Damasen

Damasen
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Alias	Son of Gaea and Tartarus Bane of Ares/Mars
Family	Tartarus (father) Gaea (mother) Porphyrion, Polybotes, Alcyoneus, Enceladus, Clytius, Otis, Thoon, Mimas, Orion, and Ephialtes (brothers) Periboia (niece) Iapetus (Half-brother)
Affiliation	Annabeth Chase Percy Jackson Iapetus/Bob Drakon
Residence	Tartarus
Item	Drakon Bone Lance
Status	Immortal
Physical description
Hair	Iron rust
Height	20 feet tall
Species	Giant
Behind the scenes
Appearances	The House of Hades The Blood of Olympus (mentioned)

“	Father, you wished for a more worthy opponent? I am one of the Giants you are so proud of. You wished me to be more warlike? Perhaps I will start by destroying you!	”
–Damasen to Tartarus, in The House of Hades

Damasen is a giant, son of Gaea and Tartarus, created to be the Bane of Ares/Mars, the God of War.

History

The First Gigantomachy and Banishment

Damasen was born to oppose Ares/Mars, the God of War. Being Ares' nemesis, Damasen was peaceful and helpful, and spent his life in the mortal world living as a farmer.

One day, a drakon appeared in the mortal world and killed one of Damasen's farmer friends. In rage, Damasen tracked down the drakon and killed it. He was condemned to Tartarus for slaying the drakon, which was ravaging the mortal world. In Tartarus, Damasen was constantly attacked by the drakon he destroyed in the mortal world. Every "day", the drakon regenerated and attacked again. Eventually, he built himself a hut out of the drakon's bones and skin.

The Heroes of Olympus

The House of Hades

Damasen was introduced to Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase by Bob after the Titan led them to his home in a swamp in Tartarus. He healed their wounds and provided them with food and other vaious supplies to continue their quest. Annabeth, realizing that they need Damasen's help in order to finish their quest, asked Damasen to join them, but he refused since he believes he cannot escape his curse.

Later, when the trio reach the Doors of Death, Tartarus himself appeared, and nearly destroyed them when Damasen arrived, riding his archenemy, the drakon. Damasen battled his father along with the drakon, Bob, and Small Bob, giving Annabeth and Percy their chance to escape.

The Blood of Olympus

Damasen is mentioned during the battle of Piper McLean and Annabeth against Mimas, bane of Hephaestus/Vulcan. Because Damasen refused to participate in the giant wars, Mimas had to destroy Ares along with Hephaestus. When he calls Damasen an idiot, Annabeth gets infuriated.

Personality

Gaea had wanted Damasen to oppose Ares, meaning he was the anti-Ares, but this backfired because, unlike his brethren, Damasen was born with a very peaceful and gentle personality, as opposed to Ares's warlike, bloodthirsty nature. Shunning Gaea's orders, Damasen chose to live a quiet life in Asia Minor, tending sheep and befriending mortals. Damasen can, however be very violent, though not without a valid reason. He avenged the death of one of his friends by slaying the Maeonian Drakon, forcing a tree down its neck.

After being imprisoned in Tartarus for several centuries, Damasen was overcome with hopelessness, believing that his curse had overtaken him. This did not affect his original personality and hospitality, as shown when he welcomes Percy, Annabeth, and Iapetus to his hut. Towards the end of The House of Hades, Damasen arrives at the Doors of Death, and is willing to sacrifice his life to help Percy and Annabeth escape from Tartarus.

File:AnnabethChase.png

Annabeth Chase, whom Damasen made a drakon bone sword for.

Appearance

Damasen is twenty feet tall, somewhat short for a giant, albeit slightly taller than the Titan Iapetus. From the waist up, he is humanoid, with cherry-red skin, a beard and hair the color of rusted iron, bushy eyebrows, and multiple scars on his face (from battling the Maeonian Drakon endless times). His dreadlocks are decorated with tufts of grass, leaves and swamp flowers. From the waist down, his dragon legs are red and he has claws on his feet. Being a peaceful giant, Damasen does not wear bronze armor, but rather, a shirt stitched together from sheep hides and green-spotted leather. He initially unsettled Annabeth, as he radiated "sorrow and bitterness".

Abilities

Not much is known about the true extent of Damasen's power, but as the opposite of Ares/Mars, he is very powerful: 

• Prowess in Battle: Even though he was peaceful and did not participate in the first Gigantomachy, Damasen has enhanced strength, as he battled and defeated a drakon numerous times without much effort, and later rips huge chunks of drakon meat off the carcass with his bare hands. In The House of Hades, he even fended off Tartarus himself, together with Iapetus and the Maeonian Drakon, though only for a while. His weapon of choice is a drakonbone lance.
• Healing: Damasen's ability as a healer was legendary, and he even cured Percy from drinking Gorgon blood (along with several other dangerous curses) in a matter of minutes.   
• Power of The Earth - during his first fight with the Maeconian Drakon, Damasen used the power of the Earth to force the Tree he shoved down it's throat to dig its roots into the ground.
• Power within his swamp - so as long as one was in his swamp, Damasen could obscure their path and presence even from the Giants,Titans or Tarturas himself.
• Giant Invincibility: As a giant, Damasen can only be killed by a god and demigod working together and when he is harmed by anybody else, he heals at an accelerated rate, though he could also be defeated by having his essence sucked into the dark whirlpool beneath Tartarus's helm.

Trivia

• Because Ares was a war god, when Damasen was born during the Gigantomachy, he became the only peaceful giant.
  • Unlike his brothers and niece, he chose not to fight the gods and is very peaceful.
• Interestingly, Damasen was not actually one of the giants who participated in the Gigantomachy in historical Greek mythology. In the mythology, he was still a giant son of Gaea who fought a drakon, but he was not one of the giants who fought the Olympians.
• The current whereabouts of Damasen are unknown so he may appear in later books, most likely The Tyrant's Tomb to fight the Triumvirate Holdings and the 5th book in The Trials of Apollo.