Shadows and The Sea - The Darkling

Rest of the Story & Trouble Brewing

Aleksander's POV

The whirlwind of information that had been presented to me in the forms of visions and Persephone narrations was more than overwhelming, to say the least.

Seeing the trials and tribulations of a group of youth was somewhat astonishing.

How could people in such high places of power give these responsibilities and deadly tasks to a group of children?

I know I deal out tasks to my Grisha but they are properly trained and reached their maturity. Not once would I think about giving a task such as crossing the Fold or dealing with the Fjerdans or Shu Hans to a child, or even a person younger than 20.

Seeing the creatures that Persephone so kindly identified to me made me think that the volcra weren't the worst outcome that could have stemmed from the creation of the damn Fold.

At least the volcra were killable and were more of a mindless creature. Yes, they were once human, but they did not retain their ability to strategize and collaborate. If they had...well that would be another matter entirely.

The Manticore, the Gorgons, and so many more were cunning and held the ability to spin words, which in my years of experience, is one of the most dangerous weapons to have.

The battles were brutal.

Persephone started to tremble at the sight of what she called, The Battle of Manhattan. And it was quite a sight.

Children pitted against each other and transformed into soldiers. All for the sake of the damn gods she has repeatedly shown me and a poem.

A half-blood of the eldest gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

A young Persephone was no longer a 16 year old youth, but a war general much like myself.

I started to subconsciously draw parallels between my own life and the one that was playing out in front of me.

My real struggle began at 13 when two boys tried to drown me for my bones. Persephone's began at 12. The only difference after that was that my journey was a paced and throughout one whereas Persephone was thrown into the vast unknown.

Watching the woman next to me tear up at the sight of the blonde boy who had betrayed them and sacrificed himself was something I thought I would never witness.

Even with tears in her eyes, she's still beautiful.

What?

I shook my head free of these thoughts. I couldn't allow myself to give into the pull I feel towards her. My focus should remain on the Sun Summoner.

But I could use my affection for Persephone to gain the favor of Ms. Starkov.

But that would only be a positive outcome of me pursuing these feelings.

I turned my attention to the images that seemed to blur once again before settling on another scene, this one however, was ...perplexing.

Is that wolf...speaking?

I didn't even have to utter a single sound of confusion for Persephone to start her helpful narrations once more.

"That is Lupa. A wolf goddess in charge of training Roman demigods before they are allowed to enter Camp Jupiter and go to the Twelfth Legion. During this time, I had been kidnapped by Zeus' wife, Hera, and swapped with another demigod by the name of Jason. Both of our memories were wiped clean and this sent the two camps into a sort of frenzy. You see, both of us were seen as leaders at our respective camps and Hera knew that with their leaders missing, they would go out and search for them. This was her convoluted way of trying to screw with the Great Prophecy," she explained in a tired tone.