Tartarus

"I will teach this world the nature of pain."

-Tartarus, Lord of the Pit

Tartarus, also known as Veles or Surtur, is the Primordial of the Abyss. Though he is the weakest of the Primordials, he remains one of the most powerful beings in Creation. Due to his lesser status among his siblings, Tartarus delights in flaunting his power and terrorizing the lesser beings of the cosmos whenever he is active, which has given rise to his reputation as one of the most vile and monstrous beings in existence. Spiteful and wicked, Tartarus is known as the Father of Monsters, for having spawned numerous repugnant entities and unleashing them for the purpose of blighting Creation with chaos and misery.

In the Prime
Tartarus was the last and least of the Primordials to form within the infinite depths of the Prime. When he initially came into being, Tartarus was extremely talkative and outgoing, constantly seeking out the company of his siblings. Unfortunately, his fellow Primordials found Tartarus to be a pest. Gaia, whilst initially kind to him, spent most of her time in the company of Ouranos, who found his constant chatter annoying, and violently cast him across the Prime whenever his patience wore thin. Aeon tolerated his presence, but the eldest of the Primordials was not the social sort, and Tartarus was put off by their coldness. Apophis and Ra constantly argued with and insulted one another, and when Tartarus attempted to interact with them, he was often scorned. Lastly, Nyx, his sister, took great pleasure playing cruel jokes on him, often telling Tartarus that one of their siblings wanted to see him, or that they had praised him in some way. Tartarus eventually learned to avoid her too. Scorned by his siblings, he became intensely lonely, and often wandered the endless expanses of the Prime by himself, wishing that the other Primordials would like him.

The Plan for Creation
Tartarus was the first of the Primordials that Ra recruited to his plan for Creation, after being instructed to gather their support by Aeon. When Ra approached, Tartarus was thrilled that one of his siblings had for the first time ever sought his company out of their own volition. He was swept away by Ra's grand proposition, of a world within the Prime, where the Primordials would work together to create all manner of wonders. Tartarus was thrilled by the idea, especially when Ra put forth the suggestion that, not only would Tartarus be able to spend time with him and their other siblings on their project, but that they could even create other beings, all of whom would surely love and adore their makers. The prospect of gaining such acceptance enthralled Tartarus, and he eagerly pledged Ra his support.

When all the Primordials had agreed to participate in Creation, bar Apophis, Tartarus was filled with excitement. However, when Apophis refused to give his support, stating that what they had in the Prime was perfect already, Tartarus exploded into a rage, the prospect of the love and acceptance he so craved being denied him causing him to feel anger for the first time ever. Furiously, he denounced Apophis for his selfishness, exclaiming that everyone else wanted to Creation, and that if he didn't, it was too bad for him. Ouranos, to Tartarus's surprise and delight, agreed with him, stating that they should make Creation whether Apophis wanted to or not. When Aeon reminded the group that they would all need to enter Creation in order for it to exist, Ra demanded that Apophis should be forced into it, which Tartarus wholeheartedly supported. As the seven Primordials were bound into Creation, Tartarus could barely contain his excitement.

Age of Genesis
As the Primordials began their Creation, creating the Void and beginning the placement of checks of their own power within it, Tartarus participated within these early makings of Creation. He felt somewhat guilty at the anguish it caused Apophis to be so constrained, but deemed it a necessary evil to ensure that his dreams of companionship could come to fruition. With the initial groundwork for Creation laid, Tartarus brought up the previous idea that Ra had put to him, being that they create other life forms.

Tartarus was eager to have new friends, and as his siblings were in the midst of setting the laws of the world and creating the basic forms of energy and matter, he busied himself with attempting to form rules for the housing of consciousness, so that he could create companions for himself. His sister, Nyx took interest in his initial design, improving upon it and eventually bringing it before the other Primordials, leading to the creation of souls. Nyx took all the credit for the invention, leaving out the fact that Tartarus had been the one to initially come up with the idea. When Tartarus angrily protested Nyx's proclamation that the entire design had been her idea, the other Primordials quickly dismissed Tartarus's claims as childish antics and attempts at seeking attention. Tartarus was deeply wounded and humiliated by the scorn his brethren showed to him. Even Gaia, who had always been kinder to him than the rest, gently insisted that he stop lying and trying to take credit for Nyx's work.

Distraught and angered at this betrayal, Tartarus nonetheless remained hopeful. He put forth several propositions for the new beings that they planned to create, proposing they make beings equal to themselves within Creation, and that every creature be gifted with the ability to create companions for themselves. Ra and Ouranos both vehemently opposed the first suggestion, insisting that the beings that they made should not be their equals. The ability to self reproduce being granted to the lesser beings was denied, for the most part, with the exception of certain extremely primitive life forms, and it was at this point that the concepts of gender and sex were created. Tartarus himself elected to take on a male form.

Further Humiliation
As the first souls and life forms were created, Tartarus sought out his siblings, asking for them to teach him how to use the various matters and energies they had created, and to participate in helping them build the worlds they were working on. However, thanks largely to the efforts of Ouranos, who did not wish to have any competition for Gaia's attention, Tartarus was mostly excluded from these works. Gaia managed to instruct Tartarus in the powers of Life, though before she could complete his education, Ouranos forced Tartarus away. While Ouranos did not restrict Tartarus's time with Ra, the newly named Primordial of Light was not partial to his company, though Tartarus was not able to see through his brother's mask of kindness yet, and was genuinely convinced that Ra liked him. Ra reluctantly tought Tartarus the use of Fire so as to avoid his pestering, but as for the other Divine Dominions, Tartarus was left to learn largely through observation, and never mastered them to the same extent as his siblings. Still, even with his imperfect skills, Tartarus set about creating worlds of his own, using the methods he had watched his siblings employ. When he was done, he proudly proclaimed his success, and showed off the realms he had made. Ouranos and Nyx both laughed at him, mocking his inferior attempts. Gaia attempted to compliment his efforts, but the humiliated Tartarus fled, retreating to the worlds he had made.

For a long while, Tartarus was left to his own devices, and he created many lesser life forms, and doted upon them all like a father upon his children, and they in turn loved him. However, Tartarus eventually sensed a sudden surge of power pulse through Creation, and the creatures he had made suddenly began to wither away before his eyes. The laws of Death had been decided upon and imposed, and Tartarus had not been consulted, even though the life forms he had made would also be subjected to mortality. Not only that, but the alterations that had been made to life across Creation demanded that now, living organisms would be forced to kill one another to survive, which horrified Tartarus, and drove him to such rage that he attacked Ouranos, the mightiest of his siblings. Of course, the confrontation did not go well, and he was contemptuously cast aside.

The Malice of Apophis
With it now being possible to destroy these newly mortal creatures, Apophis, still vengeful and angry about being confined by Creation against his will, lashed out against the various realms his siblings had made. Ouranos easily subdued him when he attacked the Terrene realms, however, delivering a savage beating and casting him towards Tartarus's domain. When Tartarus tried to console his spiteful sibling, and show him how wonderful Creation was by giving Apophis a tour of his own worlds, the bitter Apophis lashed out, and began attacking Tartarus's creations. Horrorstruck, Tartarus fought back, attempting desparately to defend the realms under his care, and more importantly, the races that resided within them. He was no match for Apophis, however, and was badly battered and forced to watch as his beloved progeny were slaughtered.

Desperate, he rushed to Ouranos, begging him to intervene and protect his worlds as he had the Terrene Realms. Ouranos contemptuously declared that he would not waste his time defending "such trash", and refused to lift a finger in aid. Ouranos further warned that if Tartarus attempted to drag Gaia into the matter, that Tartarus would suffer his wrath. Tartarus had no choice but to leave, but this time, he went to seek help from Ra. While not as powerful as Ouranos, Tartarus believed Ra to be his friend. So it was that when he went to implore Ra's aid, the response he recieved was soul crushing. Ra finally revealed the true contempt he had always felt for Tartarus, denouncing him as a simpering coward, weakling, and lickspittle. If Tartarus was so feeble as to be unable to defend what was his, then it deserved to be destroyed. Heartbroken, Tartarus still sought aid. Though he new of Nyx's contempt for him, it still hurt when she laughed in his face after hearing his plea.

With all his pleas scorned, Tartarus returned to his worlds to see what damage had been wrought. To his horror, he found that not only had every one been scoured of life, but that Apophis was in the process of obliterating the worlds themselves. Tartarus once more tried to save what remained of his creations, but was brought low by Apophis for a second time, and helplessly observed the utter destruction of everything he had built. After Apophis departed, the despairing Tartarus turned to his final sibling: Aeon, who had devoted themselves almost fully to the maintenence of Creation's laws. Tartarus beseeched Aeon to use their power over Time to undo the destruction of Tartarus's realms, or at the very least, to teach him how to do so. Aeon coldly denied the request.

Beginnings of Embitterment
Tartarus was left to retreat into the depths of the Void, and start anew. He interacted little with his siblings from that point, largely ignoring Ouranos's proclaimation that Creation was his. All the while, Tartarus brooded on the slights and humiliations that had been heeped upon him by his brethren, and his despair gradually turned to loathing. As the Age of Thunder began with Ouranos taking command of Creation, Tartarus dedicated himself to a new great work, creating a new plane of realms to call his own: The Abyss. His new creation was tainted by every ounce of bitterness that he felt towards his cruel siblings and the great works he had not been allowed to participate in. When the creation of the Abyss was complete, Tartarus began to spawn new races of creatures, all of which would be brutal and vicious, so as to survive any hardship that they might experience within the cruel and unforgiving Creation that his siblings had made.

The First Wedding
At the beginning of the the Age of Thunder, Tartarus, along with all other Primordials and hundreds of thousands of lesser beings, were forced to attend the First Wedding, where Gaia and Ouranos were joined together for all time. Ra, Tartarus's most hated sibling, was made to officiate the wedding. All guests were required to contribute a gift to the couple. Tartarus begrudgingly gifted them one of the most powerful creature in the Abyss, which had come into being sporadically from the magical power present in one of its realms. This creature was Kampe, one of the first Eidolons, and Tartarus had raised her as his daughter.

Tartarus knew he would have to send her to Ouranos, as he had little that the master of the Master of the Heavens would accept as a gift, and had yet to produce any creature as mighty as Kampe on his own. Nor could he bring himself to send one of his lesser creations to Ouranos, knowing they would simply be annihilated by him at best, and at worse, Ouranos would revenge the "insult" upon the rest of the Abyss. The loss of Kampe further poisoned Tartarus against Ouranos.

When she was presented to him Ouranos proclaimed that Kampe was a hideous, disgusting creature as soon as he set eyes on her. The shame of being insulted by the Lord of All Creation was tremendous, and seeing his child so disrespected enraged Tartarus, though Ra's telepathic intercession halted him from being goaded into attack by Ouranos's insults. Ra then went on to praise Kampe's evident prowess and power, prompting her to demonstrate it by destroying a mountain, causing Ouranos to admit that while she was ugly, Kampe might be actually worthy of serving him, and thanked Tartarus for the gift.

Fuming, Tartarus accepted the thanks with what little grace he could muster. Naturally, he dismissed Ra's unusual act of kindness as some sort of ploy to regain his trust.

After the ceremony, Gaia, who had taken note of Tartarus's distress, sought him out, reassuring him that Kampe would be treated well, and serve as her personal handmaiden. Tartarus gruffly thanked her, and made his departure back to the Abyss, where he continued to brood on the injustices he had suffered.

The Skyfather's Spawn
After Gaia gave birth to two broods of offspring he considered deformed, Ouranos came to Tartarus in the Abyss, accusing him of having sired the twisted children. Tartarus nearly denied the accusation, as it was not true, but a malicious thought struck him. A chance of vengeance, for being forced to give up his child. He made a show of confession to Ouranos, telling him that Gaia had offered herself to him willingly, and that the six children Ouranos despised were in fact, Tartarus's. Tartarus weathered the brutal beating Ouranos unleashed upon him, and withstood the loss of several Abyssal realms that Ouranos laid to waste. His gambit paid off, however, as Ouranos sent the "bastard children" into the Abyss, commanding Tartarus to take charge of his ill made whelps, and barred them from ever leaving Tartarus's domain. Just as Tartarus planned, six of Ouranos's sons had been delivered into his clutches, where he would raise them to despise their father utterly.

He did just that. From infancy, Arges, Brontes, Steropes, Briares, Cottus, and Gyges were all taught to loathe Ouranos, their father. Tartarus nurtured them on tales of his arrogance and brutishness, telling them of how Ouranos had barred him from full participation in Creation, and demeaned him at every opportunity. He taught them of how Ouranos had despised them simply because of how they looked, and cast them down to live with Tartarus. That was not the end of their education, though. Tartarus also taught them how to create, and to build, for those were his greatest pleasures. The Cyclopes, under his guidance, became great craftsmen, building great settlements and cities, and the Hekatonkheires spent their time reshaping landscapes, largely making them more habitable for the denizens of the Abyss.

Though Tartarus had intended for his worlds to be harsh, to make their inhabitants strong and resilient, he indulged in these acts. Despite the initial malice that had gone into achieving custody of the young giants, and the contempt which he felt for their father, Tartarus was coming to care for the six of them as sons. They, after all, were innocent, and had never done him any harm. In fact, they were just as much victims of Ouranos's cruelty as he was.

Physical Appearance
Tartarus typically appears as a towering, thirty foot giant, with a pair of wide, upward facing horns sprouting from his head. His body is composed of heated stone, much of which is in a molten state, with lava bubbling out across his flesh and beneath his skin. Tartarus's head burns with flames, and his eyes appear as great furnaces. When he is agitated, the fire and lava cross his body intensifies.

Personality
Tartarus is without a doubt one of the most monstrous and evil beings in existence. Cruel, wrathful, and unforgiving, Tartarus delights in causing pain and suffering wherever he can. Though physical torture is greatly enjoyable to him, Tartarus is more partial to emotional and mental torment. There is nothing he enjoys more than corrupting those that others in Creation might consider noble or good into wickedness and depravity. Tartarus relishes watching brave warriors turn to bloodthirsty butchers and idealistic leaders to corrupt demagogues, and all other descents into wickedness.

Beneath his cruel exterior, however, Tartarus is a sad and pathetic creature. He craves obeisance, fear and respect, demanding it from all he comes into contact with, and making them suffer if he does not immediately receive it. That is because he never received it from his Primordial siblings, being the last and least of them all, and was constantly abused by them, his ideas for Creation dismissed or mocked, and his desires utterly ignored.

Tartarus is truly a typical bully, enjoying tormenting those who are too weak to fight back against him, but a coward at heart, who will run the first time he is confronted by someone who is not feeble or frightened enough to bend to his will. If ever he encounters a situation where he might be overpowered, he will always, always flee, or if that is not possible, attempt to bluster, then to beg if that fails.

He is at his at his core a lonely, scared thing, filled with depthless turmoil and pain. But that pain rolls out over all Creation, as Tartarus lashes out at whatever he can. Eons of bitterness have twisted him into a violent, temperamental, sadistic monster, obsessed with self aggrandizement through fear.

Stats
Power Level: 13

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 9

Endurance: 10

Intelligence: 11

Charisma: 11

Perception: 10