#Percy x Voronwe

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Terrible Fic Idea #59: Percy Jackson x Lord of the Rings

After my last two terrible fic ideas, I challenged myself to come up with other PJO/HOO/TOA crossovers that shouldn't work but just actually might be onto something. And have I got the least likely - yet somehow not crack - crossover for you yet.

Or: What if Percy Jackson was dumped into the First Age of Middle-Earth?

Just bear with me:

According to the Ainulindalë, Eru Ilúvatar sang Middle-Earth into creation with the Ainur, a subset of which went on to become the Valar and Maiar who are the gods of that world.

But who is to say Middle-Earth is the only world Eru created? Maybe it was his masterpiece and he created a bunch of smaller, less well-planned and well-loved worlds for practice. Maybe some of the Ainur decided they wanted to get in on the world-building action after Middle-Earth was shut off from the rest and created our world as a playground of their own. Who knows? Regardless of details, because of this the Riordanverse exists in the same multiverse as Middle-Earth, with the protogenoi (Gaea, Chaos, Tartarus, &c) being some flavor of Ainur.

Because of this connection, it is possible to travel between one world created by Eru and another - if you have enough Ainur blood and no pressing desire to ensure you survive the journey or will be able to find your way back to your original world.

Just imagine it:

Echoing Son of Neptune, Percy Jackson washes ashore on the coast of Nevrast in Beleriand near Vinyamar in the year 495 of the First Age. He has no memories and carries nothing but the clothes on his back and a grief so heavy it would take the life of an elf.

He encounters Voronwë and Tuor on their way to Gondolin. They travel together for a while, but share no common language and part before they reach the hidden city. The pair name him Airëran, or Sea-Wanderer in Quenya.

Years pass. Percy wanders, spending most of his time alone by (or in) the sea with this grief. He eventually encounters Voronwë again after the Fall of Gondolin (FA 510) who brings him to one of the elvish settlements. By the Destruction of Bereiand (FA 587) many believe him to be blessed by Ulmo as Tuor was, but when the extent of Percy's demigod powers are made clear, they state that he is clearly half-Man, half-Maia, possibly even the son of Ossë himself.

Percy and Voronwë - now called Aerandír and Bronwë respectively after the Sindarin shift - spend most of the Second Age either at sea or in the Grey Havens. They travel farther than even the Númenorians, charting much of the world - but never travel West, in deference to Voronwë/Bronwë's failed voyage before they met. When the war against Sauron begins, they offer what naval assistance they can and fight at Dagorlad in the Last Alliance.

At the start of the Third Age, Percy and Voronwë/Bronwë set out to remap the oceans after the Changing of the World (SA 3319), lightheartedly grumbling about all their previous cartography being undone. Again.

Throughout all of this, Percy remembers nothing of his original life or family. As far as he's concerned, he is Airëran/Aerandír and always has been - except for the overwhelming, nameless grief he carries with him, though he's learned to live with it over the centuries. Snatches come back to him in dreams, but only ever the worst parts, which he actively tries to suppress.

That is, until c. TA 300, when Percy and Voronwë/Bronwë are caught in a great storm at sea. Percy is swept overboard - and encounters Ossë in the deep.

There is some info-dumping - mainly that Percy isn't Ossë's son, but something like his nephew given his ancestry, and that Percy must allow his suppressed memories to return for the good of Middle-Earth - before Percy is allowed to return to a panicked Voronwë/Bronwë.

Over the next thousand years, Percy eventually gains access to most of his memories.

Long story very short, the consequences of holding up the sky and traveling through Tartarus effected Annabeth in a way they never effected Percy, and within two years of becoming a professional architect in the mortal world she was diagnosed with stage-three cancer. She died six months after - and Percy's grief was homeric. He tried all the usual demigod tricks to get her back, but all the doors were shut to him - especially after Poseidon, not willing to have the same thing happen to the son of which he is so proud, gifted Percy with immortality and a position in his court. At this, Percy raged - but even this soon turned back to grief as his mortal family dies in a car accident and his demigod friends are killed by monsters and/or another divine war in which he can do nothing to help. He eventually found a spell that should allow him to go back to the start - but instead of taking Percy back to his fist day at CHB, it took him to the first world Eru created, Middle-Earth.

Most of the Third Age is Percy coming to terms with his past and using what he's learned with the elves all these years to get a handle on his grief.

He and Voronwë/Bronwë do, however, show up to fight at Pelennor Fields (3019 TA), and instead of commandeering the ships with black sails, Aragorn and company arrive to find they've been beaten to the task - and that Percy's fleet carries many Easterlings and Umbarians who'd rather fight against Sauron than for him.

When the Last Ship sails West, Percy and Voronwë/Bronwë join them and continue their adventures in Aman - and it's here that Percy's memories of interfacing with the gods in his first life are important, as Eru is taking more and more umbrage that the creatures he created in his image act like him and create things with their free will and don't always follow his plan. (Think What Song Can Fell the Mountain by CaveDwellers and Rhinocio.) But how that falls out is dealer's choice.

Bonuses include: 1) The slowest of slow burns between Percy and Voronwë, with Voronwë falling in love with Percy by their second meeting and Percy taking the next couple thousand years to realize oh, yes, I'm in love with him, when did that happen? This should be very much an exploration of love not needing physical intimacy to be real, as well as an acknowledgement that the shallow love Voronwë felt at their second meeting is dwarfed by the love he feels for Percy after getting to know him. All of Arda would breathe a sigh of relief when they get together, except most of them think the two have been together since Bereiand and just hadn't gotten around to physical intimacy until late in the game; 2) Random appearances of Maglor throughout the ages on various coastlines across the world - the last being when he joins Percy and Voronwë as they sail to Aman; and 3) Percy gaining a collection of names which should rival any and everyone in Middle-Earth with their size and number. These should be listed at some point for the eager hobbits after the Ring is destroyed and some brief telling of his deeds given, with Percy - and perhaps Voronwë - interjecting things like, so-and-so wasn't actually that impressive or wait, that guy was the king of those people? I thought he was just a jerk.

And that... was surprisingly more detailed than I thought it would be. As always, feel free to adopt this bun, just link back if you ever do anything with it.

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