Arete

Arete
Vοῦς
Born	Ἀρετή (Arete) Sometime within the previous Kalpa (before Nous's birth) Unknown location, Earth-59
Known for	Magician, Member of Aletheia
Height	6'0 (1.82m)
Relatives	Nous (Younger Sister/Sibling)

Arete, or Ἀρετή, is an Elf Magician from Earth-59's previous kalpa who managed to survive the end of the previous Earth-59 through unknown means along with Nous, her younger sister/sibling. She is a member of Aletheia.

Personality

Kind and outgoing, Arete could be said to match the virtue that she is named after. Arete possesses a great amount of care for those she knows, and even those she doesn't know, and is known to be very protective of all she considers younger than herself. This protectiveness is not without flaws, however, as it often materialises in the form of a patronising attitude to any Arete views as being less knowledgeable or mature than herself.

Thanks to her attitude, Arete is what could be described as a "true believer" in Aletheia's cause, believing entirely that magic should be heavily regulated for any who do not possess the maturity to wield higher level magics responsibly.

Summary

Born at some unknown point before the end of the previous Earth-59, Arete is the younger sister of Nous. Thanks to her species, Arete lived an unaging existence from her birth to the end of her home universe. When the inevitable end of her universe came, Arete was somehow able to transcend beyond Earth-59 through her younger sibling's knowledge of the inner workings of reality. Why Nous decided only to rescue Arete through the process is unknown, but whatever reason was, this decision left Arete and Nous both the last survivors of their universe and the last members of their species.

Some time after the end of their universe, Nous and Arete parted ways, with Arete eventually coming upon Aletheia, an organisation she voluntarily joined due to agreeing with their philosophy. Many years later, Arete reunited with Nous, and was instrumental in establishing the agreement between her younger sibling and Aletheia, and was handed the responsibility for maintaining the agreement (and monitoring Nous).

Much later, while visiting Nous, Arete learnt of the existence of Earth-0, and of the magicians who reside on the planet. Still loyal to Aletheia, Arete informed Stephanie and Isaac of her intent to inform Aletheia of their world, but assured the pair that she would emphasise reaching out to them in a peaceful manner first. With her business concluded, Arete left her sibling's domain, being transported out by one of her superiors to inform them of her discovery.

Powers & Abilities

• Magic:
  • Arete is an incredibly old and experienced magician, and as such is knowledgeable in many forms of magic.
• Elf Physiology: Like, Nous, Arete is one of the last two survivors of the Elves of the previous Earth-59, and possesses the physiology of one, this grants her certain advantages over the average human, including:
  • Immortality: Arete is functionally immortal, having lived for at least trillions of years already (although this does not grant her immunity from other forms of death).
  • Enhanced Condition: Compared to a human, Arete is much faster, stronger, durable, and possesses much swifter reflexes.

Notes

• Arete's pronouns are she/her.
• As someone who was born at a period not near the end of their universe's kalpa, and having survive beyond the end of it, Arete's age places her as being unfathomably old by human standards, easily falling within trillions of years (although it is likely far higher).
• Arete is a concept from classical philosophy that relates to excellence and moral virtue.