Medusa. Scylla. The Hydra. Just hearing the names of legendary monsters is enough to strike terror in the heart of even the most courageous demigod.

Well, push that trauma aside! Because we simply must introduce you to the next generation of terrifying tormentors straight out of the depths of Tartarus . . .

Johan. Orcus. Semele. Quinoa.

Wait . . . is that right?

*Checks notes.*

Yup. Those are their real names . . . And they prefer the term mythic over monster.

Anyway! What sinister schemes do this fearsome foursome have planned for our favorite daring demigods?

. . . Honestly, we’re not quite sure. So far, they mostly seem to simply be chilling out and minding their own business.

But maybe that’s just what they want us to believe! Perhaps if we got to know these creatures a bit better, we might discover a way to prevent whatever torrent of mayhem they’re undoubtedly planning to unleash on civil society . . .

The Headless Horror

Beware the blemmyae! You may remember this race of monster—er, mythic—from Apollo’s trip to Indianapolis in The Dark Prophecy. Inhumanely strong. No head. Face on their torso. Overly polite (almost suspiciously so). Almost zero depth perception.

Now, we know what you might be thinking: Well, if a blemmyae tries to attack me, all I have to do is stand behind them and I should be safe. And yes, that might be true, but you need to understand that Johan isn’t your typical blemmyae.

Sure, he’s as inhumanely strong and polite as all the rest. What separates Johan from his kin are his dark desires . . .

. . . for freshly brewed Earl Grey tea. With a side of apple slices, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.

Be forewarned, if Johan doesn’t receive his delicious hot beverage when teatime comes around, he will be . . . mildly disappointed. And who knows what will happen then?

The Adorable Agony

But a slightly inconvenienced blemmyae is nothing compared to a wild and vicious griffin such as Orcus! Between his keen vision, razor-sharp talons, and steel-like beak that can rip through even the toughest prey, he is capable of—

Hey! Are you even listening? Stop staring and making those kissy noises at him!

Look, we get it. Orcus is almost painfully cute. But don’t let him worm his way into your heart with those shiny eyes and his fluffy little belly.

Oh, who are we kidding. We can see we’re fighting a losing battle here. We’ll give you one very important warning, though: whatever you do, do not comment on Orcus’s size.

It’s not that those remarks will make him angry or violent. Rather, when someone reminds Orcus that he was the runt of the litter, he becomes very gaseous. Let’s see how charming you find the little guy once he unleashes a torrent of low self-esteem farts.

The Possessive Peculiarity

Now, as much as you may already be quaking in fear over Johan’s undying thirst and Orcus’s excessive flatulence, the mythics you really need to watch out for are the eidolons.

But that’s mostly because they’re very hard to see.

For those not in the know, eidolons are spirits who can turn invisible and possess other people. When they’re not too busy taunting and teasing demigods, that is. And Semele is no exception.

The truth is, though, Semele doesn’t have much interest in possessing other people. In fact, she doesn’t seem to have it out for demigods at all. The few times she’s accidentally startled a demigod she’s been very apologetic. And it doesn’t hurt that she has the voice of a kindly grandmother . . .

But hey, if we can’t be wary of a possessive, smoky, mostly invisible ghost, we may have to confront the fact that most of our fears are completely irrational. And we all know there’s nothing scarier than engaging in honest self-reflection.

Argh! We’re starting to hope that we really are possessed by Semele. What else could explain the complete and utter lack of fear we’re feeling about this group?

Maybe this Quiona guy will get our blood pumping. But with a name like that, we’re not exactly filled with confidence . . .

The Flowery Fiend

Yes, Quinoa. Allegedly, his only issue with demigods is that he assumes they want to chop him up and put him into a salad.

You see, Quinoa is a karpos, one of those seedy little pockmarked grain spirits who used to work for Gaea. But Quinoa may be more accurately described as a free spirit. If you stayed awake during the botany unit in your science class, you may have learned that quinoa (the food) isn’t technically a grain.

In his own words, Quiona is a pseudo-grain, one who had no choice but to escape his extremely dull family of spinach plants.

Like other karpoi, Quiona resembles a humanlike cherub, complete with a purple diaper/loincloth thing and leafy green wings that protrude from his back.

If you can get past the fangs and the voice of a middle-aged smoker, you might even say that Quiona is almost cute. Or at least almost as cute as Orcus. Maybe.

Not that we need to tell you. You can see him clearly in the group shot above.

What’s that? He’s not there?

You sure he’s not just hiding behind Johan’s giant, uh, “head?”

Wait, Quinoa is really missing? We’ve heard rumors of other random mythics suddenly vanishing without a trace these past few weeks . . .

Oh, no!

Is some horrible creature abducting mythics and separating them from their friends? If so, is the perpetrator of this crime someone we need to be afraid of?

We kind of hope so. Because, to be honest, these four mythics aren’t keeping anyone up at night. Which means all the exhausting training regimens at the crack of dawn have been pretty pointless. . . .

Curious to know more about the mythics? Get acquainted with them (while you still can) in The Court of the Dead: A Nico di Angelo Adventure, on sale 9/23!