Tharros is a male, anthropomorphic griffin. Despite appearing in his between late 20's and early 30's, he's actually over 2,000 years old as a result of his decelerated aging process.
Backstory
Tharros' birthplace is unknown. At a very young age he was brought into an ancient clan of warriors to be trained in their way. Most of these members much like himself were mythological creatures and were able to fight for many eras. This appeared to be one's goal; to amass an eternal army of the ultimate combatants. Since he could walk on two feet, Tharros was trained day and night to become a formidable warrior. This training was harsh and any notion of disobedience or abandonment was promptly dealt with. Centuries of this had passed and Tharros had fought in many wars; achieving many victories, but also facing numerous defeats. This clan was disbanded long ago for reasons unknown and any trace of their existence has been lost in history. Tharros has lived on and continues his training for that is all he knows. He has spent his long years seeking out countless battles to increase his fighting prowess and will continue to do so until he meets his bitter end.
Appearance
Tharros stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds with a rather muscular build. Being the hybrid he is, Tharros has the head of an eagle, sporting white feathers and a large, golden colored and curved beak with two nostril pits. He has a pair of piercing and rigid eyes with a glassy white sclera, deep gold irises and large, black feline-like pupils. Another eagle trait is his strong and durable white feathered wings with a wingspan of almost 7 feet protruding from his upper back. On his chest, he has an excessively tufted, diamond shaped patch of white feathers. From his knees down is covered in white feathers. Tharros has 4 digit talons for feet with long claws on each end. His arms, torso and upper legs are that of a lion with short brown fur covering those regions. He has a thick and large, dark brown mane that encircles his head and hangs just below shoulder level. His large paws have 3 inch, retractable claws hidden within each of his fingertips. He has a long and thin tail with a large tuft of dark brown fur on the tip.
Personality
Tharros possesses immense willpower and a desire to "better" the world. He is extremely stubborn and does not believe in compromise. He believes in very clear definitions of right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable, and winner and loser. Tharros will rarely take the role of a leader, though he sometimes serves as second-in-command or as the backbone of an organization or group. It is difficult to convince him to change his mind, but once his mind has changed, expect him to jump to the opposite extreme of the argument; he does not believe in finding middle ground. He is extremely confident, though in a more stoic and less outspoken manner. He has a strong sense of self-worth and tries to be humble about himself (either out of politeness or some sense of propriety), or he may express it in a particularly abrasive form of self-righteousness. Tharros has incredible amounts of courage, both physically and mentally. That being said, he has the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation with no problem. He can easily face physical pain hardship, death, or threat of death. He acts rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. The key aspect of Tharros' personality is his strong, mostly unalterable convictions. He values honor above reason and is rarely forgiving to those that upset him.
Abilities
He has a wide array of abilities he can use in combat. Born to be a fighter, he has spent the countless years of his existence honing his abilities. He has incredible physical fortitude throughout his entire body, allowing him to pull off astounding feats of herculean strength and can suffer high extents of pressure as well as damage. While his vision is only normal, it can act as a sort of telescope, allowing him to zoom his vision at will and see clearly from far distances. His eyes also allow him to perceive his surroundings in the darkest of areas as if they were under light. His beak can send forth a barrage of quick and deadly pecks in addition to a lethal bite. His tail and talons are prehensile, able to grasp objects with surprising speed and accuracy and are highly useful for combat. His tail aids in balance and is quite flexible, which he typically demonstrates by coiling it around even the smallest of objects. Despite his tail's slim and weak look, it can actually withstand slightly more than Tharros' weight and can be used to strike foes. His highly durable wings allow him to reach speeds up to an average of 130 mph relatively quickly for quite extensive amounts of time. His top speed has shown to be over 400 mph, but such a speed wears his wings down far too quickly and prefers to use this speed for emergencies. He wings can be additionally used to wrap around his body for increased defense and even a quick and powerful melee strike by lashing them forward. He also has the ability to adapt to high altitude environments. He is able to withstand extremely high or low air pressure and isn't disoriented or deprived of normal breathing capacity by it as well as high wind friction, accompanied by an innate immunity to vertigo or fear of heights. His enhanced lung capacity assists with this. He has learned to control his flying well and can fight while airborne just as efficiently as on the ground.
Weaponry
Tharros wields a rather strange and unique weapon. It is a windmill-shaped sword which is essentially 2 cross-halberds connected. It's size is large, almost reaching Tharros in height from one bladed tip to the opposing one. The weapon is named Augury and given its uncanny appearance and difficulty in wielding, it has taken Tharros long to master. He utilizes this weapon with a series of quick and weak slashes or thrusts typically aiming with only one of the bladed edges. More lethal attacks can be done by spinning the weapon and making use of all 4 bladed edges, although these tend to be slower. Tharros can throw the weapon in a boomerang-like fashion and can cover a large distance before coming back to him. He can also detach the weapon and have access to 2 cross-halberds with a swift pull. He uses these in a similar manner by employing various stabs and twirls to damage foes.
Combat style
Throughout his many years, Tharros has studied and mastered numerous different styles of hand-to-hand combat. His fighting style suggests he has exceptional balance, endurance, reflexes and control. With the abundant variants, he can adept to almost any kind of opponent. He does have vast knowledge in a wide variation of weapon styles such as swords, spears, staffs and including his own. Although he possesses a formidable weapon and is highly proficient in using it, he prefers his body's natural tools and will only use Augury when it’s absolutely necessary. He thoroughly analyzes his opponent's movements and most of the time he can discover an exploitable weakness which he can capitalize from. He has a refined balance of offence and defense which he can effortlessly lean towards one or the other depending on his opponent. Tharros is a tactical fighter who mainly targets crucial areas in a fight such as the stomach, chest and facial regions. The power in his strikes is great and his claws and talons can add to this for deadly attacks. He is a highly disciplined combatant and knows his body's limits.
Weaknesses
There aren't many weaknesses for Tharros but the few he has can hinder him greatly. His eyes are moderately sensitive and he's susceptible to bright or heavily flashing lights. His agility is slightly below average and he can be put at a disadvantage against fast fighters. He is also rather large, which makes him a large target in combat. Tharros has poor range with his attacks, especially considering he lacks any sort of projectiles aside from throwing his weapon and as such, he relies heavily on extremely close ranged tactics. This can put him at a severe disadvantage against more ranged adversaries.
Trivia
- Tharros is the Greek word for courage.
- Tharros has a signature battle cry he lets out before a fight. It starts off with a high pitched, eagle screech and ends with a deep and low lion growl.
- For a short time, Graviton was turned into a Griffin. Finding the concept for the character unfitting for that species, he was turned back into a hedgehog. What was created from the Griffin was eventually passed down to the newly created Tharros.