Oh man it's been like 5+ years since I've been on this site. Recently reread a bunch of stuff on here and thought about giving writing another go. I won't be finishing any of my other stuff because it's so old and so bad. Plus, this story is gonna be a long one. I've already planned out two 20+ chapter stories and there's gonna be at least 1 more after that. Quick warning, all the super exciting stuff goes down around chapter 12 (I think) but there was NO way I was going to do 12 chapters worth of flashbacks so it might be a bit of a slow start. With all that out of the way, let's get at it.
The sound of swords clashing filled the clearing. To a normal mortal, they would be filled with awe at witnessing the youngest son of Poseidon battle the centaur son of Kronos. The two were moving their swords with a ferocity that was unheard of to an average person.
Percy moved like a whirlwind, his speed beyond any of Chiron's previous students. He slashed at Chiron's legs before immediately slicing upwards towards his chest.
To his annoyance, the blade never made contact. Chiron was the trainer of heroes for a reason and his abilities with a sword were legendary. Percy took another stab at his teacher's midsection as Chiron parried before returning his own offensive. Percy's eyes widened as Chiron's blade sliced past his face, just barely ducking out of the way. The centaur did not slow down, aiming two more slashed towards Percy's chest. Percy was prepared for this and easily blocked the blade.
"Your guard is too high, Perseus," Chiron chided, his eyes twinkling as he aimed a low swipe towards the demigod's legs.
"Maybe I'm just drawing you in," the young demigod replied, lowering his sword just in time to block the blow.
Percy looked at Chiron and grinned before ducking under a quick stab aimed at his head. The demigod swung his sword in an upwards arc as bronze smashed against bronze and Chiron's sword flew out of his hand.
The centaur smiled, "It seems you have bested me again, Perseus. You are becoming more strategic with the sword."
Percy frowned, "I thought I told you to call me Percy, Perseus is my cousin."
The centaur laughed, "I suppose you are right Percy."
Percy smiled at the centaur. Chiron had been his teacher for the last eighteen years. The centaur had taught ever since he was six and over that time they developed a relationship similar to a father and son. Of course, Percy still had a good relationship with his true father, Poseidon, but due to his godly duties Percy only saw him once or twice a year.
Percy took a few steps towards Chiron's fallen blade and picked it up.
"I believe this is yours."
Chiron smiled, "Thank you my boy. I am afraid there is not much left for me to teach you. You have grown so much."
Percy stared at his teacher, "Chiron you are wrong, there is so much left for me to learn. There are many heroes who are off doing greater things than I could dream of."
Percy turned as he heard the rustling of leaves in the treeline behind him. The adrenaline still was pumping through his body as he held his sword up for whatever monster would come for him and his teacher.
To the demigod's surprise, the figure appearing from the forest was no monster. It was a tall muscular man, with lightning blue eyes. The man's golden hair shined against the rays of the sun as he smiled at the son of Poseidon.
"Percy, you know you are just as strong as any of us boring old heroes."
"Perseus!" Percy couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face as he hugged the son of Zeus. The two demigods embraced for a moment before letting go.
"How have you been?" Percy asked, "You never write."
Perseus chuckled, "I have been training for my quest but I came back because I heard a rumor you would be going on a quest of your own."
Percy glanced at Chiron, the centaur had begun to clean up their camp and boil a pot for food.
"He won't tell me what the quest is about, I'm starting to think it's not happening."
Perseus laughed at his younger friend, "There is a quest for sure. Chiron's letters have spoken about it. He seemed quite nervous though based on his writing."
Percy's eyebrows raised, "Nervous? He thinks I will fail?"
"No Percy," Perseus facepalmed, "You are probably going on an extremely important quest, I'm a little jealous."
"Hopefully," Percy's eyes shined with excitement, "I want to make you all proud by doing something no hero has ever done."
Perseus smiled, "I'm sure you will Percy."
The son of Zeus slapped a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"How about we help Chiron with his cooking? I've learned some wonderful recipes from my time away."
The trio sat around a fire together, quietly eating their food. Perseus had not lied, he cooked a mean rabbit stew.
Percy looked up to the man who he considered to be his older brother. The son of Zeus had changed over the last few years. He had a look of determination in his eyes that Percy hadn't seen before.
"So," Percy started, "Have you killed the gorgon yet."
Perseus turned, a small frown on his face, "No Percy."
"I can offer my assistance if-"
Perseus raised his hand, interrupting Percy's sentence, "I can handle it Percy, I just need to track it down."
Percy sighed, "If you say so."
The son of Poseidon crossed his arms staring at the fire. He longed to go on a quest. To prove himself to his father. To Chiron. He wanted to show them that he was strong enough to make them proud.
Percy's eyes glanced at Perseus. He knew that his friend wanted to do the right thing and protect his mother but he also knew that Perseus wanted the glory. Percy couldn't care any less about the glory. He only wanted to protect the people of his country and make those close to him proud. That was another reason he was frustrated with his lack of a quest. He knew that Chiron's quests tended to end with glory for his students, a type of reward that the centaur had bestowed upon those who went through his training. Chiron knew that Percy didn't want the fame that came with these quests yet still took the longest time to give Percy his own journey.
His teacher's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Percy," The centaur's voice was serious, "tomorrow I will send you on a quest on one condition."
Percy looked up, eyes widening. His mouth conformed into a small grin.
"What is the condition of Chiron?" He asked, excitement creeping into his voice.
"You must defeat Perseus in a duel."
"Father, are you serious about sending a Son of Poseidon to stop this threat?" Athena asked. The goddess sat on her throne with a scowl on her face. Her recent frustrations with Poseidon over the city of Athens were clearly causing a bias on her views of the situation.
"You believe my son will not be able to save us?" Poseidon asked, his voice filled with power. "He is my strongest demigod son and he is a better candidate for this quest than any other of the heroes." The sea god's green eyes were harsh, as if he'd had this argument many times and was tired of repeating himself. His trident was in his hands as the godly weapon glowed with a bright green light.
The goddess of Wisdom met Poseidon's glare with her own, her stormy gray eyes filled with aggravation. Athena's glare would be enough to make any sane creature back off but Poseidon was tired of his niece questioning his son. Poseidon's trident began to glow brighter than it had before.
To his right, Zeus mumbled, "I still think my Perseus was the hero we need."
Poseidon turned to his brother, a fierce glare on his face. Zeus turned to face his brother, blue eyes shining with the power of a thousand lightning bolts. Raw power emanated from both of the gods as the rest of the council could only watch. Sparks crackled off of Zeus but Poseidon would not back down. Before either brother was able to speak they were cut off by his sister Hestia.
"Brothers, calm down right now! We have spent over a year debating on who will be sent to Mount Othrys to defeat this mysterious threat. By this time tomorrow we will know which Perseus will be sent on the quest." Hestia's voice started harsh but by the time she was done speaking her voice was soft and calm. She rose out of her throne and placed a hand on each of her brother's shoulders. Within seconds, the two brothers looked at peace and the rest of the gods let out a sigh of relief. The first disaster of the day had been avoided.
"But Hestia we are not even sure what the threat is. What if it is too dangerous for a lone demigod?" Hermes asked, his hands nervously tapping against the arm of his throne.
"He's right sister, what if the titans are trying to regain power against us?" Demeter asked, despite her normally quiet and peaceful reputation the goddess looked ready for battle.
Hestia sighed. It was time for her to reveal something that she had never told anyone before.
"One hundred years ago, I was given a glimpse into the future."
The throne room went silent. Each god stared at Hestia in shock.
"The future?" Apollo asked, "Not even I could see anything regarding this threat."
Hestia shook her head, "You wouldn't have my nephew. You see, the fates themselves gave me this opportunity. They told me that in one hundred years the titans would make one last effort and that I would have to help the council choose a hero to stop them."
"The fates gave you the ability to see the future?" Zeus asked, his voice careful. Even the king of the gods knew of the power of the fates and he could not deny them.
"Yes, just on this one occasion," Hestia responded, "They showed me that our father's minions would collect a single piece of his body and attempt to revive it. I knew that they would be able to put up safeguards preventing us from interfering."
"So the only thing we can do is send a mortal hero to investigate?" Demeter asked, eyes wide at the revelation that someone was trying to bring back the titan of time.
"Yes sister," Hestia responded, her voice calm, "I believe that a selfless mortal hero is all we will need to stop the titans. They do not have the strength to truly gain any power."
The entire council let out a sigh of relief.
"There is more as well. I have spent the last few centuries wondering about my place on the council. My job is to protect the hearth. I believe that is where my priorities should lie and I will be forfeiting my place on this council."
The throne room erupted into the shocked cries of the gods.
"Hestia, it would be foolish to leave the council." Athena was the first to respond. "You have always been the voice of reason here and you are an important member as one of the elder gods."
"I agree sister, it would not be right for you to leave us." Hera was next.
Hestia shook her head before answering, "It is no longer up to me I'm afraid. My duties will be to guard the hearth, to protect the flames of our home. The fates have willed it to be so and they have given me the power to choose my replacement. I believe it shall be this son of Poseidon if he is successful."
"A son of Poseidon? On my Council?" Zeus roared. The idea was foreign to him. How could he allow one of his brother's children onto the council.
Hestia sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a long meeting.
Hestia rubbed her hand against her temple in an effort to soothe the headache that had been plaguing her since the arguing started. The council had argued throughout the entire night before coming to a compromise. In that time Poseidon almost attacked Zeus outright on three separate occasions. Fortunately, Hestia was able to stop Poseidon from doing anything rash due to Zeus's insults about the young demigod. Many of the other gods also had issues with Hestia's plan. Athena was especially vocal against Hestia's plan but Hestia had immediately shut down the young goddess citing her recent quarrel with Poseidon as a bias. Surprisingly, the goddess had backed down after only ten minutes of argument.
Another surprise to Hestia was the support of her nephew Apollo. Apollo was normally seen as an immature god, both due to being one of the youngest gods on the council and his actions with mortal women. Despite his immaturity Apollo had stepped up to agree with what Hestia was telling the council, stating that "the will of the fates is not something we can ignore." Hestia was grateful for his help because even Zeus tended to listen to the god of prophecy on matters this serious.
Poseidon had been an obvious supporter of Hestia. The moment she mentioned making his child a god on the Olympian Council he agreed with nearly everything she said. She could tell that her brother was nervous about his son fighting against whatever evil plot the Titans had made but she also knew that he had faith in her choice. Hestia had talked about the young demigod with Poseidon when the boy was born. She remembered Poseidon's guilt at cheating on Amphitrite but also the love that he had for Perseus's mortal mother.
As Hestia had expected, the hardest person to convince to follow her plan was Zeus. Zeus adamantly opposed a son of Poseidon being placed on the council. It had taken everything Hestia had to convince her brother the boy would be deserving of godhood if he completed his quest. Zeus argued, claiming that Poseidon would have too much power on Olympus. Hestia countered, pointing out Zeus's multiple children that were on the council. Eventually, they agreed that Zeus would be able to choose a champion of his own in one hundred and fifty years and the council would vote on who they would rather have taking Hestia's place.
Naturally, Zeus had made multiple other demands. He wanted Percy to be sent on a smaller quest first to prove his worthiness. Percy would be given two powerful monsters to defeat to prove to the Olympians that he was strong enough to take on whatever monsters the Titans had recruited. Should Percy die on the quest, Zeus claimed he would take the matters into his own hands.
Upon hearing this, Poseidon had nearly leapt out of his throne to attack his brother but Hestia had managed to calm him down just in time.
After another painful hour of arguments, Poseidon agreed to the idea and the meeting was adjourned. The gods had slowly filed out one by one leaving Poseidon and Hestia alone.
"Thank you for having faith in my son," Poseidon began, a somber expression on his face. "I wish there was more I could do for him after not being able to save his mother."
Hestia turned to her brother. Poseidon rarely showed his sadness, especially on Olympus but Hestia knew that Poseidon truly felt guilty for the woman's death.
"He will be successful Poseidon, there is nobody else in the mortal realm who I could see replacing me on the council."
Poseidon nodded before his expression hardened, "If there is anything you need or anything I can do, please tell me. I don't care about our brother's frustrating laws, I will not fail him again."
Hestia nodded and hugged her brother. Poseidon smiled and stepped back before being engulfed in a bright white light as he flashed to Atlantis.
Hestia was the only one who remained in the throne room, attending the blazing fire in the back of the room. As she looked into the flames she saw the face of the sleeping demigod. She could see the kindness radiating from the boy. She sensed nothing but hope protruding from his soul and if there was one thing the council needed, it was hope.
Chapter 1 done. Mostly just me setting up the story for now but I tried to throw in some action in the beginning. There's gonna be a good fight in Chapter 2 though once I finish writing it. Expect updates to be made on Tuesdays bc that's the schedule I think I'll be doing. (except for today which is friday) Peace out and I'll see y'all Tuesday.