Atreus

“	I never got to kill anything. She always did that part.	”
–Atreus about his mother while training as a hunter.

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Atreus is the son of Kratos and Laufey and the deuteragonist of God of War. To the Jötnar, he is known as Loki.

Biography

Early Life

Atreus was conceived between the Greek demigod Kratos and a Jötunn named Laufey, whom he called Faye. He was a sickly child and only recently grew healthy enough to travel. Not much is known about his past but it is implied that he and his mother often lived without Kratos for extended periods of time, as Kratos himself was unsure of the boy's hunting ability and, in accordance with Faye's wishes, did not teach him to hunt himself. Kratos eventually returned home, and it is shown that Faye had passed away sometime later, although the causes are still unknown.

God of War (2018)

After his mother's death, Atreus encounters his father, who was chopping down a tree which Faye marked. Atreus helps his father prepare his mother's body for cremation and takes his mother's knife. While they wait for her body to completely burn to ashes, Kratos orders Atreus to hunt deer in order to see whether he had the skills to survive the journey to fulfill his mother's dying wish;to scatter her ashes at the highest peak in all the realms. They track and find a deer but Atreus shoots too hastily and fails to kill the deer in a single shot, which earned him a scolding from Kratos. They eventually find the deer and Atreus manages to incapacitate it, but is shocked when Kratos orders him to deliver the killing blow as he had never killed something before. With his father's assistance, Atreus stabs the deer in the throat. Unfortunately, their success was short-lived as a troll attacks them. Faced with danger, Atreus assists his father with his archery in the ensuing fight and both of them successfully kill the troll. However, Atreus loses control of his rage and continues attacking the corpse, only stopping after Kratos brings him back to his senses. Because of this, Kratos declares the boy not ready for the journey, much to his disappointment and they head back home.

However, a stranger arrives at their doorstep soon after they head home. Kratos orders Atreus to hide in the basement while he confronts the stranger. After Kratos fights and wins against the stranger, he heads back to the house and orders Atreus to prepare for the journey, declaring their home no longer safe. As they journey towards the highest mountain in the land, Atreus notices that their home was surrounded by a magical grove of trees which was broken when Kratos cut down a tree from said magical grove, breaking the protection it provided.

The boy and his father began a quest to take his mother's ashes to the highest peak of the Nordic Realm, which they assume to be the highest mountain visible to them. Along the way they encounter many monsters such as draugr, hel-walkers, and revenants. They also encounter Brok, a blue dwarven blacksmith who claims to have made his mother's axe and offers them merchant and/or smithing services. Sometime on the journey, they encounter a boar. This time Atreus lands a critical blow to the animal, but is caught up in the thrill of the chase and follows the boar, leaving his father behind. He eventually catches up to the boar being tended to by a witch who cares for the boar. They follow the witch to her home and help her heal the boar. In return, the witch leads them through a secret passage from her home, assigns them with a mark to hide them from 'people who would disrupt their journey' and a compass which leads them to their set goal.

Atreus and Kratos leave the witch's home and take a boat. Eventually, they arrived at a lake, while the boy identified the stranger as Baldur. They find a submerged statue in the middle of the lake with a writing in the middle of the water, telling them to "throw their arms to the lake." When Kratos complies and throws the Leviathan into the lake, they inadvertently summoned Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, whose awakening caused the lake to drain and revealed the previously submerged structure, the Bifrost, underneath and opening the path for their journey.

Atreus and Kratos continue on foot and encounter Sindri, Brok's brother who is also a blacksmith and opens his shop to them aswell. They begin to climb the mountain only to find the path blocked by a dark magic called the 'Black Breath'. Unable to pass, the witch arrives and tells them the only way to dispel the magic is by journeying to Alfheim and collecting the Light of Alfheim. They journey back to the Bifrost and reactivate the machinery within. With the witch's instruction, the three of them reactivate the Bifrost and journey together to Alfheim. However, they find the Light has dwindled. To make matters worse, the spell which prevents the witch from travelling through realms takes effect and she is pulled back into Midgard, leaving Atreus and his father to fend for themselves in the foreign realm.

Atreus and Kratos journey deeper into Alfheim and get caught up in an ongoing war between it's inhabitants, the dark elves and the light elves. The former, being the dominating faction, immediately regard the two visitors as hostile and attack them through their journey. The pair battle through these hostile elves and other monsters, eventually making their way to the temple and the Light of Alfheim housed within. Kratos goes inside the Light and leaves Atreus with his axe to wait. However, Kratos fails to come out after a long period of time, leaving Atreus to fend for himself against hordes of dark elves with his bow and the axe. A frustrated and worried Atreus eventually pulled his father out of the Light. Kratos, who was unaware of how much time had passed inside the Light, reprimands Atreus for pulling him out, causing the boy to snap back at his father for abandoning him. With the Light collected, Kratos imbues Atreus's bow with the Light, allowing the boy to create bridges made of light by shooting Light-imbued arrows to light crystals. The newfound power helps the pair get out of the temple and after fighting and killing the dark elf leader, Svartaljqfurr, make their way through the Bifrost. However, Atreus's frustration with his father's seeming lack of empathy causes him to accuse Kratos of not caring about Faye. Kratos is immediately angered at the accusation and tells the boy to leave him to mourn in his own way. Realizing that his father felt grief for his mother, Atreus immediately apologized. Kratos showed his understanding and admitted it has not been easy for his son as well and the two reconciled.

With the Light of Alfheim in their possession, the pair make their way back to Midgard and the blocked passage. They use the Light to dispel the black breath and enter the mines within. They reactivate the elevator mechanism within, but on their ascent are interrupted by a variety of creatures and finally, Hræzlyr, a dragon that resides within the mines. They fend off the dragon and get out of the mines but find the dragon on the verge of eating Sindri. Not wanting the dwarf to die, Atreus momentarily distracts the dragon while Kratos moves to attack it. While Kratos fights the dragon, Atreus rescues Sindri and leads him to safety but is soon noticed by the dragon. It lunges at them, leaving Atreus in a nearby crane mechanism. Atreus then wait for Kratos's command to shoot down the crane, which Kratos uses to impale the dragon into a crystal of hardened world tree sap, killing it. A grateful Mimir then gives Atreus mistletoe arrows and imbues his bow with the dead dragon's lightning in gratitude.

To be added. . . .

After spreading his mother's ashes with his father, he asked him why he was referred to as "Loki" on the wall drawings they found earlier which depicted their journey. Kratos then told him that his mother wanted to call him Loki, and speculated that this is the name she told the Jötnar. However, Kratos goes on and says he convinced her to let him be named Atreus instead.

Kratos tells his son that his namesake was a great Spartan warrior who, unlike most Spartans, was happy and filled with life. During and after battles, he would fill his fellow Spartans with hope. When he was killed in battle, Kratos himself carried him back to Sparta on his shield and personally buried him. Kratos wanted his son to be named Atreus because he fills him with joy. Atreus was amazed by this account, commenting that his father actually told him a good story.

Weapons & Powers

“	I do not know the reach of your godhood, but over time, we will learn.	”
–Kratos to Atreus.

Talon Bow - Atreus wields a bow and, provided he isn't distracted, is an accurate archer. After receiving the bowstring enchanted with Alfheim's magic and powering it up with the light of Alfheim, Atreus reactivate the magic of the elves contained within certain elven architecture. After having the bow enchanted with the properties of a dragon's tooth, it gained the ability to fire lightning arrows. Atreus also received arrows made from Mistletoe but most of them were destroyed by Freya because (unbeknownst to both Atreus and Kratos) mistletoe is able to break the spell of immortality placed on Freya’s son Baldur.
Faye's Knife (formerly): In addition to the bow he wields, Atreus also wields a knife that once belonged to his mother Faye. He uses it as a secondary weapon and has used it to kill a deer. The knife was destroyed after it was used to save his father from being killed by a trap when he stabbed the knife into a gear mechanism.
Atreus' Knife: After Atreus sacrificed his mother's knife to save his father, he received a new knife from his father. The new knife was one of the two knives that Kratos made the day Atreus was born. It was made of a mix of metals from Kratos' homeland and metals from the lands they were currently in. One of the pair of knives was made for Kratos himself and the other knife was made to be given to Atreus the day he was ready to wield it. Atreus, in his arrogance after discovering he was part god, notes that the knife is much better than the Faye's Knife.
Superhuman Stamina - While not as great as his father, Atreus has tremendous stamina and is able to run long distances through the forest while showing no signs of fatigue.
Innate Linguistic Capability - In addition to the languages taught to him by his mother, Atreus has the innate talent to understand written and spoken languages he has never heard of or read before by tracing their connections. With language ciphers, Atreus can quickly learn how to read the Niflheim and Muspelheim languages. Given a jar of wine from Kratos' homeland, Atreus was able to learn how to read some of the words in Greek. Even Mimir, the smartest man in the nine realms, takes note of Arteus' linguistic capabilities for someone of his age.
- He can even understand some animals, as he understood what Brok's beast-of-burden was feeling and could hear the giant turtle above Freya's house and understand that his name was Chaurli.
- He could understand the native language spoken by the dwarves and dark elves.
- He was also able to understand a soul that had trapped itself inside of a magical ring, who had placed himself there to escape from a soul eater.
- He was able to put together a sentence in the dead language of the World Serpent despite only hearing it a handful of times.
Spartan Rage : Atreus attempted to use Spartan Rage when Modi tried to kill his father and mocked his mother, but due to his lack of experience and physical prowess, he collapses soon after from the stress.
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. Possibly due to his Jötunn heritage, he was able to dream of the future.
Durability - Atreus can withstand numerous injuries, falling great distances and landing without breaking any bones. He also withstood a powerful punch from Baldur during the last battle against him.

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.

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. 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, often charging 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 lectured by Kratos on the meaning of being a god, 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.

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.

Appearance

Atreus is a young boy with red hair and a scarred face. He has light freckling and his eyes are an icy blue. He is dressed in leathers and hides of fur. He comes up to his father's hip and looks to be around ten years of age.

Trivia

Ateus is the second character Kratos fights alongside with, the first being Deimos.
Like his father and uncle, he has markings on the left side of his face. Though very faint, the markings look similar to both his father's tattoo and uncle's birthmark.
The A.I. for Atreus changes as the main story continues. After being told of his godhood, he starts attacking enemies by himself with his knife and even firing arrows without Kratos saying so. If he is angry at Kratos, Arteus will not help him in some battles, even leaving Kratos to fend for himself.
Atreus is the fourth character in the God Of War series to kill a god counting Kratos, Zeus (who technically killed Kratos), and Odin (who somehow killed Tyr).
At the end of the story, it is revealed that Atreus is named Loki by his mother. He shares several similarities with his counterpart from the Norse myths:
- Both of their mothers are named Laufey. On the mural in Jötunheim, Kratos' name is written as Fárbauti (ᚠᚨᚱᛒᚨᚢᛏᛁ), the father of Loki.
- Atreus is part Jötunn, part god; Loki is a Jötunn who is also a god. Also, neither of them belong to the Aesir or Vanir.
- After learning of his godhood, Atreus asks his father if he can transform into an animal, such as a wolf; Loki in the mythology is infamous for shapeshifting into various animals.
- Atreus causes Baldur's death by breaking the spell with a mistletoe arrow shard; Loki causes Baldur's death by giving the blind god Höðr a mistletoe arrow, and then tricking him into shooting Baldur.
In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. However, Kratos decided to name his son Atreus because of a young Spartan soldier he commanded. The soldier remained hopeful even in the darkest of times, and sacrificed himself in battle in order to save his companions.
GameSpot erroneously credited the name Charlie as the name of Atreus after the game's reveal in the E3 2016. At the time, Atreus' name was kept secret. The name Charlie stuck as a joke.^[1]
- The writers promised director Cory Barlog that they would implement the joke at some point in the story, but refused to tell him where.
- The giant tortoise Freya lives below of was named Chaurli because of this.
Atreus is partially based on Creative Director Cory Barlog's own son. Aspects of the game like Atreus having to translate Old Norse to Kratos were inspired by real-life situations he had with his son.
The tattoo in his neck "ᛚᛟᚷᚾ ᚺᚢᚷᚱ" translates to "logn hugr", which means "steady mind".
- He has "ᚺᚨᛈᛈᛊᚲᛖᛃᛏᚱ" two times circling his right arm, translating to "happskejtr" and meaning "lucky shot" or "fortune to strike".
- Then, running down the circle he has "ᛊᛏᛃᚱᚲᚱ ᚨᚱᛗᚱ" two times in a continuous line. It translates to "stjrkr-armr", meaning "strong arm", "skilled arm" or "main arm".
- And in the back of his hand, "ᚺᚱᚨᛞᚨ ᚺᛟᚾᛞ", translating to "hrađa hönd" and meaning "quick hand".