After eons of doing paperwork and enduring the verbal abuse of his father, Hades, young Zagreus, God of blood, decides to try his luck at running the gauntlet of the Underworld in an attempt to escape to freedom on the surface. However, if escaping were easy, everyone would be doing it. In order to escape, you will play as Zagreus to help him defeat the furies of Tartarus, the bone hydra of Asphodel, and the Champions of Elysium before sneaking past the ever watchful Cerberus, so that Zagreus can finally taste of freedom beyond his father's realm. You are about to find out why the Underwold has a reputation for being inescapable. Below you will find brief descriptions of some of the characters you will meet and befriend along the way.
Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld, is the son of Hades and is the protagonist of the game Hades. You play as Zagreus to help him escape the underworld in search of a different life on the surface. However, escaping the underworld is far from easy. Zagreus must gain the trust of other members of the house of Hades as well as boons from the Gods of Olympus in order to fight through Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and Styx in order to finally break free of his father's realm.
Hades is the god of the Underworld and of the mineral riches of the earth, the lord and master of the House of Hades, and the father of Zagreus. He is in charge of maintaining order within the Underworld, determining the placements and punishments of the dead, and hearing the petitions of shades that come before him. Hades is stern, serious, and dedicated to his work. He is resentful of Zagreus's repeated attempts to escape the Underworld and greets his returns with scorn and mockery. Additionally, he will sometimes summon shades to attack near Zagreus to punish him with time trials or to defend his Infernal Troves. He berates Zagreus upon the prince managing to progress from each level of the underworld to the next.
Nyx, Goddess of the Night, is the personification of night and a resident in the House of Hades. She manages the daily work of Chthonic Gods and staff, as seen in her interactions with Megaera, Dusa and the House Contractor. Nyx is a daughter of Chaos, and mother of multiple Gods including the twin gods Hypnos and Thanatos, of Charon, Eris, Nemesis, Moros, the Fates, and many others. Nyx is also the main caretaker of Zagreus. Nyx has curried favor with the Olympian Gods and has given Zagreus the Mirror of Night to aid in his escape.
Cerberus is a massive three-headed dog charged with guarding the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from escaping. He guards these gates at the very top of the underworld in the Temple of Styx He is a magnificent beast, companion of Hades and Zagreus.
Hypnos is the embodiment of sleep. He is one of Nyx's many children, and the younger twin brother of Thanatos. He watches over the procession of newly-arrived shades coming before Hades, checking their names off his list. He is often seen sleeping on the job. He greets Zagreus most of the time when the prince is killed and returns to the House via the Pool of Styx, and often gives unhelpful advice and a quip about whichever enemy or natural force did Zagreus in.
Thanatos is the God and personification of death. He is one of Nyx's many children and the older twin brother of Hypnos. As the God of death, Thanatos has many duties requiring him to venture up into the mortal realm. His most recent such venture took longer than usual - speculated by Hypnos and Zagreus to be related to the ongoing war - but returns some time after the game's opening. Thanatos occasionally appears at the beginning of regular encounters and challenges Zagreus to see which of them can slay more shades. He is immune to damage during the contest, and will not retaliate if struck. If Zagreus either kills more enemies than Thanatos does or ties his total, he will award Zagreus a Centaur Heart in addition to the regular room-clear reward.
Megaera is one of the three Fury sisters. She is sister of Alecto and Tisiphone, being responsible for punishing adulterers, oathbreakers, and thieves. She charged by Hades to stop Zagreus from escaping the Underworld by guarding the connection from Tartarus to Asphodel during any given escape attempt. After her first defeat, Megaera will join the House of Hades as a character that can be interacted with, though she will still attempt to stop Zagreus from entering Asphodel. She will be found drinking in the House's lounge, but only after a run in which she was defeated. Apparently, she has been tasked with handling matters in Tartarus apart from her sisters; this includes dealing with Zagreus. According to Megaera, a war amongst the mortals has made the Underworld particularly busy, and her sisters are handling matters elsewhere.
Dusa is a shade in the form of a floating, disembodied Gorgon's head. She works as a maid in the House of Hades under Nyx, constantly floating around and cleaning, and after a time is promoted to the House's Head Custodian.
Achilles is a demi-god hero famed for his role in the Trojan War as both a peerless warrior and as the leader of his tribe, the Myrmidons. He was dipped in the Styx by his mother as a child to grant him immortality but was left vulnerable on the heel by which Thetis held him. After he was fatally wounded when Paris shot his heel with an arrow, he descended to the Underworld as a Shade, where he was eventually hired by Hades to train a young Zagreus in battle and military discipline in exchange for allowing his lover Patroclus into Elysium. Since he was hired, Achilles has made an effort to be a source of support and encouragement for Zagreus in the face of Hades' often harsh treatment. Achilles is responsible for authoring all entries in the Codex, which he gives to Zagreus to provide information and guidance about the Underworld and the Olympian Gods.
Orpheus is a legendary musician. During his life, he lost his wife and muse Eurydice and ventured to the Underworld to plea for her return. Although he was ultimately unable to bring her back to life, he charmed Hades with his music such that after his death, Hades employed Orpheus as his court musician. However, because he has lost his muse, he is unable to bring himself to sing, though he may be persuaded otherwise.
Skelly is a Bloodless "employed" by the House of Hades as a training dummy. While Skelly claims to be on the House's payroll, he refuses to reveal who hired him and is similarly unwilling to discuss his past, instead preferring to play various pranks on Zagreus. Oddly, no one in the House seems to be aware of his existence besides Zagreus and Achilles, unless the former asks them about him. Skelly first appears right after you purchase your first weapon. Because he's already dead, he will simply reform after being "killed" in training. He seems suspiciously enthusiastic about getting beaten up.
Kedryn Peregoy | ENGL 3340 | UVU