Rise of House Neptune

An Olympian Election

Chapter 28

Riding in the moon chariot with a Greek Goddess, and three Greek demigods proved to be a lot more awkward than Percy thought possible. The ride was deathly silent the majority of the way. The son of Neptune afterall was still reeling from the death of his Praetor. Mark had always been such an unshakable force, and to see him defeated by the traitor after he landed what should've been a fatal blow left Percy shaken.

"Your Praetor fought with honor, son of the seas. If not for the curse of Achilles he would've been victorious. You all fought with more skill, organization, and team work than I have seen since the days of the old great heroes. Hold your head up with pride that together your team was able to hold down the Titans greatest fighter and his vanguard. Atlas was not the general for just his mind." Artemis said calmly to the young man.

Percy sighed, "It's just hard to make it feel like a victory. I should be back with my friends. I should be the one to explain things to Praetor Cassie. I failed them all."

The goddess shook her head, "The arrogance of men is truly blinding at times though I will forgive you this once."

The son of Neptune looked at the goddess curiously, but she gave him a straight look, "It is nothing short of a miracle that all but one of your Romans made it out alive. Atlas had a well thought out plan, and if not for the Roman intervention my huntresses surely would've all been killed along with the daughter of Zeus and Athena."

Percy realized the girl that had been crying from earlier with Thalia must be the referenced Daughter of Athena. Artemis turned to Naomi who had been stoically quiet, "Naomi my dear you have been awfully quiet. What burdens you?"

Naomi stared off towards the setting sun for a moment before answering, "I feel lost without our Lieutenant, my lady. Zoe was my friend for many centuries."

Artemis looked saddened by her words, and Thalia spoke softly, "The prophecy was fulfilled though. I think Zoe knew what she was signing up for."

The goddess looked at the daughter of Zeus curiously, "Thalia, what was the prophecy?"

Thalia sighed:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The Bane of Olympus shows the trail.

Campers and Hunters combined prevail.

The Titans curse must one withstand

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

Artemis looked thoughtful for a moment, and Percy did as well as he thought about the Bane of Olympus and the first prophecy he had received from Octavian. After a few moments Artemis closed her eyes, and then opened them and a flash of silver went across her face, "There were five of you at the start of the quest no? Kayla was lost in Hephaestus' junk yard?"

Naomi nodded shortly, "Yes my lady. It was the guardian Talos."

Artemis looked angry for a moment but then sighed, "That was our person lost in the land without rain. As for the bane of Olympus I no longer sense what happened to the Ophiotaurus?"

This made Thalia smile a little, "Our missing companion was a Satyr my lady. He is our fifth, and Zoe considered him a camper at Camp Half Blood as a way to avoid males coming on the quest. There weren't many others jumping at the chance to lose their lives, but he was happy to help. We ran into the creature in the bay, and this Satyr, Grover, was able to soothe it with his music. We all then prayed to Lord Poseidon for its safe passage, and Grover was to get it to Olympus. We can only hope he was successful."