War carves out heroes with the edge of a sword
OOC Information;
Name; Eddie
Personal Journal;
admiralmizaki
Contact; jointlessdoll [at] aim
Other Characters; n/a
IC Information;
Character Name; Hephaestion
Canon; Reign: the conqueror
Canon Point; Episode 12 ("The vanquished arise"), while they are on their way to India.
Age; Unknown. Assuming that the series covers the same span of time as real life, he's most likely in his late 20's.
House; Freyr.
Power; Bardic influence
Personality; Hephaestion's personality is in great part defined by his relationship with Alexander. Unlike him Hephaestion quiet, reserved and he keeps his opinions to himself, but his sense of loyalty and duty towards the king is unconditional (even after an oracle revealed that Alexander was fated to destroy the world, which ended up being a metaphor, but they had no way of knowing so at the time) and he often finds himself in situations he doesn't completely agree with out of a desire to help. Rather than clashing because of their opposite personalities, however, Hephaestion tries to both offer his support and be whatever Alexander needs; out of all the people that join the campaign he is one of the few that sees him as a friend and not just a leader or conqueror, and he's the only one to express concern over his state of mind once it becomes obvious that Alexander is becoming obsessed with his supposed destiny. He's obviously not as devoted to his other friends but has a much faith in them, as shown by the fact that he entrusted Cassandra with Alexander's well-being after his death.
His quietness makes him a confidant for other characters as well; though he's not the type to give advice on personal matters (or any type of unrequested advice), he's a good listener, and will sit through stories told to him without judging them. Unfortunately for the people that don't know him well, he's used to everyone around him being able to tell exactly what he means even when he doesn't say anything at all, and if he considers that he can communicate something with body language instead of words, he will, sometimes carrying out entire conversations this way.
Because the Greek culture in Reign has a relatively loose set of morals, Hephaestion may seem inappropriate at times. Nudity, violence and magic are commonplace where he comes from, and so he's used to walking around with little clothes on, has a different concept of what personal space entails (for example, touching someone without their permission is invasive but standing extremely close is not), and has no problem with blood and killing. He will stop if it's obvious that he's making someone uncomfortable, but it's likely that most of the time he won't even realize it since he doesn't see anything wrong with his behavior.
Despite being an skilled warrior, Hephaestion is a much better musician and poet; he is seen he spending most of his free time playing the lyre. He's also compared to Musaeus, a mythical poet and prophet, in one occasion, and in another Alexander mentions that for him killing and fighting are a form of art just like music. While his voice and appearance undoubtedly make him the most feminine of the male characters, others have acknowledged that he can be a terrifying soldier when he so wishes.
Samples;
Network Sample; (Recycled from Oregon Trail)
[ The feed starts with the sound of someone playing the harp for a couple of seconds. When he finally speaks, his voice is soft and low, but still audible. ]
Everything happens for a reason.
[ He makes a pause, and the music stops suddenly. ]
If you knew the world you came from was about to end, would you still go back? If your loyalty to one person defied destiny, would you still follow them? Or would you just accept your new fate?
Log Sample;
After they left the temple of Ammon, Alexander had asked him whether he wanted to go back in to ask about his own fate. The conversation didn't really lead anywhere because they did not have time for other people to hear prophecies anyway, but if they had finished it, his answer would have been 'no'. Not because he wasn't curious about what the oracle had to say, because he was, but because he had no doubts about his future.
Beyond being the man he had promised his loyalty to, Alexander had showed him what it was like to be in love with the world. The prince was, despite his mysteriousness and the duties imposed on him by being a member of the royal family, very easy to understand; his desire to hold the whole world in his hands was such that it was impossible to not feel the same kind of confidence that he had for himself and his passion was contagious. More importantly, he was willing to share that dream with anyone who would follow, and by befriending him he had gotten more out of his life than what he'd have ever hoped to get by himself.
So, when Alexander offered him the chance to join him, he didn't doubt or think twice because he felt like he owed the prince at least that much. However, he had also accepted because Alexander had made him realize that men had to have more in their lives than passion if they did not want to succumb to their own ambitions, and that was the one thing he could offer him.
And just like he had been sure of his decision years ago, he had been sure back then; and nothing any man, or oracle, had to say would ever change that.
Name; Eddie
Personal Journal;
admiralmizaki
Contact; jointlessdoll [at] aim
Other Characters; n/a
IC Information;
Character Name; Hephaestion
Canon; Reign: the conqueror
Canon Point; Episode 12 ("The vanquished arise"), while they are on their way to India.
Age; Unknown. Assuming that the series covers the same span of time as real life, he's most likely in his late 20's.
House; Freyr.
Power; Bardic influence
Personality; Hephaestion's personality is in great part defined by his relationship with Alexander. Unlike him Hephaestion quiet, reserved and he keeps his opinions to himself, but his sense of loyalty and duty towards the king is unconditional (even after an oracle revealed that Alexander was fated to destroy the world, which ended up being a metaphor, but they had no way of knowing so at the time) and he often finds himself in situations he doesn't completely agree with out of a desire to help. Rather than clashing because of their opposite personalities, however, Hephaestion tries to both offer his support and be whatever Alexander needs; out of all the people that join the campaign he is one of the few that sees him as a friend and not just a leader or conqueror, and he's the only one to express concern over his state of mind once it becomes obvious that Alexander is becoming obsessed with his supposed destiny. He's obviously not as devoted to his other friends but has a much faith in them, as shown by the fact that he entrusted Cassandra with Alexander's well-being after his death.
His quietness makes him a confidant for other characters as well; though he's not the type to give advice on personal matters (or any type of unrequested advice), he's a good listener, and will sit through stories told to him without judging them. Unfortunately for the people that don't know him well, he's used to everyone around him being able to tell exactly what he means even when he doesn't say anything at all, and if he considers that he can communicate something with body language instead of words, he will, sometimes carrying out entire conversations this way.
Because the Greek culture in Reign has a relatively loose set of morals, Hephaestion may seem inappropriate at times. Nudity, violence and magic are commonplace where he comes from, and so he's used to walking around with little clothes on, has a different concept of what personal space entails (for example, touching someone without their permission is invasive but standing extremely close is not), and has no problem with blood and killing. He will stop if it's obvious that he's making someone uncomfortable, but it's likely that most of the time he won't even realize it since he doesn't see anything wrong with his behavior.
Despite being an skilled warrior, Hephaestion is a much better musician and poet; he is seen he spending most of his free time playing the lyre. He's also compared to Musaeus, a mythical poet and prophet, in one occasion, and in another Alexander mentions that for him killing and fighting are a form of art just like music. While his voice and appearance undoubtedly make him the most feminine of the male characters, others have acknowledged that he can be a terrifying soldier when he so wishes.
Samples;
Network Sample; (Recycled from Oregon Trail)
[ The feed starts with the sound of someone playing the harp for a couple of seconds. When he finally speaks, his voice is soft and low, but still audible. ]
Everything happens for a reason.
[ He makes a pause, and the music stops suddenly. ]
If you knew the world you came from was about to end, would you still go back? If your loyalty to one person defied destiny, would you still follow them? Or would you just accept your new fate?
Log Sample;
After they left the temple of Ammon, Alexander had asked him whether he wanted to go back in to ask about his own fate. The conversation didn't really lead anywhere because they did not have time for other people to hear prophecies anyway, but if they had finished it, his answer would have been 'no'. Not because he wasn't curious about what the oracle had to say, because he was, but because he had no doubts about his future.
Beyond being the man he had promised his loyalty to, Alexander had showed him what it was like to be in love with the world. The prince was, despite his mysteriousness and the duties imposed on him by being a member of the royal family, very easy to understand; his desire to hold the whole world in his hands was such that it was impossible to not feel the same kind of confidence that he had for himself and his passion was contagious. More importantly, he was willing to share that dream with anyone who would follow, and by befriending him he had gotten more out of his life than what he'd have ever hoped to get by himself.
So, when Alexander offered him the chance to join him, he didn't doubt or think twice because he felt like he owed the prince at least that much. However, he had also accepted because Alexander had made him realize that men had to have more in their lives than passion if they did not want to succumb to their own ambitions, and that was the one thing he could offer him.
And just like he had been sure of his decision years ago, he had been sure back then; and nothing any man, or oracle, had to say would ever change that.