I'm not responding to reviews today. I'm sorry but I'm beyond exhausted. My mom- who already has a lot of health issues came down with a cold which doesn't sound bad but it was a real nasty one and she was in hospital overnight so I've been stressed out of my mind. And to make it worse I'm pretty sure I'm catching the cold too :(.
In any case I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, in which Chiron and Artemis have to deal with the whole 'Apophis actually tried to rise' thing. And Artemis makes a calculated move.
Percy could almost feel sorry for Chiron. He honestly looked exhausted as he gave a slow nod. "I see. And- you seem certain that the Serpent was stopped but how certain? If Kronos is working with the daughter of a man who wished to free him then perhaps he is trying to rise. Is Ra-"
"Ra is still doing his thing- he went away for a while but he's happy now taking his journeys across the sky."
"We thought he vanished." Artemis spoke up, "He sealed the Serpent away and disappeared."
"Because of Isis." Percy nodded, "He did. He was... weakened over the years but he's willingly ceded the throne to Horus this time- no blackmail involved."
"In any case I struggle to see how you're so certain that the snake-"
"What snake?" Thalia spoke up suddenly, interrupting Chiron. "What snake are you talking about? I'm guessing from the way you're talking it's not just some normal snake but why are you so scared of it? You're acting like it's worse than Kronos-"
"Because he was." Percy said the words calmly, "They're talking about the Great Serpent, the ultimate enemy of Ra. Apophis." her hand twitched, "The embodiment of Isfet- Chaos." she stared directly ahead of her- almost through Thalia as she remembered the huge writhing power of Apophis. And she could feel Luke's gaze on her, those narrowed eyes. He was clearly remembering their discussion on the boat- about her history with possession. He was figuring out just what had decided to possess her. But she caught his eye and he paused, brows furrowing. He stared at her for what could only be a second or two but felt almost like a lifetime before he gave a tiny nod. He understood, and more importantly he planned on keeping his mouth closed, a fact which she appreciated very much under the circumstances.
"To put it in context-" Chiron looked uncomfortable. "The Big three were able to defeat Kronos, though it was a long difficult battle. Ra- who was- and I presume still is the most powerful of the Egyptian Gods, needed guards just to fend Apophis off during his journey through the Duat. They never truly defeated him. I- if he rose. Truly rose... I would fear for all life on Earth children. I do not know if I believe even all twelve Olympians and Hades himself would be able to defeat him, just to help you understand the Serpents power. Apophis would defeat even the strongest of our enemies I think. The only ones who may be able to face him would be the Protogenoi, and that's not entirely certain. And even then... immortal beings cannot truly be killed-"
"Yes they can." Percy's voice was quiet- but everyone's gazes snapped to her, even as Piper and Annabeth pressed closer on either side of her.
"What?" Chiron frowned, "Miss Kane that isn't possible-"
"A magician named Setne found a way. Have you heard of Execrations-"
"Yes- of course I have." Chiron frowned. "But such a spell would simply banish an immortal-"
"Not if you could use their shadow." Percy cut him off. "It's a dangerous spell. Perhaps one of the most dangerous ever made. But it can be done-"
"Their shadow?" Thalia snorted, "Oh come on that sounds-"
"A persons Sheut is one of the five parts of their soul. It's like a back up copy of a persons soul. If it's done correctly one could use a Shadow Execration to completely destroy any being. Mortal or immortal."
"That-" Artemis looked stunned, "How have we never heard of such magic-"
"The gods hid the nature of their Sheuts for years. And most of them hide their Sheuts too- or Egyptian ones anyway. I'm not even sure it would be possible to bind a Greek gods soul into a shabati as is needed for the spell. And only three people alive know how to do the spell- and one dead but I don't think he's going to go around telling."
"Have you been preparing for Apophis' rise?" Chiron asked, "Is that your plan-" which made Annabeth snort.
"Chiron they've already done it. Over four years ago."
"You-" Chiron looked as if he'd been struck. "You fought Apophis himself?"
"Well, I mean, the House of Life did. One of my closest friends was the Eye of Ra, she led the charge. I fought by her side when the time came. My brother and sister joined us shortly after." She would rather avoid certain details, people got so weird about the whole fact that she was now the living embodiment of Chaos, she didn't want the Greeks to think she was a threat. Not when they didn't really know or trust her "Weird to think that we hated each other at first sight. There's the whole irony and symbolism of that I guess."
"You- you're saying that Apophis was truly defeated? Destroyed?"
"Yes."
"Then Isfet is-"
"No." Percy shook her head, "You were about to say that Isfet is destroyed but it isn't that simple. Apophis was the living embodiment of Isfet. And the power was weakened drastically when Apophis was destroyed. But you cannot truly destroy chaos because then there would be no balance. True chaos magic still exists. It still has an anchor. It still has a physical manifestation."
"How?" Chiron looked disbelieving, "It makes no sense- Apophis' power was- that-" he looked stunned, "How could anyone- you're truly sure that he's been defeated?"
"Yes. It was a pretty intense battle, hard to miss even if I was only nine at the time. I had to jail break Ra's eye from inside of the damn serpent.
"Inside-" Chiron sucked in a sharp breath, "He swallowed- the prophecy."
"Was completed. I just played jailbreaker after the fact." Percy shifted slightly. "Apophis was destroyed. My brother and sister managed to perform the Execration and stop him. It was- like I said it was an intense battle. The bulk of the House of Life against one being, should tell you a lot I think. But- we won in the end."
Chiron stared at her for several long moments. "I would at some point appreciate a more in depth explanation your highness- the- I struggle to comprehend exactly what you're saying. Though I believe you tell the truth."
"You could just read the books." Percy remarked, "Like I said. My mom wrote them about our adventures. They don't have every little detail but they're pretty accurate."
"You actually play yourself in movies." Thalia snorted, "That- I gotta admit I've never heard anything like that before."
"I know right." Percy gave a wry smile, "It can actually be pretty fun. My favorite scenes were the fighting ones. Though I had to yell at the props master about the type of swords he wanted us to use- straight blades. That's not right-"
"Ah yes." Piper snickered, "I remember that. This tiny ten year old ripping a grown ass man to shreds for inaccuracy. Your mom looked so proud."
"So she should be." Annabeth huffed the words, "Your Khopeshes are legendary. Though the real one is better- and you look sad. Why do you look sad?"
"I dropped it." Percy almost pouted, "In school, which was then blown up by Greek fire."
"Ouch." Piper whistled lowly. "Now that sucks balls. Can you summon a new one?"
"I'm not touching any magic for 24 hours. I nearly burned myself out- we're talking ashes here." Percy let out a little huff. "And even if I could..." she shook her head, "It wouldn't be- Ra gave me that-"
"Ra himself?" Chiron looked startled "Ra gifted you your blade- was it as a thank you for saving him-"
"No, no that came before. After we returned him to full strength. He was- he was kind." her expression went distant, "He was the only god I've show respect to on sight." she paused, "Well, I wasn't exactly disrespectful to Lord Hades-"
"Percy you weren't what the gods consider respectful." Piper pointed out, an amused smile flitting across her lips. "You also told him you wanted to kidnap Cerby."
"Cerby loves me." Percy grinned brightly at the horrified looks she was getting.
"So does Lord Hades." Annabeth snickered. "He's got a soft spot for you a mile wide-"
"It's not that bad-"
"Argos." Bianca chirped, a grin on her lips. Which made Percy flush.
"Hey, hey you heard him. He said it himself, Argos wasn't up to the usual standards. He's a good boy. He's my good boy."
"We know." Piper, Annabeth and Bianca chorused the words.
"Argos?" Zoe raised an eyebrow, "That was the name of Odysseus' dog was it not?"
"Yeah." Percy beamed, "Argos is a good loyal puppy. Who is also a Hellhound- but I'm training him well-"
"He's the soppiest Hellhound ever." Bianca grinned, "Nico keeps trying to sneak him treats."
"I know. He loves your little bro almost as much as he loves me." Percy grinned, shaking her head.
"You-" Artemis blinked. "Hades gifted you a Hellhound." her expression was disbelieving, "They're monsters- they can't be trained-"
"Yeah they can." Percy declared firmly. "Argos is really well behaved."
"He surprisingly is." Annabeth gave a wry smile before focusing on Thalia and Luke, "He's not like the ones that went after us you two. He's adorable. Most of the time he's got a magic collar on that keeps him at a usual puppy size- he'd destroy Brooklyn House otherwise-"
"He'd have to live on the roof with Freak- my brothers Griffin." Percy told them, "But- yeah. I guess Ra is the only god that I'm really that respectful too. Most of them I insult, threaten or treat like normal people."
"Perhaps we should ensure you don't meet the Olympians." Chiron twitched.
Luke snorted, "I dunno, it would be entertaining. Not like the Olympians deserve that much respe-"
"I will spray you." Percy pointed at him, "You're not allowed to be too openly disrespectful at the moment. You're still on thin ice. Besides you don't get diplomatic immunity. I do-"
"I'm not entirely sure that's how it works-" Annabeth laughed. "But I mean, Carter would formally appoint you as his emissary so maybe."
"Chiron-" Artemis spoke suddenly, a strangely careful tone in her voice. "Percy will need a sword for the battle to come-"
"We have no Khopeshes but I'm sure we can let her in the weapons stores if necessary but-"
"No." Artemis was watching Percy, as if making a decision. "There is a sword. One you were given some time ago-"
"A-" Chiron seemed to freeze, "Lady Artemis why-"
"Give it to her-"
"You don't need to do that-" Percy shook her head, "It's fine, really I'll find something I can use even if it's not my Khopesh."
"Indulge me." The look Artemis shot her was… strange. Percy wasn't sure what to make of it. Like she was cataloguing every little reaction. Trying to figure out the mystery that she presented- she found that almost entertaining. Artemis would figure out soon enough. Percy would deal with it when the time came. She wasn't offering up the information quite yet. She wasn't ready. It would be stepping across a line that there would be no coming back from.
"Artemis-" Chiron looked startled, "I didn't even know you knew about the sword-"
"I... keep an eye on it." Artemis said the words carefully, her gaze flicking to Zoe, who looked very uncomfortable.
"I- I don't think he meant for the sword to be given to an Egyptian." Chiron looked uncomfortable before, "Though I suppose he did come back and tell me to do with it as I would some years later so perhaps he no longer cares."
"Hey- listen if there's some big deal about this sword then don't worry." Percy shook her head, "I can get my own sword I really don't need you to provide one. I'm not used to your style swords anyway it's been a long time since I've trained with one-"
"No." Artemis' voice was firm, "You're a water elementalist. This blade may just be the perfect fit. At the very least you should try it."
