Charon

Charon was the ferryman of the Underworld, the gaunt and masked figure who carried the souls of the dead across the River Styx in service to Hades and Persephone. When Kratos arrived at his docks while still among the living, Charon refused him passage, bested him, and hurled him into the depths of Tartarus, only for the Spartan to return and beat the ferryman to death.

The ferryman of the Styx#

Charon was a son of Nyx and the ferryman of the Underworld, who carried the souls of the dead across the River Styx in service to Hades and Persephone, the King and Queen of the dead. He was a tall and gaunt figure with pale skin, robed in dark cloth hung with severed heads, his skull-like face hidden behind a golden mask. For a weapon he carried a great scythe that he also leaned upon as a walking stick. By his own admission he despised his endless office of ferrying the dead. Much of the dark power he wielded was said to flow from Persephone rather than from himself.

The first crossing#

Kratos came to Charon's docks upon the River Styx while still among the living. The ferryman refused him passage, for he was not dead, and the two fought for control of the ship. Charon moved with great speed, dissipating into the ground to reappear elsewhere, hurling green orbs, blasting ravenous green flame from his mask, and charging his scythe to loose shockwaves into the ground. He could even command his ferry to wash a wave of energy across the deck that killed all in its path. After a short battle the ferryman struck Kratos unconscious and cast him down into the depths of Tartarus, one of the rare few ever to best the Spartan in a fair fight.

The second meeting and death#

Kratos obtained the Gauntlet of Zeus and used it to climb back out of Tartarus, and there he encountered Charon a second time. The ferryman drew strength from three pillars to restore his health, so Kratos destroyed them, weakening him, and then impaled him upon his own scythe. Charon survived even that, and so Kratos seized hold of him and beat his face until he died, ending the ferryman for good. From the body Kratos took the golden mask, which granted him the power of Charon's Wrath. Long after, a carving of the ferryman could still be seen upon the gate to Persephone's shrine.