Aro Castorian

Aro Castorian is one of the three leaders of the Volturi—the dominant coven of the vampire world. He is widely accepted as the overall leader of the Volturi, and shows the gift of tactile telepathy, which gives him the ability to read someone's thoughts and memories with a single touch. He is the husband of Aurora Castorian and the older brother of Didyme. He would often use Chelsea to change the loyalties of the vampires whom he wants to join the Volturi and secure his power status.

His faceclaims include Michael Sheen, Rob Lowe, and Ryan Reynolds.

Early Life
Aro was born in Greece in the 1300s B.C. He was transformed into a vampire in his mid-thirties and joined forces with Marcus and later, Caius. Together with Caius's wife, Athenodora, they created the Volturi coven.

Approximately a decade after becoming a vampire, Aro changed his younger sister Didyme, in the hope that she would develop an ability related to his, as well as his future wife, Sulpicia. However, Didyme was blessed with an ability not as useful to him; the power to make people happy. Aro's colleague Marcus fell in love with her, and she with him. However, Marcus and Didyme eventually became discontent. In order to prevent their leaving the Volturi, Aro had Didyme killed: Marcus was too integral to his plans to lose. Aro had Chelsea use her ability to ensure Marcus remained loyal to the Volturi, and Marcus never found out the truth. However, this experience made Aro and Caius realize how vulnerable they could be if their mates met the same fate and so they had them well protected.

By 500 AD, the Volturi had usurped control of the vampire world from the Romanian coven. Along with Marcus and Caius, Aro ruled the Volturi, although he generally acted as the spokesperson. The Volturi, under the three ancients' leadership, set down the laws of the vampire world and punished those who did not follow them, as it posed the threat of exposure to humans. His greatest assets being the discovery of Jane and Alec, two young children gifted with enormous abilities, and waited to change them when they were older (since the law against creating immortal children had already been established). His plan backfired as the villagers deemed them as witches and burned them at the stake. Aro got to the village just in time to save the barely-alive twins and changed them into vampires, and also slaughtered the entire village to keep them from spreading the news. Since Jane and Alec joined the coven, the Volturi have been invincible.

In 1108 A.D. the Romanian coven staged a surprise attack on the Volturi and Sulpicia and Athenodora were killed. Aro and Caius were furious and went after the Romanians with all of their forces. The Romanian coven was almost eradicated completely.

Carlisle Cullens came to live with the Volturi for some time and became close friends with Aro. However, Aro was alarmed at Carlisle's preference of "vegetarianism" and believed that this would only weaken him over time. Carlisle eventually left to find other vampires like himself. Aro became heartened when he saw Carlisle did not weaken over time as he had believed originally and, although he did not share them, Aro respected his friend's ways.

At some point Aro and the other Volturi leaders were visited by Laurent, whom was seeking to join powerful vampires and chose to join the Volturi. However, Aro turned Laurent away after he found out that he had joined with Vladimir and Stefan for a short while. He declared him untrustworthy and Laurent left. Not long after this, Aro decided that they should have a pack of werewolves who are responsible for protecting the Volturi. He eventually found the Wolfhaven Pack and enlisted them to be their personal bodyguards.

At one point Aro, Marcus, and Caius heard from Heidi that Cullens vampires were in town. Aro was intrigued by this and assumed his friend Carlisle had returned to visit Volterra with some of his family members. He instructed Heidi to invite the Cullens to the castle and was surprised to find three young women. They introduced themselves as Rosabella, Aurora, and Gisele Cullens. Rosabella explained that they were Carlisle's granddaughters and that he had helped his adoptive children Emmett and Rosaile have children. She explained that they were vampire and human hybrids. Aro was fascinated by this, but he was even more fascinated by Aurora Cullens. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He invited the young women to stay in the castle while on vacation. He found it enthralling that they could eat human food or drink blood- although they noted they would only drink animal blood as that is their family way.

Aro was wandering around the castle that night contemplating his friend Carlisle and his lifestyle when he ran into Aurora. She explained that she was having trouble sleeping and she wanted to explore the castle. Aro offered to be her guide and he showed her around the castle, including some of the treasures he had collected over the millennia. He was very taken with her and before the end of the night he told Dante (his Wolfhaven bodyguard) that he knew he wanted to be her mate. He realized that this would require major changes in his life, including his food source, but he decided that she was worth it.

He courted Aurora and asked for Emmett's permission to propose to her. Once Emmett approved, Aro proposed to Aurora and the two were wed. Over time Dante Wolfhaven fell in love with Aurora, and she with him as well, so they approached Aro about their feelings. He gave them his blessing to pursue a relationship as long as it was understood that he was her husband and Dante was not. Aro and Aurora welcomed many children, thanks to Carlisle's advancements in medicine. Their children include: Annelies Rose, Breaker Michael, Zoey Sophia, Chanel Emerson, and Giovanna Sage Castorian.

Physical Appearance
Aro is described to have an average build, being 5'10" tall and having almost translucent skin, which throughout the series is repeatedly compared to onion skin. When Bella first meets him, she feels compelled to touch his skin to verify if it is smooth and cold, and granite-hard like Edward's or powdery like chalk. Although she describes its texture to be more like shale than granite, he, along with Marcus, and Caius, is no less indestructible than any other vampire. His hair is traditionally very long and jet black. When he moves, it appears so graceful that it looks like he is floating. His eyes are a milky red color that has a tendency to unsettle people. He is described to have been transformed into a vampire in his mid-30s and is therefore very handsome.

Personality and Traits
Aro normally carries himself in a cheery disposition and has shown to be polite to the point of being at complete ease even in the most objectionable of situations. Beneath this facade of optimistic giddiness, he is power-hungry, smart with his actions and highly manipulative. He has never wanted anything more than Alice Cullens' power.

He exerts control over the world of vampires, and plots against any opposing coven. Aro made other vampires realize that it was necessary for them to live in the shadows among humans, and overtime turn their species into legends and myths instead of actual facts. To further continue this plan, he and his companions created their own vampires and taught them the laws before letting them loose. He believes, possibly correctly, that the Volturi is necessary for the survival of the vampire species, with its bylaws that hold secrecy of the existence of vampires to the utmost importance. Due to humanity's continuously advancing technological prowess to the point where there are already weapons in existence that can kill vampires, he speculates that it is only a matter of time before they create more devastating constructs that may be able to wipe out the entirety of vampire-kind on Earth.

He holds power over everything and is willing to go to any length to secure his status, even if it means killing, as it happened with his sister, Didyme, to keep Marcus in the Volturi. He once said he sees himself and his kind as soulless monsters. This is one of the reasons he is so intrigued and touched by Carlisle Cullens, being the first vampire who values human life more than the rest of their kind.

He has shown himself to be an avid collector of many fine things, including vampires with powerful talents; if and when he finds a vampire with a special ability he sees as useful, he would attempt to recruit that vampire into the Volturi guard. Aro is quite relentless in his attempts to recruit such vampires; even after a vampire would refuse the offer, he would still continue to invite said vampire, as demonstrated in his numerous attempts to get Edward and Alice, as well as Bella, to join the Volturi. Being gifted doesn't necessarily guarantee an invitation, though; he only brings a vampire into his guard if that vampire shows a gift that will secure his power. If an individual possesses a gift stronger than the one he already has, he will reorganize the guard and have the member replaced.

Aro also possesses immense leadership and organizing skills, having amassed a powerful organization with formidable powers, and has also assigned the members with the right positions for the benefit of the coven (i.e. placing Chelsea as the core of the Volturi, while Corin as enticement to both her and the leaders' wives).

Aro is very childlike in manner, although he is deliberate and patient by nature, he can be impatient and immature at times. He is also the most curious of the Volturi and is also the one with the most zeal. The Volturi do abuse their power, but when it boils down, Aro is afraid to lose that power and will do whatever it takes to protect it. He is akin to a frightened child and does not feel safe without his guard. Aro is not an entirely cruel person and, unlike Caius, will avoid a fight or killing if possible.

Powers and Abilities
Aro has basic vampire abilities and is an average fighter.

Tactile Telepathy
"You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not." "And also exponentially more powerful."―Aro and Edward on his gift.

Aro possesses the gift of "tactile telepathy", an ability to read people's minds; he can reach far more deeply into a person's mind than Edward Cullens, because he is capable of reading every thought, feeling and memory a person has ever had in the past. This power works very effectively in gathering information and looking into thoughts that his subjects may want to hide. It is, however, limited by his need to touch the subject in order for him to access that mind. Because of this power, he can learn any visitor's past and intentions of their visit. When interrogating a criminal, he uses his power to examine the guilty party's mind and see the proof they present. It has also happened on occasion that he discovers individuals with intriguing capabilities by seeing them through someone else memories, such as Jane and Alec, Bella, Benjamin, Kate, Zafrina, and Alice.

By reading Edward's mind, he can also access any mind Edward has ever read. And like Edward, he can access Alice's mind and experience the visions that she'd had.

Since his power is mental-based, it can be blocked by Bella's power to shield, something she has been able to do since she was human, which piqued Aro's interest.

Relationships
Aro is the husband of Aurora Cullens and the father of Annelies, Breaker, Zoey, Giovanna, and Chanel Castorian. He also shares leadership responsibilities with Marcus and Caius Castorian.

Aurora Belle Castorian
Aurora is Aro's second wife and the love of his life. They met in Volterra when she was visiting and he invited her and her sisters to stay in the Castorian castle. He realized he was in love with her after spending one evening talking with her and getting to know her. He is mesmerized by her beauty both inside and out. According to Aro, Aurora has one of the most gentle souls and minds of anyone he has ever known. After searching her memories, with her permission, he saw what a loving family she came from and he found himself wanting to be apart of it. When he decided he wanted to marry her, he was sure to ask her father for permission first. He was delighted when Emmett and Rosaile approved of the match and he has called their wedding day one of the greatest days of his long life.

Together they have welcomed many children. They are members of both the Castorian and Cullens covens.

Marcus Castorian
Marcus is Aro's former brother-in-law, and co-leader of the Volturi. Aro met Marcus soon after his transformation and they joined forces. Years later, they were joined by Caius and they formed the Volturi.

Marcus later fell in love with and married his sister, Didyme, centuries ago. When they grew bored of the Volturi's lifestyle, they decided to leave and Aro pretended to give them his blessing, but later had Didyme killed to keep Marcus in the Volturi. Marcus lost interest in the coven, but Aro had Chelsea use her power to tie Marcus to him. Marcus became completely apathetic because of this, though Aro hoped Corin could help Marcus recover to some degree, Marcus repeatedly refused. The reason for his action is based on his desire to keep Marcus' power in order to find out the emotional ties that their enemies share with one another and then find a way to use it against them.

Now Marcus is married to Aro's sister-in-law, Gisele Cullens.

Caius Castorian
Caius is a co-leader of the Volturi, leading the coven alongside Marcus and Aro. They met after Aro joined forces with Marcus. Though Caius had no psychic talent, Aro saw great potential in him. He was drawn to Caius' ambitions and capacity to hate. The two of them, along with Marcus, formed the Volturi.

Caius has a type of business-like relationship with Aro. He supposedly works with Aro and Marcus to keep order in the vampire world, but in reality Caius spends his time carrying out the punitive missions of the Volturi's rule while Aro handles every other aspect of the Volturi's rule. He also feeds with them.

There are times when he finds Aro's decisions absurd, but does nothing to disobey him. This obedience comes from Chelsea's power to manipulate relationships. Aro was aware Caius wouldn't have been quite as satisfied with Aro's decisions, hence he made sure Chelsea kept him tied to the coven.

Jane and Alec Salvatore
Jane and Alec are one of Aro's best discoveries to the Volturi.

He had been interested in the twins and their special powers ever since they were very young. Aro received word of them through the thoughts of a visiting nomad. He visited Alec and Jane when their psychic talents were already quite pronounced though they were toddlers at the time. Having already prohibited the creation of immortal children, he decided to delay their transformation until they were older and left them in the care of their parents.

However, Jane and Alec's powers caused so much tension in their village that the superstitious villagers decided they were too scary. They were accused as witches and were condemned to be burned at the stake when they were around 18 years old. Aro received the news and immediately rushed to save them. He arrived just in time to save them and transformed them on the spot, and then slaughtered the entire village.

After they became vampires, their offensive gifts made the Volturi untouchable, which subsequently made Aro quite fond of them, and they have remained loyal to him throughout the centuries. Over time he has become a father figure to the twins and they often refer to him as their uncle or adoptive father.

Dr. Carlisle Cullens
Carlisle Cullens is the leader and founder of the Cullens coven. They first met in the 17th century when Carlisle traveled to Italy and met Aro's coven.

Aro values his friendship with Carlisle very much, and was concerned about his diet when Carlisle first entered his life. Carlisle is most likely Aro's only friend, and he would not want anything to happen to him or his coven.

Aro has married into Carlisle's family. He married his granddaughter Aurora and is now Carlisle's grandson-in-law.