Dimitri "Bellerophon" Vasilis
Slayer of the Chimera
Cabirus of the Acumen of Ages
Description
~Apollonian in design, Olympian in grace, Dimitri Vasilis often cannot help the dramatic timing of his arrival. A proud yet warm brown-eyed gaze radiates a gentility rarely seen in the modern age. It certainly contributes to his handsome looks, as does his short and rich chestnut-brown hair. Though he often seeks to keep it styled, more often than not the wind tosses it like a sail in a choppy sea. Further adding to a sense of masculinity is his short beard, trimmed close to his cheeks, lips, and chin. That high chin and his overall tall bearing denote his confident comportment. Lean and athletic, and bent to wearing casual khakis and silk shirts, the man seems to be enjoying his late 20s. A limp in his left leg noticeably alters his advance but does not detract from his stature. Maybe he’s a hot new doctor or tenured astrophysics professor or even para-gliding instructor. His carriage suggests that he thinks himself a king. What else could he be?~
OOC: Appearance 4 (princely)
"We're all just tools of the gods."
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History
The story of Bellerophon and the Chimera once was told as a folktale. The folktale became a legend, and the legend faded to myth. The details of the story are lost in time and clouded in fantasy. Many scholars view the battle between hero and monster, and Bellerophon’s resulting hubris and punishment, as nothing more than a fictional moral allegory. But Bellerophon was a real man. This is not a story of a hero and a monster. It is just a story of a man…
Divine Lineage
Details were embellished, but three thousand years ago fantastical creatures still existed. It was because of men like Bellerophon that monsters terrorizing the countryside were destroyed and their supernatural essences delivered back unto the gods. Men like Bellerophon rarely sought out such dangerous encounters, for even those of divine blood could perish.
Yet Bellerophon was no demigod like Hercules or Achilles. Like most kings of Greece, he was descended from the gods – it was said his great-grandparents were Dionysus and Aphrodite (which would make his great-great-grandfather Zeus himself), and his grandmother was the Pleiade (nymph), Merope. His father and grandfather were famous kings of notorious craft and skill – Glaucus and Sisyphus (the Sisyphus, he who was condemned to roll a boulder up a Tartarus hill for eternity), the rulers of the city of Ephyra (later to be called Corinth). Bellerophon was born in 1,336 BCE, and he and his younger brother, Deliades, were raised in royal tradition in the city their forefathers built.
But the brothers were like night and day. Deliades inherited the popular wiliness of his father and grandfather, while Bellerophon was stoic, deliberate, and guileless. Their rivalry lasted for their entire young lives until Deliades, envious of his older brother’s inevitable crowning, schemed in the shadows to undo the honorable man. He intoxicated and deceived Bellerophon’s young lover, a pretty girl named Iris, into sleeping with him. The girl was pure of heart and devastated when she discovered what Deliades had done, and cut her own throat rather than face the shame and be discarded, as she feared Bellerophon would do. Iris misjudged Bellerophon, believing his sense of honor was stronger than his heart. Deliades likewise misjudged his brother’s reaction, and in full view of the court and their father, Bellerophon confronted and cut his brother down.
The Chimera
The murder could not be covered up, and King Glaucus had no choice but to exile his son (at least until the Corinthian people cooled their heads). Bellerophon traveled to Tiryns, where he would serve King Proetus until he made amends. But Proetus’ lusty young wife, Anteia, fell in love with the prince and tried to seduce him. Bellerophon modestly rejected her attentions, and in a rage she told her king that Bellerophon tried to rape her. Proetus liked the young prince, however, so could not in good conscience execute the man. It would also be a violation of hospitality, Proetus decided. Instead, he was exiled again and sent to King Iobates, Anteia’s father, in the hopes that that monarch would dispose of the prince instead. The sealed letter condemning Bellerophon was not opened until well after a week in Iobates’ household, and the stoic prince already made friends with the king and extended full hospitality. Another dilemma!
But instead of exiling the skillful prince, Bellerophon was sent on what were deemed impossible errands. He was sent to slay the Chimera, a terrible flying three-headed fire-breathing monster that terrorized the land from the Lycian mountains. The goddess Athena sent the prince a vision requiring him to supplicate himself at the altar of Zeus in order to earn the loyalty of the winged horse, Pegasus. He was given a great golden spear (a gift from Apollo) as well as the magical saddle needed to mount Pegasus. With obedience and aplomb, he attracted the divine steed and flew into battle, slaying the terrible Chimera with bravery and skill – skewering it through its fire-breathing throat with a lance. But its body fell into the hot caldera of a volcano and he had no evidence to show King Iobates.
Hero’s Reward
So the king dispatched Bellerophon to vanquish the Amazonian warrior-women and Solymi tribesmen that threatened the Mycenaeans from the north and the Carian pirates that raided along the shores. The Amazons and Solymi he bested by strength of arms, proving not that men were better than women, but simply that Bellerophon was better than anyone they could present. The pirates were destroyed when he dropped boulders onto their ships from above, courtesy of Pegasus. After he succeeded at all of these impossible battles, Iobates despaired and dispatched a team of assassins. They too fell to Bellerophon’s skill and he stormed Tiryns in rage. Poseidon was on his side that day, for a great storm blew up and sent a tidal wave crashing into the city walls, flooding the streets and washing away the guards that dared stand in Bellerophon’s path. The noble women rushed forth, pleading for mercy from the prince, offering themselves if he only spared Iobates and the city.
Bellerophon did not hound after women, and modestly withdrew from the city without taking any more blood. Iobates finally relented and acknowledged Bellerophon’s heroic efforts to clear his name. He was given lordship over half the kingdom and granted Iobates’ daughter, Philonoe, in marriage. The kingdom was a fine land and Philonoe a rare beauty; indeed, she bore Bellerophon two sons and a daughter (Isander, Hippolochus, and Laodamia respectively). But the crowned Corinthian was uncertain that this was the life he sought. The good and ill were both thrust upon him without his consent and by the wiles of men less honorable and brave than he. Why should he be forced to play out the destiny written for him?
Finally in the year 1314 BCE, he one day decided he earned back more than his reputation. His crown was a pittance compared to the malice he stoically endured. And if he was indeed the great-grandson of Dionysus and Aphrodite, his place was in Olympus. He solemnly bade his wife and young children good-bye. Bellerophon then mounted Pegasus for the last time and rode up high into the heavens, seeking the heights of Mount Olympus. Zeus clearly had no patience for the presumption of this would-be god. It was not up to men to decide when they could transcend their mortality. So he sent a simple gadfly to bite Pegasus, who threw the young king off her back. He plummeted a distance no mortal, even with Olympian lineage, could survive. The myth here said he fell to the Plain of Aleion, tangled in a thorn bush, blinded and crippled, doomed to live out the rest of his life in anonymity.
Redemption
Yet Bellerophon’s action was not the hubris of a man full of pride and presumption, as scholars claimed. It was the action of a man fed up with the course of the life forced upon him by lesser kings and villainous cretins. It mattered little to him whether all the kings of the world heaped treasures and brides upon him galore. He wanted the true inheritance he earned in blood and solitude. Whether he died in Aleion that day or lived on in suffering, the punishment hardly fit the crime. It was Zeus’ outraged arrogance that knocked the brave Bellerophon back to the earth. His final thoughts as he fell with the sun blinding his eyes was that the gods were nothing but cruel and invidious idols not worth the worship men offered. With his last breath, Bellerophon cursed Zeus as no better than Cronus.
Not surprisingly, it was the opportunistic Hades that gave Bellerophon a second chance. The young king did not actually survive the fall, but his soul instantly snapped back to his body. He would no longer need to eat and scarcely need any sleep. Hades gifted Bellerophon with the immortality Zeus denied, although it came with a dark price. Hades agreed that the hero earned this prize, but like Persephone he would have to serve the Underworld god for part of his long life. This somewhat appeased Bellerophon, and not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he was grateful and properly in awe of the powerful god.
Aleion
But the fall still left its indelible mark in the man. Despite how his body was largely healed by Hades, he possessed a limp in his left leg. His name and face were also known throughout the land. He wandered the countryside as if he were no better than a crippled beggar. All knew his crime against the gods, thanks to the word of the priests. When people passed him by and spurned him, his royal pride infected Bellerophon with disgust, even outrage.
Instead of acting out against the people, Bellerophon did the opposite. He did not act at all. Oh, he was perfectly capable of soldiering if he so chose. His lameness barely affected his fighting ability, and he still held the Spear of Hyperion (Zeus must have forgotten he had it). He hid the glory of the golden spear in a sheath of old wood and used it as a crutch. However, he knew Pegasus was gone forever. Even without Pegasus, there were moments of heroism and altruism Bellerophon simply let pass by. He ignored people who spurned him one minute and were set upon by bandits the next. He walked on by battles and skirmishes that his mighty skill could have settled. Regardless, his soul now split by the unnatural immortality Hades extended was weak. His Psyche was weakening quickly, and the last of his first life was coming to an end after just a few more short years.
Cycle of Furies
In 1307 BCE, Bellerophon finally just keeled over during his pathetic wandering. His spirit was drawn immediately to the Underworld and before Hades himself. There the dark god informed the hero that would enjoy immortality in graduated cycles in multiples of 7, for that was how the Furies willed it. He would live for seven years and serve Hades for another 7, then enjoy 14 years of life before returning to serve another 14, and so on and so forth. Forever more.
While attending Hades, Bellerophon learned the secret magic of the immortals. He employed some of that magic while fulfilling his appointed duty to the god of the Underworld. He was dispatched to hunt down rogue ghosts and the Shadoweaten dead. This role made him something of a Grim Reaper, he realized. This was the price he had to pay for his vindication. The dark god then informed Bellerophon that he would not spend much time with the Olympian in person. His presence would always be felt, and Bellerophon knew what tasks he was to fulfill, and Hades would not hover and crack a whip.
His first round of service in and to Hades was over quickly. His body rose from its unmarked, ignominious grave near the end of the year 1300 BCE. He decided to spend this second life much more wisely. This time he was willing to play the role of a hero, and more wisely and modestly. So Bellerophon wandered Greece, protecting the innocent from criminals and oppressive, rapacious soldiers. He avoided both Corinth and Tiryns out of shame, but he still felt better about himself instead of wallowing in angst and self-pity. Bellerophon felt as though he was living the life he was supposed to live despite his earlier doubts.
The Dark Father
Unfortunately, although (or perhaps because of) Bellerophon lived this life with more measured pride, death came a year earlier than expected. He discovered that though he was immortal, his immortality was like the seasons. He died heroically, to overwhelming odds of soldiers who were razing a border village in Lycia. He failed to protect a young family from their depredations and fell to a dozen swords and spears.
His failure made him furious, but he was impotent to do anything about it. Worse, though he lived only thirteen years, he still owed Hades fourteen. Irritable but faithful, Bellerophon obliged his new dark father. As a reward, Hades imparted knowledge of new spells the immortal could use in both the Underworld and the land of the living. And as before, he performed the duties of reaper, harvesting souls for Hades. These years passed easily and relatively uneventful at least.
Vindication
When his third rebirth dawned in 1273 BCE, Bellerophon decided to make a good account of himself henceforth. Thus was born an age of heroism for which the great Bellerophon was naturally intended. He vowed to fight against tyranny and imperialism. Yet although his actions would be construed as heroism, Bellerophon acknowledged he was not truly acting out of gallantry. He saw this as a way to stop the spread of the gods’ power. Bellerophon spent a life in hardcore training to compensate even more for his lame leg. He avoided his family descendants, who were making names for themselves as kings, princes, and princesses. He was still deeply ashamed of his downfall. So he dwelled in the secluded ruins of a temple dedicated to Persephone near Aleion, where only the violated came to pray for mercy. (Conveniently, he often answered those prayers on behalf of Persephone by punishing the violators.) He established a small tomb under the crumbling marble where he would lay his bones to rest when death came to reclaim its debts.
His fourth death arrived in 1252, and he was drawn back to Hades as usual. He fulfilled his Reaper-like role with more surety and integrity than ever. Bellerophon maintained his strength of purpose for Hades as well as his own existence. He hunted down what few wicked and runaway spirits existed back in these relatively calm years. The Underworld presented little challenge to this scion of Hades, and he quickly began to yearn for renewed life again.
The Illiad
And it came in a timely fashion again in the year 1231 BCE – right around the onset of the famed Trojan War. This was where his own story would be recorded for history, reported by Glaucus to his Trojan comrades – Glaucus named for his great-great-grandfather. This was Bellerophon’s great-grandson, and along with Sarpedon, the last of Bellerophon’s line, and so with trepidation Bellerophon traveled to Troy to watch this famous battle unfold. The gods sternly forbade the illicit immortal from participation, even as they meddled as they saw fit. First Sarpedon fell to Patroclus; Bellerophon’s rage was satisfied when Hector killed Patroclus. Yet Bellerophon was then forced to merely watch as his last living descendant fell to Ajax, one of the mightiest heroes on the side of Greece.
This insult could not go unanswered. The gods forbade Bellerophon from entering the battle, and promised consequences even Hades could not deflect if the hero stepped in, whether to aid the Trojans or simply avenge Sarpedon and Glaucus. But they didn’t say anything about after the war… In 1213, Bellerophon cornered Ajax as the fool drunkenly stumbled about, wallowing in his greedy misery at the loss of both his comrades and their sacred armaments to other heroes. Apparently, to the victor did not go any of the spoils. Bellerophon confronted Ajax and challenged the bear to a duel. Even drunk, Ajax was a terrible opponent and inflicted ugly wounds on the immortal. But Bellerophon had years to master his own fighting skills, and brought Ajax down. Homer claimed that Ajax committed suicide. He was half-right – by slaying Glaucus, he sealed his fate, as much as Hector did by slaying Patroclus.
Still, the wounds he sustained in the duel brought Bellerophon low, too. Back in the Underworld, the hero suffered in misery at the loss of his family. They were all gone now; his line was ended. He performed his duties for Hades half-heartedly, and took no solace in the Restless Dead that haunted the dreary domicile of Hades. No friendly faces among the dead brought comfort to Bellerophon, and it took until nearly the very end of this 28-year cycle before his Psyche spirit was fully replenished.
Death & Rebirth
A time of death gripped Bellerophon’s immortal existence. He wanted to crush the greedy imperialism that characterized Agamemnon’s assault on Troy. He threw himself into wars with conquerors throughout Greece and the ancient world, like the Spartans and Assyrians. And as the conquests worsened no matter his sacrifice, he grew more frustrated and even desperate. Consequently, Bellerophon perished often, and spent most of the next three hundred years in the Underworld. He fell in 1166 BCE, returned in 1131; he perished again in 1089, returned to fight until dying 1036; that next life was cut short in 968, and he was reborn the ninth time in 912.
Finally, Bellerophon let go of some of his anguish and decided to seek out a good kingdom in the world. Instead of trying to crush the mindless pawns of the gods, he decided it might be best to find a man capable of thinking for himself. He traveled far and wide (especially knowing what few options remained in Greece). In the south in the land of Levant, he met and befriended King Solomon. He studied under the Jewish king for years, especially sharing philosophy and theology. Solomon helped put Bellerophon’s immortality into perspective of a mortal. He also shared lore with Solomon (influencing the wise king’s style of magic and esoterica). Whether with Solomon or alone, Bellerophon occupied this life with reflection above all.
Bellerophon passed peacefully in 849. He dwelled for decades in the lair of Hades, emerging only on his dark lord’s command. This time was spent in continued meditation and soul-searching. He strengthened friendly bond with a few choice ghosts like Talitha, but he knew he was always bound to Hades. All of that inner reflection did not alter Bellerophon’s hunger to help others and do right, even after so many betrayals.
The Setting of the Sun
So his tenth life began in 786 with a desire to pursue such heroism. He returned to battling evil and greed by allying with Horus and the League of Osiris in their war against Set. For years, Bellerophon aided his new friends, fighting bitterly. His quicksilver heart fell in love with a beautiful Egyptian woman, Ekibé-ef-em-Urbi, a devout follower of the Cult of Isis, and a talented sorceress. And he learned of the face of pure evil – neither pride nor deceit, but a malevolent wickedness intent on condemning the world to eternal corruption. Bellerophon clashed with many of the horrors that Set summoned and unleashed on the world.
Despite the prowess of the League, their efforts were doomed. Bellerophon was slain heroically in 762, as he tried to valiantly slay Set himself. He was destroyed bodily, but that century of meditation in the Underworld strengthened his resolve and prevented the spiritual corrosion with which Set tried to curse the Cabirus. The Spear of Hyperion would have been lost to this dark enemy if Ekibé did not magick it away. Despite his failure and the League’s loss, Bellerophon continued to oppose Set even in death. He made special effort to hunt down spectres and other wicked ghosts aligned with Set. And Bellerophon even discovered and hunted down the Ba (Psyche) spirits of Bane Mummies. Those were dangerous years even in the Underworld, and Bellerophon he had several close calls with deadly mummy spells aimed at obliterating his own Psyche.
Even so, seventy years later Egypt and the Near East were hazardous places for a known enemy like Bellerophon. He decided to instead return to his homeland to check up on the current rulers of that divided land. He met the King Midas and scolded the mythical ruler’s abandon and folly. He also heard of Romulus…and disliked what he heard. The prince traveled to Italy to aid the Etruscans against the conquering Romans. There he found kindred spirits in the Etruscan people, and fell in love with a widow, Crisitha. When it became evident that the Etruscans would be totally conquered and assimilated, Bellerophon found himself hesitant to die again for non-Greeks. The Romans were too brutal, and he persuaded Crisitha to return with him to Greece, though she succumbed to pneumonia on the voyage across the Ionian Sea. Though heartbroken, he vowed not to blame himself for giving Crisitha a chance to live free.
An End of Antiquity
Intrigued by the rise of King Gyges of Lydia, the king’s magical “rags to riches” story earned Bellerophon’s respect. He also made peace with the descendants of the Amazonians, and found their supernatural exemplars – the Black Fury werewolves – receptive. Indeed, he cherished a passionate fling with one of their bards, the famous songstress Vesuna. Bellerophon helped Gyges fight off the Cimmerii invaders and maintain the throne. He advised Gyges’ descendants to remain wise and strong long after Crisitha perished and he lived in solitude. He became an alternative to the Oracles, and this irritated those would-be soothsayers. However, his inevitable and timely death played into their hands, and the dynasty of Gyges fell while Bellerophon was confined to Hades.
From 615 to 538 BCE, Bellerophon largely remained in Hades. He was in no mood to crusade against villains and tyranny. He went forth and punished wayward ghosts only when duty compelled. Once again the prince studied contrasting philosophy, often with the wraiths of those who spent their life in thought. During this era of serenity, Bellerophon finally fell in love with a long-time ghostly companion, Talitha. For the first time, he risked Hades’ wrath by helping Talitha escape the dreariness of the Asphodel fields. Bellerophon promised himself he would always do right, even if sometimes the gods considered it wrong. He did not see himself as on par with the gods anymore, but rather as a torch-bringer of the heavens. When Hades failed to punish Bellerophon’s arbitrary liberation of Talitha and a few other choice ghosts, the immortal began to doubt the lasting power of the Olympians.
Through the Hot Gates
And he likewise found no difficulty in starting his twelfth rebirth in 538 BCE. He tried to continue his more peaceful studies of culture, philosophy, and science. He came to understand what freedom really meant: it was not the antithesis of tyranny and authority. It was resistance against one’s own despair that derived from a sense of futility in opposing the whims of the gods. This audacious comprehension emboldened Bellerophon to once more stand up against would-be conquerors. In this time, the rise of the Persians was concerning. Darius threatened Greece, but it was Xerxes that spurred Bellerophon to action. For a change, he fought alongside the Spartans instead of against them. He joined the small force of Greeks at Thermopylae, and did not retreat with the other Greeks at the end. He fought proudly alongside King Leonidas, and was slain. (His spear was entrusted to one of the retreating Greeks, who brought it to the Temple of Persephone in Aleion where Bellerophon’s tomb still lay.)
In death, Bellerophon witnessed the defeat of the Persians…and the following civil war. The Peloponnesian War tore Greece apart, and there was nothing he could do to stave off the bloodshed. However, he could try and influence the dead. He interposed himself between feuding wraiths and developed a strong distraction to keep the wraiths from each other’s throats. Aggressive Persian ghosts were mounting campaigns to try and conquer the Shadowlands. Bellerophon directed and led the way for the Greek war-dead to defend against those perennial foes, ultimately in the name of peace and freedom from tyranny. Ironically, Bellerophon’s efforts in helping to unite the spirits of the West laid the roots for Stygia.
The Great One
Thus, approximately 400 BCE started a millennium of Bellerophon seeking to dismantle tyrannical governments from within. This was because the prince realized freedom could not be guaranteed for people without at least some sort of control and authority to protect them against invaders. He worked among Greek monarchs, sowing seeds of diplomacy. During these years, he envisioned a conqueror would rise that could unite more then Greece: Alexander III of Macedon. He met and befriended this young king before Alexander began his conquest of the known world. Bellerophon aided the young king to handily enlist the rest of Greece to begin Western expansion.
Bellerophon’s influence over Alexander was as simply an advisor, a “war muse” whom provided the rising emperor with decisive tactics and broad strategies. He was also an exemplar of Greek heroism, someone to whom Alexander looked for inspiration. And as Alexander became the Great, and his empire spread across the known world, other supernatural creatures became involved. It seemed inevitable that with so much of the so-called Hidden World meddling with this great man that he would fall victim to their conspiracies. No matter how Bellerophon tried, Alexander’s assassination seemed inevitable at the infamous hands of the Chakravanti killer, Duvsha Tal. Bellerophon backed away from the idea of conquering the world under one banner to maintain liberty. The exposure to the rest of the world also caused Bellerophon to question his Hellenistic ethnocentricity.
After Alexander’s death, Bellerophon was exiled instead of executed. He decided he couldn’t and shouldn’t afford his previous ethnocentricity, and that decision would shape his future lives. He succumbed to “natural” death in 305 BCE only to make another unbelievable discovery. The presence of the god Hades was now almost non-existent. He remained in Asphodel, wondering how to approach his new existence. Still bound to the cycle of lives measured in graduating multiples of seven years, he remained in this plane without complaint. Talitha was able to visit him freely, bringing him advice and consolation. In fact, any wraith was able to come and go, and Bellerophon no longer enforced Hades’ dictates. Still, many ghosts remained for realm’s isolation and the protection Bellerophon offered.
Old Scores
When Bellerophon returned to the land of the living in 214 BCE, he decided that it was time to invest in Rome. Its republic ideals seemed promising, and he also agreed that Carthage was a threat to the stability of the region and needed to be reined in. To that end, he joined the Roman army as a common legionnaire and aided the Punic Wars. Off the battlefield, he enjoyed a Valencian beauty by the name of Amarantha. On the battlefield, he targeted supernatural allies of the Carthaginians to help keep the fights fairer. These were primarily vampires of the Brujah family, fierce and mighty. Yet he survived most of these clashes until falling against the more exotic supernatural mercenaries (namely a Simba werelion) in the employ of Hannibal.
Unlike his previous periods of death, Bellerophon spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on his Eidolon spirit in the Shadowlands. He carefully watched through the veil of death to ensure Rome’s security was protected. Talitha and other ghostly friends helped protect his twin spirits. During this time, an old enemy made an effort to put an end to Bellerophon – Alexander the Great’s “war muse” and thus to Duvsha Tal, an enemy of her people. She sent spectres to mock, harass, and assail Bellerophon’s Psyche, and Talitha ended up sacrificing herself to defend her long-time lover. In the process, through the spectres’ dark power poor Talitha met her second end, totally Obliviated. Enraged, Bellerophon spent the rest of his dead period plotting the demise of the assassin of Alexander the Great.
As soon as Bellerophon resurrected in 104 BCE, he was clutched with cold vengeance. The witch-hunt began by contacting the allies he made ages ago in the League of Osiris. Shemsu-Heru helped him track Duvsha Tal down with their potent divination magic, limiting her likely haven to be somewhere in the city of Byzantium. Though human, they informed Bellerophon that she extended her longevity with magick. However, they also determined that at the time she was also abroad on some mission, and he would have to hunt for her. Bellerophon traveled east in search of his enemy, exploring the ancient Silk Road and reaching as far east as ancient China. Despite his mission, he was fascinated if circumspect, and avoided the shen. The only Eastern supernatural he met was a Sadhya immortal – much like his own life – named Rashmi. They became brief lovers, and her oracular guidance set him back on course in pursuit of his enemy. It was back in Persia near the city of Susa that he stumbled across Duvsha Tal. With anti-magic wards that he borrowed from the Shemsu-Heru, Duvsha’s spells were all but useless on the immortal hero. They fought hand-to-hand, and Bellerophon prevailed.
Gladiator
Soon after his vengeance was satisfied, Bellerophon heard rumors about the mistreatment of slaves back in Rome. He began to realize he misjudged another empire, and hurried back to Italy to do what he could to mitigate the suffering. To help the slaves (in what would become known as the Servile Wars), he trained and fought as a gladiator to help foment revolt. It was during this rough period he met and became a close friend of Spartacus. Together they fought and punished the Romans for their arrogance. Ultimately, the slaves lost (though their sacrifices won some recognition and concessions from the senate), and Bellerophon fell in battle next to Spartacus.
Gripped with a sense of failure again in death, despair and now loneliness crept upon the hero. He realized Rome’s splendor was fading, and when Julius Caesar seized power it became nothing more than a common dictatorship like so many others. Worse, the Underworld and the Asphodel fields felt exceptionally barren. Not only were Talitha and his other friends gone, but also the spirit of Hades was conspicuously and completely absent. With the Dark Kingdom of Iron, Stygia, growing in power and influence, Bellerophon deigned to simply remain in Asphodel except to occasionally ply his ancient duty (even without Hades around).
Father & Son
Yet near the end of this term, he found himself growing inexplicably more optimistic. It was not just the hope for another chance at life. He received a vision from the ancestral spirit of King Solomon himself showing a great, wise, and divine man – Jesus of Nazareth. Bellerophon knew he had to meet this man as soon as he returned to life.
He traveled quickly from Rome to Judea in 33 ACE. He listened to Jesus deliver the Beautitudes. He was deeply moved not by his words, but by the man himself. Jesus was clearly Jewish as was Solomon, though not as orthodox. Bellerophon kept to his polytheistic folk beliefs, uninterested in the peaceful life Jesus encouraged, nor in converting in any fashion to a monotheistic belief system. Nonetheless, the treatment that Jesus received that year, and his apostles received over the next two decades, horrified Bellerophon.
So he confronted the Roman rulers – specifically, their supernatural puppeteers, the Kindred. He demanded that the Kindred have Rome make amends for its brutal treatment of the Christian sect. Caine himself heard Bellerophon’s plea…and rejected it, arbitrarily slaying the immortal outright for his audacity. It was at that fateful moment that he realized the difference between the Reborn Dead and vampires. The rebirths that mummies enjoyed helped to give them a fresh perspective and temporal adaptation. This was something even the wisest Cainites inherently resisted.
The Empire
Furious and frustrated with his impotent fate, he at least was grateful that Caine knew that killing the immortal was simply a painful slap. Bellerophon had little doubt that Caine could have destroyed him entirely if he so chose. However, the prince faced bigger problems in the Underworld. Stygia was clamping down as harshly as Rome was, capturing and sentencing any rebellious wraiths terrible dooms possibly worse than Oblivion. He joined with Renegades to fight and disrupt the brutal Iron Kingdom as much as possible. He even took a feisty Venetian Renegade as his lover, named Diana. For over a century, Bellerophon fiercely fought. More than once, he was nearly Withered, but his rare and strange mummy magic gave him an edge that saved his skin (so to speak).
His seventeenth rebirth did not arrive until 160 ACE. But when Bellerophon did return, his hope was renewed some with the works of the “good emperors”. He held deep respect in particular for Marcus Aurelius, a man after his own heart: philosophical, reverent, and a cunning mind for battle yet undeniable hunger for peace. He helped this Caesar fight the Marcomannic Wars, fighting the savage barbarians in northern Europe. Sadly, Bellerophon’s hope was dashed quickly with Commodus. Fear and concern over the impending doom of civilization with such feckless rulership gripped Bellerophon, shortening the strength of his Psyche and thus his lifespan. He spent decades covertly meddling with imperial Roman politics, using his friendship with Marcus Aurelius as his doorway into the chambers of power. He found an unexpected ally in a lovely matron named Silvia, who lent her own influence (over her husband) while romantically dallying with the immortal prince. Bellerophon tried to prevent the worst, and eagerly encouraged edicts of religious tolerance at least. He had misgivings of Constantine’s motives, however, and took that worry to the grave in 254 ACE.
Collapse of Civilization
For over a century, Bellerophon did little more than brood. Many wraiths kept him company in Asphodel due to Stygia’s tyrannical regime. The ghosts of others at least helped to keep him sane, and reminded him of all things’ impermanence. Instead of giving up, it was only right and human nature to defend the things one loves until the very end.
So when Bellerophon returned in 373 ACE, the Roman crisis was worsening but he stuck with the empire the best he conscientiously could. This earned the respect and eventually passions of a vampiress named Laetitia. Of the Toreador clan, she sympathized and admired his passionate zeal for a bright future and heroic deeds. He once more joined the Roman legions and swiftly rose through the ranks, trying to protect the last bastion of Western civilization by advising its commanders. Even with his aid, the Gauls’ attacks proved unstoppable. He died protecting the citizens of Rome when the city was sacked in 387.
At this point, Bellerophon gave up entirely on the ideals of a united world. He spent a dozen decades in Asphodel, the will to fight sapped. Diana kept him company and tried to fire the old mummy up, but even she was tired of the conflict. When the Huns razed Europe, the waves of new dead only fueled Stygia. The kingdom expanded its conquest, and invaded countless scattered Far Shore domains in the Tempest. When the legions came to Asphodel, Bellerophon and his companions fought tooth-and-nail. To his horror, his friends and even Diana were captured or destroyed to the last. In the end, they repaid Bellerophon for his long service, enabling his escape from Stygia by bravely sacrificing their very souls. And never once during this invasion did Hades appear. The old gods were dead, and the age of heroes and hope was over. Bellerophon fled all that he ever knew.
Arthur
So Bellerophon awoke to a changed world, a broken world more barbaric and savage than ever. This was his nineteenth rebirth that began in 513 ACE. The known world was fragmented like he was accustomed to in ancient Greece, but the antiquity was replaced with a burning sense of hate and mistrust. Bellerophon was deeply perturbed with the shift of Christianity’s newfound dominance and its leaders’ aggressive behavior. This was not what the Jesus of Nazareth he met had in mind.
The prince traveled Europe in search of the “good land”, a place he could settle. He no longer cared about helping kings. Eventually, he crossed the English Channel and settled in Britain. Here he became something of a folk hero, isolated and quiet, but ready to leap into trouble to oppose tyranny and banditry. His legend only grew when he discovered romance in the arms of a Welsh beauty named Enfys. It was only a matter of time before he came across King “Artos”, whom he befriended but remained aloof. He never joined the legendary Round Table, though came to Arthur’s aid whenever called. Bellerophon was an Arthurian knight, and earned that very respect when he fought with Arthur at Badon Hill in 516. It was Bellerophon’s influence that helped Arthur keep his wisdom and tolerance of pagans (as many Brits, Picts, and other Celts in his kingdom were). Even after Arthur died, Bellerophon helped to repel the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Eventually, his glorious death was in honorable battle against the overwhelming hordes.
The Rise of the West
The Underworld felt strange without Hades, but Bellerophon began to feel more optimistic about the future. In all that darkness, heroes like Arthur shined brightly. For the most part, Bellerophon wandered the Underworld like Charon and avoided Stygia and other factions. He aided other ghosts when he met them, and battled howling Shades in the Tempest. In Asphodel, he discovered more spirits like his own, though their immortality was self-made rather than god-given. Bellerophon took no issue with these young Cabiri, and they showered him with reverence. After such a beautiful death, he was again feeling and acting heroic, and time swept by.
His twentieth life began in 722 ACE, and he arose to rumors of a new religion as aggressive and intolerant as Christianity: Islam. He left England for Spain, which was the main battleground between the Western and Eastern cultures. He was tired of religious zealots and anti-Semites, and to him the Muslims felt like Xerxes’ Persians redux. He joined forces with Charles “The Hammer” Martel and fought boldly in Spain and France, including the Battle of Tours in 732.
However, Bellerophon felt less favorable to Martel’s descendant, Charlemagne. Leery of conquerors anyway, from 775 to 785 Bellerophon butted heads with the Frankish lord. Well, as a low-ranked officer in the Frankish army, he butted heads with Charlemagne’s advisors and scari at least. Eventually, he was exiled after flying into a righteous rage following the Massacre of Verden, where Charlemagne did indeed inflict genocide on 5,000 Saxon pagans – men, women, and children. He tried to break into the house hosting the great king, but was restrained and punished – stripped of all pay and sent out into the wilds with only his spear.
Withering
So the immortal returned to Great Britain, disgusted. He headed over to Ireland instead of England, and as Christian intolerance grew so did his reclusive behavior. Nonetheless, Bellerophon kept himself busy putting himself between innocent people and Viking raiders. Unfortunately, the Vikings were not only warlike humans, but also warlike supernatural creatures – specifically werewolves calling themselves the Get of Fenris. In 862, Bellerophon fell to one of their great warriors, Anlaf Rig, and the Garou commandeered the slain immortal’s divine treasure, the Spear of Hyperion.
However, the Fenrir did not understand the nature of the Reborn Dead, and had little defense against the spirits of the dead anyway. Bellerophon immediately began to track his spear and its thief via surveillance with his Eidolon soul. It passed hands from Anlaf to other Fenrir heroes over the years, and eventually ended up in the possession of a Norman Fenrir who serendipitously was a descendant of Anlaf.
Unfortunately, Bellerophon was so focused on this search that his Psyche was often left unattended. The Stygians were able to sneak up on a spirit they interpreted as Shadoweaten or a Whittissmu Tempest-demon, and totally destroyed Bellerophon’s vital soul. For the first time in his existence, Bellerophon was dragged howling down into that horrible state of the Withering. He spent the entire rest of this cycle of death in a scattered state of anguish and agony. Nightmares of the old gods and the trials and tribulations he faced haunted his consciousness, which was all that remained. It took a full century just to put his Psyche back together, and several more years trying to put his memories back together. They too were scattered like the four winds, and he could barely even recall what he obsessed over so that left him vulnerable to attack. To regain his once-glorious self, Bellerophon threw himself headfirst into epic battles against horrible Whittissmu “sea monsters”, risking another Withering in order to super-charge his Psyche again.
Refounded Nobility
The gamble paid off, and in a timely fashion in the year 1002 ACE, Bellerophon returned to life, his bones rising from an old barrow-tomb in Ireland. He patiently honed his immortal Arts first, and then directly pursued his spear. The Norman Fenrir’s grandson now held the Spear of Hyperion, and dwelled now in England. Bellerophon set the werewolf up with a cunning trap that rattled the Garou’s courage and led his enemy by the nose into a clearing prepared earlier with his potent spells. The vicious duel that ensued was a handy victory for Bellerophon, for the magical trap into which the Fenrir blindly walked weakened the werewolf. At last, he recovered his spear.
However, Bellerophon did not much appreciate the Norman aristocracy in England. So he left to travel mainland Europe again. He liked the ideals of some of the knightly orders that were springing up. The prince settled in central France and established himself as a landed noble. He married himself a lovely Capetian woman named Nadine Graines. A little subterfuge and sneaky magic supported his claim of nobility, while his genuine charm and love wooed Nadine and kept her loyal even after revealing his supernatural existence. He developed feudal wealth while pretending fidelity and faith (he felt no loyalty to the kings of France nor the Catholic Church).
Still, he had the love of the people, for he treated his serfs quite well. He sponsored knighthoods “throughout Christendom”, at least the ones that were not overly and zealously devout in their religious pursuits. When it came time for him to die in 1149, he prepared a tomb on his estate. Despite the church’s wishes that he pass land and title over to their control (for he had no heirs), he instead passed them onto his most dutiful and loyal knight, Corbin Fraser.
Contempt for the Unrighteous
Back in the Underworld, Bellerophon found unexpected friends in the Oracles, a guild of seers. The fate-ladies gave him shelter from Stygia. Instead of wandering the land, he remained in their mountain peak-like lair, where he fell in love with one of the Oracles, Elissa. Their romance was tender and long, and occupied his entire cycle of death. Once more relishing that deep affection, his spiritual health grew strong and he was ready for his twenty-second rebirth by 1296 ACE.
His life of nobility was gone, he swiftly discovered. The heir of Corbin Fraser died in the Crusades. So Bellerophon pretended to be the heir descendant, yet did not try to reclaim his land. The estate and its people were in good care of the nearby monastery. So Bellerophon wandered the land, helping to ease the suffering of common folk. Many were dying from strains of the Black Plague, while bandits preyed on others. As an errant knight, he helped keep law and order for more than a century.
Unfortunately, he found himself drawn into the 100 Years War that ravaged Western Europe. Disdainful of the rising use of firearms and cannons, he became notable for charging a battlefield with a spear or sword and laughing as quivering riflemen missed their mark before he plowed brutally into their ranks. He joined forces with Joan d’Arc in 1430 after hearing rumors of her supposed divinity. He wanted to ascertain the veracity of the claim that she was some sort of divine saint. And…well, it was true as far as he could tell. She even gave him heartfelt spiritual advice to try and help him make peace with God (the gods). So it was that Bellerophon flew into a rage and had to be dragged off by the men when Joan was ambushed. Thoroughly disgusted with the English now, Bellerophon threw himself back into the water, ultimately dying by cannon fire in 1441.
A New Hope
The madness, greed, and suffering of the world all seemed to settle on his shoulders and drove him back into seclusion in death. He found some comfort in the arms of Elissa, but her fatalistic views were actually worsening his worries. Eventually, he severed their romance amiably, and was able to remain among the Oracles. What lured them to his protection then applied now. So there Bellerophon stayed, the motivation to do good deeds in the world lost. He studied and shared magic, lore, and general knowledge with the fate-ladies.
When he was resurrected in 1595, his disgust was as tangible as ever. The greed and intolerance cloaked in nationalism and religion was contemptible. He felt as if all the bad in the world overwhelmed what little good remained, from the love of a mother for her babies to the innovations and cultural re-invention of the Renaissance. The bloodshed over Jesus was pitifully misguided, and Muslims overran his homeland. Bellerophon traveled to the New World in search of hope. Instead, he witnessed the rapine of this new land, and the colonists fighting the natives. He frequently aided the natives in battle, coming out of nowhere like a ghost. He was especially friendly with the Kiowa, earning an honorary membership and the love of a squaw named Wachiwi Longwater. Conversely, he presented simple rationales and logic to prevent the natives from committing similar atrocity whenever they had the upper hand. Two wrongs never made a right, after all.
Hidden in America, he fell off his enemies’ proverbial radar. Stygian wraiths, Kindred, Get of Fenris – none knew where he went or seemed to care. As European powers began to fight and their wars spilled over to the colonies, he joined in on the side of the French. He participated only in brief skirmishes as a folk hero. He decided all that mattered anymore was to be himself, “to be Greek”: exemplifying the gods in every action and word. Bellerophon grew bolder and more combative again, and his early death was assured when he clashed with English-aligned Uktena werewolves in 1738. Luckily, this time around his spear was taken into custody by a wiser shapeshifting race, the Mokole “weredragons”. Through his Eidolon, he promised the Mokole he would return for the spear in just a few generations’ time.
Dragons and Heroes
His long death cycle was serene and lonely. Stygia was barely present yet in the American Shadowlands and those Far Shores most directly connected. He chose to wander and explore, and was able to travel and contemplate existence with little fear from the Restless Dead. In this solitude, he affirmed his epiphany of existence, of becoming the perfect Greek hero.
Of course, by the time Bellerophon began his twenty-fourth rebirth in 1899, he found that the New World was very changed. He did not like those changes, they smacked too much of the Europe he left behind (although at least Greece was free of the Ottomans at last). The treatment that the native tribes received was horrifying. He sought out the Mokole in the Everglades. Here the Spear of Hyperion was returned without argument. Bellerophon was now a piece of their long racial Memory, and their current leader, Bolade Ige, had no problem returning this treasure to its rightful owner. For several years, Bellerophon remained among the Mokole, reviewing history to catch up on the times. He wanted a fresh perspective before moving on, and recognized he could not ignore the wars – they were getting bigger and worse.
War to End All Wars
And as the Great War was beginning, he envisioned great tyranny along with it. Bellerophon joined the US Army and fought in the trenches of France. He hated rifles and was a terrible shot. But he smuggled his spear to the front lines, and led wild bayonet charges across the ditches. After surviving this worldwide conflict, he made it a point to relax and have a good time back in the states. He ended up in Chicago, there to fall in love with a beautiful flapper girl named Rachel Hentz. Sadly, she died in a car accident in ’38. So there was nothing to hold Bellerophon back from re-enlisting (under a forged alias) in the army when World War II loomed. The Nazis and fascists were among the worst villains of which he ever saw. D-Day Normandy included his deployment, and he fought to the very end of the war in the European theater.
But the hydrogen bomb scared Bellerophon. A little. The resulting Maelstrom in the Underworld was far more of a concern for whenever he might die, but it blew over and he relaxed. Bellerophon was not happy with the Cold War that followed the end of fascism, and refused to participate in Korea or Vietnam. Instead, he began a pursuit of amateur archaeology. He collected Greek artifacts for American museums, like an Indiana Jones with a strictly Hellenistic bent. This became his main hobby, collecting (his own) past. Besides, the goals of modern wars disinterested the hero, and he saw the archaeology as a means to preserve his people’s past. He often worked for various American universities in this capacity, such as NYU and Columbus.
Preservation of the Sanctity of Eternity
Consequently, Bellerophon spent much time in his homeland except to return to America to donate or sell his collected artifacts. He found a nice girlfriend in Greece with whom to spend his time, named Gia Rallis, though she would later succumb to cancer in ’78. More problematic than his love life was when he ran afoul of the Kindred in Athens. They viewed Bellerophon as a supernatural critter that was meddling in ancient history, something to which they claimed full rights. What nerve. Since he already had a black mark on his name from his time in Rome so many ages ago, they immediately sought to punish Bellerophon.
Though no longer leaping into wars, he still embodied the gods, and was not about to wait for their assassins and Archons to find him. He brazenly attacked the Athenian council of vampires while they met one night, slaying them all outright with the great power of his Spear of Hyperion. Thereafter the Kindred opted to simply let bygones be bygones, realizing that Bellerophon’s power possibly exceeded all of theirs. Rumors among the elite undead held that he was supposed to actually be on the notorious Red List for that deed, but to date no alastor sought the immortal hero’s scalp. Though Bellerophon had little interest in Kindred politics, he suspected that if Laetitia still lived, it was her influence that smothered the vengeful wrath of the other clans.
Eventually, Bellerophon transferred out onto the open market as a professional collector. His long record of donations and fair sales of priceless artifacts made him a very desirable asset. The North American World Relics Conservation Society eagerly hired him on a semi-permanent basis. He was given grant funds and an academic base (KCU) out of which to work as he saw fit. He moved to Kansas City, aware that his long life still had some kick left in it if he played his cards right and avoided more trouble. Of course, a personal aversion policy wasn’t very heroic, was it?
Significant Other
In the month of Gamelion years after Troy smoldered into ruin, Bellerophon encountered Briseis Thanasi haunting the rubble. They both sensed a common supernatural quality about each other. In short time, Bellerophon realized he discovered the greatest link to his glorious past ever. All of the pretender Cabiri paled in comparison to Briseis, a fellow recipient of divine “honors” in the form of cyclic immortality. He wooed and loved her with fierce devotion, and still does. Though they may be both antiquated and hopelessly anachronistic, together they bring each much sought comfort and reminders of all that is good.
Briseis
Artifacts
Spear of Hyperion
Level: 4
Origin: Athena herself gifted this weapon to Bellerophon. The weapon was “on loan”, as was Pegasus. However, when Zeus cast Bellerophon down, the god reclaimed his steed but not spear. Bellerophon has kept the weapon in trust ever since, and no god or envoy of the gods has since emerged to take it back. And he wouldn’t surrender it willingly anyway.
Description: The spear is seven feet long, and the shaft was crafted of laurel wood hardened by the hands of divine beings. It’s not unbreakable, but it would take great effort to do so. Besides, the more dangerous end of the spear is its tip: a razor-sharp blade eight inches in length, crafted of bronze and etched with artistic symbols of the sun.
Effects: 1) inflict aggravated damage; 2) once per scene, the spear will radiate light in a 20x20-foot radius. This light is in every fashion the equivalent to bright and unclouded sunlight (and how he single-handedly punished an entire council of vampire elders once).
Activation: The weapon automatically does aggravated damage. The sunlight effect demands that the wielder simply lift the spear high, tip straight up, and vocally call upon Apollo’s power.
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Weakness
Fallen Prince
Although it’s ancient history, Bellerophon is still trying to outlive all of his past mistakes and failures. He needs to truly accept his present glory and seize moments of heroism when he can.
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
His sense of honor and integrity is far too strong to succumb to evil.
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