Friends

Nirav grew up with Avdima (god of destruction) and Hallbjörn (god of the mountains), the three practically inseparable. All three are younger gods, Hallbjörn also born of two gods, while Avdima was made by The Creator to grow in a manner similar to humans (unlike the first gods who were made as they are now). Being born around the same time, Nirav and Hallbjörn became close friends. The two found Avdima as he wandered aimlessly through Raskogr Forest, where The Creator had left him to fend for himself without teaching him what he was. Since they found Avdima, the two friends felt responsible for him and he soon became close to both of them. While Nirav was always reserved, he was less so when he was younger and would occasionally join in on his friends’ pranks. Though, they rarely ended well and all three would be scolded, mostly Nirav and Hallbjörn since they should know better.

Around the time they became teenagers (in human terms), Hallbjörn took his place as the mountain god when his father went into his eternal sleep, a state similar to death, due to never being able to come to terms with his wife dying during childbirth, something that should not have happened since the gods are not supposed to be able to die by such means. With his new duties, Hallbjörn became too busy to spend as much time with Nirav and Avdima while he got used to his responsibilities. As such, the two grew closer, and it was around this time that Avdima became infatuated with the future forest god. While Avdima asked Hallbjörn for advice during the rare times they would see him, Nirav remained oblivious to his desire and figured he only became more affectionate since he missed Hallbjörn being around all the time and no longer had two people to constantly give his attention.

During this time, Nirav’s half-brother, Sylva, was born. He had been wary of the boy’s mother, Vita, as she had never met a human before her, but he never disliked her and eventually grew closer to her. She treated Nirav as if he were her own son, something his father hated, which stemmed from his hatred of Sylva being an abomination, as many of the gods felt demi-gods were. Nirav noticed how cold his father was to baby and mother, so he stepped in to be there for them since father wasn’t. The three became a close family, despite Darach’s attitude towards Sylva and his mother.

With Nirav and Hallbjörn occupied with their own families, Avdima felt as though he was losing the only people who cared for him. And while Avdima heeded Hallbjörn’s advice to not pursue a romantic relationship with their friend, as the mountain god could tell Nirav didn’t feel the same way, he eventually couldn’t keep it to himself anymore. Almost his entire life Avdima struggled with the powers of destruction that dwelled within him, something that grew more difficult as he got older and the other gods learned what he was. His friends never treated him differently and were always there when he needed help to keep himself in check, but the others would spew vitriol whenever they saw him or throw judgmental glances his way. After a particularly rough meeting with the gods, Avdima sought solace where he always did, with Nirav.

On a rare day where no one else was home, the two friends spent hours in bed, cuddled together as Nirav comforted the other with stories or gentle lullabies. When Avdima finally did calm down, Nirav left to fix some tea, only to be stopped in the main hall. It was then that the destruction god finally confessed his feelings, more aggressive than he ever intended, even going so far as to pin his friend to a wall with a rough kiss. Being pushed away, rejected by the one person who had always been there for him, is what Nirav has always believed broke Avdima’s will to keep his “true self” in check. The destruction god fled, so as not to accidentally injure his friend, though in his fit of rage he destroyed half of the forest and created the Eshe Desert, where he would remain, eventually trapped in a temple, and no one would see him again for millennia despite Nirav and Hallbjörn’s best efforts for him to be freed.

Hunter

Twelve years passed with Hallbjörn and Vita trying to convince Nirav that Avdima’s outburst wasn’t his fault, his father had a more “good riddance” view of the situation. One day he met a hunter in the forest, the man’s leg caught in another’s bear trap. Being the curious sort, Nirav freed the man and healed him, though it was also on the condition that the hunter leave once he had some rest and not return. He returned the next day, much to his savior’s annoyance, with the excuse of wanting to properly thank him and introduce himself, one Rhys Wolfram.

His thanks was a small figure of a deer carved from wood, inspired by his rescuer’s eyes. The trinket was accepted with an embarrassed grumble of thanks and still has permanent residence on Nirav’s desk. It was that figure that got him interested in wood working and he learned how from the hunter. The two would spend time together in a secluded cave that gave them some privacy. Nirav would have to sneak away just to see Rhys and Darach grew more and more curious as to where his son would be for hours at a time. Being around the hunter helped Nirav to push down his guilt and return more to his old self, something his family and Hallbjörn noticed. After a month of secrecy, he told Hallbjörn, Vita, and Sylva about the man and the three immediately assumed that they were more than friends. Despite his protests, Nirav knew that he was attracted to the hunter and worried that he may eventually fall in love with the man, something his father would never approve of.

A little over three months after meeting, Nirav and Rhys grew even closer. The two almost kissed on several occasions, though the god always pulled back, much to the hunter’s dismay. Rhys finally decided that at their next meeting he would just tell Nirav how he felt, that he wanted to be more than friends and would give anything for the god to love him in return. Yet, instead of meeting Nirav, the god’s father was waiting for him, told by a little bird about their meetings. Darach ordered the hunter to leave and never return. When Rhys refused and let slip that he was in love with Nirav, the forest god snapped. Darach murdered the man and when Nirav found them there was a doe felled with an arrow not far away. His father explained that the hunter killed the pregnant doe, a life for a life. Nirav argued that he would never do that, that Rhys had made him a promise. And when told that he would believe a human’s promise over his father’s word, Darach turned on his own son. While Nirav tried to defend himself, he had no control over the forest that his father used to restrain him. Darach beat his son until he was a motionless, bloodied heap on the forest floor. While he beat him, he told Nirav that it was his fault the doe and hunter were dead, it was his fault that he was being punished, just like it was his fault that Avdima left. Once his “discipline” was finished, Darach left his son where he fell and told the forest to take care of his “worthless child”.

One tree responded, Fravardin, an old oak that sprouted the day Nirav was born and one of the few trees that could move when it pleased. The two had a connection and Fravardin always preferred son to father. The oak was careful as it carried the broken god home, where Hallbjörn waited with Vita and Sylva to pry about his “date”. Fravardin tried to explain what happened, but none could understand how the trees spoke. Though Vita knew, as soon as she had seen the state Nirav was in, she knew only one person could have done it and asked Hallbjörn to take him inside while she looked for Darach. Hallbjörn’s worries fell on deaf ears and he did as asked, his friend carried inside and placed in the large bath where the water would help him heal. Sylva refused to leave his brother’s side and used what little healing magic he knew to help while Hallbjörn did the same.

Nirav didn’t wake until nightfall the next day and dragged himself out of the bath, soaking and sore to where Rhys still lay (Hallbjörn knew better than to follow and kept Sylva with him). It was then he could get a proper look at the doe and see that the fletching on the arrow didn’t match what Rhys used. The man took pride in the arrows he made and showed Nirav how he did, even though he knew the god would never use that knowledge. With his suspicions confirmed, he carried Rhys to “their” cave and dug a grave with his bare hands. It was after he was finished that Vita finally found him, knelt next to the hunter with his head on the man’s chest. She didn’t even realize he was sobbing until he looked up at the sound of her footsteps. The sight broke her heart and she helped Nirav to bury Rhys after he gave his final goodbye, a gentle kiss on the forehead. Vita hugged her stepson and he continued his silent sobs into her shoulder. That was the first and last time anyone would see him cry.

Murder

After the hunter’s death, Darach’s behavior became more erratic. He would be gone for several days at a time, then return as if the only reason he did was to hurt his family. Nirav took the brunt of it, doing his best to keep Vita and Sylva from being hurt. But when he wasn’t around, he would come home to Vita bruised and sobbing, always protecting Sylva from whatever abuse his father tried to throw his way. It was during this time that Marwolaeth, the god of death, summoned Nirav to the underworld to discuss an important matter. Loath to leave, he only did so at Vita’s urging. If Marwolaeth, one of the first gods, was requesting his presence, then it had to be important. Upon his arrival to Athanasios, his first trip there though he had met Marwolaeth a few times before, he was greeted with open arms and told the god had a gift for him. It was then that Marwolaeth bestowed upon him a sword and the knowledge that it was the only one of its kind, forged in the underworld and able to kill gods, and they two were the only ones able to wield it. When asked why he was being given such a weapon, he was only told that he may need it one day.

That day came when he returned from Athanasios. The trip to and from the underworld was long, even with Marwolaeth’s stronger magic, and he arrived after his father had. The normally vibrant forest was silent, the air unusually heavy and cold. It only got worse as he neared the house and Nirav knew something was wrong. Inside the front sitting room, he found Vita dead as she hung by the neck from a vine, Sylva next to her as he struggled to live, and Darach in front of them as he used his magic to control the forest. The usually gentle Nirav flew into a rage at the sight and attacked his father, who turned the forest on his “true” son. The two gods fought for what felt like an eternity, saving Sylva the only thing that kept Nirav from giving up. He wasn’t a fighter, always more of a pacifist, but Darach’s actions were inexcusable and the only way to save his brother, and the forest, was to kill his father. On the brink of exhaustion, Nirav found the break in his father’s defenses that he needed and took his chance. In one smooth motion the blade slid through Darach’s neck and his head rolled onto the floor. Once his body collapsed, the vines released their victims and froze into place along the wall and ceiling. Nirav used his remaining strength to heal his brother and bury their parents, Vita next to the garden and Darach a bit further from the house. The sword was placed above the fireplace in the sitting room and the door was locked.

Nirav spent what time he could to comfort Sylva, the boy much to young to go through such horrors. Though, it wasn’t long until The Creator paid them a visit. They congratulated Nirav on becoming the new forest god in such a “devious manner”. But, there was a price to pay for killing a god and for saving a man who was supposed to have died, Rhys. The Creator used their magic to twist Nirav’s healing ability and made it so whenever he healed someone he took their pain and injuries, though, cheerfully, told him that he too would eventually heal and be good as new so it wasn’t really a punishment at all. With that, The Creator told Nirav to behave himself and left. It was that moment that solidified his dislike of The Creator and the two would continue to butt heads, much to The Creator’s amusement.

Some of the gods believe that Nirav murdered his father in cold blood to steal Darach’s powers and make himself the forest god. Such beliefs are likely The Creator whispering in their ear, as they all know that Nirav was never the violent sort and had little interest in being the forest god. Due to these beliefs, he is regularly reminded that he “murdered” his father and isn’t the true forest god.

Abilities, magical or otherwise.

• Medicines - Can make salves and tinctures. Normally makes them for long-term illnesses or to use for trades.
• Immortality - While he can be injured, he cannot be killed by traditional means. Normally, only a weapon forged in Athanasios (the underworld) can kill a god.
• Strength - Stronger than your average human. Can lift several hundred pounds with ease, more takes a bit of effort.
• Senses - Hearing, sight, and smell are all enhanced. Sight the lesser of the three, though still better than 20/20.
• Healing - Wounds heal to leave no scarring. Speed depends on his energy level and the severity of the injury.
• Healer - Has the ability to heal others, though not without a price. Due to falling out of The Creator’s favor, he was cursed to take on the injuries he heals which eventually heal on their own.
• Nature - He can grow plant life from nothing or make already existing life grow more, as well as heal it.
• Other - There are several abilities that all of the gods share. The ability to transform into their specific animal, move objects with a glance or flick of the wrist, produce food/clothes/other material items, create a magical light source, telepathy, teleportation, adjust height/weight, as well as other mundane things. He does not use these abilities often, unless he’s feeling particularly lazy, and prefers to do things the old fashioned way.