Castor

## Castor Achilleos

### Aliases

Cas (Nickname by friends), Lord Castor (Formal, by bloodline), Far-shooter, Far-Worker, among others (Formal epithets), Godkiller, False Apollo, among others (derogatory nicknames by old gods), Cassie (derogatory nickname from Orestes)

### Relatives

Phaedra Achilleos (mother), Cleon Achilleos, (father), All Achillides (distant cousins)

### Affiliation

Lore, Athena (Formerly),The Achillides (one sided)

## Physical description

### Height

Very tall (but not as tall as other gods)

## Appearances

### Appears in

City of Gods, Carrying Fire, Deathless, Dark Rivers, Mortal

## History

### Pre-211th Agon

Castor was diagnosed with leukemia when he was four. When Van would come, Castor was one of the few who was nice to him.

Ten years before the book, he was also put into the Achillides' training program weeks late, like Lore herself. He looked exhausted, and nodded to her when she nodded at him. They sparred with wooden staves, and when he was hit, he would stumble and have trouble not falling. They seemed to promise one another not to fall. As they did, the instructor told them about their duty to the bloodline, and both got bloody. He nearly fell, but she caught him and they thanked each other. The instructor told them to go and wash up and change. Castor and Lore did, and cleaned each other's faces of the blood.

They both would explore the city together, Chiron in tow, and Castor wanted to steal Damen Kadmou's mask to see if there was really Dionysus's blood on it.

Lore would often visit him as the chemotherapy and treatment made his immune system weak. He fought with the disease for many years.

### Immediately before the 211th Agon

Castor was 12 during the last Agon prior to the book. He was in healer training with Healer Kallias. During the third day of the Agon, he sparred with Lore, acting worried. She intentionally hit harder with the staff, and he fell. Lore questioned why he didn't sit out, and he says that his rank is low enough as is.

The instructor called a water break before moving into knifework. Orestes taunted him about being weak, and Castor taunted back. He then switched to tormenting Lore about being a "snake bride", but Castor punched him. Orestes tackled Castor, and he fainted.

Lore went to see Castor at his room as he lay in the healers' room. Chiron slept at his feet, and Kallias pronounced there was nothing more that could be done.

Outside of his room, Cleon asked what he was supposed to do, questioning if it was hubris that made him question if he could change an impossible situation. Helena reassured him that there was always hope, but Cleon felt hope deserted him, and mentioned the elders had personally refused treatment. He came to the conclusion that it would be best to surrender to the Fates. Lore had seen Phillip personally deny Cleon funds.

Lore lashed out, calling Cleon a soft-bellied dog, and hoping Hades would take him. Barely a whisper, Castor told her that he was just sad. She crawled onto his bed, and best he could he made room for her. Lore said she didn't care, and he smilled. She continued, saying there is always another way. He admitted that he didn't think so this time. Lore said that she had come up with a way to watch the Awakening without anyone knowing, but Castor said Kallias told him to not leave the bed so he could rest. Lore continued, babbling, that they could buy ice cream at a place by her house that is always open with money she got from watering her neighbor's plants. He told her that it was okay, but she retorted that it wasn't. Castor said it was okay, he'd see his mother again. He tells Lore a joke, and she says that she'll go into the Underworld herself to retrieve him if need be. He tries to make her promise to not, but she says she knows her fate as he goes to sleep

### Between Agons

After he ascended, his memory of what happened was erased or blocked by someone, likely Zeus. He couldn’t take a physical form, but had to watch his father die of a heart attack right in front of him that Castor couldn’t stop.

His bloodline built an estate located in mountains, and made offerings to him, but Castor couldn’t manifest a physical form.

He looked for Lore, but couldn't find her. Castor compared it to her disappearing.

At some point either before or during the 212th Agon, he helped create vaccines and medicine for diseases, and also helped, likely in similar ways, other people with his disease.

## Appearance

Ten years ago, he was described by Lore as having a shaved scalp (likely actually from chemotherapy), her height, with sallow skin, twiggy limbs, and thick bandages on deep bruises on his inner arms and wrists.