Post by Odysseus on Jul 28, 2010 11:55:59 GMT -5
Rider
"He saw cities-mapped the minds-of many; and on the sea, his spirit suffered every adversity-to keep his life intact; to bring his comrades back. In that last task, his will was firm and fast, and yet he failed."
"He saw cities-mapped the minds-of many; and on the sea, his spirit suffered every adversity-to keep his life intact; to bring his comrades back. In that last task, his will was firm and fast, and yet he failed."
OTHER ALIAS: Man of may wiles, master mariner and solider, divine son of Laertes, ruler of Ithaca, the cleverest of all the Greeks, make of Zeus, cunning Odysseus, Ulysses, Cruel Odysseus. //[/color][/color]
CURRENT AGE://[/color][/color]Physically, 30 years old
YEAR OF BIRTH://[/color]There are no records of Odysseus' date of birth.
GENDER: //[/color]Male
ALIGNMENT: //[/color] Chaotic Neutral
OCCUPATION: //[/color] Servant
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Odysseus, Penelope, and a young Telemachus.
HEIGHT: //[/color] 6'1
WEIGHT: //[/color] 170 lbs
EYE COLOR: //[/color] Red
HAIR COLOR: //[/color] Red
PIERCINGS: //[/color] None
TATTOOS: //[/color] None
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: //[/color] None
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- The confident ruler of Ithaca
- Odysseus, King of Ithaca, master mariner and solider, lived a life of glory and merit in a time where they were very hard to find, even for kings. Greek rulers were a dime a dozen. Odysseus worked hard to make it to the head of the pack. A king among kings, who is remembered as one of the most legendary men in all of Earth's history. And he never hesitates to remind everyone of it.
To say he is a confident man would be an understatement. Odysseus has absolute faith in his skills, and with good reason. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he can even be arrogant at times, especially when he's boasting about his incredible feats. He is a man of posture, and it won't be easy to humble him.
- Odysseus, King of Ithaca, master mariner and solider, lived a life of glory and merit in a time where they were very hard to find, even for kings. Greek rulers were a dime a dozen. Odysseus worked hard to make it to the head of the pack. A king among kings, who is remembered as one of the most legendary men in all of Earth's history. And he never hesitates to remind everyone of it.
- Man of many wiles
- Odysseus didn't earn the reputation "the cleverest of all the Greeks," for nothing. Unlike the other heroes of his time, who focused more on flexing their muscles and sharpening their spears, Odysseus's mind was just as strong as his body. He could cut a man with his silver tongue just as easily as with a sword. Odysseus, armed with nothing but his mind, breached the walls of Troy when armies of spears and chariots failed. While his men cowered in fear of the mighty Cyclops, it was he who moved forward with his clever plot and blinded the beast.
It was not only his mind that was sharp. If that were the case, he would've been a scholar, and not a king. What completed the package was his "animal magnetism." His way with people. When Odysseus spoke, whole armies, from either side, stopped and listened. When Achilles, mightiest of all the Achaeans, deserted Agamemnon and his army at Troy, only Odysseus could temper the hero's rage and persuade him to fight again.
His skills of oration and delegation was second to only the Gods. It was Odysseus who solved the quarrel of the kings over who would have Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. When Odysseus spoke of his travels in the court of the Phakanians, no one dared breathe out of place for fear of interrupting his tale.
These were among his many other talents. Thus, he is called "the man of many wiles."
- Odysseus didn't earn the reputation "the cleverest of all the Greeks," for nothing. Unlike the other heroes of his time, who focused more on flexing their muscles and sharpening their spears, Odysseus's mind was just as strong as his body. He could cut a man with his silver tongue just as easily as with a sword. Odysseus, armed with nothing but his mind, breached the walls of Troy when armies of spears and chariots failed. While his men cowered in fear of the mighty Cyclops, it was he who moved forward with his clever plot and blinded the beast.
- Nogalistic
- To say that he was man ahead of his time would be no understatement, but in this newest adventure set in the modern age, where steel birds carry people across continents and families climb into metal insects for transportation, he may be a little bit too far ahead. Though he wishes to learn as much as he can about this new, technological era, a part of him still longs for the rocky shores of Ithaca, his home, as it used to be. When things were much simpler and easier to understand.
He is a figure out of place in the modern era, and has to learn what it's like to be a regular average joe. No small task, considering who he is.
- To say that he was man ahead of his time would be no understatement, but in this newest adventure set in the modern age, where steel birds carry people across continents and families climb into metal insects for transportation, he may be a little bit too far ahead. Though he wishes to learn as much as he can about this new, technological era, a part of him still longs for the rocky shores of Ithaca, his home, as it used to be. When things were much simpler and easier to understand.
- Desire to remain
- Underneath all that posturing and bravado, Odysseus remembers his personal legend in a less flattering light. He was a man, a king, who was forced to participate in a war he had a hand in beginning. He was manipulated by the gods, and lost all of his men to the sea, his friends and comrades in arms. For twenty years, he wandered the world in despair, searching for his home while his wife and son were constantly under siege from those who would try and take his throne.
He was responsible for the death of two generations of Ithacan men. And in the end, he was killed by a son that he had away from home. There, in death, one has nothing else to do but reflect on the actions of life. Such actions weigh in the mind as well as the heart, even for a great man like Odysseus.
While other servants are content with just fighting in a grand war like this, Odysseus has another motivation. A wish. To try his life over again in the modern age of 2029.
- Underneath all that posturing and bravado, Odysseus remembers his personal legend in a less flattering light. He was a man, a king, who was forced to participate in a war he had a hand in beginning. He was manipulated by the gods, and lost all of his men to the sea, his friends and comrades in arms. For twenty years, he wandered the world in despair, searching for his home while his wife and son were constantly under siege from those who would try and take his throne.
LIKES: //[/color] The shore, the sea, his wits, his family, glory, people who he can consider his equal.
DISLIKES: //[/color] Gods, fools, things that confuse him, his own personal legend.
STRENGTHS://[/color] Odysseus's greatest strength was his "metis," or his cunning. He was an excellent tactician, often coming up with elaborate and successful plans to defeat the Trojans, the most famous being the "Trojan Horse". He was also an excellent politician, often using his masterful use of words to defeat his enemies, and deferring only to his sword when negotiations fail.
But don't ever mistake his passive resistance for cowardice. His desire to negotiate a peaceful means to an end is not because he is afraid, it's because he's being merciful. He was renowned as one of the most powerful fighters on the Greeks' side. The only ones who could match him were other heroes like Achilles and Diomedes. He was a master of all the Greek weapons, sword, spear, and bow and arrow. He dwarfed all but the mightiest of men in strength, agility, and bravery.
WEAKNESSES: //[/color]His greatest weakness would have to be his arrogance. Odysseus has an ego as big as his reputation, and it can get him in a lot of trouble. After he had blinded the Cyclops and escaped from the island, the first thing he did was gloat over his victory by yelling his name back to the blind Cyclops as it lobbed rocks at the fleeing ships. Poseidon, the father of the Cyclops, learned of this and made it his life's mission to make Odysseus miserable. In other words, this gloating was be responsible for the rest of Odysseus' woeful journey. If he hadn't done that, he probably would never have had a legend to begin with.
His arrogance can take an even more serious turn. It isn't wrong to say that there are times where he would sacrifice anything, even human lives, to satisfy his ego. When he and Diomedes infiltrated Troy and stole the Palladium of Athena from the temple, Odysseus impulsively tried to stab Diomedes in the back and claim all the glory for himself. And also, if he pushed enough, even he could make mistakes.[/ul][/size][/blockquote]
MY LEGEND: //[/color]
library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/Odyssey/odysseus.htm
classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html
www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Odysseus.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus
MY HISTORY: //[/color] I am Odysseus, man of many wiles, son of Laertes and King of Ithaca.
I've no doubt you've heard of my tale. This modern age reveres the past more than the past itself cares for. I am a man of fame, a legend. I suppose that's why I've been summoned here. The tasks I undertook, and the era I lived in, were so incomprehensible to the modern mind many believe them, and myself, to be mere fictions. But there is nothing fictional about me, or my legend. I am, or was, flesh and blood, as alive in those years as you are today. I don't know what I am now, or what kind of power has brought me back from the fields of Elysium, but regardless, I am here to tell you of my journey.
It's ironic. Once, in my travels, I visited the underworld in order to speak to the dead. We sacrificed our finest bull, poured it's blood into a ditch with honey and water, and waited for those shades of men, great men, to appear before us. I saw my friends, my comrades in arms. Mighty Achilles, great Agamemnon, powerful Ajax. Even Heracles, son of Zeus and golden-sandaled Hera, spoke to me. They told me the of their lives, of their deaths. They told me of life in the afterlife, of what it was to be a mere specter of their former selves. I pitied them.
Now, my role is reversed. I am a mere shadow, brought back to life so that I may tell you my tale.
I was born to Laertes, my father, King of Ithaca, and Anticlea, my loving mother. My grandfathers were Arcesius, grandson of Aeolus, King of the Winds, and Autolycus, son of Hermes the Quicksilver and snow white Chione.
I already knew all through my childhood that I was to succeed my father and become ruler of Ithaca, so I worked hard to follow in his stead. I was young, but my gifts were already plainly obvious. I was an excellent speaker, politician, athlete, solider, actor, among other things. I could bury my head in scrolls one moment, and play among the fields with the cattle the next. By the time I was of age to have the throne, I was already renown far and wide throughout the lands of Greece. My fame had even reached the ears of Olympus.
I cannot say that I was a kind ruler, or that I was loved by my people. But I was a just one, and always put the needs of Ithaca over everything. And my rule was long, and Ithaca prospered under me in ways it never would again after my death.
The life of a magnificent ruler is a long one, far longer than most other men. Trying to recount my day to day experiences as a king would take far more time and words than I am allowed. So I shall move forward a year or two to the courting of Helen, later known as Helen of Troy.
I was one of the suitors in the competition to take Helen's hand in marriage, the only one who had not brought any gifts. Among me was Agamemnon, ruler of all the Achaeans, as well as other famous kings and heroes, equal in measure to myself or beyond.
I had not brought any gifts because of this very reason. I believed, no, I already knew, I would not be the one to take the hand of the immaculate Helen. It was not that I wasn't entranced by her beauty, rather, it was because of that beauty that I stayed myself from her. She was young and wild, and there was a gleam in her gloriously crafted eyes when she saw all the powerful, rich, famous suitors all there for her hand.
I knew then she wasn't the woman I wanted by my side. I wished for a woman who was as loyal and loving as she was beautiful. Who would never betray me, never run off into the night to lay with another man in my own fields. Never wash my feet one night, then drop poison into my goblet the next. A woman I could share my bed with without having to worry if there would be a dagger in my back when I awoke the next day.
I wanted a woman I could love and she would love me back, who would devote herself to only me. I found this in Helen's cousin, Penelope, daughter of Icarius, a Spartan king.
I had little chance to meet her until I heard of Tyndareus's dilemma in choosing a suitor for his daughter. It was understandable why he should hesitate, when all of the greatest kings in Greece were in the room, and only one of them could have his daughter's hand in marriage. To spite the rest by choosing the other would mean conflict for the rest of his reign as king.
I volunteered to step in and solve the problem, in exchange for Tyndareus's support in courting Penelope. Using my skills of delegation, I offered the compromise that, whoever it was that won Helen's hand in marriage, the other suitors in the room must swear by the Gods to come to the winner's aid when he experienced a crisis of any sort. It was this oath we took before a husband was chosen for Helen. This way, when the husband was chosen, there would be no retaliations or objections from any of the losers.
How I would regret making such an oath, and forcing the others to do the same, in the very near future.
Menelaus, whom Agamemnon represented, was chosen to be the husband of Helen. When that was done, I set off immediately to court Penelope.
It went well until her father, Icarius, intervened. He told me that, to win his daughter's hand, I would have to defeat him in a foot race across Sparta.
Icarius was a legendary runner. There was not a man alive, not even kings and heroes, that had defeated him yet. It was said that his speed rivaled even Hermes. But I was confident, and my love for Penelope fueled me on past fatigue and pain. We raced, all across Sparta, neck and neck for days without stopping to rest for fear that the one moment the other slowed, even for just a fraction, would be the moment that decided the race.
And then, during the very last leg, disaster struck. A sharp piece of bronze, left on the road, cut my foot. The pain was immense, and after running at full speed for days on end, it was all I needed to begin to slow. Icarius was sure to be the victor, and many expected me to simply collapse, succumb to fatigue. But no. I, Odysseus, refused to give in. Seeing Penelope's white, slender figure, her gown blowing across her body like an immaculate sail in the distance, not even Zeus with his lightning bolts could stop me from going.
Whether by some divine power or by the strength of my very will, I know not which anymore, I caught a second wind and pushed farther from Icarius, just inches farther, in the last three paces of the race.
Even though the tales they tell, and the songs they sing of me today are of my accomplishments in Troy and my escapades across the sea, that moment in my life was the one that still stands clear in my memory, even after death.
Penelope and I lived in joyous harmony for a year. How I wish now that it was longer. I reflect, often, on my deeds as a living man, and I see now that this was the moment of my life that was the happiest. How I wish I could do it all again. But I know I cannot. Even with the reward at the end of this war, my hardships cannot be changed.
I wish now, too late, that I had been better to her. I wish I could rectify the mistakes of the past, that I had been as faithful to her as she was to me. I see her in the Asphodel Meadows as a shade of herself, a broken shadow, devoid of love and feeling. Every time the image of her ghost comes to my mind, hovering over the Asphodel flowers, I weep.
In that year, the happiest year of my life, I had my son, Telemachus. Three days later, I would have to depart to Troy.
Even though it was I who made the suitors form the pact to help Menelaus if there was ever a need, I was reluctant to leave the ease of my life. I even concocted a ruse, feigning madness, so that I wouldn't have to go. But a man named Palamedes saw through my plot, and, to prove it to Menelaus and Agamemnon, took my infant son from Penelope's arms and threw him in the middle of the field, which I was plowing in a haphazard way to act insane. Of course, I had to immediately stop or kill my son.
I never forgave that man, and later, I made sure he was punished for taking me away from my home.
The years at Troy were long and hard, and my time on the sea was longer and harder. There were times when my will was bent to the breaking point, but I knew I could not surrender. To see Ithaca again, to see it's rocky shores and earthen land, to see Penelope and Telemachus after so, so long. I imagined them every day as I looked out the entrance of the home of Calypso, the sea nymph. Everyday, when the goddess urged me to bed with her, and we laid side by side, I imagined my own bed, and my own wife, and how she must suffer now, waiting for me.
I fought everything, I fought Gods and the Fates themselves. And in the end, even in the end, I was killed by a son I had away from home.
It was then I cursed the Gods from the fields of Elysium, for as luxurious as they were, they were not my home. I was, I wanted, to live a long life, at peace. But there is no peace for men like me. I realized what kind of age we lived in, where Gods moved the destinies of men like pieces on a chessboard. Where men, young men, boys, split blood and whose blood was split for the entertainment of those sitting high on Olympus.
And, as I reflected on my actions, I slowly began to realize that I was also at fault. I, Odysseus, one of the greatest of the Greeks, was also one of the greatest fools.
But now, I stand here, before you. I have seen this modern age, which baffles even me. It is strange. The air is different, the world is different. And it is peaceful. The seas are calmer. There is no bloodshed and pain. The Gods are gone.
Even if I wished to do my life over, I know I would make the same mistakes over again. The Gods would see me and play me just as they did before. So my wish is to begin anew here, in this strange year of 2029. To be a modern man in this era of godless peace.
MY GOALS: //[/color] To win the Holy Grail War and get his wish granted.
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NOBLE PHANTASM: //[/color]
Shroud of Ino
Rank: C
Type: Shield
Effect: A Shroud belonging to Ino, also known as Leucothea, goddess of the white waves. It was given to Odysseus to protect him against the dangers of the sea while he swam for days across the ocean to the land of the Phakanians.
The Shroud has a powerful enchantment on it, capable of protecting Odysseus against any conventional attack. When in use, the shroud floats around the air like a snake of it’s own free will, intercepting any attacks coming toward Odysseus. It can also expand to shield multiple people from attacks.
Of course, it can be overcome with an attack above C rank. This Noble Phantasm is a single action defense.
The Bag of Winds
Rank: A
Type:: Mount
Effect: The Bag of Winds was a gift from Aeolus, King of the Winds, to Odysseus.
It was given to Odysseus to ensure a safe journey back to Ithaca, his homeland. Aeolus took all the winds of the world and placed them inside the bag, so that Odysseus and his crew could ride back to their homeland swiftly. However, Odysseus refused to show the contents of the bag to his crew. Becoming curious, then greedy, they thought the bag contained treasure and hoped to steal it for themselves. When the crew opened the bag, the winds of the world swirled out and destroyed many of Odysseus's ships, killing nearly all of his men.
The bag of winds is a small but incredibly powerful bounded field, very much like a reality marble. The field houses an ancient form of wind based magecraft that has been lost in the modern day.
Odysseus uses this in conjunction with a long plank of wood from one of his destroyed ships. Using the plank to balance himself, and the bag's magecraft to propel himself into the air, Odysseus can fly through the skies as if he's surfing. Basically, it's a hover board.
By surfing the winds at blinding speeds, Odysseus can reach any point of the world in no time flat. He uses this mount-class Noble Phantasm to dart at his enemies and attack them from above.
Odysseus can summon this Mount class Noble Phantasm for a maximum of one hour.
The Trojan Horse
Rank: EX
Type Fortress/Anti-Fortress
Effect: Perhaps the most famous of Odysseus's stratagems, the Trojan Horse has become an icon in world history, one of the most recognizable structures on earth.
Created by Odysseus and crafted by Epeius and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and safeguarded by Poseidon, the Earthshaker, the horse was blessed by not one, but two Olympian gods.
The horse is imbued with a powerful form of magecraft that allows it to phase through the defenses of fortress type Noble Phantasms by bending reality, and can completely negate the effects of enemy fortress Phantasms on the battlefield. Even EX ranked fortress Noble Phantasms are not immune.
However, for the horse to be fully effective as a siege weapon, the enemy must not know that it is about to be summoned. The legend of the Trojan horse was that it was used as a surprise attack, a means to get behind the walls of Troy and destroy it from the inside. If the enemy knows the Trojan Horse is coming, the infiltration effect of the Noble Phantasm is rendered useless, just as if the Trojans knew about the ruse all that time ago.
Therefore, it is also even more important for Odysseus to conceal his true identity, If the enemy knew who he truly was, then they would instantly know this Noble Phantasm, since it's so closely associated with him.
Also, because of this fatal flaw, Odysseus can only use this Noble Phantasm once against every enemy he encounters. If the enemy survives the battle with the Trojan Horse, obviously he knows now who Odysseus is, and that the horse can be summoned.
As a Fortress type Noble Phantasm itself, the Trojan Horse is basically a movable base of operations. It can propel itself on land and hover across the sea. It is rendered impenetrable by the same magecraft that gives it it's ability to phase through other Fortress type Noble Phantasms.
Also, though powerful, the Trojan Horse has absolutely no destructive potential. Because of his average amount of mana, Odysseus can only summon this powerful Noble Phantasm for a few minutes.
CLASS ABILITIES: //[/color]
Riding: A+
SKILLS: //[/color]
Bravery: Capacity to resist mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination.
A: Odysseus was one of the bravest fighters of ancient Greece. There were very rare times when he showed cowardice. Often, his reluctance to go to Troy is mistaken as such. But that was merely hesitation to leave his easy life and his infant son, not fear of fighting.
Charisma: The talent to lead an army.
A: Odysseus was famous all over the ancient world for his people skills and raw "animal magnetism." When he spoke, kings and beggars, friends and enemies, even Gods, stood in rapt attention. Men were in awe of him, and women, even goddesses, desired him. He was one of the mightiest generals in all of ancient Greece. It was said that his only peer in oration and leadership was Zeus himself.
Expert of Many Specializations: Access to and use of many expert skills.
C: They don't call him "The Man of Many Wiles" for nothing. When needed, he was a powerful solider, with mastery over all the ancient Greek weapons. He was a king, a leader. A politician. A peerless athlete. A spy. A master of disguise, who could change himself so well not even family would recognize him. He was a military tactician, adviser, thief, sailor, manipulator, actor, and father.
Military Tactics: Tactical knowledge used not for one-on-one combat situations, but for battles where many are mobilized. Bonus modifiers are provided during use of one's own Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or when dealing against an enemy Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
B: Odysseus is famed for being one of the most cunning men of all time. During the Trojan war, he devised military tactics of such cunning they were legendary. His most famous stratagem, the Trojan Horse, is still renowned even in the modern day. Even other kings and heroes, like Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Achilles, considered Odysseus's tactical knowledge to be without peer. Athena, goddess of wisdom, was so impressed by Odysseus that he became one of her most favorite heroes.
STRENGTH: //[/color] B
ENDURANCE: //[/color] B
AGILITY: //[/color] A
MANA: //[/color] C
LUCK: //[/color] E
NOBLE PHANTASM: //[/color] EX
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FACE CLAIM: //[/color] Kratos Aurion from Tales of Symphonia
OTHER CHARACTERS: //[/color] Kinou Kuroboshi
MISC. INFORMATION: //[/color] None
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