Althea Dorzana

Althea Dorzana
Daughter of Hades • Justiciar of Olympus • The She-Wolf

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Personal Information

Full NameAlthea Eleanor Dorzana

BirthdayApril 28 1859

Age26 (161)

Zodiac SignTaurus

Sex / GenderFemale/Female

SpeciesDemigod

NationalityAmerican

EthnicityMixed - African-American, Mexican

Sexual OrientationHomosexual

Romantic OrientationDemiromantic

Relationship StatusSingle

AccentSouthern

BirthplaceTexas

Living SituationNew Athens

Languages SpokenEnglish, Ancient Greek and Spanish

Weapon(s)Greatsword, Fists, Improvised Weapons

Personality

For the most part, Althea appears detached or uninterested. She's learnt through years of pain and hardship that the best thing she can do to survive is to block everything out. That isn't to say she's heartless, quite the opposite really, when Thea loves someone she loves them entirely to the point it consumes her. She isn't very intellectually inclined, finding academically pursuits boring for the large part, preferring the doing to theorising how something might work. She is a woman of few words, preferring to judge people off their actions and hoping that others do the same to her, words to her are meaningless unless they're backed up with something tangible.

While she can seem imposing or aggressive, there is a side to her that only a few people see. A keen guitar player and occasional storyteller, Thea often takes quite a protective role of those younger than her or who haven't seen the things she has. A nomad by all intents and purposes, Thea hasn't had a place to call home since her childhood home burnt down all those years ago, something which she desperately wants is someone or something that will be with her forever and won't be caught up in the wave of death that follows her.

History

Prologue - The Origins of a Slayer...

The Dorzana family were unknown to history, much like any regular person would be. They kept their heads down, worked hard and lived unremarkable lives, average but content. Now for all intents and purposes, this would make a boring story...but in 1836 the fate of the family was going to change. For good or ill, that's up for you to decide. A young girl, Graciela was born to Rodrigo, a Mexican man and Maria, an escaped African slave. Rodrigo worked as a simple blacksmith - usually making horseshoes or farming tools whereas Maria often mended clothing when the family were in need for a quick buck. The family wasn’t rich nor were they poor, they existed in a perpetual state of sufficient. They were content with this, it was better than what they had previously. The hand that fate dealt them was good...until it wasn't.

The American annexation of Texas in 1845 was the trigger of the Mexican-American war, Graciela’s father - now an American citizen was pressured by members of his community to join the war as a soldier. He wasn’t a confrontational man by any means despite his imposing physique and so he gave in rather easily, joining the US Army to fight his home country. Graciela’s mother was horrified by her husband joining up with American, a land she’d fled years prior, escaping slavery and all the horrors that came with it. The mere idea of going back to the country she previously suffered so much under haunted her, so she ran away - leaving her two children to fend for themselves. Graciela’s older brother was there to pick up the pieces of their broken family. At the age of 16, he took over his father’s business when the war was raging on, often helping smith horseshoes and other various things for the American soldiers. As time went on, the two siblings realised that their father was never coming home, the letters they got told them such despite the fact neither could read them. Mexico lost the war in the end, having to give up a large amount of land to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Despite this, life continued as normal for the siblings - just minus both their parents.

By 1855 the siblings had built up what they'd lost, Luis got married, had children and did the normal family thing. He continued his father's business knowing that he was making him proud, while Graciela picked up her mother's old jobs - remembering all the things she taught her all those years ago. Furthermore, Graciela was betrothed to the Mayor's son, although he wasn't a looker by any means she couldn't be particularly choosy over who she got to marry. The only reason he'd agreed to marry her anyway was due to the lack of women in the village in general. On the night before her wedding, in the late summer of 1858, she encountered a strange but alluring man at the local saloon. With piercing silver eyes, he spoke in the same Louisiana drawl as her mother did all those years ago but rougher, like honeyed sandpaper. Graciela wasn't thinking and as one thing led to another, the morning of her wedding she found herself in the stranger's bed...alone. Somehow, she managed to sneak out without anyone seeing her, creeping her way down the stairs of the hotel and slipping out the back exit. The wedding went without a hitch, her brother giving her away, her husband being adequate and the creepy priest ogling her from the pulpit and just like that, the night with the man went away, never to be thought about again. At least until Graciela felt a stirring in her abdomen, she was pregnant. The thought of the child not being her husband's didn't even cross her mind until the child was born and then she saw it. Those piercing silver eyes staring back at her.

Love One - Nothing You Could Do...

On April 28 1859, Althea was born and somehow, Graciela was able to pass the child off as her husband's. Her daughter was lucky, taking after her mother there were few questions surrounding her parentage especially since the timing of her conception was awfully convenient. Graciela was an angel of a woman and an angel of a parent too, her daughter essentially pinned to her breast - the two were inseparable. When Althea was two years old, however, the Civil War broke out. Texas was in the Confederacy and thus Graciela's husband chose to fight in it. This was the last straw for Graciela, she knew what the war was about, so she fled west - honestly, as far west as she could go. Taking most of the valuable possession in the house with her, she stopped only briefly to speak with her brother - explaining where she was going and that he couldn't tell anyone about it, nor try to follow her. She also explained Althea's real parentage - well, not the god bit but the not-her-husband bit. Strangely he understood, giving her the ring their father made their mother and wishing her well.

It was a misty morning when Graciela found herself on a bloodied battlefield - it was recent, she could smell the iron in the air and the smoke from the muskets. The ground was upturned and wet with morning dew as Graciela squished her way through, clutching her toddler to her breast. It was then out of the corner of her eye she saw the Stranger again, charming as ever with those piercing grey eyes. In the middle of the field, he stood, gazing over the remnants of what must've been hundreds of human lives. "The blood should be good fertilizer, I think..." He uttered, his voice still rough but softening slightly at the sight of Graciela. In response, she set her child down letting her play amongst the muck and rubble. "You're quite the lady, Graciela, not many can distract me from my job once, nevermind twice..." He gave her that twisted smile, that smile. It consumed her entirely. She leant in but he put his finger to her lips, "Not now, we'll meet again...continue on...I hear Whitespring is lovely..." He thought for a moment before disappearing into nothingness. That's when it clicked for her, at least somewhat.

Unsurprisingly, Graciela made her way to Whitespring - Althea in tow and Graciela got employed in a shop and settled down in a small home not far from the settlement. The Stranger fulfilled his promise and soon after he resumed his affair with Graciela, it was short-lived as soon Graciela fell pregnant with her second child and the Stranger revealed his true identity as Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. This wasn't much of a shock, Graciela had already determined something strange was going one due to his constant disappearances and unwillingness to settle down with her in addition to, you know, disappearing into nothingness. He was amused by this but went on to explain the danger her children would be in once they come of a certain age and noted that there was really nothing she could do about it except prepare them. That was the last time Graciela ever saw Hades, needless to say, she was heartbroken.

Elizabeth was born soon after Hades left for the final time, she was frail and sickly - Graciela being unsure if she'd even survive at the worst of it but she did, Thea made sure she did. The war was still raging on, yet the small family had escaped the worst of it. The town of Whitespring was relatively untouched, going about daily business unworried about the current situation. They managed to survive once, they'd do it again - through thick and thin the community would endure. A cockroach amid nuclear fallout, the town stood and will stand to the end of time. Poor fools didn't know what was going to hit them. It was nearing the end of the Civil War when a group of rowdy confederate soldiers made their way into the town. Now, monsters haunted Althea and Eliza through their entire lives, in various forms be it lawmen, soldiers or the friendly hydra down the street but it was this first one that would change Althea's life forever.

It was simple, a group of monsters disguised as confederate soldiers. They'd torch the town, getting rid of the demigod scent clogging up their noses. The plan was easy, in and out with time to spare for breakfast. They'd managed to track the scent to Althea's home, the seven-year-old girl's scent beginning to become overwhelming to them especially with the addition of her young sister, and with a fell swoop they broke in. The family were sleeping peacefully, apart from Thea who ever since she was young was plagued by insomnia when she heard a crack from downstairs. Her heart stopped as she jumped across to her sister at the other side of the room. At a certain point, her fight or flight response took over and she used her powers for the first time to shadow travel out of the house and into the bushes lining the road. At first, the men looked like normal confederate soldiers - just ugly, greasy and unwashed but then as Thea looked closer there was something more...It was then that the man on the lookout was struck down by a bronze shortsword. A dashing young man took his place, with dark brown hair and pale skin - his eyes the colour of summer leaves - while he held one shortsword, another was fastened to his belt. If he noticed the girls, he didn’t betray any emotion in doing so before he advanced inside; there were a few muffled screams in the dark as Thea stood there watching - cradling her sleeping sister. Eventually, the man exited their house, bloodied and bruised and approached the girls in the bushes. He offered his hand down to Thea. “Listen, you’re going to be safe - we just need to get out of here.” He said, a look of both mischief and worry crossing his face.

Althea knew to trust this man, she wasn’t sure why. He was charming and took her attention away from her home going up in flames. “What about...my mother?” Thea replied to him as he began to lead them away.

“She’s somewhere better now…you’ll see her soon...” Is all he replied, knowing full well it might be years if that before they’d meet her again.

Love Two - The Language of Flowers

To put it simply, Thea and Eliza’s mother was killed by monsters - a common occurrence for Demigods. The man who saved them introduced himself as Ace Gideon, a name the girls had only heard in hushed whispers. He was to be the man who taught them to survive. An imposing man, very few who crossed him lived to tell the tale; he robbed, killed and plundered, carving out a large part of the land for him and his group of misfits. He cared for them, he made sure they were well provided for and he made sure they were strong enough to provide for each other as well. He’d taken a shine to the Dorzana sisters; mostly because, like him, they were demigods. A son of Hermes, he was practically born for this line of work and he was dang good at it. The years passed and Thea became increasingly good at what the gang did - becoming one of the few full-fledged female members, she even got her own horse - a black mare she called The Morrigan. Everything the gang did, came naturally to Thea and eventually, at the age of seventeen, she became a secondary enforcer in the gang; just under Ace himself - who then gave her his other celestial bronze shortsword. Again, monsters continued to plague Thea and Eliza but with Ace’s training as well as a nomadic lifestyle, whenever monsters found them they were easily dispatched with or lost in the desert wilderness.

In early spring 1877, Althea met an alluring girl working at the local saloon. She went by the name Rose Lee and quickly Thea fell head over heels for her. Wherever she walked, the flowers bloomed and the birds sand. She radiated warmth and…*life*. Her smile stopped Thea’s heart and her eyes like pools of honey she was stuck in. The sound of her voice; a melody she couldn’t get out of her head. Everything about her had struck Thea in the heart and had consumed her entirely. Their romance was a whirlwind from start to finish until, in early October, she left. According to the saloon's madame, she’d gotten engaged with a lawyer from New York - honestly, a miracle considering her status and her lack of money or well...family in general. Thea had noticed how when summer waned, so did her mood - becoming cold and distant but that didn’t help the betrayal she felt and before she knew it she was on the road again. Ace had found a great score on the southern rail line, probably could set them up for life - they just needed to get there before any other gang could.

Love Three - Can't Take Back The Bullet

You know how Ace said the next score would set them up for life? That was a lie. A couple of years had passed since that and still, the gang were robbing and killing as if the nine circles of hell weren’t calling them in like flaming sirens coaxing moths. He’d entered a turf war with another gang, taking one of their members Owen Washington, as a prisoner and informant. Thea’s sister Eliza had taken a liking to the boy - although Thea was critical of their relationship. While Ace was convinced the boy was a high ranking member, Thea thought otherwise. If the Washingtons really cared about him they would’ve burned their camp down. Instead...well...he’s still here, breathing, starving and thirsting. Kicked about like a stray dog no one loves. Apart from Eliza, Eliza was the only one who treated him with dignity...Thea didn’t treat him at all; he wasn’t her problem.

Thea had her own matters to worry about, she’d begun a relationship with a young recruit named Lisa. She was from a wealthy family from Lousiana and while she had accepted this...way of life...she was still reared with southern, upper-class sensibilities. That being said, she was super good in bed and the two worked well together - her deadly aim along with Thea’s ability to track anyone down. They were unstoppable. Ace sent both of them out to take out the leader of the Washingtons; James Washington - they managed to sneak onto his compound as well as break into his home - it was simple. However, Lisa was flashy, Lisa was reckless and Lisa was well...Lisa. She flew too close to the sun and before she could get her shot off against James, his wife who had followed them shot her through the chest at point-blank range. Thea managed to quiet down the woman before getting back to Lisa but it was too late. Even if she didn’t have to worry about getting caught, she wouldn’t have enough time to get her to safety. She bled out right there in her arms, the first time Thea told her she loved her.

Thea returned without killing James Washington, and it was then where she learnt that Ace had purposefully given her and Lisa a hard job in order to get themselves killed. This was the end of the line for Thea, Ace had made too many reckless decisions and now that Thea had called him out for it he wanted her gone. A man she considered as a father...She packed her stuff up that night and left along with Eliza and her horse The Morrigan. Unbeknownst to her until they were several miles away, Owen had been following them and asked to tag along. Apparently, Eliza freed him which...well, typical Eliza.

Love Four - Sister, Sister

Eliza and Owen’s romance bloomed, as did a depression within Thea. She knew this was the beginning of the end for her, first her mother, then Rose, and now Lisa. It was a twisted tragedy. She did everything she could for Eliza and Owen, provided them with everything while leaving nothing for herself. When Eliza fell pregnant, it was the happiest she’d felt in a long time but it was still dull. When Zylphia was born, what a name, it was the same; happiness but dulled. She’d numbed herself to pain but also to joy; she just wanted peace. Monster attacks were beginning to die down for her at this stage - nothing near what she faced as a teenager. They mostly took the form of lawmen coming after her - it made sense to most mortals, she was a wanted criminal after all. She managed to get housing for Eliza and her family and provided for them in any way she could, at one point selling the shortsword Ace had given her. But Eliza refused to let her be the only one doing so. She helped Thea, despite Thea’s constant pleas and eventually that was what killed her.

Thea wasn’t sure how she got it, neither was she, but Eliza contracted tuberculosis sometime after her daughter’s birth. It started alright, just a little cough but...it wore on. At first, they weren’t sure what it was, at least until the blood appeared then...well...then it was a death sentence. Thea’s veneer of apathy cracked then, for a moment before it closed up again. Thea was at Eliza’s bedside every day before her death and well...it broke her. The girl she sought to protect, the girl she put before herself every single time was gone...and she was left behind. Owen wanted to move back east along with their daughter Zylphia but neither had the funds; so he took a job at a ranch, earning barely anything - just enough to survive. That’s when Thea was approached with the deal of a lifetime, something she couldn’t refuse.

Love Five - Big Iron

It had been a couple of years since Thea had left Ace along with Eliza and Owen, Ace had gone on to do...much more horrific things including massacring an entire settlement. When actual lawmen, not just monsters in disguise, managed to track down Thea they offered her a deal: Track down Ace, get his bounty and your freedom. The freedom didn’t matter to Thea, as far as she was concerned she died along with Eliza...maybe even Lisa or her mother. No, what she was really interested in was the bounty. That money could pay Owen and Zylphia to move away from all this, settle down somewhere better. Become...normal? She didn’t need time to think, she decided it right there and then that she was going to track down Ace.

Tracking him down was easy, he’d told her all his secrets - including his routes around the wilderness. She knew his horse Colonel from anywhere being grey with a braided tail. She’d always hated that horse, it bit her once as a child. She brought the good news to the lawmen who rode out to Ace’s hideout; Thea and The Morrigan in tow. It was silent...until shit, a double-cross. The lawmen had played both of them. The two of them were paraded up onto a scaffold and given their pistols, the sheriff made it easy: whoever kills the other first, gets the bounty and their freedom. Thea hesitated, Ace did not.

Love Six - The Horsewoman of Death Rides...

Much like Lisa, Thea was shot in the ribs. Technically speaking, there wouldn’t have been much hope for her but...the gods made a deal. This deal was pretty simple but hinged on something important: Rose Lee….a beautiful flower but also Persephone, queen of the Underworld. She’d originally gone to Thea to make her life hell, simply because she was her husband’s child but instead...she fell for her. She related to her, stuck somewhere they didn’t want to be - forced to do things they didn’t want to do. Thea was like a flower in the sand to her, it shouldn’t have been there, it shouldn’t have made her feel this way but...it did. Thea died when Ace shot her but at the same time she didn’t...because Persephone made a deal.

Dike, goddess of Justice made a deal with Persephone instead. She’d also kept an eye on Thea and noticed her talents for tracking down those who didn’t want to be found. She noticed her physical prowess and general survival skills and knew how much she needed her. She dealt Persephone this: if Persephone snuck Thea’s soul out of the Underworld, she’d steal some heavenly light from her uncle Hyperion for her flower garden. Persephone accepted and made sure Thea’s soul didn’t cross the river Styx. Thea awoke buried under cold earth and had to dig herself out. She rose from the dead, a large scar on her chest from the injury. The moonlight pierced the clouds and haloed around her as a winged goddess approached her, a set of scales emblazoned on her shield. “Althea, I presume...good, I choose you as my champion - a justiciar of Olympus, you will destroy all who oppose us.” Thea didn’t know how to respond as the goddess faded away. She sat bruised, bloodied and covered in dirt with nothing but the clothes on her back but...then she saw The Morrigan and on her back a sword forged from Stygian Iron.

Thea rode to the only place she knew where to go, Owen’s home. When she got there she found it vacated with a simple note: “Not your responsibility.” This is what finally broke Thea, with a wail she smashed the windows of the small home and threw over any furniture until finally, she was crying alone in the middle of the room. After she managed to compose herself she decided to ride far away from this place, clamouring aboard The Morrigan she rode for what seemed like days until she came to a small outpost town where she was given her first job by the gods. These jobs were simple, hunt down someone the gods don’t like or who doesn’t like the gods or who is escaping the gods or whatever. They’re not complicated, they were also never the fun or important ones. She never got to kill Hitler or Stalin or anyone big, it was always some C tier douche who had escaped death too many times. She gained the nickname "Horsewoman of Death" during the First World War where she rode The Morrigan into no man's land, supposedly ushering men to their deaths. She continued going all around the world, never really caring or giving much interest. As far as she knew, Thea died when she was shot on the scaffold, now she was just an agent for the gods. Eventually, The Morrigan died, while she lived a much longer time than most horses she wasn't immortal and thus Thea replaced her with a more permanent motorcycle which she named after both her and her niece: The Morrigan Zylphia.

Love Seven - Song of a Nightingale

It was the 1960s, the decade of love and counterculture. Thea had been living life as an immortal assassin for around eighty years. Her entire life revolved around doing whatever the gods asked of her, although she had managed to track down some of Eliza’s descendants from Zylphia and kept an eye on them. Otherwise, she lived through her life as detached as possible. At least until she found herself in Cat’s Wine Bar doing reconnaissance for a mission, it’s there she met Dahlia - a cabaret singer with dark red hair and brown eyes. Her voice was like a choir of angels to Thea’s ears. They met eyes from across the room and the chemistry was instant, Dahlia was the first person to make her feel...anything since Lisa and...it scared her. She’d kept herself closed off for so long...she gave in. She met Dahlia after one of her shows and the two had a marvellous love affair that lasted years.

Dahlia, however, was mortal and so she aged. Thea had tried pleading with the gods to remove her immortality but they refused, at least until she gave about 150 years of service in exchange for well...living. By the early 2000s, Dahlia was reaching her 70s and Thea was becoming distraught, especially after Dahlia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's which kept progressing and getting worse until Dahlia could barely recognise Thea. Thea could barely take it, she’d lost so many people but...not for so long. She’d protected herself from this but now...Dahlia died in 2015 at 83 years old. Thea did what she did best, bury herself in her work - it’s the only thing that wouldn’t die on her.

Love Eight - In the Eye of a Hurricane...

Where does that leave her now? Well, she maintains a garden in the underworld dedicated to the lives she’s lost or taken. She hopes desperately that the ones she loves can see it but she doubts it, whenever she tries to summon anyone it doesn’t work; the best she can surmise is that they’ve decided to be reborn. She doesn’t blame them, but it’s rough. Thea’s been followed by death since she was young, the single bit of peace in the midst of a storm. Every time she thinks it’s over it comes back to haunt her, the lives she’s lost and the lives she’s taken. The only thing she can do now is continue to live with it and learn from her experiences. After hearing about New Athens she’s decided to settle down there, at least for the time being - she’s decided that she needs at least a little bit of stability and somewhere to call home, at least for now, appears to be the best way to gain it.

Powers

Template:Hades Powers

Appearance

Face ClaimTessa Thompson

Eye ColourSilver Grey

Hair ColourDark Brown

Height5'10"

Weight???

Voice TypeAlto

Blood TypeO+

Distinguishing MarksCovered in scars, has broken nose before, bruised knuckles almost constantly, dark bags under eyes, “beauty” mark under right eye, light dusting of freckles over body, long eyelashes and a cold gaze

Body StyleWell-Built, Athletic

TattoosEliza (sister’s name) under left breast, angel wings on back, various others

PiercingsTwo in each ear lobe, one in top of right cartlidge

ScentA earthy scent with hints of leather, whiskey and gasoline.

Family Information

FatherHades

MotherGraciela Dorzana†

CreatorN/A

Full SiblingsEliza Washington (née Dorzana)†

Half SiblingsChildren of Hades

Guardian(s)Ace Gideon†

SpouseNone

ChildrenNone

Other RelativesZylphia Washington† (Niece), Owen Washington† (Brother-in-Law), Luis Dorzana† (Uncle)

Relationships

Significant Other(s)Persephone

Lisa Vagelbud

Dahlia Ambrose Former Lovers

None Currently

Best Friend(s)None

FriendsNone

EnemiesNone

OtherNone

Name Etymology

Given [ Althea ]Wholesome, to heal

Middle [ Eleanor ]Shining light

Surname [ Dorzana ]Unknown

Trivia

Nickname(s)Thea

Favourite ColourRed, Silver

Favourite MovieHeathers

Favourite Song

Favourite FoodRaspberries

Favourite DrinkWhiskey

Likes

Dislikes

Loves

Loathes

First Kiss

First Crush

First Love

First Time

Pet(s){{{Pet(s)}}}

OccupationTBD

Sports PlayedMMA

Instruments PlayedGuitar

SmokerYes

DrinkerYes

AddictionsNone

GoalsNone yet

Achievements

Biggest Hope

Biggest Regret

Best Memories

Worst Memories

Mental IllnessesNone diagnosed

Criminal RecordNone

Medical Record

Custom Trivia

Images