The Gift of the Lethe

The Journey Begins

Percy stares at the water lapping against the shore. The water seems as good of a place as any to start his journey. The prophecy said to follow the song of the sea, after all. He frowns. What even is the song of the sea? He's never heard a mention of it before. With a sigh, Percy takes a step forward, letting the cool seawater wash over his sandy feet. There is a humming sensation before the water recedes, causing him to frown.

He takes several strides into deeper water, just past the breakers, shallow as they are. Now the water can't recede past where he is standing up to his knees. The humming sensation is back and it seems to have a note to it, a musical one. Could this be it? It isn't exactly a song, but Percy can't deny that the slight changes in the hum have some sort of melody to them.

He pulls his backpack higher up on his shoulders and moves deeper, until the water is up to his waist, and then his chest. Percy dives, letting the water fully wrap around him. When the sound of the bubbles from his descent fade, he inhales sharply in surprise. Under the water, the hum has grown. Not just in sound, though it has done that, but he is more easily able to pick out the separate notes.

If he had been uncertain of the melody before, he certainly can't dismiss it now. It may be faint, but it is clear as day that it is music of some kind. With the barest flick of his hand, Percy uses the water around him to propel his body forward through the water toward the open ocean. He sends out a mental call at the same time, requesting his father's assistance on the path to follow.

He makes it perhaps two miles out when the water in front of him brightens and salt momentarily precipitates. Huh, Annabeth would be pleased with that word. He shakes away his wandering trail of thought to focus once more on the cloud of salt as it condenses into the form of his father, kelp-green tail curling near the fins.

He raises an eyebrow at Percy. "What are you doing?"

Percy waves vaguely in the direction of the edge of the continental shelf, where he can hear the echoing song emanating from. "I'm following-"

"Following what?"

"The music."

Poseidon seems a bit surprised by that, but he just frowns. "Why, exactly, are you trying to follow this . . . music?"

"There was another prophecy, so I'm on a new quest, and I'm pretty sure this wants me to follow the music."

Poseidon's eyebrow raises once more, having just slipped back into a more relaxed position. "So you're on a quest, by yourself."

"Yes. The prophecy was pretty clear about me going alone."

Poseidon's tail flicks in concern. "Tell me this new prophecy."

Percy recites it with a sigh, noticing a flicker of emotion on his father's face on two lines, the second and the fourth. He understands the latter, as it's the same one that bothered him. But why did the crystal line cause a reaction? Before he can ask, Poseidon voices his own question.

"Did the prophecy say something about a crystal?"

Percy nods. "Yes." He hesitates, for a single heartbeat. "Why did the line bother you?"

Poseidon stares at him for a long moment. "I have an idea of what the line may be referring to."

Percy furrows his brow. "Then why are you apprehensive, Dad?"

"Because I don't want to get my hopes up."

"What do you mean?"

Poseidon sighs. "You have a sister."

A jolt of shock and excitement courses through Percy's bloodstream. There's someone else like him? "What?!"

Poseidon holds up a hand. "Let me speak, Perseus." Percy automatically utters a correction, but his father doesn't take any heed. "She was born two years before my brothers and I made the oath. Like with Hades children, Zeus wanted her to be sent to Calm Half-Blood."

Percy frowns. "But wouldn't have she been a toddler? She wouldn't have done well at Camp."

"That was exactly her mother's point. So Nadia was kept at home."

"My sister's name is Nadia?"

Poseidon smiles sadly. "Stop interrupting, Percy. But yes. Nadia Pallas Arien. Her mother refused to send her to Camp, which angered Zeus. He hit their house with lightning, setting it on fire. A Hydra had also visited, and either the fire or the monster killed Kaia, Nadia's mother."

Percy swallows the lump forming in his throat, fear for the sister he doesn't even know. "And Nadia?"

Poseidon gives him a sharp look for the interruption but doesn't comment, although his tail swishes once in what could be irritation. "I thought she would be dead as well, but I found her hiding in a cabinet that was protected from the flames by a burst pipe."

Percy can't help but interrupt again. "Where is she now? Why have I never heard of her?"

"Perseus. You haven't heard of her because Zeus thinks she died, and to keep her safe Amphitrite and myself hid her away, in a stasis crystal. She wasn't meant to be in there this long, but we believe the Labyrinth stole her. That is what I suspect your prophecy may be referring to, Nadia's stasis crystal. Especially as it would have slowed and perhaps even stopped, her from aging."

"So this quest is essentially for me to find my missing sister?"

"Perhaps. If that is the path it takes, call me the moment you find the crystal."

Percy nods quickly. "I will, I swear it."

Poseidon's next words are soft. "Thank you. Now, you had requested aid." He whistles, and a hippocampus blurs toward them, stopping a foot away. "You know Agusa, or as Tyson calls him-"

"Rainbow." Poseidon nods. "Thank you, Dad."

"Good luck, Percy. May you be as swift as the currents."

With that, Poseidon dissolves into salt once more. Percy pulls himself onto Rainbow's back and directs him towards the deep.

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We love good dad Poseidon, don't we?

Do you think Poseidon is right about the prophecy line? Do you think Percy will find Nadia down there? If he does, what condition will she be in? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out