#cave of trophonius

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 28 (SPOILERS)

"getting an elephant into the Waystation was not as hard as I'd imagined." Yeah, of course it wasn't. This building literally materializes whatever size or shape entrance you need.

"a stream wending through the middle of the room" Did he misspell "winding"? No, apparently. WEND (v.): go in a specified direction, typically slowly or by an indirect route

"The Real Elephants of the African Veld" VELD (n.): open, uncultivated country or grassland in southern Africa. It is conventionally classified by altitude into highveld, middleveld, and lowveld imo it should've just been called "midveld."

"back to the main hall, where a crown had gathered . . . The rest of the freed prisoners milled around" This is such a nice, peaceful, happy scene that I'm sad it's not going to last. At least we got *checks book* two full pages of people being happy.

"The griffins allowed him to scratch under their beaks--a sign of great trust" Maybe Jamie isn't a bad guy after all? I'm still skeptical. "especially since they were guarding and egg in their neest (and no doubt worried that Sssssarah might see it)." I don't think even Sssssarah could swallow an egg that big, but she might try.

"a different green dress and jeans" Did you just say she's wearing a dress over jeans?

"Lady Artemis has been watching you." "Oh, no . . . You can tell my beloved sister to back off." You tell 'er, Apollo!

"Father!" Hehe oh noooooo "This isn't prophecy. This has never happened before--" Has Emmie been to the Cave of Trophonius a lot? How does she know?

"You sent this little sister of mine to do your errands?" Uhh. I'm guessing not on the mom's side, huh? When she said "Father" I was like OMG she's Apollo's kid! And then when it turned out to be Trophonius talking, that worry went away and SURPRISE NOW IT'S BACK! Interesting to note that Trophonius doesn't know that Georgina wasn't sent by Apollo. He doesn't know as much as you'd expect an Oracle to know.

"I wonder, Father, to whom will you pray?" True. To whom do the gods pray?

"the recovery rate for supplicants of Trophonius" SUPPLICANT (n.): one who supplicates Fuck you too, Merriam-Webster. Cambridge Dictionary says, SUPPLICANT (n.): a person who asks a god or someone who is in a position of power for something in a humble way

"No one had reported a missing baby girl like her. Her birth parents either didn't want her or couldn't raise her" Or was secretly a serial killer on the run who couldn't raise a child. Sounds about right with Apollo's standards for flings. Bad Decisions Box <- Georgina's biological mortal parent & Georgina's subsequent abandonment

"enter the Cavern of Prophecy." We're finally going innnnnnnn! Death and madness, here we come! Eat it like well-cooked ramen!

"I'm not sure." "All hail the god of prophecy!" Got nothing to say, just wanted to highlight that little bit.

"tracking devices I put on your griffins" Gee thanks, Lit. "first thing tomorrow morning. He'll wipe this place off the map." Can't thank ya more, Lit.

I feel like someone is definitely getting sealed in that cave. There's never a cave in a story without a rockfall or cave-in also happening and someone getting shut inside a stony tomb, never to be seen again.

[literallyjusttoa]

Randomly thinking about Apollo and Herophile? I need to reread TBM but my brain has decided they are besties. Plus I like to think after the trials Apollo meets up with his oracles a lot more to make sure nothing like that happens again, so him, Rachel, Ella, and Herophile spend a lot of time gossiping about the future. Like “Omg guys can you believe what Ares is gonna do in two weeks??? So embarrassing 😳”

[incorrect-sunflower-sibs]

Lester: I’m such a cutie-pie it’s a bummer that I’m insane.

[heresronnie21]

I need to reread tdp (yet again) bc i can't remember is copollo was a teen romance commodus was obsessed with or if they were together until apollo murdered commodus and i need to know

[ukelele-boy]

I deliver Christmas gift to you all.

[the-tortured-apollo-department]

It's been a while since i talked about The Trials of Apollo! 😛

A very good scene in the 2nd book came to mind, which is when Apollo realizes he should have brought tater tots to distract the thousands of snakes in Trophonius's cave 🐍👹

As a reader, this part left me paralyzed.

I think it was the first time in the books that someone didn't have all the materials for a mission... And that led to one of the most BEAUTIFUL moments of this series, which was Meg singing to save herself and her friend from death

A simple action that took the character (and the reader) out of his comfort zone and forced him to improvise

THIS IS CINEMA 🙌

[money-and-dandellions]

I am totally fine

...Lester, who saw that Meg was like him, while observing her and her Beast...

...(and who didn't admit to himself, that he had a Beast too)...

...Meg who was so scared and worried out of her mind that Lester is in dander and is going to die in the cave of Trophonius that she kept trying to catch his attention and started singing in order to guarantee his safety...

...Lester, who selflessly agreed to give his life only if Meg is going to live; and then proceeded to put himself under risk of being suffocated...

...Meg who was helplessly watching how [her] dummy stabbed himself in the heart and fell limb (I am sure that for a second she was not sure if it was the end or not)...

...Lester who watched people he knew only for a few hours were killed for his sake, clearly not understanding why they would sacrifice themselves for him ("and, for some reason, Jason Grace decided that I would not die today too")...

...Meg, who was watching how her best friend was dying from poison; she didn't want him to die, she cried because she didn't want him to die...

...Lester who helped her to kill her Beast Nero... (I am sure that he is very proud of this achievement of hers)

...Lester, who promised her to come back, no matter what, because the sun always comes back...

Apollo, who did.

They, who became each other's family, because their families are shit (not all of the people/gods).

[witchhazelevesque]

An amnesia after resurrection au where instead of needing the curse of Delos to anchor a soul that shouldn't be anchored, what the seven need is water from the Lethe and from the Styx, because they are the gateway to rebirth and the gateway to the afterlife, and they create the needed balance.

Leo doesn't like this because it reminds him too much of Calypso's curse, where she relives the first day of her exile again and again, the realization that she will always be alone. It broke his heart each morning she would walk out of her cave to find him and be so relieved to see someone else there. It reminds him too much of Echo, who could not be remembered, even when she herself would never forget those she held dear.

They have Styx water on board, but the Lethe comes from Apollo, because it is tangentially medicinal with its calming effects. Asclepius explains that like the oracle of Trophonius and drinking from the fountains of memory and forgetfulness, the person who takes the cure will not receive the usual effects of either river's water.

But Nemesis exists everywhere, and the dead are owed a boy, and in a way, they get one.

When Leo returns to life, he returns with even less than what Juno left Jason when she took him from his life. He doesn't know his name or where he comes from or why he's sitting on a flying metal dragon, high above an ocean.

The dragon is the least of his worries, because he feels comfortable in his seat, like his body has done this so much he doesn't need to think at all.

And when he returns to an island he doesn't know he's been to before and meets a young woman he doesn't know was once his friend, he doesn't realize he's fulfilling a vow a different version of him swore.

She doesn't realize that she has learned his name many times. He learns hers and he sees that her punishment is unjust, and he has a ride and free seats and nowhere to be except anywhere but here.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I forgot to queue this i apologize -Danny Words: 2,122 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Your Needs, My Needs' -by Noah Kahan

XIII: Can't Blame a Bitch for Trying

"They won't," Lily places a firm hand on Ara's shoulder. "They're underestimating Ara's power. To get her they would need her to—"

"Wait, wait, which oracles are we looking for, exactly?" Ara interrupts feeling lightheaded. "We have to find all of them?"

"Well, one was the Sybil of Cumae. You know, she wrote the Sibylline Books—those prophecies that Ella the harpy memorized."

"A harpy..." Meg frowns. "Like those chicken ladies who clean up after lunch?"

"Ella is a very special harpy, Meg," Chiron explains. "Years ago, she somehow came across a copy of the prophetic books, which we thought were burned before the Fall of Rome. Right now, our friends at Camp Jupiter are trying to reconstruct them based on Ella's recollections."

"And the other three Oracles?" Rachels demands. "I'm sure none of them was a beautiful young priestess whom you praised for her... what was it? ...'scintillating conversation'?"

"Rachel, come on, that's what you decided to get hung up on?" 

"How would you feel if there were another four children of Olympus walking the earth?"

"I'd be ecstatic," Ara retorts. "Let's hang out and make a schedule, I want Sundays."

"Ahem!" Apollo continues with a scowl. "There was an Oracle at Erythaea, and another at the Cave of Trophonius..."

"Goodness," Chiron says in a nostalgic voice. "I'd forgotten about those two."

"And the fifth," Apollo sighs, "was the Grove of Dodona."

"A grove," Meg straightens in her spot. "Like trees."

"Yes, Meg, like trees. Groves are typically composed of trees, rather than, say, Fudgsicles. Dodona was a stand of sacred oaks planted by the Mother Goddess in the first days of the world. They were ancient even when the Olympians were born."

"The Mother Goddess?" Rachel crosses her arms. "Please tell me you don't mean Gaea."

"No, thankfully. I mean Rhea, Queen of the Titans, the mother of the first generation of Olympian gods. Her sacred trees could actually speak. Sometimes they issued prophecies."

"The voices in the woods," Meg points out.

"Exactly. I believe the Grove of Dodona has regrown itself here in the woods at camp. In my dreams, I saw a crowned woman imploring me to find her Oracle. I believe it was Rhea, though I still don't understand why she was wearing a peace symbol or using the term dig it."

"A peace symbol?" Chiron frowns.

"A large brass one."

Rachel hums. "If Rhea is a Titan, isn't she evil?"

"Not all Titans were bad," Apollo argues. "Rhea was a gentle soul. She sided with the gods in their first great war. I think she wants us to succeed. She doesn't want her grove in the hands of our enemies." 

"My friend, Rhea has not been seen for millennia—"

"That's not true," Ara frowns. "Zeus had her over for brunch last year, around August."

"I meant in relation to humans," Chiron specifies. 

"But then how come her trees are regrowing?" Lily points out. "If no one is paying her any mind?"

"Many things from the old days have survived or regenerated," Apollo recalls. "The Labyrinth has rebuilt itself. Why couldn't a grove of sacred trees spring up again right here in this valley?"

"Because the things that tend to regrow around here are either summoned or controlled by us," Ara says. "So if Rhea didn't cause this, then the oracles went berserk the moment you vanished, and they're all gaining the strength you lost."

"But then I would be working nonstop," Rachel pouts. "And I feel no new strength coming."

"This is all weird." Meg sinks on her seat. "So if the tree voices are sacred and stuff, why are they making people get lost?"

"For once, you ask a good question." Apollo taunts her. "In the old days, the priests of Dodona would take care of the trees, pruning them, watering them, and channeling their voices by hanging wind chimes in their branches."

"How would that help?"

"I don't know. I'm not a tree priest. But with proper care, these trees could divine the future." 

"And without proper care?" Rachel asks hesitantly.

"The voices were unfocused. A wild choir of disharmony." 

"Insane trees," Ara runs a hand over her face. "Insane trees are taking our campers."

Apollo scowls. "Untended, the grove could most definitely drive mortals to madness, yes. Have you always been this—"

"Smart?"

"Close! I was thinking snappy and sarcastic."

"So our missing campers are wandering in the trees," Chiron intervenes once again, "perhaps already insane from the voices."

"Or they're dead," Meg suggests.

"No." Apollo says promptly. "No, they are still alive. The Beast is using them, trying to bait me."

"How can you be sure?" Rachel presses. "And why? If Python already controls Delphi, why are these other Oracles so important?"

"The more you have of a thing, it gives you an advantage over others," Ara reasons. "If these guys have been working on each war we've fought, they're tired of losing. Owning the oracles means they own the future."

Apollo stares at her pouting. "Fine, you are smart. Without a way to see and direct our fates, we will wither and die—gods and mortals alike, anyone who opposes the Triumvirate."

Meg takes off her shoes and hangs upside down from her seat just like Ara does at home. "They're strangling our taproots."

Ara holds back a smile. "You're also really smart, tiny."

"As for why the Grove of Dodona is so important," Apollo gets grumpier. "Python mentioned that it was the one Oracle he could not control. I don't understand exactly why—perhaps because Dodona is the only Oracle that has no connection with me. Its power comes from Rhea. So if the grove is working, and it is free of Python's influence, and it is here at Camp Half-Blood—"

"It could provide us with prophecies." Chiron seems excited. "It could give us a chance against our enemies."

"Of course, we'd rather have our beloved Oracle of Delphi working again. And we will, eventually. But for now, the Grove of Dodona could be our best hope." Apollo nods.

"Aren't prophecies all twisted and mysterious and murky, and people die trying to escape them?" Meg asks.

Ara shakes her head. "I had a curse, and two years ago I got a prophecy. Curse is gone now, all thanks to it."

"Besides, the Grove of Dodona is a benevolent force," Apollo adds. "It has helped heroes before. The masthead of the original Argo, for instance, was carved from a branch of the sacred trees. It could speak to the Argonauts and give them guidance."

"Would've been nice to have on ours..." Ara grumbles.

"You had a ship?" Meg asks in awe. 

"I'll tell you about it later."

Chiron hums. "That's why our mysterious Beast wants the grove burned." 

"Apparently," Apollo shrugs. "And that's why we have to save it."

Meg slips sideways and kicks the table, spilling their food over their feet. "Oops."

Ara crouches to pick up the stuff. "Sit up, Meg. Put on your shoes."

While the girl obeys and Ara cleans up, Chiron continues. "Apollo... If you are right about Dodona, how do we proceed? We are already shorthanded. If we send search teams into the woods, we have no guarantee they'll come back."

Meg sits up. "We'll go. Apollo, the General, and me."

By General, Ara realizes she's talking about her. "Oh. Yeah, I think that's right."

"We—we will?" Apollo stammers.

"You said you gotta do a bunch of trials or whatever to prove you're worthy, right? This'll be the first one."

Ara smiles, pleased about dragging a god to a demigod quest. "Meg is a daughter of Demeter, so the forest is probably not that dangerous to her. I'm the daughter of Olympus but I have no, er, gardening blessings. I have Dionysus's, though, so maybe that'll keep me from going insane."

"I'll go too," Lily says.

"Absolutely not," Ara frowns. "We can't leave camp without a demigod in charge, you know that."

"Nico can stay!"

Ara stares at her pointedly. "Nico's not cut out for it. You have experience with this."

"No," Lily says gravely. "There is safety in numbers, Ara."

"There is tragedy in them too," she states. "Michael understood it way better than us. Someone has to stay, to make sure things run the right course. Chiron?"

"She's right," their mentor concedes. "Ara has experience fighting unaided and camp needs you, Lily. I'd go as far as to say Ara, you, and Nico are our triumvirate, which can work if one of you is gone, but not if we're missing most of it."

"And Olympus can work without the sun god," Ara looks at Apollo. "But not without prophecies."

Rachel holds his hand imploringly. "Apollo, you have to try. If we can get a glimpse of the future... well, it may be the only way to get things back to normal... I'd like to have a future again."

Chiron sighs. "What do you need from us, Ara? You can't take Lily, but anything else..."

"You two," Ara points at Apollo and Meg. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you once I've got everything. I'll pack."

"What about you?" Meg asks.

"I'm not tired," Ara shrugs. "I haven't used any of my blessings at all, so my battery is full, don't worry about me."

Chiron rises, Ara and Lily quickly joining him. "This evening, then. Rest and prepare, my heroes. I fear you will need all your strength and wits for what comes next." 

"Anything you'd like to say before I go?" 

Ara questions as they walk out of the Big House carrying three medium-size backpacks. Hers used to belong to Mike, but Lily took it from the bridge and has been using it since. They switched bags so Lily is currently holding her Octopus. It's their way of blessing each other.

Lily shrugs. "Would it make a difference?"

"It would make you feel lighter opposite to, you know, waiting for the eulogy."

"Dude, can you not?" Lily scowls. "I am not happy about this arrangement."

"I know."

After a few moments of walking in silence, Lily continues. "They might try to get you using Leo."

"I'm aware."

"Don't allow that."

"I have priorities, believe it or not," Ara pushes her hair back each time it falls over her eyes. "Campers first."

Lily glances at her unconvinced. "Are you taking Pollo with you?" 

"Should I?"

"It would be wise."

"Then I'm taking him."

They reach the edge of the forest, where everyone else is waiting. "Good luck, Queen B."

"You can do better than that," Ara retorts playfully.

"How about this?" Nico speaks behind them. "If you let yourself die, I'm telling Leo you called him your ex-boyfriend."

"What?" Ara exclaims. "I never said that!"

Nico smirks. "You'd need to be here to tell him that, right?"

Ara scowls. "Ass."

He places the purple cloak on her shoulders. "Break a leg."

"You see this rain?" Ara looks over her shoulder at Apollo. "That's daddy saying he's having a great time watching you suffer and I'm getting caught in it."

"Don't ever call him my daddy," Apollo grumbles in a foul mood.

"The campers were so generous to you, and you don't deserve it," Ara keeps going. "Harley made that ukulele and Paolo gave you his good-luck bandana. That is some top-tier gift-giving. All goes to the god that's responsible for the losses of last year."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Apollos presses both hands over his ears. "I know you hate me for what happened to Michael!"

Ara whirls around. "What?"

"I knew there was something about you and my cabin that I couldn't quite place," Apollo squints, walking up to her until they're face to face. "And after you mentioned Michael at Rachel's cave I remembered. He promised to make you a daughter of Olympus, and you think I killed him."

"Well, the fates and you love working together, and from what I've seen, you have no issue throwing demigods to active fires. Especially, if they're your kids."

"I didn't kill Michael! He wasn't as flashy as I would've liked, and he didn't like music much unless it was for healing, but I would never—"

"Never?" Ara steps closer. "Never?"

Apollo hesitates, knowing that's not entirely true. "H-He chose his fate."

"There is no choosing with gods," Ara glares at him. "Only illusions of free will. Meg, don't stay behind!"

The girl runs up to stand next to her and sticks her tongue out at Apollo, not following the conversation but understanding that he made Ara mad, and that's enough to be angry at him in solidarity. 

"You don't get to talk about him," Ara warns Apollo quietly so Meg can't hear. "His memory, what I did and didn't do, haunted me for a whole year. Only I know what Mike and I had, only I know why I'll always be angry about his death, not you. Don't ever talk about Michael, you didn't know him."

Ara knows there's no use in snapping at Apollo, but he's an outlet, an opportunity to make a small fraction of Olympus feel at least a particle of all the guilt and frustration she's felt in her shortcomings.

Apollo stands there in anger, then thunder strikes and he jumps, running to catch up with them.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

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[butterfly7267]

Moon the Light of Hope - Curiosities

1. Her full name is Moon Rachel Celebriz Butterfly

2. Her wand tastes like vanilla

3. She was rarely the "bad cop" when it came to raising children

4. Despite her openness in communication, she values ​​loyalty to her romantic partner very much

5. She hates fortune telling after the Trophonius Cave incident

6. She has always had only formal relationships between other Houses in the Butterfly Kingdom

7. She enjoyed being a constant muse for her husband's drawings

I express my deep gratitude to the artist Mysteru (DeviantArt) for help

[apollosothertwin]

As I’m rereading the books I had this thought that Rick foreshadowed Meg almost dying in the Cave of Trophonius when he sees Styx. Mean, she does say, “you will PAY for your broken promises” right before the get in. (The PAY is in all-caps in the books too)

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 37 (SPOILERS)

I just reread the last sentence of chapter 36, "At last, things were looking up!" and I immediately know that this chapter is going to be a hot disaster.

"Your favorite fruit? / I hope you didn't say grapes / Or apples, or figs" I also immediately know that this chapter is going to heavily feature Peaches.

"one last vile curse like, Oh, gosh darn it." Ashamed to say that this would be me.

"whanged against the hulls of the barges" WHANG (v.): make or produce a resonant noise Gotta get my mind out of the gutter. Of course it doesn't mean what you'd first think it means. Wait, they have room for barges down there? Aren't those boats kind of big to fit in a cave? I didn't think they updated to 1.18 already.

"Oh my gods! Look over there!" Yeah, my brain would work about as effectively if I were in the same situation. "so they executed a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree waddle." Oh yeah, that's actually exponentially more effective on blemmyae. I wonder if anyone else has tried that on them before.

"I was fairly sure I hadn't caused the ceiling to crack and collapse." Peaches! "Blind luck?" Peaches! "Or perhaps the spirit of Trophonius had granted me one last grudging favor for destroying his cave." No, Peaches!

"'Hmm?' I asked. 'What friend?'" Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss

"crushing my ulna and radius together." The definitions are too long, so to summarize: These are the two bones in your forearm. The ULNA is thinner and longer and on the opposite side as your thumb. The RADIUS is thicker and shorter and on the same side as your thumb.

"More likely, though, they were already in the area" "They"? Peaches is a "he," right? "Three karpoi" Oh, our dear Peaches brought friends. What are they, Apples and Figs? "three peach spirits" Oh no, they're all peaches. What do we refer to them as now? They're all Peaches!

Peaches ex machina

"I'm Apollo." "Peaches pointed to his friend on the right. 'Peaches.' Then to the baby demon on his left. 'Peaches.'" That's what I frickin' thought.

"I realized I wasn't going to be driving anywhere." Why not? Humans drive one-handed all the time. Apollo especially, being such a prolific driver of the sun chariot every day, should be able to drive one-handed easily. "Then I passed out." Okay, now he's not going to be driving anywhere.

[incorrect-sunflower-sibs]

Lester (In the cave of Trophonius): Here’s a fact for all my friends. Butter, ice cream, milk, and cheese all come from the same animal. I can’t remember which animal it is right now but I know for sure it’s the same one.

Meg: I’ll give you a hint, it moos.

Lester: Thanks yeah it’s the moose.

[bogusfilth]

honestly one of the best bits of this edition is the contextual footnotes. for instance:

8. St. Jerome, most erudite and least saintly of the early church fathers, was notes, if not always admired, for his strident polemical tone.

2. Nectar, nepenthe, and (not mentioned here) ambrosia are food and drink for the classical gods. After descending into the legendary cave of Trophonius in search of truth, an ancient Greek traditionally emerged with a bad case of the blues.

2. Socrates, accused of impiety by bigots, was forced to drink the poison hemlock.

2. The virgins of Miletus were reported to hang themselves in unusual numbers for no particular reason.

3. The bees do not, as it happens, have a republic. They are a gynocratic monarchy, ruled by a queen. But Folly is folowing Virgil (Georgic 4), not nature.

[burgercheese1812]

Here is a question for all the Trials of Apollo readers out there:

How the hell did Georgina get to the Cave of Trophonius?

Like yeah, we know that she got there by herself without Emmie and Jo knowing and then went into the cave and went crazy and stuff, but HOW did she get there??

Meg and Apollo had to drive for like 2 hours or something to get to the cave, granted they got lost, but still, it was about an hour’s drive out of the city.

Did she take a bus? Did she walk?? Did she Hotwire a car??? Has Jo shown her how to Hotwire a car?

I just need a short story of Georgina’s adventure to the cave. I need more Waystation content period. Otherwise I’m taking matters into my own hands.

[your-local-squip-fanatic]

Official art of Apollo falling into Trophonius' cave by John Rocco! Credit to Riordan Wiki

ALSO IM SORRY FOR BAD QUALITY DAMN IT