ANCIENT GREECE

Gray eyes peered over a ledge. Men walked by, not even sparing them a glance, their bellies full of food and wine. The boy to whom these eyes belonged stood slightly. He swept his eyes throughout the entire room. There were a few men in close quarters. No one would dare trouble them, as they all had rippling muscles and weapons at their side. No one but Perseus. Perseus did things like this often. As long as he followed the voice's advice and he never got in trouble. He usually checked off his mental checklist first, the analyzed his situation. 1: Find all the potential exits and memorize them. 2: Attempt to use your mind to outsmart the enemy before trying to out power them. Now the final one, #3. It was the most important. 3: Pray to all the Gods of Olympus before beginning. He did so now, sending in an extra prayer to the goddess of the hunt, as she was also the goddess of virginity. Little did he know, all of the gods were sitting in the council, watching him intently. Silver eyes widened slightly as they received his prayer.

"Ey, Otremachus, you hea of that boy?" One of the men slurred. The man who seemed to be Otremachus shook his head. The man who had spoken to him laughed tantalizingly and put a hand on his shoulder. "E's a lad, 15 or 16. Cunnin as a snake and as powe-ful as a warrior! Poor lad got no parents- I would'n blame em if my 'un was like tha'!" The man snorted before groaning and falling forward. Everyone around him laughed. Everyone but Otremachus, the man he was after. He was the one that ran the slave business, and not the kind that works in the fields, if you're picking up what I'm putting down. This was the man who had slaughtered dozens of families all for their girls.

The gray eyes erupted in anger and he pulled out his bow and notched an arrow. His form and technique were flawless. Not now, Perseus. You would not do well to fail the mission for such a trivial matter. This is your final mission, after this, I'll get to see you, but everyone else is watching as well, so you would do well to complete this mission perfectly. Perseus immediately lowered his bow. He always followed the voice's advice. The voice was like a parent to him, as he had none of his own. It told him goodnight and good morning. It told him what he needed to do. Sometimes, the voice would sing to him at night, and he would wake up quickly, catching a glimpse of gray eyes like his own. He had not a clue who 'everyone' was, but they must be powerful to see him.

Perseus sized up the men. They would likely go easy on him as they thought he was a child, but that was not for sure. All of the men were drunk, so his mission was a little easier. While he was no pushover, Perseus doubted he had enough power to just overpower them. Looking around for anything he could potentially manipulate, he craned his neck up and saw the bags of grain laying on the terrace of a home nearby. Slowly, his mind formulated a plan.

He looked around him until he found a decent sized rock. He notched the rock and fired towards the bags. The stone ripped the bag slightly, and grain began to fall and pool on the ground. Next, he notched 3 arrows at the same time and held his bow sideways. He exhaled slowly and fired his arrows. There was a whizzing noise and then 3 thumps as 3 unsuspecting men fell to the ground. Just as Perseus had suspected, no one noticed.

3 men were down, 3 left to go. He leapt down from the ledge and silently pulled out a dagger. He threw it and the dagger impaled itself in someone's eyes, the poor man fell over on his sleeping comrade, who fell into the fire. That man roared in pain. His eyes rested on Perseus and he moved towards him with is sword drawn.

His sword cleaved through the air sideways. Perseus' eyes widened and he fell back and rolled, narrowly missing the blade. He grabbed for his sword, but realized it was behind the man.

"You don't want to do this. I'm sure we can work something out." Perseus said smoothly, not taking his eyes off his sword.

The man's sword lowered slightly. "Okay. Work something out, eh. I want all of the women in your family delivered to me," He licked his lips, and Perseus grimaced. He hated these kind of people. The man hadn't noticed that Perseus had grabbed a handful of dirt. He threw it at the man's eyes and he backed up, furiously rubbing his eyes. Perseus grinned to himself and rushed over to pick up his sword. He picked it up and a few moments and a disgruntled scream later, there was a head rolling on the floor.

Perseus wiped his blade on the man's clothes. He had just deduced that Otremachus, his target, had woken up. He was proved right when there was a cry of 'What the Hades?!' Perseus made eye contact with his target and Otremachus' eyes widened. "Boo." Perseus said, and Otremachus took off like a horse being reared. He, unlike his guards, was extremely overweight and he was already huffing and puffing whereas Perseus wasn't even breathing hard as he ran after him. Thinking he had a chance to escape, Otremachus sprinted north. However, he ran blindly north, not taking a moment too survey his surroundings. Perseus smirked to himself. It was easy to trick men like Otremachus, because they thought of themselves as too powerful and clever to be bested by petty things. An example of why this ultimately brought death was given when Otremachus slipped on the grain that had pooled on the floor.

"P-please," Otremachus whimpered. He was on his knees, and his hands were clasped together tightly. His small, beady eyes looked frightfully at Perseus. "I'll give you anything."

Perseus bent down and gave Otremachus a look that would freeze over hell. "Your death seems like a fair price." He whispered, and Otremachus looked down to see a dagger sticking out of his chest. "May Hades have no mercy on your soul." He closed his eyes and kicked the body down.

Perseus walked over to Otremachus and checked his pockets for something. He found a gold dagger, exquisitely carved with designs of Lord Zeus throwing his bolt, and pictures of women. Perseus ran over to the building he was on, and then kicked the door down. Inside, there were 20 or so women.

"Fair maidens!" Perseus yelled to them, garnering the attention. "Those vile men have been taken care of. I suggest taking their weapons and going to your families. Have a blessed life, and please do not presume to find me. I am only here to help. Good day." Perseus bowed and began to take off. Before he left, he dropped the dagger in the fire. Thank you, my lords and ladies. With your help I was able to put down the hammer of justice.

You did well, Perseus. Perseus' eyes widened. The voice never complimented him. Thank you. The voice spoke once more. Close your eyes.

He did just that, and he heard a whooshing sound. When he opened his eyes, he was in front of a colossal palace. It seemed to reflect all light. Amazing smells of food and drinks assaulted Perseus' senses. From inside, sweet music played and there were sounds of conversation. He glanced for all entrances, but found only one. He was immediately on guard. There were many things in Greece that had appearances like this, but they simply lured unwitting men to their dooms. This, however, radiated power. Something that put Perseus on edge. He felt compelled to go somehow.

"That is because you are on Olympus, Perseus." Perseus turned to see a woman in a white gown. She had black air that was braided, and gray eyes like his. On her shoulder was an owl, and in her hand an olive branch. Perseus almost fainted. He dropped to one knee.

"My lady Athena." He said, surprised. Athena was his most favorite goddess. She represented what he cherished most; Cleverness and Battle. She placed one hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry. I could not tell you earlier, but you are my son." Athena wrapped Perseus in a hug. He stiffened, but gradually sunk into his mother's embrace. Perseus' eyes widened in shock as he realized the true nature of this situation. "Shhh, my child." Athena caressed his hair. It made Perseus' body fill with warmth. "You did nothing wrong. You are here to speak with my father, Lord Zeus."

What did he want with him? It wouldn't do well to argue with the goddess of wisdom anyway. Shrugging to himself, Perseus followed his mother inside the room. There were huge pillars rising from the ground, framing a colossal chamber. Perseus looked on in awe. From the ground, there rose 12 thrones, each with a god or goddess on them.

"Perseus." The room grew quiet. Perseus' stomach dropped a little, but he gulped and walked forward. He knelt in front of Zeus, who sat in his throne while idly twirling his bolt. "Would you like some wine?" A goblet appeared in front of Perseus. He peered inside cautiously. The wine was a rich burgundy color and it gave off such a sweet aroma that Perseus wanted nothing more to do than drink it.

STOP! He yelled mentally. His hand had been drifting slowly towards it. He forced his eyes shut and opened them a few moments later. Step 23 of life: Never, EVER except things from anyone. No matter who they are. "No thank you, my lord." Perseus said, although it was slightly strained.

"Bahahaha!" Zeus laughed heartily. He clutched his stomach and the loud thundering noise gradually stopped. "You are wise, young Perseus. Now to the matter at hand. You have done countless favors for the gods, and in return, we would like to make you a god."

Me? Perseus' eyes bulged. A god? Was this the right choice?

"Don't worry." Athena assured him. "This is the right choice. After this, you will be able to fight those people you so hate perish."

Perseus still stood still in thought. All though his brain was telling him to accept the offer, his instincts were yelling at him to decline and leave. While Perseus trusted his instincts, he generally sided with his mind. After all, instincts only know so much. Closing his eyes for a moment, he squared his shoulders. "I accept the offer, Lord Zeus."

"Good. Now simply close your eyes. You should feel a slight tingling and then a warm sensation will overtake your body. When you open your eyes, you will see the world in a new light. Go on now, close them." Zeus urged. Perseus complied and he did feel a tingly sensation. It steadily grew. Now Perseus was wincing with pain.

"What is happening?" Perseus could dimly hear Athena yell frantically. Perseus' insides felt like they were on fire. He was sure that his skin must be melting off. The pain was so unbearable that his mouth opened to yell, but no sound came out.

The pain abruptly came to an end. Perseus cautiously opened his eyes. The throne room was a muddle. Debris was scattered everywhere, and there were holes in the walls and ceiling. Each god stood with their respective aura around them. It was flared and stood in front of them like a wall. Perseus' head hurt, and when he looked down, his arm had an insignia on it. It looked like a swirl, but in the middle, there was a sword.

"My lord?" Perseus asked.

Zeus dropped his shield and stared at Perseus with a bewildered expression. "Athena, your son is more than just a god. He is an Olympian. He is the God of Sword fighting and the Hunt, and the patron of all women."

Perseus fainted.