Apollo

**Story**

The golden child, Apollo, is also known as Phoebus, which literally means ‘bright.’ This ‘brightness’ is displayed by him in many different ways: when he inspires the oracles of Delphi to see the future; when he drives his Chariot of the Sun across the sky; or even when he inspires the artist/practitioners in music or medicine. If all these reasons were not enough to endear this God to the Greeks, Apollo was also extremely handsome and for a group of people who considered themselves categorically as “lovers of beauty,” it is safe to say that they held Apollo in a very high esteem.

Despite having the God-King, Zues, and Leto, the Titaness of Motherhood, as his powerful parents, Apollo had a tumultuous childhood. He was, along with his mother and his twin sister (Artemis), the target of vengeance of the Queen of Olympus, Hera. Angered by Zeus’ infidelity, Hera first made it so that Leto could not stay on solid ground to have her children. Everywhere the Titan went, there were violent earthquakes, preventing Leto from giving birth. In desperation, Leto went to the ocean and happened upon the island of Delos. At this time, the island was unmoored from the bottom of the ocean, and its weight made its so it was relatively stable on the waves. Here, she was able to give birth to Artemis and Apollo.

Hera was deterred but did not give up. She immediately sent a massive, poisonous serpent to hunt the young family. Therefore, the family lived on the road, never staying in one place for too long and often in the countryside. Artemis grew to love her forest home and trusted her bow to protect her. Yet, Apollo was more resentful and sought revenge on the serpent. He eventually found it at the peak of Mount Parnassus inside a cave. Inside, poison dripped and a noxious gas prevaded throughout the air. Immediately, Python felt the minute movements through the ground of Apollo’s steps… The serpent waited in ambush. Apollo, having grown up in the forest, was wise to such predatory tactics. He drew his bow and deftly fired an arrow into the cave. It was a direct hit, but the creature’s scales were too thick… and his arrow bounced off harmlessly. The coiled creature then shot forward, so Apollo exuded a brilliant light to blind the serpent before he swung his sword to behead Python. He then buried it near a temple, which would eventually become the location of his oracles.

Beyond being a capable warrior, Apollo was also proficient with a variety of musical instruments, especially the lyre. Long ago, Jason and his Argonauts were on a vital mission and were pulled into an island by a siren’s dulcet tones. Entranced by the sounds, the Heroes were running their ship toward a reef, but Apollo plucked his lyre to save them, reining in everyone’s consciousness in an instant. Partly because of this, the Greeks considered the lyre an instrument of the Gods, which signifies self-control against temptations and a pure heart.

Skills
**Lvl 2:** Increases the Shield's value to 400% of Attack
**Lvl 3:** Increases the extra value of the shield to 120% of Attack for every enemy pulled toward him
**Lvl 2:** Increases the Breakthrough boost to 8%
**Lvl 3:** Increases the Shield's value to 300% of Attack
**Lvl 2:** Increases damage delt to 175% Attack
**Lvl 3:**Increases damage delt to 200% Attack
**Lvl 2:** If the target has at least 1 layer of Luminance, Apollo will hit a second time to deal damage equal to 200% of Attack
**Lvl 3:**If the target has at least 2 layers of Luminance, Apollo will hit a third time to deal damage equal to 240% of Attack to target and nearby enemies and will knock them into the air for 1.5s
**Lvl 4:** If the target has at least 3 layers of Luminance, Apollo will hit a fourth time to deal damage equal to 260% of Attack to target and nearby enemies