Archived:Kareem Jacobson

Personality
Kareem is very open and warm to people especially his close friends, but he can get frustrated, angry and annoyed easily. The decades in Hephaestus’s forges have made him clueless to the modern world.

History
Mary Jacobson (widow) was living in Houston, Texas 1931 where she worked in a factory to feed her five kids. She had a kind heart and every once and a while she would bring home some scrap metal and make toys for her children. This plus her kind and loving heart won the love of Hephaestus. One day on her way from work he appeared to her…love at first sight? Not exactly, she ran away from him! Despite this he kept appearing to her until eventually Mary surrendered and started to get to know him. She was falling in love again. Then she became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy…she named him Kareem, but Hephaestus didn’t stay long and one day he left…she never saw him again.

Kareem turned out to be a lovely boy! By the time he was eight he was already building toys for his siblings as well as the kids of his neighbourhood, but the day he turned fourteen everything changed for him. He was walking home when he heard someone calling his name, it was his Mom’s voice and she sounded in trouble! So he rushed toward the sound of her voice into a dark alley that lead into an abandoned warehouse. He kept following the voice until he reached the middle of the warehouse where he saw a big pot. Out of nowhere a huge man came out of nowhere and hit him towards the pot. Kareem ended up on the floor winded. He got up again and tried to fight the man, but he was no match! In a few minutes he was back on the floor bleeding and bruised. "Foolish demigod," the man said, "I will feast on your flesh tonight!" Then without warning the man thrust a sharp piece of metal into Kareem’s chest! Kareem gasped and began bleeding. A figure loomed above him…the man, but it was the first time Kareem noticed that instead of two eyes the man had one! Kareem’s life was slowly leaving him and his last wish was that his mother and siblings would be taken care of.



Hephaestus felt sorry for him, he had loved Mary dearly and the fact that her son, the one that he’d sired, had died was worse than a deep wound. So he went immediately to work, for days he worked on a life size replica of Kareem out of Celestial Bronze with a layer of skin over it and when it was done he went to bargain with Hades. He returned with Kareem’s soul and put it into the automaton, the final piece was placed and Kareem was alive once again.



For decades Kareem helped Hephaestus in the forges and Hephaestus cared for the boy with much love. They had many great times and Kareem grew to love the ugly blacksmith, but after a few decades Hephaestus saw a change in him. He was quieter and finished his projects slower than he used to. He was also spending more time with Aphrodite and in front of the TV watching mortal teen romance movies. It was then that Hephaestus knew Kareem’s soul was longing for something that even boggled Hephaestus…love, but whenever Hephaestus asked him, Kareem always said, “No way, father. I love being here!” But Hephaestus could see right threw him, so one day he did something that surprised everybody! He went to talk with Aphrodite and decided that it was time for Kareem to go and find what is heart desired. So Hephaestus told Kareem and did some adjustments to Kareem’s automaton to prepare him for the mortal world. Then the time came…tears were shed…goodbyes were said, Kareem even hugged Aphrodite and in return she gave him a kiss on his forehead. He made it to Camp Half Blood safely and was ready to start a new life!

Powers

 * His Celestial Bronze shell makes him immune to minor and mortal attacks
 * The Celestial Bronze also makes him stronger than most humans
 * He can eject a sword from his right wrist and a shield on his left