‌Pavement, or the surface of a road, comes in many forms. There’s your asphalt (pronounced ass-fault, not asp-halt), your cobblestone, your gravel, your concrete, your—‌

Ha! Gotcha! Bet you thought you’d lost the ability to see through the Mist, didn’t you?

What…you mean you weren’t fooled? Meh. Okay, then. Back to being serious.

Outside of camp, the days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler. Inside, campers are talking about classes they’ll be taking back at their mortal schools. Summer’s nearly over, and that means Camp Half-Blood will be closing. Right?

Wrong!

Camp Half-Blood remains open all year round for demigods who, for one reason or another, can’t or don’t want to go home. If you fall into that category, just be sure to inform whoever is in charge—Chiron, Mr. D, or maybe some other immortal—that you intend to stay. That way, the cleaning harpies won’t eat you. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to state your intentions in writing…just to be safe.

I’ve never stayed past summer, but I’ve visited a few times in the off- season. It’s pretty nice around here then. Quiet, because only a dozen or so campers stick around. Sometimes the magical borders let in snow—the good, packable kind for making snowballs and snow sculptures. It’s more relaxed, too, as if trouble has been put on hold. Even the monsters in the woods seem to calm down. (Whoops, did we forget to tell you about those? Our bad.)

From what I’ve heard, the off-season is a great time for demigods to work on pet projects. For instance, this winter Malcolm will begin weaving the Polias peplos for the Panathenaia (try saying that ten times fast!). Will and Nico hope to find a way to keep Nico from passing out after he shadow-travels. (Did we forget to tell you what that was? Ask Nico about it sometime. Or have him demonstrate—just be ready to catch him.) I suspect Miranda Gardiner and Sherman Yang will be doing many things together; I won’t say more, out of respect for their privacy.

As for me, I’ll be back home, eating my mom’s blue food, going to school, and hanging out with Annabeth. At least, that’s my plan. I’d like

to say I’m sticking with it. But because I’m a demigod, my plans seem to change rather unexpectedly.

You’ll find that out soon enough. Because guess what? You’re a demigod too.

And now if you’ll excuse me…someone’s blasting on the conch horn outside. That can’t be good….

‌

‌About the Campers (in Order of Appearance)‌

PERCY JACKSON—Son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Sally Jackson.

Black hair, sea-green eyes, wiry build. Can control water.

CHIRON—Immortal centaur. Son of the Titan Kronos and the nymph Philyra. Brown eyes, brown hair and beard, powerful white stallion body. Longtime trainer of demigods and current activities director of Camp Half-Blood.

ANNABETH CHASE—Daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and weaving, and Dr. Frederick Chase. Blond hair, gray eyes. Superior strategist, outstanding architect, rescuer of the long-lost Athena Parthenos. Hero.

CONNOR STOLL—Son of Hermes, god of thievery, messages, and trickery (mortal parent unknown). Blue eyes, brown hair. Younger brother of Travis Stoll. Current head counselor of Cabin Eleven. Known for pranks.

VALENTINA DIAZ—Daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love (mortal parent unknown). Very attractive.

RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE—Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dare (both mortals, first names unknown). Red hair, green eyes. Can see the future. Current Oracle of Delphi.

THALIA GRACE—Daughter of Zeus, god of the sky, lightning, and thunder, and Beryl Grace. Half sister of Roman demigod Jason Grace. Once a pine tree, now immortal lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. Spiky black hair, electric-blue eyes. Extremely powerful, but afraid of heights. Hero.

LEO VALDEZ—Son of Hephaestus, god of forges, fire, and metalwork, and Esperanza Valdez. Brown eyes, black hair, short stature, fidgety. Can summon fire. Hero.

MALCOLM PACE—Son of Athena, goddess of wisdom and weaving (mortal parent unknown). Gray eyes, blond hair. Substitutes as head counselor of Cabin Six when Annabeth Chase is off campus.

ELLIS WAKEFIELD—Son of Ares, god of war (mortal parent unknown).

Muscular.

LAUREL AND HOLLY VICTOR—Twin daughters of Nike, goddess of victory (mortal parent unknown). Competitive and athletic. Dark hair.

NYSSA BARRERA—Daughter of Hephaestus, god of forges, fire, and metalwork (mortal parent unknown). Brown hair. Shares duties as head counselor of Cabin Nine with Jake Mason.

WOODROW—Satyr (half-goat, half-man). Instructor at Camp Half-Blood. PETE—A palikos, god of geysers. Off-white muddy complexion, foamy hair, milky eyes. His bottom half is steam; his top half is that of a

muscular humanoid.

MIRANDA GARDINER—Daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture (mortal parent unknown). Green eyes. Shares duties as head counselor of Cabin Four with half sister Katie Gardner.

NICO DI ANGELO—Son of Hades, god of the Underworld, and Maria di Angelo. Black hair, black eyes, pale skin. Very powerful. Travels regularly between camp and the Underworld. First Greek demigod to learn of Camp Jupiter.

Also mentioned:

FREDERICK CHASE—Annabeth Chase’s mortal father.

JULIA FEINGOLD—Daughter of Hermes, god of thieves and messengers. HARLEY—Son of Hephaestus, god of forges.

THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS—Girls who pledged themselves to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and promised to remain celibate. Granted immortality.

SALLY JACKSON—Percy Jackson’s mortal mother. CLARISSE LA RUE—Daughter of Ares, god of war. PAOLO MONTES—Son of Hebe, goddess of youth.

BILLIE NG—Daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture. BUTCH WALKER—Son of Iris, goddess of rainbows.

SHERMAN YANG—Son of Ares, god of war.

And finally, the star of the show, an immortal who shines as bright as the sun because he is the sun, a god who needs no introduction, please give it up for…Apollo!

‌Glossary‌

ACHILLES—the best fighter of the Greeks who besieged Troy in the Trojan War; extraordinarily strong, courageous, and loyal, he had only one weak spot: his heel

AENEAS—a Trojan hero, the son of Aphrodite and a favorite of Apollo; becomes king of the Trojan people

AMPHORA (AMPHORAE, pl.)—a tall ceramic jar

ANDROMEDA—the daughter of the Ethiopian king, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia; after Cassiopeia bragged that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sent a sea monster, Cetus, to attack Ethiopia; Perseus saved Andromeda from the rock she was chained to as a sacrifice

APHRODITE—the Greek goddess of love and beauty; she was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares, the god of war

APOLLO—the Greek god of the sun, prophecy, music, and healing; the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis

ARCAS—the son of Zeus and Callisto, a nymph follower of Artemis; Zeus disguised himself as Artemis in order to seduce Callisto; after Hera became jealous and transformed Callisto into a bear, Zeus hid their son, Arcas, in an area of Greece later called Arcadia

ARES—the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena

ARGONAUTS—a band of heroes who sailed with Jason on the Argo, in search of the Golden Fleece

ARGUS—a hundred-eyed giant sent by Hera to guard a nymph named Io ARTEMIS—the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon; the daughter of

Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Apollo

ASCLEPIUS—the Greek god of medicine; son of Apollo; his temple was the healing center of ancient Greece

ATALANTA—a Greek hero; the daughter of King Iasus, who left her on a mountaintop to die because he wanted a son; she grew up in the wilderness and eventually became one of Artemis’s Hunters; she sailed with the Argonauts as the only woman among them

ATHENA—the Greek goddess of wisdom

ATHENA PARTHENOS—a giant statue of Athena; the most famous Greek statue of all time

ATHENA POLIAS—an olive-wood, life-size statue of Athena Polias (“of the city”) that was located in the temple to Athena at the Acropolis of Athens, Greece

CALLISTO—a nymph who had a son with Zeus and was transformed into a bear by the jealous Hera; Zeus later placed her into the sky as the constellation Ursa Major, or “the Great Bear”

CASSIOPEIA—wife of the Ethiopian king Cepheus, and mother of Andromeda; she angered Poseidon when she claimed that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids

CELESTIAL BRONZE—a rare metal deadly to monsters

CENTAUR—a race of creatures that is half-human, half-horse CETUS—the sea monster Poseidon sent to attack Ethiopia as punishment

when Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereids; Andromeda was sacrificed to the monster but ultimately saved by Perseus

CHARMSPEAK—a blessing bestowed by Aphrodite on her children that enables them to persuade others with their voices

CHITON—a Greek garment; a sleeveless piece of linen or wool secured at the shoulders by brooches and at the waist by a belt

CYCLOPS (CYCLOPES, pl.)—a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead

DEMETER—the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos

DIONYSUS—the Greek god of wine and revelry; a son of Zeus; activities director at Camp Half-Blood

DRAKON—a gigantic yellow-and-green serpentlike monster, with frills around its neck, reptilian eyes, and huge talons; it spits poison

DRYADS—tree nymphs

EIDOLON—a possessing spirit

ENCELADUS—a giant created by Gaea to specifically destroy the goddess Athena

GAEA—the Greek earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters

GOLDEN FLEECE—this hide from a gold-haired winged ram was a symbol of authority and kingship; it was guarded by a dragon and fire- breathing bulls; Jason was tasked with obtaining it, resulting in an epic quest

GREEK FIRE—an incendiary weapon used in naval battles because it can continue burning in water

GROVE OF DODONA—the site of the oldest Greek Oracle, second only to the Oracle of Delphi; the rustling of trees in the grove provided answers to priests and priestesses who journeyed to the site

HADES—the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld

HARPY—a winged female creature that snatches things HEBE—the Greek goddess of youth; daughter of Zeus and Hera HECATE—goddess of magic and crossroads; controls the Mist

HEPHAESTUS—the Greek god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite

HERA—the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister HERMES—the Greek god of travelers; guide to the spirits of the dead; god

of communication

HESTIA—the Greek goddess of the hearth

HIMATION—an outer garment worn by the ancient Greeks over the left shoulder and under the right

HUNDRED-EYED—Argus was a hundred-eyed giant sent by Hera to guard Io, a nymph with whom Zeus was involved

HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS—a group of maidens loyal to Artemis and gifted with hunting skills and eternal youth as long as they reject men for life

HYPNOS—the Greek god of sleep

IO—a nymph who attracted Zeus’s attention and was guarded by a hundred-eyed giant named Argus

IRIS—the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and a messenger of the gods JASON—a Greek hero; the leader of the Argonauts’ expedition in the

quest of retrieving the Golden Fleece

KOPIS—a three-foot-long sword with a forward-curving blade KRONOS—the youngest of the twelve Titans; the son of Ouranos and

Gaea; the father of Zeus; he killed his father at his mother’s bidding; Titan lord of fate, harvest, justice, and time

LABYRINTH—an underground maze originally built on the island of Crete by the craftsman Daedalus to hold the Minotaur

LYRE—a string instrument, similar to a small harp, used in ancient Greece

MANTICORE—a creature with a human head, a lion’s body, and a scorpion’s tail

MINOTAUR—the half-man, half-bull son of King Minos of Crete; the Minotaur was kept in the Labyrinth, where he killed people who were sent in; he was finally defeated by Theseus

MIST—a magic force that disguises things from mortals

MOUNT OLYMPUS—home of the Twelve Olympians

MOUNT PELION—a mountain in the southeastern part of Thessaly in central Greece; the homeland of Chiron the centaur, tutor of many ancient Greek heroes

MYCENAE—the capital city that Perseus and Andromeda founded

MYRMEKE—a giant antlike creature that poisons and paralyzes its prey before eating it; known for protecting various metals, particularly gold

NAIAD—a water nymph

NEMEAN LION—a lion that ravaged the area of Nemea; its fur was impervious to human weapons; slain by Heracles

NEMESIS—the Greek goddess of revenge NEREIDS—water nymphs

NIKE—the Greek goddess of strength, speed, and victory

NYMPH—a female deity who animates nature

OMPHALUS—stone used to mark the center—or navel—of the world ORACLE OF DELPHI—a speaker of the prophecies of Apollo OURANOS—the Greek personification of the sky; father of the Titans PALAESTRA—the Greek goddess of wrestling

PALIKOI (PALIKOS, sing.)—twin sons of Zeus and Thaleia; the gods of geysers and thermal springs

PANATHENAIA—an ancient religious festival in Athens; the Athenians went in procession to the Acropolis, sacrificed one hundred oxen, and gave offerings, including a richly embroidered cloth, to the goddess Athena in the Parthenon temple

PARTY PONIES—groups of centaurs that are wild and drink root beer; known for attaching boxing gloves to the tips of their arrows and using paintball guns with Celestial bronze dust mixed into the paint

PEGASUS (PEGASI, pl.)—a winged divine horse, sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god

PEPLOS—an outer robe or shawl worn by women in ancient Greece, hanging in loose folds and sometimes drawn over the head

PERSEUS—a Greek hero; one of his many feats of bravery was rescuing Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus

POSEIDON—the Greek god of the sea and of horses; son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, and brother of Zeus and Hades

PYTHON—a monstrous serpent that Gaea appointed to guard the Oracle at Delphi

RIVER STYX—the river that forms the boundary between earth and the Underworld

SATYR—a Greek forest god, part goat and part man

SHADOW-TRAVEL—a form of transportation that allows creatures of the Underworld and children of Hades to use shadows to leap to any desired place on earth or in the Underworld, although it makes the user extremely fatigued

STROPHION—a garment worn by females in ancient Greece; a soft band placed underneath the breasts to give them support

TARTARUS—lowest part of the Underworld

TITAN WAR—the epic ten-year battle between the Titans and the Olympians that resulted in the Olympians taking the throne

TITANS—a race of powerful Greek deities, descendants of Gaea and Ouranos, that ruled during the Golden Age and were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians

TROJAN—of Troy

TROJAN WAR—According to legend, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta

TROY—a city situated in modern-day Turkey; site of the Trojan War TYCHE—the Greek goddess of good fortune; daughter of Hermes and

Aphrodite

UNDERWORLD—the kingdom of the dead, where souls go for eternity; ruled by Hades

URSA MAJOR—the Great Bear, the constellation form of Callisto, whom Hera turned into a bear in a fit of jealousy and Zeus made eternal by making her a cluster of stars

URSA MINOR—the Little Bear, the constellation form of Arcas, Zeus’s son with Callisto

ZEUS—the Greek god of the sky and the king of the gods

‌Endnotes‌

The Magical Border

• ‌Some restrictions apply. With invading armies and giant, hostile animated statues, results may vary.

  Thalia’s Pine and the Golden Fleece*

• ‌Approach at your own risk. Peleus the guardian dragon only appears to be sleeping.

  The Athena Parthenos

• ‌chryselephantine: sculpted of gold and ivory