Elia Sully and The Prophecy

The Great Prophecy

After dinner and offering a portion of my food to the gods, we sat in an amphitheater carved to the side of a hill that faced a stone-lined fire pit. About fifty or sixty kids filled the rows and were all clustered into groups under various banners. Jason and I were in the front with Annabeth because we weren't claimed yet. Leo was sitting with the Hephaestus cabin. Standing in front of the fire were three campers from Apollo's cabin as well as some other campers from different cabins. They were with guitars and another musical instrument...

For some reason the word lyre came to my mind. I didn't think I ever saw one, I just...knew. The kids were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, and something about how their grandma got dressed for war. The other campers were singing along with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor. The flames of the campfire changed from red to orange to gold.

And when the song ended, there was a loud applause. I felt relaxed, being here. Looking around at watching the kids smiling. And then I saw Piper. A smile crept up on my face seeing that she was alright and here. Then, Chiron trotted up, carrying a brandished spear impaling these white, brownish cube-like foods. I didn't know what it was called, but it looked very squishy. 

"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive with most of your limbs attached." I didn't know if he was joking, or if it was a common thing to say to these kids. "In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first–"

"What about capture the flag?" Somebody asked, yelling from the crowd. Grumbles broke out among the kids from the Ares cabin. "Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games." He said. "And kill people!" One of them announced. I winced at that. When that kid said, "kill", it sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't imagine myself killing anyone or anything here or anywhere else. "However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?" Chiron turned to the Hephaestus cabin, asking. The girl next to Leo stood, looking uncomfortable. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, and her hair was covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it." She replied.

"How, Nyssa?" a kid from the Ares cabin demanded. "Really hard," the girl replied. She sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining. The fire reacted, spittering chaotically. It wasn't until Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones until the campers fell silent. "We will have to be patient," Chiron said to everyone. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss." He suggested.

"Percy?" Someone asked. The fire dimmed even further. Every camper here was anxious. Chiron gestured to Annabeth. Annabeth took a deep breath and stood up. "I didn't find Percy," she announced. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis–everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest." She told everyone. 

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" Drew asked, calling it out. The leader of Aphrodite's cabin, Drew, stood up.

I furrowed my brows becoming curious. The campers' heads turned to Rachel. Piper stood next to her, whispering a question. "Well?" Drew called down. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?" She asked.

Rachel stepped forward calmly. "Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun." Now their anxiety was higher than before and a short pandemonium broke out. Whatever this prophecy was, it was scaring a lot of the campers. When the talking finally shimmered down, Rachel took another step towards us. And a lot of demigods leaned away. "For those of you who haven't heard it," Rachel began,