Claiming:Camp/Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks

Name: Ezekiel 'Zeke' Banks

Age: 16

Gender: Male

God Parent: Asteria, Nyx or Apate

Mortal Parent: Reese Banks

Appearance: (See Photo)

Personality: Zeke is just a normal, down-to-earth kind of guy. He's not one to start a conversation and usually just sits and listens. However despite his disinterested and sleepy appearance he has a huge heart. Never one to turn down a shoulder to cry on, he will always comfort those who need it and forgive easily. Though if he gets angry (which is rare) he absolutely explodes.

History: Reese Banks had a dream to play in the NBA and he was right on course. With an impressive high school carreer he went into college with a basketball scholarship and his potential was sky-high. However the college league was on a whole different level. As he played worse and worse his nerves got higher and higher. Instead of busting through his ceiling he was slowly sinking into despair. The final and most impactful blow came in his fourth year where he blew his knee, ending his basketball career and any hope or dreams of the NBA. Discouraged and dejected he went to a local night-club to try to drink and party his grief away, but he couldn't. As the night went on he got more and more depressed, until a beautiful young woman came up to him. They began to talk, laugh and have a good time together. It was love. After an hour or so they left the night-club and the woman took Reese to an open field underneath the stars. There they continued to talk and every second they were together, Reese fell more and more. He couldn't help it, so out of impulse he kissed her. One thing led to another and they ended up making love in the sight of cosmos. Waking up the next the day he saw the woman he thought was the one, was gone.

Nine months later Reese had just finished his education when for the first time in those agonizing months the woman from that night appeared before him. She was holding a baby boy and begun explaining how she couldn't keep him and how she couldn't stay. Handing over the baby to Reese he asked her if he would ever see her again. She nodded and said, "Just look to the stars." Then she was gone. With his degree in astronomy Reese begun a career watching the stars and every night he felt as if he was once again with that mysterious young woman. Everytime he saw the twinkling of a star he could feel her touch. As for the baby boy, Reese named him Ezekiel (Zeke for short) and he raised him in love and care.

Zeke always felt different from other kids. He wasn't bullied or anything he just felt like he didn't belong. Always shy and never talking he usually just stood at the back at watched, a wallflower. For years it seemed his father was his only true friend. Whenever Reese was free they would go fishing, camping, watch a movie or play video games together. Though probably the best times Zeke had with his father was when they would go to the courts together and shoot hoops. Ever since he was a little boy Reese taught Zeke the fundamentals of basketball, hoping that the dreams he lost would be realized through his son. No other relationship came close to their bond between father and son, until Zeke started high school. His History teacher, Mr Pine, became a close second. He was a middle-aged man with long brown hair, a full beard and who walked in crutches. It seemed that Pine understood Zeke like no one else, even his father. When Zeke complained about his dyslexia Pine would always help him through it without looking burdened or dissapointed.

Later that year when Zeke was 13 something strange happened. He had stayed back from basketball practice to shoot a few more hoops and work on his three-point shot. Just as the ball swished with nothing but net the window without warning exploded into millions of tiny shards. Using his quick reflexes Zeke jumped and rolled away from the falling fragments of glass. When he looked up he gasped, for right in front of him was a hideous, winged creature. For a second they stared at eachother, Zeke with fear and shock in his eyes, while the creature looked ... hungry. It let out a terrifying screech which snapped Zeke out of his trance of terror and he ran, the winged monster right on his heels. Before it's talons could tear at his back, he quickly dived under the bleachers. Then he heard a slam of a door opening and another terrifying screech, but this time it was like it was dying. Gathering up his courage he peeked from his hiding place and the monster was no longer there, but there stood Mr Pine. He asked Zeke what had happened, but all Zeke could sputter out was a lame story of how he threw the ball to hard at the window before running home and locking himself in his room fearing for his life and his sanity.

Over the years these strange incidents began happening more frequently. Like the time when Zeke was 14 and the school took the students on a science excursion to a forest. There he felt as if he was being stalked by someone or something. That's when he heard a soft snarl, but what followed sent even more chills. The sound of a dog being murdered. A few seconds later Mr Pine emerged from the shadows smiling as if nothing happened. In his fifteenth year these strange events got more and more frequent and Mr Pine would always be there acting as if everything was normal. When Zeke turned 16 he confronted Mr Pine and demanded the truth. At first Pine avoided the questions, but after more probing he relented and told Zeke everything. Mr Pine explained that he suspected that Zeke was the son of a minor godess since the lateness of the first attack and could live a normal life, but it now appeared that it was just a distant hope. So Mr Pine quickly took Zeke to Camp Half-Blood where a new life awaited him.

Weapons: Zeke's weapon of choice is a medium-sized spear for close combat and three short javelins for long-range fighting. He always keeps a small knife in his boot for emergencies.

DancingCarlton (talk) 06:34, April 16, 2015 (UTC)