It was agreed we'd need Poseidon's wrath to be held off, since control of the seas would be of major importance for logistics. Everyone turned to me to answer the call for sacrifice. Nobody, except Claire, knows I'm just Poseidon's bastard daughter. I didn't know how much weight me leading the ceremony would carry, but I agreed to do it. Andrew volunteered to help me, since he knew the most about these things.
From there, Claire delegated out tasks while Andrew and I prepped to make the rounds to the local farms. Since this situation was spearheaded by Claire, everyone (even Hal, who's probably the most prone to arguing his point of view into the ground) shut up and let Claire take charge. It's the first time our band has had anything resembling a leader, rather than arguing out every decision to consensus.
Andrew told me Poseidon's traditional offering was a prize bull, the choice cuts burned on a sea-side altar. So, I compensated and upped the quantity, getting as many prize bulls as I could from as many farms as I could. I didn't have much time to work, we'd learned the centaur army would reach New Troy by dawn and there was an unnatural storm rolling in. I constructed the altar and made the sacrifice, pouring myself into the ritual. I should note, though, that it was just as much Andrew as me, as he was giving me advice as we went, so I got the right cuts and performed everything right.
I don't know if it worked. It's too early to tell.
We rushed back to the city and Claire assigned me to the front ranks. Even Artemis gave me that "fellow warrior" nod as I ran to my position. It wasn't long until the battle hit us and it wasn't just Centaurs. Three large metal birds came in with the storm (I have no idea what they were) and the Centaurs' ranks were filled out with satyrs and maenids.
I let myself get lost in the fight, blunting the charge with a shockwave from my ax. It's easy to loose track of what's going on in a big battle like that and I found myself quickly surrounded. Felling grunts wasn't going to get me very far. I shouted for direction in my walkie talkie and I was steered towards a general. I heard several loud explosions, which I was told were anti-air missiles against the birds and a mortar strike on another general (overkill?). A few fast and powerful strikes of my ax and I took out the other general. A loud bellow from Claire shattered what remained of their moral and off they ran.
After the battle I began a detail to clear the battlefield of the dead. Others were working on making sure our dead got a proper funeral and the Morrigan insisted the enemy's dead be piled up and burned ( I wasn't going to argue).
I noticed Claire, up on her rooftop, talking to Artemis. Not long after, she and I had a short talk. It's officially over between us. I can't help but think that, while yes, I made a huge gaff that cost me Claire's trust, that this is another one of Artemis' ploys to twist the knife and take her anger at Poseidon out on me. She certainly made our discussion worse, the other night.
If I dwell on it I'm only going to make myself feel worse. I'm going to spend some time apart from the group unless I'm needed. Though... pulling an Achilles and sulking in my room isn't going to do anyone any good. I'll see if I can find something productive to do.... alone.
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