The Hound Of War (Complete)

Chapter 3: Armed and Ready

Thwak!

A boy of fifteen years of age went crashing to the ground, his spear and shield following him on his descent. Groggily standing again, Perseus turned his eyes upon the god of war, who had already readied his stance in preparation to begin once more. Perseus sighed before readying his own stance as he and Ares circled one another. Both had been training for hours now, and if either one of them were tired, they did not show it.

Without a word they lunged at each other, moving so quickly it was almost impossible to follow, even with the eyes of a god. All that could be heard was the sound of bronze clashing against bronze as both combatants tried but failed to land a strike on one another. Finally with a quick thrust, Perseus got inside his opponents guard and quickly disarmed him, bring his spear up into perfect striking distance of Ares neck, just as Ares had drawn a dagger from his waist and put it up to his opponent's neck. A few seconds passed before both smiled and withdrew their weapons, sheathing them into their respective places.

Ares was proud at how far Perseus had come, from being a small yet defiant boy, to becoming a true warrior in less than six years. He was a true Hound of War.

"A draw Perseus, very impressive. You have grown much since we first met."

Perseus returned his smile as he bowed, "Thank you father, though I doubt my training is over."

"You are correct Perseus. For instance, while your sword and spear fighting are superb, your archery skills are…lacking."

Perseus scowled, "It's not like I asked to be affected by that curse Artemis and her brother laid upon you after you taught her a lesson. The witch already causes trouble for me and she doesn't even know I exist!"

Ares expression shifted to a more serious one as he laid a hand on his adopted son's shoulder, "She will know today, as will the rest of the Olympian council. No longer will you have to hide your existence from them. You are no longer a child Perseus, and your true destiny will begin today."

"What is my destiny father?" Perseus asked curiously.

Ares merely shook his head, "That is for you to discover, and you alone. Now, I believe your uncle Hephaestus has something for you. Go on; I'll meet up with you later."

Perseus grinned at his father before running off to his uncle's palace, leaving the god of war chuckling in the dust. It had been long since he felt this happy before, and he had no intention of losing that happiness again.

Ares looked back on the day he had officially taken Perseus as his son and the events of that day.

Flashback

It had been two years since Ares had discovered his champion's true heritage. It had been a bad day all around

Ares had been trying to train Perseus in archery, but as it turns out, after Ares had almost killed Artemis during the meeting on the night of the Sack of Sparta, she and her brother Apollo had come together and made a curse that not only made the use of a bow almost impossible for the god of war to use, it's power also spread through those he had ties to, such as Perseus.

And it was not helping.

"That's it! I've had it!" Perseus was rather frustrated, he knew the learning the nuances of the bow would help, but this was getting ridiculous. He glared at the bow that now resided on the ground, as if it had offended him somehow.

Ares wasn't too happy with how the archery training was playing out either, but he knew getting frustrated would not help anyone.

"Let us take a short break Perseus. You and I could use it."