Gil Merrit

Gil, or Hermes as he is usually known, was an Old God in the Agon.

## History

Born in Arcadia, he was the son of Zeus, and Maia (a Pleiade). Hermes was the messenger of the gods, and served in this role for years.

Under Athena he rebelled against declining worship by creating calamities. This went against Zeus's orders and as such they were exiled down under the Agon.

He eventually met the Reveler, and they became romantic partners. They toured the world and stole artifacts back from museums. This ended, eventually, when Wrath rose. The Reveler liked Wrath, while Hermes didn't. Hermes protected him against Athena's hatred of new gods for a while, even trading the sighting of the aegis for his partner's life.

This left him seemingly immensely regretful, as he later disguised himself as a human. He pretended to be mugged on the outskirts of a French town, beaten to near-death and left with a broken arm and leg, while calling for help that never came. This played on Lore's sense of justice, who carried him on her back to a hospital and wait there with him. She checked him into the hospital, pretending to be his granddaughter, and while they waited, he explained Gil's backstory.

Gil's backstory was that of a New York professor, 87 at the time, who was unmarried and was on what he knew would be his last abroad trip. He had obtained a brownstone and a varied collection of things, from holiday-themed bow ties to animal themed canes to furniture with bone inlays.

Lore decided, likely with some influence from Hermes, to be his live-in caretaker, and after some pretending to mull it over, Hermes agreed. This was, at first, until he was out of a wheelchair, but it quickly became indefinite.

He had cast extremely strong aversion charms on the house against Athena and other gods, even his former lover. He also gave Lore a feather necklace that made her invisible to gods for her birthday. Eventually Gil took in Miles after a coffee shop meeting, letting him rent the third floor.

He faked his death because of the Agon; the charms still worked until he died at the Awakening. To try to protect Lore, he left her a lot of money and the townhouse (plus its spells, unbeknownst to her), as well as a lot of money to Miles as well.

He died at the Awakening, rendering his spells and work to stop Athena moot. Wrath's hunters caught Hermes, and cut his tendons so that he couldn't escape. They brought Hermes to Wrath, who was struggling desperately and Hermes told him that he would never find whatever he was looking for. Wrath denied this and killed Hermes with a blade to the spine.

After he died, he was tasked by someone (Zeus or Hades, implied) to guide Lore. He did so, but only as much as he was allowed to, and provided motivation as she struggled to get up. At first he appeared in his traditional appearance, before switching to Gil in a tweed jacket. The jacket broke apart to reveal an ivory tunic and his caduceus. When they reached their destination, Gil apologizes for his part in everything, as she wakes up.

In the vision Lore had of the underworld, seven gods were seen; Hermes among them.

## Personality

Hermes was resourceful, clever, and pragmatic, which were traits that let him survive in the Agon. He was loyal, trading a sight of the Aegis to keep his ex-lover alive, Later, he regretted the consequences, as it led to the Perseides, all besides Lore, being massacred as a result. This directly convinced him to create an intricate scheme to protect Lore from Athena. He also was fun-loving around those he liked. Hermes and the Reveler would live it up between Agons, and he took in Miles partially because of them sharing that affinity. There was a darker side to his personality, as shown by Hermes's willingness to cause disasters when he lost worship and respect, and attempting to overthrow Zeus after he was told to stop.

## Relationships

### Other Gods

#### Athena (Sister)

Hermes never trusted Athena by the time of the 212th Agon. He told the Reveler about how Athena was untrustworthy and dangerous. Once, to protect the Reveler, he told Athena of the sighting of Lore with the Aegis. When he was protecting Lore, he shielded his home with powerful charms so strong that Athena couldn't approach, even.

#### The Reveler (lover)

Hermes loved the Reveler, spending the time together between Agons by touring the world and visiting museums. He loved the Reveler enough to protect him against Athena, however their relationship frayed because of Wrath. Hermes didn't trust Wrath while the Reveler did. The Reveler tried to convince him to work with Wrath by swearing on the Styx he'd protect his secret, but it never worked. A sticking point seemed to be Hermes's love and the Reveler's disdain of green velvet.

#### Wrath

Hermes never trusted Wrath, and refused to work with him. Wrath didn't have high opinions of Hermes either, killing him.

### Mortals

#### Lore

Hermes traded his sighting of the Aegis (and Lore) to Athena to protect his lover, however this left him extremely guilt-ridden. When Lore fled the estate of the Odyssides after killing the Odyssides' archon, he pretended to be an injured old man. She stayed with him for years. He faked his death so he wouldn't vanish one day with the Agon but the protective enchantments would hold.

#### Miles

Miles and Gil met at a coffee shop, and Miles moved in. They got along really well, as both are trusting and carefree. Miles later questions why Hermes had even taken him in at all, feeling hurt by the lies, but makes somewhat of a peace with it.

## Trivia

* He had a collection of holiday bow ties, animal-head canes, and his furniture was ornate.
* He liked green velvet, much to the Reveler's distaste.
* His last name as Gil means 'boundary', referencing his role as a psychopomp.
* Among his personal things was a tortoise statue that was mentioned to be sentimental to him. This is a reference to a myth where Hermes invented the lyre out of a tortoiseshell soon after he was born.

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