Bio: Addonexus

Nero Tiberius was born in Ancient Rome 18 A.D, into a world of slavery and violence. Raised by his father a slave turned gladiator, and never getting to know his mother, like a child should, but for nothing more than a servant girl that gave birth to him. After birth his mother was punished by death for having a child without permission and he was only allowed to live because his father pleaded to spare him, to teach him to be gladiator like himself. The Emperor, at that time, agreed to this as he enjoyed the gladiatorial sport.
Nero’s father didn’t have much to offer his son, except the skills, tools and faith to survive and live long. He began to teach Nero at the early age of three, and Nero’s first toy was a replicated dagger made of wood. By the time he was fifteen he was besting the trainers on the practice grounds. His skills were so good at his age some believed, including his father, that Nero was favoured by their god Mars (god of war, spring, growth in nature, agriculture, terror, anger, revenge, courage and fertility). The second most important god in Ancient Rome culture and believed to be the father of all Romans.

When Nero was twenty his father knew it was only a matter of time before his only son would be summoned to fight for the, now, new Emperor’s pleasure. The only thing left Nero’s father had to teach his son, was a prayer he believed only those Mars favoured would hear.

May the great Mars, whom I worship
Grant to me the abilities of these lesser gods to you,
The strength of Strenua, speed of Caelus, wisdom of Providentia,
the courage of virtus, and to strike like fulgora,
And for you a great and glorious victory,
For myself individually,
I commit my life to you, who made me,
And may your blessing show on my endeavours
Serving you faithfully, to Mars I resign myself.

Nero committed this to memory and recited this prayer to Mars before every fight.

[A Legacy Begins]
The night before his first fight his father passed away in his sleep, a gift from Mars, people would say. Nero first fight and many after that were beyond spectacular, always seemingly two steps ahead of his opponents. He is so skilled at fighting that he would be put in the coliseum arena with four other men, all fighting to be the only survival as well, and emerge victorious when all knew they should focus on him first. Nero did not want to see a man suffer and would always give his opponent a swift death, which the emperor hated, as if Nero was choosing to give his opponents his own type of mercy before the emperor could tell him to give the killing blow. But because Nero grew to become a household name through out ancient Rome he could not punish this mere gladiator.

Nero refused to make friends among the other gladiators because after his first handful of fights he had to fight and killed a close friend. So he kept to himself and would only pray to Mars for company. He did however have one friend that wasn’t a gladiator, Amelia, a servant girl that always found an excuse to tend to Nero’s few scares after battle and would never let the hardship of life get to her. Their relationship grew from just friends to lovers but they had to keep their actions secret. Although there were many other instances like this in Rome, it was not allowed and they did not want to lose each other. What wasn’t known was the emperor kept a watchful eye on Nero and knew well of his secrecy.


[Freedom at a Price]
By the time Nero was thirty five he had put a plan in action to escape from the shackles of Rome with Amelia and live a life of freedom. They successfully escaped and joined a small band of people a few days later, which were traveling west from Rome. But it only took the emperor a few days to realize Nero, and coincidentally, Amelia fled. A handsome rewards very few men could resist would be given for information, of his where a bouts and if the rulers soldiers captured him alive.

Nero did not understand how far his name reached across the land of Rome or how fast news could travel. A man traveling in the same small group had heard of the bounty from the last town they were in and recognized the gladiatorial sandals Nero wore. He then thought that this could be the man the emperor is seeking. He told a soldier in the previous town where the group will be traveling and the soldiers set out, 20 strong, to meet their gladiator at his next destination.

A couple weeks later they arrived at there next resting point and something in the air wasn’t right to Nero, the residence of the town seemed unsettled. But he dismissed his suspicions because their unsettledness could not be because of his presence. No one this far from the coliseum would have known he was an escapee of the emperors. That night in the cover of darkness the 20 soldiers broke down the door of the hut Nero and Amelia stayed, and descended on them. Never sleeping out of arms reach of his sword, he swiftly cut down four men but was quickly overwhelmed by sheer number. With the soldiers’ orders to only “bring back the gladiator alive,” they raped and killed Amelia. Nero was held by 4 men to his knees to bear witness till she was murdered. He kept his eyes closed and heart broken listening to her last moments of life.

[Welcome Home]
The night Nero arrived in shackles to the only place he knew as home; he was brought to face his ruler. Very slim and weak some would say perhaps from not eating from the weeks of travel. The truth was he was broken from with in; he lost his fight the moment he lost Amelia. The Emperor could see his weakened state and charged him that if he could win at that moment against a lion they kept, and did not feed for the past few days, he would have his freedom.

Being placed in the arena, a gate opened and a starved lion came out, Nero glanced up to see the emperor and his escorts heading inside the building to leave him to his fate. Looking as though rejuvenated with life at the sight of fresh meat the feline started towards him. Basically given a sword and shield and in normal clothing Nero knew he would have to be at his best to beat this beast. He was able to hold out for several minutes before being knocked in the chest, tearing it open. He fell back and as the lion began to maul him he put his last breathes into trying to say his prayer to Mars, with the thought of revenge on the emperor, for Amelia. Something or someone in that moment saw an opportunity. As he felt his life slip away and finished his prayer, he could hear a voice promise him revenge in exchange for service. Mars had heard his last prayer…

[A New Master]
As Viduus (Ancient Roman god who separates the soul from the body), began to divide Nero’s body and soul into two, Mars told him to stop and to only take the half of the soul he had already extracted and leave Nero with his other half. Mars then summoned the five minor gods in Nero’s prayer to bestow a portion of their power into a lighting bolt that Fulgora made and threw down from the skies to strike Nero. As the lighting strikes him and the lion still feeding on his body, the bolt killed the beast and restored his body.

Nero felt very different almost like a new born, but full of strength and knew what had happened had to do with his last prayer. Mars then spoke to Nero, letting him know that because his last prayer was in thought of revenge he would grant him his opportunity after fulfilling his duties to him. This was to carry out Mars’ revenge when he commanded it to be. For years Nero would act as the “wrath of Mars” killing people, destroying cities and even entire civilizations. Mars found him to be so efficient at what he did he renamed him Addonexus, and had let it be known across the god realm. Addonexus didn’t agree with most of his commands as he found that to destroy a city or civilization would destroy many innocent people. Many of his orders he would not gone through with, if it wasn’t for Mars’s will being imposed unto Addonexus. Centuries began to go by and Addonexus had already knew that his chance at revenge on the emperor had long passed, as Mars did favour the emperor of Addonexus’s time and just saw it unfortunate he crossed the ruler.

[Cures the Gods]
After about a millennia and four hundred years, Addonexus reached a point where he did not want to do the dirty work for Mars any longer, as every innocent life that got caught in the path of “Mars’s wrath” would bring back memories of Amelia.

While in the mountain he resides in, Addonexus gathers the inner strength, gifted by Strenua, needed to break free of Mars’s will and gains control of his own free will. Mars enraged Addonexus would turn his back on the god that gave him what mere men only dream of, calls on Poena (Goddess of Punishment) to not allow him to exist in peace. She immediately enters Addonexus’s mind telepathically and begins to torment him. After 500 years from within his mountain, Poena breaks Addonexus. Unable to bear the torment any longer, in his insanity, he lets out a defeated yell wishing he could destroy himself. Unknowingly Addonexus summons a great bolt of lighting down onto himself that obliterates his mountain, strikes his body and leaves him unconscious for nearly a hundred years.

[Present Day]
When he opens his eyes he finds himself in a 400ft deep crater, as wide as the base of where the mountain once stood. As he comes to his feet he realizes his mind is clear of its “insanity state.” Addonexus takes a deep breath of fresh air and starts to slowly ascend the crater by flight. As he nears the opening of the crater he notices a white raven with blue eyes perched on the edge.

He wondered for awhile where his seemingly new companion came from. What Addonexus does not know is that his white raven partner is a creature sent by Pietas (Goddess of piety) to protect his mind from future attacks by Poena. But not caring to much about the mystery of this bird but glad to have the company, he sets out to right his many wrongs over the centuries done to the innocent while under the servitude of Mars. He would seek out his redemption even if it took several millennia to do so.