"What do you mean?" I asked, starting to get frustrated with the same answer every time. "Whenever I've asked a question since I got here, that's all I've been told. 'You have much to learn.' 'You deserve to know the truth.' What does that all mean?"

Chiron looked at me sympathetically. He sighed, "The world is much more dangerous than you realize, Luke. There are things that your grandparents have hidden from you. Things about your parents... and things about yourself."

I looked at him in confusion. "What things?"

"Things like the true fate of your parents." He replied.

"What do you mean? I thought they drowned after their boat got caught up in a terrible storm."

Chiron shook his head, "They didn't drown, Luke. They're alive."

My body went numb. What did he say? Did I hear that come out of his mouth? I always thought their death was suspicious, but I hoped that it was true and that they loved me.

Chiron probably saw my reaction, so he quickly explained, "Your parents didn't abandon you, Luke. They were forced to stay away from you by fate itself. But they've had a large impact on your life nevertheless. They gave you to Sally because she and Paul would raise you just as well, with as much love, as they would have. They've kept an eye on you your entire life, ensuring you were safe. They love you more than you know."

I have so many questions right now, but I don't know what to ask first. And even if I knew, it feels like my subconscious pressed my mute button; I couldn't utter a word. I was frozen in place.

Chiron put his arm on my shoulder and said, "Come with me. I'll explain what happened, and why your parents were forced to give you to your grandmother."

I nodded my head slowly.

As we walked back through the camp, the only thing on my mind was the question: Why were they forced to give me up?

I knew Chiron would answer it as soon as we got to where he was taking me, but I still couldn't get it off of my mind. And that's saying something, considering what was around me. I mean, I just saw a dragon. A fucking dragon!

In the distance, I saw a large group of people gathering at the Amphitheater. They were all wearing the same orange T-shirts. I looked at Chiron and asked, "Is that where we're going?"

He nodded, "Yes."

I raised an eyebrow, curious as to why we were going there when Chiron was supposed to be talking to me about my parents, but I didn't push it. It seems he's had conversations like these before.

When we got close to the pit thing, Chiron said, "Wait here."

I watched him make his way to the pit, and the crowd died down almost immediately. Chiron said, "Thank you all for coming. Now, I'm sure you are all wondering why I called you down to the Amphitheater this afternoon."

He paused as there seemed to be an agreement with his statement amongst the crowd. He continued, "You are here because a new camper has just arrived."

There was a lot of excitement in the crowd. I heard some people call out things like, "'Who is he?' 'What's his name?' 'Where is he?'"

Chiron motioned for the crowd to silence. He said, "This camper is very special. Please treat him kindly as he still does not yet know about our world... and more specifically, his heritage. I now present to you our new camper, Luke Jackson."

There was a large gasp in the audience.

"It can't be."

"He's his son?"

"Since when did they have a kid?"

Chiron motioned for me to come over while the crowd was still whispering things. Nervously, I walked onto the center of the pit. Normally, I wasn't afraid of being the focus of everyone's attention. You can't if you're an athlete. But this, it was different. I was still a little shaken by everything. Yesterday, I won the Track Championships, and today, someone tried to kill me and I'm at a camp where there's an actual centaur.

Once I was in the center, Chiron pointed to where the adults from earlier (I'm guessing the counselors) were sitting. "Go sit with them, Luke."

A guy with grey eyes and blonde hair made some room next to him, so I sat there. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself, "I'm Malcolm."

I shook his hand and replied, "Luke, but I'm sure you already knew that."

Malcolm smiled before nodding.

Chiron then spoke to the crowd, "Now I know you've all seen this video before, but I would like you all to watch it once again with Luke. Ms. La Rue, if you would please do the honors."

Chiron stepped to the side as a video started to play on the wall behind where he stood.

A blonde guy with blue eyes appeared and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Jason Grace. Like you, I arrived at Camp Half-Blood confused, scared, and even a little curious."

"He's so handsome." I heard a girl behind me comment to her friend. "Too bad he has a wife."

"I'll be blunt with you; your world is about to change. The Greek gods are real. If they weren't, you wouldn't be alive. Like in the "myths," the gods sometimes come down to earth and get into romantic relationships with mortals, or humans. And you, are the result of one of these relationships. You are a half-blood, or demigod."

I felt like I should have been more surprised than I was, but after seeing Chiron, the revelation only made sense.

"The term half-blood derives from your origin. Because you have one mortal parent, and one godly parent, you are half-human half-god. Hence the term."

Surprisingly, this part was more confusing than the god part. Which of my parents was the god? My mom, or my dad? I've never met either, but it had to be my mom. No? I mean, my dad's mom raised me. There was no way he could be a god if he had a human mom. Plus, I've never heard of a god named Percy Jackson. But Chiron said my dad came here long ago.

At the same time, I've never heard of a god named Hope Mikaelson either. But, I barely knew anything about her. Even if she was dead, I would have met her family. What about her parents? Or her extended family? She seemed more likely to be the god than my dad, but it still didn't make sense."

"Now, the gods aren't the only part of Greek mythology that's real. The thing is, the gods, the heroes, the legends, they're all real. But that also means so are the monsters. If there's one thing they love, it's killing demigods. That's why you're here. This camp is one of the two places in the world where you are safe, and where you can learn to protect yourself when you're out in the mortal world. The only other place is Camp Jupiter, but that's a whole other video."

Jason Grace paused for a second before continuing, "Now you should know that while most monsters can be killed relatively easily, some are not. The Minotaur, Medusa, and the Nemean Lion are some of the most dangerous monsters you can come across. However, monsters aren't the only thing trying to kill you. Titans, Giants, and even some rogue Supernaturals will also try to kill you. And normally, these are even worse threats."

Malcolm put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Make sure you watch this part."

"Almost two decades ago, the Titans raised an army and brought back their king, Kronos. Their goal was to destroy the gods and rule the world as they once did. Thanks to their ally Typhon, the Titans were able to draw the gods away from Mount Olympus, leaving it defenseless. Since Mount Olympus is on the 600th Floor of the Empire State Building, all the Titans had to do was reach the intersection of 34th and 5th to secure their victory. To stop them, we campers defended the island of Manhattan to prevent them from reaching Olympus. Our leader, the famous son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson, fought Kronos head to head and was able to bring the human vessel of Kronos, Luke Castellan, back. Thanks to Luke's sacrifice, Kronos was defeated, and Olympus was saved."

My mouth was on the ground in awe. My dad was a demigod? And not just that, but he fought Kronos as well?!

"Almost a year after the Second Titan War, Mother Earth herself, Gaea, reawoke. Thanks to the Seven, me, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Annabeth Chase, and Percy, we were able to stop her.

Then came the Titan-and-Wizard War. It was our first interaction with the Supernatural species, mortals who were blessed by the gods. Long story short, Kronos returned, only to be faded by Percy, who against his wishes, became a god and replaced Kronos as the god of Time.

And finally, the Rebellion. Hercules, yes that Hercules, led a rebellion against the gods after they refused yet again to make him an Olympian. He led the Supernaturals against the gods, but thanks to Percy and the tribrid, Hope Mikaelson, he was defeated."

My mom... was a tribrid? I was so confused. Even more, than I was when I came here earlier today.

"Hope Mikaelson was the definition of an exception. The daughter of the original werewolf-vampire hybrid, Klaus Mikaelson, Hope was the first Supernatural to be a werewolf, witch, and vampire.

Following the end of the Rebellion and the formation of the alliance between Olympus and the Supernaturals, the Mythological world has lived in peace for the past decade.

Now that you're all caught up, please take a moment to process everything and don't hesitate to ask someone for help understanding. We've all been where you are and are willing to help a demigod in need."

With that, the video ended and the demigods all started to converse among themselves.

I was so busy processing everything that the video said, that I didn't notice Chiron call me a few minutes later.

Malcolm asked, "You alright, kid? This is a lot to handle."

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm good. Considering everything that's happened to me today, this made everything make sense."

Chiron called me again so I walked over to him. He looked at me with that same sympathetic look and said, "Now you know. Your parents didn't abandon you or die. They couldn't because they were gods."

I smiled, "Yeah, I get it now. My dad, did he really do all those things?"

Chiron nodded. He put his arm around me and started to guide me out of the Amphitheater. As we walked, he started to say, "Your father was about your age when he arrived. Surprisingly, the circumstances were similar in a way to your arrival."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your grandmother brought your father here after he was attacked at school by a fury. The difference, however, was that on their way here, they were attacked by the Minotaur."

My eyes widened. Chiron continued, "Luckily, your father was able to kill the Minotaur. Quite an amazing feat for any demigod, let alone one with zero training. Sadly, before he was killed, the Minotaur was able to transport your grandmother to the Underworld. Your father believed her to be dead until Hades explained that he had her. Your father had barely been here a few days before he took his best friend Grover and a girl by the name of Annabeth Chase with him to rescue her."

"That was stupid," I snorted.

Chiron laughed, "You're very right. Percy has always been very stubborn. He still is. But it's what made him the hero he is. He'll do anything to protect the ones he loves."

"Is that really why my mother left, though." I asked, "I get that he was a god and all, but she wasn't."

Chiron sighed, "Your parents were told that they couldn't interact with you in any way until you learned about the Greek World on your own. Why? I don't know. They don't even know."

We arrived at a large building with a symbol of a wave on the door. From the outside, it kinda looked like the cabin we would always rent in Montauk.

Chiron smiled, "This is your father's cabin. Every Greek god has a cabin here, which is used by their children. Go ahead."

I opened the door and was welcomed to a huge room with wooden floors and gray painted walls. There were two beds inside, but one had a headboard with my name written on it.

"That's your bed. The other's reserved for your parents as they sleep here from time to time. Sometimes, they'll also stay in your grandfather, Poseidon's, cabin. You're free to check that cabin out as well. Your father had hanged up a few of his spoils of war in there if you would like to go see them. But for now, get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll begin your training."

Chiron shut the door behind him, leaving me alone in the cabin.

Once I was alone, I noticed that the cabin had multiple rooms. Right next to the bedroom, was the bathroom. It was pretty big, with a massive shower that could fit at least an entire king-sized bed! The bathroom was covered in white stones and tiles, with gold and blue trims. There also was another room that was full of games: chess, pool, arcade games, and even some video games.

I played around for a bit and made this cabin feel like home before I decided to call it a day and go to bed.

The next day, I was awoken by the sound of someone banging on my cabin door. Begrudgingly, I opened it to see the same large girl with the scar on her chin that I saw yesterday in the Big House.

"It's time to wake up." She tossed me an orange T-shirt with the camp's name on it and said, "Put it on. You'll have your cabin inspected in half an hour, so I suggest getting it tidied up."

"But I haven't even been here a day. Why do I need an inspection?" I asked.

The girl smirked, "Your father was never the most organized person. You might have inherited that trait. But don't worry, every cabin is inspected every day. I'm Clarisse by the way."

With that, the girl just shut the door, leaving me with a shirt in my hands, and a cabin to "tidy" up.

'Might as well make sure this cabin is as clean as possible, I thought to myself. I don't want to get a reputation for being a slob in my first 24 hours here.

I really didn't want to be here for the inspection, so I quickly made sure my cabin was clean, before tossing on my new shirt and heading to the Dining Pavilion for some breakfast.

The food was all out like a buffet, so I grabbed some eggs, bacon, sausage, and a couple of pieces of toast. I also grabbed a banana; you can't ever forget the fruit.

As I sat down at my table (it had a sea-green trim on it) and was about to take a nice big bite of my sausage, a camper quickly interrupted me, saying, "Stop! You have to offer some of your food to your godly parent before you eat."

"That's a thing?" I asked.

He nodded, "Make sure to give them the best part; for example, the juiciest sausage or greasiest strip of bacon. It should go in the fire over there."

He pointed at the bonfire in the center of the pavilion.

I didn't want to piss off a god right now, so I just did what the camper said and walked over to the fire. I looked around my plate for the best piece of food on it, and my eyes landed on the fattiest piece of bacon.

As I picked it up and was about to throw it into the fire, Malcolm suddenly stopped me. "I'm just giving my dad an offering," I explained.

Malcolm nodded, "That would be totally fine... if we weren't talking about Percy Jackson. Your father isn't into that type of stuff. He told a camper that the best offering to him is to not be overly selfish and to always appreciate the gift of life."

I snorted a little, "That sounds very zen."

Malcolm smiled, "Yeah. That's probably the last time we'll hear from 'Wise Percy' but your father's right. He had lost a lot of friends before he became a god."

I could see a little bit of sadness in Malcolm's eyes as he said that last sentence. I didn't want to push it, so I just nodded and went back to my table.

Now that I could finally eat, I took a nice big bite out of my toast and stuffed some bacon in my mouth. It's a good thing there's no one else at this table because now, I can eat as much, and as fast, as I want, with no one to stop me.

As I began to peel my banana, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to see a girl standing over me with a plate in her hands. She had light brown eyes, a little bit of a tan, and light brown hair with naturally dark blonde highlights. I'm not gonna lie, she was hot! I didn't realize that I was staring at her for a second until she asked, "Can I sit here?"

She had a slightly rough voice. It wasn't loud or anything, but a little commanding for sure.

I just nodded, "Sure. The more, the merrier."

"Thanks," she said as she sat down. "My name's Skylar, by the way."

"Luke," I replied.

She swallowed her bite of food and said, "I know who you are. The whole camp hasn't stopped talking about you since you arrived yesterday."

"Right," I nodded. I was a little annoyed that everyone "couldn't stop talking" about me. It's not that I didn't like the attention, it's just that I don't want to have it because of who my parents are. I would much rather prefer to be acknowledged for the things I've done and accomplished.

"So who's your godly parent?" I asked, feeling that an icebreaker was needed.

Skylar replied, "Technically, I don't know. My godly parent never actually claimed me like they were supposed to. All I know is that it's a male god since my mom is mortal. But, I was adopted by Jason Grace and his wife Piper, so I'm basically claimed."

"How does that work? Being adopted by a god?"

"Well," she explained, "I was basically given all the powers a normal demigod child of Jason would have. I'm allowed to stay in Jason and Piper's cabin and eat at their table. That's why I asked to sit with you. I'm also an only child and I figured you could use the company."

"Thanks," I said. "It's nice to know that I'm not alone in this."

Skylar nodded, "Same."

As Skylar and I continued to get to know each other, I noticed some people staring at us, particularly her, in a weird way. After the latest camper glanced at us, I asked Skylar, "What's up with that? Why are they staring at us like that?"

Skylar looked around for a second and said, "Campers aren't allowed to sit at another cabin's table. But, your dad and my dad are like best friends, and your dad also doesn't care since he's the god of Heroes. He's okay with pretty much anyone sitting at this table."

I nodded, understanding what she was saying. I'm actually kinda glad to know that my dad isn't stuck up or anything. From what I've heard about the gods so far, they're very self-absorbed. I get that he was a demigod and all, but all that power and stature of being a god can go to a person's head.

Skylar and I continued to talk for a little bit, getting to know each other. She was in the middle of telling me about the Roman counterparts of the gods and Camp Jupiter when Chiron suddenly came up to us and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to borrow you, Luke."

I nodded, "Sure."

I put away my plate before following Chiron across the creek to the Beach. In the distance, I saw a female figure standing on the sand, looking out across Long Island Sound.

Chiron stopped walking and turned to me. "Luke, there's someone I'd like you to meet. She has been waiting to meet you for a very long time."

"Who?" I asked. My throat felt dry and my heart dropped as realization dawned on me.

Chiron looked me in the eyes and said only two words: "Your mother."