Alkaios POV
Mount Pelion was straight out of a storybook. Its slopes were tall and covered in forests, with cliffs that jutted out like teeth, and clouds that seemed to cling to its shoulders. As I drew closer, I could sense a difference between it and the rest of the world I knew. The air was sharper, cleaner, and filled with the scent of pine, earth, and something ancient.
I couldn't quite place it. While I hadn't come across enough gods to identify true divinity, there was an unmistakable and forceful presence hanging in the atmosphere. I always learned and experienced that the air on the mountain would be thinner, and I expected the same. Mount Pelion, however, defied everything I knew. The air wasn't thinner; it was the complete opposite. It felt fuller, and I could feel myself being energized just by being here.
Compared to the rest of the world, I could feel a massive surge of magical energy emanating from the entire mountain. And that was saying something, considering I was in the Age of Gods, when the air itself thrummed with mana. I walked over and pressed my palm against a nearby tree, closing my eyes. Even though I wasn't skilled at sensing magic, I could feel that this tree was absolutely brimming with it. I remembered the myth of Jason using the trees of Mount Pelion to build the Argo. Given the magical potency of these trees, I figured those myths were probably true.
The base of the mountain was just a plain, old beaten path. I wasn't expecting a sign that read "Welcome to Mount Pelion," but I expected some kind of road. Instead, there was only a worn strip of ground, with stones pushed aside and the clear imprints of hooves and sandals.
As I walked along the path, I came to a fork in the road. Several trails led up the mountain, but it was odd; even though the start of the path showed signs of use, the trails themselves looked untouched. Seeing no footprints, I pressed my sandal into the dirt to leave a mark. When I lifted my foot, there was no footprint.
Is this the first test? Navigating this with no help, not even my past steps to guide me. The question was, which path should I take? There were five different roads to choose from. Since there were no explicit instructions, I decided on the third path. Three has always been my lucky number, so why question it and just go with my gut feeling?
I stepped onto the third path and started climbing, every sense on alert. If Chiron had booby-trapped this mountain, the first trick should be easy to find. Maybe a crude pit, a rope snare, a rock placed just a little too perfectly. So, I kept a close eye on the ground. Every shift in color, every root, every stone.
Nothing.
The path twisted through the trees, their roots snaking across the ground as the birdsong softened with the growing forest. The earth seemed trustworthy. My builder's sense, honed by weeks of studying how weight settles in earth and stone, found no hollowness, no sunken spots, no imperfections. Which in itself was unsettling.
"If I were you, Chiron," I muttered, "Where would you place the next test?"
I slowed even more, testing each step before putting my full weight down. The earth under my sandals felt firm. It was the same familiar texture I'd felt countless times in my life. Yet something felt different — a subtle shift in the air, a prickling awareness at the back of my neck. The silence, usually a welcome companion, now pressed in, heavy and expectant. Then suddenly the mountain moved. A low rumble vibrated through my feet, a sound that resonated not just in my body but deep within the very core of my being. The air shimmered, and a faint tremor ran up my legs. The solid ground beneath my feet, the very essence of stability, was now in motion. Panic clawed at my throat, but the shifting earth's growing symphony stole my voice. The world tilted ever so slightly, and the familiar landscape morphed, the once steadfast peak now alive with an unnerving, silent power.
There was no seam, no warning. The "solid" patch of ground flexed under my weight like a trapdoor. The layer of dirt and scattered stones I'd been scrutinizing slipped away beneath me, revealing smooth, packed clay angled down sharply and dusted with fine sand.
"What in the Hades?!" I screamed, but that was all I managed before gravity cut our chat short.
I plummeted. The chute was steep and unnaturally smooth — the polished perfection that no natural process could have achieved. I instinctively twisted, pulling my arms and shoulders in to protect my head. My Aura soaked up the worst of the hits, softening crushing blows into throbbing pains. The slide whipped left, then right, tossing me about like a stone in a raging current. My sandals burned as I desperately tried to dig my heels in and slow my descent, but the clay and sand ignored my efforts.
The chute suddenly curved upward, flinging me out like a stone from a sling. I slammed into the ground; the impact knocked the wind out of me. I lay there for a few seconds, flat on my back, staring at the rough stone ceiling of the chamber, my lungs debating whether they still functioned.
I groaned, shifting onto my side and pushing myself up. Behind me, the chute ended in a smooth, dark opening in the rock. It was too steep and slippery to climb. The surrounding clay bore the marks of tools. Clearly, someone had carved the whole thing into the mountain and cleverly concealed it from above with a thin layer of regular soil.
No wonder I hadn't seen it. Chiron had designed the trap so that no one would see it. It had been inevitable. The air down here was different. Stale stone and dust, yes, but beneath that, something far uglier: the copper tang of old blood, the sour stink of bile, singed hair, and rot. The tunnel narrowed, the walls slick with a greasy film that seemed to absorb the meager light cast by my flickering torch. An icy dread settled in my stomach, heavier than the pack on my back. I ran a hand along the clammy stone, finding no purchase, no reassuring texture, only the unsettling smoothness. The silence was absolute, broken only by the frantic thud of my heart and the crackle of the dying flame. This place… it felt like a tomb, a charnel house waiting for its next victim. The stench grew stronger with each step, a suffocating miasma that clawed at my throat. I pressed on, driven by a morbid curiosity and a growing sense of desperation. Ahead, a faint glimmer, a promise of escape or perhaps… something far worse.
"Wonderful," I muttered. "He didn't just drop me. He dropped me into someone's basement."
The hollow widened, the air growing still. A gray-gold light spilled from an unseen opening, illuminating the chamber. Approaching, I saw scattered bones against the rough rock: goat, deer, boar, bleached and brittle, each gnawed and cracked.
I emerged into a small clearing, surrounded by trees that stood just beyond a circle of bare earth. The ground within that circle was hard-packed and clawed. Deep scratches marked the dirt and the surrounding stones.
At the center of the hollow was a squat stone block with an iron ring driven through it. A thick chain coiled around its base, scarred and pitted. Another chain disappeared back into the darkness of the cave behind me, vanishing against the wall.
The loose chain just stopped at an empty collar. "Well, that's unsettling," I muttered.
The mountain rumbled a response, a sound like stone against stone, claws dragging. A slow, damp exhalation, heavy with the odor of rot and something else, followed—a deep, resonant growl that seemed to emanate from multiple throats, a chorus that vibrated in my chest and made the air itself hum with unspoken threat. My hand instinctively found my sword, the familiar weight of the hilt a small reassurance as I stared at the shadowed edge of rock just beyond the torchlight. I watched with morbid curiosity as something emerged.
The lion's head was first, its ragged mane somehow still proud, golden eyes fixed on me. From its back, a goat's head emerged, eyes clouded with fury, horns twisting menacingly. Behind, the tail was no tail at all, but a serpent, its scaled body coiling and swaying, tongue darting out to sample the air. The chimera's body was a brutal mix of lion muscle, cloven hooves, and a reptilian spine, crisscrossed with scars. Its very existence felt wrong, like three separate monsters crammed into a single hide. Close enough, and the stench hit: blood, burnt fur, acid, and decay.
"Why is there a Chimera here?!" I yelled, my voice cracking.
Entering the harsh, flickering light, the chains shrieked, the metallic sound echoing through the clearing. A thick, rusted chain dug into its foreleg, a cruel tether leading back to the cold, damp cave wall. Another, longer and heavier, vanished into the shadows, connected to a loose collar by a tarnished ring. Though old, the ring held, a stark reminder of its imprisonment. The weight and constant pull restricted its movement, hampering its stride. Powerful muscles, honed by instinct and the will to survive, strained against the relentless chains. Neither free nor tamed, it was a prisoner. The air hung heavy with mildew, fear, and the metallic tang of its own blood.
"As a test," I sighed. "Of course you did."
The lion roared, the sound echoing through the cavernous space, and the goat shrieked, the sounds mingling with the serpent's hiss. With a jolt that shook the stone block, the monster lunged forward, the chain singing and clanking in protest.
I rapidly drew Reid, raising it in defense against the chimera. Because the wall's chain pulled the chimera away, and it couldn't get to me, I quickly understood that I didn't need to do anything. With my eyes on the chimera, I slowly took Reid brought down, but my muscles were tense and ready to protect myself.
I searched the room for a way out, but saw nothing like that. Suddenly, the chimera lunged as far as the chain allowed again, claws tearing furrows in the dirt. The lion's jaws clamped shut just short of my arm as I side-stepped. The goat's head spat out a vile clump of liquid that came towards me; thankfully, my Divine Protection caused the acid to hit the ground, where it sizzled and emitted a faint smoke.
I considered there might have been other ways to beat this trap without a fight, but that chain looked like it could break at any moment, so I figured killing the chimera quickly was the best move before searching for an exit.
Aiming for the chimera's eyes, I snapped my left hand up, fingers splayed, and dragged mana through my gate.
"Jiwald!" As I chanted, Light replied, and a slender, searing beam of light shot out from my fingertip. It was so intense that the shadows on the cavern wall became sharply defined.
A ray of light speared the chimera's right eye, eliciting a hiss. With a wet hiss, like fat hitting a hot brazier, the beast roared, claws scraping deep trenches in the stone as it reeled back. A heartbeat later, the acrid smell of burned flesh assaulted my nostrils.
My Jiwald struck true, and a beam of light burst into the lion's eye as its head let out a roar. It recoiled, flailing wildly and disoriented, while the remaining two heads had already reacted. The goat lowered its head, its eyes focused on me, while the snake at its tail hissed, flicking its tongue, its cruel stare unwavering.
With a frustrated click of my tongue, I realized Jiwald's efforts had been in vain; the chimera's brain remained intact, defying my expectations of an easy victory.
Attempting to take them out one by one with Jiwald would likely lead to a fight before I could even take a second shot. I was worried about the strength of the chain, so I avoided doing anything that might cause it to break. I needed to blind all three heads at once, and luckily, I knew the right spell.
I raised my left hand, focused on the knot of magical energy inside me, and pictured the spell from memory. Darkness devours sight.
"Shamak!"
The word left my tongue like a spark, and the world around the chimera warped. A smoke-like cloud of pitch-black fog burst into existence around its shoulders and neck, swallowing the goat and serpent heads in an instant.
The beast jerked in confusion. Bleeding and half-blind, the lion snapped at the empty air. The goat's eyes went glassy, its bleat turning into a panicked, muffled roar, and the serpent thrashed wildly, striking at shapes that weren't there, fangs gouging the stone where my chest had been a heartbeat earlier.
As I rushed into the shadowy cloud, I channeled magic through my body, employing the flow method to drive Reid through the goat's head, piercing it.
The chimera, writhing in agony, sensed the goat's head's demise. I dodged backward just before the chimera snake was about to hit me. The moment my feet hit the ground, I sprinted forward and swung at the snake's tail.
Reid easily passed through the snake tail, and I watched the chimera yelp and curl up like a dog whose tail someone had pulled. Not wanting to let the moment go, I leaped upon the chimera, driving Reid into the last head.
The chimera gave a final twitch before it fell, stiff and lifeless.
I took a step off the lifeless chimera and lingered for a short time. Nothing else? I had the impression that there would be a trap concealed within another trap. With a suspicious gaze, I narrowed my eyes while looking around, as I trusted nothing in my surroundings. Chiron had most likely rigged the mountain with countless traps to test future students. I couldn't trust what I saw.
As I scrutinized the ground, a new Divine Protection washed over me. "Did I just get a new Divine Protection?" I wondered, surprised, since I'd never known of this one before.
Divine Protection of the Hidden Snare
Based on my understanding, this new Divine Protection lets me sense traps and prepared kill zones around me. The closest analogy I can offer is that I've developed a sixth sense for detecting and creating traps, but avoiding them is still entirely my responsibility.
A sensation, like a ping, registered in the back of my head, and I directed my attention toward the stone block, which had an iron ring firmly set within it. I grabbed the chimera's tail and threw it, aiming it at the stone block. The tail whipped through the air, and upon contact with the block, the surface crumbled, revealing a deep, narrow pit.
I couldn't help but be impressed by Chiron's foresight because the veritable trap was not the chimera itself, but what the chimera made you overlook.
Keeping well away from the broken lip of the pit, I circled around the edge of the clearing. Behind the brush on the far side, I spotted a narrow, steep path climbing upward out of the hollow. A reset route for those who survived.
I took one last look at the dead chimera, at the ruined anchor stone, at the collapsed killing ground, then climbed back up the mountain.
The route was harsh and straightforward, resembling a service stairwell more than a conventional road. After I had pulled myself back onto a flatter area on the mountainside, I could return to the clearing where I had fallen. Only then, after being dropped, thrown, and nearly eaten, did I find what felt like a "normal" trap.
The next trap appeared less than a hundred steps on. It was laughably obvious: a section of ground that was a bit too flat, too uniform. Small stones looked scattered across it, as if someone had tried too hard to make it blend in. Conveniently, there were roots and rocks on either side to step on. It was so obvious a child could have picked up on it; I stopped anyway.
"Testing for impatience or arrogance?" I wondered aloud. "Or both."
I crouched, grabbed a rock about the size of my fist, and softly lobbed it toward the suspicious area. The mountain echoed with a dull thud, and then the ground collapsed. The stone disappeared with a clatter, and then I heard the snap of breaking wood. When the dust cleared, I saw the pit, which had sharpened stakes lining it, like hungry teeth pointing upwards.
I highly doubt Chiron would put such a basic and obvious trap. Perhaps that trap served as a cautionary signal, giving prospective students an idea of what they might encounter. A polite warning that said, "Turn back if you're an idiot."
I stepped around the pit, testing the ground with my toes before putting my weight down. Whoever had built it had known what they were doing. I saw the stakes would have caught muscle or tendon even in a glancing fall. Not meant to kill outright, just ruin your chances of climbing any further.
I grasped the lesson: "Heroes who rush die stupid deaths." The path ahead snaked upward, twisting between trees and stone. As I walked, the forest thickened and swallowed sound. The further I went, the more I realized this wasn't just wilderness. Every inch of the terrain felt… deliberate. Chiron hadn't built the mountain, but he'd certainly shaped and altered it.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked upon the path. Chiron had most likely rigged the mountain with countless traps to test future students. If they couldn't handle climbing up a mountain, how could they handle his training?
The next trap was more insidious. I almost missed it, if not for the ping I received from my new Divine Protection. To my left, a pile of rocks cascaded down the slope, forming a rough fan shape, as if they'd simply come to rest after a storm. It probably looked natural to anyone else. However, after months of constructing walls and canals, the arrangement felt off. The smaller stones didn't properly anchor the pile, and the largest ones seemed precariously balanced. The weight distribution was all wrong.
"If I were a sadistic centaur with too much free time…" I whispered, eyeing the pile, "I'd tuck a trigger stone right… there."
I crouched down, reached out, and gently touched the rock I'd been eyeing. It moved with an almost mocking smoothness. The rest of the pile reacted instantly. I snatched my hand back as a dozen stones cascaded down onto the trail, their descent powerful enough to break ankles or crush feet. Dust billowed around them. The mini-avalanche stopped short of me, but if I'd been walking blind, it would have crushed me or sent me tumbling down the hill.
I stared blankly as the small avalanche rushed past. "I knew Chiron and Scáthach got along a little too well," I muttered, my expression blank. "They're both sadistic."
I skirted the scattered rocks, carefully treading only where the earth felt firm and untouched. I couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of these traps. None of these traps was elaborate or showy. They were all things a resourceful shepherd could construct with just rope, stones, and patience. And that, somehow, made them more dangerous.
The trail narrowed as I continued, sidling along the side of a shallow ravine. On my right: solid rock, rough and sun-warmed. On my left: a drop into a bed of thorn bushes and jagged stone that would happily greet my face. The ledge beneath my feet was just wide enough for a single person.
At first, it looked solid. But then I saw it: about halfway along, there was a slightly narrower section, a shade darker than the rest. It would have been easy to miss, except my Divine Protection was acting up, and after months of digging canals, I could recognize a break in the stone. I moved closer, braced myself against the cliff, and ran my fingernail across the darker patch. A thin flake chipped away.
I noticed that beneath the stone was only empty ground, and I knew that if you took even one small step, the entire thing would collapse and send you tumbling to the ground.
My throat felt dry. I was certain I could survive this fall because of my Aura. Anyone else would have either died or been seriously hurt. I don't know if it's my modern background, but suddenly, Chiron seemed a lot more menacing.
I flattened my hand against the wall, absorbing the vibrations, and edged along, carefully staying on the ledge's sturdier side. Each step was a precarious dance. Finally, I hauled myself onto wider ground, my shoulders tight, gasping for air. I turned to look back at the path. From here, it seemed almost... tranquil.
II looked up the mountain, and I could see just how far I had left to go. With determination, I kept climbing the path. The trees thinned, giving way slowly to scrub and naked stone. The path broadened and tilted upward into a wide, open slope of pale rock and sparse grass. It was terrain you'd be happy to see after dealing with pits and ledges.
While I wanted to express happiness, a sharp pain shot through my head, causing my shoulders to become tense. The Divine Protection was going off like a fire alarm.
The threat wasn't only coming from the left and right, but it was coming from all directions and every place.
"…That's not encouraging," I muttered.
Remaining at the edge of the trees, I spent time carefully examining the incline. The distance from this spot to the dark band of rock above might have been around fifty paces, consisting mainly of bare stone. There were a couple of lonely boulders, along with a scraggly bush that was clinging to a crack, and in addition, there was no obvious cover, no pits, and no deadfalls. Upon pressing my foot against the ground to test its stability, I found it firm.
But the Hidden Snare kept humming like a plucked string.
My eyes narrowed as I assessed the incline and how open it appeared. Understanding dawned on me, as if something had just clicked into place. This whole slope was a kill zone.
To test a theory, I crouched to grab a small rock and then stepped out from the trees just far enough so that one more step would expose my whole body. I inched my foot forward another inch when the pressure in my head spiked.
I tossed the stone ahead of me, aiming waist-high, like I was about to begin a lazy run. The mountain responded with a flash of silver. An arrow materialized from nowhere and struck the stone perfectly, cleaving it in two before the pieces tumbled down the hillside. The arrow's shaft lodged itself in the ground with a final, muffled thud. I gaped at the vibrating fletching.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, utterly shocked. Seeing Chiron shoot an arrow on screen was one thing, but witnessing it in person was something else entirely. The arrow just materialized. I knew for a fact that if I hadn't possessed Divine Protection of Arrow Evasion, I wouldn't have been able to dodge that shot.
I peeked out from behind the ancient, gnarled oak, its rough bark scratching against my cheek as I peered out. The air, crisp and thin at this altitude, bit at my exposed skin. I activated the Divine Protection of Far Sight, the familiar golden glow washing over my vision and allowing me to pierce the distance. There he was, silhouetted against the vast, unforgiving expanse of the mountain's peak. Chiron, with his bow in hand, perched precariously on a rocky outcrop, the polished wood gleaming in the harsh sunlight. His posture was the epitome of grace and deadly precision, a study in controlled power. His eyes focused narrowly on an unseen target. The wind whipped at his long, flowing hair, creating a halo around his stoic form. Suddenly, a jolt of surprise coursed through me as Chiron's eyes locked with mine. A genuine, warm smile spread across his face, crinkling the corners of his eyes and softening the otherwise stern lines of his face. He lifted a hand, a gesture of camaraderie and welcome, and gave a wave, the sunlight catching the intricate design of the bracelet adorning his wrist. My heart leaped in my chest; this was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome.
"All right, teacher," I told the empty mountain. "You want to see what I do under fire. Fine. Watch closely."
I rolled my shoulders and channeled my energy, bursting into a run, propelled by the swiftness I possessed, dashing up the mountain. I could feel the Hidden Snare blaring in my mind, a warning of the trap ahead, but I pressed on. Then, the air changed. You never truly forget the feeling of arrows, even if they miss: that faint hiss, the cutting sound of something slicing through the air with ill intent. Three of them from above are released in a clean, practiced rhythm.
I didn't dodge; I couldn't have, even if I'd wanted to. The arrows were so fast. The first arrow's trajectory shifted by a hand's width, just enough to whiz past my ear. An invisible hand nudged the second arrow away, so it veered away from my chest, barely grazing my sleeve. My thigh was the target of the third arrow; however, it bent, hitting the earth and then bouncing off a stone. I let out a breath, not realizing I'd been holding it.
Funny enough, I could tell each of those shots didn't aim to kill, because they caused a specific type of pain - a pain that would be excruciating and incapacitating, beyond the point of easy repair, but ultimately, not fatal. There was a calculated precision in their delivery, a knowledge of the human anatomy that spoke of intent. Chiron crafted the attack to disable, punish, and break a person without killing them. It was cruel artistry, a dance with the edge of mortality, and I recognized its chilling purpose with a certainty that settled deep in my bones. The way the projectiles impacted, the velocity, the angles - all screamed of a deliberate choice to inflict maximum suffering within the boundaries of survival.
"I guess when you're taught by the god of healing you can afford to cause that type of injury when you can heal them," I muttered, still running.
Arrows rained down in a steady rhythm, each one determined to end me. Some were just a blur at the edge of my sight, quickly veering off course. Others brushed so close that I felt the fletching graze my skin, the fabric of my clothes tugging as they flew by.
Nothing landed. Not properly, anyway. There was one that came in from the side, at an angle that should've taken my throat out. In that moment, my brain helpfully replayed every training session where I'd messed up a shot, every fight where I'd followed the wrong instinct. The arrow veered mid-air and smashed against a rock.
I suspect Chiron realized something was affecting his aim, allowing him to target fatal shots.
I pushed myself, gasping for air as my legs ached. The hill grew steeper. Loose rocks skittered under my sandals, making me stumble, but I refused to fall, relying on pure determination.
The Arrow Evasion didn't protect me from getting tired. Each step forward diminished its effectiveness, and the Divine Protection weakened as I got closer to the enemy.
I could see Chiron, his blond hair catching the light. Then, an arrow grazed my cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood. Another one sliced across my forearm. I winced at the pain as I remember that the Divine Protection of Arrow Evasion power lowered the closer I got whoever fired at me. It didn't help that Chiron was strong enough that his arrows just cut through my Aura.
"Point taken!" I yelled up the slope. "You can still scratch me!"
More arrows flew in, but their angle was shifting. I was getting closer, and with every step, the Divine Protection felt less strong. The nearer I got to the ledge, the more I could feel that invisible "warp" weakening, like a shield thinning as I approached its edge.
With a last burst of speed, I sprinted the remaining distance. The last volley struck me almost point blank. I felt three distinct killing trajectories: one aimed for my chest, another for my throat, and a third, low, targeting my knee. At this range, my blessing alone wouldn't be sufficient. I twisted, dropped my weight, and let momentum carry me into a sliding lunge, one hand scraping the dirt for balance. I wasn't confident my Aura could withstand Chiron's shots.
Two arrows zipped past me. The third grazed my shoulder, a searing line of agony, but didn't stick. I scrambled under the ledge, out of the archer's sight. Safe. I stopped, gasping, dust sticking to my sweaty skin, my heart hammering against my chest. Slowly, I pushed myself up, rotated my sore shoulder, and looked up.
"Is this enough for a passing mark, Teacher?" I called.
No one answered. Groaning with pain, I pushed myself up. And there, in the shadow of an old tree, bow in hand, stood Chiron.
I saw Chiron smile and gave him a respectful bow. "Master Chiron, I'm here to learn from you," I said, my head lowered.
A hand tousled my hair. "Well done, Alkaios. While I wouldn't have handled it that way myself, we all have our strengths. Come on, it's time to meet the other heroes," Chiron said with a smile.
I gave a tired smile, the corners of my lips aching with the effort. The weight of the last few weeks, the constant training, the fear that clung to me like a second skin, was finally beginning to show. Chiron, his wise eyes crinkling at the edges, gave me a small, knowing nod. We walked side by side, the familiar crunch of gravel under our feet a steady rhythm in the otherwise quiet afternoon. The sun, a hazy orb in the late sky, cast long shadows that danced and stretched with us as we moved. The air was thick with the scent of pine and the distant salty tang of the sea. I took a deep breath, trying to dispel the lingering tension that still coiled within me. The next part of my life, whatever it held, was waiting. And though I was weary, a flicker of something new, something hopeful, ignited within my chest. I walked beside Chiron, ready, or as ready as I could ever be.