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[center][color=black][h1][b][u]Zelios[/u][/b][/h1][/color]
The Shadow-That-Shields

[color=black][h2]Aspect[/h2][/color]
Darkness. Traditionally characterized as the absence of light. But there is more to it than that. To some, darkness represents fear; fear of the unseen, and unknown. To others, it represents peace, safety, protection. The God of Darkness has the power to dim or outright banish light, to make it easier for his servants to move unseen, to command the creatures of the night, and to manipulate the very shadows themselves into physical objects that might harm or hinder mortals, be it by sapping their strength, holding them in place, or resorting to a more direct attack.

[color=black][h2]Persona[/h2][/color]
Zelios is a surprisingly friendly and affable man, all things considered. While some might assume a god of darkness to be cold, menacing, or secretive, he is anything but. He has his secrets, to be sure, and he is more than capable of appearing threatening when the situation calls for it, but amongst his fellow gods he generally attempts to maintain an air of friendliness.

Zelios holds a particular disdain for tyrants. What he defines as a tyrant is someone in a position of power who abuses that power to impose their will on others who are no threat to them and have not done anything worthy of such a punishment. At the end of the day he usually tends to sympathize with those whose only wish is to be left alone.

When it comes to punishing these so-called tyrants for those actions, Zelios has no preferred method. It usually depends on the circumstance. If the problem is with certain individuals rather than an entire class or system, then he will usually try to air out their crimes and discredit them, or resort to assassination. Even then the manner of the assassination may vary depending on whether or not he wants the death to send a message. However if the issue is systemic, then he will instead resort to more intricate means; usually by identifying people willing to reform the system (or by inspiring them to do so if no such people exist), and doing everything he can to bolster their position so that they might overthrow the system. However, if a society is utterly corrupt, irredeemable, and rotten to the core, with everyone being complicit in it, he may decide that it would be better for the society to be destroyed completely rather than reformed.

When it comes to leading mortals he does not prefer to make grand speeches in public. His preference is to instead meet with leaders in private, or whisper into their ears, or plants thoughts inside their heads. He also likes to act through agents, such as secret cabals of spies and assassins. Not all of his agents act in secret, however; he is more than willing to deploy small elite bands of warriors who can take a more... direct hand in events if necessary.

He likes to see himself as a patron of the downtrodden, but those who misinterpret his nature may instead view him as a patron of schemers, thieves, assassins, and sycophants. But in truth he is willing to accept pretty much any worshiper, so long as they respect him and his values.

Some might argue that Zelios is a tyrant himself. Depending on his mood, he will treat such accusations as if they were either a joke or a grave insult. He is not incapable of self-reflection, and can recognize when he makes mistakes, but to him those mistakes are just that - mistakes. Isolated mistakes which are not a symptom of any deeper character flaw.

[color=black][h2]True Form[/h2][/color]
Zelios's true form is a mass of darkness in its purest, densest form. Such a form can take any size, any shape, any state - be it gas, liquid, or solid. It radiates an aura that creatures of the day would find malevolent, and creatures of the night would find comforting or inspiring. Depending on the size it takes, all lights within a certain radius will find themselves dimmed. 

The speed and strength of this form directly correlates with the day and night cycle; in the day it is slow and sluggish, while at night is freakishly swift and monstrous even by divine standards.

Creatures of the day who stare deeply into the mass will find their very own perception altered, to be more attuned with the night. They can effectively gain constant night vision, capable of seeing in dark without any aid, but their vision in turn becomes far more sensitive to sources of light; blindingly, and even painfully so. They may find themselves never able to look upon the sun again.

It is a rare day when Zelios invokes this form, however. Most days he prefers to walk in the form of a simple mortal, in black robes or armour, with a raven feather cloak or a pair of black angelic wings.
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