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     THE DAY WAS NORMAL, ignoring the fact that it entirely wasn't. Past the pine tree that formed the barrier around Camp Half-Blood the world had divulged into chaos. At first none of the campers imagined it could be anything worse than what they'd already experienced. After all, a fraction of them had fought in the war against the titans, and if they hadn't, they'd heard the stories. But now, where life was meant to remain perfectly perfect, things inside camp half-blood were stirring.

     First the sky had begun to darken from its summertime blue—not in the camp, but right where camp met the boundary of the outside world. It had been a terrifying sight seeing where their dawn of sky met the dark of night each day. Every morning they woke wondering whether day would return or if they too were going to be stuck in the dark abyss. As the days went on, their never-changing blue began to dull to grey. Now it was slowly bleeding black, like someone had spilled ink on the clouds.

     Then something in the wind had shifted. First they had gotten notice from Artemis that all her huntresses had met a violent fate. She had called upon the camp, and so Chiron had answered. The next thing the campers knew they were being put on watch duty to observe all of the monsters gathering right behind the border. There was no way in for now, and certainly no way out unless you had a death sentence.

     Most of the campers stuck to their normal routines, trying to grasp what little stability they could. That didn't exclude Lenore Conway, who still ventured the woods alone despite the new rule of the 'buddy system.' Lenore wasn't good with people, not after the Battle of Manhattan, and she certainly wasn't going to put her life in anyone at camp's hands. Not even one of her half-siblings.

     The plan was stay unnoticed and refrain from too much trouble until she'd aged out of camp. It seemed only right that as the moment grew nearer the world fell to shit. Normally she wouldn't fret, knowing someone at camp yearned for their share of glory. Except this time no one was stepping up and she couldn't see any way she was getting out of camp. She hadn't thought the monsters were such a problem until she'd been sitting at the border with them snarling at her. There was no escape, and she knew all it took was one person to snap under stress and invite them in.

She stuck to the woods, away from everyone where a snap of a twig would put her guard up. The leaves in the clearing danced around her as she played with the harsh wind. Even it seemed to resist her, as if pushing her to fight for what was hers. She would not listen, instead pushing harder against the invisible force. The leaves whirled faster around her as the dirt got sucked into the current. Her peripheral vision disappeared as the wind tunnel formed around her. The only way she could see was up.

Above her, past the tree branches, were dark clouds. Not quite the ebony darkness that lingered past the border, but dark clouds like a storm brewing. Everyone knew it was Olympus, or at least they hoped it was those gods and not the ones gone rogue. It was a warning for the demigods. Something along the lines of 'if you don't protect us, we won't protect you.'

A drop of rain fell from the sky, landing just above Lenore's eye. In a quick flash the leaves dispersed and she was left staring up at the clouded sky, the wind pushing against her. When the rain fell, she let it. It touched her face so gently despite the weight each drop held. Slowly it began to fall harder. Lenore stood there until the waves in her hair had fallen flat and her body needed the warmth of the hearth.

     She didn't know how late to dinner she would be. Usually she was able to tell by the setting of the sun, but even Helios couldn't help the demigods today. Before she made her way down to the pavilion, she gathered leaves from the forest floor and placed them atop each other. They melted together with magic, and attached to the stick she'd found to make an umbrella.

    Everyone she passed was making their way back to the cabins from the pavilion, their jackets or shirts held over their heads. As Lenore passed she noticed some of them look at her, look away, then look back. A dirty or uncertain glance was nothing new to her or the others who fought with Kronos. Lenore didn't even blame them anymore, but something felt off as she walked to her mother's table. This was too many looks by too many campers, some of whom she knew didn't know her or wouldn't look at her the way they were.

     The hair on the back of Lenore's neck began to stand up as the rest of her skin prickled with goosebumps. She could feel the eyes on her back as the pavilions loud clatter slowly quieted to whispers.

     Lenore scraped part of her plate into the fire as offering. She never scraped much, but with all the eyes watching she scraped a bit more than usual. It was only for the action of doing it. Her mother was rarely on Olympus to ever appreciate the offering.

     Lenore slid in beside her younger siblings. She didn't speak before she started stuffing her face with food. The rest of the table was usually alive with conversation, and only quieted slightly when she sat before starting to talk again. This time she'd sat down to a quiet table that remained silent. She looked around and found them all looking from their food to her, a subtle sadness behind their eyes, others a hidden anger.

     "What?" she asked blatantly, looking around at all of them. They all immediately looked to their meals, but none of them ate. "No takers? You were all chatty when you woke me up this morning."

     "Chiron— Mr. D want to see you," her half-sister, Drusilla, told her. In their cabin, Dru was second oldest and second longest at camp after Lenore. Even then, she'd only just turned fifteen.

     "Me?" Lenore asked. "Why?"

     One of her half-brothers, about three or five years young than herself, threw his utensils down on the table. "Why can't you ever be on time for anything? You act so much more privileged than us because you're older. That's the only reason you're head counselor at all. If we could vote, we would never pick you."

     "Davy," Dru chastised. Ah, that's who he was—Davian. Lenore knew of the boy only because other counselors complained of him using his magic during sword lessons. Lenore had always told Dru to deal with him, letting her play good cop before Lenore had to play bad cop.

     "It's true, isn't it? If she'd been on time we wouldn't be in this situation." The siblings said nothing. Davy pushed away from the table violently and stomped into the rain. The rest of the pavilion had fallen from whispers to silence.

     Suddenly, Lenore no longer wanted any food. She chewed at the inside of her cheek as she sat back, making eye contact with Dru. "What did I miss?"

     "You should really go talk to Mr. D," Dru whispered, not daring to meet Lenore's eyes.

     Irritation budded inside Lenore's chest as she felt the dagger in her belt loop twitch, wanting to transform. She took a deep breath. She needed her mind for whatever was coming next.

     "Alright then." Lenore got up from her spot at the table and walked back over to the fire. She dumped her entire plate into the fire, seeming as she'd probably need some favor on her side.

     The eyes followed her all the way to the big house. As she passed by the cabins she watched as heads peaked through the windows, then she watched them quickly hide behind curtains when she looked over.

     Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest as she walked up the wooden floorboards to the porch. Beside head-counselor meetings, Lenore tried to stay away from the Big House. She'd never got the impression Chiron had forgiven her and Mr. D and her never quite got along. Just looking at the big house made her upset, and she was too outspoken when in a bad mood.

     "Don't get mud on the carpet," Mr.D said as soon as she'd stepped into the room. He was sitting on the far side of the room, reclined in a la-z-boy.

     "Thought you'd be out on the porch," Lenore said, closing the umbrella and resting it beside the door. There were a few floorboards in front of her, otherwise the floor was all carpet.

     "Incase you haven't noticed, it's raining."

     "Really?"

     Mr. D gave her a blank stare. Lenore took a deep breath as to not lose her cool. "Why was I told to come here?"

     Mr. D clapped his hands together and pointed them at her like a gun. "The gods have chosen someone from your cabin to lead the quest to save the world!"

     In that moment, Lenore felt like she'd eaten too much Ambrosia. Her head seemed to be spinning but burning at the same time. The ground was no longer beneath her and she wasn't sure she had control over her legs.

     "What?"

     "They're calling it Pandora's revenge," Mr. D said with jazz hands.

     "No offense, Mr. D, but I really don't give a fuck what they're calling it."

     "Language, sweetie. And you should care. Since your head counselor, you get to choose who in your cabin gets to lead."

     "That's a terrible decision."

     "I told them so."

     "So we both agree we're fucked then."

     "I said language, sweetie, but I do agree. They've gotten demigods to lead quests in some terrible ways, but nothing makes you want to finish a quest less than your sibling choosing to sacrifice you."

     "Me."

     "Yeah, you."

     "Not as in a question. Me."

     Mr. D's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Lenore from across the room. "You as in you?"

     Lenore scrunched her brows as she thought about what he'd said. "I think so."

     "You're going to lead this quest? You?" Mr. D's face was contorted in confusion.

     Lenore knew she was not the most selfless person. Actually, she was probably one of the least selfless at camp. "I'm surprised myself."

     "You do realize whoever goes on this quest is more than probable to die."

     It took everything in Lenore not to bite back with a matched comment. She wanted more than anything to say something along the lines "Well, there's a good reason they didn't make you the god of math," but she could feel the beast growing restless inside her. The more she talked back the more she threatened loss of control. So Lenore stood in silence until Mr. D broke it.

"We've already prepared the memorials," he continued. He pointed to a bunch of picture frames and flowers in the corner of the room. "Nope? Nothing to say? Well, must I go into detail on your quest or have you gotten a bit of the gist from the past few days?"

     "Well, it might be helpful if you told me what exactly I'm doing. Who exactly I'm up against?"

     "The gods Limos, Eros, Moros and Koalemos, and the goddesses Eris, Nyx, and Ate. A few of their children here and there. And you know, all the others following their lead."

"Who's Koalemos?"

Mr. D smiled at her as his chest twitched like he was about to hiccup. All of a sudden he was holding back a laugh until he couldn't help it anymore, laughing uncontrollably. Lenore stood there with her arms crossed as he recovered himself, wiping tears from his eyes. "Ah, the irony. Head upstairs sweetheart."

     "Upstairs?"

     "You've been here long enough to know how a quest works, swee—"

     "Don't call me sweetie or sweetheart again."

     Mr. D matched the glare she was giving him as he slowly sat up. "You're going to need all the help you can on this quest. I wouldn't start getting picky."

     Lenore rolled on the balls of her feet for a moment. "And I wouldn't become so patronizing if you want me to save you."

     "It's your world too, sweetheart."

     Lenore clenched her jaw as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's never felt like it is." With that she left him and walked up the stairs, not stopping until she was in the attic.

     It was a lot more cleanly than she expected it to be. There were dozens of random artifacts scattered about, but for the most part they were dust free. Towards the back of the attic, there was a window letting in light onto a golden war helmet, a bottle of Clorox spray and a dirty rag. The rocking chair that sat in the corner was rocking slowly back and forth, as if someone had just left it.

     In a fraction of a second, Lenore's dagger was in her hand and she'd wheeled around to place it at the throat of the person standing behind her. Lenore stared, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. She had been here a long time, in the Hermes cabin with all the newcomers for most of her years. She was sure she would have remembered a girl with such wild red hair.

     "Who the fuck are you?" Lenore spat, pulling her dagger away from the girl's neck. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out when her lips moved. "What?" The girl opened her mouth again, and Lenore stumbled backwards as green mist fell off her tongue. At first Lenore had thought she was throwing up on her, but then she saw the girl's glowing green eyes.

     The green mist filled all around her. Lenore stumbled around, batting at the air until she tripped over the helmet and into the rocking chair. The mist grew more dense around her until all she could see was green fog.

     Lenore's heartbeat was racing. She almost had a heart attack as she watched a small figure dart through the mist and behind one of the shelves. An eerie, high pitched laugh echoed through the attic. Then another figure dashed further back, a laugh ringing as it passed.

     "Come and find me," she heard whispered behind her. Lenore shot out of the rocking chair, sending her dagger into the wall behind her, but it went straight through the figure and plunged into the wood.

     "Li—Lili?" Lenore was frozen. The figure in the mist looked like her half-sister. Except, Lili hadn't aged a day since she last saw her.

"A world in peril, teetering on the edge,
A quest unfolds, where destiny's pledge.
Through the corridors of ages untold,
a journey through epochs begins to unfold."

A small smiled danced over Lili's face, and her figure faded into green mist to join the rest that filled the room. "Wait!" Lenore said, trying to reach out to grab her, but Lili was gone. In fact, she'd never really been there. She was just a figment of the oracle.

Another set of fast paced footsteps crossed the area of the attic behind her. At first she hadn't understood, but now Lenore knew what was going on. She wasn't in the attic anymore, she was only a few miles down the road, back in her childhood house. Of course she was the seeker. Her siblings had always been to afraid to move around in the dark.

Lenore stumbled about through the green mist. The Oracle had a strange power unbeknownst to others, and Lenore had no effect on her mist. Blindly, she followed the sound of her brothers footsteps until she found the outline of Archie and Phillip. Neither could seek or hide alone.

"Mountains crumble, and oceans roar,
The heavens tremble, as powers soar.
High deities frown upon the lower's plea,
Yet destiny whispers, it's time to be free.

Chosen by fate, young heroes souls,
To take divine forces, the young heroes goals.
In the dance of time, perspectives may shift,
The rift may heal, the spirts uplift."

     Together, the two disappeared into the green backdrop that the room had become. Lenore's brain tried to understand how an eight year old Phillip who still had a lisp could say the worlds he'd spoken. Slowly, the green faded, and Lenore made her way back from behind the shelves. The girl with red hair, who Lenore could now recall, was standing right where Lenore had left her.

Lenore waited in the attic, staring at the girl with curly red hair. She had arrived at camp after the battle of Manhattan and become the new oracle. Lenore pitied her because she knew the pain of watching people move forward while being stuck in the past. After all, the girl's closest friends were out in the world now and she was still telling prophecies to other kids. That was, if her friends were still even alive with everything going on. Lenore didn't think she even had to stay in the attic anymore. It was her choice to stay there.

     On the other hand, Lenore wished people left her alone half as much as they left this girl alone. Slowly the girl with red hair turned around and went back to the rocking chair in the corner.

"That's it," Lenore said blankly. "Are you serious? What am I supposed to make of that?"

     Lenore waited for her to respond, and when she didn't she walked towards her and pulled the dagger from where it was plunged into the wood. As Lenore's hand retracted, the red head's shot forward, catching her wrist in a tight grasp.

"Be weary young hero, when you seek the unknown,
for in reclaiming the future where seeds have been sown,
time is always a price, a price set in stone."

     Lenore stared down at her. "Great. Anything else?"

     The girl dropped her wrist and picked the dirty rag up from the floor like nothing had happened.

     "Thanks for the guidance, I suppose," Lenore said as she walked away from the girl. She was a few feet down the ladder when the girl, really the girl, finally spoke.

     "You do know, if you fail, the world will never be the same," she said.

     "Yeah, I realize," Lenore said, quickly retreating down to the next floor.

     Back in the living room, Mr. D hadn't moved a muscle. "How'd that go?"

     "Just peachy. I totally understand what I have to do and nothing was confusing whatsoever. But, in case someone else is confused, anything else you can tell me?"

     "What'd she say to piss you off even more?"

     "A whole lot of nothing. The only part that seemed worth anything was: In the dance of time, perspectives may shift, The rift may heal, the spirts uplift. Any insight?"

     "Dance of time?"

     "Yeah. You know what that means?"

     "I'd take a look at your mother's little spell book. I figured you'd need to use some type of time loop. You don't want to be going on a quest in the current state of the world."

     "Excuse me? A time loop? That goes completely against—"

     "Look, sweetheart, this whole thing began because someone went against something someone else established. Your quest isn't going to be traditional on any levels. Coloring outside the lines is how you're gonna finish your picture."

     "Great. So I'm supposed to do some spell I've never done that has probably only ever been done by my mother."

     "Well, since you're already in a bad mood, there is one more part of this whole.. shindig."

     "Say it."

"You kinda, sorta have to work with camp Jupiter."

     "What? How are we supposed to do that? They're all the way across the country."

     "I don't know. That's for you to figure out."

     "Any advice, camp director? You know, you're not too worried about the world ending."

     "Sweetie, my world ended when glass turned to aluminum. Now go on. You'll do great. Yada yada prove me proud. Do it for the camp."

     "You never answered why we're working with camp Jupiter. It seems completely impractical."

     "Well, if you come into contact with any Roman gods or goddesses come back to me talking about impractical. And you should be happy you have some help. It's gonna be hard enough for you to find anyone who wants to leave camp right now. Let alone be the test rat for a spell that goes wrong 99% of the time."

     Lenore was beginning to get really irritated, but she swallowed hard and forced that angered part of herself down with it. "How would I go about getting on the same page with camp Jupiter? You know, since you've put me in charge of this mission I never asked for."

     "We all did nose-goes, sweetheart. Shouldn't have been in the woods. Without a buddy I may add."

     "Just answer the damn question. Wait—nose-goes? You did nose-goes?" Lenore stepped back as her voice returned to normal after its growling statement.

     "Woah, call down, sweet—"

    "If you call me that one more time I'm gonna lose it," she growled.

Mr. D made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go to cabin 23. They'll help you out. Au Revoir Miss Conway. If you survive this I'll even give you my vintage bottle I've been saving for a millennia."

     "I'm not old enough to drink."

     "Maybe in this country."

     "Thanks for the lovely advice Mr. D."

     "Seems we're always discussing something you don't want to do, huh?"

     "Seems so." Lenore grabbed her umbrella from the wall and left. The storm outside had slowed into a drizzle. Lenore found the quiet oddly eerie, like all the Gods had heard her accept the quest and were watching her like some sick tv show. That's all demigods really were to them anyways, a means of entertainment and survival. Percy Jackson may have gotten them to claim their kin, but he couldn't make them care.

     Lenore paused before she entered cabin 20, the home for all her mother's children at camp. It was a simple cabin from the outside, made of stone and engraved with runes. To other campers the symbols meant nothing. Being able to read the incantations was something only children of Hecate shared, and really one of the only things that brought them all together. At least in Lenore's case.

     A house of stone breeds statues. Where there be erosion bring only fortitude. Be not afraid of where sense is lost.

     Lenore could have stayed out there all night reading the stone bricks. Or she could take the easy way out and remove one of the stones, turn herself into a tree so she didn't have to go on the quest. She figured when the fact she'd been given a quest finally set in she would do just that.

      Taking one last deep breath, she forced the nerves out of her body and put on her best straight face. The door didn't make sound when opened, it was bewitched not to, but every eye in the cabin was staring at her coming into the room. The Hecate cabin was the largest, bewitched to be larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. The rooms were customizable to whatever the most campers wanted or to whoever had higher authority.

     Right now it appeared all they wanted was couches, hammocks, hanging chairs, vine swings, beanbags, and whatever other form of furniture their heart desired. There was not a tv in sight and only some of them were holding things to occupy their hands. It seemed to Lenore she'd walked in on some sort of gossiping session, and their silence was enough of an answer as to what the topic was.

     Lenore nodded at them all and walked straight through the middle. Her footsteps echoed across the wooden floorboards as she walked to the farthest wall at the back. She placed her hand against the stone wall, and when she pulled her hand away a red imprint remained burning into the wall. The stone in front of Lenore fell, revealing a staircase facing the middle of the cabin. Lenore didn't look up at the makeshift-living room as she carried herself down the stairs.

     When her feet stepped onto the floor of her bedroom the stone stairs immediately raised back into the floor above— or her ceiling. Lenore let out a deep sigh now that she was alone. First and foremost her hand found the silver snake necklace she always wore and she stroked its head as it turned back into a living creature. She placed the snake back into its enclosure before her eyes fell on the giant chest in the corner.

     The chest contained all her mother's spell books. Lenore had gotten through a bunch of them in her time, but it was impossible to get through them all. The newer ones were much easier than the older ones. She knew which book a spell as complex as time travel would be found in. The lock on the chest fell at her touch and she began to look for the most confusing of her mother's spell books.

      "So?"

     Lenore didn't need to turn around to recognize Dru's voice. After all, she was the only one with authorization to get into Lenore's room.

     "So?" Lenore asked back.

     "Look, that wasn't what it looked like. We were all talking about what the best way to choose would be. Some want a trial by magical prowess, but most think there should be a few different trials so the losers have a chance of redemption. Especially combat without enchanted weapons. I think the latters the best idea, and I suggested that we disqualify anyone who hasn't been at camp for over a year. The older kids weren't a fan but—"

     "I accepted the quest."

     Dru stopped her ranting immediately, her jaw falling open. "You—what?"

     Lenore closed the chest, her mother's grimoire in hand. "I accepted the quest. Once I can convince two others to join me I'll be on my way."

     "But—but," Dru stammered. "Why would you do that? You've made it. After this you could get out of here; go live your life."

     Lenore smiled sadly. "At the expense of sacrificing one of my siblings? I've watched enough of them die, I'm not choosing to lose one more. If there's gonna be blood on my hands it's going to be my own."

     Dru stared at Lenore in disbelief. Lenore couldn't blame her. Taking the quest was against every impression she'd ever given to others. Dru was probably in shock that Lenore could think of anyone but herself, because Lenore was honestly shocked by that too. But when Mr. D told her to choose, she remembered the last choice she'd made, and how bad of one it was. She wasn't going to do it again.

     Before Dru could realize what she was doing, she'd wrapped Lenore in a hug. Sometimes Dru forgot how much tinier her older sister really was than her. Sure, she teased the living Tartarus out of her for her height, but right now she couldn't imagine her sister standing against a goddess like Nyx or Ate. Their shadows would be enough to swallow Lenore whole.

     Dru pulled away when she felt Lenore grow stiff. Hugging wasn't really something Lenore did. Showing affection at all wasn't something Lenore did. But Lenore realized her sister needed it in that moment and hugged her back. Dru's mind was likely racing with joy for not having to go herself, dread for her sister going instead, and fear for having to step into Lenore's position while she was gone.

     "Make sure you say goodbye to me before you go," Dru said, turning away and quickly racing up the stairs. Lenore didn't mention it, but she'd seen the tears building up in Dru's eyes. Deep down they both knew it wasn't likely she was coming back.

     Lenore realized that the quest was urgent, and that she should probably start getting ready immediately, but all she wanted was one last night of rest in her bed. After all, she still had to find the spell in her mother's spell book. Who knew how long that could take. She'd save her visit to cabin twenty-three for the next day and hope the weather did not return to a grieving sky.

『••✎••』

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chapter one down! I hope you guys enjoyed! I tried to convey that Lenore is really irritated with everything going on so she's kinda balancing between maiden and crone. hopefully I get better at writing multiple personalities! who do you think we're meeting next 👀

word count: 4864