There was silence between the two of them at first. Kaelisia just stared at Zoe dumbfounded. Zoe was lost in thought again staring off into the sky. Before long Kaelisia closed her mouth which she didn't even know was open. "Am I…" she didn't continue. Zoe looked at her again. "Could you repeat that I kinda zoned out." "I noticed that." Kaelisia was still at a loss of words not knowing what to say. "Am I getting an explanation for that?" She finally said. "Right. I'm sorry. It was years ago. Before. Well before I died. The last 10-ish years with the hunt were weird occasionally. Mylady would get distracted at random times during the day and just stare off into nothingness. Eventually I asked her about it and she said it was just some prayers. Time went by and it kept occurring so I went ahead and confronted Artemis in privat once more. That's where she explained why the specific prayers were so distracting. She explained that they were prayers from a boy being abused by his stepfather"
Kaelisia just looked at Zoe. Her face didn't show any emotion whilst the daughter of the void was staring into Zoe's Onyx coloured eyes trying to figure out whether or not the former huntress was just messing with her or if she was telling the truth. Zoe twisted and turned under her stare "How was the hunt after your transformation? And did they know about it?". It was a pathetic attempt to swap the topic but it worked nonetheless. "I had 2 days of being a huntress. Neither of them I spent at camp. I wouldn't know. And no they didn't know about it. Thalia did and Lady Artemis of course but other than that no. As far as everyone on earth is concerned I am a useless dame hogging demigod that ran off probably going to die somewhere. At least I think that's what is going to happen with that Chris Wilson prick around" Zoe tactically decided to avoid talking about the latter part and focused on the experience as a hunter "Why did you not spend time at camp?" "Well on the first day Thalia and Artemis had taken me to teach me how to shoot with a bow and arrow" "Oh I remember you were absolutely atrocious with a bow. Did you manage to shoot in the direction you meant to?" "You would be surprised what one can accomplish after a day Star girl" Zoe raised an eyebrow at that. Not only at the statement but also at the nickname. Kaelisia got up slowly. Offering Zoe a hand she added "Come on we got a mission to complete. And after that I have a huntress to beat in an archery competition". Zoe took her hand and got up as well "You are so on Kaelisia". The two made their way back towards the door to Kaelisia's 'room'. "Hey Zoe?" "Hmm?" "How come you and the others only call Virelya Omega and she only calls you by your respective code name?" Zoe sighed. She didn't stop walking towards the door. "Omega has been here the second longest. Only Odysseus was here before. Sure there were the thousands of Soldiers but no commander besides Odysseus. When Omega got here she spent most of her time with Chaos. Now I wasn't here at the time but from what Odysseus told us Omega arrived as an infant. Yet everyday she spent with Chaos she seemed to have aged decades. Of course maintaining her preferred form like all of us do. Both Chaos and Omega never talked to anyone about what they did, where they did and where they went. Roughly estimated she's a few hundred years older than the rest of us." Zoe finished her explanation. "That does not explain my question". Once again Zoe sighed "we know virtually nothing about her. Yet she's far better at anything than any of us. She's a better archer than I am. A better swordsman than Luke. A better strategist than Odysseus and so on. Besides as first in command she's the only one that regularly converses with Lady Chaos. Sure we talk to her occasionally but usually she is the one getting the missions and details. And I guess she never put in effort to get close to us either. So we just call her Omega" Kaelisia started slightly chuckling at that. "What's so funny" "You just admitted to someone being better at Archery than you. You. The one and only Zoe Nightshade." She scowled "You know Kaelisia. I always acknowledged people that surpassed me before. Lady Artemis has always been better at Archery than I have ever been" "So now you're 4th best" Kaelisia said mockingly. "Third" Zoe said before leaving.
--
1500 years later (on earth merely 15 years have passed)
Kaelisia and the other commanders were in the arena competing with one another in various aspects of combat. Kaelisia had won the Archery competition they started with. Although marginally she beat Virelya and Zoe followed suit in third. They held a mini tournament in melee combat in the first round Luke beat Ethan. Odysseus beat Silena. Virelya faced Beckendorf. Zoe beat her fellow huntress Bianca and Kaelisia beat Lee naturally considering he was an Archer after all. The 5 that made it through round one were figuring out how to determine who would get a free pass to the third round which would consist of 3 fights to determine the finale when they were interrupted by a messenger running into the arena looking for the commanders. "Commanders!" he exclaimed when he reached them. "Lady Chaos requests your immediate presence in her office" Kaelisia looked at Virelya raising an eyebrow before answering. "All of us?" "Yes ma'am!" "Alright we'll be there in a minute. Thank you Will." Turning towards the other Commanders "Let's go meet mom".
The Commanders stormed off towards their quarters as they had to pass through the corridor anyways to reach Lady Chaos office. As everything they were doing nowadays, it was made into a competition. Kaelisia reached Chaos office first, barely ahead of Virelya. "I beat you. Again Silverlash" Kaelisia panted while they were waiting for the others. Zoe arrived next followed by Bianca, Lee, Odysseus, Luke and Ethan. As per usual Beckendorf and Silena slacked behind as they were running holding hands. Watching them arrive last "Just like the day you guys got together" Kaelisia noted "Let's go" with that Kaelisia pushed open the door to Lady Chaos office. Upon entering they took their seats. While they rarely all spoke to Chaos at the same time. It happened occasionally but not often.
Kaelisia sat at the far left, still and silent, her silver-lined gaze tracing the constellations without really seeing them. Beside her, Virelya's hands were folded neatly, expression unreadable. Next to her, Zoë leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, sharp eyes flicking between the Chaos and her daughter.
They had all gathered the moment the summons came. Chaos rarely called them all at once—and never without reason. When Chaos finally spoke, the room shifted. "All of you have served me for hundreds of years. During this time you carried out thousands of missions with success." she said, her voice like gravity and wind. "Now I'm afraid the hardest mission I have brought upon you. "
A pause followed, long and heavy. "You have to return"
The sound of a soft scoff—Luke, of course. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, voice edged with disbelief. "You want us to go back?" Several of the others stiffened. "Back to the gods who let the truth die?" Ethan asked coldly. "To Olympus, where lies dress up as legends?" he glanced at Kaelisia. Kaelisia remained still, jaw tightening. Bianca's voice was quieter, but cut no less deep. "They chose to believe in deception. They chose to forget"
At the right end of the table, Odysseus tilted his head. Unlike the others, he held no grudge against Olympus. He hadn't walked its streets in millennia. "Lady Chaos," he said, his tone measured. "You speak of Earth. But not of the danger. What threatens it now that warrants us?" Chaos raised a hand, and the light in the room changed. The starlight above dimmed, and in its place, a projection bloomed—red threads winding like venom through a fractured star map. Ancient strongholds. Names long whispered in dread.
"Kronos. Hyperion. Koios. Krios. Oceanus. Iapetus. Perses and more" Chaos said, her voice cool. "They have risen." Kaelisia looked up in surprise but chose not to say anything. Her grip around her arm rests tightening. Zoë stiffened. "They were scattered. Broken." "They were gathered," Chaos replied. "By Tartarus. Who has risen in part-form—more force than flesh. I don't think he will interfere personally but. He has given them strength beyond what they once possessed. He helped them heal. Wait. Plan. And now, they rise again. Together." A hush fell over the table. Even Luke had no clever remark. "There is no prophecy yet," Chaos continued. "No child of the Big Three to save Olympus. The gods are vulnerable. Out of practice. And this time, the Titans have learned from their defeat."
Lee Fletcher looked a bit pale. "You're saying this is another war?" Chaos shook her head. "I wouldn't call this war. The Olympians are unaware of the rising threat. This will be a massacre"
There was silence. The kind that swelled behind the ribs. The kind before storms. Silena was the first to break it. "And you want us to stop it."
"I do not want," Chaos said. "I need you to. I know you had your history with the Olympians and their Children. But it's not only about them. This is for the world. The innocent mortals that would suffer greatly under the rule of the titans." All eyes turned to Kaelisia.
She hadn't spoken since they got into Chaos' office.
Now she stood, slowly, letting the weight of the moment press into her chest. She walked over to the window looking out into the emptiness of space. Vaguely in the direction of earth. "We'll go" she said at last. Her voice was quiet, but every word carried. "I don't want anyone to have to reveal themselves though" her hands curled into fists. Her left hand was as always covered by a glove while her right hand wasn't. "If the Titans have risen I doubt the giants are far from it either. I doubt Olympus or the camps could fend off either one of them in their own state. Not even starting with the blessings Tartarus has given them. I have family on earth. We'll go" She looked back at the table meeting their eyes one by one. Odysseus obviously had no doubts going back. Neither did Virelya. Kaelisia had her suspicions though as to whether Virelya was even from earth to begin with.
The rest still looked doubtful. "I'm not asking you to fight for Olympus. I'd never do that. But I am asking you to save them. Not for their sake. For the ones who are innocent and can't protect them." Virelya rose and walked next to the daughter of the void. Putting a hand on her shoulder "where you go we go," she said simply, "we go as Chaos' blades. Not Olympus'." Luke exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. "Hell," he muttered. "Let's burn some Titans, then." And one by one, the others stood. Not for Olympus. Not for the gods. For her.
--
Artemis POV:
The summer solstice was approaching. It had been 15 years since Kaelisia Saphira had left earth. Initially everything had been fine without her but sometime during the first year of her disappearance and also of course Perseus Jackson's disappearance the demigod camps had started to erase him from the history books. Long gone were the times when Percy Jackson was seen as a hero. Just days after her departure Thalia had explained to the hunters the truth about his breakup with Annabeth Chase. To clear his name within the camp. The hunters weren't exactly fans but they at least remembered history as it had actually gone down. Not the made up bullshit the camp's spread. I appreciated my hunters honoring the memory of a demigod who if need be would've sacrificed his life to safe the world. Even if it was a male.
Due to the summer solstice meeting on Olympus the hunt had to remain at Camp Half Blood. As always I had told them a couple weeks prior. It was for security reasons that they remained at camp half blood during summer solstice meetings if and only if we had new members in the hunt. And it so happened that we had a few of them this year. I found one of them stumbling alone through a forest in Colorado seemingly lost. Sara. She was a daughter of Apollo. Of course. Her mother had died in a car accident and she ran away from her uncle. The other was a lot more interesting. It was a clear sighted mortal whose parents had died to a monster attack. Two mortals were attacked in the middle of New York leaving the child orphaned. With no place to go she stumbled through Central Park when Thalia found her and brought her to the hunt. That was a day ago. Up until now the only things she had said so far were the oath and her story. Everytime a meeting with the gods was going to happen I always thought about Kaelisia. The way she kept defying the council whenever she stood in front of us. Being lost in my thoughts about the daughter of the void I completely forgot to ask our newest member for her name yesterday when we found her. Sighing internally I made my way over to her to talk to her. I gently touched her shoulder. "Hey can you come to my tent we need to talk" she nodded in response and started collecting her arrows as I had interrupted her during Archery practice. I made my way towards my tent scooping up Thalia on the way to accompany me. "How did we both forget to ask for her name" she mumbled after I told her why I had her join me.
We made it to my tent and got inside. The silver glow towards the outside wasn't something magical or anything. The entire tent had silver insulated walls to keep warmth and sound inside. That caused the silver glow. I sat down on my bed while Thalia sat down on a chair in the corner.
3rd person POV:
The tent was silent. Neither of the two daughters of Zeus were speaking. Both were lost in their thoughts waiting when they heard a knock outside. Every hunter's tent had a small wooden board outside that was enchanted to bypass the soundproof walls. Not that it was needed since the soundproofing was a one way thing. "Come in" Artemis exclaimed loud enough for the new huntress to hear. Shyly making her way into the tent onto a chair that Artemis had placed for her. She looked around the tent noticing Thalia in the corner. She narrowed her eyes after noticing that. Finally her gaze landed back on Artemis herself. She looked at her expectantly. "I'm sorry little one, this might sound very rude on our end. But we completely forgot to ask you for your name yesterday." Artemis internally cringed at that and scolded herself. More than 2000 years and she had never forgotten to ask for a new huntress name. Until yesterday. The girl was actually considerably old for a new huntress. She was 14 years old. "E—" she mumbled the rest so they couldn't hear it. "I'm sure Thalia also wants to know your name so I think you have to repeat it for her" Artemis said, trying to hide the fact that she also didn't understand it. Thalia scowled at her for that but didn't say anything. "Estelle" the girl said firmly now. "Estelle once we get to camp half blood one of the hunters will 'invite' you to enter camp since you're not a demigod this 'invitation' is needed otherwise the border will just keep you out." The girl simply nodded at her explanation but didn't say anything. Artemis sighed, gesturing to the girl that she could leave now if she didn't have any more questions. Leaving the two huntresses alone in Artemis' tent. "She'll open up eventually. They all do Mylady" Artemis looked at her lieutenant upon hearing that. "You're right. Let's go we have to get to camp tonight so the little ones are safe"
They arrived during dinner time. As always blowing the hunting horn to announce their arrival. Thalia invited Estelle into camp and they made their way towards the cabins directly. They were greeted by Chiron and the by now immortal cabin counsellors. Each one was granted immortality 5 years after the giant war. Under the premise to keep the legacy of the past wars alive and teach the younger ones so they would be ready in case another war arose. Artemis went directly towards Chiron ignoring the counsellors. "Hello Chiron." She greeted before getting down to business "You know the rules I assume. Your campers are not to talk or interact in any other way shape or form with my hunters. They are to be left alone and use the archery range whenever they deem necessary" "Of course Lady Artemis. As always" the old centaur looked at her with a sad smile. He knew why the legendary huntress placed these rules upon the campers. He knew it was due to the legacy of Percy Jackson yet he was powerless to do anything against the ruin of that legacy.
Once the hunters settled into their cabin Artemis left for Olympus. The summer solstice meeting was upon them. Pretty quickly Artemis zoned out during Zeus' monologue about how great everything was. Her thoughts with the hunt. Yet all of a sudden she was pulled out of her thoughts.
The Oracle's voice, ancient and powerful, filled the air as Apollo opened his mouth to speak. Her words were his, yet they seemed to come from everywhere at once. Every god in the room froze.
"The moon shall stand where the son of the Sea has left, in silence cold and deep,
While silver light from veiled beyond shall gleam where shadows sleep.
Should moonlight turn from paths unknown, the sky shall crack and bleed,
For only what was cast aside may halt the Titan war."
The prophecy echoed in the hall, lingering like a shiver down the spine of the gods. A long silence followed, broken only by the sound of distant thunder rumbling—though the skies outside were clear. Zeus was the first to react, leaning forward on his throne, his brow furrowing in frustration. "More riddles," he muttered. "Always riddles." His eyes flared, lightning flickering behind his gaze. "What does this mean? What silver light'? What is this 'moonlight turning from paths unknown'?".
Poseidon stood next, his voice deep and rumbling and filled with sadness. Ever since the vanishing of Percy Jackson it had been the case. "The son of the Sea... That must speak of Percy Jackson. But he is gone—he died. No one knows where he left. What use is invoking him now?" "Perhaps it's not him," Athena said, her voice cool and calculating. "It could refer to something—or someone—who has taken his place. The prophecy speaks of the moon standing where a son of the sea left, not where Percy Jackson left." Artemis' gaze sharpened at his words. She glanced at Apollo, whose golden eyes were still distant, still connected to the Oracle.
Ares scowled, throwing up his hands. "Titans. It's been a while since I got to punch someone" "Ares," Athena said, her voice stern, "perhaps you should listen a little longer. If there's any truth to this prophecy, it's not something we can take lightly." Artemis remained silent. It was clear the prophecy was about her but she remained silent. She figured out a decent part of it already but didn't want to share it with the rest of the gods.
Athena spoke up once again "And what about 'what was cast aside'? What WAS cast aside?" "That would be us" an unknown yet distinctly female voice thundered through the throne room. 9 people dropped out of nowhere in the middle of the room. Catching the gods by surprise. The 9 figures got into a loose half circle. All of them wore masks hiding their faces. "WHO DARES TO INTERRUPT THE OLYMPIAN COUNCIL" Zeus roared at them. The 9 figures didn't respond, instead they seemed to wait looking at something behind Zeus who had gotten up and drew his master bolt. Artemis curiously followed one of their gazes to see 2 unhooked people that were casually leaning on Zeus' throne. She gasped. She knew one of the 2 people. Kaelisia Saphira casually leaned on Zeus' throne; she brought a finger covered by a glove to her mouth winking at Artemis and indicating to not give them away. "REVEAL YOURSELF OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES" Zeus continued catching Artemis attention again. She looked between Zeus and the 9 people that based on their Aura were mostly demigods. Waiting another few seconds one of them tilted her head. Zeus raised his master bolt to incinerate the 9 figures in front of him. Suddenly his bolt flew out of his hand. A purple arrow fell to the ground next to Zeus who looked around in shock. "DON'T" Kaelisia started "KILL MY FRIENDS" Zeus locked eyes onto her and the other girl next to her leaning on his throne. He reached out with his Hand his master bolt flying back into his hand "Now now Sky grandpa, we don't want to get all violent now" Kaelisia mocked. Before turning to her friend. Artemis could barely hear their interaction "Come on Silverlash" Kaelisia sounded almost begging "No Kae" the response was firm and caused a groan. After looking around the room Artemis noticed none of the other gods seemed to have heard their conversation even if they were closer to them. Kaelisia turned back at her and winked before her and silverlash made their way over to the other 9 figures that stood silent in the middle of the throne room. Once they reached the girl called 'Silverlash' turned to Zeus who was still fuming but held back himself considerably well "Lord Zeus, we have come upon request by our Mistress to aid you and your fellow Olympians in this time of need. Kronos, Koios, Iapetus, Hyperion, Oceanus, Perseus and more Titans have risen stronger than ever. Our informants also indicate that they are potentially aided by giants." The Olympians looked at the girl that looked no day older than 15 in shock. Ares was the first to catch himself "Sounds like a bunch of horseshit to me.". Kaelisia scoffed "So this is Ares the great god of war. The same god of war that was beaten by a twelve year old. Hmm." Artemis had to admit she was good at lying. If she didn't know any better she'd believe her "Well I don't see what's special about you, maybe we'll bring some of our trainees here and you can spar against them when they first learn how to wield a weapon with their weak hand. Or maybe we'll have you spar against our children. I'll ask mother about it" Now Artemis was at a loss for words trying incredibly hard not to laugh. Ares was fuming. His cheeks were so golden now that one could have mistaken him for someone touched by King Midas. Athena, careful as ever asked "And who would your mother be?". Kaelisia looked around her friends with a slightly confused expression "Oh I forgot. Knowledge on earth is equivalent to preschoolers for us. My apologies Lady Athena. I am Kaelisia Saphira, Huntress of Artemis. Assuming my lady didn't kick me out yet" she looked at Artemis quickly winking at her. Artemis just shook her head indicating she was still a part of the hunt."Dramatic much" 'Silverlash' muttered "And I am the daughter of Lady Chaos".