DA : Chapter 146: The Storm I

Two Days Later

Her eyes narrowed as they set upon her targets, irrelevant of the miles separating them. Her bow softly crackled in her hand, as if eager to begin. Her eyes shifted off the silhouettes of the four ships as they landed and drifted from the skies above, watching as dusk approached overhead. The clouds started to gathered and darken to cast further shadows, reflecting her will as the briefest of battle jitters entered her veins. Tonight was the beginning.

"How you holding up Thals?" a slightly deep and smooth voice asked to her side.

She glanced there, meeting the flaming black eyes of her king, his stance looking relaxed with arms crossed even if she could tell he was wound up and ready to burst into action. He stood next to her as she crouched on the battlements along the sides of the Prime Gate, the first entrance into Mount. Cartier's city, their home.

"I'm fine," she sighed as she returned her gaze to their enemies.

She watched as more than a thousand demigods, legacies, and Amazons joined by battalions of satyrs still loyal of the likes of Mr. D and Artemis, along with even the Party Ponies having arrived by land close to the same time. And dozens minor gods, many of which she couldn't even name or recognize, hovered above in their war chariots with the Olympians left being apparent.

Even from here she could make out faces, hear the veritable roar of mixed voices, commands, and marching carried through the winds. They were unaware, even if they could see the sole mountain amongst the forests and plains around them.

All bunched up together, in one location. Just one of her stronger bolts, perhaps shot from their house above the very atmosphere. With more power than a nuclear bomb, it would guarantee to vaporize that army with only the stronger of the minor gods and Olympians surviving such an attack.

Such simple slaughter with the overwhelming power at her finger tips. It was at times like these that her hands shook as she realized how lucky they had been that Gaea had been silently fighting against her own siblings, keeping Tartarus and Nyx restrained to the Pit and forcing her consciousness into slumber to recover.

If it hadn't been for such a silent Cold War, Gaea would have crushed Olympus, the demigods, and civilization as a whole. And now each and every member of the council could do the same … and so could Pontus. Thalia knew he was out there with Thalassa, watching, waiting for the moment to strike out at them and those they cared for. He held no qualms about stepping on the mortals and demigods in his pursuit of revenge, to see his mother's goal of conquest completed. And worst of all, they couldn't even attack him on his own turf, not with entire kingdoms and ancient monsters at his back, and now the likes of Oceanus and Poseidon with him as well.

She shook her head though, banishing those thoughts and focusing on the now. Now she needed to prepare because her role was vital in dividing the Olympian forces, to keep them pressured and unable to react before Rhea and Percy did their parts. Glancing again at her king and friend beside her, she noted that his eyes were intently focused as well, the growing shadows around him stirring in excitement.

"How's everyone else?" she asked while still looking at the setting camp of the Olympian forces.

"Ready," Percy said shortly before he sighed and turned away, his right hand lightly resting on the blade sheathed to the right hip, Sin, his Viking short sword.

"Are … are you going through with it?" she asked, wondering if it was finally time for that battle.

Percy only nodded, the grip on the hilt of Sin tightening as well.

"I see …" Thalia said softly as she looked up, smiling sadly at the cold, full moon slowly appearing above them.

Neither said anymore as Percy walked away, the shadows responding to his presence as he disappeared into the embrace of darkness, no doubt to prepare for his part.

"For what's it's worth," Thalia said as she looked back to the army too far away to hear or even see her. "I'm sorry for what you're about to face…"

...

( Allen POV )

The demigod sighed as he set down another crate of supplies into one of the storage tents, having completed his tenth trip as such. They'd landed several hours ago in a rather large clearing of the forest spanning around them for miles and miles.

Allen wasn't a stranger to nature, his father being a bit of an outdoors enthusiast, not to mention being a resident of Oregon but even then, the sheer sight from the Argos had been almost mystic in nature. As they flew Allen could just tell that the forest beneath them was different, full of a life and vitality that would fit better in some lost, untouched world.

Hell, only a few hours after landing, the Hunt and many other tracking groups formed of either Hermes or Apollo's Vanguards had caught game to supplement the food of the army. And not just any old deer and other local wildlife but animals significantly bigger, healthier, and if the hunting parties were to be believed, tougher.

After all, a deer needing more than two arrows shot from bows meant to fire against monsters was no simple matter. Even now Allen would glance at the trees at the edges of the camp and feel as if the forest itself was watching them and a sense of danger flowed with the very breeze.

Even the night had been oddly quiet and subdued with only ominous, dark clouds overhead. No lightning, no crackle of thunder, not even a hint of rain. They were just there, heavy and tense above the camp with a forest so quiet that not even crickets sung and that worried Allen.

After the first rounds of catching game, the animal signs trickled out until none could be seen close, not even damn squirrels. Allen wasn't the only one that was alarmed by all these signs though, with several of the older and especially veteran demigods reacting on trigger fingers to the slightest sudden movements with patrols around the camp border using white-knuckle grips.

They all could look in the same direction, seeing the single mountain cresting far above even the tallest trees of the forest. It had been visible for some time as they flew, making several gawk at the sheer size of it and several to proclaim their shock when on board telescopes had been used, allowing sight of the walled and gated city resting on it. Even now, as he stepped out of the supply tent his gaze turned towards that very mountain, spotting the dull glow in the distance marking the very top and vibrant city.

And if the Olympians had their way, they would march on it and raze it to the ground.

Allen's blood curled at the thought, even if he doubted they could possibly storm such an obviously well-defended fortress of a city. He'd read history accounts, both of mortal description along with some godly accounts throughout history provided by their mother for their cabin soon after 'Umbra' made a show of executing Ares in the throne room to prepare them for what might come.

Armies clashing was one thing, but a completely different beast was unleashed in siege warfare with the mix of civilians thrown in. He'd read some hand-written accounts of old soldiers and even lesser known heroes and demigods from even the times of Trojan War. He didn't understand why both his mother and Annabeth had forbidden the younger demigods from reading the accounts until he read some passages himself.

He had wretched the first time.

He remembered reading the old and faded notes, stained with dried blood as some professed their glee at breaching cities under siege. To be 'blood drunk' as adrenaline surged through their veins with the taste of victory, releasing all manner of frustration and desire in equal parts through wanton violence, lust, and abuse to their would-be victims. Siege warfare made monsters of men and under the leadership of gods such as Zeus, Allen held no delusions that the very demigods around him would respond differently.

And if it came to such, Allen would honestly rather see his fellows slaughtered before they could breach such a city and become those very monsters … after all, with no actual monsters here, someone had to fulfill the role. Shaking his head of such thoughts he moved on, grabbing his spear and shield and beginning his own rounds. Being a cabin counselor and a chosen officer for Athena's Vanguard, he had to make sure those under his command were safe and resting.

So far the gods made plans to attack in the day, taking away Percy's advantage though Allen doubted there would be much difference. Like many of the demigods brought to the camps after the 'Golden Generation' as some called them, marking the key veterans of the Second Titan and Giant Wars, the skill level was simply beyond scope.

Allen had been a full timer since his tenth birthday. He'd traveled between both camps to familiarize himself, met several of them including Jason, Nico, and even Thalia in passing once while seeing their training and sparring matches between some of them, including ones like Reyna and Clarisse to name a few.

The way they moved, reacted, tested and probed their opponents until swiftly taking them down. The current demigods and Amazons simply could not compare. And now some of those demigods had ascended to godhood and were their enemies.

And even now they weren't fully informed, unsure of what others were with these new primordial gods and that especially didn't bode well for them.

And yet, Allen could see it whenever he glimpsed the gods among them such as Artemis, Zeus, and Hera. Those three were all almost foaming at the mouths to fight and tear apart the primordials, especially Jackson from what he could tell.

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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.

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