Aro

"I haven’t seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

- Aro demonstrating his selfish personality

Aro is one of three vampires who lead the Volturi. He is widely accepted as the overall leader of the Volturi, and possesses the supernatural talent to ascertain the thoughts of a person with a single touch.

Early Life
Approximately a decade after having been transformed into a vampire, Aro also changed his sister Didyme, with hope that she would posses an ability akin to his. However, she 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 being involved with Aro's rising organization, the Volturi. In order to prevent their leaving, Aro killed Didyme: Marcus was too integral to his plans to lose. Aro then had Chelsea use her ability to ensure Marcus remained loyal to the Volturi.

By 500 AD, the Volturi had usurped control of the vampiric world from the Romanian Coven. Aro ruled the Volturi, along with Marcus and Caius, though he generally acted as its' spokesperson. The Volturi under the three ancients' leadership, set down the laws of the vampire world and severely punished those who did not adhere to them.

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 to "vegetarianism", and believed that this would only weaken him over time. Carlisle eventually left to find other vampires like himself.

Edward's request
At one point, Edward Cullen, one of Carlisle's adopted children, comes to the Volturi. Edward was deeply depressed because he believed his love, Bella Swan, had committed suicide, and as such was himself suicidal. Aro is interested in Edward’s talents, and tries to recruit him to join the Volturi instead, saying it would be a waste to kill him. He later meets Bella, after she and Alice prevent Edward's suicide attempt. He is both surprised and intrigued in Bella's ability to block Edward's powers, and even more intrigued when she  resists he and Jane's powers. He allows Edward to take Bella back to Forks only after Alice shows him that Bella will be transformed into a vampire.

Newborn crisis of Seattle
When an army of newborns begin to run rampant in Seattle, Aro sends Jane, Felix, Demitri and two unknowns to 'deal with the newborns'. In fact, Edward notes that by delaying his company, Aro may want to let the newborns decrease the Cullens' numbers.

Dealing with the Cullens
Sometime after Bella is transformed, she receives a necklace from Aro, supposedly from the English crown jewels. Alice had mailed the Volturi an announcement for Bella and Edward's wedding, and Aro in return sends Bella the necklace as a wedding gift. It is described as being extremely large and ostenatious.

Sometime later, Irina, a vampire from the Denali Coven, comes to Volterra to inform the Volturi that the Cullens had created an Immortal Child. In response to this breach of their laws, the Volturi gather the entire guard together (including the wives) and set out for Forks to destroy the Cullens. Aro, meanwhile, intends to use the situation to try and force Edward and Alice into joining the Volturi.

When the Volturi arrive, Aro and the others are shocked to discover that the Cullens have assembled a vampiric army to oppose them, furthering Aro's belief that they'd created an immortal child. They  only stop launching an immediate attack when they notice the line of werewolves behind the undead army . Aro, in his usual fashion, acts as speaker for the Volturi. After reading Edward's mind and learning about Renesmee, the so called immortal child, Aro is both astounded and delighted to discover that she is actually half human. He is also amused at the idea of having the werewolves, whom he believed were the Cullens' pets, as guard dogs. Unfortunately, the angry snarls from the wolves inform him that it would never happen.

Soon after, Alice shows up with another vampire half-breed named Nahuel. The knowledge that there are other half-breeds in the world and that they've never been a threat convinces Aro not to start a fight, and he leaves with the rest of the Volturi. Edward later comments that, after finding out about Bella's shielding ability, Aro was actually afraid of a fight breaking out because he knew there was a chance that the Volturi could lose.

Physical description
Aro is described as having  almost translucent skin, and it is repeatedly compared to onion skin throughout the series. His hair is very long and jet black. When he moves, it appears as though he's floating. His eyes are a milky red color that has a tendency to unsettle people. This red is also due to his diet on human's blood.

Personality
Aro is very power-hungry. He craves domination, and is constantly looking to expand what power he has. He is also willing to destroy anything he loves for power, as he demonstrates when he murders his sister to keep Marcus from leaving the Volturi.

Aro is  a collector. He collects many valuables, like jewels and similar items of wealth. But his most prized "possessions" are his talented guards, specially his own personal guard, Renata.

Aro is often described as being 'giddy', due to his almost unnatural air of ease and delight in tense or otherwise objectionable situations.

Powers and abilities
As  the apparent leader of the Volturi, Aro is exceptionally talented. Being vampiric, Aro is blessed with superhuman strength and speed, and has vastly enhanced senses. Aro also possesses the supernatural ability to read minds;  his ability is far more powerful than even Edward Cullens', as he is capable of hearing every thought a person has ever had. However, he requires physical contact to use this ability, and cannot read minds from a distance.

Film portrayal
British actor Michael Sheen will be playing the role of Aro in the upcoming film New Moon.

Appearances

 * Twilight (First mentioned)
 * New Moon (First appearance)
 * Eclipse (Mentioned only)
 * Breaking Dawn