Ch. 7 My Immortal Family
PERCY POV
After I put the bullies, Clarisse and her siblings in their place, Annabeth showed me the library and the arts-and-craft-room and we were done with the tour.
"I've got training to do," Annabeth said. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."
"Okay... no problem"
"You need to consult the oracle?"
"Which Oracle?" I asked.
"What do you mean by which?" Annabeth questioned.
"There were many oracles in Greek mythology weren't they? The oracle of Delphi, The grove of Dodona, The Herophiles, Oracle of Trophonius, Sibylline Books. Which one should I consult?"
Annabeth gaped at me for a whole minute before she snapped out of it. "Err... The oracle of Delphi. That is the one we have here. I don't know about the rest... I mean I don't know where they are." She hastily added. I somehow got the feeling she didn't know anything about some of the oracles I spoke about. Her knowledge couldn't match the knowledge of a god daughter of Athena or not.
#You know, I always felt pretty good when I knew something Athena didn't? They were good times.# Alexander said in a reminiscing tone.
"Ohk... I will like to meet the oracle of Delphi. Now, didn't you have some training to do?"
"Yes... yes, I did." She nodded and ran in the direction of the library, leaving me near the entrance of cabin 11. I seriously didn't want to go in the overcrowded room, so I decided to look around and introduce myself to a few people or train. My two days worth of training had been skipped and I needed to make up for it. I still had three and a half hour to spend before dinner.
That was when I saw the lonely nine-year old girl who was still tending the fire in the middle of the U shaped-cabin area. Didn't she have any friends? No one was even paying her any attention. I decided to go and talk with her. What would happen? At worse she would shy away. At best, I would make a friend.
So, I walked towards the girl and plopped himself beside her, near the fire. She gave no reaction to my presence. "Hey, Hi. My name's Percy Jackson. I am new to the camp." I said, trying to initiate a conversation.
The girl's head whipped towards me and she looked at me with wide eyes.
#Dude you can see her!?# Alexander half-yelled in my head.
"You can see me?" The girl asked at the same time. It was uncanny how in-sync they both were.
"Of course I can" I replied. "I am not blind. Neither are you a ghost. Are you? You seem pretty solid to be a ghost." I said poking her in the shoulder with a mischievous smile. I would question Alexander later about what was so shocking about being able to see a nine year old girl.
"No... No I am not a ghost." She said as her lips twitched upwards.
"That's good. It would be a shame for such a cute kid to be a ghost." I remarked before pulling a deck of cards from my pocket. Little kids loved card tricks, didn't they? They thought that it was magic. I could hear Alexander snicker in my head but I ignored him.
She giggled melodiously, before I asked, "Would you like to see something?"
She nodded eagerly. "Take a card and don't show it to me." I said presenting her the deck of cards. She took one and quickly saw which card it was before hiding it.
"Saw it? Now, place the card back in the deck, any where you want." I said presenting her a reshuffled deck of cards. She put it somewhere in the middle and I reshuffled the deck before handing her the deck. "Shuffle it how much ever you want." She nodded and started shuffling the deck. She shuffled the deck for a whole minute before she stopped. "Done? Give it here."
She handed the card back and I started going through the cards before removing one. "The Queen of Hearts. This was your card." I said presenting her the card. Her eyes went wide before she clapped her hands.
"How?" She excitedly asked.
"Magic." I smugly replied. If she was so intrigued by the simplest trick, I really wanted to see her reaction to my signature card tricks.
"No, it is a trick." She said.
"Of course it is." I smiled at the girl.
"Can you teach me?"
"A magician never reveals his tricks." I said in a mysterious tone. She pouted but I ignored that pout. "Now, tell me Where are your friends? And why are you tending to the fire instead of enjoying the day?"
"I don't have many... not many talk to me..." She said in a sad tone. "And for tending the hearth, it is my job to do so." she added
"Then I can be your friend and I will talk to you as often as I can from today." I told her and she beamed a huge smile. "What is your name? You didn't introduce yourself."
"True. My name is Hestia."
My eyes went wide at the name. A girl tending to the hearth with the name Hestia. Oh shit. I realized what I had just done and I immediately bowed. "My lady. I am sorry. I didn't recognize you."
"No need to bow Percy... I am not into all of that. Don't bow please. I don't like it." She said hesitantly. I got back into a standing position, breaking from my bow. Alexander was laughing uproariously in my head.
"Lady Hestia." I respectfully said. No need to piss the eldest Olympian off especially the goddess of family off.
She smiled warmly at me. "No need for all that Lady stuff. You can call me Aunt Hestia or just Hestia if you want. I am no Olympian and I do not like all those formalities ."
"Very well... Aunt Hestia." I said playing it safe. She was my aunt after all as Poseidon is my father. It was loads better than calling her by name directly even though it was a bit weird to call an eight year old girl your aunt.
"You have a hard time imagining a goddess looking so young, don't you?" Hestia asked mischievously and I nodded. She closed her eyes and turned into a 30-year old beautiful woman. She even bore a little resemblance to my own mother. She definitely would have passed as my aunt if she wanted. I smiled.
"That's more like I imagined you to be." I said without thinking and she laughed.
"Sit down Perseus," She said, patting the place next to her. "and tell me about yourself."
I cringed a bit before saying, "Its Percy. And I am just a kid from Manhattan. My mother is Sally..." I gave Hestia a short overview of my life. I took care to not include Alexander but, instead told her about his mother enrolling him into a combined self-defense-and-Judo class along with a karate class, when I was young and how one of his neighbors taught him the art of sword fighting, which had came in use the previous night while fighting the monsters.
It was a cover story that Alexander, my mom and I had created to explain my prowess in fighting. I initially had thought of holding back but Alexander pointed out that due to my training and prowess with the sword and trident, even a remotely competent instructor with a keen eye would know that I was holding myself back within seconds and become suspicious. Also being a little above average during classes and fighting like an expert swordsman when in danger would raise warning bells for any observant person.
Also, Alexander had pointed false images in my mind that someone would see if that someone tried to find out about my training by reading my mind. Gods did have a notorious habit of reading people's minds especially the younger Olympians like Athena, Artemis and Apollo.
I talked to Hestia for one more hour, before I told Hestia that I needed to get settled in the Hermes cabin. She looked sad before I promised to come and talk to her every day that I could, and I intended to keep my promise. She beamed at me one last time before she vanished into the flames and I went to the Hermes cabin.
When I got to the Hermes cabin, the head counselor, Luke, came to me and said. "Found you a sleeping bag, and here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."
I couldn't tell if he was being serious about the stealing part though I was touched by the gesture.
#Probably is. He is a son of Hermes. They make pretty good thieves.# Alexander said. He had just spent last five minutes at my predicament with Hestia and treating her like a little girl. He also chastised me on not keeping my senses up and recognizing a goddesses aura.
I struck up a conversation with Luke. He told me about the camp a bit more and how his quest had went bad a couple of years ago. Apparently, he had been sent to the garden of Hesperides to steal a golden apple but had failed and the guardian of the tree, a great snake named Ladon, had given him the scar on his face.
Soon, the conch shell blew and cabin eleven went for dinner. We filed into the common yard, lined up in the order of seniority, so of course, I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the cabins of Zeus Poseidon and Hera, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.
I realized that it was probably Artemis's cabin and so it was glowing at night time with Artemis being the goddess of the moon and everything.
We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods- and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I realized that they were Dryads- tree spirits. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.
In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.
'Do you think these numbers will be enough to fight a divine war, Alexander?' I asked, shocking the resident god in my head. I could literally feel him being shocked by my question.
#Wh-what do you m-mean?# Alexander sputtered.
'I am not stupid Alexander. Remember that you yourself have trained me in the art of strategizing and reading situations. The fates telling that I am much important for the survival of the world than you think. The only thing that can threaten the survival of the world is a divine war. And they said that I am more important than you think. It means that you know that something big is coming... and that is why you were chosen to guide and train me. You already know something but you are not telling me. And the Fates said that I have a bigger role to play than you have thought of... but, that aside, tell me what do you know.'
Alexander was quite for a few moments. I took a seat at the Hermes table with half of my butt hanging off the edge of the bench. I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.
Alexander sighed #Percy... you are correct... I have anticipated a divine war... I will tell you once your father claims you and you move to the Poseidon cabin and have complete privacy. I swear.#
I gave him a mental nod. 'Fair enough. But, I will hold you to it.'
#Okay.#
"To the gods!" Chiron said, pounding his hoof on the pavilion floor and everyone repeated the sentence.
The nymphs came forward with several platters of food: from fruits, to bread and even barbeque was being served. My mouth watered at the smell of the food. I looked around but there was nothing being served to drink and yet there was a goblet in front of me.
"Speak to it." Luke said.
"Pardon?"
"Speak to it. Whatever you want-nonalcoholic, of course. Let me show you. Orange juice." Luke said and his goblet was filled with orange juice and he took a sip.
"Blue Cherry Coke." I spoke to my goblet and it was filled with a cobalt liquid. I took a sip. Perfect taste. I seriously love blue food. I know that its weird but it's my choice. Deal with it.
Luke handed me a smoke brisket and I loaded my plate. That was when I saw everyone getting up and going to drop a portion of their food in the fire. Offerings to the gods. I realized.
"Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell." Luke murmured in my ear and I nodded.
Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."
I was next.
I went and dropped a piece of the brisket into the fire and muttered, "To Hestia and dad.".
'And Alexander.' I added in my mind. I immediately felt a faint rush of energy into my body. It was almost unnoticeable but, due to Alexander's training, I felt it.
#Aww... thank you Percy.# Alexander said as I saw Hestia's smiling face in the fire. I smiled back at her before the face disappeared. Then I took a whiff of the smoke. It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did.
I went back to my seat and had my dinner.
'Hey, Alexander.'
#Yes, Percy?#
'Why were you so shocked that I could see aunt Hestia?'
#Demigods can not see unless she wants to be seen or the person has a very keen love for his or her family and strong character. It is very rare for a demigod to be able to see Hestia without her wanting to be seen... I can count the number on one hand and still have a finger left over... So, she was shocked that you could see her and so was I.#
'Oh. Well, atleast she has someone to talk to now... She looked pretty lonely.'
After dinner ended, Dionysus stood up with a sigh at Chiron's prompting. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. "Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." I glared at the god and Chiron murmured something "err... Percy Jackson. That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
Everyone cheered despite the unenthusiastic greeting by the god and went to the amphitheater.
The next few days, I quickly settled into a routine at the camp. It turned out I was very good at most things.
Every morning, I had ancient Greek lessons, which were taught by Annabeth but, it was more like us discussing than her teaching me because there was nothing she taught that I didn't already know. I could also read both English and ancient Greek faster than her due to my reduced dyslexia.
Next was foot racing in which I could easily keep up with the nymphs without even using my divine powers.
Wrestling? Clarisse tried to beat me up when she took the class but I turned the tables on her and by the end of the lesson, she was the one who was badly bruised. Yes, I had used a bit of my divine power to boost up my strength and speed but, meh... It was my skill and I could use it anytime I wanted. It wasn't cheating especially when children of Ares could instinctively channel that power into their muscles.
When she asked how I did it, I smugly replied that I was a purple belt in Judo and a brown belt in karate. I technically was at that level and probably above, but I didn't have the official belt.
I was unbeatable at canoeing too due to my heritage.
On Wednesday, three days since I had arrived at the camp, Chiron took me to the beginner's archery class and I had taken a bow in my hand for the first time in my life. Alexander had only trained me with melee weapons and in knife throwing. Never had he taught me archery but I thought, how hard could it be? Like you have to stand, notch an arrow, pull the string, aim and shoot. The more you practiced, the more precise your shots got.
So, I confidently walked up and took a bow that I felt suited me, got into the stance as Chron instructed and aimed. I concentrated only on the bull's eye. I could see nothing else, hear no one else. My target was the bull's eye. I shot the arrow.
The weirdest thing happened. The arrow shot backwards, instead of forward and got caught in Chiron's tail. Chiron jumped in surprise. I didn't even know that horses could jump while standing in one place.
#What the hell?# Alexander muttered.
"Percy, what did you do?" Chiron asked me in surprise.
"I did as you instructed, but the arrow flew backwards instead of forward. I don't know how but whatever happened didn't obey the laws of physics."
Chiron and the rest of the class stared at me in disbelief.
#Give me control.# Alexander said and I obeyed.
"Umm... Chiron, I want to try something. Can you guys take cover? I want to do something." The class and Chiron nodded before they took some sort of cover.
'What the hell are you doing?' I asked Alexander.
#I have a theory so I am trying it out.# He replied before turning into the opposite direction of my target. He aimed at the bull's eye of the target which lay directly opposite of the place I had to aim for and shot.
The arrow went backward again and I... Alexander turned. I saw that the arrow had hit the bullseye on my target. The fucking bullseye on a target which was 180 degrees opposite to where I was aiming for.
The class and Chiron were gaping at me.
"Okay... that was something. But, does this make me the best Archer or the worse?" Alexander said loudly and Chiron facepalmed.
The following afternoon, the day before the capture of the flag competition (which was a big thing at the camp), I had my first sword-fighting lesson with Luke and cabin eleven. Luke was teaching. He was apparently the best swordsman in the last 300 years. I decided that won't do... I would be better than him. I was the champion of the god of swordsmanship and had been training with him for the last two years. I had to be the best at sword fighting.
The cabin heads, Chiron, and Dionysus were watching me closely. There were several bets on who was my father. But, they were having a hard time. I was stronger than the demigods of Ares, ran faster than Hermes's children, was scarily smart like Athena's kids(even though no one was betting on Athena cause my mother was a mortal). The only options that were eliminated so far were the female Olympians, Apollo and Hephaestus(I was shit at forging).
Now, they wanted to see me fight with a sword.
So, in the afternoon, after a talk with Hestia, I found myself in the Arena with the whole cabin eleven, standing in a huge circle around our instructor, who was Luke, in the center. He had just made us practice the basic sword maneuvers for last half an hour.
"Ok, so listen up. Now we will be practicing in pairs. Pair up with the person you want to right now. You have ten seconds." Everyone moved quickly and grabbed their best friend. I had none, so Luke chose to become my partner. "Okay so... Percy will be my partner. Come up here Percy, I want to give them an demonstration."
"Good luck. Luke's the best swordsman in last 300 years. You are dead meat Percy." A guy to my right whispered in my ear. I ignored him.
"Now, Percy and I will have a spar and after that, I will show you all a really cool sword move. Come up here Percy. Be ready to fight." I went up to the center of the circle that the campers had formed. I had already abandoned the sword I was practicing with.
"Percy, your sword?" Luke asked and I removed the pen from my pocket. There was dead silence for a moment before everyone started laughing at me.
"Percy, I get it that the pen is mightier than the sword," Luke said chuckling, "But, not in-"
He stopped short as I uncapped the riptide and it elongated into a Xiphos. Everyone stopped laughing. I cut the air with my sword dramatically before saying, "I know that the pen is mightier than the sword but, my sword is my pen and my pen is my sword."
I saw jealousy flash in Luke's eyes before he composed himself. "The sword is good. But, let us see if you can actually do something with it."
"Come at me and find out, sweetheart." I said, readying myself. Luke's eye twitched at the statement. What can I say? I had an penchant of pissing my opponents off.
"Well, lets see if you are all bark and no bite or you can actually back your words up. Travis, the count down please."
"3...2...1...GO!"
Luke and I lunged at each other and started sparring. Luke initially tried to go easy for the first couple of seconds before he realized that I was no slouch with the sword and went all out on me. I parried each of his strike flawlessly and countered his moves. The only noise that could be heard throughout the arena was the clanging of mine and Luke's swords.
It bugs me to say that Luke was an extremely competent swordsman and had rightfully earned his title as the best swordsman in 3 centuries. But, I was better. I already was fighting with my secondary weapon, and also not channeling my divine powers to aid me. If I had done that, the match would have been over in two seconds straight as soon as our swords would have clashed.
I ducked under the swipe of his sword and hit him with the flat of my sword on his leg. He jumped away before he lunged and attacked again. We both were fighting at nearly equal footing, especially since I wasn't channeling my powers. Luke tried to slash at my legs but I jumped up before attacking him again. I was trying my level best to disarm him but was not successful yet. Luke was damn good.
We were going back and forth for the last ten minutes or so when I found an opening and slashed at Luke's leg, scoring a gash on his leg.
"STOP!" Luke commanded and I came to a halt, but still kept my guard up. Luke lowered his sword. I followed his lead. Luke removed a square of ambrosia from his pocket and broke off a corner and ate it after catching his breath. The wound healed and he turned his attention towards me. The people were openly gaping at me by now.
"By gods Percy! That was awesome! You must have some training in sword fighting before, don't you?" Luke asked.
I nodded. "One of my neighbors was an expert in the art of sword fighting... well, actually almost all types of melee weapons actually. He had a small collection of knives, swords and spears. He apparently learnt using weapons since he was in his teens. He taught me to fight with a sword. I learnt sword-fighting under him since I was 9-years-old and continued until last year. Last year, he suddenly moved out, so, my lessons stopped." I said with a shrug.
"Who was he. Or she?" Luke asked, adding the last part as an afterthought.
"Mr. Beckett. His na-"
"Was his name Herrick, by any chance?" Luke interrupted.
"Yes... How did you know that?" I asked, feigning surprise even though I knew the exact reason.
Herrick Beckett was a son of Hermes who had died the previous year. He apparently was a good swordsman and had lived to be 37. So, Alexander had given me that name to use as my instructor's name. Apparently it would be more believable if a demigod taught me instead of some random mortal.
"Herrick was a son of Hermes. One of the oldest to live actually... Not many demigods live for that long. I know him since he visited the camp around four and a half years ago for a week." Luke said, clearly remembering the man. I was seriously hoping that Alexander had done proper research on that guy.
#Don't worry. I have. Now, exclaim some surprise.#
"Really? I didn't know that... Do you know someway that I could contact him? He moved out without even telling my mom or me. We don't know where he lives now neither do we have his phone number..."
"No. Chiron may, but I can't be sure. Also, he is a demigod and may not have a phone. If we use a phone, it is like sending a signal to monsters. So, he may not have a phone." Luke replied, eyeing him carefully
"Oh." I said with sadness lacing my tone.
"Percy, Herrick has taught you really well. He must have come to know that you're a demigod and trained you...Anyway fellas. Back to the lesson. You saw how Percy and I sparred... You all will be engaging in similar spars in a few minutes but, before that, I want to teach you guys a simple sword Maneuver: The simple disarming Maneuver. Percy, I believe that you know this one?" Luke asked and I nodded.
"Superb. Show me. In slow motion please first."
And I did. I hit Luke's sword at the hilt and twisted my sword. His sword fell out of his grasp meeting the arena floor with a clang.
Luke demonstrated the move once again, this time on me, in slow motion, before he decided that it was time for us to spar again and this time, we had to focus on disarming each other. Strictly disarming only. Before that, he gave us a short- 5 minute break.
#This kid is seriously good Percy. He would give several gods a run for their money in sword fighting actually.#
'Yep, he's good. Seriously good actually. He lasted a good ten minutes before I scored a proper hit.'
#Be careful around him Percy. The way he's observing you... It is... It's giving me creeps.#
Luke was still observing me as I drank a glass of water. I took another glass and dumped it on my head. I was sweating due to all the heat and the exercise. So, the water was a welcome relief. It even filled me with energy, washing away whatever tiredness I was feeling. All this while, I was also ignoring the campers whispering about my prowess with the sword.
Luke and I started sparring again as an demonstration. This time, it hardly was a competition as I disarmed Luke within two minutes and his sword clanged on the arena floor again. Luke decided that it was enough demonstration and asked everyone to pair up and asked me to help him teach them. By the end of the lesson, we made sure that every camper could do the disarming maneuver by the end of the lesson. As we walked out, several people complimented me on my swordsmanship. But, one thing was clear. The undisputed-best swordsman in the camp was no longer Luke Castellan.
The atmosphere at dinner was one of anticipation as I ate my meal sitting at the overcrowded Hermes table. Anticipation for the capture of the flag game was high. Apparently, the cabin which won the game got a lot of privileges for the following weeks. Best shower time, Best time for activities and other things were traded to win support of the other cabins.
I cared a little about all that but the anticipation of playing was high for me too. I had became a little competitive since I had started winning awards in inter-school and inter-state championships.
I had spent the evening sleeping. Well, sleeping for other campers but, in reality I was actually training with Alexander. Today he was focused on improving my battle instincts. He blindfolded me before attacking me with his sword and we sparred as I wielded the storm-rider. I flawlessly parried his strikes for ten minutes and evaded his attacks before he scored a hit on my left shoulder. He was going a little slower than he did when we normally sparred without the blindfold. At first, when he had started the exercise, he wielded a stick and I had to evade his attacks. After getting whacked around for ten minutes and thinking the exercise as a waste of time, the most miraculous thing had happened. I actually felt the attack coming and ducked right on time. Alexander had swung the stick again and I dodged that too instinctively. It baffled me about how I was able to evade attacks without even seeing them.
After twelve to thirteen sessions, I could dodge flawlessly. So, Alexander upped the bar. He handed me a wooden sword, blindfolded me and we sparred. By now, I could confidently fight blindfolded with real weapons. I could also used my water powers to sense an opponent's/ enemy's location if they were hiding but this would help me if someone did a sneak or surprise attack on me.
Another thing of note was that the storms across the country were growing worse by the day. Thankfully no mortals had died yet but there had been minor property damage. I spoke about it with Hestia in the morning and she informed me that the situation with Poseidon and Zeus had grown worse to the point that preparations for war were being made. Zeus was asking for Poseidon to return his lightning bolt by the summer solstice, as he blamed Poseidon for the theft. Poseidon wanted an apology from Zeus by the same date for calling him a thief.
The situation was getting out of hand and despite the best efforts from Hera, Athena and Hestia to placate them and make Zeus and Poseidon see reason. The pair wasn't relenting. I personally felt that Zeus was being a crazy-mindless-stubborn git by blaming Poseidon. Any person could see that Poseidon didn't need to steal the sparkling rod to overthrow Zeus. He had a kingdom, and Poseidon could also control Zeus's biggest power: Lightning, due to his storm-bringer domain. And I also felt that my father was right in demanding an apology. I would have done the same if someone blamed me for thievery (which I will be getting blamed for too, once my father claimed me).
But, I might be a tiny bit biased to my father for obvious reason.
Chiron pounded his hoof on the pavilion floor once dinner ended and announced that it was time for 'capture the flag game'.
Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
They were the flags they needed to capture... well the red one with the boar's head at least. They had to defend the Athena flag.
"Do Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" I asked Luke who was drinking the last sips of his coke, looking completely unconcerned about the coming game. But, I could tell that it was because he had done it too many times to really be concerned.
"Not always," he said. "But often."
"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do?"
"You will see kid. Get ready now."
The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. While Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.
So, the numbers were fairly equal with us having a couple more. But, strategically we had an advantage. We had the best archers(Apollo's kids) and the fastest and sneakiest campers(Hermes children). Also, the Athena cabin in itself was a big asset in itself.
On the other hand the opposition had Ares's kids who were all brawn and no brain. Aphrodite campers who hardly were able to fight despite their mother being one of the strongest Olympians. Apparently, the children of Aphrodite these days gained only her looks and vainness instead of her more powerful domains. Only the head counselor, Selina or something could fight properly with a sword and had the power of charm-speak from her mother. Children of Hephaestus's may be a problem due to their ingenious creations of traps and other items. Dionysus only had two children who were decent fighters and good athletes.
So, our chances of winning were pretty high.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. "Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, ox-hide shields coated in metal.
It was a good trick using the mist. We put on our armors. I just wore a chest plate instead of the whole armor. The armor provided was very bulky and would hinder my agility and speed. Luke handed me a heavy shield which was the size of a NBA blackboard with the symbol of the caduceus on it. It was very heavy and I actually had to channel some of my divine powers in it to move it properly.
I put on a helmet with a blue plume on it, signifying my team.
Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!" We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north. I managed to catch up with Annabeth.
"Hey." I said as we marched ahead together. "So, what's the plan? What have I got to do?"
"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"
"The fact that I asked you 'what do I have to do, might clue you in." I sassed.
"You are the border patrol. You have to stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."
"A plan to use me as a bait cause I pissed off Clarisse and the Ares cabin a few days ago. The Ares cabin will come after me seeing that I am alone, leaving the field clear for you all with no proper resistance." I remarked coldly having figured out the plan.
Annabeth's steps faltered and she sputtered. "Wha- how- How in Hades name did you figure it out so fast!?"
"You know, this plan is pretty stupid." I snapped, ignoring her question. "Plans like these have led to wars being lost in the past. The general lost the trust of their soldiers and then there was discord in the army. It is actually one of the worse type of plans you can come up with, regardless whether the plan would work or not." Annabeth gulped at the coldness of my tone and kept quiet.
"But, in the name of team-spirit and seeing that we don't have the time to change the plan, I will go with it. But, the next time you think of a stupid plan like this without consulting the concerned person, believe me, I will make sure that I skewer you first daughter of Athena, especially if the concerned person is me." I said before rushing ahead and leaving her in dust.
#That was a little harsh Percy, though you were correct.#
'It might have been. But, she is the head of the Athena cabin and one of her best as far as I can tell. She will be an excellent ally to have inn my corner. But, that being said, she needs to learn these things and let go of her pride, her hubris if she wants to be the best, doesn't she?'
Alexander sighed before giving me a mental nod. #You are preparing for war Percy. You are looking with a general's perspective. I don't know if I should be impressed or be concerned about you losing your childhood.#
'I didn't sense a question in there, Alexander.'
#I see that my lessons have borne fruit. Yes, there was no question in there but it is something I wished to discuss that with you. Percy, do you know whom you reminded me of the most in the last few days?#
'Whom?'
#A little bit of myself but, first and foremost, Atlas.#
'Okay... you are alright, but Atlas?' I questioned. Atlas was one of most cruel, sadistic, arrogant and brutal Titans. Being compared to him by someone whom I viewed as an elder brother and mentor didn't sit well with me.
#Percy, I am not speaking of Atlas as a Titan or even as a person. You will never be like him in that field because you have a heart of gold Percy.# Alexander said as Percy continued to go towards the creek.
#I was talking of Atlas, as the General of Titan forces. The general Atlas was powerful; ruthless to his enemies and those who have wronged his family, incredibly loyal to family and friends, scarily intelligent even if he didn't show it a lot... and a brilliant strategist and a harsh yet brilliant teacher. His prowess in battle was unmatched. Tell me that these qualities don't describe you and your behavior in the past few days.#
'You were the one who taught me all that. My battle skills, my strategy making skills, my knowledge... I have it because of you.' I said. I couldn't deny it. Alexander had made me a powerful and intelligent person from a scrawny-dyslexic-stupid kid. What he said, did describe me as I currently was though.
#No Percy. You were always like that. Even if I hadn't been with you and trained you, I can guarantee it that one day you would have become the greatest swordsman to walk on Earth. I just fastened the process of it happening and did it in a proper way. Nothing more. Nothing less.#
'Ok. I will take your word for it if you insist. But, what about the strategy and intelligence part? I was a C grade student before you started teaching me-' My statement was cut short as Alexander laughed.
I mentally scowled at him. 'Why are you laughing?'
#Oh my god Percy... I would never get tired of you underestimating yourself.# He wheezed out between bouts of laughter.
'What do you mean?' I asked as I took my position at the creek. Despite the conversation, I was going to be in a game soon.
#Percy... I told you that you are scarily intelligent even though you don't show it. Let me give you an example. An example when I had barely started your training. Infact, your first day of training. Remember your answer to the question: "What is a weapon?" when I asked you for the first time?#
FLASHBACK
NORMAL POV
Percy was sitting in his room. Today was his first day of lessons with Alexander, the resident god in his head. The past few days, Alexander had given him information on the Divine world and Demigods. Today his official lessons began.
#Percy, tell me, what is a weapon?#
Percy thought for a few minutes before replying, "A weapon is anything that can be used to aid you in a fight."
#Give me an example.# Alexander said.
'Umm... okay, so I can say that there are weapons like knives, swords, guns, missiles, arrows... and so on which are specifically made for fighting. They are what people use in fights. But-'
#But?# Alexander questioned
'But err... that are not the only things that you can use as a weapon right? Like if I get into a fist fight, my hand would be my weapon. Hand isn't designed specifically to fight and yet it can become a weapon.'
#Anything else?#
'err... of course there are more examples. Like using your other body parts. Or your surroundings as a weapon.'
#Surroundings?# Alexander seemed interested in my answer.
'Yeah like if you're fighting on a beach, you can throw sand in your opponent's eyes to blind them. Then the sand will technically be a weapon. If I am fighting someone at home like a burglar or someone, I can use things like utensils, kitchen knives, my baseball bat, or anything heavy as a weapon. Also there are other things that may not be physical like words, looks, and most importantly your mind. It is said that you can hurt a person the most by your words than any weapon. That is what Bullies most often use as a weapon against their victim. And your mind is a weapon in its own right.'
Alexander was silent for a few moments before he clapped. #Brilliant Percy. Very good. Now,...#
'Yes I do.' I replied.
#Did you know, that the point of words and looks being used as a weapon was something even I had not considered in the answer. I never expected you to answer so precisely too. But, you did and you gave an answer which was even better than mine. You may not have had high grades in school at that time Percy. But, your intelligence is not determined by your marks. The exams only test how much one can remember from the textbooks. Your intelligence can't be determined by a school test Percy. Take the example of Albert Einstein. He wasn't the best student in all subjects academically when he was in school and yet, he is regarded as the brightest and the most intelligent man to have lived. You are intelligent in your own way Percy, you just don't show it.#
I couldn't reply. What was I suppose to say?
#I don't know why you are offended kid and behaving so defensive. I complimented you. It was not an insult. It was a praise.#
'Err... thanks I guess... but I still feel you did help me a lot.'
Alexander chuckled. #Never change Percy. Never change.#
I was going to ask what he meant but The conch shell rang and I prepared myself for a fight. The daughter of Athena had placed me as the bait after all.
I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory as soon as the conch shell rang.
I immediately extended my senses. I felt the water in the air. I could tell that the camper that had just rushed past me was climbing up a tree. A party of three was hurrying towards the creek line from our side towards the enemy territory. That was when I felt two presences nearing me. One was a monster and other was a human. I was on guard for the monster but it was far enough to not pounce upon me right away atleast. I turned to the human presence I felt but saw no one. My senses confirmed that someone was there... A female... but I couldn't see her. An invisible person then. Enemy or not was yet to be determined but the person was definitely a camper.
"Ms. Invisible, please come out before I decide to chop you up." I said in a dangerous tone, putting the war-commanding power in it. The figure immediately shimmered and Annabeth appeared out of thin air, holding a Yankees cap in her hands. "What the hades are you doing here?" I asked in an exasperated tone. If she was here to say sorry or explain her incredibly stupid plan, this was most definitely not the right time.
"I was here to protect you in case you were in danger from the Ares cabin."
"I don't need- Turn invisible again! Now!" I barked the command as I felt six presences nearing us. Annabeth thankfully obeyed immediately. The monster that I felt was still far enough to not be a threat, but it had moved nearer to me than it previously was. I took my position, as if I was seemingly unaware of the approaching campers. I felt them hiding under the bushes some 15 meters from where I was. Between us there was a creek. I casually stepped forward till I was at the edge of the creek. I spun the Riptide in my hand. The six Ares campers chose that moment to charge out of the under-bush across.
"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed and they charged across the stream. I too, stepped into the stream, immediately feeling the familiar rush of energy through my body. My senses expanded exponentially. I could feel a party nearing the enemy's flag, fighting their way through, Annabeth still standing at the spot where I left her, A group of campers clashing about 150 meters to my left and almost every other thing that was going on in the forest. The monster that I had sensed was nearing too.
I sidestepped the swing of the first kid and rammed him with my shield sending him stumbling several feet backwards before knocking him out with the hilt of my sword. The rest five of them surrounded me. Clarisse thrust her spear at me and I deflected it with my shield, but I realized my mistake as I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.
Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric and the shield wasn't resistant to it. Neither was the riptide. My storm-rider was, but I couldn't reveal it yet. Not until I was claimed atleast and offered a quest, which according to Alexander would happen soon.
It was a good thing that I was in water because the water immediately started healing my arm. I immediately blocked a swipe of the sword from another Ares camper with my own and disarmed him with the technique Luke and I had taught the Hermes cabin yesterday and kicked him away by channeling godly power into my leg. The guy flew a good seven or eight meters before landing on the hard ground. He lay there moaning in pain.
"Now, really. Why are you all here? The flag is not here my dears." I calmly told them to bring myself time so my .
"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"You don't need my help to do that. You all already are stupid. I expected better from the children of the god who was the patron of Sparta. Not such disappointments like you all." I taunted. An angry enemy made mistakes and the children of Ares were easy to anger.
Two kids let out a war cry and came at me. I pumped godly energy into my limbs and disarmed them in a blink of an eye before slamming the flat of my sword across one head. Next, I slammed my shield on the others head, batting Clarisse's spear away at the same time, carefully avoiding the tip of the electric spear.
I ducked under the swipe of the sword of Ares kid number 5 before hitting him between his eyes with the hilt of my sword.
Only Clarisse was left now.
"So, I give you one chance. Back away and you won't meet the same fates as your siblings Clarisse."
"Shut up." She growled and thrusted her spear at me. I batted the spear away.
"Last chance. Back down Clarisse. We will call it a truce here. I won't come after you all and you all won't come after me. Believe me, I am much better as a friend than as your enemy." I said putting my war-command power in my voice. She seemed to hesitate before her eyes hardened with resolve again.
#You have wounded her pride. She won't back down. Your war-command made her falter but she won't back down.#
Alexander was correct as Clarisse thrusted her spear again. I caught the spear's shaft expertly between my shield and sword and snapped the spear like a twig.
"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" I dropped my shield and punched her face. She landed on her arse and spat on the ground while glaring at me.
"Told you so." I said before hitting her with enough force to leave her dazed.
Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse. "A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
Apparently Chase's stupid plan had worked perfectly.
Our side exploded into cheers as Luke crossed the boundary line.
The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over. We had won as I had predicted.
Annabeth's invisible form moved closer to me
"See, the plan worked." She said smugly.
"I never said the plan wouldn't work. The question wasn't even about the plan working or not. You willingly sent one of your team mates to death... atleast it would be if it was a war or a real life situation. The question is, can I or anyone for that matter, trust you to make plans in the future. Can we trust you not to send us to our deaths just so you can win? You used your soldier as a pawn and were ready to sacrifice him to serve as a distraction for the enemy. If this wasn't a game and instead a real life situation, I would have lost complete trust in you and never followed you in battle if I would have lived."
"But that's the point. It was a game. Not a real life situation."
I gave her a look which shouted 'ARE-YOU-STUPID?'
"This is a training exercise disguised as a game, daughter of Athena. It is to train you in a controlled environment. It is a learning experience of what to do... how to react... if the situation was real. The ones that defend the flag learn what to do if their home is ever attacked by an outside force. The attacking party learns to perform a siege on an enemy base. This is where we train and experiment so that we don't make the same mistake in real life. Learn from it. Don't defend your actions by making excuses. You are fooling yourself Annabeth. Think about my words."
"But, I was here to make sure nothing happened to you." She still tried to defend herself.
"And the fact that you didn't step in to help me or did a sneak attack as you were invisible makes you much worse. I close this debate, Annabeth. Accept your mistake and learn from it. End of the topic." I said with a tone of finality in my voice and stepped out of the creek.
The extra energy left me but, it didn't affect me much because I was hardly tired. That was when I heard a canine growl.
Shit. I had forgotten about the monster in the fight with the Ares cabin and the debate with Annabeth. I extended my senses again and felt that it was very near to me.
The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which sounded like: "Stand ready! My bow!" Annabeth drew her sword. There on the rocks just above us was a hellhound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at me
I uncapped my riptide.
"PERCY, RUN!" Annabeth yelled and tried to step in front of me but the Hellhound was faster.
It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit me, I chopped of its head in one fluid motion. But, the damage had been done. One of its claws had left a deep gash mark on my chest, tearing through my armor.
As the hellhound's body and head turned to golden dust, I instantly stepped back into the creek. The water would heal me. I even channeled some divine energy in the area of my wound to make it heal faster.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to..."
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."
Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone. Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"
"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.
"Yeah, as if I would summon the hellhound and make it attack me of all people. Use your brain Clarisse." I snarked.
"Enough Per- Oh this is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus..." Chiron whispered when he looked at me... specifically the wound that was rapidly healing. The cut had almost closed.
"This is really not good." Annabeth murmured as a green light appeared above my head. I looked up and saw a Trident floating above my head.
I had been claimed.
"It is determined," Chiron announced. All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.
"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earth-shaker, Storm-bringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."
Walter Ha: I am not sure... but I will definitely cover till the Heroes of Olympus series.
Reddragon God emperor of death : Percy will definitely get an armor later in the fic... Its properties are yet to be determined though... I am open to suggestions.
.
Stay Happy! Stay safe! Keep smiling! Keep reading!
HPfanfictioner66