(You can talk here. It's both a loredump and discussion thread.)
(Yes, you can laugh at my inability to draw circles, and yes I completely forgot to do any sort of shading on this.)
In the sea of shade, there was the Världsträd, a Great Tree tall and strong. Its branches mighty, its needles full, its cones brimming with life; it was old and wise, a beacon in the endless dark.
So full of life was the Great Tree that its own branches began to grow too far, twisting upon themselves. So the Världsträd gathered its own bark and leaves and sacrificed its own sap; then bark became body, sap became blood, and leaves became wings, and thus was born the Dragon, whose task was to weed out the excess life from the Tree’s great boughs.
But the Dragon’s hunger was great, and it threatened to devour more than mere roots and pests. So the Världsträd gathered its bark, leaves and sap once more; then bark became body, sap became blood, and needles became fur, and thus was born the Beast, whose task was to protect the Tree’s precious world cones, to guard them against the Dragon.
These great guardians would never see eye-to-eye and fought innumerable mighty clashes against the other, but they would share their home all the same - each preserving it in their own way.
Added in 9 minutes 18 seconds:
Name: Ristaang (“riss-STAWNG”)
Aliases: The Beastmother, The Red Aurora, The Aspect of Beast
Height: 300 meters in physical form
Weight: 3,000,000 tons in physical form
Description: Of twisted antlers, cruel claws and vicious tusks, Ristaang is a monstrous creature draped in dense, dark brown fur, an embodiment of Bestial might in her physical form. Dark stripes and spots mark her fur. Her eyes, of a profound, blood red, glow with incandescent rage. In her true, ethereal form, she appears as a great, blazing red aurora.
Personality: For all the intense savagery she can muster, Ristaang is, at her heart, a kind, loving mother, wanting nothing more than to protect the children that spawned from her Blood. To that end, she employs frightening brutality to tear apart any who would dare threaten her progeny, just as she would any danger to her home. Although the infighting among her own bestial brood brings her much heartbreak, she restrains herself from interfering much, for her great strength, were it to be fully unleashed, could easily break the very world she seeks to preserve. Progenitor to all Beastkind, she harbors a particular dislike for Dragons, for they threaten her spawn, yet she also recognizes their use in balancing the world and holds a grudging respect for Bromdaahl the Dragonfather, who in turn bestows an affectionate eye upon the Beastmother.
Powers and Abilities:
- Bestial Might: Enormous boulders hurled with ease, bodies broken without effort; Ristaang’s strength is simply unmatched, knowing no equal in all of the Världsträd. Her immense might allows her to handily tear down her foes regardless of their own size and strength.
- Enduring Brawn: Ristaang’s mighty frame dampens harm from even the most powerful blows. Heedless of any and all wounds dealt to her, she powers through barrages of violence without so much of a flinch to her thundering stride - in her furious glare the image of whatever foe she is squarely focused on.
- Beast Blood: In Ristaang’s veins flows the famed Blood of the Beast, from which those ferocious namesakes roaming the wilds of Bjornskar first emerged. Its power derived from the Världsträd’s own sacred sap, this “Beast Blood” possesses within itself the ability to either grant life, or to twist it. In naught but a moment, be it spilled upon the living or otherwise, gruesome transformation follows; a grotesque mass of fur, flesh, and fang rises from deep crimson, until a Beast has fully grown from its essence. Although it may be tempting to destroy these nascent Beasts on sight, such intent is quite foolish to follow through, for it will incite terrible wrath from the Beastmother; unholy retribution far worse than imaginable. Though its mutations cannot be controlled, the Blood itself can; Ristaang can wield it much like a waterbender would their own element.
- Shape-Shifter: Ristaang possesses the ability to twist her body into different shapes. It also allows her to alter her size so that she may interact with smaller creatures, however rare that happenstance is. On a broader scale, she can shed her physical body entirely, appearing instead as a ghostly red shape.
- Rapid Regeneration: In order to stem her Blood from spawning an endless tide of monstrosities, Ristaang’s wounds rapidly seal themselves, which also allows her to survive gruesome injuries on her physical body so comfortably.
- Aspect: Fully destroying Ristaang is a feat of complete impossibility, for she can harness her Blood’s power to rebirth herself from even a single spilled droplet of her essence - her spirit, intrinsically linked with that of the Världsträd, will simply reform should it be dispersed somehow. Beyond time's grasp, she does not age either.
- Indomitable Will: Ristaang’s stubbornness goes beyond even the sheer resilience of her kind. No amount of wicked magic or vile corruption can break it - her notoriously tenacious will, on the other hand, defies existence itself, for it can go as far as to bend the reality around it, forcing certain laws to suit its desires. As such, Ristaang can use her equally impossible strength to downright tear rifts through the realms, allowing her to rapidly appear to wherever she is needed - simply because she wishes for it to happen. This, however, seems to be the most she can accomplish with such whims, for a safeguard from the Världsträd stops her from utterly destabilizing reality; for instance, she cannot influence other creatures’ minds.
- Earthshaker: Born from a great tree, Ristaang shares a particular bond with the earthen element. She can manipulate it to her whim, wielding it as her weapon.
- Beastmother: Mother to all of Beastkind, Ristaang shares a special bond with her children. Those whose bodies course with her Blood see it resonate to her emotions, and, in turn, she feels theirs in her heart. As such, when the Bloodrage boils her Blood, her children in turn see themselves bestowed with increased strength and ferocity as well.
- Bloodrage: Quick to anger and slow to forgive, Ristaang is notorious for her fierce temperament. When her fury reaches its peak, perhaps caused by the sight of her spawn being threatened, she enters a terrifying state known as Bloodrage. Drastically increasing in size and power, fur bristled in aggravation and rippling with crimson flames, eyes alight with furious blood red, the ferocious Beastmother becomes then truly unstoppable until her anger somehow subsides.
- Red Aurora: In her true form, Ristaang is a being of ethereal, red light; an aurora in the shape of a great, antlered Beast. This wispy, flame-like substance often accompanies her furred form’s claw swipes and crackles around her antlers. While it does no harm to those of the Blood, it burns and sears foes utterly, ripping apart the very building blocks of their being. It is so powerful as to tear into the fabric of reality itself, momentarily creating rips in existence that shortly heal themselves; an intervention of the Världsträd to restrain Ristaang’s destructive power.
Weakness:
- Ristaang’s fierce temperament may lead to her disregarding logical thought, at times led only by her angered heart.
Additional Notes:
- The red portions of Bjornskar’s famous auroras are caused by Ristaang’s presence - they are wisps of energy drifting from her ethereal body. Were she to approach different realms, these crimson flames would manifest in their firmament as well.
Trivia:
- Ristaang’s name comes from the terms “Ristaag” and "Hirstaang".
- Formerly a collab creation; now belongs to me. Really not much left from the original.
(Yes, you can laugh at my inability to draw circles, and yes I completely forgot to do any sort of shading on this.)
In the sea of shade, there was the Världsträd, a Great Tree tall and strong. Its branches mighty, its needles full, its cones brimming with life; it was old and wise, a beacon in the endless dark.
So full of life was the Great Tree that its own branches began to grow too far, twisting upon themselves. So the Världsträd gathered its own bark and leaves and sacrificed its own sap; then bark became body, sap became blood, and leaves became wings, and thus was born the Dragon, whose task was to weed out the excess life from the Tree’s great boughs.
But the Dragon’s hunger was great, and it threatened to devour more than mere roots and pests. So the Världsträd gathered its bark, leaves and sap once more; then bark became body, sap became blood, and needles became fur, and thus was born the Beast, whose task was to protect the Tree’s precious world cones, to guard them against the Dragon.
These great guardians would never see eye-to-eye and fought innumerable mighty clashes against the other, but they would share their home all the same - each preserving it in their own way.
Added in 9 minutes 18 seconds:
Name: Ristaang (“riss-STAWNG”)
Aliases: The Beastmother, The Red Aurora, The Aspect of Beast
Height: 300 meters in physical form
Weight: 3,000,000 tons in physical form
Description: Of twisted antlers, cruel claws and vicious tusks, Ristaang is a monstrous creature draped in dense, dark brown fur, an embodiment of Bestial might in her physical form. Dark stripes and spots mark her fur. Her eyes, of a profound, blood red, glow with incandescent rage. In her true, ethereal form, she appears as a great, blazing red aurora.
Personality: For all the intense savagery she can muster, Ristaang is, at her heart, a kind, loving mother, wanting nothing more than to protect the children that spawned from her Blood. To that end, she employs frightening brutality to tear apart any who would dare threaten her progeny, just as she would any danger to her home. Although the infighting among her own bestial brood brings her much heartbreak, she restrains herself from interfering much, for her great strength, were it to be fully unleashed, could easily break the very world she seeks to preserve. Progenitor to all Beastkind, she harbors a particular dislike for Dragons, for they threaten her spawn, yet she also recognizes their use in balancing the world and holds a grudging respect for Bromdaahl the Dragonfather, who in turn bestows an affectionate eye upon the Beastmother.
Powers and Abilities:
- Bestial Might: Enormous boulders hurled with ease, bodies broken without effort; Ristaang’s strength is simply unmatched, knowing no equal in all of the Världsträd. Her immense might allows her to handily tear down her foes regardless of their own size and strength.
- Enduring Brawn: Ristaang’s mighty frame dampens harm from even the most powerful blows. Heedless of any and all wounds dealt to her, she powers through barrages of violence without so much of a flinch to her thundering stride - in her furious glare the image of whatever foe she is squarely focused on.
- Beast Blood: In Ristaang’s veins flows the famed Blood of the Beast, from which those ferocious namesakes roaming the wilds of Bjornskar first emerged. Its power derived from the Världsträd’s own sacred sap, this “Beast Blood” possesses within itself the ability to either grant life, or to twist it. In naught but a moment, be it spilled upon the living or otherwise, gruesome transformation follows; a grotesque mass of fur, flesh, and fang rises from deep crimson, until a Beast has fully grown from its essence. Although it may be tempting to destroy these nascent Beasts on sight, such intent is quite foolish to follow through, for it will incite terrible wrath from the Beastmother; unholy retribution far worse than imaginable. Though its mutations cannot be controlled, the Blood itself can; Ristaang can wield it much like a waterbender would their own element.
- Shape-Shifter: Ristaang possesses the ability to twist her body into different shapes. It also allows her to alter her size so that she may interact with smaller creatures, however rare that happenstance is. On a broader scale, she can shed her physical body entirely, appearing instead as a ghostly red shape.
- Rapid Regeneration: In order to stem her Blood from spawning an endless tide of monstrosities, Ristaang’s wounds rapidly seal themselves, which also allows her to survive gruesome injuries on her physical body so comfortably.
- Aspect: Fully destroying Ristaang is a feat of complete impossibility, for she can harness her Blood’s power to rebirth herself from even a single spilled droplet of her essence - her spirit, intrinsically linked with that of the Världsträd, will simply reform should it be dispersed somehow. Beyond time's grasp, she does not age either.
- Indomitable Will: Ristaang’s stubbornness goes beyond even the sheer resilience of her kind. No amount of wicked magic or vile corruption can break it - her notoriously tenacious will, on the other hand, defies existence itself, for it can go as far as to bend the reality around it, forcing certain laws to suit its desires. As such, Ristaang can use her equally impossible strength to downright tear rifts through the realms, allowing her to rapidly appear to wherever she is needed - simply because she wishes for it to happen. This, however, seems to be the most she can accomplish with such whims, for a safeguard from the Världsträd stops her from utterly destabilizing reality; for instance, she cannot influence other creatures’ minds.
- Earthshaker: Born from a great tree, Ristaang shares a particular bond with the earthen element. She can manipulate it to her whim, wielding it as her weapon.
- Beastmother: Mother to all of Beastkind, Ristaang shares a special bond with her children. Those whose bodies course with her Blood see it resonate to her emotions, and, in turn, she feels theirs in her heart. As such, when the Bloodrage boils her Blood, her children in turn see themselves bestowed with increased strength and ferocity as well.
- Bloodrage: Quick to anger and slow to forgive, Ristaang is notorious for her fierce temperament. When her fury reaches its peak, perhaps caused by the sight of her spawn being threatened, she enters a terrifying state known as Bloodrage. Drastically increasing in size and power, fur bristled in aggravation and rippling with crimson flames, eyes alight with furious blood red, the ferocious Beastmother becomes then truly unstoppable until her anger somehow subsides.
- Red Aurora: In her true form, Ristaang is a being of ethereal, red light; an aurora in the shape of a great, antlered Beast. This wispy, flame-like substance often accompanies her furred form’s claw swipes and crackles around her antlers. While it does no harm to those of the Blood, it burns and sears foes utterly, ripping apart the very building blocks of their being. It is so powerful as to tear into the fabric of reality itself, momentarily creating rips in existence that shortly heal themselves; an intervention of the Världsträd to restrain Ristaang’s destructive power.
Weakness:
- Ristaang’s fierce temperament may lead to her disregarding logical thought, at times led only by her angered heart.
Additional Notes:
- The red portions of Bjornskar’s famous auroras are caused by Ristaang’s presence - they are wisps of energy drifting from her ethereal body. Were she to approach different realms, these crimson flames would manifest in their firmament as well.
Trivia:
- Ristaang’s name comes from the terms “Ristaag” and "Hirstaang".
- Formerly a collab creation; now belongs to me. Really not much left from the original.
