When Fate's too Cruel

by Optimus-Maximus-Prime

(cue creepy tinkle) The start of this rhyme starts at the beginning of time, when 'ol Pandy opened that walnut, let out the mosquitos of doom, the fates cut a string, 'tis only when the world starts to strut, for he didn't die, defied the rules of demise, reformed in the void, glitched, and they'll be the ones, to end the existence of evil, with something-ness or nothing-ness

7. Hmm I don't like you!

p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"strongemspan style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Percy/span/em/strong/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I wake up in a weird cabin. The bed is soft and fluffy, but I feel out of place and every part of my body tingles. It feels like needles were kept in an oven and then stabbed me from the inside./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I look around the room, trying to figure out where I am. The cabin is cosy and rustic, with wooden walls and furniture. There are some posters of Greek gods and heroes on the walls, and a shelf full of books and trophies. A bronze sword hangs above the fireplace, gleaming in the light./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"There is a tall glass of frothy honey-like liquid with a little umbrella on top sitting on the bedside table. I want to reach out and take it, but I notice a person half asleep leaning on the wall./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"A girl stands over in the corner, blonde and with piercing grey eyes, not more than my age. The moment I stretch out my hand to grab the glass, she wakes up. She looks at me with hopeful eyes, and boy, are those eyes intense. I can imagine her cheering on her favourite team in baseball. I stand up and look her straight in the eye./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Where's my mom and Grover, and the other guy?" I whisper and immediately regret it. My throat burns and a small convulsion shakes my body. I grab the drink from the smooth lacquered bedside stand. I take a huge sip, gulping it down, grateful for the warm soothing feeling that eases the burning cough. My eyes go Frisbee size, I have just noticed the taste, which is like a gooey blue chocolate chip cookie that turned to liquid and kept its flavour. The liquid looks a bit like honey and yet has such a taste. Then almost immediately, the girl yelps and snatches it from my hand./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Not too much! It'll kill you!" She chides, nodding towards the drink. She has a sharp commanding voice, like she was meant to boss people around./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Well?" I ask./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Grover's outside, taking a rest. He's been sitting next to you, waiting for you to wake up. And the other guy's in the Hermes cabin." She explains./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""And my mom?"/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She looks away, gazing out the window./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The simple gesture packs a blow. My breath is knocked out, and I slump down against the wall./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Having nothing else to think about, I look out the window. The window and the scenery behind it are like an ideal photo frame. The window frame is made of birch wood, contrasting with the dark pine wood of the cabin. Behind the window is a brilliant scenery of rolling grass, summer flowers, a forest lining the field, and pretty butterflies gracefully fluttering around. I almost wonder if it's one of those weird hologram things, projecting the amazing view in front of me, but then reality sinks in./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"My mother has given up her life for me and I lie on the bed, admiring the view. She had risked her life coming to this camp. Now I would never see her again./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"No!/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I clear the bad thoughts from my mind. I'll get her back, no matter what! If the Minotaur was real, then so is Greek mythology. And that means there's an Underworld. Didn't Orpheus almost get his beloved out of the Underworld? If he can, so can I./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Stop staring out the window, you look like a barn owl, glaring at everything and leaving little presents everywhere." She chides./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I ignore her./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""So, are gods real? Like Zeus and Hera and the others?" I ask, with a little contempt, because hey, she just called me a barn owl./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Yes, and so are monsters. And the bull monster you fought was-"/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""The Minotaur, right?" I interrupt./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She does not look happy to be interrupted, but she continues./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Yes, the son of Pasiphae. He was after you because he had a grudge against Poseidon for cursing his mother for giving birth to him."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""But why would the Minotaur come after me? I'm no relative of Poseidon."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""He sensed godly blood in you, so he attacked you, wanting to kill you because you are a descendant of a god."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"For absolutely no reason at all, I raise my hand and look at it. My hand looks like it has aged thirty or forty years. I almost freak out./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""You used too much of your godly power, damaging the mortal parts of your body." The girl explains as if it's the easiest thing in the world./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I realize that I have officially had the longest conversation with a girl whose name I don't even know. Not to mention that she looks pretty cool./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""What's your name?" I ask curiously./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She looks at me as if I had asked her to go and bang her head on a tree./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Seriously, what's your name?" I ask, shooting her my most pleading gaze./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She sighs and crosses her arms. "I'll tell you once we meet the director of the camp." She says, glaring at me, daring me to plead further./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Well, I can't keep calling you Ms. Scary all the time, can I?" I ask, channelling some of my inner snarky sides./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She cracks a small smile but quickly hides it. "It's Annabeth, and it's not at all nice meeting you." She replies after a minute of deafening silence, rolling her eyes./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She then races off, leaving a sheen of fine white mist behind her and her blonde hair billowing behind her like a cloud that got in front of the setting sun./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""It's a nice name!" I call out to her./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I waited for a few minutes, hoping she would come back. But she doesn't. I feel a pang of loneliness and confusion. What is this place? Who are these people? What do they want from me?/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I'm about to get up and look for her when a face appears in the window. I stare at it for a while, trying to figure out who the guy is, until I realize that it's the guy who had saved me and Grover./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He looks at me with pitch-black eyes so long that I realize his eyes are so black that you can't even tell whether he has an iris. He turns and heads over to the door. A second later, the guy appears in the doorway./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He has a casual and confident demeanour like he owns the place. He wears an orange hoodie and loose jeans that show off his muscular physique. He has messy black hair that falls over his forehead and a faint scar on his cheek. He looks like one of those 'popular' kind of kids at school who always got along with everyone and were cool in school. I hated those people. All my life I had been teased and mentally tortured by those kinds of boys./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't realize that the guy has said something to me. He points at the empty cup of the honey-melted cookie drink and he grabs it. He snaps his left hand while holding the cup in his right, and suddenly, the honey-like fluid swirls in the glass, forming a vortex and then stops when it fills the mug./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Cool./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I reach for the glass and he hands me the whole glass. He slips his hand into one of the side pockets of his hoodie./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Thanks," I say, taking a sip of the delicious drink./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He nods and smiles slightly. "No problem!"/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"His face was just wow, it was a masterpiece. He looked like the kind of guy who decided that he was Robin Hood and auditioned for Iron Man. His face would make any model or actor go and throw themselves into the garbage bin./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Isn't that grey-eyed girl kind of creepy?" He asked, trying to break the ice. His voice sounded like he had smoothed his throat with butter. His voice reminded me of the colour white, which was weird./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""I think all girls have creepy genes in them, and that girl has an extra two sets," I said, cracking a grin./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He grinned too, his pale face lighting up./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Come on, Grover told me to come get you to meet this weirdo cherub who must've grown up in a trailer park. And some guy called Chiron. He's waiting for you there." He pointed to a farmhouse which was a little down the hill./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Am I fit for moving, or exercise?" I questioned. The guy rolled his eyes./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""You wimping out on me already?" He asked, trudging out, motioning for me to follow him. Oh, he did not just taunt me./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I took a shaky breath, stretched my toes, threw off my covers and flopped out of bed. The boy pointed toward a pair of sneakers which I recognized as mine. They were now looking like someone dumped them in a pond and then let them roll down a hill of sandpaper for the rest of eternity./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I followed him out and finally understood how big this place was, feeling the cool morning air press into my lungs./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"A whole hillside was split out into various parts of the camp. My little cabin happened to be perched on the very top of the hill, right next to the humongous pine tree that happened to be a weird place for it to grow, because it was literally at the very top of the hill and also was standing solo. The sea glittered a mile and a half down the hill and a few canoes glided in a shimmering lake, under the shade of a few trees./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Random Greek structures were scattered here and there downhill and because I was almost on the top of the hill, I could see everything in an amazing one-eighty-degree view. An open-air pavilion stood proudly showing off its white columns, like it was showing off its teeth, and was only a little away from us and a sandpit, in which kids played with satyrs (without the fake shoes) played volleyball, and a circular arena that was one-third the size of the coliseum stood farther on the way down to my left./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The weirdest part was that all the structures looked as good as new, unlike the ancient ruins of the Greek empire. And not to mention, everyone wore orange tees with the same words written on them: Camp Half-Blood. Some kids were practising various skills in different areas./span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Some kids trained in an archery range and all of the arrows looked pretty sharp and real. A few kids were sparring in the arena with real gleaming bronze weapons. Yeah, you heard me right, the weapons were real, and they were slicing through the dummies like a hot knife through butter./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I looked back and saw the guy a little downhill. I hate ADHD./span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I sprinted down, careful not to slip on the dewy, summery grass under my shoes until we reached what I could only describe as a massive bungalow disguised as a farmhouse. Its misty whiteboarding and brilliantly coloured panels gave it the old town farmhouse vibes, but the sheer size of the whole thing overwrote that impression./span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"We entered the house and walked around a little until we saw a backdoor that felt familiar. I realized that it was the place where I had collapsed. I also remembered the girl now, she had said something to an old bearded guy wearing a strangely familiar tweed jacket and a scraggly beard. What had she said again? Racking my brain for anything, something about me being the one. For what, being her boyfriend? Yeah right, bring it on./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The guy followed me with an infinitely bigger aura of confidence. On the porch of the farmhouse, I saw two men, sitting opposite to each other and parallel to our point of view./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"One of the men looked like a spoiled kid who stayed spoiled and grew up in a trailer park. I instantly disliked him, his vibes were oddly extreme and it seemed as if he was older than he looked. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He turned his head and looked at me. I almost flinched because he looked at me as if I was a half-eaten doughnut he found in his underwear. He snorted in disgust and I felt like doing the same. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He was plump, with round cheeks, a double chin, a classic hobo style of an undershirt and a jacket, and hair so dark, it looked like it had been dipped in grape juice mixed with ink. His eyes were like raisins; deep purple or black, I couldn't decide. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The other guy was disabled, and I instantly felt a deep respect for him. People who are disabled face more scorn and disgrace than anyone else, especially people in wheelchairs who sit in front of grown-up hubbubs… cherub… and I kind of recognized him. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He was wearing a tweed jacket, which looked like it had been used so regularly that lint practically stuck to everything it touched, a scraggly brown beard, and thinning brown hair. He looked strangely positioned, like he was uncomfortable, which I kind of understood because he was paralyzed from the waist down. I'd feel uncomfortable too if I sat like that for most of my life, and that's an understatement./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"It wasn't until he turned his head around and examined us that I understood who he was. "Mr. Brunner!" I exclaimed, practically hopping over the simple porch railing./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Who?" says the guy who brought me here./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I ignore him or probably don't even register what he said because my brain is exploding. I almost pull him into a hug until I realize that I'm not up to that level of friendship to hug him. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The not-Latin-teacher looks almost, ALMOST, as happy as I am to see him. His lips curl up into a grin and smile lines appear all over his face, and he gets that glint in his eyes, like when he put all the correct answers in our pop quiz option b./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Percy! Glad to see that you are out of bed! I have been worried! Take a seat, we have a lot to discuss, because the usual introduction movie will not suffice." He speaks, sounding grateful, sad and happy to see me at the same time. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I look at the guy and he shrugs. "Ah, I see you have met him too. It's a very good thing that you both came here together. Now I will not have to repeat myself." Mr. Brunner says, offering me a chair to his left and the other guy a chair to his right./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The cherub snorts. "Mr. Brunner? That's Chiron, you dimwit!"/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I almost snap back with a comment about his stage of evolution, but gives me a look that tells me to stop./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I look down. I hate being bad-mouthed. The weird cherub guy snores. Mr. Brunn- No- Chiron is suddenly very interested in his cards./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The cherub guy suddenly snorts and wakes up. Wait, did he fall asleep for 2 minutes? Talk about a power nap./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Who are you? Oh, right! The new camper. Well if I have to, welcome to Camp Half-Blood, demigod, and don't expect me to be nice to you."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"His aura suddenly changes. There was no aura at first, like a wispy layer of white smog outlining him, but now, there is a purple aura around him, like purple confetti that keeps exploding in a purple colour. Abruptly, he snaps his fingers./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"A can of Coke whirls in the air in the middle of the table and turns into a spinning blur of red and black. It whizzes to his hands, he pops it open and takes a sip, making a face after tasting it. The Coke now has a weird purple aura, almost like a part of the cherub is infused into it. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I swear to god that I'm never drinking coke again./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The other guy, I'll call him Kudos, because why not, stares towards the distance as if the cherub had done nothing more impressive than rub his head while patting his stomach at the same time. I hurry away from the cherub./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The cherub guy glares at us./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Mortals these days, just look at him." he mutters pointedly/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I'm starting to dislike him even more./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Chiron just sighs, as if he has seen the same magic trick more than enough times./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Mr. D, please, he just lost his mother."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""I just don't care." The guy grits out./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Grover suddenly appears out of the tree line, followed by the grey-eyed girl, Annabeth. /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Kudos catches a glimpse and turns to me, grinning. I return the smile. The satyr reaches us and grips the railing, panting hard. The satyr looks at me, nods to Kudos, and stares in fear at Mr. D as if the plump, spoiled-looking guy was holding a trigger to an explosive powerful enough to decimate this hill./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Something clicks in my mind. The leopard-skin style shirt, purple eyes, drink conjuring, Grover scared out of his fake shoes, and not to mention, he called me a mortal. Just who did this guy think he was? A god? Wait./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Leopard, satyr, purple colour, drinks, immortal?/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"My eyes widen. This puny little cherub is an actual god? There is no way./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Chiron sees my expression, as I stare slack-jawed at Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, and nods in approval like I just answered a five-mark question correctly. My brain stretches to expand to take it all in. Gods exist. I swear that I lose all my grey brain cells there. How come I did not notice them? And why did the guy call me a demigod? Doesn't that mean I'm half human half god?/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I also realize another thing. If my knowledge of Greek mythology is up to date, Chiron is a centaur. A freakin', down-to-the-earth, very real centaur. Half man half horse. And that also means that the bull guy that had appeared during my excursion to this camp was also real. Very real, and half bovine half masculine./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"My heart sinks again. That also implies again that my mother is in a pit. Not dead. But probably starving./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Kudos also nods towards me./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Wait, how did he know that the gods were real before me? He and I came to camp at the same time./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""I would suppose that you don't know how to play pinochle?" the cherub-god grunts./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""You would be supposedly correct" I reply./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The cherub god glares at me, and suddenly, his aura starts flaring again, until it envelops the whole place. A little fire burns behind his eyes. Suddenly, his aura blasts up, and covers the whole area. A grey burst settles on him and pushes his aura back down to him./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The guy almost topples over and looks exhausted. He groans suddenly, like his mother had just told him to put out the trash. He then starts glowing. Chiron gasps and clambers towards me, but the cherub god suddenly starts floating and explodes in a series of flashes. In his place floats a man who looks like a god. I blurt out to ask what the guy had done to the cherub god and who he was./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"A crack echoes throughout the whole room and Chiron half shouts, ''Close your eyes, Percy!''/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Too late he says so because the guy explodes once again and disappears. The light dies down and I glance at Kudos, who has his hands clamped around his eyes. Chiron is blinking hard and both Grover and Annabeth are looking at the floor, squeezing their eyes shut so hard, it had to hurt. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 6.0pt 0in .0001pt 0in;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Nothing happened? WHAT?" Chiron screams. Rolling his wheelchair towards me, he pats my face and checks my eyes, like a bomb blew up in my face. He looks at my clothes and gasps. His eyes widen and suddenly, everything warps. Everything gets a blue tinge and everything pulls back to the time when the cherub is god-guy./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Except the cherub guy is not there./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I look at Annabeth in shock. She and Chiron had just finished speaking. Kudos had kept his legs on the table and was chilling, not very concerned. Grover was looking scared shitless, still clenching the wooden railing./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I feel a surge of panic and confusion./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Where'd that weird cherub guy go?" I practically scream, gaining Chiron's attention. Thunder suddenly booms overhead, making us all jump./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"He frowns, "How, my child, did you know that Mr. D was here, and how would you know he was ever here? He's out on a job, but surely you can't know! He left a few weeks back and you had come just now." His frown turns deeper, "Are you sure that there was a person who looked like a cherub here." He inquires, his tone turning sharper. I realize that I might as well have 'spy' written on my forehead if I'd agreed./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""No, it's just that there was a weird dream I had. It had the cherub guy and everyone was sitting just like this, so I thought that it was some kind of vision so I had to ask."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I decided to store what just happened in the mental box that was labelled 'Remember at the end of the world.'/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Everyone looked at me like I had gone a little nuts./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""It's nothing, I didn't mean it." I sigh-whisper. Chiron's stare stays for a while like he's figured out what I was talking about. He turns to Annabeth and Grover and talks for a minute. Kudos just glances around. Suddenly, I see something odd about Annabeth. She has a weird grey aura around her./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Annabeth waves her hand at me and Kudos, her eyes lingering a second longer at Kudos than me. She looks back at Chiron and mutters something like, "If I must."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"She glares at me, then sighs one of her famous sighs and then motions for me to follow her. Kudos and I stand up, following the girl out of the farmhouse. We walk past the front of the farmhouse and for just a moment, I see something move in the top window in the attic./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I shiver, cold tingles climbing up my back. I tap on Kudos's shoulder and nod my head towards the window, and he shakes his head, refusing to acknowledge it./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Our trip around the place is short, Annabeth only talks when she needs to and the only people who are talking are me and Kudos and after a while, we just get bored and decide to talk about everything else once Annabeth isn't around./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"We reach this weird pavilion, and Annabeth tells us that cabin 12 is the place where me and Kudos are gonna stay. She points uphill and a slew of cabins are placed in a curve, almost like an omega. I take it all in awe. It's almost sunset and everything looks cool. A girl is tending to the flames in the middle of the pavilion, and the flames grow up to an impressive length. Seriously, what was she using as fuel? Rocket accelerant?/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I shrug and turn towards Kudos to tell him about the weird golden shimmering house kind of thing a few hundred meters away but he looks like he'd seen a god or something and only then do I notice that the fire I thought was burning high is only a pile of embers and the real fire is coming from the girl, blazing high above the trees, harmless to the plants and trees but still intimidating./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"We almost walk over to the girl in a trance until Annabeth grabs hold of both mine and Kudos's shoulders./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Where are you two going? We're supposed to head to the arena. We're going to have sword practice with all the campers. C'mon! We're getting late." She snaps./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"We hurry down a small stone path until we arrive at the stone pavilion that I had seen earlier./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"The whole pavilion greets us with cheers and shouts as we enter. There are dozens of kids wearing orange T-shirts with different symbols on them. Some are holding swords, shields, spears or bows. Some are practising their moves on dummies or each other. Some are sitting on benches or tables, watching or chatting./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Annabeth leads us to a table where some spare weapons are lying around./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Here," she says, handing me a bronze sword. "This is a celestial bronze sword. It can harm monsters and gods, but not mortals. It's also very light and durable. Try it out."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I take the sword and feel its weight. An involuntary shiver went up my back. This sword could kill people. The blade turned heavy and unbalanced as if it didn't want me to hold it./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Thanks," I say, admiring the blade./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"Kudos gets a similar sword from Annabeth./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;""Now, follow me," she says, walking towards the centre of the pavilion. "I'll introduce you to some of the other campers and explain the rules of the practice."/span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I follow her, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. I wonder what kind of challenges we will face in the arena. I hope I don't embarrass myself in front of everyone./span/p
p style="margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; user-select: text; word-break: break-word; line-height: var(-cib-type-body2-line-height); font-variation-settings: var(-cib-type-body2-font-variation-settings); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #111111;"I also hope that Mr. D doesn't show up again. He was the last thing I needed right now./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"He paces around a few straw dummies with straw hats and points out almost all the weak points in the dummy./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"The others slink into their places and I almost feel like I came on a friendly outing. My outing thoughts get shredded by the sword along with one of the dummies with perfectly practised ease. Annabeth sits to my right and Kudos sits to my left, and I almost expect to be holding a box full of aromatic popcorn. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"A guy in the centre talks to everyone and swings his sword around. He has sandy hair and brilliant blue eyes. He had a movie star smile, but it was half-ruined by the scar that ran from his right eye to his chin. He had an orange t-shirt with camp half-blood printed on it, blue track pants and a hand in the pocket that screamed 'cool'. Something about his vibes creeps me out. I don't like that guy at all./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I look at the guy, and like I couldn't care any less, I listen to what he says. Something about sword styles and parry techniques. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I wonder who it is and turn to Annabeth, but Kudos beats me to the question./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Who's that?" He asks./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Annabeth hides behind her blonde hair and replies with what I interpret as almost admiration, "That's Luke, he's the best swordsman in the past century and he's the trainer for swordsmen. He's going to hold a sort of a tournament and show us the flaws in the person's techniques."/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"After a few minutes, the summer night smell and the buzz of insects get to me and I almost doze off. I did doze off until I realised that Luke had called Kudos./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Yes, you! What's your name?" he boomed to Kudos./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos, taken by surprise, had completely broken out of his character and looked like a deer caught in headlights, and I realized that he had no idea what his name was. What kind of person doesn't even know his name? If someone would've asked me that question, I would've answered, ' A person who fell out of the sky.'. The guy must be suffering from severe amnesia from that falling-from-the-sky routine, so I leaned towards him and whispered my name for him./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Say that your name's Kudos, quick!"/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""M-my name's Kudos Amadoh" He replied in an equal tone./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Well then Kudos, come on down and let's have a friendly duel," Luke said, a hint of excitement creeping into his tone./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos stumbled down the stands and lurched into the arena./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke waves his hand towards a corner of the stands that was stocked with gleaming bronze weapons./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos picked a broad sword, almost twice as large as him from the stands and shrugged, making everyone in the stands gasp in surprise. He then proceeded to swing it in a full circle with one hand./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke just grins./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"He motions for Kudos to come towards him. Kudos, suddenly reverted to his normal self, with his usual stride and confidence. He stationed himself a good ten feet away from Luke./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke then swung his sword in an arc, testing its speed. Then leapt at Kudos at unprecedented speeds and within a second, had Kudos disarmed. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke laughed out loud, and pointed out the glaring mistakes, chiding him like a child for not listening to him when he was explaining the different sword techniques. The people in the stands giggled./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"For the first time, Kudos looked angry, almost as if he had expected Luke to warn him first. He picked up his sword, swatting away the sword like it was a particularly irritating fly even though it pointed at his throat, and swung his great sword in a great arc at Luke. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"This time, the tables had turned and Luke was surprised. He would've been chopped in half if he hadn't intercepted and when he did intercept, his sword shook like a leaf, I would've been sure that it had flown out of his hand until I saw that he simply had changed his sword hand./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I realized it was because the force of the hit must've hurt his hand. Luke frowned and tried to retaliate, thinking that the broad sword's weight would slow Kudos down, but It did nothing even close to that. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos was much, emmuch/em faster than he looked, clobbering at Luke's defences, and kicking up dust, attacking from all directions. He spun around and grinned like a maniac like he was having the time of his life. Not once did his sword stop spinning and flashing./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"He did every move Luke explained, and as if mocking him, he moved like a snake and dodged every strike and played with Luke, intentionally dodging and not parrying./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos parried up, pushing Luke's sword away and leaving a clear front. Kudos saw the opening and swooped in to disarm him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke's hand went into his pocket and then did the unexpected. I could only watch as a gleam flew out of his pocket with his hand. The knife stopped Kudos's sword and effectively managed to block him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos went mad, he swung and smashed Luke's defence, and within two seconds of Luke's save, the knife went flying and stuck to the ground, within mere seconds of that, Kudos feinted a core strike that kindled Luke's reflex and caused him to bring his sword closer to his core to deflect./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos stepped back and smacked the sword so hard, I could barely even see him./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke's sword clattered to the ground and a weird smile crept up his face. His scar looked like a chasm, and his sandy hair fluttered a little in the breeze that had snuck into the arena./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke cheered for Kudos and Kudos glared at him with what seemed like disgust and slunk back up to us. Luke meanwhile dropped a bomb./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Now, let's have another round; since I wasn't able to show any faults in the earlier duel." Grinning at Kudos in appreciation and awe./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;""Now would Perseus Jackson please step into the arena!"I hadn't noticed at first, but a small wave of cheers passed around the room./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos leans in and whispers, "Sometimes, the best way to win a fight is by leaving."/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I look at him confused and trip on a random rock./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Everyone in the arena laughs and Luke grins, like he expected me to do exactly what I was doing. Honestly, the guy gave me the creeps. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I walk into the place. Luke goes a bit farther away. He then bows, but I don't copy him. Something about the gesture made me distrust him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"My skin tingles, my blood burns, my head throbs and suddenly, I see it. A fleeting twitch around his shoulder told me the whole story. He had expected me to bow too, and wanted to strike when I had let my guard down./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"His sword arcs upwards, and I have just enough sense to dodge, and thank god, or gods, that I do, 'cause a second later he stands where I was a second ago with his sword stuck into the ground. A faint golden sheen envelopes him and everyone gasps./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"The guy would've cut me in half if I hadn't dodged. He smirks again, again everything blurs and this time, I force myself towards him with all I have and use the unbalanced sword to push him back. My barrel manoeuvre doesn't stop him. The guy twists and rolls and jabs at my legs. I quickly switch my sword hand and scoop my sword upward. A clang emanates from the points of contact and my sword trembles./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke looks as surprised as me when I realize that I have him on the defensive./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I twist my sword towards him feinting a corkscrew and then duck, feeling the whoosh of the sword that flashes above me and misses. I successfully had gotten his back exposed to me. With a cautious flick, I turn and sharply jab at his back. The son of speed twists his sword and his hand deflects my blade. It spins like a pen in his hand for a second until he grabs it and swings diagonally from right to left. I use the body of the blade to let it bounce off my sword./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I twist and push my blade down. The whole movement was instinctive but it bore fruit./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"A loud clang is made but the blades sing as heat builds. We were in a stalemate. Both had our swords locked at each other and neither could move./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Kudos's words rung through my head, "Sometimes, the best way to win a fight is to just leave.". Now the words made sense./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"I pushed back with all my might and sidestepped, letting the best swordsman of the past century barrel past me in confusion. He stops just a few feet away from me and tries to move again until he realizes that there's a cold touch of metal on his neck. He swivels his neck and stares at me. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"My heart burns, my muscles hum, my head throbs and my eyes flick at the slightest motion. Adrenaline retreats, my strength wanes and I realize that only mere seconds have passed since the fight had started./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"The whole arena is the very definition of silence. No birds, no wind, not even a rustle. It was as if existence itself was holding its breath. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Slowly, I look away from Luke look up to the stands, and see Kudos smiling at me, approving my action. He raises his hands and… claps. His hands crash together and the vibration between them echoes throughout the arena. Other people join in, nodding their heads in disbelief and amazement./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke drops his sword with a clang and joins in. His face gave away nothing but his eyes shimmering with disbelief, amazement and something that burned into my memory. Terror. /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke was practically shivering, with what I had initially thought was strength or excitement, but it was fear. The guy was scared of me, my sword that was hovering above his shoulder. I shake my head in disbelief./span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;"Luke then shouts to the whole arena, "Let's walk into the final duel, Persues Jackson versus Kudos Amadoh."/span/p
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI','sans-serif'; color: #0e101a;" /span/p