On The Seas of Destiny

We All Have Lore

Chapter Eighteen

     For a place with the reputation it had, the Sea of Monsters was surprisingly calm. No different than the regular sea outside. While the entrance had been nigh catastrophic, and Circe had been an actual witch, the actual sea itself, not too bad. It seemed to be even calmer than the normal sea. The water was still until the Argo II cut through it.

     Things were going swimmingly. The heading was on course, they were making fantastic time, and Percy and Zoë had gone back to their previous friendship. All in all, Percy was enjoying life, it was all looking up.

     The crew decided to have lunch on the deck all together. They hadn't really spent any time together besides the occasional meeting. They sat in a circle, their jerky and beans slowly being eaten as they ate. Slowly, the conversation turned to their stories.

      "How much of your tale is real, Percy?" Frank asked.

     "What exactly is my tale?" The captain asked, an eyebrow raised. "I wasn't aware I had a tale. Well, I know people know who I am, but I didn't know I had a 'tale'."

     "Really? You don't know about your legend? Even I heard it, and I'm from Italy." Nico asked.

      Percy shook his head. "I just said no." He turned to Zoë. "You knew who I was when we first met, do you know this legend?"

     Zoë shrugged. "From what I read, almost all pirates looked up to you, but more like a mythological figure, not an actual person. They had your description and that was it."

     "How the fuck?" He muttered.

     "The tale goes," Frank started. "That you are the son of the very sea itself. Born of sea foam and waves. You could sail a ship from the moment you could reach the wheel. It says that you stole many treasures, even the heart of Davy Jones, overthrowing him and becoming captain of the Flying Dutchman, the very spirit himself. And so you sail the sea, a pirate for eternity, your own heart sealed away."

     Percy began to laugh uncontrollably. "That... that is the most bullshit story I've ever heard." Once he calmed down, he started his own tale. "First off, I was not born from the sea. I knew my mom. She, she was the best." His good mood suddenly crumbled. Zoë reached over and covered his hand with hers. "For a while. She died. A boating accident. And so, I decided that I wouldn't let her death make me afraid of the ocean. I decided that I would become the best sailor ever, and master the sea.

     "I joined the Navy as soon as I turned thirteen. As soon as I physically could. The first ship I was on sank a month after I joined. I prayed for Poseidon to protect me. I was the only one to survive the wreck. Hm. After that I sailed with the Navy for three years. That's where I met Luke. He was my captain. A couple years older than me. He taught me a lot. Eventually, we left the military, deserted it, actually. We sailed to Olympus and signed under Captain Apollo. Eventually, Apollo was killed, and his crew, including me, were taken into Ares' crew.

     "He was a heartless bastard, so I led a mutiny against him. Luke was by my side, as was Ethan Nakumara and Alabaster Torrington. Together we fought off the rest of Ares' crew, banished Ares to a deserted island and sailed for a few more years, the four of us. Then they betrayed me, banished me to an island like we had Ares. I made my way to Port Othrys, where I was locked up. Zoë helped me escape, and together, we sailed to a camp, where we met up with Leo, and then we sailed to Olympus, where I met you all."

     A beat of silence passed. "That wasn't nearly as cool as your legend." Nico said. Will playfully smacked his shoulder. "What?"

       Percy rolled his eyes. "Whatever man."