Curse of Achilles

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

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. They must get their parent's blessing however before bathing in the river or it would kill whoever entered 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 with 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 Styx. Though not proven, the thing a person usually envisions is often someone close. An example of this is when Percy bathes in the Styx, he envisioned Annabeth, the girl he loves.

The curse placed upon Percy protected him against Kronos in The Last Olympian. The first chapter of The Son of Neptune reveals that the curse is still intact as he was left unscathed by the frequent attacks of Medusa's sisters, Stheno and Euryale.

Weakness The most obvious weakness is the mortal spot the person chooses, as it remains the only place that can be injured. If this spot be injured, the person will die almost immediately.

The less obvious weakness is a secondary function - in addition to gaining invulnerability, someone with the Curse of Achilles also gains extreme physical powers - heightened strength and reflexes - and a body that almost automatically fights. However, this places an enormous amount of stress on the body, requiring a warrior under the curse to be careful not to over-exert himself, which happens more quickly than before. Chiron said that Achilles himself took about twenty naps a day--it sometimes seemed that when Achilles wasn't fighting, he was either sleeping or eating. This means someone under the curse will tire fighting quicker than someone who isn't; meaning they could be neutralized by being put in a position where they must fight, and making sure their enemies are expendable. It is also mentioned that a person under the curse will have certain emotions or behaviors enhanced, normally having to do with their fatal flaw.