Chapter 39 The Telling Sarah's POV
I was sitting with my cabin at the dining pavilion finishing up supper. The younger kids were throwing out random guesses about who my godly parent might be, while the older ones silently ate their food or talked quickly with each other in Ancient Greek. I couldn't catch or understand most of what they said, but their tone was somber. Which seemed to be the new normal, the experienced campers seemed to get more stressed with each passing day. The training had become super intense, in all aspects and the magic bond fire hasn't been as vibrant as usual. It was like the raid they had conducted on some giant ant hill had been a secret signal that something bad was going to happen. Whenever I asked what was going on I was usually given some half baked excuse of why they couldn't tell me or some kind of lie that varied in believability depending on who told it. In short I had discovered that at Camp Half Blood age didn't matter, only experience and seniority, if you didn't have two or more beads on your leather necklace you weren't in the loop. Suddenly Mr. D who I had recently learned was an actual god in the guise of an overweight drunk. stood from his place at the head table, clanging a spoon against his goblet for our attention.
"All right, listen up you bunch of brats, Chiron wished for me to tell you all that a new camp tradition or whatever will begin tonight. So instead of gathering at your normal silly little campfire you are all supposed to meet at the amphitheater directly following supper. And before anyone goes asking me what this is all about, don't because I'm not here to answer ridiculous questions neither do I really care what is going on as long as the noise is kept under control."
As we all filled into the amphitheater and took our seats some of the Apollo kids picked up their instruments. Soft music filled the air making me think of memories from my childhood, or a time long ago lost to memory. A soft song barely audible in some old tung floated across the breeze as three purple fires danced to life illuminating the stage. On each side a massive Irise message formed, on the right about two hundred kids and teens were gathered in what appeared to be a dining hall although instead of chairs the group were reclining on low couches. While on the left it appeared to be an entire city gathered in what must have been the town square. Although the scenery seemed to have been ripped from the pages of a history book. Next to me one of my cabin mates muttered,
"The Romans? What is going on?"
The music swelled reclaiming my attention to the center of the stage, as a redheaded girl that I recognized as the one who gave the prophecy stepped into the light of the three fires. She raised her arms and called in a clear voice that cared easily even to the back of the amphitheater.
"Friends, allies lend me your ears and for those of you who do not know me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rachel, Oracle of Delphi, the voice of prophecy from Phoebus Apollo. The reason for us all gathering tonight is for what shall be known as The Telling. In the ancient days the Greeks invented theater, the art of telling stories that would be passed on to every generation for millennia. Tonight we will revive that old tradition and for the first time tell in full the story of the greatest heroes of our age in The Titan War. Every night for the rest of the week another installment will be given, evory segment will be given by a first hand account and everything that will be told tonight is true."
My heart pounded with anticipation, finally I would learn what I had come here for. Rachel was being truthful; this would be the true story, the one everyone had refused to tell me, the one Luke had lide about. Rachel waited for the murmurs to die down before continuing.
"In order to fully understand how the events in recent years came to pass we must start at the very beginning when the gods tried to escape their fate."
She closed her eyes and the music died, the purple fire changed to green images too hard to make out danced in the flames. Then a raspy dry voice boomed, filling the amphitheater and echoing into the night.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze."
The last word seemed to hang in the air as two figures stepped onto the stage, one guiding Rachel to a seat the other taking her place. As he stepped into the light of the fire The purple flames deepened in color, and the smoke gathered making it nearly impossible to see him.
"I am Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, ambassador of Pluto. I will be telling you of the Oracle's curse."
As he introduced himself the music became more ominous, and the smoke thickened, hiding him completely. As Nico lifted up his voice in a sings song, tone that was soft, sad, and even a little bitter,
As smoke began to change. It still hid Nico but the smoke took the form of a life sized man and woman arguing while a young girl and a boy that resembled Nico played at their feet. As he sang the smokey images became more clear and moved like actors in a movie according to what Nico described; the music swelled becoming more ominous as the woman stood, disappearing up the flight of stairs. The man I now know to be Hades, the lord of the dead and king of the underworld, looked after her as if he was afraid. Suddenly the music died leaving in its place an eerie silence as Hades desperately thrust a hand towards his children. A deafening clap of thunder pierced the evening leaving my eardrums ringing as it echoed through the amphitheater. All around me the half bloods seemed just as scared as I was with the sudden noise their hands were clasping their ears; some faces nearly completely lost color; one or two even fell off their benches. Through the ringing in my ears I could hear the orchestra starting up again solem and sad, the smoke image reformed to show the god holding the broken body of Maria D'Angelo in the rubble of what had been the hotel. For the next two hours I hardly comprehended the different stories that were being told and I hardly saw the images in the smoke corresponding to the tail. However, I must've retained more than I thought I did because when we returned to our cabin late that night and I managed to drift off to sleep
my dreams were plagued with a highlight reel of what had been told that night. Images of the nightmare house with man eating curtains and horrible monsters, the house ablaze as young Luke and Thalia ran onto the streets a small girl hiding under a piece of tin flying at Luke with a hammer, an argument with a god in a small house and the daughter of Zeus giving her life on Half Blood Hill. In the morning I Zombied through my activities and chores, Travis and Connor were summoned away to another counselors meeting, which were becoming more and more common. Though the general atmosphere of the camp seemed to settle down, I guess everyone was too preoccupied with thoughts of last night to be giving off weird vibes. Throughout the rest of the day I wondered off and on if I really did want to know the truth, or if I should go to tonight's installment. Last night before we had left for our cabins Chiron had made it clear that while it was advised we attend all the installments it was not mandatory. As some of the pieces of the story we're going to be hard for those who have been a part of it to relive, though he had also mentioned the telling could be considered PG-13 since it wasn't going to be in full color after all the images were made out of smoke. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I would attend tonight's and then make my final decision on whether I would go to the rest of them. That evening I sat in stunned silence listening to the story of the quest to the Underworld and the Sea of Monsters as it became more and more apparent that my boyfriend was an undead warlord. It seemed so impossible that Luke, my Luke, who was so kind, caring, and supportive could be the same person who… who tried to start a war that would destroy the world as we knew it. It was impossible that my boyfriend who had risked his life for me when the monsters attacked in the park; and was risking everything to take me here just because I asked was the same person that tried to murder a twelve year old in the woods! It couldn't be possible, it couldn't be true they had to be lying, except it was. Every word rang true. They were telling the truth. They weren't lying….my boyfriend…Luke….sweet gentle Luke who truthfully told me he loves me….is… at least he was… a cold hearted warlord….
But why?…. What does this mean for us?…. What do I do now?….