Name: Princess Europa Ayteria
Age: 18
God/Titan Parent: Nike
Mortal Parent: Prince Hippocoon of Olympene
Appearance (optional): Her face claim is Sophie Cookson.
Personality (at least a sentence or two): Noblesse oblige. Europa does not run along the lines of an idle royalty. Noble ancestry constrains to honorable behavior; privilege entails responsibility. She takes part in the lavish pleasantries every now and then but her stronger sense of self-moderation tells she means serious business. Once she sets her mind on something, she is sure to get it done. Almost nothing will force her to stop. It is this persistent and fairly often stubborn personality of hers makes Europa stand out from her cousins. She does not mean to stand out, actually, but she seamlessly amalgamates the contrasting traits of a high performer and an overachiever. She lives in a state of perpetual relief rather than joy. Akin to a wildfire, she spreads fast and hard. She will push past her limits and still produce outstanding results. After all, in a kingdom cursed with dull knowledge, she has to resort to hard work to beat sheer intelligence.
It's obvious that she inherited her godly mother Nike's treasured quality of determination, and this was further bolstered by two things. First, she was the seventeenth-in-line for the kingdom's throne. That was rather far so by the time she sat on her first day as queen she would've been a coughing old hag. Since there was a lot of time before her turn to rule, she tried not to waste a single moment in being active in the state's affairs. Being one of the youngest children of HippocoΓΆn's siblings didn't stop her from speaking up and, boy, she spoke volumes. While other children played mindlessly, Europa immersed herself in social awareness and responsibility. Her on-ground experience with her people of every class gave her a principled, pro-people, practical, and realistic approach on how the world worked. She's not one to fly into a sky of fancy dreams. Instead, she keeps her eyes upward while keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground.
Below the torch of perseverance begets a paralyzing inferiority complex--the only force that could stop her headstrong character. She believes she is constantly being left behind. Her sensitivity to feelings of being mocked and undermined triggers a preexisting pessimism that resulted from being realistic and uptight. Moreover, she has a tendency to be impatient. For all of her seriousness and steadfastness, there is a big kid inside her that wants her reward immediately. If she lets herself off her own lead, she can be a stingy character. Usually, her willpower is enough to cope with her faults but like any other fallible human, she cannot do so forever. When she becomes overwhelmed and overworked, Europa enters a state of meltdown, and an unsightly one at that. She becomes, rock hard, ice cold, and shut out from everything and everyone. To retrieve her from this abyss she falls into is another matter. It would take days, maybe even weeks, to get her gears oiled and working again.
History (at least two paragraphs):
Once, the Kingdom of Olympene was once one of the great states in the Ancient Greek period. The people of Olympene were known not only for their violence and battle wit, but also their counsel and intricate strategies. Easily a forerunner in the development of the world today, the Kingdom seemingly vanished into thin air - perhaps akin to Atlantis. Many people of the time correctly guessed that the Kingdom had faced the wrath of the Gods and all its achievements, technologies, inhabitants and legacies were wiped from the Earth. Over the years, the once great Kingdom of Olympene that so many of the Ancient Greek peoples had experienced became a rumour, a folklore that eventually was erased from memory. The supposed fate is only somewhat true, but to understand it one must look further back in the Kingdomβs history.
Even to the modern day, the origins of the Kingdom is debated with common myth believing that it was the result of a union of Athenians and Spartans banding together and stumbling across an island and, under the blessing of the Gods, creating Olympene, honouring them through its name. Others believe that a band of demigods ventured out and created a haven for all demichildren, one where people could mate with the gods and raise their children with their knowledge. Ultimately, an amalgamation of the two boasts the right to call itself Olympeneβs origin. Demi-brethren had came together from both Athens and Sparta to found the city of true greatness, one that would uphold the Gods in a manner unparalleled. Spartaβs military prowess paired in union with Athensβ counsel created a seemingly perfect state. In its early days, Olympene was known for the extravagant festivals and parties it threw to honour the gods, the main focus being on the Olympian Twelve, celebrating them as the rulers of the Greek world. Although the gods had a minor interest in the Kingdom due to the concentration of demichildren, the grand festivals truly caught their attention and thus received blessings of prosperity and having one of the most profound legacies of all time. The only thing the Kingdom had to do was ensure that the extensive worship of the gods never faltered, nor would they succumb to greed and boast excessively about their advancements.
For years, Olympene obided by what the Olympians had asked of them; they remained humble in their achievements and acted as a peacemaker nation amongst the ancient Greek world. Throughout this period, temptation was forever close as deities such as Eris and Apate found the Kingdom to be like a playground - forever pushing the limits and seeing which ruler would crack. The Kings and Queens of Olympene for many generations were able to ignore the temptations and please the Olympians but a slip up was inevitable. During the reign of King Eumastas, the goddess Eris was successfully able to seduce him and tempt him into going against what the Olympians had laid out for Olympene, telling him that the aim was to suppress the greatness of his people, also telling that all of his ancestors were just puppets and, should he go against the Olympians, he would be hailed as one of the greatest kings of all time. The goddessβ temptation, paired with an internalised need to live up to the image of his father who ruled before him, King Eumastas broke the guidelines of the Olympians. Through greed, he led Olympene to countless wars, conquering smaller islands around them and being merciless to the people of said islands. In regards to Olympeneβs advancements, instead of bartering with the other city states for knowledge in exchange for other valuable things, Eumastas offended the other states, citing that they werenβt worthy enough of Olympeneβs godly knowledge, referring to the people of city states such as Athens and Sparta as peasants whilst elevating the people of Olympene.
Naturally, the Olympians were enraged by Eumastasβ behaviour and gave him a single chance to turn his reign around and be the model ruler they wanted him to be. For a week he was plagued with dreams and visions of what could happen to his people should he continue. Visions of eternal darkness, an illness wiping out most of the population or unwinnable wars were all Eumastas could see for a week and he nearly gave in, had it not been for the tempting words of Eris. During her visit to him, Eris told Eumastas that she could bear him a son that would lead Olympene against the threats of the Olympians, lead it to conquest the Hellenes and rise as one of the greatest states of all time. Now that his internal need had grown into a desire to prove how bad of a leader his father was, Eumastas gave into Erisβ words and continued to go against the Gods. True to her word, Eris reared him a son, Alphesiboeus, and continued to promise Eumastas that he would grow up to champion the gods. In reality, the birth of Alphesiboeus marked the downfall of Olympeneβs greatness.
Each of the Olympians cursed the Kingdom of Olympene in various ways to ensure that it would never reach the status it once was able to boast. In a war where Olympene should have triumphed easily against Athens and Sparta, Ares turned the battle tide and the Kingdom suffered a momentous defeat. Whatever men did survive werenβt able to return home as Poseidon enchanted the seas around the isle of Olympene to be forever stormy and unnavigable, further stopping any trading to and from the island. Hermes ensured that no forms of communication could be sent by the Kingdom and, should some be able to, due to the godβs mischievousness, the message would have no importance and be redundant. As festivals were still part of Olympeneβs culture, Dionysus cursed the island whereby whenever a festival went on, an extremely negative thing would happen to the Kingdom - ranging from the destruction of key buildings to widespread over-intoxication leading to death. Whilst Hera placed a curse on the Kingdom whereby, at any given time, there would be no more than half of the female population that would be fertile, Aphrodite placed a curse whereby the other half of the island, the fertile half, would have extreme difficulty in finding someone to mate with, thus stunting Olympene greatly. Demeter cursed the island so that only the bare minimum of harvest would be produced every year, ensuring that Olympene would never experience the lavious lifestyles they once led. Naturally, Athena revoked the extreme wisdom the Olympians had given the Kingdom, replacing it with subpar knowledge instead, additionally causing any person who was perceived as being smarter than the rest to be feared by the population of the Kingdom and be heralded as a bringer of the Olympianβs wrath. Hephaestus rendered most of their weapons created in their forges useless, meaning that should Olympene ever attempt to wage war (not that they could, given Poseidonβs curse), they would fail miserably. As Apollo and Artemis were the bringers of disease for their respective genders, Olympene experienced waves of disease - some incurable and some not. The final curse, of Zeus himself, was that the island would never be remembered in time to come and, when the name Olympene meant nothing to anyone outside of the island, the island would be subjected to a curse of forever moving and being unable to communicate with the outside world. For extra, concluding measures, the gods ensured that Eumastasβ son, Alphesiboeus, was weaker than his father but had a strong sense of devotion to not commit the same mistakes he had done, ensuring that Olympene would fade.
Over the next hundreds of years as Olympene vanished from outside memory, the various curses of the Olympianβs began to fade. Demeter slowly allowed more harvest to be produced, allowing the Kingdom to flourish somewhat. Apollo and Artemis stopped the relentless waves of diseases, instead making it that the inhabitants of Olympene had a resistance to healing techniques. Hephaestus made their weapons somewhat stronger - not that they needed them. Hera and Aphroditeβs curses remained but, as time went on, the number they affected got smaller and smaller. Athena allowed some knowledge back and Hermesβ curse was removed as it wasnβt needed due to Poseidonβs. Dionysus stopped the wave of bad events with each festival, allowing the people of Olympene some joy in their situation. Coming into modern times, only Poseidonβs and Zeusβ curses remained, ensuring that Olympene would never have contact with the outside world. In the past hundred or years or so, given the very ancient feel of Olympene as the Kingdom hasnβt experienced the same modernisation as the world, Olympene has become a breeding ground for the gods - a traditional solace in the modern world.
The overthrow of House Therabes by House Ayteria led by Penthylos was a defining point in the history of Olympene. For generations, House Ayteria believed that the Therabian rulers were damaging Olympene, not learning from the mistakes of their ancestors and condemning the island for a Tartarus life above the Underworld. The House of Ayteria was always favoured by the Gods, both Olympian and minor. Many of the House belonged to the small circle of Olympenians who were gifted with intelligence and knowledge far beyond that of the population, something they used to their advantage. Penthylos was within said circle and, paired with blessings from Ares and Hephaestus, he was able to overthrow the elderly king; Eumastas VI. Upon Penthylos' ascension as Penthylos I, reform was widespread in the Kingdom and marked the kinder cheek of the Olympians being shown to Olympene - a thing many Olympenians were grateful for, ensuring House Ayteria's long and fruitful reign.
Queen Arethusa, a daughter of Khione and member of House Ayteria, is the currently ruling monarch and holds the morals behind the Ayterian Rebellion close to her heart; for repent, for the Olympenians and for Olympus. In fact, Arethusa has gone further than the monarchs before her, pouring her everything into restoring Olympene's status amongst the Olympians. That's partially down to the fact that she never thought she'd reign, having lived in the shadow of her older brother Prince Laertes, a son of Hades. Laeretes was always more willing to test the curses of the Olympians out, eager to see if they were still in tact and how many more festivals would appease them and this was his downfall. In a test of Poseidon's raging seas, his ship was destroyed by the waves and his body was washed up days later. That event sparked Arethusa to become as close to the model leader in the Olympian's eyes as she could; something she's succeeded in so far.
Back then, Olympenian festivals only told the kingdom's golden age. Only songs of glory and merriment were heard resounding from the people's halls, roads, plazas, homes, and hearts. Of course, those were things of the past. Now, Olympene still reveled, albeit in a more somber fashion. To commemorate the terrible catastrophe that has befallen upon them and to serve as a stern warning to its future generations, tales of strife and terror became a common spectacle. And who could be more suited to weave such fantastically horrible images other than Prince HippocoΓΆn? Whether it came along with being a child of Deimos or not, one could say that he was the token 'emo' child of the royal family. He had a vivid imagination, so those illusions of terror that account Olympene's unfortunate history was as realistic as it could be. Because of his brooding nature, he wasn't exactly the most popular among the children. He didn't like the attention and being the 'emo' child wasn't the main reason. He didn't want to mess up on his duties so he kept a low, average profile. For him, the bare minimum was enough.
Prince HippocoΓΆn did try to come out of his shell during his late teens but it took him a long time. He married at the fairly late age of thirty to Lady Hesione of House Eubatis, but it was purely political. Although to be frank, the marriage was arranged by King Sophocles and Queen Arethusa so that their brother could finally get married. Maybe a wife was all he needed so he could get a bit more social, and Hesione was the most convenient and strategic prospect there was. House Eubatis was one of House Ayteria's closest allies, who ruled the farthest reaches of the kingdom. But even though their families were friends, one couldn't expect everyone to get along. HippocoΓΆn and Hesione's relationship was one of such cases. They didn't fight but they didn't enjoy each other's company either. However, tension arose when Hesione became frustrated at the fact that they were still childless in their four years of marriage. A lot of factors were in play--and it's not sexual performance, mind you--so the two tried going around these but in vain. HippocoΓΆn, on the other hand, could feel the pressure not only from his wife but from his family as well. Most of his siblings already had kids so it was somehow natural for them to expect at least one offspring from him. It didn't take long for him to finally crack. He didn't want to fail his family, after all. When he prayed to the gods for success, he meant it in the context of sex and fertility but the heavens took it literally. And by literally, he ended up sleeping with the goddess of victory, Nike. How they met wasn't relevant anymore. HippocoΓΆn wouldn't complain anyway, even if his wife found out. The Lady Hesione, although upset on instinct, was wise. She expected that he would sleep with a deity sooner of later; it runs in the family, anyway. Thus, when Nike's newborn child arrived, Hesione was the one to receive it from her. She told the lady to name her daughter Europa. Personally, Nike didn't hold a grudge as deep as the twelve Olympians for she was one to give others opportunities to succeed once again and for her, Europa was her promise of Olympene's return to its former glory.
Had it not been for Europa's arrival, HippocoΓΆn and Hesione wouldn't have set aside their differences and united in the common goal of properly raising their young girl. The first three years were times of adjustment in their dynamics. For it to take that long meant they had difficulty relating to one another, especially when their ways of parenting were as contrasting as almost every opinion they have in life. This time around though, fights became more apparent. HippocoΓΆn largely doted on Europa, whereas Hesione drew a fine line between strictness and leniency. Both had their reasons for their ways. The prince saw his daughter as an answered prayer and thus blessed her with love, adoration, and care that wasn't exactly a trademark of the Ayteria's resident 'emo' kid. On the other hand, the lady had a broader vision for the girl. Europa was Nike's living promise of Olympene's redemption and thought she was meant for greater things. She may be giving a lot of meaning to the goddess' cryptic words but hey, they have always been like that. Guided by this profound faith, Hesione geared her stepdaughter for whatever destiny awaited her.
Lady Hesione supervised the structured parts of her life, which involved a lot of boring books, lectures, proper socializing, and so on and so forth. Nonetheless, she always saw to it that she still enjoyed her childhood by letting her more carefree husband balance her out. That was their idea of raising her but Europa was always inclined to following her stepmother. She didn't want to be like her average father. And so she strove hard to prove her family that she wasn't like him and because of her efforts, recognition followed naturally. She got along well with her cousins--seeing she was an only child so she had nobody else to relate with--but still preferred being alone.
Olympene's festivals were Europa's most awaited events every year. To show her support, she helped in planning and organizing, mostly in the aspect of logistics. She also worked hand in hand with her father who was, as always, in charge of creating the illusions of the terrors experienced by the kingdom. Festivals were the only times she actually saw him become so enthusiastic on doing his job. And even though he grew more distant to his family as the festival drew near, Europa was eager to keep the only thing he was so passionate about alive. Her involvement in the preparations meant roaming the vast streets of the capital so it was only natural for her to end up in strange, remote places. When she was thirteen, she got too far on her own. That point in time was her first monster attack. Luckily for her, she was always prepared. Her parents taught her the art of fencing when she was just eight years old so a trio of empousai didn't pose a challenge to her and her trusty--yet blunt--rapier.
In the following years, Europa also took on the responsibility of Lady Hesione's diplomat to House Eubatis. The members of the house were well aware that she was not their mistress' biological daughter yet still treated her as if she was one of her own. They allowed her to stay in their estate for as long as she wanted. So in every summer, she spent her time to study and train with Eubatis' citizens. When she didn't train with warriors, she trained with monsters of the surrounding jungle. The house boasted a powerful military force despite the Great Curses, and was only second to House Ayteria in terms of strength and numbers during King Penthylos' rebellion. Hesione was certain that every time Europa returned from her training, she grew stronger and wiser.
As they grew older, Europa and her cousins gradually felt the weight of their royal mandate to their people. They couldn't settle with Olympene barely surviving. Many of them, including the daughter of Nike, saw the great need to leave Olympene in search of a way that would convince the Olympians to lift their curses once and for all. They could only do so much for their home while trapped within the palace walls. Thus Europa and her cousins gathered to pray. For days and nights the circle wasn't broken. They lost count on how long they stayed there really, even if asking the Olympians for such a big favor was a long shot. Finally, they got their reply in the form a boat that could traverse Olympene's perilous waters, bound for Camp Half-Blood. Europa, now sixteen, was claimed by Nike as soon as her first foot landed on the camp's grounds.
(Note: She arrived in 2018 and therefore, has been in camp for two years IC. This is consistent with the histories of the Olympenian demigods already claimed OOC.)
Weapon(s) (optional): Rapier
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