Welcome to the Land of No Sleep
Welcome to the Land of No Sleep Ch. 01 (A Shared Dream)
Chapter 1 (A Shared Dream):
If there was one thing that was certain, it was that Camp Half-Blood was never boring. There was always something going on; whether that was the Hermes kids pranking the Aphrodite kids by replacing their facial creams with sunscreen, the Apollo kids singing in the daylight, the Demeter kids wandering through the fields, or the Ares kids murdering each other in the amphitheater, you could never say that Camp was dull. One particular day was no different: that morning, demi-gods all ran around as normal, but it was as if everyone was going through the day in a sort of daze. It happened so quickly and suddenly that if someone else was asked they’d have brushed it off as some sort of hallucination or daydream. Campers fell to the ground, passing out.
“No, you can’t do this! I helped you. Against all odds, against orders, I helped you!” A raven-haired man stood in a hole under shining metal bars, his green eyes looking up at someone: the campers above him watching the scene. The male looked exhausted and ready to pass out, like he was fighting off his slumber. “You’ll regret this.” He said with a yawn.
The campers awoke moments later, brushing off the odd ‘dream’ and slowly started getting back to their daily lives. Most ignored the event, even forgetting it, until a few hours later when a certain red-headed girl came walking out of the Big House. It was rare to see her mingling with campers besides the Seven, which meant that something was happening, and that it was important.
***
Killian had just gotten up, his head a little woozy. He pushed a hand into his black hair. ‘Another prank,’ he guessed, although he felt like he was forgetting something, and it was nagging at the back of his head, just out of his reach. Instead of trying to recall whatever it was, he set his mind to continuing his day. On Thursdays, during this time, he usually practiced his alchemy and restocked his supply of potions. Killian brushed the dirt off his pants, finished his trek towards the arts and crafts building, said hi to a couple of Hephaestus campers he was on familiar terms with, and sat down at his own workbench. He pulled some flasks and bottles out of the bag he had brought with him, careful not to break them, and thankful the bag was padded, so that whenever he had fallen earlier, they hadn’t shattered. These particular bottles were filled with hydra venom, known for its corrosiveness. Currently, he was trying to develop a way to coat weapons with them to use as a poison, but whenever he would apply the venom, the weapons would melt. He didn’t dare risk it on his own Stygian iron sword, but he wondered if the poison would destroy a magical item. Maybe he’d get one of the Hephaestus campers to loan him one.
***
Charlie woke up from his sleep feeling quite ill. He thought that one of his cabin mates might have snuck some medicinal alcohol into the cabin and spilled it. ‘It’s happened before,’ he thought, shaking his head, and rubbing his bright green eyes. The fumes from that stuff can knock anybody out. His nauseated head mixed with the absurd dream he remembered having was really killing his vibe. He got a drink of water to help clear his mind and then went to the infirmary to see how things were. As he headed there, the ground lightly shook. This was nothing out of the ordinary at Camp Half-Blood. ‘Probably just Cabin 9 blowing itself up again,’ he thought and laughed to himself. He got to the infirmary just as Jamie, one of his brothers, was leaving.
“Hey, man!” Jamie said as Charlie walked in.
“Hey! How was the graveyard shift?” Charlie inquired, never one to enjoy staying up all night.
“Eh, not awful. Bed three has a dislocated mandible and bed five has a broken ankle. And…” Jamie looked down at the clipboard he was holding. “Bed nine has had a… mishap… with the Hecate cabin.”
“Hah. Okay, well you go and get your sleep, I’ll take over in here.” He watched as Jamie left the infirmary. Charlie then got to supervising the patients and making sure they were all comfortable and doing okay, all the while singing Blues in the Night by Eva Cassidy.
***
Jak opened his eyes to the blue sky. As he sat up inside the arena, he noticed the knife he had just been fighting with lying beside him. “Well, that could have ended badly,’ he thought. He got to his feet and noticed his cabin mates and the Hecate cabin members, who the Morpheus cabin had been practicing with, were also lying on the ground, or just standing up. “What the…,” Jak murmured. He remembered having a small dream, but that’s completely normal to Jak. His father is the god of dreams. He literally dreams all the time. This one seemed a little different than others, though, more… important. Jak flipped back through his mind to try to remember all the details. ‘I was staring at some god… imprisoned in the ground. He was telling me to let him go… he told me I’d regret it. I remember smirking… and then I woke up,’ Jak recounted. A dark feeling crossed his mind. That feeling of doing wrong, of being evil, was something he was all too familiar with. It reminded him of his time spent with… The times he’s tried to forget. A young girl who was only a few days into camp Half-Blood cleared his mind.
She had just regained her feet and stumbled, wondering aloud. “What happened? Why did we all fall down? Why was that man in the pit?”
Jak walked toward his young half-sister and helped her up. Stretching his right arm down to her slightly revealed the white tattoo beneath the sleeve on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “It was only just a dream.” He ruffled her hair. Jak then glanced over to the head of the Hecate cabin, who was looking a little bewildered. “How about we call it a day?” Jak called.
“Sounds good to me. I’ve felt really off all morning,” Lou Ellan replied. There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the other Hecate campers. Jak’s siblings seemed a little more clear-minded about the issue, though.
‘Obviously, something’s going on here,’ he thought. ‘Something to do with dreams.’ As his cabin began packing their things and heading to their other activities, Jak put his sister, Jordan, his second-in-command, in charge until lunch. “Right-o, Jackson!” she said, insisting on using his full name, which he hated since people then often confused him with Percy. Jak then reached down to the necklace he always wore, and grasped it with his fingers. With a soft flash of blue, an illusory lynx appeared beside him. “Let’s take a walk,” he said, and in deep thought, Jak began a stroll toward the woods.
***
Vina was used to seeing weird things, but she was usually the one in control of whatever those things were. Today, she wasn’t, and it frightened her a little more than she let on to her brother, Pollux. They had been chilling out in their cabin when, next thing she knew, she had apparently fallen off her bed and onto the floor. She stood up, her white hands shaking. “What was that?” She asked.
“No idea, but I think we really need to drink a bit less Kool-Aid.” Pollux smiled at her and she managed a small laugh. Already it seemed to her that the even was fading away. In fact, Vina couldn’t even recall what it was she’d been worried about. “Ready to go do some training?”
Vina pushed the trailing thought out of her mind before pulling her dark red hair back into a ponytail. “Sure thing.” They headed outside to go join their friends in some archery lessons.
***
Avaline Marie Duval was the newest girl in camp. Sure, they had people come in all the time and it was no big deal, but Avaline was catching a little more attention than she wished. The auburn-haired girl was moving around the Hermes cabin, cleaning what she could to try to help. It was her temporary home since she hadn’t been claimed just yet. Right when she finished cleaning, though, the dream hit. She could see the god, the shadows moving around him and keeping him beneath the shining bars. It looked like some kind of magic kept him there but Avaline had little knowledge on it. She heard the words spoken to her. “Regret,” was the word that hit her the hardest. It struck a personal chord within her own body.
Avaline’s eyes fluttered back open as she slowly sat up. She discovered that her head was hurting, and upon reaching her left hand up to touch it she could feel the warm liquid that now covered her fingertips and hair. “Ow…” she softly muttered and winced. On her way down, her head had apparently hit the edge of a bedside table. Of course, there was a vase that had been knocked off and broken as well. Just her luck, another reason for everyone to hate her. She slowly got up, her legs shaky, and went to find the broom. Her vision blurred, telling her that she likely had a concussion. Avaline sighed. After she was done sweeping the shards of the vase, she stumbled toward the infirmary, hoping that someone would help her.
***
Killian had convinced Harley to make him a simple blade out of Celestial Bronze. With its magical properties, he thought for sure that the hydra venom would be unable to destroy it. Unfortunately, as soon as he let a drop onto the blade, it smoked and a hole burned through it. Killian felt Harley staring daggers at him from across the room, but chose to ignore her, instead wondering what he could do with his current problem. There had to be something he could add to the venom to make it workable. ‘Damn, I should have brought more supplies with me.’ Killian thought to himself. He thought of a couple of solutions that might work, but they were back in his cabin. ‘Guess I’ll have to head back in before I make any progress today’. Killian packed his things backed into his bag, set the now ruined dagger in front of a clearly pissed Harley, and headed back to his home.
***
Charlie was chilling in the infirmary, doing the rounds, when one of the new girls, ‘Uhh… Avaline! That’s her name!’ Avaline made her way into the infirmary with a nasty looking head wound. “Okay, okay, heyyyy! Avaline, come and sit down and let me help you out!” Charlie sat Avaline down on the end of a bed before leaning in front of her to inspect the wound. He began by administering simple first-aid: cleaning the wound. While doing so, he inquired, “What on earth were you doing? Battling a chin-up bar?” He then stitched up the gash and prayed over it so that it might heal faster. “There you go! Should be healed in an hour or so, but take it easy. You do have a concussion, so just, go and sit down in the shade somewhere and chill, okay? Okay! Off you go! And also, nice to finally meet you, I know a lot of people in camp, but you’re new so, nice to meet you.” Charlie smiled. He looked, having finished with his current patient, and saw quite a few more people in the infirmary or on their way toward it. It seemed everybody had gotten a few bumps and bruises today and wanted a quick fix for them. Charlie was glad to see that another of his siblings had shown up to help out with the growing crowd, and himself began to move through them.
***
Jak reached the edge of the woods, his lynx companion trotting alongside him. When Jak stopped before entering the forest, his friend glanced up at him. “I’m just thinking. I don’t understand what that dream meant. And how did everybody have it? Did the Hecate cabin experience it just because they were near my cabin? I don’t understand.” The lynx cocked its head to the right, as if to say ‘so watcha gonna do about it?’ Jak sighed. “I’m just going to take a hike to my spot, and think for a while,” Jak replied, mildly wondering why he was explaining his actions to an illusion. He then walked at a casual pace for about a mile before coming to a halt in front of a tree that looked no different than any of the others in the woods. As he waved his hand in front of it, however, the world shimmered and the tree disappeared, revealing a small clearing invisible from the outside. ‘I’m so glad Chiron approved our idea for a place to practice our illusions,’ Jak thought, referring to his and the Morpheus cabin’s secret project.
He strode forward, the tree reappearing behind him, pulled his bow off his shoulder and his knife sheaths off his back, and laid down in the middle of the clearing. Jak crossed his arms behind his head and bent one leg at a right angle, creating a triangle with the ground. Now comfortable, he closed his bright blue eyes and felt his illusory lynx lay its head on his stomach. Jak calmed his thoughts and concentrated so that his mind might wander into dreams, a trick he’d learned he could do over the years. ‘Let’s try to figure out what was really going on,’ he thought.
***
One thing Vina knew for sure was that she, nor her brother, were any good at archery. Truth be told, none of the people they were practicing with were. Two children of Hebe, and a son of Tyche were attempting to shoot the targets at the archery range while an Apollo cabin member oversaw them, but it was clear that no one from this group was going to be the next Hawkeye. Arrows were landing everywhere, or rather, getting lost everywhere. They all decided to give up around the three-minute mark and sit or lean in various places.
“So, nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Vina joked. It was always fun to ask, given that Camp Half-Blood’s weather was constantly brilliant. A couple of people laughed before they all broke into their own conversations.
Cali, a daughter of Hebe, walked over. “So, hey, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?”
Vina looked sidelong at her, having just drawn her bow. “Go for it.” She turned back and let the arrow fly. Unsurprisingly, it missed.
“It’s about your dad, actually.”
“Oh,” Vina replied, a bit more disheartened, and turned to face the girl.
“Nothing terrible. I was just wondering if he constantly messes up yours and Pollux’s names. You know, like he does everyone else’s.” Cali giggled a little. “One time he actually called me Calypso. I was flattered.”
Vina sighed. “Of course he does. I’ve never understood why he can’t remember anyone’s names.” ‘Or why he pretends not to, at least,’ she thought to herself. Vina knew her dad was a much better guy than he let on to everyone.
Cali looked disappointed at her answer. “Oh, well okay. Thanks! I’ll, uh, see you around.” She turned around and left, leaving Vina alone to practice missing the targets.
***
Avaline felt a bit out of place as she walked into the infirmary, though she wasn’t clear if that was from her concussion or her lack of Camp experience. As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by a dusty blonde male. All of Apollo’s children seemed to be blonde, much like the Athena kids. Slowly, Avaline was gaining knowledge about this other side of her life.
She was surprised at the amount of attention she was receiving from the medic. A knot grew in her stomach as he spoke. He wasn’t wearing a doctor’s lab coat, he wasn’t even wearing a name tag, but somehow, he knew what he was doing, so she didn’t protest. The thing that really bothered her was that she didn’t know his name, but he recognized her as soon as she had walked in. “I-“ She tried to speak but found herself without words. Avaline sat down where the boy told her, and let him patch her up. A soft smile crept over her pale lips in response to his questions. “No, I was cleaning up the Hermes cabin. It’s the least I can do since I’m imposing on them, I thought. Then I collapsed, I guess. I think I had some weird sort of hallucination. Are those normal here?” She shrugged. “Anyway, I guess I hit my head on a bedside table and knocked off a vase while in the process.” Avaline had a small accent that might have been European of some sort. She hadn’t really spoken to anyone at Camp for the day and a half she’d been there. Any questions she was asked she had just nodded or shook her head, or shrugged her shoulders. “I-“ She stared up once again to the hazel-eyed male. “Thank you.” Avaline nodded gently, her skull still aching slightly, but he had done a good job on her. She slowly stood up, trying to get her balance. She nodded at the mention of taking it easy, and headed off on her way.
Avaline walked towards the nearest tree and leaned against it before sliding down onto the ground. She slipped her amethyst eyes closed to try and rest.
***
Killian walked back into the midst of Camp. Looking over, he saw that the infirmary was getting crowded. He wondered why there would be so many people in there all at once, but it didn’t seem like anybody was in serious condition or anything. Still, he figured this would be a great opportunity to try out his healing potions on real people. Killian put aside his hydra venom and instead grabbed his health potions and elixirs, swapping them into his bag, before heading toward the infirmary.
Arriving at the care center, Killian noted that a couple of Apollo kids were busy moving through the line. Killian walked over to Charlie, the one he recognized, and showed him his potions, explaining to the son of Apollo what they did.
“If there’s anything I can do to help out just let me know.” Killian neglected to mention the fact that these elixirs hadn’t been used on demigods before, but thankfully they turned out okay.
***
Charlie had just finished with another camper when he turned around to see Killian standing behind him with a few odd-looking vials in hand. The boy explained that they were healing potions, and that he was there to help. Charlie wasn’t exactly confident in what Killian could do medically, but he sent the son of Hades around the infirmary with his potions to see to some of the campers, welcoming the extra hand. ‘It’s nice to have another camper helping out. Always good.’ Charlie thought to himself before turning back to treating the mass of campers.
***
Jak was pulled back to the start of the dream. This time, he paid attention to the details around him. He was clearly underground, as the walls were made of dirt. A single candle lit the cavern. Jak turned to look at the imprisoned god. Its features looked more and more tired as he studied him. The shining metal bars looked like they were made of iron, but there was a faint glow upon them, as if emanating magical energy. Suddenly, Jak felt a shadow come over him; metaphorically, not physically. It was as if all the bad feelings of his past were thrust back upon him. A familiar evil feeling crept its way back through his veins. The ending of the dream was different this time. Jak watched as his body walked to the candle and put it out. The god yelled in distress and begged to be freed. Jak’s mind felt his body turn and walk away.
***
Jak had just finished walking back to camp. He only had to deal with one monster on his way back, and it fell to a single, well placed arrow. Standing just outside the woods, he again reached to his necklace, this time to disperse his lynx. After witnessing the dream again, paying much greater attention and thinking on it as his walk, Jak decided he should mention it to Chiron. ‘A dream that my whole cabin had, if not everybody… something that weird… it has to be important.’ He started making his way toward the Big House, hoping that Chiron would be inside. On his way, he passed campers doing their normal activities. People were canoeing, playing volleyball, it seemed as though nothing was wrong. As if they’d all forgotten whatever strange dream they might have had. “Perks of being a child of Morpheus I guess,” he muttered.
Jak was just passing the infirmary when he saw a girl leaned up against a tree, looking a little dazed. He recognized her as a new camper, but wasn’t able to recall her name. Jak glanced to the infirmary, noticing a rather large number of campers inside, and that’s when he saw Killian running around trying to help. Jak smirked. “Mind if I sit with you?” he asked; startling the girl out of her trance. Jak crossed his legs beneath him as he sat and leaned on the tree as well. “I’m Jak, nice to meet you.” He noticed her surprise at the color of his hair, being pure white, before she replied with her name, Avaline. “So, how’s the Hermes cabin been treating you?” Jak wondered, trying to find common ground. The girl looked downward. ‘Apparently not all that well,’ Jak realized.
“Well, I lived in that tiny cabin for four years, so I understand,” his bright blue eyes darkened for a moment, but then Jak chuckled. “Don’t worry, though, the gods are much better about claiming their children now.” An awkward silence ensued, as the girl wasn’t the most talkative, but Jak understood that she was new and didn’t know him. ‘All part of the job of being a counselor,’ he thought.
After a few minutes of just sitting, Jak said, “Hey, Avaline, have you witnessed any good pranks, yet?” The girl lightly shook her head no. “Well, Camp Half-Blood is kind of famous for them. Watch this.” He turned back to the infirmary, pointing at ne camper walking around inside, clearly out of place next to the blonde members of the Apollo cabin. “That’s Killian; he’s a son of hades. Not really sure what he’s doing helping the Apollo kids out, but, you see, he has this...” Jak’s eyes lit up. “Obsession, with Brisk Iced tea,” he continued. Jak waved his hand in an arc while facing the infirmary, changing many medical objects into exact replicas of the bottles, and filling cabinets with illusions of them. “Shh.” Jak put his finger to his lips as he looked back at Avaline. “Now, we just wait.”
***
After finishing with failing at archery, Pollux came over to talk to Vina. “What did Cali ask you about?”
“Just the stupid name thing again,” She swore that in three short years she’d been at Camp, almost everyone had asked that question before. They two started walking back to their cabin, annoyed at their dad and the other campers for being so petty.
“Still,” Pollux chuckled, “some of those names get so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh at them. Remember when he called you Vinny?” He barked with laughter. “I love that one.”
“Oh my gosh, stop.” Vina said, but she smiled broadly. “What am I, some kind of mobster?” She shook her head. “At least Vinny is a real name. What does Pollister even mean?” she retorted.
“Ugh. Don’t bring that one up.” Pollux rolled his eyes. “People are going to think I’m trying to start my own Hollister store. I hate their shirts.” Pollux enjoyed American Eagle instead. “Besides, we hate this subject, remember?”
“You’re right,” Vina said, remembering how the conversation started. “What’s next? Canoeing?”
***
Killian hated medical work, but he felt that he should be able to help a little. Soon, though, his sixth sense could tell something was… Brisk! He spun around on the spot, expecting to see a random camper drinking a bottle of happiness, but no. Instead, Killian found that there were bottles everywhere! Feelings of anger, rage, and hate filled him. He knew exactly who was torturing him like this. As the world grew dark and cold, a purple aura surrounded Killian. “Where are you, Jak!? I know it’s you! It’s not funny anymore!” Unfortunately, Killian had fallen for this trick more than once, much to his embarrassment. Now, though, he was through with Jak’s antics. He noticed that the people closest to him were beginning to look sick, almost skeletal. He knew it was because of his anger. Forcing himself to be calm for their sake, his wrath-powered death aura receded. “I’m sorry for causing any emotional stress to anyone’s day, but I have someone to murder,” he announced calmly.
Killian slowly walked out the door to the infirmary, drew the large, black sword from his back, and began walking towards the tree that Jak sat by. “Say hi to my dad for me!” Killian screamed as he charged.
***
Jak laughed aloud as he saw Killian freak out upon noticing all the tea, but his laughter died as a dim purple glow surrounded the child of Hades. Jak saw Killian look out the window and realized he had been caught. Next to him, Avaline inhaled sharply and gave a small start when Killian drew his sword and sprinted straight at Jak, screaming about how angry he was.
Jak drew the twin knives from his back and sighed. “Damnit, Killian. Don’t be such a KILLJOY!” He grunted as his knives crossed in midair and took the full force of Killian’s huge, overhead blow. Taking advantage of the position, Jak then kicked him in the gut, knocking him to the ground. Once the younger boy had fallen, Jak took a step forward and kicked the sword out of his hand, knocking it away. “It’s a prank, man. Calm down. You’ve had your fair share of them, too.”
Jak looked back over his shoulder at Avaline. “Sorry about that, I didn’t think it’d go that far.”
“This is the last time I let you do this, Jak!” Killian yelled from the ground and proceeded to flatten his hand upon it. The dirt lightly shook as two skeletons arose, one large and fully armored, holding a large war axe, the other much smaller and brandishing only a knife. “Take him to Tartarus!” Killian commanded.
“Ughhhh. Why!?” Jak sheathed one of his knives and reached to his necklace with his now free hand. He grasped the onyx pendant and summoned his lynx. The animal tackled the knife-wielding skeleton. Jak then drew a throwing knife from the bandolier across his chest and threw it straight at the head of the larger skeleton, knocking its skull to the ground. “Give it up, Joyus. This doesn’t have to happen.”
Killian chanted a spell under his breath, knocking Jak, his lynx, and the smaller skeleton to the ground. Standing up, he then grabbed the fallen skull and returned it to its owner. “I am one of the most powerful demigods here, besides the Seven! I could rip you apart! But, I won’t need to, if you promise to stop that stupid trick. It doesn’t even work anymore, so just stop!”
Jak rolled backward and raised himself to a kneeling position. His lynx dispersed back into mist. “Feeling cocky, are we? Raw power isn’t everything.” Jak placed his own hand on the ground and spoke a few magic words. His body shimmered and disappeared to everyone’s eyes but his own. “Fine, you wanna do this for real? Let’s do it!” Killian could only stare helplessly as he witnessed the fallen skeleton’s chest splinter into pieces as if it’d been stomped on. In the next second, the larger skeleton’s legs were knocked from beneath it and it fell to the ground. Killian then felt the cold steel of Jak’s unseen knife pressed against his throat. “Are we done?”
Killian was caught. He was also losing strength. He’d used a lot of magic today, and hand to hand combat was not at all his strong suit. He was forced to either give up, or go through with his own bluff. “I’m sorry, Jak,” he whispered as he stabbed downward with a now unsheathed knife. The blade pierced Jak’s invisible thigh, and the spell faded. Killian pushed the now visible son of Morpheus away, and reached down to pick up his sword, although it seemed a lot heavier to use now. “I’m going to end this, now.”
Avaline watched the fight carefully. She noticed every movement they made; the raising of hands and their footwork, or in Killian’s case, the lack thereof. He was clearly not a good physical fighter. Eventually, she got annoyed at the petty fight. Even with her head pounding and the world still spinning, she got up and stepped between the two boys. “Enough.” Her voice was sharp and commanding and most of the campers around cowered from the power emanating from it. “I will not stand by and watch you two try to kill each other. If you attempt to attack again, you’ll have to go through me.” Those amethyst eyes of hers turned hard. “Go ahead. I dare you.” She turned her head back and forth between the two. The other campers encircling the fight just stared. No one else would have braved getting between the couple of demigods. Everyone knew Killian was a loose cannon, and Jak had a long reputation of being a very capable fighter. To intervene would have been suicide.
Jak stared at Killian from the other side of Avaline, covering the stab wound in his leg with his hand, blood beginning to ooze out. He limped forward, past the girl, and walked up to the younger kid, looking up to his face. “A prank is a prank, nothing more. You do NOT harm other campers. Got it? Nobody here is going to harm other campers.” Jak spoke quietly, but forcefully, his finger pointing in Killian’s direction. His voice was full of emotion and conviction, it clearly seemed to be a personal issue. “Learn some respect for the living, death boy.” Jack pushed past Killian and limped into the infirmary, calling to his friend Charlie to look at his leg.
Killian was relieved that he could rest now. After most of everybody finally cleared out, he let himself fall, hitting the ground hard. “Ouch,” is all he could say. He was fed up with Jak’s pranks. ‘Stupid child of lies,’ he thought to himself. ‘I know your past.’ Killian lay there, with his head on the ground. He remembered how he had gotten to camp and his life before and sighed. “This is supposed to be a safe place… I need to respect that.” His mind went black as the fatigue from overusing his magic finally caught up with him and he slipped from consciousness.
***
Avaline saw to it that Jak made it safely to the same Apollo kid that helped her out; she heard Jak call him Charlie. ‘Good to know,’ she thought. Once Jak had limped to his friend, she went back to go outside only to discover the other boy in the altercation, Joyus is the only name she recalls hearing, passed out on the ground. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “This is so not my day,” she muttered, shaking her still aching head. At least she had seen this before; it looked just like the kind of exhaustion from not sleeping for three days, which she’d unfortunately experienced a multitude of times. Avaline figured he just needed to sleep it off. She stared down at the ebony-haired boy, biting her thumb as she considered the possibility of carrying him back to his cabin. Avaline wasn’t tall or built, in fact, she was really rather tiny, while the unconscious boy on the ground, although lanky, was more than a foot taller than her 4’9 self. Plus, she didn’t even know where his cabin was, though she was fairly sure she the Hades cabin might stand out from the rest. Instead, she heaved another sigh before leaning down and grabbing the back of his collar. Avaline proceeded to half carry, half drag him over to the same tree she and Jak were sitting at earlier. Once she’d propped him up as best she could, she sat next to him and closed her eyes, leaning her back against the trunk: a now familiar position. She realized a lot had happened in the time since she’d woken up. “Today’s going to be a long day…” she said, having no idea how true her words were going to be.
***
Killian woke up with a feeling of dread. He realized he was no longer in front of the infirmary, and that someone must have moved him. He closed his eyes, preferring to pretend to still be asleep, trying to discern his surroundings through hearing and sixth sense. He felt a presence behind him, but it didn’t seem hostile. Giving up the act, Killian sat up and turned around. He was surprised when he saw only the small girl who had stepped between him and Jak. He recognized her as the newest girl to Camp Half-Blood, but with the number of campers they always got throughout the week, he hadn’t bothered to commit her name to memory. Her eyes were closed, but she slowly opened them at hearing him move.
“Did you.. move me here?” Killian asked her, his dark blue eyes meeting her violet ones. She nodded in response. “What was your name?” he asked, looking away from her and toward the woods. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember it.”
“…. Avaline,” she said quietly.
“Ah, well, I’m Killian.” He extended a hand to his savior, but quickly withdrew it. ‘…wait, does she think happened? That I lost the fight and passed out because I don’t know how to manage my own powers? Is she going to tell people I’m weak?’ Killian’s mind was often on what other people thought of him. That’s why he’d always fight through his fatigue, pretending he was much better off than was true. ‘Does she see through my act?’ He squinted his eyes at her. “How much did you see?” He asked, suddenly hostile.
***
Charlie was very confused. He was helping the many campers in the infirmary, making sure to watch Killian in the corner of his eye, when he saw the son of Hades blow up… literally: there was a purple hellfire licking at his shoulders and head. ‘Impressive, but quite terrifying,’ Charlie commented to himself. He did not like the way that it was affecting his patients, though. Killian then looked out the window and suddenly stopped. Charlie heard him apologize and then mention… “Oh, gods of Olympus this could get bad.” Charlie, one of Jak’s closest friends at Camp, knew how much he liked to tease Killian, and he also knew how much Killian hated it. It seemed the younger boy had finally snapped. Thankfully, the campers around Killian got color back into their skins and looked more normal, but they proceeded to puke on the floor. Many of those inside followed Killian out the door, always eager to see a fight, as real fights didn’t often happen outside the arena.
Charlie also left the building, but more to make sure he was there in case he was needed. He watched the two exchange blows, glad to see Jak was on the defensive and not actively trying to hurt Killian, until the idiot bragged about his own power. Charlie sighed, “...and here we go,” he muttered. Sure enough, Jak turned invisible and went on the attack. When he saw Killian turn his chin up, he knew there was a blade at his throat. He was surprised, however, when he saw the boy’s arm thrust downward, and heard Jak give a small cry of pain. ‘Not bad, Killian,’ he thought to himself as he turned back into the infirmary, planning to grab the supplies to fix Jak’s leg.
He heard a girl shouting, and as he turned and looked through the window, was amazed to see that it was Avaline, standing between the two. Charlie then listened as Jak said the last words to Killian, cringing as he saw some of the campers’ reactions, those who knew Jak’s background found it a little hypocritical. He was glad, then, when Jak asked him for a hand with the wound. Charlie knew it wasn’t very serious and that Jak probably could have healed it himself, he was pretty adept at the demigod life, but instead wanted to let his friend take care of it. Charlie appreciated it and that was one of the reasons he liked Jak as much as he did. Once he had the stab wound basically healed, he clapped Jak on the back and called him an idiot.
“You’re right,” Jak said. “I suppose it’s time to give up the Brisk pranks. Though they were fun while they lasted.”
The two laughed, and Jak got up to head out, saying he had business with Chiron. Charlie noticed a change in his eyes. Jak’s eyes were famous for changing based on his mood, and they went from the light blue of his normal happy self to a stormy gray, which Charlie recognized as his troubled mood. As he watched his friend walk out the door with only a slight limp, Charlie was left thinking that today was going to be one weird day.
***
After letting Charlie deal with his wound, Jak lightly limped out of the infirmary. As he stepped out the door, he glanced toward the tree he was sitting at earlier with Avaline. He now saw the girl sitting beneath it with a sleeping Killian. ‘Really?’ he thought, slightly miffed. ‘She’s gonna side with him on this? Whatever.’ He harrumphed and turned toward the Big House, back on his mission to inform Chiron of the strange dream. On his way, he waved to a couple of friends from other cabins, and saw his own siblings heading back to their home to prepare for lunch. Jordan raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his limp, but he waved her off. As Jak reached the Big House’s porch, he glanced around to see if Chiron or Mr. D were sitting outside. Seeing nobody but a couple of satyrs, he walked into the building. Most campers weren’t supposed to just walk in without permission, but Jak, being a senior camper and a counselor, had the right to do so. He passed through the main/living room, checking for anybody, before making his way to Chiron’s office. Knocking softly on the door, he waited for an answer.
Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal Chiron, compacted in his magic wheelchair, as he usually was when inside. “Something I can do for you, Jak? We can talk on our way to grab lunch.” Chiron offered.
***
“I don’t know about you, but I could have done with lunch sooner.” Vina said to her brother, absent-mindedly clutching her stomach. Her and Pollux were headed up to the mess hall. As they approached, Lacy, a friend of Vina’s from the Aphrodite cabin, ran up to them.
“Did you guys hear what happened at the infirmary?” she asked, grinning and showing her braces off. The two children of Dionysus looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What happened?” Pollux asked. Vina noticed he sounded slightly worried.
“There was a fight!” Lacy proceeded to explain the events that had happened between Killian and Jak. Vina and Pollux burst out laughing, before Vina pulled out three drachmae and handed them to Pollux. They’d had a bet going on if Killian could go a week without attempting to fight Jak. Vina had given him the benefit of the doubt, but, apparently, she was wrong. Lacy looked slightly confused at this exchange, but then noticed her own cabin approaching for lunch. “See ya, Vina!” she waved as she ran to join her siblings.
“Bye, Lacy!” Vina called back. Pollux muttered the same next to her. “Aww, don’t worry, bro, people like you, too.” Vina chuckled as she bumped her shoulder into her brother. The two finally sat down at their table and summoned their food. Vina shook her head as, per usual, Pollux sacrificed his Twinkies to the gods, insisting that the divine loved them just as much as the rest of us. She slid some of her own carrots off her plate, and thanked the gods for changing in the past couple of years before sitting back down and enjoying her lunch.
***
Avaline stared at the boy that was in her face. His suddenly harsh tone of voice was now reflected in her features as he questioned her. “What do you mean ‘what did I see?’ You and Jak fought. I made sure he made it to Charlie okay. When I came back out, you were unconscious and in the dirt. Sorry for trying to help, it won’t happen again.” She didn’t like feeling attacked. Avaline was one of those girls who could handle herself. She may have been small, but she was fast, and her movement were precise. And she was very fierce. The horn signaling meals was blown, giving her an excuse to leave. She stood up and looked down at the boy. Her face relaxed, remembering that he had recently been unconscious. “You should probably eat something.” She offered him a hand. He took it, but as she walked away toward the pavilion, Killian stood in place for a while. ‘Go ahead and sulk then,’ she rolled her eyes.
After joining the Hermes cabin in giving a portion of their food to the gods, Avaline really didn’t understand how this was a good sacrifice, she was just about to dig in when she felt, rather than saw, something wrong. The air changed, and when she looked up, she noticed a crowd around the brazier. Listening to the Hermes kids at the crowded table, she gathered that the people standing at the fire were the members of the Hypnos cabin. One boy, short and rather fat, but seemingly with authority in the group, turned around and addressed the other campers. “Our food isn’t burning.”
***
Killian regretted getting angry at Avaline. He realized she was only trying to help him, and he had verbally attacked her for it. He accepted her help in getting up for lunch. He closed his eyes to think his next words through carefully. It had always been hard for him to apologize. “… Sorry I was such a jerk to you…” he said in a quiet voice, but when he opened his eyes, Avaline was already on her way to the mess hall. Killian sighed before beginning his own trudge that way.
Killian deposited some of his own food into the brazier, and sat down to eat alone at the Hades table; Nico was currently off at Camp Jupiter, hanging out with his sister. He was sipping at his Brisk tea, though it reminded him of stupid Jak, when Clovis made his announcement.
***
After all of the drama the morning had offered, Charlie finished up in the infirmary and made his way back to the Apollo cabin to go to lunch. ‘Gods, I’m hungry,’ he thought, relishing the thought of a good salad. He and the rest of his siblings made their way to the Apollo table, and after sitting down, he got his salad. The campers began the routine of giving food to the gods, but the line stopped. Charlie looked up from staring at his delicious looking salad, his stomach now even more upset at the delay. At hearing Clovis’s words, though, he forgot his hunger.
***
Jak walked with Chiron slowly to the dining pavilion, explaining the day to the centaur as they went. Chiron had left his wheelchair on the porch of the Big House, saying he needed to stretch his legs for the day. Jak tried to cover everything, from the first time he had experienced the dream, to waking up and noticing he wasn’t the only one to have it, to exploring the dream further, and of course, to his fight with Killian. Jak finished his story just as they had come to the pavilion. He saw his siblings already eating, having sacrificed portions of their food to his father. Every cabin was present, even Killian sitting by himself at the hades table. Despite the all you can eat, whatever you want, lunch, however, there seemed to be an air of unease as Jak walked up with Chiron. Many campers seemed confused and were looking at the newly arrived centaur for an explanation. Jak saw that a good number of them were staring back and forth between the brazier and the Hypnos cabin members, who looked exasperated. Curious, Jak stood with Chiron as Clovis, head of the Hypnos cabin and technically Jak’s uncle, approached the activities director.
***
Chiron listed to Jak as they walked, keeping an open mind with everything that Jak told him. He nodded his head every now and then to show his attention, but was thinking deeply and was somewhat troubled by the news of these events. He was about to address the issue of the fight with Killian when they arrived at the dining pavilion. “Well-“ Chiron was cut off by the approaching Clovis.
“Chiron, we’ve got a problem.” Clovis said, seeming very nervous and unsure of what to do. Chiron yawned at the aura the boy put off, unable to help it. “The offering for Hypnos isn’t burning.” Chiron trotted over to the brazier and looked down, noting the food sitting in the fire unburned.
***A red-headed girl slowly made her way toward the dining pavilion, her head throbbing. It wasn’t often that she interacted with the other campers, seeing glimpses of their futures every time she saw their faces was enough of a deterrent to stay away. She instead preferred the company of her friends, Percy, Annabeth, and the others, and she often had long talks with Chiron. Occasionally, she would join the multitude for meals, wanting to catch up on everybody’s current events, but today was not one of those days. No, there was something else driving her to the other campers today. Gently massaging her temples, she strode into the center of the pavilion, drawing everyone’s attention, even the distressed members of the Hypnos cabin. Rachel doubled over, a green haze gripping her body and mind. Then, she stood suddenly upright, her eyes now glowing a radiation green, signaling a new prophecy. Her voice rang out through the pavilion, resonating inside the campers’ skulls as multiple people speaking together.
“Beware brave campers, the hound in the dark;
Hear its howl, fear its mark;
Grave men who see with blinding sight;
To dance with danger, to chance his might;
With gods whose power never wanes;
And binds them in eternal chains;”
Rachel promptly collapsed.
***
If there was one thing that was certain, it was that Camp Half-Blood was never boring. There was always something going on; whether that was the Hermes kids pranking the Aphrodite kids by replacing their facial creams with sunscreen, the Apollo kids singing in the daylight, the Demeter kids wandering through the fields, or the Ares kids murdering each other in the amphitheater, you could never say that Camp was dull. One particular day was no different: that morning, demi-gods all ran around as normal, but it was as if everyone was going through the day in a sort of daze. It happened so quickly and suddenly that if someone else was asked they’d have brushed it off as some sort of hallucination or daydream. Campers fell to the ground, passing out.
“No, you can’t do this! I helped you. Against all odds, against orders, I helped you!” A raven-haired man stood in a hole under shining metal bars, his green eyes looking up at someone: the campers above him watching the scene. The male looked exhausted and ready to pass out, like he was fighting off his slumber. “You’ll regret this.” He said with a yawn.
The campers awoke moments later, brushing off the odd ‘dream’ and slowly started getting back to their daily lives. Most ignored the event, even forgetting it, until a few hours later when a certain red-headed girl came walking out of the Big House. It was rare to see her mingling with campers besides the Seven, which meant that something was happening, and that it was important.
***
Killian had just gotten up, his head a little woozy. He pushed a hand into his black hair. ‘Another prank,’ he guessed, although he felt like he was forgetting something, and it was nagging at the back of his head, just out of his reach. Instead of trying to recall whatever it was, he set his mind to continuing his day. On Thursdays, during this time, he usually practiced his alchemy and restocked his supply of potions. Killian brushed the dirt off his pants, finished his trek towards the arts and crafts building, said hi to a couple of Hephaestus campers he was on familiar terms with, and sat down at his own workbench. He pulled some flasks and bottles out of the bag he had brought with him, careful not to break them, and thankful the bag was padded, so that whenever he had fallen earlier, they hadn’t shattered. These particular bottles were filled with hydra venom, known for its corrosiveness. Currently, he was trying to develop a way to coat weapons with them to use as a poison, but whenever he would apply the venom, the weapons would melt. He didn’t dare risk it on his own Stygian iron sword, but he wondered if the poison would destroy a magical item. Maybe he’d get one of the Hephaestus campers to loan him one.
***
Charlie woke up from his sleep feeling quite ill. He thought that one of his cabin mates might have snuck some medicinal alcohol into the cabin and spilled it. ‘It’s happened before,’ he thought, shaking his head, and rubbing his bright green eyes. The fumes from that stuff can knock anybody out. His nauseated head mixed with the absurd dream he remembered having was really killing his vibe. He got a drink of water to help clear his mind and then went to the infirmary to see how things were. As he headed there, the ground lightly shook. This was nothing out of the ordinary at Camp Half-Blood. ‘Probably just Cabin 9 blowing itself up again,’ he thought and laughed to himself. He got to the infirmary just as Jamie, one of his brothers, was leaving.
“Hey, man!” Jamie said as Charlie walked in.
“Hey! How was the graveyard shift?” Charlie inquired, never one to enjoy staying up all night.
“Eh, not awful. Bed three has a dislocated mandible and bed five has a broken ankle. And…” Jamie looked down at the clipboard he was holding. “Bed nine has had a… mishap… with the Hecate cabin.”
“Hah. Okay, well you go and get your sleep, I’ll take over in here.” He watched as Jamie left the infirmary. Charlie then got to supervising the patients and making sure they were all comfortable and doing okay, all the while singing Blues in the Night by Eva Cassidy.
***
Jak opened his eyes to the blue sky. As he sat up inside the arena, he noticed the knife he had just been fighting with lying beside him. “Well, that could have ended badly,’ he thought. He got to his feet and noticed his cabin mates and the Hecate cabin members, who the Morpheus cabin had been practicing with, were also lying on the ground, or just standing up. “What the…,” Jak murmured. He remembered having a small dream, but that’s completely normal to Jak. His father is the god of dreams. He literally dreams all the time. This one seemed a little different than others, though, more… important. Jak flipped back through his mind to try to remember all the details. ‘I was staring at some god… imprisoned in the ground. He was telling me to let him go… he told me I’d regret it. I remember smirking… and then I woke up,’ Jak recounted. A dark feeling crossed his mind. That feeling of doing wrong, of being evil, was something he was all too familiar with. It reminded him of his time spent with… The times he’s tried to forget. A young girl who was only a few days into camp Half-Blood cleared his mind.
She had just regained her feet and stumbled, wondering aloud. “What happened? Why did we all fall down? Why was that man in the pit?”
Jak walked toward his young half-sister and helped her up. Stretching his right arm down to her slightly revealed the white tattoo beneath the sleeve on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “It was only just a dream.” He ruffled her hair. Jak then glanced over to the head of the Hecate cabin, who was looking a little bewildered. “How about we call it a day?” Jak called.
“Sounds good to me. I’ve felt really off all morning,” Lou Ellan replied. There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the other Hecate campers. Jak’s siblings seemed a little more clear-minded about the issue, though.
‘Obviously, something’s going on here,’ he thought. ‘Something to do with dreams.’ As his cabin began packing their things and heading to their other activities, Jak put his sister, Jordan, his second-in-command, in charge until lunch. “Right-o, Jackson!” she said, insisting on using his full name, which he hated since people then often confused him with Percy. Jak then reached down to the necklace he always wore, and grasped it with his fingers. With a soft flash of blue, an illusory lynx appeared beside him. “Let’s take a walk,” he said, and in deep thought, Jak began a stroll toward the woods.
***
Vina was used to seeing weird things, but she was usually the one in control of whatever those things were. Today, she wasn’t, and it frightened her a little more than she let on to her brother, Pollux. They had been chilling out in their cabin when, next thing she knew, she had apparently fallen off her bed and onto the floor. She stood up, her white hands shaking. “What was that?” She asked.
“No idea, but I think we really need to drink a bit less Kool-Aid.” Pollux smiled at her and she managed a small laugh. Already it seemed to her that the even was fading away. In fact, Vina couldn’t even recall what it was she’d been worried about. “Ready to go do some training?”
Vina pushed the trailing thought out of her mind before pulling her dark red hair back into a ponytail. “Sure thing.” They headed outside to go join their friends in some archery lessons.
***
Avaline Marie Duval was the newest girl in camp. Sure, they had people come in all the time and it was no big deal, but Avaline was catching a little more attention than she wished. The auburn-haired girl was moving around the Hermes cabin, cleaning what she could to try to help. It was her temporary home since she hadn’t been claimed just yet. Right when she finished cleaning, though, the dream hit. She could see the god, the shadows moving around him and keeping him beneath the shining bars. It looked like some kind of magic kept him there but Avaline had little knowledge on it. She heard the words spoken to her. “Regret,” was the word that hit her the hardest. It struck a personal chord within her own body.
Avaline’s eyes fluttered back open as she slowly sat up. She discovered that her head was hurting, and upon reaching her left hand up to touch it she could feel the warm liquid that now covered her fingertips and hair. “Ow…” she softly muttered and winced. On her way down, her head had apparently hit the edge of a bedside table. Of course, there was a vase that had been knocked off and broken as well. Just her luck, another reason for everyone to hate her. She slowly got up, her legs shaky, and went to find the broom. Her vision blurred, telling her that she likely had a concussion. Avaline sighed. After she was done sweeping the shards of the vase, she stumbled toward the infirmary, hoping that someone would help her.
***
Killian had convinced Harley to make him a simple blade out of Celestial Bronze. With its magical properties, he thought for sure that the hydra venom would be unable to destroy it. Unfortunately, as soon as he let a drop onto the blade, it smoked and a hole burned through it. Killian felt Harley staring daggers at him from across the room, but chose to ignore her, instead wondering what he could do with his current problem. There had to be something he could add to the venom to make it workable. ‘Damn, I should have brought more supplies with me.’ Killian thought to himself. He thought of a couple of solutions that might work, but they were back in his cabin. ‘Guess I’ll have to head back in before I make any progress today’. Killian packed his things backed into his bag, set the now ruined dagger in front of a clearly pissed Harley, and headed back to his home.
***
Charlie was chilling in the infirmary, doing the rounds, when one of the new girls, ‘Uhh… Avaline! That’s her name!’ Avaline made her way into the infirmary with a nasty looking head wound. “Okay, okay, heyyyy! Avaline, come and sit down and let me help you out!” Charlie sat Avaline down on the end of a bed before leaning in front of her to inspect the wound. He began by administering simple first-aid: cleaning the wound. While doing so, he inquired, “What on earth were you doing? Battling a chin-up bar?” He then stitched up the gash and prayed over it so that it might heal faster. “There you go! Should be healed in an hour or so, but take it easy. You do have a concussion, so just, go and sit down in the shade somewhere and chill, okay? Okay! Off you go! And also, nice to finally meet you, I know a lot of people in camp, but you’re new so, nice to meet you.” Charlie smiled. He looked, having finished with his current patient, and saw quite a few more people in the infirmary or on their way toward it. It seemed everybody had gotten a few bumps and bruises today and wanted a quick fix for them. Charlie was glad to see that another of his siblings had shown up to help out with the growing crowd, and himself began to move through them.
***
Jak reached the edge of the woods, his lynx companion trotting alongside him. When Jak stopped before entering the forest, his friend glanced up at him. “I’m just thinking. I don’t understand what that dream meant. And how did everybody have it? Did the Hecate cabin experience it just because they were near my cabin? I don’t understand.” The lynx cocked its head to the right, as if to say ‘so watcha gonna do about it?’ Jak sighed. “I’m just going to take a hike to my spot, and think for a while,” Jak replied, mildly wondering why he was explaining his actions to an illusion. He then walked at a casual pace for about a mile before coming to a halt in front of a tree that looked no different than any of the others in the woods. As he waved his hand in front of it, however, the world shimmered and the tree disappeared, revealing a small clearing invisible from the outside. ‘I’m so glad Chiron approved our idea for a place to practice our illusions,’ Jak thought, referring to his and the Morpheus cabin’s secret project.
He strode forward, the tree reappearing behind him, pulled his bow off his shoulder and his knife sheaths off his back, and laid down in the middle of the clearing. Jak crossed his arms behind his head and bent one leg at a right angle, creating a triangle with the ground. Now comfortable, he closed his bright blue eyes and felt his illusory lynx lay its head on his stomach. Jak calmed his thoughts and concentrated so that his mind might wander into dreams, a trick he’d learned he could do over the years. ‘Let’s try to figure out what was really going on,’ he thought.
***
One thing Vina knew for sure was that she, nor her brother, were any good at archery. Truth be told, none of the people they were practicing with were. Two children of Hebe, and a son of Tyche were attempting to shoot the targets at the archery range while an Apollo cabin member oversaw them, but it was clear that no one from this group was going to be the next Hawkeye. Arrows were landing everywhere, or rather, getting lost everywhere. They all decided to give up around the three-minute mark and sit or lean in various places.
“So, nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Vina joked. It was always fun to ask, given that Camp Half-Blood’s weather was constantly brilliant. A couple of people laughed before they all broke into their own conversations.
Cali, a daughter of Hebe, walked over. “So, hey, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?”
Vina looked sidelong at her, having just drawn her bow. “Go for it.” She turned back and let the arrow fly. Unsurprisingly, it missed.
“It’s about your dad, actually.”
“Oh,” Vina replied, a bit more disheartened, and turned to face the girl.
“Nothing terrible. I was just wondering if he constantly messes up yours and Pollux’s names. You know, like he does everyone else’s.” Cali giggled a little. “One time he actually called me Calypso. I was flattered.”
Vina sighed. “Of course he does. I’ve never understood why he can’t remember anyone’s names.” ‘Or why he pretends not to, at least,’ she thought to herself. Vina knew her dad was a much better guy than he let on to everyone.
Cali looked disappointed at her answer. “Oh, well okay. Thanks! I’ll, uh, see you around.” She turned around and left, leaving Vina alone to practice missing the targets.
***
Avaline felt a bit out of place as she walked into the infirmary, though she wasn’t clear if that was from her concussion or her lack of Camp experience. As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by a dusty blonde male. All of Apollo’s children seemed to be blonde, much like the Athena kids. Slowly, Avaline was gaining knowledge about this other side of her life.
She was surprised at the amount of attention she was receiving from the medic. A knot grew in her stomach as he spoke. He wasn’t wearing a doctor’s lab coat, he wasn’t even wearing a name tag, but somehow, he knew what he was doing, so she didn’t protest. The thing that really bothered her was that she didn’t know his name, but he recognized her as soon as she had walked in. “I-“ She tried to speak but found herself without words. Avaline sat down where the boy told her, and let him patch her up. A soft smile crept over her pale lips in response to his questions. “No, I was cleaning up the Hermes cabin. It’s the least I can do since I’m imposing on them, I thought. Then I collapsed, I guess. I think I had some weird sort of hallucination. Are those normal here?” She shrugged. “Anyway, I guess I hit my head on a bedside table and knocked off a vase while in the process.” Avaline had a small accent that might have been European of some sort. She hadn’t really spoken to anyone at Camp for the day and a half she’d been there. Any questions she was asked she had just nodded or shook her head, or shrugged her shoulders. “I-“ She stared up once again to the hazel-eyed male. “Thank you.” Avaline nodded gently, her skull still aching slightly, but he had done a good job on her. She slowly stood up, trying to get her balance. She nodded at the mention of taking it easy, and headed off on her way.
Avaline walked towards the nearest tree and leaned against it before sliding down onto the ground. She slipped her amethyst eyes closed to try and rest.
***
Killian walked back into the midst of Camp. Looking over, he saw that the infirmary was getting crowded. He wondered why there would be so many people in there all at once, but it didn’t seem like anybody was in serious condition or anything. Still, he figured this would be a great opportunity to try out his healing potions on real people. Killian put aside his hydra venom and instead grabbed his health potions and elixirs, swapping them into his bag, before heading toward the infirmary.
Arriving at the care center, Killian noted that a couple of Apollo kids were busy moving through the line. Killian walked over to Charlie, the one he recognized, and showed him his potions, explaining to the son of Apollo what they did.
“If there’s anything I can do to help out just let me know.” Killian neglected to mention the fact that these elixirs hadn’t been used on demigods before, but thankfully they turned out okay.
***
Charlie had just finished with another camper when he turned around to see Killian standing behind him with a few odd-looking vials in hand. The boy explained that they were healing potions, and that he was there to help. Charlie wasn’t exactly confident in what Killian could do medically, but he sent the son of Hades around the infirmary with his potions to see to some of the campers, welcoming the extra hand. ‘It’s nice to have another camper helping out. Always good.’ Charlie thought to himself before turning back to treating the mass of campers.
***
Jak was pulled back to the start of the dream. This time, he paid attention to the details around him. He was clearly underground, as the walls were made of dirt. A single candle lit the cavern. Jak turned to look at the imprisoned god. Its features looked more and more tired as he studied him. The shining metal bars looked like they were made of iron, but there was a faint glow upon them, as if emanating magical energy. Suddenly, Jak felt a shadow come over him; metaphorically, not physically. It was as if all the bad feelings of his past were thrust back upon him. A familiar evil feeling crept its way back through his veins. The ending of the dream was different this time. Jak watched as his body walked to the candle and put it out. The god yelled in distress and begged to be freed. Jak’s mind felt his body turn and walk away.
***
Jak had just finished walking back to camp. He only had to deal with one monster on his way back, and it fell to a single, well placed arrow. Standing just outside the woods, he again reached to his necklace, this time to disperse his lynx. After witnessing the dream again, paying much greater attention and thinking on it as his walk, Jak decided he should mention it to Chiron. ‘A dream that my whole cabin had, if not everybody… something that weird… it has to be important.’ He started making his way toward the Big House, hoping that Chiron would be inside. On his way, he passed campers doing their normal activities. People were canoeing, playing volleyball, it seemed as though nothing was wrong. As if they’d all forgotten whatever strange dream they might have had. “Perks of being a child of Morpheus I guess,” he muttered.
Jak was just passing the infirmary when he saw a girl leaned up against a tree, looking a little dazed. He recognized her as a new camper, but wasn’t able to recall her name. Jak glanced to the infirmary, noticing a rather large number of campers inside, and that’s when he saw Killian running around trying to help. Jak smirked. “Mind if I sit with you?” he asked; startling the girl out of her trance. Jak crossed his legs beneath him as he sat and leaned on the tree as well. “I’m Jak, nice to meet you.” He noticed her surprise at the color of his hair, being pure white, before she replied with her name, Avaline. “So, how’s the Hermes cabin been treating you?” Jak wondered, trying to find common ground. The girl looked downward. ‘Apparently not all that well,’ Jak realized.
“Well, I lived in that tiny cabin for four years, so I understand,” his bright blue eyes darkened for a moment, but then Jak chuckled. “Don’t worry, though, the gods are much better about claiming their children now.” An awkward silence ensued, as the girl wasn’t the most talkative, but Jak understood that she was new and didn’t know him. ‘All part of the job of being a counselor,’ he thought.
After a few minutes of just sitting, Jak said, “Hey, Avaline, have you witnessed any good pranks, yet?” The girl lightly shook her head no. “Well, Camp Half-Blood is kind of famous for them. Watch this.” He turned back to the infirmary, pointing at ne camper walking around inside, clearly out of place next to the blonde members of the Apollo cabin. “That’s Killian; he’s a son of hades. Not really sure what he’s doing helping the Apollo kids out, but, you see, he has this...” Jak’s eyes lit up. “Obsession, with Brisk Iced tea,” he continued. Jak waved his hand in an arc while facing the infirmary, changing many medical objects into exact replicas of the bottles, and filling cabinets with illusions of them. “Shh.” Jak put his finger to his lips as he looked back at Avaline. “Now, we just wait.”
***
After finishing with failing at archery, Pollux came over to talk to Vina. “What did Cali ask you about?”
“Just the stupid name thing again,” She swore that in three short years she’d been at Camp, almost everyone had asked that question before. They two started walking back to their cabin, annoyed at their dad and the other campers for being so petty.
“Still,” Pollux chuckled, “some of those names get so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh at them. Remember when he called you Vinny?” He barked with laughter. “I love that one.”
“Oh my gosh, stop.” Vina said, but she smiled broadly. “What am I, some kind of mobster?” She shook her head. “At least Vinny is a real name. What does Pollister even mean?” she retorted.
“Ugh. Don’t bring that one up.” Pollux rolled his eyes. “People are going to think I’m trying to start my own Hollister store. I hate their shirts.” Pollux enjoyed American Eagle instead. “Besides, we hate this subject, remember?”
“You’re right,” Vina said, remembering how the conversation started. “What’s next? Canoeing?”
***
Killian hated medical work, but he felt that he should be able to help a little. Soon, though, his sixth sense could tell something was… Brisk! He spun around on the spot, expecting to see a random camper drinking a bottle of happiness, but no. Instead, Killian found that there were bottles everywhere! Feelings of anger, rage, and hate filled him. He knew exactly who was torturing him like this. As the world grew dark and cold, a purple aura surrounded Killian. “Where are you, Jak!? I know it’s you! It’s not funny anymore!” Unfortunately, Killian had fallen for this trick more than once, much to his embarrassment. Now, though, he was through with Jak’s antics. He noticed that the people closest to him were beginning to look sick, almost skeletal. He knew it was because of his anger. Forcing himself to be calm for their sake, his wrath-powered death aura receded. “I’m sorry for causing any emotional stress to anyone’s day, but I have someone to murder,” he announced calmly.
Killian slowly walked out the door to the infirmary, drew the large, black sword from his back, and began walking towards the tree that Jak sat by. “Say hi to my dad for me!” Killian screamed as he charged.
***
Jak laughed aloud as he saw Killian freak out upon noticing all the tea, but his laughter died as a dim purple glow surrounded the child of Hades. Jak saw Killian look out the window and realized he had been caught. Next to him, Avaline inhaled sharply and gave a small start when Killian drew his sword and sprinted straight at Jak, screaming about how angry he was.
Jak drew the twin knives from his back and sighed. “Damnit, Killian. Don’t be such a KILLJOY!” He grunted as his knives crossed in midair and took the full force of Killian’s huge, overhead blow. Taking advantage of the position, Jak then kicked him in the gut, knocking him to the ground. Once the younger boy had fallen, Jak took a step forward and kicked the sword out of his hand, knocking it away. “It’s a prank, man. Calm down. You’ve had your fair share of them, too.”
Jak looked back over his shoulder at Avaline. “Sorry about that, I didn’t think it’d go that far.”
“This is the last time I let you do this, Jak!” Killian yelled from the ground and proceeded to flatten his hand upon it. The dirt lightly shook as two skeletons arose, one large and fully armored, holding a large war axe, the other much smaller and brandishing only a knife. “Take him to Tartarus!” Killian commanded.
“Ughhhh. Why!?” Jak sheathed one of his knives and reached to his necklace with his now free hand. He grasped the onyx pendant and summoned his lynx. The animal tackled the knife-wielding skeleton. Jak then drew a throwing knife from the bandolier across his chest and threw it straight at the head of the larger skeleton, knocking its skull to the ground. “Give it up, Joyus. This doesn’t have to happen.”
Killian chanted a spell under his breath, knocking Jak, his lynx, and the smaller skeleton to the ground. Standing up, he then grabbed the fallen skull and returned it to its owner. “I am one of the most powerful demigods here, besides the Seven! I could rip you apart! But, I won’t need to, if you promise to stop that stupid trick. It doesn’t even work anymore, so just stop!”
Jak rolled backward and raised himself to a kneeling position. His lynx dispersed back into mist. “Feeling cocky, are we? Raw power isn’t everything.” Jak placed his own hand on the ground and spoke a few magic words. His body shimmered and disappeared to everyone’s eyes but his own. “Fine, you wanna do this for real? Let’s do it!” Killian could only stare helplessly as he witnessed the fallen skeleton’s chest splinter into pieces as if it’d been stomped on. In the next second, the larger skeleton’s legs were knocked from beneath it and it fell to the ground. Killian then felt the cold steel of Jak’s unseen knife pressed against his throat. “Are we done?”
Killian was caught. He was also losing strength. He’d used a lot of magic today, and hand to hand combat was not at all his strong suit. He was forced to either give up, or go through with his own bluff. “I’m sorry, Jak,” he whispered as he stabbed downward with a now unsheathed knife. The blade pierced Jak’s invisible thigh, and the spell faded. Killian pushed the now visible son of Morpheus away, and reached down to pick up his sword, although it seemed a lot heavier to use now. “I’m going to end this, now.”
Avaline watched the fight carefully. She noticed every movement they made; the raising of hands and their footwork, or in Killian’s case, the lack thereof. He was clearly not a good physical fighter. Eventually, she got annoyed at the petty fight. Even with her head pounding and the world still spinning, she got up and stepped between the two boys. “Enough.” Her voice was sharp and commanding and most of the campers around cowered from the power emanating from it. “I will not stand by and watch you two try to kill each other. If you attempt to attack again, you’ll have to go through me.” Those amethyst eyes of hers turned hard. “Go ahead. I dare you.” She turned her head back and forth between the two. The other campers encircling the fight just stared. No one else would have braved getting between the couple of demigods. Everyone knew Killian was a loose cannon, and Jak had a long reputation of being a very capable fighter. To intervene would have been suicide.
Jak stared at Killian from the other side of Avaline, covering the stab wound in his leg with his hand, blood beginning to ooze out. He limped forward, past the girl, and walked up to the younger kid, looking up to his face. “A prank is a prank, nothing more. You do NOT harm other campers. Got it? Nobody here is going to harm other campers.” Jak spoke quietly, but forcefully, his finger pointing in Killian’s direction. His voice was full of emotion and conviction, it clearly seemed to be a personal issue. “Learn some respect for the living, death boy.” Jack pushed past Killian and limped into the infirmary, calling to his friend Charlie to look at his leg.
Killian was relieved that he could rest now. After most of everybody finally cleared out, he let himself fall, hitting the ground hard. “Ouch,” is all he could say. He was fed up with Jak’s pranks. ‘Stupid child of lies,’ he thought to himself. ‘I know your past.’ Killian lay there, with his head on the ground. He remembered how he had gotten to camp and his life before and sighed. “This is supposed to be a safe place… I need to respect that.” His mind went black as the fatigue from overusing his magic finally caught up with him and he slipped from consciousness.
***
Avaline saw to it that Jak made it safely to the same Apollo kid that helped her out; she heard Jak call him Charlie. ‘Good to know,’ she thought. Once Jak had limped to his friend, she went back to go outside only to discover the other boy in the altercation, Joyus is the only name she recalls hearing, passed out on the ground. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “This is so not my day,” she muttered, shaking her still aching head. At least she had seen this before; it looked just like the kind of exhaustion from not sleeping for three days, which she’d unfortunately experienced a multitude of times. Avaline figured he just needed to sleep it off. She stared down at the ebony-haired boy, biting her thumb as she considered the possibility of carrying him back to his cabin. Avaline wasn’t tall or built, in fact, she was really rather tiny, while the unconscious boy on the ground, although lanky, was more than a foot taller than her 4’9 self. Plus, she didn’t even know where his cabin was, though she was fairly sure she the Hades cabin might stand out from the rest. Instead, she heaved another sigh before leaning down and grabbing the back of his collar. Avaline proceeded to half carry, half drag him over to the same tree she and Jak were sitting at earlier. Once she’d propped him up as best she could, she sat next to him and closed her eyes, leaning her back against the trunk: a now familiar position. She realized a lot had happened in the time since she’d woken up. “Today’s going to be a long day…” she said, having no idea how true her words were going to be.
***
Killian woke up with a feeling of dread. He realized he was no longer in front of the infirmary, and that someone must have moved him. He closed his eyes, preferring to pretend to still be asleep, trying to discern his surroundings through hearing and sixth sense. He felt a presence behind him, but it didn’t seem hostile. Giving up the act, Killian sat up and turned around. He was surprised when he saw only the small girl who had stepped between him and Jak. He recognized her as the newest girl to Camp Half-Blood, but with the number of campers they always got throughout the week, he hadn’t bothered to commit her name to memory. Her eyes were closed, but she slowly opened them at hearing him move.
“Did you.. move me here?” Killian asked her, his dark blue eyes meeting her violet ones. She nodded in response. “What was your name?” he asked, looking away from her and toward the woods. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember it.”
“…. Avaline,” she said quietly.
“Ah, well, I’m Killian.” He extended a hand to his savior, but quickly withdrew it. ‘…wait, does she think happened? That I lost the fight and passed out because I don’t know how to manage my own powers? Is she going to tell people I’m weak?’ Killian’s mind was often on what other people thought of him. That’s why he’d always fight through his fatigue, pretending he was much better off than was true. ‘Does she see through my act?’ He squinted his eyes at her. “How much did you see?” He asked, suddenly hostile.
***
Charlie was very confused. He was helping the many campers in the infirmary, making sure to watch Killian in the corner of his eye, when he saw the son of Hades blow up… literally: there was a purple hellfire licking at his shoulders and head. ‘Impressive, but quite terrifying,’ Charlie commented to himself. He did not like the way that it was affecting his patients, though. Killian then looked out the window and suddenly stopped. Charlie heard him apologize and then mention… “Oh, gods of Olympus this could get bad.” Charlie, one of Jak’s closest friends at Camp, knew how much he liked to tease Killian, and he also knew how much Killian hated it. It seemed the younger boy had finally snapped. Thankfully, the campers around Killian got color back into their skins and looked more normal, but they proceeded to puke on the floor. Many of those inside followed Killian out the door, always eager to see a fight, as real fights didn’t often happen outside the arena.
Charlie also left the building, but more to make sure he was there in case he was needed. He watched the two exchange blows, glad to see Jak was on the defensive and not actively trying to hurt Killian, until the idiot bragged about his own power. Charlie sighed, “...and here we go,” he muttered. Sure enough, Jak turned invisible and went on the attack. When he saw Killian turn his chin up, he knew there was a blade at his throat. He was surprised, however, when he saw the boy’s arm thrust downward, and heard Jak give a small cry of pain. ‘Not bad, Killian,’ he thought to himself as he turned back into the infirmary, planning to grab the supplies to fix Jak’s leg.
He heard a girl shouting, and as he turned and looked through the window, was amazed to see that it was Avaline, standing between the two. Charlie then listened as Jak said the last words to Killian, cringing as he saw some of the campers’ reactions, those who knew Jak’s background found it a little hypocritical. He was glad, then, when Jak asked him for a hand with the wound. Charlie knew it wasn’t very serious and that Jak probably could have healed it himself, he was pretty adept at the demigod life, but instead wanted to let his friend take care of it. Charlie appreciated it and that was one of the reasons he liked Jak as much as he did. Once he had the stab wound basically healed, he clapped Jak on the back and called him an idiot.
“You’re right,” Jak said. “I suppose it’s time to give up the Brisk pranks. Though they were fun while they lasted.”
The two laughed, and Jak got up to head out, saying he had business with Chiron. Charlie noticed a change in his eyes. Jak’s eyes were famous for changing based on his mood, and they went from the light blue of his normal happy self to a stormy gray, which Charlie recognized as his troubled mood. As he watched his friend walk out the door with only a slight limp, Charlie was left thinking that today was going to be one weird day.
***
After letting Charlie deal with his wound, Jak lightly limped out of the infirmary. As he stepped out the door, he glanced toward the tree he was sitting at earlier with Avaline. He now saw the girl sitting beneath it with a sleeping Killian. ‘Really?’ he thought, slightly miffed. ‘She’s gonna side with him on this? Whatever.’ He harrumphed and turned toward the Big House, back on his mission to inform Chiron of the strange dream. On his way, he waved to a couple of friends from other cabins, and saw his own siblings heading back to their home to prepare for lunch. Jordan raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his limp, but he waved her off. As Jak reached the Big House’s porch, he glanced around to see if Chiron or Mr. D were sitting outside. Seeing nobody but a couple of satyrs, he walked into the building. Most campers weren’t supposed to just walk in without permission, but Jak, being a senior camper and a counselor, had the right to do so. He passed through the main/living room, checking for anybody, before making his way to Chiron’s office. Knocking softly on the door, he waited for an answer.
Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal Chiron, compacted in his magic wheelchair, as he usually was when inside. “Something I can do for you, Jak? We can talk on our way to grab lunch.” Chiron offered.
***
“I don’t know about you, but I could have done with lunch sooner.” Vina said to her brother, absent-mindedly clutching her stomach. Her and Pollux were headed up to the mess hall. As they approached, Lacy, a friend of Vina’s from the Aphrodite cabin, ran up to them.
“Did you guys hear what happened at the infirmary?” she asked, grinning and showing her braces off. The two children of Dionysus looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What happened?” Pollux asked. Vina noticed he sounded slightly worried.
“There was a fight!” Lacy proceeded to explain the events that had happened between Killian and Jak. Vina and Pollux burst out laughing, before Vina pulled out three drachmae and handed them to Pollux. They’d had a bet going on if Killian could go a week without attempting to fight Jak. Vina had given him the benefit of the doubt, but, apparently, she was wrong. Lacy looked slightly confused at this exchange, but then noticed her own cabin approaching for lunch. “See ya, Vina!” she waved as she ran to join her siblings.
“Bye, Lacy!” Vina called back. Pollux muttered the same next to her. “Aww, don’t worry, bro, people like you, too.” Vina chuckled as she bumped her shoulder into her brother. The two finally sat down at their table and summoned their food. Vina shook her head as, per usual, Pollux sacrificed his Twinkies to the gods, insisting that the divine loved them just as much as the rest of us. She slid some of her own carrots off her plate, and thanked the gods for changing in the past couple of years before sitting back down and enjoying her lunch.
***
Avaline stared at the boy that was in her face. His suddenly harsh tone of voice was now reflected in her features as he questioned her. “What do you mean ‘what did I see?’ You and Jak fought. I made sure he made it to Charlie okay. When I came back out, you were unconscious and in the dirt. Sorry for trying to help, it won’t happen again.” She didn’t like feeling attacked. Avaline was one of those girls who could handle herself. She may have been small, but she was fast, and her movement were precise. And she was very fierce. The horn signaling meals was blown, giving her an excuse to leave. She stood up and looked down at the boy. Her face relaxed, remembering that he had recently been unconscious. “You should probably eat something.” She offered him a hand. He took it, but as she walked away toward the pavilion, Killian stood in place for a while. ‘Go ahead and sulk then,’ she rolled her eyes.
After joining the Hermes cabin in giving a portion of their food to the gods, Avaline really didn’t understand how this was a good sacrifice, she was just about to dig in when she felt, rather than saw, something wrong. The air changed, and when she looked up, she noticed a crowd around the brazier. Listening to the Hermes kids at the crowded table, she gathered that the people standing at the fire were the members of the Hypnos cabin. One boy, short and rather fat, but seemingly with authority in the group, turned around and addressed the other campers. “Our food isn’t burning.”
***
Killian regretted getting angry at Avaline. He realized she was only trying to help him, and he had verbally attacked her for it. He accepted her help in getting up for lunch. He closed his eyes to think his next words through carefully. It had always been hard for him to apologize. “… Sorry I was such a jerk to you…” he said in a quiet voice, but when he opened his eyes, Avaline was already on her way to the mess hall. Killian sighed before beginning his own trudge that way.
Killian deposited some of his own food into the brazier, and sat down to eat alone at the Hades table; Nico was currently off at Camp Jupiter, hanging out with his sister. He was sipping at his Brisk tea, though it reminded him of stupid Jak, when Clovis made his announcement.
***
After all of the drama the morning had offered, Charlie finished up in the infirmary and made his way back to the Apollo cabin to go to lunch. ‘Gods, I’m hungry,’ he thought, relishing the thought of a good salad. He and the rest of his siblings made their way to the Apollo table, and after sitting down, he got his salad. The campers began the routine of giving food to the gods, but the line stopped. Charlie looked up from staring at his delicious looking salad, his stomach now even more upset at the delay. At hearing Clovis’s words, though, he forgot his hunger.
***
Jak walked with Chiron slowly to the dining pavilion, explaining the day to the centaur as they went. Chiron had left his wheelchair on the porch of the Big House, saying he needed to stretch his legs for the day. Jak tried to cover everything, from the first time he had experienced the dream, to waking up and noticing he wasn’t the only one to have it, to exploring the dream further, and of course, to his fight with Killian. Jak finished his story just as they had come to the pavilion. He saw his siblings already eating, having sacrificed portions of their food to his father. Every cabin was present, even Killian sitting by himself at the hades table. Despite the all you can eat, whatever you want, lunch, however, there seemed to be an air of unease as Jak walked up with Chiron. Many campers seemed confused and were looking at the newly arrived centaur for an explanation. Jak saw that a good number of them were staring back and forth between the brazier and the Hypnos cabin members, who looked exasperated. Curious, Jak stood with Chiron as Clovis, head of the Hypnos cabin and technically Jak’s uncle, approached the activities director.
***
Chiron listed to Jak as they walked, keeping an open mind with everything that Jak told him. He nodded his head every now and then to show his attention, but was thinking deeply and was somewhat troubled by the news of these events. He was about to address the issue of the fight with Killian when they arrived at the dining pavilion. “Well-“ Chiron was cut off by the approaching Clovis.
“Chiron, we’ve got a problem.” Clovis said, seeming very nervous and unsure of what to do. Chiron yawned at the aura the boy put off, unable to help it. “The offering for Hypnos isn’t burning.” Chiron trotted over to the brazier and looked down, noting the food sitting in the fire unburned.
***A red-headed girl slowly made her way toward the dining pavilion, her head throbbing. It wasn’t often that she interacted with the other campers, seeing glimpses of their futures every time she saw their faces was enough of a deterrent to stay away. She instead preferred the company of her friends, Percy, Annabeth, and the others, and she often had long talks with Chiron. Occasionally, she would join the multitude for meals, wanting to catch up on everybody’s current events, but today was not one of those days. No, there was something else driving her to the other campers today. Gently massaging her temples, she strode into the center of the pavilion, drawing everyone’s attention, even the distressed members of the Hypnos cabin. Rachel doubled over, a green haze gripping her body and mind. Then, she stood suddenly upright, her eyes now glowing a radiation green, signaling a new prophecy. Her voice rang out through the pavilion, resonating inside the campers’ skulls as multiple people speaking together.
“Beware brave campers, the hound in the dark;
Hear its howl, fear its mark;
Grave men who see with blinding sight;
To dance with danger, to chance his might;
With gods whose power never wanes;
And binds them in eternal chains;”
Rachel promptly collapsed.
***
Notes
I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter of this fanfiction. Please let me know what you think of the characters and the dynamics between them so far. It has taken a lot of editing and removal/addition of the original roleplay to get this far, so I really hope all that work pays off and you guys enjoy it. I know this is a story lacking in Percy and friends, but they will at least get a mention and you'll see them in the next chapter. Feel free to comment!
OG Characters (in Alphabetical Order): Avaline Duval; Jackson Hutchison; Charles Iliahtida; Killian Joyus; Vina Rosalina;
A word from the Author: This story is the result of an online Percy Jackson role-play created by seven individuals. The story is broken into pieces because each person posted one at a time to contribute, so most events will be experienced from multiple points of view. This tale was authored by many: the leader Avery, who acts as the rule-maker/enforcer, and plays as any generic NPC’s, monsters, and her original character Avaline; Megan, the co-leader, who acts as Rachel Elizabeth Dare and writes prophecies; Aiden, who plays and created the character Killian; Kelcey, who plays her original character Vina; Josh, who plays his original character Charlie; and myself, Michael, who is an advisor to Avery and Megan, and plays as his original character Jak. While the events listed are based on everything that each person wrote, they have been edited to be longer and, naturally, to be more like my own writing style. Because of this, Jak has become more of a main character than he was as just an older, wiser figure in the real role-play. This just means the other characters will note his actions more often than others, and think of their connections to him rather than between others. I find this inevitable, as he is my own character and the one I know the most about, and hope that you like him as much as I do. Please enjoy this story and consider creating one of these events yourself!
Woohoo, just found this through a tumblr blog. I thought I'd give it a try, since I sensed the word "sleep" in it would have to do with cabin 15, which Is my fav one (proud Hypnos Child hehehee). I was right ! The story has some awesome characters, Killian the anger issues guy (aka Keith from Voltron), Jax the mischievous dad-friend (aka, Shiro from voltron). I had been toying with the headcanon that dream/sleep god children (like Morpheus, Hypnos etc.) can sometimes summon companion spirits, like Meg summoning a karpos, but i was thinking more like a dream-spirit, not an illusion (the parallel being Oneiroi, the thousand sons of sleep, personifications of a single dream. Adding that right there as a good idea ;) ). Still loved it. Sounds like a perfect intro to the characters, although I would have liked to see more of Vina and Pollux, just to meet them more. That's ok though, I guess there's a next chapter for that. Killian and Jax's fighting sounds promising and can't wait to see how they resolve it, as i'm guessing they will go on the quest together, and in parallel with Charles being good friends with Jax.
The I'm loving it and waiting promptly for said next chapter. When might we be blessed with that pleasure ?
9/11/17