| “ | There is no other way, Spartan. Destroy the oath, kill Ares, and have your revenge. | ” |
–Orkos to Kratos | ||
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Orkos is the deuteragonist in God of War: Ascension. He is a half-blood Fury and a Demigod, son of Ares and Alecto.
In Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, Horkos is the personification of an oath and the avenger of perjury. He is the son of Eris, the goddess of discord and strife.
God of War: Ascension
Ares, the God of War, wanted to create the perfect warrior so he could overthrow Zeus and claim Olympus for himself. To accomplish this, he and the Queen of the Furies, Alecto, mated and conceived a child, Orkos. However, much to Ares' disappointment, Orkos was not what he hoped he would be, and he disowned him.
The Furies, however, spared him and made him the Oath-keeper. Orkos, despite his heavy burden, was eager to please those who he thought loved him. However, Orkos saw the injustice in Kratos's oath with Ares, the God of War and his father, and how the Spartan went away from the War God after Ares tricked him into killing his family and turned against his mothers. With the help of the Oracle of Delphi, he tried to warn Zeus of Ares' plot, but the Furies were sent after him. The Oracle was punished for the attempt, while Orkos managed to reach Kratos, who was being hunted down by the Furies for breaking his blood oath to Ares.
Orkos' first meeting with Kratos ended up alarming him and causing the Spartan to attack, but Kratos ceased his onslaught when Orkos explained his motives. However, in Delos, the duo was captured by the Furies, who then had Kratos imprisoned within Aegaeon.
Death
After escaping the Hecatonchires and killing the Furies, Kratos returned to his home in Sparta, with Orkos meeting him there. Although the Oath Guardian praised the Spartan warrior on his victory, he soon revealed that, before they were defeated, the Furies had made him Kratos' oath-keeper once again, indicating that despite their efforts, Ares would retain control over both of them, lest the Spartan kill Orkos.
Orkos, begging Kratos to give him an honorable death, handed his blade over to the Spartan, who then proceeded to stab him in the stomach, killing him and freeing them both from their respective bonds to Ares. After which, Kratos burned down his home, with the corpse of Orkos inside of it, before departing. Orkos' death, however, also freed Kratos' memories of the death of his wife and child which would haunt him for the rest of his life.
In chapter 19 of Rise of the Warrior, it is revealed that the cloaked figure who follows the Warrior is Orkos.
Personality
Orkos was a humble person who sought only to please the ones who claimed to love and care for him. He was unhappy about being disowned by his father Ares, though he never voiced his discontent and simply chose to obey his mother and aunts, whom he collectively referred as his "mothers".
As the Oath-Keeper, Orkos carried a heavy burden and experienced pain and agony during his tenure, though he endured out of sheer loyalty to his family. Even when told by the Oracle of Delphi Aletheia of the sinister plot between his parents, Orkos chose not to believe until Aletheia provided him with evidence.
Even then, it took the combination of Orkos' sympathy for Kratos for him to finally turn his back on The Furies and try to save Olympus and the Spartan, achieving the task of saving only the latter.
Powers & Abilities
As the son of a God and Fury, it can be assumed that Orkos possesses considerable power.
- Telepathy - Orkos seems to possess telepathic or empathic abilities; he was able to sense that Kratos was troubled.
- Teleportation - Orkos can teleport in a shadow-like manner.
- Oath Stone - Orkos can create temporary clones of himself, shares this power with Kratos.
Trivia
- Orkos is voiced by Troy Baker.
- "Horkos" means "oath" in both the modern and ancient Greek language.
- The reason for helping Kratos, as stated by Orkos himself, was that Kratos was innocent and not guilty for punishment and torture. He also knew that the only one who could stop Ares and the Furies before they could overthrow Zeus and Olympus was Kratos.
- Ironically, he had helped the man who would later overthrow Olympus itself and Zeus.
- Orkos was one of the few individuals Kratos considered to not only be an ally but a friend.This was evidenced when Kratos was hesitant to kill Orkos to break his bond with Ares ,with Orkos having to convince Kratos to kill him.
- In the single player trailer of 26/02/2013, it's mentioned he gives Kratos a power, recently revealed as being the Oath Stone of Orkos.
- It seems like Orkos had a close relationship with Aletheia. In the Lantern of Apollo, while telling Kratos the story of the Eyes of Truth, he refers to her as "my beloved". If Orkos actually loved Aletheia, it could have been because he had never seen something so pure as her Eyes, or found someone who actually cared and wanted to help him in his whole life.
- In his meetings with Kratos after Aletheia's death, Orkos didn't seem to be sad and didn't mention the event. This either proves that he didn't actually love her, didn't want to speak about her death, or that he didn't become aware of her death.
- Since both Orkos and Aletheia died in the game, it is possible that, after his death, he would have met her in the Underworld.
