Prophecies

Prophecies have a large role in this book series, with one appearing in each book of the series. A selected half-blood is sent to see the Oracle, whose power comes from the prophecy deity Apollo, to go and receive a prophecy that will be used as a guideline through their quest. Percy has personally received one prophecy, while the other three have gone to Clarisse, Zoë Nightshade, and Annabeth.

The Lightning Thief
In book one of the series, The Lightning Thief, Percy is selected to visit the Oracle and to lead the quest to discover Zeus's stolen lightning bolt. When he meets the mummified oracle, he receives this prophecy:

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned you,

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,

And you shall fail to save the thing that matters most, in the end.

This prophecy unravels throughout the story.
 * 1) The group, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, travel west and Percy fights "the god who has turned", Hades.
 * 2) Percy finds and returns Zeus's Lightning Bolt. (Percy finds Zeus's lightning bolt in a backpack given to him by Ares and turns it to Zeus, as well as Hades's Helm of Darkness, which was also in the possession of Ares.)
 * 3) Percy is betrayed by Luke, a son of Hermes, who stole both Zeus's Lightning Bolt and Hades's Helm of Darkness.
 * 4) In the end, Percy fails to save his mom, but only because he'd let her save herself, and he knew that was the right thing to do.

The Sea of Monsters
In book two of the series, The Sea of Monsters, Clarisse is given the prophecy as follows:

You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,

You shall find what you seek and make it your own,

But despair for your life entombed within stone,

And fail without friends, to fly home alone.

This prophecy unravels throughout the story.
 * 1) Clarisse sailed aboard the CSS Birmingham with dead confederates.
 * 2) She finds the Golden Fleece and takes it from Polyphemous.
 * 3) She was imprisoned inside a stone cavern and could not escape.
 * 4) She would have failed without Percy and the rest's help, and she flew back to camp alone to get there faster.

The Titan's Curse
In the third book of the series, The Titan's Curse, Zoe Nightshade is given a prophecy as follows:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The Bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

This prophecy unravels throughout the story.
 * 1) The group consisting of Zoe, Thalia, Grover, Bianca di Angelo, and Percy (originally Phoebe) go west to find the goddess in chains.
 * 2) Bianca sacrificed herself in the desert ("land without rain") to save the group against Hephaestus's robot, Talos.
 * 3) They followed the Ophiotaurus, which was the Bane of Olympus because of its power as there is power in killing the innocent.
 * 4) The group that took the quest consisted of 3 campers and 2 hunters
 * 5) Percy withstood the Titan's curse (holding up the sky).
 * 6) In the end Zoe was killed by her father, Atlas.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
In book four of the series, The Battle of the Labyrinth, Annabeth is given the prophecy as follows:

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,

The child of Athena's final stand.

Destroy with a hero's final breath,

''And lose a love to worse than death. '' This prophecy unravels throughout the story.
 * 1) Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Tyson enter the the endless maze, which is the Labyrinth.
 * 2) Nico raised the dead; Ethan, a traitor, was spared; the spirit of Pan, the lost one, was raised.
 * 3) 'The Ghost King' was Nico, who decided to help Annabeth and the rest of the campers.
 * 4) A child of Athena's final stand refers to Daedalus dying in order to destroy the Labyrinth.
 * 5) The Labryinth was destroyed with Daedalus's last breath.
 * 6) Annabeth loses Luke because he became the host of Kronos.

The Great Prophecy
In book five of the series, The Last Olympian, the Great Prophecy is revealed:

A half-blood of the eldest gods

shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze This prophecy unravels throughout the story.
 * 1) Percy was a half-blood child of Poseidon, one of the eldest gods.
 * 2) He hit his 16th birthday, despite all his near death experiences.
 * 3) Morpheus (the god of dreams/sleep) put every mortal in Manhattan to sleep.
 * 4) "The hero" does not refer to Percy, but to Luke, whose soul was reaped by Annabeth's knife, cursed because of a broken promise.
 * 5) Percy's choice to give Luke the knife allowing Luke to kill himself and therefore killing Kronos ended his days.
 * 6) Olympus was preserved because Luke decided to sacrifice himself to kill Kronos.

The next Great Prophecy
At the end of the book when the original Great Prophecy is fulfilled, Rachel (the new Oracle) reveals a new prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

''To storm or fire, the world must fall. ''

An oath to keep with a final breath

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

After the new Great Prophecy was given, Annabeth wonders who the first line is referring to, and both she and Apollo note that the prophecy might not even be fulfilled in their lifetime. This Great Prophecy will most likely continue in the next Camp Half-Blood themed book by Rick Riordan, due to be out winter 2010.