The history of the god of war is varied and myriad. The tales that surround his life are many. Here is what is known of him, and here is what he perhaps admits to.
Before there was a Thrace, there was an Ares. It was in this land that he was born, son of Zeus and Hera. Abandoned as a child, let loose in the wild, it was amongst the chaos and primal that he thrived. His lineage assured him success and survival, his anger led him to excel. His mind fell to warlike tasks, to battle, to striving and taking from those around him who could not defend themselves sufficiently. At the age of twelve he was hailed as 'king' amongst those who would be known as Thracians. His rule was harsh, his neighbors bemoaned to the gods his existence. As the years passed his reach grew. Eventually he took many wives, and of those wives only one son was born. It was his son Thrax that would create the great citystate of Thrace, Thrax that would go on to be remembered as the first Thracian. For Ares was a god, and once he reached his majority lording over one mere city was not enough. It was to Olympus he must go.
At the head of an army marched Ares. Some would say that he marched to avenge himself upon his father. Some would say he sought to free his mother from servitude. Others even said he simply marched for that is what Ares does. Ares is war, he must fight, and so that is what he would do.
At the foot of Mount Olympus the army made camp. Ares stood vigil, glaring up at its heights. From a distance one of the sentries saw the arrival of Zeus, ever theatrical in appearance by heralding his approach with raucous thunder and a flash of lightning. The two gods spoke, the old and the young. Whatever was said was lost in time, but a peace was made. Ares was accepted into the pantheon, he was home.
Over the years many stories could be told. Of Ares' involved ment with the other gods, in the games they played, in their fiddling with the lives of mortals. Centuries passed, the world changed.
Throughout time Ares knew unrest. He was a god amongst the pantheon, with his family, his father and mother. Yet he was not of them. Aphrodite at times took pity on him, but there was a distance between he and the other gods. They considered him beneath them, he was an uncivilized creature, brought in from the wilds. He was a dog kept on a chain, and the chain was strong. To the other gods he was lesser. They were the light, he was too much the dark. Athena was the true god of war to them, she was duty and strategy… he… he was merely carnage and chaos.
Then came a time for when Ares could prove himself. Zeus' brother, Pluto, felt the moment was right to strike at Olympus. A great army of the soulless and the dead marched with him, assailing the heights of the great mountain. The defenses of the Greek Gods fell, overrun by the hordes of the undying. It was only when they were at the gates of Zeus' hall that the gods turned and called for Ares. Aphrodite's strategy had failed, their warriors had fallen. They needed the wild dog, they needed the god of war.
Ares answered the call. Rallying his soldiers and leaping into the fray, Ares pushed back Pluto's horde. He slaughtered them horribly, dismembering the corpses, defiling their souls, destroying any chance that Pluto could bring them back or that they'd have peace in the afterlife. It was only once the blood work was done, only once that the army was broken and Pluto was in retreat that Ares removed the helm from his head and looked upon the grim carnage.
It was not strategem that won the day, not honor, not the light. It was doing what must be done in the time of war that saved Olympus, diving to those depths and returning with bloodied hands. But finally, finally he felt perhaps he had earned the respect he craved. Perhaps the gods would know thanks, would know appreciation. But it was not to be.
Upon entering the halls of the gods he found them downtrodden, angered, refusing to meet his gaze. He walked in to his mother and father speaking harsh words about what they had unleashed upon the world, about how it would have been better to let Olympus fall than to have Ares' actions defile it so.
Enraged Ares turned his back on them. He descended from Olympus, ignoring the words of the other gods. He renounced his birthright, turned away from his mantle as god of war. To earth he fell, he chose to enter the world as a mortal, god no more.
For several decades Ares lived as mortals lived. Taking the name of John Aaron he made a living, and as time passed grew to be more at peace with himself. It was not, however, until the birth of his son when he would finally find a center for himself. It was only upon the arrival of Alexander that he finally in all of the time of creation felt whole. Alexander's mother passed in child birth, leaving Ares a single father.
It was strange to him, having this responsibility thrust upon him. Alexander was nothing like Deimos or Phobos. Those two sons of Ares grew up nigh unto instantly, ethereal creatures of concept and in some ways… evil. Alexander was a small babe, premature, needing of care. The shift was abrupt, and nothing else mattered more. Olympus could burn, the wars of the world could be waged without him.
So as we join Ares now, he is content in being a father. He is content on working construction in New York City. He is content with being mortal. Alexander is four years old, he is provided for, and life… life is g
Rage
If there is one aspect of Ares' personality that encompasses him entirely it is perhaps the inferno of his rage. He is a being capable of truly epic anger, the type of which could consume worlds. He is an embodiment of conflict, the vessel for hatred, he is in many ways the dark side of mankind personified. He is not incapable of controlling his anger, it is simply an exceedingly powerful thing that when given free rein can destroy much around him.
Stubborn
When Ares has set his mind to a course of action it is exceedingly difficult to change his mind, so mcuh so that he would put mules to shame. It is not that he is foolhardy or utterly set in his ways, it is perhaps primarily due to who he is himself. He is Ares, he knows the best course of action in almost all situations and once he evaluates it then of course he's right, for who would know better than Ares? Of course sometimes he does not have all of the information, or his emotions could be affecting him…
Vindictive
There are few people that survive Ares' wroth, but should someone do so, should someone wrong him and continue to exist… then he never ever forgets a grudge. He is a man with an exceedingly long memory and an incredible lack of forgiveness. That is not to say that at times he will not put aside these grudges for the greater good, it's just that he is… delaying them for a later time to be addressed then.
Courageous
Not only is Ares the god of war, he is also the god of courage. He is a man that can stand, not without fear, but able to overcome it utterly. His strong sense of self and confidence has been enough to empower others to do the same. There are few things in the world that can give him pause, and even those things merely take an extra instant to overcome with reason and a proper course of action.
Charismatic
As a great leader and a commander of men, Ares could be considered one of the most charismatic men to exist in the world or to have existed. When he enters a room he is noticed. When he speaks he is listened to, and when he commands it's rare that he is not obeyed. Luckily as John Aaron he has been able to mute this charisma to avoid excessive attention. When in his mortal guise amongst other mortals he does not speak too often, he avoids eye contact, he allows others to take the lead. Yet when he allows the cover to slip it can be terribly shocking.
Honorable
Though he is not above treachery or deception, Ares definitely has a code of honor that he holds himself to. It is a myriad weaving of responsibilities, duty, and self-imposed restrictions, yet it's there. He may be planning a surprise night attack to kill this general whom he speaks to under a flag of parley, but while under that flag that general will live. Of course if that general threatened Alexander…
Father
It is perhaps strange that as a father himself, Ares has exceeded his own father in such a role. If one were to imagine a perfect father there would be few differences between he and Ares. He is a strong man, he is protective, he offers good advice, he prepares his son for the harsh realities of the world. He loves Alexander, and there is nothing he would not do for his son. What is more, on some level, Alexander knows this and loves him back for it as well.
FORMER DIVINITY:
Having renounced his role as the god of war, Ares made the sacrifice of his divinity to allow himself to come to the earth as a mortal. Yet despite his loss of abilities there are still some aspects to him that are supernatural.
Primarily, the main residual power belong to Ares is that he does not age. He shall look eternally in his forties and never seems to lose a step physically or mentally.
Secondly, Ares's features can still change subtly when his emotions are strong. His eyes have been known to turn red and his presence can almost seem to grow yet most individuals who witness such write it off as their imagination.
And finally, Ares still posesses all of the knowledge and talents he had while a god which go beyond the scope of mortal man. He is still utterly capable with any weapon he touches, and is an infallible tactician.
LEADERSHIP:
Over the years and as the god of war, Ares has learned learned how to be a true leader. He is able to motivate men, to gain their trust, to focus them towards an ultimate goal. Were he to turn his mind towards conquest even as a mortal then his efforts would likely make him a conqueror to rival the greats of history. In a smaller scale his presence and assumption of authority is often enough to inspire better efforts from those around him.
STRATEGY:
Inspiring men to greater efforts is not always enough. One must have a command of strategy, a way to organize a successful approach to accomplish one's goals. Over the years and due to his supernatural past, Ares has an amazing grasp of strategy. He is capable of taking on a goal with limited resources and achieving extravagant results that some would feel was impossible. He is capable of both long term and short term planning, and given sufficient time as well as resources could move the veritable mountain.
TACTICS:
In direct conflict Ares is a master tactician. Due primarily to his long years as the god of war as well as his natural talent, he is capable of quickly gauging a situation, realizing what forces he faces, what forces he has available, and then coming up with the most likely plan of action to ideally assure victory. Given the proper situation and resources he could deliver victories that would make Thermopylae, Rorke's Drift, or Caeser at Alesia seem small.
COMBAT:
It is perhaps easier to speak of what Ares is not capable with, than to speak to what he has a talent for in regards to combat and conflict. There is nothing that is not a weapon in Ares' hands. There is no known weapon that Ares is not excellent in using. There is no style of combat that Ares is unfamilar with. If in the history of time one human has used it to kill another, then Ares is an expert in its use. This is not to say that he is unbeatable, infallible, invulnerable. Ares is still only one man, albeit a man with a great breadth of knowledge and talent.
CONSTRUCTION:
A trade that Ares has taken up during his time as a mortal has been construction work. At first it was out of a sense of irony. He sought to build while all of his life he destroyed. What he didn't realize after his first few weeks… was that he enjoyed it. A hard day's work seemed honest, the fatigue he felt afterwards felt good. It was a good trade that he could put effort into. So he pursued it with gusto. At this point in time, John Aaron is a professional construction worker for Local Union 1117, and is making a nice forty four bucks an hour. Not too bad for a god on the skids. He has a strong knowledge of architecture from a builder's point of view, and could construct a house on his own if needs be and over a fair amount of time.
NEGOTIATION:
One aspect of warfare has always been the parley between or before battles. Ares is a man who is extremely savvy when it comes to such, able to read another individual and get their perspective to see what their goals are and how to best manipulate that to reach his own. This talent at negotiation as translated well into everyday life as he's able to resolve many issues before they become all the greater simply through negotiation.
INSTRUCTION:
Ares has taught an immense number of men and armies. He has trained a limitless amount of men. He has become an expert in teaching those that need to be taught. He is capable of giving individuals a strong grasp of concepts and techniques, though at times his methods can seem very harsh. He is capable of training large numbers of people at once, and in so doing making it possible for them to instruct more of the rank and file themselves and so on.
ANTIQUES:
Ares has a collection of memorabilia that he holds dear and mostly to help facilitate his son's future. It's primarily a collection of old historical weapons that if sold to the right collector would see them well off into perpetuity. Amongst the collection are various swords, one of which he claims is the original excalibur, another a particular bloodied pilum, and a pistol from the 19th century.
HOME:
Ares lives in Somerset County, New Jersey. He has a home there worth approximately four hundred thousand dollars and which is completely paid off. It is not the best home considering the affluent neighborhood, merely a two story cape with a reasonable backyard, but it serves their needs well.
LAND ROVER:
Currently John Aaron has in his possession a fully paid off and loaded Land Rover LR4. It is a standard civilian model with the full feature package and serves his needs as a loving soccer dad.
FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO:
Due to the extended amount of time he's been on earth and his talent at negotiation, as well as the timely selling of some valuable antiques, John Aaron has a rather affluent financial portfolio. His net worth is barely into eight figures and include a plethora of stock holdings. He has more than enough finances to see to his and his son's needs well into the future.
AMBIDEXTROUS:
Perhaps due to his former divinity or perhaps simply due to his difficult upbringing, Ares never developed a dominant hand. He is as adept at using his left hand as he is with his right.
MORTAL:
After renouncing the pantheon of Olympus and turning his back on his family, Ares left his divinity behind him and fell to earth with the intent of living what he could of a normal life. In so doing he lost almost all of his powers and became vulnerable to things such as injury and death. On the day that he does die he will pass beyond the veil into the arms of his uncle Pluto who will most likely then subject him to horrible torments forever. Luckily, Ares isn't too worried.
ANGER:
At times Ares' rage is a great benefit to him, giving him the strength and power to overcome situations. However, it can also be used against him. At times Ares' plans can be overwritten by strong emotion when someone has his ire and this can lead him down the wrong path of a conflict. Also, in the past, Ares' temper has caused damage to those around him or those he considers close. With Alexander he tries to hold rein to his emotions so as to not risk anything happening. He has succeeded so far.
ANACHRONISTIC:
The problem with being immortal in modern society is that it seems to change with a blink of an eye. Ares has tried to keep up somewhat, but the world with its twitters and facebooks and blackberries and youtubes… it's all too much for him. He keeps himself to what he knows, which for now is building and raising his son. Luckily he has Alexander there to set the DVR for him.
THE GODS:
Ares left Olympus, he swore never to be amongst the gods again. However, they made no such oath to him. There have been times in the past when he has been hassled, harangued, and tormented by other gods if only for them to remind him that they're better than he is for myriad reasons. One such provocateur is Hermes who enjoys at times playing practical jokes on the former God of War every decade or so.
