#pan.

Flag of The Isle of Man, but it's bacon in a pan.

ABOUT

Full name & known aliases: Pan Xanthos Pleiades. Occupation: Journalist at Nemean News. Age: 29. Gender & pronouns: Cis man, he/him Faceclaim: Lucien Laviscount. Can be seen: Drinking the last of the office’s good coffee, leaning against Athena’s desk, hounding witnesses for statements, meeting Artemis and Menelaus for drinks, promoting Nemean’s latest success on Tala, gathering information by observing intimate conversations, consulting with Zeus, smoking outside of a club’s entrance.

STATS

Influence  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Charisma  ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Protection  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Information  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Experience  ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

CODEX

The Pleiades are an active lesson in what people will do when the chips are down. Some will play until they can no longer fool themselves into thinking they have a chance. Others will fold – exit the game with dignity, while they still can. I remember a time when Electra Pleiades seemed to be the latter. However, that was before her sister proved that there was a third option. If you can’t change the bet, then you must change the game. Even if it’s at the cost of everyone else with their skin flayed open on the table. Maybe especially then. Suppose a boy of the Arcadian hills had to learn such a skill from someone.

You see, when a young Maia Pleiades accepted her father’s offer to fund her efforts to rise in the Quorum, he knew it would cost quite a bit of money. That was without question. And that it did – her triumph, at the expense of nearly all his savings. What he wasn’t anticipating, in the months following such a price, was for the Fates’ rusted - hinge laugh to rasp just beyond his shoulder. For them to watch as he walked up the blood - steps of Naos to meet Chaos. Leaving one daughter a success, and the other fumbling blind in the penumbra cast by her incandescence.

Within the region where Electra raised her son following her fathers’ death, there are tales of children that turn into trees. It’s little more than a fear tactic to ensure that kids come home before dark, but with the way he ran wild in the hills, I would dare to say that Pan saw those stories as a challenge. In theory, he could have stayed that way – a young boy, facing the rest of the world with a radiant grin that dared you to follow deeper into the veins of Arcadia. But very few things are truly made to last.

After all, a thing like resentment, when left to fester, can quite easily become a genetic sort of haunting. The dark and mangled roots of a mother’s feelings for a sister, sharpen to enmity in the hands of a son. Regardless as to whether it’s a heedless grandfather that deserved it, or the cousin he had yet to meet that became the focus instead, I could tell you the precise moment Pan decided to change the game. When he finally figured out a way to play the hand he was dealt.

Don’t ask me how he accomplished the feat of landing a job offer from Zeus Rhea those couple of years ago, because he won’t divulge. In a way, it’s become a rags to riches story – some think it to be a kindness, what Zeus did to turn around Pan’s circumstances. Others find it to be a testimony to the will of the Pleiades boy himself. Here’s what I think: nepotism is a remarkably easy weapon to use, if you’re lucky enough to have it in the arsenal.

CONNECTIONS

Familial connections: Hermes (cousin, acts as a thorn in their side).

Professional connections: Zeus (employer, the king to protect in this game of chess). Athena (occasional collaborator, reliable office entertainment). Icarus (could be a worthwhile time investment). Ganymede (two sides of the same coin; a tempting guide). Prometheus (regular contact, someone to keep on good terms with).

Social connections: Apollo (familiar drinking partner, useful ally for now). Odysseus (curious, someone to keep tabs on). Artemis (similar in spirit). Delphi (a tie to home). Hephaestus (existing as strange reflections; source of amusement). Menelaus (an old friend).

Should I Grease My Tart Pan?