Owner: Me?Sarcastic?
Show Name: The War Living Insides Us
Barn Name: Aithon (the Greek name for the apocalyptic horse of war)
Gender: Stallion
Age: Immortal
Halter color: Matching the runes and his mane and tail?
Pearl/jewel color (halter): ^^^
Picture Representation: The four horses of apocalypse. Personality: Aithon is a strong willed, stubborn and sometimes rebellious genius. He's is very intelligent and knows it, making him seem arrogant at times. He's quite a fiery, and headstrong. He runs into danger headfirst, not thinking of any consequences. He loves danger and the adrenaline rushes that come with it. He loves to make mischief and one of his favorite past times is to prank others. He listens to no one, and no one can stop him if he's set his mind on something.
Aithon is also always making snarky remarks and sarcastic comebacks. His independent and energetic personality can often annoy quieter people. Nonetheless, he doesn’t care what others think of him in the least, and loves the spotlight.
Often times he can be found mumbling less than nice things under his breath. It's indisputable that he has a tough guy facade. However, that's just what it is, a facade. If your fortunate enough to befriend him, he'll be loyal to the end and you'll get a (very strong) defender for life. It takes a while to get his trust and get to this buried part of him, but it's worth it. On the other hand, he's horrid enemy to have, as he knows no bounds. He will hunt you down if you ever wrong him, no matter how long it takes. Another thing, under all of his arrogance and sarcasm, Aithon is exceedingly insecure in his abilities. He is always doubting himself and his decisions. He's eternally afraid of failing, and becoming War, which can sometimes make him panic-y under stress.
Theme Song: Centuries by Fall Out Boy and
Monster by Skillet History: "Cadmus, a famous Greek king and hero, killed the sacred dragon that guarded the spring of Ares on a quest from Athena herself. The goddess Athena then told him to sow the teeth, from which sprang a group of ferocious warriors called the Spartoi. The five warriors joined with Cadmus to found the city of Thebes..."
Aithon was always destined for a tragic future. He did not know it, but he was one in a long line of stallions, said to have been grown from the teeth of Ares's dragon, which Cadmus had killed long ago. When he was born,
he had a beautiful, flowing black mane and tail. His eyes were soft amber and his coat only had a bit of sabino. He was named Hephaestus after the blacksmith God, because of his gentle, soft, kind personality. However, as Hephaestus grew, he changed. His mane and tail began to turn to a lava-like shade with hints of turquoise coursing through them. His eyes darkened to a deep shade of ominous orange, and he gained more and more patterning all over his coat; glowing runes that warned of a terrible destiny. By the time he was three, you couldn't even tell it was the same horse. His Grecian owners were scared of him, believing he had been a curse from the gods. They changed his name to Aithon, after the dreaded apocalyptic horse of war, and never went near him. However, they were too scared to kill him in case he was a curse that they needed to just suffer. They didn't want to upset the gods any more.
Aithon was shunned by and terrified the other horses. The minute they saw him coming, they'd all run. This made it very lonely for Aithon growing up. He didn't understand why he looked this way. He began to resent the other horses, and his owners for that matter. It's not like he did anything wrong. He couldn't help looking this way. He slowly lost his gentle personality, becoming
cold and angry. However, he did have one friend, a sweet young mare named Charybdis. She was also a bit of a outcast because she was named after such a cursed creature. She didn't judge him for how he looked, and wasn't scared away by the runes that glowed on his coat. She was the only thing that mattered to him, and he would've been happy to spend the rest of his days shunned by the rest of the world if he got to live by her side. However, we all know that this isn't a happy story. The problem was, that Charybdis was already in love. She had fallen for another stallion that lived at the stable by the name of Tarran, and soon, they became mates. However, Tarran was the one who had begun the hatred towards Aithon. The two hated each other, but Charybdis loved them both. She would often try to get them to at least stand one another, but it always ended badly. Aithon knew, he just knew that Tarran didn't actually love Charybdis; that he was only with her to take her away from him.
Finally, the tension and anger between the two came to a head, and they attacked each other. The battle was brutal. Tarran was an amazing fighter, and Aithon wasn't. He was losing, but just as Tarran was about to land the final blow, something in Aithon stirred. His energy returned and he hammered
his opponent with new fury, quickly overwhelming him. Soon, the tables had turned completely. Aithon was ready to strike and end the battle when Charybdis threw herself in the way. Aithon realized this too late. He couldn't stop himself, but he was able to move his attack so that it didn't kill her. Instead, it hit her right shoulder, causing it to shatter. Aithon was devastated, and Tarran furious (whether at his mate's injury or at being beaten, that's up for you to decide). When the owners found her, they immediately took her to be treated. When she returned weeks later, she was different. She had become colder, less friendly, and, worst of all, she had a serious limp in her front right leg. She would never run, jump, or be ridden again.
The other horses all hated Aithon after that. They didn't just ignore him now, they purposefully went out of their way to hurt him whenever they could. Worst of all, Charybdis would no longer even let him see her, let alone talk to her. This led to Aithon's deposition. He decided to become what everyone thought he was: a monster. He began terrorizing the other horses; biting, kicking and snorting at anyone in his path. When his owners found what happened to Charybdis, they were already strongly thinking of getting rid of him, but now they couldn't handle him anymore and he was hurting the other horses more and more. They tried in vain to sell him, but no one wanted a
scary-looking, aggressive stallion. At last, they gave up. They still wouldn't kill him for fear of the gods' wrath, so they let him loose into the wild. He never went back.
Aithon traveled through the forests and field, fending for himself and doing whatever he liked. He lived in absolute solitude for years, and enjoyed it, until one day he stumbled across a small village on the edge of the kingdom of Thebes. He began to torment the people there. Many tried to kill him, but they could never do it. Any weapon that touched him lit aflame. Aithon had no idea why, but then again, he didn't much care. Soon, the resident priest, who thought this was a devil sent by Ares, prayed for the gods to take the stallion away.
This got Ares's attention. He watched the stallion and decided that he rather liked it. He realized full well that it was descended from the Spartoi soldiers, who he, in part, controlled. They were grown from his dragon's teeth after all. He also had a feeling there was something about Aithon that he had yet to discover. Thus, he sent an ambassador, a horse demon named Thánatos who was the apocalyptic horse of war, to find Aithon and bring him back. The next day, Thánatos went searching for the stallion. When his eye first set upon
Aithon, a flood of images filled his mind. He saw flashes of bloody, gory battles and all the unspeakable gruesomeness of war. He was momentarily paralyzed. However, he was able to pull himself out of the swarm of images before they enveloped him. A vision, but it can't be! He wasn't supposed to come for at least a few more years... He took a sharp breath, alerting Aithon to his presence. Quickly, the black stallion whipped around to face Thánatos. Instantly, he was terrified, but then the older stallion began to speak.
"Aithon, at first I didn't, I couldn't, understand why you were important to Ares, but now I understand. You are cursed as the next personification of War. This means you are immortal, like me, but what it truly signifies, is that you have two very distinct paths ahead of you. You could make your reign as War a peaceful one, or one full of destruction. If you choose peace, you will have to constantly battle the demon inside you. He will always be trying to take control of you, and if you stop fighting for even a moment, he will win. The last personification that couldn't keep the demon inside was consumed. He caused unimaginable pain and annihilation all over the world for an entire century, more than even the God of War could handle. When I look at you, I can see everything that you could become, what you could cause. I see horrid scenes of what would happen if you failed: another century of death and
destruction. However, you are not alone in your burden. There are three other horses of apocalypse. There is Epidimía, the personification of Plague. There is Limos, the personification of Famine, and there is I, Thánatos, the personification of Death. We each have a demon fighting to destroy the world, albeit in different ways, and each of us must fight to keep the world safe. So the question is, will you join us and fight the demons together, or will to try, and fail to go it alone?"
Aithon listened intently, but after Thánatos finished, the stallion was a bit more than suspicious. There had to be some sort of catch, but Thánatos assured him that there were none. Nonetheless, he asked for a few hours to mull it over. Thánatos consented. After the allotted time was up, and after a lot of contemplation, Aithon agreed. Thánatos grinned with a bit of mischief in his eyes. Immediately, the black stallion felt strange, like something was trying to force it's way out of the skin right behind his ears. Suddenly, parts of his skin began to fall off. It didn't hurt, and it wasn't gory. It was almost like dead skin that you'd scratch off. Then he felt extreme heat and burning sensation flare up his neck and into the back of his head, but it subsided only a moment after.
"Go look at yourself in the pond over there." Thánatos ordered with a sly smile.
Quickly, Aithon trotted over to the water, and what he found nearly made him collapse. The runes on his back and flank were glowing even brighter than usual, almost like fire. Veins of orange and blue ran up his legs, glowing with a sort of beautiful danger. Although these things paled in comparison with the final change. Giant, glowing orange horns, like that of a ram, had appeared right above his ears. He truly looked fearsome beyond all measure. He turned to Thánatos, who had walked up beside him. "How... what?" He stuttered. Thánatos smiled once more. "The power of Ares." He said with a shake of his head. "Now come along, we've got work to do."
Regret:
Aithon strongly believes he ruined the life of the only person who has ever cared for him, and he also regrets never being able to say sorry. She may have wanted nothing to do with him, but he should've tried harder to earn her forgiveness instead of running off and becoming exactly what she had always said he wasn't. Even now, part of him wishes he could gather up his courage and go back to find her, but he's convinced she's better off never seeing him again. That's where he's wrong...
Closest Friend:At one point it was
Charybdis, a kind, loyal, non-judgemental mare who stood up for him and cared for him when no one else would, but now he isn't even sure if she's still alive. However, he is sure she hates him. He wishes he could see her once more, but he would never risk hurting her by going near her again. Not now that he knows what he is.
Least Liked Herd Mate: This is most certainly
Tarran. This stallion is responsible for the hatred from all the horses Aithon grew up with, and he is also partially responsible for Charybdis's disablement. Thus, it's obvious that Aithon would hate his guts.
Art: I'm rather proud of this, even if it's still objectively bad. Art 2: Slightly better c:
2,200 words...yep...
