TRD - Remus, the Believer

birthday; july 28th, 52 BC
sign; leo

dominant; [AA] yellow eyes, [AA] short fur, [Aa] stocky body, [AA] rosettes
recessive; speckled pelt, striped face, reddish fur, small paws, shorter tail
carrier; thin body, 'strawberry' mutation

-- loyal -- if he believes in you, or in an idea or concept, there is nothing remus wouldn't do. he fights fiercely for what he believes to be truth, and it takes a lot to shake that loyalty. 

-- passionate -- remus is dedicated and passionate about his interests. he devotes all his time to learning, teaching, and discovering. he won't hesitate to jab your ear off about herbs, or ask you a billion questions about the stars and the night river. 

-- warm -- you can always count on remus to welcome you with open arms, even if his hospitality is a tad obnoxious sometimes. had a bad day and need to just let off some steam? remus is there for you. need to distract yourself for a bit? remus can give you a warm bed and some herbs to help you fall asleep. 

-- optimistic -- his faith is hard to shake; even when things seem impossibly horrible, he tries to find the positivity as hard as he can. this can (and has, a few times) get him into trouble for not being very realistic, but he refuses to live life thinking the worst. 

-- patient -- he will dedicate years and years to perfect skills or learn new things. time does not scare him; his faith that everything will turn out okay in the end calms him when things seem rushed. 

-- air-headed -- too much of an optimist, too faithful, too much of everything. his head is sometimes just too much in the clouds, and it can be nearly impossible to pull him down. 

-- distracted -- he's thinking too much, usually. trying to have a long conversation with him is like trying to hold the attention span of a cricket; once his mind gets whirling too fast, he's off thinking about a different topic already. 

-- talkative -- despite being distractable and air-headed, if you get remus talking about something he really loves, he really won't stop. ever. you can't get the man to be quiet. for the love of VALKA please stop talking.

   My sister Helen and I were born to two jaguars within an elite league of Coliseum fighters called Ares' Fangs. The Fangs were harsh, but fiercely loyal to one another. They were rarely picked off in Coliseum fights, something that we took pride in and that made our humans a large sum of money. My father's name was Deimos, and my mother's was Harmonia. They were good parents. We worshipped Ares, the god of war. His symbol hung high on flags in our great halls, his statue was perched in the courtyard where our humans trained the Fangs. They taught me and Helen how important it was that we carry on the legacy of the Fangs, and how we were to trust no one but our family. The humans of the Fangs never pitted family cats against each other. We could only ever, ever trust each other.

    I trained with my father, while Helen trained with my mother. Helen and I were never close, but I knew that I had to trust her, and she knew she could always trust me. The two of us, along with our parents, was all that we had in our lives. We were everything to each other.

    When the Coliseum fights started, I realized I wasn't even really worried for myself; even during my first fight, as I brought my first opponent's life to a bloody end, I thought of Helen, praying to Ares she'd survive her first fight. I had to believe that family was everything, and I trusted Ares to protect us, but it was difficult not to think of bad possibilities.

    But after Helen's first fight, then her second, then third, then countless others she came out of unscathed, I quit worrying for either of us. Clearly, Ares had it planned for us to survive. Our parents were proud of the fighters we'd become, and our humans were pleased with our performances. Our whole family was treated to fresh armor every month, jewels and plush beds packed wall-to-wall in our rooms. We were treated like Hunters. We even were taken to the capital a few times to meet with the human officials who handled the Coliseum. We, in turn, didn't eat the humans. 

   Years passed. Ares' Fangs were well-reknowned fighters, with our victory counts soaring well above our loss and death counts. Sometime in my fourth year of life, I fell deeply in love with another Fang. She was a powerful fighter, her ears torn from years of experience. Her name was Persephone, a gorgeous cougar with a dangerous reputation. But to me, she was kind and sweet and loyal, and she believed in the Fangs and in Ares as fiercely as I did. Our humans were thrilled when Persephone became pregnant, and even more thrilled when we made it very clear I was the father. Deimos and Harmonia approved, and Helen and Persephone became close friends, and even Persephone's two sisters found their way into our family. 

    We had a strong litter of four cubs; three boys and a muscular girl. We named the boys Eros, Anteros, and Enyo, and the girl we chose to name Artemis. Our whole family, Deimos, Harmonia, Helen, Persephone, her two sisters, and I, took great care to raise the cubs. Helen, shortly after, had two daughters of her own. The six cubs trained to be powerful fighters, loyal family members, and faithful servants of Ares. Two years later, we were a powerful force of felines in the Coliseums, and my daughter, Artemis, stood out as a shining star. Ares' Fangs were more respected and feared than any other fighting league in Rome. 

    But our good fortune was not made to last. 

    The first to die in the Coliseum was Anteros. The family was devastated. We built my son a shrine. We made him a hero. We kept fighting in his honor, and we kept killing in his name. The next to go was Helen, only a week later. I was shaken. The loss of my son and only sister in such a short amount of time destroyed my usual optimism and pride; I wanted some time to grieve. I prayed to Ares that he would grant my wish, and not let any more of my family die. But our humans were getting nervous, and the fights pressed on, but suddenly they were more violent, more dangerous. There was more at stake; more money, more blood, more people. Harmonia's neck was violently snapped by a tiger. Persephone's sisters died in the months that followed, each bleeding to death slowly in the middle of the Coliseum while thousands of humans cheered their opponents on. Ares' Fangs was losing money and respect, quickly. Next was my father. 

    Persephone and I pressed on, continuing to win match after match, though our morale was quickly falling. Killing didn't seem to have the same powerful effect it did anymore. We no longer were showered with gifts, but rather pushed into more and more fights. We tried to keep our moods high around our three remaining children, but we could tell we were losing them, as well. Eros and Enyo were nervous, praying viciously to Ares every night. Artemis withdrew herself as much as she could from us. She still stood out among our family as the shining star fighter of the Fangs. 

    The day came when Eros was killed. And I finally got what I wanted; time to grieve. Persephone and I stayed huddled around his grave in the Fang courtyard for four whole days. Enyo joined us occassionally, but Artemis was nowhere to be seen. We thought our humans had finally given up; but we were horribly wrong. They were just planning a more thrilling fight. 

    After four days, my mate and I went to watch the first Fang Coliseum fight of the day; only to realize our two children were down in the pits below us. 

    This is what the humans had been planning. Testing family loyalty against the thrill of the Coliseum. The humans were loud, boisterous, terrifying around us, but Persephone and I were already overcome with terror and devastation. 

    Enyo was more hesitant to attack, but didn't hesitate to defend himself as Artemis leaped for his throat. The fight lasted hours. The sun crept across the sky, sometimes the humans would get bored and throw spears or arrows to prompt our children into killing each other. But the whole thing was nerve-wracking and terrible for us. We were going to watch one of our cubs die, and there was nothing we could do about it. 

    Finally, Artemis came out on top. She held Enyo's dead body up high for the humans to cheer, throwing flowers down at her. We longed to see some sort of pain or remorse in her eyes; but there was nothing. Just a faint glint of triumph. She didn't even look at us, her parents, her only remaining family. 

    It was Persephone's fight next. We exchanged our goodbyes and loves, and parted ways. As I watched her get pulled away, I expected someone to come get Artemis out of the pit. But no humans came to retrieve her. She seemed confused, as well. She slowly padded in circles in the arena, waiting for someone to come get her. 

    Finally, a door opened. Artemis automatically began padding towards it, but stopped soon after, squinting. A human wasn't coming to get her. A human was dropping another cat off in the area. Persephone. Her mother. My mate. 

    Persephone seemed to already know exactly what was happening. Her head hung low, her tail dragged in the dirt. She glanced at Enyo's broken body, then up at the stands where I sat, watching in horror. She smiled sadly at me, then looked back down to our daughter, who was  already squinting at her mother. 

    The gates slammed close, and Artemis didn't hesitate. 

    This fight didn't last as long as Enyo's had. Persephone didn't defend herself, or fight back. She just lifted her chin in defiance, and Artemis's claws found her mother's throat, and her life ended quickly. I screamed, but my voice was lost in the roar of the crowd. Artemis straightened up and scanned the rows and rows of thousands of humans cheering for her victory, then met my gaze. She didn't look away until I, too, was hauled away for my fight. 

    I knew what was going to happen even before I got out of my spot in the viewing area. As the gates opened, I met my daughter's gaze first. Then I saw my dead mate, and my dead son, laying on either side of her. I padded foward until I was halfway between Artemis and the wall behind me. I said nothing until I heard the gates sqeal shut, and Artemis began to move forward to attack, but I yelled at her instead. I reminded her of how she was raised, how she was supposed to trust family, not kill them. She retaliated that we were also supposed to worship Ares and trust that the Coliseum would work out in our favor. She said she wasn't willing to give up her survival because of who her opponent was. I reminded her that that was her mother she just murdered. She counteracted that we had all killed hundreds of mothers in our lifetimes; and she was right. I didn't know what to believe anymore. My faith was completely shaken. I couldn't trust my family, I couldn't trust Ares, or the humans. My entire life had been nothing but lies and propoganda to make money for humans. 

    And Artemis reminded me that this is the world I had brought her into. I was the reason she'd been forced to kill her family. I was the one who had taught her how to live like this. And, again, she was right. 

    So I attacked her first. 

    Our fight was nothing like I'd ever experienced. It hurt more because I could feel every scratch and bite inside my heart, in my soul, ripping apart every fiber of my being. I wanted so desperately to break down in tears in front of her, to hold her small, warm body in my paws and cuddle with her at night again. But I was stuck trying to rip her throat out. Many times I considered ending it like Persephone had; with no resistance, no willingness to attack my only remaining child. But I wasn't strong enough, or faithful enough, to allow myself to fall that easily. So I fought back. And eventually, because of Artemis's exhaustion from Enyo's fight, my daughter fell dead at my paws. 

    The Coliseum was going crazy. Humans threw showers of flowers and meats and jewels at my paws, but I ignored them all as I padded for the gate where I knew I'd have to be let out eventually. The gate crept open. I attacked again. I heard screams of terror behind me as my claws ripped through soft human flesh and shredded the guards, one by one, until I was out of the Coliseum running free through the streets of the city I'd been raised to love, but grown to despise. 

    After days of hiding in abandoned buildings and dark alleys, I finally found my way out of the city. I knew there was a Defection in the wild; everyone knew it. And I was lost; I needed something to believe in. I had given up all my faith in Ares and in family. I refused to worship a god that allowed such a horrendous thing to happen. I found the Ferox first. I begged them to tell me what they believed in, but all they had was fairytales and folklore to teach cubs how to be afraid of Bounty Hunters. Frustrated, I left in the night to live as a Solus. A pathetic loner, with no purpose. I had caught wind of the Olum and their strange faith in the night sky and this fabled colorful river in the sky, but by this point I had all but given up on faith, so I didn't even try to see them. I took an interest in herbs; apparently they could be used to heal and help. An old Solus taught me what she knew, and occassionaly I wandered into Ferox territory to ask their Anecdotists about various things. I studied and learned and memorized, but faith in the healing sciences of leaves was nothing compared to my faith in a god. 

    I heard there was to be a fight against the Olum. I had strictly given up fighting, but figured I might be of some use with my herbs if there were going to be injured cats, so I tagged along. But when we got there that night, and the Olum were fighting with the force of thousands of cats, I decided to run. I wasn't going to be forced into another fight if I could help it. So I ran. 

    But as I ran, I noticed something strange about the shadows in the forest. Something was off about the colors, but I couldn't figure out what it was. But when I emerged into the open plains of the Solus, I looked up into the sky. And there it was. The Night River, soaring high and bright and bold, just for the Olum to see on the night of their victory. Something exploded in my chest, and I realized I could have faith in something so real and tangible again. I ran back to the Olum and watched. I learned that they had just driven out their horrible leader, Lene. They were on their way to a new way of life, ready to squash the unnecessary violence and settle into Rome as their home. So I approached them with my knowledge of herbs and willingness to learn their history and culture and religion. And I was welcomed in as their very first Herbalist.

mother; harmonia, jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum) 
father; diemos, jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)
sister; helen, jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)

mate; persephone, cougar, deceased (killed in coliseum)
son; eros, cougar/jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)
son; anteros, cougar/jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)
son; enyo, cougar/jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)
daughter; artemis, cougar/jaguar, deceased (killed in coliseum)

niece; unnamed, status unknown, daughter of helen
niece; unnamed, status unknown, daughter of helen

(if you would like your character to be related to remus, please let me know!)

     fighting 
- was trained by his father, diemos, and mother, harmonia, to be a skilled coliseum fighter. trained alongside his sister, helen. 
- fought in coliseums for 6 years. 
- trained his four children, eros, anteros, enyo, and artemis, to be coliseum fighters. also had a hand in training his unnamed nieces. 

      herbs 
- took an initial interest in herbs after he left the ferox. was taught by an elderly solus how to use plants to heal and aid, rather than use his claws to hurt. 
- after she exhausted her knowledge, he went back to the ferox to fill in the gaps. 
- currently works as the olum's herbalist and is learning more and more about herbs and healing every day. 

      religion 
- has extensive knowledge of roman religion, specifically about the god of war, ares. 
- once he rejected his belief in ares, he went to the ferox to learn their religion. he does not know a lot about the ferox lore, but knows enough to know it isn't for him. 
- is currently working with olum star readers and oluman to teach himself more about the night matriarchs and night river and history of the olum.

- remus is a pacifist. since being forced to kill his own daughter, he refuses to use his claws for anything other than aiding other cats. he has a strict belief of no violence, despite the olum's history with aggression.
- he's a lousy hunter, but can spot herbs from seemingly impossible distances. 
- his favorite herb is sage; he hangs it from the herb den for good luck. he also is fond of ivy and dandelion (for calming nerves), and has grown quite fond of the taste of honey. 
- he is very organized when it comes to his herbs. he creates little containers by lining up rocks, tree bark, and long, straight branches. he hangs twigs wrapped in cobwebs from the branches outside, and holds liquids such as pulps, honey, and water, inside of turtle shells, stolen human bowls, and more. 
- because he spent his whole life in the grand city of rome, he is used to very decorative living spaces. he likes to decorate his den with bones and pelts, but mostly it's been adorned with stolen human jewelry, ornate cloths...even an old caravan wheel leans against a wall.