make love, not war

by kneeshee

Drew never wanted to be a hero. That's what got Silena killed and yet-here she was one of the seven of the prophecy. Rue never fit in anywhere. She was stuck between life and death and yet-the seven of prophecy made her belong. Octavian didn't need a family. His first one got killed and yet-that's what the seven of the prophecy became.

10. RUE II

Rue hung back with ast brother, Frank, and Percy as they headed to the war games. Ast went through a mental checklist as they fixed their armour. Waistbands made from precious metals and snapdragons that were carefully woven around stygian metal. Rue's afro puff was pulled into two ponytails of puff balls. Fingerless gloves with ast fingernails dipped in aconite (a trick ast learned from the children of Venus that wore imperial gold tipped nails).

Once they got out of camp, the Fifth Cohort formed two lines behind their centurions, Dakota and Gwen. They marched north, skirting the edge of the city, and headed to the Field of Mars—the largest, flattest part of the valley. The grass was cropped short by all the unicorns, bulls, and homeless fauns that grazed here. The earth was pitted with explosion craters and scarred with trenches from past games. At the north end of the field stood their target. The engineers had built a stone fortress with an iron portcullis, guard towers, scorpion ballistae, water cannons, and no doubt many other nasty surprises for the defenders to use.

Pranjal waved at Rue to stay where ast was while Nico branched off. As a child of the netherworld especially one of the Realm's King, Rue was good at blending into the shadows and usually Rue was tasked with espionage for allies and enemies alike. One could never be too sure where the blade of death of death came from.

"They did a good job today," Rue noted, eyeing the fortress for weaknesses. "That's bad for us."

"Wait," Percy said. "You're telling me that fortress was built today?"

Rue grinned. "Legionnaires are trained to build. If we had to, we could break down the entire camp and rebuild it somewhere else. Take maybe three or four days, but we could do it."

"Let's not," Percy said. "So, you attack a different fort every night?"

"Not every night," Frank said. "We have different training exercises. Sometimes death ball—um, which is like paintball, except with...you know, poison and acid and fire balls. Sometimes we do chariots and gladiator competitions, sometimes war games."

Rue pointed at the fort. "Somewhere inside, the First and Second Cohorts are keeping their banners. Our job is to get inside and capture them without getting slaughtered. We do that, we win."

Percy's eyes lit up. "Like capture-the-flag. I think I like capture-the-flag."

Frank laughed. "Yeah, well...it's harder than it sounds. We have to get past those scorpions and water cannons on the walls, fight through the inside of the fortress, find the banners, and defeat the guards, all while protecting our own banners and troops from capture. And our cohort is in competition with the other two attacking cohorts. We sort of work together, but not really. The cohort that captures the banners gets all the glory."

Percy stumbled, trying to keep time with the left-right marching rhythm. Rue looked away as to not embarrass him, doing a few light stretches.

"So why are we practicing this, anyway?" Percy asked. "Do you guys spend a lot of time laying siege to fortified cities?"

"Teamwork," Rue said, finishing up ast stretches. "Quick thinking. Tactics. Battle skills. You'd be surprised what you can learn in the war games."

"Like who will stab you in the back," Frank said.

"Especially that," Rue agreed.

They marched to the center of the Field of Mars and formed ranks. The Fourth Cohort assembled as far as possible from the Fifth with the Third Cohort scattered around. Esra was a legacy of Victoria; she made sure that their battle plans went into effect the moment the bell rung. (Why she was still leading them, Rue did not know as the girl could easily retire if she wanted to.) The centurions for the attacking side gathered for a conference. In the sky above them, Reyna circled on her pegasus, Scipio, ready to play referee.

Half a dozen giant eagles flew in formation behind her—prepared for ambulance airlift duty if necessary. The only person not participating in the game was Nico who had climbed an observation tower about a hundred yards from the fort and would be watching with binoculars.

Frank propped his pilum against his shield and checked Percy's armor. Every strap was correct. Every piece of armor was properly adjusted.

"You did it right," he said in amazement. "Percy, you must've done war games before."

"I don't know. Maybe."

The only thing that wasn't regulation was Percy's glowing bronze sword—not Imperial gold, and not a gladius. The blade was leaf-shaped, and the writing on the hilt was Greek.

Riptide, Rue translated. Ancient Greek was a dead language after all.

Percy frowned. "We can use real weapons, right?"

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "For sure. I've just never seen a sword like that."

"What if I hurt somebody?"

"We heal them," Frank said. "Or try to. The legion medics are pretty good with ambrosia and nectar, and unicorn draught."

"No one dies," Rue said, but ast could fill the chill of death linger through the field. Rue turned their gaze to look at aster's brother. He was looking right back at ast and slowly, placed a finger against his lips. "Well, not usually. And if they do—"

Frank imitated the voice of Vitellius: "They're wimps! Back in my day, we died all the time, and we liked it!"

Rue laughed despite themselves. It was a good imitation. "Just stay with us, Percy. Chances are we'll get the worst duty and get eliminated early. They'll throw us at the walls first to soften up the defenses. Then the Third and Fourth Cohorts will march in and get the honors, if they can even breach the fort."

Horns blew. Dakota and Gwen walked back from the officers' conference, looking grim.

"All right, here's the plan!" Dakota took a quick swig of Kool-Aid from his travel flask. "They're throwing us at the walls first to soften up the defenses."

The whole cohort groaned.

"I know, I know," Gwen said. "But maybe this time we'll have some luck!"

Leave it to Gwen to be the optimist. Rue thought it was a bit naïve to be so optimistic, but it seemingly worked for Gwen, so what did Rue know? Maybe it was some secret power of Venus.

Still, the campers grumbled and complained. Nobody believed in luck for the Fifth.

"First line with Dakota," Gwen said. "Lock shields and advance in turtle formation to the main gates. Try to stay in one piece. Draw their fire. Second line—" Gwen turned to Frank's row without much enthusiasm. "You seventeen, from Bobby over, take charge of the elephant and the scaling ladders. Try a flanking attack on the western wall. Maybe we can spread the defenders too thin. Frank and Percy...well, just do whatever." She turned back to the whole cohort. "If anybody gets over the wall first, I'll make sure you get the Mural Crown. Victory for the Fifth!"

The cohort cheered halfheartedly and broke ranks.

Percy frowned. "'Do whatever?'"

"Yeah," Rue sighed, tilting ast head as Hank rushed to their side dropping a small token in ast hand. "Big vote of confidence."

"What's the Mural Crown?" he asked while Rue placed the token to their ear. It was only a few words, but Esra ordered Rue to support Fifth. The former praetor had could taste victory lingering around them and the Third Cohort needed a representative. Percy had been helping the Fifth's standing though not by much. Octavian was snatching them up for alliances to make the First look good and drawing besotted looks from the legionnaires since they were pleased to know that they didn't lose his favor. As such, Octavian kept Percy far away from him, but close enough that the victories were tied together.

"Military medal," Frank said. He'd been forced to memorize all the possible awards after he broke Octavian's — the last one that he would with his cousins and was the reason they switched to medals instead of actual crowns. "Big honor for the first soldier to breach an enemy fort. You'll notice nobody in the Fifth is wearing one. Usually, we don't even get into the fort because we're burning or drowning or..." He faltered and looked at Percy. "Water cannons."

"What?" Percy asked.

"The cannons on the walls," Frank said, "they draw water from the aqueduct. There's a pump system—heck, I don't know how they work, but they're under a lot of pressure. If you could control them, like you controlled the river—"

"Frank!" Rue blinked. "That's brilliant!" Rue pressed on the token, hoping that Chelsea had reversed it to be used as an earpiece.

Percy didn't look so sure. "I don't know how I did that at the river. I'm not sure I can control the cannons from this far away."

"We'll get you closer." Frank pointed to the eastern wall of the fort, where the Fifth Cohort wouldn't be attacking. "That's where the defense will be weakest. They'll never take three kids seriously. I think we can sneak up pretty close before they see us."

"Sneak up how?" Percy asked.

Frank turned to Rue. "Can you do that thing again?"

Rue punched him in the chest. "You said you wouldn't tell anybody!" Of all the people who had stumbled across Rue training with Nico on how to use their powers, it had to be the clumsy dolt! Rue knew that they should have killed him then! Nobody would have known but the gods and Nico and no one would have known how unstable Rue's powers actually were.

Rue grumbled, taking a deep breath. "Whatever. I'm sure you know from the other games is that The Field of Mars is riddled with tunnels from over the years. Some are collapsed, or buried deep, but a lot of them are still passable. I'm pretty good at finding them and using them. I can even collapse them if I have to."

Frank nodded approvingly. "I told you Pluto was cool. He's the god of everything under the earth. Rue can find caves, tunnels, trapdoors—"

"And it was our secret," ast snarled.

Frank blushed. "Yeah, sorry. But if we can get close—"

"And if I can knock out the water cannons..." Percy nodded, like he was warming to the idea. "What do we do then?"

"The rest is up to me," Frank said as he checked his quiver. "Let's go."

Rue led them around the outskirts of the field, eyes wandering over the fortress looking for holes in the foundation. Ast could sense Naenia and Mania lingering around, and Rue wondered why aster's sisters were there.

"Not there, poppy," ast could hear whispered in the wind. "It's not safe. Go back. Back!"

It didn't take long for Rue to find a passage and ast knew that ast siblings were helping them. Rue wasn't even trying to use their powers considering that they weren't worth much, but the tunnels that ast needed appeared right as ast needed them.

They crept along by the light of Percy's glowing sword, Riptide. Above, they heard the sounds of battle—kids shouting, Hannibal the elephant bellowing with glee, scorpion bolts exploding, and water cannons firing. The tunnel shook. Dirt rained down on them.

Almost there, sunflower. Up ahead.

"There's an opening just ahead," Rue announced. "We'll come up ten feet from the east wall."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Rue said because while ast know its aster's sisters, ast could not see them. "But I'm sure."

"Could we tunnel straight under the wall?" Frank wondered.

"No," Rue said just as the words were whispered into ast's mind. "The engineers were smart. They built the walls on old foundations that go down to bedrock. And don't ask how I know. I just do."

Frank stumbled over something and cursed. Percy brought this sword around for more light. The thing Frank had tripped on was gleaming silver.

He crouched down.

"Don't touch it!" Rue said.

Frank's hand stopped a few inches from the chunk of metal. It looked like a giant Hershey's Kiss, about the size of his fist. Rue inwardly snarled. Of all the dumbass powers that wanted to work with frequency.

"It's massive," he said. "Silver?"

"Platinum." Rue grumbled. "Don't touch it. There's a curse on it. Instant death, I think. It'll go away in a second."

As they watched, the chunk of platinum sank into the ground. Ast pointed one of their staffs where it was buried concentrating to sink it even further down.

He stared at Rue. "How did you know?"

In the light of Percy's sword, Rue looked as if ast was one step from running home. "I'll explain later," ast said, waving the words. Ast would have a better lie by then.

Another explosion rocked the tunnel, and they forged ahead.

They popped out of a hole. In front of them, the fort's east wall loomed. Off to their left, Rue could see the main line of the Fifth Cohort advancing in turtle formation, shields forming a shell over their heads and sides. They were trying to reach the main gates, but the defenders above pelted them with rocks and shot flaming bolts from the scorpions, blasting craters around their feet. A water cannon discharged with a jaw-rattling THRUM, and a jet of liquid carved a trench in the dirt right in front of the cohort.

Percy whistled. "That's a lot of pressure, all right."

The Fourth Cohort wasn't even advancing. They stood back and laughed, watching their "allies" get beat up. The Third Cohort was spreading around the entire fortress, closing in slowly while their opponents were focused on the Fifth. The defenders clustered on the wall above the gates, yelling insults at the tortoise formation as it staggered back and forth. War games had deteriorated into "beat up the Fifth."

One of them must have displeased Octavian.

Or he saw something in his visions and refused to share.

"Let's shake things up." Frank reached in his quiver and pulled out an arrow heavier than the rest. The iron tip was shaped like the nose cone of a rocket. An ultra-thin gold rope trailed from the fletching. Shooting it accurately up the wall would take more force and skill than most archers could manage, but Frank had strong arms and good aim.

"What does that do?" Percy asked. "Grappling hook?"

"It's called a hydra arrow," Frank said. "Can you knock out the water cannons?"

A defender appeared on the wall above them. "Hey!" he shouted to his buddies. "Check it out! More victims!"

"Percy," Frank said, "now would be good."

More kids came across the battlements to laugh at them. A few ran to the nearest water cannon and swung the barrel toward Frank.

Percy closed his eyes. He raised his hand.

Up on the wall, somebody yelled, "Open wide, losers!"

KA-BOOM!

The cannon exploded in a starburst of blue, green, and white.

Defenders screamed as a watery shock wave flattened them against the battlements. Kids toppled over the walls but were snatched by giant eagles and carried to safety. Then the entire eastern wall shuddered as the explosion backed up through the pipelines. One after another, the water cannons on the battlements exploded. The scorpions' fires were doused.

Defenders scattered in confusion or were tossed through the air, giving the rescue eagles quite a workout. At the main gates, the Fifth Cohort forgot about their formation. Mystified, they lowered their shields and stared at the chaos.

Frank shot his arrow. It streaked upward, carrying its glittering rope. When it reached the top, the metal point fractured into a dozen lines that lashed out and wrapped around anything they could find—parts of the wall, a scorpion, a broken water cannon, and a couple of defending campers, who yelped and found themselves slammed against the battlements as anchors. From the main rope, handholds extended at two-foot intervals, making a ladder.

"Go!" Frank said.

Percy grinned. "You first, Frank. This is your party."

Frank hesitated. Then he slung his bow on his back and began to climb. He was halfway up before the defenders recovered their senses enough to sound the alarm.

Frank glanced back at Fifth Cohort's main group. They were staring up at him, dumbfounded.

"Well?" Frank screamed. "Attack!"

Gwen was the first to unfreeze. She grinned and repeated the order. A cheer went up from the battlefield. Hannibal the elephant trumpeted with happiness. Frank clambered to the top of the wall, where three defenders were trying to hack down his rope ladder. Rue let ast staffs soften into whips and swung through the air, feet kicking into someone from the second cohort as ast came to a landing.

Frank launched himself at the defenders like a heavily armored bowling ball. and they toppled like pins. Frank got to his feet. He took command of the battlements, sweeping his pilum back and forth and knocking down defenders. Some shot arrows. Some tried to get under his guard with their swords, but Frank was nigh instoppable.

Rue shook ast head and cackled, whips soaring through the air and tossing the defenders into the night sky.

Percy leaped onto the wall and raised Riptide.

"Fun," he said.

Together they cleared the defenders off the walls. Below them the gates broke. Hannibal barreled into the fort, arrows and rocks bouncing harmlessly off his Kevlar armor. The Fifth Cohort charged in behind the elephant, and the battle went hand-to-hand.

Finally, from the edge of the Field of Mars, a battle cry went up. The Fourth Cohorts ran to join the fight as the Third Cohort provided assistance to the Fifth.

"A little late," Frank grumbled.

"We can't let them get the banners," Rue said.

"No," Percy agreed. "Those are ours."

No more talk was necessary. They moved like a team, as if the three of them had been working together for years. That terrified ast honestly, and yet still, they rushed down the interior steps and into the enemy base.

The battle was mayhem.

Frank, Percy, and Rue waded through the enemy, plowing down anyone who stood in their way. The First and Second Cohorts—pride of Camp Jupiter, a well-oiled, highly disciplined war machine—fell apart under the assault and the sheer novelty of being on the losing side. Rue's cackles echoed in a symphony. Every step ast made flowers of asphodel clawed through the cracks, winding around the defenders. They wouldn't die, but it'd be a near thing.

Part of their problem was Percy. He fought like a demon, whirling through the defenders' ranks in a completely unorthodox style, rolling under their feet, slashing with his sword instead of stabbing like a Roman would, whacking campers with the flat of his blade, and generally causing mass panic.

Rue could hear Octavian calling out orders to the First Cohort and ast watched as Percy somersaulted over a line of shields. He moved to slam the butt of his sword into Octavian's helmet and Rue almost wanted to tell him that it wouldn't work. A fact that proven true as the auger moved just a little to the right, eyes glowing an eerie gold through his helmet. He drew his sword and Rue felt ast breath catch in their throat.

Octavian was one of their best fighters. After Jason and Rue and now Percy, he was probably the best fighter that they had (Nico was a good fighter also but he was not actually a part of the legion); no one ever fought Octavian without coming out with near fatal injuries. A part of Rue wanted to watch, but ast had their own fight to focus on as Ida appeared attempting to strike Rue with her staff. Besides, Rue knew not to get in-between dick measuring contests. They won't swiss cheese Rue!

Ast allowed the whip of snapdragons to solidify back into a staff and met the Ida blow for blow. Pressing the whip of jewels back around ast waist, Rue swung their staff in a wide arc to grab some breathing room. Lifting it up, ast broke it down on their knee letting it split apart into two escrima sticks and then moved into Ida's defense. The girl was good... really good. One had to be to become The Second Cohort's 4th Centuria Princeps Posterior. And like all centurions, Ida had strength and dexterity in throwing her missile weapons and was skilled in the use of her sword and shield. Ida had always been too vigilant, temperate, active and readier to execute the orders she received than to talk. She never learned that if you wanted something done right — the escrima sticks transformed back into whips, curling tightly around Ida's wrist — you had to do it yourself. Ida went flying over the wall as Rue jumped into the air, yanking at the whips before kicking her right in the ribs.

Ooo that had to hurt. A cracked rib perhaps and the eagle that caught her didn't make it any better.

Rue turned, climbing onto Hannibal's back as Frank shot arrows until his quiver was empty, using blunt-tipped missiles that wouldn't kill but left some nasty bruises. He broke his pilum over a defender's head, then reluctantly drew his gladius. Percy and Octavian were locked in a standstill both sporting enough bruises that one would think they had gotten jumped instead of it being a one-on-one fight.

Rue charged toward the center of the fort, grinning down at ast teammates. "Let's go, slowpokes! Yo! Octavian, you owe me." The auger growled deep in his throat, but he eased up on his attacks in a way that made it looked like Percy overpowered him. Rue could see at least five different ways Octavian could immobilize him just from the blond's training regime alone, but ast wasn't going to be the one to say anything. Percy did a sidestep, slammed the butt of his sword into Octavian's helmet. The centurion collapsed like a sock puppet.

Rue was going to have to pay for that, ast knew.

They ran to the center of the base. The inner keep was virtually unguarded. Obviously, the defenders never dreamed an assault would get this far. Hannibal busted down the huge doors. Inside, the First and Second Cohort standard-bearers were sitting around a table playing Mythomagic with cards and figurines. The cohort's emblems were propped carelessly against one wall. Octavian was going to have a fit. Reyna too.

Rue and Hannibal rode straight into the room, and the standard-bearers fell backward out of their chairs. Hannibal stepped on the table, and game pieces scattered.

By the time the rest of the cohort caught up with them, Percy and Frank had disarmed the enemies, grabbed the banners, and climbed onto Hannibal's back with Rue. They marched out of the keep triumphantly with the enemy colors.

The Fifth Cohort formed ranks around them and the Third surrounded them like makeshift bodyguards. Together they paraded out of the fort, past stunned enemies and lines of equally mystified allies.

Reyna circled low overhead on her pegasus. "The game is won!" She sounded as if she were trying not to laugh. "Assemble for honors!"

Slowly the campers regrouped on the Field of Mars. Frank saw plenty of minor injuries—some burns, broken bones, black eyes, cuts and gashes, plus a lot of very interesting hairdos from fires and exploding water cannons—but nothing that couldn't be fixed.

Rue slid off the elephant. Ast cohort members surrounded ast, complimenting Rue for always coming through.

And then Rue jerked, eyes darting across the field as the sound of a scissors snipping echoed in their head. Naenia and Mania's laughter lingered in aster's ears.

"Help!" somebody yelled. A couple of campers rushed out of the fortress, carrying a girl on a stretcher. They set her down, and other kids started running over. Even from a distance, Rue could tell it was Gwen. She was in bad shape. She lay on her side on the stretcher with a pilum sticking out of her armor—almost like she was holding it between her chest and her arm, but there was too much blood.

The medics barked at everyone to stand back and give her air. The whole legion fell silent as the healers worked—trying to get gauze and powdered unicorn horn under Gwen's armor to stop the bleeding, trying to force some nectar into her mouth. Gwen didn't move. Her face was ashen gray. Rue fell at Pranjal and Fletch's side, pressing ast fingers together. Sisters, please. Leave. Please. Give her back. She's stupidly and naively nice and would definitely smile her way out a RICO charge, and she deserves to live. She wants to be a fashion designer.

Finally Fletch looked up at Reyna and shook his head.

"You forget, little flower. Death stops for no one."

For a moment, there was no sound except water from the ruined cannons trickling down the walls of the fort. Hannibal nuzzled Gwen's hair with his trunk.

Reyna surveyed the campers from her pegasus. Her expression was as hard and dark as iron. "There will be an investigation. Whoever did this, you cost the legion a good officer. Honorable death is one thing, but this ..."

Rue knew that, but the Doors of Death were open.

Ast's eyes turned milky white, leaning over the girl just barely missing the pilum. In the back of Rue's mind, ast took note of the the marks engraved in the wooden shaft of the pilum: CHT I LEGIO XII F. The weapon belonged to the First Cohort, and the point was sticking out the front of her armor. Gwen had been speared from behind—possibly after the game had ended.

Nico dropped to Rue's side as ast vitiligo patches began to glow an eerie and ghastly white.

Gwen, ast called, reaching deep within the fertile earth for a soul not long departed. Gwen, come back.

Rue could almost hear the familiar lapping of the Styx waters. Charu's alluring voice whispering in ast's mind. "And where is your obol?"

Turn around. Nico's voice resounded in ast's head. Together, the siblings slammed their hands on the ground. Come back, Gwen. The doors are open.

Their siblings' laughter echoed in the wind. "Better luck next time."

Blood roared in Rue's ears, but ast could sense something happened, and then, Gwen gasped.

Rue and Nico slumped over as everyone else stepped back. Gwen opened her eyes. The color came back to her face.

"Wh-what is it?" She blinked. "What's everyone staring at?" She didn't seem to notice the seven-foot harpoon sticking out through her chest.

Beside the siblings, Pranjal whispered, "There's no way. She was dead. She has to be dead."

Gwen tried to sit up but couldn't. "There was a river, and a man asking...for a coin? I turned around and the exit door was open. So, I just...I just left. I don't understand. What's happened?"

Everyone stared at her in horror. Nobody tried to help. Nico was holding Rue up.

"Gwen." Frank knelt next to her. "Don't try to get up. Just close your eyes for a second, okay?"

"Why? What—"

"Just trust me."

Gwen did what he asked.

Frank grabbed the shaft of the pilum below its tip, but his hands were shaking. The wood was slick. "Percy, Rue—help me."

"Don't!" Fletch said, the healer appalled.

"You might—"

"What?" Rue snapped, still she waved Pranjal forward. Rue didn't have the strength at the moment. "Make it worse?"

Frank took a deep breath. "Hold her steady. One, two, three!"

He pulled the pilum out from the front. Gwen didn't even wince. The blood stopped quickly.

Pranjal bent down to examine the wound. "It's closing on its own," he said. "I don't know how, but—"

"I feel fine," Gwen protested. "What's everyone worried about?" With Frank and Percy's help, she got to her feet. Frank glowered at Octavian for some reason?, but the centurion's face was a mask of polite concern.

"Gwen," Rue said gently, "there's no easy way to say this. You were dead. Somehow you came back."

"I...what?" She stumbled against Frank. Her hand pressed against the ragged hole in her armor. "How—how?"

"Good question." Reyna turned to the siblings. "Is this some power of Pluto? What did you do?"

Nico shook his head. "Pluto never lets people return from the dead."

"Not without sacrifice," Rue murmured under their breath. Ast then glared at the people looking on. "Try not to die again, Gwendolyn. Death isn't kind to those that escape its embrace."

A thunderous voice rolled across the field: Death loses its hold. This is only the beginning.

Campers drew weapons. Hannibal trumpeted nervously. Scipio reared, almost throwing Reyna.

"I know that voice," Percy said. He didn't sound pleased.

In the midst of the legion, a column of fire blasted into the air. Heat seared Frank's eyelashes. Campers who had been soaked by the cannons found their clothes instantly steam-dried. Everyone scrambled backward as a huge soldier stepped out of the explosion.

The soldier was ten feet tall, dressed in Canadian Forces desert camouflage. He radiated confidence and power. His black hair was cut in a flat-topped wedge. His face was angular and brutal, marked with old knife scars. His eyes were covered with infrared goggles that glowed from inside. He wore a utility belt with a sidearm, a knife holster, and several grenades. In his hands was an oversized M16 rifle.

Rue felt aster's face flush.

Everyone else stepped back, but Frank stepped forward. Rue stared with wide eyes as Nico helped ast to their feet. The boy took three more steps. Then he sank to one knee. Rue and the others followed his example and knelt. Even Reyna dismounted.

"That's good," the soldier said. "Kneeling is good. It's been a long time since I've visited Camp Jupiter."

Rue noticed that one person wasn't kneeling. Percy Jackson, his sword still in hand, was glaring at the giant soldier. The solider that could only be a god.

"You're Ares," Percy said. "What do you want?"

A collective gasp went up from two hundred campers and an elephant. Rue thought the war god would blast the boy with that extra-large M16. The gods punished mortals for less. Instead, the god bared his brilliant white teeth.

"You've got spunk, demigod," he said. "Arês is my Greek form. But to these followers, to the children of Rome, I am Mārs—patron of the empire, divine father of Romulus and Remus."

"We've met," Percy said. "We...we had a fight..."

The god scratched his chin, as if trying to recall. "I fight a lot of people. But I assure you—you've never fought me as Mārs. If you had, you'd be dead. Now, kneel, as befits a child of Rome, before you try my patience."

Around Mārs's feet, the ground boiled in a circle of flame.

"Percy," Frank said, "please."

Percy clearly didn't like it, but he knelt.

Mārs scanned the crowd. "Romans, lend me your ears!" He laughed—a good, hearty bellow, so infectious it almost made Rue smile, though ast was still shivering with fear. "I've always wanted to say that. I come from Olympos with a message. Iūpiter doesn't like us communicating directly with mortals, especially nowadays, but he has allowed this exception, as you Romans have always been my special people. I'm only permitted to speak for a few minutes, so listen up."

He pointed at Gwen. "This one should be dead, yet she's not. The monsters you fight no longer return to Tartarus when they are slain. Some mortals who died long ago are now walking the earth again." Was it Frank's imagination, or did the god glare at Nico di Angelo?

"Thanatos—Mors has been chained," Mārs announced. "The Doors of Death have been forced open, and no one is policing them—at least, not impartially. Gaea allows our enemies to pour forth into the world of mortals. Her sons— the giants— are mustering armies against you—armies that you will not be able to kill. Unless Death is unleashed to return to his duties, you will be overrun. You must find Mors and free him from the giants. Only he can reverse the tide."

Mārs looked around and noticed that everyone was still silently kneeling. "Oh, you can get up now. Any questions?"

Reyna rose uneasily. She approached the god, followed by Octavian, who was bowing and scraping like a champion groveler.

"Lord Mars," Reyna said, "we are honored."

"Beyond honored," said Octavian. "So far beyond honored—"

"Well?" Mārs snapped.

"Well," Reyna said, "Thanatos is the god of death, the lieutenant of Pluto?"

"Right," the god said.

"And you're saying that he's been captured by giants."

"Right."

"And therefore, people will stop dying?"

"Not all at once," Mārs said. "But the barriers between life and death will continue to weaken. Those who know how to take advantage of this will exploit it. Monsters are already harder to dispatch. Soon they will be completely impossible to kill. Some demigods will also be able to find their way back from the Underworld—like your friend Centurion Shishkebab."

Gwen winced. "Centurion Shish kebab?"

"If left unchecked," Mārs continued, "even mortals will eventually find it impossible to die. Can you imagine a world in which no one dies—ever?"

Dodie raised his hand. "But, ah, mighty all-powerful Lord Mars, if we can't die, isn't that a good thing? If we can stay alive indefinitely—"

"Don't be foolish, boy!" Mārs bellowed. "Endless slaughter with no conclusion? Carnage without any point? Enemies that rise again and again and can never be killed? Is that what you want?"

"You're the god of war," Percy spoke up. "Don't you want endless carnage?"

Mārs' infrared goggles glowed brighter. "Insolent, aren't you? Perhaps I have fought you before. I can understand why I'd want to kill you. I'm the god of Rome, child. I am the god of military might use for a righteous cause. I protect the legions. I am happy to crush my enemies underfoot, but I don't fight without reason. I don't want war without end. You will discover this. You will serve me."

"Not likely," Percy said.

Mārs grinned like they were two old buddies talking trash.

"I order a quest!" the god announced. "You will go north and find Thanatos in the land beyond the gods. You will free him and thwart the plans of the giants. Beware Gaea! Beware her son, the eldest giant!"

If anyone remembered this moment, Rue would vehemently deny that ast made a squeaking sound. "The land beyond the gods?"

Mārs stared down at ast, his grip tightening on his M16. "That's right, Rue Harald. You know what I mean. Everyone here remembers the land where the legion lost its honor! Perhaps if the quest succeeds, and you return by the Feast of Fortūna ... perhaps then your honor will be restored. If you don't succeed, there won't be any camp left to return to. Rome will be overrun, its legacy lost forever. So, my advice is: Don't fail."

Octavian somehow managed to bow even lower. "Um, Lord Mārs, just one tiny thing. A quest requires a prophecy, a mystical poem to guide us! We used to get them from the Sibylline books, but now it's up to the augur to glean the will of gods. So, if I could just run and get about seventy stuffed animals and possibly a knife—"

"You're the augur?" the god interrupted.

"Y-yes, my lord."

Mārs pulled a scroll from his utility belt. "Anyone got a pen?"

The legionnaires stared at him.

Mārs sighed. "Two hundred Romans, and no one's got a pen? Never mind!"

He slung his M16 onto his back and pulled out a hand grenade. There were many screaming Romans. Then the grenade morphed into a ballpoint pen, and Mārs began to write.

Frank looked at Percy with wide eyes. He mouthed: Can your sword do grenade form?

Percy mouthed back, No. Shut up.

Rue glared at them both.

"There!" Mārs finished writing and threw the scroll at Octavian. "A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on your floor, whatever."

Octavian read the scroll. "This says, 'Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die.'"

"Yes," Mārs said. "Is that not clear?"

"Well, my lord...usually prophecies are unclear. They're wrapped in riddles. They rhyme, and..."

Mārs casually popped another grenade off his belt. "Yes?"

"The prophecy is clear!" Octavian announced. "A quest!"

"Good answer." Mārs tapped the grenade to his chin. "Now, what else? There was something else...Oh, yes."

He turned to Frank. "C'mere, kid."

Frank stepped forward.

Mārs grinned. "Nice job taking the wall, kid. Who's the ref for this game?"

Reyna raised her hand.

"You see that play, ref?" Mārs demanded. "That was my kid. First over the wall, won the game for his team. Unless you're blind, that was an MVP play. You're not blind, are you?"

Reyna looked like she was trying to swallow a mouse. "No, Lord Mars."

"Then make sure he gets the Mural Crown," Mārs demanded. "My kid, here!" he yelled at the legion, in case anyone hadn't heard.

"Emily Zhang's son," Mārs continued. "She was a good soldier. Good woman. This kid Frank proved his stuff tonight. Happy late birthday, kid. Time you stepped up to a real man's weapon."

He tossed Frank his M16. The gun changed in midair, becoming smaller and thinner. When Frank caught it, the weapon was a spear. It had a shaft of Imperial gold and a strange point like a white bone, flickering with ghostly light. Rue and Nico both tensed, sensing death lingering around it.

"The tip is a dragon's tooth," Mārs said. "You haven't learned to use your mom's talents yet, have you? Well—that spear will give you some breathing room until you do. You get three charges out of it, so use it wisely. Now, my kid Frank Zhang is gonna lead the quest to free Thanatos, unless there are any objections?"

Of course, no one said a word. But many of the campers glared at Frank with envy, jealousy, anger, bitterness.

"You can take two companions," Mars said. "Those are the rules. One of them needs to be this kid."

He pointed at Percy. "He's gonna learn some respect for Mārs on this trip or die trying. As for the second, I don't care. Pick whomever you want. Have one of your senate debates. You all are good at those."

The god's image flickered. Lightning crackled across the sky.

"That's my cue," Mārs said. "Until next time, Romans. Do not disappoint me!"

The god erupted in flames, and then he was gone.

Reyna turned toward Frank. Her expression was part amazement, part nausea, like she'd finally managed to swallow that mouse. She raised her arm in a Roman salute. "Ave, Frank Zhang, son of Mars."

The whole legion followed her lead and Rue wondered just what came next.

---

Rue slept uneasily. Dreams plagued with darkness and death to the point where ast thought they were down in the Underworld but this was different. For one, the ghastly chill of death was missing instead it was an inferno of heat as if Sol had brought the sun to the Netherlands. Ast was being watched on all sides, walking through a maze of unknown endings.

And yet whenever Rue looked to the sky, the shadows twisted about themselves, stygian iron calling out to ast ... the Doors of Death opened for all to see.

Blue eyes, cooled like ice - though if Rue wanted to be creative, ast would say that they reminded ast of bodies tinged blue from hypothermia - of corpses. Those eyes glanced seemed to smile at Rue. Familiar in a way. The shadows dripped down their body like waves in a reminisce of hair. Too fast did it move and soon, Rue could feel someone at aster's shoulder. Return good to the people, the voice murmured. And restore greatness to ROME!

The scene shifted.

Rue stood in a theater-sized version of the camp's headquarters. In the back of the room sat an enormous shadowy figure. His skin glinted of gold and silver, as if he were an automaton like Reyna's dogs. Behind him stood a collection of ruined emblems, tattered banners, and a large golden eagle on a staff of iron. "Come north, child of Pluto. I await you atop the ice."

"My sister held you back once already and she was untrained." A smile small appeared on Rue's face. "I'll finish what she started."

"I will enjoy breaking you," the giant said.

"Greater men have tried," Rue sniffed, grin sharpening as deadly as a knife. "All failed."

When Rue awakened, that same smile was on aster's face. Ast let the small victory sink into aster's bone before moving to get dressed for a quick breakfast and senate meeting. A glance around showed that Pranjal was already gone. He probably went to the infirmary to go over all the information that he dragged out of Rue and Nico about what to expect from a revenant. Gwen had crossed through the doors of death after all, and she had made her way to Charu's boat. There wasn't much information to be had. The girl had not been judged, but she may experience violent cold chills and would need to be watched over as she slept. The call of death was strong, and the secrets of the Underworld were not meant for the eyes of the living.

It would haunt her for years to come.

Spooky.

(It was things like that made Rue know that if ast had been born mortal with no connection the supernatural ... ast would still find asterself connected to the occult. Death and darkness clung to ast like a friend.)

Breakfast was filled with Rue racking up on the money for tarot readings that ast lost out on due to Frank and Percy sitting with ast. Rue could hear people whispering about the previous night and watching as they alternated between staring at Percy or glaring enviously at Frank — they tried to glare at Rue, but ast made a point of showing the Death card visible as ast shuffled aster's deck.

Rue was kind of irritated when most of aster's pulls were of The Wheel of Fortune, Death, The Tower and Judgment cards.

(Rue kind of missed the time before Nico came where ast had convinced the entire camp that Rue didn't need to eat because ast fed off the ambient ectoplasm in the air and only ate food because ate wanted to. Good times. And then Nico came, and Pranjal changed aster's entire diet, staring ast down every time because he knew that it was bullshit and even if it was real, that couldn't have been good for the body so now eat your soup, Rue or so help me...)

The whispering was a little annoying though:

"Un-Roman fighting..."

"Water cannon up my nose..."

"I did not sign up to fight zombies..."

Finally, Reyna announced that the senate would now convene in the city, and they were all quick to leave out.

"Here we go." Rue muttered, joining the crowd. Percy and Frank were quick to flank Rue.

The ghost Vitellius appeared next to them in a purple shimmer. "Bona fortuna, you three! Ah, senate meetings. I remember the one when Caesar was assassinated. Why, the amount of blood on his toga—"

"Thanks, Vitellius," Frank interrupted. "We should get going."

Reyna and Octavian led the procession of senators out of camp, with Reyna's metal greyhounds dashing back and forth along the road. Rue took note of aster's broter in his black toga and talking with Gwen and Fletch. The girl was a little pale but surprisingly good considering she'd been dead the night before. Nico waved at Percy? then went back to his conversation. Eh, not Rue's problem though ast did take note of it. Something was going on.

Dakota stumbled along in his red-speckled robe. A lot of other senators seemed to be having trouble with their togas, too—hiking up their hems, trying to keep the cloth from slipping off their shoulders. Rue snickered. There was only a hand full of people that ast had ever seen wear those things correct and not mess them up like Octavian who was strutting ahead of everyone as if he was on a runway. Rue had seen him walk one before for a charity event and he wore heels better than he wore their combat boots.

"How could Romans move, in those things?" Percy wondered.

"They were just for formal occasions," Rue said before coming to overwhelming realization that for the weeks that he had been here— Percy never crossed the Pomerian Line. Huh, that was... that was something. "Like tuxedos. I bet the ancient Romans hated togas as much as we do. By the way, you didn't bring any weapons, did you?"

Ast took note of the way his hand went to his pocket. "Why? Are we not supposed to?"

"No weapons allowed inside the Pomerian Line," ast said.

"The what line?"

"Pomerian," Frank said. "The city limits. Inside is a sacred 'safe zone.' Legions can't march through. No weapons allowed. That's so senate meetings don't get bloody."

"Like Julius Caesar getting assassinated?" Percy asked.

Rue nodded. "Don't worry. Nothing like that has happened in months." The last time had been when Octavian broke Dodie's jaw for a comment about Jason.

New Rome had never looked more beautiful than when the sun was rising. The tiled roofs and gold domes gleamed in the sun. Gardens bloomed with honeysuckle and roses. The central plaza was paved in white and gray stone, decorated with statues, fountains, and gilded columns. In the surrounding neighborhoods, cobblestone streets were lined with freshly painted town houses, shops, cafés, and parks. In the distance rose the coliseum and the horse racing arena.

The senators slowed.

On the side of the road stood a white marble statue—a life-size muscular man with curly hair, no arms, and an irritated expression. Maybe he looked mad because he'd been carved only from the waist up. Below that, he was just a big block of marble.

"Single file, please!" Terminus said. "Have your IDs ready."

The senators passed through easily. Terminus checked the tattoos on their forearms and called each senator by name. "Gwendolyn, senator, Fifth Cohort, yes. Nico di Angelo, ambassador of Pluto—very well. Reyna, praetor, of course. Hank, senator, Third Cohort—oh, nice shoes, Hank! Ah, who have we here?"

Rue, Frank, and Percy were the last ones.

"Terminus," Rue said, "this is Percy Jackson. Percy, this is Terminus, the god of boundaries."

"New, eh?" said the god. "Yes, probatio tablet. Fine. Ah, weapon in your pocket? Take it out! Take it out! Quite dangerous. Leave it in the tray. Wait, where's my assistant? Julia!"

A little girl about six years old peeked out from behind the base of the statue. She had pigtails, a pink dress, and an impish grin with two missing teeth.

"Julia?" Terminus glanced behind him, and Julia scurried in the other direction. "Where did that girl go?"

Terminus looked the other way and caught sight of Julia before she could hide. The little girl squealed with delight.

"Oh, there you are," said the statue. "Front and center. Bring the tray."

Julia scrambled out and brushed off her dress. She picked up a tray and presented it to Percy. On it were several paring knives, a corkscrew, an oversized container of sun lotion, and a water bottle. Rue peeked behind Terminus' stature to take note of the artillery that was hiding behind it in a tote. Ast knew exactly who all that belonged to.

"You can pick up your weapon on the way out," Terminus said. "Julia will take good care of it. She's a trained professional."

The little girl nodded. "Pro-fess-ion-al." She said each syllable carefully, like she'd been practicing.

Percy glanced at Hazel and Frank, who didn't seem to find anything odd about this. Still, he wasn't wild about handing over a deadly weapon to a kid.

"The thing is," he said, "the pen returns to my pocket automatically, so even if I give it up—"

"Not to worry," Terminus assured him. "We'll make sure it doesn't wander off. Won't we, Juila?"

"Yes, Mr. Terminus."

Reluctantly, Percy put his pen on the tray.

"Now, a few rules, since you're new," Terminus said. "You are entering the boundaries of the city proper. Keep the peace inside the line. Yield to chariot traffic while walking on public roads. When you get to the Senate House, sit on the left-hand side. And down there—do you see where I'm pointing?"

"Um," Percy said, "you don't have any hands."

Terminus' marble face turned a dark shade of gray. Rue probably should have warned him of that but eh... not aster's problem. "A smart aleck, eh? Well, Mr. Rule Flouter, right down there in the forum—Julia, point for me, please—"

Julia dutifully set down the security tray and pointed toward the main plaza.

"The shop with the blue awning," Terminus continued, "that's the general store. They sell tape measures. Buy one! I want those pants exactly one inch above the ankles and that hair regulation cut. And tuck your shirt in."

Rue said, "Thank you, Terminus. We need to get going." He had gotten over trying to force aster's fro into something horrifying when aster's Father put the fear of him into his stone heart.

("Everything dies, Terminus. Even the gods fade. And I will be there to welcome you into my home. Take care of my child.")

"Fine, fine, you may pass," the god said testily. "But stay on the right side of the road! And that rock right there—No, Rue, look where I'm pointing. That rock is entirely too close to that tree. Move it two inches to the left."

Rue did what ast was told, and they continued down the path, Terminus still shouting orders at them while Julia did cartwheels across the grass.

"Is he always like that?" Percy asked.

Rue shrugged. "Eh, he could be worse." Rue certainly never forgot when he made Trent cut every inch of grass within New Roma with a pair of safety scissors.

"He inhabits every boundary stone around the city," Frank said. "Kind of our last line of defense if the city's attacked."

"Terminus isn't so bad," Rue added. "Just don't make him angry, or he'll force you to measure every blade of grass in the valley." Hank learned that the hard way.

Percy filed that information. "And the kid? Julia?"

Rue grinned. "Yeah, she's a cutie. Her parents live in the city." They owned one of the best occult shops in the city actually. The only person who made tarot cards better than them was Octavian and he sold the decks to them anyway for quick cash. "Come on. We'd better catch up to the senators."

College-age kids were hanging out at the fountain. Several of them waved at the senators as they passed. One guy in his late twenties stood at a bakery counter, flirting with a young woman who was buying coffee. An older couple was watching a little boy in diapers and a miniature Camp Jupiter shirt toddle after seagulls. Merchants were opening their shops for the day, putting out signs in Latin that advertised pottery, jewelry, and half-price tickets for the Hippodrome. Octavian was getting his usual cat calls from the people that wanted to dip their hands into Verus Family Fortune since the boy would need an heir to continue their line.

"All these people are demigods?" Percy asked.

"Or descended from demigods," Leila said, popping up beside them. "Like I told you, it's a good place to go to college or raise a family without worrying about monster attacks every day. Maybe two, three hundred people live here? The veterans act as, like, advisers and reserve forces as needed, but mostly they're just citizens living their lives."

The senators made their way to a big, white-domed building on the west end of the forum and Rue followed without a second thought.

---

Percy, Rue, and Frank sat on the left side of the semicircle. The ten senators and Nico occupied the rest of the front row. The upper rows were filled with several dozen ghosts and a few older veterans from the city, all in formal togas. Octavian stood in front with a Beanie Baby lion and a knife that he was twirling between his fingers. Reyna walked to the podium and raised her hand for attention. The seats behind her were empty, but one had a small velvet package on the seat.

"Right, this is an emergency meeting," she said. "We won't stand on formalities."

"I love formalities!" a ghost complained.

Reyna shot him a cross look.

"First of all," she said, "we're not here to vote on the quest itself. The quest has been issued by Mars Ultor, patron of Rome. We will obey his wishes. Nor are we here to debate the choice of Frank Zhang's companions."

"All three from the Fifth Cohort?" called out Hank from the Third.

"That's not fair."

"And not smart," said the boy next to him. "We know the Fifth will mess up. They should take somebody good."

Dakota got up so fast, he spilled Kool-Aid from his flask. "We were plenty good last night when we whipped your podex, Larry!"

"Enough, Dakota," Reyna said. "Let's leave Larry's podex out of this. As quest leader, Frank has the right to choose his companions. He has chosen Percy Jackson and Rue Harald."

A ghost from the second row yelled, "Absurdus! Frank Zhang isn't even a full member of the legion! He's on probatio. A quest must be led by someone of centurion rank or higher. This is completely—"

"Cato," Reyna snapped. "We must obey the wishes of Mars Ultor. That means certain ... adjustments."

Reyna clapped her hands, and Octavian came forward. He set down his knife and Beanie Baby and took the velvet package from the chair.

"Frank Zhang," he said, "come forward."

Frank glanced nervously at Percy. Rue wondered what he expected Percy to be able to do? The boy was still probatio himself. Then he got to his feet and approached the augur.

"It is my...pleasure," Octavian said, forcing out the last word. Rue thought he looked a little green in the face to be ignoring traditions in this way, "to bestow upon you the Mural Crown for being first over the walls in siege warfare." Octavian handed him a bronze badge shaped like a laurel wreath. "Also, by order of Praetor Reyna, to promote you to the rank of centurion."

He handed Frank another badge, a bronze crescent, and the senate exploded in protest.

"He's still a probie!" one yelled.

"Impossible!" said another.

"Water cannon up my nose!" yelled a third.

"Silence!" Octavian's voice sounded a lot more commanding than it had the previous night on the battlefield. His eyes flashed gold. "Our praetor recognizes that no one below the rank of centurion may lead a quest. For good or ill, Frank must lead this quest—so our praetor has decreed that Frank Zhang must be made centurion."

Rue was always just of how good an orator that Octavian was, but ast knew that it had its benefits. Rue had seen him talk down an entire enemy platoon during the Titan War before mercilessly slaughtering them after he learned that one of them had raped one of their own. The legion started calling him the Bloody Baron after that — much better than the one in Harry Potter but that may be Rue's distaste for the author showing.

Even now, he sounded reasonable and supportive, but his expression was pained. He carefully crafted his words to put all the responsibility on Reyna. This was her idea, he seemed to say.

If it went wrong, Reyna was to blame. If only Octavian had been the one in charge, things would have been done more sensibly. But alas, he had no choice but to support Reyna, because Octavian was a loyal Roman soldier.

Octavian managed to convey all that without saying it, simultaneously calming the senate and sympathizing with them. Rue bit back a smile. Yes, aster's teacher would definitely become praetor at this rate.

Reyna must have recognized this too. A look of irritation flashed across her face. "There is an opening for centurion," she said. "One of our officers, also a senator, has decided to step down. After ten years in the legion, she will retire to the city and attend college. Gwen of the Fifth Cohort, we thank you for your service."

Everyone turned to Gwen, who managed a brave smile. She looked tired from the previous night's ordeal, but also relieved.

"As praetor," Reyna continued, "I have the right to replace officers. I admit it's unusual for a camper on probatio to rise directly to the rank of centurion, but I think we can agree...last night was unusual. Frank Zhang, your ID, please."

Frank removed the lead tablet from around his neck and handed it to Octavian.

"Your arm," Octavian said.

Frank held up his forearm. Octavian raised his hands to the heavens. "We accept Frank Zhang, Son of Mārs, to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata for his first year of service. Do you pledge your life to the senate and people of Rome?"

Frank muttered something like "Ud-dud." Then he cleared his throat and managed: "I do."

"Then repeat after me," Octavian ordered. "Iurant autem milites omnia se strenue facturos quae praeceperit pretor, numquam deserturos militiam nec mortem recusaturos pro Romana republica!"

Frank repeated the words, a bit clumsy but he managed to get them out correctly.

The senators shouted, "Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

Fire blazed on Frank's arm. For a moment his eyes filled with terror, and Rue thought he might pass out. Ast could relate. Rue remembered when ast was inducted into the legion especially with that sinister oath. It meant that they should faithfully execute all that is commanded, that they shall never desert and or betray their service and that if they were to die, then they would die with honor for the Legion. It was one of the favored oaths of Rome for their more bloodthirsty soldiers. Chasing down those that broke their oaths and breaking them was their favorite past time.

The smoke and flame died, and new marks were seared onto Frank's skin: SPQR, an image of crossed spears, and a single stripe, representing the first year of service.

"You may sit down." Octavian glanced at the audience as if to say: This wasn't my idea, folks.

"Now," Reyna said, "we must discuss the quest."

The senators shifted and muttered as Frank returned to his seat.

"Did it hurt?" Percy whispered.

Frank looked at his forearm, which was still steaming. "Yeah. A lot." He seemed mystified by the badges in his hand—the centurion's mark and the Mural Crown—like he wasn't sure what to do with them.

"Here." Rue said, pinning the medals to his shirt. Ast kept aster's head tilted towards the conversation around them. "Let me."

"You deserve it, man," Percy said, smiling. "What you did last night? Natural leadership."

Frank scowled. "But centurion—"

"Centurion Zhang," called Octavian. "Did you hear the question?"

Frank blinked. "Um...sorry. What?"

Octavian turned to the senate and smirked, like What did I tell you?

"I was asking," Octavian said like he was talking to a three-year-old, "if you have a plan for the quest. Do you even know where you are going?"

"Um..."

Rue put aster's hand on Frank's shoulder and stood. "Weren't you listening last night, Octavian? Mārs was pretty clear. We're going to the land beyond the gods—Alaska."

The senators squirmed in their togas. Some of the ghosts shimmered and disappeared. Even Reyna's metal dogs rolled over on their backs and whimpered.

Finally, Senator Larry stood. "I know what Mars said, but that's crazy. Alaska is cursed! They call it the land beyond the gods for a reason. It's so far north, the Roman gods have no power there. The place is swarming with monsters. No demigod has come back from there alive since—"

"Since you lost your eagle," Percy said.

Larry was so startled; he fell back on his podex.

"Look," Percy continued, "I know I'm new here. I know you guys don't like to mention that massacre in the nineteen-eighties—"

"He mentioned it!" one of the ghosts whimpered.

"—But don't you get it?" Percy continued. "The Fifth Cohort led that expedition. We failed, and we have to be responsible for making things right. That's why Mars is sending us. This giant, the son of Gaea—he's the one who defeated your forces thirty years ago. I'm sure of it. Now he's sitting up there in Alaska with a chained death god, and all your old equipment. He's mustering his armies and sending them south to attack this camp."

"Really?" Octavian said. There was flash of bitterness in his eyes again. "You seem to know a lot about our enemy's plans, Percy Jackson."

Rue shifted because... it sounded like Octavian was calling him a spy—a traitor. But spy for who? A betrayer to who? Rome? Rue could almost feel the phantom movement of aster's waist beads. Had Rue somehow befriended a traitor? That was just aster's luck, but Nico said... but Nico couldn't be trusted that much either.

Percy took a deep breath.

"We're going to confront this son of Gaea," he said, managing to keep his composure. He must have worked out what Octavian was doing too. "We'll get back your eagle and unchain this god..." He glanced at Rue. "Thanatos, right?"

Rue nodded, a little absentminded. "Mors, in Roman. But his old Greek name is Thanatos. When it comes to Death...most are happy to let him stay Greek."

Octavian sighed in exasperation. "Well, whatever you call him...how do you expect to do all this and get back by the Feast of Fortuna? That's the evening of the twenty-fourth. It's the nineteenth now. Do you even know where to look? Do you even know who this son of Gaea is?"

"Yes." Rue said certainty. "I don't know exactly where to look, but I have a pretty good idea. Death calls to me. The giant's name is Alcyoneus."

That name seemed to lower the temperature in the room by fifty degrees. The senators shivered.

Reyna gripped her podium. "How do you know this, Rue? Because you're a child of Pluto?"

Yes. How else would Rue have access to the memories of a dead sibling?

Nico stood in his black toga.

"Praetor, if I may," he said. "Rue and I...we learned a little about the giants from our father. Each giant was bred specifically to oppose one of the twelve Olympian gods—to usurp that god's domain. The king of giants was Porphyrion, the anti-Jupiter. But the eldest giant was Alcyoneus. He was born to oppose Pluto. That's why we know of him in particular."

Reyna frowned. "Indeed? You sound quite familiar with him."

Rue shrugged, "We had sibling that fought against him before. Before Michael Varus... she gave her life to keep him a tomb and bought us more time to live."

"More time? Well, she didn't do too good of a job. He wiped them out," one of the Lares yelled.

Rue scoffed, skin flaring with power. "Alcyoneus is different than his siblings and she was like twelve. She sacrificed her life to keep him down otherwise... well, you didn't know he was there until today. Just imagine what he could have achieve if Michael have never gone and made us wary of the place and this quest had never been issued."

The room went silent as Nico picked at the edge of his toga. "Anyway...the giants were hard to kill. According to prophecy, they could only be defeated by gods and demigods working together."

Dakota belched. "Sorry, did you say gods and demigods...like fighting side by side? That could never happen!"

"It has happened," Nico said. "In the first giant war, the gods called on heroes to join them, and they were victorious. Whether it could happen again, I don't know. But with Alcyoneus ... he was different. He was completely immortal, impossible to kill by god or demigod, as long as he remained in his home territory—the place where he was born." Nico paused to let that sink in. "And if Alcyoneus has been reborn in Alaska—"

"Then he can't be defeated there," Rue finished. "Ever. By any means. Which is why our nineteen-eighties expedition was doomed to fail."

Another round of arguing and shouting broke out.

"The quest is impossible!" shouted a senator.

"We're doomed!" cried a ghost.

"More Kool-Aid!" yelled Dakota.

"Silence!" Reyna called. "Senators, we must act like Romans. Mars has given us this quest, and we have to believe it is possible. These three demigods must travel to Alaska. They must free Thanatos and return before the Feast of Fortuna. If they can retrieve the lost eagle in the process, so much the better. All we can do is advise them and make sure they have a plan."

Reyna looked at Percy without much hope. "You do have a plan?" Huh, from the look on her face, Rue would say that Octavian had nothing to worry about in regard to her attempting to steal Jason. Though ast wondered why she was looking at Percy instead of the leader of the quest or even at Rue, the higher-ranking centurion.

"First, I need to understand something." He turned toward Nico and Rue. "I thought Pluto was the god of the dead. Now I hear about this other guy, Thanatos, and the Doors of Death from that prophecy—the Prophecy of Seven. What does all that mean?"

Nico took a deep breath. "Okay. Pluto is the god of the Underworld, but the actual god of death, the one who's responsible for making sure souls go to the afterlife and stay there—that's Pluto's lieutenant, Thanatos. He's like...well, imagine Life and Death are two different countries. Everybody would like to be in Life, right? So, there's a guarded border to keep people from crossing back over without permission. But it's a big border, with lots of holes in the fence. Pluto tries to seal up the breaches, but new ones keep popping up all the time. That's why he depends on Thanatos, who's like the border patrol, the police."

"Thanatos catches souls," Percy said, "and deports them back to the Underworld."

"Exactly," Nico said. "But now Thanatos has been captured, chained up."

Frank raised his hand. "Uh...how do you chain Death?"

"It's been done before," Rue shrugged. "In the old days, a guy named Sisyphus tricked Death and tied him up. Another time, Hercules wrestled him to the ground."

"And now a giant has captured him," Percy said. "So, if we could free Thanatos, then the dead would stay dead?" He glanced at Gwen. "Um...no offense."

"It's more complicated than that," Nico said.

Dodie rolled his eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"You mean the Doors of Death," Reyna said, ignoring Dodie. "They are mentioned in the Prophecy of Seven, which sent the first expedition to Alaska—"

Cato, the ghost, snorted. "We all know how that turned out! We Lares remember!"

The other ghosts grumbled in agreement.

Nico put his finger to his lips. Suddenly all the Lares went silent. Some looked alarmed, like their mouths had been glued together. Rue burned with jealousy. Ast wished he had that power over certain living people...like Dodie, for instance.

"Thanatos is only part of the solution," Rue explained. "The Doors of Death...well, that's a concept even I don't completely understand. There are many ways into the Underworld—the River Styx, the Door of Orpheus —plus smaller escape routes that open up from time to time. With Thanatos imprisoned, all those exits will be easier to use. Sometimes it might work to our advantage and let a friendly soul come back—like Gwen here. More often, it will benefit evil souls and monsters, the sneaky ones who are looking to escape. Now, the Doors of Death—those are the personal doors of Thanatos, his fast lane between Life and Death. Only Thanatos is supposed to know where they are, and the location shifts over the ages. If I understand correctly, the Doors of Death have been forced open. Gaea's minions have seized control of them—"

"Which means Gaea controls who can come back from the dead," Percy guessed.

Nico nodded. "She can pick and choose who to let out—the worst monsters, the most evil souls. If we rescue Thanatos, that means at least he can catch souls again and send them below. Monsters will die when we kill them, like they used to, and we'll get a little breathing room. But unless we're able to retake the Doors of Death, our enemies won't stay down for long. They'll have an easy way back to the world of the living."

"Some have already came back," Rue warned, eyes glowing a milky white as ast looked out into space. "They return for revenge. For glory. Midas with the golden touch comes to bankroll the giants. The Carthaginian queen Dido and King Turnus of the Rutuli return to seek revenge on Lord Aeneas." Ectoplasm began to dripped down aster's face like tears before Nico strolled across the room, placing a grounding hand on aster's shoulder. Rue shook aster's head, coming back to the present.

"So we can catch them and deport them," Percy summed up, easily side stepping that lapse of control, "but they'll just keep coming back across."

"In a depressing nutshell, yes," Nico said.

Frank scratched his head. "But Thanatos knows where the doors are, right? If we free him, he can retake them."

"I don't think so," Nico said. "Not alone. He'd be fairly protected since he is the son of Nox, Gaia's sister but nothing more. He's no match for Gaea. That would take a massive quest...an army of the best demigods."

"Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death," Reyna said. "That's the Prophecy of Seven..." She looked at Percy, and for just a moment Rue could see how scared she was. She did a good job of hiding it, but Rue wondered if she'd had nightmares about what would happen when the camp was invaded by monsters that couldn't be killed. Octavian had already warned her. "If this begins the ancient prophecy, we don't have resources to send an army to these Doors of Death and protect the camp. I can't imagine even sparing seven demigods—"

"First things first." Percy said. "I don't know who the seven are, or what that old prophecy means, exactly. But first we have to free Thanatos. Mars told us we only needed three people for the quest to Alaska. Let's concentrate on succeeding with that and getting back before the Feast of Fortuna. Then we can worry about the Doors of Death."

"Yeah," Frank said in a small voice. "That's probably enough for one week."

"So you do have a plan?" Octavian asked skeptically.

Percy looked at his teammates. "We go to Alaska as fast as possible..."

"And we improvise," Rue said.

"A lot," Frank added.

Reyna studied them. She looked like she was mentally writing her own obituary.

"Very well," she said. "Nothing remains except for us to vote what support we can give the quest—transportation, money, magic, weapons."

"Praetor, if I may," Octavian said.

"Oh, great," Percy muttered. "Here it comes."

"The camp is in grave danger," Octavian said. "Two gods have warned us we will be attacked four days from now-"

"Three," Rue blurted. All eyes fluttered towards ast. Rue shifted. "Three gods warned us though I admit it was vague in itself." Rue told them about the series of thoughts, images, and sensations that occurred in aster's mind during the two week coma.

Octavian twitched, face going a bit pale as everyone else stewed in silence.

"We must not spread our resources too thin, especially by funding projects that have a slim chance of success." The boy was quick to gather himself though Rue noted he absolutely refused to look in their direction again. "Mārs has clearly chosen the least likely candidates for this quest. Perhaps that is because he considers them the most expendable. Perhaps Mārs is playing the long odds. Whatever the case, he wisely didn't order a massive expedition, nor did he ask us to fund their adventure. I say we keep our resources here and defend the camp. This is where the battle will be lost or won. If these three succeed, wonderful! But they should do so by their own ingenuity."

An uneasy murmur passed through the crowd. Frank jumped to his feet. Before he could start a fight, Percy said, "Fine! No problem. But at least give us transportation. Gaea is the earth goddess, right? Going overland, across the earth—I'm guessing we should avoid that. Plus, it'll be too slow."

Octavian laughed. "Would you like us to charter you an airplane?"

The idea made Rue, and it seemed like Percy also, nauseous. "No. Air travel...I have a feeling that would be bad, too. But a boat. Can you at least give us a boat?"

Rue made a grunting sound. Percy glanced over. Ast shook aster's head. A boat was just as bad. Rue may have been a child of the Underworld, but crashing on a plane or drowning at sea was not how ast wanted to joiner aster's Father's realm.

"A boat!" Octavian turned to the senators. "The son of Neptune wants a boat. Sea travel has never been the Roman way, but he isn't much of a Roman!"

"Octavian," Reyna said sternly, "a boat is little enough to ask. And providing no other aid seems very—"

"Traditional!" Octavian exclaimed. "It is very traditional. Let us see if these questers have the strength to survive without help, like true Romans!"

More muttering filled the chamber. The senators' eyes moved back and forth between Octavian and Reyna, watching the test of wills.

Reyna straightened in her chair. "Very well," she said tightly. "We'll put it to a vote. Senators, the motion is as follows: The quest shall go to Alaska. The senate shall provide full access to the Roman navy docked at Alameda. No other aid will be forthcoming. The three adventurers will survive or fail on their own merits. All in favor?"

Every senator's hand went up.

"The motion is passed." Reyna turned to Frank. "Centurion, your party is excused. The senate has other matters to discuss. And, Octavian, if I may confer with you for a moment."

Rue walked briskly out of the building. From a moment, Rue wished ast had a silk press so that ast can run aster's fingers through aster's hair. Great. Just great.

Something sparkled out the corner of ast's eye.

It was an emerald.

Rue growled as ast bent to pick it up. "So...we're pretty much toast?"

Frank nodded miserably. "If either of you wants to back out, I wouldn't blame you."

"Are you kidding?" Rue said. It was kind of obvious ast was chosen for this. "I've got nothing better to do."

Frank managed a smile. He turned to Percy.

"I'm with you," he told Frank. "Besides, I want to check out the Roman navy."

They were only halfway across the forum when someone called, "Jackson!" They turned and saw Octavian jogging toward them.

"What do you want?" Percy asked.

Octavian smiled. The look in his eyes begged for an altercation. Rue knew that the outcome would be... explosive. Percy may be stronger, but Octavian was a devious little shit and ast had seen many men fall to his sword. "Already decided I'm your enemy? That's a rash choice, Percy. I'm a loyal Roman."

Frank snarled. "You backstabbing, slimy—" Both Percy and Rue had to restrain him.

"Oh, dear," Octavian said, an amused smile twisting his lips. "Hardly the right behavior for a new centurion." He then visibly dismissed the boy, knowing that for all his bulk - Octavian was the more dangerous of the two. "Jackson, I only followed you because Reyna charged me with a message. She wants you to report to the principia without your—ah—two lackeys, here. Reyna will meet you there after the senate adjourns. She'd like a private word with you before you leave on your quest."

"What about?" Percy said.

"I'm sure I don't know." Octavian smiled wickedly, but Rue could see every lick of anger and bitterness in his eyes. "The last person she had a private talk with was Jason Grace. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Good luck and good bye, Percy Jackson."

---

Lunch felt like a funeral party and Rue had been to plenty of those.

(Funeral food was immaculate.)

Everybody ate. People talked in hushed tones. Nobody seemed particularly happy. The other campers kept glancing over at Percy like he was the corpse of honor. Rue ignored it at all, reaching past Pranjal for the bowl of collard greens and the Louisiana Hot Sauce.

Reyna made a brief speech wishing them luck. Octavian ripped open a Beanie Baby and pronounced grave omens and hard times ahead, but predicted the camp would be saved by an unexpected hero. Rue had saw that in their tarot cards and ast knew that he secretly wished that it was Jason appearing like a superhero from bad a movie. Then the other campers went off to their afternoon classes—gladiator fighting, Latin lessons, paintball with ghosts, eagle training, and a dozen other activities that sounded better than a suicide quest. Percy followed Frank to the barracks to pack.

Rue was pulled aside by both Pranjal and Octavian. The former going through aster's pack to make sure that ast had enough medical supplies for the hard times ahead and Octavian gifted ast a brand-new stack of tarot cards.

"Annia had been working on them before..." He trailed off, a flash of grief in his eyes before he took a deep breath. "You'll find that some of these cards take on a literal meaning if you utilize them in that way."

"What, the death card grants death," ast laughed. Octavian gave a barely-there smirk. "And the chariot summons a chariot."

"Why did she make them," Pranjal asked as he looked at the cards. Octavian shrugged, "She was fun like that." He tapped a finger against the cards. "I haven't tried them all, but I know for a fact that if you use the Strength card, then a lion appears, and you get almost godly strength for eight minutes. Once it deactivates, you're out of commission for another eight. They need time to replenish which happens faster under direct sunlight, but the quicker you use it say back-to-back then the worse the drawbacks."

Rue stared at the cards absently before turning to look at Octavian. "I'll protect them with my life."

Octavian gave her a soft smile, passing her some mortal money and a few snacks from his stash, as the three of them walked to where Percy and Frank were waiting.

"When you come back," Octavian murmured. "Do you think you can summon some aconite?"

Rue blanched. "I can try."

Bobby from the Fifth Cohort gave them a ride to the border of the valley on Hannibal.

Rue cast a glance over aster's home for the past few years. The Little Tiber snaked across golden pastures where the unicorns were grazing. The temples and forums of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. On the Field of Mars, engineers were hard at work, pulling down the remains of last night's fort and setting up barricades for a game of death ball. A normal day for Camp Jupiter—but on the northern horizon, storm clouds were gathering.

Shadows moved across the hills, and ast imagined the face of Gaea getting closer and closer.

Rue needed to save this place. It was aster's home. Rue might not fit in. Rue had never fit in anywhere. Ast was stuck between life and death, but this was aster's home. Rue had to protect it until the day they died and joined ast's Father's court.

They got off the elephant. Bobby wished them a safe journey. Hannibal wrapped the three questers with his trunk. Then the elephant taxi service headed back into the valley.

Percy turned to towards them, but Rue stepped around him, holding up aster's ID as a familiar voice said, "IDs, please."

A statue of Terminus appeared at the summit of the hill. The god's marble face frowned irritably. "Well? Come along!"

"You again?" Percy asked. "I thought you just guarded the city."

Terminus huffed. "Glad to see you, too, Mr. Rule Flouter. Normally, yes, I guard the city, but for international departures, I like to provide extra security at the camp borders. You really should've allowed two hours before your planned departure time, you know. But we'll have to make do. Now, come over here so I can pat you down."

"But you don't have—" Percy stopped himself. "Uh, sure."

He stood next to the armless statue. Terminus conducted a rigorous mental pat down.

"You seem to be clean," Terminus decided. "Do you have anything to declare?"

"Yes," Percy said. "I declare this is stupid."

"Hmph! Probatio tablet: Percy Jackson, Fifth Cohort, son of Neptune. Fine, go. Rue Harald, child of Pluto, Third Cohort. 3rd Centuria Princeps Prior. Fine. Any foreign currency or, ahem, precious metals to declare?"

"No," Rue muttered, rolling aster's eyes.

"Are you sure?" Terminus asked. "Because last time—"

Sheesh. Accidentally stab a couple of people with rubies and suddenly, you were the bad guy.

"No!"

"Well, this is a grumpy bunch," said the god. "Quest travelers! Always in a rush. Now, let's see—Frank Zhang. Ah! Centurion? Well done, Frank. And that haircut is regulation perfect. I approve! Off you go, then, Centurion Zhang. Do you need any directions today?"

"No. No, I guess not."

"Just down to the BART station," Terminus said anyway. "Change trains at Twelfth Street in Oakland. You want Fruitvale Station. From there, you can walk or take the bus to Alameda."

"You guys don't have a magical BART train or something?" Percy asked.

"Magic trains!" Terminus scoffed. "You'll be wanting your own security lane and a pass to the executive lounge next. Just travel safely and watch out for Polybotes. Talk about scofflaws—bah! I wish I could throttle him with my bare hands."

"Wait—who?" Percy asked.

Terminus made a straining expression, like he was flexing his nonexistent biceps. "Ah, well. Just be careful of him. I imagine he can smell a son of Neptune a mile away. Out you go, now. Good luck!"

An invisible force kicked them across the boundary. When Rue looked back, Terminus was gone, hiding the entire valley behind the barrier.

Percy looked at his friends. "Any idea what Terminus was talking about? Watch out for...Political something or other?"

"Poh-LIB-uh-tease?" Rue sounded out the name carefully. "Never heard of him. He's probably a giant though."

"Sounds Greek," Frank said.

"That narrows it down." Percy sighed. "Well, we probably just appeared on the smell radar for every monster within five miles. We'd better get moving."

It took them two hours to reach the docks in Alameda. Frank had stored his spear, bow, and quiver in a long bag made for skis. Rue knew ast looked hot with the way aster's waist beads wrapped around aster's waist surrounding the belly ring that ast got done as a dare.

Together the three of them looked like normal high schoolers on their way to an overnight trip. They walked to Rockridge Station, bought their tickets with mortal money, and hopped on the BART train.

They got off in Oakland. They had to walk through some rough neighborhoods, but nobody bothered them. Whenever the local gang members came close enough to look in Percy and Rue's eyes, they quickly veered away. Rue found themselves smirking just a bit. Percy had a fierce glare that seemed to say: However bad you think you are, I'm worse. And well, Rue radiated death. Pretty much nothing in the mortal world scared them.

In the late afternoon, they made it to the Alameda docks. Rue grimaced as ast looked out over San Francisco Bay and breathed in the salty sea air. Gods, ast hated the sea and the sky. Why did Gaea have to be the enemy? The earth and the shadows were much more preferable, dammit.

Dozens of boats were moored at the docks—everything from fifty-foot yachts to ten-foot fishing boats. He scanned the slips for some sort of magic vessel—a trireme, maybe, or a dragon-headed warship like he'd seen in his dreams.

"Um...you guys know what we're looking for," Percy asked. Frank shook his heads and Rue grimaced again because well... ast pointed towards the end of the dock.

The two males turned to look. At the end of the dock was a tiny boat, like a dinghy, covered in a purple tarp. Embroidered in faded gold along the canvas was S.P.Q.R.

Percy's confidence wavered. "No way."

He uncovered the boat, his hands working the knots like he'd been doing it his whole life. Under the tarp was an old steel rowboat with no oars. The boat had been painted dark blue at one point, but the hull was so crusted with tar and salt it looked like one massive nautical bruise.

On the bow, the name Pax was still readable, lettered in gold. Painted eyes drooped sadly at the water level, as if the boat were about to fall asleep. On board were two benches, some steel wool, an old cooler, and a mound of frayed rope with one end tied to the mooring. At the bottom of the boat, aplastic bag and two empty Coke cans floated in several inches of scummy water.

"Behold," Rue said. "The mighty Roman navy."

"There's got to be a mistake," Frank said. "This is a piece of junk."

Rue shrugged. "Ancient Rome might have partaken in sea warfare, but it was never their preferred method. It's not surprising that New Rome wouldn't invest in especially since we don't usually have kids of Neptune." It wasn't excuse, but it was the truth.

Percy jumped aboard, and the hull hummed under his feet, responding to his presence. He gathered up the garbage in the cooler and put it on the dock. He willed the scummy water to flow over the sides and out of the boat. Then he pointed at the steel wool, and it flew across the floor, scrubbing and polishing so fast, the steel began to smoke. When it was done, the boat was clean. Percy pointed at the rope, and it untied itself from the dock.

Rue felt jealous flow through ast. Of course, he had perfect control over his powers too. Was it just aster that didn't fit in even with the kids of the Big Three (was it because ast didn't have a Y chromosome? Sexist assholes!)

"This'll do," he said. "Hop in."

Rue sniffed, pushing the inadequacy away. Rue was talented in other areas and aster's powers were strong if unpredictable and unstable. None of them could beat that if they didn't know what to expect!

Ast climbed aboard, and while Frank looked a little stunned, he hurried to follow. When they had settled on the seats, Percy concentrated, and the boat slipped away from the dock.

"Get off my ship," Percy growled into the air.

"Uh, what?" Frank asked.

"Nothing," he said. Was he talking to himself? Oh, gods. Rue was going to die. "Let's see what this rowboat can do."

He turned the boat to the north, and in no time, they were speeding along, heading for the Golden Gate Bridge.

---

Word Count: 15,161

WORDS TO KNOW:

Mārs Ultor - Mārs, the Avenger

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:

-Making Jason endgame with anyone that isn't Piper-

Me: yes, i do know JasVia was endgame in SP but this is not SP.

-inherent mumbling-

Me: if Frazel can happen despite the 3-year age difference, then ThunderLyre can with their 2-year age difference.

-inherent mumbling-

Me: lets talk about Rue instead. aren't they wonderful?

1) The Son of Neptune is actually my least favorite of the series. I honestly only like it because of Camp Jupiter and I am so sad that we never get more details about them.

2) I never understood why Frank immediately assumed Octavian killed Gwen. The first thing he did after recognizing the weapon was look for Octavian. Not any other First Cohort member. Any of them could have done it, but Octavian was to blame just because he didn't have his pilum on him. Like what if he dropped it before then? What if he sat it somewhere else while Frank was too busy celebrating his win? Every thought about that, buddy boy. Literally, right after Frank notes that the weapon belonged to the First Cohort, it goes:

[Frank scanned the crowd for Octavian. The centurion was watching with more interest than concern, as if he were examining one of his stupid gutted teddy bears. He didn't have a pilum. Blood roared in Frank's ears. He wanted to strangle Octavian with his bare hands, but at that moment, Gwen gasped.]

3) Rue's waistbands are made of precious metals of the earth and snapdragon flowers. The 'Snapdragon' is a flower that when the petals die, they resemble skulls. They have others made from different kind of flora but prefers the snap dragons for the aesthetic.

4) Rue owns a few xylaria polymorphia, commonly known as dead man's fingers. It's a saprobic fungus that grows at the bases of rotting tree stumps and decaying wood.

5) Octavian hears the correct pronunciation for the gods' names and immediately starts pronouncing it the same.

6) If you read Blessings of Khaos, then you'd notice that Octavian "Tav" Verus made tarot cards for Medea!

7) I will be using the names of some of the Etruscan deities for the Greeks gods whose name did not change when they were romanized:

a) Makaria is Naenia

b) Mêlinoê is Mania

c) Charu is Kharôn

---

INFORMATION TO KNOW:

1) Aconite (Monkshood, Wolfsbane): When Kerberos drooled while facing the Herkales during his labors, the canine's spittle landed on the earth and became the aconite plant. Aconite was also the deadly plant used in the attempted poisoning of Theseus by Medea.

2) Technically speaking, centurions had to be at least 30 years of age, literate (to read written orders), have letters of recommendation, and at least several years of military service. As a commander, a centurion had to be able to maintain his troops' morale in peace and inspire his men in battle. But you know, FICTION. There's a lot more, but I'm doing like Rick and using what I like while disregard the others (unlike Rick, I'm also trying to keep it somewhat accurate). The first centuria of every cohors was its senior, with the first cohors following suit for the entire legion. There were five centuriae in the first cohors as opposed to the normal number of six:

1st Cohors, Centuriones known as the Primi Ordines:

1st Centuria Primus Pilus

2rd Centuria Princeps Prior

3rd Centuria Princeps Posterior

2nd Cohors:

1st Centuria Pilus Prio

2nd Centuria Pilus Posterior

3rd Centuria Princeps Prior

3) The sacramentum militare was the oath taken by soldiers in pledging their loyalty to the consul in the Republican era or later to the emperor.

a. Iurant autem milites omnia se strenue facturos quae praeceperit imperator, numquam deserturos militiam nec mortem recusaturos pro Romana republica

b. It means: "But the soldiers swear that they shall faithfully execute all that the Emperor commands, that they shall never desert the service, and that they shall not seek to avoid death for the Roman republic!"

c. I just switched out Emperor for Praetor. It seems more sinister and serious than the one Rick wrote.