It'd been five years since Roden fell, since Princess Piper of Hyphen was married to Jason Grace much to the displeasure of many royal suitors across the continent.
Percy was celebrating his twenty-first birthday in the only way he knew how- on the battlefield.
He was no longer the boy from the Battle of Roden, afraid to harm a man past a simple scratch. He killed men so brutally it would've made Satan blush. Today was no different. Olympiad was making minor moves Northward, and Ruthage's tacticians believed they were going to attempt to sack Holar, the capital of the Ruthage lands. Percy was defending Mengi, a critical farming village only a few miles South of the capital. He along with a thousand other men were locked in war with a four-thousand man force sent by Olympiad.
"Lord Perseus, our numbers are swindling, I'm afraid." a messenger had told him at least an hour ago. Upon hearing that, he strapped on his heavy leather armor and decided it was time he'd joined the fight. His arrival renewed the spirits of some of the soldiers, but not all. Percy had sent a messenger on the half-day journey back to Holar yesterday at noon. Reinforcements should arrive any time soon, by the thousands. He remembered what Chiron had told him before he left with his battalion.
"If you ask for it, we have twenty-thousand soldiers to spare holding that city." He had said, and Percy thought he wouldn't need it.
He was severely arrogant about his chances of holding this without reinforcements, thinking that the Olympiad would send no more than double the amount of soldiers he had.
Again, severely underestimated the stupidity of King Zeus.
Zeus had sent nearly seven-thousand, at least according to Ruthage spies, to sack the village. There were messages sent that the total number of men in the Olympiad army was no more than twenty thousand.
Percy stopped thinking about the math, and focused on what was in front of him. A full attack formation of Olympiad meatheads thinking they have a chance at winning.
"What are we holding for, Perseus?" the mage Octavian asked. Percy smirked.
"The longer we hold out here, the more likely twenty thousand soldiers from Holar crest over the hill behind me. I'm simply being patient, waiting for reinforcements to arrive." Percy said calmly.
"Or?"
"Or they decide they've had enough, and want to charge us. In which case, we'll be ready." He looked around him. The people who stood behind him were battered and bruised, but stood there with him nonetheless. He loved that about his people- their unwavering loyalty not just to the kingdom, but to him. He'd heard stories about armies marching on their own kings, and he always laughed them off because he knew such things would never happen to him. A horn blared in the distance, but not the direction Percy had hoped for. It came from the side of the Olympiad army. There was a scream, and the army started sprinting forward. The leaders of battalions around him started motivating the soldiers, and as the army approached, Percy readied himself.
"Forward!" Percy boomed, and the small force ran forward.
The two groups met with brutal force. Percy cut down Olympiad soldiers like butter. He spun through attacks, expertly parrying, dodging and slicing, destroying soldiers by the dozen. He shredded through the heart of the force, nothing stopping him. Some Olympiad soldiers ran as opposed to challenging him, and those who decided to be stupid enough to fight him were met with their demise. He felt euphoric, free, when he was here. He was pulled from the fight when another conch horn blared behind the Ruthage force. Over the hill that stood between Holar and Mengi crested men on horses, donning black armor. Cheers erupted from the Ruthage side. Percy stood amidst the pause in battle and saw the hopelessness on the face of some of the Olympiad soldiers.
"Fall back into the city!" Percy roared, and the Ruthage warriors retreated. Percy ran back with them, a smile plastered on his face. He caught Octavian running back.
"Told you, buddy." He said, and Octavian let out a nervous laugh.
Percy fell down running, face planting. He tried to get up, but stumbled. He looked to Octavian for help, but his eyes were dead wide, staring down.
"Percy… your-" he stuttered. Percy looked down, and there was an arrow protruding just to the left of his bellybutton. His vision blurred.
"Fuck." he growled, passing out.
Annabeth began to thrive at Azotela. Over the four years she trained, it'd felt like an eternity, but she enjoyed it. She and Thalia had become best friends, to the point where some of the other girls joked that she and Thalia were in love. Artemis had become the mother she'd never had over those four years, and her teachings started harsh, but Artemis couldn't help but start to love the girls like daughters. Annabeth often sat over dinner, talking about their futures.
"I want to become the royal mage for Hyphen." Thalia said, and Annabeth frowned.
"Isn't that family dysfunctional?" Annabeth asked, and Thalia rolled her eyes.
"Only slightly. But the connections they have, there's so much power to be had there." Thalia said.
"Won't that keep you near your father?" Thalia flinched.
"I guess, but it'd be a sacrifice worth making."
"I hear that King Poseidon put Triton in control of Roden. And that Triton is single." Annabeth said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Calm it, blondie. I think Triton would sooner fondle a servant than rule a kingdom." Annabeth laughed.
"What about you?" Thalia asked. Annabeth stopped laughing, looking out the window.
"I wouldn't mind being in a place like Ruthage. I definitely want to be North, though. All the Southern kingdoms are messes." Thalia nodded.
"Ruthage would be fun, but I'm afraid I wouldn't want to be there when Poseidon dies. Rumor has it that both Orion and Triton are complete dipshits. But then again, who in this world isn't?" she sighed. Thalia frowned.
"I'm not a dipshit." she muttered, and Annabeth giggled.
"Of course you're not a dipshit, idiot."
The door burst open, and in stood Artemis, looking uncharacteristically worried.
"We have a live test, girls. Come with me. Now." She was stern, but a stern neither Thalia or Annabeth had heard before.
They were led down the main stairs of Azotela, into the familiar grand councilroom. They opened the doors, and the room was bustling, loud with people, but unlike how it normally was, everyone was gathered around the main council table. There were at least forty mages that Annabeth didn't recognize just shuffling around it. They pushed their way to the front. The sight was less than pleasing.
On the table lay a man Annabeth had never seen before, an arrow protruding from his lower abdomen. He was clearly losing blood- quickly.
"Silence! Everyone!" Artemis growled, and the crowd kept making noise.
"SILENCE!" another voice boomed, and everyone stepped away from the table, everyone but Annabeth, Artemis, and Thalia.
In walked Lord Hades of the Brotherhood, flanked by a tall, lanky blonde mage Annabeth had never seen before, and Nico.
"He is in a state similar to that of a coma, but his body is frozen. He is no longer losing blood." Hades said, walking to the table. "Leave the room, unless invited. This is a private matter." He said sternly. Annabeth looked to Artemis.
"We can stay, Annabeth." she assured her.
"Artemis, are these the girls you spoke of?"
"The two best mages that are currently under my training." Hades nodded.
"Excuse me, Lord Hades, who is this?" Annabeth asked. The man looked tall, built, clearly a warrior, but the only people brought to Azotela who were non-mages were royalty, and she'd never seen this man before.
"Prince Perseus of Ruthage, heir to the Ruthage throne, my cousin." Nico said stiffly, staring at the still body.
"I've never heard of Prince Perseus." Annabeth said, looking at the man.
"Poseidon planned it that way. Perseus is the third in line for the throne, so his mother and father decided at an early age he was to become a warrior, lead the Ruthage armies through any trials and tribulations they may ever come across. You only hear of Orion and Triton because they're dramatic, royal children. Perseus is a warrior. He deals on the battlefield, in death." Nico growled.
"What happened to him?" Annabeth asked, examining the wound in his stomach. "The arrow is poisoned." she whispered.
"He was defending Mengi from a twenty-thousand man Olympiad army." Nico said. "Is he within your power to heal?" Annabeth looked to Thalia, who nodded.
"We can heal him." She closed her eyes, she and Thalia hovering their hands over the wound. She felt the poison through his system, pulling it out.
"Are you ready?" Thalia asked.
"Yes."
"Eitrvegr. Eiter. Remove." They spoke in unison, and the arrow slowly removed itself from Perseus's stomach, floating through the air and clattering to the ground. With it, a ball of clear liquid, that hissed on contact with the floor. Annabeth felt the open wound, making a tying motion with her hands and closing it. She opened her eyes, and put her hand on Perseus's forehead.
"Wake." Lightning struck Perseus's unconscious body through the oculus in the roof, and he jumped awake, grabbing Annabeth's neck, standing and holding her above the ground, his eyes wide.
"P-Perseus…" she croaked through his choke.
"Percy!" Nico yelled, and Perseus looked around, realizing his situation. He dropped Annabeth to the ground, unsheathing his sword.
"Where am I?" he growled.
"Percy, you're in Azotela, home of the mages. My father brought you here to be healed. The poison that was inside of you would've killed you." Nico reassured, approaching the warrior. Percy slowly loosened, before sheathing his blade.
"What happened to Mengi?"
"Mengi has been won. Ruthage reinforcements scared off the rest of whatever was left of the Olympiad army." Percy nodded. "The young lady you choked was the one to pull the poison out of you." Percy saw her a gorgeous blonde woman- a mage, standing next to a black-haired mage and someone he faintly recognized.
"I am so sorry, milady, for my reaction." Percy said.
"It is fine, Perseus." she spoke quietly.
"Perseus, it is always great to see you in… good health." Lord Hades stepped forward, embracing Percy. "I haven't seen you since… the Hyphen wedding dinner." he trailed off.
"You need to sleep, Percy. I can portal you back to Ruthage in the morning." Nico said, ushering Percy out of the room.
"You look fabulous, Annabeth." Artemis commented.
"You as well, Lady Artemis." she responded. The ball room was filled to the brim with Kings and Queens, princes and princesses. The Azotela graduation ball was happening, where once a night, the most influential royal families come to Azotela to meet the graduates, in hope of gaining new mages in their ranks.
"I just spoke with King Alexander of Tetun, and he's shown some great interest." Thalia said, butting between the two women.
"Is that so?"
"I do think there's an opening at Ruthage, Annabeth." Thalia said, and Annabeth just shrugged.
"I don't think I'd want to be so close to Tetun… too many bad memories. I think the south might fit me better." She said,
"Excuse me, ladies." A young man spoke behind them, and they turned, meeting them, the same prince who'd shown up at their doorstep with an arrow in his gut. "If you don't mind, I'd just like to thank you two for saving my life." He said.
"There's no need to do that, Lord Perseus. We were simply doing our duty." Thalia politely responded.
"I never got either of your names." His clothing gleamed in the magical light; golden sashes crossed over his torso, lined with what Annabeth could only guess was his glories on the battlefield.
"I am Thalia Grace, and this is Annabeth Chase."
"Have you both found any luck here tonight?" he asked, looking back into the crowd.
"Thalia thinks she's got a spot in Tetun." Percy's smirk rose a bit at that, "but I haven't."
"Why's that? I could only imagine what some of these kings would do for your services."
"She thinks she deserves more than the regular-old puppet of a kingdom. Speaking of which, why are you here tonight, Perseus?"
"We've deemed our operations too much for one mage to handle- we're simply scouting to see if there's any quality options here." His eyes wandered to Annabeth, "but nothing of guarantee yet." Eyes quickly darting back to Thalia.
"Has old Chiron finally given out on you?" Artemis joked.
"Not yet, Lady Artemis, but I can only assume his time is coming. He's served Ruthage longer than my father has." Percy chuckled.
"If I may speak for my two mages here, Perseus, they're the two finest options you'll find here tonight. Annabeth specializes in the battle strategy while Thalia takes pride in her healing prowess." Artemis explained.
"Have you been approached by any other royals for their services, Lady Artemis?"
"Only Vulcon of Doru, who thinks Annabeth would make an excellent mage at his kingdom, but other than that, I've reserved these two for only the highest bidders." Percy understood the double-meaning there; Ruthage and Olympiad. "I've received word from your father that your kingdom requests only the highest ranking when it comes to knowledge of the battlefield, if you'll allow it, Lord Perseus, may I turn your head to Ms. Chase?" Artemis offered, and Annabeth held her hand out for Percy, who took it.
"Ruthage can only accept the highest performing in these categories, do you consider yourself to be the best among your peers?" Percy's eyes bore into Annabeths, who had shown no sign of wavering near him.
"By all means, Lord Perseus. You will find nobody here with a greater knowledge of the battlefield than me, outside of yourself, of course." Annabeth complimented him, and Percy just grinned, turning a shoulder to reveal the many royal members dancing with their prospective mages.
"Despite us clearly being above the many here, Ms. Chase, I do think it's only fitting we join them, do you not?" Percy offered, and Annabeth stepped to his side.
"On your lead, your excellence." and he walked her to the floor. They danced in rhythm with their surroundings.
"Do you want to go to Doru?" Percy asked. "I mean, seeing as how I do owe you a favor."
"Why would I go to Doru when they're merely a puppet and I'm dancing with the puppet master?" Percy withheld a chuckle, catching the side-eye glance from King Vulcon of Doru to his left.
"We are in need of a new strategist, do you think you can fill the role?"
thought this one was longer, my fault