Camp Jupiter forces me to be creative and to really work on making him epic. There really was never a good chance to do that in CHB, but here... I have every thing I need to make it realistic.

Rowan was limping within the first ten minutes of training with Lupa. She had one of her minions, her pack train with him. The moment they woke that next day, they ran through the wilderness, which was exhausting as the wolves were fast but they were allowing him to keep pace. On and on this went until it was lunchtime and sparring time. He had to spar to eat, so when the wolf lunged at him, he threw himself to the side and full tackled the wolf to the side with his whole body weight.

The thing whimpered as he held it to the ground, using his body to pin it fiercely. "Give!"

Wolfie one growled, his claws cutting into Rowan's arms, but it gave in after a long minute.

Lupa came over and breathed against his weeping wounds, and they sealed shut. 'You fight well, for one so mortal.'

Rowan nodded. "I have been fighting for survival since I came out of the womb. Foster care, bad parents. You get the idea. I wrestled for years, and did football. Hated both, but they come in handy."

She nodded, huffing. 'You've earned lunch. We will continue to fight, molding you to survive. Now... come, it is time for food.'

As time went on, about two weeks specifically, she taught him many skills. First was listening to his instincts, which came in handy every time he spared. She taught him to withstand pain, from each fight and the countless wounds and bruises he gained. She taught him to pay attention to his surroundings, to never ignore what he sensed and felt. She taught him to fight, and to take advantage of anything he could. How to channel his "Wolf Stare" to intimidate people as much as he needed.

He favorite skill had to be energy sensing, for it was proof of all he had come to accept about to the monsters and gods that Lupa instructed him to serve and honor.

'Energy is the key to magic, to seeing through the Mist and so on. You must master this skill, to forever be a part of this world of ours. You have already felt this, by feeling the Wolf House's sacred energy. Finding this sense in yourself is key. Mediation can help but you must learn to feel it without constant focus, it must be pure instinct. Now... I want you to reach out, and find my energy, home in on it and allow yourself to feel.'

It was with this collection of skills that Rowan was accepted to Graduate Wolf Boot Camp. By it's end, he was down like five pounds and felt stronger than he could remember. With her blessing, and a hug ( she was so fluffy!) he was allowed to go to Camp Jupiter, following the trail of energy outwards and towards the West.

He found it, oddly enough, without any monsters attacking. He knew they were real, but as he was purely mortal, he knew no one would really pay him any attention. It only took like a day to find Camp Jupiter's entrance. It was at a tunnel, just beyond a stretch of highway. Thankfully it wasn't busy, so he managed to rush through, where he saw two kids, a tall one with a Kool-Aid stain on his mouth, and a girl with pretty athletic features standing guard. They were holding swords and wore purple shirts under their armor.

"HALT!" The girl said, clearly in charge. "Who are you?"

"Rowan... no last name. I was sent by Lupa, I am mortal."

The girl nodded, looking at him all over. "Dakota will take you inside. Do not act up, or you will regret it."

Dakota, the Kool-Aid boy, nodded. "Follow me." And he opened the door.

The tunnel cut through solid rock, about the width and height of a school hallway. At first, it looked like a typical maintenance tunnel, with electric cables, warning signs, and fuse boxes on the walls, lightbulbs in wire cages along the ceiling. As they ran deeper into the hillside, the cement floor changed to tiled mosaic. The lights changed to reed torches, which burned but didn't smoke. A few hundred yards ahead, Rowan saw a square of daylight.

Rowan gaped as they exited the tunnel. Spread out at his feet was a bowl-shaped valley several miles wide. The basin floor was rumpled with smaller hills, golden plains, and stretches of forest. A small clear river cut a winding course from a lake in the center and around the perimeter, like a capital G. In the center of the valley, nestled by the lake, was a small city of white marble buildings with red-tiled roofs. Some had domes and columned porticoes, like national monuments. Others looked like palaces, with golden doors and large gardens. He could see an open plaza with freestanding columns, fountains, and statues. A five-story-tall Roman coliseum gleamed in the sun, next to a long oval arena like a racetrack.

Across the lake to the south, another hill was dotted with even more impressive buildings—temples that oozed faint magic he could all but taste. Several stone bridges crossed the river as it wound through the valley, and in the north, a long line of brickwork arches stretched from the hills into the town.

The strangest part of the valley was right below him. About two hundred yards away, just across the river, was some sort of military encampment. It was about a quarter mile square, with earthen ramparts on all four sides, the tops lined with sharpened spikes. Outside the walls ran a dry moat, also studded with spikes. Wooden watchtowers rose at each corner, manned by sentries with oversized, mounted crossbows. Purple banners hung from the towers. A wide gateway opened on the far side of camp, leading toward the city. A narrower gate stood closed on the riverbank side. Inside, the fortress bustled with activity: dozens of kids going to and from barracks, carrying weapons, polishing armor. Rowan heard the clank of hammers at a forge and smelled meat cooking over a fire.

They reached the riverbank and Rowan groaned, the energy oozing from the current was incredible, it made him tingle with raw masculine energy in the same way Lupa did. The current was fast, but the river didn't look deep. Only a stone's throw across stood the gates of the fort.

"Follow me, across the Little Tiber, and I will hand you off to the sentries." Dakota said, his tone a tad friendlier.

He forged into the river. It was icy cold, much swifter than he'd imagined, but that didn't bother him. The rawness of it's essence filled him with the agony of Rome's strength. He shivered and smiled all at once. Quickly, he hurried onwards until he reached the other side and saw the gates opening up.

Up on the watchtowers, horns blew and a boy dressed in purple and jeans, with blonde hair and blue eyes and a scar on his lip approached. His aura was intense, so much so that Rowan could feel it even when he could not from the other two. He was powerful that much was clear, in a way that the others were not.

"I am Jason Grace... who are you?"

"Rowan, no last name. I am mortal, but Lupa guided me here. I passed her boot camp."

Jason chuckled. "I can tell... come with me, to the Augur, and we will see if you to be accepted into camp. You can go, Dakota." Dakota nodded, and hurried away, back across the river and to the entrance of Camp Jupiter.

"Say... Jason?" Rowan asked as they moved onward through the gates. "Can I learn magic here, I am no demigod or legacy, I am kind of at a disadvantage."

The boy smiled, looking warm and kind. " I cannot answer that, not yet... but maybe. Now, let's go see... ugh, Octavian." His tone made it very, very clear he was not fond of this boy. "Then to see our Praetors, Alex and Chandler."

"Sounds like a plan. Then a bath, I am tired of being stinky."

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a lovely chapter.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.