The Disciple of Miraak
The group couldn't believe what they were seeing. One moment, suddenly, they were inside a massive carriage being pulled through the sky by enormous goats…
It was insane. The wind slammed against their faces while Thor held the reins with a grin, steering in the direction Percy pointed while looking at the waters below him.
"Hey… is it really okay for you to help us this much? After all, I heard there are a lot of rules about gods helping mortals and stuff," Percy couldn't help but ask after a moment while the wind hit his face.
"Oh, don't worry. Those rules are made for our own people, since if we interfere we can cause huge problems. But if we cause problems for other pantheons, we don't really care at all," Thor said casually, not giving it much importance.
"Well… the pantheons don't really seem to get along very well, right? Is that why they created the trials?" Malcolm couldn't help but add.
Thor gave him a look for a moment while seeming to think slightly.
"Well, it's not exactly like that. There are some fun guys I trade good-quality liquor with every now and then. And every few hundred years there are pantheon meetings to decide things about humanity. Besides, those competitions were originally created just as a way for a few idiots to gamble. Kronos leading them. But honestly, not many joined those things, because Kronos always had a way of rigging them. After all, he created them," Thor said with with a mocking grin.
"Like adding a third competitor and all that?" Percy said with a faint mocking look.
"Oh, so he still does that. Hahaha. Yeah, that guy always did the same thing. He'd add more competitors or, if he was about to lose, he'd just make both teams lose directly, only causing the champions to suffer. I really don't know what Zeus is planning by launching a trial against Miraak," Thor added, with a bit of contempt in his tone.
Both Thalia and Percy couldn't help but frown hearing those words. Especially Thalia, because her father, who had cursed her into being a tree for years, had suddenly chosen her as his champion.
While Percy seemed to think about something. But he shook his head, feeling like even Zeus wouldn't go that far, so he dismissed the thought quickly.
"That's the ship," Clarisse said, interrupting both their thoughts while looking toward the sea, spotting the massive Princess Andromeda.
Everyone lowered their gaze toward the ocean, noticing the enormous ship, anchored in the middle of the sea while several smaller boats moved around searching for something nearby.
Thor looked toward the ship for a moment before his gaze settled directly on the ocean, while a slightly amused smile spread across his face.
The sea looked so calm there weren't even waves, something that should've been completely impossible. But right now, that was exactly what they were seeing.
And for a moment, they felt a slight chill coming from the sea itself, like going down there would be the worst thing they could do right now.
Percy, especially, could feel it. His connection to the sea seemed to fail. Or rather, it felt controlled by another entity. Or more specifically, by the ocean itself, which was rejecting Percy. He could even feel a direct threat that the moment he stepped into the water, he would be devoured by the currents.
"I'm not too worried. According to the rules, no god can attack you two," Thor said calmly, looking at Thalia and Percy. "The problem would be you guys," he added while looking at the others. "What are you going to do?" Thor asked with some interest.
Percy looked at the sea for a moment, at the Princess Andromeda and the boats that seemed to be helping Luke search for the Ophiotaurus, while a hard look crossed his face.
Before turning toward Thor.
"When Mr. Odin said you could have some fun… what exactly did he mean?" Percy suddenly asked while looking at him.
Thor gave him a grin for a moment and opened his mouth to say something. But Thalia and the others suddenly couldn't hear his words. Only Percy slightly tilted his head and widened his eyes a little with a faint amused smile.
Percy also opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. It was like he and Thor were having a conversation, but nobody else could hear what they were saying.
Thor grinned after hearing whatever Percy had said, with a bit of excitement.
"Good, boy. That sounds fun. Let's do that," Thor said, now audible again to Grover and the others.
Then Percy turned toward the group.
"You guys wait in Thor's carriage," Percy said. Then he turned toward Thalia. "And you can come if you want. Though… I'm enough on my own," Percy said in a serious tone.
And without waiting for an answer, he gave the others a smile and, without thinking twice, lifted his foot onto the edge of the carriage and jumped.
Grover and the others quickly rushed to the railing to look down.
Watching Percy fall at insane speed in freefall toward the ocean.
Even Thor slightly leaned his head over the side with interest to see what Percy would do.
Because from the height the carriage was currently at, hitting the water would be like smashing into concrete. Or maybe even harder.
Grover and the others went pale seeing Percy rapidly approaching the water. But before touching it, Percy opened both hands, which glowed intensely in different colors. And he rapidly cast enchantments on himself; oakflesh, stoneflesh, ironflesh, ebonyflesh, and dragonhide, while his skin changed color multiple times with each spell, making his body tougher and tougher from the stacked defensive effects.
Then he wrapped his arms around his shoulders, falling completely straight down.
Suddenly, as if a meteor had crashed into the ocean, massive waves rose around the area, rocking several nearby boats that hadn't even seen what had fallen. And the sea, calm just moments ago, now began to violently churn.
Thor looked downward with interest while nodding in approval.
"When we get back, I'd better increase Jason's training. I don't want him losing to Miraak's disciple," Thor said with a faint smile.
Meanwhile, Thalia clenched her fists for a moment before looking toward Thor.
"Sir… could you lower the height a little?" she asked immediately, with a genuinely competitive look.
Thor seemed to know this would happen and smiled in amusement while the carriage was already descending lower.