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citrusreadstoa · 1 year

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Reading the Dark Prophecy: Prophecy Analysis (SPOILERS)

The prophecy was too darn long it needed its own post. I was warned there would be a fourteen-line prophecy at some point in the series, but wow. I expected the lines to be short if there were so many of them, but the lines were longer than usual??? On the bright side, I'm suddenly a lot more familiar with iambic pentameter than I was before.

Okay, so, first line. Some important parchment is gonna be burned. Or somebody is just going to be burned, full stop. Maybe Apollo is made to forget something important. I dunno.

Second line. Moon. Artemis finally makes her appearance. Dunno where Devil's Mount is, but later lines mention the Tiber, so things will probably center around Camp Jupiter, so probably in California or surrounding states (Who's to say they won't travel a bit?).

The changeling lord doesn't sound like he belongs in Greek or Roman mythology, imma be honest. Then again, Apollo has encountered beings from other mythologies. The first Google search result for Greek shapeshifters gives me Proteus, that old man of the sea that Percy wrestled in the first series (Was it The Titan's Curse?). He doesn't seem very lordly, but then again, Phineas didn't seem very kingly when the SoN trio met him. I could search for more shapeshifters that better fit the bill, but I'm not about to waste half an hour on an answer that I'll get wrong anyway lol. Also, the prophecy makes it sound like the Lord Changeling is on our side, so maybe it is Proteus after all. He keeps to himself, sure, but he's not actively evil and that's about as much as we can hope for.

Line four. There's going to be a battle at Camp Jupiter, no doubt about it. It doesn't necessarily say the bodies will be those of the demigods, but monsters disintegrate, soooo... it's not looking good.

Fifth line, going into the second stanza. The sun is obviously Apollo. The enemy's base (where the third Triumvirate member lies) is south of Camp Jupiter. Easy peasy.

Sixth line, and the next book is The Burning Maze, right? Hope so, otherwise that's kind of weird that the maze is appearing a book early. It's probably a particularly deadly section of the Labyrinth. The Hidden Oracle established that the Labyrinth, now free of any singular master, can be controlled in small sections. Camp Half-Blood has a relatively secure section that they use for -- of all things -- three-legged races. Who's to say the Triumvirate hasn't secured their own section of hallways and rooms and made it especially deadly? Actually, the camp's and the Triumvirate's sections of the maze are probably just as deadly considering what Harley's been up to. As for the lands of scorching death: the last desert we went to we ended up losing Bianca in. Let's not repeat that.

Seventh line! I don't know who the swift white horse is (Arion is swift but caramel-ish) and I don't know who owns or rides it. Wow, I deserve a pat on the back. Great work there.

Eighth line. The crossword-speaker sounds like a really fucked-up sphinx. Don't know why you'd need a sphinx's breath, though. That's my best guess, but I don't have much faith in it. I'm really earning that pat, huh.

Ninth line, starting the third stanza. We've met the north wind, Boreas. We've met the south wind, Notus. We haven't met the east wind, but we have met the west wind, Zephyros/Favonius. He works for Cupid, sure, but he probably has a home of his own. I'm betting that's where we're going, especially since he and Apollo have history.

Tenth line. Apollo said in the first book that Demeter doesn't just sleep around. It takes a remarkable mortal to get her attention. Here we may learn more about Meg's backstory and her father. Maybe her family lineage is entangled with Greek mythology going way back, kinda like Reyna's and Frank's families.

Line number eleven. The cloven guide can be none other than a satyr. Or maybe a faun since we're with the Romans. Wasn't it mentioned in The Hidden Oracle that Grover was in Cali doing some environmental thing? I hope it's not Grover 'cause he already did his time in the Labyrinth, but it'd be nice to see him again before The Chalice of the Gods comes out. What I'm really hoping to see, though, is one of the New Roman fauns (Maybe Don!) stepping up and learning what they're capable of rather than just being relegated to a perpetually homeless and destitute caste on the streets. It hurts my heart to see them like that and maybe this is the first (albeit risky and possibly deadly) step forward.

Twelfth frickin' line and I'm wondering what the point of such a long prophecy was. It better be a good book with a poem this long. The third and fourth books in the Riordanverse are usually the best, so it should be, right? Anyway, I bet this line is very, very literal. It's going to sound metaphorical on purpose, but in reality he's just gotta wear some funky shoes.

*gasps for breath* Thirteenth line! Almost there! We may vary with the number of questers, but there will be three at the finale, this tells us. Why do they have to reach the Tiber alive? Isn't the first thing you cross upon getting to camp? This one stumps me unless... no... well, it's the Labyrinth. It's not out of the question that they'll have to go to the actual Tiber. Maybe. I'm stuck 50/50 on this one.

Last line! Number fourteen! Apollo does a jolly little dance! Bet it's to somehow find a way out of a dire situation he's dug himself into.

That was... far too long to be a respectable prophecy. I spit on your grave, Trophonius. Really fun prophecy, though. Even more so than the limerick one. We should get Shakespearean sonnet prophecies more often.

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