Loyalist Gods: Spoiler: Zeus Bound by the Chains of Haephestus which drain his power, but still formidable in his own right, the king of the gods has shown that despite centuries of debauchery and adultery, he's still very much the authoritative, powerful god who conquered Cronus and forged the pantheon. Zeus is god of the sky, with lightning and thunder being part of his domain. He also, as the All Father, is in charge of law and order amongst the divines. Wrothful or jovial depending on his mood, Zeus' lusts are almost unparalled on Olympus, and he often uses the power of shapeshifting to see his desires sated. Spoiler: Ares Ironically, Zeus' greatest defender is actually the All Father's most hated child - Ares being rejected by Zeus for his murderous and bloodthirsty ways. When Zeus was most in need, however, it was Ares who stood up and singlehandedly defended his father from the combined attacks of Athena and Apollo, suffering serious wounds in the process. Ares' loyalty has nothing to do with paternal love or some such nonsense - the god of war chose Zeus because Zeus is currently on the losing side of the divine civil war, and as such the challenge and the glory is greater while standing alongside him. Ares is god of war and of courage. He's known for his bloodthirst, with some even claiming he demands human sacrifice from his followers. Spoiler: Aphrodite Aphrodite currently has little stake in the conflict, mostly taking the loyalist side because her lover, Ares, did first. Still, Aphrodite is a wild card in the conflict - Zeus once feared that desire for her between gods could cause a war in itself, so she stands in a unique position to sway other gods to the loyalist side. Hera uniquely despises Aphrodite above all other Olympians aside from Zeus, a hatred that doesn't two ways - if Hera could get over 'stupid morals' like spousal fidelity, Aphrodite would be glad to welcome Hera to her bed. Aphrodite is goddess of love, beauty and procreation. Libertine even for a god, she indulges regularly in sex with mortals and immortals alike, to the despair of her husband Haephestus. Still, Aphrodite's beauty masks great power - she's not just seductive. Born from the severed testicles of the Primordial god Uranus, Aphrodite is one of oldest deities in existence, and has inherited immense power as a result. Spoiler: Apollo Apollo was one of the gods who originally rebelled against Zeus, but he turned his coat shortly after his then-beloved twin sister Artemis joined the rebel side. After learning that Apollo's favored lover Coronis had been cheating on him with a mortal, Artemis was enraged and shot the adulterous mortal with an arrow, to avenge her brother's honor. When Apollo learned of Artemis' attack on his beloved, the god was apoplectic with rage, having managed to save their unborn child but not the mother. Hera refused his demands to punish Artemis, and so Apollo was seen bowing to Zeus not long after. Apollo is a god of the sun, as well as of music and archery. With natural charm, a beautiful form and his enchanted lyre, he's a well beloved god, as well as a powerful one - about as skilled as his sister with a bow, and also able to channel some of the sun's power to blind and incinerate when necessary. Rebel Gods: Spoiler: Hera Underestimated, underappreciated and forgotten by her husband, Hera was able to strike with complete surprise in the coup against Zeus, with only a chance intervention from one of his servants stopping the ruler of the gods from being captured as well as bound. Knowing that with Zeus still free, her position is still far too fragile to take the crown of Olympus for herself. Hera leads the rebel faction with guile - she doesn't claim to be the leader, instead encouraging Athena, Apollo and Poseidon to take the crown, and letting them bicker among each other. Hera stands as the angel on their shoulder, resolving disputes and making herself indispensable. None of the gods acknowledge Hera as ruler, but the rebels do as she says nonetheless. Still, her rule is tenuous at best, as even the least of the gods is loath to call another their master. Hera is goddess of women and marriage, and is known for her hatred for her husband's adultery, and her cruel retaliation against both Zeus' lovers and his bastard children. Nonetheless, Hera can be quite compassionate and go to great lengths to aid mortals who have her favor, with no demands for recompense. Spoiler: Athena With her domains being wisdom and warfare, it was Athena who planned the assault on Zeus itself, and she finds herself in command of the rebel's military forces for this reason. Like Hera, Athena has tired of Zeus' constant infidelities, though unlike Hera, Athena's objection is that it's unwise, rather than a personal and moral issue. Despite her participation in the rebellion, Athena is the favorite daughter of Zeus, and it's become clear that the paternal love is at least to some extent returned. Some whisper that Athena lacks the resolve to truly destroy her father - though never to her face. Athena utterly hates her uncle Poseidon for raping Medusa in her temple, and the animosity has caused friction among the rebels. Athena is goddess of wisdom, as well as a war goddess. An extremely powerful warrior and a great strategist, Athena also has an advantage in a proxy conflict that uses mortals as pawns - she's guided and influenced many of the great human and demigod heroes in the past, and has a skill for it. Spoiler: Poseidon When Cronus was overthrown, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon all divided up the Earth among themselves, with the former taking the Sky and the Underworld, while Poseidon made the sea his domain. As the brother of Zeus, and one of the most powerful gods, Poseidon is adamant that he should be the rightful ruler of Olympus when Zeus is defeated - after all, is the sea not as important to the world as the sky? Poseidon is god of the sea, and thus is immensely powerful, with any enemies of his who decide to sail on open waters doing so at their peril. Spoiler: Artemis Artemis has come to hate her father Zeus, after the All Father used his shape shifting to morph into the form of his huntress daughter and get close to her favored handmaid, Callisto. Callisto, secretly in love with her mistress, eagerly accepted the goddess' embrace and felt utter bliss as the two made love - at least until Zeus transformed back into a man and impregnated her. On that day, Artemis swore in a rage that she would 'put an arrow in that bastard's balls', and once she heard of the rebellion against the All Father, she joined it immediately. Motivated by revenge rather than a desire for power, Artemis isn't particularly interested in who goes on to rule Olympus, just that Zeus pay. Artemis is slightly hobbled by the fact that she's unwilling to fight her twin Apollo, who hates her. A goddess of hunting and the wilds, Artemis is an incredibly skilled archer capable of easily hitting any mortal on Earth from the peak of Olympus itself. She also commands the loyalty of many of the beasts of the Earth. Spoiler: Demeter Demeter still holds a grudge against her brother Zeus for failing to rescue her daughter Persephone from Hades, who took her with him back to his realm in the underworld and made her his wife. Though Zeus managed to negotiate a deal in which Persephone would return to Olympus for six months of every year, and though Persephone has come to love her husband, Demeter is still angry that her Persephone isn't back on Olympus permanently. Though more cautious than the other rebels, Demeter joined to fight Zeus nonetheless. Demeter, as a goddess of agriculture and fertility, is less powerful in a fight than most Olympians. Though she has some control over plants, this control pales in comparison to that of her mother Gaia. Where Demeter's power is great, however, is in her control of crops. Singlehandedly, Demeter is able to make entire harvests fail and create famine conditions among the mortals when she's displeased. Non-Aligned Gods: Spoiler: Hades Hades isn't actually one of the 12 Olympian gods, but as brother of Zeus and lord of the underworld, only a fool would forget him. Hades has remained in his domain for the duration of the civil war, working as he always does with Thanatos and Charon to see the dead brought from the world above into the underworld, ferried across the River Styx and sorted into their appropriate slice of the afterlife. Still, he keeps an ever watching eye on Olympus at all times. Hades is content with his work and his beautiful wife Persephone, but with the power of the dead and control over creatures like Vrykolakas and harpies, it's best to keep an eye on him as well. Spoiler: Hephaestus Unlike the other gods yet to take a side, Hephaestus' problem isn't that he has no quarrel with Zeus or the rebels. What has kept Hephaestus from choosing his side is that he hates both sides equally. Among the loyalists, Ares has openly taken Aphrodite, Hephaestus' wife, as his lover, parading their adultery across all Olympus. On the other hand, Hephaestus has a complicated relationship with his mother Hera, with both doing committing acts of love and hatred towards each other over the years which has left them estranged. More seriously, a lonely Hephaestus attempted and failed to rape Athena after learning of his wife's adultery, a particularly foolish act given that Athena is a powerful war goddess. For all his brawn, it's uncertain whether Hephaestus would survive a trip to the rebel camp while Athena is there. The god of the forge and of fire, Hephaestus is both immensely strong and able to conjure hellfire to attack his enemies, though one of his legs is lame, leaving him with a pronounced limp. The true skill of the forge god, however, is his ability to create unparalleled weapons and armor, such as the chains that now weaken Zeus. Spoiler: Hermes Hermes has wisely remained out of the conflict between the gods, using his role as messenger to carry various negotiations between the two sides, since in-person negotiations would likely erupt into violence. When carrying insulting messages, he uses his winged sandals and his great speed to escape before harm can come to him from the vengeful recipient. Hermes is the messenger of the gods, possessed of immense speed and the ability to fly. He's also a trickster of immense intelligence. Spoiler: Dionysus God of wine and debauchery, Dionysus has been involved in an orgy for the entire duration of the godly civil war and thus isn't aware that it's happening.
