[ ed talks a lot. it's something nico's noticed over time. it's a lot more than he does, but he's always been more quiet and withdrawn. at least since bianca died. and ed still has his brother, friends, people to whom he's close. so ed's been able to be a lot more open than nico has been. still, what ed says reflects how nico feels and he nods along with what the older boy is saying until the question comes up. nico winces in memory of the jar and the sighs before explaining. ]

Giants. There were two of them. I got captured in Tartarus by monsters working for an enemy god. They forced me into a celestial bronze jar. Celestial Bronze is the only kind of metal that can really hurt a god or demigod, so I couldn't escape. I had no food, no water, and no air. So I was forced to eat special pomegranate seeds that put me in a trance called a Death Trance. It allowed me to survive almost a week before I was saved.

Combined with the lack of food in Tartarus—all there was to drink was flaming water from the Phlegethon—I was very weak coming out of the jar. I couldn't fight.