Charon was one of the Halaku, a duke and a lieutenant to Azrael. He is the creator of Haven, and is the namesake of the legendary wraith Charon.
History[]
A lieutenant of Azrael, Charon fought in the Mortality War, charged into battle alongside Azrael and Cerberus against the forces of Heaven guarding Kâzdejâ, a route to escort the ghosts of the dead back to the living world. Charon fought with a strange fury, and was confronted by Azrael about this later.
Charon admitted to having fallen in love with a mortal, with that love superceding that of his love for humanity in general. Azrael was amazed, as angels did not typically suffer from lust or passion. His fury in battle was over fear of the Heavenly host taking her soul to its God-ordained destination.
Charon persuaded Azrael that the Halaku should shift their focus: the other six Houses were already seeking the overthrow of Heaven, so the Slayers' priority should be to rescue the souls of the dead, and create a haven for them which no angel of Heaven could ever reach. "They have their world of the dead, from which we are barred. Let us build our own, where those we love may be safe and we can rest from the battle."
Azrael agreed, and Charon took one quarter of the Alabaster Legion to help build this Haven, keeping it a secret even from Lucifer. The angels who other Houses despised as agents of destruction were now engaged in the most ambitious act of creation than that of the world itself.[1]
Charon and his assistants cloaked themselves in a Veil made of the pain and suffering of death, in order to conceal their actions. They gradually worked at the void, which became a space, and then a place, and finally a reflection of the beauty of everything that death had taken from the First World. No living thing was permitted to enter Haven without the aid of a Slayer, including loyalist angels.
Once proven safe, Charon began to ferry favored shades to Haven, assuring them that they could return to the living world once the Mortality War had been won. Slayers tasked with transporting ghosts to Haven called themselves "Ferrymen."
Ghosts began to grow restless in the void, and the first woman ghost informed Charon that ghosts were lost without their possessions to reinforce their memories. Since nothing dead could pass the Veil, Charon tweaked the rules: as each new ghost entered Haven, her most treasured possessions would be re-created from the stuff of memory. Soon, Slayers joined with Malefactors so that Haven would become a repository of everything that passed from the world -- buildings, cities, and other possessions.
Later still, worried that Haven was not secure enough, Charon dove deeper into the void and created a vast sea of memory under Haven, and called upon the Malefactors to raise new islands in that sea, linked by secret Byways. Charon made his home on one of these islands. Here, far from the First World, they had more leeway in shaping the landscape to their whims.
Further convinced that he was not safe enough, he dug under his palace into the void once more, seeking to build a fortress where those he loved could be safe forever.
Eventually the Veil was pierced, and the Heavenly host attacked Haven. The Byway leading deep into the sea of memory was sundered by Cerberus after the majority of ghosts and Ferrymen had passed through, and Charon was never seen by angel or demon again. The other Slayers were captured, the rebellion over. While ghosts waited for their punishment, none came, and they were left alone for the first time.[2]
As Demons returned to Earth following the cracking of the Abyss, many Slayers considered the search for Charon to be as pressing as the search for Lucifer. These "Charonists" chased down many tales from wraiths who reported on a Charon who led the Empire of the Dead, but unfortunately it may be a case of mistaken identity.[3]
Abilities[]
Charon possess demonic physiology as well as the standard demonic Lores of Fundament and Humanity. As a Halaku, an Angel of Death, Charon possess the Lores of Death, Spirit, and Realms.
Azrael awarded Charon with the scythe Siklos as thanks for his centuries of toil, designed by members of the Alabaster Legion from several Houses, including the Malefactor Nhudriel and the Scourge Kamoseous. It was created from the souls of three willing human warriors[4].
Background Information[]
- Author Adam Tinworth has suggested that the Lady of Fate named the Wraith Charon, a Mycenaean general, after the Slayer of the same name. By invoking the name of the builder of the Shadowlands and Underworld, the Lady passed on the power of that name to Wraith-Charon - something he would have needed to get the fledgling Stygia off the ground.
References[]
- ↑ DTF: Houses of the Fallen, p. 175
- ↑ DTF: Houses of the Fallen, p. 177-179
- ↑ DTF: Houses of the Fallen, p. 183
- ↑ DTF: Houses of the Fallen, p. 190