Zagreus

Zagreus

Son of Hades
Joined
Oct 29, 2021
Messages
17
Essence
€4,009
Coin
₡11,250
Tokens
0
World
Kraw
Profile
Click Here
zagreus.png
Character Name: Zagreus
Character Source: Hades (2020)

Spent Essence: 3850
Affinities: Immortal

Character Behavior: Cordial Opportunist
Zagrius is generally good-natured, and prefers to make friends more than enemies. Even when fighting for his life, Zagreus is sure to make casual conversation, and may even try to help you work through your issues. That having been said, Zagreus also doesn't like to open up. His upbringing with his father has been a challenging one, and one that didn't reward emotional vulnerability. As such, he keeps his cards close to his chest, not to trick others around him, but to protect himself. Seriously, he's really nice. Even upon defeating his enemy, or being defeated, he says a good-natured farewell.

This contrasts with his fighting style. Zagreus is a survivor, and will use anything at his disposal to defeat his aggressors. Because of his special connection with the Olympians, he is able to prepare and adapt to certain battles with time. This makes him an unexpected opponent. One day, he'll be sprinting around, giving you many cuts with a bloodstained sword - other days, he'll throw a spear that crackles with lightning. Furthermore, he likes to use the environment to do his work for him, collapsing pillars and walls.

Physical Description:
Zagreus is a 5'11" male with mostly normal human anatomy. He has a lean-muscled body, lithe but strong. His skin is ashen grey, and pale enough to be corpselike. While he normally has bright green eyes, his right eye will flare with red light under duress. He has ruffled charcoal hair that sticks every which way, which is barely contained by a laurel wreath. The most unusual physical trait is his feet, which are constantly burning - notably, this seems to be a purely aesthetic fire, and doesn't actually do any damage to the floor he steps on. (Definitely burns right though any shoes he might wear though)

His outfit alludes to his divine status more clearly. He wears a loose blood-red himation that reveals his upper right torso, and stops just above his knees. Under it, he wears red trousers. The himation is held up by a pauldron made of two bestial skulls. Other skulls decorate various parts of his outfit, namely his belt and shinguards. The laurel wreath he wears almost looks like it's composed of fire, turning from dark red at the bottom to simmering yellow at the top. Finally, he has some red string tied neatly around his right forearm, and has two gold bracelets on his left forearm.

Character History:
The game's events begin because Zagreus (with the secret help of Nyx and the other members of the Underworld's high court) discovers that his mother is in the mortal realm. He decides to break the Underworld's laws and escape to the mortal realm. Well, he attempts it. The Underworld is treacherous and the entire realm is devoted to keeping things inside. However, he has (with Nyx's help) reached out to the Olympians. They send what little blessings they can to the Underworld, hoping Zagreus will find them and put them to good use. With their help (and the help of some of the Underworld’s residents), Zagreus finally managed to escape the Underworld, slaying his own father (temporarily, of course) and stepping foot in the living world.

After the spoiler-filled events of his brief time in the surface world, Zagreus collapsed. After all, he was a Cthonic God, and the laws of the cosmos demanded that he not step foot in the realm of the living. He died, melting into blood as he always does, and was carried down the Styx back home. But in another world, Zagreus’ remains were carried somewhere else. When he awoke, he wasn’t in the grim halls of Hades, but in the dense jungles of Kraw.

SPOILERS FOR HADES:
Zagreus is the son of Hades and Persephone. In this version of the myths, Persephone willingly left Olympus, joined Hades in the Underworld, and they married because they loved each other. Their happy (though secret) life changed when they had Zagreus. Zagreus was stillborn, devastating his parents. Persephone believed that this was because of her and Hades' clashing divine essences - Hades was a god of death, and Persephone was a goddess of life. She ran away, leaving a letter to the already heartbroken Hades.

Nyx, the goddess of night, was distraught at seeing Hades so depressed, and asked the Fates to revive Zagreus. It worked, but it was too little, too late. By law, nobody could leave the Underworld, and Persephone had not elaborated exactly where she had gone. All anyone knew was that she would be in the mortal realm. To make things worse, Hades insisted that nobody ever mention Persephone again. He did this to protect Persephone's privacy - if word got out that Persephone was in the mortal realm, the Olympians would surely come to collect her and drag her back to Olympus. Nyx became Zagreus' foster mother, and to everyone's knowledge, was his birth mother.

Zagreus ended up (after many attempts) circumventing the defenses of the Underworld, even defeating his own father in a fight to the death. He escaped the Underworld and met his mother. Zagreus wasn't able to survive long in the land of the living, being an entity of the Underworld, but after many conversations with his mother, Zagreus convinced Persephone to return to her station as Queen of the Underworld. A banquet with the Olympians later, the Underworld was in harmony.

Misc Notes: Zagreus can hear his own narrator in his head. It is unclear why he can do this, and he rarely acknowledges this. He takes care to NEVER interact with the narrator when he is around other people he talks to, and if caught doing so, will deflect and say that he was just talking to himself. Whenever he talks to the narrator, he calls the narrator “old man”. The narrator, for his own part, rarely acknowledges Zagreus’ snide comments. This effect will almost never give him an edge in combat, and the narrator seems to have control over what Zagreus can hear. In other words, this effect usually happens for jokes, not to disrupt dramatic irony. It wouldn't give Zagreus any information he wouldn't have within reason - if it does, it's because Zagreus should've noticed it (that idiot).

Furthermore, while it isn't consistent with English standards, the narrator will use "[adjective] [proper name]" in line with Classical Greek epithets. (see: "rosy-fingered dawn" or "god-like Achilles") This effect was used to great effect in the original game, and I intend to do the same.
 
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Zagreus

Son of Hades
Joined
Oct 29, 2021
Messages
17
Essence
€4,009
Coin
₡11,250
Tokens
0
World
Kraw
Profile
Click Here
ABILITIES
SON OF HADES [500]
[Approved]
Adaptation
- Starvation and Thirst [+50]
- Need for Sleep [+50]
- Incredible Heat Environments [+100]

Sense (Danger+Life Energy) Rank 1 [200]
- Ongoing [+100]

As the Prince of the Underworld, Zagreus has some divine advantages. He is attuned to the Plane of Death, and therefore cannot die of old age, starvation. Like his father, his fiery feet protect from extreme heat, even allowing him to survive being in contact with lava for a short moment. Also, he’s set some boundaries with his adoptive brother Hypnos, so now he never needs to sleep.

Finally, his divine senses allow him to sense things differently from how mortals do. Entities that are alive or undead radiate a golden glow, which grows stronger the more “alive” the target is. He can also sense immediate danger, which he sees in a bright pink outline.

SHADOWDASH [300]
[Approved]
Teleport Rank 1

All of the Olympians can teleport over practically infinite distances. Zagreus, however, is just a godling. He can dash forward divinely quickly for a short moment, even zipping through thin walls, essentially functioning as teleportation. However, he cannot use this Ability consecutively, and must run at regular speed for at least one second before he may use it again.

STYGIUS, BLADE OF THE UNDERWORLD [100]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 1

A one-handed sword with a skull for a hilt and runes along the blade. Zagreus has spent most of his life training with this blade, and is VERY good with it.

STYGIUS SPECIAL: NOVA SMASH [250]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 5
- Affects Multiple [+50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]
- Side Effect (Long recovery) [-50]

Zagreus leaps into the air and smashes his blade into the ground with all his might, creating a shockwave that damages those around him. This shockwave will wreck anything (including allies) within 15 feet, doing decent damage. As awesome as this ability is, it costs Zagreus a few precious seconds to recover from it, what with the pulling the sword out of the ground.

AEGIS, SHIELD OF CHAOS [300]
[Approved]
Protection Rank 5 [100]
- Removable [-50]
Damage Rank 1 [100]
- Removable [-50]

Aegis is the ancient weapon of Chaos, god of the void. In the past, Zagreus used this mostly as a bludgeoning weapon. Though it can still be used in such a way, Zagreus finds it more useful as a shield these days. Though a divine weapon, Aegis is functionally a regular shield, and can be removed from Zagreus' person the ways you could remove any other shield.

AEGIS SPECIAL: THROW [300]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 3 [100]
- Affects Multiple [+50]
- Ranged [+50]
- Indirect [+100]
- Chaotic [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]
- Side Effect (Cannot use Aegis Abilities) [-50]
- Removable [-50]

While wielding Aegis, Zagreus can throw his mighty shield at a decent range. It careens and bounces wildly and out of Zagreus' control, generally but not exclusively aiming for enemies. As such, it can even hit friendly targets. Thankfully, this means the shield can come from any angle, even if Zagreus cannot see the target at the moment. While the shield is airborne, Zagreus is unable to use any Abilities associated with Aegis, including Boons. The shield tends to return to Zagreus after bouncing a few times (2-4), but the shield can be removed from his person.

CAST BLOODSTONE [200]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 2
- Ranged [+50]
- Finite (3 shots) [-50]

Zagreus has three Bloodstones, a material for which he has a natural affinity. He can channel them into a hemomantic projectile, which travels for about 10 meters at the speed of a fastball before reverting into its Bloodstone form. If the attack lands, the Bloodstone rematerializes embedded into the target. Zagreus must retrieve these Bloodstones to replenish his ammunition. If the Bloodstones are lost for whatever reason, then he must manifest more over the course of several hours.

BOONS
Zagreus can activate any Ability tagged "Boon" at-will. Every time he activates a Boon, he must specify which weapon is being enhanced by the Boon. Once he activates a Boon, he must wait until he is out-of-combat to reattune to a new Boon, or even turn the current Boon off.

WEAPON BOON: Curse of Pain [600]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 4 [100]
- Indirect [+100]
- Triggered (One second after a successful blow with attuned weapon) [+50]
- Limited (Can only use if the weapon has no other Boons) [-50]

Zagreus enhances his weapon with the bloodlust of the God of War. Once he attunes a weapon to this Boon, every successful attack with it will curse the target. The curse visually appears as a sword made of blood hovering over the target's head. The sword follows the cursed target's position. After one second, the sword falls on the target's head, dealing an impressive amount of damage. This ability does not stack; only one Curse of Pain may be active at a time. However, Ares does not care to arbitrate friend or foe; anyone Zagreus strikes with the attuned weapon will feel the Curse of Pain. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot use this on a weapon if there is already another Boon active.

WEAPON BOON: Tempest Strike [300]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 3 [100]
- Triggered (After a successful blow with attuned weapon) [+50]
- Limited (Can only attune if weapon has no other Boons) [-50]

Move Object Rank 3 [100]
- Triggered (After a successful blow with attuned weapon) [+50]
- Limited (Can only attune if weapon has no other Boons) [-50]

Zagreus enhances his weapon with the force of the God of the Seas. Once he is attuned to this Boon, every successful attack with the weapon will unleash a torrent of seawater. This seawater is as powerful as the tide, doing extra damage to the target and knocking them back 10 feet at high speeds. However, Poseidon does not care to arbitrate friend or foe; anyone Zagreus strikes with his attuned weapon will be affected by the Tempest Strike. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot use this Boon on a weapon if there is already another Boon active on that weapon.

DASH BOON: Hyper Sprint
[500]
[Approved]
Speed Rank 2
- Ongoing [+100]
- Triggered (Used Shadowdash) [+50]
- Limited (Must have no other Boons on Shadowdash) [-50]
- Concentration [-50]

Zagreus is fast, but Hermes IS speed. Thankfully, the God of Travelers is willing to share some trade secrets. While using this Boon, Zagreus can sprint VERY quickly for extended periods of time. However, he has to focus hard on where he is going so he doesn’t crash into anything. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot activate this ability if he is currently using another Boon on Shadowdash.

DASH BOON: Divine Dash [500]
[Approved]
Protection Rank 5
- Triggered (Using Shadowdash) [+50]
- Limited (Must have no other Boons on Shadowdash) [-50]

Zagreus’ adventure started with reaching out to Athena, and his connection with the Goddess of Wisdom has enhanced his natural speed. When (and only when) Zagreus dashes, surrounded by ethereal shields. While he is dashing, Zagreus is protected from some damage, but he is vulnerable afterwards. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot use this ability if Shadowdash is attuned to a different Boon.

NOT YET BOUGHT
SPECIAL BOON: Thunder Flourish [600]
[Approved]
Damage Rank 3
- Affects Multiple [+50]
- Ongoing [+100]
- Triggered (when a target is struck by a Special move) [+50]
- Limited (Can only use if Special has no other Boons) [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]

This Boon invokes the power of Zeus whenever Zagreus exerts himself with his weapon. A flourish of lightning falls from the sky, striking whoever was struck by Zagreus’ Special move. The targets will course with electricity for about 10 seconds after they are struck, doing additional damage over time. Zeus is a little trigger-happy with his lightning, however, and will even strike those that Zagreus considers an ally. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot activate this Boon if there is another Boon on his Special move.

SPECIAL BOON: Heartbreak Flourish [500]
[Approved]
Debuff Rank 5
- Affects Multiple [+50]
- Triggered (when a target is struck by a Special move) [+50]
- Limited (Special move must have no other Boons) [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]

With this Boon, whenever Zagreus does damage with a Special move, Aphrodite’s withering influence can be felt. The Goddess of Love curses the target with heartbreak, filling them with a sense of hopelessness, lowering their willingness to fight. Unfortunately, Aphrodite cares not for who Zagreus considers a friend - this Boon will affect anyone struck by a Special move. Like with all Boons, Zagreus cannot activate this Boon if there is another Boon on his Special move.

NOT EVEN APPROVED YET
WEAPON BOON: Frost Strike
Debuff Rank 3
- Ongoing [+100]
- Triggered (After a successful blow with attuned weapon) [+50]
- Limited (Can only attune if weapon has no other Boons) [-50]

CAST BOON: True Shot
Damage Rank 3
- Indirect [+100]
- Triggered (when Zagreus uses Cast Bloodstone) [+50]
- Limited (Can only attune if Cast has no other Boons) [-50]

This Boon grants Zagreus supporting fire. Whenever Zagreus casts Bloodstone on a target, an array of green arrows sprout out from behind him and home in on the target. Like all Boons, Zagreus cannot activate this Boon if there is another Boon on his Cast Bloodstone.

CAST BOON: Trippy Shot
Debuff Rank 3
- Affects Multiple [+50]
- Triggered (when Zagreus uses Cast Bloodstone) [+50]
- Limited (Can only attune if Cast has no other Boons) [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]

This Boon makes you hella turnt. Whenever Zagreus casts Bloodstone on a target, the Bloodstone explodes into purple fog. This fog is hard to see through, and breathing in too much of it disorients you and makes you lose balance - basically, making you drunk, even if you physicall can't get drunk. Like all Boons, Zagreus cannot activate this Boon if there is another Boon on his Cast Bloodstone.

DUO BOON: Sea Storm
Damage Rank 3
- Triggered (when a target is affected by a Zagreus Move Object ability) [+50]
- Limited (must have a Poseidon and Zeus boon active) [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]

By combining the powers granted by Zeus and Poseidon, Zagreus becomes unto a thunderstorm. Whenever a target is affected by a Move Object ability Zagreus uses, a lightning bolt strikes the target from... somewhere? This is an automatic effect and happens whenever Zagreus moves a target forcefully. In fact, the lightning strikes regardless of whether or not Zagreus wants it, meaning it can hit a friendly target. This Ability is only active when Zagreus is using both a Poseidon boon and a Zeus boon.

DUO BOON: Curse of Longing
Damage Rank 4 [100]
- Ongoing [+100]
- Triggered (Curse of Pain is activated) [+50]
- Limited (Must have Curse of Pain and an Aphrodite boon active) [-50]
- Indiscriminate [-50]

By combining the powers granted by Ares and Aphrodite, Zagreus can cause hearts to bleed. Whenever a target is damaged by Curse of Pain, an array of similar bloody swords will riddle the target for five seconds. This is an automatic effect and happens whenever a target (friendly or not) is affected by Curse of Pain.
 
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