Child of the Moon

Mr. D Comes Back And Does Something Helpful

That night was the first time I actually saw camp burial shrouds used on bodies, and it was not something I ever wanted to see again.  Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin was killed by a giant's club.  He was wrapped in a golden shroud without any decoration.  The son of Dionysus who'd gone down fighting an enemy Half-blood was wrapped in a deep purple shroud embroidered with grapevines.  His name was Castor.  I'm glad that I killed the one who took his life.  Castor had been seventeen years old.  His twin brother, Pollux, tried to say a few words, but he choked up and just took the torch.  He lit the funeral pyre in the middle of the amphitheater, and within seconds the row of shrouds was engulfed in fire, sending smoke and sparks up to the stars.  Afterwards he came up to me and thanked me for killing the guy that killed Castor.  We spent the next day treating the wounded, which was almost everybody.  The satyrs and dryads worked to repair the damage to the woods.  At noon, the Council of Cloven Elders held an emergency meeting in their sacred grove.  The three senior satyrs were there, along with Chiron, who was in wheelchair form.  His broken horse leg was still mending, so he would be confined to the chair for a few months, until the leg was strong enough to take his weight.  The grove was filled with satyrs and dryads and naiads up from the water, hundreds of them, anxious to hear what would happen.  Juniper, Annabeth, Percy, and I stood by Grover's side.  Silenus wanted to exile Grover immediately, but Chiron persuaded him to at least hear evidence first, so we told everyone what had happened in the crystal cavern, and what Pan had said.  Then several eye witnesses from the battle described the horrible sound Grover had made, which drove the Titan's army back underground.

YN: It was panic.  Grover summoned the power of the wild god.

Percy: Panic?

YN: During the first war of the gods and the Titans, Lord Pan let out a horrible cry that scared away the enemy armies.  It was his greatest power.  A massive wave of fear that helped the gods win the day.  The word panic is named after Pan.  And Grover used that power, calling it forth from within himself.

Silenus: Preposterous!  Sacrilege!  Perhaps the wild god favored us with a blessing.  Or perhaps Grover's music was so awful it scared the enemy away!

Grover: That wasn't it, sir.

Grover sounded a lot calmer than I would have if I'd been insulted like that.

Grover: He let his spirit pass into all of us.  We must act.  Each of us must work to renew the wild, to protect what's left of it.  We must spread the word.  Pan is dead.  There is no one but us.

Silenus: After two thousand years of searching, this is what you would have us believe?  Never!  We must continue the search!  Exile the traitor!

Some of the older satyrs muttered in agreement.

Silenus: A vote! Who would believe this ridiculous young satyr, anyway?

I was just about ready to pull out Φεγγάρι, when another voice came from the entrance.

Dionysus: I would.

Everyone turned.  Striding into the grove was Dionysus... I think.  He wore a formal black suit, a deep purple tie and violet dress shirt, his curly dark hair carefully combed.  His eyes were bloodshot as usual, and his pudgy face was flushed, but he looked like he was suffering from grief more than wine withdrawal.  Castor... he actually cared.  The satyrs all stood respectfully and bowed as he approached.  Dionysus waved his hand, and a new chair grew out of the ground next to Silenus'.  A throne made of grapevines.  Dionysus sat down and crossed his legs.  He snapped his fingers and satyr hurried forward with a plate of cheese and crackers and a Diet Coke.  The god of wine looked around at the assembled crowd.