Chapter 1

Perseus was a demon as he fought through the barbarian hordes of Gaul. From the corner of his eye, he could see Luke Castellan, valiantly cutting down every barbarian in his path. Every once and a while, a barbarian would try to sneak behind Perseus and stab him from behind, only to be met with a quick turn around, duck, and slash from the general himself.

You see, Perseus had a unique type of fighting style. Most Romans stabbed and thrust in short, precise thrusts. But the general himself, Perseus Romulus Jackson, fought like a Greek. His moves unpredictable, Perseus moved with speed and precision, slashing, hacking, stabbing at the opponent's most vulnerable spot. Though decked in Roman armor, it was not unusual to see the general airborne as he jumped over swords or flipped over men, dragging his sword behind him as he cleaved their heads in half.

Not many men could imitate this man's skill. Some say he was Hector or Achilles reborn. Then the general would laugh, modestly saying, "Me? Achilles? Please, that's an insult to the legend. The Styx would have swallowed me up!" Then he would pause. "That's why I bathed in the Tiber!" The cheesiness of the joke would crack some soldiers up, just for the pure modesty that the general presented.

But Perseus was not in the mood for such humor. After every battle, he would be filled with sorrow for his fallen comrades. But he never let it show. As a general, he showed strength. But as a soldier, he felt loyalty. One could never deny that. Everyone knew Perseus was loyal to the bone, gladly giving up his life for the Emperor to the probatio.

However, his mood was not so solemn as in the aftermath of many of his battles. Gaul was Rome's now. The Emperor himself was coming. A smile formed on the general's face at the thought.

Many noticed how close of a connection the general and Emperor had. Almost like a father and son relationship. Most disregarded it as the whole of Rome knew that their Emperor had but two sons, Triton and Jason, as well as a daughter, Thalia. But the Emperor once had three sons, the other who held the name, Octavian who was wed to an Annabeth Chase, daughter of Minerva, a deceased noble. Annabeth was now a widow, her husband being murdered in a Senate Meeting and she had not wed since.

Perseus shook his thoughts from his head as he came to the gates of the fort, awaiting the Emperor's arrival. Soon enough, he had come in his coach, 4 white horses drawing the carriage. But the general was surprised. Following behind the Emperor's carriage was another carriage, drawn by 4 black horses.

Of course, the children of the Emperor are here, he thought.

The carriages stopped in front of the principia, where the Emperor climbed out of his coach and was escorted inside the building.

Perseus had known that the Emperor would come eventually, which is why he had added a wing to the principia for the Emperor and whoever would accompany him. As the royals gathered in the meeting room of the building, Perseus entered and bowed, standing at attention in armor, his red cape flowing down his back.

"My lord, I would like to welcome you to our fort," Perseus said, his head bowed.

"Rise General," the Emperor said.

Perseus raised his head to look at the Emperor's twinkling seagreen eyes.

The Emperor waved his hand to dismiss his children and the three made their way to their bedchambers as Perseus gave his report on the battle.

Author's Note: So what do you think? If you haven't noticed, this will be my version of Percy put into the Gladiator Movie situation. Don't worry, it's not going to be a complete retelling of the movie.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus, or the movie Gladiator.