high as five feet, but rather than a ball, it was a large collection of water...enough water to circle around half the camp at its thinnest. He could also now make more complicated shapes, like the shapes of swords and shapes of other weapons. He could also solidify them. Percy worked so hard to improve his water skills, that in just four months, he could blast water out like bombs now, making the surface of the water (and everything around it) send water shooting in the air. It really wore Percy down, but he thought it was worth it, and with more practice, he could control water like it was nothing.
"Wow, you're getting good at this," Theseus complimented.
"Thanks. Uh, tell Jason I'm going for a swim."
"All right, then."
Percy walked into the water and dove right under water, submerging himself in the freezing blue ocean. Even though winter was slowly disappearing, it was still cold outside. He found being in the ocean was a little warmer. He figured that since water was his home turf, he would always feel more comfortable in there.
He swam down into the depths of the water, greeting fish when they said hi, and trying to be able to control himself by pushing the currents around him rather than actually swimming. For a while he did this, just to get things off of his mind. There were lots of questions he had about dreams he'd had lately. There were a range of giant mountains in every single one of his dreams, a swirling sky and a huge drakon guarding a garden that had golden apples growing on the trees. It would show him glimpses of those before shutting off and turning to a different setting.
Percy continued to ask himself questions like, Where are those mountains? What is that drakon? Which garden has golden apples?
After what seemed like only twenty minutes, he headed back up for the surface. In other words, he had spent nearly two hours in the ocean, thinking about his dreams.
When he surfaced, it was dinner time.
Atalanta had gone hunting and found a couple of deer hanging around. Despite being sacred animals to Artemis, they needed food and those were the largest animals she could find. When Percy questioned how she killed all of them without letting any escape, she smirked and said, "That is for me to know, and you to find out."
Dinner was good, everyone having wonderful conversations, chatting amongst each other, drinking alcohol. It was just great. Percy had his own conversations with Atalanta about hunting and stories of the girl's hunts.
They were interesting, but then Percy's mind kind of fluttered off topic. Atalanta seemed to notice this. "What's wrong, Percy?"
"Just a dream I had," he replied. "It...never mind."
"Don't worry, Percy," she said. "Just tell me what is wrong and I can help you with whatever is bothering you."
So, Percy told her about his dreams.
"That does sound a little peculiar," she commented. "I do not know of a range of mountains with a drakon on it. A swirling sky...I'm not so sure about where there is a swirling sky. Everywhere I have been throughout my life...the sky is perfectly fine. The storm has to be caused by Zeus. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Nothing."
That ended the brief conversation they had about Percy's dreams.
That night, he had another dream. This time, he could actually hear voices.
Percy was hiding in the shadows, creeping around the dark forest without any sound. He heard a loud booming voice that echoed across the entire mountain, a voice seemingly naturally loud and proud.
"Are you sure?" he said.
Then he heard a softer voice, a much kinder voice. It sounded harmonic, like a harp being gently played by Apollo himself. He admitted that he was somewhat entranced by her voice. "I am certain of it, father. He came here once, he caught me and tried to make me help him. When I refused, he tried raping me. Luckily, Ladon found us and drove Heracles away. But I am certain that he will be back."
With a start, Percy realized that this was the girl that Heracles said he wanted to marry. Then he suddenly realized he was near the garden of the Hesperides, and the swirling vortex he saw was the sky, where Atlas held it up. If Heracles was telling the truth, why would the Hesperide lie to her own father? But if the Hesperide was telling the truth...
The booming voice, Atlas, grunted in pain. "He will not be able to defeat Ladon either way. This time, get your sisters to kill him, to show Zeus that his son is not as mighty as he thinks."
"But Zeus will punish you," the girl exclaimed.
Atlas laughed painfully. "He cannot punish me more than he has already."
"Are you sure you will be all right, father?"
"Yes, Zoë. I will be fine."
Zoë. Then the dream dissipated, morphing into a scary demon's face before he woke, morning light shining through his tent.
"Shh, Percy." Atalanta pointed towards the hare that was chewing at some plants. "Here take the knife. Once you kill the creature, skin it. I will wait back here and see how you do."
"If I miss and it starts running away, can you please shoot it?" Percy whispered.
"Sure thing."
He nodded and pulled an arrow out of his quiver. He nocked it and grabbed the knife out of Atalanta's hand. He put it along his belt and moved forward. He crept up to the closest tree and snuck around to the flank, to the hare's rear end. Crouching down, he stopped short and pulled the string back. Measuring for distance, power and trajectory, he moved the bow accordingly. He let go of the string, just because his hand was a little tired, before he pulled back and let the arrow fly.
The hare didn't see it coming. The arrow nailed it in its backside hard enough that the arrow had pierced through most of its organs. Percy was happy that he hit the creature, though he knew that it was best to aim for the head or heart, not ruining the meat of the body of the creature.
"I know, Atalanta!" Percy called. "I'll hit the head or heart next time."
"Good to know you have been paying attention," she replied.
They both walked up to the hare and Percy began skinning it. Atalanta helped out with pointers and how to make the creature less messy when they cooked it later. Atalanta told Percy that he was halfway done when they both heard a few loud roars.
Atalanta stood up and had her bow out in an instant. Percy stopped what he was doing and turned around, his bow his hands.
"What was that?" Percy asked quietly.
She stood on the tips of her toes and cursed. "Tigers. Those are feared animals throughout the world. We've been hunting so far out that I forgot there are plains nearby. They can probably smell the meat of the hare."
"Tigers?"
She nodded. "The adults are large, about this high." She put her hand horizontally across his chest. His eyes widened. Atalanta turned back to the direction of the plains. "I will try to keep the tigers busy. You continue skinning the hare."
"No, I'll keep them busy," Percy said. "We cannot afford to lose the hare meat. You still have the conch shell? Blow it when you are ready to leave."
She gave him a dark look. "One day your sacrifices will be your end."
"One day. That doesn't mean today."
"But it could."
"Whatever. Just skin the hare and blow the conch shell when you are done."
Then Percy crept off towards the plains, where Atalanta was looking at. He brushed through the forest, climbing up trees for a vantage point. He leaped from the branch of one tree to another and looked down. He nearly fainted when he saw the tigers. They were definitely adults, the large creatures sniffing around for the meat. Percy gulped and pulled his bow out. He nocked an arrow before aiming at the tiger than was standing still.
"Aim for the head," he whispered to himself.
He pulled back on the arrow and let it fly. Immediately, he reached for another arrow. He pulled back and aimed at the same tiger, which now had an arrow embedded in its head. He shot another arrow, just in case the animal was still alive. Its counterpart was now looking around wildly for the attacker. Before it knew what was happening, Percy uncapped Anaklusmos and leaped down from his position on the tree and stabbed the tiger right through its head.
It died silently, not making a single sound.
Percy rolled off the tiger tiredly and grabbed his two arrows back. He made sure both animals were dead before he called for Atalanta.
"I killed the tigers, Atalanta!" he said. "They are very scary!"
About a minute later, an impressed Atalanta appeared, holding the skinned hare in one hand. She looked around at the messy carnage of the dead beasts. "That is...very impressive. You managed to kill two of the largest animal in the world. Nice job."
"Being up on the branch of that tree helped." Percy pointed up to the tree he had been situated on. "I took out the first tiger with my bow and arrow before stabbing this tiger with Anaklusmos. Anaklusmos is the first sword I have ever used that fits me perfectly."
"I guess the celestial bronze is better for you," the daughter of Iasus muttered.
"Celestial what?"
"Celestial bronze." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you not know what celestial bronze is?"
"Um...no."
She laughed.
Percy frowned. "Tell me. What is it?"
Atalanta shook her head in disbelief. "I cannot believe you don't know what it is. Can't you sense the magic element?"
"Magic element?"
"Yes, celestial bronze is a magical element mined from Mount Olympus," she explained. "It is usually covered in a layer of something called the Mist, but some heroes, like Jason and I, can see through the Mist. We are mortals, so we shouldn't be able to see through it. But we can."
"Wait...what are you talking about?"
"I will explain it to you later." She looked down at the tigers. "Are you up for tiger meat?"
"Uh...no thanks."
Apparently, there was this metal called celestial bronze that is deadly to monsters, animals and can affect demigods, like Percy. It cannot hurt lesser mortals though, so Percy would have to learn to wield a regular sword to be able to attack regular mortals. He didn't really like the sound of that.
Then there was this thing called the Mist. It obscured mortals from being able to see magical things like monsters and the gods, but some mortals could see right through it. Mortals like Jason, Atalanta, and even his mother. She'd known that a hellhound was attacking her. She could see right through the Mist.
Either way, Percy found it all too confusing. He prayed to his father to have Anaklusmos melded with regular bronze so that his weapon could attack mortals as well, if he ever got into a battle. In fact, he even prayed to Ares.
Percy didn't expect the gift to come soon, but he was hoping that it would eventually come. He sacrificed the sword to both of them through the water. With a soft golden glow, Anaklusmos disappeared.
Now, all Percy had was a bow and a knife. He knew he really had to practice with these to be able to be effective in battle.
A full year passed before the Boreads came back, Percy now just twelve years of age. One year and a half passed since the beginning of the quest, making Percy more skilled in his water powers. One thing Percy hoped for, though, was a safe trip home. He did not want to spend more time out on this quest, making him age even further.
Jason looked older now, dark bags under his eyes from leading the Argonauts with a lack of sleep. Most of the other Argonauts looked tired and older now, a group that had matured as a whole. Everyone was glad to move on with the quest, but they also knew that the stakes were higher now. They were older, more tired, but at the same time more mature and had a better understanding that getting home would mean working really hard.
Calaïs and Zetes looked exhausted, their one year journey apparently cut short by Iris, who swore to the Styx that the harpies would never bother Phineas again. If Iris had not shown up, they would have had to wait even longer.
Then Phineas told Jason the trick of getting past the Symplegades.
"It is very easy." The seer held up a cage that everyone had noticed when he arrive. A lone dove was in there, but it looked healthy and alive, much the opposite of the Argonauts. "When you approach the Symplegades, stop and let the dove fly through the rocks. If it gets through, you can get through. If it dies and gets crushed, well...I'm not sure what happens next. But I assure you, the dove will get through...and so will you."
"Thank you, Phineas," Jason said, though he looked a little nervous about the possibility of not being able to get through.
"Good luck in finding the Golden Fleece, and always remember your promises," he advised. "Never break them. They will have terrible consequences."
His words eerily reminded Percy of a dream he had years ago. It had involved Lady Styx and a burning man. She had reminded him, Be careful what you promise, for drastic consequences will ensue.
In the morning the next day, the Argo set sail for the Symplegades. When they reached the rocks, they let the dove free. It flew right in between the rocks and then the rocks slammed together at full force. When the rocks opened up again, the dove had made it through, a lone feather floating behind it.
So then, Jason ordered the crew to back the Argo up, to get a speedy run-through. When at a good distance away, everyone rowed with all of their might. The Argo sped through the water and seemed to fly right between the Symplegades. The rocks smashed just as they passed through, taking a small part off of its stern. But they had made it through.
When Percy and Jason looked back at the clashing rocks, they had suddenly stopped moving.
They waited for it to move again, but when it didn't, a smile cracked on Jason's face. He turned to the rowers and crew of the Argo. "We have stopped the Symplegades! On our way back, we will not have to deal with it crushing us!"
The boat erupted with cheers and high-fives. Everyone congratulated each other. Soon enough, everyone excitedly went back to work, making the Argo tear through the water faster than any boat had gone before, the will and the strength of the Argonauts finally paying off.
"Welcome to the Euxine Sea," Tiphys called. "We will near Colchis in only a couple of days, that is, if we do not have any hold ups."
Percy turned to Jason. "This is the most challenging part of the quest."
Jason nodded. "It will be. But like Atalanta said, Have a strong will and you will be able to accomplish whatever you desire. You were right about letting her on the Argo, Percy. Without her, I don't think we would have been able to find enough food. Plus, you are getting the hang of archery and hunting. With your water powers, I think that you will become a great hero someday, Percy."
"I still have a long way to go," Percy sighed. "Just like we do on this quest. But it is all going to be all right. Like when we were back at Chiron's...a team, promise?"
"Promise."
Then Jason and Percy hugged, a brotherly hug, ready to approach the most challenging part of the quest.
Hey everyone,
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.
Later on, I might actually decide that Percy may have a pairing in this story, so in a couple chapters I will be shutting down the poll about the "Trojan War" story and starting one up about pairings. I will choose what I want, but I would like your opinions on it.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719