The Torn Son of Poseidon

Ignorance Is Bliss

Slowly every body except Nico, Annabeth and Thalia had returned back into the Great hall. They were waiting to be joined by the gods and the other three demigods. Everybody could feel the weight of guilt and sorrow weighing on them while they couldn't make out what was going on. When Apollo called for a meeting with the Gods and the campers they thought that finally they would be ab;e to get rid of the gloomy moods weighing them down. Little did they know that maybe knowing it would far worse than not knowing.

As the gods and the rest of the three joined, Apollo was feeling extremely anxious. He didn't know how to approach the news without breaking down.

"Well..." he started "as you all have been waiting so long patiently, I think it's the best time to lay the cards out on the table and tell you everything. I request to not interrupt while I'm speaking and let me complete. If you have any doubts, then lift your hands and I'll attend to it. I also hope that you will continue whatever kind of relation you have with Percy and be with him through the hard times. I hope nothing goes bad from here...." saying these words Apollo studied everybody's face. Few faces like Poseidon's, Nico's, Annabeth's showed concern few others showed discomfort while others showed indifference.

"We all know Percy is Poseidon's son. Going into the realm's of the other to big three gods is a very serious affair for him. Going their without the permission of the respective god can be fatal to him. At the age of twelve, he had gone only into Hades' realm and without Persephone's pearls it would have been the most difficult task for him to be there. Tartarus lies on a whole new page. It works on completely different mechanism but is almost the same as Uncle Hades' realm. The rivers that flow through Hades' and then reach the underworld are the "Rivers of the Underworld". They, like the water bodies up here have river spirits but they work on different mechanism. They don't accept or allow anything foreign or unknown into their system without taking or causing some harm in return. Each of the river spirits has an unspoken rivalry in them especially in combinations like the somewhat better rivers like Lethe and Styx against the other three rivers Acheron, Phlegethon and Cocytus. As we all know Percy had already taken a bath in the river Styx before and also survived getting doused by the river Lethe without losing any memories. Now, that he has some sort of a protection from Styx and Lethe can't effect him the other river spirits have formed a rivalry towards Percy.  The person drowning needs something to anchor him to the world. In other words he needs something to keep his mind and body sane. For Lethe and Styx he did have it in him... he was able to anchor himself. But as he ventured further into Tartarus he was slowly losing his sanity. It was causing his walls to crumble and bring back memories worse than you could imagine.   

The rivers Acheron and Cocytus made him relive the memories he had hid in the back of his mind. They brought back his insecurities and worries that were shoved deep into his head. They made him feel guilty and blame himself for the number of deaths around him. He had an extremely tough childhood which is not in my place to reveal to you. The least I can tell you is that most of the still existing bruises and scars on his body are from the mortal world. He had tried to heal them all with water but Tartarus had brought it out into limelight. He was so dam scared that he felt himself drown in the rivers(got the pun)." At this statement everybody let out a gasp. Nico had slid sown the doors from where he was standing. His head hung low feeling distressed that his hero was going through all this and he couldn't even help him.  

It took a while for them to contemplate. After contemplating everything Apollo saw a hand lift. "Yes Malcolm."

"Well... we all know from Annabeth here that they drank from Phlegethon. Then isn't it supposed heal them, why did it worsen Percy's situation." asked Malcolm with genuine concern dripping from his voice. 

"Actually that is one question to which I couldn't find any answers and was hoping that somebody might be able to help me here." As Apollo scanned across the room his eyes met with a pair of pure obsidian black eyes. Seeing them filled with concern and distress for the limp body in the next room Apollo knew that his answers were with Nico, but he didn't push him for answers.

"I know why!!!" everybody had expected to hear Athena or the Lord of the Underworld, not the destined Prince of the Underworld.It was not like he was a fool or something. It's just that nobody thought he would actually take time to read through and converse with others (dead or alive) and think through stuff. The Ghost King was still crouched down, his back slumping against the huge doors. 

"You see one of the main things about the rivers of underworld is that if they can't effect the person while inside Tartarus they suck out all the life from inside after he comes out(if he ever does, that is). It's like some complication after taking meds. Both Annabeth and Percy had drank from the Phlegethon but escaped from Tartarus. This was one reason they felt so tired and worn out after coming out of the place. It wasn't just because of the war. Phlegethon was eating them out from the inside. It had burnt their throat, not allowing them to consume anything. Personally i am happy that Annabeth has started eating once again.

But Percy... He is a different case altogether. His powers with water allow him to heal himself. The innumerable times he had to heal the wounds caused in the mortal world... " at this he visibly gulped.  He was terrified to say those words. He knows exactly how he was treated in the mortal world due to an unplanned visit there. As Nico slowly lifted his head he caught a pair of turquoise eyes looking away at the horizon. He saw the eyes raging and knew that Poseidon had caught up with his thoughts.

" Due to all the water used to heal his body's fluid composition has higher water. Tartarus is a place far from pure. It sucks out the happiness of the person. It literally feeds on the happy thoughts and brings out the miserable ones. It has a fire in it, not the kind that provides us with warmth like Leo does, instead, it makes ones blood run dry and and makes us feel cold. Tartarus has drained his water and all the rivers had brought his misery into light. I don't even know how he is sane till now..." with a dragged sigh Nico ended his explanation. Some of the  demigods looked at him with awe while some held concern. If at any other time he would have found it hilarious.

" How is he... exactly." asked Leo after five minutes. 

"Physically except for some bruises and scars that are still left he is fine. But, mentally and emotionally I don't know. After all that he has been through let's just hope we can get our Percy back from the demon's in his head." replied Apollo with a weak smile. 

"Campers we are going to arrange rooms for you in one of the unoccupied palace. Get some rest." announced Mr. D as slowly all the gods started to leave. 

For the first time everybody, including Athena and her cabin believed that "Ignorance Is Bliss" 

Hey guys...

Reason's are relieved but will the Sea Prince be able to survive all that he has been through without losing himself to the demons lurking in his head...Hope you are satisfied with the reasons...

On another note...

I won't be updating the next chapter any time before April 1st because I have my 12th board exams. And need to do some serious revison. 

Don't forget to comment and vote...

Love

Maggi....