Young demigod, your destiny awaits
"The monster fixed its glowing red eyes on me."
Fans of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" knew it might be better for young demigods not to find out their true parents. They must fight monsters. They have to deal with temperamental Greek gods.
"The Lightning Thief" saw Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, befriending Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase. They arrived in Camp Half-Blood in the most unfortunate circumstances; Thalia Grace fought the monsters who wanted demigod's blood. Zeus saved her. (She turned into a tree, its magic protecting Camp Half-Blood from the monsters.) Percy learned that Luke, the son of Mercury, and Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, used to wander the streets. How they met Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, was an ominous sign.
The Diary of Luke
Rick Riordan's "The Demigod Diaries", first published in August 14, 2012, would satisfy the curiosity of readers. There were delighted to see an illustration of their favorite demigods; Thalia, who became one of the hunters of Artemis, donned black leather clothing. She had an intense stare, a sign of the hard life she endured during her younger years. (And she don't want to talk about it.) Luke's eyes would send shivers to the readers. (It wasn't hard to see treachery.) As his Percy, his mischievous eyes would disarm anyone.
The first story saw Luke and Thalia following a goat in the streets of Virginia. She thought the animal was Amalthea, the foster mother of Zeus. (Amalthea would be seen as a goat in many portraits.) The goat brought them to a dilapidated house, with a brass door knocker shaped like Medusa's face. Luke and Thalia didn't figure it out right away.
"I am Halycon Green. I'm terribly sorry, but you are in the cage. You've been lured here to die."
Greek mythology featured demigods who met their violent end. No one would envy them except the part where Zeus turned them into minor gods. But some would suffer more. Halycon Green, the resident of the dilapidated house, was the son of Apollo. Hal had the gift of predicting the future. He was told not to interfere in the destiny of mortals, but he made an exception on one young girl. She was about to die in a most gruesome manner, and he couldn't bear the thought of it. Apollo turned him into a mute, old man. A leucrota, a monster who imitated human voices to lure and devour unsuspecting victims, would speak for him.
It pained Luke and Thalia to see a fellow demigod being punished for a random act of kindness. Hal foresaw their future before their narrow escape from the monsters. (Readers would guess it right away.) This would make them wary of old structures. (Percy stumbled into an abandoned amusement park, a favorite place of Ares and Aphrodite.) Readers would understand the demigods better. If not for the somber tone, then this tale won't stand out.
Riordan didn't forget his sense of humor, as the next story saw Hermes asking Percy and Annabeth to look for Martha and George. They were the snakes in Mercury's staff. Someone put it inside a FedEx box. It was a familiar route from there.
