It took awhile because Lea was still walking on a weak foot though treading through the nasty river did help it a bit, but she led the three of them back up the ship where she immediately sat down to rest while Clarisse gave them a quick tour.
She had quietly explained to Lea, after checking her ankle over again, that cutting off a Hydra's head just meant that it would appear somewhere else. That they were magically linked to store franchises using the life forces of monsters and Lea was still too weak and untrained to manipulate herself. Apparently, some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s.
"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse said once it was finished. The dead Confederate sailors were hissing and cursing about everywhere they turned. They were being racists fucks because Annabeth was a black girl regardless of the fact that she was from Virginia. Clarisse slapped some of them around for the slurs that they were spewing. And then there were the others muttering curses about her and Percy because while they had been interested when Percy told them their last name was Jackson–like the Southern general– he ruined it by telling them that they were from New York.
Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she didn't look too thrilled about.
They were brought down for dinner where she was once more in the captain's quarters. As soon as Percy came near her, she yanked him down next to her and leaned into his side. "The next time you leave without telling me," she warned. "You'll be a permanent guest in our Uncle's home downstairs, understand."
He laughed lightly, nodding his head. "We didn't have time," he muttered. "But your warning is duly noted."
"Tántalos expelled you for eternity," Clarisse told them smugly. Lea rolled her eyes. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."
"Did they give you this ship?" Percy asked.
"'Course not. My father did."
"Ares?"
Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"
The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed the twins with a hungry stare. And no, Lea had standards. She already had one pedophile zombie to deal with. She drew the line at ghosts too. "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."
Clarisse smiled. "Destroy anyone. I like that."
Tyson gulped.
"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters-"
"We know," Clarisse snorted. "Lea washed him out real good. And if he comes any closer, I'll blow him out of the water."
"Lea?" Percy asked. She waved away his concern.
"We just had a nice talk," she innocently replied. "I think we came to a very good understanding."
"You don't understand," Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes at Lea. "We have to combine forces. Let us help you-"
"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally I get to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance."
"Where are your cabin mates?" Percy asked. "You were allowed to take another person with you, weren't you?"
"They didn't ... I let them stay behind. To protect the camp."
"You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?"
Lea pinched him in the side.
"Shut up, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"
"Clarisse," Percy said, "Tántalos is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."
"No! I don't care what the Oracle-" She stopped herself. And Lea came to the realization that she never asked the girl what her prophecy was.
"What?" Percy said. "What did the Oracle tell you?"
"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."
"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.
"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."
Lea glared at the girl before following them down.
Despite how exhausted she was, she couldn't seem to fall asleep even if the three of them conked out as soon as they hit the hammocks. Instead, she dug around for her grimoire and started pouring over the work that Alabaster gave her. After what she did on the ship, it only made sense for her to put in actual effort to learn – ugh — magic.
She didn't know how long she had been reading. She didn't even know when she fell asleep though her dreams were a pleasant shade of nothing. But she awakened to alarm bells ringing throughout the ship.
The captain's gravelly voice: "All hands on deck! Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?" Then his ghostly face appeared above her brother. "Get up, Yankee. Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."
"The entrance to what?" Percy asked.
He gave him a skeletal smile. "The Sea of Monsters, of course."
She grabbed her, stuffing it all into the purse that Drew had forced on her. She was still surprised that she was walking around with her own Nanny McPhee bag, but it was kind of cool. It made sense why Drew only had that small backpack of hers.
Lea took note of Percy grabbing his own things and she wondered if he too had the feeling that neither one of them would be staying another night aboard the CSS Birmingham.
She followed her brother upstairs when something made him stop. She gave him a confused look before she felt it. An undeniable rage that clawed at her throat. She wanted... she wanted to fight. Adrenaline was pulsing through her veins in a way that she had truly felt since she stuffed Nancy's head in the lockers during her third month at Yancy Academy after the girl and her friends tried to jump her after gym class.
Instead of going up, Percy crept to the edge of the ventilation grate and peered down into the boiler deck. Lea forced back her anger and followed behind him.
Clarisse was standing right below them, talking to an image that shimmered in the steam from the boilers-a muscular man in black leather biker clothes, with a military haircut, red-tinted sunglasses, and a knife strapped to his side.
Who?
"I don't want excuses, little girl!" he growled.
"Y-yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.
"You don't want to see me mad, do you?"
"No, father."
"No, father," Ares mimicked. Lea scowled. She didn't like bullies. And to think she had been defending him to those dorks at camp. "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my sons take this quest."
"I'll succeed!" Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. "I'll make you proud."
"You'd better," he warned. "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let those slimeball Jackson kids steal it from you-"
"But the Oracle said-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!" Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered. "You will succeed. And if you don't ..." He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched.
"Do we understand each other?" Ares growled.
The alarm bells rang again and Lea was so blinded by her anger that Percy had to pull her away when voices came towards them.
What the hell happened to him? Was he not the one to kill a man about his child? He was the one god above them all that was the most protective of his daughters and now he was putting his hands on them? They joined the other two on the spar deck, but Lea didn't pay them any mind.
Well, she had no choice but to focus on Tyson as he picked her up and spun her a circle, drawing a laugh from her.
Clarisse came up the stairs right after them. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon. "At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"
Lea couldn't see much in the direction that she was looking. The sky was overcast. The air was hazy and humid, like steam from an iron.
She had a feeling that they were somewhere off the coast of northern Florida, so they'd come a long way overnight, farther than any mortal ship should've been able to travel.
The engine groaned as they increased speed.
Tyson muttered nervously, "Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water."
Right. Cyclops worked in forges. She didn't understand how he just instinctively knew that, but hey, she was a human naval gps system so what did she know?
After a few more minutes, dark splotches came into focus. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea-an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a mile south of that, the other patch of darkness was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.
"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.
Lea was shaking her head even before Clarisse said, "No. Charybdis." Lea didn't know what a Charybdis was, but she knew that it wasn't a hurricane. This didn't feel anything like a storm.
This felt hungry.
Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"
"Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs.
"What do you mean the only way?" Percy asked. "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."
Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them."
"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth said. "That's another gateway. Jason used it."
Lea remembered something about that. A dove or whatnot lost its tail feathers.
"I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons," Clarisse said. "Monsters, on the other hand ..."
"You are crazy," Annabeth decided.
"Watch and learn, Wise Girl." Clarisse turned to the captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"
"Aye, m'lady."
The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed.
"Clarisse," Percy said, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"
"And spits it back out again, yeah."
"What about Scylla?"
"She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship."
"Choose Scylla then," Lea said. "Everybody goes below deck and we chug right past."
"No!" Clarisse insisted. "If Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high to make a good target. My cannons can't shoot straight up. Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We're going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!"
She said it with such relish Lea almost wanted to believe her.
"That's stupid," she said instead. "I can cast a protection spell or even an explosion spell." She had seen both in the notes.
"You're still weak from earlier," Clarisse scolded. "Save your strength for the big part of the quest."
She was right, but still. Lea already nearly became clam chowder. She wasn't trying to become one again.
The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much Lea could feel the deck getting warm beneath her feet. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind fixed from where she had crushed it.
Charybdis roared, louder and louder– like the galaxy's biggest toilet being flushed. Every time Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. Every time she exhaled, they rose in the water and were buffeted by ten-foot waves.
Screw what, Clarisse said. Lea wasn't becoming fish food. She tried to focus on that feeling she had on the ship as she thought about the countless protection spells in the notes. The notes stated that some spells worked better when invoking the gods and that storm she summoned definitely did it when she called on the parents of Hekate.
What other witches were there?
Oh, yeah! Circe!
"Daughter of Hêlios," Lea started before she stopped. Helios. Hêliade. Oh, she was going to kick his ass. She shook her head as undead sailors calmly went about their business on the spar deck. Lucky them. They didn't have to worry about dying since they were already dead. She took a deep breath.
Beside her, she could hear her brother and Annabeth.
"You still have your thermos full of wind?" Annabeth asked. Percy had what?
"But it's too dangerous to use with a whirl-pool like that," Percy said. "More wind might just make things worse."
"What about controlling the water?" she asked. "You're Poseidon's son. You've done it before."
Lea doubted that would work. This was different from the sea that she felt before.
"I-I can't," Percy said miserably.
"We need a backup plan," Annabeth said. "This isn't going to work."
"Annabeth is right," Tyson said. "Engine's no good."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Pressure. Pistons need fixing."
Before he could explain, the cosmic toilet flushed with a mighty roaaar! The ship lurched forward and Lea was thrown to the deck and once again, she landed on her ankle. They were in the whirlpool.
"Full reverse!" Clarisse screamed above the noise. The sea churned around them, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it steamed. "Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!"
And as bad as Scylla might be, those cliffs were looking awfully good to Lea.
Dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The propeller grinded into reverse, trying to slow the ship, but they kept sliding toward the center of the vortex. Lea could barely concentrate to cast a spell. Her ankle was screaming at her and she was being thrown around like clothes in a dryer.
A zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire. "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"
"Well, get down there and fix it!"
"Can't!" the sailor yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat."
Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!"
"We're going in too fast," the captain said grimly. "Prepare yourself for death."
"No!" Tyson bellowed. "I can fix it."
Clarisse looked at him incredulously. "You?"
"He's a Cyclops," Annabeth said. "He's immune to fire. And he knows mechanics."
"Go!" yelled Clarisse.
"Tyson, no!" Percy grabbed his arm.
Lea nodded from where she was sprawled on the ground. "It's too dangerous!"
He patted Percy's hand. "Only way, brother." His expression was determined–confident, even. "I will fix it. Be right back."
Lea had a terrible feeling as he went down the hatch. One that she could see was shared by Percy. It was obvious that he wanted to run after him, but the ship lurched again–and then she saw Charybdis.
Lea knew that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but that was a face only a mother could love. Charybdis was an orthodontist's nightmare.an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of rowboats. And worse, the teeth had braces, bands of corroded scummy metal with pieces of fish and driftwood and floating garbage stuck between them. She was nothing but a huge black maw with bad teeth alignment and a serious overbite, and she'd done nothing for centuries but eat without brushing after meals.
It was a good thing that Drew wasn't here. Lea didn't think she could take the scent of Charybdis' breath and the smell of vomit from her friend getting sick at the sight of her.
As they watched, the entire sea around her was sucked into the void- sharks, schools of fish, a giant squid. And she realized that in a few seconds, the CSS Birmingham would be next.
"Lady Clarisse," the captain shouted. "Starboard and forward guns are in range!"
"Fire!" Clarisse ordered. It barely did anything.
"Again!" Clarisse said. The gunners reloaded, but Lea knew it was hopeless. The cannons weren't doing any real damage. If she wasn't so weak and had taken those lessons seriously from the beginning, maybe she could have been of some actual use. Maybe she could have used that explosion spell but as it was, they were being sucked in too fast.
Then the vibrations in the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier. The ship shuddered and they started pulling away from the mouth.
"Tyson did it!" Annabeth said.
"Wait!" Clarisse said. "We need to stay close!"
"We'll die!" Percy said. "We have to move away."
The ship fought against the suction and Lea held on tightly to some random pole. The broken Ares flag raced past them and lodged in Charybdis' braces. Tyson had somehow given them just enough juice to keep the ship from being sucked in. Suddenly, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to absolute calm. Water washed over Charybdis.
Then, just as quickly as it had closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water, ejecting every-thing inedible, including our cannonballs, one of which slammed into the side of the CSS Birmingham with a ding like the bell on a carnival game.
Ewww. Monster-vomit.
They were thrown backward on a wave that must've been forty feet high. Lea thought she felt Percy holding on to her, but that was impossible as he was a bit further away. The ship was spinning out of control, hurtling toward the cliffs on the opposite side of the strait. Lea was never going on a quest again! Ever. She was so going to invoke her rights as a blessing to an Olympian!
Another smoldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both over-board. "The engine is about to blow!"
"Where's Tyson?" Percy demanded.
"Still down there," the sailor said. "Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."
The captain said, bending down as if he could help Lea to her feet. "We have to abandon ship."
"No!" Clarisse yelled.
"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already cracking apart! She can't-"
He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain, and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots.
Lea screeched in fear, scrambling backwards as fast she could since he had been standing right by her.
"Scylla!" a sailor yelled, as another column of reptilian flesh shot from the cliffs and snapped him up. It happened so fast it was like watching a laser beam rather than a monster. Lea screamed again, hands flying above her in fear. A green shield flickered above her just as a flash of teeth and scales slammed into it. The shield spluttered in the next second and she rolled away but she wasn't fast enough.
She was flying straight up, the wind whistling in her ears. "Daughter of Hêlios, Kirkê polypharmake, come cast cruel spells." Lea screamed again, eyes flickering with power. "Protect us from the coming dark With magic that provides a spark." Scylla tried to stuff her in her mouth, but Lea waved her hand through the air and something flew from her magic ring.
A bubble.
A really hard bubble that Scylla couldn't break through and spat back out to fly at the water.
Lea was kind of tired falling into the ocean now.
The fall would've been bad enough, considering she was a hundred feet in the air. But as Lea fell, the CSS Birmingham exploded below her.
KAROOM!
The engine room blew, sending chunks of ironclad flying in either direction like a fiery set of wings.
Lea's heart stuttered in her chest. "PERCY!"
And oh gods, Tyson.
Her brothers.
There was another sound. Another explosion. White sheets of wind blasted in every direction, scattering the lifeboats, and throwing her across the ocean. The bubble protected her, but she really didn't relish the feeling of skating across the sea like a life-sized hamster ball.
POP!
Lea was suddenly crashing into the water that should've broken every other bone in her body, but the pain was so overwhelming that she couldn't even tell.
The last thing she could remember as she began to sink was a desperate wish to drown and hope that her brothers at least had a painless death.
It took more restraint than Hermês cared to admit that kept him from diving into the Sea of Monsters to rescue his beloved. Truthfully, the only thing that stayed his hand was Poseidôn who was carefully manipulating the waves so that all of the children were saved. There was a hippocampus that was charged with finding Tyson and ensuring his survival. A school of fish pulled Clarisse towards the isle of Polyphêmos. He could see the way that the waves were pushing Perseus and Annabeth together. And he could see how they cradled Leaneíras as she hung empty in its embrace and pulled her towards the isle of Kirkê.
He was desperate to gather her in his arms and tear her away from the place, but alas, he knew that no matter how much Kirkê had grown to dislike him, she would never turn her back on a female in need, especially not a practitioner. Truthfully, the only thing that he should fear would be her charming Leaneíras to spend the rest of her days on that tiny island. Unlike Artemis who refused the service of godly blessings, Kirkê welcomed them (and Artemis sent them to her anyhow because she was not inclined to hear them ramble at her during council meetings and after Kytos' indignant squawking, Father forbade her for transforming the others into animals. Meanwhile, Kirkê took a page out of her sister's book and made their genitals turn against them.)
Leaneíras had been pulled out of the sea by her technical nephews who were the half-brothers of Kirkê; the only men that were really allowed there after all. The three of them took her to the private quarters of Kirkê where he promptly lost sense of her because Kirkê was another level of paranoid and her Father was the literal sun that could see everything and she was not an exhibitionist and was not keen on the idea that her Father could see when she had sex. The spells were only on her private quarters since as much as he may have denied it, she was Hêlios' favorite daughter (and it probably did not help that she was his first born daughter) and if her spells covered the entire island, then Pikóloos would have gotten to her and Hêlios would not have "wreck his fucking shit" - Leaneíras' words, of course.
Apollôn had to cart him away, pushing to continue on with his duties which was a hard thing to do because he wanted to look after her so much yet his Brother would hear none of his pleas. He only had a moment to blink before he realized that he was being led to Arês' temple, their brother pacing around and muttering to himself: "I was too hard on her, wasn't I? I need her to be stronger, but should have I been nicer? This was so much easier with Harmonia who just knew what I was trying to do, but that brat would just break her heart and I'll be dealing with another child that wants to be a fucking lizard.". Apollôn had scoffed at them both before dragging them into the training room that Arês kept there while kicking out Phoibos and Deimos.
"Angelia and Kephalos will take over your herald duties until you get your head on straight, brother," Apollôn told them before turning to look at Arês. "You both need to calm down and if this doesn't work, then I'll just find a way to make you go to sleep."
"How," Arês snorted, shifting on his feet.
"I'll smother you until you pass out, buddy, don't try me," Apollôn sniffed. Hermês scoffed. "I think I will take my chances of sleeping naturally either way." He could visit Leaneíras in her dreams that way.
"No," Arês said. "He's right and you've been running around delivering messages so much that you've been slacking on your training. How are you the patron-god of athletic contests and gymnasiums and you let Aphroditê body-slam the other day?"
"I was going easy on her!"
Both of his brothers scoffed. "Please, if anything she was going easy on you," Apollôn remarked. "And you know how much Aphroditê hates when people don't give their all in training." Hermês grimaced, making a mental note to stick to Hestia's side for a bit. Aphroditê wouldn't bother him as long as he stayed near her. She took 'fight for what you love' to an extreme level and it was no wonder that all her children were secretly jocks.
He jerked, sensing the moment that Leaneíras was from under the wards. He turned his gaze towards her to see that she was running through the resort in panic. She wasn't trained like Kirkê's attendants, but she was making them put in work to capture her as she kept pushing and pulling things down in front of her and them. He winced when he saw her narrowly dodge a grab from one of Bellōna's daughters before throwing all her strength into the punch that knocked the girl down. Leaneíras' frantic mutterings of "not joining a cult" and "it better not be another pedophile animal" were a bit entertaining if not exasperating.
The three- no four, Dionysos, wait, no, oh shit Aphroditê was here - the five of them watched as Leaneíras slowed to a stop, a pretty frown gracing her features as the melody of Kirkê's favored lullaby managed to ensnare her. The goddess was practicing with one of her attendants, weaving mageia back and forth as she taught the mortal wordless spells. He knew that was something that Leaneíras would enjoy greatly once she put more work in her practice. Leaneíras peeked around the door, gaping as she watched the flares of blue and gold mageia twist and turn before her. She stepped into the room carefully. Kirkê gave her a look of confusion, wordlessly continuing her actions without looking while her attendant kept their full attention on their end.
"Oh, who may you be," the goddess asked. Her dark hair was braided with threads of gold and her eyes were just as bright as the sun as she trailed her gaze over Leaneíras. Hermês spotted the exact moment that she was able to sense just who she was. "Ah, you are the girl that my brothers brought from the sea. The daughter of Poseidôn and the blessing of Hermês."
Leaneíras scowled, shaking the effects of Kirkê's charmspeak away. "My name is Leaneira," she said pointedly. "Who are you?"
"My name is C.C."
"No, it's not," Leaneíras shot back immediately before another look of confusion appeared on her face. "How are you doing that? What are you doing to me?"
"I am doing nothing, my dear," the child of the sun stated. "I fear that's more of your blessing's doing than mine."
"What do you mean?"
"Your blessing is the god of trickery and crafty wiles," she explained. "I believe he has given you a certain protection against divine beings attempting to take advantage of you." She stood from her seat, moving closer even as the mageia began to move faster behind her. The attendant was sweating trying to keep up. "There is also an oath woven around you that keeps outside influences from touching your mind."
Ah, the oath against Kairos. Just the thought of it brought rage to the front of his mind. It also gave him the perfect to keep Aphroditê away. She was no fan of those that tried to make moves against blessed pairs well unless she was the one doing the moves for revenge.
"Who are you," Leaneíras repeated with narrowed eyes.
"Why, I am Kirkê."
"You do not look like a comic book character," Leaneíras muttered. Kirkê threw her head back in a twinkling laugh that worked just a bit too well. While she may have stated that Leaneíras connection to him was keeping outside influences from her mind, it was clear that the charmspeak was affecting her somewhat. "Hermes says hello." The demigoddess raised a brow and Hermês could allow himself to think she meant in the way of a scorned and jealous lover demanding an explanation. Alas, he knew that she just meant it to be judging.
"We are old friends," Kirkê lied smoothly. Hermês barked out a laugh. The last time he was near her island she set a bear trap that turned into an actual bear on him. Just because Odyseús was not her khaos-mate that did not mean she was not still infuriated that Hermês advice tore them apart and that wasn't even to start about how he was able to stay with her for only a year when Kalypsô received seven. (Though, Father had to beg Hêlios to keep her on her own island after she learned what Kalypsô had done to the mortal and well, no one would have been prepared for the fight that they would have commenced if she had gotten to her. "There is no need to be jealous. The two of us had no relations. Όχι, that honor goes to your Father whom I begat my darling Phaunos."
Leaneíras grimaced. "Lady, I don't want to know about that man's sex life!"
"How do you think you got here?"
"I was forged in the bowels of hell!"
"Charming," the goddess stated before waving her hand. Her mageia overtook her attendants faster than the girl could blink. The mortal sighed a little disappointed before turning to face the two of them. Leaneíras' eyes sparkled in intrigue just as he knew that it would. "But he was not my blessing but I loved him all the same. In the wise words of Betty Wright, you'll learn that having a piece of man is better than not having a man at all."
Leaneíras scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Of course. I'll have his heart and the rest of him would be six feet under."
"Hermês is immortal, darling."
She cocked her hip. "Who said I was talking about him?"
"The gods are jealous beings," Kirkê said. "He would destroy the world before he stepped aside for another to have you."
Leaneíras scoffed once more. "And yet he wants to leave his wife to play house. This ain't Disney."
"But enough about me, my dear. Look at you." Kirkê walked around her slowly as her attendant pulled out a clipboard. "I see that you are using some of the products from Aphroditê's brood. That's good. That's good. They're some of our most trusted vendors when most of our clientele want something different. Hm let's see a seaweed body mask and a seaweed facial and top it off with a seaweed bath. This is all included in Thalassotherapy treatments. The people that dwell in the sea have left wonderful reviews especially when they're station on the surface for more than a week."
"Kimberly, be a dear and give her a tour. We can do full consultation before the the luau." Kimberly gave Leaneíras a smile leading her away just as another one of Kirkê's attendants began leading Perseus and Annabeth towards her. Kirkê waved her hand, summoning her loom and started to sing and all the five of them could sense her ensnaring the two of them. The attendants that Leaneíras had run from gave her dirty looks that the girl ignored as she asked Kimberly more about Kirkê's charmspeak.
Hermês could see it in her eyes that she was not interested in the idea that someone could control her with just their voice and while she may not be protected... her brother was not. The two of them walked towards the library and Leaneíras wrinkled her nose at the books until her eyes fell upon the books about sea mageia.
Annabeth and Perseus walked into the room with Kirkê, a bit stunned as the two watched her weave colored threads back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered and Hermês could sense the mageia in it as the waterfall that she was crafted moved and the clouds drifted.
Annabeth caught her breath. "It's beautiful."
Kirkê turned as if she had not been charming them towards her. "You appreciate weaving, my dear?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am!" Annabeth said. "My mother is-" She stopped herself. The gods snorted. Athênê still grimaced whenever she was called Mother, but it was her decision and she needed to stick by it.
Kirkê smiled because well, all the gods knew the truth. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."
The guinea pigs in the corner cage started squealing. Arês scowled. His son was in there after all.
"Oh, dear," Kirkê sighed. "You do need my help."
"Ma'am?" Perseus asked just as his sister found a spell to fight against charmspeak.
"Hylla, take Annabeth on a tour, will you? Show her what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."
"But ..." Annabeth's voice sounded hurt. "What's wrong with my hair?"
"Everything," Aphroditê sniffed. "It's like she doesn't even try to take care of her locs."
Kirkê smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"
"Wasted?"
"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"
Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. Athênê was going unbearable if her "daughter" got stuck there. "But ... what about Percy?"
"Oh, definitely," Kirkê said, giving Percy a sad look. Hermês hoped she knew that any move against Perseus would automatically gain Leaneíras' ire. "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."
The guinea pigs squealed.
"Well ..." Annabeth said. "I suppose ..."
"Right this way, dear," Hylla said. And Annabeth allowed herself to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa. Leaneíras was still in the library going over the spell, muttering it over and over as tried to get it right. Green tinted mageia sparked around her fingers each time, lasting just a bit longer with every try.
Kirkê guided Perseus toward the mirrored wall. "You see, Percy ... to unlock your potential, you'll need serious help. The first step is admitting that you're not happy the way you are." Perseus shifted on his feet and Aphroditê scoffed. "The depression route. Of course, she goes that way."
"There, there," Kirkê consoled. "How about we try ... this."
She snapped her fingers and a sky-blue curtain rolled down over the mirror. It shimmered like the fabric on her loom.
"What do you see?" Kirkê asked.
Hylla led Annabeth into the library.
"Leaneira," the blonde asked. Leaneíras' gaze snapped up quickly, a sharp inhale escaping her. She jumped up from the table, throwing herself at the other and admittedly, Hermês was a bit shocked. He didn't think that she cared about Annabeth, yet there she was clutching the girl to her as if she would fly away if Leaneíras flew away. It took him a moment to realize that she was crying. Leaneíras. His braveheart. His beloved. His soul. She was crying.
He was half-way to the resort by the time Artemis appeared from nowhere and tackled him out of the sky. They grappled for just a moment though it wasn't until he was dumped back onto the floor of Arês' temple that she was utilizing his grappling against him to hog-tie him up.
"Calm down, Ermís!" Apollôn scolded, bending down to untie him and wipe away at his eyes. "She is fine, see. Look." His elder brother directed his gaze back to the island to see his beloved wiping the tears from her face as she and Annabeth were attended to by the some attendants.
His breath got caught in his throat as he realized that they were weaving emeralds into her hair and dusting her cheeks with flakes of gold. He could hear Aphroditê muttering of glow in the dark acrylics, but he could only sit silently as they dotted her eyes with rose gold. He remembered from Peithô's musing when the two of them used to have monthly bonding sessions to themselves where he let her decorate his face in makeup that the slightly red undertone of that gold shade allowed green eyes to shimmer. And how right she was as Hermês gazed upon her, watching as her eyes twinkled in its various shades. Like the spring in full bloom, the hills of the countryside, the treetops as the winds caressed its leaves, everything and nothing. It was looking into her eyes that gave him the realization that he had loved hundreds and thousands of people since he was born and that they all would hold a piece of his heart and yet it was she ... this mortal that ventured through life without a care in the world, not knowing what her niche was and unbothered by it at all... this girl who was still a child yet looked at the world with eyes of the old... this... this... she didn't care... she didn't care and yet it was her who made him feel whole. It was her who made him look at the world around him and say that he understood Luke and that he could not condemn his son for his actions because he could do better... he would do better.
How could someone have so much control over him? He knew that if Leaneíras were to ask him to give her the throne of heaven then he would personally see that his Father was overthrown. If Leaneíras were to ask for the moon, he would steal the lunar sphere that sat atop Selênê's head and he would take the raised, shining cloak that was her crescent and present them to his beloved. How could he love her so deeply and they had not even mated and yet... yet, he knew that the love of a god was an overwhelming thing. It was something that encompassed their entire being and threw ration from the mind. He knew that time moved differently for them. He lived within the hours that it took a mortal minutes and even he had not been prepared for how weak she made him.
There was a sharp inhale to the left of him that managed to pull his thoughts away from her and back on to the room around him. Apollôn had maneuvered the two of them until he was cuddled into his brother's side, the elder massaging his scalp even as Artemis sat above him on Arês' couch and did the same for him. The six of them were huddled around each other. They were only missing Athênê and Hêphaistos and if Father could have seen them, he would weep with happiness to see them all getting along.
(It sort of reminded him of that one year that a potion of Hekatê startled Hêbê so badly that most of the second generation gods had been stuck as children for half a year. They had been unable to transform as the herbs that Hekatê used only grew once a year in the Underworld. The children of the Kronides had been smothered in parental affection and forced to spend more time with each other outside of their respective realms.)
It was Dionysos who had made the sound, leaning against Aphroditê's legs while Arês had his head in her lap. The younger god was red in the face and it took Hermês a moment to realize that it was because he was trying to keep from laughing and not the four glasses of Amaretto sour that were in front of him. He looked in the direction that his younger brother was staring at only to watch as Perseus began to sprout fur on his face, under his shirt, and well, all over. His two upper and two lower incisors lengthened. His body doubled over as he shrank into himself.
There was a pause as he disappeared into his clothing. A sliver of anticipation shared by them all and then... "Reeet, reeet, reeet!"
Dionysos and Arês howled with laughter as Hermês buried his face in his hands. "I gave him the vitamins," the herald whined. "Why do they never take the vitamins?" Apollôn patted his head in sympathy, but Hermês could still feel him shaking with repressed laughter (or was that Artemis? She was a fan of metamorphosis. They all were, but it was one of her top five favorite things.)
Kirkê picked up the newly transformed guinea pig and Hermês sighed. He maneuvered things around so that Leaneíras could get training from her since well... he didn't necessarily trust Hekatê at the moment. There was still a lot of displeasure that radiated from Hekatê despite the renewed interest and worship for her. No, he needed Kirkê to take over her lessons, but this would color it all due to the protective nature that Leaneíras had for those she deemed as hers.
"Perfect!" Kirkê boomed. "See, Percy? You've unlocked your true self!"
She held him up to the mirror and he renewed his squeaks of terror. "Reeet, reeet, reeet!"
"A guinea pig," Kirkê said. "Lovely, aren't you? Men are pigs, Percy Jackson. I used to turn them into real pigs, but they were so smelly and large and difficult to keep. Not much different than they were before, really. Guinea pigs are much more convenient! Now come, and meet the other men."
Perseus must have attempted to scratch her as Kirkê said, "None of that, little one, or I'll feed you to the owls." That would make Athênê happy. "Go into the cage like a good little pet. Tomorrow, if you behave, you'll be on your way. There is always a classroom in need of a new guinea pig."
"Look," Aphroditê said. Their attention turned to Leaneíras and Annabeth making their way back to the room. There was a pep in Leaneíras' step as she drew closer to her twin though there was a bit of a shadow in her eyes, no doubt that she was mourning Tyson a bit. Hermês had to force himself to look away before he became enraptured by her eyes once more. He could already feel a flush overtaken him as he thought of how brighter the makeup would make her eyes when she used her mageia.
(Another reason that he wanted Kirkê to train her so that Leaneíras could repress that indicator.)
"Meet my discipline problems, Percy," Kirkê warned as she placed the boy into the cage. "They'll never make good classroom pets, but they might teach you some manners. Most of them have been in this cage for three hundred years. If you don't want to stay with them permanently, I'd suggest you-"
Annabeth's voice called: "Miss C.C.?"
"aphòdeuma," Kirkê cursed, throwing the boy into the cage and kicking his clothes away as the two girls walked into the room. Hermês bit back his own curse as he realized that Leaneíras was wearing a sleeveless satin high slit dress the color of seafoam. It was somehow worse than the dress that the campers had placed her the summer before. The crossbody purse that she had before had been switched out for a taupe colored envelope bag that dangled from her shoulder. He had to take multiple deep breaths, reminding himself that she was still a minor and that Poseidôn would find a way to kill him if he sensed even the slightest impure thought.
Annabeth received a makeover also. Her blonde hair was washed and retwisted with threads of gold woven within. She, too, was wearing makeup and dressed in white sleeveless silk dress that looked like fresh snow draped across her sun-kissed skin.
Annabeth looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Percy?" And Leaneíras deflated a little to not see her brother.
Kirkê smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear. Not to worry. You look wonderful! What did you think of your tour?"
Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing!" Leaneíras nodded in agreement. "Your spells are awesome. Did you create them all yourself?"
"Yes, indeed," Kirkê said to both of them, "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."
"An architect," Annabeth wondered.
"Pah!" Kirkê said. "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."
Annabeth took a step back. "A sorceress?"
Leaneíras gave her a look, "I told you that she was Kirkê."
"Yes, my dear." Kirkê held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "One of my mentors is Hekatê, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athênê when I see one just as I know a pharmakís. We are not so different, you and I. We all seek knowledge. We all admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."
"I-I don't understand."
Leaneíras furrowed her brow. Perseus squealed in the cage as the other guinea pigs were emerging from their hutch.
"Stay with me," Kirkê said. "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal! You would never have to worry about khaos-mates and blessings ever again." Leaneíras' attention snapped back to her quickly and Hermês allowed himself to feel a smidge of worry.
"But-"
"You are too intelligent, my dear," Kirkê said. "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"
"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart-"
"Bah! Men get all the glory." Kirkê closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame whereas Leaneíras only seemed to grow. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. My darling niece, Mēdeia and the wench Kalypsô, now they were powerful women! My sister, Pasiphaë. And me, of course. The greatest of all."
Annabeth backed up, and Kirkê laughed. "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."
"What have you done to Percy?" Leaneíras demanded.
"Only helped him realize his true form."
The girls scanned the room until their gaze landed on the cage where Perseus was scratching at the bars while the other guinea pigs crowded him. Annabeth's eyes went wide while rage channeled into Leaneíras'. The child of the sea snarled, "You turned my brother into a guinea pig?" Sparks of mageia flickered around her hands.
"Forget him," Kirkê said. "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."
"But-" Annabeth hesitated as Leaneíras gave them both scathing looks.
"Your friend will be well cared for," Kirkê soothed, charmspeak dripping from her voice. "He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."
Leaneíras began to breathe a bit heavily while Annabeth continued to stare at Perseus, a faux look of longing on her face.
"Let me think about it," Annabeth murmured. "Just... give us a minute alone. To say good-bye."
Leaneíras inhaled sharply, turning to the other.
"Of course, my dear," Kirkê cooed. "One minute. Oh ... and so you have absolute privacy ..."
She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and the door clicked shut behind her. She stepped a bit further down the hall to speak with her attendants. If she had gotten over her grudge and allowed Hermês onto the island without him wondering if his genitals would remain where they were, he could have informed her that this would not go how she believed. (Hermês would never regret assisting Odyseús, but he does regret the way that he had to avoid both Ōgygíā and Αἰαία if only to avoid the ire of both goddesses.)
The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face as she rushed over to the cage before Leaneíras could even say anything. "All right, which one is you?"
"How did she manage to get you two to split up," Leaneíras questioned instead, stepping closer to the door as all the guinea pigs squealed. "This isn't Scooby Doo!"
"I don't know," Annabeth grumbled, scanning the room and managing to spot the cuff of Perseus' jeans sticking out from under the loom. "It seemed like a good idea when she said it."
Leaneíras paused, turning to look at her as Annabeth rummaged through Perseus' pockets. "When she said it?"
"Yeah," Annabeth nodded. "She kept talking about our true selves and I don't know. It just made sense when she said it."
"When she influenced your mind," Leaneíras murmured. "That sounds like... that sounds like Drew's powers. Charmspeak." She rummaged through her bag before pulling out the spell book that she definitely stole from the library. "Here's a spell that resists an enchanting voice. I was practicing it earlier because she tried it on me."
"Well, hurry up and cast it," Annabeth stressed as she pulled out the bottle of multivitamins. Leaneíras shot her glare before taking a deep breath, the glow in her eyes brightening just a bit more. She moved over to Annabeth, taking her hand and said: "Voice with power over actions, Influences and attractions, Have no sway on us henceforth." She repeated it a few more times until it clicked, Arkas chirping from where he dangled around her neck. She flipped through the book a bit more. Probably trying to find another spell, but they had no time. The click of Kirkê's heels could be heard. The girls nodded their heads, both of them popping lemon chewables into their mouths just as the door flew open and Kirkê came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants.
"Well," Kirkê sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dears?"
"This," Annabeth said, and she drew her bronze knife.
The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed. She sneered. "Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?"
Kirkê looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell.
Leaneíras stepped forward, her own hands raised with glowing eyes.
"What will Annabeth's makeover be?" Kirkê mused. "Something small and ill-tempered. I know ... a shrew!"
Blue fire started to coil from her fingers aiming for Annabeth just as Leaneíras immediately called out: "What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine. I offer up my gift to share. Switch our powers through the air!"
"NO!" Kirkê yelled in horror as orbs of blue, green, gold and silver flowed through the air. The green split between the goddess and her attendants. Meanwhile Leaneíras stumbled back as the orbs of blue, gold, and silver rushed through her. Her face was a bit pale. "How did you-? A novice should not be able to cast that spell on me!"
Annabeth leapt forward and stuck the point of her knife against Kirkê's neck. "How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!"
"How!" Kirkê yelped.
"You messed with my friends," Leaneíras snarled, flinging her hands out at the attendants and pressing them into the door. Despite how proud Hermês was of her natural born skill, he was a bit disappointed that the exchange of power stole away the pretty green hue of her eyes. Now they were kaleidoscopes.
Annabeth held up the bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see.
Kirkê howled in frustration. "Curse Hermês and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."
"Turn Percy back to a human or else!" Annabeth said.
"I can't!"
"Then you asked for it," Annabeth scowled whereas Leaneíras snarled, "You better figure it out."
Kirkê's attendants tried to step forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamin wears off." Not that it could do much. While they were all sharing Leaneíras' mageia, she had all theirs at once, a pool of power that was no doubt as deep as the ocean just from Kirkê alone. She eyed Leaneíras in intrigue. "And she has all our power at her disposal. Honestly child, it is a little impressive that you managed that spell with these small pools."
Leaneíras scowled as Annabeth dragged Kirkê over to the guinea pig cage, knocked the top off, and poured the rest of the vitamins inside. The gods tensed.
"Fuck," Aphroditê said.
"No!" Kirkê screamed. Perseus was the first to get a vitamin, but all the other guinea pigs scuttled out, too, and checked out this new food. Hekatê was going to be pissed at how much they were going to have to manipulate the mist to get rid of them. Or maybe they could send them to Mare Nostrum where Khrysaôr could deal with them.
"No!" Kirkê screamed as the cage exploded. Perseus was once again human, back in his regular clothes, alongside six other guys who all looked disoriented, blinking and shaking wood shavings out of their hair. "You don't understand! Those are the worst!"
"Can I go to her now," Hermês groused as one of the men stood up–a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply-in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.
"Argggh!" bellowed the big man. "What's the witch done t'me!"
"No!" Kirkê moaned.
Annabeth gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"
"Aye, lass," the big man growled. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through and all the other sorceresses! Then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"
Leaneíras only had one second to realize that included her before she dived under a table as Kirkê screamed. She and her attendants ran from the room, chased by the pirates. Annabeth sheathed her knife and glared at Perseus.
"Thanks ..." Perseus faltered. "I'm really sorry-"
Before he could say anything else, Leaneíras appeared from under the table to tackle him in a hug alongside Annabeth from the other side. The blonde pulled away quickly, muttering, "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig." Perseus flushed just a bit as he said, "Me, too."
"I swear, Percy," Leaneíras tightened her hold on her brother. Her voice was a bit choked and he was similarly overwhelmed as he hugged her back.
"I know. I know," he murmured. He buried his face into her hair. "Tyson is..."
Leaneíras flinched. "Yeah... I know."
It was clear that Annabeth didn't want to interrupt them but they were pressed for time. The pirates had spread out around the resort. The various naiads and nymphs flashed away back to their respective realms until it was only Kirkê and her attendants left. One of Bellōna's daughters, Hylla, had found her sister, broke a chair leg and used it to defend the two of them against one of the pirates. She was doing well, but they were tied up just like the others as when his help came. Kirkê used the distraction that the pirates had to flash away to the other side of the island, calling for her brothers.
"Why isn't she returning home," Arês asked.
"She and Tēlemakhos have been in a dispute for the past decade," Artemis informed them. "It's now a matter of pride since it was something so petty. She won't leave until he apologizes and he won't apologize until she does."
"How do you know that," Apollôn asked. Artemis shrugged, "We talk sometimes when I go to visit the girls."
The three of them ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels. Hermês could see the exact moment that Leaneíras changed her mind. The different swirls of color changed in her irises until they were almost a teal green color, a few shades lighter than her natural green.
The trio reached the docks and Leaneíras slowed down behind them. He wanted to scream for her to go... to leave and yet, he also knew that despite the way she presented herself... she had a bleeding heart and she wouldn't leave them to suffer because of their actions.
"Which ship?" Annabeth said.
"There," Perseus said as he looked around before spotting the three-mast ship. Queen Anne's Revenge. It always amused him how the mortals found things and named them after pieces from their history that of different use. the U.S. National Register of Historic Places presently held the remains of a vessel that they thought was the Queen Anne's Revenge, but was in reality, an old jacht of Apollôn's.
Annabeth blinked. "But-"
"I can make it work."
"How?"
Leaneíras ignored them both, rushing pass them. She climbed abroad, flipping through what looked like another spell book. Her hands were glowing as she placed them on the deck. "Protect them from the coming dark. With magic that provides a spark." The ship came alive in color before the mageia sank into the boards.
"Argggh!" Blackbeard yelled. "Those scalawags are a-boarding me vessel! Get 'em, lads!"
"We'll never get going in time!" Annabeth yelled as they climbed aboard. The twins shared looks and Hermes had seen this plenty of times in Artemis and Apollôn and with Arês and Enyô, but it was still a surprise to watch the two of them speak to each other without the use of words. Perseus' expression twisted with horror.
"Lea," the boy murmured. Leaneíras threw herself into his arms with a small smile. "It'll be fine," she said. "And hey, you let me know when someone is bothering you or changing you into animals and I'll have them put on a crop top with clouds."
Before he could say anything else, she turned away, jumping down from the ship. With one hand in the air, her voice echoed across the resort: "By Asteria and Persês: Open sky and do your worst!"
The skies opened up as Perseus almost went back overboard to grab ahold of her.
"Percy," Annabeth yelled. The boy looked at her, dismay painted across his features before turning to look around at the hopeless maze of sail and ropes. The ship was in great condition for a three-hundred-year-old vessel, but it would still take a crew of fifty several hours to get underway. The pirates were running down the stairs, but they were having a hard time focusing as the sky screamed in rage, bringing down destruction with every strike of lightning. Leaneíras ran in the opposite direction, probably looking for Kirkê to switch their powers back around.
Perseus closed his eyes, taking a moment to concentrate before his eyes snapped open, glowing just a bit as he yelled: "Mizzenmast!"
On the other side of the resort, Leaneíras screamed as a pirate lunged at her. "Tenebris somnum!" Hermês' heart skipped a beat. He taught her that one. She had called it useless since he was always there when she was supposed to be sleeping, but she learned it all the same and now she was... He smiled to himself as the pirate fell face forward, curled into himself and sucked his thumb while Leaneíras kept running through the halls.
Annabeth ducked as a cable flew over her head and wrapped itself around the bowsprit back on the ship as the air around her and Perseus was filled with whistling sounds of ropes being snapped taut, canvases unfurling, and wooden pulleys creaking.
"Percy, how ..."
He didn't reply. Honestly, he had no need too. His Father was the protector of seafarers. It went without saying that his children would be natural born sailors. The Queen Anne's Revenge lurched away from the dock just as Leaneíras had found Kirkê, the two of them exchanging their powers though the magic from the goddess' attendants was shared between them evenly.
"Follow my lead," the goddess commanded, marching through the resort. Leaneíras shot her a look before nodding her head sharply.
By the time the pirates arrived at the water's edge, the two of them were already underway, sailing into the Sea of Monsters and the pirates only had time to walk three groups of girls onto the Whydah Gally before Kirkê and Leaneíras rushed at them in a blaze of mageia.
WORD COUNT: 10,375
Things to Know:
The Symplēgádes or Clashing Rocks were that clashed together whenever a vessel went through. They were defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, who would have been lost and killed by the rocks except for Phineus' advice. Jason let a dove fly between the rocks to see exactly how fast they'd have to row to beat the rocks; the dove lost only its tail feathers. The Argonauts rowed mightily to get through and lost only part of the stern ornament. After that, the Symplēgádes permanently stopped moving.
Pikóloos is one of the Gigantes. During the Gigantomachy, he fled the battle, only to be slain shortly thereafter by Hêlios when the giant attempted to attack his daughter Kirkê.
Harmonia, daughter of Arês and Aphroditê, chose to be transformed into a serpent to share her Husband's punishment. This 'verse Harmonia switches between the forms, but she has serpent features whenever she's not a reptile.
Angelia, daimona of messages, tidings and proclamations. I headcanon Peithô as her Mother.
Kephalos was the son of Princess Herse and Hermês. Because of Kephalos's great beauty, Êôs fell in love with him. He was eventually carried off and ravished by her in Syria.
Children of Hêlios were able to be identified by their eyes that glowed like the sun. Rick described Kirkê with piercing green eyes and while gods can look however they want, that tidbit is something I love so I'm going to mention it every time.
Kalypsô raped Odyseús while he stayed with her. That is going to come up again during the BoL arc alongside the way I'm going to use it for her curse.
Whydah Gally was a fully rigged slave ship. On its second voyage of the triangle trade, Whydah Gally was captured by the pirate Captain Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, beginning a new role in the Golden Age of Piracy. Whydah Gally is the only fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever discovered.
Comments from the Author:
This is a very long chapter mainly because I really want to end this arc.
Artemis does not accept soulmates of the gods. It's not worth the effort in her mind. Like yes, I will protect you and then we both have to spend the next thousand years listening to this or that god complain and what if they rape you when I am preoccupied by something else (ex: Ζεύς and Kallistô) then I have to remove you from the hunt, and the protection is null and Father says I cannot turn them into jackalopes anymore. And while I cannot protect you, I can send you to Kirkê who will make them ejaculate poisoned creatures and destroy their lovers while teaching you magic that can protect you and I'll stop by every now and then to teach you combat.
Rick made Kirkê the daughter of Hekatê probably in a bid to connect her to magic even though its only like one mention of her being Hekatê's daughter which came long after she was already established as the daughter of Hêlios. Kirkê and her siblings were already connected to magic before that..
There was also probably some confusion because Kirkê's mother name was Persêis though she was an Ôkeanis and Hekatê's father was named Persês.
He named Mēdeia and Kalypsô as powerful sorceresses but I personally would have named Pasiphaë because when Midas kept cheating on her, she caused him to ejaculate poisoned creatures and destroy his lovers.
The mention of Kirkê, Poseidôn and Phaunos comes from Nonnus of Panopolis and anything by him is to be treated as complete fiction. I'm talking the same way we read PJO kind of fiction. His epic, Dionysiaca, is something of an acquired taste.
