Outsider Chronicles: Son of Shadows

Being a Demigod is always going to be a pain. That goes double for one of the Big Three. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that stupid prophecy and I get a cool spear out of the deal.

So this idea is an...interesting one. Its basically the result of a Fate wiki-walk while working on another idea that used certain Fate elements to add to the world and have some fun with it. The basic premise? Well, the MC is a child of a Greek God and an Immortal from another pantheon. Hes not a Godling since his mother is technically Human, but just far enough away thanks to being an Immortal and long exposure to the Shadow Lands that our Outsider is considered a Demigod, but not applicable for the role of Hero of Prophecy based on a technicality. And with that statement, you might be able to guess who our MC's mother is. Should be fun. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I'd like to say I was a normal kid, but I really can't, not with a straight face. Even ignoring the extra memories from my past life, I was never a normal kid. Why? Well, the fact I was both living in the world of Percy Jackson and I'm pretty sure I was a demigod. What makes me say that? Well, as it happens, I was part of Percy's class who took an unexpected dip in the shark tank. Not the best way to end a field trip, both due to the soggy britches and because the sharks really, REALLY didn't like me for whatever reason. Oh, and the confirmation that yes, I was in a world where I could potentially be eaten by monsters. As for the other point, well, there were a few reasons why I thought that.

The main reason was because I had seen a few Monsters of my own, some of whom took rather more interest in me than I would have liked. The other reasons were the fact I had ADHD and Dyslexia that was even worse than normally depicted, to the point that I sometimes found myself writing in what I'm pretty sure were Celtic runes. Yeah, that should have tipped me off that things were even weirder for me.

In addition to those issues, I was also an orphan. I have no idea who either of my parents are and the only thing I had from either of them was a runestone pendant marked with the Algiz rune of protection. I'm fairly sure there was more to it than appeared because it would occasionally heat up when I was in danger, but didn't seem to do much else.

Anyway, since I didn't have any family to speak of, I was basically raised in foster care and that went about as well as you'd expect. By the time I was 12, I'd been in 7 different homes, which incidentally resulted in three arrests for child abuse and four different hospilization incidences. Fortunately, my current foster family were much better than some of the morons I'd been put with in the past. They were an old Irish couple who actually took the time to listen to me and understand rather than try to force me into a mould I clearly didn't fit into.

They also taught me Gaelic, which I grasped rather more quickly than I would have expected.

Anyway, on my twelfth birthday, after a rather enjoyable day of games and rather more sugar than I probably should have had, I went to bed and crashed hard. Then I found myself laying on a rocky cliff overlooking a black sea.

I sat up and looked around. I was on top of a large, off-shore rock with a large castle made of black stone behind me and pretty much nothing else visible from my spot, other than a few black rocks sticking out of the black sea. The small island was the only thing visible through the gloom and mist. As for the castle itself, well, it looked like it had been made from solidified shadows, with the only colour coming from the snow and ice that covered the stone. Despite that, I wasn't cold. Instead, I felt...comfortable, as if I was coming home after a long time away.

"Riiiiight, I have no idea whats going on, but I have a few guesses," I muttered as I got to my feet, "Lets see if we can find out where I am."

I made my way up the hill towards the castle gates and found them open, so I took the unspoken invitation and cautiously walked inside. As I passed through the gatehouse, the sound of someone exerting themselves began to reach my ears, along with the sound of metal on metal. Someone was clearly training in the courtyard.

A moment later, I turned the corner into the main courtyard of the castle and found myself at the edge of a large, elaborate training field where a woman was busy battering away at a rather large animated training dummy with a pair of crimson spears. She had long, black hair and wore a black armoured bodysuit that did an excellent job of showing off her form. She was also extremely strong as the dummy she was using appeared to be made of some kind of metal and she was shearing through it with her spears without apparent effort.

I stopped a good distance away from the woman and waited for her to finish. I might be an impulsive, often reckless Demigod, but I had enough survival instincts to not be rude to the sole person who seemed to be here and who also happened to be extremely strong and armed with some very pointy sticks.

I wasn't waiting long. A few minutes after I arrived, the woman pounced at the dummy and rammed both her spears into its chest, before twisting in an impressive display of flexibility and balance to land a kick to its head that sent it flying over the wall and out of sight. Despite myself, I couldn't help but applaud that particular trick.

The woman smiled as she stood and bowed.

"Impressed?" she asked in a lilting Scottish accented voice.

"You bet!" I said, "That was amazing!"

The woman laughed, a clear, bell like sound that didn't seem to suit her for some reason.

"I'm glad you're impressed, Finn," she said.

That wiped the smile off my face.

"How do you know my name?" I asked, now a little on guard.

I knew enough about Celtic folklore, and there was no fucking way this was tied to Greece, to know that mysterious people knowing your name is rarely a good thing. Her smile didn't fade as she approached me and kelt down.

"Calm your fears, dear one," she said in Gaelic, "You have nothing to fear here. None will hurt you in my domain."

"I don't even know where here is," I said as I took a few steps back, "I get that you mythological types like to act all cryptic, but I'd rather just cut right to the chase. Who are you, where am I and why am I here?"

The woman laughed again.

"Ah, forgive me, I am used to acting the role of mysterious teacher of Heroes," she said, "Very well, in order, this place is the Dun Scaich, the Fortress of Shadows located on the border of the World of the Living and the Lands of Shadows where the lost Souls of the Dead reside. I am its keeper and guardian, Scathach."

I nearly swallowed my tongue at that.

"Wait, the land of the Dead?!" I spluttered, "But...why am I here? I didn't die, did I?"

Scathach laughed again and took my hands in hers.

"No dear one, you are not dead and will not be for a very long time if I have anything to say about it," she said.

"Then why…" I started, before I was cut off as Scathach started singing.

It was a song without words, a simple melody perfect for a lullaby. It was also achingly familiar.

My memories of my birth were much more clear than any other Mortal on the planet, but that didn't mean I could actually remember enough about it to know who my Parents were. However, I could remember two things clearly. The first was the scent of leather and oil mixed with wildflowers and the second was that song.

"Ah, thats why," I said weakly, "You're my Mother?"

Scathach smiled and nodded.

"I have been waiting for this day for a long time," she said, "Ever since I sent you back to the Mortal world…"

I frowned.

"Why did you?" I asked, "Send me back I mean. Why not give me to my Father?"

Scathach sighed and stood.

"The Land of Shadows is no place for a Mortal," she said, "Certainly no place to raise a child. As for your Father, well, the Gods of Greece are forbidden from directly interacting with their children. Beside, the Underworld is an even worse place to raise a child than the Lands of Shadow."

My brain stuttered slightly at that.

"Wait, what?" I said, "Are you saying that my Father is HADES?!"

Scathach snorted.

"No, that old coot wouldn't leave his beloved underworld for anything short of a Solstice Meeting," she said, "No, your Father is…"

She trailed off and glanced over to the side of the courtyard where a bath sized fountain sat against the keeps walls.

"Actually, I think I'll let him introduce himself," she said.

I frowned and followed her gaze. Now that I looked at it, the fountain looked rather out of place. It was still made of black stone, but rather than the sandstone the rest of the castle was composed of, the fountain was made of marble. Not only that, but it was decorated with golden dog skulls with large, ruby eyes and laurel wreaths made of rose gold. When I entered, it had been dry, but now it was spewing a thick, crimson fluid that looked uncomfortably like blood from the skulls mouths. There was something oddly familiar about the entire setup, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.

Then, when the fountains basen was full, a hand burst from the surface. I watched in shock as a man hauled himself out of the red liquid. The fluid quickly ran off him, leaving him bone dry as he shook himself clean.

At first glance, the man didn't look like much. He was tall, well built and wearing a red vest with three dog skulls on the front, purple shorts and a pair of sandals. His skin was albino pale, made even paler due to his pitch black hair and his eyes were two different colours, one red and the other green. Aside from that, the only other interesting thing about him was the fact his heels seemed to be on fire.

"Sorry for the wait, Father was being awkward again," he said, "I'm not too late am I?"

"Actually, you're right on time," said Scathach, "Finn, this is your Father, the God of Life and Blood, Zagreus."

Ah, that would be why I recognized him then! Still, better than Hades. At least I don't have to worry about being a Child of the Prophecy.

With the introductions done, Scathach had us head into the keep where shadowy servants ghosted around with platters of food that I decided not to touch. I had no idea if the rules of the Greek Underworld counted here, but I didn't fancy finding out.

"So, how exactly does this work for me?" I asked once we were all settled into Scathachs dining room, "I mean, your both Gods, right?"

"Actually no," said Scathach, "I'm an Immortal, but not a Goddess. I'm still Human, just separated from the Mortal World."

"I have to say, you're taking this remarkably well," said Zagreus.

"To be honest, I haven't entirely dismissed the idea that this is all a dream," I said, "I'll withhold the panic attacks until after I know for sure that this is all real."

"Thats a remarkably pragmatic way of looking at it," said Zagreus.

I just shrugged.

"Anyway, you count as a Half Blood in all the ways that matter," said Scathach, "Which unfortunately includes attracting monsters. However, that Runestone I gave you should hide your scent. It won't stop them from figuring out you're a Half-blood if they are in the same room, but it will at least stop random monsters from picking you up and tracking you down. That means we should have plenty of time to train you."

I gulped. I did not like that smile on her face.

"Train?" I asked.

"I am a trainer of Heroes," said Scathach as she got to her feet, "I fully intend to make damn sure that you can survive."

I gulped again. Really, REALLY did not like that smile.

"Speaking of training, I have a gift for you," said Zagreus and handed me a red crystal on a chain.

The moment I took it, it glowed faintly and extended into a blood red spear with a long blade for a head that was split in half, creating a barbed two pronged fork.

"Its name is Varatha, the Eternal Spear," said Zagreus, "I used it a very long time ago and my Father before even that. It is lethal to monsters, but won't do much against Mortals."

"It also has my own power added to it," said Scathach, "Well, sort of. One of its previous wielders was my student, so it has the power of the Gae Bolg, if you can draw it out."

"Wasn't that thing able to destroy entire armies?" I asked, a little taken aback by the insane power of the gift.

Scathach just smiled.

"You need to learn how to use it first," she said, "Come on, lets get started."

And thus began my training in the art of asskicking. Or, to be more accurate, thus began my asskicking in the name of training.

So yeah, from that day onward, I spent my weekends training with my Mom in Dun Scaich, usually with a bit of help from the Mist to keep my Mortal guardians from worrying. She taught me a lot there, not just in terms of spear fighting, but also basically every other weapon you can think of, from swords to slings, to martial arts and even more esoteric skills like how to read and write in Celtic, horsemanship and so on. By the time she was done, I was damn near superhuman.

Oh, and then there was the other side of my education, namely in the art of Runic Magic. I quickly proved to be remarkably adept at it, even able to begin creating basic Rune clusters in fairly short order, although I did nearly scorch my eyebrows off a few times.

When the holidays came around, I got to spend more time in Dun Scaich with Mom and even got to spend time with Dad, who promptly taught me how to traverse the Underworld and took me downstairs to meet his side of the family. That was certainly…interesting.

As you might expect from my Father being Zagrius, the Underworld was decked out like the one from Hades. There were some differences, like modern appliances in the kitchen and lounge and Hypnos had tablet computer instead of his list, but it was still easily recognizable from the game. Likewise, the inhabitants of the House were also from Hades, which made meeting them a lot of fun for me. Achilles was nice, greeting me warmly and promising to give me lessons with my spear later, and Dusa was also present and about as flustered as could be after Zag introduced me to her.

Unfortunately, not all of the meetings were quite that pleasant.

I squirmed in my seat, unable to sit still under the icy cold gaze of the woman sat across from me.

"So, this is the kid," said Megaera, not taking her eyes off me.

Frankly, being under the gaze of one of Hades' chief torturers would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but considering that I was a Demigod and the son of her kinda-sorta boyfriend made things even worse for me. Which was a shame because I quite liked Meg in the game.

"Hnn, he'll do," said Meg, "He has potential if nothing else. If he can keep from being eaten, he might even be passably strong one day."

She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me feeling like I'd been stabbed multiple times.

"Don't mind Meg," said Dad, ruffling my hair, "She might seem prickly, but shes nice really."

"Isnt she one of Grandpa's torturers?" I asked.

Dad twitched slightly.

"Well, yes, but shes…nice," he said weakly.

I gave him a flat look, but before I could respond, there was a startled scream as something dropped through the rock ceiling and slammed into the ground with a crunch. There was a moment of silence, before a woman with green wings and grey skin shot out of the crater she'd just made in the floor.

"Owww, damn that brat, I'll kill him!" screamed Alecto, "Curse you Percy Jackson, you haven't seen the last of me!"

She wrenched herself free of the ground and stormed off, not giving us a second look.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"No idea," said Dad, "Father has had her working on something lately, but I don't know what it is. Apparently she got bested by a Hero though."

"Huh, so thats how that works," I muttered, looking in the direction Alecto had gone.

Percy Jackson huh? Guess I was the same age as him. Thats…interesting.

"Come on, I've still got to introduce you to Father," said Dad, "They should be ready by now."

"So I get to meet one of the most powerful and dangerous Gods of Olympus," I muttered as I followed Dad into the House, "Great…"

If I thought meeting my Dads sorta-girlfriend was intense, it had NOTHING on meeting my Grandfather. In a way, I'd almost have preferred the one from Percy Jackson because, while obviously powerful, I never really got the same sort of sheer physical presence from that one as I did the one from Hades. Staring up at the glowering god from the floor, I felt about the size of a grain of sand.

Gods I wish it was winter…

"Father, this is my Son, Finn," said Dad, dropping a hand on my head and ruffling my hair.

"Um, its nice to meet you sir," I said, bowing to the Lord of the Underworld.

"Hnn, he has manners at least," rumbled Hades as he rose from his desk and loomed over me, "Listen well boy, I care little for the affairs of mortals, but you are a member of my House, regardless of your status among the Living. You shall not bring shame upon us through your actions. Understand?"

I swallowed, but straightened my spine and met my Grandfathers piercing eyes.

"I understand Grandfather," I said, "I can't promise that I will never disappoint you, but I swear that I shall never do it intentionally."

The two of us stared at each other for a moment, before Hades let out a soft snort and dropped back into his chair with a huff.

"See that you don't," he said, "Now begone. I have much work to do."

He waved one massive hand and Dad quickly guided me away from his Fathers desk. Once we were out of view, I let out the breath I was holding and slumped against the wall.

"Hooooly crap, that was…Is he always like that?" I asked.

Dad shrugged a little helplessly.

"Hes always short and brisk, especially when Mother is on Olympus, but he has been especially on edge lately," he said, "Something seems to be bothering him, but he won't tell me what it is."

"Worry not child, it is something that is being dealt with," said a deep, echoing voice as Nyx appeared out of a dark, star filled portal, "Tis best to leave it to your Father for now."

"A-ah, right," said Dad, clearly a little taken off guard by the Primordials sudden appearance, "Oh, Nyx, this is…"

"Finn, I have heard," said the Night Goddess, turning her attention on me, "Tis a pleasure to meet you young one. Zagrius has told me a lot about you and I have been keeping an eye on your progress. You are doing very well with Varatha as well."

I gently touched the hidden form of my spear, a little self conscious at the praise from the ancient Primordial.

"Ah, thank you," I said.

"Alas, I cannot remain for long," said Nyx, "I must speak with Lord Hades. Goodbye and good luck young one, I suspect you shall need it soon."

With that, she floated off in the direction of the Hall of Hades, leaving Dad and I stood in the hallway looking after her.

"Well that was…interesting," I said.

Dad sighed.

"Come on, if nothing else, Cerberus should be eager to meet you," he said.

As it turned out, he was correct and I ended up spending a good amount of time playing with the big red good boy.

And thats as good a place as any to end this one. This has actually been sitting in my drive unfinished for a while, but I recently decided to start listening to the Heroes of Olympus series on Audible and it inspired me to get it done. I plan for the story proper to start in Titans Curse because thats my favourite book.

So yeah, Finns Mom is most definitely unusual. As mentioned, she counts as a Human enough for him to be a Demigod rather than anything else, but obviously, shes still a Trainer of Heroes, so he doesn't really need to go to camp.

Yes, he is wielding an Infernal Arm. Want to guess where the rest of them are? They aren't just sitting in Zagreus' room any more, I'll tell you that much.

Yeah, I couldn't resist. I planned pretty much from the start to go full Hades with the Underworld and I'll probably do the same with the designs of most of the Olympions who appeared in Hades as well.

I think I did a good job with the Hades characters, but if not, remember its been a bloody long time since the events of Hades the game. Plenty of time for some changes.

And with that, I think I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!