Hephaestus

* Elysium
* Classic

*Hephaestus is a quiet god who prefers to labor away endlessly in his forge, rather than attend social functions. Hephaestus does not have much interest in his wife Aphrodite, preferring to find intimate embrace with the muses who can stimulate his mind. While Hephaestus is close with his brother Ares, it is mostly out of duty to his mother Hera. His sole defiance of his mother is how much Hephaestus cares for his half-siblings, especially Athena, who Hephaestus has deep sibling feelings for.*

## History

### Early Life

Hephaestus is the second child of Zeus and Hera's coupling. Though he inherited the best mental qualities of his parents, Hephaestus never did develop either's cruelty and was always a good-natured sort. As he grew, Hephaestus' innate divinity granted him a truly powerful body and large stature, which made him well-suited to train as a front lines fighter in the upcoming conflict. However, he did not learn to fight to kill or seek glory, like his older brother Ares, but instead to protect those he loved.

Being immortal, the gods used time to their advantage, training in secret and biding their time. They had a few skirmishes with the Titans and would relocate their camp from time to time to prevent capture. On rare occasion, the godlings (now joined by Ares, Hephaestus, and their cousins Triton and Persephone) would become overeager and engage in guerrilla warfare with the Titans.

When one of the godlings' attacks on the Titans backfired and the gods were forced to abandon their camp prematurely, without a replacement ready, Zeus had to make an alliance with the Oread nymphs in the mountains of Arcadia to shelter the gods in a secret cave that was sacred to the Oread tribe. This alliance was sealed through intimate means, as is customary among the nymphs, resulting in Zeus lying with their tribal leader, the immortal nymph Maia. Months later, this resulted in the birth of Hermes.

To assure the survival of his people, Zeus had broken the sanctity of his second marriage. Hera was furious at this and with every passing day that the gods remained in the cave, sheltered by the Oreads, Hera's love for Zeus faltered.

As tensions escalated at home and with the Titans, Hera decided that open war might not be needed. She sought to negotiate with the Titans, in secret, wanting a more stable existence for her two sons. She arranged to talk with Rhea on neutral ground, but when she went to the meeting with Ares and Hephaestus accompanying her, she found Kronos himself waiting there instead of Rhea. Eager for combat, Ares was excited to find Kronos at the meeting instead and immediately engaged the Titan in combat.

To save Ares from certain demise, Hephaestus put himself in the way of a blow that would have utterly destroyed Ares. Though this only enraged Ares further, Hera used her psychic powers to take control over Ares’ mind and had him grab Hephaestus and flee while she surrendered herself to the Titan. Though this succeeded in preventing the death of Ares and Hephaestus, the mental force that Hera was forced to use caused severe damage to Ares' mind.

Ares returned to the cave with Hephaestus and word of Hera's capture. After hearing of this, Zeus decided that the time they had been waiting for was now. And so, to rescue Hera, the gods rallied their allies and made an assault on the Haven on Mount Othrys.

After Hera forced Ares to carry Hephaestus and flee, Hephaestus felt he was responsible for not only the capture of his mother but also the madness that had begun to take hold of his brother as a result of being compelled by their mother. As a means of penance and desire to help in the upcoming battle, Hephaestus built weaponry that surpassed anything made by man and rivaled even the craftsmanship of the Titans. With the weapons, ships, and armor built by Hephaestus, the exiles were victorious.

### Rise of the New Gods

For his contributions and to prevent open war among the gods, Zeus and Hera decided that Aphrodite was to be awarded to the well-liked Hephaestus and though there was some love at first, the couple quickly drifted apart, with Hephaestus more interested in spending time in his workshop than his marital bed.

Though Hephaestus was aware of his wife's many lovers, he chose to overlook the infidelity and pursued his own affairs on occasion with muses and nymphs that stimulated his mind as well as his passions. However, when he learned that his own brother was among the lovers of his wife, Hephaestus was truly hurt, and so he laid out a plan which resulted in Hephaestus later dragging a net with an ensnared Ares and Aphrodite (both of whom were completely naked) before a session of the Olympian Court.

Oddly, this trap actually earned Hephaestus the respect of many in the Court, his brother and wife included, as he had been long dismissed as a being without backbone.

Not long after the rise of the New Gods, Hephaestus created the beautiful woman Pandora in his magnificent forge. The purpose of her was to seduce Epimetheus and sabotage his efforts from within his own home, and it worked until curious Pandora opened her chest to reveal her true nature," the muse detailed as pictures of Pandora gazing upon her own exposed clockwork heart and essence-fueled organs.

### Elysium

As of late, Hephaestus is mostly splitting his time in the Spartan Empire and the Haven, where he keeps his well-stocked workshops.

## Abilities

* **God:** Son of Hera and Zeus, Hephaestus is divine by birth and has a might, build, and resilience that other gods lack.
* **Master of the Great Forge:** Haven’s Great Forge, powered by the Empyrean Flame, burns so hot that only the God of Fire could tolerate its heat. In his workshop, Hephaestus can use this Forge to build anything from great wonders and relics of immense power, to even true living beings
* **God of Fire, Geysers, & Volcanoes:** By decree of the Quorum of Six, Hephaestus oversees the Element of Fire, including its elemental spirits and nymphs. Through exercising this right, Hephaestus can summon or extinguish flame, sense the presence of geothermal phenomena and cause such to erupt, and cannot be burned by natural or unnatural heat or flame
* **God of Metalworking:**  By divine law, no Elysian Forge can operate without first giving a prayer to Hephaestus. That which is crafted in an unblessed forge is said to be cursed and flaw beyond repair. Hephaestus can sense such flaws in the build of any forged object. Hephaestus can also sense the location of the nearest forge, identify all smiths associated with that forge by name, and whether their skill makes them an apprentice, journeyman, or master. Hephaestus himself is reserved the right to give one the title of grandmaster. Finally, Hephaestus can create anything he imagined by him or another, given enough time, effort, and the raw materials to do so
* **God of Strength:** An innate gift from birth, Hephaestus’ strength is beyond legend. It is said that only he could have survived a direct strike from Kronos’ full might and live to tell the tale. Not only strong, enduring, and durable, but Hephaestus is also able to bless someone with a form of metaphysical strength to endure a difficult moment in life
* **Keeper of the Gigante Hammer:** A gift from the Cyclopses and modified by Hephaestus himself, this hammer weighs such that only Hephaestus, Titans, and Giant folk could lift it off the ground. Using this hammer, Hephaestus is able to craft or alter even enchanted relics said to be indestructible
* **Inheritance and Birthright:** Gods of Olympus will inherit three abilities: One Inheritance from their mother (or matron), one Inheritance from their father (or patron), and one unique ability called the Birthright.
	+ ***Maternal Inheritance: Fidelity Affinity:*** As a son of Hera, Hephaestus has an innate insight into the hearts of living beings and the untapped potential of inanimate objects. He can sense the value in a person or objective, seeing the potential for what they could become - with a little work.
	+ ***Paternal Inheritance: Arete of Charisma:*** As a son of Zeus, Hephaestus can be disarmingly friendly, even in spite of his social awkwardness and intimidating size. This is a passive effect that leaves people feeling at ease in his presence.
	+ ***Personal Birthright: Arete of Fitness:*** Hephaestus is naturally stronger than other deities, even stronger than his impressive physique would suggest. He is also more durable than other gods, and has more stamina. Though his leg has been physically maimed and left him partially crippled and walking with a limp, Hephaestus can move surprisingly fast in brief bursts of speed.

## Relationships

* **Aphrodite**: Hephaestus’ main significant relationship is with his wife, Aphrodite. The two married as a reward for Hephaestus' sacrifice during the battle against Kronos. Initially, their marriage was filled with love. Soon, however, Hephaestus became too concerned with making weaponry and tools for the Gods and Aphrodite felt empty. She turned to comfort in the form of others, while Hephaestus allowed this to continue in order to make her happy, but he was deeply hurt when he learned one of her lovers was his brother. Still, the two have remained together as husband and wife as Hephaestus is the only one Aphrodite has truly loved.

## Trivia

### General

* Like the rest of the Gods, Hephaestus does not have a set sexuality.

### Mythology

* In some versions of the classic mythology, Hephaestus was born solely from Hera and was tossed from Mount Olympus at birth due to him being too ugly. In NeOlympus, Hephaestus is the beloved son of Zeus and Hera who was crippled while saving Ares' life from Kronos.
* In Mythology, Aphrodite never loved Hephaestus and cheated on with more attractive partners. In NeOlympus, the two love one another, but Hephaestus is two busy making weaponry for the Gods, so she sought comfort elsewhere.

## Gallery

Hephaestus
(Elysium)Vulcan
(Rome)Hephaestus
(Classic)
### Appears In

NeonomikonCardStorm and ScornHeart and Hammer
## Links and References

1. ↑ A Beginner's Guide to NeOlympus (W.I.P.)
2. ↑ New NeO: Hephaestus