//Someone bit the bullet so, as promised, here comes the 2 chapters of 3.5k and 4k words. Enjoy
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.
1 more chapter today
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"She said you had a curse?" Luke scraped together a group of scrambled eggs. "Did she say what kind?"
"She said it right as she was leaving," Chion replied, stabbing a few strawberries with his fork. "I didn't get the chance to ask her what she meant by it. I'm not in any immediate danger, so I don't FEEL cursed."
"Maybe it takes a while?"
"Is that even a thing?"
Luke shrugged. "If it involves the gods, then it's possible. They tend to work according to whatever suits them."
Chion let that sit for a second as he shoveled some food into his mouth. The ongoings of last night, the dream he had, the blizzard he had created that morning. It was a lot to arrange but he had long since managed to organize it all.
For one, he learned there were twelve total gods known as Olympians, a name Hestia had told him when they were talking about gifts and such. Upon further investigation into the matter, namely asking someone from his Cabin, he was able to learn the names of most of them, at least the ones within the camp that had cabins. Aphrodite, Athena, Hephaestus, Zues, Poseidon, Hera, Dionysus, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, and Demeter. He garnered absolutely nothing about them other than what he already knew, Hephaestus the god of the forge, Athena the goddess of wisdom, and Aries the god of war. At least seven of them, with Athena included, were noted to have agreed to hand out some sort gift to him.
Why they would bother doing that was the biggest mystery of all.
They also appeared to have been the ones that locked up all of his past memories for reasons unknown. As much as Chion tried to find some reasoning for taking that course of action, he was unable to get any concrete ideas. There was also the topic of the curse mentioned in passing.
Setting that aside, there were the visions that Hestia had shown him, the ones regarding his powers and the nightmare of a dream regarding Thalia's tree.
Chion hadn't really thought about the past lives of Luke and Annabeth all that much, the length of time knowing them being the main attributing factor for it. Still, he hadn't expected it to be so dark. Sure, he had gone through some stuff himself in the last two days, but he had managed to squeeze his way out of numerous danger spots on his lonesome. The other two had lost a close friend to a monster attack. Even if it was years ago, Chion was pretty sure the wound was still quite fresh within their minds. Due to this thought, he couldn't bring himself to just walk up and simply ask about it.
Just like he had told no one about his futuristic insight of things to come, he hadn't uttered a single word about the two visions Hestia had shown him. He kept to the topic on the things he was comfortable telling.
That was it.
As for his little excursion in the woods and attempt to grasp his own power, Chion explained it freely when he and the rest of the Hermes Cabin arrived at Breakfast. Especially since any sort of control gained would benefit their battle against the Hunters.
Speaking of the Hunters, the white-haired youth had seen them for the first time when he had arrived at the Pavilion. Situated over at the table designated for Artemis, a band of females of all shapes and sizes dressed similarly to one another. They looked tough and held themselves with a sort of pride and confidence that bordered on condescension and hubris, barely giving any of the other tables around them a second glance. They talked amongst themselves and freely ignored the attempt of others to converse with them. Based on initial impressions, or at least for the length of time Chion watched them, he reckoned that they weren't the sociable type.
(("None of my concern. Nothing better than minding my own business.")) The white-haired individual finished off his plate and took a sip of some grape juice, his chosen drink for the morning. (("I wonder what I should do today. Maybe I should map out the place? Get a feel for where I'm at?"))
Based on Chion's initial glance around Camp HalfBlood, the places was actually much bigger than he had first guessed. The entire strawberry company called Delphi Strawberry Service, it all belonged to the camp and expanded a number of miles in varying directions. Even if the youth started exploring that very minute, he highly doubted he could see everything it had to offer. He would most likely need a week at most. Ergo, the moment breakfast ended, he split off from everyone else and began a trek through the area. Starting with the various cabins.
A number of the cabins had been vacant, or at least no one had come out of them since Chion had arrived. These were the main ones that the youth was going through. He never went inside, but he DID peak through the windows.
Cabins one, two, and three were completely empty with not even a hint of anyone having ever lived in there. Upon asking some fellow campers, he learned that Zeus and Poseidon, 1 and 3 respectively, made some sort of agreement not to have kids, and Hera of Cabin 2 only had kids with Zeus. Just off of that confusing bit of info, Chion realized just how much he had to learn about the gods and their offspring as well as why they made the decisions they did. Cabin 8 had also been vacant until the Hunters had shown up into camp, making it into their personal home. He wanted to keep perusing the cabins, but he opted to just keep looking around.
After that, Chion went around to the side of the Athena Cabin, where he had previously spotted a large metal shed. Looking around, the youth made sure no one was paying him any attention before prying the doors open.
"Might wanna be a bit stealthier than that, Mister Pagos."
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Without thinking about it, Chion immediately whipped around, taking a combat stance. However, after a quick survey, dropped it. It was the activities director, the one that had introduced himself as Chiron, the one with the lower body of a horse.
"Oh, Mr. Chiron...sir." Chion glanced from the shed to the man-horse person. "I'm sorry. Was this off-limits?"
"Not at all. You just looked so guilty I thought I'd mess with you a little."
(("He's quite honest,")) Chion noted. "So, what is this shed anyways?"
"Take a look inside and see for yourself." Chiron walked towards the door, hooves clipping against the dirt path. "Im sure you'll be quite surprised."
Shrugging it off, the white-haired teen opened the shed the rest of the way, prying the two metal doors apart all the way. Once it was decent, he glanced inside. Rows upon rows of weapons scattered throughout its innards, arranged into a way that looked like a genuine hazard. Swords, spears, nunchucks, daggers, a spiky yo-yo, and many other oddities that Chion couldn't name, all made out of silver or bronze material.
"What is all of this?" The youth questioned as he made his way inside. "What are they here for?"
"This is the armory," Chiron explained. "When a newcomer wants a weapon, someone breaks theirs, or they just want a different one, they come here. Cabin 6 usually has control over it. We distribute some of these weapons during Capture The Flag."
(("An armory?")) Chion picked up a sword resting on the ground. It felt heavy and unbalanced, but he could tell it was strong. Setting it back down, he wandered towards the back. (("Maybe there's something I could use in here?"))
He found that something the moment the thought crossed his mind.
Just out of the corner of his neon blue hues, a flash of white briefly caught the youths attention, drawing him towards the corner of the shed. There, perched on the wall, leaning against the wall was a large all white dagger, complete with its own sheath. Everything about it was the color of freshly fallen snow from the handle of the weapons to the guard to the blade itself. Even in the dark shade of the armory back region, it almost seemed to glow. Unsheathing it, Chion even took the time to look at the engravings on the weapons blade, black hieroglyphics, as well as words written in a cursive font.
{{"To my clever snowball. Always fight for what you believe in"}}
Scribbled at the very bottom of that was a single name, though it was hard to make out at first. He had to really focus on it to make it out.
{{Jackson Overland Frost}}
"Jackson Frost," Chion muttered as he slid the knife back into its sheath. "I wonder who that is. Either way, I thank you for this blade. I'll use it well. I promise."
Walking back towards the entrance, the youth began fastening the dagger to the back of his jeans, fixing it into place.
"That's an interesting weapon you got there," Chiron commented. For just the slightest of seconds, Chion thought he saw a hint of confusion on the man's face, but it passed so quickly he figured he imagine it. "What's its name?"
"Name?" Chion questioned as he made sure the dagger wasn't going anywhere. "Should I name it?"
"I don't see why not." Chiron smiled slightly. "You're the one who found it after all."
Pulling the dagger out of its sheath, Chion held it up to the light, the morning sun reflecting off of its abnormally white surface. It was definitely a thing of beauty, even for someone like Chion who didn't really care for weapons all that much and would much rather expirement with things to see how they worked. In all honesty, the youth wasn't sure he could bestow a proper name upon such an exotic piece of art nor surenif he could do the thing dignity. Still though, he rummaged through his own head for a proper name, trying to be as creative as possible.
"Katavrochthistís," Chion said after a while, the name popping into his head. "Katavro for short."
"Devourer. That's an interesting name." Chiron backed up slightly.
"Like the snow that blankets everything around it, devouring whatever it touches." The youth slipped the weapon into its sheath before giving the director a slight bow. "Thank you for allowing me to have this weapon.
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After that little escapade, Chion took himself elsewhere, observing everything he possibly could within the timeframe he had available. According to Luke, the game of Capture The Flag wasn't meant to start until later that day, around 6ish.
So, grabbing a few sheets of parchment paper and a working ballpoint pen, the youth set out to create a detailed layout of Camp Halfblood. He already had a good idea of some locations such as the Big House, the place where counselor meetings took place and where the infirmary sat, the Pavilion, where the campers ate, the cabins everyone slept in, and the recent addition of the armory. There was also the Pine tree, which acted as ward against all monsters that threatened to invade the demigods safe haven. However, even with all of that, there were still many places to note and places he could visit such as the archery range, the lake, the forge, the lava wall.
Well, probably not the archery range in particular since a good number of Hunters had took it over shortly after breakfast had ended. Of course, Chion being Chion, approached the lot of them anyways, even after a few of them displayed visual disgust about his arrival.
Taking out the bow and arrows from his backpack, Chion took his shot at shooting arrows. Admittedly, he sucked but he gradually got the hang of it after ten or so shots, to the point he could hit the bullseye nearly every time.
It helped that it was a stationary target and not a moving one.
After he started nailing his shots, the Hunters seemed to care about his presence less and less, merely shooting their bows without a sound. Once this happened, Chion stopped shooting, collected his arrows and quickly did a run around noting the area and drawing it on a parchment paper. He also took the time to mentally note the females there, studying their aim, form, appearance, and so on, making sure not to he too obvious. When he was finished, he calmly took his leave.
From there, Chion headed into the forest.
Based on what the campers had told him, the forest was stocked with various monsters for training purposes and for the extra challenge, so he was recommended to proceed with caution. After what the white-haired ice mage had been through, though, he wasn't very concerned about it as he followed the forests boundaries, marking significant landmarks on it as he went. If need be, he was at least confident in his ability to run in the other direction.
It was around there that he came to his first discrepancy. Around the boulder called Zeus' Fist.
He hadn't really noticed it earlier, but there was a slight crack in one of the boulders, a crack just large enough for one person to squeeze through. Unless one was looking for it, they could just as easily walk right past it.
"Now, that's an interesting find," Chion said as he rolled up his parchment, tucking it into his bag. Crouching, the youth took a step closer. "Where do you lead?"
"What are you doing?"
The white-haired youths hand immediately jumped towards the dagger on his hip, whirling around for the second time that day. He wasn't sure why, but he was easily startled, especially when he was engrossed in something he found intriguing.
Luckily, the newcomer wasn't a threat, or at least he hoped so. The entity was sitting atop the sets of boulders with her legs crossed.
It was a girl, maybe around the same age as he was, about 12 or 13 years, though that didn't mean much at this point. She had a face of beauty that made Chion blink a few times but he tuned that emotion down quickly, instead noting her bright silvery yellow eyes, which seemed as cold as snow and her smooth auburn hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore black leggings and a silver tunic, giving her a sort of regal appearance that Chion had only seen on Hestia, though this girl had a completely different vibe to her. She seemed simultaneously curious and indifferent, an odd combination that wouldn't work together or rather shouldn't have worked together.
Chion hadn't seen her around the camp before. he would have noticed someone with such a youthful beauty. Meaning she was probably a Hunter following Artemis.
"Nothing of importance, really," Chion dusted his hands off as he stood up. "Just noting something I saw is all."
"Chion Pagos. Correct?" The girl hopped down from the top of Zues' Fist, landing some distance away from the youth. "Zoë told me you headed in this direction after shooting some arrows. I was told you were pretty decent for a boy."
(("For a boy?")) For some reason, it sounded like a backhanded compliment. However, since it had been said with no venom or noticeable negative emotion, he waved it aside. (("Zoe is one of her fellow Hunters then? One of the ones I encountered at the range. Why would this Hunter be looking for me?"))
"I'm not that good," Chion admitted. "I only picked up the bow two days ago."
"I know," the girl said in response. "I'm aware of much of your exploits. More than you might think. A number of people are."
Chion processed what she said and then came to a conclusion almost immediately thereafter. "You're a goddess. Artemis, I take it?"
Artemis nodded, as if she was approving of how quickly he caught on to her identity. At this point, it wasn't even that impressive to be talking to a god or goddess, but he didn't say it out loud, instead taking out his parchment paper from earlier and his pen. Readjusting his backpack, Chion walked past Artemis and continued his journey to map out the forest in its entirety. After he had walked a few feet from the goddess, he turned back and looked at her.
"Im actually jotting down the terrain of this forest." Chion tapped the paper with the back of his hand. "Care to join me?"
Artemis just looked at the youth at first, as if she wasn't sure how to respond, just staring into his neon blue hues with a blank gaze of her own. Once a moment had passed, she eventually fell in line behind him, keeping a decent distance between herself and Chion. Chion himself didn't mind it in the slightest, preferring to keep doing his own thing without the hassle of trying to constantly make conversation. Sure she was a goddess, but that meant little to him at the moment. Is she was there to share a gift or a word, then the ball was in her court. He certainly wasn't going to bring anything up.