Daniel

I woke up in a room that was all too familiar.

My room, back in the Big House.

Those books that had been scattered across the floor and piled on my bedside cabinet the last time I was here were gone now, leaving an unnatural emptiness behind. On closer inspection, there was something else that had changed. Sitting on one of my shelves was a glass case, inside which was a tooth.

The tooth of the drakon I had fought.

Where had that come from?

As I settled into a more comfortable position, I heard muffled voices coming from outside my door. I had half a mind to ignore it after what had happened the last time I had eavesdropped on a conversation, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing in bed, with bandages wrapped around my stomach as if this was my first time waking up here since the night at Woodfigh High.

"-don't know how it got there, harpies don't know nothing! It was just there, this morning." Said a husky, yet slightly feminine voice.

"Thank you, Aello." That one belonged to Chiron.

There was silence for a minute or so before the conversation continued.

"Chiron, it's made out of the same black substance," The Athena cabin's counsellor's voice explained, "It must be. Few things can be connected to him, but a black and smokey-textured material?"

"Yes, as far as descriptions go, that's a very good giveaway, but this one is solid as opposed to what we saw in the forest, no?"

"What do you think it is? I've never seen anything like it in my life, and even after trawling through as many books as I could get my hands on since then, I still have zero clue. There's no mention of anything even resembling it."

"I have a feeling that such a material has never been seen by mortals before-"

My bed gave off a loud creak as I tried positioning myself into a more comfortable posture.

"Fucking hell..." I muttered.

"Hush now, I think he's awake."

Just great.

Before I could even try and look like I wasn't listening in on their conversation, Sophia stormed into the room, closely followed by Chiron.

She opened her mouth, but indecision seemed to grasp her, and as Chiron placed a hand on her shoulder, she closed her mouth.

Neither of them said anything, and I looked between the two of them, trying to decide what to ask about first.

"Umm... What happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, concern flashing on her face, "You were asleep, just like the days before that." She cleared her throat, "You've been laying here for a while now."

"What?" I placed my head back down on my pillow, "How-" I cleared my throat, "How long have I been here for?"

"About a week. Today is the fourth of July." Chiron answered, and I felt my next question die in my throat. Silence fell on us as I tried processing this information, finally managing to gather my thoughts together once more.

"Why?! What about capture the flag? I don't remember how it ended... Did we win?"

"We did- Do you really not remember anything?" Sophia questioned.

"The last thing I recall is running back to the Fist with the flag. After that-" I tried my best to remember, "After that, everything gets blurry."

The two standing before me looked at one another, Chiron taking a deep breath.

"You were attacked by Toby Hitchkinson, or whatever he actually was," Chiron told me.

"What do you mean whatever he actually was?" I looked at Sophia expectantly, "Please just rip this fucking bandaid off already."

"He stabbed you in the stomach with a sword, and as we tried saving you John broke three ribs and Juniper... One of the oldest dryads in the forest, she was killed by a knife meant for you. He wasn't himself, and he was talking in a weird language that both Chiron and you seemed to understand, but the reason why is a question I still haven't gotten an answer for." She pointedly looked at Chiron, who seemed to have stopped listening after the mention of the Dryad.

"I- I can't even remember her." I stuttered, suddenly much more interested in the creases of my blanket. Someone had died for me and I couldn't even recall what her face had looked like.

"Nobody can fault you for that, you were far from fine when she arrived to help. It pains me to have lost another friend... But the fates always liked to play such games." Chiron gave a sad smile, "How well do you feel?"

"Feel? Apart from learning that I've been sleeping for a week?" I gave a humourless chuckle, "I'm fine as fine can be."

"Good, then you should get dressed and bring your belongings with you, Sophia will help."

Sophia shot a questioning look the camp director's way, but no complaint left her lips as she walked over to my closet and grabbed my armour and shield. As I shimmied out of bed and felt the texture of the floorboards on the soles of my feet, I looked between the two of them.

"Where are we going?"

Both of them looked at one another as if expecting the other to say it first. It was starting to annoy me how frequently they were doing it. Finally, Sophia sucked in some air and looked me in the eyes.

"You were claimed," She said bluntly.

For the second time since waking up, I felt like a fish out of water, my mouth moving but no words were willing to come out. My heart started beating in my throat, just like before any duel I had taken part in during sword training.

"My... Father?"

"Yes." Chiron nodded, "He claimed you."

"Who is he? Zeus? Dionysus?... Prometheus? Who?!"

"Umm..." Chiron had an expression on his face that I had never before seen him wear. Indecisiveness. Finally, he tugged a slightly-crumpled black letter from inside his jacket, "It's best if you read it for yourself."

I reached for the letter, shakily taking it and flipping open the contents.

Dear Chiron, son of Kronos, the Titan of Harvest and Lord of Mount Othrys, and the Trainer of Heroes,

If I am not mistaken, it is your duty to train Half-Blood children into the great men and women later mentioned in mortal history. Once you receive this letter, my son, Daniel James Greenfield, will have already been claimed.

My name... There was no mistake that this was about me now. I looked at the next paragraph.

He will have to rest for a few days, while his body gets used to the new power now bestowed upon him. To aid his recovery, please use the flower buds contained within this envelope to concoct the drink mentioned on the back of this letter. I realise that I am placing a massive burden on both your shoulder and his, for he will be different to the children of the Olympians, but I trust your skills when it comes to matters such as this. He will be a mortal, with the power of a god flowing in his veins. I will help him as best as I can, but there is only so much I am capable of with the restraints I must live with.

I hope I have used the appropriate form of communication, it has been a long time since I have last looked into the workings of mortals. I will find some other way of communication by the time my son has awoken, and I will bestow upon him gifts fit for who he is and will become.

- Lord Ragnos, the Lord of Chaos, Creation and the Universe.

Flipping it over, there really was a recipe there, most of the ingredients completely foreign to me. I flipped it once more to be sure that I had read everything correctly.

"I haven't even heard about him, no book mentions him by name," I muttered.

"Neither have I." Sophia agreed.

"Your father is a primordial god." Chiron started, "The most ancient of Immortals, even among other primordials. He is the one who created the world we live on, and all life on it. I never knew his name... Somewhere, I feel this was a secret that the gods wanted to keep to themselves forever."

"But... But how? Isn't it only gods that can have children? Mortal children, I mean."

"Not necessarily, children of Hecate are technically demi-titans, and I am the son of Kronos, as you just read. There are plenty more stories in the library talking about children of titans and primordials, but none are this similar to actual mortals. I've never had the chance to encounter a demi-primordial during my life... Until I met you, that is."

"So I'm what... Supposed to be powerful? So far I've not been above average, never mind all-powerful. Are you sure this isn't some trick?"

"Absolutely positive. This letter appeared on my desk while I was sitting there. I blinked once and suddenly it was... There. This entire situation brings up many questions, and every question answered only seems to multiply the number of unanswered ones. What is certain though, is there is much more in play than what history books and heroic tales talk about, things that the Olympians will try their best to keep a secret, or maybe they themselves do not know about."

"How did it happen?" I looked between the two of them before my eyes rested on Sophia.

"Getting claimed?" She scratched her nose, "Your wound stopped bleeding, oozing a black, fog-like substance instead, after which you stood up then started floating above the ground, your eyes turning completely black. You spoke with an echoey voice as if something or someone was speaking through you," She turned to Chiron, "Now please tell us what was in that exchange between the three of you." That last part was aimed at Chiron.

"He spoke in the language of the primordials, the ancient tongue... I haven't heard it spoken or spoken it for centuries so I wasn't sure about every word, but Toby didn't speak to Daniel, but whoever was talking through him. I assume that was your father, Daniel, but that doesn't answer the question of why Toby had called him grandfather."

"We can work on finding out what his deal was later, but where did you learn this skill from? You never mentioned you could speak the language of the primordials."

"It was something that seemed unimportant to ever mention. The titans knew how to speak it due to the fact that they were close descendants of the primordials, and thanks to that I inherited the skill... The gods never saw a use for learning it, so they never bothered, and therefore it isn't passed down to their children either."

Sophia was about to ask another question, but I butted in, "Why do I have to take all my stuff with me though... Where are we going?"

"You've been claimed, therefore you now have your own cabin. Aello, one of our harpies here at camp, arrived with a report not long ago that a cabin has appeared on a small rise overlooking the other cabins. It's made from some sort of black material, and we have a very strong feeling that it is your father's gift, albeit one that seems to place your cabin over the ones belonging to the Olympians. Hopefully, they don't strike you down. Even as hot-headed as they can sometimes be, they wouldn't dare to anger the Lord of Chaos."

I gulped, "What's inside?"

"We don't know, Chiron told Argus and the harpies to guard it in case someone gets too adventurous, and some of the satyrs are helping us make sure it isn't dangerous. Going inside, however, should be your job to do first, after which you can invite others in."

The harpies were one of the weirder parts of the camp. After being around for a week, I had learned to accept both the goat-human hybrids, the personified trees and the centaur, but the harpies were on a whole new level of weirdness. They looked like some mad scientist had lovingly mashed together a human and a turkey, that would eat you if you broke curfew, could fly very fast and seemed to also be immune to lava. That last trait was something they used to their advantage if I was to believe John, who had told me that they use molten rock to clean the dishes after every meal. If what he said was true, then those plates were probably the cleanest things on planet earth.

Finally dressed, and holding the remainder of my personal items, I took slow steps towards the door, my legs feeling weak. I guess that was the side-effect of laying in bed for a week.

"Ah wait, I think it's best if we remove those bandages now," Sophia muttered, walking over to me, pulling my shirt up and unwrapping the bandages from around me, all while I tried my best not to blush.

Once unwinded, I muttered a small thanks and looked down. Above the mark of the drakon attack, by only a few centimetres, was a small, white scar. All that remained of a life-threatening injury.

But holy shit was my abdominal area starting to look like a mess.

"Is it ever going to disappear?" I asked, rubbing my new scar as we made our way downstairs, Chiron leading the way.

"No, honestly you're lucky you survived the wound. Whatever metal his blade was made from it did more damage than simply smashing a hole into you. According to John, it looked similar to wounds made by Stygian Iron, which doesn't make sense, since Toby isn't a child of Hades."

We exited the Big House, and almost immediately I could see what had changed. Just as Chiron had described, there was a black blob overlooking the other cabins from a nearby hill.

No more words were exchanged between us as we approached it, the forms of dozens of campers creeping into view surrounding the building, along with the big figure of Argus and six chicken-human hybrids. Satyrs were also there, sniffing the cabin from all sides.

The size of it was surprising. Though definitely not a contender for the top ten largest cabins at camp, it was massive when I thought about how it was going to be for me and only me.

"Make way please!" Chiron called out and a path was quickly created in the crowd. As we passed, I noticed that all eyes were staring at me, most of them looking almost terrified.

Tony strode over to us, two other satyrs close behind him. One of them looked older than Tony and the third satyr combined, but even for his age, he looked like he could beat me in a fistfight.

"This the kid you've been talking about, Pines?" I heard him ask my friend.

"Yep, it is." He stopped before us, "Chuck, meet Daniel Greenfield. Daniel, this is Chuck He-"

"Chuck Hedge!" He grabbed my hand with both of his and shook it vigorously, "Not every day that I get to meet a powerful demigod. Or is it demi-primordial? I'm not well-versed in these terms."

I couldn't help but crack a grin at the old satyr's enthusiasm, "It's nice to meet you too, and unfortunately I'm not too good at this stuff myself. An hour or so ago I was still in a coma, without a care in the world."

"Yes, yes. Of course! I understand, you see-"

"Sorry Chuck, hate to cut you short, but I think Dan has more important things on his mind right now. You'll have tons of time to talk later." Tony interrupted.

The old goat seemed to understand that and nodded.

"This here is Reginald Oak," Tony said, introducing the other satyr.

"Call me Reggie." He said, shaking my hand.

"Dan." I smiled.

Chiron cleared his throat.

"Oh yes, right, sorry. The cabin smells fine to us. It's got that strong tang of magic you'd expect from a cabin that appeared from thin air, but that's not really a surprise, is it?" Chuck said.

"It isn't... Thank you."

They bowed their heads, before trotting off, Chuck constantly checking behind his back, staring at me like some crazed fangirl. An awkward silence fell on us as I stood before the door, unsure of how to proceed.

"Should I open it?" I asked.

"Well, we won't learn much by gawking at it," Sophia muttered under her breath.

"Alright, alright!" And with a huff, I walked up to the door, grabbing the handle and gently pushing down on it.

The door swung open with a quiet creak.

The interior was completely...

Well, it was completely normal.

The floor and walls were made from wooden planks, the empty space filled with all manner of furniture. Hesitantly, I took my first step inside.

Off to one side was a desk, on top of which stood a mirror. It was finely crafted, the ornate decoration surrounding the reflective surface a perfect weave of gold, silver and that black material that the exterior of the house was also made of. A gemstone as dark as night was entombed above the mirror surface.

Opposite the desk were a whole bunch of shelves, filled with dozens of books, and creating an alcove perfect for laying down in and having a read. A row of windows in said alcove gave us a beautiful view of the other cabins and the big house.

Continuing to look around the room, I noticed a coat rack beside the front door, hanging on it a black cloak of some sort. A table was next to it, a black stick about the size of my forearm sitting on it and nothing else. My ears were ringing slightly, but rather than finding it annoying, it felt almost empowering. It had started the moment I had gotten close to the cabin and had since then only gotten stronger.

"It's... Brilliant," Sophia whispered, awed by the mirror as she stepped closer to the table it sat on, placing my stuff off to one side.

The next interesting thing was the bed, at the foot of which were some more shelves closely followed by a door into some other room. As I got closer, I noticed that the bedsheet, a mixture of navy blue cover and white pillows, had two bulges in it, sticking out when looking at the pristine condition of the rest of the bed.

As I whipped the covers back, two incredibly well-decorated scabbards revealed themselves to me, the elegant swirls of silver a sharp contrast on their otherwise black surface. Thankfully, it wasn't just two empty scabbards, because poking out from their top, were sword hilts. I lifted one of them, nearly smacking myself in the face as I did so.

"The fuck?" I lifted it and down a few more times, not quite believing my senses. Compared to the xiphos I had previously used, this weighed nothing.

Unsheathing the weapon, the black metal that was prevalent everywhere reared its head once more, seeing how the entire blade was crafted from it. It hissed like a snake as I pulled it from its scabbard, and testing the edge with my finger, it felt incredibly sharp.

Overall, it looked weird, especially compared to a xiphos. My old blade had been about forty or so centimetres long, but these were at least a meter, the blade curving slightly in one direction and with a hook-like design at the very tip. Both sides of it were sharpened, yet the hilt and the curve of the blade made it clear which side was to be used.

"Those swords..." Chiron muttered, "I've never seen anything like them!"

"Really? I was about to ask who used such a weapon."

"It's not even close to anything that we Greeks would use, same for the Romans." Chiron said as he walked towards me, "It looks like an amalgam of swords-" A loud thud made me whip my head towards the camp director, who was rubbing his head while cursing in Greek.

Sophia, on the other hand, was unfazed by her teacher smashing his head to bits and was still focused on studying the mirror.

"The details are amazing." She said, more to herself than to anyone in particular. It was like she was in a trance.

As I walked over to look at some of the books on the shelves above the basement stairs, Chiron studied a golden birdcage that stood empty besides my bed. The titles were very familiar, all of them, no matter which book spine I looked at. These were the novels I had studied from during my first week here.

"Chiron, when and how were these brought here?"

"Hmm?" He trotted over and looked at the books, his eyebrow rising as he recognized more and more of them, "When you were brought back to your room to rest, some of the campers and I had taken the books back to the library for Sophia to organize them. The girl had been there this morning to find an explanation for what was happening. If any of them had gone amiss, she would've known."

"Then... How are they here? Isn't there supposed to be only a single copy of most of them?"

"Not anymore," He grumbled, taking one and opening it, while my eyes were drawn to the stick on the table beside the coat rack, confused as to what its purpose was.

I was about to touch it when a scream pierced the air, my head snapping towards the sound so fast that I was scared I'd break my neck, the camp director having a similar reaction.

The daughter of Athena was laying on the floor, shaking and staring at the mirror with horror, the image reflected by the mirror's surface turning black and opaque, the desk it was sitting on rumbling and shaking.

"What did you do?!" I whispered angrily, looking between the two of them.

"I didn't touch it!" She shouted, crawling away from the mirror which she had been so interested in only moments ago.

The darkness in the mirror started forming into a constantly swirling pattern, and for reasons I couldn't properly think of, I felt some sort of familiarity with the image, slowly approaching it while both the Athena cabin counsellor and Chiron were doing the opposite.

A face condensed into reality as if it was no longer a mirror on my desk, but a video call. Its eyes were dark, yet somehow still gave off a faint, blueish light, and all of its features were as black as the night sky. Like space itself.

I heard Chiron inhale sharply, before dropping to the floor, bowing down low, Sophia following his lead a moment later.

"I welcome you, my children..." The creature said, his voice the definition of ancient, every word carrying the weight of aeons. I already suspected who it was, even after just one sentence.

Dad.

I tried finding the right words to say something, anything, but I was completely lost. Sixteen years without a father, the concept basically non-existent in my eyes, yet here he was now.

"I can hardly remember the last time I came into direct contact with mortals, so do excuse me if I am not familiar with newer happenings... One of the many negatives my oath comes with, unfortunately. Alas, times are changing, and some things must not stay the same throughout this new age..." He looked at Chiron and Sophia, "Trainer of Heroes and daughter of Athena you may rise. In my own realm, I would ask you to bow, you would be correct to assume that, but this place is not mine to exercise my authority over."

"Thank you, Lord Ragnos." Chiron stuttered, getting up, Sophia doing the same without words.

Finally, his eyes settled on me, and however hard I wanted to look at anything other than this... Thing, that my father was, his gaze seemed to force my own to remain fixated on him.

"My son... Your face tells me everything, and I am sorry for all the hardship my absence as a figure in your life caused you. Now that I have claimed you I hope any differences we may have can be reconciled. Did you perhaps expect a figure more human-like than I?" I looked at my feet with embarrassment, not saying a word, "There is no need to feel ashamed, we all need to have hope in something, just remember that I can resemble whatever I so desire, however here, in my own realm, I prefer to fully embrace the power surrounding me..."

"It's strange meeting you," I muttered, "And honestly, I could never have pictured my dad to be... Well to be like you."

He chuckled, putting his black teeth on full display, "It is true that if looking at this situation from an outsider's perspective, the chance for such a thing to happen would have been so minuscule, that it would not have been an incorrect assessment to describe it as impossible. Now, let us move on to more important matters. I see that you have found your gifts..." He smiled, "The swords, the cloak and its contents as well as the bow, along with the cabin and everything else it contains, are for you to use freely. This black material that many of the cabin's contents are made from is most probably an alien sight to all of you. It is an ancient metal, one that has never been so much as mentioned to most mortals, therefore it has no name in the mortal tongues. I have, however, come to like the term chaos metal, so if you agree with me about how fitting it is, you may use the term. It is impossible to break under normal circumstances, only the vast strength of a primordial deity or a weapon crafted from this material can damage it. Unfortunately, this is not true for the cloak, nevertheless, it is still considerably stronger than most mortal metals. As you may have realised, the material is lightweight, and thanks to your heritage, it will be easily moldable to fit any task."

"What about the books? How did they get here? Why are they here?"

"I have been watching you for a long time now, and I have created copies of the books that'll be the most useful for you in the future."

"I guess I should be thank- Wait, did you say you've been watching me for a long time?" My mind started to race, my blood starting to pump in my ear, "For how long have you been watching me? Why did you do fucking nothing until now?!" His smile turned into one of curiosity, "Why did you do nothing when I was out on the streets, hungry, tired and cold? When I was scared shitless after the d-death of Mom and was shoved into my first shithole orphanage?! WHERE WERE YOU?!"

The thing in the mirror was silent for a few seconds before it opened its mouth to talk.

"Your anger is understandable, and I have earned every drop of it, I do not deny that. Jennifer was an exceptional human, the first to ever manage to win my heart. My relationship with her was, however much I hated to admit it, against everything I had once pledged. The moment I met her face to face, I was breaking my oath and cursing you to a life of pain and misery. Mortals have such short lives, but her's was cut short sooner than it could have... Should have lasted for. I did try to protect you though, however minute that protection was. I masked your extremely strong scent behind a wall of magic, allowing you to live a relatively safe life away from the threat of monsters. Your satyr friend's nose is quite strong, and it was quite a surprise when he caught even a trace of you. Only by being beside you for years did he manage to finally make up his mind about you being a demigod. When you used that mortal device, just to send him a message, it sent such a pulse of raw power through New York, that it alerted every spawn of Tartarus to your location. Some ran away, others closed in for the kill."

My anger disappeared as fast as it had appeared. The painful memories having broken through the mental wards I had tried putting up, I felt small and sad like I was a seven-year-old kid once again, who had just lost his mother and was now dependant on the goodwill of the homeless folk living on the street.

"Where is the bow?" I asked after a fair bit of silence, trying to change the topic.

"It is on the table. Once you touch it, it will form into the bow... You will not need arrows to use it, simply draw back the string, and an arrow made of pure chaos will appear in your grip. Use the remainder of today to settle into your new cabin, and try out your gifts. We will discuss everything else in detail, starting from tomorrow.

My anger was now completely gone, leaving me behind as a deflated husk, "Thank you... For all of this."

He smiled, "My final gift will be arriving shortly. Take good care of her, she is just as new to this world as you are."

The picture in the mirror disappeared, the last image of him burned into my head. He was smiling and didn't seem the slightest bit evil. What I had learned about the gods was that they rarely admitted they were wrong, and never to a mortal. The fact that my father had readily apologized for his shortcomings... That was probably the most unexpected part of the entire conversation.

As I stared at the mirror, getting lost in my own thoughts, a hand was gently placed on my shoulder.

"You okay?" Sophia asked, her voice soft and sounding like she was close to crying herself. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, but after a few seconds of thought, I nodded. Her hand lingered on my shoulder for a moment longer, as if wanting to say more.

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a roar that shook us from our stupor.

Racing down my spine, the cold tingling feeling of dread spread throughout my entire body as I heard campers scream outside.

Dashing through the entrance, the very first thing I noticed was that all eyes were fixated on something in the sky. John and his two other cabin members were pointing bows at a dark blot ever so slowly approaching us.

"Keep calm!" Chiron ordered, "It won't hurt us." His voice wavered though, and some people picked up on his uncertainty and didn't look much calmer.

What the hell type of final gift would this be?

Just as it was about to get close enough to make out its details, the black blot imploded on itself and disappeared.

Moments later, something thumped onto the ground, campers jumping away from it like it was a bomb, most of them drawing weapons.

I pushed past the crowd gathered around our new arrival, and glanced down at the creature everyone was so scared about.

It was a bird.

With copper-red feathers and glowing, yellow eyes, it straightened its back and furled its wings, showing off how it was as tall as my entire leg. There it stood, regally, for a few moments, as if taking in all the looks it was getting, before its eyes settled on me, and it let out a squawk.

"What are you?" I asked, crouching down low and reaching one of my hands towards it. Slowly it started waddling towards me.

Behind me, Sophia gasped.

"That's-" She was at a loss for words, "That's a phoenix! Last I heard they were extinct, or at the very least on the verge of extinction!"

"Half a century or so ago, a satyr guide found a colony of them in Greece, hidden away in a small cave in the side of Mount Olympus. They never travelled with the Heart of the West and staying meant that they were hunted ruthlessly, by both monsters and unknowing mortals. They can live forever otherwise." Chiron explained, "But the fact that one of them is here... Outstanding."

"That explains the birdcage." The bird hopped onto my palm, and as I lifted it I felt just how heavy it was. By the time it was standing on my shoulder, my arm was just about to give up on life.

The tension quickly broke once it turned out that the bird wasn't a threat, terrified looks replaced by nervous laughter and excited conversations.

"You should name it, Dan," Des told me, "It looks like it's come to take a liking to you."

"Oh, believe me, I will, but I will need some time to think of the best name."

Chiron looked around the field outside my new cabin, and cusped his hands around his mouth.

"Okay, that's been enough excitement for today! Let us all return to our duties." The crowd slowly started dispersing as the focus of the camp director settled on me, "As for you Daniel, I can only say that you should do what your father told you. There's a lot of new information you have to process... That will take a fairly large amount of time."

"Thank you, I'll try and settle in properly as soon as possible."

He smiled, bowing his head slightly, before trotting off towards the big house.

As I turned to face my cabin... My very own cabin, I noticed there was still a small group surrounding me. Sophia had stayed behind, as had John, Rob and Nico.

"We're here to help, that is, if you need any," Sophia smirked awkwardly.

"Of course! Come on guys, you have to see the interior." I lead them inside, my new pet fluttering onto the roof as I walked through the door. Their eyes widened in awe as they entered the cabin, quickly spreading out across the room.

"This is so cool!" Nico exclaimed, looking at the mirror my father had spoken through.

The stick, which was supposed to be a bow, was staring at me, almost begging for my attention, so I called the son of Apollo over to help me decipher how it worked.

"Yeah?" He asked as he got closer, looking at the stick with an eyebrow raised, "What's that?"

"A bow... Supposedly."

"Well it might be the start of one," He snorted, "But it's far from complete."

I shrugged, gripping it in the middle and lifting it up into the air. Instantly it started growing and warping into the shape of a bow, stopping once it was slightly longer than my arm, a piece of string between the two curved ends of the bow having appeared out of thin air.

"The fuck?" John asked in surprise, taking a hesitant step backwards, "That is... What?!"

"Haven't tried it out yet, but all I can say is that I agree."

"Do you- I mean, did you get special arrows for it, or does it use any old arrow?"

"According to my father, it doesn't need arrows."

"Then-"

"Hey, Dan?" Robert called over, interrupting John.

"We'll try it out later..." I told the son of Apollo, before turning around to look at cabin nine's counsellor, "Yep?"

"Can I check these out?" He pointed at my swords, still laying on my bed.

"Sure, just be careful! They're incredibly sharp."

He nodded, rolling his eyes. Sophia was skimming through the books on my bookshelf, while Nico was being drawn towards Rob and my swords.

"If we're done here, we should go straight to the range. You have tickled my interest with this magic bow of yours." John smiled, looking closely at the design.

"I'm fine with going if everyone else is too," Sophia muttered, not looking up from her book.

"Okay, okay..." I said, looking at the coat rack, "Let me just try on one more thing, then we can go."

Grabbing the cloak, I swung it over my shoulders, tucked my arms into its sleeves and buttoned myself up. At my waist was a belt that I quickly tightened, finally flipping the hood over my head for good measure. The rest of the cloak, underneath the belt, had two halves, overlapping one another. The half on the right reached the middle of my calf, while the one on the left was only long enough to reach my knee.

"How do I look?" I asked those gathered around me.

"Epic..." Nico muttered in awe, the others only managing to nod in agreement.

"Take a look for yourself," Sophia pointed towards the mirror.

I stepped closer, and couldn't help but smile. I was dressed completely in black, looking like Death himself. A shiver ran through my body, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Rob, can you pass me the swords?"

"Scabbards too?"

"Yeah."

He threw them into my hands, and I quickly buckled them onto my belt.

"Can I borrow one later on to make a mould? Once you're not using it, that is."

"Sure! What do you want to do with such a design?"

"Nothing, but it's got an interesting shape and I know of some people that enjoy learning how to use new weapons, such as Sam."

"You're gonna have time to do that while setting up fireworks?" Nico asked.

"It isn't all that hard, especially with the machines in the workshop. Five minutes of my time is all it will probably take if this metal is anything like celestial bronze." Rob looked at me questioningly.

"All I know about it is that it's stronger and virtually indestructible." He looked like he had just won the lottery, his eyes darting to my swords whilst smiling. As I tried looping my bow over my shoulder, I suddenly got an idea and looked at the weapon, "Turn back into a stick?"

Like some faithful dog, it did just that, much to the surprise of everyone else, myself included. Quickly tucking it inside my cloak, my hand touched the hilt of something inside, and I pulled out a knife. Glancing inside, there were two others still sheathed, all three lightweight, slightly curved and the hilts made for glancing off blows rather than catching them.

With my pet bird circling around us the moment we were outside, we made our way to the archery range. As we passed by campers, I got stared at by everyone that strode past, even getting a wolf whistle from one of the children of Hebe. Arriving at a free spot at the range, all bows stopped twanging, and every camper's focus was on me.

"Let's see what that bow of yours is capable of," John grinned, crossing his arms in anticipation.

Pulling it back out, I took a deep breath and ordered it to turn back into a bow, which it followed without question. As I drew back the string to my ear, I almost smacked myself in the face, so easy was it to pull back.

"That's disconcerting," I muttered, testing the string a bit more. There was no feeling of strain in my arm that could reassure me that there was actual power in this shot.

A pure black arrow appeared in the exact place where normally I'd have an arrow already loaded. Waiting for a second longer, to make sure I had sighted it correctly, I let it fly while also puffing out the air from my lungs.

It cut, through the air like a rocket, piercing through the straw target with ease, just slightly above bullseye, and thumping into the ground behind it.

John laughed with satisfaction, "You get the coolest shit, dude!"

"Wanna try?"

"What sort of question is that?! Of fucking course I do!"

I snorted and handed it to him.

"Woah... This-" He tugged on the string a few times, "This is weird."

"Right? It doesn't feel the slightest bit powerful."

"With any other bow, I'd set it aside for repairs if they had this sort of pull strength. Arrow would fall at my feet... However, I just watched you shoot one through the backboard, so this thing doesn't adhere to normal rules."

Pulling it back as hard as he could, he waited until the arrow formed, then let go, striking the middle of the board, the arrow thudding into the ground once again.

"You gotta get me one of these!" John chuckled, looking at the weapon with appreciation.

"I'll put in a good word for you the next time I talk with my dad."

Dad.

That word would take some getting used to, but it was starting to win me over.

"Let's go to the sword pit next!" Nico exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

"After that display, I'm also interested in what those swords are capable of." Sophia agreed.

I nodded, John, handing back the bow, which I tucked back into my pocket. My phoenix, who had been staring at me from a nearby table, once again took off as we walked towards the sand-covered pit, landing on the head of one of the dummies once there.

Surprisingly, only two people were sparring in the pit, both of them displaying the very best of their skills against their opponent.

"Whoa, whoa... You're some sort of prince of darkness now?" Bruce asked the moment he noticed me, only just managing to knock Sam's slash towards his stomach to the side.

"Oh crap, yeah! What happened to you?" The combat instructor seemed as surprised as Bruce, and lowered his blade.

"Got some gifts from my father... We came to try them out."

"Gifts from a primordial? You don't exactly see that stuff every day. Mind if I stay?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with delight.

"Why not?" I shrugged.

"Make that two then, I'm not about to miss out on this." Bruce stuck his sword into the sand.

I stared at the dummies, unsure of which one to walk up to.

"Guys? Which should I try it out on?"

"Armoured. If it doesn't do anything, just move over to the one not wearing anything." Sophia pointed out the latter, a straw figure that seemed to be past the best of its days, wearing a tattered camp shirt.

The one covered in armour had a red-plumed helmet, with a breastplate that could really use a repair, being pockmarked with dents and a tiny crack or two. All signs of previous one-sided duels.

Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to not think about how this was my first actual time standing in front of an armoured dummy. Unsheathing one of the blades, I grabbed it as best as I could with both of my hands and lifted it above my head...

With a roar, I chopped downwards as hard as I could, feeling the tug of the blade as it cut deep into my opponent.

Wrenching it out of the dummy's body, I looked at the deep gash in the celestial bronze plate, the blade having carried through half of it like it had been made of wood. A second swing and the breastplate almost slipped to the ground, but I stabbed through it and left it wobbling on my sword, completely piercing through to the other side of the dummy.

"Bloody..." Bruce muttered, "Hell."

"I agree with Bruce there," Sam told me, his eyes not moving from the sword, "What in the name of Olympus is that made out of?"

"It's called chaos metal, or rather that's the best name we can use for it."

Looking at the rest of my companions, they wore similar looks of awe, except for Rob, who was staring at me like a puppy begging for a treat. I would've melted under his gaze too, would he not have had enough muscle mass on his arms to rip a block of concrete in half.

Sheathing the weapon, I handed it over to the son of Hephaestus, as the breastplate plopped down into the sand, "Here. For the mould, as you asked." He held it like others would a baby, and gave me a grateful nod.

"I'll give it back this evening."

"Oh yeah, Nico mentioned something about fireworks... Is that gonna be today by any chance?" I looked between everyone else and the son of the smith god.

"It's the fourth of July, so yeah," Sophia explained.

I rubbed my temple with a sigh, "Fuck me... You even mentioned it this morning!"

"Don't beat yourself up about it, you woke up from a week-long coma and then met your father for the first time, so we can all agree you had much more important things to worry about than some holiday." John smiled, "Missing that show, however, is a sin, so if you don't come along willingly we'll drag you there."

I gave them a smirk, "Until the event starts, I think I'll try making myself at home in my new cabin. If you guys want to, you can spend some more time there, I most definitely won't mind the extra company."

"I'll check in later. Unfortunately, I have some arts and crafts that I have to oversee, but I'm not done reading your books yet," The daughter of Athena smiled, "Until then, take care of yourself." As she left, the last comment still lingering in the air, the others stared after her quizzically.

With the Athena cabin counsellor gone, however, the others soon followed her lead and walked off to their activities. Bruce and Sam's blades clattering behind me signalling that their sparring match had resumed, and my eyes glanced over the dummy one last time.

"Things will change now, won't they?" I questioned the phoenix, which fluttered onto the dummy's helmet. It cocked its head sideways as if trying its best to understand me, so I scratched its neck a bit, eliciting a purr-sound from it.

My steps took me back towards my cabin, my new pet orbiting around like some small, orange satellite.

Nevertheless, I was thankful for its company.

"You comfortable?" John asked from beside me, his girlfriend, the Aphrodite cabin counsellor resting her head on his shoulder. All I had on mine was my pet bird.

"As comfortable as you can be sitting on, and covered in, sand."

Tony chuckled behind me, knowing fully well that that last part was meant for him. He had somehow managed to clean his hooves in such a manner that all the sand from it had blown over me.

Today, I had learned something new about the campers once again. Everyone had a necklace of beads that showed how long they had been at camp. Each year, a new bead was threaded onto that piece of leather, decorated with the year's biggest events.

Most of them wore it under clothes and armour, or only after the day's activities came to an end when it was too dark to see much anyway. Were they secretly trying to hide it from me?

If my good satyr friend was correct, I'd be getting my first bead today, even though I had only been here for two or so weeks.

The sun was setting, turning the golden sand dark red, bathing us all in its last rays as it dived under the horizon. Finally, more than half an hour of sitting later, darkness settled on us. The chatter of individual conversations slowly picked up in volume, taking up a single word. Chanting it.

Start.

All of us joined in, the entire Long Island sound shaking with our voices.

The whistle of a single rocket silenced the crowd, and it popped in the sky, making a tiny white sparkle.

Then nothing.

"Was that-"

Suddenly, the sky exploded into a massive burst of colour, a greek hero carrying a sickle and shield walked across the sky.

Actually walked, as if it was a bloody animation.

A snaky haired woman appeared, and her head fell off after the sickle was swung, a golden sheep and an equally golden man jumping out of her neck. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sophia glance at me and smile. I looked at her, and she pulled out something to show me. A necklace.

"Chiron told me to give it to you." She said, not really needing to shout over the fireworks because of how close she was. I was more than happy to take it, placing it around my neck. A single bead was on it, but what the design was, I wasn't sure. It was too dark to properly see.

"Thank you."

Her smile suddenly turned into a frown, "I- I-" She took a deep breath, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about not being as friendly as I should have... If it came off in the wrong way, all I can say is that I want to start things fresh, as friends." She held out a hand, and I shook it with a smile, "Not to mention there might be more things in common with us than you might think..." Sophia glanced at the sand, deep in thought, before finally pressing up against me and whispering into my ear, "Can you keep a secret?"

"You can trust me," I smirked awkwardly, the daughter of Athena giving a small sigh in return.

"It's just that... I lost my father too, he died when I was six. I know what it feels like to lose a parent, and if you ever want someone to talk to, I'm here for you..."

I looked deep into her eyes and saw the pain she was trying her best to hold back. Ever so slowly, I smiled at her.

"I'd like that, but this doesn't go one way. You might not know me all that well, but if you ever need to talk, I'm also open if you need it."

She looked at me gratefully, "Marcus was the first person who I could open up to properly... I guess that's why I liked him so much, there was something so trustworthy about him." She smile sadly, a tear running down her cheek, illuminated by a flash of blue.

"No, I understand. Don't worry."

"I know you do." She muttered, holding her legs just a bit tighter. She felt safe enough to shed a tear under the cover of night, knowing that it'd keep it a secret from almost everyone. I knew that feeling well, had experienced it more than once, but after meeting Tony, and finally having a friend who listened to me and actually cared about me, the sensation popping up had become much rarer.

I wanted to comfort her a bit, put a reassuring hand on her shoulder or something, but I doubted she'd appreciate that. After all, she had known me for what... Two weeks? And out of that, one had been spent in a coma.

You know what?

Fuck it.

If Perseus could kill a monster that turned you to stone, and I could survive an encounter with a drakon while having zero training, I'd also survive Sophia.

Resting my hand on her shoulder, she tensed up a bit at first while I mentally prepared myself for a punch in the thigh, or maybe just her moving further away.

Suddenly, she relaxed, and once again moved just a tiny bit closer. Through the tears, I could see a small smile on her face once more.

A pot-bellied figure walked up to our small group, illuminated by a myriad of bright colours, carrying a tray of something.

"Felix?" Sophia asked, looking at the son of Dionysus with a frown.

"What?! It's just peach juice, you can trust me. I know that there are kids here." He winked, and I took one cup hesitantly, following John's lead. A few others also tentatively took one for themselves, Sophia included.

As the Dionysus cabin counsellor walked away, John looked at us.

"Anyone wanna say a toast?" There was silence, "Right then, seems like I get that job then, " He propped himself up on his knees, much to Susan's annoyance, who had been enjoying the comfort of his shoulder.

"To the wonderful year behind us, and the brilliant year to come. Also, to friends. Both old... and new." The last was aimed at me, and I smiled, bowing my head a bit. Clinking our paper cups together, we downed the liquid.

I felt like I had just swallowed fire, my throat burning as the drink made its way into my stomach. Coughing, I looked around at everyone else.

"The... Fuck was that?" I spluttered.

"Apple Juice..." Rob laughed, the empty cup enveloped by his hand. He too was coughing slightly, "Or what- whatever the fuck Felix said it was."

Sophia didn't seem to have any problem with the drink, downing it in one go, even if just moments ago she had chastised the child of the wine god.

"Ooh, ooh! My favourite story!" Des said, looking up at the sky. A woman was in the process of opening a jar, fiddling with the lock on its neck. Once it did open, a bunch of red lights flew out of it.

"Which one is that?" I asked, watching in awe.

"The story of Pandora's box," Sophia explained before the daughter of Hecate could.

"Pandora..." I looked at the phoenix, now laying on the warm sand before me.

That was the perfect name.

"You should be Pandora." The bird looked at me, "You like that name?"

"Yes, master." Spoke a feminine voice in my head.

My eyes widened.

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Susan asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh..." I dismissed her with a wave of my hand, glancing back at Pandora.

"You can talk?" I whispered to it. To her.

"Yes, master. I like the name... Pandora."

"That is something we've gotta discuss," I said, before ignoring her and returning to stare at the fireworks.

Who the hell was I now?

Two weeks ago if a bird would have randomly started talking to me telepathically, I would've shat myself, after which I would've booked an appointment with a psychiatrist. Now it was nothing more than a minor surprise. Oh, how things could change!

Rubbing Sophia's shoulder, I felt a warm feeling in my chest that wasn't from the alcohol, at least I hoped it wasn't.

This place, right here, right now, was a memory that would never leave me. I had a home, friends who understood me, and an interesting new role to play in the world.

Oh yeah, and a talking bird.