Hello and welcome to my story "The Shift of Destiny"!
I decided to write this because, let's be real, there is a serious lack of good PJO-Fics out there. Thus, I decided to write my own one.
This work is heavily influenced by the fanfic "Eclipse" by Darth0s, so if you see seomething that's similar, then it is because it is an hommage to their work, just with my own spin to it.
Also I may be studying history but I'm in no way a professional historian yet. So if I do make mistakes regarding names, places, continuity or anything else, please tell me aout them, and I will correct them ASAP. Same with grammar or spelling mistakes, english is not my mother-tongue.
Also, I don't own PJO or anything else of the Riordanverse, regrettably.
Anyways, without further ado, I proudly present to you "The Shift of Destiny":
The Dream
Ancient Greece - Date unknown
It was a beautiful day in the port of the great city of Elaeus. The sun was shining, there wan't a single cloud in the sky and the seagulls were singing.
Yes, it was truly a perfect day. It-
"Perseus!", a booming voice suddenly cut through the tranquility. "Come here, will ya?"
Or rather, it would have been a perfect day. If only it wasn't for Erasthenes, the harbourmaster of Elaeus who was currently overseeing the deployment of various crates from a newly arrived ship from Crete.
"Perseus! Stop daydreamin' an' come here you lazy bum! I don't pay you for stittin' around an' wastin' me time!", Erasthenes shouted again, this time with a lot more bite to his voice.
"Coming, Boss", someone else called while making their way over. "No need to make such a fuss" The owner of the voice came in sight. He was tall, but not lanky at all, with bronze coloured skin and wiry muscles born from long years of carrying crates of various sizes and weight arond the harbour. And the occasional fight in the city's fighting dens. Black hair covered his head and a light stubble his chin. All in all he would have been a fairly average sight, if it weren't for his eyes. Sharp and perceptive, and of a startling shade of green, not unlike that of the sea behind him, they heralded a sharp mind and an even quicker wit.
At the moment though they just showed annoyance. Annoyance and exasperation upon being called out by Erasthenes again. Something that the harbourmaster did not miss.
"Getting annoyed quickly today, are we, Perseus?", the portly man said with a devilish gleam in his eyes. Perseus stiffened, knowing that showing disrespect was an ill-adviced course of action. It looked like Erasthenes was not in a good mood today. "No, Sir", he said.
Erasthenes just snorted in response. "Look, Perseus", he said. "You're one of my best here, y'know? You always manage to do more work than anyone else an' you're never as winded as the others, no matter how much you do. But, you really have to get your head in gear more often, you understand?"
Perseus nodded.
"Don' jus' nod like that, and then go back and do exactly nothin' of what I jus' told ya, Perseus", Erasthenes said. "If you keep noddin' off on my watch I'll have to fire ya, best worker or not. You don' want that, do you?"
Perseus shook his head. "Of course not, Sir"
"Good", Erasthenes seemed pleased. "Me neither. I don' know what got into your head again, but for the love of the gods, keep it out 'till your shift's over. I don' wanna pry or anythin' but what in Hades' name has you so distracted the last days? You're never that out of it"
"I don't know, Sir", Perseus answered. "It's just... a feeling, you know? Like, something is wrong and will change soon. It's unnerving to be honest"
"A feeling?"
"Yes, Sir", Perseus affirmed.
Erasthenes' left eye began to twitch faintly in annoyance.
"Look, Perseus", Erasthenes said and laid a hand on Perseus' shoulder. "You're a smart boy. You know who your parents are, right?"
"Right, Sir"
"Good. So, is the name of your father Apollo?"
"No, Sir"
"Hm. And is the name of your mother Pythia?"
"No, Sir"
"Aha. So what does this tell us?"
"I don't know sir"
"It tells us, that you're not some godsdammed oracle, so a feeling is just that! A feeling! Nothin' less an' nothin' more"
"Right, Sir"
"And I'm no oracle either, but I know what you're goin' to do now: You're goin' back to work, and you'll ignore that feelin' until your shift here is over and I don' have to deal with it any longer, understand?"
"Yes, Sir", Perseus said.
"Good. An' if I find you slackin' off once more you'll regret it, you hear me boy?"
"Yes, Sir, I do"
"Good. Now, chop chop, get out of my sight", Erasthenes said and waved his hands dismissively.
Perseus obeyed and went back to his work, all the while contemplating the irony of Erasthenes' words earlier.
If only you knew, you old geezer, he thought disdainfully. If only you knew...
In the end Perseus did follow Erasthenes' advice though. or at least, he tried to. Ignoring a gut feeling you've been having for nearly over a month now is quite hard a task after all. But now, as he lay in bed, he dreamt, for the first time in over a month. He knew that his dreams were anything but normal. He knew that they could show the future, or that he could communicate with Perseus through dreams. And this time it was no different.
--
He opened his eyes and saw that he stood on a beach. White sand stretched in every direction and the waves gently lapped at the shore. Suddenly, a heavy breeze swirled over the beach. The smell of salt was overpowering for a split second and Perseus closed his eyes, hoping that he would disappear again if Perseus just kept ignoring him.
"Perseus", a deep baritone said, but Perseus ignored it.
"Perseus", the voice called again, and again Perseus opted to ignore it, pressing his eyes even more close together.
"Percy", the voice fainally said, an exasperated tone to it. That finally got a reaction out of the young man. After all only one person was ever allowed to call him that. He whirled around, a burning fury in his eyes. "Don't call me that!" he hissed venomously and by doing that he laid eyes on the man across from him. He was tall, even taller than Perseus. Black hair fell in short locks over his head and a dark beard covered his face. He had skin as white as marble and eyes as blue as the ocean. A beautiful golden trident stood without anythin to hold it next to him, radiating power. A chiton in all shades of blue covered his body and if one looked closely they could see fish and other sea creatures of various sizes moving across it.
"Well, you chose not to react when I called you with Perseus, so...", the man, no, the god, Poseidon, said.
"Well, father", Perseus answered and spat the word "father" out like it was the greatest insult under the sun. "Maybe I do not want to be called anything by you. At all"
A look of great anguish hushed over the gods' face upon hearing that. But it disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Instead Poseidon schooled his face into a mask of stoicism.
"Perseus", he said. "I have not called you once in five years. As much as it pained me, I have respected your wishes and have not sopken to you one single time ever since Pelagia died"
Perseus snorted derisively. "You mean since you let her die?"
"Perseus", Poseidon tried to say but Perseus interuppted him.
"No", he said. "Don't you dare 'Perseus' me, father. You let mom die, miserable and alone. From a sickness no less! You could have saved her! But you chose to do nothing! Sitting there on your throne, while mom suffered and I struggled to find anything to eat for us at all. We had a good life! We had everything and then we lost it, just because of your negligence!"
A tear slipped from Perseus' eye. "And you know what the worst thing was?", he whispered. "That she loved you untill the end. That she forgave you everything! Her last thoughts were of you while you didn't even try to do something for her! I prayed to you so many times, and you didn't answer once!"
A pained expression darkened Poseidon's features."Contrary to what you think I did indeed love Pelagia. More than you'll ever know, son. And I did not choose to do nothing, I was physically and mentally unable to. Trust me, I tried. Can you imagine what I have felt? Waking up, learning that the mother of my son died from a simple cough? The cruel irony that the mightiest god of Olympus cannot save his lover from a mere cough?"
Perseus already wanted to retort a heated comment on his tongue, when something his father had said cought his attention. He tried to quell his rage and tried to focus on what was imprtant. "Wait. Waking up?" he frowned. "Since when do gods have to sleep?"
Poseidon sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Dealing with his son, was a lot of things; exhausting, painful and sad, but it was worth it. Worth seeing that he was, for all the hate he felt for his father, for all the rage he held in his heart, healthy and alive made Poseidon happy like only a few things in the world could.
"That is why I am here today", the god said. "Though, you might want to sit down for that one"
Perseus only shook his head. The boy was stuborn like nothing else. Kind of like me, Poseidon mused amusedly.
"Well then", Poseidon said and two thrones made out of sand rose from the beach, on one of which the god sat down. "Well, the short version of it is: It's not safe here anymore, so you have to go away from here"
"What? Why? Where? What bullshit is thi-", Perseus started, but a stormy look from his father silenced him. Hate him or not, Poseidon was still a god and as such infinetely more powerful than Perseus ever would be.
"The long version is a bit more complicated", Poseidon said. "The heart of civilization is changing. For thousands of years it has been in here in Greece. On Mount Olympus, if you want to be precise. But, a few centuries ago it started shifting. Wandered westward. And now it has manifested across the Ionian Sea in Rome. And this means two things. First of all, we gods ourselves are changing. Dramatically. Our domains shift, our personalities shift, even our memories shift and get shuffled all over the place. Sometimes for years at a time. And during that shifting we are so powerless, so confused and at a loss with ourselves and the world, that we might as well not exist at all. Do you remember that catrastrophic harvest a few years ago?"
Perseus nodded. About three years ago all of a sudden evry crop, every fruit, and vegetable on the fields just... shrivelled up and died. Thousands had hungered and died.
Poseidon sighed again. He seemed to do that a lot recently. "That bad harvest happened in all of greece. no one was spared. And that happened because Demeter shifted, for example. And as a result her domains, especially plants and harvest just went completely haywire. And as you may have noticed, by now this has been taken care of again. But, Demeter goes by the name of Ceres now. And now, as Ceres she doesn't remember a single thing about her time as Demeter. So, as you can probably imagine, when I myself did undergo that shift, I wasn't able to have a coherent thought for over five years. I didn't even know who I was let alone you and Pelagia. And that's why I wasn't there when you needed me. Something that I now came here to remedy. But, for all its worth, I'm sorry"
Perseus face was unreadable. "And how are you talking to me now? If you shifted why do you still have memories of me?"
Poseidon shook his head sadly. "I don't or, at least I think I don't. And even if I have, I doubt you'd ever recognize me in my roman persona. What you see now is a sort of... stored image, a mirage if you want, with the sole purpose of telling you all of this. I'd be honestly suprised if it lasts more than a month from now"
Perseus didn't know what to answer to that. All this time he thought that his father had just abandoned him and his mother. And now he was telling him that he did undergo some shift? And he was talking of some "heart of civilization"? What the fuck?
But, on the other hand, Poseidon had never lied to Perseus. Not one single time. Every question Perseus had ever asked had been answered honestly, no matter how brutal the truth. So why would he now? That just made no sense.
"Anyways", Poseidon continued, "Since the heart of civilization shifted, our seat of power does as well. And with that comes the fact that our sphere of influence shift as well. and this in return means that the lands beyond the gods, the lands that are covered with countless monsters will shift as well. What I want to say is, that soon it will be not safe for you here anymore. Our influence here weakens and soon countless monsters will roam these lands. Like that hellhound you killed when you were ten. But only much, much bigger. And they will number in the hundreds, maybe even thousands"
"And the only solution is to go where? All the way to Rome?"
Poseidon nodded. "I know this is a lot to ask of you. Leaving your home and going somewhere so far away. But, I wouldn't do this to you if I had another choice"
Perseus sighed and raked a hand down his face. "I guess", he murmured. "But, why do you think that I'll ever even make it to Rome? I don't have a boat, I don't know how to fight, Hades, I don't even have a single weapon! The only thing I have close to that is an old knife for cutting cheese!"
Poseidon smirked upon hearing that. "I hoped that you'd be asking this", he said and held out a hand. The sand between father and son shifted, flowed like water into the air and condensed in the form of a long, sleek, something.
The sand then receded and in its place was a spear. A doru to be precise. It was quite short for a spear, only about two meters in length, but that wasn't what made it special. It was made entirely of a shimmering, shiny metal. Its tip ended in a long and wickedly sharp looking blade, which was formed to resemble the closed beak of some kind of bird. No, upon closer insepction it looked like it actually was made from the beak of a bird. A crane maybe? But what kind of crane did have a beak made out of metal? On its other end was a smaller blade, looking like a claw, serving as a counterweight for the tip.
"It's beautiful", breathed Perseus.
Poseidon smiled. "It is, isn't it? It was made by Hephaistos himself so it will never get dull or break. As for the material, well, it was made out of the feathers of a stymphalian bird. The blade was formed out of its beak and will cut through even the toughest armor. Come on, son, take it. Try it out"
Perseus just stared at it. Slowly, very slowly he reached out and grabbed it.
It was light. Deceptively so. He had expected a spear made from magical bird-metal to be heavy beyond imagination, but it was as light as a feather and at the same time perfectly balanced. He was certain he could swing it around for hours on end without ever getting tired.
"Does it have a name?", Perseus asked and inspected it closely. Along the shaft were tiny engravings, making it seem like the spear was covered in feathers. Or maybe those weren't engravings at all but remnants of the real feathers it was made of.
Poseidon shook his head. "Not as of yet, no. It is like you, in a way. An unwritten story, an adventure that just waits to be told"
Perseus gripped its shaft tight. "I will always carry it with me. I swear, that I will never lose it"
Poseidon nodded proudly. He then reached out and placed a hand on the claw at the end of the spear. A greenish glow eneveloped it for a slpit second, then was it gone.
"What did you do to it?", Perseus asked curiously and inspected his new weapon closely. Nothing seemed to have changed.
"Well, as of now, only you will be able to lift it. Everyone else will find it unbelievably heavy. So will it be until the day you die or you find a worthy sucessor for it. And as for the name... I hope, no, I know that you will come up with something appropriate"
"I", Perseus was at a loss for words. "Thank you"
Here he was. Not even five minutes prior he was ready to hurl every insult he knew at his father for abandoning him and his mother and now? Now he apparently had to get to Rome as soon as possible, else he'd be mauled by monsters, his mom's death wasn't really his father's fault and now he even held an apparent super-spear in hands? Talk about a wild nap.
"Perseus", Poseidon said.
The boy in question stopped pouring over the spear and looked up.
"Just two things before I go", his father said gravely. "One: outside your house you will find a boat. It may be tiny but I promise you that as long as you are in it, you will not sink. Carry it to the nearest shore, and sit in it. When you are ready to leave this shore just say "Go" and it will take you straight to Meliboea. From there traverse the land to the city of Pylos. And then, once you reach this place, board a ship across the Ionian Sea. Reach Rome and find someone named Chiron. He will know what to do when I'm not able to anymore. Trust him, Perseus, he means well, even if his methods might seem strange to you at first. And secondly, do not tell anyone of your heritage. Our roman counterparts do not seem to like greek demigods and will probably trouble you, should you go to house with it"
Perseus nodded. "I understand father"
"Good" Poseidon said. He reached out with a hand, as if to touch Perseus, seemed to think better of it though. "I wish you the best of luck. And, should you ever need advice, just look out to the sea. Even when I'm gone, it will always be a part of you, my son"
And with this words a heavy breeze blew over the beach, whipping the sand into Perseus' eyes, promting him to squeeze them shut.
--
As he opened them again he noticed that he was awake. The moon was hanging high in the night sky, surrounded by countless stars. A glint caught Perseus' eye and he saw the stymphalian spear standing next to his bed. Without anything to fasten it to the wall it stood upright on the floor, just like Poseidon's trident did in the dream he just awoke from.
Huh, that's a neat feature to have, Perseus thought.
Seeing the spear he now got curious and decided to search after the boat that Poseidon supposedly left him outside his shed. What he saw was... underwhelming. It really waas tiny. Just enough space for him and a bag filled with food and other essentials.
The longer he looked at it, the more a sense of urgency came over him. Something was promting him so pack his bags as fast as he could and get away from here, always westward. Even while he was in the middle of packing, taking only things he would really need with him, he contemplated the foolishness of such an endeavour. After all he hadn't spoken with his father in over five years and now he was just following him to the end of the earth? There would be countless dangers on the path ahead, most of them lethal!
But still he simply couldn't stop himself. After he finished packing he shouldered the boat of his father, took his spear in one hand, and bound his bag to its other end. Equipped like this he closed the door, threw one last look at the house he had lived all his life in and started to walk, all the way to the nearest beach.
Once there he put the boat in the water and sat himself in it. It wobbled precariously, but thank the gods didn't capsize. He put his bag in between his feet, lay his spear over his knees and took a deep breath. He was aware that, once he did this, there would be no way back. He would leave his home forever. He shook his head. Elaeus hadn't been his home ever since his mom had died. And she was here, with him. Or, at least her urn, containing her ash was. So in a way she'd be here, and keep watch over him from the Underworld. From Elysium, no doubt.
Hey, maybe my travels will lead me into the Underworld as well. Just like Orpheus' did. Then I can see her and say hello or something. He scoffed and shook his head. Yeah, as if that would ever happen. Honestly, get real, Percy. It's not like I'm the next Theseus or anything.
And with that, his head filled with pictures of adventures and heroes he took one final breath and said, with nearly not wavering voice: "Go"