Chapter Text
It was a strange occasion- two gods were expected to arrive at Camp Half Blood to help manage it, although they sounded like polar opposites so nobody was particularly looking forwards to the occasion. Plus gods were usually jerks. Chiron hadn’t told them much about the gods, other than the fact that he was proud to have mentored them once and the fact that one was a child of Apollo and one was a child of Hades. Everybody was gathered by Half Blood Hill, dressed in their orange tshirts but still attempting to appear smartly and neatly. The god of sunshine, comfort, and recovery was going to be the first to arrive- followed by the god of shadows, mourning and acceptance. Chiron had managed to settle the nervous demigods- although they still talked amongst themselves and speculated.
They found it strange that the ghost that haunted the Hades cabin wasn’t there- or at least, who they thought was a ghost. A young boy who would sometimes appear in the darkest shadows whenever young demigods went exploring in there. Sometimes they’d spot the boy standing near the campfire, talking to Hestia, or in the infirmary when a patient would pass.
In fact, two boys usually appeared when a patient passed. The first boy seemed to glow and radiate care, and he’d always sit besides the dying patient and hold their hand, gently singing soothing lullabies. Then the ghost boy would appear from the shadows and pray to Hades for their safe passage through the Underworld, and he’d sit with the mourning campers. The glowing boy seemed just as ghostly as the first, but in a different way. Whilst the black haired boy would fade into the shadows, the blond boy would fade into the light. Sometimes he’d be seen coaxing the other ghost boy out of the shadows, following him and leaving sunflowers by the door to the Hades cabin. Neither boy was there today, and the camp had to admit that they were slightly disheartened by their absence.
The camp soon fell silent as a chariot became visible- it was hard to miss, white adorned in intricate gold mandalas shaped into suns. Two pegasi pulled the chariot- pure white with golden manes and tails, a warm yellow glow around both. The chariot passed through camp boarders and slowly came to a stop by the old pine tree- it had always been called Thalia’s tree- they’d only learned today from the Huntress herself why. The campers awaited nervously for the god to step out of the chariot- they assumed this must be the god of sunshine, comfort and recovery. They expected the god to be clad in white and gold, perhaps with wings and a halo. Instead, a man who appeared to be in his early twenties stepped out, promptly tripping up when his flip flop snagged on a rock. He quickly stood and brushed himself off, turning to face the demigods with a fond smile. He wore khaki shorts with a green scrub top underneath an open lime green flannel shirt and a yellow lab coat with a sunflower pin badge with neon orange flip flops. He had striking cobalt blue eyes, although on closer inspection they were a gradient, from royal blue to cobalt to cerulean to azure to sky blue on the innermost parts of the iris, ice blue flecks throughout. He had short golden blond hair, thick bouncy curls cascading down just past the top of his ears, highlights of gold that seemed too golden to be natural yet they were, the sunlight radiating from his soft curls. Pale skin tanned a healthy bronze hue, sunlight reflecting off his cheekbones as though he wore highlighter, which he didn’t. A constellation of light brown freckles dusted across his nose and cheekbones like you could play a melodic symphony from the patterns weaving across his cheeks. He looked like an older version of the blond ghost boy.
“Hi,” he began, “I’m William Solace, god of sunshine, comfort and recovery, but you can just call me Will. I used to go here when I was a young demigod, I’m a son of Apollo. I was head medic for a while, I fought in both Titan wars and I was around back when Apollo was turned mortal for a while. You’ve probably seen me around camp, I come here a lot. Please, don’t be afraid to approach me, I’ll always try to find time for you, even if you just need a hug, I’m here. Anyway, I’ll introduce myself properly once the god of shadows, mourning and acceptance arrives and we’re around the campfire.”
So, the god- Will- was the blond ghost boy they’d seen around camp. He radiated comfort- Solace was a fitting name for him, it seemed. Even now, stood before them as a god, he dressed so casually- some may argue badly- that he seemed approachable. Something about his serene and relaxed posture and his warm smile made you want to hug him, because he looked like he could heal your soul with a hug and a few kind words. He seemed to glow, like sunshine radiated off him.
It wasn’t long before the warmth seemed to fade- the ground frosted and withered from afar, creeping closer in darkened shadows as a fissure ripped open- they would have screamed and ran if it wasn’t for the calm radiating from the blond god. Large bones began to emerge from the fissure, rolling over each other until they began to form skeletal hellhounds, tendrils of darkness swirling and wrapping around each other to form a chariot of shadows and bones. The camp waited in fearful anticipation until eventually the shadows began to form a vaguely human shape, slowly forming a more solid figure as they moved to stand beside Will. The shadows snaked away in tendrils, slithering back to the chariot to reveal the god of shadows, mourning and acceptance. He wore a long black leather trenchcoat, thick silver chains forming a trellis on the back, pulling it to fit snugly around the god’s waist. It reached to mid calf, but the collar was a thick brown fleece, like an aviator’s jacket. He wore a black tshirt, a fractured skull pierced by a dagger with blood dripping, a ghastly blue snake wrapped around it and peering from the eye socket, mouth open and dripping venom ready to strike, blue roses completing the tattoo-style design. The god wore black ripped jeans, plaid with red, purple and green. His boots were chunky leather, up to mid calf and laced loosely, the laces passing through the soles, purple leather flames at the toes and heels, inch thick soles with metal plates, and buckles partway up with a new rock metal logo on the tongues. A gold metal chain with skulls forged into the metal was threaded through his belt loops, from which a stygian iron sword hung, glowing a faint but ominous purple. The god’s eyes were dark brown, like brown glass, but they seemed to be woven with flecks of gold and red and green, only visible in sunshine. His hair was ebony, thick waves falling past his jaw and a fluffy fringe partially covering his eyes. He wore a silver skull ring, on his left hand on the middle finger, although a purple gemstone, most likely amethyst, formed the top of the skull. He was deathly pale, a slight olive undertone just about the only sign that he wasn’t a ghost.
“Nico di Angelo,” the god introduced, curtseying out of politeness, offering a rather unsettling lopsided smile, “the Ghost King, son of Hades and god of shadows, mourning and acceptance. I'll be joining Mr Solace as a camp director, although you have most likely seen me around camp near Cabin 13."
So this god was the other ghost boy. It seemed strange- the other ghost boy was so much more youthful, emo at most, more mysterious than completely terrifying like the god stood before them. This god radiated death, literally- the grass died under his feet, but he had a sombre aura about him, like he was mourning. The shadows and the mourning made sense, although a few demigods were sure this god was more intimidating than Hades himself. It only occurred to them why he was the god of acceptance when he moved to hook his thumb in his jeans' pocket, exposing a rainbow bandana at his hip where his sword hung, and a small heart rainbow pride pin on his tshirt.
Nobody spoke or dared to move, sure that the two opposing gods would spend their time at camp arguing heatedly. It wasn't until Will produced a sunflower from his pocket and handed it to Nico that people remembered how the two gods interacted in the form of the ghost boys. Nico brought the flower up and inhaled the scent, a light pink tint spreading across his cheeks as he closed his eyes for a second, smiling as he tucked the flower into one of his pockets, next to a silver exposed clockwork pocket watch. Will beamed, reaching out to take Nico's hand- and that's when everybody noticed the marital bands on their hands, identical black Celtic knots, a single round cut diamond in the centre. Except the diamonds were both a yellow half and a white half- it was clear that there had originally been two diamonds, one yellow for Will and one white for Nico, cut rounded then split in half so that both men had a single stone set in the middle of their rings- half yellow and half white. The two gods were married.
The camp couldn't wait to learn all about the gods' lives, to get to know the couple, hear how they fell in love and why they became gods. It was turning out to be the start of something amazing for Camp Half Blood.