Kieth sat in place of Will Solace, head councilor for the Apollo cabin. He'd said he needed to take care of some patients, so since Kieth was the only demigod child of Eos, and staying in the Apollo cabin, he was their ambassador. The ping pong table was littered with cheese dust and ketchup stains from when Travis Stoll decided he wanted to start a food fight with Clarrise la Rue. It hadn't gone so well. 

Chiron stood at the head of the table. He was a magnificent centaur (a creature with the torso of a man, and the body of a horse). He had sad eyes as he addressed the councilors. 

"I can assume you all know why this emergency meeting was called?" He had his arms crossed over his orange Camp Half-Blood tee shirt.

Lue Ellen from the Hecate cabin spoke up first, "we've got to pulverise the Romans." She pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand. A few of the demigods looked at her, surprised at her anger. 

"I would've said it a little nicer, but yes." Katie Gardener from the Demeter cabin said.

"Alright, alright, just calm down." Chiron sighed. The poor centaur looked as though he was holding up the sky. 

Clarrise sat quietly sharpening a spear. To this, Travis said:

"You'd be great in a horror movie!" Everyone stared at him and he shrugged with an innocent look, "What? It's true." 

Mitchel from the Aphrodite cabin spoke next, "I'm more of a lover, not a fighter. But we do need to show these Romans who's the best." 

Mitchel was standing in for the cabin's actual councilor, Piper, who'd been whisked away on a quest with six other demigods from the Greek and Roman camps to stop Gaea, the earth goddess, from rising. Also Annabeth from Athena, Leo from Hephaestus, and Jason, who was a Roman demigod who'd been given amnesia and sent to the Greeks, from Zeus, had gone. Kieth had heard they were all cool people, but he'd never met them. He had only been at camp for a few months and had just missed the Argo II embarking on its journey from long island, where Camp Half-Blood was, to Camp Jupiter in San Francisco. 

"Yes," Chiron looked relieved to be back on track. "To start," he turned to Kieth, "how was the infiltration? Did you find anything that might help?"

Kieth had gotten back earlier that morning. He acquired a depressed air, which affected the other campers. "Not much that you can't tell watching from Thalia's tree. Their onagers are pretty scary and the ammo is being filled with Imperial Gold. And they're getting new recruits every day. Monsters and demigods alike." He hung his head. 

"Well we're glad you made it back safe," Chiron's eyes were so kind and gentle, Kieth couldn't help but smile a little. 

"Yep," said Clarrise. "We'll need all the swords we can get." She didn't look up from observing the spear tip. She seemed a little calm today. 

It was July 30 and they barely had a plan of attack. This war might not be all too in our favor. And then Will walked in. 

He looked a little relieved. His blonde locks bounced as he stepped. He smiled at the campers in the room. He came over and plopped in an absent seat next to Katie's. It was for the Dionysus cabin, who was currently hacking his lungs out with a cold.

"So how's the planning coming along?" He looked a little weary, but forced a small smile. 

"Not all that great," Katie said. "It's a little apparent that were outnumbered, but--"

"But we'll fight like the armies of Sparta," Clarisse had a  savage look in her eyes. She crushed a soda can that Malcolm, acting Athenian council member, had been drinking from, which won Clarisse a glare from him. 

"Sounds about right," Will said with a confident smirk. 

Suddenly Kieth's ears popped. The room got brighter and Lou Ellen stood straight up, her face beaming. Everyone stared at her. 

"I have an idea about how to take care of those onagers so that we have a fighting chance!" She yelled giddily. Everyone leaned forward in their seats with anticipation.

~~~~~~~

The council meeting was over and it was dinner time. Kieth just hoped that Romans had enough decency not to attack them while they were eating. He sat at the Apollo table and ate in silence, occasionally smiling at the few who tried to lightened the mood. Afterwards, since they had postponed campfires until further notice due to the Roman legion outside their front door, he went to the training arena. Maybe twenty demigods were there altogether. 

Kieth picked up his spear, he called it his ray of sunshine to blind his enemies. A little gruesome, true, but you didn't have the luxury of peace all the time. He swung it about him in complex maneuvers, striking imaginary foes in the neck and arms. He jabbed every once in a while, using force that would've scared a cyclops into a corner. He finished his workout and was drenched with sweat. He decided to take a quick shower to refresh himself incase the Romans attacked. 

He bathed in the warm water, rinsed off and toweled, putting on a clean pair of jeans and a Camp Half-Blood tee shirt. He looked in the mirror. He could see the stress on his face.  His purple eyes had been tinged with red. They did that sometimes, changing colors in the spectrum of the dawn to match his mood. Kieth styled his blonde hair messily, not wanting to look good, per say, but more to keep it out of his eyes. It looked like a bed head and a quiff had a child. 

He walked back to his cabin in the soft firelight of the large camp fire in the middle of the Commons area. It was a little low and it had a depressing shade of blue at its heart. 

"Do not fear, hero," the voice was unfamiliar, so Kieth turned his head to see who it was. A girl, maybe 12, in pioneer outfit sat at the flames, poking the flames with a rod. She had a pained look on her face, but she had a look of hope in her eyes. 

"Who are you?" Kieth didn't know where the question came from, but he seemed to want the answer anyway, so he rolled with it. 

"Many cannot see me. I am the piece that makes the puzzle complete, the glue that holds our family together." 

"Hestia." She was the goddess of keeping the home and hearth at peace.

She nodded. Then continued, "I am the goddess of home and hearth. I will sacrifice for peace, and condition for satisfaction. The home of the Olympians is torn asunder, ripped between their Greek and Roman realities. It takes all of my concentration to remain in peace." He hadn't noticed it before, but Kieth could see the unbearable pain in her eyes as she spoke. 

"I can only imagine your pain." Kieth's mortal dad was a good man, but he did love to argue and fight. Sarcasm with a tinge of honesty being his deadly weapon. 

"You know better than many. Many others run from their strife instead of fixing it," her tone was so homely and inviting that Kieth just wanted to sit and talk for hours. But it was getting realy dark. 

Hestia seemed to notice his thoughts as she said, "It is late, however, I must leave you a piece of advice. When the Olympians had finally defeated the Titans, I had a throne. I was worshipped with incense and flowers. A temple was dedicated to me in every city. And then Zeus had a son. Dionysus. He was prized for his winemaking, it was indeed the best I'd ever tasted, in heaven or earth. He was made a god, and he petitioned to become an Olympian. Of course, there are only twelve Olympian thrones, and the gods were torn between letting him own one or leaving him as a minor god. I, being the goddess of peace at home, stepped from my position. I gave my throne to keep the peace. 

"Dionysus was a runt. Quite arrogant, and a little brash for my taste. But I decided that regardless of his appearance, I had to keep the peace.

"The advice that I wish to leave you with is this: everyone is special and deserves a chance. Do not judge anyone based on their appearance." She closed and looked back to the flames. 

Kieth didn't understand why she gave him this story. He already knew it, but he decided it was a sign. "Thank you goddess." He bowed and noticed that he was taking to long, her attention already captivated by the flames. He stalked off towards his cabin, mulling over the story Hestia had given him.