Echoes of the Road: (Or ETR)
So, I'm a little disappointed, and I'll understand if you are too. Why am I late? Why is this update so short? Well, there are two main reasons.
Firstly, I've been completely absorbed in writing my original work. I've uploaded the appendix to Wattpad—it's already around 14,000 words! I've been pouring most of my energy into that, putting other projects on hold. However, I've decided to take a more balanced approach moving forward, so I'll be working on multiple projects again.
Secondly, the holidays. My sister is home from school, there's Thanksgiving, now Christmas is right around the corner, and on top of that, it's hunting season. So yeah, it's been busy, busy, busy.
Anyway, I felt bad about the delay and wanted to give you something tangible, so I cleaned this up to a point where it's ready to be uploaded, even as I continue to write and edit the rest. I hope you all understand and enjoy what I've got here so far.
Prologue:
Jason's PoV:
The air shimmered as we emerged into chaos, the oppressive weight of the battlefield pressing down on my shoulders. The Roman demigods met us with wary eyes. We stood behind their fractured main lines, near the command tent. Something was wrong. The usual discipline of their ranks was gone, replaced by a grim, hopeless desperation that told its own story. My gaze found Reyna, barking orders amidst the turmoil, her sharp commands barely keeping the legion together. Octavian was conspicuously absent.
I strode toward Reyna. "What's happening?" My voice cut through the noise. Her shoulders stiffened, and her hand twitched toward the dagger at her side. When she turned and saw me, her guarded expression softened into weary relief.
"Nico and I had just arrived when the monsters turned on the legion. Octavian, that fool, conscripted these barbari—as if he hadn't learned from history." Her voice trembled with restrained fury. "Our best soldiers were at the front when it happened. Then we felt it—Gaia's rise. The ground buckled, the air thickened, and the monsters… they just turned on us." She exhaled sharply. "Octavian vanished. Dead or a deserter, I don't care. I've restored some order, but..."
Her voice faltered. "But what?" I prompted.
Before she could answer, the air around us grew heavy. Percy materialized, suffused with an ancient, overwhelming presence. His sea-green eyes flickered gold, and for a fleeting moment, I felt something vast and incomprehensible—decay and rebirth, deeper than time itself.
"My fellows refuse to help the Romans," Percy said, his voice low and charged with power. Wisps of black and green smoke curled off his form, an unsettling contrast to the light in his eyes. "They've fortified themselves, confident they can deal with the monsters after the Romans fall. The tree holds back most of the horde. They've locked the Romans out, leaving you between two armies with no time to pull a Caesar at Alesia."
Annabeth's face flushed with anger. "They can't just leave them to die! Look at them—there are children among them!" She gestured toward the Roman ranks, her voice breaking. Spinning on her heel, she marched toward the walls surrounding Camp Half-Blood. "I'll talk sense into them!"
"No need, princess," came a voice as the gates creaked open. "Seaweed Brain convinced the ones that count."
Clarisse stepped forward, her shield bearing a fresh arrow and her face streaked with blood. A nasty gash ran from her left eye, slashing diagonally across her mouth, to the bottom of her right chin, leaving her expression even fiercer than usual. She locked eyes with Reyna. "You Roman fools have a lot to answer for, but if these two—" she jabbed a thumb at Percy and Annabeth—"vouch for you, that's enough for me. The Ares cabin is yours."
Behind her, the burly warriors of the Ares cabin emerged, followed by a group of grim-faced Apollo kids. Will Solace approached Clarisse, offering a sheepish grin. "Most of Apollo stands with you. Sorry about my sister… and the arrow." He gestured at her shield.
Clarisse grunted, waving it off. "She's joining me in the ring after this is over." Her smile wasn't pretty, and Will nodded grimly.
From within the camp, more demigods trickled out, their disheveled appearances bearing the marks of a recent brawl. Clarisse cast a glance at Annabeth. "Chiron's tending to the injured inside. A quarter of the camp refused to help the Romans, and by the time Nico showed up, we were already at each other's throats. It spiraled out of control… until Percy arrived and ordered us to join the fight. Blood was running hot, but when the savior of Olympus steps out of a portal and gives you an order, you listen. I'm ashamed it took us this long, but we're here now." Her expression tightened, then softened slightly as she added, "Still, Percy… the fight wasn't just about whether we should join the battle. It started because of what happened to Nico. He tried to reason with everyone, but…"
Will's face twisted with fury. "I'll kill the bastard for what he did to Nico. I swear it on the Styx."
Percy's expression darkened, a dangerous undertone in his voice. "What happened to Nico?"
I stepped forward, anger surging through me, and Hazel moved to my side. The combined divine auras of the children of the Big Three radiated outward, pressing down on everyone like a tangible weight. Even Clarisse, usually unfazed, scowled under the strain.
"You know Jack?" she asked. "Apollo camper—one of the ones itching for a fight. Before you showed up, he and Nico got into it. Nico called him a coward—called all of us cowards—and said he was joining the Romans. Jack shot him in the back. All Hades broke loose after that. Chiron tried to step in, but Will went after Jack with a dagger, and it turned into an all-out brawl. Then you showed up about half an hour ago and put an end to it. Jack vanished after that."
Percy's scowl deepened. "We'll find him. Nico will be fine—he's with Chiron, right?" Percy paused before asking in a slightly accusatory tone. "Why wasn't I told the moment I got here?"
"Because it's been hell, Seaweed Brain," Clarisse muttered.
But my thoughts were elsewhere. Half an hour ago, Percy had been dead. So how could he have been here, stopping a civil war at the same time? I shook my head, pushing the confusion aside and forcing myself to focus. "Will Nico make it?"
"Yes." Will's tone was firm, almost defiant.
"I'll storm my uncle's realm if I have to," Percy said. "Not that i'd need to, Uncle Hades wouldn't stop me—and he'd probably find a way to look the other way or even help me."
"You wouldn't be alone. We'd join you," I said firmly. One by one, the rest of the Seven added their voices to the declaration—Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Frank, and Hazel. Even Will and Reyna chimed in. Reyna must have grown close to Nico during their journey, and as for Will… maybe he had feelings for my little cousin. The way he spoke about Nico, the fury he directed toward Jack—it felt personal.
Or maybe I was just reading too much into it after spending so much time with Piper. Still, the thought of playing wingman for Nico briefly crossed my mind before I shoved it aside. Focus, Jason. Win the war first. Save the matchmaking for after we survive the day.
Percy turned to the gathered Greeks. Half of Camp Half-Blood stood united, the rest either injured or defiant. Raising Riptide, he ignited it in a swirling conflagration of green and black. His voice boomed across the field.
"Greeks! Shall we help our wayward cousins? Show them what we're made of?"
The answering roar shook the air, and I couldn't suppress a smile. The Greeks—chaotic, brilliant, stubborn. What they lacked in order, they made up for in sheer audacity.
"For Olympus, for our parents, and for Camp Half-Blood!" Percy's shout boomed across the battlefield, his voice reverberating with an ancient, primal power.
The skies roared in response. Black lightning split the heavens, writhing with chaotic energy as it forked downward, a living force of destruction. Each strike crashed into the monster horde with the fury of a god's wrath. Cyclopes howled as bolts pierced their massive forms, their hulking silhouettes dissolving into ash. The ground beneath them cracked and smoldered, their lifeforce wrenched from them as if the lightning itself was unmaking their very existence.
A pack of hellhounds leaped for the Roman line, only to freeze mid-air as tendrils of electricity lanced through them. Their forms contorted unnaturally, wisps of their essence drawn into the searing bolts before they crumbled into nothingness. The sharp tang of ozone filled the air, mingling with the acrid stench of burning fur and flesh.
Drakons, their scales glinting in the dim light, reared back in panic. The writhing arcs of lightning found them, snaking through the air with sentient purpose. Their metallic armor shattered under the onslaught, the energy draining the life from their massive frames. Their roars turned to gurgles as the unrelenting power hollowed them from within.
A towering Cyclops emerged from the ranks, its single eye blazing with fury as it raised a jagged tree trunk like a club. It bellowed, its voice reverberating like thunder across the battlefield. It swung the massive weapon toward the Roman line, but the lightning struck first.
A blinding bolt of black lightning ripped through the Cyclops' eye, carving a path straight to its core. Its bellow turned into a guttural, choking scream as the chaotic energy surged through its massive form, consuming it from the inside out. Flesh and bone disintegrated in an instant, the once-towering monster collapsing in a heap of smoldering ruin. The earth beneath it cracked and blackened, leaving behind a deep, smoking crater that reeked of scorched flesh and ozone.
The energy in the air was suffocating, a crushing weight of raw power that left no doubt who wielded it. The monster ranks faltered, their once-overwhelming numbers breaking apart under the relentless assault. The lightning seemed alive, writhing through the battlefield, draining the life force of anything it touched. Cyclopes staggered, drakons writhed, and hellhounds collapsed mid-charge, their movements sluggish as if the very proximity to the lightning drained their strength and will to fight.
When the onslaught finally ended, a deafening silence fell, broken only by the crackle of lingering sparks. For a heartbeat, the battlefield froze. The air shimmered with heat and chaotic energy, the remnants of Percy's storm clinging to the ground like malevolent specters. The demigods stood taller now, undeterred by the carnage, their spirits ignited by the devastation wrought by their leader.
"How…" I began, the question lingering as my gaze flicked to the devastation wrought by the lightning.
Percy shrugged, his tone casual despite the raw power he'd just displayed. "I'm not exactly sure about my domains yet. The Fates and Ananke will clue me in once peace is secured, but I'm pretty sure destruction and natural disasters are two of them—like, ninety-nine percent sure." He flashed a grin, but it quickly faded, replaced by a grave seriousness.
"We have to be careful, especially you two," he said, his sea-green eyes locking with mine and Hazel's. "We're stronger than ever, but we lack our parents' control. If we're not careful, we'll do more harm than good."
I nodded, his words grounding me even as my admiration for him grew. Percy's grin returned, sharp and confident, cutting through the tension like a blade. "Rain down the stars on them, Jason. And Hazel? Show them the true meaning of terror."
Hazel and I exchanged a glance, a silent agreement passing between us. The spark of determination ignited into a blazing inferno as we turned toward the battlefield. Together, we surged forward, charging into the fray with one singular desire burning in our hearts—carnage.