The Beginnings of an Olympian

20 | Unexpected Changes

After his warning, he started to glow and was about to flash out, but he quickly added, "Your commander can get you to camp. I'm sure it's been a long while for him, but I think he remembers it well enough." By the end, he was gone and we were alone in the throne room.

1st Person | Luke's POV
(Italics within the text below are thoughts not spoken out loud)
1300 words

"'Don't disrespect me' who the hell does he think he is," Cameron said indignantly.

"Cameron, he's literally the god of respect," Zen said flatly, rolling their eyes.

Not wanting to start a fight, I quickly opened a portal and beckoned everyone forward. "Please, just be on your best behavior. This is hard enough already." Even though Cameron still seemed disgruntled, he promised to behave. A few seconds later we were standing just outside the border of Thalia's Pine Tree.

A couple of guards sounded a horn thrice. Quicker than I expected, the entire Greek camp lined up in battle formation, ready to attack us. A buff girl came towards the front in red armor.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" she demanded.

I thought the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

"We are the leaders of the Chaos army. We've come to aid you in the war. Put down your weapons."

No one lowered their weapons.

This is going to be harder than I thought.

Then a blinding light appeared behind us once more. All the Greeks got to one knee and bowed before the god. The god in return seemed annoyed at this.

"How many times you guys? Please, stop bowing. And yes, these people are who they claim to be. They are staying here as guests. Let them through."

"Good to see you again, Prissy," the girl, who I now remembered to be Clarisse, said. "I think a senior counsel should be called to discuss... our new aid." She sent us a glare, clearly not appreciative of the help.

"That won't be necessary, Clarisse," Percy said back with a glare of his own. "But we will gather in my cabin with our guests after dinner. Until then, get back to training."

Everyone started clearing out to resume whatever training they had. Percy led us through the camp towards the arena where a good number of people were practicing. I was amazed by how much camp had changed. More cabins, shrines, people filled the fields and hills. I was also impressed with the level of skill these kids had. They were years above what I originally expected them to be at.

"Impressed?" Percy asked me. "I'm sure everything is a lot different from when you were here."

My lieutenants and I snapped our heads to face him in surprise and confusion.

Does he know who I am? No, there's no way he could know. He would've said something, right?

"No, I don't know who you are, Commander. But I am the god of heroes. I can tell each of you are worthy, but I sense the same aura a demigod would have from you, Commander."

"I'm no hero, Lord-"

"Percy. Just call me Percy," he interrupted.

"I'm no hero, Percy."

If only he knew who I was. Then he'd probably agree with me.

"That judgment is reserved for me. It is my domain after all. I can sense you're a good person. Anyway," he moved on before I could object, "this is the arena where we teach swordsmanship, amongst other weapons. The Aphrodite cabin is training right now."

I was amazed. "Aphrodite? These are her children?" I couldn't keep the slight disbelief out of my voice. They fought well and weren't worrying about ruining their hair or makeup. Some weren't even wearing makeup!

Percy got a little defensive at my remark. "Do not underestimate the children of Aphrodite," he warned. "Love is as powerful as war. Is it so unbelievable that the children of love would be just as strong?"

"I meant no disrespect, Percy. It was just surprising is all. I'm glad to see that they're excellent fighters." Percy smiled at that, satisfied they were judged fairly.

"I'm not sure who specializes in what," Percy continued, gesturing to my lieutenants, "so after a quicker tour, feel free to jump in and help wherever. When we discuss specifics at dinner with the head counselors, we can figure out how to alter the training regiment. Lucky for you, it's Wednesday, so you'll get to see a few cabins in action tonight. They're fighting on the beach around 11:00 pm."

"Isn't that after curfew?" I was getting seriously confused at all the new changes.

"It is for all nights except Wednesday. But we can talk more after the tour. Follow me."

And we did. Percy took us around the entire camp and explained briefly how things were run. We had just missed lunch when the tour ended, but no one was hungry so we walked along the shore for a while longer. A few of my lieutenants asked questions to which he happily answered. But one of their questions set him off a little.

"Have you vetted the campers for spies yet, Percy? We had heard that some Aphrodite girl was a spy in your Second Titan War. Wouldn't want a repeat of that." Cameron knew about Silena from my stories. I never learned what happened to her afterward, but I suppose that's why he asked. He wanted to hear more about my past and what they thought of me. This was just an easy transition. Or so he thought.

"Watch your mouth, Lieutenant! Silena was a brave warrior. She made one wrong choice and she regretted it. She died a hero in that war and her name will not be ruined by your ignorance!" We were all a little stunned at his outburst in defense of someone I thought he hated. She was my spy after all. Charles Beckendorf, her boyfriend at the time, died because of her betrayal—I knew that much. Percy took a deep breath and then calmly said, "Sorry. You didn't know. You only wanted to ensure the camp's safety. But I can assure you that no one here is a spy. Their loyalty is to me or this camp or their friends and family, if not for Olympus. I'd appreciate it if you didn't question it again." The last line was spoken as a clear order.

We should've moved on from the topic, but Cameron was annoyed he was yelled at. So he pushed Percy into revealing more. "That's what you all probably thought before you found out Luke was conspiring against you. Surely you can't forgive the man who hosted Kronos." The words hurt, but I was thinking the same thing. And I did want to see Percy's reaction, so I didn't step in.

To my surprise, Percy's eyes filled with anger. His power rolled off him like waves. But his face didn't betray the rage he felt. His voice was deadly calm when he responded, "Luke Castellan was hurt by the gods. He was a product of their neglect and Kronos' manipulation. His actions in that war were terrible, but he too died a hero. He sacrificed his own life to protect the one he loved. Someone I regret to say has recently passed. What is more heroic than self-sacrifice? I can't say I wasn't angry, but I can say I was one of the first to forgive him. And he too should not be insulted, especially by you, someone who wasn't at the battle, who wasn't in the war, who doesn't know what happened." The aggressive aura only intensified as he spoke. Cameron had taken a few steps back, not wanting to push the god any further. Realizing things could get out of hand, I stepped between them.

"Please, Lord Percy. He spoke without thinking. He won't say anything against the campers—past or present—again."

Some of the anger seemed to wash away, receding into him like the end of a high tide. He glared at Cameron once more and then looked at me. "It's Percy. Just Percy," he said and then turned without another word.