Oisín

[Bio on TEFc]

Oisín was a human in a past life. Born in Ireland, he lost his family to a fire at a young age. He was found and taken in by a wizard named Damhán mac Deoradhán, who saw magical potential in the child and made Oisín his apprentice. While practicing shapeshifting spells, Oisín ended up stuck in the form of a deer, only to end up separated from the wizard and then killed by predators.

He woke up as a fawn with no memory of anything but his name. He was taken in and adopted by Scape and Zergarikiaka, to whom he is grateful and still considers his best friends. Oisín eventually began to remember having been human before, but still doesn't remember details about his past life.

Magic
Although Oisín studied magic in his previous life, he never got to finish his studies. Anything he learned has been forgotten in his new life in the forest. However, he still has a connection to magic, and can sense it as well as being able to sense others that can use it--though sometimes it's difficult for him to distinguish an individual's magic from the magic that is found all over the forest. Oisín is more likely to be drawn to magic users, due to his connection with it. Over time, he has begun to relearn some of what he has forgotten.

The most powerful spell Oisín has practiced is shapeshifting, but he never had a chance to master this, and is unlikely to ever try it again due to his past experience. His magic covers a range of different types of spells, mostly nature-related. Currently, he can only perform very basic magic. This includes magically manipulating objects (similar to telekinesis), and physically altering objects to a very limited degree (similar to mask, pelt, and antler spells, although he can't alter a deer's appearance without the use of forest magic). He can also magically preserve certain things, such as the leaves worn in his antlers. Oisín's magic keeps him from aging at a normal rate, but this is outside of his control.

Inspiration
Oisín is roughly inspired by The Pendragon Cycle series by Stephen R. Lawhead, particularly Lawhead's versions of Merlin and Taliesin. He takes some very loose inspiration from the legendary bard Taliesin, Merlin, Arthurian legend, and Celtic mythology. Although Oisín is from ancient Ireland, it's more of an alternate history version and he's not meant to accurately represent ancient Irish civilization.