Wraiths

Wraiths were ghostly creatures of the Greek world, eyeless and emaciated spirits with bladed arms and waists that trailed off into clouds of black smoke. Consumed by the rage in which they died, they haunted cities, temples, and the Underworld alike, and they crossed the path of Kratos again and again throughout his long wars. (God of War; God of War II; God of War III; God of War: Ghost of Sparta; God of War: Ascension)

Nature and form#

Wraiths appeared as eyeless, emaciated humans with decaying flesh and bladed arms. They had no legs, their waists terminating instead in clouds of black smoke from which they floated. Each was utterly consumed by the rage in which it had died, and so they attacked any living thing that came near them without reason or mercy. Their most dreaded ability was to burrow beneath the earth, where they could not be harmed, before exploding up from below to strike at the unwary with their blades. (God of War; God of War II)

Kinds of Wraith#

Many kinds of Wraith haunted the Greek world. The Wraiths of Athens were the most common, first met among the rooftops and buildings of Athens, their decayed skin clad in pieces of golden armor. The Desert Wraiths, found within Pandora's Temple, were near-identical to those of Athens but slightly stronger. The Wraiths of Asphodel dwelt on the Island of Creation and were among the most resilient of their kind, able to hurl their blade-like arms in a boomerang fashion. The Wraiths of Olympus ranged through Olympus and the Underworld, most likely as servants of the gods, and they wielded curved blades in human-like hands rather than blades for arms. (God of War; God of War II; God of War III)

The Wraiths of Hades were the strongest of the kind, distinguished by their power to summon spirits of themselves to attack, much as their lord drew upon souls. Deadliest of all were the Keres Wraiths, the only female Wraiths, who served as minions of Thanatos. Tougher than other Wraiths, they struck from underground at long range and bled a glowing yellow blood that marked their allegiance to the lord of death, and they were encountered in the ruins of Atlantis and other haunted places. Long after the fall of the Greek gods, Wraiths were counted among the old foes that rose again in distant trials, still bound by the same rage that had first denied them rest. (God of War: Ascension; God of War: Ghost of Sparta; God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla)