The Arrogance of Man Personified

by SimplyMk

Aiden is a demigod who has seen many things, having lived in an orphanage his whole life had left him exposed to the dark side of the world. One day on his way to his usual spot of solitude, he witnesses a battle between people just like him and a beast he's only ever heard of. Read how Aiden ventures throughout this unknown yet known territory of demigods, gods and monsters.

6. The Calculated Path to Survival

"The human mind, much like the battlefield is a territory where the most intricate wars are waged. It is not the strength of the arm that conquers, but the resilience of the will and the sharpness of intellect. Remember Aiden, never constrict yourself to only what you deem necessary. Glance at everything, understand everything, use everything, and never ignore anything. Just like how the smallest of stones can cause small yet beautiful ripples, the smallest of things are capable of causing small changes everywhere. Observe, analyze, and strategize. Those who weave their threads with the cunning of their mind rather than the heat of their heart are the ones who shape destinies. The greatest of battles are not won through emotions, detach from those, and claim victory. Never allow yourself to lose, do not be swayed by the whims of the heart, for it is the calm and calculating mind that wins battles, that builds empires and that forges legends."

….

I slowly opened my eyes, immediately noting the exhaustion that riddled my mind and body.

Those words, I remembered them exactly as she said them to me. That day I had been accused for stealing one of the nun's head garment by the other kids in the orphanage when I didn't do so. I was immature at the time, I had planned my revenge in an intricate manner using my intelligence as an advantage to get revenge without getting caught.

But I had made a mistake.

While I did get my revenge, it was too early. I hadn't taken into account that if the child was suddenly injured after having accused me before all of the rage of the scene had died down, I'd be the first suspect.

I should've taken into account that they were already against me and anything I did after that negatively wouldn't matter whether it was hidden or not.

Even if the kids had injured themselves and blamed it on me, I would've still fallen for it. I had better things to do like train than to focus on petty matters, but I was a child, even if I was detached at the time, I couldn't ignore things that brought harm to me.

But because I was a child I was hasty, and when I was punished for both wrongdoings which both lacked proof, I was enraged.

I was going to plan another act of vengeance, I didn't care what anyone said, and all it did was result in more punishment.

The night after that, sister Griselda walked to me and took me out on a walk under the moonlight.

She spoke to me and comforted me with a soft voice and by that time I had built so much trust into her that I couldn't help but believe her every word.

She said those words to me, and from then on that was the end of my emotional days.

I sighed, now look at me.

I can't even laugh or get mad anymore—no, it wouldn't make sense to say those things.

I was able to feel, but I wasn't able to process, prolonged detachment and emotional suppression has left me in a state where I wasn't able to process emotions to truly feel them.

That coupled with my cautious nature was a rather powerful barrier to true understanding.

But do I regret listening to her? Do I regret the choice I made?

No.

I survived, I faced monsters, I remained cool headed and I lived.

And I will continue to do so.

There's no reason for me to change. If there was, then I couldn't see it.

I've just learnt to accept things as they were and move forward, if they brought harm then I wouldn't hold back in order to protect myself anymore.

I was indifferent to everything that didn't harm me, it was the perfect measure to protect myself. All warfare happened in my mind and all victories happened there as well. It was now up to me to make those victories a reality.

And I wouldn't lose.

But why did I remember that quote?

Usually people don't think about useless things unless it's to pass time but I was resting rather peacefully, so why did that quote come to mind?

Regardless…

What happened to the capture-the-flag game?

I blinked.

I fixed my eyes on the wooden ceiling, it was rather obvious that I was in one of the cabins, which one? That I had no idea.

The bed I laid on was comfortable, same for the pillow and the blanket that covered me and engulfed me with a welcomed warmth was something I appreciated at the very least.

I exhaled and closed my eyes, focusing on the magical energy that circulated within me. Due to my exhaustion it seemed I had unconsciously stopped releasing it in order to focus on helping my body internally.

With a deep breath I released my magical energy and began to picture the room in my mind.

Table, bandages, window, beds, magical energy and humanoids… demigods.

I was in some sort of medical room due to having recognized the shape of the bandages, the similarities of the beds and I could also infer that I wasn't alone, but I also recognized that magical energy, meaning I knew exactly who was with me.

What was her name again? Lilianna?

The Hunter of Artemis who could teleport, or maybe she was moving so fast that's what it looked like?

Regardless, she was currently asleep evident by the calm flow of her magical energy and the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest.

As I sat up, the bed creaked slightly while my blanket slowly descended from my chest down onto my waist. Liliana was sleeping comfortably on the bed opposite to mine, just like me she didn't seem injured in the slightest despite the strikes of mine that hit her face.

Could she heal with magical energy? Or perhaps did they use either Ambrosia or Nectar on the both of us?

The usage of those two divine items according to Chiron not only tasted like whatever the demigod's favorite food was, but it also helped to heal their wounds and regenerate their stamina.

Although he also stated that eating too much could cause the person to die, while mortals couldn't even eat it at all since they lack a divine part to sustain the power behind Ambrosia and Nectar.

Regardless, she wasn't awake meaning she couldn't have eaten it in-between the time when I hit her and now. Had she been awake while I was out, then they would've fed her either of the healing agents and sent her to Cabin 8, her hatred of men wouldn't allow her to stay in a room with me unless necessary, and if Ambrosia or Nectar were used, then she wouldn't need to.

Meaning either the Hunters had an alternate method, perhaps an enhanced metabolism due to being Hunters of Artemis, or that she could indeed heal with magical energy.

The other beds weren't all occupied, but I could recognize the faces of those that occupied some of the beds, they were the children of Ares I beat up, it seemed they had gotten injured during the event.

Suddenly Lilianna's magical energy fluctuated and she began to groan as she slowly woke up. The girl sat up slowly, yawning rather boldly as she opened her mouth unnecessarily wide while she scratched her eyes.

Then she opened them.

"AHHHH! W-w-w-what's a male doing in Cabin Eight?!" She screamed.

I sighed, what else was I supposed to expect.

"This isn't cabin E—"

"You filthy degenerate! Vermin! This isn't cabin Eight?! You dare kidnap me?!" She glared at me, her eyes blazing with fury as she began to fiddle around for her weapons.

"Just you wait, I'll—"

"I see you two are awake and noisy…" The door opened to reveal a guy younger than me, he had shaggy curly blond hair and blue eyes and based on his posture he had a rather athletic build behind the winter jacket he wore to match the winter atmosphere.

"Ugh, another one?" Lilianna scowled in disgust.

"Man… I didn't want to come here… I'll never listen to Lee again" The guy sighed.

"Well, it's great to see you two are fine. You each went a little too hard during the event, but since you're well, then it's all fine." He smiled brightly as he spoke.

Oh yeah, the capture-the-flag event.

"Yeah about that, who won? And what's your name? I'm Aiden." I asked as I introduced myself. I didn't know who he was or what godly parent he descended from, but with him here I could make a few guesses.

Either Hermes as the god of hospitality because he had come to check up on us when he's neither of our friends meaning he had to have some sort of role in camp when it came to injured people so either he descended from hospitality, or the god of medicine himself Apollo.

"Name's Will, Will Solace, and about the capture-the-flag well—"

"Obviously, the Hunters won! As if you lame campers full of incompetent men could do anything." Lilianna cut him off as she huffed, and she began to mock Camp Half-Blood.

"It was a draw." Will revealed.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow while Lilianna froze with her eyes wide before her head snapped towards Will.

"What?" She muttered confused.

I was a bit confused as well, actually. From what I remembered, Zoe had pushed past Percy before I tried to catch her only for the purple haired sexist in front of me to block my path, so how exactly had it ended in a tie?

Will looked at Lilianna's face, and I couldn't help but notice a smug smile on his face.

These campers and Hunters really couldn't help themselves, could they?

"Well the explosion you two caused pushed Zoe past the creek, but it also pushed Percy who went over the creek's bend and because Chiron was focused on your explosive light show he didn't see who reached first. So he declared a draw." Will revealed with a proud tone.

Hmm? Logically Zoe would've arrived first since she was in front of Lilianna and I and the shockwave would've pushed her forward, but of course I didn't see the bend Will spoke off, so for all I knew the water in the bend was actually smaller than the water at the exact location Zoe had decided to cross from which would mean that if Percy was able to move past that small bend faster than she could the larger one then it was indeed his win.

At the same time if Zoe crossed the larger body and there wasn't really that much of a difference between the one Percy crossed and hers then she would be first, but I guess Chiron didn't really want to go into all the deductive parts of it which would be a bit weird since he seemed to be the type to favor fairness but what did I know?

Unless of course he suddenly had things to do.

"Impossible! You campers cheated! That centaur is blind!" Lilianna cursed as she grabbed her hair in disbelief.

Was winning the game even that much of a big deal?

Maybe I would've been a little uncomfortable if we had lost when I had tried so hard, something so uncharacteristic of myself, but the exhilaration I felt after hitting Lilianna with an explosion of magical energy was beyond anything I'd ever felt in my entire life.

What was that?

"Lilianna." I called out to her.

She glared at me and her face morphed in disgust.

What in the?

"Can you tell me what that magical ener—"

"No." She shut me down before I could even finish, but her face turned serious the moment she realized what I was asking.

"Huh? Why no—"

"Because you're a monster…. Either that or you're a liar." Lilianna switched tempo on the spot, in contrast to her loud persona, she was now glaring at me in silence with her eyes wielding an intricate level of suspicion over my abilities.

I could only assume what I had done was something people with magical energy were normally not capable of? That had to be it, because if that wasn't the case then what was her problem?

I sighed, it'd be best if I ignored her.

These Hunters were crazy after all.

"So Will, where's everyone else?" I turned back to Will who jolted as he was dragged out of his thoughts by me.

"Oh, they're having a meeting in the rec room in the big house. There was a prophecy." Will stated.

A prophecy? Interesting.

Lilianna as well turned to him, her eyes were now fully serious and focused.

Was this the same person who was screaming a while ago?

"I must go see my sisters." Lilianna stood up and began to walk towards the door.

I had a feeling, a weird and intricate feeling that stemmed from my analysis of this girl during the past moments.

I opened my mouth.

"You forgot your shoe—"

"Shut up!" Lilianna glared at me with flushed cheeks.

Yeah I knew it.

She was trying to act tough, she's embarrassed.

Lilianna grumbled as she walked back to her bed and looked around for her shoes before she checked under the bed and found her sandals which she wore and quickly rushed out of the room, slamming the door shut on her way out.

Will sighed.

"Why are the Hunters always like this?" He looked in pain as if he somehow felt for that door, well if he was indeed someone whose role dealt with medicine and healing campers, I could see why he would be unnerved by someone hitting his door like that.

After all he'd surely be forced to fix it if it broke, especially if it's a Hunter who broke it. Those girls feel nothing for male suffering after all.

"Well, Will." I pushed the blanket off my lower body and stood up. I still had my hoodie on. There were a few holes, but it seemed they were sewed shut. My winter jacket should be in my cabin where I left it, and my shoes…

I went on my knees and checked under the bed, sure enough my black and red sneakers were there staring right at me.

I took them out.

"Why don't you show me to the rec room? Prophecies sound serious, and I'd like to know what's happening." I said as I began to put my shoes on.

Will placed a hand on his chin and he seemed to have delved into his thoughts for a bit before he looked at me and nodded.

"Sure, while I'm not sure Chiron would allow it, but I will take you there. Try not to strain yourself, though." Will looked at me slightly worried.

How kind.

But what did he mean he wasn't sure whether Chiron would allow it? Were there certain conditions one had to fulfil to join their meeting on the prophecy or something?

Or was there some other reason Chiron might refuse me entry?

Regardless, it'd be better to try and fail than to doubt myself and do nothing.

"No worries." I finished putting my shoes on and stood up.

"Shall we move along?" I asked.

Will nodded.

"Follow me."

~

This so called council which I assumed would be held in a rather professional room filled with Greek architecture and an aura of absolute despair and seriousness was held in a rather casual room with everyone sitting around a Ping-Pong table filled with snacks and diet coke.

What?

The people here were Mr. D, Chiron, Percy, Thalia, Zoe, Bianca, Silena, Beckendorf, Will, the Stoll brothers, and other people who I didn't know personally but I had seen them during the capture the flag game.

There weren't any children of Ares here, they were all in the infirmary.

Everyone looked extremely serious aside from Grover who was eating Ping-Pong balls.

What…. What kind of place did I find myself in?

"Well, welcome to the council." Will smiled brightly at me.

Did this seem normal to him?

I nodded.

"Thank you." I responded.

"Oh, Aiden, it is good to see you're doing fine. Please take a seat." Chiron said as he gestured for me to take a seat beside Silena on the left side.

So it seems I was allowed to be here.

I nodded and walked towards the seat while Will quietly left the premises. I noticed how not all the campers I had seen were here and only a selected few people were, meaning they either had important roles to play in this prophecy or had important roles in the camp which made them worthy enough to discuss it.

Were they all cabin leaders?

Perhaps that was the condition necessary, but if so then why was I allowed to be here?

I took my seat beside Silena who glanced at me and lightly tapped my shoulder with her elbow.

"That was so cool." She cooed the moment I turned to her.

"It hurt though." I answered rather bluntly but she giggled lightly in response.

"Yeah I bet, but we were able to draw. That's never happened." She stated, a small smile residing on her face.

"Is that so? But we didn't win." I said to her.

She nodded sadly.

"Yeah, it would've been fun to absolutely crush their spirits… but I guess this'll do for now." She muttered to herself.

It would seem I was the least insane person in this camp, maybe after Chiron.

Chiron coughed garnering both Silena and I's attention.

"S-sorry." She stammered an apology.

"Apologies." I spoke clearly, there was no need for stammering, my apology wasn't even sincere.

Chiron cleared his throat once again before he opened his mouth to speak, his calm and soft eyes now wielded the sharpness of a well trained and hidden blade.

"Aiden, due to the absence of a cabin head for the Athena cabin, you'll have to take their place which is why you're allowed in this meeting. This means that there should be a level of professionalism that you must wield when seated here, understood?" Chiron spoke with a heavy and deep voice harboring a rather profound seriousness that was hard to ignore.

What kind of professionalism could one wield in front of a Ping-Pong table and Grover eating Ping-Pong balls though?

"I understand." I nodded.

Perhaps this was why neither Percy nor Thalia spoke to me as they weren't close to me like Silena was, but the moment we met eyes, the two waved at me and I waved back, same for Bianca.

"Let us begin the meeting." Chiron announced and immediately Zoe crossed her arms and relaxed in her seat casually quickly shattering the image of professionalism I had in mind.

"This meeting is pointless." Zoe started off the meeting.

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped as he continued to munch on crackers and eat Ping-Pong balls.

So much for professionalism.

What kind of stomach did Satyrs have anyways?

"There is no time to talk, our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately." Zoe stated firmly.

"And go where?" Chiron questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"West!" Bianca said firmly as well. Her sudden shift had surprised me. Although there was still a hint of naivety, gone was the girl who was completely unsure of her future. Her hair was braided like Zoe, which revealed her face fully. She had freckles across her nose and dark eyes, which seemed to swallow all the light around it. Her arms were slightly more toned than the last time I decided to take note of her physique, which was right after her induction into the Hunters. Her skin glowed faintly just like the other Hunters did especially Zoe's… well since I spent most of time with her she was the one I noticed the most while the others were more subtle but I had less time to observe of course.

Was this the effect of Artemis's blessing truly settling in?

"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go." Bianca added.

So Artemis really did get caught huh?

For a cautious goddess like her to get caught, it really did seem like her weakness was used against her.

If I was right then they used Annabeth Chase.

"Yes. Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her." Zoe capitalized on Bianca's statement and energy, their synergy was rather shocking or maybe it was because I hadn't expected Bianca to have adapted so quickly.

But I guess when one was lost and didn't know what path to take, it was easy to convince them to take the path you wanted them to.

"You're missing something, as usual. Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together." Thalia chimed in with a firm tone.

"No! The Hunters do not need thy help!" Zoe refused passionately.

"Your. Nobody has said thy in like three hundred years Zoe. Get with the times." Thalia grumbled.

"Yerr. We do not need yerr help." Zoe struggled.

What in the?

Heh, I'd laugh it I could but I'll never let Zoe live this down.

"Forget it." Thalia rolled her eyes.

Was all of this even necessary? I wanted to ask about the details of the prophecy since I knew little based on what they were saying, but I felt like I would've gotten attacked or something.

I opened my mouth regardless.

"Well I'm gonna go unfortunately." I pointed out.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Percy turned to me confused.

Zoe clicked her tongue, it seemed she had realized.

"Lady Artemis gave Zoe the mission to always watch my actions. She can't do that if she leaves me here and at the same time she can't stay here and send other Hunters to go save Artemis." I pointed out.

"Ho ho! He got you there Zoe!" Travis laughed with Connor who joined.

A vein popped up on Zoe's head.

"I fear the prophecy says you need our help, Ms. Nightshade. Campers and Hunters must cooperate." Chiron's words cut through wielding powerful authority.

"Or do they?" Mr. D chimed in as he swirled his Diet Coke under his nose like it had some amazing smell.

Or maybe it did? I hadn't expected the smoke from burning food as an offering to smell good so who knew how the Diet Coke in his hand smelled?

"One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?" Mr. D chuckled as he spoke without a care, I filed those words into my mind.

There wasn't any need to analyze now. For now, merely observe and gather.

Once I was done then I would analyze and strategize.

"Mr. D, with all due respect, whose side are you on?" Chiron sighed.

"Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful." Mr. D raised an eyebrow before he took a sip of his Diet Coke.

"We're supposed to work together. I don't like it either Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?" Thalia stubbornly spoke out causing Zoe to grimace under her logic.

"We must not delay. Today is Sunday, this very Friday, December twenty first is the winter solstice." Chiron warned.

I was about to ask why exactly that was important but Mr. D's and Zoe's next words answered the question.

"Oh joy… another dull annual meeting." He muttered.

"Artemis must be present at the solstice. She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations." Zoe stated.

Huh? What? The gods weren't a bunch of kids, they're millennia old deities who've fought wars and several battles. If Artemis was missing then wouldn't it push them instead to get up and do something about it? If this was how people who met them viewed them then I really had nothing to say.

What was my mother doing?

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Mr. D glanced at Zoe, his tone playful yet his face was not.

"Yes, Lord Dionysius." Zoe answered honestly.

He nodded.

"Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on." He chuckled.

"I must agree with Zoe. Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important, to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest" Chiron added.

"Three and two." Percy suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned to him, and I couldn't help but notice him stiffen up.

"We're supposed to have five. Three Hunters and two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair." He explained, his voice slightly reserved.

He must be feeling self conscious.

"Well… it does make sense." Thalia said after she and Zoe exchanged looks.

"I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength in numbers." Zoe stubbornly grunted.

She seemed hellbent on refusing, why couldn't we just let her go against the prophecy so I could see what happened for future reference?

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path. Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear. The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best." Chiron stated.

Was this his method of convincing her not to take many Hunters?

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it as if she was simulating herself wielding it as a weapon.

"This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be." She admitted.

Everyone turned to Mr. D, surely because he was the only god present and he had the highest likelihood of knowing something like this due to being a god of Olympus. Perhaps Chiron didn't know because the gods feared rebellion, but there was also a chance Mr. D didn't know and this was kept between only the big three Olympians but regardless, he had the highest chances of knowing amongst us all.

Mr. D who was busy flipping through a wine magazine slowly glanced up once everyone was silent.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for a terrible party conversation." He explained.

"Chiron, you don't have any ideas about the monster?" Percy questioned.

I doubted he did, he seemed rather serious when it came to breaking this prophecy down and planning adequately for it. Unless it was something those on the quest were purely meant to learn about on their journey, I doubted he would hide the details.

Chiron pursed his lips.

"I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon would have already sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful." Chiron sighed.

Either the monster was a master at hiding itself, perhaps it had mastered shapeshifting, or rather it was a monster that looked rather harmless, so much so that looking at it would cause you to ignore it in the case you didn't know what it was.

"That's some serious danger you're facing. It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die." Connor Stoll spoke up, clearly distinguishing himself as a person who had no plan to join this quest.

I'd rather not go either, but this was a learning opportunity and I couldn't stay here while such a thing was happening. Now that my eyes were open to the more intricate parts of this world, I couldn't help but feel the need to garner more information, some sort of method to gain insight into the enemy's plans, and staying in Camp Half-Blood wouldn't allow me to achieve that goal.

"One shall be lost in the land without rain…. If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert." Beckendorf advised.

Everyone seemed to agree with his advice.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand… What could that mean?" Silena muttered in wonder.

I noticed Chiron and Zoe exchange nervous looks, I wasn't sure what they were thinking, but clearly Zoe knew something important about Titans.

For some reason they didn't share it.

Which mea—

No, I'll deduce things later.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand." Grover said in between bites of both the Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls.

"How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?" Grover questioned.

What naïve way to look at things, we were dealing with gods, monsters, and titans here, attributing human thinking to them was fine, but using it to define how they would act was fundamentally shortsighted.

I noticed Percy and Thalia glance at each other but I quietly turned my focus back to Chiron.

"There will be deaths… that much we know." Chiron sighed.

"Oh, goody!" Mr. D cheered.

Everyone turned to him and he glanced up with an innocent look on his face from his wine magazine.

"Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me." He waved us off and went back to his magazine.

"Percy is right, two campers should go." Silena voiced her opinion.

"Oh I see, and I suppose you wish to volunteer?" Zoe shot sarcastically.

"I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!" Silena blushed and covered her face.

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at? What would thy mother say?" Zoe scoffed shooting once again.

Silena started to get out of her chair but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

I just watched silently.

"Stop it." Beckendorf said sternly, his voice and stature commanding authority.

"Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?" Beckendorf asked.

"I shall go of course and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker." Zoe said as she stood up.

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously yet I couldn't help but note a suspicious glint in his eyes.

Zoe nodded at his question.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

"Yes, why?" Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing." Travis chuckled lightly.

"Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He said as he held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDES, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a rather big list of national parks and tree filled areas underneath.

"It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?" Travis asked with a kind smile.

I haven't known these brothers for long but I could tell they were up to something, and due to the expression Zoe had on her face, I could tell she couldn't tell.

She sighed and took the T-shirt.

"As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go." Zoe added.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Me? But…. I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good." Bianca looked stunned as she looked at Zoe in doubt.

"You will do fine. There is no better way to prove thyself." Zoe insisted.

What a weird thing to say. Chiron just stated moments ago that two deaths were assured which meant that either two campers or a camper and a Hunter or two Hunters would die on this quest. If she's taking Bianca it meant that either she had some sort of idea on how to make sure Bianca didn't die, or she was merely gambling which seemed rather weird knowing how much she valued her Hunters.

Unless Zoe already had an idea of those who were more likely to die on this quest and was basing her actions on that.

Which would mean…

"And for campers?" Chiron asked, his gaze turned towards Percy.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped into the Ping-Pong table.

"Anything to help Artemis." He said as he brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scarps off his lap.

"I think not, Satyr. You're not even a half-blood." Zoe wrinkled her nose as she refused.

"But he is a camper." Thalia interjected.

"Also he's got Satyr senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?" Thalia added as she turned to Grover who nodded excitedly.

"Absolutely!" He responded.

Zoe visibly wavered as her face frowned while she contemplated. I wasn't sure what a tracker's song was, but apparently it seemed valuable enough to stop her from taking a firm stance against Grover's addition.

"Very well. And the second camper is you." Zoe begrudgingly pointed at me.

I sighed, it was rather obvious wasn't it.

And yet I couldn't allow things to end like this.

"Thalia and Percy want to go." I stated, the two demigods looked at me in shock but I didn't turn to them, I merely nodded my head giving them a sign.

I'd seen the orphans at the orphanage nod their heads at each other before causing trouble, and I'd seen Percy and Thalia do so a few times. I'd already understood long ago how silent communication through subtle and minimal signs or movement worked so I already knew that they understood what I meant.

"Yeah, I want to go." Thalia voiced her opinion as she stood up.

"Me too." Percy stood up as well.

But there was a problem, there were three Hunters and two Campers already which was the exact limit necessary for the quest. For those two to go, Grover and I would have to step back.

Either that or the Hunters would have to reduce their numbers.

I noticed a sad look on Chiron's face, did he for some reason disapprove of Percy going? I noticed he had looked at him before as if wanting to stop him, but it seemed either Percy didn't get the message or ignored it outright.

"Oh, oh yeah I mean uh Percy and Thalia have to go. I didn't mean… I'll stay. Percy should go in my place." Grover who quickly understood what was happening decided to take a backseat.

"Is that so? Well we shall take Thalia the—"

"I think Grover should stay." I cut Zoe off as I stood up.

If I remained seated then there was a lesser chance of my words cutting through not only her but everyone around here.

"What? Aiden didn't you mention that Percy and I wanted to go? Why would you if—"

"I did mention that you and Percy wanted to go. But it can't be at the expense of Grover. One of you will have to pick who will join in, but neither Grover nor I can step down." I explained.

"Huh? Is thee saying a Hunter should step down?" Zoe glared at me coldly.

I remained composed.

"Yes." I answered honestly.

Zoe's eyebrow twitched.

"Can you prove Phoebe would be more valuable than Grover in this mission?" I asked her flatly.

"What? Of course Phoebe would be better, she's our best tracker." Zoe stated.

"And what are you tracking?" I countered.

Zoe paused before she opened her mouth quickly in order to not lose her stance.

"We will follow the tracks of the beast!" Zoe argued.

"What beast? You know what it is?" I countered.

That was the issue.

As skilled as one could be in hunting, if you had absolutely no idea what you were hunting in the first place, you could either end up lucky by following the tracks, end up falling into a trap or end up on a complete wild goose chase.

In order to find Artemis, it was already established that they'd have to follow her tracks, but would Hunter like Artemis really leave tracks? If she went on her own it meant she wasn't sure her Hunters wouldn't be in danger, which meant she'd have tried especially hard not to leave any tracks, because if she did then she'd allow her enemies to anticipate her Hunters every footsteps in the case she failed.

Zoe knew this and understood that if she said we were following Artemis's tracks then it would only show incompetency on her goddess's part.

This meant that they couldn't follow Artemis's tracks and had to follow the tracks of the bane of Olympus in order to find her.

But no one knew what or who this monster was aside from Artemis herself and probably the older gods.

So how exactly was Phoebe useful here?

"Grover is a Satyr, and due to his nature, he has an innate talent to sense the divine and supernatural. His connection to nature in conjunction with his senses would be much more fruitful in finding lady Artemis." I voiced my thoughts.

Zoe bit her lip.

"We can still bring both of them! There's no reason to take her out." Zoe argued.

"There is, efficiency." I pointed out.

"Huh?" Zoe narrowed her eyes at me.

"We don't need two trackers when one can already do the job. If we already have one person good enough, what we need is more firepower than Phoebe. Unless can you assure me that Phoebe brings more strength to the table than Percy or Thalia? We need to bring the best possible team to make sure Artemis is properly saved and same for my sister as well, unless you weren't really serious about saving Artemis? Since you're so hellbent on weakening the team." I stated.

"You…" Zoe bit her lip hard.

This was the problem with human beings or people as a whole. Even if they could see the flaws in their plan, the little holes they tried to ignore or cover up, they would never acknowledge them until it was forcefully thrown into their faces, forcing them to see it with no option to ignore.

I added Annabeth into the mix in order to garner support from those around, the inclusion that she's my half-sister and those that wielded the knowledge that I was an orphan would believe that I was seeking familial connections and didn't want my sister to die, that would undeniably bend their decisions in my direction because of the level of empathy they all had for each other.

The inclusion of picking the perfect team for Artemis as well was something Zoe couldn't refute. I was able to use her love and constant showing of her devotion to Artemis in order to trap her. If she refused to take Phoebe out then she was weakening the team and increased the risk of death and that would fall on her head, especially if Artemis ended up not being saved.

Of course Bianca could be removed instead, but I didn't allow the conversation to stir in that direction and focused solely on Phoebe as I broke Zoe's defenses down.

There were several counterarguments she could make such as the essence of team dynamics, the case of Phoebe being a fail-safe in case Grover failed or emphasize that Phoebe had certain useful knowledge we could use.

But I already had counters in mind.

For example, no one knew what the bane of Olympus was and that was our main goal in conjunction to Artemis being saved. If Zoe didn't know about it then Phoebe didn't unless the Hunters weren't as in sync as I believed them to be. At the same time team dynamics was finicky because Grover and I had never worked together and Bianca was new so she lacked synergy. While I was highly adaptable, Zoe wouldn't have been able to confirm whether I would adapt to them through a single fight which I went through on my own. The fact that she took Phoebe more for her tracking skills than synergy meant I could throw an argument on Percy/Grover and Thalia/Grover being a more synergic team than her, Phoebe and Bianca who was new.

Regardless,

She had lost.

Had Percy and Thalia not been strong then this plan wouldn't have worked. I had assessed the combat ability of most of the people I was surrounded with through constant simulation based on my observation and the information I had received.

Not only were Thalia and Percy children of the big three, but Percy had been on two dangerous quests. Had Phoebe been a child of the big three then it would've already been known, Percy and Thalia didn't flaunt their parentage around but at some point someone simply felt the need to talk about it.

Of course I could be wrong, but nothing was 100% certain even when carefully confirmed as that confirmation could merely be a veil hiding the truth behind it all.

Zoe sighed and looked away.

"Phoebe… will stay back." She muttered begrudgingly.

Zoe definitely hated me now.

Not that it made a difference.

"Thalia will come then." Zoe stated.

"What about me?" Percy immediately complained.

"You cannot, you're a boy. I won't have Hunters travelling with a boy." She stated flatly.

"I mean, I can—"

"No Grover." I shut his opinion down and he went quiet.

Grover was timid, shut his thoughts down enough and he would remain quiet.

"You already traveled with me, we came here together." Percy reminded her.

"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across the country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy." Zoe refused.

"What about Grover? Or Aiden?" Percy demanded.

Why bring me into this?

"They do not count. He's a Satyr, he's not technically a boy… while for him… well I was ordered to watch over him, I'll see him as my pet wolf." She said.

"Hey!" Grover protested.

Excuse me?

"I have to go. I need to be on this quest." Percy insisted.

"Why? Because of thy friend Annabeth?" Zoe attacked, taking her anger at me out on Percy.

She had to be because that was a low blow.

"No! I mean, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go." Percy blushed as he fought back against her words, everyone turned to him.

Nobody came to Percy's defense. Mr. D looked bored, Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave Percy a look of pity while Thalia looked away. I wasn't sure where to look, so I looked at Grover.

"No. I insist upon this. I will take the Satyr if I must and the wolf but not a male hero." Zoe said flatly.

It seemed my fate had already been sealed.

"The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions." Chiron sighed.

Percy bit his lip as he sat down. Everyone looked at him sympathetically but remained silent.

Chiron concluded the council.

"So be it. Thalia, Grover, and Aiden will accompany Zoe and Bianca. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods… present company included, we hope—be with you." Chiron said.

~

After dinner, I approached Charles Beckendorf, who was on his way back to his cabin.

"Beckendorf." I called out to him once I was close enough to not speak too loudly but not close enough to startle him.

Beckendorf paused at the sound of his name and turned to me.

"Oh, Aiden? What's up? Are you alright? That Hunter seemed to hit you really hard." He said.

I gave him a nod.

"Yeah I'm fine. I actually wanted to ask two things, could you fix the chains of my Nunchuk weapon?" I asked him. Not only was he the son of Hephaestus, but he was also the cabin head of a cabin of blacksmiths, there was no one better than him to fix my weapon.

"For the quest right? Sure." He nodded before he stretched his arm out to me.

"Oh, I don't have it." I admitted.

Maybe I should've approached him with the weapon to make things quick.

Beckendorf chuckled.

"Yeah I know, it's in the camp armory where we keep weapons, picked it up after the battle. Follow me." He said as he turned around.

I walked up to match his pace and the two of us started our short journey to the camp armory which was actually right beside the Athena cabin.

"And the second thing?" Beckendorf asked as we walked.

I pondered, there were two things I could ask, either the details of the prophecy that I clearly missed while I was knocked out, or something else that I had in mind.

"I was wondering if you could teach me a bit about blacksmithing. I think it could be useful with the quest and well in general. Especially basic maintenance at least, wouldn't want my weapon to break again when fighting a monster." I said.

I decided to go with the second option. As a son of Hephaestus and cabin head of Cabin 9, there was no better currently available teacher to teach me blacksmithing aside from Beckendorf.

Beckendorf glanced at me, his expression showing a hint of surprise at my request.

"Blacksmithing, huh? That's not a common request from someone not in cabin 9. What got you interested?" He asked.

Was this a test?

"I think it's important to understand not just how to wield a weapon, but how it's made. It might give me a better understanding to its strengths and weaknesses." I explained, using a more strategically inclined reason to base my interest on.

Beckendorf nodded slowly, digesting the essence of my answer as his expression of surprise subtly changed into one of respect.

"I get you. Knowing your weapon inside and out can definitely give you an edge. Alright, I think I can show you a few basics, maybe even get you to help me with your Nunchuks. How does that sound?" Beckendorf glanced at me.

"Perfect." I said. This was a skill I never really thought about, but now that I had the opportunity to learn it, why wouldn't I? It was a skill beyond mere physical training, battle tactics, and social dynamics that could serve me in unpredictable ways on the quest and beyond.

Once we reached the camp armory, Beckendorf opened the door and we stepped inside, the interior harboring a plethora of weapons which were either crafted by the Hephaestus cabin or had some Greek history according to Chiron, weapons were organized in a sets of their own based on similarities.

Like long reach weapons like spears were huddled together, weapons with a medium like reach like sword or scimitars were together and short reach weapons like daggers and brass weapons like knuckles were huddled together.

In the set harboring weapons with chains, my Nunchuks sat there seemingly rather somber.

Beckendorf walked to the Nunchuks and examined it under the armory's bright light.

"Alright, let's go to my cabin forge and get started on this. I'll show you what needs fixing and we can talk about the basics of blacksmithing. You'll see there's a lot more to it than just hammering metal." Beckendorf said as we walked out of the armory.

"Do you know why chains broke so easily? I mean I understand that a Hunter of Artemis shot an arrow through it, but I guess I may have expected too much from the chains?" I questioned, I just couldn't believe that the chains would shatter so easily and conveniently when I was about to whack Lilianna in the face with them.

"Hmm…." Beckendorf looked at the remaining chain which hung limply between two of the staffs while one chain was still perfectly fine.

"Do you see this burn?" Beckendorf suddenly said as he brought the baton closer to my face.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the chain, sure enough there was indeed a burn mark on it, had the arrow from the Hunters generated heat from how fast it was moving and friction?

How frightening.

"You imbued magical energy to harshly into it." Beckendorf said.

Huh?

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, now I was confused.

Beckendorf took it as a sign to explain.

"I'm not sure what was going through your mind at the time, but usually when you enhance a weapon with something like magical energy, you do it gradually, it's a slow and precise move. Think of it like having a weapon with a power level of 10 and wanting to augment it reach 20, if you go from 10 to 11 right up to 20 then while it does get stronger, it does so gradually and is able to resist the strain the magical energy forces on it, but if you suddenly force in enough magical energy to force the level to go from 10 to 20 straight, the weapon cannot hold and shatters. In your case I think you brought the chain to the brink and the arrow broke it." Beckendorf explains.

Ah, I get it now. I couldn't properly control my magical energy at the time because I had just replicated Lilianna's move to initiate fast paced movement. Because I focused little magical energy and was focusing efficiency solely on my feet, especially when I had to force my body to react much quicker when she suddenly switched places with Zoe, I imbued too much magical energy into my weapon due to the adrenaline rush which must've brought it to its limit which allowed the arrow from the Hunters side to deal the final blow.

"Here." Beckendorf handed me one of the batons.

"What do you see there on the baton?" Beckendorf asked.

I examined the baton rather closely, Beckendorf had seen something not even I had seen, well granted that I wasn't focusing on my weapon much until now but it was still praiseworthy in my opinion.

I turned the baton around, noting its features such as its steel like color, its weight, and a crack around its base?

"Have you seen it? Your magical energy was destroying not only the chain but the weapon. You should be careful when fighting, especially when you're too focused on your opponent. Think of a weapon as an extension of yourself. The more your weapon is harmed, the more your fighting capability is harmed. Take note of that." Beckendorf advised.

I'd never heard him speak so much, but somehow I felt like he had somehow taken the position of a mentor and as a mentee I felt compelled to listen.

"Understood." I nodded.

Beckendorf and I then went into the Cabin 9, I greeted the other Hephaestus children who greeted me back, I'd have thought that they'd be a bit cautious of me after what I did to the Ares children but instead they rather congratulated me for how hard I fought against the Hunters which allowed them to draw. It seemed the people here were incredibly focused on heroic achievements, surely because they were inspired by stories such as those of Heracles and someone like Achilles.

Once Beckendorf and I got into the forge though, I had to take a moment to adapt to the severe heat that engulfed the entire place. Beckendorf explained that the children of Hephaestus naturally had a rather high resistance to heat in conjunction to their innate ability to forge, explaining that sometimes they just liked sitting in the forge because the heat here felt pretty good.

"How hot is this?" I asked as I used magic to generate a little bit of wind but the heat was so much it backfired on me instead forcing me to shed my hoodie and also my shirt lest I drenched both in sweat.

Beckendorf smiled as he placed the Nunchuks on a table.

"About 1500 degrees Celsius, never really calculated could be more but not less."

Huh?!

These people were crazy.

I used magic and conjured an ice cube into my mouth and began to suck on it. Of course this wasn't enough to counter the heat but I had a different reason for doing this. If I generate ice and coated myself with it, not only would I look stupid but it'd instantly melt and evaporate which could cause more harm than good.

So why make the ice cube? Because I needed to have a feel for cold.

When something was cold, it was as a result due to the lack of heat, so how exactly could I try to counter the cold here, I could do it if I generated a thin layer of magical energy that was about to turn into ice but stopped right before the transformation which would leave the sudden temperature drop and not generate the ice at the same time.

I took a deep breath and tried to mirror the cold of the ice in my mouth and project it into a thin layer onto my body.

I gradually began to cool down.

But it was still hot….

"Oh, don't do that." Beckendorf said to me, it seemed he had noticed I was slightly more comfortable now.

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You used magic to somehow reduce the heat right? I mean unless you did something like cover yourself in cold, you should be fine if you just made yourself more resistant to heat." Beckendorf stated.

It wasn't that easy to tamper with the body Beckendorf, I could increase my physical stats but something like this while being something I did indeed train for, it wasn't to such a level.

But I got what he meant, I slowly retracted the cold barrier allowing myself to gradually be brought back into a world of heat.

In one of the books I read, I learnt that heat flowed naturally in a way that it flowed from the hotter object to the colder one, because of me initiating a cold layer the heat would naturally focus more on me because the cold layer would absorb it.

Once it quickly warmed up, it could backfire and harm me instead.

Guess I just had to persevere then.

"Well then before we begin know that blacksmithing is more than just a skill for us, it's like an art form, a way to express ourselves." Beckendorf began.

"Each weapon, each piece of armor tells a story about its creator." He added.

I found it rather fascinating that someone could have such genuine interest in something like this. While I couldn't belittle the importance of blacksmithing, I couldn't have imagined sitting under this heat and hammering a weapon because of enjoyment rather than a necessity to have a proper method of defense.

Beckendorf walked to his stack of materials and pulled out a piece of celestial bronze.

"We don't have a lot, but I feel it'll be much better to enhance your weapon with the strongest material available, especially since you're on a quest with hints of death." Beckendorf said.

I nodded, agreeing with his decision.

"You said strongest material available, is there a stronger material?" I asked.

Beckendorf's expression turned grim for a moment, but he nodded.

"Yeah, Stygian iron from the depths of the underworld." He explained.

"I see…" It was clear he wasn't too fond of the underworld, didn't think anyone was since it was where the dead went to before they were either punished for eternity or sent to Elysium or something along those lines.

The next hour was spent in a flurry of activity. Beckendorf was a patient and thorough teacher, explaining the principles of metallurgy, the importance of temperature control, and the intricacies of working with celestial bronze. Despite the heat, I remained focused and even engrossed in the lessons, the practical knowledge grounding me in a way that tactical training never had.

My entire life I spent wielding rather basic weapons against monsters like knives and bats, but each time I used magical energy with them they shattered and I merely believed it was because they were mainly mortal weapons which was why I didn't fully expect weapons made specifically for demigods to break but Beckendorf's shown me that while the principles differ, their basics are all too similar.

By the time we finished, I had not only had the chains of my Nunchuks repaired, but the batons were repaired and enhanced as well coupled with me, garnering a fundamental understanding of the craft. Time was too short to gain any grand insight, so I considered this learning experience a rather small step, but it was one that made me feel more prepared for the future, nonetheless.

Not only that, but the Nunchuks could now shrink into a bracelet that had the three batons hanging from it with chains tying them to the bracelet for easy transportation.

"Thank you Beckendorf." I said to him as we exited the cabin.

"No problem Aiden, but always remember—"

"Patience and precision, each strike has to be deliberate and calculated." I repeated some of the words he told me.

Beckendorf grinned.

"Yeah, you're getting it, you better come back safe so I can teach you more, you're a quick learner. Know that not all successful blacksmiths were children of Hephaestus, even normal mortals were extremely successful when it came to blacksmithing." Beckendorf encouraged.

I nodded.

"I understand." I responded.

"Good, I'll see you later then Aiden, be safe on the quest." Beckendorf extended his fist.

I recalled this was exactly what I had done previously with Thalia, a fist bump.

I fist bumped him.

"Yeah. And since you've done this much for me, how about a bet?" I asked.

Beckendorf raised an eyebrow.

"A bet?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I can tell you like Silena." I came out with it.

Beckendorf's confident face crumbled under the truth and he looked away shyly.

This guy was the definition of a gentle giant wasn't he?

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." He stammered.

"I'm a child of Athena, what made you think I wouldn't notice the not-so-subtle glances?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Beckendorf sighed, he knew there was no way to fool me.

"Okay… and? What's the bet? I hope it doesn't endanger her." Beckendorf looked at me rather seriously.

I shook my head.

"Not at all, but if I do something you'll have to confess to her." I challenged.

Beckendorf visibly tensed.

"I-I'll only agree if this something is impressive enough, in fact I don't even want to agree, do you know how complicated girls are?" Beckendorf suddenly revealed a slight vulnerability as he sighed.

Trust me Beckendorf in my eyes, everyone is complicated, guys and girls alike.

"Don't worry. I assure you, you've got this." I said to him.

"Let me tell you about the bet first."

~

Once I was done conversing with Beckendorf, leaving him in disbelief and doubt at the conditions of the bet I had placed between us, I made my way back to my lonesome cabin. I understood why he had such a face upon my reveal, anyone else would have such an expression, after all the conditions of the bet I had placed were nearly impossible for me to succeed on my side.

And yet I couldn't help but want to challenge myself, to see the true limits of the mind that I was born with and had fostered for years.

I took slow yet meaningful steps, my gaze fixed forward as I walked through the quiet compound of camp half blood. I glanced at the other buildings, noting that most of them still had their lights on meaning that several people were surely still awake, while others had decided to go to bed early.

One of the early sleepers were those in Cabin 8, but I guess I couldn't blame them, after all Zoe and Bianca had to be at their best to ensure that the quest tomorrow moved as smoothly as possible.

Regardless, it seemed I had a visitor.

"Is there something you need from me?" I decided to speak up first, noticing that my visitor seemed rather nervous and quite fearful from the minute expressions her body made and the tense posture she had.

She took a deep breath and a seamless smile formed on her face.

"I want to talk to you Aiden, I might not see you tomorrow after all so I thought this would be the best chance." Silena Beauregard said as she stared right into my eyes. I noticed that her eyes weren't blue anymore but rather silver.

Could she change her appearance?

Undoubtedly, based on her voice, posture and mannerism of speaking, the person before me was Silena Beauregard, the head of the Aphrodite cabin, and yet her appearance couldn't be more different.

Instead of the black hair and blue eyes which she had when I had spoken to her yesterday and even today, she had black hair with white edges and bright silver eyes which beautifully reflected the moon.

She was beautiful.

That much was certain.

"Sure, let's talk… I was thinking of talking to you too actually." I said to her in a polite yet monotone tone. Out of everyone, she was definitely the best person to talk to before a life changing quest.

Tomorrow could be the day I die, surely I wasn't the only one who thought that speaking to a girl as pretty as Silena before going on a death quest wasn't a good thing right?

But before that—

"Great! Come on, let's go take a walk along the lake." Silena invited me with a smile on her face as she extended her hand towards me. I looked at her hand, and before I knew it, I had grabbed it.

The warmth that I felt compelled me to squeeze her hand a bit, something Silena noticed to which she gave me a curious look before she flashed me a smile and pulled me into the forest behind her.

Silena was kind, that much was certain. I wasn't sure whether it was normal to hold hands with someone you weren't entirely familiar with, but I could tell that in her eyes I was still just a fledgling demigod who didn't know much about the entirety of his existence and therefore in her eyes I needed to be cared for.

I didn't mind it at all, not in the slightest.

I increased my pace, walking side by side with her as we quietly walked through the woods. The snow crunched under our feet, the sound wasn't exactly pleasing but for some reason there was a certain peace that could be felt from the mere situation alone.

I wasn't sure whether I was nervous because this was my first time holding another person's hand or whether I was just wary towards Silena due to my inherent nature to doubt.

I had an inherent weakness against true kindness after all.

An act without ulterior motives.

I sighed.

"Is there something wrong?" Silena, who heard me, turned to me with worried eyes. I looked towards her, and I felt compelled to stare into her eyes forever. I didn't feel like looking away in the slightest, and yet I knew that if I didn't answer, I would come off as a bit weird, or my awkwardness would show.

"Just thinking about tomorrow is all." I answered.

Silena nodded her head seemingly understanding my plight as she continued to walk with me through the snowy forest. I took a moment to admire the snowflakes, they felt so real when they touched my skin providing my body with a familiar cold I usually found myself feeling and yet this was all just some sort of mechanism according to Chiron to manipulate the camp's weather.

Or perhaps was this magic I lacked the ability to perceive currently?

Regardless, it would be better for me to focus on what I could control and understand, at least for now.

I had to remain focused.

"How are you feeling?" Silena suddenly asked garnering my attention instantly.

"I feel rather fine. I healed up nicely from the battle thanks to… Will? Was that his name?" I muttered as I answered her question.

"Yeah, that is his name. He's one of the Apollo children who are good with healing, you know, since it's one of his many domains after all." Silena chuckled.

I nodded. From what Thalia told me, Apollo did really seem to have multiple domains. In addition to this, the reading that I indulged in last night allowed me to have an extensive understanding of the various domains that the deities I was involved with or could get involved with dabbled in.

"What do you mean by one of the Apollo children that are good with healing? Do some people not gain certain aspects of their parent god's domain?" I asked curiously. Of course I understood that when a child came to be, they inherited certain but not all qualities of their parents which meshed together in a unique manner in the child making them fundamentally different yet similar to their parent.

This of course in my mind applied only to humans or mostly to humans but it would be wrong to expect the same from the offspring of man and god even though I can acknowledge that if put into the spotlight and forced to answer such a question, I would base it on human knowledge.

Flawed or not, I could only make use of what information I had and the limits of my mind.

"Yeah, not everyone gets expertise in all of their parent god domains. I for one well, you could say I am an exception, but not everyone in the Aphrodite cabin can charmspeak." Silena explained seamlessly as we continued our walk.

It was natural that there were exceptions. There wasn't a rule in the world that applied to every person after all... well, except a few, and yet it wouldn't be farfetched to say that perhaps there could actually be no exceptions in cases like these due to dealing with forces one would struggle to understand.

Perhaps these exceptions weren't merely coincidences, such as how people believe each human was made differently by a higher being with a certain plan in mind, it is arguable that the gods when having children pick who gets what and how much expertise they can get.

Regardless, it wouldn't matter, not to me at the very least.

From what I could tell, my mother basically gave me everything. I was physically strong or at least I'd like to believe so, I had high cognitive abilities although I clearly excelled in other areas compared to someone like Annabeth, and yet it could just be due to my own lack of education which is a rather minor setback in the grand scheme of things.

"Is that why you're cabin leader? Because you have most of your mother's qualities compared to the others?" I asked.

Silena was about to shake her head but took a moment to pause as her expression morphed into a reflective one, her gaze subtly shifting to the beautiful moon above which caused me to notice the beautiful illumination of her silver eyes once again.

"No, I think that's just a coincidence here. If I'm remembering right, Chiron gave me this position because I'm currently the eldest daughter of Aphrodite in the camp." Silena answered while softly shaking her head.

"I see, then does that mean that if an older demigod of Aphrodite were to suddenly join camp half blood, you'd lose your position?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. If that was the case, then this was a rather inefficient system. But knowing Chiron's intellect, I trusted he would surely have come up with alternative conditions such as achievements to ensure newbie demigods, despite their age, couldn't argue for the position.

Silena shook her head.

"No, that isn't how it works, at least I don't think so. I mean even if that was the case, that'd be an extremely rare occurrence… demigods usually die when they're younger than 13 after all." Silena sighed sadly, her gaze looking down in frustration.

Perhaps she was imagining her younger siblings which could be suffering out there for reasons unknown to them because their parents with the actual answers decided to stay out of their lives and leave them to their own devices.

Was it fair? Of course not.

Did I care? Of course not.

Still, it was hard to argue against her frustration, and it was from such an understanding that I could understand why several campers rallied with Luke Castellan in order to rebel against the gods, especially those demigods who suffered to get here in order to survive only to not even be claimed by their godly parents as if they didn't care about them at all in the slightest and had them merely out of curiosity or fun.

Of course this didn't undermine the feelings of demigods who not only survived but were also claimed by their parent god only to find out that it wasn't an Olympian and therefore didn't have a cabin in camp half blood anyways. This led to a different yet similar feeling of neglect but in addition to that was the feeling of disrespect and unfairness by children who while they're happy to have been claimed, cannot comprehend why their parent deity wasn't shown the least bit of respect.

From then on, the blame lied with the Olympians in their eyes, and the thoughts of a rebellion begin to foster within their minds.

From then on, all they would need was an adequate backer.

And who better than someone who wants to usurp the Olympians? The crooked one sure came at the best time possible, or perhaps was this fate?

"Certainly it's tragic…." I muttered garnering Silena's attention to which she sighed and nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it so… we just have to keep living." Silena said seemingly having accepted the reality of things.

I admired her maturity to acknowledge and understand the unfairness of the reality before her, but to say there's nothing that could be done was rather naïve in the eyes of someone like me who would do just about anything to ensure his goals were met.

Maybe Luke Castellan and I, despite our different backgrounds and worldviews, were more similar than I would've liked to admit.

"I wouldn't say that, Luke Castellan is out there preparing to revolt isn't he? Or well he's basically already started." I shrugged as I answered, letting go of Silena's hand and pocketing them as we continued to walk.

But before that I felt her hand tighten a bit.

"Luke… I understand his intention, but he's going about it the wrong way. Working with the titan lord of all people is a terrible decision and rallying the campers for a rebellion… people will die… I don't like that." Silena shook her head, agreeing with Luke's ideology yet disapproving of his methods.

Such a thing was normal, there wasn't a single ideology on the planet that relied on a single method. Take the ideology of getting stronger for example, one had to consider exactly what it meant to be strong before they could form and carry out elaborate plans to ensure an increase in what they considered as strength. Perhaps it was money they were fixated on or connections or even the most common one which was physical strength.

Not everyone would opt to take the long-term route of merely training, or talking to people and such to increase their strength gradually in a manner that would harm no one and seemingly only have positive impacts. Some people would take the shorter route with scamming, manipulation, and deceit, which would harm others, but in turn, it'd make them stronger based on their idea of the word's meaning.

"I agree that he's going about it the wrong way... Why didn't you just use charmspeak on him so he could sit down and listen to you?" I asked.

Silena flushed and punched my arm lightly.

"Stop teasing me about that." Silena pouted as she spoke.

Undoubtedly, it was an extremely cute sight that I felt rather honored due to being the only witness. The situation itself wasn't all that bad, just a guy and a girl who although barely knew each other, were rather comfortable with one another walking towards the lake.

Although from what I could see Silena had a rather protective instinct when it came to me, something which I couldn't reciprocate unfortunately but it didn't mean that when it came to her especially I didn't care about her or her actions.

"Sorry about that." I rubbed my arm and furrowed my eyebrows into a frown.

"Oh please, like that would hurt you, you fought Zoe and that other hunter all on your own, you're strong Aiden." Silena scoffed as we finally walked outside of the forest revealing camp half blood's beautiful Lake.

It was a peaceful atmosphere, the soft movement of the water in the lake complimented the beautiful scenery brought about by the moon's gleeful illumination and reflection on the clear water's surface. The scene was like it was taken straight from a professional artist's painting and slapped into reality in a perfect transition.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Having calmed down, Silena placed her hands behind her back and smiled as she looked towards the moon.

I followed her gaze, looking at the moon as well as I nodded my head.

"Yeah… thanks for bringing me here…. Helps me calm down." I said.

Silena turned towards me, directing her beautiful gaze at me which would normally cause anyone's heart to flutter. I could understand how Beckendorf fell in love with this girl, after all who wouldn't?

She was beautiful, kind, caring, essentially every single positive thing I could think about when it came to what people would like in a girl, but I wondered how such a relationship would even work out, especially since their parents are at odds.

But just because their parents are married yet at odds didn't mean that they couldn't have a successful relationship.

"You're really a nice person Silena. I struggle with expressing myself, but it's like you saw right through me and brought me here to help calm me down for tomorrow's quest… I'd like to repay you for that someday, I can't imagine why you would care so much for another person you barely know, but I want you to know that if you ever need help just let me know through Iris Messaging and I will gladly help you." I said as I rested my gaze onto hers, my Ruby eyes looking deep into her silver ones, as if a silent bond had been formed between us, or perhaps there was already a bond and this situation merely helped to strengthen it.

Silena Beauregard's strongest character trait was her emotional intelligence. Perhaps it was something she fostered herself or perhaps she had an innately high emotional intelligence due to her status as a child of Aphrodite which allowed her to understand the intricacies of complex emotions including love.

Yet just because she had a high emotional intelligence didn't mean that all her observations were right.

"Don't worry about it Aiden. I'm not the best person in the world, but I want to help everyone as much as I can, especially new demigods like yourself." Silena stated as she began to walk along the Lake.

I followed behind, my hands still within my pockets as we slowly walked side by side, moving at the exact same pace, in complete sync some would say.

"You're not going to ask how I'm so strong despite being a new demigod?" I asked her, knowing fully well what her thoughts on me were.

Silena didn't turn to me, she merely shook her head.

"If you want to say something to me, you'll tell me yourself Aiden. You're the type of person who's rather direct, blunt and goes for what he wants." Silena chuckled as she gave me a slight analysis on myself.

I nodded, understanding her point of view.

"Then I'll tell you. Basically, I've been surviving in the orphanage I lived in all alone. I had a mentor figure, a sister who took care of me regardless of what the other nuns said. She helped foster my intelligence and even helped me study a few concepts on science which resulted in the betterment of my magical abilities." I said, giving her a short yet concise explanation of my strength.

"That sounds tough… but wait, Athena doesn't have magic, where'd you get it from?" Silena raised an eyebrow showing her curiosity on the subject.

"Well… I'm not sure unfortunately. Chiron and I are still making theories on that, but one of them was that my parent wasn't necessarily a complete human or perhaps on my father's side of the family, his ancestors had abilities that I may have inherited. It's complex because I never met him so I have no idea." I responded straightforwardly.

Silena's eyes deflated, her curious gaze immediately shifting to regret as she took in the information of not having met my father at all. Perhaps when she heard of my orphan story, she assumed I had to have at least known my father before his death or my abandonment instead of having never met him at all.

"Aiden…. Are you sure you're okay with saying all of this to me?" Silena asked with a worried tone.

I nodded my head, this information didn't make me feel uncomfortable or anything, they were just statements with memories and truths behind them but not necessarily important to me beyond the value they provided in connecting with certain people or inducing certain things in others.

I could never let my past control me carelessly, if I didn't need it then I kept it for moments like these where it would help me connect with others for the sake of my own goal.

"I'm fine with it. Aside from that though, are you finally ready to tell me what you wanted to tell me about?" I asked her bluntly.

Silena chuckled and nodded her head with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah sorry, I got so comfortable I nearly forgot about it." She giggled before her expression turned serious and she turned to me.

I could tell right from the get-go that Silena Beauregard had something important or serious to tell me. Had she just wanted to talk to me, she wouldn't have needed to bring me so far away from my cabin which considering that no one aside from us was outside and around, would've been the perfect place for a casual conversation. Of course one could argue that a change of scenery could've been necessary for her to articulate whatever point she wanted to make, but based on what she had been asking me, there wasn't really anything a change of scenery would've changed or enhanced in any way.

Perhaps it was just me who saw changes in scenery as futile, regardless it was rather clear that Silena was trying to calm me down or better yet butter me up for a certain conversation she had been anticipating in her mind.

Now Silena, what do you want?

"I think you should drop out from the quest." Silena said, her tone still soft and heartwarming yet holding a firm and serious tone to articulate the seriousness of her point.

"May I ask why?" I asked her despite already knowing her answer.

"I know you're strong Aiden, but you're still a new demigod. You don't have any experience on quests and your first quest is one where death is certain. Please, you have so much more you can do, going on a quest like this is just suicide." Silena spoke, her voice tinged with worry she had for new demigods such as myself.

I understood her point, but I couldn't help but wonder why everyone here considered death to be an inevitability because it was made certain according to the given prophecy.

Yet when I recall what Dionysius said and the information given throughout the council meeting, I could tell something rather clear that it seemed everyone else had skimmed over as a result of their rather weak beliefs.

The prophecy doesn't say death is certain, but people could end up dying regardless because everyone else accepts it. It's rather sad, but it doesn't have anything to do with me until the quest itself starts, so I decided not to think about it for the time being.

After all no matter what, I had to ensure my survival first before all others.

"I understand… but Artemis gave Zoe the mission to watch over me, Zoe has to take me on that quest." I argued.

Silena shook her head.

"That may be true, but you can just stay in your cabin. Zoe can't force the door open, and once it's time to go she'll be forced to go regardless of whether she has to take you or not because her priority is saving Artemis." Silena argued back, shattering my argument instantly.

Perhaps it was time to change tactics?

"Alright, you got me there, I have another reason for going on this quest." I sighed, my words causing Silena to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"You have a reason for jumping into a death mission?... Is it Annabeth?" Silena asked probably having recalled my words during the council meeting which pertained to ensuring the best possible team to not only result in the safety of Artemis, but that of my half sister Annabeth as well.

I nodded my head.

"Yes. I know that I don't need to go, Thalia and Grover would surely ensure her safety but Thalia is too rash and Grover isn't powerful or smart, he's more of a support character. Maybe it's because I'm new, but I can't trust them with Annabeth's safety." I explained, ensuring to emphasize on the weaknesses of the sole people who were certain to be focused on Annabeth's safety to put my point across.

Okay maybe Thalia alone would be, couldn't be too sure about Grover.

"Aiden…" Silena's voice trailed off as she sympathized with me and yet I could tell that she still didn't want me to go regardless.

Why was she so adamant on stopping me? I could understand her doing this for the reasons she outlined, but there had to be something else. Maybe it was just my own mind trying to search for ulterior motives or hidden agendas, but there was something else behind Silena's actions that I could tell she was actively hiding away from me.

Her earlier nervousness was surely a clue.

"I understand… I want Annabeth to be safe too, after all she's also a friend of mine even though we're not close… but why exactly do you care so much Aiden? You could die without having accomplished anything you want to accomplish." Silena questioned.

Friend or not, Percy seemed to be the only one focused on saving her during that meeting. No one mentioned her in the slightest, everyone was only ever focused on Artemis. It could of course be argued that neither of them knew or thought that Annabeth was where Artemis was, but still the fact that none of them seemed worried for her was something I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at.

Regardless, it wasn't my place to question the way people acted towards others, I especially had no right to judge others on this aspect.

"I… I've never had a sibling you see. Like I said I lived in an orphanage but I didn't mention that I was treated terribly by other kids and the nuns aside from the one sister I mentioned. Therefore, it's a long and powerful wish of mine to have family and good familial relations and right now my family is in danger. I'm sorry Silena and I thank you for trying to persuade me not to go, but please understand that I have to do this." I said, trying to put some emotion into my voice.

Hopefully it worked.

Silena took a moment to absorb my words, and moments later, a sigh escaped her lips.

"I understand, Aiden. I'm sorry if I came off as selfish for trying to stop you from saving your family." Silena rubbed her arm as she looked away from me.

"It's okay… okay, how about we do this? I'll get a bunch of drachma from Chiron, and I'll try to contact you once every night so you don't have to worry much about me." I proposed, hoping to alleviate her sadness as much as I could.

Silena looked at me dead in the eye, trying to gauge my seriousness with her gaze for a moment before she nodded.

"Alright, thank you, for indulging in my selfishness." Silena laughed lightly, but I could tell there was something more.

But all in due time, it wasn't time to dig deep into Silena Beauregard's psyche.

Regardless, thank you Silena.

This was a fruitful conversation.

~

The next day, I woke up earlier than usual. Maybe it was because I was excited about today?

Or maybe I was anxious about today being my first quest?

I couldn't feel it though, I didn't feel anxious at all. I was neither anxious nor excited about today.

Or maybe I was and I was just ignoring it, but regardless that wouldn't stop me from doing what I had to do.

It was still early, the sun hadn't come up yet but I could tell from the faint light that I could see slowly coming from the horizon that it would be soon time to get up and leave.

I decided to exercise.

Stretching and other sorts of physical exercise should help me get ready for today, I spent the remainder of my night strategizing and had omitted the chance to get the full scope of the prophecy instead basing my focus on precisely what was discussed yesterday.

I would be travelling with the others regardless, so there was no need to go looking for people to explain things to me. I could get the explanation while travelling.

But I had to do it as soon as it began, who knew what would happen if we were suddenly attacked by a plethora of monsters the moment we left? I still didn't have a complete understanding of the Greek Mythology and had yet to apply the knowledge I acquired to make a decisive conclusion on its effectiveness in actual practical situations.

But at the very least it was my job to get ready for those situations.

Once I was done, I left my room and began to jog around camp. The camp was big, so obviously I wouldn't be able to do so with the time I had, but I merely wanted to keep my body awake and magical energy ready.

I had to prepare adequately, since I could die on this quest.

While I was jogging, I couldn't help but notice Nico hiding rather terribly behind a column at the dining pavilion. A few seconds later though, Bianca and Zoe rushed out of there looking rather frantic for some reason, it seemed something had happened as they headed to the big House whose lights had just turned on.

I decided to ignore them and focus on my jog before I suddenly noticed Percy appear beside Nico who jolted up in fright.

How?

I was curious, because of that I jogged towards them.

"Percy, Nico." I approached them.

"Oh Aiden, morning." Percy greeted with a wry smile as he turned to me.

Did my presence cause him discomfort? Or was it because of yesterday?

"Aiden! Did you know? Percy can turn invisible?" Nico said.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow and turned to Percy who chuckled lightly.

"Well not really my ability, but Annabeth's cap turns people invisible." Percy said as he showed me the Yankees cap he picked from the snow last time at the cliff. He put it on his head and disappeared then came back once he took it off.

It was rather cool to be honest.

"That's pretty cool, but what are you two doing here?" I asked. I didn't have time, I had to get straight to the point.

"Well Nico—"

"I want to go on the quest!" Nico stated.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Nico, you can't." I said flatly.

"Why? Because I'm too young? Percy said it too." Nico pouted.

I shook my head.

"Not that, there's no way you can sneak up on Zoe or Thalia, she didn't notice you before because she seemed frantic, you can't assume it'll happen all the time. Not only that but we'll have to protect you and you might actually—"

"Aiden." Percy stopped me, having realized what I was about to say.

I sighed.

"You just can't." I stated.

Even though Nico according to yesterday seemed rather fine with killing the hunters because of their immortality, it was something both Percy and I could tell was just influenced by the naivety of a child. Once Nico would come face to face with death, who knew how he'd react? Percy didn't want that on him.

"Ugh… then… can you watch over Bianca, Aiden?" Nico asked me with worried eyes.

Hmm? It seemed he really was worried about his sister despite ignoring her for the duration of his stay, was this what they called tough love? Or was he just really angry with her and now that she was leaving it just didn't sit right with him.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." I said to him.

Nico shook his head.

"No, you have to promise me, please." Nico pleaded, the look he gave me was genuine, he was extremely worried. Anyone who looked into his eyes would be compelled to promise this innocent child that they'd do anything to bring their sister back safely.

But I wasn't one to be swayed by such.

"Percy can do it." I deflected.

"Huh?" Percy exclaimed in shock.

"Percy? But he's not going." Nico raised an eyebrow.

"He is, and with his invisibility cap, he can sneak in better than you would." I explained.

"Woah Aiden, I can't. I'm supposed to be going home today." Percy said raising his arms and making an X on his chest.

I turned to him.

"Are you really going to leave saving Annabeth to others?" I questioned as I walked to his ear.

"With the way they talked about the prophecy yesterday, I was able to understand that it made no mention of Annabeth meaning that even if you joined in, as long as your main goal was to save Annabeth then you wouldn't be part of the quest and the prophecy holds." I explained.

Percy flinched as he took in my words.

"B-but that's fighting against the prophecy no? It's dangerous, and how do you even know that's how it works?" Percy hesitated yet at the same time I could see he was merely fighting his own battles.

The devastation of being rejected from yesterday plus the accumulated regret and sadness he felt from Annabeth's fall was pushing against Percy's own will to fight no matter what anyone said.

I just had to balance the forces a bit and push a little further.

"You like her don't you Percy?"

Percy blushed at my words.

"Ah, no, I mean—"

"The prophecy doesn't mention her Percy… it means her fate is up to us. I was the only one to mention saving her throughout the entirety of yesterday, I understand that Artemis is at stake here but that's my half-sister. No one here also seems more determined to save her than you do Percy… don't you want to find out if she likes you back? She can't do it if she's dead. Help me Percy, let's save Annabeth." I stated, knowing fully well that my words tugged at his heart strings.

Percy tensed, several thoughts seemed to race in his head as he contemplated my words.

And then, a flame lit up in his eyes.

"I'll go." He said and I nodded.

"Don't worry about the prophecies specifications, just trust me. I have a plan just in case." I told him.

Percy glanced at me and nodded.

"Alright."

Nico who was quiet suddenly spoke up.

"Does that mean Percy is going?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, I'm going." Percy admitted before he turned to me.

"I almost forgot Aiden, but I had a dream again. I'll tell you later since you don't have time." Percy said as the sun rose up.

"Yeah, see you later." I said.

"See you." He responded.

"Bye Aiden." Nico followed before I jogged away, leaving both him and Percy together.

Once I was a considerable distance, I suddenly remembered something.

I still had something to do.

"Wait a minute. Nico, come over here for a sec." I called out to the 10 year old who looked at me with a curious gaze before he rushed towards me, his small feet carrying him to me.

"Yeah?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

I placed a hand on his head and ruffled it softly.

"I was thinking of a way to occupy you while the prophecy goes on, want to play a game with me?" I asked him.

Nico's eyes shimmered in excitement as he seemingly bounced in glee.

"Yes! What game?!" He questioned.

"Well, the game is to stay with the Stoll brothers until I come back, like a super spy so you can't tell anyone. When I come back, tell me if they did anything cool." I said to him.

Nico raised an eyebrow, taking in my words rather carefully.

"Isn't that spying? Is that good?" Nico questioned softly. His naivety compelled him to play this "game" of mine, but at the same time, he must've felt like watching people like this was something wrong.

That was not my problem.

"It's not spying, but in the future, you might need to be able to spy on enemies so we can beat them. I already told the Stoll brothers to watch how you do, so you're fine. They won't tell you about the mission, though, so even if you say it to them, they'll act confused, so keep it to yourself." I said to him.

Nico nodded, understanding my words before a bright smile formed on his face and he patted his chest.

"Alright! Leave it to me!" He grinned.

I nodded.

"Thanks Nico, I can't wait to see your new skills." I said to him.

Nico nodded and rushed towards the Hermes cabin with a noticeable bounce to his movements.

That should do it.

Turning around, I continued on my jog.

My main goal was to make sure all the people I wanted as allies were huddled in a group together, it was my main reason for opposing Phoebe's entry.

Percy, Grover, Thalia, Bianca, and Zoe, all of these people were powerful in their own right and adequate allies to have to navigate this world, and while Grover wasn't truly powerful, I could see his potential after having heard of the capabilities of Satyrs.

If Phoebe joined, not only would Percy or Thalia be left behind, but I wouldn't be able to get closer to either Zoe or Bianca with the addition of another Hunter in the span of a week that constituted the quest's time limit.

Phoebe would only be a pain, a pain I didn't want to deal with so I needed to take her out. I had mentioned Thalia and Percy's will to join the quest in order to confirm where they stood, as merely understanding their personalities didn't give me room to make assumptions that were absolutely correct as the human mind was a rather complex interplay of sheer instinct, emotion, and experiences.

By taking Phoebe out and having Thalia accepted which was rather obvious due to Zoe's disdain for men, I would be able to induce the pain of being denied a chance to save the girl he clearly likes but isn't sure of yet which would weigh down on Percy.

This would make it so that once I came to Percy and pushed him to join, I'd not only be able to induce determination into him by reverse engineering his feelings, but I'd also be able to create a stronger bond due to instilling it in his mind that we had a shared goal of saving Annabeth and by emphasizing that it was because she was my sister, despite Percy's depressed emotional state, he wouldn't need to expend energy on potential jealousy before he himself realized we were siblings and that was weird.

As I jogged to the big House, I noticed the other questers standing by a van at the bottom of the hill. It would seem time was of the essence, but I couldn't see Chiron down there, therefore I would have to visit the big House regardless.

Once I reached, I quickly jumped over the steps and landed on the porch before I knocked on the door. I waited until I heard a soft voice say "enter" and finally grabbed the doorknob and opened the wooden door with a slight creek.

"Aiden? Is there something you need?" Chiron asked the moment he saw me as I walked into his living room where he sat alone in his wheelchair, indulging in a hot cup of coffee.

"I came to ask for a few drachma. Silena was extremely worried about me, and I promised that I would contact her every night, so I just need a few drachma that'd last me a week and a few extras for emergencies." I responded.

"I see, you'll find some in there, do take as much as you need to." Chiron said as he pointed at a pouch on one of the tables in the living room.

I gave him a nod of appreciation before I walked to the pouch and opened it, revealing a cluster of gold. I had learnt of the golden drachma and Iris Messaging from my conversation with Chiron on my first night, therefore I wasn't surprised by their appearance.

I sent a hand and grabbed as much as I believed I needed, feeling a gaze that remained fixed on all of my movements. I understood that Chiron lacked trust in me, this was normal considering our late night conversation where I had used his nature against him.

Regardless, as long as he didn't endanger me, I didn't care how he felt.

I shoved the drachma I took inside my pocket and closed the pouch before I stepped away from it and turned to Chiron.

"Thank you, Chiron." I said to him before I turned to leave the big House.

"Aiden."

I stopped as I heard the centaur call my name.

"Can you save them?" He asked once he understood that I was listening. I raised an eyebrow and turned to him confused, what did he mean by that? Save who?

"I'm not sure I follow." I responded.

Chiron sighed and took a sip of his coffee, softly placing the cup on the small plate on the table before he turned to me, his eyes riddled with worry, caution and fatigue all at the same time.

Chiron was exhausted, he had surely seen countless quests that led to the death of young demigods perhaps akin to myself, and surely he wasn't one to want to send more children to their deaths.

But there was nothing he could do apparently, as camp director, he had a duty to stay here and take care of any and all demigods in camp Half Blood, so all he could do was pray for those who danced with death.

"You and I both know what I mean Aiden, can you do it?" Chiron asked again, his tone firm and unyielding.

I sighed.

"I don't know." I answered him, staring straight back into his eyes which tried to bore into my soul.

Try as you will, you will never find anything.

Chiron sighed, closing his eyes before he went back to drinking his coffee.

"I understand, I wish you luck on your quest and… I hope you all stay safe." Chiron said, the hesitance in his voice was not missed by me at all.

"Thank you." I responded to his words before I turned around and walked away from him, leaving the tired centaur to his own devices.

I opened the door and turned to the bottom of the hill, wondering if I had been left behind but was certain I was not. Based on Thalia's words from yesterday and Percy's own from today, I could tell that they all had an inherent fear of prophecies, surely from experience which I lacked.

Perhaps that was why I was willing to experiment and they weren't. Regardless, because of that I was sure they wouldn't leave without me.

My gaze landed on the van where an impatient Zoe stood with Bianca beside her, while Grover and Thalia conversed with each other, and Argus remained beside the van with his arms folded.

I had to hurry it seemed, I'd rather not incur the wrath of the man hater anymore than I already have.

I sighed and focused on my magical energy as I walked away from the porch and reached the top of the hill.

I used magic to generate wind at the bottom of my feet to shoot myself towards them at high speeds. I felt the wind blow into my face, giving me the sweet feeling of freedom as I pierced through the air at high speeds.

That was when a sudden thought came to mind, perhaps I could use this moment to practice the move I learnt yesterday, the one that Lilianna so kindly showed me.

I exhaled and sent a bit of magical energy into my feet.

Efficiency was key here.

I wouldn't fail.

I took a step, and the world blurred.

Once I could see clearly, I wasn't at the bottom of the hill but I was close, I would need to do it a one more time to get there.

Alright, one more—

My leg hit something.

My vision once again blurred, but what followed it was pain.

I had tripped on a tree root and was now tumbling like a rock to the foot of the hill.

I could feel myself eat dirt before I used wind to shoot myself off and this time I landed beside the van.

"What happened to you?" Thalia snickered.

"Aiden, are you alright?" Bianca struggled to hold her laughter.

Zoe just smirked.

"I told you he was an animal." She commented.

How rude.

I sighed and took out the dirt in my hair and spat whatever got into my mouth.

Tasted disgusting.

Argus motioned us to go in, Zoe walked confident to the van and took the driver's seat.

"Isn't nature cool, Aiden?" Grover smiled as he walked with me to the car door.

"No Grover, not at all."

This was a terrible beginning to my first quest.

Sorry for the late chapter. I honestly wrote this chapter like what, 5 to 7 times? I'm trying to follow the canon date wise due to how I brought Aiden into the story. Since this isn't an insert and he's going with the story itself, there are some things I can't change from canon. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and feel free to give me feedback especially in case of writing errors, I may have made a lot of those.