Plot Keep Plotting

//As usual, If we can each the goal, I can make this a full time thing and keep pumping out four chapters a day. If you can, feel free to donate. No pressure though. We're making amazing progress. We're almos there!!!

And would you look at that, we made it to $200. Let's try for $300 next.

1 chaps on Patreon today if interested. I'll be posting more free chapters tomorrow so stay tuned.

Patre0n.com/ShadowDrev

Goal: $224/$400

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From that day onwards, things fell into a steady rhythm of learning, training, and attempting to grow in all aspects. Starting from the bottom and making his way upwards, Chion got into the habit of doing everything he possibly could to fully adapt to his life as a demigod.

In the mornings before heading to breakfast, the youth would work out for a number of hours, Luke joining in with him as a partner as well as for proper motivation. If there was one area that Chion felt particularly weak in during every fight he had been in, it was the lack of proper physical stats to fight or keep up with his opponents. Monsters weren't an issue in a one on one playing field due to his quick thinking and add on of magical power, but after the scorpions and the Hellhounds, it was obvious that the otherworldly beasts weren't planning on fighting fairly. In order to keep up with everything, he needed to level up on stamina, speed, strength, and virtually all elements. Thus, his training regiment with the son of Hermes began, with the blonde teen pushing him to the utmost limit every single time.

Afterward, when the youth had a proper intake of food and rest, he switched to learning some Greek and Greek mythology with Annabeth. For someone younger than him, she had quite an extensive knowledge of the subjects, even more so than Luke or any of the other children of Athena.

Though, if Chion took the age she was when she arrived, about maybe five or six judging by the vision of the pine tree, it was understandable if he made the assumption she had trained and studied since then. It was also quite impressive that she had learned so much when she had a condition called dyslexia, something that made "words jump of the page and do random dances" according to her own words.

During this acquisition of knowledge, Chion was able to learn about the gods, their births, what they stood for, their various stories, and a number of other things. All of it was no doubt interesting, but if the stories were to be believed, most of the gods were no better than human beings with how they presented themselves. The actions they took in some stories had no justification, bordering on arrogance and immaturity, a childish nature that even he could see despite being eons younger. Egos bigger than the planet caused a number of people to be affected in permanent ways, simply because they either talked bad about them or embarrassed them in some form.

A good example was the story of how Hera, queen of the gods and wife to Zeus, drove mistresses of the lightning god into madness. Even though each and every encounter with some female was due to fault of Zeus being unable to keep it in his pants, Hera foolishly punished those who slept with him. Even if they didn't know or were just flat out răpëd, their lives were ruined regardless.

Another one involved the unfortunate Theban Hero Actaeon, in which he was ripped apart by dogs just because of an honest mistake on his own part. He had been out hunting with his canines in a place called Boeotia when he suddenly stumbled upon a bathing Artemis, who so happened to be relaxing in the woods at that time. Now, logically speaking, if one didn't want to be seen, especially if you're an all-powerful goddess, measures would be taken to ensure these incidents didn't happen. If such events did occur after the steps were enacted because someone sought you out ANYWAYS, then it's reasonable to be upset. However, in response to this accident, Artemis became enraged over a mortal, and a man at that, witnessing her naked vessel and turned the man into a stag. Shortly after, his dogs turned on him and tore him to shreds.

There were so many other examples that Chion could list it was scary. Prometheus, sentenced to having his innards torn out for eternity. Niobe and her offspring slain by Apollo and Artemis. Athena and Arachne's tapestry contest. Ends that seem justified but were actually filled with terrible punishments that didn't fit the crimes committed. The more he learned, the more he realized what it meant to be a god.

Just humans with godly powers, capable of leveling countries just because they were annoyed. Beings that claimed to want respect and thought themselves far above others.

Obviously, there were MANY stories of them doing good for mankind but a bunch of right things didn't justify the wrong ones made. In the real world, they would be prosecuted for their crimes and dished out punishments accordingly, disregarding everything right they had done along the way. However, since they were immortal beings with powers far beyond imagination, they were left unchecked, running rampant to do as they pleased, or at least the Olympians were. The more powerful the god, the more stories they had of doing whatever they felt like. The main perpetrator being Zeus himself, king of the gods.

Ignoring that, though, Chion learned a lot during those study sessions. Even learning a decent chunk of the Greek writing and language as a whole.

Once the youth was finished with that, he would switch over to some free time of his own where he would experiment with various things such as Greek Fire, ice magic, contraptions manufactured by the Hephaestus cabin, and other activities such as exploring the camp. It was essentially a way of increasing his rapidly expanding arsenal as well as take some time to himself, blowing off steam in ways that he enjoyed.

Then, he would spar with the campers. Mainly, the children of Ares who seemed to have ongoing beef with him. And for a while, he mainly got his shit kicked in due to his lack of experience along with the agreement of no magic.

Clarisse and her compatriots had a field day clashing with the youth for the first week or so, holding nothing back. By the end of each session, Chion would be littered with visible bruises and his entire body would be one giant sore. If it wasn't for the fact that the consumption of ice, a new discovery he had made, had restorative effects on him, the youth probably would've collapsed somewhere throughout the day. Eventually though, Chion was able to get to the point where he could somewhat hold his own in a one on one situation without any added assistance, even winning against the more experienced Clarisse on a few occasions.

Finally, after a nice dinner and shower, he would spend some time hanging with Annabeth, talking about their day and how they could improve. During these moments, Luke would join in and chat with them, giving pointers and listening in return.

For the entirety of the month that passed, Chion actually felt at peace, like he had finally found a place he belonged in, where the only danger was where the camp store ran out of Oreos and Snickers. It was as if fate had decided to take a brief time off after all the hardships the youth had been forced to push through.

Of course, nothing could stay the same forever. Things changed and morphed as time moved on, and fate took a different course than anyone could have intended for it.

And it started at the end of October, during the day known as Halloween. Friday, Capture The Flag. The day that caused history and the future to rewrite itself and set a course that not even the Fates could properly forsee.

And it started it with a single mummy.

At least that's what the thing looked like anyways.

It appeared some time during the high point of the battle for the flags, when the opposing teams had managed to snag each other's banners and simply had to cross the borders. It was down to Chion and Annabeth to score the win, to cross the creek and secure the win for their team. In an all or nothing play, they tried to push past the opposition, Chion leading the charge with Annabeth towing the flag. Right when it looked like they would be victorious in their endeavors, Chion spotted something walking in the far distance, coming straight from the same direction as the Big House. He couldn't make out what it was so he paused and allowed Annabeth to blow past him.

"Brain Freeze?? What're you doing??!!" The grey eyed female halted briefly to glance towards the youth. "Let's go!!"

"Just to be clear. You see that, too, right?" Chion raised as finger and gestured to the figure in the distance, of whom was limping and dragging their feet. "I'm not drugged or suffering from food poisoning?"

"Are you insane? Let's keep.....moving....."

Annabeths voice trailed off into silence as she moved back towards Chion, analytical hues fixating on the approaching individual. The Athena and Hermes Cabin, the team that was playing with the two, also stopped in their tracks, ceasing their skirmish the moment they realized the two flag bearers had completely halted their advance. A member of the Hephaestus cabin ran across the creek without hesitation, but at that moment, barely anyone noticed as the eyes of every camper, Chiron the referee included, shifted towards the disgusting husk of a woman walking their way. Chion found it hard even look at her but he kept watching, hand on the hilt of his sheathed dagger.

It didn't feel like a monster, but it sure looked like one as the shriveled husk paused and turned its head, its shrunken sockets locking onto Annabeth.

Then it spoke, green smoke pouring out from its mouth.

//You will travel to the island far out at sea, Obtain the item your companion seeks//

(("It can talk?")) Chion was momentarily stunned before attempting to log in the words it was saying. (("island at sea?"))

//One friend saved and another one lost, a curse befalls the Son of Frost//

(("Son of frost? Referring to me?")) Chion was skeptical but he was still trying to wrap his head around the the fact that the mummy was talking. (("A friend saved. Friend lost."))

//A scent that strengthens with further power, a choice to leave or be devoured//

And just like that, the mummy closed it mouth, turned around and walked away, leaving Amnabeth frozen like a statue and everyone else glancing around in a mix of confusion and surprise with a little bit of fear and awe.