WARNING: MENTIONS OF RAPE/CHILD MOLESTION ... ITS NOT THERE. ONLY ONE LINE, BUT I STILL WANTED TO NOTATE

Drew was sneering at one of the new campers over at Camp Half-Blood that seemed way over their head. The daughter of doves looked down at them haughtily from where she sat atop of Ginevre. "Sweetheart, I don't care who you are," she was saying. "You could have been one of the twelve disciples. You could be Jesus of Nazareth himself. I don't care, but all I do want to know is who the fuck are you yelling at because it's not me."

Apóllōn tsked, turning to look at Aphrodítē. "She gets that attitude from you."

"One's comrade should be straight," said the Lady of Kithira. "And not think crooked thoughts."

Annabeth had made her way back to camp and was crossing off places to check for Percy though they kept her from entering the Caldecott Tunnel, covering it deeply with Mist so that she couldn't see anything. Behind her sat Eliza, who worried for her girlfriend; that had been an interesting conversation between them as the girls realized that while they loved Percy… They were in love with each other. Something that was only enforced by the newest child of doves that stated that their "lines" were different. Either way, Eliza was playing a soothing song on her new lyre, gaze turned towards the river as she lounged on the seat beside Annabeth.

Not too far away from the champion of Apóllōn was another daughter of Aphrodítē; Mirajane was her name. She was scowling at a Huntress that had insulted one of her brothers. "Fuck off, Micockroach, or I won't be held accountable when you get kicked out of the Hunt for the loss your maidenhood."

"What... that's rape!" The Huntress yelped, backing away a bit.

"And you just said that my brother was going to grow up to be a child molester. I think we're even on who is more out of pocket. Leave him and the rest of my siblings alone. This is your only warning."

While that was happening over there, theoi tou gamelioi were more concerned with the fact that a pair of blessings were about to meet. Through Vulcanus' exceptionally crafted speakers, they could hear the same snippets around New Roma that the trio was hearing while they explained things to Percy; the smallest amount of his history that they knew and information about the legion. Lilith Nadia Star was meditating under the sun, though it was less mediating and more wrangling her short-fused temper under control. "This is me choosing peace before I be on news channel twelve for throwing an engine upside somebody's head."

"That's Lilith," Magnus explained. "Next to Octavian and Medea, she's the best spiritualist at camp. She's next in line to lead the College of Pontiffs. They're the highest-ranking priests of New Rome, but that won't happen until Octavian retires."

"If he does," Medea smirked as they passed by a pair of arguing legionnaires. "She's also Reyna's blessing so if Reyna starts flirting with you, let us know. That way we can get you out of dodge because Lilith is terrifyingly possessive for someone that she threatened to break kneecaps." But again, as Venus had so kindly put. Reyna had called her a freak of nature.

"Bitch if I bite into some fries and it's some apples," came from Bellōna's other daughter. "I'm going to knock your head between the refrigerator fan motor."

"That's Marge. Short for Marjorie, but unless you're one of her siblings then don't call her that. She's the most talented mechanic we have," Medea explained. "Daughter of Bellona so Reyna's her sister, but Marge is also a legacy of Vulcan. When she lost her arm in a battle two years ago, she went on to make her own prosthetic that can change into different things like a rocket launcher, a canon, high-voltage cattle prod."

"Legacy?"

Medea nodded, waving her hand around them. "Yeah, we have roughly two hundred kids here at Camp Jupiter. Divided into barracks of ten—like roommates, kind of. Five cohorts of about forty kids each. Anyway—"

"Two hundred?"

Magnus nodded his head in agreement. "I said the same thing when I got here."

Medea rolled her eyes. "Not all of them are children of major gods. There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies—second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents. And Marge's one of them. Her dad was a son of Vulcan."

Percy blinked. "Children of demigods?"

"Why? Does that surprise you?"

"These Legos—"

"Legacies," Medea corrected.

"They have powers like a demigod?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes not. But they can be trained. All the best Roman generals and emperors—you know, they all claimed to be descended from gods. Most of the time, they were telling the truth. The camp augur we're going to meet, Octavian, he's a legacy, descendant of Apollo. He's got the gift of prophecy." She then tilted her head to the side. "I'm surprised Lea didn't tell you this."

"Lea?"

The couple paused, turning to him at once. "Lea," Medea repeated louder as if the boy was deaf. "Leaneira? Your sister? Your twin sister."

"I have a sister?" He furrowed his brows. "I think Juno mentioned something about that."

Medea waved a hand, conjuring a picture of the twins right after the Battle of the Labyrinth. She must have summoned it directly from Leaneíras' bedroom. The twins were smiling at each other, him holding onto Kataklusmós and her holding onto her grimoire.

"Oh," Percy breathed, taking the picture in hand. "Where is she?" Hērmês felt something crack within him. Wasn't that the million dollar question? "Is she here?"

Magnus shook his head, "Ahh no. There was an accident. She had gotten poisoned." Percy's eyes widened in alarm. "Hey! Calm down. The gods took her back to Olympos so that she could recover."

"The gods do that?"

"Lea's a special case," Medea explained. "Her soulmate is one of the gods. They have more interest in keeping her alive than anyone else. Once word got out that someone poisoned her, they immediately snatched her up to the heavens where she's been ever since to keep her safe from any other attempts. Probably because she had gotten too close to finding out who had kidnapped you."

Hērmês wished it had been something like that and not because of a bitter and jealous woman that did not know her place in the hierarchy.

"Kidnapped?" Percy yelped.

"Yeah," Magnus said as Medea looked away. The sadness that had clung to her for months seemed to pour from her pores which was no doubt worsened due to the fact that her friend, Jason, was also missing. It also probably didn't help that she remembered who was to blame the last time a child of Sally Jackson was kidnapped. "She contacted us a few months back to see if we had heard anything about you. We're all good friends. We were at your fifteenth birthday party last year and the party you had for your birthday this year. Honestly, you, me, and Lea all go to the same school."

"And we went to the same school before you transferred," Medea said. "It was how we met. So, when Lea told us you were missing, we searched for you too. Who would have thought that you showed up on your own though."

"I'm sorry," Percy said, but the two of them waved it away. He had nothing to be sorry for anyhow. It wasn't like he chose to go missing. Medea bought him an espresso drink and a cherry muffin from Bombilo, the two-headed coffee merchant.

"Bath house," Medea said when she caught him looking after a bunch of kids in swimsuits and towels heading into one of the buildings that had steam coming out of a row of chimneys. "We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

They moved out of the way as an auburn-haired teen chased after another. "I'm on your ass like a bumper sticker!"

Medea and Magnus snickered. "That's Daniele Campbell. Our soulmate. They don't like nicknames, so just stick to Daniele if you need to talk to them."

Magnus looked behind them, watching as Daniele passed another group of children. "And that's Krisa Hester. Daughter of Apollo. She's preparing for her performance."

"Performance?"

"She and the kids that she's with? Those are children of the Mneiae, I mean the Muses. She's like the Celine Dion, the Beyoncé, the Cher of New Rome. All of her concerts are awesome. She performs at just about every festival we have and we have a lot. They're all different performances and just when you think she can't top it, she goes ahead does exactly that."

"So, she should be performing at the Feast of Fortuna?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what she does."

"So the divisions," Percy asked, taking them back to what he really wanted to know. "The cohorts, whatever—you're divided according to who your godly parent is?"

Medea stared at him. "What a horrible idea! No, the officers decide where to assign recruits. If we were divided according to god, the cohorts would be all uneven. If it were like that, you'd be all alone since Lea doesn't go here."

"Huh, then why should Lea... my, um, sister should have known about it?"

"Wait!" Behind them, one of the Lares rushed towards them, gasping for air that he did not need. "This is him?" the ghost panted. "A new recruit for the Fifth, perhaps?"

"Vitellius," Medea said, "we're sort of in a hurry."

The ghost scowled at Percy and walked around him, inspecting him like a used car. "I don't know," he grumbled. "We need only the best for the cohort. Does he have all his teeth? Can he fight? Does he clean stables?"

"Yes, yes, and no," Percy said. "Who are you?"

"Percy, this is Vitellius." Magnus explained. "He's one of our Lares; takes an interest in new recruits."

On a nearby porch, other ghosts snickered as Vitellius paced back and forth, tripping over his toga and hiking up his sword belt which again was not possible. He was dead. Mercurius was getting real sick of that.

"Yes," Vitellius said, "back in Caesar's day—that's Ivlivs Caesar, mind you—the Fifth Cohort was something! Twelfth Legion Fulminata, pride of Roma! But these days? Disgraceful what we've come to. Look at Medea here, using a spatha."

Medea growled under her breath. "Watch it, Casper! The Fourth will kick your ass.'

"Ridiculous weapon for a Roman legionnaire—that's for cavalry! And you, boy—you smell like a Greek sewer. Haven't you had a bath?"

"I've been a little busy fighting gorgons," Percy said.

"Vitellius," Magnus interrupted, "Medea has to get Percy's augury before he can join. Why don't you come with me? Reyna wants me to do the inventory for the armory. I could really use your help."

The ghost's furry purple eyebrows shot up. "Mars Almighty! Let's go before they send someone else!" He stumbled off down the street and Magnus laughed a little under his breath, pressing a kiss to Medea's cheek. "I'll see you guys in a minute. This shouldn't take too long."

"O-h-h-kay," Percy said.

"Sorry," Medea said, the blush from Magnus' actions fading away. "He's eccentric, but he's one of the oldest Lares. Been around since the legion was founded."

"He called the legion...Fulminata?" Percy said.

"'Armed with Lightning,'" Medea translated. "That's our motto. The Twelfth Legion was around for the entire Roman Empire. When Rome fell, a lot of legions just disappeared. We went underground, acting on secret orders from Jupiter himself: stay alive, recruit demigods and their children, keep Rome going. We've been doing that ever since, moving around to wherever Roman influence was strongest. The last few centuries, we've been in America."

"And Magnus is in the Fifth Cohort," he guessed, "which maybe isn't the most popular?"

Medea scowled. "Yeah. This will be his second year. He chose the Fifth mainly because I'm in the Fourth and well... One of the things that the Legion tries to enforce is keeping blessings out of the same cohort. It's hard to accomplish since everyone gets them at different ages, but they do. It keeps down distractions and you know, in case one of them turns out to be an evil, backstabbing, kidnapping asshole then you'll need to know how to fight against them. Each cohort learns different fighting styles alongside the standard way."

"Um..."

Medea shook her head. "When we get your memories back, you'll understand what I mean, but first, come on... I want to see if I can do something about this amnesia of yours."

She led them through the main gates where Percy stopped and stared. It was like how Leaneíras looked when he showed it to her. The people gathered in the plaza, shoppers milling around an open-air market, parents with kids playing in the parks. The road leading down to the river, diving into two paths where one led south across a bridge, up to the hill with all the temples. The other road led north into the city, a miniature version of Ancient Roma. Unlike the military camp, the city looked chaotic and colorful, with buildings crowded together at haphazard angles.

"You've got families here?" he asked.

"In the city, absolutely," Medea said. "When you're accepted into the legion, you do ten years of service. After that, you can muster out whenever you want. Most demigods go into the mortal world. But for some—well, it's pretty dangerous out there. This valley is a sanctuary. You can go to college in the city, get married, have kids, retire when you get old. I would say its the only safe place on earth for people like us, but I still don't know where you and Lea went to unless you guys went to some camp at sea for you fish-blooded people. Anyway, a lot of veterans make their homes there, under the protection of the legion."

"But if this valley is attacked?"

Medea pursed her lips. "We have defenses. The borders are magical. But our strength isn't what it used to be. Lately, monster attacks have been increasing. What you said about the gorgons not dying...we've noticed that too, with other monsters." She pointed her fingers over to a small building not too far from Temple Hill. "That over there is the Prophet Shop. It's not where the Collegium Pontificum... I mean the College of Pontiffs meet at, but most of them end up there anyway. Anybody that has a gift for divination go there and if you want something like your horoscope read, but don't want to bother Octavian, then that's where you went."

Their elephant thundered down the road and Medea dragged him out of the way as another legionnaire yelled, "Make Way" before they turned north, heading toward a big open field where some fortifications were under construction.

Percy spit dust out of his mouth. "What the—?"

"Elephant," Medea explained.

"Yeah, I read the sign. Why do you have an elephant in a bulletproof vest?"

"War games tonight," Medea said. "That's Hannibal. If we didn't include him, he'd get upset."

"We can't have that."

Medea laughed, pointing south across the river. Dark clouds were gathering over Temple Hill where the gods could see that Son of Troy was once again trying to carve Jason's location out the sky through sheer will. Red flashes of lightning washed the monuments in blood-colored light.

"Octavian is busy," Medea said. "We'd better get over there."

As they made the rest of the way to Temple Hill, Medea answered every question that he had about his sister. Mercurius smiled just a bit even though a part of him still felt so very empty without her.

Medea pointed out the Temple of Bellōna. "Goddess of war," she said though Minerva huffed. "That's Marge and Reyna's mom." Then they passed a massive red crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes.

"Please tell me we're not going in there," Percy said.

Medea shook her head. "That's the Temple of Mars Ultor."

"Mars ... Ares, the war god?"

"That's his Greek name," Medea said. "But, yeah, same guy. Ultor means 'the Avenger.' He's the second-most important god of Rome."

Percy then pointed toward the summit, one hand absently rubbing at his now glowing back. Clouds swirled over the largest temple, a round pavilion with a ring of white columns supporting a domed roof. "I'm guessing that's Zeus—uh, I mean, Jupiter's? That's where we're heading?"

"Yeah." Medea nodded, her eyes tracking the movement before realization flashed in her eyes. A bright and giddy smile appeared on her face. "Octavian reads auguries there—the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus."

"Jupiter...the best and the greatest?"

"Right."

"What's Neptune's title?" Percy asked. "The coolest and most awesome?"

Wincing, Medea gestured to a small blue building the size of tool shed with a cobweb-covered trident was nailed above the door. Percy peeked inside. On a small altar sat a bowl with three dried-up, moldy apples.

"Popular place."

"I'm sorry, Percy," Medea said. "It's just...Romans were always scared of the sea. Well, not scared. They controlled the Mediterranean, but they only used ships if they had to. But its just that... Having a child of Neptune around has always been a bad omen. The last time one joined the legion ...well, it was 1906, when Camp Jupiter was located across the bay in San Francisco. There was this huge earthquake—"

"You're telling me a child of Neptune caused that?"

"Your children of the earthshaker, dude." Medea smirked a bit. "You don't know your own strength. A few years back, you and your sister set off a volcano that displaced thousands and South Island, New Zealand got hit with a harsh winter storm because she had gotten so angry." She shook her head though there was something dark in her eyes as she remembered why Lea had been so angry. "Anyway...Romans fear Neptune, but they don't love him much."

The boy reached into his backpack, digging out a stale bagel that he set on the altar. "Hey...uh, Dad. If you can hear me, help me out, okay? Give me my memory back. Tell me—tell me what to do."

"I would if I knew just what my sister had on Mnēmosúnē to take your memory," Poseidón grumbled not that either goddess answered his glare.

Medea put her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. You're here now. You're one of us. We'll figure it out."

Above them, thunder rumbled. Red lightning lit up the hill.

The Son of Troy stood before the center altar, his lithe form completing one of his cleansing rituals though with Percy entering after his time on the streets meant that he would have to do it again. His blond hair curled around his nape, the strands teasing the oversized shirt that he stole from Jason Grace. Well, his entire outfit was stolen from the boy and his late cousin, Augustus. No doubt it was in an attempt to feel closer to them since the child had made no secret of his fear of Jason's death that would theoretically leave him alone again. Theoretically being the prominent word as he had plenty of genuine friends that would draw him out of his shell starting with the camp's head healer who was marching towards the temple with his medic bag in hand.

"Octavian's almost done," Medea was saying as the two of them entered Iūpiter's temple. Father winced as Percy's dirty shoes stained the marble floors with their mosaics and inscriptions. The look was just about replicated on the golden statue of his Father that resided in the temple. "Let's go."

"It doesn't look like that," Percy muttered.

"What?" Medea asked.

"The master bolt," Percy said. Father grumbled as Hērmês winced, remembering all that stemmed from that. His poor Luke. His son. His child that had already decided to try for rebirth, dammit.

"What are you talking about?"

"I—" Percy frowned though he didn't seem to notice the way that his back was faintly glowing. "Nothing, I guess."

Before them, the son of Troy raised his hands before the altar, the heavenly oracle shook the temple, flashing lightning the color of blood in the sky around them. Apollō bore a proud smile as the kid was one of his view legacies that was skilled in all forms of divination though he did have his preferences. Mercurius thought it was a bit overkill since the boy was already gifted with prophecy, but he supposed he understood the appeal. The clouds around the temple broke apart as they turned back to white.

An impressive skill since the clouds represented his, well, clouded sight due to Iūnō's actions.

Medea smiled in anticipation considering that she knew the words that were imprinted on both boys.

"What's he doing?" Percy murmured.

The Son of Troy turned, smiling crookedly with a look of madness in his eyes that wouldn't look out of place on a psychiatric hospital patient. Then for the first time since the boy had started his training, they all watched as the knife and bear remains tumbled out of his hands. He blushed furiously, entire face becoming red as a tomato. As he stared at Percy, Mercurius couldn't help but to believe that love truly was blind. Percy looked homeless and as if he spent his nights curled in a landfill. There was nothing attractive about him at the moment though Mercurius could be biased since he knew how the boy looked under all that dirt and grime. He did look almost identical to his twin with the only difference was that Lea had breasts and longer hair.

Hilarious if they were being honest.

"Percy," Medea said, an amused smile on her face. "This is Octavian."

"Percy," he repeated to himself. Shaking his head, he got himself back under control. Bending down to gather his knife and disemboweled bear, they all watched the way his fingers subtly traced against his simádi psychís between his navel and the base of his sternum, a couple of fingers above his belly. No doubt the boy could feel the warmth of it. "The graecus! How interesting."

"Uh, hi," Percy said, just as enraptured as the other. "Are you killing small animals?"

Laughing, Octavian looked at the mutilated bear in his hand. "No, no." His bangs fell into his eyes as he brushed it out of his face, Percy inhaled sharply, his own cheeks turning red. "Once upon a time, yes. We used to read the will of the gods by examining animal guts—chickens, goats, that sort of thing. Nowadays, we use these."

Percy caught it absently, but he continued to stare at the boy. "It's you."

"Hm?" Octavian raised a brow even as he stepped off the dais. "What do you mean? You seem nervous."

"You remind me of someone," Percy said. "The boy in my dreams."

Octavian somehow managed to flush even further, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"I hope he remembers my daughter's words," Venus mused. "Perseus is his blessing. He does not need to test him before he opens up to him nor does he need to try Percy's patience before deeming him worthy of his time and vulnerability."

"The vulnerability is the most important part of that sentence," Apollō commented. "He's not good at giving his emotions a place to exist without lashing out with his words when he's upset."

"He should work on that," Venus noted.

"I doubt that he will," Apollō shrugged. The goddess of love said nothing else, but there was a look in her eyes that spoke of trouble for the boy. He will learn on his own or she would force him to do so.

"Why did you call me 'the Greek'?"

"I saw it in the auguries." Octavian waved his knife at the pile of stuffing on the altar. "The message said: The Greek has arrived. Or possibly: The goose has cried." He joked, a small smile appearing on his face as he forced himself to stop staring at his blessing. "I'm thinking the first interpretation is correct. You seek to join the legion?"

Medea spoke for him. She told Octavian everything that had happened since they met at the tunnel—the gorgons, the fight at the river, the appearance of Iūnō, their conversation with Reyna. When she mentioned Iūnō, Octavian looked surprised.

"Juno," he mused. "We call her Juno Moneta. Juno the Warner. She appears in times of crisis, to counsel Rome about great threats." He glanced at Percy before turning back to the altar, brows furrowed in worry.

"I hear the Feast of Fortuna is this week," Percy said. "The gorgons warned there'd be an invasion on that day. Did you see that in your stuffing?"

"Yes," he snorted. "But our esteemed leader doesn't want to cause panic within our people instead of preparing them for war. And besides," he turned completely back to the altar. "The will of the gods is hard to discern. And these days, my vision is even darker."

"Don't you have...I don't know," Percy said, "an oracle or something?"

"An oracle!" Octavian scoffed. "What a cute idea. No, I'm afraid we're fresh out of oracles. Now, if we'd gone questing for the Sibylline books, like I recommended—"

"The Siba-what?" Percy asked.

"Books of prophecy," Medea said, "which Octavian and the rest of the Prophet Lot are obsessed with. Romans used to consult them when disasters happened. Most people believe they burned up when Rome fell."

"Some people believe that," Octavian corrected, looking at them over his shoulder. "Unfortunately our present leadership won't authorize a quest to look for them—"

"Because Reyna isn't stupid," Medea said. The look that Octavian gave her clearly stated that he begged to differ.

"—so we have only a few remaining scraps from the books," Octavian continued, nodding to the inscriptions on the marble floor. "A few mysterious predictions, like these."

"That one." Percy pointed, translating as he read aloud: "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

"Yes, yes." Octavian finished it without looking: "An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"I—I know that one." Percy trembled. More than likely the memory was pulsing in his mind. It was an important prophecy. "That's important."

"Of course it's important," Octavian said, arching a brow. "We call it the Prophecy of Seven, but it's several thousand years old. We don't know what it means. Every time someone tries to interpret it...Well..." He shrugged. "Bad things happen."

Medea rolled her eyes. "Just read the augury for Percy. Can he join the legion or not?"

The boy mimicked her, turning to look towards his bless but keeping his eyes firmly away from his face. "That's a beautiful specimen," he said, holding his hand out for Percy's backpack. "May I?"

He snatched the Bargain Mart panda pillow that was sticking out of the top of his pack before anything could be said, turning toward the altar and raising his knife.

"Hey!" Percy protested.

Slashing open the panda's belly, he poured the stuffing over the altar and tossing the panda carcass aside before muttering a few words over the fluff. Mercurius could feel Iūnō's power infusing into the stuff. Octavian turned with a big smile on his face that softened into adoration as he looked at Percy.

"Good news!" he said. "Percy may join the legion. We'll assign him a cohort at evening muster. Tell Reyna that I approve. Very much."

Medea's shoulders relaxed. "Uh...great. Come on, Percy."

"Oh, and Medea," Octavian said. "I'm happy to welcome Percy into the legion. But when the election for praetor comes up, I hope you'll remember —"

"Jason isn't dead," Medea snapped. "You're the augur. You're supposed to be looking for him!"

"Yeah he better not be," Octavian grumbled, worry and anger woven deeply into his facial features. "But I am looking." Octavian pointed at the pile of gutted stuffed animals. "I consult the gods every day! And since Alina came back," The boy's eyes seemed to brighten at the mention of his childhood friend while Percy's expression could have been carved from stone as jealous as he was. "She's been helping me. Alas, after eight months, I've found nothing. Of course, I'm still looking. Quite honestly, the only way that I'll stop looking is when I see a corpse. But if Jason doesn't return by the Feast of Fortuna, we must act. We can't have a power vacuum any longer. I hope you'll support me for praetor. It would mean so much to me."

"Duh, idiot," Medea snorted. "Who else would I support? Dodie?"

The two of them snickered as the blond took off his toga, setting it and his knife on the altar. Percy's face flushed as he trailed his eyes over the boy, lingering on his legion mark. Seven lines under the symbol of a lyre. The elder boy stepped down from the dais as he neared his friend. "Be careful though. He's circulating those awful rumors about you and I'm doing all that I can to stop them."

Medea nodded sharply before turning to look between the two. "Enough about that though," a teasing smirk appeared on her face. "Percy, I don't think I've told you exactly who Octavian is."

Octavian spluttered, turning away.

"Who? What do you mean?"

"This is Octavian Antonius Gaius Trajan Verus."

"For gods' sake, stop telling people my entire name!"

"You can just call him Octavian Antonius Verus though," the girl continued as if he said nothing.

Percy's brow furrowed as he looked between the two. "Octavian Antonius Verus?"

Octavian inhaled sharply, stumbling back. His mark burned, glowing from under his stolen shirt. He struggled, yanking it upwards until they could all view the lyre engraved in his skin and shimmered like the stars. Three names were in line within it, but the only one that was of importance were the words in ellinika.

Περσευς Πελαγαιος

"What does that say," Medea asked, leaning in as if she didn't already know.

"Perseús Pelagaios," Percy translated. He was echoed a second later by Octavian and in a similar fashion, Percy stumbled as his mark glowed. Medea was spinning him around quickly, yanking his shirt up so that they could view the trident that was engraved in his skin.

"Well would you look at that," Medea smirked. "It seems that he really is the boy of your dreams."

"This is so cute," Venus gave a small squeal. "It's too bad that the boy is most definitely going to ruin this for himself."

Mercurius snorted even as Apollō rolled his eyes.

After another moment of them staring into each other's eyes, Octavian eventually broke eye contact, forcing himself to turn back to the altar. "Um... I'll see you all at dinner. If you'll excuse me, I have to keep searching for our poor lost friend, Jason. Nice to meet you, Percy."

As they were leaving the pavilion, Percy turned to Medea with a lovesick smile, "I'm going to marry him." Considering that they were not completely out of earshot, Octavian's ears turned even redder.

WORD COUNT: 5319

WORDS TO KNOW:

1) simádi psychís - soulmark 2) theoi tou gamelioi - gods of marriage

THINGS TO KNOW:

1) For all that everyone preaches that Greek and Roman gods are the same... which you know... they are not.

1A) They are not given the same consideration.

1B) Take Neptūnus for example. He was never a ruling deity whereas Poseidón was considered Ζεύς' second in command.

1C) Iovis has over an hundred epithets. You'd be hard pressed to find three for Neptūnus that was not a rip off of Poseidón.

1D) That said... I unfortunately am ripping off Poseidón.

1E) And Iovis also because looking at a few of the epithets given to him make more sense to be used for Neptūnus if ppl really want to go the Greco-Roman gods are the same route (Which they are not.)

2) One's comrade should be straight and not think crooked thoughts.' - ancient greek equivalent of the modern idiom, 'Pot calling the kettle black'.

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:

1) Just a bit of filler. No real progress on the plot just yet. It's basically an introduction into my version of Camp Jupiter.

2) Yes, Apóllōn and Aphrodítē are coparenting Drew with various amount of success. Surprise for them both is that Diónusos is the true blame for her everything.

3) Remember when Lea was kidnapped back in the TTC arc?

3A) Lea being kidnapped was partially about Octavian learning about Percy. Her kidnapping brought her closer to the roman demigods so more people knew about them than just Reyna and Hylla. Medea reported to New Rome about Trent being a traitor and how he kidnapped her friend. When the Senate did a deeper investigation, they learned how Medea and Trent befriended the twins but would have never suspected that they were demigods. That's how Octavian found out about Percy and he was actively looking for him though he was being rebuffed by the gods.

4) Medea and Magnus have been told that Lea was on Olympos recovering from her "poisoning" which is a lie, but you know.

5) Canon Wise - Octavian says that people claim that he looks like Julius Caesar and his namesake is the first emperor and he comes from a traditional family that had been sending members to the legion for years. HOW COULD I NOT GIVE HIM THE FAMILY LINEAGE THAT I CREATED?

6) Again, Percy has no memories. It's similar to Jason only remembering small flashes.

7) Confession: I like Camp Jupiter better than Camp Half-Blood.

7A) That said if CHB and CJ were supposed to represent Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome culture then CHB should have had more camps to represent the city states. And CJ should have had more camps to represent the different territories.

7B) Tbh, they cant be confined into one camp over all. There were different beliefs even during those times. They were atheists during those times. They were monotheists in that time.

7D) And lets not forget that Ancient Roma is also a staple in the Catholic church while also originally being a polytheistic empire. That alone would make it that CH wouldn't just be worshipping the roman gods.