Artemis

The twin sister of Apollo and second eldest daughter of Zeus, Artemis is a cold and grim goddess. Artemis is a lover of nature but prefers the wild to the civilized. Few people outside of huntsmen and hermits ever earn Artemis' respect and the same can be said of the gods, with only a few of them ever having the ability to claim they've seen Artemis smile. Like her brother, Artemis is a cruel punisher of heretics and blasphemers.

Early History
In her youth, Artemis was the favored child of her father, Zeus. She was also his eldest (at least among the divine), until it was later discovered that Zeus’ first wife, the Titan Metis, had given birth while imprisoned in the otherworldly prison of Tartarus.

Artemis was happier then. She was believed to be Zeus' only daughter and she would listen to every word of his stories, captivated by her father and his tales of his world travels as he continued to recruit allies to be used in his upcoming coup of the Titans. But Zeus' escapades started producing followers that flocked to Zeus' secret refuge to join his cause in ever increasing numbers. Without his steward spreading his tale, Kronos' power began to wane as Zeus discovered that he was becoming more powerful as his own legend increased.

In order to explore the applications of this discovery, Zeus began spending less time with his children and lover; and spending more time in the field, storytelling as he once did but now with the intent to spread his own legend. This did not sit well with Artemis and compelled her to begin training with weapons so that she might ease her father's concerns and be allowed to join him on his journeys. Not eager to let her do something like this on her own, Apollo agreed to train with Artemis and the two became accomplished archers and warriors, using their superior physique to surpass the skills of everyone of their mentors and trainers.

When Zeus' powers had grown able to rival a Titan's, Zeus decided to make a strategic strike against the Titans. As Apollo and Artemis were now grown themselves, Zeus decided to recruit them and a small force of key allies on a mission to break into Tartarus. Though their primary mission was to free Zeus' wife Metis, they discovered that she was unable to leave Tartarus due to her nymph physiology having grown too weak being deprived of nature and having absorbed too much of the prison dimension's unique necrotic essence.

This devastated Zeus, even though he was still able to free his three spirit sisters and two spirit brothers. Zeus was resigned to stay in Tartarus with Metis, even though her immortality had long since extinguished and she was unlikely to remain among the living long, but Metis did manage to coerce Zeus into fleeing from the prison by pleading with him to take their daughter and afford her the opportunities that Tartarus had deprived her of all these years. This daughter was Athena, the true firstborn child of Zeus.

While Zeus was convinced to leave Metis to her fate in the otherworldly prison because of Athena, the introduction of this estranged daughter further caused a divide in the relationship of Zeus and his other daughter, Artemis, and this divide would only grow further in the years to come.

Though I doubt this discovery meant Zeus loved Artemis less, but that is how Artemis felt when the addition of Athena meant her father could spend less time doting on her. As a result of this, the young Artemis began spending more time in the wild lands around the exile camp instead of inside the enclave with her kin.

As the gods built up their power, the godlings Athena, Artemis, and Apollo mastered their innate abilities. Also during this time, Zeus married Hera and the pair had two children, Ares and Hephaestus. This again soured the relationship of Artemis and her father. Artemis felt that by marrying Hera, Zeus had spurned her mother, Leto. Apollo tried to smooth things over, but Artemis did not want to hear it and she withdrew into the wilderness to be by herself.

Being immortal, the gods used time to their advantage, training in secret and biding their time. They had a few skirmishes with the Titans and would relocate their camp from time to time to prevent capture. On rare occasion, the godlings (now joined by Ares, Hephaestus, and their cousins Triton and Persephone) would become overeager and engage in guerrilla warfare with the Titans.

Despite her antisocial tendencies, Artemis joined her fellow gods in overthrowing the Titans, earning her a powerful position among the Pantheon. In the aftermath of that, Artemis ventured out into the vast wilds of Earth and became a huntress of undeniable skill and developed a cult following of handmaidens and huntresses that she identified as the Moon Maidens.

Eager to have an excuse to stay away from the Haven, Artemis chose to be Goddess of the Wilds, Hunting, and the Moon.

Rise of the New Gods
As the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis would often encounter nymphs and hunters. With some of these sorts, Artemis would form hunting parties, whether to hunt the monsters the Titans had unleashed upon the world or game whose numbers needed to be thinned; or even to become the hunters of men, ridding the wilds of poachers. One such hunter was Orion. A masterful huntsman and warrior, Artemis quickly became fond of Orion.

When the two teamed up to take down a wicked monster known as Scorpio, their relationship grew into an intimate affair, with Artemis even bringing Orion to Haven with her whenever she was summoned to attend meetings of the Council of the Twelve. During these events, Orion would be told to remain hidden in Artemis' mansion as Artemis was a private sort and cared little for her love life on the lips of the gossiping gods and goddesses that dwelled in the Haven. But Orion did not listen and would venture out to secretly explore the depths of Haven.

During a moment of passion between council meetings, Apollo himself discovered Artemis and Orion's affair. He was sworn to secrecy on the matter, which he respected, but when he later found Orion wandering about Haven while Artemis slept, he approached Orion and questioned him. Through Apollo's divine gifts, he discerned that Orion had an ulterior motive. Orion was actually the essence-enriched lover of Eos, an exalted servant of the Titan Theia, the very Titan which Artemis herself had defeated during the usurpation.

Realizing that Apollo had discovered this, Orion threw Apollo through a dimensional gate and then fled, taking Artemis' bow with him. When Apollo alerted Zeus to this, he called for his best tracker personally lead the hunting party to capture Orion. Of course, Artemis declared herself to be the best tracker in the land and demanded to be the one to right this wrong. Apollo insisted he should be allowed to accompany her so that Artemis herself would not be forced to kill the man she had loved, but Zeus gave in to Artemis' own rage-fueled insistence and gave a decree that she should be the one to deliver the fatal blow.

Orion was a skilled huntsman, but he was easy prey for the Goddess of the Hunt, who pried her stolen bow from his corpse's fingers after shooting him with an arrow delivered by Apollo's borrowed bow. Afterward, the twins paid a visit to his mistress Eos and brought her to Tartarus to be reunited with her Titanic benefactor.

Following what happened with Orion, Artemis sank into despair. She hated Zeus even more, blaming him for not listening to Apollo and letting her brother deliver the fatal blow. She felt that this was proof that her father no longer loved her. Becoming more reclusive, Artemis began to ignore calls to attend meetings of the Twelve and isolated herself in the wilds, accompanied only by her closest nymph companions.

In the arms of Callisto, the most skilled huntress among the nymphs, Artemis found a way to lose herself and put the memories and torment of Orion out of her mind. She thought that what they had was love, allowing herself to forget that nymphs are sensual beings and had different perspectives on such things.

Eventually, Artemis put Orion behind her and began to feel normal once more. She began a slow return to her callings among the Twelve and during a festival meant to celebrate the return of Artemis, a festival which Apollo had convinced Zeus to allow, Artemis brought Callisto as her companion. While the two were away from one another, mingling with the different gods and mortals in attendance, Zeus encountered Callisto and the fetching nymph caught his eye. Callisto and Zeus slipped away from the festival to pursue private festivities, unaware Hera making notice of their interactions.

Apollo would later tell the tale that Hera had transformed Callisto into a bear and tricked Artemis into killing her, but in truth all Hera did was whisper in Artemis' ear that her father was engaged with her lover. That is all it took to throw Artemis into a rage so fierce that she grabbed her bow and ran into the wilderness to find them. Apollo had got there in time to see Artemis poised to fire her arrow into their drunken father as he stumbled away from the post-coital rendezvous. Apollo called out her name to tell her not to do it, but she loosed the arrow anyway. Apollo's cries may not have fazed Artemis and Zeus was too drunk to notice, but Callisto did notice and threw herself into the line of fire.

Apollo rushed in to lend aid, but the arrow was tipped with adamant and pierced the nymph's heart. Artemis screamed at Callisto, demanding to know why she did what she did and her last words were "I didn't do it to spare Zeus… I did it to spare you the pain of shooting your father…" and then she passed away.

With Callisto dead, Artemis wanted someone to pay. Yet, she had no one to blame but herself. It was her hand that had killed Callisto and though she wanted to make Zeus or Hera suffer for their part in Callisto's death, Apollo convinced her to refrain. Zeus was too drunk to realize what he had done and it had never been his intent to hurt Artemis, having not realized that Artemis and Callisto were lovers; and Apollo's spin on the story had already cast the blame on Hera in a much more damning way than the truth would have.

These were ancient memories. While not from another lifetime, they were from another world. So much had changed, and yet, Artemis still held a grudge. When the word of the fabricated story reached Zeus' ears and he learned of his part in the events that night, he summoned his twin children before him. Zeus asked Artemis how he could make this right and though it went contrary to what she and Apollo had agreed upon earlier, Artemis demanded that Zeus order Callisto's soul to be reincarnated.

Zeus asked for time to consider this request. When Artemis refused to listen to Apollo's demands that she retract what she had asked of their father, Apollo did what he never thought he would ever do. He conspired with Hera.

Apollo's fabricated legend had the unintentional effect of painting Hera as more powerful that she truly was. This had resulted in a spike in her received worship and she liked it. Apollo knew this and offered to spin more tales for her among the mortals to increase the power of her cult. Hera did like the sound of this and so she asked Apollo what he wanted in return. Apollo asked her to challenge Artemis' request. Hera asked why he wanted her to do such a thing and Apollo was blunt in his words, reminding her that is none of her concern.

Blunt words aside, Hera agreed to his terms. She weaved her own tale of deception with Zeus, somehow convincing him that if Callisto were to be reincarnated, she would be a threat to the pantheon. Considering his options, Zeus apologized to Artemis and refused her request, even though it hurt him dearly to do so. Both in spirit and in the flesh, as an angry Artemis kicked him into the Empyrean flame, burning his backside and leaving a scar that lasted years.

Still, Artemis' rage grew. On more than one occasion, she attempted to steal Callisto's soul from the Underworld. Sometimes Apollo had managed to convince her to abandon her course, sometimes it was Hades that managed to do so. Once it took Cerberus nearly mauling her to death to cause her to surrender. But after decades, she would eventually return to that foolish endeavor, until just prior to the departure of Earth, she managed to pull it off and free Callisto's soul to the reincarnation cycle; even if Artemis herself was captured before the pair could escape.

Artemis spent her final days on Earth in Tartarus, wondering what form Callisto would take in her next life. Zeus eventually pardoned her, needing her skills for the conquest of Elysium, but he warned her to not let her search for Callisto distract her from her duties.

Elysium
True to her word, Artemis played the part of the dutiful daughter once more. She helped conquer the old gods of Elysium and helped shape the new order. Artemis attended the festivals and events that she was asked to and performed the other duties of her station with diligence. All the while, however, she just wanted to be reunited with Callisto.

True to her word, Artemis played the part of the dutiful daughter once more. She helped conquer the old gods of Elysium and helped shape the new order. Artemis attended the festivals and events that she was asked to and performed the other duties of her station with diligence. All the while, however, she just wanted to be reunited with Callisto.

When centuries had passed, Artemis worried that Callisto had been reincarnated as a mortal several times, she asked for Zeus' permission to finally seek out her loved one. Zeus, still torn by whatever Hera had told him and the need to be Artemis' loving father once more, agreed to Artemis' request but offered a word of caution.

Artemis searched the world over and found no sign of Callisto. She checked with Hades and learned she had been reincarnated as a nymph once more, but he could not locate her. Not even the Gray Witches or the sorceress Hecate seemed able to find Callisto.

Eventually, just recently in the last few years, a letter was delivered to the Forest of the Moon, written in Callisto's hand. It simply read: 'I do not wish to be found. Please stop searching.'

Of course, Artemis took this hard. She did not know how to process this development. Fearing that Artemis would again sink into another depression, Apollo sought her out and engaged in a long discussion with her. Somehow, Apollo got his sister to finally open up about what he had known all along but had never heard her say aloud. The admission of her conflicted emotions, about Orion and Callisto, her feelings of betrayal, and her deep and complex relationship with father all boiled over… and then she confessed something else and it was time for Apollo's own confession.

Role in NeOlympus
Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Seven

Abilities
God: The daughter of Zeus and the titanspawn Leto. Artemis is also the twin sister of Apollo. The twin gods share a metaphysical bond.

Gamekeeper: By sacred oath of the Quorum of Six, Artemis is the designated royal Gamekeeper. As a result of this, by decree of the Six, Artemis has absolute authority to pursue and punish poachers as she sees fit.

Goddess of the Hunt: This gift stems from Artemis’ innate wild essence. As the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis is a legendary huntress and a perfect tracker of both beast and mortal alike. Artemis can also use this entitlement to sense the last beast a mortal had slain and for what reason.

Goddess of Wilderness: Artemis can sense all wildlife in her presence, make a aggravated animals calm, and has a perfect sense of direction. Artemis can also detect the location and distance specific species of flora or fauna.

Goddess of the Moons: As the daughter of Leto, Artemis had an innate connection to the celestial bodies of Earth and after an adjustment period, her affinity shifted to the moons and stars in Elysium’s sky. As a result of this affinity, Artemis is the stewardess of the moons of Elysium and has oversight of the three Maidens of the Moon and the Lunar Chariot.

Keeper of The Crescent Bow: This powerful relic of the Titanomachy has been refined by Artemis‘ own half-brother, Hephaestus. With the modern improvements and its ancient enchantments intact, arrows fired by the Crescent Bow are not affected by friction, gravity, or other environmental factors.So armed Artemis’ impressive archery skill is made legendary. When coupled with Artemis‘ own quiver (each arrow created by Hephaestus, nymphs, master artisans of the Underworld, or Artemis herself), the goddess’ martial skill rivals that of entire mortal armies.

Rider of the Lunar Chariot: As the Goddess of the Moons of Elysium, Artemis is entitled to the remarkable relic, which flies through the sky at incredible speeds by day and at the speed of thought by night.

Relationships
Artemis has had two significant (albeit tragic) relationships with Callisto and Orion.

Orion: One of the few hunters who managed to impress Artemis, Artemis quickly became fond of Orion. When the two teamed up to take down a wicked monster known as Scorpio, their relationship grew into an intimate affair, with Artemis even bringing Orion to Haven with her whenever she was summoned to attend meetings of the Council of the Twelve. However, Orion was actually the essence-enriched lover of Eos, an exalted servant of the Titan Theia, the very Titan which Artemis herself had defeated during the usurpation. Artemis was later forced to kill Orion, an act that pained her deeply.

Callisto: In the arms of Callisto, the most skilled huntress among the nymphs, Artemis found a way to lose herself and put the memories and torment of Orion out of her mind. She thought that what they had was love, allowing herself to forget that nymphs are sensual beings and had different perspectives on such things. Apollo would later tell the tale that Hera had transformed Callisto into a bear and tricked Artemis into killing her, but in truth all Hera did was whisper in Artemis' ear that her father was engaged with her lover. In an attempt to kill her father, Callisto spared her the pain by jumping in the line of fire. Artemis has searched tirelessly for her reincarnated love.

Zeus: Zeus' favorite prior to Athena's discovery, Artemis grew apart from her father despite him not loving her any less. Artemis' relationship with her father has become estranged after the death of a lover, Callisto. Zeus had been unaware of his daughters relationship with Callisto,and had seduced her. Hera later manipulated Artemis into discovering this, and in an attempt to kill her father, she shot Callisto. Artemis has been cold and secluded since.

Apollo: Artemis' twin brother, the two share an intimate relationship and consider one another their other half. They protect one another no matter the cost and find comfort in one another in multiple ways.

Hera: Artemis despises her father's wife, believing their marriage disrespected her mother. Artemis also holds Hera responsible for the death of Callisto.

Trivia

 * In Mythology, Zeus transformed into Artemis to rape Callisto. This was avoided by having the affair be mutual as Zeus was unaware of Artemis' feelings.
 * Like the rest of the Gods, Artemis does not have a static sexuality. In fact, in many myths, Artemis is depicted as being a chaste or virgin goddess.
 * In Mythology, Apollo objected to his sister Artemis's love for Orion, and, seeing Orion swimming with just his head visible, challenged her to shoot at that mark, which she hit, killing him. He was then transformed into a constellation.