Lost to Time
His name is Cerberus.
Or, it is now.
See, Cerberus was once a man, a prince, ruling over his own little corner of Egypt.
He was by far one of the most cruel rulers in Egypt, punishing his people as the weak fell behind on their work, beaten down by strain and sunrise. The one thing he hated most in others was weakness, he scoffed in the face of it, strengthened by his confidence in his men and himself. He sat upon vast riches, of which he let go of very little, for he considered each piece a token of his conquests.
Every day another battle, the strong taking down the weak with cold steel. The Greeks wanted his wealth, and the people wanted their freedom, quaint reasons for a war, in his eyes, as he'd watched his men stand unflinching in the face of the enemy, killing with swift resolve. So, of course, the confident prince, having seen himself succeed day after day, did not raise an eyebrow at the thundering sound of hooves pounding into dry soil and sand. So distant was the sound that he scarcely caught the clacking, cupping sounds of horses driving their way through his land, over dense tiles and stone, up steps and over walls.
Though he could see and hear men falling, and the powerful horses closing in, he only smirked. No one could defeat his soldiers, so it had to be them, riding the Greeks' horses to his perch. A snorting, whinnying, roaring storm crossed his vision, the armor on the backs of Greek soldiers glinted beneath the sun's unforgiving rays.
Before he knew it he found himself pinned beneath the iron-clad hooves of a war horse, in shock and awe at the sight, mostly in pain.
He recognized the man on the horse, an old friend.
"Caius?" He grunted as he jerked his shoulder once more, "You're supposed to be dead." He breathed heavily, his eyes locked on the soldier's.
"And you were supposed to be my ally, but it seems no one keeps his promises these days." Caius' voice was rough from calling orders, he decided in favor of a whistle, calling his men forth to take hold of the prince.
"What is the meaning of this, Caius?! Free me so that we may-" The grey-haired man held up a hand, silencing the prince.
"We crossed that line when you ordered my execution over a petty disagreement." He snorted, turning away to stand at the edge of the platform, his dull green eyes focused on the horizon. "I found out who my true allies were that day."
The prince stopped struggling a moment, "You have it all wrong, Caius. This is a misunderstanding, you're making a mistake!"
Caius turned his head, body following suit to circle the captured royal, "A mistake? There is no mistake here, you ordered my death over drinks." He stopped in front of him, "I think it's high time you atone for your sins." He gestured at the soldiers with a tip of his head, they dragged the prince to the sheer edge of his post. "Say hello to the gods for me, would you?"
---
Both of his eyes opened simultaneously, his lungs choking for air, gasping in every bit they could. The starscape surrounding him brought a sense of wonder and fear to him, he trembled at the sight, only growing more fearful as a booming voice loomed over his head and spoke.
"You have brought great suffering to my people." The voice echoed into empty space, yet somehow bounced back full force mere moments after, "For your cruelty, you shall be punished."
The young prince fell to his knees in pain as his body was twisted into a canine shape, bulbs erupting from his neck before developing into fully formed heads resembling that of a hound. Is face tightened and stretched into a long muzzle as he desperately clawed at his cheeks. He was hit with the sudden sensation of choking, steel binds finding their way about his three necks. Chains swung into place on his collars, dragging him down through the bottom of the stars, through the clouds and deep into the earth.
The force of his landing was merciless, leaving him sprawled over stone and soil.
He raised his heads, light before him, dark behind him, like a cave yet... Yet somehow it felt sinister, the air weighed down on his shoulders relentlessly. Shocked at the speed of his ordeal, he sat abruptly on a jagged stone, letting his labored breathing slow.
WelcomewelcomewelcomewelcomehomewelcomehomeHis head whipped around in search of the whispers.
Don't bother looking, we're inside. Insideinsideinside.The young prince felt truly weak for the first time in years.
-----
Summary-
In his life as a human, Cerberus was an Egyptian prince, captured as he watched, overconfident even as his army was overtaken by Greek forces.
He was held captive, drawn up in stocks, weighed down by chains until the day of his execution, where he was sent to be judged by the gods of the Greek.
The gods were disgusted by his mere presence, they could see the cruelty in his past and his crimes against their loyal followers, so they sought to punish him.
They took away his form, turning him into a hound, they took away his speech, clasping steel around his neck so tight he couldn't breathe and made him immortal so that he would not die. They then gave him two more heads, neither would speak outside of his mind, but within his mind they would constantly drive doubt into him to dull his confidence.
Only when he started falling to their punishments did Cerberus' restraints begin to fail, after thousands of years or more, waiting for escape.
Finally, the gods forgot about him, and he broke from his binds.
But in time, he had also forgotten.
He then sought refuge with an archaeologist working in the ruins just beyond his prison, where he began to learn just how much he had missed.
Name: Cerberus
Sex: Male
Species: Canid
Key Concepts: -Guardian with a past life as a prince, punished by the god's for his cruelty and his betrayal
-Can't remember his name but can remember his life and death with crystal clarity
-He is the center head, for the first while the other two heads whispered incessantly to drive him to insanity
-He has been changed into a quiet, mildly confident character over many years of punishment
-He only escaped because the world forgot him as he was
-He considers himself disfigured
Other:
(Cerberus in the style of ancient Greek pottery)
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