Luke Castellan

"Did you love me?"

- Luke to Annabeth moments before his death.

Luke Castellan is the son of the Greek god Hermes in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He holds a grudge against the gods, and is trying to awaken the Titan Kronos (a.k.a. Cronus) to destroy the Olympian gods. He wields a sword called Backbiter. He is one of the main antagonists of the series.

Before the Series
Much of Luke's early life is unknown, but that he was born to May Castellan and Hermes and that when he was around a year old his mother attempted to become the next host of the Oracle but was unaware of the curse Hades put on the current host and was driven insane. After this incident May would have occasional visions which would cause her eyes to glow green scaring Luke so much he ran away from when he was nine. Later two important events occured that developed his character, and his hatred for the gods. After finding out he was a demigod (half-god, half-mortal), he journeyed at the age of fourteen with three of the eventual protagonists, Annabeth Chase a daughter of Athena, Thalia Grace a daughter of Zeus and Grover Underwood a satyr to find Camp Half-Blood, a safe-haven for demigods. However, when they were almost there, they were attacked by monsters sent by Hades, and Thalia sacrificed herself to rescue her friends. Zeus, took pity on her and turned her into a pine tree to keep her from dying. About three years later, Luke now seventeen was given a quest by Hermes- to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hespirides. He was given the quest, but scarred in the face by Ladon, the dragon that guarded the tree with the gold apples. Enraged that he was given a quest with no glory (because Hercules did it once) and then failing, and his belief that the gods let Thalia die, he began to plot against the gods.

The Lightning Thief
Luke serves as the hidden main antagonist in The Lightning Thief.

When Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, arrives at Camp Half-Blood, a now nineteen year old Luke pretends to be his friend and is successful in earning his trust. When Percy gets a quest to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt along with Annabeth and Grover, Luke gives him a pair of winged sneakers. Percy gives these to Grover because Zeus, who holds a grudge against Poseidon, will not let a son of Poseidon enter his "domain", meaning he is not allowed to fly. Later, the protagonists reach Tartarus, which was the pit where the gods cast their enemies. The winged sneakers began to drag Grover to the pit because he was wearing them. Grover manages to get them off, and they escape before Kronos can pull them in. Later, after the lightning blot is retrieved, and Percy is back at camp, Luke admits to Percy that he stole Zeus's lightning bolt, framed Poseidon, and enchanted the winged sneakers to drag the wearer into Tartarus. He sets a scorpion on Percy, which stings him. Luke flees, and Percy is barely saved by the other campers.

The Sea of Monsters
Luke returns as the second main antagonist in Sea of Monsters, with Kronos being the true main antagonist.

The following year, Percy along with Annabeth and his Cyclops half-brother Tyson leave Camp-Half Blood when they get a quest to find the golden fleece when Thalia's pine tree is poisoned. They encounter Luke, who is captain of the Princess Andromeda, which is a demon cruise ship. Here, he tells the protagonists that every time a half-blood joins their cause, a piece of Kronos appears in the sarcophagus that is on their ship. The protagonists manage to escape the ship, and later get the golden fleece. Luke captures them again, and is enraged to learn that Percy sent the fleece ahead with another hero Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares. Luke was planning on using the fleece to speed up Kronos's revival, and also admits he poisoned Thalia's tree. Percy challenges Luke to a sword-fight, and they escape again with the help of Chiron, Camp Half-Blood's director, and his gang of centaurs.

The Titan's Curse
Months later Luke gets the Titan Atlas to join his side when he and his allies capture the goddess Artemis, and make her bear his burden- holding up the weight of the sky. He also plans on sacrificing the entrails of a creature known as the Ophiotaurus, to gain unlimited power over the gods. This plan fails when Thalia refuses to join Luke and sacrifice the Ophiotaurus, and the heroes, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Zoe, and Thalia, free Artemis, defeat Luke, and force Atlas back under the sky.

The Battle of the Labrynth
Luke somehow manages to survive after Thalia presumeably kills him in the previous book. Now, he is trying to use Daedalus's labrynth as a way to transport his army into Camp Half-Blood and around the world. At the end of the book, Percy opens Kronos's sarcophagus (see The Sea of Monsters above), and finds Luke in it, with a piece of his chest missing. When Ethan, son of Nemisis, the goddess of revenge, joins the Anti-Olympian cause, Kronos is awakened in Luke's body. His sword Backbiter was reforged into Cronus's Bronze Scythe. However, Kronos was not fully accustomed to Luke's body, as seen when the mortal girl Rachel Elizabeth Dare throws a blue hairbrush at his eye, and Luke briefly regains his senses.

The Last Olympian
In The Last Olympian, much more is revealed about Luke's own past. Luke bathed in the river Styx so that he wouldn't disintegrate as Kronos entered his body. In order to confront him, Percy, with the assistance of Nico, also bathes in the Styx to increase his power. Later in the story, Percy and 40 other members of Camp-Half Blood plus the Hunters of Artemis team up to hold off Kronos and his seige of Mount Olympus. Kronos finally makes it to the throne room of Olympus where he is confronted by Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. They fight Kronos, who manages to wound Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth manages to talk Luke to his senses, while Kronos prepares to assume his true form, which would kill Luke and the others. Luke manages to fight Kronos out of his mind, and kills himself by stabbing himself in his "Achilles Heel",his armpit, which became his weak spot after bathing in the Styx. In his dying moments Luke asks Annabeth if she ever loved him to which she says no as he was like a brother to her. In his dying breath he asks Percy not to let the unclaimed demigods be forgotten again.