Gaia

Gaia is a Half God son of Rao and is the most celebrated of the ancient heroes. His mother was Allura, an Elven princess who caught the eye of the God King. He appeared to her and bedded her. As she had already been promised in marriage to a prince of a rival kingdom, her pregnancy came as a great shame to her father who exiled her. She took refuge in the neighboring kingdom of Arus, bearing the child, who she named Gaia. Despite his status as a half breed, Gaia possessed power on an order beyond even many full blooded gods. He demonstrated these powers at an early age when Agni, jealous of the elf child her brother had sired, tried to have him killed and he killed the assassins who came for him. (Shiva often treated her husband's daliances with mortals with more annoyance than anything, but Rao's secret lover Agni would consider the mortals and their offspring as rivals for Rao's affection and would try to destroy them). The power he displayed drew Rao’s interest, and he would keep tabs on the boy and appear to him at several points throughout his life. 
The boy grew into a powerful warrior, who set out on adventures in search of glory. However, he was also supremely arrogant and would run afoul of others, including other gods, many times throughout his life with dire consequences. On one occasion, Gaia was tricked by Agni into releasing the monstrous beast Karkas onto his homeworld. Realizing his mistake, he bravely stood in defense of his home. After a glorious final battle with the beast, Gaia succumbed to his wounds and seemingly died. However, he was restored by his father and offered a place on Ultima. He made peace with Shiva and Agni and was given Rao and Shiva’s beautiful daughter Cardea as his wife, and welcomed into the Dragon pantheon. 
During his time on Ultima, he was taught in the full use of his powers, many of which he had no idea how to use. He gradually built up a cult of his own, and was worshipped and invoked by great heroes throughout the galaxy. However, he was still very much his father’s son, and possessed a lust for women and battle which alienated him time and again from the other gods. He was exiled from Drago many times by his father, who would often relent and welcome him back. It was during one of these exiles that the Cataclysm occurred, and Gaia was therefore not present to offer up his essence with Shine so he could defeat the mad Shiva. He reconnected with his father, and aided him in restoring the Holy Order, becoming his right hand man. He later became the go between for his father with the new Holy Ghost, the saran Zanko. On one of his visits he caught wind of Zanko’s treachery, but before he could report to his father he was defeated and imprisoned on Kazan, with Rao being told his son had died on the Dragon Road. It would not be until the Holy Ghost’s death that Gaia would be freed by the Deathwalk Sihara, who wished to earn the favor of the God King. Owing to his parentage, 
Gaia is extremely powerful and immortal. Despite this, he does not have a Dragon form like the other gods. He possesses a high degree of martial skill and bravery, but is known for relying on brute strength due to his dislike of planning. During the Heroic Age, Gaia was a celebrated hero who was widely loved by the people. Despite his arrogance, he was regarded as a good man who always tried to do what he thought was right. When he was inducted into the Dragon Pantheon, he often acted on behalf of mortals and would go on long adventures with them to alleviate his boredom. The sensibilities instilled in him by his mortal mother often left him aghast at the callous actions of his father, who he would confront many times over the eons for his treatment of the mortals. Despite his tendency to stray from their marriage, Gaia also deeply loved his wife Cardea. This all changed after the Cataclysm. With his wife gone and he and his father the only gods left, Gaia became increasingly jaded, developing an apathy towards mortals that rivaled his father.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Grace ===
As the son of the God King Rao, Gaia possesses incredible power which exceeds that of even other full born Gods. However, for the beginning of his life much of his power was inaccessible to him because he was still tied to his mortal persona. After falling to the Leviathan Karkas, the spark of his inborn Grace was ignited by Rao and afterwards he was allowed to ascend to the Dragon Pantheon and live on Ultima.
== Trivia ==
- The beast Karkas who he fought was actually a Leviathan that had been defeated and sealed away by Rao eons before.
- After being captured by the Holy Ghost, Gaia was kept in a secret chamber underneath the Ghost's Throne Room. He was kept in stasis inside a specialized cell which siphoned off his Grace so that it could be absorbed by the Ghost himself when sitting on his Throne. By absorbing Gaia's grace, the Ghost hoped to increase his own power and overcome the power lock placed on him by Rao.
==Additional Photos==