Artem

## Application Sheet

Artem was a male mountain lion with facial scars and yellow-green eyes. His story in the Domain began during the Hive Wars, when he met a fellow mountain lion named Nova, who later became his mate. They had three cubs together: Mar, Kainda, and Lyra. His story is ongoing. Artem was created and RP'd by Lotus-Wolfdragon.

## Personality

* ***Adaptable***. No matter the circumstance, Artem is quick to adjust to the environment around him. His lack of personal attachments to a home allow him to quickly move on when he needs to. He is unbothered and unwavering when change occurs around him, merely going along with it like a leaf on the wind.
* ***Knowledgeable***. He holds onto the lessons he's learned well, about surviving and what the best strategy to hunting would be. Artem may know a lot and it's his ability to retain this information that makes him very cunning. He knows the mannerisms of wolves, for example, more than they think he does, and thus this gives him a great advantage when set against them.
* ***Practical***. Artem acts on situations based on what the best outcome will be for him, and refuses to let his emotions and influence of others cloud his judgment. He has heard of Gods and spirits of nature, but chooses to believe in the reality of his situation instead of the hope and prayer that things will work out. He is a do-er, not a believer.
* ***Soft-Hearted.*** On the surface Artem is a tough as nails cat with little regard for those around him. However, those who earn a spot in his inner circle will discover that Artem isn't as tough as he says he is. He has a soft place for young cubs/wolves and of those who have dealt with a hard hand in life because, in the end, weren't they all trying to survive? This is a trait reserved only for his closest friends - if he ever makes any.
* ***Survivalist***. Survival is the most important thing to Artem. His whole life, he had been taught the best ways to survive a world that is not hospitable to him. Whatever scars he's earned are just testaments that he's lived another day. As a result, Artem knows quite a few tricks to making an easier living.
* ***Lonely***. He is a smart cougar, but deep down Artem desires lifelong companionship. His emphasis on living every day like its his last has left him with no time or want to seek out a friend. And the only friend he had been able to make, he lost in a moment of fury. Artem believes that he is a creature that is simply unable to have companions and is better off alone, but that doesn't mean he likes it necessarily. In a way, though he has survived for a long time, he feels his life has been mostly wasted due to a lack of friends.
* ***Ambitious***. If he desires something, then Artem will work for it. He has set goals and expectations in his mind, and will work towards those goals. He wants to make his life successful and as easy for him as possible, so Artem will do whatever it takes to ensure that. No task is too great in his mind, especially once he sets himself on it. However, this may mean he will use others as a means to an end for himself.
* ***Judgmental***. Artem is quick to judge others based on first impressions and holds onto those first perceptions for a long time. He believes he has a good judge of character and isn't wrong when it comes to determining who you are at face value. He becomes annoyed when others call him out for this behavior as he will believe he is correct.
* ***Fatalistic***. He is not religious, but Artem does fully believe his life had been planned out since his birth. He was born, he lives, and then he dies, that is the natural cycle of things. He will eat, sleep, and mate, and that is all that is expected from his life, and it is all Artem expects to gain from life. His tryst with the wolves was a... simple hiccup in this life. Everything else is predestined for him.
* ***Hedonistic***. Self-pleasure is the main goal of this cougar. Fighting, eating, mating... it's all Artem has ever known in his life. It's what makes him "happy" in his mind, so why shouldn't he indulge in these activities?
* ***Possessive***. Artem is very possessive of the things he deems are his, and doesn't care to share with others. A part of it is selfishness but another part is insecurity, as the cougar doesn't want to lose these things that he has claimed for himself. This includes territories, kills, mates, and friends as these are things he's worked for to have in his life.
* ***Aloof***. Unfriendly and unapproachable, Artem is a reserved character who keeps his cards close to his chest. Very few know of Artem and even fewer *know* Artem. He keeps all at a distance in order to save himself the headache and hurt that could come with keeping close connections. Besides, cougars were always meant to be alone.

## Pre-Group History

A nameless cub was born in the lands of the Domain. Names meant very little to his mother, who picked a name for herself but refused to share it to her prodigy. So the nameless cub dubbed his mother Milkbringer and referred to her as such for the time he had with her. He had a brother who had been tragically lost at a young age, but being so young himself, the cub felt no grief or loss from it. Instead he did what Milkbringer wanted him to do - survive. Nothing good came from emotional attachments when the world was your enemy, so it was best to stay alone, hunt alone, be alone. Milkbringer had been heavy-handed in her teachings, which became entrenched in the cub's mind over time. When it was time for him to leave her, he did so without tears being shed. He went into the world with the name he chose for himself - Artem. Master of hunters.

From adolescence to young adulthood, Artem thrived in solitude. He hunted, ate, and thrived. The only company he kept were that of young females. He was never involved with raising any cubs, and left as soon as the deed was done. Though there were times he felt alone in the world, Artem kept going because this is what he was supposed to do. Live and survive.

Life changed for him when he was 3 years old. While eating from his latest catch, a large wolf approached him. Artem held disdain for them as they were competitors for resources, but was going to leave as he could smell a group not far out. Instead of taking his prey, the wolf made a proposition for Artem, a deal of sorts. The wolf was powerhungry and wanted to keep an iron grip on his pack, Murwood, for as long as he could until he had the perfect heir. He offered Artem safety and food in exchange for passing on his skills onto the rest of the pack. At first Artem was left confused by the offer - a wolf and cougar coming together to... help one another? Didn't that go against the rules of nature itself?

But then again... Artem would have food and safety. He would still be allowed to be himself. That wasn't a bad deal, especially since he wouldn't have to compete with others. The arrangement would only help him, rather than hurt him. So he agreed and returned to the pack as an honorary guest who would become mentor to any young.

Artem was allowed to keep to himself, so no wolf bothered him unless they sought him out purposely. He trained some of the youngsters the skills of a cougar, and while some took readily to his lessons, others did not. Artem was bored and uninterested in these wolves until he eventually met her, a young eager wolf by the name of Esme. Whatever skills and life advice he gave her, it seemed she took to seriously. She saw value in what he offered that the others could not, and over time this allowed for their relationship to become more than just teacher and student. Artem genuinely began to like Esme's company, liking the feeling that she was actually listening to him. Dare he say, he felt like a father to young Esme, and it warmed a little bit of his cold heart.

In that time it seemed that Artem's status seemed to become more favorable with the alpha. He became a sort of political ally to the wolf, especially with the rising tension with a neighboring pack. Artem never got involved with dealing with the rival pack, but cast his support for Murwood because if they didn't survive, then what would happen to him? So life went on and it wasn't dull, between drama among the ranks of the wolves and Artem teaching Esme whatever else he felt she needed to learn to survive.

Then, it all felt apart. Murwood started to lose its grip on power, and war with the rival pack seemed imminent. Tensions rose between Artem and Esme as they butted heads over what the right thing to do was - Esme wanted to see the war through and Artem wanted them to run away, save their own hides. Ultimately it boiled over, and Artem only saw red. Forgetting his friendship with the she-wolf, he went to attack her but she was saved at the last moment by a fellow pack mate. With the only meaningful relationship he had made now shattered, Artem disappeared into the night. The next day Murwood would be no more.

Once more life had become a blur as Artem traveled on, returning to doing the things that made him "happy". But he wasn't happy. Losing Esme made him lose a part of his life that he had not realized he missed. He was lonely once more. Unable to cope, Artem simply chose to push it away and just continue on with living. He fought other cougars over food and territory, and made himself elusive whenever he spotted wolves. He did not know what became of the pack that destroyed Murwood but he had heard whisperings of 'a pack where an old cougar used to live'. The rumors were plentiful enough that Artem left his territory behind to move across the Domain in the hopes of a fresh start where he could be left alone. He headed in the direction for Xassa.

## Trivia

* The scarring on over his eye was from a fight with another mountain lion.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Lotus-Wolfdragon's deviantART Gallery