The Other Castellan

The Quest

Chapter 1: The Quest

Lucas Castellan dropped down from the top of the lava wall, freefalling for a few seconds, then rolling as he hit the grass to absorb most of the impact. Standing up, he absentmindedly raked his hand through his sweaty blond hair, taking the time to recover from nearly being burnt alive.

  He scowled. After being on the run for a whole year, fighting monsters and such, climbing the lava wall should be easy. The desire not to die should've been enough. But noooo. After five near-death experiences, he was just about ready to give up.

  He walked back towards the lava wall, about to try it again. Surely he could do it at least once. As he took a step forward, pain flared in his left foot.

  He muttered a few choice words in Ancient Greek as he sat down to inspect the injury.

  He pulled off his shoe and sock to find nothing but a bruise. "What the Hades?" he demanded as he shoved his sock and shoe back on. "Oh, I just slipped, and I get a sprain? What is this?"

  "Do you need help?" a female voice asked.

  Lucas glanced up in surprise. In front of him was a woman with green eyes and black hair that flowed down to her shoulders. Her face resembled a Greek statue- pale, beautiful, and ageless. She was wearing white robes decorated with ornate silver designs- runes or alchemy symbols, Lucas supposed.

  He knelt. "Lady Hecate," he said.

  She motioned for him to rise. "Oh, you don't need to do that," she said, evidently pleased. "But I have to say it is nice to be recognized. Olympians get all the attention. Nobody recognizes us anymore."

  "But as the Goddess of the Mist, you're quite important," he countered.

  She smiled. "Thank you. Now, as much as I hate telling you this, I'm here on business."

  "Of course," he agreed. "What is it?"

  "Well," she said, "some privacy would be nice. I think the forest will do nicely for a private conversation, away from prying eyes and ears. Brace yourself." She spread her palms, and the Mist surrounding her reached out towards him. For a few seconds, he couldn't see anything but white, and he felt like he was being ripped apart and put back together at the same time. Then the white darkened slowly, and he saw the familiar backdrop of the trees in the forest.

  Lucas leaned on a nearby tree, out of breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hecate appear.

  "Sorry about that," she apologized, sounding sincere. "We could've walked, I suppose, but I just thought this was quicker. I didn't realize it would be painful for you."

  "It's fine," Lucas replied. "Didn't you say you were here for business?"

  "Oh! Right!" she exclaimed. From the inside of her dazzling white robes, she took out a letter. The paper was slightly yellowed, and on it was his name written in Ancient Greek.

  "Where to start?" she pondered. "Well, as you must know, I am also the Goddess of Magic."

  Lucas nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

  "It started a few millennia ago, back when mortals believed we Gods existed and would worship us. I had a bit of a problem, and these four mortals helped me. They were Godric Gryffindor, the brave, Salazar Slytherin, the cunning, Rowena Ravenclaw, the intelligent and Helga Hufflepuff, the loyal. After they had helped me, I was ever so grateful. I gifted them with the ability to perform magic. But, there was a catch. They could only perform magic through a wand."