Atreus

Atreus also known as Loki Laufeyson, is the Norse God of Mischief and the Champion of the Jötnar. He is the deuteragonist of God of War (2018) and one of the two protagonists of God of War Ragnarök along with Kratos. Introduced as the son of Kratos and Faye, Atreus joins his father on a journey to spread his deceased mother's ashes on top of the highest peak in all the Nine Realms. On their journey, Kratos teaches Atreus how to survive and fight as a warrior while Atreus teaches Kratos to open up to those that can help them. As Atreus and Kratos reach Jötunheim to spread Faye's ashes on the Giant Finger's mountain, they learn that she was a Jötunn. As Atreus wonders about his heritage, he also learns that his mother wanted to give him the birth name Loki but his father named him after Atreus of Sparta. During Fimbulwinter, Atreus seeks answers about his Jötunn heritage, something Kratos cannot answer. This makes Atreus secretly partner up with Sindri to reexamine the Jötnar shrines, where they learn that a God of War and Champion will be of great importance during Ragnarök. As Kratos finds out about Atreus' secret activities, he reluctantly agrees to help him, hoping to prevent Ragnarök. After Atreus reconciles with his father, he manages to infiltrate Asgard and steal Odin's most prized possession, a mask with infinite knowledge. At Sindri’s house, it is revealed that Týr have been Odin in disguise and kills Brok. As the group manages to drive Odin away and retrieve the mask, they decide to start Ragnarök in order to bring Odin to justice for his crimes against the Nine Realms. Atreus, Kratos, Freya, and Mimir have a final battle with Odin, resulting in Atreus killing Odin by extracting his soul, who is then denied an afterlife by a vengeful Sindri who destroys his soul in revenge for Brok's demise. As Fimbulwinter ends, Atreus makes his way through the survivors to tell Angrboda and his father that he is going explore the lands outside of the Nine Realms, hoping to find the rest of the Giants. With Kratos' acceptance of his son's birthright, Loki would thus leave for his next adventure.

Appearance Atreus is a fourteen year old teenager and has grown taller, towering above Brok and Sindri. He has gained a bulkier build, a deeper voice and his skin is less pale than it was when he was younger. Back in the day, Kratos cut his hair. These days it's mostly Atreus with some help from dad. He holds the Talon Bow on his back with an S-shaped hook patterned after Jörmungandr. He wears a yellow tunic lined with fur, the yellow reflects his strong connection to his mother and the Giants, the red stitching is in the same place as his father's tattoo. On his right arm he wears an Elven brass, He continues to wear his father's red sash and mother's yellow scarf. On the cuff of his sleeve he wears a burnished pewter cuff ornament, in addition he wears a leather arm guard, It's wolf themed to represent the speed and aggressiveness of the arrows he shoots, it also protects his arm from getting hit by his bowstring. Atreus also wears hand-engraved bronze hook buckles made by Brok. His boots are made of reindeer hide, according to Sindri Atreus had to learn how to make them himself. Additionally, he also wears the mistletoe arrowhead that allowed Baldur to be defeated as a necklace, stating that it makes him feel brave and is a reminder of his father telling him that they need to be better gods. Atreus now uses an identical knife to his fathers, it is the knife his father made for him when he was born by mixing metals from his homeland and from the Nine realms. In terms of his bow, the style slightly changed overtime, his father made the new arrows with a robust design and construction.

Personality Atreus is a happy and curious child who is kind to others when he engages in conversation with them, believing that he should help people whether they be living or dead. He is fond of exploring and learning Norse mythology, particularly from Mimir and Freya. When he was a child, Atreus learned various Norse languages and hunting from his mother. However, his gentle disposition initially made him hesitant to take a life, whether it was an innocent deer or a troll that attacked his father. Despite this, Atreus constantly tries to prove to his father that he can handle himself. It is implied that he feels unwanted by his father and that this sense of rejection is what drives him to become a better warrior. Due to growing up with him, Atreus shows absolutely no fear of Kratos and like his stepmother Lysandra, does not hesitate to call out his father when he needed to. He was also naïve initially, much like his half-sister Calliope. Atreus has many flaws stemming from his youth and inexperience but seems to have also inherited some of his father's negative traits, most notably his rage and overconfidence. He attacked the dead body of a Troll in a blind rage and was greatly enraged at Modi's incessant provocation. When Atreus learns about his godhood, it slowly begins to change him due to a misunderstanding of what it means to be a God, in conjunction with his father's desire for him to be better. At this point, he grows cocky and impulsive, becoming rude to Sindri and telling him to shut up about his rivalry with his brother as he considered it a petty problem and telling Mimir to be quiet after the latter comments on his new change of attitude. He also often charges recklessly into battle without hesitation. Soon he has no problem taking a life, such as when he kills Modi, believing that being a god gives him the right to do anything he wants. It also makes him very careless in battle; this is evident during a fight with Baldur: Atreus disobeys his father's orders to stand back, eventually causing the two to be teleported to Hel. After being reprimanded by Kratos for his behavior, Atreus returns to his former personality for the most part. After witnessing Baldur's attempt to kill his own mother and learning the truth about Kratos' past, Atreus becomes much more humble. He is repulsed by the idea of the cycle of patricide after having learned of his grandfather Zeus' death at the hands of Kratos. Upon defeating Baldur, Atreus even reminded him that Baldur was beaten and no longer a threat, advice that he had arrogantly failed to heed earlier. Despite learning about his godhood, he still retains his childlike qualities. He also retains his compassion, as seen when he tries to protect Kratos during the final battle against Baldur. Another thing of note is his continued devotion to his father. Atreus didn't seem disturbed or put off by his father's admission of killing one of his own family, and perhaps saw this as his father finally opening up to him. Atreus continued to be by his side as they spread the ashes of his mother and continued to talk to him. Atreus has also shown to care quite a lot for Midgard, certainly more so than Kratos, as after realizing the importance of having the Valkyries restored due to them being the ones who keep the dead from overrunning Midgard, he quickly agreed whereas Kratos did not care that the imprisonment of the Valkyries means that Helheim will overflow with the souls of the dead. Three years after Fimbulwinter begins, Atreus has displayed significant mental and emotional growth. He has made great strides in controlling his temper and no longer lashes out as he did before. He is largely unaffected by Heimdall’s insults and name-calling, though he was angered when called a "half-breed" (a reference to his mixed God and Giant heritage), though he still expresses anger when Grýla taunted him about his prophesied future, and when a drunken Thor refused to listen to him and called him “Boy”, rather than by his name. However, he has also become a typical teenager, no longer wanting to just simply follow his father's lead and follow his decisions. Atreus has also become more independent and is obsessed with figuring out who he is as an individual outside of his father, and expresses a lot of confusion and uncertainty on the matter. After having learned of his other identity of Loki, he feels that he should embrace that moniker and fulfill the prophecy the Giants had made of him, believing it is who he must become but has no idea what that entails. This results in him becoming more impulsive & making some questionable decisions, lying to his father and having Sindri help him search for Týr behind Kratos' back. He continues to lie and make reckless decisions behind his father's back, such as visiting Freya to convince her to help them stop Odin, which nearly got him killed. After going to Ironwood and learning of the prophecy foretelling his father's death and service to Odin, he becomes desperate to try and avert this fate. Not helping matters is that he has become somewhat overconfident, deciding to go visit Odin, believing he can trick the All-Father despite everyone around him explaining that Odin wasn't to be trusted and was the master of tricks, lies and manipulation. He would finally be humbled when he frees Garm, opening the Nine Realms up to disaster and causing Hel-Walkers to appear everywhere, though he genuinely expresses regret of having "killed" Garm, likely due to his attachment to wolves. However, Kratos expresses that throughout their journey, Atreus had grown into a warrior worthy of his namesake despite his flaws. Still, it does not mean he is invulnerable to trauma, as he witnessed Brok's death up close by a disguised Odin posing as Týr whom Atreus and Kratos rescued earlier from Svartalfheim. Having lost a valuable member of his family prompted Atreus to go hunting with his father, wanting to get away from the pain and memory as he was the one who decided to look for Týr in the first place and was fooled all this time by Odin. Not to mention that because he invited Odin into Sindri's home, the close friendship between them was ultimately shattered thanks to Brok's death. A pain and guilt that he carries with him even after Ragnarok.

Powers & Abilities Powers Likely due to him being a son of the former Olympian God of War and a Frost Giantess, Atreus possesses considerable superhuman physical abilities but due to his age and years of sickness, he is significantly weaker than he should be. After Kratos tells him about his origin, his illness retreats and some of his power gradually appears. It is noteworthy that due to his young age, Atreus has yet to discover the extent of his abilities, as he is noted by Mimir to have great potential thanks to his unique heritage.

Immortality: As with all Gods, Atreus is immortal and cannot be killed by anything not powerful enough. Superhuman Agility: Unlike his other abilities which are inferior in comparison to his father, Atreus is shown to be on par with Kratos in terms of agility as he has been shown leaping great distances and falling from up high with seemingly little to no discomfort. He also makes great use of his agility in combat. Superhuman Stamina: While not as great like his father, Atreus has tremendous stamina for his age and is able to run long distances through the forest and participate in long battles while showing no signs of fatigue. Most remarkably, he was capable of fighting against several elves by himself in Alfheim for an extended period of time while Kratos was stuck in the Light. Superhuman Strength: While not up to the extent of his father, Atreus appears to have a decent level of superhuman strength, as he was able to aid his father Kratos in pushing Thamur's Hammer, though how much of the moving Atreus is actually contributing to is unknown. He also apparently has little trouble brandishing the Leviathan Axe, which is almost as large as he is. He was even capable of staggering Baldur and causing him to bleed. During the battle against Odin, he was capable of harming the All-Father with his punches and kicks. This strength, however, seems to be irregular as Atreus struggles to lift a Pschent stuck on his head in Týr's Temple, although this could be attributed to his sickness making him weaker than he should have been. After three years of training during Fimbulwinter, Atreus has grown stronger but was no match for Aesir gods or stronger beings; neither was he able to pull out Thrúd’s sword from the floor when she planted it there. His strength, however, increases by many orders of magnitude while in bear form; he proved quite a challenge for his own father, and later was able to overpower and kill a Valkyrie. Superhuman Durability: Atreus, apparently inherited from his father and mother's status as among the most powerful of their species, has considerable superhuman durability and resilience. Hence, he can easily withstand attacks and falls from great distances with little to no damage. He also survived a powerful punch from Baldur without any lasting damage during the last battle against him. While apparently not able to tolerate the extreme environments as well as his father considering his repeated complaints, Atreus is shown able to survive in Hel and Muspelheim without suffering any visible harm. Superhuman Senses: He states on many occasions that he can sense other beings and their thoughts and emotions, including their power, and can hear voices because of this ability. Atreus also notices the change around their home after Kratos cut down the marked trees. Regenerative Healing Factor: Atreus also has a regenerative healing factor, albeit much less powerful than his father's regenerative abilities due to his young age. Upon pulling the knife Baldur impaled on his right arm, he quickly healed with no signs of injury. When injured in his fight against his father when he first transformed into a bear, Atreus was able to focus to consciously heal his injuries when guided by his father.

Early life Born in the Wildwoods of Midgard, Loki, later named Atreus was conceived between the Greek God, Kratos and the Jötunn, Faye. Unbeknownst of his true heritage, Atreus spent most of his childhood as a sickly child and was taken care of by his mother while his father was absent for long periods of time to hunt food. In reality, Kratos was gone so he could learn to control his rage. As Atreus grew older, he slowly grew healthy enough to walk. However, his sickness still occurred with heavy coughs whenever he got overwhelmed with emotions; worst-case scenario, Atreus would pass out and ended up being sick for days. Faye would later teach him the Norse languages, how to track and hunt for animals, and tell him Norse stories. At the age of six, Faye decides to teach Atreus how to write down his stories as he moves through life, with the first two years being his practice journal. After two successful years, Atreus and Faye celebrated by burning his practice pages so he can then begin writing his real journals.