章節 179: Greek Civil War?
"Percy, what are you thinking? You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia reminded to Percy as they trudged toward the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?"
"Wait," Drako said. "You are Ares' enemy?"
Percy's face went dark. He sighed and explained to Drako. "Yeah, last year, my first summer as a camper, I'd gotten in a fight with Ares, and now he and all his children wanted to kill me. I didn't need to make Dionysus mad, too."
He looked at Thalia and said, "Sorry. I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair."
She stopped by the armoury and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic always protected the borders of the camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.
"Percy, everything is unfair," Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish…"
She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad that Drako felt sorry for her.
Finally, Drako couldn't take it anymore. He put one hand on both of their heads, which were much shorter than he was (Percy was 14 and Thalia was physically almost 16).
"We'll get Annabeth back," Drako promised. "Even if I don't know her, I will help you. It's just that… I don't know how yet."
They looked at Drako in surprise, and they flashed a sad little smile.
Percy seemed to have gained some encouragement from Drako's words. "Yes, we'll get Annabeth back."
"First, I found out that Luke is lost," Thalia said. "Now Annabeth—"
"Don't think like that."
"You're right." She straightened up. "We'll find a way."
Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword, and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow at any second.
"I'll break that up," Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."
"All right. I'm going to face you two tomorrow." Percy said.
"Yeah, good luck tomorrow."
...................
The cabins were the weirdest collections of buildings you've ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth.
Drako and Percy made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. Percy woke up some Ares kid from his midday nap, and he yelled at him to go away. He asked for some Clarisse, and the boy said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"
"Is she okay?"
"Haven't heard from her in a month. She's missing in action. Like your butt's gonna be if you don't get outta here!"
They decided to let him go back to sleep.
Percy led Drako to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock.
"So, this is where you live," Drako asked.
"Yeah, I lived alone in my first summer, but last summer, the second one, my half-brother Tyson appeared. You know, his a cyclops, so I was kinda bad to him at the start. But, he is a good guy, and he is now working on my dad's forges."
Percy's smile talking about his half-brother was genuine. Some adventures had happened last summer for Percy and his brother, so they could get that fraternal relationship.
Percy started leaving all his things in the cabin, including Annabeth's cap and his shield destroyed by the manticore.
At that moment, Drako heard a strange sound, water gurgling. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea.
Percy stepped up to the pool. He looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."
So, it probably was a gift from Poseidon.
The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered—a dozen or so golden drachma.
"When we offered a drachma to Iris, goddess of the rainbow, we can communicate with anyone. This is our main way of communication." Percy explained to Drako.
He opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then he fished a coin out of the hot water.
"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," he said, "accept my offering."
He tossed a coin into the mist, and it disappeared.
Percy seems to hesitate for a moment. Then, he made up his mind.
"Show me Tyson," He requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."
Tyson… Drako didn't realise it before, but that name sounds too familiar to him…
The mist shimmered, and the image of a young cyclops appeared. He was surrounded in fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew, and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water—the bottom of the ocean.
"Tyson!" He yelled.
He didn't hear Percy at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames.
"TYSON!"
He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin.
"Percy!"
He dropped the sword blade and ran towards Percy, trying to give him a hug. The vision blurred and Percy instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here."
"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes."
Drako couldn't help but thought that this guy was stupid.
Tyson seemed to notice Drako, he turned to him and then back Percy. "Percy, who is him."
"His name is Drako," Percy said. "He's my new friend, and he is a dragon."
"A dragon! Amazing!"
Tyson seems to be a childish and clumsy Cyclops, but Drako could that he is smarter than he looks.
"Hey, nice to meet you, Tyson. You have a pretty name."
"Thanks!"
"How are you, Tyson?" Percy asked. "How's the job?"
His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands.
"I made this!"
"That's really cool."
"I wrote my name on it. Right there."
��Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"
Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."
"What do you mean?"
Drako was also confused. Which war was going to happen?
The only "war" that happened back on DxD was the one against the Khaos Brigade, but the Greeks weren't affected by it besides the battle against Tri-Hexa.
Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out of the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool.
"Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios, Oceanus. Those guys."
Drako sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. But Drako didn't understand why they are moving now.
"The Titan Lord Kronos and his allies are gaining strength," Percy explained to Drako when he saw that he didn't understand.
So, the Greeks are having a civil war, or are going to go in one. Kronos wants to get back what was his and is going to go war to get it. The problem was if they were allied with the Khaos Brigade or not.
"Is there anything I can do?" Percy asked.
Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat."
"The Princess Andromeda?" Percy said. "Luke boat?"
"Luke?" Drako asked when he heard that name again.
In Thalia's words, he was lost.
"Luke…" Percy gritted his teeth. "He is a traitor; he works for Kronos. He was the one that poisoned Thalia's tree back then."
Drako was surprised by this revelation. Luke was Thalia and Annabeth friend back then, why is he working with Kronos now?
"Old Spirits are protecting the bad boat; they make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise, he would smash it."
Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, wouldn't have any problem to destroy his enemies in the water. Very few beings can defeat him there. What can a group of demigods and monsters do to him?
Anything.
"Smashing it would be good," Percy said.
Tyson perked up as if he'd just had another thought. "Annabeth! Is she there?"
"Oh, well…" Percy seems to have difficulties right now.
"She's not here right now," Drako said on his behalf.
"Tell her hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Annabeth!"
"Okay. I'll do that."
"And, Percy, don't worry about the bad boat. It's going away."
"What do you mean?"
"Panama Canal! Very far away."
Percy frowned, and Drako understood what he was thinking. Luke had to have a reason to go all the way down there.
"All right," Percy said, not feeling reassured. "That's… good. I guess."
In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something they couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother, Drako!"
"Bye!" Drako waved at him.
"Okay, tell Dad—"
But before Percy could finish, the vision shimmered and faded.
"Well, he is a nice guy."
Percy smiled a little. "He is."
..................….
The Dining Pavilion is an area of Camp Half-Blood where the demigods, satyrs, and camp directors eat their meals. The Pavilion is framed in Greek columns on a hill that overlooks the sea. No walls or roof cover the mess hall. Torches blaze from the columns and a central fire burning inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each table has a white cloth with purple trim.
Drako was surprised when he realised that the Pavilion's goblets were enchanted, and, on voice command, will be filled with whatever drink you desire. Another quality of the goblets is that they never empty. Food was really varied, and it includes BBQ, grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, and fresh bread, which were served by wood nymphs.
The tables in the Pavilion are arranged so that there is a table for each god, similar to the cabins. Therefore, children of Hermes sit at the Hermes table, children of Aphrodite at the Aphrodite table, etc. Although children of the Big Three often have to sit on their own anyway, it's expressly forbidden to sit at another god's table. Even though they are not Artemis' true daughters, Hunters sit at the Artemis table. Satyrs and nymphs can sit at any table they please. Still, they generally sit at the table that Dionysus sits at, which is table 12.
It seems that Artemis has talked to her father, Zeus, and he had given permission to Drako to stay in Cabin 1 (Zeus Cabin). With this, he also allowed Drako to sit with her while dining.
It was a silent diner since Thalia wasn't in the mood to hold a conversation. The same was for Percy, who was sitting alone in his table.
The Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people. Nico sat in the Hermes table with a pair of brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabins if their Olympian parent was unknown. The brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Mythomagic.
The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoë sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time.
Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark brads of her hair. Drako thought that she looked a lot nicer when she smiled. Bianca Di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from Phoebe, the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind.
When they'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods—Every night the half-bloods tribute a portion of their food to the gods by burning it in the pavilion fire. Hestia takes a small part of each tribute—and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half-hearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for the next night, which got a lot better reception.
Afterwards, they all trailed back to their cabins for an early, winter lights out. Drako went with Thalia to Zeus' cabin...
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Okay, these last chapters may feel like Drako is just a side-character.
But look it from a different point of view. Drako doesn't know anything about what is happening with the Greek Pantheon, so he is slowly learning the information he needs.
For example, in this chapter, he learned about Luke, Iris's messages, and the possible future Greek Civil War. The action is going to come soon, so be patient.
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