The Hunters

The Riordanverse

Westover Hall

The cold breeze buffets against his body as he soundlessly glides through the forest, his black, fur lined, Stark cloak trailing behind him, and the members of the Hunt following in formation.

Despite never having traveled through these woods before, Aemon has never felt more at home, and judging by the howls of his werewolves they too feel the same. Had they not been somewhat in a rush Aemon would have no qualms with enjoying this run more, however judging by Percy's desperate message they are short of time.

Beneath the pale moon, within these woods, and surrounded by the cold winds and snow, the Wild Hunt seamlessly and quietly traverses the forest on a hunt. Through his link with Ghost, Aemon can smell the monster's foul stench; a stench consisting of a lion blended with an unrecognizable second beast, and the vile smell of poison. Through Ghost, he smells the fear of its victims, and the barely discernible scent of a third party.

Had Ghost's senses been any weaker he would have missed the third party, for they smell of the wild and feel no different from these woods.

As they near their destination, Aemon and his hunters cloak themselves in the shadows and meld their presence with that of the forests while silently separating into two groups to flank the third party and the monster.

Coming to a stop in a dense foliage, Aemon scales the nearest tree and perches himself on a branch.

From his vantage point Aemon surveys the situation.

Out of the forest and into a clearing that leads to a cliff are five people, injured children truly, surrounding the monster, a manticore. Immediately Aemon recognises Grover, for his hooves are out for all to see, Percy, and Thalia who wields a spear in one hand and a replica of Aegis in the other hand. The other two demigods, judging by their age, can only be Bianca and Nico. Yet, while Aemon counts six presences in all, Ghost's senses insist that there is one more.

Knowing what is to happen, Aemon commands Ghost to stealthily situate himself at the manticore's back.

As the command is given, the third party, the Hunters of Artemis, act.

Silver arrows fly from the middle of the forest and impale the manticore.

"No, it cannot be." roars the manticore, his human face twisted in rage. "This is not fair! Direct interference is against the ancient laws!" he howls while retaliating with a barrage of thorns.

"Not so. The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere." says a young girl as she and the Hunters step into the clearing. "And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." she adds while the Hunters around her loose more silver arrows and split the thorns perfectly in half.

From his perch atop the branches, Aemon cannot help but appreciate the sheer skill displayed by the Hunters. Other than the six fae within the Wild Hunt, none of his Hunters possess the required skill to split those thorns; at least not perfectly in half.

Taking out the Epirus Bow, Aemon draws the bowstring in preparation for what is to come.

"Very well. If I cannot have the godlings alive, then I shall have them dead." The manticore roars as he lunges for the injured demigods before him.

Appearing from thin air, a blond girl that Aemon wagers to be Annabeth lunges for the manticore's back with a dagger in hand. She does not make it far however as a massive white shadow tackles her away.

With a smirk on his face, Aemon lets loose the bowstring, launching the Epirus Bow's golden arrow through the manticore's forehead.

"Who dares?!" screams the manticore as he dissolves into golden dust.

Before Aemon can appreciate his kill, a silver glint in the corner of his eye alerts him to an incoming arrow. As the arrow travels half the distance to reach Aemon, a second arrow flies from the forest and knocks the silver arrow off course yet close enough for one of his hunters to retrieve it.

"Show yourselves." commands the leader of the Hunters.

Gracefully vaulting from the branch he perches on with a backflip, Aemon lands soundlessly on the snow covered ground and steps into the clearing with the members of the Wild Hunt following along.

Seeing them emerge from her Hunters' left and right, Artemis, the goddess leading the Hunters, cannot help but frown.

"Fae, my lady." says one of Artemis' hunters.

The one who speaks is tall, graceful, and gorgeously beautiful. She has brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-colored skin, and the silver circlet braided into the top of her long, dark hair gives the impression of a Persian princess. She is no doubt Artemis' loyal lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade.

Before Aemon or Artemis can respond, they are interrupted by one of the demigods.

"Whoa, time out. What did you just call him?" asks the second youngest demigod, Bianca, no older than perhaps twelve name days old.

"I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. These are my hunters." introduces Artemis while turning to Aemon and silently indicating to him to introduce himself.

Before he can, Annabeth's startled scream draws everyone's attention.

Seeing the cause of it, Aemon cannot help but release an amused chuckle.

"Ghost." he calls out, stopping the direwolf from licking Annabeth's face and returning to Aemon.

"He's quite harmless." says Aemon as he scratches the direwolf behind the ears.

"Right, harmless." Percy says skeptically while staring at the fangs in the direwolf's jaws.

"Who are you?" questions Artemis while glaring at Grover who seems to have been ready to speak.

"Aemon, and as your lieutenant previously stated, a fae." Aemon says as he lifts his long hair to allow her to see his pointed ears.

"Whoa! A real life elf." Nico points out to his sister.

"Fae." corrects Aemon before asking him "And who are you?"

"I'm Bianca di Angelo, and this is my brother Nico." Bianca answers as protectively places herself between Nico and Aemon.

"And who are thy parents?" asks Zoë.

"Our parents are dead. We're orphans." Bianca replies.

"No, you are half-bloods. One of thy parents was mortal, but the other was an Olympian." Zoë says as she lowers herself to the children's height.

"Olympian? Like a Greek God? You expect me to believe that." Bianca answers with a frown.

"Remember that bus driver with the ram's horns? I told you that was real." says Nico. "And last summer, there were…those…things that tried to attack us in the alley." he adds.

"I know it's a lot, but it's true. We came to rescue you and take you back to camp." Percy says.

"Camp? You're joking." Bianca tells Percy.

"Camp Half-Blood, it's for kids like us. You'll be able to train there, learn how to fight the monsters that hunt us, and you'll be safe." Percy explains.

"Sweet! Let's go." Nico says without hesitating.

"No. We just met you guys, and my brother and I have a life here." Bianca argues before muttering to herself, "Sort of."

"I'm sorry, there really isn't any other way." Percy says before being quickly contradicted by Zoë.

"Verily, there is another option for her." Zoë says.

"No there isn't." intercedes Thalia with a snarl as she steps between Bianca and Zoë.

Before she can go on a tirade however, Artemis interrupts her.

"Enough, we will rest here for a few hours. Zoë, raise the tents and see that the wounded are tended to, and send some of the others to retrieve our guests' belongings." commands Artemis.

"Yes, my lady." replies Zoë before going to enact her Lady's commands.

"Bianca, come with me. I wish to speak with you privately." says Artemis as she walks away from the group.

Watching Zoë leave, Thalia does not hide her disdain.

"The nerve of those Hunters." she says to Annabeth.

Rather than answer Annabeth turns to Aemon, "Who are you people?" she asks with narrowed eyes.

Percy makes to answer, but is a second too late.

"Did you not hear the lieutenant speak?" Aemon asks with a raised eyebrow while sending Percy a PM through the DCG not to act as if they know one another.

Aemon doesn't know how the gods would react to the truth of his presence, nor is he willing to find out. At least if they believe him to be a Fae of this world his existence can easily be explained.

"Faeries aren't real." Annabeth argues.

"Children of Athena always believe that they know all, it is a common Fatal Flaw among you and your siblings." Aemon replies with a smirk.

"What? Intelligence?" Annabeth replies with what she no doubt believes is an innocent smile as she plays dumb.

Aemon knows for a fact that she is knowledgeable of her Fatal Flaw.

"Hubris." Aemon says as he pulls his bangs behind his head and ties them in a knot, leaving his pointed ears uncovered for all to see while also leaving the rest of his long hair to flow down to his upper back.

Aemon's response wipes the smile from Annabeth's as she scowls at Aemon. Before she can respond, they are interrupted by one of Aemon's Hunters, Reina, the leader of the resurrected werewolfs.

After the Wild Magic of the Hunt has run its course through her body and completely bound her to the Aemon and the Wild Hunt, Reina, and all the others, have not only become more beautiful, but also more powerful. The most obvious change however, other than their beauty is the fact that the werewolves and vampires now also possess pointed ears of a Fae, while all three groups now possess heterochromic eyes. They all possess one eye with a gold ringed pupil while the other is icy blue, the same color as an Other.

"Lord Commander." says Reina as she hands him the silver arrow that had been shot at him.

Nodding, Aemon takes the arrow in hand, "Make camp in the forest, but steer clear of Lady Artemis' Hunters; especially the men." he tells her while studying the arrow.

"Of course." Reina says before she and the Hunters disappear into the forest.

"Who are you people?" asks Annabeth with a scowl.

"Are you not a daughter of Athena? Figure it out." Aemon replies without looking up from the arrow.

Stomping her foot, Annabeth turns to follow Reina with Grover, Thalia, and Nico following close behind.

Seeing Percy stay with Aemon, Annabeth turns to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I just need to ask him a question, I'll catch up soon." Percy tells her.

Huffing, Annabeth and the others go on without him.

"Dude, you made it just in time. Thanks" Percy says with a relieved sigh.

"Indeed, although I do wonder what prompted you to ask for aid?" Aemon asks as he stores the silver arrow in his inventory.

"Well, one of my rewards from the Starter Pack was this thing called a sixth sense. It basically warns me when things can go really bad and this morning it was going off. The last time it went off Annabeth ordered me to tie her to the mast of a ship to hear the song of the Sirens." Percy explains with a frown.

"Interesting." Aemon mutters to himself while studying Percy.

Perhaps it is his preconceived notions coming into play, but to Aemon Percy seems much more confident than a teenager still stumbling their way around the mythical world. He also seems slightly taller and better built than Aemon expected of him at this stage of his life. Whatever he received from the DCG must have helped.

"Join your friends, we can speak at another time." Aemon urges Percy as he senses Artemis approaching

Hesitating for a brief moment, Percy looks between Aemon and the approaching goddess behind him before leaving with a nod.

"The Wild Hunt." says Artemis, causing Aemon to turn to face her. "At least whatever is left of it."

"As expected of the Goddess of the Hunt." Aemon compliments as his hands come to rest on the pommel of Longclaw, still sheathed at his waist.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"At the center of Western Civilisation?" Aemon asks with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"I have no time for your word games, fae. Why are you hunting near a group of demigods?" she clarifies.

Rather than answer Aemon merely regards her silently.

"You remain silent." observes Artemis.

"We fae cannot lie, you know this." Aemon says with a shrug.

"As such you remain silent." Artemis reiterates.

"Either I remain silent, or I change the topic of conversation. You are too clever for such a tactic to work." Aemon once again shrugs.

"It does not look good for you and your Hunt, Aemon." Artemis says with a sigh. "After centuries of silence the Wild Hunt appears near a group of demigods as a manticore attempts to capture them for the enemies of Olympus, and not just any demigods, but a daughter of Zeus, a son of Poseidon, and a daughter of Athena along with two very powerful newly discovered demigods."

"And yet the Hunt did its duty, exterminating the beast before it could permanently harm or abduct the demigods." retorts Aemon.

"Perhaps, but Athena would claim it is a ploy to gain Olympus' trust. Considering that you appear at a time of great turmoil for Olympus, many would be inclined to agree with her." Artemis says.

"But not you." Aemon says with a smile.

"No, not I. Do not be mistaken however, I do not trust you yet and the reappearance of the Wild Hunt does not bode well in my opinion. You should have stayed in Europe." Artemis says before turning around and heading towards her Hunters' camp.

Watching her leave, Aemon mentally commands Hassan to find out as much about the Wild Hunt of this world as he can.

Originally Aemon had planned to pass himself and his hunters off as nature spirits. With the Wild Magic of the Hunt it would have been quite simple. Artemis' lieutenant had forced him to change his plans however when she immediately identified him as Fae.

As such he allowed Artemis to lead their conversation and merely confirmed her suspicions if they suited him. Not once did he lie considering that everything he said was true of HIS Wild Hunt, it is not his fault that Artemis assumed he had been speaking of this world's Wild Hunt.

As things are now his situation is not dire, however, he cannot keep interacting with her, or any other deities for that matter, without the knowledge of this world's Wild Hunt. As far as he knew until minutes ago, this world does not possess a Wild Hunt, nor did it ever. Evidently he was wrong.

Despite his precarious situation however, Aemon has no intention of leaving this world yet. For reasons unknown to him, it feels as though this world is not completely like the one he remembers from the novels. The existence of its Wild Hunt is proof enough to him.

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Author's Note: Here's the latest chapter, tell me what you guys think.