The smell of mint and pumpkins greeted my nose when I awoke, laying on a bed. The sun poured in from an open window, illumating the rest of the room. The bed was the only one of five in what appeared to be a nurse's office. Only this one seemed to have personality added to it. The owner had decorated the walls with Aries photos, paintings, and posters. Several plants lined the walls in aquarium tanks, with U.V. Lights hanging above.

"Your awake?" The voice asked, it's owner sitting three beds away at a desk reading some textbook. It was a girl of Asian descent with a slim build and long silky waist length black hair. "Paige, your patient's awake."

From a door on to the side, a woman in her late fifties appeared wearing a white lab coat. Other then a few wringers, she was very pretty. "How are you feeling? That was a nasty gash on your arm. I was surprised your arm was still attached to your body." Her voice was welcoming, but hinted at an underlining sternness.

"Don't worry, aide is the best healer at the academy. Even severing as a repsentvie for twenty years." The Asian girl said, brightly.

"Akemi, dont you have work to do?" The hidden sternness finally revealed its self. Paige didn't sound mad, more like a friendly warning that at the same time warrant no argument. "You'll have plenty of time to talk later. I only got you out of class for an hour to help with the plants."

"OKay, okay." Akemi went back to her reading before adding. "Just make sure I get to be her mentor. It's been forever since I met another candidate of a sun god who was as strong as me (didn't hate me)." With those cheery words, she went back to reading.

"I'm officially confused." They were talking like Ethan. What is this candidate stuff?

Amused, Paige pulled a file off a bookshelf. "Valeria Melody Hart. Fifteen years old, blood type B, and a Greeley to peanuts. Hmm, this is interesting." She paused for a moment as she read ahead. "Your in pretty good shape, explains how you were able to fight a grogen! Ah, you've taken judo for about eight years and just began bojustu this pass summer."

Closing the file she grabbed a jar off the desk and came over to the bed, "Once I check your arm, your gree to go. Don't be a baby, let me see your arm." Paige took the injuries limb and unwrapped the bandages. Pink newly grown flesh left no clues of my battle wounds. "Impossible." I said in awe. "I was bleeding like a river. There should be at last be marks."

Paige snorted. "You fought against a woman with snakes for hair and you find this impossible?" Okay, she had a point, but I'm still not sure this isn't some kind of dream. Instead of debating my sanity, I played perfect patient. Paige rubbed a foul smelling lotion on my arm. It smelled like rotten cheese, old socks, and flowers. Like someone had tried and failed at making the foul stuff, smell better. If anything, the flowers made it worst.

Image the best smelling perfume filling your nose. Then being locked in a room filled with dirty landmark and garbage. Your nose is twice attacked by the smell, because of the sudden change from a good smell to abustle sink. That's how bad this stuff is.

"Sorry, I know its bad." Paige snicrked at my wrinkled up face. "Your skin is still delicate and sensitive more so since it healed overnight."

"Overnight?" Just how long was I out for?

Paige nodded, "You and a boy, Ethan I think his name is, were fought in yesterday afternoon. You were asleep for over fourteen hours. There done."

To my joy, I wouldn't have to walk around smelling like a bad perfume experiment, all day. Paige handed me a bag and pointed to a second door, next to the one she came in from. Inside was a bathroom, complete with a shower. In addition to the shower supplies, the bag held the academy's uniform. One shower and hair wash later and I was dressed like a student. Complete with a plaided Khalid skirt, short sleeve white button down shirt, grey neck tie, and (uck!) BLACK KNEE-HIGHS. It was pretty warm inside, so I left the red blazer if. The only thing missing, shoes. "I think someone forgot to pack shoes. Either that, or everyone goes around barefoot."

Paige looked over from the plants she as watering. "Your in tenth grade, which makes you a fourth year. As one, you ca wear any kind of shoes you want. Expect heels, apparently they make good weapons." She had a thoughtful look for a moment. "Most girls wear boots of some kind."

My old converse scurried the battle,but my bo staff didn't. (T-T) While, I lanced up, Paige gave Akemi instructions. "Take, Veil to the dean's office, then come back here before you head to the collisum."

Akemi who had been tending to some flowers came over. "We'd better hurry there isn't much time." She was out the door, as I was still fixing my showers. My arm maybe healed, but its still stiff and moving it is a bit awkward.

"You might want to catch up to her." Paige nodded to the door. "Be careful with that arm, I don't want to have to reset it." She called after me.

Akemi was down the hall waiting for me. "Hurry up, slow poke!" Shejokely called.

The left side of the hall, was all floor to ceiling windows. Outside was th front of the academy. A foundation stood in the center of a clicker road, that lead up to the main door. The end of the hall opened up to the grand foryer, like the ones in castles and mansions. A giant stairwell sat almost completely in the middle of the floor leading up to the Econ level. A balcony you lined both walls in a U shaped square on the second level. One wall had two doors facing the balcony, the other only one. At the top of the sairwell, were two massive double doors. Idenctila one peeked out d the back wall under the stairwell. "This is the school building, all classes are usually held here." Akemi explained, as she stopped in the middle.

"The upper lever is all classrooms. Those doors under the stairs, lead to the main dinging halll. From there, it leads to the two back wings, auditiurm, gym, main library, and a ew more rooms.P She next gestured to the hall behind us and the one directly across from it. PThe south wing isn't used much. Mostly clubs use the rooms and Paige is the only staff member with an office in that wing. We're headed to the north wing, where all the other staff offices are. Along with the really imfarmy that Paige refuses to use."

We walked through the doors leading to the north wing. About half-way down the hall, Akemi stopped.. "Here we are." She pointed to the door, the words: 'Dean Allen' written on it. "Good luck." Waving, she left te way we came.

Standing in front of the door, I was about to knock when a male voice said, "Come in." Wondering how, he knew someone was outside the door, I entered.

The dean was nothing like I expected, Instead of some middle age, fatish, balding man,; was a thirty-something very fit and equally handsome young man. From the distance, he could pass for twenty-eight or night. He had a welcoming smile on his face as walked in. "Welcome, please have a seat." He gestured to the one unoccupied chair in front of his desk. Ethan was quiet as a mouse, which is why I didn't notice him until I sat down.

The dean sat behind a giant wooden desk looking between me and Ethan. he desk was covered with papersunpned letters, a computer, picture frames, and several knick-naps. The desk was a reflection of its ower's chactic or scatter brained thinking. While the office was a a comfortable size, not to small or big. Photos of rudeness, staff, and auntie through out the years, lined his desk, letting in the warm mid-morning sun.

No one said anything at first. The dean just kept looking between me and Ethan, more so Ethan. Like, he was waiting for something to happen. Yuan a shrill gasp and Sheri of surprise echoed throughout the room, nearly making me jump. "What? Is that, it can't be..." Ethan mumbled to himself.At some point, his gaze had wondered over to the wall. There, rested a sheild. Like the ones ancient soldiers use to carry into attle. Finely made out of gold, a pciture of a woman with snakes for hair, a grogen, decorated it's center.

Ethan was in total fan-boy mode, as he got up to examine te sheild. "I've read about this...May I touch it?"

"Techanlly, it's yours." The dean, who was smiling said as he didn't find Ethan's reaction strange. Like, he knew this would happen. "You may hold it if you want."

Needing no Maori encouragement, Ethan gringerly lifted the sheild off its resting place on the wall. The moment his fingers brushed the surface, the sheild, gave off a faint glow. Glowing brighter as Ethan fully held the sheild. By simply holding it, Ethan looked much older and wiser. Not a shy, nerdy, thirteen year old boy. A young man ready for anything.

Ethan himself seemed to be in a range. Not noticing the light show e was putting on. After several seconds, te glow fainted to a small dim. "Woah, that was intense."Out if the trance, Ethan put the sheild back and returned to his seat.

"How did it feel?" Dean Allen asked.

Ethan though for a moment, "It called to it's owner and creator. It called to me."

The dean nodded thoughtfully, "As it should, the sheild only reacts to canadiates of Athena and Hephaestus. You are a canadiate for both, a Rae and powerful combation."

Again with this canadiate talk,. I'm tried of being out of the loop. Obviously, I'm missing something. "What is going on!?" I almost yelled in frustration. " ]What is a canadiate? And so speical about that shield?"

"Its the sheild of Athena," Ethan answered looking serious for the firs time ever. "The sheild was made by Hephaestus and Perseus used it to kill Medusa."

"How much do you know about Greek mythology?" Dan Allen asked.

Now curious, I answered. "Not much, why?"

"Its all real." He said casually.], as he rested a his head in his hand. "Everyone here is either a god or hero. INcluding you two."

My mouth dropped wide open, maybe from shock or surprise ], but definely not from doubt. Let's face it, after you've fought off two women with scales, claws, shark teeth, and snakes for hair; you know normal jumped out the window and took most of your sanity with it along time ago. "You didnt read the handbook did you?" Ethan asked, like a disappointed parent.

I quickly regained some composer. "To busy packing for the last minute 'trip'."

"Your asking this quiet well." Dean Allen interrupertted. "Even after reading the handbook many still have doubts. Why do you believe m so easily?"

I shrugged. "HOnselty? While battling the grogens, I knew something strange was going on. I just thought it was more Harry Potter or TWilight. Not Percy Jackson." THinking it over, I added. "In fact, something like Harry Potter, Tiwlight, or even Narina wold make ore sense. I mean seriosly? Gods?"

Ethan snorted, "Wizards and Vampires make more sense?"

"Says lantern boy." Igorning Ethna, I looked back at the dean. "Don't get me wrong, some of this still doesn't make sense. But I'm not blind, this isn't your average boarding school."

"Vampires and wizards dont exist." Ethan pouted

Dean Allen cleared his thwart, "ACtually a lot of creatures from myths and legends o]do exist. Just not in the way you think. You've already meet a witch ad 'vampire'." He looked through several files on his desk, before pulling out a picture. "As the old saying goes 'there is some truth in all negends' appplies to this. Look here," He handed us the picture, it was nothing speical. use last year's graduating senior class posing for one last picture together. Than I saw her, a girl with shoulder length light brown hair and a bored expression across her face, instead of a smile like everyone else had. The only one wearing alll black instead of the academy gold and red, stared back at me with those same hazel eyes.

"Witches, wizards, and anything like them were all canadiates of Hecate. The girl, the one one all black, in that photo is one of them. Jade saved both of you yesterday." The dean explained how the general public doesn't know about these 'monsters', so they;ve been creating their own stories and exploiting so for centuries. Take vampire, apparently they are creatures not only from Greek mythology, but for all cultures and mythologies. Those grogens we fought are only a few of mo]any different creatures who attack holdings a]or canadiate like me and Ethan. The interesting part? They crave our 'divine' power and abilities, which make them stronger and harder to kill. Ph and the vampire term comes from how they take ther powers. Blood, they drin or drain the i]viticm ], because the bulk or]f our powers and abilities is contained in the blood. So, the more we're injured, the weaker we become with the more blood we lose.'

"Wait," Ethan interrupted. "Where did all the stuff about garlic, sunlight, and everything else come from?"

Dean Allen, shurugged causally, "People needed to feel save or think they had some protection against the creatures or the night. Although one of them is true. Staking most things through the heart or beheadding them will kill them." He's got an answer for everything.

My turn to ask questions, "You side other cultures earlier. What does that mean exactly?"

He got up and began to pace behind the desk. "The Greek Gods and heros are not the only one's real. Hindu, Japanese, Norse, Sumrian, Celtic, Egyptian, and more are real. If a culture had gods and lengends, they were real at some point in time." He stopped to restack some fallen papers. "However, the Greek and Roman ones are uquice. Their the only cultures who's ways infuleucned each other to have roughly the same gods."

This was alot to take in, but my question from ealier still hasn't been asnwered.. "What does this have to do with canaidates or me being a god? Last I checked, I wasn't Greek and definatly not immortal."

"'Gods'", he said thoughtfully, "the way mythology protrays them is inadquitie at best. The 'Gods' were merely exstraawirt humans with longer lifespans and aged slower. Like the phyivd or medims in books are humans with powers." He began to pace again. "We still don't know how the first ones got their powers or how true the first and earlist myth are." He checked his watch, "Seems I've ranted to much. Ypur teachers can answer any other questions."

Allen, began to hurrily gather papers into a beifcase. "Your guide should be outside, she'll show you the area and bring you to the cosillum. Enjoy your first day." He headed for the door, then snapped his fingers as if just remembering something important. "You have until after the first games to pick a House." He started again, then stopped. "Before I forget." He looked at me. "We found your canadiatic because of the fire at your old school. Turns out, you did start it. Fire is a talent for a candate of a sun god or goddess. Lucky you, your an Olypian. Your a canaidate for Apollo."