Son of the Sea

Your name is Hark Pantheon, you are nineteen, average height, dark hair, dreamy eyes- or so you're told- you are also a demigod. This is much to your own surprise, you've gone most of your life unaware of the fact of your godly lineage. The day you learned of your father, the sky was a stormy dark blue, the clouds roiling with a deep intensity, the near indigo shade of sky blotted out the sun. You could feel a storm surging through you, filling you up with energy. The rain fell so heavy that day, it drenched you from head to toe.

You were living in a seashed, along the coast in Malibu, nineteen year old guy in a shed isn’t the best image. But you felt calm there, it suited you more than a dingy foster home, no nagging authority figures and the waves to keep you company. The sea also had a strangeness to it that day, it seemed so restless and violent but it retained the warm presence that made you feel at home and cozy. But it was calling to you, you could feel it in the marrow of your bones. You mentally couldn’t hold yourself back, and physically? You were already running at full tilt into the water. As the shocking cold of the ocean spray plastered across your chest you could feel the currents ripping you towards something. You couldn’t help but feel an absolute tranquility ripple through your body, this seemed right, like the waves were the soft arms of a mother guiding a baby to sleep. Your mind drifted there, in the endless ocean, comforted by the immense surging of the waves. You remember the ocean giving you something, a gift of sorts, maybe blessing is the better word.

You awake on an unfamiliar beach after a time. The sun draws a warm line across your back, the world is covered in a warm haze no storm clouds, no Malibu. You shroud your eyes with your hand and looked down at your body. Your mouth gapes open when your figure comes into view, you look like a Greek god, you're clearly taller than before, at least 6’2, well tanned and lean with powerful looking muscles. Your shoulders are almost too broad, with cannon ball sized deltoids that rival a draft horse. You stand there marveling for a bit, you look back at the ocean. The fuck happened in there? Holy fuck my cock. It's huge. You do a mental fist pump and attempt to stand. In the distance you can spot what looks like massive encampment with wooden walls.

YOUR GIFT COMES AT A PRICE YOUNG PRINCE, THE BILL SHALL ALWAYS COMES DUE. YOUR BOON IS A BODY BEFITTING THAT OF A GOD, ITS FATE NOW BELONGS TO YOU.

A booming voice. Like the ocean enraged. Thunder marching down parallel hills, white horses with black riders. Your head splits with pain, black spots bombarding your vision until you vomit and fall over.

The ocean splashes against your body.

This time you wake up surrounded by walls, you're in a hospital wing, the curtains are flowing from a large circle window, you look outside of it and take in the landscape. A warm breeze lifts the smell of strawberry pies over a field of lush, green grass, and large wooden buildings teeming with wildlife and humans alike. Young adults roam around what appears to be a large campsite, filled with an assortment of different mansion sized cabins. The bed you're in is soft, surprisingly so, given the somewhat rundown appearance of the hospital room. “Rise and shine newby. You've been out nearly a week.” her voice is smooth and husky, a velvet covered tone that sends shivers up your spine. Your eyes snap to the owner of the voice, upon seeing her you can only describe the motion your jaw takes as comical, the girl found this so as well, as she giggles at your open reaction. “Like what you see hun?” she climbs two slender fingers up your bare chest, lowering her eyes greedily and soaking it all in. A low rumble manages to escape your lips, you vibrate your diaphragm and the tips of the girl’s finger buzz, you can see a faint blush on her cheeks but it flits away. The girl comes in close, dangerously close, “It's your first day big boy, you best keep it in your pants.” Before you can react she flicks your forehead with so much strength your head shoots backwards and into the bedpost behind you. You yelp as you hear another bell-like giggle, “I’m Asra by the way, nice to meet you stud.”

“A warm welcome if I’ve ever seen one.” You flash what you hope is a charming smile.

Asra’s lips quirk upwards, a demure grin flashing behind her cat like eyes, “I think you and I will get along just fine.”

You chat with Asra for a while, learning about her life her in the camp, Asra is one of the student nurses at the so lovingly entitled “Station”, she had been assigned to you after you had appeared fully and stark naked along their nearest beach. “Now that was a sight to behold.” Asra remarked as she told you the story, giving you the barest of smiles, paper thin to be fucking fair. How come she gets to see you naked? What about equality?

"Checkup is all done. You're free to roam around the grounds, but you do have one more appointment with a girl named Greia. Try not to piss her off." Asra struts out of the room in her black Mary Jane heels. You try not to gawk at her plump, highly above average ass.

The encounter with Asra leaves you thoroughly flummoxed as well as sporting a throbbing erection. One you hide quite swiftly under the covers as the door to your room opens once again. This time it's a tall militant looking girl, around your age (21), sporting a short cropped haircut and multiple scars trailing lines across her cheek and jawline. “Greetings, I’m sure this must all be terribly confusing so please allow me to clear things up a bit.” she sits down stiffly, she gives you the strange impression of a wooden board. Her piercing green eyes lock onto yours, you lose all sense of logic in a near instant, the green around her pupil is as dark as a forest canopy. It fills you up with a wild energy that makes you want to jump out of the bed and on top of her.

It feels just like when the ocean was surging through you back on the beach, her eyes tug at your heart in all the right ways, opening an anxious pit in your stomach only she can fulfill. The splash of a wave across green emerald rocks. You snap back into focus, soft pools of mana begin to whirlpool around you. The world around you is a razor sharp image emblazoned upon your irises, you take a hold of the girl’s chin moving her gaze away from you, “Who are you?” your voice is strained. She's strangely quiet, a bright red blush parading across her cheeks, “I-Im so sorry!” she moves abruptly backwards forcing your hand off her chin, she's strong. Gulping heavily, she put her eyes back on you again. You prepare yourself for that same urge but it doesn't come. “My name is Greia, and p-please let me explain, my mother is the goddess of the Wild, Akaria.” Her voice is soothing, and full of repent “My eyes have a special blessing, you see? If I’m not paying attention or if I’m willing, I can unleash the wild primal side of the human psyche, causing the person in question to act rashly, and possibly harm themselves. I-I am usually able to suppress it but for some reason when I saw you, I wasn’t able to.” Her chastened face is too much for you, “It’s fine, I’m totally used to having my secret feral side opened up randomly.” You give a booming laugh to reassure her, thankfully your joke pays off. Her giggle is surprising from her hard militant outfit and look. But it's nice too. “Now that introductions are over, Hark, I’m sure you have many questions, let me answer them for you now.” A serious calm comes over her once again, the shift in demeanor sudden but natural.

“Where am I?” your bluntness doesn't catch her off guard.

“On a remote island, located off the coast of California. No one mortal can find us here.” her answer is quick and precise.

“You brought up a goddess beforehand, your mother I recall. What is that all about?” your concern and confusion are obvious. Greia puts out a calloused hand onto yours, her hands are small, yet lithe and supple with stringy taut muscle. “First and foremost, no, we are not a cult.” Greia laughs at your incredulous expression.

"Well than what is all this?"

"This is a gathering place for demigods."

"Demigods?" you ask, dryly, and without suspicion.

"Demigods." Greia states once more, perfectly serious. "Earth is home to much more than just humans and animals. Spirits, entities, goddesses and gods, beings with immense power, they're all here and they affect each and everyone of us, demigod or no. Whether the humans see it or not. ." Greia's voice is bitter but her face betrays nothing.

It's a lot to take in, but you feel as if a weight has been thrown off your shoulders. You feel a refreshing smile blossom on your face, you can feel the mana in the air thrumming against your skin. The air feels rich and vibrant, as if it's ready to spring into dance. This world is drenched in magic, only, you had never noticed it before.

"You have to be careful Hark. You are powerful, and I don't mean in terms of brawn. You haven't noticed it, but your energy, it’s powerful enough that some of the other demigods here reported getting visons of massive storms the day you washed up on our island. We also have reports of people getting strangely sea sick if they come too close to the infirmary. Even now it’s bombarding me, it feels like a massive wave, violent and powerful. You need to learn how to control it or you'll cause others pain and draw unwanted attention.” Greia looks unfazed. Her words are surreal and unbelievable, but you're certain she's telling the truth. Hell, the girl has magic fucking eyes.

"A big part of living here is learning how to survive as a demigod. Powerful entities will seek out notable demigods and try to well. Steal their soul, essentially. " Greia doesn't drop her dead serious tone, instead looking inquisitively at her hands, as if wondering how many soul stealing entities she had seen recently. "You'll be put into a legion of fellow demigods, learn the ins and outs of combat, and take classes on magic and what you'll encounter out in the real world."

“Plus if you feel like you never really quite fit in with people, you may find hanging out with our fellow demigods to be quite the enriching experience.”

“Now, let’s go get you set up.” she gives you a wolfish smile.

“First order of business is your House.” Greia’s voice smacks you out from your reverie of the beautiful valley grounds. Strange, you already feel comfortable here. The soft pitter patter of the dirt path is comforting, the air is clean and trees dominate the landscape.

“House? Like in the literal sense? ”

“Somewhat, your House is both a physical place and fellow demigods. Each House is dedicated to a certain god or goddess, it's your lifeline here in the valley, you will do everything and anything together.”

“Will they shower with me?”

“W-What?!” her scream catches the attention of multiple people nearby with comical effectiveness. Her face contorts into a grimace as she notices your lazy smile. It seems she’s quite easy to tease. “You’re a fool.” her chin turns up from the ground as she speaks, “Pretty high and mighty for someone who gets embarrassed by a shower or two.”

Another blush, another sweet, sweet blush.

“ANYWAY! Your House! They’re your lifeline blah blah blah, you eat, sleep, shower, not in the same shower of course.” You give a cheeky little grin there. “But they're more than that. They're the people you entrust your life to, your Housemates will probably be related to you, and in time you'll come to treat them as family. When the attacks come, you'll want them by your side."

"Attacks?" You can see a hint of dread in Greia's eyes. "Rouge Entities, looking for souls to consume. They attack us in swarms, last month, on the 13th, the sun was blotted out by these strange harpy looking things. They were horrendous. We lost nearly fifty lives, even more are wounded, and morale is getting worse." Greia gives you a brave smile. "But we won't let them take our home. No matter what."

Just more fantastical fuel to add to the growing fire of rather insane things that have happened to you.

"Rouge Entities aren't like proper gods or goddesses, they don't have any believers, nor any belief systems set in place that they can draw power from. No, they're ghastly things, physical manifestations of lowly desires and lusts. Imagine a spiteful killer dies, and his spirit is too damn stubborn to reenter the cycle of rebirth, then he becomes a Rouge Entity, constantly on the search to become stronger and ascend to higher dimensions of power." Greia notices your waning attention. "You'll have plenty of time to learn all the in depth stuff."

Greia quietly leads you past the buildings you had seen in the infirmary, you arrive at a soft gray door, with ash wood handles and skulls adorning the center. Greia opens the door with caution, stepping lightly inside, you follow suit, casting your eyes around you. The building is filled to the brim with weapons, armor, strange looking contraptions, and artifacts. “Welcome to the Storehouse.” Greia’s voice is muffled amongst all the items, accumulated dust, and spiraling energy coming off several corners of the room. It feels as if all of the items here are imbued with at least some magic. “We’ll get to the other stuff later, for now look at this.” Greia pulls a blanket off a large wooden bowl, the bowl is average sized, with deep etchings engraved at the bottom. “Gimme your hand.”

“Okay.” You're a little too trusting of the beautiful, yet rugged demigod girl you have just met. As she promptly takes your hand and runs the sharp edge of a knife along your palm. “What the fuck Greia?!?”

“Pour the blood in the bowl.” she says with disconcerting ice in her voice.

“Is this your sick fetish or something? Go find some other demiboy to leech!” Greia slaps a palm to her face, while also slapping your bleeding one against the bottom of the bowl, you grimace but let it happen. The bowl fills with your blood at a disturbing rate, you blanch to find your blood is gold with a slight red hue. The buttery liquid fills the bowl to the lip and you remove your hand. "Looks like you pissed in it." Greia says.

You're tempted to smack the bowl out of her hands. She laughs at your disgruntled face and apologizes for leeching you of your blood. "This is strange."

"You can be rather blunt." You give her worried look.

"I've never seen blood like this before, gold and red. Look." Greia draws the knife across a small area of her hand. It runs crimson, not a hint of gold in sight. "That's how most of us demigods are, red blooded. Gods on the other hand have pure gold blood. So you do the math."

"I'm a half baked god?" You shrug.

Greia smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes, "I haven't the faintest clue. I'll ask the nurses when I have time later." Greia covers the bowl of your strange blood and moves for the door.

"Follow me Hark!"