About

The secondborn (and final) child between Sires, Abyssal's leader, and Azamora, a god in hiding. Much weight and expectations have been rested on Aglaope's shoulders since birth, especially with the skill and charm of his older brother, Oaranella, in comparison. 

As he grew, he watched Azamora dedicate days of his time to honing Oaranella's magical skills. Though Oaranella was polite towards him, he never seemed to have much time for Aglaope - and when his magery turned out to be far poorer than his brother's, Azamora's visible disappointment was crushing.

He knew they still loved him, of course. They were Ants. But watching their tight-knit relationship flourish was agonizing.

Aglaope turned towards his father, Sires, leader of the colony. As leader, he was expected to weigh in on all military decisions and approve any related plans. Sensing a niche, Aglaope begged his father to allow him to sit it on many of these meetings. Endeared, Sires gave his blessing.

Even then, though, he never seemed to shake Oaranella's shadow. The commanders, the directors, they called attention to his brother's magery, encouraged Aglaope to show off his own. They never teased, but their expectations were choking - moreso when Aglaope never lived up to any of them.

There had to be something he could excel in, right? Something to make his family proud of him.

Frustrated and alone, he approached Meraki. Master of the Blades of the Lotus, the most elite military unit in Abyssal's ranks, his clout and skill were unmatched. Desperate to find somewhere he flourished, Aglaope pleaded Meraki to take him under his wing.

Meraki declined. He had no time to waste on training someone from scratch; tending to the Lotus was job enough. At least, so were his first protests - until Sires approached him quietly and encouraged him to give Aglaope a low-stakes, simple task. 

And so Aglaope joined their ranks, a spellsword-in-training, carefully kept away from the Lotus' actual combat and work. He knew in his heart that the position was nepotism at best, but he still threw himself into his work. His peers were honest, but caring, giving thoughtful and detailed critique and advice. But the constant reminder hung over his head: Oaranella is better at everything.

Impulsivity and frustration overrode what sense remained in him. Upon hearing of a hushed plan to attempt to assassinate one of the Ink Colony admirals, Aglaope secretly followed the Lotus operatives. He was caught some distance from the Ink armada, chided heavily by Meraki - but not far enough away. Location spotted, the Ink ship launched an attack on the Abyssal Ants, who were forced to scatter.

Aglaope tried to turn tail back to Atlantis, but found himself netted and dragged up the side of the Ink ship instead. Rather than kill him, the admiral recognized his face, and instead brought him back to Aaxe as a trophy for leader Tinte. Permanent prisoner of war or ransom, either is anyone's guess.

And so he's been, for several agonizing months, cursing himself fretting over what he's done to his colony and family....

Misc

Song(s): -
Tarot: Five of Cups
Zodiac: Aries / Sagittarius  / Cancer