Nero

Teva, Storm, Imelda, Artemis, Daenerys, and Dyana (Sisters)

Lazarus, Raphael, Killian, Hawthorn, and Tzuriel (Brothers)

Daphne, Miriam, and Aivar (Adoptive Siblings)

Hedge (Uncle)

## Application Sheet

Nero was a dark gray male wolf with vivid orange eyes. He was one of the children of Lady Athena and Lord Alcatraz, born and raised in Aryn. He was part of Athena's second litter, alongside brothers Killian, Hawthorn, and Tzuriel. His other siblings include Raphael, Lazarus, Teva, Storm, Imelda, Daenerys, Dyana, and Artemis; his adoptive siblings were Riley, Miriam, Daphne, Aivar, and Neka. He became a Beta Warden before his disappearance in the midst of the war with Vektren. He was designed by WynBird, and RP'd by Flufferooni.

## Personality

* ***Powerful and Diplomatic.*** Nero not only possesses great physical strength that he can easily use in battle, but also mental; he sticks to his ideals and thoughts, and even when under pressure he manages to maintain self-control, a great weapon against someone seeking to offend. Only when his family is used against him will Nero waver or break, for they are his main pillar in life, but he will keep his torment and rage to himself most of the time, maintaining a clean façade. His self-control when it comes to emotions allows him to be greatly diplomatic, capable of talking things through and avoiding conflict. He also believes this ability to be a great tool when it comes to manipulation and overall, achieving one's desires; he finds it easier to convince and discuss his way through something than brawl over it, despite his physique, though he doesn't mind a good fight.
* ***Protective***. If Nero grows attached to someone or something, he will do *anything* within his power to keep it safe, away from any harm, even if it means hurting himself. It's not easy for him to develop strong bonds though, and this is a characteristic of his personality that will show only to a select few.
* ***Distant/Stoic.*** He maintains a stoic face that could be interpreted as 'grumpy', but it is in his nature to be a rather distant individual, rarely warming up to strangers. He believes, like his father, that others can't be trusted, not even with his emotions or thoughts. He does feel attachment to others, specially with his family, but he rarely displays it with affection or words, and much prefers actions to speak for him; besides, he has always viewed his parents like distant figures which he must respect rather than love like a son, which he does, but keeps for himself mostly.
* ***Proud, Stubborn and Insecure.*** His dignity and dominance can go to the extreme of turning into pride, where he will not backdown from a challenge before beating it, or he will not apologize until the other one does so. He has grown to love obstacles, particularly due to the sensation of triumph and *pride* they bring when surpassed. However, he takes failure badly and often finds himself doubting his own skills, or suffering from self-esteem issues; Nero doesn't have a tolerance for frustration or tolerance with himself in general, which results in pushing his abilities to the limit or a torturous feeling of shame.  He will not waver when it comes to thoughts or actions, and is incredibly hard to manipulate or to make him change his mind; once the male knows what he wants, his resolve will not change. He possess an incredible amount of resilience when it comes to doing things, and his resolve never dissipates, not even before temptation, just like his feeling of failure will only leave him on its own, not at will. Somehow, it is his own pride that fuels most of his emotions, and that creates this feeling of power that gives Nero the feeling that he can do anything; that he can protect what he loves efficiently and at no costs, without ever failing, and that if something doesn't go how he intends it to, it is his fault and not just fate having its way.

## Pre-Group History

Nero was born alongside three brothers in Athena and Alcatraz's second litter.

## Group History

As a pup, Nero was very level-headed, and he provided a lot of much-needed comfort to Julia, whose parents - Charaka and Alexandro - had left, along with brothers Huginn and Muninn, to find her missing sibling Opeh. The two became good friends, often challenging one another to competitions and play-fighting. Other wolves appreciated his maturity as well, such as Guinevere and Julia's older brother Kane.

He was very close to his brother Hawthorn, who he would go on adventures with as they got a little older. He was a little less close to Killian - the pair quarreled on occasion. He took on the task of Warden, like his father, and worked his way slowly up through the ranks. He was cautious and defensive of Aryn, hesitating to reveal too much information to a prying wolf on the border: Seraph. Seraph was trying to glean information from Nero. She asked to join the pack as an honored guest, with a few of her friends, and Nero offered her asylum.

His skills as a Warden were needed when his packmate, Merrill, was kidnapped by Seraph and her Vektreni infiltrators. Nero was called upon by his alpha and mother, Athena, to chase down her kidnappers. Along with him were Killian, Lawson, Raghaalr, and Tzuriel. An intercepting party of Vektreni attacked this posse, composed of Shirubafurea, Hellion, Ruebane, and Ender. He fought valiantly against Hellion, in order to defend Athena from him, but they were unable to save Merrill. All they knew, or believed they knew, was that they were Blutwald rogues.

For the first time, Nero's cool composure shattered, and he was consumed by wrath. There was a brief time that he could put that aside, for Kane and Eden's marriage, but then he fell back to a quiet anger. He worked to a higher rank - Gamma Warden - in order to serve the pack better.

When patrolling the outer borders of Aryn, he ran across a familiar face - the Lady Nightmare of Vektren, Seraph. Merrill's kidnapper, who he'd practically offered a place in Aryn many moons ago. He flew into a frenzy, and the pair dueled and exchanged words, before Seraph ultimately fled, putting her greater speed to good use, shooting venomous words at him as she left. He returned to camp, wounded and thrown off-balance, to give Athena a quick debrief on the situation.

Nero was chosen to escort Amara and Aivar, as well as Vale wolves Lycan and Elisabet, to Highvalley, to inform Rodwen that his brother (Amara and Lycan's father) was dead, and also to inquire as to whether the noble pack would help them to find the Blutwald kidnappers (as Aryn still believed Merrill had been kidnapped by Blutwald rogues). However, they were unwilling to get involved. They allowed the travelers to rest briefly, and Edythe tended to Nero's aching paw pads before they departed.

Nero returned to the pack, frustrated and angry, grappling with rage and a desire to kill - the one crime in Aryn punishable by death. He consulted with Teia about it, who tried to encourage him to focus on hope.

A patrol took him back to neutral lands, where, for a third time, he encountered Seraph. This time, she was being chased by two aggressive loners, and Nero ran to her aid. He didn't know what compelled him, but he restrained himself from killing the loners. When they were safe, Nero asked Seraph only one question: was Merrill alive? She answered him cryptically - *"It depends on what you consider living, dear*" - leaving him frustrated and upset.

In the midst of this war with Vektren, Chandor and Aryn cemented their alliance. Nero accompanied the Chandorians to the Arynian den-site. The patrol, composed of the alpha herself, Nadia, and Chandorians Malachi, Arcuza, and Kaen, was escorted to Aryn by Nero, Tzuriel, and Rowena.

Nero's feelings of rage were coupled with extreme guilt when it was revealed to the pack that Raphael and Adrian had kept a critical secret from their packmates: their adversary was not Blutwald, but Vektren. Athena gave each of them their deserved punishment: scarification. Nero watched, outwardly stoic but internally horrified, as he realized that *surely* his crimes - saving the life of Seraph and then letting her go was the one that struck him the most - were equally, if not more, punishable. He pictured Athena administering Raphael's punishment to *him*. He vowed to serve his pack even better, and was promoted to Theta.

Shortly after this promotion, Nero was patrolling with Tzuriel, Dyana, and Raghaalr, when they were attacked by a Vektreni she-wolf - Nimh. Her attack was swift, and she turned to run, leading the patrol into a trap, where they were overcome by Janus, Epione, Hekate, and Morrigan. Three of the patrollers, including Nero, were taken captive and thrown into the Vektreni pits.

Nero descended into despair while in the pits. He sustained several injuries, including severe ones to his face and the side of his body. Eventually, Seraph came to see him, warning him that he would need his gods to watch over him. He denounced his gods, believing that surely they didn't exist. Acheron also showed up to discuss theology.

Eventually, Nero, Tzuriel, and Raghaalr were released. Nero was shattered, in both his mind and body, and went to their temporary guest "Vicar", the Chandorian Elk Totem Tieru, to ask for something to make him sleep, to lose consciousness, to *forget.* She advised that he needed to fight hard in order to heal, to overcome the torture they had put him through.

Tieru continued to offer words of wisdom, and patient kindness to Nero. After a while, he began to feel the warmth of gratitude towards her, and thanked her for it, quietly, privately, as he slowly began to feel some sense of improvement. He also sought out Tzuriel for comfort, the only other wolf to fully understand what he was going through.

And then, the Vektreni killed his parents. Hekate and Hellion led a patrol that slaughtered Athena and Alcatraz, leaving Nero in immense pain. He went to Tieru, who reminded him that Aryn needed his wisdom - his wisdom, so like his father's.

Bright spots tried to emerge in these dark times. Young pup Lidya, daughter of Lawson and Hani, inquired as to why he had so many flowers around his legs (they were healing herbs). He was then convinced to tell her a story.

Raphael's rule was, regrettably, to strip Nero of a few of his comforts within the pack. He was tasked with telling Tieru she had to leave, for Raphael wanted no non-Arynians in the pack. The wolf who had helped to heal him, physically and mentally, was now sent away from Aryn.

After escorting Tieru to the border, he returned to camp. However, Nero did not remain in Aryn after that. Nobody knows what became of Nero, or whether he is alive, or what drove him from his pack, for he hasn't been seen since.

## Trivia

* Nero has extensive scarring on his shoulders, ears, and the side of his body - many of these wounds were received during his time as a prisoner in Vektren's pits.

## Quotes

* "I probably won't. But it's up to you whether you believe in my words, or not. It's like...apologizing! My words are sincere and true; but it depends on you if you'll accept them." (to Julia, *Lifting Spirits*)
* “I was kind to you! I offered you, innocently, asylum! I enjoyed talking to you, Seraph. But now I see it was worth little more than a half-eaten carcass to *you*. I wonder who broke you so much." (to Seraph, *You Again*)
* “I fight to make my life *meaningful*. To impact a few, if I cannot make a difference with them all. I fight for my family. I fight for what is *right. That* is all worth a lot more than fighting for deities that do not exist anywhere but in your foolish mind, if you ask me." (to Acheron, *They Know*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Flufferooni's deviantART Gallery