Sergeant Carmichael Montgomery I came to the US shortly after the founding of the colony of Georgia in 1739. He was a son of Ares and devoutly loyal to Britain, as well as a lover of tradition. He fought in the Invasion of Georgia in 1742, after which he married and had two sons, both of whom became lawyers and did not inherit their father's love of king and country. This first Carmichael also starting the naming tradition, instructing both of his sons that after he died, the first boy born would be named Carmichael. I assume he didn't want the confusion of multiple Carmichaels running around.
Carmichael II was born in 1789, he became a military lawyer, and was overall pretty unremarkable. He died of cholera. His officer's sword is still in the trophy room in the family home. Well...a replica is. I zapped the original - swords don't do too well with lightning.
Carmichael III...now this guy is worth being named after. He was a son of Themis, and he was the first person in my family to be full-time at Camp Half Blood through his teen years. Those were all spent with the Hermes kids, of course, given the era, but what can you do? He fought for the Union in the Civil War, ended up killing his own brother - on the mortal side - at Gettysburg. Some of the family frowns on him for this, but really, how mad can you be about it? I find it quite relatable actually. I can think of a few relatives I would kill without hesitation given the right opportunity. He lost his leg during the war and went off to law school after. This man is the founder of the family law practice, Montgomery and Williamson LLP, which he started with his best friend from law school, Frederick Williamson. He married Frederick's sister Caroline, with whom he had three daughters, but she was mostly a cover for his lifelong relationship with Frederick. The only relative I like more than this gentleman is my mother.
Carmichael IV was actually my grandfather. He died before I was born, obviously, but my mother swears he was a great man. He had three wives, so I don't know how true that is. He became a fighter pilot during the second World War after graduating from the Citadel, which is unfortunate, because he's the reason I had to go to the Citadel. He was good at his job, I suppose. He was a Navy pilot so he operated off ships instead of land, although why anyone would ever willingly do that, I will never understand. He had kids with all his wives, and one, his oldest, and my least favorite uncle, with Aeolus. My mother is the youngest.
My family has, historically, had a bit of a boner for being great. Do I get it? Yeah, but the expectation that I should carry on those high standards is a bit much to take. So what if I want to party hard? Is that any reason to force me to go to military college or write me out of the will? Maybe that could be my great legacy - the only person in this family who doesn't have 87 sticks up my ass. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This really starts with my mom, I suppose, so let's talk about her.
My mother, Caroline Montgomery, is a great woman, not that I tell her that too often. She doesn't need her ego to grow any larger. She graduated top of her class from Vanderbilt Law School and went to work right away in the family practice. Personal injury cases are her specialty, but she likes any case that lets her legal team go against organizations that think they're bulletproof. She's a very intimidating woman, both in the office and outside of it. That said, she's also a very, very talented lawyer, and she made partner when she was 29. Nepotism? No, just a woman who's good at what she does and makes sure everyone else knows it.
She also very much has a thing for powerful people, so it was no surprise she was drawn to my father, Zeus, who by her description "was clearly the most powerful man in the pub." She doesn't talk about their relationship much, but when she does, the phrase "short but busy" tends to find its way into the conversation. I have never asked for clarification on that part, but I do know they were only together for a few weeks, by the end of which she was pregnant with me. I can tell she's a little burned by his leaving, but she maintains to this day that not everyone is cut out to handle her argumentative personality.
I've never met Zeus and I can't say I would particularly like to, and I of course never knew either of them when they were together, but I do think my mother is much happier with my stepmom. She's also a lawyer, so honestly, they're perfect for each other.
I was born August 1, 1994 in Candler Hospital, and I was the cutest baby in that whole place. My mom tells me I slept a lot as a baby, which is believable; I do like to sleep. She took me to work with her until I was old enough for preschool.
My younger years were fairly uneventful. Other kids thought it was weird that my family actively worships the Greek gods, which might make sense if I cared enough to think about it from their point of view, but it's all I've known. My mother did have to have the "you can't go around telling people you're a demigod" conversation with me before I reached the age where it was just weird and concerning instead of cute.
My least favorite uncle, a son of Aeolus, started training me when I was six...or tried. He was way too strict for my free-spirited self, so he didn't really get anywhere with me. He actually tried to spank me once, and I told on him to my mom, who kicked his ass with a practice sword, which I enjoyed watching very much.
I'm no stranger to ants. Even big ones: carpenter ants, cow ants, those weirdly large fire ants. But some ants really are just too big. I was eight and out with my uncle in the woods when we found some Myrmekes (these are the ants that are too big). I suppose they technically found us, but depending on who I'm telling the story to, I might try to spin it as a hunting trip instead of a hike that went downhill very quickly. Sometimes I will also adjust the number of them, but there were only two that we actually fought. What actually happened is my uncle used his windy powers to knock the ugly things over and then went nuts with his war hammer, but I did manage to zap one with a little bit of lightning. Not that it did much. We left the woods quickly after that, mostly because my uncle was concerned there would be more of them and I clearly wasn't ready, but I also needed to change my shorts pretty urgently.
I began going to Camp Half-Blood that summer and continued every summer until I graduated high school. I preferred the training there to whatever the hell my uncle was trying to do, but he still made me practice during the school year. It got a lot more satisfying when I could kick his ass though, which was nice. The training also helped me handle subsequent monster attacks without dying, which was also nice.
In school I generally would find the highest place I could reasonably get to and I would go there as often as I could. By the time I got to high school, which my mother was always telling me actually mattered for my future, I would usually limit myself to after school instead of cutting class. High school is also when I discovered - hang on to your seats, folks - drugs, which was great. I loved getting high while high, and yes I found it incredibly funny that I was high in two different ways at once.
But that's also why I ended up going to the Citadel for my undergrad, even though I originally applied just as a courtesy. My mom told me it was that or rehab - but to be clear, the only addiction I had was to having fun - so I suffered for four years but ultimately did pretty well. Made my mother happy, which is extremely important, and it looks good on my resume. I can be a good follower and I can be a good leader and I can be a nice and helpful person when I apply myself, but the thing is...that takes a lot of effort, and I really don't care that much most of the time.
I went to law school after, also to make my mother happy, hated it slightly less, and managed to pass the bar exam. Whether or not I had help from illicit substances is not relevant. I got a job at the family firm after, which is nice, it pays well, the work isn't that difficult, but I'm genuinely not cut out to stay at home for the rest of my life. An old friend from Camp - he still goes during the summer, he's like 30 now, why anyone would willingly continue to go I don't understand - told me about New Athens, and it sounds like it might not be a total waste of my time.
