A few weeks had passed since they set off on their journey. Percy concluded that he wasn't on Earth anymore judging by the strange terrain and also its animal inhabitants. However, he was pretty sure he saw a jackalope at one point but wasn't 100% sure.

Maelstrom had also grown rapidly and was now up to his knees with its head almost reaching his hips. Its wingspan was currently four feet and he could tell Maelstrom was almost able to fly. He had been working his wing muscles by jumping off small ledges and high rocks and was able to start gliding earlier in the week.

The two also grew even closer over time. They always slept together whether it was in a nearby pond or up in a tree if water wasn't available. Maelstrom would always wrap around him and Percy would always run his fingers along his slick scales, basking in each other's warmth.

Two days ago Percy stretched out his senses and felt a pull ahead of them that caught Percy by surprise. He concentrated on putting all his focus in front of him and was shocked when the pull increased. He had found an ocean! Or at least a large sea but that didn't matter to him. He was going to be in his domain soon and Maelstrom, sensing his rider's elation, was just as happy.

It took three more days of constant hiking to finally reach what was revealed as an ocean. Both of them sprinted into the cool water and basked in the feeling of being in their respective domains. Both loved the water like nothing else and played in it for the rest of the day. Percy even found out that Maelstrom had some control over water late one afternoon.

They were playing fetch in the shallows using a frozen icicle. They had been playing for a quarter hour and Percy was ready to pick up a new game so he melted the icicle and thought of a new game to play. He could tell that Maelstrom wasn't quite ready to quit and his scrunched face made Percy chuckle.

He at first thought he was just frustrated that his icicle was gone but was proven wrong when another icicle slowly formed on top of the water. While it was much smaller than the original, it made Percy pause at the sight. Maelstrom picked it up in his jaws and hopped over to Omega basically begging him to throw it.

Percy was still stuck on the thought that he didn't create that icicle and looked at his dragon. Maelstrom definitely looked like he just accomplished a task with his happy bouncing. Percy held out his hand for the ice shard and soon held it. He brought it up close, studying it to make sure it really was ice.

It turned out to be pure, solid ice and Percy was amazed that Maelstrom could manipulate water like him. It made him wonder if he was able to do this being a water dragon or was he able to do it since he was bonded to him.

Percy only thought about it for a second before deciding it didn't matter. If Maelstrom did gain some abilities from him then that just made him all the cooler. It also added a whole new aspect to their water fighting wars.

Percy threw the icicle as far as he could while smirking. Oh yes, they were going to have some fun with water tag. However, Percy worried that he would be left with a few bruises before Maelstrom got complete control over his strength.

As the day was coming to an end, they finished their meal they killed on their way to the ocean and slept deep down in the dark depths of the water. Percy was now able to sense fish off in the distance and a few here and there but none close to him. He wondered if he would have to deal with subservient fish since he wasn't on Earth but he guessed he would find out as they traveled through the ocean. They both soon fell asleep cuddled together looking forward to their time in the vast ocean.

~~~

They woke up the next morning and played for a little bit while also trying to get Maelstrom to fly. He was almost there and Percy would try to give him a boost by pushing him up with his arm.

It only took ten minutes before Maelstrom stayed in the air. "You got it, Strom! You're almost there! Just keep flappin like your life depends on it!" Percy smiled as Maelstrom finally was able to fly on his own and watched as he flew out over the ocean.

He was even more surprised when he went into a dive and dove into the water. Percy almost laughed at how even though he just learned to fly, he still loved water too much to stay out of it. Percy waited for a minute for him to surface again and wondered what was taking him so long.

When he looked inwards towards the bond, Maelstrom still felt alright but there was something off. All of the sudden his mark started burning and he clutched his palm, fascinated at how it was glowing.

It only lasted a couple seconds before it stopped and Percy looked out towards the water. Soon, a gigantic upwards splash revealed a gigantic creature coming out of the water. Percy worried slightly about Maelstrom but was shocked speechless when he saw what the creature was and who it resembled.

He was broken out of his stupor when Maelstrom landed in front of him making the ground shake with his landing. Percy looked up towards the now much bigger Maelstrom and said, "How?"

Percy could hear laughter in his head loud and clear which shocked Percy. While they were making process with mental communication, they were only able to relay emotions back and forth.

"Hello Percy. It's nice to finally talk to you." To say Percy was speechless would be an understatement. When he heard the strong, male voice speak to him in his head he almost fainted. He looked up at Maelstrom saying, "What happened to you? I'm pretty sure you broke some sort of laws growing that quickly."

More laughter filled his head. "It was time for us to set out on our journey. A dragon and dragon rider's bond grows as time moves on after hatching. Once it grows strong enough and I reach a certain size, I grow for you to become my rider and for us to ride into battle together as one."

And for some reason, that made sense to Percy. Percy just laughed at how ridiculous it was for this to make sense but he didn't really care. He took this time to examine his now grown dragon and really admired the changes.

Maelstrom was all lean muscle with wet scales that made them sparkle in the sunlight. His claws were now four inches long and the two horns on his wings were like big spikes that looked a little more than slightly deadly. Percy also noticed the horns that grew along its neck were much longer and protected his neck which was one of the dragon's weak spots. His mouth was filled with sharp, pearly white teeth which stood out against its blood red tongue. Its webbing was pretty cool to look at and it was now prominent along his neck and tail area.

"You look amazing." Percy colored a little at the whispered comment which only increased when he heard laughing. "I'm amazing, I know." Percy scowled a little at the haughty tone and crossed his arms. "You may be amazing but you are nowhere near as awesome as me." Percy tensed at the look in his dragon's eye and jumped ten feet in the air when the dragon let out a sudden, loud roar which was probably heard for miles.

When Percy finally got his heartbeat to slow down, he noticed the smug look on the dragon. "Who is more awesome and fearsome again?" Percy grudgingly admitted that that did startle him a little and if he was someone else that would have been much more intimidating but there was no need to verbalize it. However, Maelstrom could clearly tell what he was thinking judging by the deep, rumbling, and dragon like laughter he heard.

"Ha, Ha." Percy said sarcastically before getting an excited gleam in his eye. He willed a water whip to form and smacked it across Maelstrom's side before running towards the water. Percy let out a whoop before jumping into the water, propelling him into the deep depths of the ocean.

He heard a dragon shriek of indignation before he was soon being joined by his almighty dragon. The game of tag went back and forth for about an hour and Percy learned a few things. Maelstrom had much more control over his water abilities judging by the wall of ice that appeared in front of Percy which, of course, Percy ran into at full speed and became 'it.'

He also learned that Maelstrom was extremely fast in the water. While Percy was still faster than him, it was still pretty amazing how fast he could go. Sometimes Percy would get distracted by the beauty of the gleaming scales flowing flawlessly through the water before he was knocked to the side and became 'it' ... again.

They ended up laughing together 100 feet underwater. It was amazing how their personalities seemed to fit together. While Percy was more carefree than serious, Maelstrom was more serious than carefree unless Percy managed a way to get him to loosen up, usually by insulting him. Maelstrom had a little bit of an ego that Percy liked to mess with which would in turn lead into a chase which also got Maelstrom to lighten up.

Percy also found out that Maelstrom was very protective of him. When they encountered their first predator that was bigger than Percy, Maelstrom immediately got in front of him and growled at it. Let's just say that it didn't help when the creature ran away from the 'fearsome' creature and left a smug dragon behind. Percy tried to tell Maelstrom that he was perfectly capable of handling himself but Maelstrom just said maybe and ended the discussion which irked Percy.

They soon started their journey together and both enjoyed the freedom they were experiencing traveling the ocean. Maelstrom had never been able to experience what was in his nature to enjoy and Percy loved seeing the new wildlife and surroundings of this new world. However, both of them enjoyed the time they spent together as dragon and dragon rider the most. Their bond grew infinitely stronger through their trip and could now communicate telepathically over long distances flawlessly.

Maelstrom also explained what he remembered while in the egg. While most of it was fuzzy, he did recall bits and pieces from his caretakers when they had him. He remembered that they passed him around to see if he would hatch for anyone but knew none of them were his rider. He also explained that a dragon would only hatch when he encountered his one true rider and would even wait for centuries for it to happen. This only made Percy blush saying he was nothing that special which only got a 'look' from his dragon.

Other than that he didn't remember much else. However the last thing he remembered was what the elves said when he put him in the chamber.

"'Are you sure this is the wisest course of action?' There was a pause as the other was thinking. 'You and I both know this must be done. It was said that the dragon who didn't hatch for any of the riders this round would be important at a later time. It said that he and his rider would determine which way the war went. Our seer has never been wrong before and I think it would be best to follow her instructions.' Maelstrom didn't hear anything else other than the shutting of the door."

Percy just sighed out loud when he heard that he was part of another prophecy and wondered if that writing he saw in the room was the prophecy. He probably should have written it down or something for it to be translated later, but he didn't think it was that important! Who could blame him when there was an amazing looking egg and a wicked sword that immediately drew attention away! Percy just slumped on Maelstrom which got a rebuke about being sloppy and should look more regal when riding a majestic dragon like him.

Percy also shared his memories during their trip and while he was sharing his admittedly hard life story, he sensed more and more protective feelings from Maelstrom. Percy just sighed, accepting his lot in life and continuing his story.

The ocean life was also an interesting experience. While none of them knew him as the son of the sea god, they definitely knew he was part of the ocean and to be respected or at least not messed with. The dragon helped deter any bigger beasts who debated on messing with them so pretty much nothing bugged them other than the occasional stares.

Percy did mentally speak to some marine life who got close to see what they were and Percy would call people liars if they tried to say fish couldn't make facial expressions, other than the fish face of course, because they were definitely surprised. However they started gathering a crowd at the unique occurrence that was happening so they bolted and decided not to just conversational speak to the fish anymore.

It was about three days later that they came across a town. They passed a few boats beforehand but didn't think seeing a dragon just come out of nowhere would have been a good idea. So, they decided that Percy would swim to the town while Maelstrom would gather lunch and/or dinner depending on when Percy returned. They assumed that Percy would most likely have to go to the library to find out information as to not attract too much attention which Percy just groaned and grudgingly accepted.

As they approached the city, they had to admit it was a nice city. It was encircled by a white wall a hundred feet tall and thirty feet thick with two main gates: one on the western side of the city, facing the sea, and the other on the southern side, opening to the road. The buildings grew progressively taller from the outside in with the tallest buildings near the center.

Percy had to admit that it was perfectly built for repelling attacks. Attackers would have to worry about rooftop archers, and if they tried to get them then they would have to constantly climb up buildings. Also, the harbor didn't directly lead into the city which wouldn't allow ships to unload their soldiers past the walls.

As Percy neared the city, he noticed that the docks looked to be half sunken in the water and pretty much completely destroyed. When he got closer he noticed that they were actually burned and exploded into bits. He guessed they just had an attack not too long ago but it seemed they were able to repel it without them even getting on land. This just made Percy respect the city's defenses even more.

However, when he finally got into the city, he noticed that it was like entering a Renaissance fair or something. Everything was old fashioned and now that he really looked at the buildings, he could tell they were made out of stone stacked on top of each other like in the olden days. It was like a blast to the past for him but he guessed that was okay. He wouldn't have to worry about being sniped 100 meters away for being a foreigner or something crazy like that.

He covertly surfaced away from the ship crews' eyes and headed towards the city. He then mixed himself with villagers going into the city and easily passed the two guards at the entrance. As he entered the city his view opened up to what would be described as a merchant city. There were many shops here and there and he could see nice houses towards the center of the city.

Percy smiled and hoped he could find someone who wouldn't be suspicious of him asking what would seem strange questions to them. It only took five minutes for him to find a kid walking around and stopped him to ask some questions.

The kid turned out to be a greedy little bugger and Percy got irritated with him after a while. However a slight glare directed at the kid seemed to do the trick and he spilled. Percy inwardly sighed at how affected he was by his Tartarus experience. While he could give dark looks before, even campers who knew him for a long time would shy away or even take a step back in fear when his ire was directed at them.

After a five minute talk with the kid, he learned that the city was called Teirm and it was an ocean port town. Many ship merchants passed through this city as they traveled along the coast. He also learned that the burnt down wasn't from an enemy trying to take the city but someone using the burning docks to escape. He wondered why they were that desperate to get out but he didn't want to pass on judgment until he knew the true reason.

He also got directions to the local library and immediately set off. He knew he would probably be in their all day trying to make sense of what he was reading and he was not looking forward to the headache sure to come.

The library was actually quite big considering the size of the city. He went through the different isles before browsing the history section to learn where the hell he was. He finally found a dusty old tome and browsed through it hoping to better understand his current situation.

As he read through the quite difficult, old style book, his eyebrows steadily rose higher and higher. There were many different creatures in this world called Alagaesia including elves, dwarves, and some type of horned creature called urgals. There used to be many dragons and riders but apparently all of them went extinct a long time ago except for the current king of the land.

That didn't really make Percy feel much better since the king would most likely think of him as a must be ally or an enemy that needs to be exterminated. The book didn't outright say it but he could read the subtleties that the king wasn't a kind one. He resolved that he would try to lay low for as long as he could but he didn't even try to delude himself on not causing or getting into trouble. It was bound to happen to him so he would just prepare as much as he could.

He finally finished the book many hours later and sat back to contemplate what he learned. Apparently the dwarves and elves went into their respective domains and pretty much isolated themselves except for a few encounters with the humans. The urgals were pretty much beasts by the way they were treated and represented. However in the beginning of the book it spoke of them as intelligent beings so he would have to meet a few before jumping to conclusions.

The most amazing thing he learnt was that he apparently could do magic. He wondered if his demigod blood would affect this in any way but there was only one way to test it. The book did tell of stories where dragon riders exhausted themselves using too much magic and actually died or used an extremely powerful spell that immediately killed them afterwards so Percy would definitely test his limits before he tried to do anything too big.

He finally got up and stretched out his stiff muscles before heading out of the library feeling a little better about his situation. He wouldn't sound like a complete idiot if he talked to someone and could probably semi-follow a conversation about the history of Alagaesia and its inhabitants.

As he made his way to the docks he saw it was already late afternoon and he was starving. He hoped Maelstrom was able to find some food and was waiting for him to join him. He reached out with his mind through the bond and brushed it up against his friend's mind. He was immediately recognized and given a mental image and direction of where he was, waiting with a stag he caught. He also caught a few carcasses in the peripheral shot he was given and admonished his dragon for not waiting for him and enjoying a nice, juicy meal while he was slaving away in the dusty books.

He only got a mental shrug in response and a 'hurry up.' Percy just rolled his eyes, followed the crowd out of the city and jumped back into the water, setting out to fill his empty stomach.

They met up and finished their meals before moving on to keep traveling down the coast. Percy explained what he learned and discussed it with Maelstrom to see if he had anything to add to it. Percy even shared some of his memories which they learned how to do while traversing the ocean.

They both descended into silence thinking about how they should present themselves to the world. They definitely needed to train together so they would be prepared in case they were attacked. They would need to be braced for any and all circumstances and have a prepared counter and escape plan.

They were still new to this world and would be at an extreme disadvantage to many fighters. Percy nor Maelstrom knew how skilled elves, dwarves, urgals or even humans were. They were at least lucky that they only had very primitive technology but the variety of magic pretty much made up for it.

Magic wise he was worse than a novice. He learned a few simple spells in the ancient language that was repeated in the books like Brisingr (fire) and Waise Heill (be healed). He would probably ... definitely use the second one plenty of times. However what he needed was a book on spells so he could practice.

The first time he cast Brisingr was ... umm, explosive if he had to name it. He was on the beach with Maelstrom behind him. Percy teased the dragon saying he was scared of a little fire but Maelstrom responded that Percy would somehow mess it up or go overboard and roast him, so his phrase for the day was 'better safe than sorry.'

Percy held his palm out and focused on fire. He thought about the Camp Half-Blood campfire and how he could feel the heat even meters away. He thought about the feeling of fire and the massive amount of heat it produces. He thought about the heat in the air driving off the freezing temperatures around him and the heat being produced inside his body in that moment. He thought about the feel of fire as it burned him and consumed whatever it touched. He combined all of these memories and open his eyes.

"Brisingr!" BOOM! Percy was immediately blown back into Maelstrom and blinked back the stars from his eyes ... He definitely wasn't expecting that. He slowly opened his eyes and sat stunned at the beach. He unsteadily got up still trying to recover some feeling and walked back to where he was just a few seconds ago.

He crouched to run his hands along the smooth surface and gaped at his distorted face now staring back at him. IT TURNED INTO GLASS! The glass stretched for about five feet but he could tell the spell went at least 50 feet from his original position and could have probably still burnt something 10 more feet just from the heat alone! Percy decided then and there that he must have found the most powerful spell in existence and decided that he should probably never use it again. He wasn't even tired after that spell!

However, maybe if he whispered it or didn't put much feeling behind it than it may be smaller. He tested this by gathering a few sticks and stacking them on the glass. He didn't put any thought into the spell and just whispered Brisingr which shot a few sparks out of his finger. Well that made sense. The more feeling he put into the spell the bigger the effects. He made a mental note to never think about the River of Fire, Phlegethon because that would probably just make the spell twice as powerful. Coming back from his thoughts, this time he thought about lighting the sticks on fire and said the spell in a normal voice.

The sticks instantly lit up and Percy pumped his fist into the air. He already learned a spell from this world and he was excited. He was looking forward to learning other spells. He wondered what would happen if he used his demigod abilities plus a water manipulation spell together. Would his abilities double?

He just shrugged and decided to test it when he found the spell. He turned back to Maelstrom and could tell he was getting the 'I told you so' look. "How was I to know that you aren't supposed to put a lot of feeling behind the spell!?" Maelstrom just slightly lowered his head still giving him the 'look.' "And that was why I got behind you." Percy just grumbled after that.  

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Hey Guys! Here's another chapter for TIH (The Incoming Hero). Hope you guys are enjoying it so far and stick with me with my slow updates ;) Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say so feel free to leave a quick like or comment. It's always entertaining to see what you guys have to say. Also, just a reminder, this is my side story since I'm putting more focus on The Returning Legend so I can't guarantee update schedules. Last but not least, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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