My first reaction was to laugh at the situation, quickly followed by my warm tears trailing down my cheeks.

"You can't be sure that she's dead. The-There's-" Viscount muttered, his face pale.

"Aurum and Argentum escaped the inferno, there was no sign of the praetor, however. I'm sorry, sir."

The centurion was silent, staring at the legionary for what felt like forever, the young man shuffling his feet nervously.

"Just go!" He roared out of nowhere, wiping a tear from his face, only for more to replace it, "Fuck off!"

The soldier bowed his head, and left quickly, running towards the flames.

"Centurion, take a seat... You need to rest." Violet told him.

It looked like he wouldn't listen, but finally, he gave in and slumped against the wall.

We sat there for a good while in sullen silence, tears streaming down all of our faces, mourning both those that had died in the battle and the fire.

I saw Sophia's head turn towards me, and I was reaching for her to steady her body. The daughter of Athena winced as I grabbed her shoulder.

"What's going on?" She asked dreamily, "Where are we?"

"Don't worry about it," I smiled sadly, pulling her coat tighter around her body.

She nodded, before letting off a grunt and grabbing her side.

As I stared at her worryingly, our eyes met and her dreamy smile returned.

"You're cute when you're worried." She whispered, and I could feel my face flush, "Ah! Ah! Blushing!"

"Rest Sophia, you need it," I said, looking down at the ground.

"You mean this small thing? I can't even feel it."

"That's cause Gavin give you enough painkillers to kill a small horse."

She frowned.

"Oh..." With those as her last words, her gaze became unfocused and the rise and fall of her chest slowed down. Gradually, her eyes closed and with it started the light snoring, drowned out by the noise of the camp fighting the flames.

"Viscount!" A voice shouted over the hum of the camp. Those of us who were still awake turned towards the source, only to find Grawon jogging towards us, "What the fuck happened to you?" He asked, aiming the question at the centurion, but he didn't react.

"We were ambushed by multiple enemy patrols. If the name means anything to you, Brutus lead them." I answered for him.

Grawon's expression told me that he knew all too well who that was.

"Is he still alive?"

"No, Sophia killed him."

"Good riddance." He spat, finally seeming to notice just how many of us were left, and how many wounds required tending to. Ordering a passing legionary to call for medics, his focus was back on me, "Flavius?"

"In Elysium, if that place still exists," I replied sadly.

"He was a good man," The older centurion croaked, "War tends to kill the best of us first."

"We lost eight people out there... Fucking eight! And we're not even counting up our losses from that!" Viscount suddenly shouted, his anger flaring up as he pointed at the dwindling inferno, "And what did the Augur lose? Three ex-legionaries and a bunch of monsters that'll return sooner or later anyway."

"War is shit, we both know that Viscount, and don't think for a second that I don't mourn these deaths!" Grawon growled, "But they died for a cause they believed in, they died to bring peace back to New Rome. They all knew this could happen, yet all of them took the risk. We all take that risk!"

Viscount was about to reply, but I saw him hold himself back. A minute passed, before finally, the centurion deflated and he nodded sadly.

"You're right... I just wish none of this would have ever happened. So many of our friends are dead, because of one angry primordial and his schemes."

I looked over our group, and man, were we a sore sight. Those not sleeping were taking tiny sips of what was probably unicorn draught. Nico was propped against the wall, his head lolling sideways and his tongue sticking out. He didn't seem too badly hurt, save for the dried blood on the back of his head.

The medics arrived fairly quickly, immediately getting to work treating everyone. Those that needed greater attention were placed onto stretchers and taken away, my two friends a part of that group. The face the medic had made as he had checked her wound had been far from pleasant.

"Don't worry, they'll take care of them." Grawon told me, his expression softening, "You should all get some rest, we'll stop the flames soon. You've already done enough for one day."

"Thanks," I grunted, wondering how I'd sleep with all this worry churning around inside of me.

As everyone slowly dispersed, only Viscount remained behind, his eyes settling on me.

"Care to join me?" He asked.

"It'd be my pleasure," I tried smirking, carefully getting up and following the centurion.

As we walked further and further away from the centre of the camp, the people sleeping on the side of the road decreased in number, as did the intensity of the light produced by the flames. Reaching the walls, Viscount climbed up the ladder propped up against it without hesitation, and I followed, confused as to where we were going.

One of the guard towers stood in front of us, Viscount wasting no time climbing the second ladder that led up to its roof.

My head cleared the top not soon after Viscount did, and I had to admit, the view was quite beautiful, albeit depressing on some level. The ruins of New Rome spread out in front of us, slowly getting engulfed by darkness the farther I looked.

Viscount sat at the very edge of the watchtower, his legs dangling over the edge. Pulling a flask from his backpack, the same one he had yet to throw off himself since we had arrived back, he twisted the cap off and took a large swig.

He offered it to me, but I shook my head.

"Not twenty-one yet," I muttered.

"Do I look twenty-one to you?" He asked, and I raised an eyebrow. Viscount laughed bitterly, "Don't answer that then... War really does make you age, doesn't it? I'm nineteen, soon to turn twenty. You're here, fighting for your life every day, fighting wars for and against beings aeons older than you or me. There's a high possibility we won't live to that age anyway, so why wait?"

He was making a point, that much I had to admit.

"Ah, to hell with it," I grunted, taking the flask and gulping down a small amount. The strong liquor burned my throat as it made its way down, causing me to cough and splutter as it did so. Accompanying it was a soothing warmth though.

"The second gulp is better, trust me."

I did, and though this time I was more prepared for it and did not spit half of it back out with a cough, it was just as strong. He smirked at the face I made.

After giving the flask back to him, he held it with both hands, staring at the night landscape. I joined him in that activity, and there we sat, my insides warmed by alcohol, while the chill of the outside was slowly seeping back into me. There was something about this feeling... It was relaxing, almost helping me forget about today's events.

"You like her, don't you?" The centurion asked out of the blue, and I flinched.

"Who?"

"Who else would I be talking about? Sophia."

I felt my face flush, "Well, as a friend sure?"

Viscount scratched his arm with the tattoo, "Now, now." He tutted, "That doesn't work with me." He smiled sadly, "Though I don't need to be a son of Veritas or Venus to know that what you said was a lie."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Maybe... I'm not quite sure, I'm no expert in love, but I'm quite good at reading people. There's been no gossip that I've heard about you two, so maybe not as obvious as I think." He sighed, picking at a stone stuck in the sole of his boot, "Maybe, it was easy for me to notice that you had feelings for Sophia because you were doing many things that I was doing too."

"You? Really?" I smiled, "Who's the person in question?"

He took another big swig, "Gloria."

"Ah!" My smile slowly faded to a grimace, "Oh..."

"Quite..." He cleared his throat, "Quite right. I guess all I can say is that such is life. People come and people go, and only the fates know when someone's time comes."

There was silence yet again, but there was no awkwardness to it. Viscount had said what he wanted to say, getting his thoughts off his chest, and that was enough.

"I never thought I'd be part of a war." I muttered, "Hell, if someone would've told me half a year ago that I'd be going on a quest given by the gods of Olympus themselves, I would've punched them and run away, thinking them crazy. That awful orphanage, how distant it seems now..."

"You're telling me?" He snorted, "I've come very far from being the son of a simple seamstress. Just my mother and I, all my life leading up to my first meeting with Veritas. We never had too much to spare, but that didn't stop my mother from being honest, something which she did her best to try and teach me too... I remember-" He smiled as he recalled the memory, "I once stole a loaf of bread. We hadn't eaten well that week, and I was proud of what I had taken, showing it to my mother. Instead of a pat on the back, I was shouted at... Probably the angriest I had ever seen her. The baker forgave us when she went back to apologize and give back the loaf. After that, he'd always give us a few extra slices for free. Honesty pays sometimes, though it also depends on who you're honest with."

"You said your mother's a seamstress... Isn't Veritas a-"

"A goddess, yes, and she's my other mother." He gave me a smirk, "The gods work in mysterious ways sometimes, but as you can see I'm completely normal. But now that you asked something about me, I've got a question for you too."

"Sure, go ahead."

"How does that power of yours work? More importantly, what exactly can you do?"

I thought for a while before answering, "If I have to be honest, I'm not quite sure. My father taught me some things, but he also told me that I still have much to learn. I have control over chaos, the primordial element that everything else came from. You'd think I'd be able to control everything, but unfortunately, once they've taken form, the chaos in them slowly dissipates until there's none left to manipulate. As for my fighting skills, I probably have a lot to thank for my father's blood flowing in my veins, but it sure wasn't easy getting to this level, and I can still be beaten by those skilled enough and quick enough to adapt to my fighting style."

"What about that thing you did that killed the man holding Sophia?"

"You didn't know him either?"

He shrugged, "I don't have to know every exile, he must've left camp before I was even born, judging by his age."

"Well, I'm not completely sure how I do that. It's hard, only really works when I concentrate hard and it always drains me of energy. It does help if I'm angry, that much I've realised."

"I'll try not to get on your bad side then." Viscount smiled, his expression contagious, "Another sip? Trust me it really does get better." He asked, shaking the flask in front of me.

Taking it from his hand, I took a larger gulp this time.

It really did feel better.

I was woken by a hard shake, my eyes darting over to the person who had woken me. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn't the centurion, but rather a soldier who was still covered in soot from yesterday's fire.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Sir, the legate has requested a war council an hour from now, the usual place," She said.

"W-Who?" Standing up carefully, I looked over the watchtower's edge, not quite sure how I hadn't rolled over the edge during the night.

"He will tell you everything once you get there. Until then, I suggest you take a shower. There'll be soldiers forming a queue shortly, and believe me when I say it's not comfortable showering with dozens of people waiting for you to finish." The woman gave me a small smile, and I thanked her whilst stretching, hearing my back crack. I hadn't even realised until now that I was completely frozen through.

With a shudder, I slowly made my way down the ladder, following the soldier until she split off. The air was filled with acrid smoke, and I was having a hard time getting past those sleeping on the few remaining possession that still remained after the monsters had pillaged their homes.

As I entered our tent, most of the bunks were empty... Save for one.

Laying in it was a young child with a mop of black hair that could use a good cut. His sea-green eyes met mine, and I sighed with relief.

"Hey, man! How you doing?" I smiled, looking at the son of Poseidon.

"Better... Took quite a beating yesterday, can't really remember much after talking with Serene."

"Did that go well?"

"I don't know. We need to show her a sacrifice worthy of any major god, and then she'll help us. Take that as you wish."

"That's quite a tall order from her," I muttered, sitting down on my bed and rummaging through the backpack I had been given by the Romans, filled with everything the Camp Jupiter giftshop had to offer before the war. T-shirts, jeans, a towel and flip-flops.

"It's better than getting outright rejected though."

"Guess you're right about that. It's best if we get to figuring out what she could want as soon as possible. We need her help."

He nodded, slowly sitting up, "Now I want to know some things. I saw Sophia in the medical tent, and she looked far from okay. What happened to her?"

"Yesterday was a bad day for us. We lost more people than we should have out there. Peter, Victor, Terry, Callisto, Brody, Flavius... Carl and Chris."

"Flavius?" His voice was no more than a whisper.

I bowed my head sadly, "Sophia, she was stabbed by an imperial gold blade during her struggle with one of the exiles, but ho-" I cut myself off before I could finish, "She'll get better." Doubt wouldn't help us right now.

He seemed to gain some relief from that knowledge, "What about the camp?"

"A bomb exploded in the command tent, starting a fire. Gloria was one of the casualties that day, and I don't know how many others were also caught by the flames."

He stared at his interlocked fingers for a while, and I took my time to look around the tent a bit more. Draped on Sophia's bed was the lionskin cloak, upon which lay Brutus' golden sword, cleaned from blood. Patting Nico's shoulder a few times, I saw a tear fall onto the sheets he sat on.

Before a second one could follow, it was wiped away in annoyance, and the red-eyed son of Poseidon made eye contact with me.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Right now? Take a shower, believe me, it'll do you good. That's where I'm heading off to, join me if you want."

Soon after, we were zipping up the tent, and striding towards the showers. The aqueduct's water supply could only be accessed from the other side of the camp, meaning the Romans had built their showers there too.

To save time, we decided to take a shortcut through the burnt remains of the courtyard. I regretted the decision the moment I caught a glimpse of what had once been the centre of the camp.

The command tent was gone, as was the canteen and the quartermaster's tent. That meant all of our supplies were gone, along with all of our plans and fuck knows how many people. A stage that had once been used by me so that all legionaries could see me during training, was currently getting fixed up with new wooden planks. In front of it, a massive pyre was being built by legionaries.

A funeral pyre.

Burial shrouds, which I had first thought were banners, neatly hung off of the side of a table. There were at least three dozen of them, none of which had a body that they could be draped over,

After a minute of silent mourning, we left the courtyard and continued toward the showers, trying to avoid eye contact with those at work.

A row of two dozen shacks made of wood, with stone bricks for a floor and a working drainage system was what the Romans called showers, and they were surprisingly well-built. It was almost full, but there was just enough room for us to have a quick shower. Stepping inside one of the booths, I looked down, only to see water as black as oil washing past my feet.

It couldn't have been easy, quenching the flames, and I almost felt thankful that I had been out scouting. Bitterly, I reminded myself that neither option had been easy. Both had resulted in death.

However much I enjoyed the feeling of warm water flowing over me, especially knowing how cold it was outside, the thought that others might be waiting for me hurried me on.

Closing off the shower, I quickly dried myself off and dressed up as fast as possible, the purple Camp Jupiter shirt just as comfortable as the orange Camp Half-Blood ones.

For something open to the outside air in so many places, the shack kept the heat inside pretty well. Of course, by the time I was putting my cloak back in, I was thankful for its warmth, no matter how dirty it was.

Much to my surprise, nobody was waiting for me outside, so slowly closing the door after myself, I adjusted my belt before turning around and waiting for Nico's door to open. He probably knew the way back, but we could both use the company. Today was going to be a hard day for everyone.

My eyes slowly took in the surroundings of the showers, finally settling on a large tent. It was the same medical tent I had seen during my brief look around the camp back when we had arrived, but by the looks of it, it had gone through a variety of emergency expansions. People lay on a multitude of different objects ranging from beds, to storage boxes and tables, while purple-shirted campers darted from person to person, hectically trying to tend to all of them.

I jogged over and looked over the semi-familiar and unfamiliar faces, trying to find one whose features weren't covered by bandages. Specifically, one who had grey eyes and blonde hair. My eyes locked on her head, hair splaying in every direction.

Sophia was one of the luckier ones, laying on a bed and propped up by a pillow. She was awake, but she was staring into blank space, her eyes red from crying. Walking over, those eyes rested on me, the steely look of determination you could normally find in them completely gone. She smiled as she recognized me before her eyes darted away.

"Hi," I tried putting on an optimistic smile, "You doing better?"

"Hey..." She sighed, "Compared to yesterday? You could say so, yeah." Puffing out some air she shook her head, "I don't even remember how we got home, only that I woke up here in the middle of the night, with an IV bag running into my arm and a loaf of warm bread resting on my lap.

"You're lucky you're alive, that wound didn't look good. I was worried you'd-"

"It takes more to take me down," She smiled cockily, before it fell, "Well, not that much more than this. I didn't feel anything at first, then it suddenly increased in pain in the blink of an eye, then darkness."

"And I assume they've been pumping you full of ambrosia and nectar."

"Ah, don't even start. I woke up with a fever because I had been given too much of the good stuff. It's only unicorn draught for me until tomorrow."

"So am I to assume you won't be walking around for some time yet?"

"This is a wound made by imperial gold." She grunted, "Turning around is painful. Hell, if I don't remember to breathe slowly, my body reminds me in a rather uncomfortable way. I'll probably be like this for a week, if not more."

"It sucks, doesn't it?" I smirked, rubbing my stomach where I had some scars of my own.

"Sure it does. I mean, who would want to have matching scars with you?" She smiled back.

I punched her lightly in the shoulder while laughing, but it quickly died in my throat as I looked around. It felt wrong, especially after the events of yesterday. Both of us just stared awkwardly at each other for a few moments, the moans of those that hadn't been deemed hurt enough to be given any form of painkillers making the silence between us even worse.

Finally, she cleared her throat, "I don't doubt what the others said, but I need to hear it from someone I trust. Is it true that-"

"Gloria?" She nodded, her eyes dropping down to her lap and her hands clutching each other. I was scared she'd cry, but there were no tears, only sadness, "From what I heard-" I started.

"Make way! Get out of my way for fuck's sake!" Came the shout from the far side of the tent.

Whipping my head over to the source, I saw a group of legionaries carrying Nico, multiple coats covering his body while many of the soldiers wore nothing more than towels.

"Nico?" Sophia looked over, frowning.

"What in the fuck?" I asked, stepping closer to hear the conversation between the legionaries and a nearby doctor, who had a hunched back and a grey and receding hairline.

"What in the name of Almighty Pluto are you doing?! Where did he come from, and what happened?"

"We don't know, we just found him unconscious in one of the showers."

"Wait a second... I know this one. Joe, get your ass over here at once!"

A younger-looking man ran to the group and took one look at the son of Poseidon, before gulping.

"I can explain, Ves. He was completely-"

"He doesn't fucking look completely fine, does he?" He gestured at Nico, before turning back to the legionaries, "Find a free spot, and, you-" He pointed a bony finger at Joe, "You will take a look at him again."

I looked at Sophia, who was staring at one of the half-naked soldiers. Waving my hand in front of her face, she blushed a deep red and looked back at me sheepishly.

"I'll go check on Nico, but I'll be back to keep you company." I smiled, "That is if you don't want me to call one of those legionaries over."

"Fuck off..." She muttered, "Just check that he's okay, then I'd be more than happy if you came back."

That was amazing to hear, and I nearly took my first few steps with a skip.

As Nico was set down on a makeshift bed made from two wooden boxes, I remained a good distance away from the side of the bed, letting Joe check Nico undisturbed. Ten minutes passed, before the man jotted down a few notes on a piece of paper, and handed it to one of his aides.

"Hey there," I said, stepping forward.

"Sir?" He snapped to attention.

"Daniel's good enough, I'm no centurion."

He nodded, and let his shoulders drop, "What can I do for you?"

"What's happened to him?" I nodded towards the son of Poseidon.

"Some complications from the hit he took during the fight, but nothing that can't be fixed with a few more days here. Ambrosia fixed him up fast, but hitting his head again, or moving it too fast was probably enough to make him lose consciousness again."

"You're the doctor..." I smiled, "All I care about is that he'll be as good as new soon."

"I can promise you he'll be fine."

I looked around, before turning back to him.

"Who was that guy ordering you about anyway? He didn't seem all that kind."

"You saw that?" He grimaced, "Vespasian normally isn't like that, but he's been stressed out of his mind by yesterday's happenings. As the head of the medical tent, all the bullshit culminates at his feet."

"Guess I had him figured out wrong then... So you say he'll be fine?"

"As far as I can tell, there won't be any problems now, he just needs some rest."

"Thanks." I smirked, relieved, "I'll leave him with you then."

The young medic bowed his head in acknowledgement as I turned around, heading back to Sophia.

Nico

My head was pounding as if tiny bombs were constantly exploding in it. The last thing I remembered was standing in the shower, turning the tap on and scrubbing myself down.

Then one blink later... This. Complete and utter darkness.

After what felt like hours, a glow appeared in the air, as if the sun was slowly rising. Black turned to blood red in an unsettling way, and I could feel my breathing start to speed up, which wasn't exactly helping my migraine disappear.

Out of the gloom, a room formed, and with it, my headache kicked into higher gear, as if it had realised that I was starting to slowly get used to the notion, and I'd need a reminder it was still there. It grew and grew in intensity, my teeth grinding together painfully. Finally, my legs gave out underneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor. Though it was clearly made out of stone, when my knees connected with it, it slightly gave under my weight. Sharp objects pricked my knees and legs, and a loud clatter echoed through the chamber I was in.

My mouth opened but I heard no scream, the pounding in my head overcoming everything else.

Then it lessened, diminishing for gods knew how long to nothing more than a slight annoyance. My throat was dry, and my heart beat rapidly. Focusing on my surroundings, I realised the stone used to make the walls and floor were crimson, skulls and other bones fused with the individual bricks. The floor too was covered in bones, thousands of them. A throne made from black metal and an equally black rock that reflected the room's glow was thrown to the side, cracked in two, while a newer, absolutely gigantic throne that looked like it was made from flesh, dominated the room.

If I looked past the massive throne and the bones, this was an exact replica of father's throne room.

I was in the Palace of Hades.

Yet another throne, smaller than the one made of flesh, but still larger than the discarded one, appeared in front of me, forming from the bones on the ground, each of them interlocking with an echoey click. From the armrest hung a large greek helmet, one that I had seen many times during the winter solstice. It was Hades' Helmet of Darkness.

Behind me, massive doors creaked open, showing me the courtyard. It was littered with endless bones and dust.

The screams of the tortured dead were let inside, sending shivers up my spine as their entire painful existence was revealed to me in a single, horrific sound.

More details appeared in front of my eyes, seemingly from thin air. Holes and scrapes popped into view all over the walls, the signs of a massive battle.

"Welcome, to my newest conquest, my little great-grand-nephew." A voice spoke out of thin air and I felt a gust of wind pass by me. Though I saw nothing, I felt the presence of an entity sitting on the flesh throne, "Are you surprised that you're here? I definitely am. I never would've thought that Hades would be such a... How do you say it nowadays? A pushover? Ah, yes. Hades was a pushover." The being mused to itself, "A worthless being, whose very presence in that battle was an offence against me. HOW DARE SUCH A PITIFULLY WEAK THING TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST ME?" It roared, shaking the very foundation of the palace.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I shouted into thin air, the pain in my head making it hard to think as the migraine flared up again.

"Oh but my dear nephew, that is not needed. I am here. You can feel my presence, can you not? What is there, sitting on that throne you look at, it is but a shadow of my power. Enough to keep in check Alcyoneus and the other monsters. Leaving my domain though? I am powerful, but not stupid. I will not take chances, weakening myself simply because I am impatient to move forward. Everything is perfectly planned..." He said. This was no monster, no titan and no Giant. This was Tartarus himself. A primordial was speaking to me.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, trying to disguise the fear in my voice and the wobble in my leg, but I knew that I had failed to do both.

"Well, that is something that you will find out soon enough. I do not need much, just your physical existence. But that will not be happening today. Your father has been defeated, now nothing more than a plaything for Polybotes."

A red smoke cloud spiralled before me, in which appeared an image. It was my father, looking worse than how I had last seen him, his face so gaunt that he could've easily been called a corpse. He was tied up with heavy celestial bronze chains, while a large being with dragon legs stood over him, emanating purple liquid in all directions and whipping my father with an electric eel, the eel's teeth biting into my father's body with each swing. His ichor mixed with the seawater, creating golden foam.

It took all my strength to hold back the tears. I would not give the Pit the satisfaction of seeing my cry.

"Now your powers have weakened as well as your connection to the gods. You will let my presence enter your body to replace your soul. You will betray your friends, your family, and everyone you hold dear, to serve my cause."

"It sounds like you're trying to make a deal, but there is nothing you could offer me that'd make me betray my friends!" I spat, "You are more of an idiot than I realized if you believe that."

"Who said anything about me asking for your permission?" It growled, "It took me long enough to get to where I am right now, and a pesky, useless mortal welp of the worthless Olympians will not stop me from achieving my plan!" A snaking red line emerged from the red cloud that had shown my father's fate. The snaky red smoke looked at me. It didn't have eyes, but somehow I felt like it could see me. I tried to run, but the bones grabbed my legs, holding me in place. Tugging my legs as hard as I could, they wouldn't move, "You will serve me soon, this is but the first step."

The red snake sped towards me, and I closed my eyes. It collided with my chest, knocking the breath out of me and my migraine exploded back into action with the power of a thousand nuclear bombs. I screamed as darkness enveloped me.

I was sitting up, breathing heavily as I looked around my surroundings while holding my chest.

Blinking twice, I felt my mind go blank. I knew I had been somewhere, but it was as if someone had just wiped my memory, leaving behind just the smallest footprint of something happening. Or had it just been a bad dream?

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down there, Nico... You're fine." I looked at the source of the voice, only to spot Joe, the short medic who had treated me during my last visit to the medical tent.

"I'm back here?" I asked, "Wasn't I in the shower a moment ago?"

"You lost consciousness in the shower, so you were brought here. It's nothing too bad, but it also could be better."

I grunted, holding my head as my headache got worse, "So how long was I out for?"

"Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes at the most."

I tried standing up, but pain exploded in my head and I stopped.

"Yeah, you might not wanna do that just yet." Joe advised as he saw me grimace, "Rest, you won't be missing anything."

I looked at the ceiling of the tent with a sigh.

"And I thought I was doing fine... Thank you for helping." I smiled.

"Well, it's my job, but you're welcome." He looked up and his expression changed, "Oh, gotta go by the looks of it. Stay still and remember r-"

"Rest. Yeah, will do."

The medic ran off to wherever he was needed.

I closed my eyes slowly, wondering what I had been dreaming about.

Daniel

On the way back towards the courtyard, all I could think of was Sophia's smile. I had had little time to think about anything else other than the civil war, but ever since Viscount had brought it up last night, my head couldn't stop spinning around the idea that maybe there could be something more between us. After all, for someone laying in a bed with a near-mortal wound and surrounded by suffering people, she had been especially cheery by the time I had to leave, and I could see the regret on her face when I announced my departure.

I noticed a crested helmet from the corner of my eye, and my eyes automatically darted over, looking at the girl carrying it. A familiar face from war councils. Mary.

Carrying her helmet under her arm, her cheek-length brown hair and golden, wreath-shaped earrings were on full display. As I changed my path to meet with hers, I realized her eyes were especially strange, almost glowing with green light.

"Hey!" I called over and she turned her head to look at me as I jogged to her side.

"At least you're up and about," She muttered, looking at her watch, "Your companions aren't as lucky to say that."

"They'll be fine, they just need some time to rest. You going to the war council as well?"

"It's starting in a few minutes, so there'd be few other places I could be going, no?"

"Right, stupid question, sorry."

I walked beside her silently for quite a while, getting lost in my thoughts, until finally, I realised what was bugging me.

"The command tent burned down, did it not?" I asked, the centurion's lips tightening before she nodded curtly, "Then where would the war council be?"

"Where were you headed before you found me?"

"Well, the usual place, that's what I was told, only that isn't an option anymore. Who or what is the legate anyway?"

"He'll explain it soon enough."

"But-"

She looked at me with a steely glint in her eyes, similar to how Sophia could look when I was getting annoying, and I knew better than to continue down that path. Smiling awkwardly at her, I closed my mouth, reaching the courtyard a few minutes later. Standing near the pyre was a group of plumed helmets... And going by the numbers already present they were waiting for us.

As we got closer, I noticed something strange. One of the centurions wore a red cloak, a piece of equipment I had not yet seen worn by any roman. The figure turned around, and my confusion only increased. Looking at me with those eerie blue eyes, was none other than the same man who I had been drinking with yesterday.

Drake "Lie Detector" Viscount.

"Good morning to both of you!" Viscount called over, "I was about to send someone to get you two. Please, take your place in the circle, so that we may begin the war council."

I had spent enough time with the Romans to know that uniforms meant everything to them. Every seemingly insignificant detail meant something to them, and if anyone, Viscount wouldn't be one to suddenly break this tradition. He was the legate.

"What-"

"All of your questions will be answered shortly, Daniel." He smirked, cutting me off, "Now then, let's not waste any time. First and foremost, to those that might not know what's going on..." He looked at me pointedly, "Due to the recent unfortunate events, we've remained without a leader. Electing a praetor in these times is next to impossible, seeing how most of Rome's population isn't present, so as a temporary solution, I've been elected as the legate of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Such a thing hasn't happened since the fall of Rome, so this was no easy decision to make."

"When did this happen?!"

"This very morning, after the fires were quenched. This was a Roman matter, so I hope I don't offend you by saying this, but we purposefully didn't invite you."

I held up my hands apologetically, "No offence taken, you do you." I smiled.

He returned the gesture, before clearing his throat and continuing.

"By now, I'm fairly certain everyone knows that our scouting mission played out in a less-than-optimal way, and we lost many good legionaries during the fight. However, I don't think it was a complete loss, because we have a good idea of what the Augur's defences are like. We saw them building new defences, and I'm fairly certain we can thank our intruder for leaking our plans of assaulting the Augur."

"How is that possible?!" Grawon asked, outraged, "We had people guarding its entrance twenty-four-seven! They should've seen someone enter."

"She managed to sneak a bomb inside the tent, who knows how many times she entered the tent beforehand? Every time she entered that place, she had complete access to all of our plans and assets." Another Centurion replied, Hector, I think his name was.

"We'll deal with the intruder in due time, but we've got more pressing matters right now. Thanks to the canteen's destruction, our supplies have been reduced to a few days worth at best. We split the entire fourth cohort up to bring back the supplies you were in no position to bring back yesterday, but even that won't help us out by much. Our sponsors are already sending them as frequently as possible, once every half a week, and right now, it looks like we'll damn well deplete our food stocks until the next drop, and getting the next drop will only prolong the inevitable for so long."

"Good point, Fred. I'll talk with the sponsors about our predicament, maybe they can think of something. The time for putting off this assault has waited for long enough, I'll start working on a battle plan as soon as possible, but I'll need Sophia's help, who's currently in no position to help me. As for Nico, I'm aware he's been allowed to leave the medical tent. Why isn't he here?" The newly-appointed legate turned to me, eyebrow raised.

"He had to be taken back to the medical tent. He fainted while taking a shower due to some complications from his injury, so he'll be bedridden for a few days too. I did manage to talk with him, however, and Serene is willing to help us... On one condition."

"Which is?"

"We show her a sacrifice worthy of any major god. We do that, and she'll cooperate."

"Well, now that's a massive fuck you, is it not?" One of the centurions spoke up, looking at me, "Which of our holes should we pull such a sacrifice out from?"

"Calm your tits, Magnus. Better than fucking nothing, no?"

Magnus grunted but didn't reply.

"Thank you, Max." Viscount said, coughing, "As he said, having a chance to get the lake on our side is better than no chance at all. We'll think of something. It does offer us a better chance to get her to cooperate than if we hadn't talked to her in the first place, however, the fortress and Serene aren't the only problems we've come up against. We knew that some of the outcasts returned to help the Augur, but this is something different entirely. We met Brutus-"

"What?" Max squawked.

"Where is he?" Another centurion growled.

"Is he alive?" And many more questions came from the various centurions, save for Grawon, who already knew.

"He's dead, killed by Sophia. He won't be bothering anyone anymore."

"Damn right!"

"Fucking deserved it!"

"What history did you have with him?" I asked, causing all the talk to die down.

"I didn't tell you yet?" He frowned, "Sorry about that. Brutus was the son of Discordia, who you call Eris. A demigod with a rare lineage, he turned out to be a dangerous person. There was no trouble with him until after he was claimed. He changed, and not in a good way. He was a shy kid before, but with his heart in the right place. Even as a probatio, many people saw the future centurion in him. But after that fateful day, that all changed. Creating discord in the ranks of the legion was his speciality, and we had half a mind to kick him out for that. However, what got him exiled was something much worse."

"The bastard had already destroyed more than one friendship by then, and more than one legionary had to leave the legion because of wounds caused by Brutus' deeds. Yet we could never get any proof against him." Grawon grunted.

"What did he do that finally earned him a place amongst the exiled?"

"He started a fight between hundreds of citizens on the Forum Romanum's stones. Twelve dead, eighteen with permanent disabilities and four hundred and five wounded. Terminus intervened in the end, after seeing past Brutus' distraction, and we finally managed to capture him. As he was brought before the senate so they could decide his fate, Jupiter himself visited the trial. For breaking the sacred rules of the Pomerian line to such a grand extent, the lord of the sky removed his powers. I was a legionary then, Julius my centurion, and I remember escorting him to the Caldecott tunnel. He somehow escaped his chains while we were escorting him down the steps, taking my sword and attacking Julius. It was me who picked up Fulgur and thrust the pilum into his throat. He rolled down the steps, and into the bushes, and though we were quick to follow him, he was gone by the time we reached the spot, finding only a pool of blood and Julius' weapon."

"Huh, that's quite a bit of history... But what about the others?"

"The other one, Flavius' killer, was David Lanera. A legacy of Mars and a descendant of the Germani. If he's here, then his cousin Dravin can't be far either, and you can be sure he'll be hell-bent on avenging his kin. As for the older man, I'm not sure who he was."

"Describe him to us," Grawon said.

"Man in his late fifties, early sixties perhaps." I shrugged, "Short, grey hair, brown eyes. Nothing that would make him stand out."

"Julius would probably know if he saw his face, nevermind him though," Fred said, "How many are we dealing with?"

"A hundred, maybe two, but that's just my own opinion, there's no way to know."

"So we're at even odds if we add their monsters to the mix?"

"Not in your dreams." I snorted, "There are thousands of monsters in and around the fortress, and while they might not be skilled, they're not exactly something to scoff at either. Not to mention the fact that we'll be the ones attacking them, meaning they'll have all the support of their wall's defences, while we have to approach over flat terrain. The fight will be tough, but we're far from as helpless as the enemy thinks. "

"What I'm worried about is if Brutus returned, who else also decided to join the fight against us?" Centurion Fred mused to himself.

"It's best not to think about that until we meet them. There are too many to even count... Now then, if nobody has any more questions, I want all of you to join the funeral. I know it'd be better if there'd be fewer empty shrouds, but that won't hinder them from reaching Elysium. Please, get your cohorts and line them up here."

The centurions nodded solemnly and put on their helmets, before running off in various directions, leaving me alone with Viscount.

"So... Legate?" I asked, smiling.

"It was weird getting woken by Grawon and Hector at six in the morning, who dragged me to a meeting where they unanimously voted for me to become legate. Certainly not how I pictured this day to go."

"I highly doubt anyone could've predicted this day."

"Maybe you're right... Sophia, is she okay?"

"Better than I expected, to be honest. She was awake and more than happy to have me for company. She told me the wound wasn't all that bad, except for the times when it'd suddenly erupt in pain. Not the worst that could happen to someone who got stabbed."

"Imperial gold is no joke." He warned me, "It's great for killing monsters, but it's also excellent at killing demigods, doing an even better job than your celestial bronze. The metal attacks both your body and your soul, and it's normally the latter where most people lose the fight. If someone gets stabbed straight through the stomach by an iron blade, but we get there in time with ambrosia and nectar, there's a very high chance they'll survive. But imperial gold? It's almost like a roll of the dice with how it could go."

"I'll try my best to stay away from golden weapons then."

"There's very little chance for them to have any significant amount of imperial gold weapons in their armoury. We managed to keep most of the camp's old equipment with us.

"Why don't they just make more?"

"The recipe to make imperial gold was a secret known only to the emperors. As they died out, so did the secret. Only the gifts we're given by our godly parents are made from the stuff, as well as what little artefacts remain spread across the world. Gifts are rare though, rarer than demigods, and we've probably found the vast majority of imperial gold still out in the world."

"What do you use to kill monsters then? Your blades don't exactly glow golden, or bronze, it just looks like regular iron."

"It technically is, but with an extra added ingredient. Celestial bronze dust. Ever since the end of the second giant war and our two camps making peace with one another, you've been giving us a steady supply of celestial bronze. Not nearly enough to outfit everyone with weapons and armour like you do, but it's more than enough to create this special alloy. Grinding imperial gold into dust like that would leave you dead."

"Why?"

"Breaking it is incredibly hard, and it's even harder to do it without the metal releasing all of its energy stored inside of it via a massive explosion. The exploding pieces are destroyed, so we want to stay away from decreasing our already tiny stockpile of imperial gold."

"That sounds like it's far from the perfect material to make into weapons and armour. You've seen imperial gold explode before?"

"Multiple times... Though one story, in particular, comes to mind. Twenty of us left the camp to head to San Francisco after a situation was brought to our attention by one of our eagles. A cyclops was chasing a young demigod down the narrow streets of the city, and we got there just as she was cornered. Now, cyclopes are dumb and slow, but they're also strong, they've got tough skin and they can mimic voices to fuck you over. This one was quite old too, larger than a normal one. One of my legionaries failed to deflect the monster's blow correctly, and his sword exploded in his hand. He lost a few fingers, the cyclopes flew back into a wall and a crater formed in downtown San Fran that was about as deep in the middle as I am tall."

"Fucking hell, so you really are crazy then, using armour made from the stuff."

"Oh, believe me, it's incredibly strong and much better than our celestial bronze and iron alloy."

"Well, I'll leave the deadly explosives disguised as swords and armour to you, but you also mentioned eagles? What the hell is that about?"

He laughed, clearing his throat to explain, only to stop suddenly.

"Another time maybe, the cohorts are coming."

I followed his gaze and saw a banner lifted above the tents, straining my ears I could even hear the marching of armoured men. As they came into view, I couldn't help but gasp. I had never seen them dressed up like this.

All of them wore their crests, the centurions with their transversal ones, as I had always seen them, but all other legionaries had longitudinal ones. Their armour was clean, despite the amount of ash that must've dirtied their equipment yesterday, and not a step was out of rhythm. One of the legionaries in the first row carried the banner, red with a golden roman number one and similarly coloured tassels hanging from it.

Then came the second cohort.

Soon, all six of them stood before us.

With eight, maybe nine, hundred armoured roman legionaries formed up in uniform lines, next came the civilians, standing at the fringes of the courtyard. And amongst them, I could see the Greeks.

Outfitted in what little greek equipment the roman quartermaster had, I was proud that they'd shown up. I had seen them interact little with the Romans during my stay, but judging from the black splotches over them, they had helped with the fire yesterday.

Two or so hundred soldiers were still missing, but they'd not be arriving any time soon. Without them, nobody would be standing guard on the walls, and we didn't have the luxury of leaving our borders unguarded even for a short time.

Six men stepped out from the first rank of legionaries, one from each cohort, and walked over to stand behind Viscount and his podium. Were they bodyguards?

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

Looking at the funeral pyre, I muttered a small prayer under my breath, before straightening my back and staring out across the crowd. So many faces, so many grieving silently for the fallen. But one of them was working for the enemy.

Who was it?

Were they even here?

"Welcome, my brothers and sisters." The legate started, "Today, let us mourn the losses of yesterday, the heroes who gave their lives in this war of survival, our friends... Our family. We shall always remember Centurion Flavius Hunt and legionaries Christian Ladd, Victor Phinney, Callisto Williams, Brody Morrow, Carl Mulligan, Terrence Kimball and Peter Parish, who lost their lives during the fight with the Augur's forces and we shall always remember those we lost in yesterday's fire and those who gave their lives to save the rest of the camp from the same fate. Praetor Gloria Krinster..." He went on to list name after name, every single one like a greater punch to the gut, like one more rock added to the ones already weighing me down, "Today, we shall forever etch in our memory these people, and from tomorrow onwards, let us strive to even greater lengths to avenge those we have lost, both recently and further in the past. They may kill our friends, they may kill us, but they'll have to do harder to kill hope! AVE ROMAE!" The sound of shields being bashed together and shouts of support were deafening, "We live in very hard times my brothers and sisters," He shouted above the noise, "And we must face many more hardships before we can put this war behind us, but we will not let Rome's legacy be destroyed!"

The legate nodded at Grawon standing at the head of the second cohort holding a torch wrapped in oil-soaked linen. The centurion returned the gesture, lit the torch with a lighter and walked up to the pyre slowly.

In the blink of an eye, the pyre was ablaze, smoke climbing into the air. As silence fell and only the crackling of the pyre disturbed it, I sudden cold tingle ran down my spine, despite the flames being close enough that their warmth chased away the cold of the winter air.

Something bad was going to happen.

My head darted across the crowd, hoping to spot anything suspicious, almost giving up when all of a sudden movement caught my eye from the crowd of citizens. Someone wearing a heavy winter coat was slowly pushing their way towards the back of the crowd, earning multiple annoyed looks from those they were disturbing during this moment of silence.

Shuffling closer towards Viscount, I watched as an arm was raised. The glint of a golden object sat in their hand, flying through the air before I could figure out what it was. All I knew was that there was one person it could be targeting.

The legate.

Tackling him to the ground, he grunted as I flattened him whilst something cut through the air above us. A pained gasp, then the clatter of something armoured collapsing to the floor.

I pushed myself off of the wooden boards, taking one look at the bodyguard that had been hit in the chest by the imperial gold spike, before sprinting after the cloaked figure. They had realized their plan had failed and were now abandoning all subtlety, shoving grieving and confused citizens out of the way.

As I jumped off of the stage, the courtyard stirred to life, the ranks of the legionaries breaking up as emotions overcame the soldiers, making them forget that they were supposed to listen to their centurions' orders. Entering the crowd of civilians, they had come back to their senses enough to let me pass.

Reaching the first row of tents, I briefly lost the assassin, before spotting them again weaving their way through the tents. With no time to waste, I started after them once more, and slowly but surely I could see that I was gaining on her.

They turned their head to look at my progress, a gust of wind pulling their hood down. Black, cheek-length hair and a round face stared back at me for but a second before she focused on the way forward.

She too must be aware that I was getting too close to her, and that I'd reach her before she could escape. What was her next trick going to be?

Preparing for the worst, we both exited the mass of tents, standing in the empty space between the walls and the rest of the camp.

She stopped and used her momentum to spin around on the spot to face me. Casually, she lifted her palm.

Amused at this futile attempt at stopping me, I braced myself to body slam the woman who was more than half my weight and at least two heads shorter.

A hot blade of pain stabbed through my body as if someone had snuck up behind me and stabbed me, and all my energy left my muscles as if I had just been tranquillized. My legs stopped pushing me forward, and for a moment I carried on forward in the air before I made contact with the muddy ground.

Then the red-hot pain returned... I would've screamed but I couldn't find the strength needed to expel the air necessary for that. My senses dulled, all sounds washing together into one indiscernible mess, as were the colours of my surroundings.

Was this the end?

It felt like an eternity before the pain suddenly disappeared, and my vision slowly came back, my hearing not far behind. Trying to move my head towards where the woman had stood, my body disobeyed me and stayed as it was.

All I could see was the side of a tent, and the feet of dozens of legionaries rushing past me.

"Nothing, sir!" I heard the voice of Centurion Hector yell.

"Fuck." Viscount muttered from somewhere close by, "Triple the guard on the walls and I want patrols inside the camp too! We are not letting her back in!"

"Yes, legate!" Came the reply.

The sudden urge to sleep overcame me, but with a grunt of sheer frustration, I forced myself to roll over, to at least look at the sky. What the fuck had happened to me?

"Thank you for saving me, friend. I am in your debt." The legate said, appearing above me and reaching a hand down to pull me up. I tried to shake my head as hard as I could, but the best I could do was have it flop from one side to the other once, and even that felt like a massive milestone. I could, however, freely twirl my right index finger around in circles, "Ah shit... Someone bring him some nectar!"

A lovely-smelling bottle was pushed roughly into my mouth while I was lifted into a sitting position. Though I tried protesting at first, the nostalgic taste of my mother's freshly-squeezed lemonade quickly made me stop and just enjoy the sensation.

Its warmth spread throughout my body, and with a grunt, I pulled my head away from the mouth of the bottle.

"Who in... the name of fucking...Hades... was she?!" I asked though the words come out as a mess of unintelligible sounds. Still, Viscount seemed to get the gist of what I wanted to say.

"It isn't good news that she was here," Viscount muttered, "I never thought the Augur would bring her back."

The bottle of nectar was pushed into my hand, and though I did manage to stroke its surface, my arm still didn't want to obey me.

"Can't... Move... Arm." I tried saying, the legate nodding and staring at the soldier helping me.

"Can't you see that he can't move his bloody arm? Give him some more!"

"Thanks." I could now wiggle my toes.

"She's one of the most dangerous outcasts of the legion. While in the legion, she never could fit in with us, no matter how hard we tried, how hard Julius tried. He was her mentor, you know, had quite a soft spot for her. What she did to you, well... You can thank the fates you're still alive. She eventually got kicked out of the legion because of her powers. She killed her other centurion by draining her very life force out of her body." Viscount explained.

"Grea'... Wha's her 'ame?" I asked, feeling myself starting to get angry as my energy returned.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Viscount cleared his throat, "Her name is Valentina Tipani, Daughter of Vis, the goddess of Power. She's able to give and take the power of others, in other words, their very life force."

"Grea'!" I exclaimed, smashing my fist against the ground, "Any'ing else 'ha' wan's 'o sc'ew up ma da'?"