Ampharos

Ampharos has always been afraid of the dark, ever since he was a child. As a young boy, he had a strange affinity for horror stories and creatures that lurked in the darkness. As he grew older though, these interests turned into fears, and he grew to hold a strong hatred toward the darkness and anything that may be hiding within it. He grew up hearing stories of monsters that hid under your bed and creatures that lurked in the darkness of unlit rooms. When he was a kid, these myths filled him with excitement and wonder, right up until he had a terrifying experience of his own.

Once on a dark, moonless night, Ampharos had stayed in his home by himself while his parents were away on vacation. While he was laying in bed watching tv, the young male heard a loud bang on the floor below. Curious and slightly frightened, Ampharos made his way down the stairs slowly, his eyes darting around the darkness, hoping to adjust to the change in lighting quickly. Suddenly, another loud bang sounded right in front of him, and he came face to face with a strange man. Ampharos stood in horror as the intruder knocked him onto the ground and darted out of an open window. From then on, Ampharos never turned a single light off in his home. He always had candles lit throughout the night, and he refused to enter a room unless the lights were turned on. One of the more detrimental parts of this fear was his refusal to go outside at night. It was his worst fear, and the one he had clung to for the longest period of time. Though he could explain the reasoning behind these fears, and he had never been able to overcome them, no matter how hard he tried. He'd gone to countless specialists, hoping they'd be able to help him find a way to overcome his fears. No matter what he did, there was nothing he could do to overlook the darkness, and his inability to travel in the darkness caused him to lose those closest to him.

Aside from these drawbacks, Ampharos grew to enjoy his loneliness. It did get tiring at times, but knowing that nobody would come to visit him made him feel even more secure in his safety. Though he was mostly trapped in his home when night fell, there were a few occasions where he could enjoy stargazing. He would only go outside on a full moon when the moon's light expelled all of the darkness. The other condition, however, was when there was a storm. Lightning was one of his favorite natural occurrences, aside from some of the more aesthetic shows of light. This was because, even if only for a second, lightning had the ability to turn even the darkest of nights into day, even if it was only for a moment. On nights like these, Ampharos would sit on his porch with a flashlight and a book in hand. He loved sitting outside with a good book while the Earth shook with the force of the thunder, and flashed with bright strikes of lightning. It just happened to be one of the most calming events for him, even if he was scared for a split second between the bright flashes. He just loved the way the wind felt as it brushed through his fur, and the sound it made as it rustled the trees around him. Nothing was better to him than lightning. In those fleeting moments of light, he felt all of his problems fade away and for once, his fears weren't the only thing on his mind anymore.