Curse of Achilles

The **Curse of Achilles** is a power and a curse that a person can acquire when they bathe in the River Styx.

## History

Thetis, in an attempt to make her son, Achilles, immortal, dipped him in the River Styx as an infant, holding him by the heel as she had dreamt of his death some time before. The attempt was unsuccessful, however, as Thetis' husband, Peleus, ignorantly interrupted the ritual and took his son away, for he believed that Thetis was hurting the baby. Angered, Thetis returned to the sea, leaving both her husband and son, and although he remained mortal, Achilles himself was rendered invulnerable and he grew up to become the greatest Achaean warrior, even killing the Trojan prince Hector during the Trojan War. Despite this, Achilles was himself slain when an arrow fired by Paris struck his heel, the one place on his body that was still vulnerable.

## Description

The curse is named after Achilles, the Ancient Greek hero, who was famous for his invulnerability. When one bathes in the River Styx, they will be granted the power to remain uninjured by any means. However, they will always have one weak spot and if this weak spot is injured even in the slightest, the person will die. For Percy, it was on the back. For Achilles, it was on his heel and for Luke, it was on his armpit. For a person to successfully receive this curse, he must earn his parent's blessing before bathing in the river or it would kill whoever enters its shores. When one bathes in it, the person must envision one thing that ties them to the living. They also must imagine a single spot on their body that will be vulnerable and a rope tying them to the mortal plane. If they do not do this they will turn into ash and be forever lost in the River Styx. Though not proven, the thing a person usually envisions is often someone close.

## Abilities

Anyone who bears the Curse of Achilles is nearly invulnerable, except in one weak point. They also get highly increased strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance, and fighting skills, also linking to their abilities, making it less tiresome to use immense powers. One such example of this is Percy, who was powerful enough to defeat Hades, Hyperion, a hundred skeletal warriors created by Hades, and a large fraction of the Titan army equivalent to hundreds of monsters after taking on the curse. The curse also allowed Achilles to slay a large amount of Trojans and Amazons during the Trojan War.

## Weakness

* **Weak Spot**: The most obvious weakness is the mortal spot the person chooses, as it remains the only place that can be injured. If this spot is even slightly injured, the person will die immediately.
* **Overexertion/Overexhaustion:** The less obvious weakness is a secondary function - in addition to gaining invulnerability, bearers of the curse also gain extreme physical prowess, such as heightened strength and reflexes, and a body that almost automatically fights. However, this places an enormous amount of stress on one's body, as their enhanced fighting skills means that they expend energy at a much faster rate, requiring a bearer of the curse to be careful not to overexert himself. Chiron says that Achilles himself took about twenty naps a day, later stating that when Achilles wasn't fighting, he was either sleeping or eating.
* It is also mentioned that a bearer of the curse will have certain emotions or behaviours enhanced, normally having to do with their fatal flaw. Other things the bearer can die from are:
	+ Gods' true form (while the bearer is semi-immortal, a god's divine form will still kill him or her).
	+ Gods' wrath (while a bearer is semi-immortal, a god can still kill them with a snap of a finger.)