Percy had not really thought about what it meant now that their Father knew the truth.
Not that he knew the entire truth, but just the simple fact that they were from the future and destined to fight against Kronos who would one day rise again. It was terrifying to the god to know that his mortal children had managed to fight against those odds.
As such, their Father dived head first into making sure that they were prepared for anything. That of course included taking Krokus back under the Mediterranean sea to commence his training and picking out his lifetime companion.
Children of the sea had those apparently.
Ariadnê had pointed out that he had Blackjack and Mrs O'Leary while she had her own pegasus, Neigh, and a hydra that she had nursed from birth named Ennea.
Percy had been jealous that Krokus and Ariadnê both had managed to spend so much time at their Father's palace while he had not.
And then he realized that by having his Father's attention also meant more studying. The desk in his room was covered in books and papers of the politics at sea, notes about rumored alliances, lists of scandals, and a bunch of other things that gave him a headache. Hardwired for ancient ellinika, his horseshoe! Regular english did not give him that problem.
He was thankful when Ariadnê had taken the time to translate the papers for him as the mixture of english, ellinika and the language at sea made his dyslexia almost non-existent.
Their Father split his between the twins, the sea, and Olympus in an outstanding feat of time management. He wondered why these versions of their parents were so different from the ones that they had. Why were they so hands on while their parents were so distant?
(Ancient Laws... Ancient Laws. Where art thou ancient laws?)
It sort of felt like being in their own future except the roles had been reversed with their parents. He couldn't speak about it with his sister as Ariadnê was glowing with the attention from their Father.
Since the moment that their heritage became known, Ariadnê had grown so close to their divine born family that it sometimes felt like she forgot what it meant to be mortal. He had to stand to the side and watch his sister be taken from him.
He had been pleasantly surprised when she refused immortality for him... twice. She was his pillar of strength and while there may have been some cracks in the foundation, she was still the one that he knew would always have his back.
(And he had never felt more alone as he watched the gods sweep her off into their circle, the bond between them falling away like sand between his fingers.)
His Father's attention brought along the realization that he would never see his mother again. At least when time caught up to them, she would not be his mother. A concept which was also headache inducing as the question if the twins would be reborn and be similar to them. Though, Percy and Ariadnê had already swore to give them lives better than what they had.
To sweep away all the issues by starting at the root. It was incredibly shocking to see how the Titans were worshiped in this time just as the gods were worshiped.
(But Ariadnê had told them once before that the Titans were never good nor evil at the height of their power. They just were.)
Personally, Percy did not understand how Clarisse and the children of Hermês did it. That was not to even mention Nico, Katie, and Will. All of them had met their parents and were doted on by their parents as the gods tried to uncover their secrets. It was like a never-ending game of chess where only he and his friends could see the board.
He knew that the behavior that was being shown was unusual even in this time. The gods were to be admired and loved from a distance, a clear boundary drawn between the divine and those of mortal blood. The neglect from their parents was supposed to be worse than anything they saw in their own time.
And yet—
(Oh, Ancient Laws, where are thee?)
Percy wouldn't turn away the affection though. He loved his dad, and he was proud to be his son. It was just— seeing him around was a slap in the face because he wouldn't see his mom or Paul again. There would be no other Grover or Tyson. No other Blackjack or Mrs. O'Leary.
Ariadnê healed the familial wound a little. He had Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico and their other friends at his side. It was still devastating that he wouldn't see the rest of their family. His other set of parents.
Amphitrite tried. She really did. She was awesome. Even if she didn't know the truth of their existence, there was still a sparkle in her eyes as Ariadnê followed her around as if it were from her breast milk that the milky way was created.
(Not that he could see it now since Herakles was still a fetus, though he swore that scientists had stated that the milky way was over 13 billion years old. So, it was maybe the planets and stars that could be seen from earth that Hêrê created.)
Their Stepmother brought more tutors and stylists with them which meant that he had more classes to go to and if he never had to see Silena's studio again, it would be too soon.
Silena had thrown herself into make sea-appropriate clothing to the point where she opened a second boutique that she called STARFISH that Krokus ran for her. It was named and dedicated to his sister due to their mutual love of the girl though the middle of the shop had statues of his Father, Stepmother, and Aphrodite standing in a loose circle.
The connection between him and his sister pulled at him as he was taking a swim. He didn't even get the chance to groan as he was pulled under.
—
Fingers tapping anxiously on the pool table, Ariadnê had long since tuned out the arguing around her. It was common sense that whoever led a raid got first pickings regardless of who seized it. And while a flying chariot would be perfect for Cabin Seven, there were also archers in the Cabin Five.
And she could secretly admit that the desperate need was not just for the honor of the Fifth Cabin. Ariadnê knew that Clarisse wanted to help fight against— she suppressed a shudder. It was hard enough to think of the name even if she had faced more terrifying monsters over the years.
She could never tell Percy that she and Clarisse were planning to stay back from the immediate fighting for his protection. She could barely imagine the sea monster appearing from the Hudson River in an effort to kill her brother. No, it was better to do it here at camp where she could get help from the naiads and other sea beings.
Though, she knew it would make them even after Percy slayed the minotaur considering that it was after her because of her namesake.
Ariadnê looked beside her when she heard a sniffing sound. Gods above, Silena looked pitiful. If she didn't know any better she would think that the older girl was using her amokinesis powers to influence the minds around her.
Ariadnê did know better actually, and she knew that mentally Silena was in another place entirely. A part of her wished that she was there with her. She'd rather be cuddling her friends as they mourned Beckendorf together than to be sitting in that meeting.
Ariadnê willed her tears to dry. It wasn't time to mourn. Not yet. Even if Becks was the second older brother figure she lost... even if it was too soon after Lee's death... she didn't have time to mourn. She had to bury her feelings. She needed to be strong for Silena. She could cry later.
She secreted away the knowledge that if Percy was to die during then she would be right behind him. She didn't want to put more stress on her friends even when they all knew that the twins' life strings had always been intertwined.
Speaking of her beloved twin, her gaze was drawn to the sight of him and Chase making their way into the room. Her eyes dropped down to the scroll in their hands. Ariadnê didn't know if it was because the power of prophecy she received from Apollo was flowing through her or simply because her instincts had never led her wrong but— she knew that the words on that scroll had nothing to do with her brother.
And if it had nothing to do with him then that meant—
She was turning sixteen too.
Clairsse's voice flowed through her ears: "Always more important matters than what Arês needs. We're just supposed to—"
She tuned out the words. It didn't matter. Clarisse was getting that chariot. Ariadnê could see that clearly.
"—cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."
Ariadnê blinked slowly. She recognized the weapon that was piercing the pool table. She gazed around in just enough time to catch her best friend storming out the room.
"Her pride has been wounded—"
Gods above, Chiron did always fail in regard to everyone that wasn't his precious Chase.
Ariadnê scoffed quite bitterly. "It's not a matter of pride. Not exactly. It's the way that you all just treat her cabin as nothing more than weapons and bullies. You don't take what they say seriously. You treat them as a canon folder and not as people." She looked Chiron directly in the eyes. "Their words and concerns always took a backseat to everything else yet whenever they retaliated, they were always the ones that were punished. It sounds hypocritical to me and if I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to restart the Trojan War with Athena and Ares on opposite sides."
The others flinched at her words, no doubt picking out the underlying meaning of her words. They did treat the Fifth Cabin horribly. It was quite ironic that they were fighting Luke's war for wanting their parents to change while agreeing with his words, but they refused to acknowledge how they too were stuck in the ancient times in their regard to Ares.
Ariadnê wasn't surprised to see the way that Travis and Connor withdrew at her words. They had grown closer to the girl as they all started to befriend one another and Clarisse started dating their brother.
She narrowed her eyes dangerously when Michael opened his mouth, no doubt to say something scathing. He was much more pleasant to deal with before she met his Father.
Ariadnê gritted her teeth, tearing her gaze away when the voice of Silena rang around the room, grief and disappointment clung to her words.
She was tired of the way that Cabin Seven tried to tear into her at any given chance. Lee, Kayla, and Will were honestly the ones who had opinions that she cared for. The others tended to be nuisances, even the small children were being brainwashed to believe that she was some kind of devil incarnate.
Her attention was drawn back to the world around her when the scroll was unraveled like a moth to a flame.
"The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days"
His eyes darted to his pocket and Ariadnê knew she hadn't imagined that. Riptide did have a tragic history.
She saw the fear in her heart reflected in his eyes when they caught each other gazes.
"Olympus to preserve or raze."
If it wasn't one thing, it was another.
Ariadnê was glad she already wrote out her will.
It was after the burning of Beckendorf's shroud that Percy found her where she had snuck off. She had needed a moment to grieve before she turned back to comforting Silena. "Aria–"
She flinched as Luke was the first person to coin that nickname for her and he was the one taking people from her. "I need your help," her brother continued. "Can you convince Clarisse to fight?"
Ariadnê stared at her brother, picking out the few similarities that they shared. She wanted to remember his face before they died. She shook her head gently as she turned away. She didn't have time for this. "No."
"What," Percy breathed. "Ari, be serious. We need the Ares' cabin to fight. Tell Clarisse to stop acting like a kid and get her head in the game."
"We are kids, Perseus." Her scoff was just a bit bitter as she sneered. "Don't talk about things you don't understand."
A dark look settled onto his face, and for a moment, Ariadnê could see him leaving up to his name. The Destroyer.
Her heart clenched in grief as she matched his gaze. It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger and not her brother who had been by her side since birth. A chasm that had split them apart since that fateful day four years ago when they crossed the boundary line seemed to grow wider.
It was supposed to always be Ariadnê and Perseus. The Most Holy Destroyer. The Twin Swords. And yet— the only thing that they destroyed was their bond with each other.
"Tell me what I don't understand, Ariadnê," Percy snapped as he stepped closer to her. There was desperation in his eyes. Fear that clung to their shared soul pulled at them as the uncertainty of their future hung around their heads. "We need all the help we can get instead of Clarisse hiding away like a coward."
Words couldn't even explain the sheer amount of rage that she felt at those words. She wouldn't even be able to tell anyone what had come over her. Her brother was not a mean person and yet— seeing him lying on the ground clutching his jaw soothed some part of her. Her glare was fierce and poisonous, a hint at the divinity in her blood shown in her eyes, "It seems Clarisse and I have more in common than I thought seeing as we're both apparently cowards. You can fight this war by yourself, Perseus. I'm done running after you."
Walking away from him had been the most relieving thing she had ever done even if it were the hardest thing she would ever do.
Though as she watched the campers piled into vans, rushing about at the call of war from Percy; she had to stomp down her immediate reaction of mining one of the vehicles herself. Percy needed her.
They made a promise. They entered this world together, and they were going to leave it together.
But she caught Chase's gaze, she could feel the disappointment seeping from her friends, she could hear Stormsurge whispering promises of pain and vengeance in her ear, and she could see dark power heading in the direction of the Camp...
"The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap"
Ariadnê turned away.
Catching Clarisse's gaze, she took note of Michael Yew leaving from her direction as he headed towards her standing near the vans. Clarisse shook her head behind him as she rolled her eyes. Ariadnê hummed, raising a brow when Michael came to a stop in front of her.
Sniffing disdainfully, she waved him away, "Whatever you have to say, Arrowhead, I don't want to hear it. I'm not joining your little hooha. We're all going to die anyway; I would rather like to die in peace, lazing around."
"You're insufferable," Michael sneered. "You're just as bad as Clarisse, and I thought I could offer a truce between you and my cabin."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, remembering the terrifying detail of Hermês and Apollô fending off Typhon. Her Father and family were stuck under the sea at war that she had been pulled away from right as they were making progress. She had no clue where Nico was running around. Beckendorf was dead. Her other friends were walking towards their death. And her brother was about to face the King of Titans, Titan-god of Time while she was not there to have his back.
She shook her head as she began to walk away, "Don't trip chasing after my brother's coat tails." She didn't have time for this.
In the middle of the river with Cabin Five at her back, Ariadnê faced the sea with her eyes narrowed in determination. Clarisse stood tense with a lasso made from celestial bronze in her hand so that she could yank Ariadnê from the water if things got out of hand.
When the first batch of telkhines broke the surface, Ariadnê was ready. Her right hand rose to the sky, the aqueous vapor liquefied into blades of water. A flick of her fingers launched them at the monsters. Under the confusion, naiads and nymphs threw attacks from the river and treeline.
Absently, she could hear Clarisse and Sherman calling out orders to their siblings. Relief swam over her when the chariot rose into the air as arrows began to shoot from the sky. Barbed wire made from celestial bronze fell down like a fisher net, tearing into the telkhines' skin.
Battle cries emerged from the naiads as other Haliai and Tritones emerged to battle, dressed in the colors of Keto and Phorkys. The camp harpies yelled angrily when other Harpyia emerged from the sea.
There was a tug in her stomach before Ennea emerged from the sea, acid spraying on their enemies as her nine heads pecked harpies from the sky.
It was enough for her to ignore the twinges of pain and grief that she could feel absently in her mind.
And then It showed up.
A serpentine fish with long rows of sharp teeth.
Kêtos Aithiopios.
The Ethiopian Sea-Monster.
It was just as terrifying as it had been so long ago.
She counted herself lucky that its twin, Kêtos Troias, the Trojan Sea-Monster, was nowhere to be found.
Neigh swooped from the stables; horseshoes made from celestial bronze on her feet plunge into the beast's left eye. Letting the river rise under her feet, Ariadnê jumped into the air, bracelet chiming on her wrist as she summoned her bow and arrow. She missed the serpent, but a few tritones went down under her arrows. Hippocampi emerged from the sea, knocking haliai away.
Neigh caught her as usual.
The two of them rode around the beast, making sure to keep its attention. Her bow had been traded for a long spear as she jabbed at its head.
It took barely a thought as she summoned a larger wave to push their enemies back out to sea. Neigh flew around the beast, causing its face in the pathway of acid from Ennea.
For a moment, Ariadnê believed that they could win the battle.
"Princess, your friend is calling for you."
Ariadnê looked around at Neigh's words, flying out of the way of the beast to hover beside Clarisse a top of a cliff.
"'Risse?"
"Silena stole my armor and took off in the chariot," the other girl stated in frustrated worry. "My siblings–"
Ariadnê frowned, eyes taking note of the Cabin Five members following after the imposter. She almost fell off Neigh's back as a wave of grief that wasn't her own settled into her bones. She turned her head away, taking note of the injured campers littering the ground, the magical creatures that were falling to their deaths.
She looked back at Clarisse and Chris at her sides.
The sea monster roared beneath them.
Her heart hardened. It had to be something serious for Silena to come back and lead them away even after seeing them in battle themselves...
Percy...
She turned back to the best. Her voice book had no argument as she ordered her friends to follow.
"Go after her," she commanded. "I'll be right behind you."
"Aria–"
Ariadnê flinched.
"You don't have to be the one to do this."
"It's here for me," Ariadnê argued. Her buns had fallen from the top of her head, leaving her hair to frame her face. She had never looked more like her infamous grandmother at that moment. The expression on her face was one of determination; a fierceness unseen before on her features. She looked as divinely borne as she was. "And I will get rid of it."
Chris looked at her, seemingly trying to find a break in her expression. "You don't have to do this alone."
"Go," Ariadnê said. "I'll be right behind you. I promise."
Clarisse gave her a sharp nod, "We're holding you to that."
Ariadnê gave her full attention to the monster before her. She made a promise that she intended to keep.
(Arms wrapped around her as she doze lightly on the warm body beneath her. Her body ached pleasurable under the thin sheet covering her as bites of love bruised prettily across her skin. She gasped lightly, grasping at the arms around her when the body shifted, his manhood pressing against her once more. If he shifted just a bit more, her heat would wrap around him. A kiss was placed on her forehead before the alluring voice of Hermês sounded in her ears: "Ariadnê, please. Protect Travis and Connor."
And on the Styx, she swore to do that long before it had been asked of her.)
Rage mingled with the grief within her when she saw the beast chomp down on one of Spades' fins. Rainbow pulled its friend out of the way as she summoned Stormsurge back to her hands.
She was wrong.
She didn't have time for this.
Her friends and her family needed her with them.
Sensing her gaze, the beast turned to look at her.
Ariadnê did the only natural thing; she launched herself from the back of Neigh, sword glinting under Helios' as she charged the monster.
There wasn't much to remember after that, nothing but the traumatizing feeling of being swallowed whole. Stormsurge cut alongside the glottis, causing the beast to howl aloud. The reverberations sounded around her body. Teeth pressed against her and it was fatal to even breathe the poisonous breath. The divine essence of the god of healing raged within her, keeping her alive in a never ending circle of life and death within the body.
Grief burned within her as Spades' cries echoed within her mind. Neigh called out to her in worry as Ennea tiredly poked at the bond between them.
A shiver ran down her spine, an absent feeling as if someone was walking over her grave.
Percy.
She thought about how the last words that they had ever shared would be out of anger if she died at that moment.
Ariadnê shook her head; no, it couldn't end like this. She still had so much to do in life. She had so many things to say to people.
She raised Stormsurge, swiping furiously at the muscle within the beast. Nothing happened but the inner muscle bled profusely.
She thought of Hermês and Apollô; of their friendship over the years and how they had never treated as an extension of Percy to put up with for convenience. She thought of Aphroditê and Amphitritê; of how they treated her as she was born from them. She thought of Artemis and Arês; of how they treated her as the babiest of their baby sisters. She thought of Tritôn, Benthesikymê, Kymopoleia, and Rhodê; her siblings who doted on her extensively after seeing her strategic mind once and cared for her as she fought at their sides during the siege of the Aegean Sea kingdom.
Reaching within her armor, her hand clapped around the lighter that was within it. It had originally been a project by Beckendorf before the bronze dragon had distracted him. His brother, Jake Mason, had taken over the project. He had given it to her right after Percy brought back news of his death, commenting on how it was supposed to be a gift to remember the older boy.
She pushed her grief down, sparking the lighter and throwing it down into the acidic fluid of the monster's stomach. It still wasn't enough even as wrath and grief mixed within her in a familiar cyclone of emotions.
Ariadnê secreted away a wish for forgiveness to Hermês and Apollô as she reached within her,
A bundle of fragmented glass within her cradled protectively by her Father and Apollô essences.
Her mortal anchor.
For the second time in her life...
She broke it.
Her screams sang in symphony alongside Kêtos tou Aithiopios as she burned with the power of light. Her sword pierced the muscle of the serpent's hide, cutting a hole down vertically in which she fell through. The hellenes fire exploded as the air mixed with the acidic fluid; burning the beast from inside out. Like its namesake, her sword brought forth storm surges that swallowed her enemies under the might of the sea.
The beast turned to her with fury in its eyes; roaring loudly in pain as she had already switched out for her bow. An arrow with the power to cause a solar flare dug itself deeply into its eye.
Neigh caught her as usual.
Ennea roared, acid spitting each head burning away at the beast even more. Naiads cheered and the hippocampi renewed their attacks. The tide was turning back into their hands.
"Go," they yelled to her.
She hesitated for a brief moment before a fistful of sympathy came over her.
Neigh didn't even need instructions.
The Anemoi almost didn't let her in, but after seeing whatever expression was on her face and feeling the power radiating off of her; it didn't take much for them to step aside.
Neigh landed as Percy and the others crowded around someone on the ground.
Her heart dropped to her stomach, tears springing to her eyes.
She recognized that armor.
Ariadnê rushed forward, pushing Chase and the mortal girl out of the way. Her head was shaking immediately in denial as she forced her hands over the wound. She could sense the healing essence under her skin, but it wouldn't come forth.
(All remedies are powerless to heal the wounds of Fate.)
Her world tilted on an axis when Silena opened her palm.
The scythe charm.
No.
No.
It couldn't be true.
Not Silena.
Please no.
"Charlie... See Charlie."
Holding the girl in their arms, she and Clarisse wept.
Ariadnê stood slowly, as Clarisse snarled at her side: "She was a hero."
She was Ariadnê, daughter of Poseidon and champion of Apollo. She was Ariadnê Nerissa , the Most Holy From The Sea. She was Ariadnê Apollônis, the Most Holy Glory of Apollo.
Ariadnê had not known it then, but Connor would later tell her how her eyes glowed a pretty golden blue as if the divinity she had been born with tried to drown her from within.
Her voice had come out in a growl, becoming louder with each word to be heard over the entire tri-state area. "Where is Luke," she had demanded. No longer could she differentiate between the boy that Hermês adored and the monster that cradled the essence of the cannibalistic king. "I'll rip that traitor apart LIMB BY LIMB!"
Grief, betrayal, and wrath clawed at her like a relentless storm. Ariadnê was human regardless of the divinity that she had been born with. She was still a kid, and Silena's actions hurt her.
(How long? How long had Silena smiled in her face while plotting behind her back? How long had she been fostering a friendship while sending her out to her death? How could the girl keep such a straight face knowing that the blood of her siblings were on her hands? Why did Ariadnê still love her even when she hurt her so?)
She didn't know how she was going to explain it to her siblings. She knew that Drew cherished the ground that Siena walked on. She knew that the younger girl loved Silena more than she loved all her siblings. She only imagine that pain and betrayal would be going through the other.
(In another world, she would learn that Drew— a child of love— would craft her love into hate and channel the power of terror and fear from her divine brothers to her friends and siblings alike. She would lash out, refusing to let anyone close to her. She would not be hurt again. Love would not hurt her again.)
Ariadnê checked in on Travis and Connor, inwardly cursing the power that worked within her for not healing when she needed it. She brushed the hair of their faces, and clutched them tightly as grief swept the three of them together.
(She swore to protect them. She will. She made a promise and she would keep it.)
Her mind smoothed into a blank canvas as she focused on surviving the war. She stood side to side with Percy, determined to lead them to victory. She was late to the party, but she would make sure that it would end explosively as soon as she got her hands on Luke... Kronos... whoever was in the driver's seat.
She would end this once and for all.
Her eyes zeroed in on Sally and Paul Blofis as they laid asleep in the car. Her feet were frozen to the ground as Percy and the others pushed the car out of the street. She turned away with a hardened heart. Sally knew better than to enter an active warzone.
Ariadnê turned away.
She didn't have time for that.
Skeleton warriors emerged from the ground, led by Nico as the Prince of Darkness emerged from the Underworld. A smile filled with blood appeared on her face as her uncle and aunts followed behind him.
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead will rise first.
Kronos fled the scene, making his way to Olympos and Ariadnê followed on his heels.
It didn't take much time to make their way to the throne room.
Her eyes as blue as the ocean that engulfed the earth evenly met golden eyes that held none of the warmth that the god whose essence burned within her.
Stormsurge whispered, sweet promises of revenge into her ear. Blood soaking the earth to rid the world of the plague that was Kronos.
She lost all sense of self.
Olympos to preserve or raze
--
With a gasp, Percy was brought out of the memory as he choked on a rage that was not his own. He had never known the reason behind his sister and Clarisse's decision to stay out of the initial fighting. He had thought it was simply a matter of pride.
He never knew of her battle with the sea monster simply for his sake. Even when the Ethiopian Sea Monster arrived on their borders, he didn't understand why she was so terrified of it.
He didn't know a lot when it came to her. Not anymore.
It was about time to change that.
They were the sea twins... the twin swords.
The Most Holy Destroyers.
And no longer would they destroy themselves.
--
Green smoke engulfed the room, the candles burning gave it an eerie feeling that did not lessen with indistinguishable muttering and scratching of chalk across the walls.
There were paintings that covered every inch, including the ceiling. Sonnets had been carved into the flooring. Portraits of bees watched the writer with unnerving precision, stingers glinting threateningly under the candle light.
An ancient power surrounded the room, drawn far from its place at the navel of the earth.
Fortunately, no ghost ventured through the walls lest they find themselves being covered with charcoal and paint also.
Low mummering of a spindle turning echoed alongside the hissing of phantom snakes and buzzing of little bees.
"You will need training, young priestess."
The owner of the room clutched her head, blood red hair curled around her hair and unseen tapestry making its way there.
"It will be a long while before you host my spirit."
Her eyes shot open, the green hue pouring out of her iris to fill in her sclera.
"Come to me, child."
Moving on autopilot, she rushed about packing clothes away. With a blink, she found herself scaling the palace walls in a feat of athleticism that she was not used to. A breath and she was throwing clothes around within the grove.
She muttered to herself, words that were lost to the wind.
"Godlings of the moon and sun
With nowhere left to run
Shall face their truth
And see their efforts bear fruit"
Rachel clutched at her head, clawing at her ears. She rushed through the temple hill, feet beating across the earth in an unheard song that sang from the heavens. She fell to her knees, green smoke pouring out of her mouth. A symphony of voices, past and present and future sounded around her: "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollôn, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."
The torches lit on the temple behind her, the statue within; gaining life as it regarded the girl crouching on the steps. The chiseled hair swayed in the wind, the voice emerging sounded as a favored musical note with a hint of wrath hidden within.
"You'll need more than a few paintings to unravel my prophecies."