Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors

Title Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors Medium Novel (fiction) Creator(s) Keith R.A. DeCandido Publisher Archway Paperbacks Release Date September 1999

Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors was the first tie-in novel for Young Hercules.

Blurb

A bold new adventure pits the heroic son of Zeus against an evil of unfathomable power.

* * *

Half man, half god, all hero, young Hercules now faces the ultimate challenge as a warrior. Ares, the vengeful god of war, orders slave traders to kidnap Hercules' mentor, the wise centaur Cheiron - and if his plot succeeds, the Centaur Nation has vowed to unleash all-out war!

Hercules sets out with his childhood friend Iolaus and the fearless girl cadet, Lilith, to rescue Cheiron from his island prison. Danger awaits, however, as Ares has sent the gods Strife and Discord to lay traps at every turn. Poisonous sea serpents and Graegus, the ferocious Dog of War, are lying in wait to stop the young hero from rescuing his mentor before it's too late!

Timeline

• Phoenixes are mentioned, putting the book after 1.02 Between Friends
• Satyrs are mentioned, putting the book (probably) after 1.07 Inn Trouble
• Hercules breaking Jason's sword is mentioned, putting the book after 1.08 Keeping Up With the Jasons
• "War-crazed Amazons and Centaurs" are mentioned, putting the book after 1.12 Battle Lines II
• Iolaus mentions not being able to swim, putting the book after 1.13 Forgery
• Hercules knows Lilith's backstory, putting the book after 1.14 No Way Out
• Giants are mentioned, putting the book after 1.16 Down and Out in Academy Hills
• Basilisks are mentioned, putting the book after 1.18 A Serpent's Tooth
• Bacchae are mentioned, putting the book after 1.19 Lure of the Lyre
• Lucius is mentioned, putting the book after 1.24 Dad Always Liked Me Best
• Morpheus and the nightmares are mentioned, putting the book after 1.28 In Your Dreams
• Lilith meeting Alcmene during the festival of Persephone is mentioned, putting the book after 1.31 Home for the Holidays

This book is set during season 1 of the TV episodes, before 1.37 The Head That Wears The Crown since Jason is being referred to as "Crown Prince" instead of "King".

Appearing Characters

(In Order of Appearance)

• Iolaus
• Hercules
• Lilith
• Jason
• Kostas
• Ares
• Strife
• Elias
• Cheiron
• Discord
• Ophistus
• Balian
• Kokiadis
• Makhunni
• Linzner
• Melnis
• Hassell
• Gilmanides
• Kostas the Ogre
• Eve
• Petros
• Xandar
• Graegus
• Kazantzakis
• Nikolos
• Stavros
• Sinis
• Tyldus
• Rectorus
• Marthan
• Amius
• Lukos

Mentioned Characters

• Zeus
• Alcmene
• Fiducius
• Kora
• Idas
• King Aeson
• Hephaestus
• Lara and Pall
• Lucius
• Cradus
• Marcus
• Morpheus
• Autolycus
• Athena

Plot Arcs

• AKAs
• Cheiron's Advice
• Hercules is 'The Responsible One'
• Remember that time when...
• Cons, Pranks, and Practical Jokes
• Pop Culture References and Greekisms

Quotes

      "Dedication to your comrades is an important thing, and admirable."

      Wow, Hercules thought. That was almost a compliment.
      "If you ever have the skills to support that dedication, you might possibly amount to something. Not that I'm counting on it."
      With that, Kostas turned on his left heel and left the workout room by the far door.

      Emphasis, Hercules thought, on the word "almost."

      Once again, Iolaus smiled. Okay, he thought, here comes the part where Herc tells Kostas he wants to go after Cheiron and Kostas says no.

      "Kostas," Hercules said, walking up to the instructor, "I want to go look for Cheiron."
      Laughing, Kostas said, "Absolutely not. This is a job for people qualified to handle it, godling. You're just a cadet."

      Shaking his head, Iolaus thought, I do love it when they follow the script.

      Shaking his head, Hercules said, "I can't let you do that. It might be dangerous."

      Iolaus had a peice of rabbit meat in his mouth when Hercules said that. He spluttered it back onto his plate.
      "Yuck," said Lilith.
      "Dangerous?" Iolaus said, wiping his mouth. "You're worried that it's too dangerous?"
      "Look-" Hercules started.
      Iolaus, however, wasn't letting him get a word in. "Right, it's much better if we stay here. At the Academy. Where we spend each morning beating each other with sticks while standing on poles. Not to mention our breaks and holidays, where we get to deal with all the crazy members of your family, both god and half-god, plus Bacchae, giants, basilisks, satyrs, phoenixes-" He turned to Lilith. "Did I leave anything out?"
      "War-crazed Amazons and centaurs," Lilith said.

      "Right, war-crazed Amazons and centaurs. So, yeah, a bunch of punk slavers are way too dangerous for us."

      Hercules closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingers. He suddenly has a very big headache. "Let me get this straight. You didn't think they'd believe that you knew the son of Zeus, but but they did believe that you're best friends with an ogre."

      "And his wife," Lilith added with a grin.
      "Right, and his wife."

      Iolaus shrugged. "What can I tell you, Herc? We live in a very strange world."

      "Baby ghidras," Iolaus muttered.

      Hercules rolled his eyes. "Those are not baby ghidras. Those are baby sea serpents."
      "Oh, come on, Herc. Those don't look anything like sea serpents."
      "Look, I know I paid attention in Cheiron's monster recognition class. And I know you were busy carving Kora's name into your desk."
      "I was not!" Iolaus protested.
      This time Lilith rolled her eyes. "Come on, Iolaus. Everyone knows you have a thing for Kora."

      "I do not have a thing for Kora. Besides, I was carving her name in the chair, not the desk."

Trivia & References

      Having learned his lesson the last time he had taken leave, the centaur did not put the Academy's bursar, Fiducius, in charge.
      - probably a reference to 1.11 Battle Lines I when Cheiron left Fiducious in charge, and Hercules and Iolaus ran away to follow Cheiron and got captured by Amazons.

      He didn't get the chance to respond, though. Iolaus took advantage of Jason's distraction to swing hard at the prince's weapon. The stick broke, and a large piece went flying off toward an oak.

      Jason stared at the small twig that was now no wider than his fist.
      His eyes went wide as he stared at Iolaus. "That was my favorite stick! My father gave me that stick! I'll kill you for that!"
      "In your dreams, pal," Iolaus said.
      Then Jason leaped at Iolaus, and they both fell to the ground.
      Hercules shook his head. as with the "sword fight", they weren't really trying to hurt each other. They just rolled around in the dirt, laughing, Jason's mock anger quickly gone.
      The son of Zeus was grateful that Jason could laugh about that subject. Months earlier Jason had been given a beautiful sword and shield that had belonged to his father, King Aeson. Hercules was jealous - his father had never given him anything like that. In fact, his father had never given him anything. So Hercules had called in a favor to the gods' metalsmith, Hephaestus, to make him a sword of his own.
      Hercules had broken Jason's sword with his new one and almost lost Jason's friendship. Eventually they did make up - aided by Hephaestus replacing King Aeson's sword with a stronger one.

      - reference to 1.08 Keeping Up With the Jasons, however the sword wasn't really 'replaced with a stronger one', the original sword was fixed by Hephestaus.

      Iolaus, however, wasn't letting him get a word in. "Right, it's much better if we stay here. At the Academy. Where we spend each morning beating each other with sticks while standing on poles. Not to mention our breaks and holidays, where we get to deal with all the crazy members of your family, both god and half-god, plus Bacchae, giants, basilisks, satyrs, phoenixes-" He turned to Lilith. "Did I leave anything out?"

      "War-crazed Amazons and centaurs," Lilith said.

      - The gang faced Bacchae during the four ep arc starting with 1.19 Lure of the Lyre, a giant during 1.16 Down and Out in Academy Hills, a Basilisk during 1.18 A Serpent's Tooth, Satyrs during 1.01 Treasure of Zeus and 1.07 Inn Trouble, a Phoenix during 1.01 Treasure of Zeus, and war-crazed Amazons and centaurs during the two ep arc starting with 1.11 Battle Lines I.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• Cheiron's Warriors Transcript
• Interview with Keith R.A. DeCandido by Bryn, Co-Chancellor of the Young Hercules University.