Zagreus

Zagreus - A young adult man (he/him) with very dark, almost black, brown hair, and subtle heterochromia (his left eye is blue and his right is blue-ish green).  He is incredibly tall and lanky, but he’s got a lot more muscle mass than he looks (though it’s not often that he uses it).  Like Eris, his clothes are typical of the ones worn by the other young men in his village; simple and practical; and the only accessory he wears is a small silver pendant given to him by Akinosuke, which he tucks into his shirt to prevent scratches.  His skin is usually slightly tanned, and he has a fairly large scar across his nose from an accident while training with his dad when he was a preteen.  Zagreus also almost always has some sort of instrument on his person at all times, usually his Lyre, as playing music is the only real way he knows how to calm down in the wake of something stressful.

Zagreus was born in a small, outcasted village at the very border of the empire, to a traveling merchant (mother) and a weapon smith (father).  In spite of being an “oops” baby and being dumped on his father’s doorstep by his mother as soon as he was born, this was actually considered to be a miracle situation for their village, as they, through Zagreus, would finally have the chance to put their town back on the map.  Because of this however, Zagreus was never really treated like a kid, but as a tool, and he was trained in a wide variety of skills, mainly combat, with the hope of one day bringing their village notoriety.  Unfortunately for Zagreus, he wasn’t very good at much of it aside from music, and he was keenly aware of how the whole village was quietly (nervously) expecting him not to amount to much of anything… and that is when Eris showed up.

Eris was stronger than Zagreus by a significant margin, lighter on his feet, quicker to react, and far, far braver.  Everywhere where Zagreus struggled, Eris excelled, and by the time they were teenagers, Eris had outperformed him so thoroughly that Zagreus was barely even a footnote in any conversation.

Despite all of that, Eris and Zagreus (and later, Zephyr) became very quick friends, and Zagreus developed a massive crush on Eris overtime.  When the whole village turned their backs on him, Eris was always there to cheer him up, encourage him, and listen to his music, and the two were very close.  They would spar not just to train, but to have fun, and Zagreus genuinely did not have that before Eris arrived, and whether he was aware of it or not, this led to Zagreus becoming very emotionally dependent on Eris… which only made it hurt more when Zagreus’ confession was rejected, and Eris was sent to fulfill his destiny and kill the dreamweaver without him.

Now left alone in the village, Zagreus suddenly realized how inescapable Eris was in their little town, and nothing he tried could make him feel any less lonely and heartbroken… so he left.  He didn’t tell anybody, and he doubts anybody noticed him gone, but he didn’t care either way.  He’s been traveling the world since then, just like Eris, but unlike Eris, he doesn’t have a specific goal in mind, and he’s just having fun.  He has learnt so much since he left, and more importantly, he’s becoming confident in himself and his skills (more specifically his musical talent).  He discovered how much he enjoys performing for a crowd; no life-or-death stakes involved, and he especially enjoys the freedom he now has to develop both romantic and platonic relationships with people as his heart desires (having a MUCH wider pool to chose from outside of literally just one guy helps a ton), and he’s even met someone, Akinosuke, who he’s genuinely fallen in love with (despite their somewhat odd meet-cute).

Instruments he can play: Lyre, pan flute, and almost any string instrument (harps, lutes, etc.)

Name Origin: His name comes from the Greek god of rebirth, Zagreus, who is considered to be the first incarnation of the more well-known god, Dionysus; god of wine.  The history of Dionysus’ worship centers around Greek minorities and outcasted people of the time banding together under one deity, and only later having their god be recognized and worshiped by society as a whole, and even joining the Greek pantheon.  These themes of rejection and later rebirth as something greater than what it started out as directly alines with Zagreus’ character arc.

Motifs: Many of the symbols Zagreus represents relate to his feeling of isolation and inaptitude, and only recently have these symbols been reframed in a positive light.  The first of which are daffodils (that in floriography represent unrequited love), which he offered to Eris when confessing to him, but was rejected.  It was only after he met Akinosuke that these flowers became a symbol of love in his eyes rather than rejection.  He also has an obvious music motif; a rare comfort to him from his home town which he used to use almost exclusively when he was upset, but now he plays almost every day for all sorts of reasons; usually just to have fun and to connect with people.

Orientation: Homosexual

VC: Brian David Gilbert (Specifically “it’s nesting season” and “this song is not a metaphor” work very well).