Aro

Aro is a vampire and the leader of the Volturi coven.

Early Life
Aro was born in Greece in the 1300s B.C. He was transformed into a vampire in his mid-twenties and joined forces with Marcus and later, Caius, and 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 killed Didyme: 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 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 had been invincible.

Carlisle Cullen 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 was 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.

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 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-20s and 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 exerts control over the world of vampires, and plots against the opposing covens and species.

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. As he states in New Moon, he sees himself and his kind as soulless monsters. This is one of the reasons he is so intrigued and touched by Carlisle, being the first vampire who is not, which gives him hope.

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 has shown to be relentless in attempting to recruit powerful vampires; even after a vampire would refuse his offer, he would still continue to invite that vampire, as demonstrated in his numerous attempts to get Edward and Alice as well as Bella to join the Volturi. He wouldn't invite all gifted vampires 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.

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 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 Cullen, 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.

Sulpicia
Sulpicia is Aro's wife. He had decided to choose a human and create a mate rather than look for his match in another vampire, since he feared that such a relationship would complicate his plans. He had a certain type of woman in mind and found what he looked for in Sulpicia. He courted her successfully and made her agree to become a vampire and become his wife. They remain totally loyal, devoted to and in love with each other. Aro values her life more than his talented guard members, as he always makes sure that she is closely protected, even in Volterra.

Euphrasie
He had his daughter in February of 2014, the result of a relationship between himself and Avery, the mother who was killed during the birth. He has a terrible way of showing it but he really does care for his daughter -- though he values her gift nearly as much as he does her life.

Avery
He did not care much for his human mistress; he saw her as a tool to obtain pleasure and to give him what he most wanted - a hybrid child. He did not attempt to save her when it became clear she was going to die during the birth, nor did he mourn her death. However, when she was alive he did care enough to keep her safe from other vampires.

Asami
Asami is the sister of his deceased human mistress. She replaced Avery as his mistress, but he dislikes her very much and finds that he would prefer Avery any day.

Marcus
Marcus is Aro's 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 killed Didyme 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. To this day Marcus still doesn't know Aro was the one who killed Didyme.

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.

Caius
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.

Chelsea
Chelsea is Aro's most valued member of the Volturi guard, because her ability is the glue that keeps their coven organized and stable. Whenever Aro is interested in adding a vampire into his coven, he would have Chelsea use her power to make the vampire join them willingly and break any ties that bound him to someone else, except for lovers.

He found her and created her at the Volturi's most troubled time because Marcus had grown suicidal by Didyme's death. Chelsea has managed to keep Marcus loyal to the Volturi, but not free him from his pain.

Because of her ability, Chelsea and Aro share a bond no other guard shares with him. Chelsea often receives what she wants from Aro, for example her less-talented mate, Afton is kept within the Guard and she wears the pure black cloak of the leaders and wives. However, Aro has also been using Corin's power to keep Chelsea from leaving the coven.

Alec and Jane
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 12 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 remained loyal to him throughout the centuries.

However, his relationship with Alec changed very much when Alec left the Volturi with his mate. Aro seemed to be losing his mind already and his view of Alec, who had once been like a son to him, twisted and warped. He hated Alec enough to have him brought to the dungeons of Volterra and brutually tortured, along with his mate.

Saoirse
She was a very valued member of the guard, though she was only with them 80 years or so, not as long as other members. He was very attached to her and very reliant on her gift (She could plant seeds in people's minds and control them.) When she left with Alec and joined the rebellion started by Shilo and Jasper, his relationship with her also changed and he brought her to the dungeons of Volterra. After he kept them down there to be tortured for several days, he convinced Alec that she was dead and brought her upstairs, convincing her to rejoin the Volturi in order to "protect" Alec. He hoped to win her loyalty back but never did.

Aurelie
He found her talent to be delightful and even useful, so he gave her a position within the guard. He was very upset when he found out she left, and he did not want to track her down only to execute her, so he pretended it was all right at first, though he did label her with the name of traitor. Later, upon finding out about the rebellion, the resentment developed into hatred and anger.