Part II – Magic Machinations

I finally left Hermes' place and bolted for the south gardens. "Hopefully she'll be so insulted that she won't want to teach me." I came to the gardens, but no one was there. I blinked. "Huh?"

I waited.

And waited.

Five hours later, and a very nice nap later, I was woken up by a polecat on my chest, which I promptly threw seven feet away from me.

It hissed at me, and I hissed right back. My response seemed to confuse the animal, and it scurried away.

"So, this is the famous Percy Jackson?"

I sighed. "Hecate." I turned to see the goddess. "I have to be honest. I consider this meeting a dubious honor at best."

She laughed. "I don't blame you. After all, I did fight against you during the Second Titan Wars."

"And I consider you an idiot and a fool for doing so. Backing someone who wants world destruction while you still live on said world is stupid."

She laughed and shook her head. "And you do not pull your punches. That is good. I like forthrightness."

I rolled my eyes. "Up until I step over an invisible boundary that I didn't know about, and you suddenly want to kill me."

She smirked. "That is correct. Now. What do you know of magic?"

"Nothing."

She looked at me. "Nothing?"

"That's what I said."

She scowled. "And how long has it been since you've discovered this about yourself?"

"Uh…" I blinked. It seemed like years ago. "Um…I think it was maybe a month ago?"

Hecate growled. "Terrible. Putting off important lessons about magic that could save your life!"

I bit my tongue and instead said, "Could you start teaching me about Mist. That might be the most important magic I could learn."

She sighed but nodded. "Very well. Mist is all about what your enemies, or mortals, want to see. You cannot force them to see something that they do not want to see, or at least, not very well. You will probably get to the point to be powerful enough to force someone into seeing something against their will. Hallucinations and such. My apprentice, Hazel Levesque, you know her, has mastered such abilities."

I nodded. Hecate sat next to me. "If you have any questions, ask Hazel. She has learned much about magic."

I nodded again. "Are there different types of magic?" I wanted to double check what Night was telling me.

She nodded. "There are. There is symbolic magic. Magic that is done with symbols, circles, and signs written on the floor or paper. There is magic done with herbs and plants, witch's brews. There is magic done through the will of the user, that is Mist. And there is magic done verbally, through spells. Many magic users mix all of these magics together in order to get what they most desire from the magic."

I nodded. "What's the most powerful?"

"Undoubtedly magic through the will. Mist magic is definitely the most powerful."

I thought about Night. She had said that verbal magic was far more potent than any other form, providing that you knew the correct and most powerful language to use magic through. Latin, Greek, Ancient Greek, Sea Tongue were all languages that you could use magic in, but the older the language, the more powerful the magic.

However, I only nodded and listened politely as Hecate began to explain magic to me.