Phokrates

Obsidian Redoubt
Commander of the Emerald Legions, 1st Division
General of the Black Hawks 5th Legion, 2nd Battalion Equitaes

Description


Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lb.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Eyes: Black
Hair: Short simple brown
Clothing: Iron-plated armor from shoulder pauldrons to greaves, a Greek lambda etched onto the back of the breastplate beneath a scarlet cloak
Comportment/Cadence: Threatening
Distinctions: "Thousand yard stare" peers beyond you into the depths of the Tempest; rarely wears a helm, exposing a closely-trimmed beard, and also the better for his terrifyingly focused features to harness fear
Supernatural Qualities: Jet-black eyes without pupils and a rock-solid stature beneath the armor all lend hints to his Arcanoi specialties; he stands with almost statue-like discipline, cold and cruel; and always tracking him, a stink of shame: the tingly scent of seawater into which his body long ago plunged; the echo and chilly discipline especially marks him as not just any Stygian hero, but the infamous Phokrates, the Lakedaemon of Despair!
Accoutrements: Besides the armor: a broad shield, a long spear, knife, and even a short sword of Stygian steel
Traits: Appearance 2; Notoriety 4; Echoes (1)

"Master the terror, so that even Oblivion fears your fist."

History


Date of Birth: August 3rd, 400 BCE
Home: Sparta, Lacedaemon, Greece
Family: Fotios and Theano (parents), Agathi (older sister); Iason (birthname)
Death: Personal Tragedy (Spartiate warrior and marine, lived for the glory, but perished in the Battle of Naxos against Athens by being burnt alive on his warship), 376 BCE
Mentor: Platon
The Test: Trial by Combat (Reaped by and with other Spartan Restless, and toegher they sought fabled Elysium, fighting their way through hordes of spectres)
Comrades: Platon, Charon, Aisa
Key Event #1: Awe & Wonder (Charon approached the surviving cadre of Spartan dead after a few centuries of their survival and exploration and offered them a key role in the newly founded Stygian Empire)
Key Event #2: War (Already a Gaunt, Iason agreed, seeing the need for such a civilization; some of his fellows vanished into the Tempest, either to Elysium or Oblivion; he became a powerful enforcer and lieutenant to Charon personally)
Key Event #3: Awe & Wonder (over time, sheer discipline and stoic pride kept his Shadow in check the most, and he rarely suffered Harrowings)
Key Event #4: War (he became so powerful and imposing in Stygia that even spectres came to fear him: hence the name change)
Key Event #5: War (Phokrates weathered Maelstroms and changes big and small to Stygia over the millennia but he never lost sight of the Iron Kingdom's purpose, or his own within it)
Key Event #6: Awe & Wonder (he met Aisa before even the First Great Maelstrom and came to value her oracular insights and later fell madly in love with the taciturn lady)
Key Event #7: Personal Tragedy (he remained loyal to Stygia even after Charon abdicated his throne and left the Hierarchy to the Deathlords; he was reluctantly assigned to the Emerald Lord per lingering orders of Charon)
Key Event #8: War (Phokrates' greatest and most famous triumph came with Aisa's warning of the arrival of Tsathoggua, a terrible and grotesque Malfean; he threw himself at the beast, and vanquished it, but was dragged down to hell with its vile corpse; he was missing for centuries until Stygian steel-miners found him embedded in the Veinuous Stair as if trapped in amber; they had to battle away a horde of Shades to liberate him)
Key Event #9: Awe & Wonder (his long romance with Aisa restored his heart to discover she still existed, and she helped him recover from his long nightmare-ridden stasis before his redeployment into the highest echelons of Stygian military)
Transition: Victory (no Citadel ever fell while he defended it, and so when the Emerald Lord moved his seat of authority to the New York City necropolis in the New World, he took his most vaunted and powerful general to help defend against the many threats facing Stygia there)

The Shadow


Appearance: His Shadow appears to him and appeals to him through nostalgia: wearing full Spartan scarlet, in golden glory on an open (land) battlefield, vanquishing slavish Persians and scrawny Athenians alike. Since before the rise of Rome (or Stygia), Phokrates has kept his Shadow whipped in place, as an amusing affection that his militant discipline can and does keep in check. Since his capture in the Labyrinth centuries ago, Nephwracks worked his psyche over but good in the hope of turning such a powerful wraith to the side of Oblivion. Nevertheless, he remains mentally and spiritually resilient; his love with Aisa helps as much as his fierce discipline.
Trigger: Whenever he turns down the chance for violent conflict (one that he wouldn’t obviously lose) in favor of more peaceful means, or whenever he submits to or cooperates with a rival.

General's Nook (Haunt)


Location: General's Nook, Castle Clinton (Citadel), Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Structure: Apartment
Stock: Stone-built walls around a windowless room, small and sparsely furnished (one might describe it as "spartan", haha)
Traits: Haunt 2

Artifacts & Relics


Full Plate Armor (Relic)
Appearance: Complete heavy armor set of soulsteel, forged from the souls of fallen crusaders, etched with the Greek letter of lambda, complete with scarlet cloak. Corinthian helmet in the Spartan fashion included.
Origin: Gift

Large Shield (Relic)
Appearance: Soulsteel shield forged in the Hoplite phalanx wall fashion (circular and broad), etched with motifs of a phalanx line of Greek warriors
Origin: Gift

Pike (Relic)
Appearance: A soulsteel spear eight feet long, great for poking at terrifying Tempest monsters.
Origin: Gift

Knife (Relic)
Appearance: A hiltless dagger of soulsteel, basic and tertiary.
Origin: Gift

Stygian Blade (Artifact)
Appearance: Forged from Stygian steel in the fashion of the ancient Greek xiphos short sword, when drawn it glows with the dull pulse of that Labyrinthian mineral
Origin: Gift

Significant Other


Name: Aisa Kellakos, 400
Nature: Romantic

Aisa



Weakness

Holding Fast


Phokrates is a Spartan. He does not flee. Retreating is only an option to regroup. He holds this mentality in all aspects of life. At best, such stubbornness ensures he will never Transcend. At worst, it means he'd rather "stay the course" and crash a ghost ship into the heart of the Labyrinth than change his whole afterlifestyle.

Likelihood of Corruption


High.

Despite his discipline and power over his darker impulses and urges, he's 2,400 year-old wraith. Oblivion is just around every corner and while he can stick a spear in the craw of a spectre, even a mighty Malfean, the maw of (self-)annihilation cannot be physically defeated.

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