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More than 35 years after he last wandered the American West, "Kung Fu" master Caine is heading for the big screen.
Bill Paxton is in talks to direct the feature-film adaptation of "Kung Fu," reported Deadline. The original series ran from 1972 to 1975, and followed a Shaolin monk named Kwai Chang Caine who is forced to flee China with a price on his head and roams the Old West in search of his long-lost half-brother.
Best known for his recent run as ther star of "Big Love," Paxton has previously directed two films, "Frailty" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played," but it was his brilliant "Saturday Night Live" short "Fish Heads that earned him his greatest acclaim. The script is being written by "Black Swan" scribe John McLaughlin.
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The day's top national and international news.
Caine was played in the original series by the late David Carradine, a role that inspired Quentin Tarantino (who was clearly a "Kung Fu" fan) to cast him in the "Kill Bill" films, which of course renewed interest in "Kung Fu." This is exactly the type of show that should be adapted to film--timeless concept, a great story behind it, but one that isn't to restrictive, and long past its cancellation.
Unfortunately, this new project comes about two years after Carradine's untimely death while shooting a film in Bangkok.


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|The hand of death could not defeat me, the sisters of fate could not hold me, and you will not see the end of this day. I will have my revenge!
|~ Kratos swearing to kill his father Zeus.
|Death...is in my blood. Fate...has brought me here. I hope for nothing. I fear nothing.
|~ Kratos in the trailer for the third God of War game.
|The gods of Olympus have abandoned me.
|~ Kratos in the opening of the first God of War game.
|My vengeance...ends now.
|~ Kratos in God of War III.
|ZEUS! Your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!
|~ Kratos God of War II ending and God of War III Opening
Becoming the Marked Warrior
Kratos was a child who wanted to be in the Spartan army. He always trained his younger brother; Deimos and told him that a Spartan warrior never falls to the ground. After they finished their training, two of the Gods of Olympus attack Sparta, searching for someone called the Marked Warrior, because they were warned that someone with marks would be the demise of Olympus. They thought that it was Deimos and decided to take him away. Kratos tried to fight back, but one of them struck him, giving him a scar on his right eye. Thinking that his brother was dead, he had someone place tattoos on his body to honor his brother.
Becoming a Ghost
Kratos was born and raised as a Spartan warrior, becoming the youngest and boldest captain in the army. Leading his troops into battle against a barbarian horde, Kratos finds himself quickly outnumbered and vows his life to Ares, the God of War, for his aid. Ares accepts Kratos' bargain, and slaughters the barbarians; as a sign of servitude, Ares embeds the chains of the Blades of Chaos onto Kratos' body. Kratos continues to lead the Spartans under Ares' orders. Ares tricks Kratos into killing his own wife Lysandra and daughter Calliope, believing that this act will make Kratos a perfect warrior and even death itself wouldn't stop. Instead, on discovering the deception, Kratos denounces his pledge to Ares and promises to seek revenge on the god. The Village Oracle curses Kratos to wear the ashes of his family on his skin forever, giving him the nickname of "The Ghost of Sparta".
Breaking the Bond (God of War: Ascension)
Kratos has been hunted down by the Furies for promising revenge towards Ares.
Tasks of Olympus (God of War: Chains of Olympus)
To atone for his family's murder, Kratos allows himself to serve the other gods of Mount Olympus. Even when given the opportunity to reunite with Calliope on the Elysium Fields in exchange for his godly powers, Kratos refuses in order to complete the gods' task for him and save both Mount Olympus and the mortal world. Kratos was required to prevent Persephone and Atlas blot out the sun. Kratos would continue to serve the gods in this manner for a decade.
Becoming a God (God of War)
Athena, the goddess that has taken the most pity on Kratos, identifies the location of Pandora's Box for Kratos, promising him it has the power to defeat Ares and satisfy his revenge. Kratos successfully retrieves and uses the power stored within the Box to kill Ares.
With his revenge complete, Kratos prepares to commit suicide after learning that his memories would not be removed, but Athena intervenes and offers Kratos the vacant title of God of War as well as new blades, the Blades of Athena, which he accepts.
Finding his mother (Ghost of Sparta)
Barely a short time after becoming the new god of war, Kratos is haunted by a vision where he sees his mother on the Temple of Poseidon on an island of the Atlantic and his brother the day they were separated. Intrigued by the vision, he went to the mysterious island despite warnings Athena. Arrived on the island, Kratos entered in the Temple of Poseidon where he saw his mother, Callisto, whom he had not seen for years. This one revealed to him that his lost brother, Deimos is still alive and that he is imprisoned in the Domain of Death. Angered at that revelation, Kratos asked why she did not tell him that, only for her to apologize as Kratos' father had forbidden her. Kratos, enraged, then asked her who his father was. As she was about to reveal the name of Kratos' father, Callisto was transformed into a hideous beast whom Kratos was then forced to fight. After he defeated his mother in battle, Kratos then takes Callisto into his arms as she used her dying moments to thank him for setting her free, encouraged him to pursue Deimos in Sparta, and slowly died.
Finding his Brother
|It is not over, Athena. The gods will pay for this!
|~ Kratos promises Athena that the gods will pay for the death of his mother and his brother.
After the death of his mother, Kratos went to the Domain of Death and found Deimos who had been tortured for years by the death god Thanatos himself. Kratos released his brother but he blamed his brother for not protecting him when they were separated and attacked him. Their struggle, however, was interrupted by Thanatos who took Deimos with him. Kratos rescues his brother and promises him that he will never be separated, and the two brothers leave to finish with Thanatos. In a climactic battle, Thanatos took Deimos' life, only to have an enraged Kratos take his in return. Saddened by the death of his brother, Kratos swore that the gods will pay for what they did to his family.
Zeus' Betrayal (God of War II)As time passes, Kratos finds himself bored with life in Mount Olympus, being sneered upon by the other gods, and only finding solace in commanding his armies. He encounters the famous King Midas, the sea beast Scylla, and the messenger Ceryx killing them along the way. When Kratos' armies begin to attack the City of Rhodes, Zeus conspires a plan; he tricks Kratos into abandoning his godly abilities into the Blade of Olympus to defeat the Colossus of Rhodes and then impales Kratos with the sword.
As Kratos falls into Hades, he is rescued by the Titan Gaia. Gaia and the other Titans have been banished to Tartarus after the First Great War, and now share a common goal with Kratos—to seek retribution on the gods. Gaia directs Kratos to the Sisters of Fate, where Kratos is able to use their Loom to return to the point of Zeus' treachery and reverse his fate.
Encountering Greek heroes and other mythological beings throughout the Island of Creation. Recovering his powers, Kratos is prepared to kill Zeus when Athena appears, begging him not to do so; Zeus is Kratos' father, and Athena seeks to end the cycle of son-killing-father as Zeus had done to Cronus, and he to Ouranous which was also Zeus's intent when he killed Kratos originally. As Kratos attempts to impale Zeus, Athena intervenes and takes the Blade herself, killing her while Zeus escapes. Furious, Kratos returns to the Loom and uses it to bring the Titans back to the present to lead their assault on Mt. Olympus and beginning the Second Great War.
Final Battle (God of War III)
As the Titans and gods battle, Kratos is abandoned by Gaia for her to save herself. Now betrayed by both the Olympians and Titans, Kratos seeks a way to end the conflict once and for all, and learns from the spirit of Athena, who gives him the Blades of Exile, that Pandora's Box may still have the power to defeat Zeus, but it is now protected by the Flame of Olympus, which only Pandora herself can quench. Kratos makes his way to the Labyrinth where Pandora is being held, killing both Olympians and Titans in his path and unleashing countless catastrophes on the mortal world.
After freeing Pandora and returning with her to Mount Olympus, Kratos finds that she reminds him much of Calliope, and tries to find a means to defeat Zeus without sacrificing her. Upon reaching the Flame and the Box, Zeus appears and attacks Kratos; amid the battle, Pandora willingly sacrifices herself to allow Kratos access to the Box; however, Kratos finds the Box is empty. Kratos and Zeus battle on, eventually coming to the exposed heart of Gaia, where Kratos kills them both with the Blade of Olympus.
After Kratos recovers the Blade and begins to walk away in triumph, Zeus' spirit attacks him, forcing him to seek refuge in his psyche. There, he is able to finally atone himself for the murder of his wife and daughter, and breaks out of the psyche and finally defeats Zeus. Amid the ruined earth the spirit of Athena appears and seeks the power that Kratos took from the Box back, that of hope, as she had put it in there along with the other evil spirits Zeus had contained within it. When she hears the Box was empty, Athena realizes that Kratos had taken that power before, when he battled Ares, and at the same time had unleashed the evil spirits that poisoned the gods and turned them against Kratos.
When Athena demands her power back, Kratos instead refuses, finally realizing what his lust for vengeance had cost him. He chose to impale himself with the Blade and letting the power free into the world to give the people hope for a better world. Athena angrily leaves him, believing him to not know what he was doing, ripping the Blade put of him Athena left Kratos to bleed to death as he weakly laughed, victorious at last. Sometime later, the site where Kratos' body fell is empty, and his fate is left unknown.
| Athena: There's nowhere you can hide, Spartan. Put as much distance between you and the truth as you want, it changes nothing. Pretend to be everything you are not: teacher, husband, father. But there is one unavoidable truth you will never escape: You cannot change. You will always be a monster.
Kratos: I know. But I am your monster no longer.
|~ Kratos to Athena's spirit as he dons Blades of Chaos once again in the 2018 God of War game.
He had met a woman called Laufey/Faye and had a son named Atreus with her. When Faye telling stories about the gods, Kratos decided to listen to her stories. A couple of years later, Faye died for unexplained reasons and requested that her family take her cremated ashes to the highest peak in the Nine Realms. She also wished that Kratos would take her place in raising their son, although Kratos did not believe he could do it without her. Before their journey began, Kratos cut down all of the trees around their home that were marked with Faye's yellow handprint which had, unbeknownst to Kratos, sheltered them from the wrath of the Norse gods. This was for Atreus to venture into the dangerous land of the Norse gods with his father's support. After cremating her body, Kratos wanted to be sure that his son was ready for the long adventure waiting for them, so he tested him in hunting a deer. Despite a few mistakes, Atreus did manage to prove himself when he finally shot the deer. However, the deer was still alive, albeit injured, and Atreus was reluctant to kill it. Kratos helped Atreus kill the deer and following a moment of silence, they were intercepted by an aggressive troll. While the two survived the attack and Kratos killed the troll, Atreus would show his aggressive tendencies by continuing to stab the already dead troll and insult it. Kratos calmed Atreus down but then determined him not to be ready.
As they went back to their house, Kratos told Atreus that he was not ready for the perilous journey ahead. Atreus claimed he was and, to test his anger, Kratos lifted his hands and told Atreus to hit him. Everytime Atreus tried to land a blow, Kratos smacked his arms away, angering him. Kratos affirmed what he said about Atreus being ready until a stranger suddenly knocked on their door, demanding that Kratos show himself. Kratos hid Atreus in a hidden room in their house and answered the door. The strange man would then demand him for answers while taunting him of his past, something he did not anticipate. The argument would then spawn an aggressive fight, with the Stranger showing unexpected great power. The Stranger and Kratos then engaged in a fight, where the two were fairly evenly matched, with the Stranger at an advantage with his superior speed. During the fight, the Stranger knocks Kratos into a wall and says he should have came to Midgard, before healing himself in front of Kratos. During the fight, Kratos is able to put a beatdown on the Stranger, throw him to the floor, and bring a gigantic rock on top of him, presumably killing him and causing a massive crack to form in the ground.
As a tired Kratos slowly walked away, the Stranger was not dead and got back up and had a test of raw strength with Kratos, leaving a progressively larger and deeper fissure beneath them that almost splits the land in half. During the confrontation, the Stranger revealed that he couldn't feel pain before continuing the fight. However, Kratos managed to overpower the Stranger and presumably kill him by snapping his neck. Injured and tired, Kratos limped to his home, questing how the Stranger knew who he was. He called out to Faye, claiming that both he and Atreus are not ready for the journey. Knowing that the dangers of the outside world will inevitably come, Kratos retrieved Atreus and began their adventure.
During the trip, Atreus and Kratos run into a group of human cannibals, which Kratos easily dispatches. However, one of them grabs Atreus, forcing him to kill the cannibal by stabbing him in the neck. Kratos rushes over to Atreus and pulls him up. Atreus, traumatized by killing his first human, breaks down in tears. Kratos comforts Atreus by saying that he should not feel sympathy for his enemies, as they would not feel the same for him. Although Atreus was still saddened by this, the two carried on.
During their trip to the highest mountain, they met a dwarf named Brok, who mentions that he and his brother are the forgers of the axe that Kratos possesses. Kratos initially doesn't believe him until Brok shows Kratos a rune on the axe's handle. The dwarf offers improvements to the axe as well as other weapons, armor, and equipment the two carry. After improving the axe, Kratos and Atreus continue the journey.
After a while, Atreus finds tracks of a boar, deciding to hunt again. Atreus found a strange looking boar in the forest and attempted to shoot it, but his arrow bounced off of the creature's hide. When he did wound the creature, the boy chased after it, accidentally dropping his mother's knife while doing so, which Kratos took. Kratos and Atreus would then travel into another realm in the process, where they found the boar heavily injured and under the care of a mysterious woman. The woman, going by the Witch of the Woods, brought them back to her home to heal the boar. While she sent Atreus to gather some supplies, she told Kratos in secret about his godly heritage, knowing that his son is unaware of his father's godhood and his own true nature. And she warns the former god the danger he has put the two in as the Norse gods will be very hostile towards them as a result. The Witch then proceeded to ask Kratos to get her flowers to heal the boar with. While searching for them, Kratos encounters Atreus struggling to pull a weed from the ground. Kratos offered Faye's knife as a solution, which left Atreus ashamed for losing his mother's knife, promising to not lose it again. Afterward, the Witch put a protection spell on Atreus and Kratos and then proceeded to open a portal leading them to their destination, wishing them luck on the way out.
After paddling their way to the Lake of Nine, Atreus found a rune saying, "Sacrifice your arms to the centre of the water, awaken again the cradle of the world". Kratos decided to the throw his Leviathan Axe to the lake as it said. While it initially did not return to his hand, the lake would soon create heavy drifts and waves. There the two encountered Jörmungandr, the World Serpent. As the serpent spoke to them before beginning to slumber again, Kratos and Atreus realize that its awakening had dropped the lake's water, bringing them closer towards more concise destinations. They find a large mechanism with a bridge attached to it named Tyr's Temple and decided to look around, also finding Brok again, who happens to set up shop in the massive area.
Exploring once more, they meet Sindri, Brok's brother and owner of the other half of the two's brand, who was curious as to why Kratos is in possession of the Leviathan Axe as it was created specifically for Faye. Atreus explains how the mother had already passed away and decides to help the two in creating improvements to their armor and weaponry, like Brok.
They travel closer to the peak of the mountain afterward, albeit while intercepting some enemies like an Ogre and more Dragur. Kratos and Atreus find themselves halted when there appears to be Black Breath blocking their way up the mountain. The Witch unexpectedly shows up in front of the two again, explaining how the only way to cast it away is by using the Light of Alfheim. She then takes them back to Tyr's Temple, commanding Kratos to have the contraption functioning again. There she takes them to the Realm Travel Room, the only place in all the nine realms one can use to travel between said realms. Using a Bifrost, they move the temple's bridge platform to the Alfheim gate, transporting them to Alfheim.
As they arrive, the Witch for reasons unknown seems to have herself being pulled out of the realm, but not before telling Kratos to use the Bifrost to obtain the Light. Continuing on, Atreus notices how the realm is in constant warfare between the Dark Elves and the Light Elves, although Kratos mostly ignores the war around them in favor of simply going foward. As the duo make their way across Alfheim the Dark Elves and their leader Svartáljǫfurr try to kill Kratos and Atreus they both fight their way through countless members of Dark Elves and they make it to the central chamber. After they arrive at the central chamber Kratos gives the axe to Atreus and he absorbs the Light of Alfheim into the Bifrost but while he's inside the light Kratos follows Faye's ashes. While walking, Kratos listens to how Atreus resents him for not being a loving father, to the point where he wishes that Kratos died instead of her, before immediately showing regret that he even said that, because he admits he loves him, but "wishes he was better." Kratos is then transported to Jötunheim, and it looks like he sees someone in the light, he reaches his hand out, and he calls out to Faye, his second wife, and Atreus' mother. But then, Kratos is abruptly pulled out by Atreus. Kratos is enraged and demands to know why Atreus pulled him out. Atreus yells back, saying he waited days for Kratos to return but he never did, and expresses rage at Kratos "leaving him again". Afterward, Kratos the infuses the Talon Bow with Light of Alfheim and with the newfound power the duo kill the Dark Elve King and the light goes back to the Light Elves. While heading back to Tyr's Temple, Atreus angrily accuses Kratos of not loving Faye before Kratos and Atreus argue until they both reconcile.
After returning to Midgard the duo make their back to the mountain and the dispel the Black Breath and they enter the mountain and they defeat more creatures and they both bond more as father and son. Soon after the duo make their way to the top of the mountain, they are attacked by a giant dragon which they fight off. After continuing, they find out that Sindri was being attacked by the same dragon, Hræzlyr. During the ensuing battle, Kratos uses glowing red orbs to break the Dragon's face apart and once it is weakened, Kratos then orders Atreus the shoot the giant hook above the dragon, which sends it toppling down on the Dragon's head, which pierces his skull open. Kratos then forces the dragon's neck into a large crystallized spike which exploded, destroying a large portion of the dragon's neck, paralyzing him and sending its crashing down next to Kratos. The grateful Sindri gives Atreus branded mistletoe arrows and he infuses Lighting into the Talon Bow and they use the arrows to get to the top of the mountain.
While climbing, Kratos and Atreus overhear the mysterious man who attacked their house earlier is revealed to be the god Baldur along with two men who are talking to a man trapped in a tree. The trio leave and the duo learn that the man in the tree is Mimir and they soon discover that Faye's ashes were meant to be scattered in Jötunheim, which pisses Kratos and Atreus off. However, they are determined to fulfill her wish and agree to travel tot he realm. Mimir tells Kratos to cut off his head, which Kratos questions why he would want that and Mimir reveals that Odin tortures him everyday and he would rather be dead than to be tortured again. After Kratos cuts his head off, the duo then return to the Witches' woods and they both request her help to revive Sindri. However, the Witch freaks out when she sees the mistletoe arrows Atrues got form Sindri and burns them when Atreus gives them to her. She apologizes and gives Atreus her own arrows in their place. Afterward, she revives Mimir's head who reveals the witch to be Freya, ruler of Vanir gods and Odin's former wife. Kratos gets angry with her for not telling him about her true identity and they leave without thanking her.
Kratos and Atreus make their way back to the Lake of Nine when Mimir tells them to go to the horn Kratos and Atreus encountered earlier, Kratos holds Mimir's head to the horn, blowing into it, calling the World Serpent, in which the serpent devours the statue of Thor next to the Muspelheim gate in anger, Mimir speaks in the giants language to see if he recognizes him, of that he remembers, until he mistook Kratos and Atreus of being friends of Thor until Mimir assures him that they are no friends of Thor and had never spoken the giants tongue sober. After the conversation, the serpent realigns the bridge during which they need the Thamur's chisel. While on their way to Thamur's corpse, Mimir tells the story of Odin and Freya's marriage in order to bring peace between the Aesir and Vanir gods. After Odin's first love: the giantess Fjörgyn and mother to Thor died, Odin felt heartbroken until Freya agreed to marry Odin not only because of her fertile beauty but her expanded knowledge in Vanir magic, in which Odin felt intrigued in learning, something that Freya regretted when Odin's obsession with Jotunheim got in the way again as well as the story of Thamur.
Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir make it to the dead Stone Masons body. But Mimir tells them that they will have to climb up to his hammer and smash the ice, as their weapons nor Thor's hammer can demolish it. Kratos and Atreus climb up to the hammer and detach the chains allowing the hammer to fall and smash the almost impenetrable ice. After defeating more enemies, the trio overhears voices of the demigods Modi and Magni, who arrived after seeing the hammer fall. They're just about to retrieve part of his chisel when Magni appears who was battling an ogre, snapping his neck, until he notices the duo. Magni tells them to surrender, but Kratos refuses, to which Magni draws his weapon and prepare himself for battle. Kratos tells Atreus to flee as he will most likely get killed, but Modi appears and a fight ensues. The gods use the snow-blind to gain the advantage, during which Kratos asks of why do they hunt them and what does Odin want. Magni replies he doesn't know and he doesn't care, Modi decides to taunt Atreus mostly referring to his deceased mother in order for him to lose control of his actions. Despite the taunts, Atreus manages to stay calm with his father's words. While Magni distracts Kratos, Modi taunts the boy again this time causing the boy to lose control and charge wildly against the god. Kratos breaks his defense and kills Magni with the Leviathan Axe causing Modi to back away from Kratos in fear and cowardice. Atreus, still angered over the insults recklessly shoots arrows at him before showing early signs of sickness again via a violent coughing fit. He insists he is not sick and the three continue the journey.
Kratos and Atreus journey back over to Tyr's Temple to retrieve the Black Rune and they're about to activate the sandbowl until Modi ambushes the duo pinning Kratos down under lightning. He says that he'll only earn his father's hammer cause Magni's dead and he said that he'll be a joke as he lived under his brother's shadow for most of his life. Atreus tells him to stop, only for Modi to spur another insult about Faye, causing the boy to charge at him, only for Modi to knock him aside and continue electrocuting his father. Atreus shrugs off the attack and says he doesn't know anything about his mother, Modi says that he'll be his new brother and will get to know him real soon, right after he finishes killing Kratos. This causes Atreus to activate his Spartan Rage for the first time, before collapsing. Upon seeing his son, Kratos struggles to get up and activate his Spartan Rage with a frightened Modi to walk back in terror. Kratos disarms Modi before knocking him into a wall with Modi running away in terror, crying. Kratos chooses not to chase after Modi as it looks like Atreus is near-death. Mimir suggests that Kratos takes Atreus back to Freya for help. Kratos has no choice but to take Atreus to Freya for help. As he puts Atreus on a boat, a storm begins to rage as he rows the boat to Freya's cage.
Kratos then enters the Witch's cave, close to hyperventilating and pacing as the elevator brings him closer to Freya's home. During the ride up, an unknown person blows into the horn to call the World Serpent. At first, Freya refuses to help Kratos due to his resentment towards deities, but when Kratos tells her the situation, Freya changes her mind and lets them in. Freya tells Kratos that this is no ordinary illness because of his son's true nature lying within him. To cure then illness, Freya instructs Kratos to retrieve the Bridgekeeper's Heart in Helheim, but not after telling him that his Leviathan axe will be useless as the enemies there will be immune to frost as well as warning him that to never travel on the Bridge of the Dead as it is a one-way ticket into Helheim. Freya ensures Kratos that the boy is not his past, but his son and that he needs his father and she gives him the travel rune to Helheim.
Kratos then exits the home and enters a nearby boat, reflecting quietly as the boat ventures to Kratos' home. The world darkens around him and dives into chaos around him. All of a sudden, Athena appears on the boat, a symbolism of Kratos' past coming back to haunt him. Kratos exits the boat and fights his way through Hel-walkers before finally arriving to his house. Kratos then takes the Blades of Chaos out of the hidden room in his house and willingly puts the chains of his past on his arms. As he does this Athena taunts Kratos with how no matter hwo much he hides it, he will always be a monster. Kratos is aware of this, but retorts that he is her monster no longer. Kratos journeys over to Tyr's temple to activate the travel room to Helheim where Mimir tells him that no one, not even the gods can survive the cold in Helheim, and notices that Helheim is too overpopulated as the worthy are supposed to go into Valhalla. Kratos eventually reaches the bridge where Mimir suggest he cause trouble as he is very good at it, he steps into the light where the troll notices him and the two have an intense fight. The Keeper and Kratos proceeded to have a long and viscous battle, with the Keeper using his teleportation to evade Kratos, allowing for swift and nearly unavoidable attacks delivered with enormous strength. The Keeper also generated roaming spheres of energy that detonate on impact, and continuously slams his totem in the ground to send large and fast shockwaves of darkness towards Kratos. Eventually, Kratos was able to incapacitate the Keeper by slicing his Achilles tendons, rendering him unable to move properly. Kratos took advantage of this and hoped on the Keeper's head, slicing his face in half with the Blades of Chaos and then bringing the totem pole on the Keeper's body, pinning him down. Kratos then used the Blades to cut the totem pole in half and then killed the Keeper by stabbing its eyes out. An exhausted Kratos then climbed on top of the Keeper and cut a huge slice on the Keeper's chest with the Blades. Kratos then pried the Keeper's chest open and ripped out still-beating heart from his chest. Just as Kratos was about to leave, he encounters an illusion of Zeus. Mimir is surprised that Zeus was his father. Confused, Kratos asks Mimir on how he is here. Mimir reminds to never go beyond the bridge.
As Kratos journeys back to Midgard, Mimir pieces the relationship Kratos had with Athena, his fire blades, Zeus being his father, and the ash-white skin, he realizes he is hanging on the hip by none other than the Ghost of Sparta himself. Kratos coldly tells him to not call him that, with Mimir saying that Zeus had it coming to them. Mimir also tells Kratos to tell Atreus of his godly heritage, but Kratos refuses to do so, with Mimir stating that Atreus will eventually have to be told his true nature will be revealed soon, but Kratos drops the subject and orders Mimir to not tell Atreus anything.
Back in Midgard, Kratos returns to Freya's stronghold where Freya reveals that she too had a son, and that he disappeared many years ago and vows herself to learn from her past mistakes with Kratos concluding that he must know the truth. Atreus recovers successfully and continues on the journey. As they are about to leave the grotto, Kratos notices Atreus has begun acting quiet, and knows that he overheard his talk with Freya, he tells his father that he said he was cursed, he thought that he was weak because he wasn't like his father, and along the journey, everything was different for him. Kratos tells him he doesn't know everything, Atreus is aware of this, but knows the truth. Kratos instead tells him that he's a god from another land far away, when he came to Norway, he chose to live as a man, but the truth is that he was born a deity, as well as Atreus. Atreus asks his father if he can turn into an animal, which seemed to surprise Kratos, who assured him that he can't as he does not know of his future god-like powers. Atreus is excited that he is a god and asks his father if Faye was a god as well. Kratos tells his son that she was mortal, but was aware of his true nature. When the boy asks of why his father waited so long to tell him, Kratos tells Atreus that being a god can be a lifetime of anguish and tragedy, which is the curse, and he had hoped to spare him from it. Atreus, however, doesn't feel like a god, but Mimir states that in time, both father and son will learn. Atreus is still unsure if he could turn into a wolf, but Kratos says he is welcome to surprise him.
They return to Tyr's Temple and activate the sandbowl which lowers then down to Tyr's Vault. After getting past the first trap, Kratos and Atreus discover a room where they encounter many traps and relics Tyr has collected from many different lands, including Greece. Kratos notices a vase with leftover Lemnian wine from the Greek island of Lemnos, as well as a terracotta vase with him on it. When Atreus talks to Kratos, Kratos purposefully drops it to the floor and continues on, although Atreus does see the broken fragments of it. Upon lowering the Black Rune, Kratos gets caught in a trap (which, unbeknownst to him, removed the protection spell Freya put on him) in which he tells Atreus to match the puzzles on the wall to match them, but this didn't stop at all as the floor started lifting them up to a ceiling of spikes, to which Atreus sacrifices his mother's knife to break the chain, which Kratos remarks as Atreus being "cunning". As they are about to retrieve the Black Rune, Kratos gives Atreus a second knife, from which he told them that he crafted it with a mix of metals from his homeland and Norse metals and that the power of warrior comes from within, but only when tempered by emotions, as being a god has a greater responsibility. As they are leaving, Kratos gives Atreus a drink of the wine from the vase he took earlier before drinking some himself explaining the origins of the wine.
Over time, Atreus starts to become arrogant and cocky after learning of his godhood which deeply concerns Kratos. Mimir asks Atreus if he's ready to see Jötunheim, Atreus adds that while he's excited, he's sad that the journey is almost over. Sindri quickly catches their attention. Kratos coldly tells Atreus not to tell him about their quest and that he's a god and that it's a personal quest, to which the dwarf adds that he knows a thing or two about family matters. Atreus, whines about the fact that Sindri talks about Brok all the time and how Brok is better than he is. So he tells Sindri to stop talking about it out of spite, leaving the dwarf hurt. As they venture on, Kratos asks his son of the way he spoke to the dwarf, Atreus explains that he's fed up of all the talk about him and his brother. Kratos agrees that while they are annoying, there was no need to make him an enemy of him and that it was unnecessary and unkind, to which Atreus scoffs at when he said that his mother wasn't a god when Kratos said that Faye would disagree, to which later, Atreus asks if he could carry his mothers ashes, to which Kratos refuses due to speaking ill of her, and reminding him that he will not dishonor her.
After entering the mountain, they once again encounter Modi, who's been beaten mercilessly into a bloody pulp by his father, saying that his father blamed him for leaving Magni to die. Atreus, threatens him to back off, or he'll pick up where his father left off. Modi tries to attack, but is too injured to do so and falls to the ground, Atreus looks back at his father, in which he answers that Modi isn't worth killing due to his battered state. Atreus said that he should take back for all the insults Modi said about his mother. Kratos refuses to let him kill the god, but Atreus reminds him that they're gods and they can do whatever they want, in which Modi spurs one last insult about Faye, before being brutally stabbed in the neck. Kratos tries to restrain him, but it falls on deaf ears, which Atreus says that his knife is much better than his mother's, before kicking Modi down a ravine to his death. Kratos reprimands him that his recklessness and arrogant nature will make him a target, reminding him that he taught him to kill, but only in defense of himself and never as an excuse. When Atreus asks what's the difference, Kratos angrily tells him that there are consequences of killing gods. Atreus yells of how he knows such a thing, Kratos warns him to watch his attitude.
After reaching the summit, Atreus cuts his hand open and draws a run into the portal, which Kratos activates to Jötunheim with the newly acquired chisel and are about to enter when Baldur ambushes the duo with him gaining the upper hand. Baldur then impales Kratos in the stomach using a fragment of a rock. Kratos yells at Atreus to cross the bridge, but Atreus arrogantly claims he is a god and can defeat Baldur, shooting him with arrows. The arrows have no effect on Baldur, who simply smacks Atreus away. Baldur then pummels Kratos and dismisses Kratos as "just meat" and that Atreus turned out to be the brains of the duo. Kratos then headbutts Baldur and slams Baldur into the portal, destroying it. Atreus again tries to fight baldur, feeling that he is ready for the confrontation. Kratos yanks Atreus back, trying to defend him, but Atreus betrays Kratos and shoots him with an arrow. Baldur grows amused upon seeing Atreus strike Kratos when he attempted to keep him out of the fight. An overconfident Atreus then stabs Baldur in the shoulder, to which he picks him up by the neck and stabs him back, which knocks him unconscious. Baldur then kidnaps Atreus and takes him to his Kratos. Kratos follows them and lands on Baldur's dragon. After a brief scuffle, Baldur manages to knock Kratos off, but Kratos is able to damage the dragon's wings before he falls off, landing safely onto the temple bridge. Kratos runs towards the temple past Brok, who asks of who activated the bridge. Kratos catches up to Baldur, saying that the portal is locked into Asgard, and it'll be over for him when the entire weight of as Asgard will descend upon him. Kratos knocks Baldur aside and instead locks in Helheim. Kratos, Atreus, and Baldur fall into Helheim getting sucked in far that they fly over the Bridge of the Damned. Kratos angrily scolds his son and manages him to keep him in line again. They start their journey back to Midgard with Mimir saying that the boat is the only way back and will take them halfway back to the Temple bridge. As they journey back, they encounter Baldur once again, but this time, he encounters a flashback to when he first got his power of invulnerability. It's also revealed that his mother is none other than Freya herself, who cast a spell on him to prevent him from dying, however, this also made Baldur not feel anything, from food, temperature, women, etc. Baldur tearfully regrets not killing Freya and is left to mourn. Kratos and Atreus eventually make it to the boat where they set sail back to the temple bridge. But the boat gets stuck halfway across so Kratos finally lets Atreus help him get it unstuck. Mimir says that even though they will make it back to Midgard in one piece, he tells them that there's no other way to Jötunheim.
As they get near the bridge, both father and son notice Zeus before they encounter a younger version of Kratos killing Zeus. Atreus tells him to focus as the boat is near the bridge and about to collapse because of the fires surrounding it had caused the boat to burn. After crash landing in the Realm Travel Room, they find the missing panel about Tyr traveling, to other lands including Greece. Mimir then realizes that there's another way to Jötunheim by making a key and the secret to unveiling the missing Jötunheim gate as Odin never gave up hope. On their way back to Midgard, Kratos asks Kratos if he saw the vision of Zeus, referring to Zeus as "an old man", but Atreus lies about not seeing it. Kratos then asks Mimir of Baldur's vulnerability, Mimir says that there's none at all, as he's invulnerable to threats: physical or magical. All three realize that Mimir was bewitched by Freya during the reanimating process. After showing Brok the picture of making the key, he refuses to do so, as he tends to make weapons of war, not tools. Sindri suddenly shows up and the brothers reconcile and together, they make a key for them.
Going down to the lower part of the temple, Kratos activates the door beneath the travel room where they find that the travel stone to Jötunheim is on the floor, but realize the room is upside down and could be flipped. After avoiding many traps and fighting enemies, they manage to break the chains holding the temple in place and Kratos is miraculously able to flip the temple and manages to recover the travel stone. Mimir explains that Tyr used the travel rune to follow his own path, hence why he was able to travel to other lands, in the realm between realms. After making it into the void, the travel stone embeds the duo with protection as Kratos leaps into the void. After landing without any side effects, Atreus notices the missing Jötunheim tower was in the realm between realms all long. The three enter the tower and insert the stone into a pedestal where it absorbs all the stone's energy. After fighting countless waves of enemies, Kratos opens the door and find themselves back in Midgard. With the tower restored, the duo plus Mimir lock Jötunheim in, but it fails when Mirmir realizes that the travel crystal is missing. Mimir explains that they need his other eye to get to the realm. Without hesitation, they ask Brok and Sindri about it, but Sindri was unable to finish his part because of his germophobia, so Brok says that they stored Mimir's other eye in a vault in a statue of Thor that the Serpent ate. Kratos deduces that the only way to retrieve it is by going inside the Serpent's belly. They make haste towards the horn where Mimir calls the serpent once again and asks if they could travel inside his stomach to retrieve his missing eye to which the serpent reluctantly agrees. Kratos and Atreus row into the belly of the beast and manage to retrieve Mimir's other eye. As they leave, however, a rumbling sound could be heard from the outside as the Serpent begins the shake violently. Kratos and Atreus are thrown out of the serpent as the serpent falls back unconscious. While Atreus was wondering who hurt the serpent, Freya appears all of a sudden in the form of a bird and says that she is looking for her son, saying that the woods and fields call his name. Kratos and Atreus become distant, as they find out that she is Baldur's mother after all. When Freya asks of why Atreus is standing so far from her, Baldur appears from the icy river and says that hurting the World Serpent would bring them out in the open. Baldur quickly notices his mother and Freya knows he's still angry and that how he feels hasn't changed. Baldur cuts her off mid-sentence saying that he doesn't need her to understand anything at all. Before Baldur could inflict damage on her, Kratos understands that even if he kills her, he will never find peace. Baldur says that he'll deal with him once he's done killing Freya, but Kratos pushes him back, which escalates into a fight with Freya trying to stop it by restraining both Kratos and Baldur.
During the fight, Kratos was the primary offense against Baldur, with Atreus staying at the side and firing at Baldur with his arrows. During the fight, Freya had begun using vines to restrain Badldur and Kratos in attempt to end the battle, but the two warriors broke free using pure strength and resolve to continue the battle. Baldur then parried Kratos' attack and hit him with an uppercut into the air, to which he restrained Freya restrained Kratos again using her vines. This time, Atreus got in front of Kratos to protect him. Baldur warned the boy to turn away before things got ugly, but Atreus was determined to defend his father. Baldur was unfazed by this and hit Atrreus with a devastating punch, sending him into Kratos with enough force to break Kratos from the tentacles. Atreus was devastated and winded from the attack as Kratos begged Atreus to breath. Atreus eventually caught his breathe, but told Atreus that the blood on him was not his. Baldur is astonished by the mistletoe arrow that has pierced his hand and starts to feel excitement upon the broken spell, before being restrained by Freya again, this time, in control of the reanimated corpse of Thamur. The corpse moves them to a new location. Atreus asks of how the mistletoe arrow broke the spell, Kratos adds that he can be killed.
After landing, Kratos tells Freya that Baldur intends to kill her, but she doesn't care about this and is determined to protect him. Baldur then appears and the fight resumes, During the fight, Baldur used his speed and magic to fight against Kratos, who narrowly evaded most of the attacks, while Atreus stayed at the side trying to cripple baldur with his arrows. Baldur became excited and bloodthirsty from the ensuing battle, begging Kratos to hurt him and make him feel pain. Shortly after, Kratos caught Baldur's punch and chops him in the shoulder with his axe. Baldur did not react to the stab and pulled it out of his shoulder, punching Kratos away and declaring all he feels is freezing. Baldur then used his frost abilities to fight the two, even creating a shockwave attack. Kratos was able to continuously parry Baldur's physical attacks, until Baldur created a barrier made of frost he absorbed, which Atreus used an arrow to disrupt, sending Baldur back to normal. Baldur rushed at Kratos, who quickly stabbed Baldur in the neck and then again in the side of the hip before tossing the crazed god into a nearby wall. Kratos and Atreus ran at Baldur, but Freya used Thamur's hand to block their path. Kratos tried to push the rhino's hand away, but to no avail. Kratos resorted to lifting the giant's hand up, which he succeeded in. While Kratos was busy lifting it, Baldur took the opportunity to try and kill Kratos but Atreus used an explosive arrow on Baldur, sending him and Kratos tumbling off the platform and down below.
Kratos quickly recovered from the fall and asked where Atreus was. Atreus had landed on a watching tower above and was unharmed, just as Baldur leaped down to Kratos and claimed he never felt so alive. Baldur and Kratos continued the fight, with Baldur constantly changing between fire and frost attacks, which could only be hit by the Blades of Chaos and Leviathan Axe respectively. Baldur attempted to do another dash kick, only for Kratos to catch him and throw him away, and then throwing the Leviathan Axe at Baldur, pinning the god against the wall. As Kratos rushed to finish Baldur off, the Freya-possessed Thamur removes the chisel from his head in an attempt to separate Kratos from Baldur. Baldur recovered and scaled the chisel to kill Freya, with Kratos in quick pursuit. Atreus then leaped to Kratos, who narrowly caught Atreus' hand and helped him up as the two leaped on Thamur's arm. Atreus spotted Baldur and shot an arrow at his ankle, sending him to the ground. Kratos then ran at Baldur just as the god recovered, and Baldur was able to bring Kratos to the ground and unleash a flurry of punches, which Kratos blocked with his arms. During this, Atreus shot Baldur in the shoulder blade with an arrow, giving Kratos time to grab Baldur and bring him to the ground. kratos began strangling Baldur, who almost knocked Kratos off of the giant with a punch. As the giant's arm shifted, Atreus almost fell until Kratos caught him. As Atreus dangled from the arm, Baldur began kicking Kratos to make Kratos drop Atreus, but Atreus shot Baldur in the chest with an arrow, stunning him. Kratos then threw Atreus overhead, giving Atreus the opportunity the shoot Baldur in the head before landing safely back on the arm. Kratos grabbed Baldur in a headlock until the two jumped off the arm, with Atreus jumping off as well. During the free-fall, Atreus fired multiple arrows into Baldur until Kratos turned Baldur over, using Baldur's body to cushion his own fall. The now blood-soaked Baldur recovered and tossed Kratos to the ground and began strangling him until Atreus used his bow to strangle Baldur to stop him from hurting Kratos. Baldur then grabbed Atreus by the neck, strangling him in on hand and Kratos in the other. During this, Baldur thanked the two for ridding him of his invulnerability, something not even Odin could do. Kratos activates his Spartan Rage once again and breaks free with Atreus close behind. Another fight endures with Kratos and Atreus gaining the upper hand. Near the end of the fight, Kratos uses his Blades of Chaos to stun him before stunning him more with a series of close-by frontal attacks. Kratos beats Baldur relentlessly to a bloody mess before Thamur uses his freeze breath in an attempt to freeze Kratos and Atreus. Atreus then calls the now conscious World Serpent, who then attacks Thamur and knocks down Freya. Kratos attempted to kill Baldur, but Atreus reminds him he is beaten, calling back to when Kratos told Atreus not to kill Modi. Kratos reminds Baldur in return to not come near them nor touch Freya again, in Freya says that she doesn't need protection and the two leave for mother and son to settle things out. Baldur explains that no matter where he goes or what he says, she will never stop interfering with his life. Freya explains that she was only trying to protect him, but Baldur says that she still needs to pay for the lifetime she stole from him. Freya explains that she has paid many times, but if seeing herself dead will make things better, she will allow him to kill her. Baldur seems to forgive her, until he begins strangling her. As Freya nears death, Kratos interferes with Baldur saying that he could have walked away, in which Kratos quotes Zeus and explains that they must be better than this, before snapping his neck killing him at last. Freya is devastated upon seeing her son's lifeless body and threatens Kratos to use all of her power to kill Kratos in the most horrible way imaginable. Atreus explains that he saved her life, but Freya is unfazed and calls Kratos an animal by passing his cruelty and rage, that he will never change. Kratos says that she does not know him well enough, but Freya claims she knows enough and asks Kratos if Atreus does. Kratos then tells Atreus to listen close and informs him of his entire past, from his deal with Ares, as well as murdering many, some who deserved it, and some who didn't, even telling Atreus that he killed his father, Zeus. Atreus is shocked upon learning that was his father killing his grandfather and asks of how this always ends, but Kratos assures him that they "will be the gods [they] choose to be, not those who have been." Freya leaves in silence afterward, carrying Baldur's lifeless corpse. Mimir asks if they're the bad guys now, Kratos says that might be true, but she could never make that choice. Atreus asks why Freya threatened his father even though she loathed the Aesir, Mimir states that they killed her son and that the death of a child is something that a parent cannot get over easily, but he assures him that Freya will get over her son's death over time and that Kratos did the right thing.
They start the journey back to Tyr's Temple where Mimir explains Hrimthur's story, he adopted the guise of a mortal and promised the Aesir that if he can finish building the wall around Asgard within two years and finished it, he would meet with Freya, and if not, they will owe him nothing. Odin was suspicious of the stranger but agreed to do as he asked. Using his father's knowledge of stone masonry, Hrimthur finished the wall, much to Odin's frustration. He met with Freya and whispered something in her ear, and as he was about to leave Asgard, Thor was waiting for him. The giant realizes he'd been double-crossed, but he did not care, as his plan was complete. Mimir suspects that Hrimthur added a weak spot in Asgard's walls and passed this knowledge to Freya.
After arriving at the Realm Travel Room, Kratos locks in Jötunheim and orders Atreus by giving him Mimir's head and positioning it into the beam and straight onto the door finally unlocking Jötunheim. Before Kratos and Atreus can finish their journey, Mimir says that they should leave him here, as he doesn't want a decomposing head ruining the father-son moment. Before Kratos could say anything, Brok and Sindri abruptly show up impressed and how they wanted to see this, Mimir at first refused, but knowing there would be no other way, he allowed the dwarfs to watch him. Kratos passes the head to Sindri, who passed to his brother and father and son make their way into the realm, with Mimir nervously telling them to hurry back. Kratos and Atreus finally reach the giant's fingers, with Kratos unraveling his bandages saying that he has no more to hide. Kratos finally gives Atreus the bag of his mothers ashes to carry to the peak.
They make their way into a vast room where they encounter statues of giants, possibly the few remaining giants escaping Midgard. As they are leaving the room, Atreus touches the wall which crumbles around them and seeing a mural depiction of Kratos and Atreus' entire journey, including his mother with a bunch of giants. Atreus realizes that the giants prophesied their journey. Kratos tells him that their journey is his story and that he's not the only parent with secrets making Atreus realize that he's a giant too. When Atreus asks why she didn't tell him, Kratos explains that she sent them here knowing she would find this and that she would've had good reasons. Kratos deduces that Baldur was never sent to find him, and he was tracking Faye all along, not knowing she was only ashes. As Atreus leaves, Kratos finds a plaque of Atreus holding a dead body, likely his, screaming in agony.
Kratos and Atreus finally reach the top, noticing all the dead giants across the land. Atreus hands over the bag full of ashes to his father, but Kratos says that they will do it together and calls him "son". After spreading her ashes, Atreus realizes that the giants are all gone and his name on the wall, the giant's called him Loki. Kratos found out that was the name Faye wanted to call him when he was born. When Atreus asks why Kratos says they will find out some other day.
As the two leave, Atreus asks of why he wanted to be called that name. Kratos then reveals that Atreus was named after a compassionate spartan soldier who filled the lives of everyone with joy and happiness. Atreus is impressed and tells him he actually told a good story and that Mimir missed it. As they enter the realm travel room, Mimir is glad to see them and adds that he reached his limit for dwarven charm, referring to Brok and Sindri. As they are heading back to Midgard, Mimir warns them that Fimbulwinter-the great winter that precedes Ragnarok is upon them as it was not supposed to happen for a couple hundred years and that Kratos may have accelerated the events due to his and Atreus' actions.
As they arrive home, Atreus says that he will sleep through winter due to the long journey they had went through. During his sleep, Atreus has a vision of Thor showing up at their house when Fimbulwinter ends. When they wake up, Atreus is informing Kratos about it, claiming that it felt like it was real, at first Kratos isn't disturbed by this, but when Atreus reminds him again, he assures his son that they will worry about it tomorrow before continuing on to their next, unknown task.
Villains in family
- Zeus (father) †
- Callisto (mother) †
- Deimos (brother) †
- Hercules (half-brother) †
- Athena (half-sister) †
- Lysandra (wife) †
- Laufey (second wife) †
- Calliope (daughter) †
- Atreus/Loki (son)
- Gaia (great-grandmother) †
- Cronos (grandfather) †
- Hades (uncle) †
- Poseidon (uncle) †
- Ares (half-brother) †
- Hera (step-mother/aunt) †
- Hermes (half-brother) †
- Megaera (grandaunt) †
- Alecto (grandaunt) †
- Tisiphone (grandaunt) †
- Persephone (half-sister) †
- Gyges(grand uncle) †
- Aegaeon the Hecatonchire (grand uncle) †
- Perseus (half-brother) †
- Hephaestus (half-brother) †
- Pollux (half-brother) †
- Angrboða (Daughter-in-law)
- Hel (Granddaughter)
- Jörmungandr (Grandson)
- Fenrir (Grandson)
- Sköll and Hati (Great-grandsons)
Notable Kills
Important Note; No Mortal Kombat Characters
- Countless amounts of Grunts
- Lysandra
- Calliope
- Minotaurs
- Satyr
- Cyclops
- Gorgons
- Pollux & Castor
- Megaera
- Tisiphone
- Alecto
- Orkos (asked Kratos to kill him)
Chains of Olympus
God of War
- Hydra
- The Captain (killed him three times)
- Medusa
- Hades Minotaur
- Ares
Ghost of Sparta
- Scylla
- Callisto (Was forced to)
- Erinys
- Piraeus Lion
- The Dissenter
- King Midas
- Lanaeus
- Thanatos
God of War II
- Colossus of Rhodes
- Prometheus (asked Kratos to kill him)
- Dark Rider
- Theseus
- The Barbarian King (Killed him twice)
- Mole Cerberus
- Euryale
- Perseus
- Icarus
- The Last Spartan (By accident)
- Kraken
- Lahkesis
- Atropos
- Clotho
- Athena (by accident)
God of War III
- One of Poseidon's Hippocampi
- Poseidon
- Everyone/Almost everyone in the Greece
- Peirithous
- Hades
- Helios
- Perses
- Hermes
- Hercules
- Poseidon's Princess
- Cronos
- Hephaestus
- Hera
- Skorpius
- Hades Cerberus Breeder
- The Three Judges
- Pandora (indirectly)
- Gaia
- Zeus
God of War (PS4)
- Mimir (Asked Kratos to kill him)
- Magni
- Baldur (God of War)
In other media
Mortal Kombat 9
Kratos made an appearance in the PS3 version of Mortal Kombat 9. He may have been portrayed as a protagonist hero/villain in the God of War Series, but to both Raiden and Fujin, Kratos was just a hero. According to his in-game story, Kratos was summoned to the Mortal Kombat universe by Shao Kahn to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament.Kratos fights with the Blades of Exile, the Nemean Cesti, the Head of Helios, the Bow of Apollo, the Icarus Wings, the Golden Fleece, the Head of Medusa and the Blade of Olympus.
Kratos' Ending
After Kratos killed Shao Kahn, the spell that brought him there began to fade. As he began to return to his own dimension, Raiden and Fujin walked toward him. Kratos was about to attack them, but both Raiden and Fujin bowed before Kratos for slaying Shao Kahn. Even though Kratos's intentions were never pure, he saved Earthrealm from the evil Emperor of Outworld and was owed a debt of gratitude. Kratos silently acknowledged Raiden and Fujin's praise as he returned to his home dimension, believing that their debt may be useful to him one day.
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny
Kratos made an appearance as a guest character in the game Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny. The character Sophitia is given to him as a rival, due to her servitude to the god Hephaestus.
In a dreary underground library, a man sought to discover forbidden texts which would grant him power. This man was a survivor of Fygul Cestemus, a religious cult which had been recently pushed to the edge of total destruction by the golem known as Astaroth.
Rather than uniting, survivors had turned against each other, each seeking to gain higher authority over the remnants of the cult. This man desired the power to take revenge on the rebelling giant and then rebuild the organization under his own authority, his status of power being above all others.
He finally came across an ancient text, which held information to perform a ritual which was said to summon an ancient god known as Kratos. According to legends, in the battle for Greece, Kratos had taken over Ares' position of 'God of War'.
Using a shard of Soul Edge, the man succeeded in performing the ceremony and opened a dimensional portal. Kratos appeared and with his Blades of Chaos, rewarded this man who summoned him with death. From the environment and tools the man had been using, Kratos realized he is no longer in his era. The fragment of Soul Edge stepped in the madness of the now deceased man, whispered to Kratos.
"To grant your wish, offer many souls to me. With your power, it will be easy..."
Kratos easily overcomes the shard's attempt to enslave him and views visions of Soul Edge and the spirit sword Soul Calibur. Kratos realizes the power created by the conflict of these two swords will be able to send him back to his own time. Leaving the library, he viewed what appeared to be shooting stars heading towards the west. Realizing they are Soul Edge shards, he decides to follow them...
Gauntlet Mode
Kratos has a small role in chapter 27 of The Gauntlet.
Cassandra, Hilde and Dampierre continue their search for the ingredients that Hilde's father needs to recover, there next one they must find is "Sand from another world", but they are clueless of how to find another world. So Dampierre thinks of someone that can help them, it turns out it's Zasalamel. after the three defeat him, they dragged Zasalamel into 'another world' along with them, as they encounter Kratos.
The player has to defend himself/herself against Kratos' attacks such as a Guard Impact, and attack him when he is open for attack. While that is going on, Dampierre managed to sneak some of the Sand from another world into his shirt sleeve and requests them all to retreat. Just before they get to Ivy, Cassandra breaks the fourth wall complaining about Kratos being a Special Guest.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Kratos made an appearance as one of the playable characters in the crossover game Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. His in-game rival is Sweet Tooth.
Shovel Knight
Kratos appears a exclusive boss in the PS3, PS4 & PS Vita versions of Shovel Knight.
Guest Appearance
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
Easily one of his most well-known cameos is in Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds when he shows up as a golfer, and, while being tamed down, doesn't change much of his hot-blooded personality.
Modnation Racers
Kratos also shows up in Modnation Racers as a playable character with his Chaos Kart.
The Simpsons
In the The Simpsons episode The Food Wife, Kratos is seen on a billboard that reads Guts of War II: Entrails of Intestinox, which is a direct parody of the games over the top violence.
Racist Mario
Kratos appears in the infamous Youtube video "Racist Mario" as an anti-heroic figure, participating in a Mario Kart race along with several other non-Nintendo characters. Unlike his game incarnation, Kratos is prtrayed as very bulky but still retains many of his abilities. Mario went completely insane over his discovery of the third-party characters and began killing everyone else on the track, and Kratos eventually caught up to him and killed Luigi. Despite the mad plumber's attempts to defeat him (including ripping off Toad's head and using it as a Mushroom to supersize himself), Kratos ends up killing Mario and takes Peach and Daisy as his "prize".
- In every game in the God of War Series, Kratos has killed at least one God (The Furies; Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto in God of War: Ascension, Persephone in Chains of Olympus, Ares in God of War, Ceryx in Betrayal, Thanatos in Ghost of Sparta, The Sisters of Fate, and Athena in God of War II, and Poseidon, Hades, Helios, Hermes, Hera, Hephaestus, and Zeus in God of War III, and Magni and Baldur in God of War.
- He also killed at least one half-brother in God of War: Ascension, God of War, II, and III (Pollux, Ares, Perseus and Hercules respectively).
- The most interesting thing about Kratos is his tattoo; the tattoo on his chest always changed as the sequels were created.
- It's ironic that in God of War II, Kratos uses the Threads of Time to turn back time, so he could prevent himself from being killed by Zeus and prevent Zeus from destroying Sparta, but in God of War III, after he kills Poseidon, all of Greece gets flooded, killing nearly everyone, if not everyone, in Sparta.
- In Mortal Kombat 9, whenever Kratos is a victim of a fatality, it's slightly altered.
- In Mortal Kombat 9, Kratos has one of the few Babalities that does not end up crying. He also retains his beard like Kano.
- He lost to Spawn (from the Image Comics) in ScrewAttack's DEATH BATTLE.
- Kratos is similar to Carrie White in Stephen King's novel and its adaptional films: Both are vigilante that took revenge on those who wrought.


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These things aren't really all that new to Sweden, but still considered an invasive species. They are Spanish after all. Last summer they were everywhere because of all of the rain. This summer wasn't as bad, but bad enough that it led to debate in the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag. Finally, they decided that it was a good idea to use roundworms to solve the problem.
Anyway, with a little bit of rain, the slugs come out in full force, and the last couple of days Stockholm has seen a bit of rain, just enough to wet the ground and convince the slugs to come out. They are pretty solid size. Blackish. Imagine the long skinny pinecones and you've probably got the right idea. Some are fatter than others, some are longer. They come in all various sizes really.
But in my case, size does matter. Because I love to kill them. I consider myself just the next in line for the family business. Eradicating pests the world over.
A quick side note on the eradication of slugs. The summer before my senior year of high school I spent some time in France, "working," but I was 17 and wasn't exactly given a whole lot of responsibility. So I put labels on a pesticide. I also was tasked with scouring the internet for articles about a certain slug killing agent. This was before the widespread use of RSS feeds and news-aggregators, but basically I was a living, breathing news-aggregator. Maybe not too good at my job because I stuck to the English language sites, but so it goes. Anyway, as I searched for slug killers I stumbled across a little survey done by Colorado State University. An esteemed university that has seen plenty of my friends walk across stage with their degrees in hand.
As many people already know, beer is often used as slug bait. Take a little dish, fill it with beer, bury it with a little bit of a lip sticking out of the ground and the slugs manage to find their way into it. Whether they drown or drink themselves to death I don't know. Maybe the old man can answer that. But CSU, putting state tax payer's money to good use, decided it was necessary to figure out which beer was most effective in attracting slugs. Turns out that the ever-popular Kingsbury Malt Beverage took the cake, followed closely by Anheuser-Busch's stable of beers: Michelob, Bud, and Bud Light. Here is the Colorado State University beer and slug study for the skeptics out there.
Anyway, back to the killer slugs. Like I said, size matters. The bigger the slugs, the more satisfying. Because they pop. Literally. If you step on a fat killer slug, you can hear them pop.
And I know, it sounds bad. I am heartless. How could I do that to another living creature? But whatever, it's the same sort of sick satisfaction some people get from picking scabs or popping blackheads. I step on killer slugs. I'm just doing my part to assist farmers and local gardeners in their quest for delicious vegetables.
I have even started listening to how I get the best pop. I have two pairs of shoes I tend to wear. One a sort of hybrid tennis shoe/all terrain shoe, the other an extremely fashionable brown Nike shoe. Kind of along the lines of Pumas. But Nike. Because they were on sale at Kohl's, and who are we kidding, I'm not really that fashionable.
Anyway, the tennies give the best pop. I'm not really sure why it is but I have a theory. The Nike's are a little rounded on the edges so I don't get that abrupt edge that can really seem to pop the slug guts out. I haven't really experimented with my sandals. For obvious reasons I think. But my footwear acts as an organic pesticide. Sweden loves that sort of thing.
Welcome to Sweden. Where even you can do your part in eradicating the scourge of invasive species in the Swedish countryside.


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This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
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CH INTL CH*HRCH Nordom's Apache Rebel MH WDQ - Finalist at the 2006 AKC MN...He has qualified for the MN of 04,05,06 and on May 6/07 Rebel qualified for 2007 MN....Rebel is one of the 2 CBR to FINISH at this years Master National - both were bred by "Nordom" Chesapeakes.
SIRE: Gemini's Apache Clipper MH*** (Ofa,Cerf)
DAM: Intl CH Nordom's Catch Me Quik AM CAN SH WDX (Ofa, Cerf)
REBEL: DOB: 9/12/01 OFA: CB-7553G25M-PI, CERF:CB-4394, PRA: "A-1", Thyroid rated normal 6/06.
Natural, Chilled, Frozen Semen. For Stud contract and other pertinment info check out Rebel's page:
"Rebel" Loves to train. He is a reliable dog in competition and a consistant finisher. He has qualified in 20 MH Tests in a row including the '06 MN! He also has 7 HRCH finishes in a row. He is fast, stylish, an excellent marker and runs great lines on his blinds. He gets along well with other dogs and loves people of all ages. Rebel is hunted every year on duck and geese!
For more info contact: Dom Szechenyi, [email protected], or phone 360 629-7504 Evenings.
Norene S.


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The Gift of Self
Every year, countless articles and TV spots spring up advising lovers on how to find the ideal gift for their Valentines. Most of these are really just advertising in a not-very-subtle disguise, but even those that aren't tend to cast the net into the shallows. They assume that the gift giver is looking to present his beloved with a modestly thoughtful gift that will serve to placate the idols of Romance for another year: a gift which can be procured during lunch hour and which says, "Please don't divorce me for another 365 days."
Fair enough. People are busy, and in a good marriage, a Valentine's gift is often just a small, thoughtful formality, like a good-morning kiss as you leave the door.
Occasionally, though, something special is required. Perhaps the ring is not yet locked upon the finger, or perhaps it has become a little loose these days, or maybe this is simply the year to make a special restatement of your love. Whatever the case may be, this article is about how to produce a Valentine's Day gift that is truly spectacular, on any budget or no budget at all.
To begin, let's step back and ask what the nature of a gift is and why gifts are important in the first place. A gift is an icon. It is an image of the gratuitous love which the Father showers on creation, a reminder of the abundance of unmerited goodness which is presented to human persons from the moment we receive the marvelous and wholly improbable gift of life, throughout all of the countless occasions of grace that pepper our lives, right up to the gift of eternal life, which was purchased for us on the cross.
Gifts cannot be earned. They come in unexpected forms, from unpredictable quarters: Like the Holy Spirit, no one knows where gifts are coming from or where they are going. They flash out like lightning, illuminating the truth about the nature of human existence, and sending off sparks of meaning and beauty into the world.
All gifts serve the same basic function: They enmesh the human person within a web of relationships, the communio personarum which is essential to the meaning of human life. In this communion, the individual is drawn into the "image and likeness of God," an image which is both unity and plurality. The ordinary gifts which we are familiar with giving and receiving derive their significance from the relationships within which they are given.
The essence of a good gift lies, then, in bringing all of these meanings to the fore. When the gift becomes a unique icon of the relationship in which it is given, it ceases to be merely a thoughtful present, and it becomes an archetypal symbol, the sort of thing that has the power to transform and illuminate a relationship and which will be remembered for years to come.
Such gifts propel a relationship forward. They can serve to mediate forgiveness, to re-solidify broken bonds, to strengthen those which are already strong, to redefine or redirect attention within a relationship, and to elucidate in concrete form that which binds people together in love.
There are five dimensions to the kind of gifts which are able to work these miraculous effects. First, a gift should communicate a specific set of meanings which are appropriate to the relationship in which it arises.
Flowers, for example, used to have a set of meanings attached to them so that a bouquet could be a form of visual-symbolic poetry, capable of expressing a highly nuanced message from the lover to the beloved. Although flowers have almost entirely lost their significance in the commercial age, there are innumerable other ways to convey meanings through gifts. The key is to have a strong sense of precisely what is going to be communicated.
Is this gift a message of appreciation? A celebration of common interests? An apology? An act of hope and faith? A commitment or recommitment? An expression of understanding? Remember that the more levels of meaning that a gift is able to simultaneously communicate the more profound its effects will be.
A gift should also be personal. Most people take into account the fact that a gift should reflect the individuality of the person receiving it, that it should address her interests, desires and hopes. The ideal gift should also communicate the personality of the giver and the nature of the relationship between the two, so that when the lover and the beloved are apart the gift will serve as a concrete symbol of their union.
Unique gifts are always more valuable than mass-produced ones, because all of the gifts which God gives to mankind are utterly unique. This is a God who takes the time to splash a slightly different pattern over the back of every individual beetle, who bothers to craft each snowflake into a tiny, ephemeral masterpiece.
Gifts that are handmade, custom-ordered or somehow individualized have the capacity to be treasured not only for their symbolic value, but also for their existence as a singular work of art which expresses the profundity of the relationship.
Truly great gifts should also contain some element of sacrifice, for the perfection of all gifts is the sacrificial gift of blood and flesh which Christ poured out from the cross.
In romantic relationships especially, it is important to express the willingness to accept genuine hardship for the sake of the beloved. Gifts which involve a great deal of effort, feats of bravery or self-denial have always been an important part of romantic literature, because they symbolically reassure the beloved that the love is not fickle, that it will be reliable in times of trial, and that it is the sort of love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7).
Finally, the most perfect gift is the treasure of oneself. Romance stories traditionally involve the hero going forth on a quest wherein he gains a prize which can be presented to the beloved. The value of the prize lies primarily in the fact that the hero must become heroic, must make himself into a gift truly worth giving, in order to obtain it.
Gifts which include an element of self-improvement offer the beloved not merely a valuable memento or a pleasant experience, but also a permanent change for the better. If the making of a gift requires the giver to learn a new skill, the gift increases its value because it contains within itself the promise that the lover will now be capable of these feats when called upon to perform them in the future. Similarly, a gift can involve the reformation of the self: giving up a bad habit, making a commitment that will mean spending more time with the beloved, repairing relationships with children or in-laws.
Through such gifts, the lover demonstrates a willingness to truly acknowledge the treasure which has been received in the gift of the other, a willingness consummated in the desire to become ever more worthy of the love which they share.
Melinda Selmys is a staff writer at VulgataMagazine.org.
- Keywords:
- February 12-25, 2012


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RFE/RL jobs
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Who we are ...
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is an international broadcast organization based in Washington, D.C. and Prague, Czech Republic. RFE/RL's programs -- via radio, the Internet, and television -- reach influential people in 22 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asian nations. RFE/RL's mission is to provide accurate and reliable news and information to domestic audiences in the local language. RFE/RL broadcasts in 26 languages and attracts more than 26 million weekly listeners and online visitors. With more than 400 journalists, 750 freelancers, and 17 local bureaus, RFE/RL is one of the most comprehensive news operations in the world. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
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+ Rupert Penry-Jones - The Lost Weekend!
+ Matt Prior wears Power Balance!
+ Power Balance on the new McDonald's Advert!...
+ Roger Chapman win the 2012 US Senior Open!...
+ Jodie Marsh on BIG BROTHER!...
+ Peter Andre makes Fatima happy!...
+ Olympic Champion Jamie Baulch has this to say...
+ The Ospeys forward Richard Hibbard tells us his story!
+ Wasps star Mark Van Gisbergen gives us his verdict!
+ Ian Poulter is a fan of Power Balance!
+ Can PB help Ian Bell & England regain the ASHES!
+ Darren Bent is a fan of Power Balance!
+ Northampton Saints scrum down with PB! !
+ Pro boxer Tony Jeffries thinks PB is a knock out!
+ Join us at the Relentless Boardmasters Festival!
+ PB sponsor the Relentless UK Pro Wakeboard!!
+ It's an ALL POWER BALANCE FINAL at Queens!
+ Cardiff certainly have'nt got the BLUES!
+ On Ya Bike! Giro d'Italia 2010!
+ Top Surfer Sophie Hellyer trys out PB!
+ PB Scores with Everton in the FA Cup Final!
+ PB at the Devon Show and BodyPower Expo!
+ NEXT Retail take on Power Balance!
+ PB at the ultimate GOLF EVENT!
+ PB scrum down with Warrinton Wolves!
+ Iwan Thomas on the PB London Marathon Stand!
+ We dont want to CROWE about it but...
+ Rubens Barrichello has his say on PB!
+ Cristiano Ronaldo's Secret Revealed...!
+ Linford Christie meets the Hayemaker!
+ Reading FC - "BAND of BROTHERS"!
+ Power Balance take to the airwaves!
+ PB at the World Athletics Finals!
+ Top UK Surfer takes to the water with PB!
+ Check out Shaquille O'Neal's video on YouTube!
+ It's the Triathlon Show at the NEC and we are there!
+ London WASPS have a sting in their tail!
+ BIG presence for Power Balance at ISPO Germany!
+ Power Balance at the London Marathon!
+ It's Magic! The worlds leading Surf site, Magic Seaweed, Joins the PB revolution!
+ Reubyn and Joss Ash making waves with Power Balance!
+ It's a right ROYAL day out for Power Balance!
+ Cardiff Devils sign-up to Power Balance!
+ Power Balance at the Running Show
+ They don't come much bigger than Shaquille O'Neal
+ League Two Aldershot Town endorse Power Balance!
+ Power Balance wows the Ski and Snow Board Show!!
+ Rubens Barrichello is a convert!
+ Power Balance takes the big screen with Robert De Niro !
+ Real Madrid feel the power with GUTI!
+ Snowboarder Dom Harington using Power Balance!
+ Extreme sports magazine SPIKED endorse Power balance
+ The Cardiff Devils feel the POWER!
+ World Champion Kirsty Jones gets on-board!
+ The WRU and Cardiff Blues test Power Balance
+ Power Balance comes to Formula One
+ Power Balance scores with Aldershot Town
+ Cardiff City FC hit Derby for 6
+ Golfer Paul McGinley uses Power Balance!
+ Welsh Ladies Cricket Team wear Power Balance


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John S Stuart is the "Indiana Jones" of Queen recordings. His knowledge is unparalleled
in the Queen fan community.
John S Stuart has previously taken the time to share his knowledge on the QueenZone.com
notice board and post some thorough analysis of Queen recordings.
Listed here are John's Queen rare / discrography posts, that make up the most staggering,
amazing Queen discography ever made publicly available.


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NBC News
Soybean farmer Dean Tofteland smiles at the gift of sudden rainfall on his crops in Luverne, Minn.
Covering the news occasionally produces unexpected insights, as happened when a recent assignment to document the impact of a corporate meltdown turned into a lesson on the raw realities of farming and the weather, both drought and rain.
It was mid-afternoon on a Thursday in the waning days of summer, and we were in the town of Luverne (pop. 4,745), in the southwestern corner of Minnesota.
Luverne is close to the borders of two states -- Iowa to the south and South Dakota to the west -- and about 30 miles from the city of Sioux Falls.
NBC News' senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers, our camera crew and I had traveled there to interview Dean Tofteland, a farmer of corn and soybeans who lost access to his own money when a financial firm collapsed last year. He had parked his money in a customer account, to use as a protection against fluctuations in crop prices.
Tofteland testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee about his loss and what what it meant for his farm business, and whom he thinks should be held accountable. (All that is part of a story we intend to report for NBC Nightly News in the coming weeks.)
But on that afternoon at Tofteland's farm, something else happened: another story about the realities of farming and the weather, of drought and rain.
According to a report by the U.S. Drought Monitor released late last month, drought covers 62.9 percent of the lower 48 states. It is centered on the lower Midwestern region.
'The garden spot of Minnesota'
As I drove west across the middle of the state, from the airport in Minneapolis to Luverne on Route 212, I passed through low hills covered with corn crops. While many of the nation's farms are grappling with drought, most of the corn plants here appeared lush and green, with only isolated dried-out brown spots near the base of some stalks.
When Tofteland called me on my cellphone to gauge my progress into town, I mentioned that to him.
"You're driving through the garden spot of Minnesota," he said. "It's probably quite beautiful. They've had a fair amount of rain up there."
NBCNews.com special: Drought of 2012
Tofteland told me it was a different story on the farms in the southern part of the state, where the drought had taken a toll.
The rolling fields of corn continued throughout most of my drive. But the closer I got to Luverne, the more brown spots I saw amid the stalks.
Drought conditions plague much of the United States after a summer of scorching temperatures and a lack of rain. The dryness is affecting America's farmland, threatening crops like soybean and corn.
It was a fairly hot and humid day, so we had decided to do Tofteland's main interview indoors, at his home, and save the outdoor shooting on his farm for later in the afternoon, when the sun and temperature were both lower (lower sun provides better light for shooting outdoor video).
Weather takes a turn
As we prepared to leave Tofteland's house at around 5 p.m. we noticed that the sky -- which had been blue and clear all day, with a hot sun -- was now turning slightly gray, with small rain clouds. A check of a mobile weather app with radar showed only a very small blob of rain and possible lightning in the area, surrounded by clear skies.
We set out for Tofteland's farm, about 5 miles south of Luverne, where we began shooting video of the farmer inspecting his corn crops -- cap on head, glasses, striped short-sleeved shirt, jeans.
As he pulled down the sides of a few ears of corn for us, revealing the cobs underneath, it started to rain.
It was now after 6 p.m., and the rain clouds seemed to have amassed directly above Tofteland's property. They were darker gray than before, but we could still see clear sky off to the west, and the sun in its midst. We checked the weather app again. The radar showed the storm blob bigger than before, but still nothing else incoming.
We looked up at the clouds to try to discern their direction. It was difficult to tell. One moment, they appeared to be moving north and east, the next the opposite.
As it began to rain steadily, Lisa set up office in our rental vehicle to work on the "standup" part of her script -- the portion where the correspondent appears on camera in the story.
We chose to believe that it would be a passing storm. We could still see the sun right behind the edge of the clouds.
We decided to shoot some other indoor video we needed while we waited for it to clear up -- shots of Tofteland looking through financial account statements.
Our crew, Mark Falstad and Heidi Hesse, out of Minneapolis, set up their gear in Tofteland's farm garage, where he had a workbench and various tools and farm implements.
After we finished shooting Tofteland's documents, we turned our attention back outside. The clouds appeared to have darkened, and expanded. I looked up at one of the edges, and could see cloud parts forming outward, and outward, into masses that were not there moments before.
"This thing looks like it's really exploding," Tofteland said.
The rain began coming hard, in sheets. Ominous dark gray now dominated the sky, punctuated by frequent lightning flashes and thunder.
NBC News
Heavy rain falls on Dean Tofteland's crops in Luverne, Minn.
The sun and those tantalizing clear skies were still visible to the west, but as a sliver becoming smaller and smaller.
Then Tofteland learned that the National Weather Service had just issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the immediate area -- pretty much for the exact latitude and longitude of his farm.
Forced to sell cattle during drought, dairy farmers 'just keep praying' for rain
We had been waiting out the weather for more than an hour, and it was almost 7:30. Lisa and I were planning to drive the 3 1/2- hours back to Minneapolis that night, ahead of our flights back to Washington the next morning. We both decided to stick it out, hoping the storm would pass and we could still get the rest of our shooting done before sunset.
But it was clear to Tofteland that the storm was blowing our plans around like scattered thistles.
He felt a need to apologize for the inconvenience.
"Hey, at least it's good for your crops," we said, meaning it.
As we stood waiting inside Tofteland's garage, the rainfall ratcheted up further, first becoming torrential, then epically torrential. The winds picked up and began whipping the trees along the edges of the crops. The gray clouds had darkened further, and eventually spread to every corner of the visible sky. It clearly was not going anywhere.
"Boy -- that's a slow-moving storm," Tofteland observed.
The water was now coming down so fast that it was far exceeding the ability of the ground to absorb it. The dirt -- now mud -- of the open space in front of the concrete garage apron began developing large puddles and streams. It had become the kind of rain that makes you wonder about rainfall totals, and possible records.
Like a boy at Christmas
That is when we started to pay close attention to Tofteland, as we realized what we were actually observing.
He was staring out the garage window, at all that rain. His eyes wide with wonder. A smile was spreading across his face. He looked like a boy confronting stacks of presents under the tree on Christmas Day.
We were witnessing a farmer getting a sudden and unexpected ride out of a serious dry spell.
"We haven't had a storm like this in a long time," he said quietly. "This is the first one we've had all year."
"This," he said, "is a million-dollar rain."
NBC News
Buildings on Dean Tofteland's farm in Luverne, Minn., get pummeled by a late-summer downpour.
Just like that. One good, soaking rain could be a significant revenue boost for local farmers.
Tofteland explained his accounting, why and how the rainfall would boost his and other farmers' harvest of soybeans. The soybeans had been dry all summer, he said, but they can adapt to additional moisture late in the season.
A rain such as this one, he estimated, could add two bushels of harvestable soybeans to each acre of crop. Over his 1,200 acres, that would add up to 2,400 extra bushels. At $15 per bushel, that would mean a $36,000 bonus for his farm alone. By his reckoning, those two extra bushels per acre could add up to $1 million for all the local farmers in the region's 12 townships.
No wonder he was smiling. But his delight -- which was as much for his fellow farmers as for himself -- did not last long.
Drought sends Mississippi into 'uncharted territory'
A few minutes later, something else began falling from the sky: small, white pellets of hail, which bounced as they hit the ground.
I picked up one that had fallen close to the door: it was smooth, gray-white and about the size of a penny.
The severe drought ruining crops around much of the United States has spared the Pacific Northwest. Farmers in Washington are enjoying high crop yields and high prices.
Just as suddenly as the rain had leaped in volume, so did the hail. Soon, the visible ground was covered with bouncing white pellets. And they were increasing in size.
Tofteland suddenly bolted toward a side door inside the garage, leading to an adjoining machine shed.
"Listen to this," he said. "When the hail falls like that, listen to what it sounds like in here."
The roof of the shed was metal, and what might have been hundreds or even thousands of hailstones were striking it, hard.
The sound was deafening. We had to cover our ears after a few seconds.
Drought expected to take toll at checkout
For Lisa, Mark, Heidi and I, the storm and its hail was a bit of a minor adventure, a natural event, interesting for spectators. But for Tofteland, weather events like this one held his livelihood and those of all farmers like him in their grip.
His face had darkened now. His brow was furrowed, his eyes intense, his mouth twisted into the beginnings of a scowl.
As the drought continues, ranchers worry for the future especially now that the total number of cattle in the U.S. is already the smallest in 60 years. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.
From good to bad
While the rainfall had been good for the crops, the hail was clearly not.
"It's bad for the soybeans," he said. "Hail like this can bruise the stems and cause the pods to fall off the plants."
The best-case scenario? The hail could subtract two bushels of soybeans per acre. It could completely erase his bonus from the rain, and those of all the other farmers.
The worst-case scenario? The hail could devastate all their soybean plants.
"It could wipe out the entire crop," Tofteland said.
Somewhere in between could be a loss for Tofteland of tens of thousands of dollars.
One minute Tofteland was up, the next he was break-even, or perhaps way down.
What Mother Nature suddenly giveth, she just as suddenly could taketh away.
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Tofteland continued gazing out at his fields, eyes squinting into the distance. He was like every farmer who had ever lived -- looking up at the sky, wondering whether the weather would bestow benefits or costs.
Although the National Weather Service announced that its severe thunderstorm warning would end by 7:45, this storm continued to develop past that prediction. Its clouds churned in multiple directions, and small tendrils of clouds appeared to reach down toward the ground.
The mobile weather app's radar showed its dramatic growth, roughly centered on Tofteland's property.
The farmer drove up the road to figure out the storm's scope, and reported back that, just a mile away, it wasn't even raining and the sky was blue.
It seemed as if this storm was his farm's own personal supercell.
The weather app showed something else: a smaller protruding part on one side of the storm.
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"That's bad," Tofteland said. When you see something like that, he told us, tornadoes could form.
Right about then, we realized that the thunderclaps had begun to blend together into one long continuous rumble -- not unlike the sound of a freight train.
We decided to decamp.
As we drove away, the storm still towered in the sky, a fearsome and threatening giant, its destructive potential on full display, backlit by the sun setting below the horizon.
Barely an hour later, it was gone.
When we got to a hotel in Sioux Falls, the local TV station's weather report announced its sudden formation and demise in the same breath. The full sweep of radar imagery was the visual history of its instant growth and dissipation.
When we met up with Tofteland at 6:45 the following morning to finish the shooting, the sky was clear, and the sun's early morning light carried that extra beauty that seems to come only after a huge storm has passed.
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The storm had formed out of nowhere and dissolved back into nowhere. But its impact was significant and permanent.
The storm's rainfall totaled between 2 and 4 inches in two hours -- a potential windfall for Tofteland's soybean crop, possibly generating tens of thousands of dollars in extra soybeans and revenue.
The largest hail was quarter-sized and had struck his plants -- a potential loss of tens of thousands of dollars in lost soybeans and revenue.
Some of the soybean stems had bent under the onslaught of hail, and their plants were still lying flat, Tofteland reported two weeks later. Others had bounced back and were upright again. He still does not know how much of his soybean crop was permanently damaged or how many soybeans were lost.
In the end, it may have been a million-dollar rain.
But Tofteland and his fellow farmers will not know until after the harvest which side of the ledger that sudden storm will impact more, whether it will lead to a gain, a loss, or neither. And, like their counterparts across the centuries of human agriculture, they are still dependent on the vagaries of the weather from moment to moment.
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