//------------------------------// // Prelude // Story: Percy Jackson & The Elements of Harmony // by Chaotic Note //------------------------------// A young man was falling into the depths of a pit. He felt tired. He tried to recall his own name. Was it Percy? Yes, that’s right. His name was Percy Jackson. He remembered being a demigod. The son of Poseidon. His mother’s name was Sally Jackson, and he lived with her and his stepdad, Paul Blofis, in Manhattan. Good, at least he remembered some of the few important things in his life. After gathering his basic identity, he focused on what was going on around him. Percy felt cold. He didn’t like the cold feeling. It usually meant bad things were amiss. The air around him was chilling to the bone. He felt his fingers wrapped around something, but he couldn’t quite make it out. It felt warm though. He liked the warmth. He tried to open his eyes, but the only entity that bothered to greet him was darkness. Darkness was usually something that goes on his top list of bad things to see. Right above cold to be exact. So, our little hero is falling to their doom? That’s a shame. I did have big plans for you. But I feel like I will have to… put them on hold. The voice chuckled softly with malice in her nature. Percy didn’t like malice. Just like cold and darkness, malice doesn’t have any good tones to them. It had somewhat of a motherly feel to it, but he knew that this voice didn’t belong to a kind one. The veil of benevolence was only a disguise for the bitter deity’s true intentions. Would you like to see how your friends are doing? A swarm of images flew by in the fashion of a vicious storm. Each one showed itself for a quick moment before disappearing as quickly as it came. It felt like an entire life was passing before his eyes. He tried to reach out to them, but they were lost in his grasp. The images dispersed as soon as the touch of his finger made a connection to them. Oh, I’m sorry my dear little Percy. The voice, however, didn’t feel remorseful at all. I’m afraid your friends will have to wait just a bit longer. Do you have any idea how much time I’ll have to make thanks to your pitiful girlfriend’s success at retrieving the Athena Parthenos? Percy tried to reach for his memories. He recalled a few moments before this eternal darkness. One of his hands was hanging off the crumbling edge of a devastated stone floor. The space beneath his was spreading out into black, embracing the frozen feel of the shadows. His other hand was holding onto another person, but the person’s identity was blurred in his mind. He focused his concentration all on that one image of the person. He could make out a tired, blonde girl dangling from his arm. She looked to be about his age. She was covered in sticky, dirty webbings, but she couldn’t have looked any more beautiful. She looked like she was about to cry, burst into tears. Percy felt a tiny part of his heart break. He didn’t like it when she’d cried. Annabeth, Percy warmly thought. Ah yes… the girl. The motherly voice growled in annoyance at the last word. You two are so intertwined in each others’ fates. To be honest, it makes me sick to the core. How about I make that relationship a bit more… complicated for you? Percy felt a gust of cold air blow in his face. It reminded him of a bitter wind up in the summit of a mountain, or the damp coldness of a draft in a dark cave. You know, I feel a bit generous today. Instead of sending you to your inevitable doom, I’ll send you to a paradise. A paradise so far away from this world, that you won’t be able to get back to your friends. Paradise. For some reason, Percy didn’t like the sound of paradise. A thought had entered his mind. No, it was more of a life lesson that was taught to him, hammered into his mind, so that he wouldn’t be able to forget. Paradise was usually a place where the hero dies. Percy vision suddenly brightened up as a small speck of light appeared in the distance. It was growing bigger by each second Percy was falling.. Oh don’t worry. The voice tried to sound reassuring, but Percy could tell that she wasn’t. You won’t die in this world. Not immediately anyway. The voice chuckled with dark humor. Enjoy your stay Percy Jackson. I know how much you like horses.