Percy POV

I was holding the sky, again. It was crushing me, and I couldn't hold for much longer. My hair started to gray, and the strain was evident.

"Percy, let go!" Annabeth shouted at me.

"You let go, your friends die!" the pounding voice reminded me.

I strained myself, and just as I was about to die from the exhaustion, I woke up. My heart was racing and I was breathing heavily. I had a killer headache, and my muscles were weak.

"Just a dream," I reminded myself, pulling on my camp t-shirt and jeans.

I walked out of the now empty Poseidon cabin and into another day. I started my morning jog around the Camp. It was good exercise, and I usually saw someone. Chiron was a little more lenient on us older campers and our schedules.

"There you are, Prissy! I need a break. Watch the newbies for me," Clarisse said, giving me a noogie as she walked off.

We were on better terms now, after I saved the world again, but there was still tension between us, almost as if one of us would explode at any minute.

"So, you're teaching us to swordfight?" the blond boy in the middle said. 

He said it like he was some tough guy, like he was pretty macho, but beneath that there was something else. He kept glancing at the brown-haired girl.

"I guess," I replied. 

The students murmured, saying stuff like "He doesn't look like much," and a few of them were giggling while looking at me.

"Now, you and you," I said pointing to the blond boy and the brown haired girl. "Show me what you got,"

They walked into the middle of the arena, the armor with loose straps flailing around.

I wonder if I looked this ridiculous when I first played Capture the Flag, I silently thought in my head.

The boy did a sloppy slash at the girl, and she pulled her sword up to block it. He kept attacking without stopping, slash upon slash upon slash.

"Good technique if you know you're going to defeat your opponent in a few seconds, but not practical," I commented.

The girl was all defense, it seemed.

"Try to attack. It's okay to let some of those weaknesses show when you're beginning, and he still has to find them," I criticized.

She dodged and rolled, getting a good jab at his legs.

"Nice job!" I grinned.

She looked at me, and the boy jabbed at her, denting the armor. Their swords hit with such intensity, it felt personal. Sparks flew off their blades. The boy gave a blow that would have killed her if she didn't have armor, and she fell. The boy grinned like a cheshire cat. Then the girl kicked him where the sun don't shine. There was a huge "Ouch!" from the students, and some winces.

"Works every time," I said, smiling.

She kicked him while he was on the floor.

"And thats for saying girls can't fight, Aidan," she growled.

"Good fight, you two," I congratulated.

"Sophie," she said, reaching her hand out.

"Percy," I replied, shaking it.

Her eyes widened.

"The Percy Jackson? Two time Savior of Olympus?" 

"Shush!" I whisper-shouted. "Yeah, but I don't tell people that,"

"So, my advice for this battle. Sophie, you will probably get a shield soon, but you're pretty reliable with only a sword." I praised. "And Aidan?"

"Yeah," he answered weakly, still on the floor in pain.

"Don't get Sophie mad," I said.

She smiled, and he just groaned.

"Okay, you two, go," I said to the next pair. 

And the next pair. And the next pair after that. None of the fights were quite as spectacular as Aidan and Sophie's. 

Those two are something. I better watch out for them, I thought.

At the end of the lesson, I pulled Sophie over.

"Sophie, he didn't mean what he said. Sometimes, people like him get intimidated by awesome people like us,"  I explained. 

She laughed. "Sure. He's not just a jerk," she said sarcastically.

"If you don't want to take my advice, it's your problem. But hang out with him a little more. You might see he's intimidated in more ways than one," I said, laughing at her expression.

 It was priceless.

"Really? You giving someone advice?" Clarisse said to me. "Remember those five years you spent with Annabeth before you realized you liked her?"

"Anyway, how do you like Aidan and Sophie?" Clarisse continued.

"They're good kids. FIve drachma they're a couple by the next big battle?" I said.

"You're on, Jackson," she said, and we shook on it.

I started walking out the door, when I was stopped, again.

"Chiron. He wants you at the big house," Clarisse said.

I walked away to the big house, ready for another truth bomb.

"Ah, come in, Percy. I have something to discuss with you," he welcomed me.

I sat down in a chair, next to Annabeth, and the rest of the Seven, plus Nico and Thalia.

"Right before Percy came to camp, Hecate appeared to me. She spoke to me about a secret she had been keeping from the gods. The wizard kind, and ours, they fought once. Both sides clashed, and the wizards were so powerful, they almost destroyed our civilization. The most powerful of their kind could cast spells by thinking them, and controlled death itself. "

"Eventually, the gods were afraid of them, and asked their demigod children to defeat them. But the wizards were unstoppable. A demigod child of Hecate went and pleaded with Hecate. She asked her to revoke the Magic blessing from the wizards. Hecate went, and was about to try and destroy the wizards, but it was an ill-fated quest." 

"She could take away the blessing, but she would fade in the process. Asiménia glóssa, the strongest magic user of all time, debatably even stronger than Hecate, came and told Hecate to not destroy them, but to hide them from the gods, and to only diminish their power. Hecate agreed, and they lived on. But Asiménia glóssa cast a spell so strong it affected the gods memories, and made everyone forget the lost culture. Some say she still lives, just biding her time until she can come to power again. Hecate feared the gods wrath, and made a new Camp,"

"This is what I know, but it is not all. I still believe Hecate is hiding information from me."

"The Prophecy, what is it?" Annabeth said, eager for knowledge.

"The Heroes of Olympus shall fight again with the Boy who Lived and his friends

Only together can they succeed lest the world be taken by greed.

 Children of lightning and the children of death shall clash with the monsters of the wizard clan.

  Night shall hold day in chains for only she can be freed with a hero slain.

 Balance shall prevail no matter who wins.

 Child of Sea, hero of the world, or it's bane

 Will save the world, or the end begins

It didn't make sense to me at the time, and I still don't understand it in entirety, but I believe that you are the Heroes of Olympus,"

Leave a vote, or comment if you liked it. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you are doing well with COVID-19, and aren't sick. I am editing my chapters, so you may want to reread the others as I edit them, as some edits may change major or minor details.