Ares

"A warrior does not face his greatest foes on the battlefield, but in his own heart. Fear, bloodlust, or pride will bring him low just as surely as the arms of his enemies."

-Ares, Olympian God of War

Ares is the firstborn son of Zeus and Hera, and the Olympian God of War. One of the deadliest warriors in all Creation, Ares is renowned for his skill as a general and devastating power as a warrior. Hardened by numerous defeats caused by his own arrogance and lust for battle, and driven to better himself by the scorn he faced from his own family, Ares has worked for centuries to become focused and disciplined, learning to wield his innate ferocity like a finely honed razor.

Early Life
One of the only trueborn children of Zeus and his wife, Hera, Ares was the first of their comparatively small brood, born in the early years of the Silver Age, after his parents put an end to the reign of Kronos. It is said when his father first held him and reached out to tickle his nose, that the infant Ares bit his father’s finger so hard that blood was drawn.

For the first few years of his life, Ares was spoiled and indulged, especially by his mother, Hera, who doted upon him. As the king's firstborn son and heir, Ares had servants to attend his every whim, and access to nearly anything he wanted. He also received a fair amount of attention from his father at that time, and Zeus often sat the boy upon his knee while he held court. Ares, however, was never one for sitting about, even as a young child, and often spent those dull and tedious sessions squirming in his father's lap and occasionally throwing fireballs at the hapless courtiers.

Aggressive, wild, and short tempered, Ares terrorized the servants of Olympus, prompting his father, exasperated with his son's never ending antics, to press him into combat training to provide him an outlet for his rambunctious energy. Zeus occasionally supervised Ares's learning himself, but as Zeus grew busier with the tedium of rule, Hera more often presided over the boy, and more often still, the other members of the court. With the birth of many of Ares's half siblings, however, Ares's mother began pushing him even further and harder to excel, so that he might outshine them.

Spurned Suitor
At the age of six, Ares's mother Hera proposed to Zeus that their son be betrothed to Persephone, Zeus's eldest daughter by their sister Demeter, conceived before the couple had been married. Zeus saw no issues with the idea, though he decided that he would not set such a betrothal in place without Demeter's consent. Demeter did not give it. Persephone was a sweet, gentle child, utterly at odds with the aggressive, spoiled, and short tempered Ares. Zeus had Ares and Persephone brought in to give their opinions on the matter, and when Persephone said that she wasn't sure if she wanted to promise to marry Ares without knowing if she loved him, the young prince exploded into a tantrum. Thinking himself insulted, Ares called Persephone a stupid, ugly whore, and declared that he would never marry her, causing Persephone to cry, resulting in Zeus taking her into his arms to comfort her. This only angered Ares more, and he derided Persephone as being a stupid little crybaby. Outraged, Demeter declared Ares to be a spoiled brat, and said that her daughter was too good for a horrid, mean spirited wretch like him. Hera roared to her son's defense, declaring that someone so soft and weak spirited as Persephone was unworthy of her son. The two sisters argued fiercely, and almost came to blows until Zeus intervened. He pulled Demeter and Persephone from the room, leaving Ares to be consoled by his mother. The incident resulted in the sisters not speaking for weeks, while Ares was resentful towards his aunt and half sister for several months afterwards. Until bigger problems arrived.

New Siblings, New Rivals
When Ares was seven, and his father committed his first act of adultery by fathering the twins, Artemis and Apollo, Hera began putting pressure on him to excel in battle, often taking charge of his training sessions herself. Ares's mother was determined that he show himself to be superior to his bastard half-siblings, and thereby demonstrate her own superiority over Zeus's other lovers.

Beznadi-Olympian War
When the Beznadi, lead by Svarog, their bloodthirsty leader, attacked Olympus out of nowhere and broke through its gates, Ares reacted immediately. Hot blooded as he was, Ares did not wait for the Council to convene for a strategic meeting. Instead, Ares clad himself in his armor, and rushed to meet the invaders. After arriving at the head of the marching army, Ares challenged Svarog to a duel, which the Beznadi warlord accepted. Ares was the more skilled duelist, and inflicted numerous wounds on his foe, buying his allies a substantial amount of time in his folly. However, as Ares managed to impale Svarog with his sword, the enraged Svarog took the opportunity to utilize his mastery of the Dominion of the Forge, unleashing a brief and weak enchantment on Ares's blade that kept it stuck fast within his guts. As Ares tried removing the blade, he found it stuck, and Svarog took the opportunity to wrap his mighty arms around Ares, pulverizing his spine and engulfing them both in a storm of fire which left Ares a burned out husk. Bellowing his victory despite the fact that he had come rather close to defeat, Svarog imprisoned Ares in a massive jar to humiliate him and make his injuries visible, before proclaiming that all of Ares's female relatives would become his concubines. Ares, unfortunately, remained imprisoned until the battle had ended.

Battle of Kemara
As the Angelic Legions assaulted the Olympian vassals, the Kem-Duati, Ares, Apollo, and Hermes, as well as a substantial army under their command were sent to reinforce Horus in the capital realm of Kemara. There, Ares and his brothers coordinated with the pharaoh and his remaining forces.

Prelude
Following the Battle of Kemara, Ares and his brothers regrouped on Olympus, to make plans for their next move, and how to resist the inevitable attack of the Ynochim. Within around three weeks time, Olympus, Atlantis, and Stygia were all under siege by the full might of the Angelic Legions. Ares remained on Olympus, and when the largest Ynochim army appeared at the edge of the realm where the mountain was housed, he took command of the scout force sent out to meet them. Briefly, he once more crossed blades with the Seraphim, Abaddon, managing to partially cut his throat before the force of Abaddon's Seventh Angelic Legion forced him to retreat.

Once back on Olympus, Ares was present when Lucifer spoke before the Olympian Council, offering them terms of surrender. He was among those who called for the Lightbringer's terms to be rejected.

The Battle
As the Ynochim reached the slopes of Olympus, Ares's parents and half brother Hermes, as well as all the air elementals under Olympian command formed a mighty storm, to prevent the invaders from assaulting them by air.

During the battle itself, Ares fought another duel with one of the Seraphim, this time facing down Azazel the Evenstar, Lord of the Heartseekers. Though Azazel was a deadly opponent, Ares overcame him, eventually hacking off the Seraph's sword arm at the elbow before bisecting him at the waist. The defeat of their Seraph devastated the Sixth Legion, their formation breaking as wave upon wave of madly threw themselves at Ares in an attempt to avenge and recover their Seraph. Ares used the opportunity to cut them to pieces using his own warriors, driving them back down the mountainside. It seemed as though they would be driven back, at least until the Ynochim recieved reinforcements from their brother Legion, the Dreadbringers.

When Ares was finally brought low, it was in a manner he found appalling. He was not defeated in direct, glorious combat, but overcome by the lethal Thought powers of Mephiston the Soulhaunter, Seraph of the Twelfth Angelic Legion. He was taken into custody by the terrible Lord of the Dreadbringers, and unbeknownst to Ares, his father Zeus would soon be joining him.

The Dungeons of Eden
"You will not make me scream."

"Yes I will."

-Ares and Mephiston

Of all the Seraphim Ares could have been captured by, Mephiston was by far the worst. When the War God was brought to Eden, he was taken to the darkest bowels of the dungeons beneath the Imperial Citadel, while many of his other relatives were afforded tower cells suited for important captives. Ares spent the first few weeks of his captivity utterly alone and ignored, bereft of the torture that he had been expecting from the dreaded Lord of the Twelfth. Eventually, he learned why.

Mephiston had been spending that time focusing entirely on torturing Ares's father. The Soulhaunter had made it his personal goal to humble the mighty King of Olympus, and make him submit publically to Ynoch, and denounce himself as a ruler. Zeus had refused, and been horrifically tortured to try and force him to capitulate. Then Mephiston had tried to convince his brothers to yield him custody of one of his more favored children; Athena, Artemis, or Hercules. None had agreed. Mephiston informed Ares of this, showing him the memories that he had torn from Zeus's mind of every time Ares had disappointed him. There were many. Ares was dealt a terrible blow, to see his own failings from his father's perspective. But pain turned to rage, and rage to resolve, as he determined that he would prove his worth there and then, by enduring whatever torture Mephiston inflicted upon him.

But instead, his cell door was opened, and a broken figure was brought in. At first, Ares did not recognize the mass of bruises, cuts and burns. The swollen face, head completely shaven, teeth smashed out, and worse. But then the figure's eyes opened, utterly unmolested, and utterly unmistakable. Ares had never seen his father in such a state. Had never expected the most powerful being he had ever known, Zeus, the King of Olympus, Lord of the Sky, his father, to be brought so low.

For the first time in centuries, Ares shed tears.

Then the both of them were chained up to opposite walls, and raised high. Ares had resolved that he would not capitulate. His father had endured so much already, and had not broken, and neither would he. Ares shouted at his father to give this bastard nothing, and that whatever the winged wretch unleashed upon him, he could withstand it. Ares vowed that he would not scream.

He was wrong.

Ares did scream. And Mephiston linked his mind to his father's, so that Zeus could feel every moment of his son's agony. Zeus's tolerance for his son's pain was nowhere near as strong as his tolerance for his own. After only an hour of watching and feeling Ares be tortured, Zeus begged the Soulhaunter to end it, vowing to do as he was asked. Ares's pain ended, and he and his father were separated once more. He was left alone to ponder what had happened. His father had given up so quickly because of him. After all the scoldings he had received, all the embarrassments he had caused, Ares had never known that Zeus loved him so much.

Physical Appearance
Ares's typical form is that of a tall man, somewhere in his mid twenties, with well tanned skin and jet black hair, which he usually cuts short. His body ripples with lean, dense muscle, and red eyes which often spark with crimson flames when he is angered or otherwise excited. He is also covered in a variety of scars, none of which serve to mar his appearance overmuch.

Personality
For most of his early life, Ares was a bloodthirsty brute who lusted for nothing more than battle and carnage. Possessed of power and skill in weaponry, Ares manifested the astounding arrogance that often accompanies such gifts. However, countless defeats born of his own swollen ego, as well as the scorn of his family have caused him to change his ways.

Though he still enjoys the visceral feeling of rending his enemies apart and testing himself against a worthy foe, Ares keeps his bloodlust on a tight leash, releasing it only rarely, and then in controlled bursts. Though his temper is still short and he is easy to anger, hundreds of years of discipline mean that Ares is slow to unleash his fury when it is roused.

In terms of his general disposition, Ares is less gruff than his brother Hephaestus, but would not be regarded as charming or friendly. In his speech, he is usually terse and direct, though he also has a rather coarse sense of humor which tends to rise up at the most inappropriate times. Despite his dearth of social graces, Ares is generally honest and straightforward, having lost any taste for subterfuge after the scandal and embarrassment his secret affair with Aphrodite caused him.

Even with how far he has progressed, however, vestiges of Ares's old personality remain. He is still utterly brutal and merciless to those he meets on the battlefield, and will crush any enemy of his family without hesitation in as ruthless and violent a manner as possible. He does this partly because deep down, he enjoys it, but also for the purpose of striking fear into the hearts of enemies, for the practical purpose of ensuring the foes of Olympus fear him, and are less likely to try and fight him in the first place. Ares also still retains shards of his old arrogance, as he is rightfully proud of his skills as a warrior. Now, he does not let his pride consume him, and treats every foe he faces with due caution, always trying to ensure he does not underestimate his opponents.

Powers
Ares possesses passable skill in most of the Divine Dominions. He possesses considerable skill in the Dominions of Death, Fire, and Chaos, all of which he makes excellent use of on the battlefield. His most favored Dominion, however, is the Dominion of Aura, which he employs to stoke the fury of his allies and terrify his enemies on the battlefield, feeding upon the turbulent emotions to bolster his strength. Like many Archmasters of Aura, Ares has become so attuned to wielding a particular set of emotions his presence naturally induces them unless he deliberately tries to suppress the effect. In his case, anyone in Ares's presence becomes more angry and confrontational, more likely to start fights and escalate them.

Skills
Ares is one of the deadliest warriors in all Creation, having worked for centuries to focus his tremendous raw talent into legendary combat prowess. In personal combat, the number who can equal his skill throughout the cosmos can be counted on a single hand. Ares is also a seasoned and masterful battlefield commander, having a keen mind for tactics and strategy (although the latter to a lesser degree), preferring to lead his troops from the front and tear through enemy weak points. Ares is possessed of potent leadership capabilities, which he uses to inspire his troops, driving them to heights of heroism. As a God of War, Ares is also practiced in the arts of intimidation, using them to strike fear into his foes and send enemies fleeing before him on the battlefield.

Stats
Power Level: 4

Traits
Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Endurance: 12

Intelligence: 9

Charisma: 10

Perception: 8

Bloodpiercer
Bloodpiercer is Ares's spear, forged for him by his brother Hephaestus when they reconciled after the matter of Ares's affair with Aphrodite, Hephaestus's wife, was resolved.