Aos

This page has significant spoilers for a major story arc.

Aos official art by @ThatArtJack

### First Introduced

Episode 117 / Podcast 104: Bird Business (First Heard)Episode 128 / Podcast 115: Oreyara's Task (First Met)

## Background

Aos was originally part of a long-forgotten divine being whose name is lost to time. When that being shattered and ceased to exist, millions of shards were created and scattered across the planes of existence and Aos was but one. Some time afterward the young goddess Oreyara gave Aos shelter and safety in her realm and he became associated with the construct goddess giving her domain over the concept of time and this synthesis resulted in the clockwork that is associated with her. Aos lived in a forest of clocks in a sub-domain contained in Oreyara's plane, where he spent all his time managing the endless field of clocks, which could be used to see potential futures.

As Lys began to grow more active (desperate?) and prodded The Unexpectables to achieve an unknown goal, Aos contacted Task with prompts to seek them out at the Mountain of Repetition.

In leaving Oreyara's realm to journey with Task, Aos was forced to greatly diminish their power, leaving their control over the concept of time in Oreyara's hands.

## Personality

Aos is impatient, arrogant, and opinionated. They are more than a little bitter about their current diminished state, but were willing to give up their power because they understood it was the only way to move forward. Every time Aos speaks, their voice stutters into being, like it is echoing forward in time.

## Relationships

### Task

Aos' relationship to Task took a while to develop. The two are very similar and originally that put them at odds, but once they compared notes on things they hate such as having to explain things to people, not getting immediate responses to their demands, and gods being less than omniscient and infallible, they came to an understanding. Since then Aos and Task have developed a friendship, occasionally making jabs at one another, but also having a lot of respect and trust for each other. Task frequently asks for Aos’s opinion on things and, unlike the other Aspects, he tends to give straight answers and makes it clear when he doesn’t know something.

The Aos that Task first interacted with was a future version, so when Task found him in Oreyara's realm, the reverse was true and the celestial did not know the kobold yet. Aos left Oreyara's realm, ceding the majority of their power to her, and attached themselves to Task. In his final confrontation with Darkus, Aos took the form of a porcelain bow, with an armored guantlet and sleeve over Task's arm. Aos asked Task to name his new form, with the slightest indication that he was jealous of Ith's guitar form having it's own name. Task has named this new weapon Epoch.

### Lysalivast, Ith and Kai

Aos, Like Lysalivast and the other Aspects, was part of an ancient god whose name is lost to time and very existence has been erased from mortal comprehension. When this god shattered, Aos was adrift, eventually ending up with Oreyara. Aos doesn't understand why Lysalivast struggles against their non-existence and thinks the dead god they collectively served should simply stay dead. Despite this, they are helping with their plan. Aos seems to not have a great opinion of Ith, considering him weaker than himself, as well as being seemingly jealous that Ith’s guitar form had a name, feeling that Ith would be beating him if his own bow form wasn’t also named. Aos also appears to have a poor opinion of Kai too, outright stating that he hates how pretentious Kai is during a conversation in the Elemental Plane of Fire.

### Oreyara

Oreyara gave Aos shelter and safety in her realm. By absorbing Aos she gained domain over time. She acknowledged that allowing Aos to leave her domain it would diminish them both, but she was willing to let him make that decision.

## Trivia

* Upon returning to Alivast after disbanding the Dragon Cult, a building holding one of the Attic’s chains crashed down, and another crystal rose to join the Attic and Ith’s crystal in the skies above Alivast. Aos responded to it, saying that with that his purpose had become clearer.
* Aos has shown annoyance or frustration when Epoch is not used in battle, this is especially notable after the Water Plane, where bows cannot be fired underwater, when Task summons Epoch and Aos agrees with him that it's "heavenly" to be back.
* During DistortionDevil's first stream of Shadow of the Colossus, Monty revealed that the character called Dormin was the inspiration for Aos's way of speaking. Dormin occasionally stutters when they speak, and Aos starts his sentences with a similar stutter.