Post by RYNSTONE on Dec 10, 2015 15:33:22 GMT -6
I CAME FROM CAMP HALF-BLOOD...
"Five years. It's been five whole years since the day that everything that has been for hundreds of thousands of years suddenly wasn't anymore. Before they came, everything was peaceful. Everything was as close to normal as a camp built for demi-gods could be. We were getting ready for a race, I think. There isn't any way to really be sure anymore. After all, five years is a long time and I have slept since then.
I was sitting on the docks with my close friend, who's face I see every night when I go to sleep these days. She was smiling about something I had said, but that is not what is important. The important thing is that we were the first ones to see the ships approaching.
They were large and reminded me of the war ships I had seen in history books, with flowing white sails painted with a symbol I didn't recognize. The first shots fired from the cannons took my friend. I remember seeing a flash of her fiery, red hair just before it disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
The next few hours are a banging, bloody blur. The sound of screaming children and the feeling of adrenaline coursing through my veins kept me from collapsing on the ground and giving up completely. It didn't take long to know what was happening. The Egyptians, having been coerced and manipulated by the Titans, were attacking us. Apparently age old vendettas still kept us at odds.
I am not sure exactly what made me do it, maybe my father's voice was calling to me, or maybe I was simply going mad trying to block out the carnage around me, but I found myself pushing, shoving, and leading people onto the Egyptian ships. We rid the vessel of any remaining enemies and set sail, leaving the camp behind in a tower of burning, billowing smoke that blanketed the sky like storm clouds.
That was the last time we ever saw Camp Half-Blood.
Over the next week, we sailed day and night. There was little food left in the Egyptian stores, and by the time I realized where Poseidon had been leading us, those that had survived camp began to suffer from starvation. Weakness and illness crippled the forces that remained and I knew we would need to stop before we reached our final destination.
A few volunteers offered to take the only usable life boat and go to the shore of what I knew must have been the Bahamas. Although I was uncertain, we had no choice but to trust that they would come back. And they did. Returning with large crates of whatever they could steal, it wasn't the best of meals, but it was better than trying to keep down sea water just to have something in our stomachs.
The journey only lasted a few more days. Poseidon knew where he was taking us, and I hoped he had thought through our entrance plan. Ahead, I could see a large stone archway that looked like a natural bridge between two towering islands. I yelled for the attention of the crew, alerting them that it was time. We were pulling up to an unknown entrance to the Sea of Monsters.
Before our two ships reached the archway, though, two large walls of water shot from beneath the ship and surrounded us. At first, I assumed this was the trial of the Sea. After all, it was common knowledge that entering the Sea of Monsters was one of the most difficult parts of any quest. But it wasn't. I sensed the protection of the gods in the way the sun glittered through the rushing waters that carried us forward in a large, safe bubble.
The water remained this way for a few more hours, and by the time is fell, it was splashing across a white sand beach of what looked to be a deserted island. And finally, I knew we had arrived at what would be our new home. We had reached Concordia."
I was sitting on the docks with my close friend, who's face I see every night when I go to sleep these days. She was smiling about something I had said, but that is not what is important. The important thing is that we were the first ones to see the ships approaching.
They were large and reminded me of the war ships I had seen in history books, with flowing white sails painted with a symbol I didn't recognize. The first shots fired from the cannons took my friend. I remember seeing a flash of her fiery, red hair just before it disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
The next few hours are a banging, bloody blur. The sound of screaming children and the feeling of adrenaline coursing through my veins kept me from collapsing on the ground and giving up completely. It didn't take long to know what was happening. The Egyptians, having been coerced and manipulated by the Titans, were attacking us. Apparently age old vendettas still kept us at odds.
I am not sure exactly what made me do it, maybe my father's voice was calling to me, or maybe I was simply going mad trying to block out the carnage around me, but I found myself pushing, shoving, and leading people onto the Egyptian ships. We rid the vessel of any remaining enemies and set sail, leaving the camp behind in a tower of burning, billowing smoke that blanketed the sky like storm clouds.
That was the last time we ever saw Camp Half-Blood.
Over the next week, we sailed day and night. There was little food left in the Egyptian stores, and by the time I realized where Poseidon had been leading us, those that had survived camp began to suffer from starvation. Weakness and illness crippled the forces that remained and I knew we would need to stop before we reached our final destination.
A few volunteers offered to take the only usable life boat and go to the shore of what I knew must have been the Bahamas. Although I was uncertain, we had no choice but to trust that they would come back. And they did. Returning with large crates of whatever they could steal, it wasn't the best of meals, but it was better than trying to keep down sea water just to have something in our stomachs.
The journey only lasted a few more days. Poseidon knew where he was taking us, and I hoped he had thought through our entrance plan. Ahead, I could see a large stone archway that looked like a natural bridge between two towering islands. I yelled for the attention of the crew, alerting them that it was time. We were pulling up to an unknown entrance to the Sea of Monsters.
Before our two ships reached the archway, though, two large walls of water shot from beneath the ship and surrounded us. At first, I assumed this was the trial of the Sea. After all, it was common knowledge that entering the Sea of Monsters was one of the most difficult parts of any quest. But it wasn't. I sensed the protection of the gods in the way the sun glittered through the rushing waters that carried us forward in a large, safe bubble.
The water remained this way for a few more hours, and by the time is fell, it was splashing across a white sand beach of what looked to be a deserted island. And finally, I knew we had arrived at what would be our new home. We had reached Concordia."
from the diary of Amanda Marie Gates
daughter of Poseidon and Chancellor of Concordia
daughter of Poseidon and Chancellor of Concordia
...AND ARRIVED AT SALVATION.
Since the Greeks arrived on Concordia five years ago, they have built a thriving safe haven. Only days after the Greeks landed on the shores of Concordia, they were joined by the remaining Roman campers. It was revealed that near simultaneous assaults had been launched on both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter and, like the Greeks, Neptune led the Romans to Concordia to co-habit with their fellow demi-gods.
After thousands of years of animosity between the two camps, it seemed impossible for the two groups to come together to build a single society under the gods and goddesses. But after months of arguing it was decided that the Chancellor position, set up to govern the day-to-day workings of their island society, would go to the Greek girl who led her people to the ships, Amanda Marie Gates. Likewise, is was decided that the position of Commander of the small army that seemed more than necessary at the time would go to a strapping, former Praetor, Zane Maddox Greyson.
Two years after the establishment of their society, the community had begun to grow. The gods and goddesses were having the people who would have been new campers sent to the island instead. The names of these immigrants would come up on a list that was created by the Oracle. Every month, two units of the Garrison are sent out to collect a number of these people and escort them to the island. But with expansion and growth came the need for a more complicated system of government.
In the third year after their arrival to Concordia, the Authority was formed. In the Authority, there is the Chancellor and then the Magistrate. It was decided, in the effort to maintain a fair and equal Greco-Roman society that the magistrate would be split in to two Houses: The Greeks and the Romans.
Because there was suddenly a need for more structure in the society, around the same time they instituted a proper military hierarchy leaving Commander Greyson at the top and forming a number of brigades beneath him each with their own Captains and Colonels. This was the beginning of Concordia as it is seen today.
Anyone not in either the Garrison, or the Authority, lives their life as a Civilian of Concordia. These people fill any type of job you can imagine, from teachers to students, and business owners to bartenders. Concordia has grown from a safe haven of a few buildings meant to protect a few teenagers, to a thriving town independent in itself.
After thousands of years of animosity between the two camps, it seemed impossible for the two groups to come together to build a single society under the gods and goddesses. But after months of arguing it was decided that the Chancellor position, set up to govern the day-to-day workings of their island society, would go to the Greek girl who led her people to the ships, Amanda Marie Gates. Likewise, is was decided that the position of Commander of the small army that seemed more than necessary at the time would go to a strapping, former Praetor, Zane Maddox Greyson.
Two years after the establishment of their society, the community had begun to grow. The gods and goddesses were having the people who would have been new campers sent to the island instead. The names of these immigrants would come up on a list that was created by the Oracle. Every month, two units of the Garrison are sent out to collect a number of these people and escort them to the island. But with expansion and growth came the need for a more complicated system of government.
In the third year after their arrival to Concordia, the Authority was formed. In the Authority, there is the Chancellor and then the Magistrate. It was decided, in the effort to maintain a fair and equal Greco-Roman society that the magistrate would be split in to two Houses: The Greeks and the Romans.
Because there was suddenly a need for more structure in the society, around the same time they instituted a proper military hierarchy leaving Commander Greyson at the top and forming a number of brigades beneath him each with their own Captains and Colonels. This was the beginning of Concordia as it is seen today.
Anyone not in either the Garrison, or the Authority, lives their life as a Civilian of Concordia. These people fill any type of job you can imagine, from teachers to students, and business owners to bartenders. Concordia has grown from a safe haven of a few buildings meant to protect a few teenagers, to a thriving town independent in itself.
