Summary: In which Percy and friends grow up in antiquity instead of the present. AU fic.
A/N: Some quick notes before we plunge ahead. Yes, you're reading that correctly. This is an alternate universe in which the book characters live in classical Greece instead of modern-day New York. As such I'll be taking certain liberties with characters' names and personalities (Annabeth just doesn't quite fit in amongst all the Homers and Lysanders you know? As for personalities…well, sexism was kind of a thing back then). The gods will also be sticking more to their mythological roots than the books do. I'm certainly fond of Riordan's modern portrayals of them, but seeing as his intended audience was primarily children the gods' rampant rape, incest and overall dickishness was understandably glossed over. Another good thing to point out is that this story will be less of a cohesive narrative and more like drabbly snippets of a particular character each chapter. Oh and did I mention that there's no real plot yet? So without further ado, the son of the sea god himself!
Perseus
Perseus is eleven years old when his mother takes him to live on the mainland.
All his life he has dwelt on the white shores of Aegina. There was only the sand and the sea and his mother's tiny seaside shack. He knew nothing else. And then one day some man visiting from Athens spied his mother at the market and two months later, Perseus was in a strange city with strange customs and a strange man who he now was expected to call 'father'.
He felt betrayed.
His name was Pelagius, a well-respected teacher to the wealthy children of Athens. He was a kind man, doting upon his new wife, though seemed rather confused as to what to do with the prepubescent boy that she had brought along with her. He had never seen any child quite like Perseus. He was half-wild, though amiable, and clearly had never had a scrap of education in his life. And so, falling back upon the role of teacher, Perseus's new father set out to educate his son.
It didn't go well.
By all rights, Perseus was not technically an Athenian citizen, therefore he did not have the rights to an Athenian education. But Pelagius, intent on winning favor with his new wife, attempted to teach his new son how to read and write. Perseus hated these lessons. Every day he was forced to sit and copy letters onto a wax tablet, shut away from the sight and sound of his beloved sea. He didn't like the city. There were too many people, filling the air with noise and the stench of human filth. Off in the distance, Perseus could hear the sea call to him, beckoning him back to its embrace like a long-lost lover.
He is fifteen when he meets his father. His real father, not Pelagius.
Perseus has taken to sneaking from home to help the sailors unload their catch every morning. It is on one such day that he spies the sea god amongst the sailors. He wears the guise of an old man with sun-weathered skin and a salt-crusted beard. He smiles at Perseus with crooked teeth.
"Come child. It is time for you to explore my kingdom."
A/N: I wrote the first half of this a few months ago and just finished it quickly today so if it sounds weird and disjointed then there's my crappy excuse. Annabeth (or Aristomache, as I've re-dubbed her since Annabeth doesn't quite fit in classical Greece) is up next.