21. It has started

Third-person POV

Turns out Leo's story was actually more eventful than Percy's, which made him reconsider his life choices.

When Percy had been chilling in Alaska, somewhat free from constant monster attacks and just living out his life in somewhat peace, Leo had been doing all sorts of crazy things. 

Apparently, Leo had inserted the Physician's Cure into himself via Festus. Percy remembered the last few weeks on the Argo II when Leo would spend hours alone in the engine room. In fact, he had been building a machine that was able to locate Ogygia for a second time. After he had been brought back to life, he had ridden Festus all the way to Calypso's island only to find her not there.

Percy had apologised to Leo about wishing to release Calypso from her island. Leo was confused, of course. Who would apologise for making such a selfless wish? Leo had told Percy it was alright and that he had saved Leo having to put up with Calypso on the journey back, which earned him a smack in the head.

Sadly, Leo had arrived at Camp Half-Blood a few days after Percy had left. He had been informed of Percy's disappearance, of course, and he helped a huge part in looking for him, having the huge flying dragon and all. After two years and no success, Leo had given up and taken Calypso to Indianapolis to start the machine shop they had planned so long ago. 

Leo had been one of the only few head counsellors at camp that had not taken up the partial immortality the Olympians had offered. Percy figured it was because Calypso had lost her immortality when she had left her island and the gods would never give her her immortality back. 

Leo had changed a significant amount since the last time Percy had seen him. Back when they were on the quest to Athens, Percy had always thought of Leo as a scrawny kid who only knew how to make machines. Now, Leo didn't look like he would be pushed over by the next strong wind. He had put on some muscle, most likely from working in his machine shop all day, making him look like the son of Hephaestus he is. He had grown taller, making him almost Percy's height. Even though he was already twenty years old, Leo still had that face that made him look younger than he really is.

As good as the short catch-up session with Leo and Calypso had been, the demigods still had the upcoming war looming over their heads. They knew there would be a lot of casualties. War always yielded casualties but somehow, everyone felt like the loss after this war would be the worst.

There was no warning as to when the war would start or when Nyx was going to attack. No one had even heard of or seen Nyx at all. Since Nyx could attack at any moment, the demigods had decided to prepare themselves to the best of their ability. Preparing for war meant training, and training meant learning new things that they never thought was possible.

Percy had taken over training the demigods in sword fighting, his expertise. Some would say he was the best sword fighter to ever exist. Throughout his time in Alaska and when he was helping young demigods, he had learnt a lot of new and effective sword skills. He couldn't wait to teach them to his friends and other campers.

Percy had about 150 demigods in his class, but he preferred to think of it as a training session. Swordsmanship had to be one of the most preferred fighting style Greek and Roman demigods and Percy was the best swordsman in the last 300 years or so. That made them excited because the legendary Percy Jackson they had heard about was going to show them the sword skills that made him such an idol to them.

The demigods assembled in the new arena and waited for their 'teacher' to arrive. The air was filled with excited chatter and talks about the new sword skills they were going to learn. Percy arrived with Jason and Nico after a few minutes and the gathered demigods instantly silenced themselves.

'Hello everyone,' Percy's voice echoed through the whole arena, every single person being able to hear every word he said 'You are gathered here today to prepare for the upcoming war.'

The demigods shuffled nervously. Even though they were preparing for the war itself, it didn't mean that they needed to be reminded of it constantly. 

'But,' Percy boomed, breaking everyone from their thoughts 'It doesn't mean we can't have a bit of fun. You might be here to prepare for the war, but you are also here to refine your skills with a sword and learn new skills that you might have not seen before.'

The nervousness instantly deflated from the heroes. 

'I want all of you to get in pairs and start sparring with each other.' Percy said once everyone was calm enough 'Jason and I will come around with Nico to correct some stuff if necessary.'

All three sons of the Big Three waited as everyone got together with a partner and found their own spots in the arena. Soon enough, the arena was filled with the sound of metal clashing on metal.

For the next twenty minutes or so, both Jason and Percy went around the demigods to correct wrong techniques or fix up some small mistakes in their form while Nico was used as more of a demonstration. The trio had gone around and put the demigods in groups ranging from two or three beginners to senior swordfighters. Once they had gone around to everyone, Percy called them to gather around so that he could show them a really useful sword move.

'You all are doing really good work,' Percy said smiling 'A lot of you are really developed with your sword skills and some of you need some work, but that's okay.'

Percy motioned Jason to step forward into the circle their students had created.

'Now, I will be showing you both a really important and effective move you can do,' Percy said as he uncapped Riptide, making the pen grow into its three feet long Celestial Bronze blade 'It doesn't matter if you have a gladius or the Greek xiphos, both blades will be able to perform this move.'

Percy motioned for Jason to fake an attack on him. Jason did it slowly so the campers surrounding the duo could see the move clearly.

'This was one of the first things I have ever learned, and I have used it countless times after that,' Percy said as he locked hilts with Jason's Imperial Gold gladius and twisted it, making it fall out of his hand 'This is the disarming manoeuvre you will all be able to do by the end of today, so don't be discouraged if you can't get it first try. I didn't either.'

Jason and Nico snorted at that but didn't say anything.

'Now, I will show you what it looks like in real-time,' Percy announced before turning towards a smirking Jason 'Alright Jason, come at me.'

The smirk on his face instantly vanished.

'Do I have to?' Jason whined 'Why do you always pick on me, man? Get Nico to do it?'

Now it was Percy's turn to smirk, 'I was using Nico as a dummy for the past half an hour. Now it's your turn.'

Nico stifled a laugh and pat Jason on the back, 'Good luck, man.'

Jason sighed and stepped forward with his sword drawn. The surrounding demigods grinned in anticipation for the upcoming fight, even though it was only a practice one.

'We just keep going until one us manages to disarm the other,' Percy said and waited a while before saying, 'Go.'

Jason raised his sword a little as he circled Percy, who had Anaklusmos in his hands seemingly relaxed. Jason knew that was a show though. He also knew that Percy could strike in the blink of an eye if he wanted to. 

What Jason most dreaded was how much he was going to be embarrassed in front of everyone. He would never admit it but he knew Percy was the better swordfighter. He was proud that way and being the son of the King of the Gods didn't help either. 

Jason almost didn't see Percy move. Jason raised his blade just in time to block Percy's overhead strike. Jason pulled his sword away just before Percy could start the disarming manoeuvre.

Percy stepped back and decided to be the one circling Jason this time. Percy knew he could disarm Jason easily. He didn't tell the demigods but a Greek xiphos is easier to use to disarm someone than the gladius. The leaf-shaped blade of the xiphos gives it the ideal shape to perform any disarming manoeuvre compared to the straight blade the gladius has.

Percy watched curiously as Jason's eyes turned to the crowd of demigods for a brief second before turning back to face him. It dawned on Percy that Jason would feel really bad about losing in front of everyone. Jason had told him that he had taken care of the sword fighting class when Percy was in Alaska and he knew that Jason wouldn't want to get embarrassed in front of his past students.

This time it was Jason who made the first move, sending a sideways slash in Percy's direction. Percy stepped back, avoiding the tip of the blade by an inch, and sent his own strike in the form of a stab. As Percy expected, Jason sidestepped and locked their sword hilts together. Jason started the disarming manoeuvre and Percy decided not to stop him. A second later, Percy's sword clattered onto the ground. 

The crowd of demigods erupted into cheers and clapping, congratulating Jason on his small victory. Jason smiled uneasily at the group and looked at Percy questioningly. Percy met his gaze and sent a silent message with his eyes, later.

'So that is how the disarming manoeuvre looks in real-time,' Percy said as he picked up Riptide and uncapped it before putting it back in his pocket 'Go back with your partner and practice it. We will go around again and help you if you're struggling.'

The demigods went back to their spots in the arena, excited to learn or improve the disarming manoeuvre that Jason so expertly performed in the short spar. When Percy was about to start going around to correct some incorrect form when an arm stopped him. Percy turned back to see a curious Jason looking at him. 

'Wh-' Jason started but Percy interrupted him.

'You know why I did it,' Percy said smiling 'Come on. I don't want anyone to accidentally slice someone's hand off.'

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Nobody got their hands chopped off, thankfully, but it got really close. Percy had to put that guy on a timeout.

Percy trained the sword fighters for the whole day, making them undoubtedly exhausted. Other than the disarming move, Percy had taught them how to block any possible attack that an enemy can execute. The demigods had more or less mastered the viper-beheading strike Percy had learned so long ago. Percy had instructed his comrades on how to use their sword like it was a part of them, like they were controlling another arm. Percy had also taught them one or two new moves he had learnt during his time in Alaska

All in all, Percy felt that his 'class' (he still didn't like it being called a class) had done really well for a first session. The people that weren't that confident in their skill had drastically improved over the course of the lesson, mainly because they had gotten more comfortable with their weapon. 

It was just in time for dinner when Percy returned from cleaning up the arena. The campers were great fighter but they could be really careless sometimes. Where did they even get Coke cans? More importantly, when did they even drink them?

Percy walked back to the dining pavilion, talking and laughing with Jason and Nico. Nico had just told a joke and it was mainly the fact that he seemed to be loosening up that Percy was ecstatic about. Nico hadn't been this cheerful before Percy left and it was good to see a nice change.

The trio walked up to the Poseidon table and set down next to a bunch of other demigods. The no-sitting-on-other-tables rule had been lifted shortly after the Giant War. The gods and Chiron had decided that there was no point in separating the demigods when they needed each other for support after the war.

Sitting on Percy's table was an assortment of campers, both Roman and Greek. They were the senior demigods that were tasked to train the other campers. Percy, Jason and Nico took care of sword fighting class. Thalia was helping Clarisse teach demigods how to use the spear expertly. Will Solace was teaching some campers how to perform first aid while some of his siblings taught archery. Some of the veterans from the past two wars, campers and Hunters, were teaching demigods how to use other various weapons like the dagger, hunting knives and even a shotgun.

Percy watched amused as Thalia went on and on about 'stupid boys' in her 'amazing spear lessons' not wanting to learn 'how to stab someone properly'. Some Hunters that were teaching hunting knives agreed with their lieutenant and that seemed entertaining for the campers sitting on the table.

Dinner came and went. The campers and Hunters talked and laughed like one big family, relaxing as much as they could before the war officially began. The heroes watched as the sun set on the horizon as they prepared themselves for the infamous campfire singalong and the irresistible smores.

Group by group, everyone filed into the amphitheatre, ready for the Apollo kids to lead the singalong and for someone, anyone, to pass around the marshmallows to roast.

Even with the war on, the general morale of the camp was high. Percy, who was sitting in the back row with a couple of his old friends, looked below him wistfully. This was the first time he had seen the Hunters participate in the singalong they always had at Camp Half-Blood. It was even amazing to see the Romans there as well, since the Greeks and Romans had had a long-standing feud since forever. 

The amphitheatre wasn't really built to fit everyone from both camps plus the Hunters so everyone was really crowded against each other. Even though there was literally no room to do anything without hitting two people, everyone was comfortable enough and didn't mind the close company.

The demigods were about to start their third song. The Apollo kids preparing to play their instruments and sing to get everyone else going. Just as the first chord was played, a loud howl pierced the night air, freezing every single person in the amphitheatre.

Percy immediately water travelled out of the amphitheatre and ran, ran to see what the source of the commotion was. He could hear his friends running out of the amphitheatre to join him but he was already close to the border of the camp. 

Percy sprinted up Half-Blood Hill, ignoring the protests behind him. When he reached the top, he was met with a sight that made him turn as pale as a ghost.

Even though it was dark and there was barely any light, Percy could still see what had made the sound, but just barely. Just outside the border amassed a huge army of monsters, most of them being hellhounds. The hellhounds came in all sizes, some being even bigger than Percy's pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary. That was slightly worrying since Mrs. O'Leary was larger than a tank.

There were plenty other monsters for Percy to look at but he was focused on one thing. Right in the middle of the monster horde was a chariot that looked like it was made out of shadows, occasional black tendrils lashed out but retracted back into the chariot just as fast. Pulling the chariot was two horses that were the darkest shade of black, so black that they looked like two-dimensional shapes. Even from where Percy stood, he could see the white fangs in their mouths.

But what Percy most feared was the person riding the chariot. Back when he had first seen her, she had been forty feet tall and power seemed to flow out of her. Now, she still held the same power and air of superiority but she was now a quarter of her normal height. 

Standing in her chariot in the middle of her army was a ten-feet Nyx, grinning maniacally at Percy.

The war has started.