P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Takhys
OOC Journal: takhys
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Old as hale.
Email + IM: takhys on gmail and AIM; antimeria on plurk
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Thrice Doul

C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Hermes, a.k.a. Hermes Maiados Huios and a whole heap of other titles and epithets
Canon: Hellenic Mythology
Original or Alternate Universe: Original.
Canon Point: I'm not really sure what to put here, beyond saying that I'm planning on taking him from the modern day.
Number: Random

Setting: I've set Hermes in a sort of 'American Gods' style world. Which is to say, that it's our modern world with a magical reality component to it that those in the know are aware of and can access. In this setting, the old gods that we generally regard as myths and legends are real and once were powerful, but as humanity's faith in them waned, so too has their influence. As gods fade away, they can die or be consumed by other like-minded deities.

History: I feel I ought to include two general disclaimers here.

First, I've done my best to mix actual historical and mythological records. For example, if asked about his own origins, Hermes would relate the story of his birth to Maia but that he also is the out-growth of an old, pre-Hellenic cult practice that involved stone worship and the Master of Animals - one of the joys of mythic history is that both stories can be true.

Second, most of the commonly known mythology about Hermes is the heavily bowdlerized stuff popularized by Bulfinch and the rest of the Victorian fuddy-duddies. I prefer using the messier, weirder, more authentically ancient Hellenic stuff and throughout this app will refer to that as his canon.

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia, a mountain nymph. He was born in a cave and would likely have been destined to a rather quiet life of shepherding, occasionally bestowing favours on the locals, but in a fit of entitlement and brains decided to take on the world and improve his family's lot by stealing Apollo's sacred cows and, despite getting in trouble for it, using his wits to gain leverage and prestige among the Olympians.

"Alas," she sighed, "when you father begot you, he begot a great deal of trouble for mortal men and immortal gods."

"Why do you try to scare me as if I was nothing but a silly child? I shall follow the career that offers the best opportunities, for I must look after my own interests and yours. It is intolerable that we alone of the immortals should have to live in this dank cave, receiving neither offerings nor prayers. Would it not be better to spend our days in ease and affluence like the rest of the gods? I am going to get the same status in cult as Apollo. If my father does not give it to me, I will become the prince of thieves. If Apollo hunts me down, I will go plunder his shrine at Delphi; there is plenty of gold there – just you see." (Homeric Hymn to Hermes -- ll 154-181)

Along the way, he's had various children with various partners as Hellenic gods are wont to do. Pan, Orion ( … born from urinating in the sea with two other gods), and Autolykos are the three most well-known, and while he's connected to the immortal children, he tends to get more heavily involved in the lives of his mortal offspring and champions them as heros. The traditional Greek hero is someone like Achilles, a strong warrior who fights the good fight, and not someone who uses wiles or deceit to get what they want. Odysseus and Autolykos are exceptions to this and a great many dusty scholars have written books on why this is; if you'd like references, I can send 'em along.

Moving rapidly onward, after the Hellenic states waned and the Roman Empire grew, Hermes moved on and went by Mercurius, taking on a more mercantile role and really doing rather well for himself. He'd proved quite adaptable, shifting from a shepherding deity to one that was invoked by Rome's greatest orators. Alongside a culture that honoured the spoken word and as an increasingly urbanized god, the growth of city centres was a boon to him and Hermes flourished. While other gods had stronger connections to state sponsored religious practice, idols of Hermes would have been popular in nearly every store, school, gymnasium, and crossroad.

Unfortunately, times of plenty do not last forever. Still, as Rome wound down and the new Christian empire rose, the countryside remained comfortably ensconced in pagan practice for years to come. In many cases, old practice was realigned with new, Christian mores and after a bit of judicious renaming rituals and holidays continued on much as they always had. Through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, there was a steady interest in Hermes as a patron of alchemy and while it's probably not what we'd recognize as scientific inquiry today, it is the root of much of modern scientific thought and theory. After all, we do still 'hermetically seal' things, albeit with technology and not magical seals.

As the Early Modern Period began, Hermes influence truly did begin to wane. The Enlightenment was great for many things, but not for gods and those that rely on worship from humans. Hermes continued on, inspiring individuals here and there, causing a ruckus elsewhere, and generally enjoying life.

In previous games, I've hinted that when his wife, the goddess Peitho, faded out, Hermes took out his anger on humanity by helping to cause the stockmarket crash of 1929, but if that's too ~woo woo~ powerful, I'm happy to scrap that. Fortunately for all involved, Hermes has (somewhat) mellowed in his old age. Some of his contemporaries say that it's because he's gone soft in his old age, but the truth of the matter is that he's well adapted to the modern era - commerce, communication, and travel have risen to prominence in the daily lives of millions and while Hermes-as-Hermes really doesn't have much pull anymore, he's able to pull a little worship out of every wordless, non-deity assigned 'Anyone listening, please don't let my internet crash until I finish this World of Warcraft raid!'.

N.B. To forestall any awkwardness or poor taste, I'm going to say that I'm taking Hermes either from before the market crashed in Greece or from a world where that particular mess didn't happen.

Personality:
To steal a page from Byron, Hermes is mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Much of what he feels or thinks would be exaggerated for a human to express, but since he's pretty much a walking, (always) talking archetype, it makes sense for Hermes to be a bit over the top.

First and foremost, Hermes loves to upset the status quo. He's a trickster deity and enjoys subversion of the norm. He wants to push people to see what they'll do when cornered or when given boundless opportunity. For example, when Pandora, the first woman, was made ever god gave her a gift - some brought beauty, grace, talents for the home, but it was Hermes that gave her curiosity. (Which, of course, led her to open Pandora's Box and unleash all the evils, ills, and, eventually, hope, into the world.) When he's done something particularly devious, Hermes has a tendency to get caught and repent for his actions. Even if it means that he'll end up suffering, he's a gloryhound and can't bear the thought of people overlooking some brilliant bit of trouble he's caused.

When given a choice between two things, no matter how poor the prospective choices are, Hermes will invariably go for the one he hasn't done before. After a few thousand years, he's always excited and easily distracted by novelty.

He's a staunch ally for humanity and heroes. The gods rarely invent things on their own. Hermes does it occasionally, but for the most part, his role is to champion humans and humanity's boundless desire for knowledge and innovation. Sure, humanity has moved beyond him and many of his friends, but that's their nature and it wasn't done as a slight to the old gods -- rather than spend all his time avowing that he's unchanging and perfect or lamenting what has already been lost, isn't it better to celebrate what's there in the time he has left?

He's supremely adaptable. No matter what goes wrong or changes, Hermes usually manages to come up relatively well. Partly, this is because change, travel, liminal states are something that Hermes represents as a trope or conceptual figure. He's the god of journeys, both good and bad, both travel for pleasure and the final journey into death. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same.

He's a devious bastard. He's certainly a cheat and often called a liar, but Hermes will often assert that he never lies. This may well be true and he's never been caught in a lie, but there's no real proof that he's outright lied to anyone. Hermes loves word games and gets a visceral thrill out of skating as close to untruth as possible. He's a chatterbox and will happily talk, at length, about any subject.

He's not human. Greek gods don't really follow along the same moral guidelines that we mere mortals must struggle with. If someone takes action against something that Hermes considers his or as a part of his providence, he can be swift to anger. Fortunately, and unlike many of his contemporaries, he's also swift to appease. In nearly every classical Greek myth, hubris is what brings a mortal to the attention of a wrathful god and their subsequent downfall.

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
Back in his glory days, Hermes was one of the twelve Olympians and could do all manner of great and terrible things. It was comparatively easy for him to turn humans to stone or animals, control travel, financial transactions, and basically tinker however he saw fit in his areas of providence - e.g. omens, animal husbandry, trade, travel, the home, thievery, luck, language, education, certain types of athletics, and psychopompery. Now, he can't outright affect anything that's not in his providence, but when he's got worship behind him, he still has some sway in those areas.

In game, worship would likely include offerings (libations, incense, prayer, and/or animal sacrifice) and would have to come from the other passengers in Atax. The usual way this sort of thing works is that someone approaches Hermes with a deal and they negotiate the terms - e.g. PersonA would like to have a day where they are exceptionally innovative when it comes to how the communications network functions, provided they make the appropriate offering to Hermes, he can give them that boost. Of course, this doesn't always work and, boy howdy, will I have one heck of a helpful permissions meme if I get accepted. Long ago, in a game far away, I made a Sacrifice: How-To Guide.

Without some semi-regular input of worship, Hermes will sicken, fade, and die. One of his priorities in game will be to ensure that he'll be able to find 'food' and even if he's able to manage that, he'll never be up to the level he used to be. I'd say that roughly 98% of the time, he'll be just like any regular joe.

Without worship powering him, Hermes still has a few powers at his disposal.

• He's durable, heals quickly, and is hard, but not impossible, to kill.
• He can move 'as quick as thought'. He's not able to teleport, so he can't go through barriers, but he can really move when he needs to.
• He can change shape into any of his patron animals or icons: dog, rooster, tortoise, or a pile of rocks.

He also has a weakness for other people's wives.

Inventory:
An adamantine sickle is Hermes' traditional war weapon; he's not fond of outright combat, but he can do well enough defending himself.
The caduceus is a staff topped with two snakes and is a traditional sign of messengers.

Appearance: When he manifests as human, Hermes is a lean, attractive man in his early thirties that looks suspiciously like Paul Bettany. Beyond the physical appearance, which is really just an illusion, Hermes exudes a sense of energy, action, and good cheer. He's fun. No matter what he's given to wear, he'll somehow find a way to alter it either into a suit or to a chiton. (Togas are lovely and all, but they don't provide the airflow of a chiton.)

While it can inspire belief in mortals, he doesn't often appear as a god. Back when he was fully powered, if a mortal saw the true form of a god, they could go blind, mad, simply die, or sometimes fall into a self-destructive sort of obsession -- none of those are fates he'd want to wish on those around him. Not only would he feel a bit bad for hurting his friends, but it's terrible press.

Age: About 2800. Give or take a century.

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:
Scrolling through the network posts, Hermes can't deny that it's a small pond he's forced to fish in. He'll never be able to really pull in the sort of worship he'd like, but at the same time, he can live here openly. Those that travel on this ship are used to wonders, miracles, and oddities walking among them. They're hunted on a regular basis and might crave the small support he can offer them. After all, they're all travellers and under his providence.

Putting aside his phone, he begins to pace and speak aloud to himself. Ideas have always come better with good wine and creatively inclined women at his side, but in these conditions he'll have to make do with perambulation and rambling to the walls. "True, true, I can't deny, and I wouldn't want to deny that it's far from an auspicious start, but it's not ill-omened." Hermes reassures himself that in the past he's made more out of less and always come out on top. True, it may end up a disaster, but if it does, it'll be a brilliant one that they'll talk about for generations. Wise women and brave men will name their children after him and they could have a festival in his honour. Maybe a fatted bull or two. Maybe he could get that good wine and, ah, imaginative company? No?

"Probably not, but when has thinking negatively ever done me any good. I am Hermes, son of Maia, the Silver-Tongued, and the god of luck. I dare anyone to suggest a better use for my own gifts than my own betterment and entertainment."

Comms Sample:
[The video feed switches on to show a well-dressed man, adjusting his cufflinks. His smile is easy in the way that somehow manages to imply that it's an off-the-cuff, casual gesture, but is so easy that one might wonder if it's been practised. He doesn't exude 'lawyer' vibes, but it's a close thing.]

Good day, my fellow travellers. I am Hermes Maiados Huios. If anyone is interested in a semi-lucrative, yet possibly morally suspect scheme, please comment here with a locked response.

[He pauses, holding up a single finger as if to convince his audience to wait.]

I should like to point out that a response doesn't mean you have to be involved, but it does mean that I'd like a little discretion. Questions?

Other Log
Here's a brief log of Hermes and Irene Adler in a sort of cyberpunk setting.

As always, if you good folks have any questions, concerns, or want me to tl;dr about something, I am happy to do so. I mean, what else is having an undergrad in Classics good for if not to RP on the internet?