Brynjar

Deeply aware of the fear he may strike in people due to his appearance, Brynjar does everything in his power to appear as docile and harmless as possible. He speaks to others in a soft, gentle voice, avoids making sudden moves, and tries not to display anger unless he’s directly threatened. This can make it difficult for him to express his discomfort or even fear, but he never strays from expressing love, joy, and compassion towards others. Not one for secrets, Brynjar typically speaks in a very honest, straightforward way, though tries to pay attention to how he expresses himself.

Brynjar notoriously treats even strangers with the assumption that they’re interacting with him in good faith. Trusting others and assuming the best of them is something he has consciously taught himself over the years, and it makes him very open and approachable towards strangers. Mistaking his kindness for naïvety, however, would be a mistake: he’s good at detecting when someone is interacting with him in bad faith, and is well capable of standing up for himself when he must.

♱ EARLY CHILDHOOD ♱

Brynjar’s earliest memories are those of travel; moving along the currents as the seasons changed. Any location he would call his home would eventually be left behind, as soon as the food resources were finally exhausted. He was an only child, loved and cherished by his parents, whom Brynjar likewise loved deeply.

His last memory of his parents is one of parting; goodbyes exchanged with the assumption his parents would soon return back from hunting. Brynjar waited for their return in their lair. He waited, and waited, but his parents were still missing by the next nightfall, and somehow he knew they would never come back home. As the sun rose for the third time, Brynjar left his cave in search of food.

♱ LIFE AS AN ORPHAN ♱

Life wasn’t easy for the orphaned serpent. Hunting was difficult without his venom, and predators both on sea and land cared little that he was but a child. To keep himself fed, Bryn would often resort to stealing or begging for food from fishermen, other water dwellers, or from humans of seaside villages. In time, he would learn that humans were much more receptive to him if there was something he could offer. From acts of service to trading gemstones and valuable, sunken items, Brynjar came to learn this was a much more sustainable way to get food and shelter.

Upon becoming more familiar with humans and their ways of behaving, Brynjar would attempt playing with local children of the places he visited. But while the children were quick to accept him as one of them, their parents weren’t: one village after another, adults would eventually forbid their offspring from interacting with him. Though this hurt Brynjar deeply, he understood their reasoning: his venom could have been lethal to a child, had he been able to produce any.

♱ THE SORCERESS ♱

Brynjar had never actively thought about his gender prior to his adolescence. There was hardly any sexual dimorphism among his kind, and the notable differences were strictly internal. It was only through his interactions with humans that he began paying more attention to it, realising there was a disconnect between his physical body, and how he felt about himself. As he came to realise his body would soon — however subtly — begin to change in a way he didn’t want, there was a sudden sense of urgency in finding a solution to his problem.

From the humans of a seaside village, Brynjar learned of an sorceress called Estelle. According to them, Estelle was a powerful spellcaster; a demigod who could command the very waters if she so pleased. While she rarely interacted with the villagers, there were several stories of the ways she had blessed — or cursed — people with her magic. This was all Brynjar needed to hear to conclude the sorceress could be a solution to all his problems.

With a body both small and flexible, it didn’t take Brynjar much effort to wriggle his way into the woman’s underwater abode. Inside her mansion, however, he would quickly get captured by a rather rudimentary trap of rope and fishing nets. As the sorceress then arrived, Brynjar explained in earnest who he was, and his reason to find her. Estelle took pity on the orphaned child, not only freeing him, but offering Brynjar food and shelter for a few nights — and the magical transition he had made this journey for.

Years would pass, and Brynjar’s temporary stay had become permanent in everything but name. Lacking natural inclination towards magic and spellcasting, Brynjar had instead made himself useful by gathering various ingredients needed for sorceress’ research. Having become Estelle’s protégé, the villagers above would eventually accept the serpent as a member of their community, albeit with slight hesitancy at first.

♱ CURRENTLY ♱

Now an adult, Brynjar still lives with Estelle, but spends most of his time with the local nymphs, mermaids, or some of his childhood friends from the human village. Though he’s no longer lacking food or shelter, Brynjar still enjoys making himself useful in any way he can.

• Brynjar can’t naturally breathe underwater, but can hold his breath for up to an hour. Members of his species are accustomed to communicating through hand signs and gestures when below the surface.

• His clothes — along with his hair — are often enchanted to not appear or get wet. This is one of the few spells he had the determination to eventually master.

• Despite being a member of a venomous species, Brynjar can’t produce any potent venom: while the glands are seemingly functional, his venom is no different from ordinary saliva.

• Trained by mermaids, Brynjar is a good singer with a bright, clear singing voice. His vocal range is surprisingly flexible.

• Because he lacks the venom that would otherwise numb his prey, Brynjar hunts with a knife in order to make the killing swift and painless to his food.

• Brumates through the coldest months of winter. Every now and then he may attempt staying up the whole year, but sooner or later the drowsiness takes over.

• He isn’t based on any particular real world snake, though I was inspired by common European vipers, as well as banded sea kraits.