Percy Jackson and The Sands Of Time

| Chapter 5 || The Hot God of Fire |

Hello, Readers! Dylan and I are back! Please enjoy this chapter!

~CSP2708~

*Dylan_Walts*

| Chapter 5 |

| The Hot God of Fire |

The portal seemed endless as I travelled down it, though I had no sense of time. I had no senses whatsoever. No sound, no touch, no smell, no taste, no sight. It was just absolute nothingness all around me.

Suddenly, a bright light shone from far in the distance - what I assumed to be the exit of the wormhole. Excitement filled my veins. Was this it? Was I finally going to go home to Annabeth, Grover, and all of my other friends? Was I finally going to be back home?

I squinted as the light grew to become almost blinding in a matter of seconds. I could almost feel my pupils contracting at that moment if the sharp sting was any indication. I was already used to the darkness of the portal, and even if this light was dim to anyone else, it was like Apollo's smile turned directly at my face.

My exit of the portal was less than graceful as I tumbled out onto the dusty ground. Or, at least, it felt dusty. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel the dryness of the dirt under my fingers and I nearly choked on the air. Coughing, I rubbed my eyes and blew my nose into my sleeve to clear my lungs and throat of the airborne debris.

Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around. It was a barren landscape, but there were a few bushes and a few trees and... was that a man? Lifting my head higher to get a better look, I saw that, indeed, there was a man walking towards me in what appeared to be an ancient Greek chiton?

Oh, no. I wasn't back home, was I? Had I gone further into the past? Was my next jump going to be the Jurassic period?

Shaking my head, I forced myself to stop thoughts of further time jumps. Right now, I had to focus on where I was, and most importantly, when I was. The man approached easily, looking tall and proud with broad shoulder and well-defined muscles. He began to speak almost immediately, and I thanked all those sessions of learning ancient Greek with Annabeth that let me understand him. It also didn't hurt that ancient Greek was almost natural for my brain.

"Hello, young demigod. Have you come to help us in our war against the giants?"

The stream of ancient Greek that came from between his lips was almost so old that I lost track of what he was saying, but my mind was able to piece it together before I even told it to.

Sitting there, I must've looked dumbfounded, so I just nodded along with what he was saying. "Y-yeah. Yes, I am. I'm here to help you fight the giants." The words were coming from my mouth before I could process them, and even after I closed my mouth again, I couldn't believe what was saying. The Giants? As if, the first giant war?

The man smiled, flashing his perfect teeth. He looked just like a god, but not like any I recognized from my time. "Good!" he bellowed, "Very good!"

"But, uh...who are you? Sir?" I added the last bit as an afterthought.

"You don't recognize me, boy?" the man inquired whilst arching one of his heavy eyebrows. Within the mess of his beard, his lips pursed in a slight frown, as if he was almost insulted that I didn't know who he was. Definitely a god, then. Or a well-known hero of the time.

I shook my head with a small-sounding "No, sir."

He then let out a deep, bellowing laugh, "Why, my boy, I am Hephaestus! Surely you recognize me, now?"