The New Demigod Adventures

Chapter 1 Leonidas

The ant’s antennae brushed against the tree I was sitting in. Tall, massive, and at least five feet in diameter, the California Redwood was among the tallest in camp, covered in deep gashes from monsters, some from me, and other random occurrences. As its antennae twitched and jerked, the ant was moving its head back and forth. The giant ant was obviously looking for something, or someone, probably tasty demigods. The thick black plate of armor had just about reflected my face and the tree. I leapt from the tallest tree in the camp with both swords in hand. I threw the imperial gold blade from my right hand, the sword landing straight into the ant’s head. Quickly closing my hand, I readied myself to crash into the monster’s skull. The giant ant crumpled and died. Its carcass had begun to sizzle, the acidity destroying its insides.

I ripped my Imperial Gold sword from it’s already useless skull, admiring the lack of monster blood on it. Monster blood is thick and greasy and a pain in the rear to clean and polish.  

The blades were Spartan Xiphos close quarter swords, about 19 inches long. With a larger head of the blade kind of like a leaf, while the main body shrinks inward. At the very tip, triangular hooks extend outward, perfect for ripping armor, enemies, and climbing, gifts from Hephaestus himself. The original Spartan Xiphos didn't have the triangular hooks, but hey, a Spartans blades were his own. The right blade is Imperial Gold and the left Celestial Bronze. I looked around for anybody nearby, luckily, there was no sign of movement other than my own.

I sighed with relief as I began walking to my home. It wasn't much but a simple hut, just outside of the camp barrier, deep in the forest, with a dirt floor, sleeping bag, a lantern, and the bronze robot, otherwise known as Talos. He looked exactly what you’d expect: about 6 foot tall, bronze and usually inanimate until activated. Once again, a gift from Hephaestus.

Talos greeted me at the entrance. “yas?” he’d asked in a voice similar
to bad autotune.

“Talos, your voice annoys me. You need an actual voice module.” I replied. For reasons I don’t exactly understand, my robot trainer only said two words, kinda like grooting. He spoke only ‘yas’ or ‘queen’, which I find extremely agitating. He used to speak pure greek though.

I shoved past him, before he could speak further and began to look at the small stash of weapons I’d collected over the years I’d spent here. Several spears, knives, swords, even a shield decorated what you could call my room. Ironically, I never used any of it besides what I had on me. I had my own spear always at my back, which detached and reattached to form the Blades of Sparta, (along with a spatha-cavalry sword but that's something else), a shield on my finger, and a 7 inch dagger on my belt.

I pulled out my knife; it was moonlight silver, obviously most powerful under the moon’s light, and used by the Hunters of Artemis. The letters HTK were etched delicately in the blade. Not only was it powerful, but an air of mystery surrounded it. I had a thousand questions about this blade. How did my mother get ahold of this? What does HTK mean? Why would it’s makers choose silver?

Another mysterious object of mine, is my ring. Made of stygian iron, this magical little piece of jewelry gives off a weird purple glow. When slid halfway down my middle finger on my left hand,(I am southpaw by nature btw), it expands into a full sized spartan shield, with its perfectly round edges sharpened to a fine point. The ring itself has a rose from a vertical view displayed like a jewel.  The big Stripe of Lacedonia, standard with all Spartan Aspis is still prominently displayed with the same vertical view of the rose. With more black roses rising around it. Weighs 50 pounds too, even in ring form.

A high pitched shriek had echoed through the forest. With a panic, I pulled out my dual Xiphos. Racing through the forest, I quickly took to the trees making my way to my special tree. When I gazed out at the camp, I was rather angry. It was just an idiot child of Aphrodite going head over heels because their sibling returned home from shopping and had a new bag. I muttered a curse in Latin. Why did those idiots have to be so loud? As I calmed down and tapped the tip of my Celestial bronze blade to the hilt of my Imperial Gold, instantly transforming it to a full sized Spartan spear.