Personality

Sylva is a gentle soul. He is shy, keeps to himself, and is rather quiet. Despite being lonely and the insults he receives from the other gods, he tries to keep a positive attitude and a smile on his face.

Description

On the short side, at 5'6". He has a slim build, with a fair complexion that is actually a glamour to hide his vitiligo. His hair is shoulder length and wavy, the color brunet with white mixed mostly in, mostly concentrated in the lower half (sometimes there are flowers weaved into his hair). He has innocent looking brown eyes and long dark lashes.

He typically wears tunics with a shirt under them (or sometimes just the shirt) and breeches, with the occasional cloak or overcoat if it gets too cold. He is usually barefoot, though will sometimes wear simple cloth boots. The colors he wears are usually browns and greens, sometimes the shirts are white or off-white.

When he transforms into a deer, he is on the smaller side with brown fur that has a spattering of white mixed in, he almost looks like he is covered in fresh snowfall. His antlers are not exceptionally large like Nirav's, they are in proportion to his small frame. He is about the size of a small white-tail deer.

Background

Sylva is the son of Darach, the previous forest god, and Vita, a human woman. He is Nirav’s half-brother and one of the few known, and still living, demi-gods in the world of Soisanahta. His father hated him the moment he was born due to being a half breed and being even more imperfect in his eyes by having vitiligo. Due to what he is, he is disliked by several of the gods and considered an abomination that should have been culled at birth. Despite the harsh treatment he receives, he tries to keep a positive and friendly attitude. Though there is no denying that the words of others cut deep and have somewhat crushed the young man’s spirit, a fact he hides behind a smile now that he’s older.

When he was younger, the gods’ vitriol only served to affirm that his father’s hatred of him was justified and affected him more deeply. Due to this, he can be nervous around people, especially strangers and those who seem to enjoy hurting him with their words. He also started to hide his vitiligo with a glamour once he was old enough to begin mastering some magic. Before then, Nirav used his magic to help his brother so the child would have one less reason for the gods to ridicule him, even though he always thought Sylva was perfect. Yet, even after such treatment, Sylva is still more of a people person than his brother and enjoys the company of others, as long as they have never done him harm.

Sylva is a rather lonely young man and feels an innate need to be close to someone, and since Nirav has grown distant, he spends a lot of time in the company of the forest animals or his friends. There are only two people who the demi-god would consider close friends. Sindri, son of the mountain god, and Virendra, a Fae who made Raskogr Forest his home before the young man was even born. Much like Nirav and Hallbjörn, Sylva and Sindri were born around the same time and grew up together. When Darach would become more aggressive towards his family, Nirav would send Sylva and his mother to the mountains where Hallbjörn welcomed them as family. Those visits would become more frequent and longer as time passed, and the boys consider themselves more like brothers.

Virendra’s home was the only place where Darach dared not to go, which was the main reason Nirav introduced Sylva to him at a young age. Their father was wary of Fae, they played by different rules than the rest of the world and he had no interest in learning that Virendra wasn’t like most Fae, he was an outcast. For this reason, and the Fae’s gentle nature, Nirav and Vita were comfortable leaving the child with Virendra. If possible, they would have had Sylva live with Virendra on a permanent basis, but the child didn’t like being away from his family for too long, even the father who hated him.

From a young age, Sylva always loved books and that love has only continued to grow. Nirav will bring him one every time he returns from a trip, a tradition that has caused Sylva to have his own little library in his room. The demi-god’s favorites are ones with adventures and romance, something he believes he will never have so he lives vicariously through his books. His other passion is cooking, especially baking. While Nirav normally tends to the garden, Sylva will use what they grow to make a ridiculous amount of food, too much for just the two of them. When he visits his friends or joins Nirav on his trips to Athanasios, it is rare for him to arrive without a basket of treats for their hosts.