Achilles is the son of Thetis, a Nereid, and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Achilles grew up in Phthia with his companion Patroclus until Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, who lived on Mount Pelion, to be reared. Thetis foretold that her son's fate was either to gain glory and die young, or to live a long but uneventful life in obscurity. Achilles chose the former, and decided to take part in the Trojan War. His right-hand man and lover is Patroclus.