| “ | You're a long way from the Crossroads, Trouble! So, this is where the real action is, huh? Weren't you supposed to still be practicing? | „ |
| ~ Eris |
Eris is the personification of Strife and the daughter of Nyx, being the youngest of the Children of Nyx. In Hades, she is only mentioned as one of the previous bearers of Exagryph, the Adamant Rail.
She appears in Hades II, appearing at the start of Oceanus and subsequent areas if the player is progressing too fast. Eris will "Bless" Melinoë with an increase damage taken debuff that increases with each area cleared. If you are not clearing nights fast enough then you will encounter her on the Surface Path and occasionally in the The Crossroads where she can be interacted with.
Eris is the Guardian of the Rift of Thessaly.
Characteristics and Personality[]
As strife incarnate, Eris's purpose is to cause chaos wherever she goes and is seemingly attached to Melinoë, having a history of following her around wherever she goes according to Icarus. She offers her a 'helpful' gift that brings about an annoying curse, besides being an occasional annoyance. Despite being an immortal, Eris's behavior is reminiscent of that of a spoiled teenager; she is only interested in short-term gratification and having fun at the expense of others. Her fondness for candy and her tendency to leave the wrappers for Melinoë to pick up is a good representation of her overall disposition.
Eris displays a sheer kinetic chaos and love of bringing mischief and insanity, particularly in her boss fight on the Surface where she shows Melinoë exactly what the Adamant Rail can do in her hands as she fires waves of bullets and carpet-bombs entire parts of the beach front, all the while giggling like a wicked schoolgirl.
She is mischievous and, at times, casually destructive, not being interested in anything in particular related to the war against Chronos or her family's fate and simply relishes in the strife of the situation. She is a nuisance to Melinoë, not out of any real allegiance to Chronos, but simply because she likes to torment people, and she sees Melinoë as an easy target. Her lack of direction and petulant behavior makes her rather unpopular among her siblings; both Moros and Nemesis mention clashing with her on various occasions. This unpopularity appears to extend to everyone else in the Crossroads as well who see her as troublesome and untrustworthy.
Eris also has a tragic side; without choice, her purpose is to only cause strife for others, being imbued with it, even though she has made little effort to change. She harbors an inferiority complex towards all her siblings who seem to be better, more responsible, and more dedicated than her in their roles, making her the black sheep of her family.
Though she often claims to be content with her lot in life, she in truth harbors a deep resentment and bitterness towards her mother and the rest of her siblings as she feels that she was never given a choice to be anything other than the goddess of strife unlike them who presumably did get to choose. In a conversation with Melinoe, Eris confesses that she actually envies them for their domains lamenting that she could've been the goddess of old age or friendship if her siblings hadn't come along and taken them before she had a chance to.
After arriving at the Crossroads, Eris will continue to be mischievous, but she may attempt to be friendlier with Melinoë, though this might be her rebellious spirit coming into play. Despite their tension, Melinoë is uncharacteristically drawn to her, described in the Book of Shadows like a moth to a flame. She has a frightening combination of warmth, psychosis, and sadism.
Physical description[]
Eris has fair skin and a youthful appearance, with a grey buzzcut and purple irises. Eris is considerably smaller than her sister Nemesis; she is about the same size as Melinoë. She has large, feathery black wings which enable her to fly. She wears extremely thick, black eye makeup, black lipstick, and a moon-shaped stone on her forehead.
She wears a black gorget adorned with multicolored tassels, which match her earrings. Her lime green, cobalt, and red color motif (most visible on her shawl) correlates with the three attack colors of the Furies. Her dress consists of a blue skirt, a black bodice, and a white, quilted bustline with three triangles in each color. She carries her ammunition on a belt with a gold buckle shaped like an apple, which is a reference to the Apple of Discord. Her nails are painted to match the rest of her outfit, and she wears a bracer on one arm and bracelets on the other. There are what appear to be candy bars tucked into her belt, which she consumes when she visits the crossroads.
Background[]
Eris was born as the last of the children of Nyx and was designated as Strife, never having the choice to decide what she wanted to be. Surrounded by her various siblings, she always felt that they ignored her and thought themselves better without trying to understand her, allowing her rebellious nature to flow, and always disobeying her mother's strict control and rules.
At some point after the Titan War, Eris stole the Adamant Rail from the goddess Hestia and planned to use it to sow chaos. It's unknown exactly what happened during this period but eventually the weapon would end up leaving her possession.
At an unknown period prior to the events of Hades, Eris conceived many children of her own, with her brother Thanatos remarking that it's partly thanks to the "dedicated efforts" of Eris and her offspring that he is so busy all the time.
The Adamant Rail ended up in the possession of Zagreus, who could unlock her Aspect. Eris herself was not involved during the events of the first Hades.
Hades II[]
Before the events of the game, the Adamant Rail ended up back in her possession.
Eris appears as Melinoë traverses the borders of the Underworld, giving her a curse to make her attempt more difficult if the game detects that the player is progressing too fast. She later appears at The Crossroads, where she uses the pact between Hecate and Nyx to hang out safely even as she pollutes the area and taunts the residents. Her main appearance is at the beach of the Rift of Thessaly, where she fights Melinoë to prevent her from proceeding to the Olympians' aid. Her motive appears to be keeping the war between Chronos and the Olympians going for as long as possible due to sheer amount of Strife it causes.
Affinity[]
As of Early Access, Eris' affinity gauge is maxed out at 5 hearts.
"Blessing" Of Strife[]
If Melinoë progresses too quickly during the early game, Eris may appear and bestow a so-called “Blessing” of Strife. This effect cannot be refused or removed and remains active for the entire duration of the current run.
Eris checks Melinoë’s condition after each regional Guardian is defeated and may appear in the first area of the next region. This serves as one of her idiosyncratic opportunities to shake Melinoë’s confidence and remind her not to rush the process. In doing so, Eris claims no allegiance—favoring only the chaos of the situation. However, when this passive influence no longer suffices, she later resorts to direct intervention in the form of a Guardian battle.
The "Blessing of Strife" can only occur during the first 10 nights of gameplay. It can be avoided by entering the first area of the region with roughly half health or lower and no active 
Death Defiance effects.
| Icon | Description | Type | Notes | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
“Blessing” of Strife Your foes deal +20% damage. This grows each Encounter. There are those who can inspire wrath and malice through no fault of their own. |
Increases by +5% after clearing each Encounter. |
After bestowing her “blessing” and flying away, Eris drops a region-specific reward. These rewards cannot be duplicated by Poseidon’s Sea Star or upgraded to a Major Find via The Artificer:
- Oceanus: 20
- Fields of Mourning: 50
- Tartarus: 300
Book of Shadows Entry[]
Trivia[]
- Eris is the first Aspect Bearer of the Infernal Arms to be an enemy followed by Talos.
- She is best known for starting the Trojan War by tossing the Apple of Discord into Peleus and Thetis' wedding feast, which is why the player receives golden apples for defeating her.
- Like her older sister Nemesis carrying the Stygian Blade under her own aspect, Eris too carries the Adamant Rail under her aspect, the Aspect of Eris.
- It is mentioned that she acquired the Adamant Rail "again," implying that she had it at some point in the past.
- Her design uses the color themes of the Furies Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto; it's not yet known if it's intentional.
- Nemesis represents divine justice and retribution, while the Furies carry out this justice by punishing serious crimes, especially "within their own families." In the game, Nemesis mentions the promise to take care of Eris, but ends up abandoning her, possibly suggesting Eris is being ironic about Nemesis being a goddess of justice and being unjust to her.
- Eris mentions she could have been Old Age or Friendship rather than Strife, referencing other two of Nyx's Children, Geras and Philotes, respectively.[1]
- In the Crossroads, Eris can be found only in one place - always inside a "fairy circle", a place naturally protected from external malice. This is fitting, considering her relationships with the other inhabitants of the place, in particular Hecate (as the head witch).
- Eris's genealogy differs between poets' interpretation of Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, she is the daughter of Erebus and Nyx. Whereas according to Homer, she is the daughter of Zeus and Hera and twin sister of Ares, whom she rode alongside into battles.[2][3]
- In the Iliad, Eris initiates the earliest events that would lead to the War on Troy, tossing a golden apple inscribed, "For the most beautiful," into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. The act was in the upset of not receiving an invitation alongside the other gods, among them Athena, Aphrodite and Hera.[3]
- In Theogony, Eris births many children, each and every one embodying the strains of discord.
Additional Notes[]
For additional information on Eris (mythology) that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Eris (mythology)
References[]
