Apollo had sandy, blond hair and dark, amber eyes as a god, and he had skin that was soft, immaculate, and tan. His hair is short and reaches just below his ear while his bangs cover his forehead. As the sculptors of antiquity frequently depicted him, Apollo had no facial hair and a taut, statuesque physique, by all means muscular and tall like his fellow gods. Fittingly, he had all manner of features characteristic of a young, handsome athlete: broad shoulders, sinewy arms, and an appealing and strapping torso. He was the pinnacle of youthful vigor and beauty, for his allure drew the attention of many suitors, especially mortals both male and female, in his heyday. He usually wore a light robe of white silk and gold trim, a bay laurel, and wooden sandals, but he never once wore armor.
The god Apollo was most often associated with music and archery, poetry and art, plague and medicine, sun and light, and oracles and knowledge by the Greeks, and in each pursuit, he was well-equipped. His lyre, on which he played harmonies with ease, was golden, and its edges were engraved with laurels and symbols of sacred fire. His bow, with which he shot the truest of arrows, was an ancient longbow for hunting, and it was made of cypress and strung with a golden string. From his bow, he shot fiery arrows that pierced the wind and crackled like thunder.
Earthly Appearance:
In his current form, Apollo has dark brown hair instead and wears round, gold-framed glasses over his still dark, amber eyes. His hair is the same length as it used to be, except that it is styled in an undercut. His skin is instead fair and white, yet soft as always, but his build in the modern era is much thicker and more toned than it was when he was a god. Male, youthful beauty remains his trademark feature, but his godliness is much more subdued and suited for mortal eyes. His clothes are usually in line with the fashion of the day. Never a prude, he wears button-down shirts and fitting jeans, sometimes T-shirts and cargo shorts, all of his clothing an array of bright pastels and vivid darks, and in his closet he has a few outfits for formal dress, some shirts with sleeves that roll up, some hoodies and sweatpants, and some tank tops. Most of his wardrobe, however, suggests that of a common hipster. He has done away with laurels completely, but if the mood strikes him, he will wear a hyacinth flower crown—of course, not in public.
Apollo has transfigured his lyre into a dark brown, acoustic guitar before mortal eyes, and he has some various other musical equipment. His bow wears the disguise of a simple pistol, still shooting fiery arrows of a different sort. And, instead of healing herbs, Apollo keeps some aspirin and ibuprofen around the house.
Personality:
Apollo, per his patronage, enjoys music, poetry, studying at universities, partying, dancing, and human activities. He likes to perform at local venues as a one-man band, a DJ, or a slam poet, and when he isn't taking classes at the university, he's active in the community and attends various social events, namely college parties and dances. Sometimes he will include his say among opinions at public hearings, and he tends to linger around coffee shops and libraries. He wants for law and society to be just, fair, and tolerant, and he seeks an active and energetic lifestyle with never a dull moment. Apollo himself is known to be competitive, and he plays sports like casual ultimate frisbee and basketball, things that he did not exist until after the Greek gods 'retired.'
He has a strong sense of morality and sees the line between good and evil, right and wrong, if it exists. Apollo, who once gifted people with the power of divination and made oracles of men, has an extensive capacity for wisdom and knowledge and excels in scholarly pursuits. On the negative side of things, he has a taste for attractive youths and nymphs, and he feels drawn to them. His romantic pursuits, though charming, can sometimes land him in trouble if he chooses to get involved over his head. He reacts pensively and wrathfully against insults aimed at his mother or at the mentions of past trauma and tragedy, especially the losses of Hyacinthus, Cyparissus, and Daphne.
Apollo pushes a lot of negative thoughts and emotions to the back of his mind, an unhealthy habit that sometimes blows up, and he takes a positive demeanor to replace most negativity. As such, he is a source of joy and views mankind with a happy disposition, thinking mankind one of the most adorable curiosities of the world and seeing humans as invaluable sources of good vibes. Apollo admires just and fairness in law and society, and as said, he pursues a sociable and wild livelihood with numerous friends and lovers and dislikes intolerance, boredom, and crime.
His usual mood is relaxed, and he is typically bubbly and flirtatious, especially around mortals. Apollo speaks with a silvery voice that lilts, and he makes use of modern slang and speech patterns, dropping old modes of conversation in favor of casual, human ones. He is best summed up as a coolheaded, approachable extrovert, and he fears mankind's end and the loss of mortals dear to him. He is motivated by that desire for order, charity, and love in his deep will to protect mankind, especially the youth. The greatest mystery of a god who knows many things, however, is his constant questioning of his purpose.
Immortal Abilities:
Apollo, as a god, represented the confluence of numerous elements, and one could argue that his powers intersected in many places with the domains of other gods. He rules over oracles and knowledge, sun and light, plague and healing, music and poetry, and art and archery. His attunement with sun and light sometimes overlaps with Helios's, his prowess with plague and healing he gave to his son Asclepius. Of course, Apollo's powers are not to be diminished, for in many regards he is still an effective commander of these attributes. He could gift mortals with the powers of divination, he could learn just about anything, and he could spin melodies that rivaled those of the muses themselves. And Apollo, though not as good as his sister Artemis, could shoot an arrow like a skilled woodsman.
Mortal Abilities:
Apollo plays mesmerizing tunes on his guitar and his other musical implements. They can sometimes induce human actions and rouse people to their feet, but that reaction is expected when he plays music with such talent and fervor that easily bests any musician. His ability to make oracles of men and women is nearly diminished, and the most he can predict at this point are the lottery numbers and the outcomes of extremely minor events. His skill as a doctor and a healer never truly faded, and he continues to effectively heal some nasty wounds and bad fevers—but that doesn't necessarily mean he knows how to cure cancer or anything to that effect. This skill normally entails his awareness of modern medicine and botany and is the remnant of his ancient power to heal grievous injuries.
He can read through books with great speed, he has a good understanding of things like law and science, and he knows much about history and art. That too is expected from Apollo, who had much time to learn of those things and lived through the eras in which those things occurred. The general consensus is still that he can learn whatever he puts his mind to. He has a little bit of charm in him and can seduce men and women alike—although men must come easier to him than women do, seeing his history of female rejection and wasted pursuit.
Miscellaneous:
N/A.
History:
In the ages after the tri-faced God seated himself as the ruler of all, Apollo integrated into the world of mankind and hid his identity as a god from mortals, less to avoid garnering support and more to avoid incurring rejection and trouble. From century to century, he took on a great multitude of countless identities in each period of history from the days when God first established his reign until the modern era. Each era became more and more exciting than the one before it, and the one which Apollo most comfortably settled in was the one which was furthest in time from the time of his origin. Since the exodus of the Greek and Roman pantheons, Apollo grew closer to mankind and further from the gods, and he spent more and more time isolated from the gods he once shared Olympus with. He only maintained contact with his sister Artemis and his mother Leto, and the rest of the gods he spoke nothing to because of his favor upon mankind.
During the late 20th century, Apollo took two primary identities. First, he lived as a teenager living in post-World War II Germany and used the name Niklas Holtzer. In that time period he witnessed the reunification of Germany, a land he had known since it was the Holy Roman Empire, in 1991, and he saw the rise of modern Germany, a center of economy and industry in the European Union. After reunification, Apollo left for the Philippines and took the name Ulan Locaylocay. He stayed there briefly from 1991 to 1995, when he lived as a college student and worked as a midwife.
The period of time that he spent in the Philippines was an enlightening experience for Apollo, but he disliked the traditional values of Filipino society and made the decision to leave when he finally grew bored of the land. Finally, in 1995, Apollo moved to the United States with the rise of Filipino immigration to other parts of the world, and he and Artemis shared an apartment in New York, where Apollo made a hobby out of music and came to local fame as a DJ and music artist and where Apollo studied at New York University. In the US, Apollo fell in love with the culture of the young, fresh Millennial generation and built what he intended to be a permanent life there in New York that lasted until 2015 when the call to godhood reached him.
@Jbcool: Alright. I'm just gonna leave out a lot of Apollo's mythology since describing it is nonessential, and most of what needs to be known about his history is already conveniently available from Wikipedia, Google, et cetera.
@Jbcool: When it asks about history, do you want mythology, or do you just want events that come chronologically after the exodus of the Greek pantheon from Olympus?
@Transience: I was originally really confused by "turkey weekend," but then I realized that you were talking about Thanksgiving and that you live in Canada. But good to have you back!
Magic Alfric learned witchcraft from his father very early in his life, and therefore he has much innate prowess and shows much potential. Given the proper resources for whatever mode of casting he chooses, he can cast powerful spells, charms, and incantations with minor difficulty. Easy stuff—simple flick-of-the-wrist tasks like lighting candles and closing doors—requires very little power and resources and can sometimes be performed with nothing, but magic with more complex, broader effects demand more from him. Due to the basic nature of water and fire, however, Alfric can manipulate them easier.
Natural knowledge Alfric knows a thing or two about plants, animals, and the supernatural, but there are other things outside his area of expertise that he may need to research. Unfortunately, he's still bad at chemistry.
Potions With his understanding of magic and his knowledge of flora and fauna, Alfric can brew a strong potion as long as he uses the right ingredients and cooks the elixir with the right methods. The effects of potions are temporary, and the potions expire if not consumed after a day. When consumed, their effects are temporary and wane depending on the potency of the magic after anywhere from hours to weeks. It is harder to create a long-lasting, powerful potion than it is to make one that is short-lived, hence why nobody has ever nor will ever create a youth elixir.
History:
Alfric was born to two elven parents from the well-to-do Waldheim family, just one of numerous elven bloodlines which reside in New Camden. The Waldheim family immigrated to what came to be known as the United States in the year 1631 and integrated into the Puritan settlement in Salem, Massachusetts. Sometime during the Salem witch trials, the Waldheim family abandoned Salem for New Camden, where a budding society of magical and supernatural beings was emerging, and joined the underground community of magic-practicing elves that existed there. By the late 90s, the Waldheim family was living in suburban New Camden, and many of them were blending well among mortal men—some of Alfric's more distant relatives even prominent doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Alfric was born in the year 1998 to a father, who worked at a hospital during the day and practiced magic in secret, and a mother, who taught elementary school and did healing and gardening in her free time.
Alfric had the typical suburban upbringing and attended public school like most children. Starting at the age of 14, Alfric studied magic under his father, and at the age of 16, his father taught him the art of spellcraft, the creation of spells, an ability which he has yet to make full usage of. His mother, throughout his life, brought him to the local Catholic church, and he and his mother were always particularly closer than he and his father were. She schooled Alfric in many household skills and introduced him to gardening and cooking, an education that earned him his admiration for nature and his awareness of the many magical and physical properties of some common plants. His parents did not hold him back from his responsibilities in the magical community, either, and from them he discovered his duty to uphold the secrecy of that community and to protect nature. Take, for example, the occasion where he accidentally set one of his boyfriends on fire when he was 16 and had to lie about smoking cigarettes. It was not uncommon in his youth for family friends—werewolves, vampires, genies, and more—to show their faces at the Waldheim household or for fellow elves and mages to meet in their living room, and although Alfric did not particularly care about the magical community, he was always aware of its influence on his life and the world.
Psychological Profile:
Alfric is humble and patient at best, procrastinating and melancholy at worst. To those nearest to him, he seems like a fresh, new soul with ideas that defy absolutism and inspiration that is truly divine in nature. Alfric Waldheim is, in fact, greatly in tune with the world around him, aware of the universe and the people. He feels connected with everything; he is eclectic, exuberant, energetic, impulsive active. In effect, he has an extremely acute sense of social cues and acts humorous, even erratic, when he feels judged or anxious in a social setting. He covers his negative feelings with his passions and joys, but in a bad mood, Alfric will heavily imply it in his mannerisms.
Alfric is a romantic at heart and expresses strong moral convictions. Coming frequently to impersonal conclusions, he relies on facts and patterns, but in supplementing them with the emotions that possess his mind, he frequently turns to optimism and positivity and the aid of the marginalized. He, as a gay man, exemplifies this in his staunch support for LGBT rights. Ever the postmodern thinker, Alfric is open to many possibilities and approaches absolutes with skepticism, for he is aware of that which is fixed and open to possibility. Lastly is his indecisiveness towards things that he does not already feel strongly about, and on those matters, his friends and family have extensive sway.
Possessions:
A fixed-up, dark gray 2004 Acura TL with minor dents on the sides and the hood. It gets him around.
Byrne, a common raven who serves as Alfric's familiar and was given to him by his father. Byrne also watches over Alfric to protect him and disobeys Alfric when it is important for his safety.
A yew wand that he inherited from his grandfather. The middle section of it is wrapped in tan cloth. The most common spells he uses are focused in it: a charm that serves as a flashlight, a weak barrier spell, and a spell that calls Byrne. The main purpose for these is for both Alfric's convenience and for his father's peace of mind, and he usually keeps the wand on his person somewhere.
A leather-bound tome that is pretty much blank. There is a mundane levitation incantation at the front that cannot lift anything heavier than 20 pounds, an incantation that closes unenchanted, unsealed doors, and an incantation that lights unenchanted candles within sight. The rest of the book is empty except for a few journal entries and spell-writing attempts.
A platinum signet ring featuring the Waldheim family coat of arms, a sky-blue, heater-shaped shield with a gold, chevron ordinary and an oak tree charge. The outer edges are engraved with the text "Aut inveniam viam aut faciam."
Yes, and:
Tony Barnes was one such lycanthrope that found himself often in Alfric Waldheim's living room. Alfric's father and mother volunteer for the Horizon Foundation, and they helped Tony further the goals of the non-profit even to the extent of contributing their own, hard-earned money. As such, they met with Tony frequently and eventually considered Tony, no longer just an acquaintance, but a family friend. When the Count died, Alfric, whose family occasionally dissented from the actions of the Council, and the rest of his family knew what the fall of the Council meant agreed with Tony that Nemsemet was a danger to both the mortal world and the secret one. For worse or for better, they only hoped that something could be done.
I was wondering, @HeySeuss, what sort of limits are there on our talents? I wanted to create a novice, adolescent mage who is the son of two elves, but I'm unsure of how far I'm allowed to go with it.
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