Helen Brave and The Sun Titan
Chapter 4: The Forge and Heroes

The Forge smelt like fire and charcoal, the warmth hitting me hard. but like a comforting blanket. The sound of steel hitting steel, calls and other noise almost caused my hearing to go out, but I felt almost like I had gone back home. I looked to Joshua and Wilma and found they were smiling, looking around and trying to take in everything at once. I did the same and looked right up, frowning when I saw the glowing set of bronzed wings near the top of the workshop. “Come along now! We have much to explore!” called Hephaestus, snapping me out of my stupor. I blushed and quickly rushed after the group as we headed into the building, some of the students stopping to look at us before becoming distracted again. “Since my dorm has no current hero, we’ve appointed another student, Dragon, as the kind of dorm representative. I’ll be up near the top of the warehouse in my office if I am needed so move around and introduce yourselves to some older students. You’ll be working with a mentor for the next three months after all. You never know who might pick you,” he said before wheeling himself off. I looked around and wandered over to a set of swords while some of the other students moved closer to the large furnace that was supplying the whole room with fire.

I wanted to touch one of the swords, but ignored my baser instinct and turned around, frowning when I found the area empty of new students. I shifted in place before heading over to a large student, who was leaned over a tiny table. His thick fingers were gingerly moving over the item on his table and he looked up, the goggles on his face making his green eyes larger than normal. “Newbie?” He rumbled out. I nodded and he smiled before pulling off his goggles and placing them on the top of his head. His face had tan lines around where the goggles had been and his face was smudged with soot. He was thickly built, like a weightlifter, but his legs were thin, two arm crutches resting on the side of his workstation. “I’m Dragon, nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand to shake. I took it and he jostled my arm up and down before releasing my limb. I shook out my hand and he laughed lowly before giving me a warm smile, which I weakly returned. Social interactions really weren’t my thing contrary to popular belief.

He patted the seat at his side and turned back to his invention when I took it. “Come on newbie! I’ll introduce you to my newest creation,” he said happily. I looked over his large arm at the device and he began explaining what it was. “This is my newest weapon for another student. He wanted some kind of brass knuckles and it got me thinking,” he rambled, beginning to explain his idea and how complex it had gotten.

We sat for a while, talking about the fist sized interchangeable brass knuckles until the glow from the wings captured my attention again. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing up. He looked up then gave me another smile before leaning his head on his chin, his shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes.

“Ever hear of Daedalus?” He questioned back.

“Famous inventor of the labyrinth and the father of Icarus?” I said before looking back at the wings.

“Yup. Those are the originals on loan from Apollo himself. The wings are supposed to inspire us and also warn us about our own folly,” he said. I looked back to him and found he was looking up at the wings again. His eyes slowly rolled back down before focusing on me, with a startlingly harsh intensity. “A newbie must be the new Daedalus, they don’t usually glow that bright,” he said lowly, his eyes rolling over my face. I frowned and he suddenly grinned before shaking his head. “So kid, what did you do to get here?” He asked.

I blinked and explained, rolling my eyes when he laughed at the fact I had turned an alarm clock into a weapon accidently before he patted my shoulder. “Sorry. You’re interesting,” he said before looking up and frowning. I looked up and found Hephaestus was now holding the wings and scanning the room with his eyes. “Looks like pops realized the new hero is here,” Dragon said before shaking his head. “Come on. I need a snack and you probably didn’t get food huh?” He asked, grinning when my stomach rumbled loudly. I blushed and got up, watching as he grabbed his arm crutches and stood. We headed over to a large line of students and stood around the back of them as a group of other students began tossing them food in a black plastic bag.

Dragon leaned up, caught two bags, and handed me one before nodding towards a side door. We headed out of the Forge and took a seat, opening up the black bags and replaceing an assortment of fruits. Dragon smiled excitedly before grabbing banana out and peeling it. I pulled out an apple and took a bite, taking another before I could finish the mush in my mouth. “Don’t eat too much at once kid,” he warned. I nodded and continued to slowly eat, looking out at the sea and grinning when I saw several Poseidon students messing around on a boat. “Peaceful huh?” He said with a grin. I nodded and finished my apple before grabbing a pear and beginning to eat that. “We usually save the organic stuff, helps out the Demeter students,” he said, plucking the apple core from me and placing it in another black bag.

We ate mostly in silence, Dragon commenting on the school and the possibility of the new Daedalus, before the two of us headed back inside and over to his work station. He instantly got back to work and I watched him for a while longer before looking back up and at the wings. They were glowing still, pulsing a brownish red, and Hephaestus was holding them tightly, his eyes rolling over the students.

I heard Dragon grunt and looked to him, replaceing that he was in the middle of prying something open. “I can help,” I said, digging my nails under part of the metal.

“Careful, its stuck pretty good and I don’t want you tearing a nail,” he warned. I winced at the image before beginning to slowly work the pieces until they popped apart. Dragon sighed softly in relief before giving me thumbs up and turning back to his weapon while I looked around. Other students were talking to some of the newbies and I yawned softly, trying to think about what Amanda was doing. “Do you want to help me with something?” Dragon asked without looking up from his work.

“Uh sure,” I instantly agreed, watching as he jerked his head towards a large stack of books to my right.

“Start reading. You’re going to learn how to create swords, arrows, bows and all that good stuff soon, but learning about the theory will be good for now. I was thinking about being your mentor and that means you’re going to need to be well read if you’re going to keep up with me,” he said before looking to me and winking. I grinned widely before nodding excitedly and grabbing the top book, cracking it open and beginning to read about the forging and creation of swords.

Time passed quickly after that, mumbled conversation coming from Dragon while I read through almost half of the stack before a loud piercing whistle blew through the air. I jumped and looked up, watching as the older students began to stop and stretch. “Whelp time for dinner,” Dragon said, pulling off his goggles and giving me a smile. I blinked in shock before looking out of one of the windows and replaceing the sun had set.

“Wow. I didn’t even notice,” I said lowly before marking my place in the book I was reading. He nodded to me before grabbing his arm crutches and getting up.

“Come on, let’s get a start to the dorms,” he said, leading the way out of the room. I followed at a slower pace, both of us speaking about what I was going to learn tomorrow. “Usually students get their schedules during dinner so we should hurry back. Plus, sometimes the occasional monster wonders in from the Underworld,” Dragon said, helping me into the cable car when we got to it.

“Monster?” I questioned lowly, watching as some of the other newbies looked to us in confusion. Dragon gave me a smile before shaking his head and leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Monsters. We use them as material for the weapons we forge and usually they don’t get to close to here, but sometimes a harpy or chimera wanders out from the Underworld and starts messing around the school. You won’t have to worry too much, the Huntresses and Blood Warriors are probably already patrolling,” he said, a slight sneer appearing on his face at Blood Warriors, before he turned to talk to another student. I frowned deeply and looked away, blinking in shock as a large lion goat…snake thing slowly moved out of the shadows and towards the cable car.

“Dragon?” I said weakly, looking back at him and rapidly tapping his thick arm. He looked to me in confusion then passed me before blinking with wide eyes.

“Oh well ain’t that a bitch?” he said before the lion goat snake monster roared and ran straight for the car. It slammed into the side of the cable car hard and several students screamed in terror while the others yelling out in shock. “Damn it! Every time you talk about underworld monsters we end up getting attacked by one!” Another student yelled at Dragon before pulling out a bow and grabbing a thin arrow from a quiver on her back. She moved to shoot the monster, but it jumped to the side and ran back at the cable car, it’s snake tail moving forward to strike. The student froze, but the head suddenly fell apart and blood came from the severed piece, covering several students while the lion goat moved back and snarled in pain.

The students screamed and yelled while the girl looked left. I followed her line of sight, gaping when I found ma and momma leading a group of girls towards the monster. Momma was holding two throwing disks while ma was holding a spear, both of them looking deeply concentrated. “Hey ugly!” Momma roared, the monster snarling before turning and running right at them. Momma grinned before jumping to the side as it got in close, ma spinning the spear and turning in the same motion. Swinging around, ma thrusted the spear into the monster’s side and harshly tugged it out before turning and defending against another monster.

This new monster was a large golden lion and I gasped lowly. “Oh my god! That’s a Nemean Lion!” Dragon cried in delight.

“What’s so great about that lion?” I asked as the cable car began to move. Momma was on her feet and threw her disk, a smirk on her face. The disk hit the ground and bounced up, cutting through the lion goat’s throat before turning and heading back to her.

“The lion’s coat is really special. I’m jumping off!” He called before throwing himself out of the cable car. I cried out and looked to the other students, the younger students looked horrified while the older students shook their heads.

“He’s going to get himself hurt!” One of the girls called before settling herself and making a face at her blood soaked uniform. I grimaced and followed after him, stumbling and crashing to the ground before pushing myself up. Dragon rolled over and began to mess with his arm crutches so I rushed over and gave him a shake.

“You’re insane!” I snapped. He looked to me in surprise before grinning and pointing at the lion.

“Help me kill it and I’ll give you a cut!” He called. I felt my eyes widen in shock and slight horror, looking up and watching as the golden lion circled ma. Ma glared at it while another golden lion tried to take a swipe at her from behind. She threw herself to the side then rolled out of the way and turned, brandishing the spear and causing both lions to move back. The girls were trying to lead a large bull-torsoed man away from momma and I looked back to Dragon. He had strapped one of the crutches to his leg and was doing the same to the other one when I noticed the other lion was looking at us. It roared before charging and ma turned, her eyes widening before she moved to chase it.

“HELEN!” She yelled before crying out when the first lion tackled her. Dragon looked up and yelped while I looked around.

“Kid!” Someone yelled, I looked back and found a group of other students running towards us, a large boy throwing a staff towards me. “Don’t just sit there!” He yelled. I caught the staff before looking forward and swinging, Dragon falling back so the staff could pass over his head. The lion roared out in pain as the hit knocked its head to the side and I pushed myself up. Standing, I swallowed nervously, almost instantly taking notice of a large button near my thumb. I quickly pressed down on it and gasped silently when the end of the staff began to puff out, the staff turning into a large war hammer.

“Whoa,” I mumbled before looking at the lion, that was shaking its head. Dragon crawled back before finishing with his arm crutch, the crutches melting into them until they turned into two leg gauntlets.

“Let’s do this!” Dragon suddenly roared, pushing himself up and pulling out some metal gloves. He smirked and I tossed him a glare before looking to the lion that began to stalk forward. We both watched it with wide eyes and it roared before knocking Dragon to the side to get to me. I stumbled back swinging the hammer and knocking the lion to the side, the lion bouncing when it hit the ground and rolled. “Yeah!” Dragon said jovially, pushing himself to his feet then running after the lion and trying to attack it. I frowned, looking down at the hammer in confusion, noticing a dull brownish red glow around my hands. What was that? How was I able to hit it so hard? I shook my head and looked up, watching as the lion rolled over and tried to bite into Dragon’s hand. The thickly built teen grabbed its jaw and forced its mouth open before grinning darkly.

“We have another minotaur!” Another student screamed over the noise of fighting.

“Helen!” Someone cried, but I ignored it and turned when I heard something roar rather close to my right. Another Minotaur was heading right for me and I swallowed nervously before jumping to the side as it charged past. Spinning, I slammed the hammer into the minotaur’s back, launching it at Dragon, who snapped the lion’s neck before turning and catching the minotaur. He laughed loudly and smirked, his arms bulging as he tightened them around the Minotaur’s chest.

“Hey sexy, come here often?” He joked before throwing the Minotaur towards the ocean. The Minotaur let out a loud sound of anger and I looked around, jumping when a hand touched my shoulder. I spun around, ready to attack, but lowered my weapon when I found the boy who had tossed me the staff was at my side.

“Fast thinking kid, your mentor is stupid,” he grumbled. “Anne! Roberto! Rosaria! Help Dragon out then escort him back to the Hephaestus dorms with his mentee!” The boy ordered before unshouldering his bow and notching an arrow. Three people moved out from the group behind us and ran over to Dragon while the boy took aim then fired at the lion on ma’s back. The lion snarled at us and jumped off of her before breaking into a run as soon as it got close enough.

“Helen!” Ma yelled, pushing herself up to take off, but the lion was already jumping at me, claws out.

“I got it!” A new voice called out, a large double headed axe flying through the air and cutting into the lion’s open mouth. The lion gurgled and I swung the hammer without thinking driving the axe deeper into its skull. The lion slumped to the ground and I looked back, blinking in shock as a large teen strutted out from behind the group, grinning down at me. Her nose was bleeding and she was rubbing the blood away, a smirk on her face. Her eyes were a dark golden brown while her hair was long and curly black. It fell like waves, framing her face and she looked to the lion then back at me. She grinned like a shark and I blushed since she looked really, really pretty. She slowly strutted over and grabbed the handle of the axe then easily pulled it out with one of her hands. “Nice. We’ll split the pelt,” she said before moving towards Dragon. I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned, watching as she stopped then huffed. Dragon was wrestling the Minotaur into submission and she grumbled turning and looking down at me while slowly raising an eyebrow.

She was built like an amazon, but looked Samoan, her tanned skin standing out against her uniform colors. “You must be new,” she began before smirking then jerking her thumb towards her chest. “I’m Achilles, rep for the Ares dorm,” she said before turning and catching a large human looking bird hybrid. She snapped its neck then turned back to me and leaned down, her face inches from my own. I felt my face heat up more at the closeness and she grinned, her eyes flashing. “You-,” she began before scowling when Dragon rushed over and shoved her away.

“Come on Achilles! Leave the newbie alone!” He snarled before looking to me in concern. “Don’t come after me next time Helen, this is dangerous,” he scolded. Achilles scoffed before nodding towards the dead lion on the ground.

“With my help she killed that lion, more than what she did with you,” she said before shaking her head. “Whatever, come on, you two should head back to the dorms. I heard-,” she began before ma ran over and grabbed me roughly by my vest.

“Are you insane?! You could have been killed!” She hissed before frowning deeply then tightly hugging me. “Never ever do that again. Now go on, head back to the dorms,” she ordered after she let me go. She looked to Achilles then frowned before cocking her head to the side after a moment. “You must be the new Achilles,” she said before extending out her hand. Achilles took it and gave her a good-natured smile then froze as momma jogged over and shot ma and I a frown.

“Are you two okay?” She asked before looking to Achilles and frowning deeper. “You must be the new Achilles, nice moves,” she finished off handedly. Achilles nodded and shifted back, her arm coming up and rubbing at her nose. She looked almost star struck and began preening, which looked rather comical.

“Y-You’re Slice! It’s an honor to meet you,” Achilles stuttered out, giving her an awkward smile. Momma spared her a look before looking back at me and frowning deeply.

“You get to your dorm, your mentor is stupid,” she said before giving Dragon a glare. Dragon looked away and momma snorted before looking to Achilles. “Can you escort my daughter to her dorm?” She asked. Achilles looked dumbfounded, but nodded and looked down at me with something brimming in her eyes. I flushed again and she grinned suddenly before looking back at momma and nodding.

“Of course. Come on, let’s go,” she said to me. I nodded and allowed Achilles to lead me away from the mayhem that was happening behind us.