Lucas stood atop the city gates, watching the traffic flow through the streets of Elysian, taking in the variety of beings. Some dryads haggling over their fruit at the marketplace with empousai, some minor gods entering the amphitheatre to enjoy the arts. He saw how some Scythian Dracaena walked the streets of Elysian, exploring all that it had to offer. Medusa and her two sisters were running a branch of Circe's Spa here, along with some nymphs.
There were bakeries run by Karpoi, spirits of grain, and booths where river gods bartered items they found at the bottom of their domain, exchanging them for either coin or anything that caught their eye. There were enchanters' booths tucked between smithies and alchemical stalls, many operated by demigods who had never found their place in the mortal world, either from the constant monster attacks or the inability to fit in. In the park beside the central square, people enjoyed the greenery the drayds had grown, which included monsters and mortals alike.
He even saw some demigods running through the streets, attempting to reach classes at the school Hecate had created, once more returning to being a heatoorder to introduce magic back to the world. Especially for those who didn't fit in with the camp, the monsters, or older demigods.
The magic school wasn't the only one; they had an academy for mortals, designed to help them learn the mortal curriculum without being held back by their ADHD. As normal demigods would go from one school to another, whether through monster attacks or their demigod abilities, this academy allowed them to have hope of staying in a single school and graduating, and as Hecate manipulated the graduation papers to be recognized in the mortal world, the demigods had hope of living there, too.
This was for the demigods who desired to return to an everyday life, unlike Luke or Lucas, who skipped going to school and stayed in the divine aspect of the world, especially since Lucas didn't need school, for his abilities also included perfect memory. As for Luke and Thalia, they had no desire to live in the everyday world, being too deeply entrenched in the divine aspect that they learned what they needed from Annabeth's guidance instead.
As for the camp outside the gate, when Lucas turned, he saw a few demigods receiving training either from minor gods or monsters. He also saw some of the campers just relaxing, taking a break, or playing games like volleyball, enjoying the camp.
It had been a few months since word had spread about Elysian, and the city was finally fulfilling its reason for its creation. It started slow. Some curious satyrs, a few dryads, and the odd minor god who was interested. It seemed that after a few weeks and confirmations, the word spread of its existence, bringing many more. It was the monsters that were most troublesome. While some came out of curiosity, others came to actively live in the city, and there were some who came in hopes of taking advantage.
These monsters were true monsters, ones that either couldn't or didn't want to live in a civilized manner with others. Mostly, it was giants, ogres, and rogue automatons that caused these troubles. Luckily, with the help of his friends, they were quickly disposed of, not only protecting the city but also showcasing their power as a warning to others.
He even dragged Nico and Bianca into helping hunt these types of monsters, using it as training and helping build rapport with the rest. While it was expected that they would have a tremendous affinity for necromancy, Hecate, being old friends with the underworld, also clued them in on the use of shadows and earth, allowing everyone to witness, once again, just like with Thalia, how powerful the children of the big three were. This also allowed them to understand why the gods would fear the children of the Big Three destroying Olympus; they held immense potential, stemming from their fathers.
But these were only the ones on the surface. During one of his previous walks through the city, he felt something suspicious about a harpy who seemed to be exploring the city. The way they gazed at the buildings and streets wasn't simple; it looked more like they were studying the place. Though that may not have warranted action, Lucas trusted his instincts. So he used the abilities he had begun training in, the true veil sight, which allowed him to glimpse into the harpy's memories without being detected, and it was there that he discovered what had caused his suspicions.
The harpy was, in fact, an informant for Kronos, sent to keep tabs on him and identify any weaknesses in Elysian. Spies and informants weren't sent only from Kronos; over time, Lucas found some sent by Olympus and coalitions of minor gods, such as the northern gods under Boreas's rule.
These activities allowed Lucas to hone his mastery of his new abilities, allowing him to discover that he could even affect the threads coming from a minor god, if only the weaker ones, and for a few seconds at that. But this was a major breakthrough for Lucas. He had thought it would be impossible to contest against a god while being mortal, but now he discovered he was strong enough to fight at least a single weaker minor god, not as great as Heracles, but equal to some heroes of old. This greatly boosted his confidence and raised his expectations for the future sequences.
However, as Elysian grew in population and drew the world's attention, figures in the shadows began to move their chess pieces.
One such figure was Steven Thorne.