Mortal

> We have only one life, but we can choose what story it's going to be.
>
> Rachel Dare to Apollo on being mortal in The Hidden Oracle.

**Mortals** are living creatures that are able to die, like demigods, humans, or animals. While several monsters and nymphs take the form of mortals, they are not actually mortal as they go to Tartarus and eventually reform upon their deaths.

Most ordinary humans, however, play only minor parts in the series. Major exceptions include May Castellan, Sally Jackson, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Unlike demigods, the majority of humans cannot see through the Mist, but a small amount of them can.

**Note:** Only includes mortal species from sources written by Rick Riordan, do not include mortal species introduced in any of the Rick Riordan Presents books as they are not canon to his work.

## Notable mortal races

The mortal races are the three races inhabiting the Nine Worlds. These are humans, dwarves, and elves.

### Humans

Main article: Human
Humans are the inhabitants of Midgard. They occasionally have children with gods (both Norse and Greco-Roman), known as demigods, that exhibit powers directly related to those of their respective divine parent.

Most humans cannot see the world of the gods due to a force known as the Mist, which hides the true nature of things and adapts what humans will see to something they can understand and comprehend. This is mainly because if a human actually sees the world as it really is, it would drive them crazy. For example, if a human were to see a demigod battling a monster, they would think they are seeing a delinquent attacking a normal bystander or a child being assaulted by a thug. Certain humans, however, such as Sally Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare can see through the Mist, though it is never made clear why this is possible. The ability seems to be inborn and is most often found in those that have special destinies. Children can also occasionally see through the Mist, most likely because their minds and imaginations more readily accept the supernatural and unexplained.

 File:Sally jackson.jpg
Humans were supposedly very happy in the beginning, during the time called the "Golden Age" of Kronos' rule. It is said they wanted nothing and lived in perfect bliss but were very unsophisticated and gullible. This, however, was a lie and propaganda put forward by Kronos. The rule of the Titans was tyrannical and chaotic, and they saw humans as insignificant vermin and treated them as such. Kronos himself used mortals as a source of cheap entertainment, or as "appetizers," as Chiron put it. Humans during the Golden Age were innocent and non-violent, but despite their pure nature would have quickly succumbed to the chaos of the Titan rule.

Things improved for humans after the First Titan War, when the Olympians came to power. At first the gods were neutral toward humanity's fate, but after a while they came to warm up to them. Humans society began to evolve and grow under the order of the Olympians, with their advancement being sped up significantly by Prometheus' gift of fire. The gods, though initially angered by his act, soon took it upon themselves to guide and protect humanity. Despite their self-righteous attitude of superiority towards them, the gods are deeply connected to and even dependent on mortal society and follow the flow of power in the mortal world, residing in whatever country the flame of Western Civilization shines brightest.

### Elves

 File:Hearth viria.jpg
Main article: Elf
Elves (or Alfs) are the inhabitants of Alfheim. They have a low tolerance for what they see as not perfect, including their children. They tend to look down on non-elven residences of Alfheim and see them as vermin or servants.

Elves once practiced magic and were great archers, but now they spend most of their time looking at screens watching pixie videos. They depend on sunlight for survival and can not live for long without it.

### Dwarves

 File:Blitz viria.jpg
Main article: Dwarf
Dwarves are the inhabitants of Nidavellir. They have similar tastes in music as humans do. Dwarves are known for their craftsmanship. They occasionally have children with gods, known as svartalfs (dark elves). They can not be exposed to sunlight as they turn to stone if they are exposed long enough.

Unlike the other mortal races, dwarves have a matrilineal culture, so they refer to each other in relation to their respective mothers.

## Other mortal races

### Demigods

Main article: Demigod
 File:Jason Grace-Viria.jpg
While demigods are the offspring of one god parent, and one mortal, usually human, parent. They are still considered mortal as demigods do not live forever and can be killed. Several demigods during the *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* series are killed in battle when the Titan army marched on Manhattan and others were killed during the course of the series.

Demigods are not normally affected by the Mist, but can be tricked by it if the magic is strong enough (such as the Labyrinth, Mount Othrys or when Hera stole Jason's memories).

Demigods are often trained at certain locations to hon their skills. While Greek and Roman demigods have a training camp, Norse demigods do not appear to have that luxury until they die honorably in battle and become Einherjar at the Hotel Valhalla.

### Legacies

 File:Hemithea by Viria.jpg
Main article: Legacy
A legacy is the name given to a descendant of a demigod, such as there children or grandchildren. They sometimes have the abilities of their divine ancestor, but this is not always the case. They are more common at Camp Jupiter, as the Roman camp allows demigods to grow into adulthood and raise a family within the safety of their borders.

There are a few Greek legacies, such as the Zhang family, however they never attended Camp Half-Blood and it is unknown if any Greek legacies have even tried to find the camp. Octavian, an antagonist and the augur of Camp Jupiter was also a legacy.

Some legacies have founded lines of royal families, such as the Julian dynasty of Rome being legacies of Venus and Mars and the Swedish royal family being descendants of Frey.

### Magicians

 File:Julius Kane.jpg
Main article: Magician
Magicians are welders of Egyptian magic. While anyone can become a magician, those with a strong family history of magicians are believed to be stronger, while those with the Blood of the Pharaohs are said to easily host a god and practice the Path of the Gods. Magicians have a much longer life span than humans, living for centuries and even millennia with out serious aging.

## Trivia

* Interestingly, demigods call humans "mortals", which is ironic as demigods are mortals themselves and can die like any other human being, though this is most likely in the attempt to differentiate themselves from regular humans.
* There are several ways for a human to become immortal. One of the most common is for a woman to become a Hunter of Artemis. But there are other ways, such as being granted immortality by the gods or simply finding ways to avoid Thanatos
* Mortals cannot be hurt by Celestial Bronze. If a weapon made of the metal is used against them, the weapon will harmlessly pass through them.
* Legacies are very similar to Magicians, since both have ancestors that allow them to do and see things that normal humans can not. pl:Śmiertelnicy