Argus

Son
of Kralich and Riley, once slated to become an Erthus like his father,
now widely considered a traitor for becoming a Diabolith.

Argus was, however, profusely loved and cared for
by Riley, who, having experienced her own hardships with Kralich's past and her
own, as well as the death of her parents at a very young age, was determined to
deliver the very best childhood she could for her offspring. She did her best
to bridge the gap between Kralich and Argus, and sent her children to a school
which, whilst not renowned for their attainment, helped develop their children
more individually than academically. Argus appreciated the gesture, and not
once in his life has he ever expressed anything other than gratitude towards
her.

He and his family were always in the public light
as a result of Kralich's achievements and often Argus would shun the spotlight,
preferring to remain undisturbed. As he rarely had anything to comment on
matters, the public soon gave him what he wanted, and this would later,
ironically, prove to be of great annoyance to him. When Tarzal grew older and
inherited more of Riley's gentleness, naturally making him easier to fuss over
by his parents, this provided a catalyst for Argus' dark descent in his
personality.

His
relationship with Kralich worsened with every passing year and his father, not
understanding the irony of the situation, often treated Argus badly as well.
Riley did her best to look after her children equally, but Argus' sour nature
meant he was naturally harder to please and Riley's effort would sometimes go
unnoticed by him. He did not attribute any bitterness towards her, but instead directed
the lack of attention at Tarzal, believing he
was somehow tricking their parents into treating him more kindly.

Finally, the growing anger and frustration
culminated in an encounter where he attempted to kill Tarzal. His brother was
so distressed by the ordeal he laid down and told Argus to kill him if it was
what Argus needed to do, to which Argus responded by turning himself in, being
horrified at what he'd become. Kralich apprehended him and sent his own son off
to an institution for troubled children, where Argus spent the next three years
until just before his sixteenth human birthday. Argus had been born on Riley's birthday
and it was a day of unparalleled peace from Argus, most years, as he reveled in
the attention afforded to him by his mother on the day. However, whilst Argus
had been in the institution, he had not had this opportunity, and had grown
steadily darker and bitterer.

Kralich had him released as Riley had become
gravely ill, quoted as being due to the family struggles and Riley's inability
to handle the elemental energy she still possessed. Operations and treatments
to better her illness fared poorly, and Kralich had been told Riley would be
dead within the year. Argus' father had hoped this engagement would be a
bonding experience for the two, but Argus told his father how he despised him
for taking away three years of time Argus could have spent with his mother
before she died.

On Argus' sixteenth human birthday, Riley was
rushed off to an emergency treatment ward in a hospital, and the entire family
spent hours beside her deathbed as she slowly faded away. Riley had called for
Argus to tell her she loved him a final time, but before she could finish her
sentence, Argus ran from the room in a turmoil of emotions, whilst Riley called
after him. She died shortly after, and many who witnessed Argus claim that,
inside, he died too.

### **Great Betrayal**

Argus attended Riley's funeral, where friends and
family from Earth were, for the exceptional circumstance, made aware of the Imperians
and allowed to witness the procession. As her element had been fire, she was
burnt and her ashes scattered into the winds of Earth. Argus had stood apart
from his brother and father during the ceremony, instead mourning quietly in
the corner, and did not remain for the after funeral celebration of her life.

When
he was alone, the spirit of Tyranis contacted him and manipulated Argus'
relative dislike of his father and brother into a raging hatred. Argus was
driven into a rage, whereby he released a huge burst of fire energy which
destroyed the funeral procession. As Kralich neared to recover Argus and take
him away from Tyranis, a shadow hand formed around Argus and teleported him
away.

In
Tyranis' chamber, Argus began undergoing the transformation into a Erthus, but
midway Tyranis ejected shadow energy at him, corrupting the transformation so
he retained the stature of a Makori, but gained the elemental strength of a
burgeoning Diabolith. Tyranis promised Argus many things, amongst them riches,
a chance for ultimate power, and vengeance. Argus, however, demanded that when
Tyranis had been revived, he would reanimate Riley, much like Skarthion had been. Tyranis agreed to this, and
Argus swore his allegiance to the Prime Evil. He became Tyranis' protégé.

### **Servant of Tyranis**

Now
firmly in the clutches of Tyranis, Argus was immediately set to work recounting
everything he knew about the Confederacy, the movements of Erthus, and anything
else he might have overheard prior to his corruption. There was little real
information available to Tyranis, and so, in order to better steel Argus for
the uses Tyranis had in mind for him, he was banished to the Domain of Strife, with the Prime Evil overseeing his struggles
personally to decide when Argus had sufficiently toughened himself.

Tyranis
had not wholly believed Argus capable of surviving the Domain, but Argus fared
much better than he could have predicted-his sheer hatred for his family was a
tremendous driving force, and it was not long until Argus had proven he never
required the Domain in order to harden his spirit in the first place. Impressed
and encouraged, Tyranis removed him from the Domain and began outfitting him to
match the standards of the Apex Dozen. His enchanted helm was
enhanced such that any attack now went through him as if he were intangible,
his armor was reinforced with Magnum Steel, and his weapons were
replaced with an Uchigatana which could release immeasurably strong bursts of
shadow energy.

Taking the title of Diabolith Traytus, Argus began
his operations for Tyranis. He clashed with Kortarex regularly for his father’s
attention, but the two later learned to work together due to their similar
personalities, a development pleasing Tyranis. The two have since been sent out
to recruit other empires to their cause, by means of brutality or by diplomacy,
in order to supplement the armies of the Apex Dozen.

## **Tools and Abilities**

### **Makori**

As a Makori, Argus wore standard light armor,
although his was slightly stronger in stature as a result of his advanced
elemental capability. He carried a red sword made out of steel, with which he
trained every day. He also possessed a shield which would block limited
elemental attacks and was highly durable. He was unable to release any
meaningful amount of elemental energy, but he did  wear an enchanted helm which allowed him to
block incoming attacks provided he knew from where they were coming from,
although this take great concentration on his part.

### **Diabolith**

With his absorption of Tyranis’ elemental
energy, Argus’ capabilities were magnified tenfold, becoming almost as powerful
as one of the Apex Dozen (and possessing the possibility of outmatching them,
in time). He wielded an Uchigatana-like sword which could release blasts of
shadow energy, and he himself had full access to a range of shadow and fire
powers. His armor was heavily reinforced with Magnum Steel, and his helm was
enhanced to allow him to phase through any physical attack.

## **Personality**

### **Makori**

Argus was a deeply disturbed and irritated
individual who feared for his mother and despised his brother. He was envious
and easily antagonized, often to violent effect, but had real love for his
mother and could not experience anything but affection towards her. He was,
however, resentful of his father, and this contributed to his situation once Riley
was dead.

### **Diabolith**

Tyranis manipulated Argus’ anger and turned him to his own side,
despite Kralich’s best efforts to rescue him. Tyranis encouraged his anger and
hate towards his family to fester, but was careful not to mention Riley, whom
he knew was a subject of contention for his apprentice. Argus spent the
majority of his time practicing his powers and planning for how to eliminate
his father and brother. When he could, he also practiced necromancy with what
little help Tyranis, Skarthion, and Bartherious would give him, with his end
goal being to resurrect Riley.