Artemis

Artemis

Member name: Bee
Other character(s): Adrian Lawley (Hades), Hazel Rhodes (Iris).
Activity level: Practically on every day.
Roleplay experience: Seven or eight years, I'm not entirely sure nowadays.
Roleplay sample:

It seemed almost stereotypical. The goddess of the hunt standing stall on the top of a hill in the moonlight, bow in hand, arrow readied. Her Hunters were not far behind, a few chasing a little target of their own - as instructed by the goddess herself. It was only something little, but it kept the newer hunters busy. After all, they had to get used to the hunt before taking on something bigger. A monster, for example. It was fortunate they hadn't yet come across one, and hopefully one wasn't going to appear for a few hours yet. Artemis was to take on a new Hunter today, or at least she hoped she would. There was a girl she had her eye on. A girl of the name Eleanor King. She was a mortal but she seemed like perfect material for one who was to take on eternal maidenhood. From what the goddess knew, this girl was adventurous in that it was obvious she was aching for something more than the life she had. Not only that, but the girl had reached the age of seventeen and had so far been repulsed by the notion of a relationship with men and women alike, sexual and romantic, that is. The girl had few friends and honestly, to Artemis, she seemed like she had nothing to lose. Though it was upsetting to see a maiden unhappy as this mortal girl was, Artemis felt she had no choice but to offer a new and exciting life for the girl. So she sheathed her bow and arrow and headed into the town below the hill after having instructed her Hunters to either wait or pursue that which the other girls were hunting only moments earlier.

This mortal girl was in her garden, alone. She was sitting on an old swing set, staring into the distance, almost as though she wasn't really present in this world. The goddess knew differently, however. Slowly and calmly Artemis approached the girl, a warm smile on her lips. At first the girl appeared startled when she noticed the goddess walking towards her, she almost called out but Artemis simply put a finger to her lips before softly saying, "please, I mean you no harm." Then she laughed and assumed a position on the swing beside the mortal girl. "I understand this must sound odd, but there is a whole world you don't know. A world where myths become fact and mundane life becomes adventure and danger." At the last few of her words, Artemis couldn't help a brief widening of her smile. It was fun, she wasn't going to lie about that. Even at a young age when she had first desired the life of the hunt, she knew it was going to be fun. The girl only nodded, she must have been trustworthy as the goddess could already tell she was keen. "I am Artemis, goddess of the hunt, of the moon, of chastity, and the wilderness. I lead a pack of Hunters. We are like a family, a tight-knit family but we do care about one another. Like sisters. We are all sworn to a life of eternal chastity, though with this comes an immortal life of adventure, coupled with enhanced hunting skills. I would like to offer this opportunity for you, Eleanor, for I feel you are one to appreciate such a chance."

Eleanor already seemed excited. She nodded quickly and grinned, "I would love to!" To say she was excited seemed like an understatement. The goddess just smiled, "I can cover up your disappearance. Come with me today, you do not need to bring anything unless you feel it necessary. If you wish to say your goodbyes, meet me on top of-" she pointed towards the hill she had earlier perched on "-that hill. My Hunters and I will wait there for you." Eleanor just nodded and the two parted ways, Artemis back to her former perch on the hill, finding that the Hunters had been successful in their little game. Not that it was difficult. This was nothing compared to what the girls were usually up against. 

It was about an hour or so until the mortal girl had arrived where she needed to. She had with her a small bag, looking as though it contained barely anything, but it didn't matter to Artemis. There will come a time when her Hunters learned to let their former life go, but it was something she didn't rush. "Are you ready?" was all she asked, a smile upon her lips. Eleanor just nodded, "what do I need to do now? what next?" The girl seemed somewhat anxious but excited too. Just seeing it kept that smile on the goddess' lips. "You take the oath."  Artemis turned to her lieutenant and nodded. The lieutenant nodded and turned to Eleanor. 'Repeat after me, and speak your words with honor and truth, knowing that you will keep to your word so long as you shall live. 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood and join the hunt.'" Artemis looked at the new recruit with a reassuring smile and Eleanor heartily repeated the words she had been told to say. That was it. The Hunt had yet another new Hunter taking part. This was a prime example of "the more the merrier". The Hunt was on its way towards flourishing and Artemis was certainly happy about this. 

God's name: Artemis
Gender: Female
Role: Goddess of the Hunt, of the moon, of chastity, and of the wilderness.
Playby: Alice Englert

Personality:
Reasonable

Though Artemis holds a strong dislike of men, she can be reasonable in this subject. Perhaps it is due to her being a virgin goddess or due to the idea that women are more "pure" before the taint of man, though it could also be due to the numbers of hunters having broken their oath due to the involvement of a man either by rape or by love. Gods included. Nevertheless, Artemis is reasonable in that she will acknowledge and respect a man who has proven themselves worthy to her, Orion being the prime example for this. Although she would never grow as close to another man as she did for Orion. That is certain.

Caring

Artemis strongly cares for her hunters as to her they are close family, they are sisters, they are daughters, though not literally - it is the bond that she feels to them. Though she cares still for maidens, it is the maidens she presides over that she especially cares for. She is likely to act in the best interests of the eternal maidens that surround her, providing they do not break their oath of virginity and loyalty to the goddess.

Sympathetic

The goddess can actually be rather sympathetic. She is capable of making individuals into constellations in order to honor their memory, especially after them having died an honorable death. Nevertheless, Artemis is one of the more sympathetic Olympians in that she will usually weigh individuals by their actions and choices as opposed to their potential. Thus she cares more for the individual, considering them more for their present self and who they are, rather than who they are capable of being. For instance in the case of a son of a darker god, he may do nothing but good now and that is what she will consider, rather than what other gods might do by considering this demigod to follow in the footsteps of their divine parent. 

Vengeful
Artemis is not one to skip out on the chance to issue punishment. It doesn't matter why punishment is needed, where ever it is due, Artemis will be assertive and enforce it immediately. This is usually in response to hubristic boasts about an individual being a better hunter than Artemis, as in the case of Adonis which she responded to by sending a wild boar to kill him. She may also react to being seen naked by a mortal man, for which she will find a way to punish the mortal immediately and without effort or regret. With just a flick of the wrist, Artemis changed Actaeon, after having seen her naked in the spring, into a stag which then caused his hunting dogs to chase and kill him. Artemis will also issue punishment for the breaking of oaths by her hunters. Should a hunter fall in love with a man or break her oath of chastity, Artemis will punish the hunter, though the way this is done depends on her discretion. Usually it will result in the former hunter being transformed permanently into a creature of some sort. Thus Artemis is vengeful, assertive and isn't either afraid or regretful in issuing punishment where it is due.

Independent
Artemis is more independent than the other Olympians, much preferring the company of her hunters as opposed to the other gods. Thus it is actually how she spends her time, her brother being the god she sees the most - though this is not often due to her twin's tendency on attempting to flirt with her hunters. Thus she will try to keep him away from them. Nevertheless, she does not often spend time with the other Olympians, unless she has been summoned for a meeting on the solstice in Olympus.

History:
Birth

Leto was a daughter of the titans Coeus and Phoebe. She was a gracious, beautiful and loveable goddess though due to her having seduced Zeus, she was largely loathed by Hera. Upon discovering Leto's pregnancy, Hera cursed the deity through forbidding any place under the sun to offer shelter to her. Feeling sorrow for Leto, Zeus transformed her into a quail in order to give birth. However, the deity was still unable to find a place to give birth. That was until she found an island which, at the time, was known as Asteria. The island wasn't fixed to the sea and was willing to offer a place for the woman to stay, after which it became known as Delos, or rather, 'the unconcealed one'. Before long Leto gave birth to Artemis first. Artemis then aided her mother in the birth of her twin, Apollo, as a midwife.

Childhood

As a three year old, Artemis had sat on the lap of her father, Zeus, and requested for six wishes.  They mostly requested the terms of what came to be Artemis' journey of the hunt. She had requested for immortality and handmaidens to aid her in her hunt, for a bow and arrow and for many names to separate her from her brother Apollo. As Zeus' favorite daughter, he granted her wish - swearing on the river Styx that he would never force her to marry or have children. In addition to this she wished to rule the mountains and to aid women in the pains of childbirth. Artemis spent her childhood seeking out what she needed in order to become a huntress, this including hunting dogs from the god Pan and bows and arrows from the isle of Lipara.

Intimacy

There was a time when Artemis had become close to foreswearing her vow of chastity. This was when she met the talented hunter Orion. He had traveled throughout Greece and ended up staying on the island of Delos, where he become the favorite of the twins' mother, Leto. From this he eventually gained the trust of Artemis. Before long the two became frequent hunting partners and the two were spending an increasing amount of time in each other's company, the two grew closer to each other until he became one of Artemis' most valued and loyal attendants. Though this soon became the beginning of the end. Artemis' brother, Apollo, soon recognized the increasing intimate feelings between the two and felt consumed by something of a jealous rage. He sent a scorpion to attack the hunter and upon Orion's fleeing into the see, Apollo tricked Artemis into shooting him. At this, Artemis was heartbroken and transformed her beloved into a constellation to honor his memory.

Punishment

There have been many cases in which Artemis has issued punishment to various individuals. The roots of these usually differ, from punishing hubris to her attendants breaking their vows, the results of which usually depended on her discretion. For instance, Actaeon was a hunting companion of Artemis. Upon seeing her naked in the springs, he attempts to force himself on her and thus, for his hubris, she transformed him into a stag, after which he was devoured by his hunting dogs. For no mortal man lived after having seen the goddess naked. There is also the case of Adonis, in which he had boasted that he was a better hunter than she. So the goddess sent a wild boar to kill him. 

Family
Artemis and Apollo were very keen on upholding their mother's pride. In one instance, Niobe, queen of Thebes, boasted of her superiority to Leto due to the number of children she had. Niobe had had seven daughters and seven sons, whereas Leto had only had one of each. As a result, Apollo killed six of Niobe's sons and Artemis killed six of her daughters, both having used poisoned arrows as their weapons of choice. As they wept, Niobe and her remaining children were turned into stone. 

War

During the Trojan war, Artemis had taken the side of the Trojans as not only was Apollo the patron god of Troy, but she was largely worshiped around the region too. The goddess actually played a large part in this war. When the Greeks sailed to Troy, Artemis calmed the sea and stopped the ship. This was, however, until an oracle appeared before the Greeks and informed them of a way to win the goddess' heart. This was to sacrifice Agamemnon's daughter, as he had before promised to sacrifice that which was dearest to him, breaking his promise soon after. Artemis took his daughter in then as one of her attendants.