Name: Occus "Ox Wicken"
Gender: Male
Godly Parents: Odin, Hecate
Sphere of Control: The Supernatural, Youth, and Magic
Personality: It is hard to befriend Occus, as he is skeptical of most. When compared to the implicit loyalty of his minions- ahem, creations, the unseen motivations and unknowable thoughts of others are all the more apparent to him. This does not stop him from being friendly though, as the Youth portion of his Sphere keeps him involved with the young mortals, whose kind he deals with more often than most. He enjoys mixing with the mortals, particularly places filled with young people or cult leanings, and for a price he will grant gifts to those he likes.
Among his fellow immortals however, Occus likes his distance. He prefers to keep away from the affairs of his kin, disliking the permanence his interactions have. Among mortals mistakes are forgotten or forgiven quickly, and arguments can even end positively, it is less likely he'd be forgiven for offending someone who will live for eternity.
Ox is capable of acts of great good and great evil. However he has no struggle between either side of himself. He does as he wishes with no care for the morality of his actions. That does not mean he is uncaring or unfeeling though, a moving emotional plea will stir his heart and he values the opinions of others, leading him to do acts that would please them.
Sacred Animal: Cats
Powers:
Gifts of Power: Occus can give mortals supernatural traits, the chosen gifts are often of the three most popular supernatural beings of this time; werewolves, vampires, and witches. In exchange Occus will often take their soul as his payment.
Son of Sorcerers: As the son of Hecate magic comes easily to him, this is only reinforced with his father's own magical blood added to the mix.
His Own Rules: Reality warps under the inconceivability that is the supernatural. Things that aren't possible... well, sometimes they are.
Desired by All: Occus' Spheres are the most coveted gifts any could wish for. Youth has an attraction to it that draws people in, and the supernatural adds a dash of always-interesting mystery.
Weapons:
Blodsec: (blod-zek) A spear staff made from pure magic. Each end has a sharpened glowing orange crystal that sucks blood like a sponge. The shaft is dark and metallic with runic carvings etched into it. The staff uses the blood of slain enemies to grow more powerful.
Sorcery: Occus holds some sway over the elements thanks to his magic, but his true offensive might lies in complicated rituals or rune magics, practices that take time and concentration to successfully deal out. Beware the curses and blights called from the unknowable realms, a mortal might die, but an immortal will face eternal punishment for their offenses against Occus.
History:
Ox was one of the first born of the merging pantheons, ultimately leading his parents with the question of what to do with him. His father had little interest in raising a child, nor did his mother for that matter, both were far too interested in learning of each other's magics. Lucky for Occus that meant his parents stuck around each other for a while, allowing him a foot into both pantheons by getting to know his mother and father.
Of course that time would come to an end and Ox was forced to travel to meet with his father. He was quickly becoming a favored son, his love of magic brought him to his father's side in search of instruction. He was often found alternating between his mother and father as he absorbed knowledge from them both, but just as often he was found among the mortals. He loved the vitality and vigor found in youth and wasted large amounts of time with children, teenagers, and young adults.
It was through the mortals that his full powers over the supernatural were realized. Of rebellious teens and deviants of all kinds he found a hunger for power, for the unknown, and so he offered them their desires in exchange for their souls, essentially enslaving them to him for all eternity.
Necromancy was a power of both his parents, and Ox used it for similar purposes as his father did; to gain knowledge. That was not all though, for he also wished to meet his famous fallen kin as well. It was through conversing with the summoned shades of heroes long past that he first felt the call so typical of gods; also in true godly fashion was his peculiar interest, not only was it a man who caught his eye, but a dead one. Foolishly Ox offered the man his gift of immortality, but Hades refused to relinquish the hero's soul and banned Occus from reaching into the Underworld again. Heartbroken and furious, Ox had no choice but to give up on Greek ghosts, though the sting of the event made it unlikely he'd summon any ghosts from any underworlds again.
Returning his focus to his studies, Occus learnt more of his father's magic. Much like Odin sacrificed his eye, Ox sacrificed his heart to drink from the well. Now he is cold, and his skin is pale as blood no longer pumps through his veins, instead the hole where the organ used to reside was replaced with a twisted version made of magic and metal that is attuned to supernatural forces. Sometimes the Heart even speaks to him within his mind.
As his power grew, so too did his influence among the gods. It was about this time that he created Blodsec and began to accept blood sacrifices from his followers. He was soon approached by the goddess Aphrodite who asked him to gift her demigod daughter with eternal life. Occus went to the girl and made her his offer, which she gladly accepted, however when Aphrodite learned her daughter had become a blood drinking monster she raged at Occus for his mistake- and demanded he undo the curse. Ox couldn't though, for a deal was a deal and the girl had agreed.
Aphrodite went to Ox's mother then, demanding the powerful sorceress take Occus' gift to her daughter away, but Hecate's spell did not fully work. The girl's mortality was returned, but she was still a monster. To accomplish as much as she did Hecate had needed to destroy the girl's soul, which belonged to Ox. Furious with his mother for her betrayal, Ox began spending more time among the mortals, avoiding his divine peers as much as he could.
When the Merged began plotting rebellion, Ox was not immediately aware. It was later in the planning that his fellows sought him out for aid in the uprising against their parents. At first he refused, but when the hostilities began he had made a few enemies. His mother knew his power and feared retribution for betraying his sacred trust, various underworld and afterlife deities were angry with him for stealing souls from them, and lastly he had angered Aphrodite by corrupting her daughter.
It was his mother who dragged him into the violence when she attempted to curse him. He was an excellent student however, and easily escaped her magic trap. He summoned a swarm of magic locusts and commanded them to eat his mother alive, whilst he distracted her from afar with a curse to turn her bones to obsidian. The dark bones of his mother's skeleton are kept in a lockbox in his closet, the ashes of her consumed flesh were gifted to his mortal servants for use in their own rituals.
His mother was not the only immortal he slew during the uprising, the others' golden blood turned the red crystals of his Blodsec spear staff to a vibrant orange color, forever marking the weapon as a God-Slayer. His servants, kept few in number for fear of angering the gods of the dead further, invaded those same gods' realms under his command. Many of them perished in the fighting, but their souls were forever chained to Occus' service, even after their bodies were destroyed.
Other: So much meaning everywhere! Yay! I feel so fulfilled! I never find suitable meanings for all the details, so this is fantastic! Occus is a butchered version of the Latin 'occultus', which is self explanatory. Wicken, the surname part of Ox's mortal disguise, is from Middle Low German and it means something along the lines of 'to bewitch'. The cats are obviously associated with Witch Familiars, so the sacred animal came from that. Blodsec, both parts are German; blod from blood and sec from sēcan, which became zieken which means seek.
The Greek Hero whose spirit Ox fell for isn't actually named. I just haven't decided which one it was so w/e. Another name I left out was Aphrodite's daughter, I'm just gonna say it was Elizabeta Bathory or however you spell it because that is kind of awesome yeah?
As for how this bestowing of gifts thing works; make a deal with Ox and get special powers! He gets the mortal's soul and the mortal can get their desired powers. Usually it's magic, though in modern times werewolves and vampires have grown in popularity. As for what kind of vampires, werewolves, etc, their powers and traits will vary a bit due to different interpretations of the mortals asking, but the weaknesses will all be the same. Sunlight, silver, and you get the idea. I wouldn't limit the supernatural to just those three though, there are plenty of crazy powers people desire that Ox would grant. I would limit the number though, while they could spread their afflictions around Ox doesn't like his creations unbound from him and as a vampire turned by an original vampire would still be a vampire, it would not have made the deal and thus still has its soul.
Supernatural creatures should be fine right? I mean we've got nyphms and manticores and all that jazz going on. And the soul thing is viable too isn't it? Like when Odin takes the best fallen soldiers to hunt with him and such. Except Ox takes them alive, and he asks them first and they aren't exactly warriors at all...
I hope it's alright I killed Hecate? :D
I also hope I managed to convey a proper level of insanity consistent with mythology as we know it and gave it some modern twists as well. The fake Heart thing is inspired from Dishonored by the way.
