Ort (Náian; /ɔɾʲtʲ/, "Them")
The Náian God of Forests, Woodlands, & the Lost
King of the Fae
As a boy, I was told many stories about the King of the Fae - sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. A being as likely to show you the way out of the dark woods as he was likely to make sure you never returned from them. I thought, perhaps, that by knowing him I would learn the true nature of these tales - perhaps find some grain of truth to them. Genuinely, I thought I would find many of them lies.
Of the many stories I have come to learn more of on Aanrah, Ort's are not far from the truth. Even now, married and bound to the man, I understand that neither tales are lies - he is a fickle and bitter at heart.
Basics
Ort is a deity that serves both as the King of the Fae and as the god of forests, woodlands, and the lost, most often considered a part of the Náian and Nuríian pantheon. He is well known for his fickle nature towards mortals that cross him in the woods, known for being as likely to kidnap wanderers to Nurí as he is to lead them back to the road.Description
Appearance
Ort appears as a tall Fae wearing unassuming and drab traditional Nuríian traveler's clothing and a equally unadorned mask. He is often seen carrying a metal lamp that shines with a eerie yellow glow. He is easy to mistake as a normal fae by the uninformed eye. He is often seen riding his mount, the god Mun.Under his traveler's garb, Ort has dusky skin covered with yellow markings. His features are rather gaunt and ethereal, framed by knee-length brown hair. As is Nurí culture and tradition, only those absolutely closest to him have seen him under his mask.
Powers & Domain
Ort holds domain over forests, woodlands, and the lost. As such, any woodland or forest on Aanrah falls under his power. The plants and trees bend to his will, and he is capable of moving through them unimpeded. With this, he is capable of traveling between any forest and any point in any forest at will, and is known for often appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye. He is one of the few beings capable of freely traveling between Nurí and Aanrah so as long as he's within the woods.In addition to his divine powers, he is capable of the other magic and tricks that fae are naturally able to do, such as charming people. He has been known to even be able to charm other gods and more powerful beings.
History
Long before Aanrah existed, Ort (once known as Thasca) and the fae now known as Zhia Tyali set out from their home on Nurí to wander the Far Lands in search of somewhere new to live. Zhia in particular had grown tired of their homeland's rigid and strict beliefs and traditions, and wanted to find a new land beyond the thinning of their current one where fae like he could live in peace. Thasca, a season explorer with feelings towards Zhia, agreed to lead a expedition they may never return from. With a string of followers, including the once-mortal Baghánn, Raisa, Riam, and Thaiyy, Thasca and Zhia set out in search of a new wellspring of life and power in Nurí to settle.Despite the odds, they were drawn to the place that would eventually become Aanrah. They were not the only ones - the other First Gods would be arriving as well, converging on a place in reality that had the potential to become something more. At first, Thasca was happy to simply settle - on their plane of Nurí, they had come to a new, twilight-shrouded land that had newly come to be. Untouched, the potential for the new, freer life they had dreamed of. But Zhia (and many of their companions) took interest in what the other gods were doing, and the prospect of a new world they could shape. Thasca was hesitant, but the excitement and hopefulness Zhia expressed with the prospect of Aanrah was too great. A much more seasoned individual, Thasca aided with the creation of Aanrah, making whatever Zhia found she struggled to shape as she envisioned. This included the wood elves, which Thasca gifted Zhia fully as a act of love.
But Zhia and Thasca drifted apart despite Thasca's best efforts. Zhia grew enamored with fully ridding herself of Nurí and everything she'd been raised as - and with it, shaping and teaching the wood elves to avoid the same things she saw as flaws in her old homeland. Thasca had never wanted to fully abandon his culture, and he soon began to realize that he and Zhia would never be on the same page. On the evening of the world's creation, Zhia begged for Thasca to rid himself of his mask and heavy clothing and join her and the wood elves in reveling in this new world they created - her skin bear, eyes and face expressive and open for the world to read, her markings bright in the dim light of evening. Thasca, with a heavy and bitter heart, declined. Zhia did not ask him again, or even look back when she ran to join their creations.
Though he could not blame her for what she wanted, or for going her own way, Thasca grew bitter towards what were ultimately his creations and this world he had aided in making. He had come there to make Zhia happy and to give her a better life, and he had succeeded in that - and lost her in the same breath. He had no desire to be a god like he'd become, but it and the burden of leading the others who had followed him ultimately still fell on his shoulders. He became the King of the Fae of their corner of Nurí, and largely withdrew from other interactions. A lapse of judgement early in the world's existence lead to the birth of his daughter Uanu Tyali with Zhia, a poor choice of desperation and heartbreak Thasca would regret for millennia. He was a uninvolved father in his daughter's life - not by choice, but by Zhia's. Zhia raised Uanu with the same hatred for the Nurí culture as she had - as a result, Uanu had no desire to know her father or the land of Nurí if neither had plans of changing to fit her mother's ideas. Thasca and Zhia fought over it several times, before Thasca withdrew and ended any attempt at being involved with his only child. Any lingering love he had for Zhia was burned by her choices, and Thasca became ill-tempered and fickle.
Over the next millennia, Thasca began to be known as Ort to the people of Aanrah - the word simply meaning "them" in Náian. A warning to those who might see his lantern in the woods. His treatment of mortals became renowned - he was just as likely to kidnap someone for eternity to the Faerealms as he was to aid them when they needed it. Stories and legends of those who encountered him became commonplace even outside of the Náian culture, a sort of boogieman to those who lived near any of Aanrah's woods. Ort was a bitter god who could not blame anyone for the pain he felt, but still found himself lashing out at the world around him for it.
In the early part of the 6th era, Ort became aware of a young bard named Browai Dréómmalco. Though he did not approach the wood elf, he grew interested in the songs Browai practiced out in the woods alone when he didn't think anyone was listening, and the general personality of the young musician. A passing interest, Ort was sure - though he continued to watch Browai from afar as he traveled and learned. His successes, his failures... Ort found himself growing invested, and when Browai found himself lost in the woods on the brink of losing himself, Ort had what he sometimes considered to be another lapse in judgement. He took Browai and whisked him away to Nurí, charming him and keeping him under his wing for the next fifteen years.
In those fifteen years, Ort found himself using Browai as a outlet for his pain and insecurities, though Browai was charmed and had no will of his own. The guilt grew to outweigh the sense of peace he felt with the wood elf, and he returned Browai back to Aanrah abruptly, leaving him with a lute and the name Bróbh Boíg, or "Wood Singer" as Ort had come to call him. With only broken snippets of memories of his time in Nurí, Bróbh Boíg would spend the next few centuries as a demigod and eventually lesser god trying to get back into contact with Ort, confused as to why Ort had left him free when every story he'd known of those taken to Nurí by the Fae King had ended with them never returning. And Ort largely avoided him, or left him with brief, cryptic answers and fleeting meetings.
This game continued for over a millennia, during which Ort and Bróbh Boíg could not deny that they had developed feelings for one another. Despite Ort's attempts to push Bróbh Boíg under the belief that his own feelings were selfish and manipulative, Bróbh Boíg continued to pursue him, until eventually Ort conceded to Bróbh Boíg's attempts at wooing him. Their formal courtship did not last long before the two became Bound despite Ort's best efforts - the two had spent far too much time at the game to not feel deeply secure and in love with the other.
Bróbh Boíg became a positive influence on Ort, at least helping him step back a little from being the rather fickle and aggressive god he'd gathered a reputation for being. Bróbh Boíg's relationship with other deities and the grand schemes of Aanrah allowed Ort a new perspective of what was happening in the world, and finally a reason to start truly caring again about the world he'd helped to shape. His relationship with Bróbh Boíg lead him to getting to know Dathi - the young witch god Bróbh Boíg had become close with. Bróbh Boíg's trust in her lead Ort to trust her much more readily then he would any other - and he found himself growing close to her as well. Though he considers Bróbh Boíg to be his husband first and foremost, he considers Dathi to be his consort as Bróbh Boíg does. She is the mother of his other two children, Diaru and Fiúta.
In the current era, Ort is known for being less fickle and outright hostile to mortals as he once had been, but is still far from being a friendly god or a particularly safe one. The tension between mortals and Nurí have put Ort on edge, and he leans hard on his connections to Bróbh Boíg and Dathi in hopes of trying to combat the clear hostility.
Religion & Dogma
Ort, like many gods in the Náian pantheon, does not have a formal following. Small shrines to Ort can be found scattered throughout the woods in Náian-dominant areas, both along roads and off the beaten path. It is considered good form to give offerings to him at his shrines, both to keep you from getting lost, and to garner favor with him in the event that you do. His shrines can vary widely in form, but often include some form of lamp or lantern. Candles lit within the lamps are said to help guide the lost home.For Nuríians, Ort is seen less as a god and more simply as their king and leader. Ort's word is law, though he tends to allow his court to make laws and decisions on their own. He is a hands-off ruler who only steps in when he feels necessary, and he tends to avoid being a part of things as much as possible. While the Nurí are still fond of many of their royal and courtly traditions, Ort does his best to find every and any reason to get out of them. Being a god helps his arguments.
Artifacts, Etc.
- Ort's Lamp - Though it does not have a formal name, the lamp Ort carries is said to be a sort of portal key to Nurí, or possibly a method of locating a desired object or location. That said, the lamp has only ever been in the hands of Ort himself or Bróbh Boíg - or hung from Mun's antler. There are tales about mortals and even Bághann trying to steal the lamp, but no tale ends successful.
Extra
- According to legends, Bághann ascended to greater godhood by tricking Ort into giving him more power. Bághann swears up and down that this is true of course, but Ort has never confirmed it.
Relationships
History
Zhia and Ort have a turmotulous relationship thanks to their history together. Zhia was the reason Ort agreed to setting out from their original home to find a new one, and Zhia's ultimate hard rejection of their old lifestyle and everything related to it pushed the two of them apart. Though Ort tried long and hard to win Zhia's heart, including creating the wood elves for her, the two were ultimately incompatable. A ill-advised fling between the two produced Uanu Tyali, and Zhia's mothering of her ultimately finalized Ort falling out of love with her. Even with the millenia that have passed, Ort still feels deeply bitter and resentful that Zhia raised their daughter to so hate everything that made up the Nurí culture, and ultimately made her hate him.
Over time, the two have reconciled to some degree. The two remain ameniable, though Ort still feels bitterness towards her for the past.
History
Bróbh Boíg and Ort are Bound to one another, and both usually refer to the other as their husband.
Bróbh Boíg initially met when Ort found him after a particularly turmotulous night in Bróbh Boíg's mortal life, and Ort offered him a chance to get away from it by being taken to Nurí. Bróbh Boíg accepted, fully expecting to never return. What he didn't know was that Ort had been watching him for some time when he would wander the woods and practice his music on his own, and had grown rather fond of him. For fifteen years, Ort kept Bróbh Boíg charmed in the court of the Fae as his personal bard, until at last both his own guilt of the situation and belief that hopefully Bróbh Boíg had enough time away from the world had Ort returning Bróbh Boíg to Aanrah - the full events of which had Bróbh Boíg ascend to demigodhood.
During the next decade or two, Bróbh Boíg tried to recall what had all happend in the Faerealms, and what exactly Ort was playing at. The two began a very bizzare touch-and-go relationship in which the two danced around the real questions at hand, neither willing to give the other a straight answer. This continued for over a thousand years before either of them decided to confess and start answering questions.
Though Ort admitted to his own rather unhealth and obsessive tendencies towards Bróbh Boíg, Bróbh Boíg still found himself deeply infatuated with Ort in return, and the two became bound despite both suspecting they should play it careful with each other.
The two are extremely close, and serve as each other's closest confedants. Though a wood elf, the other fae respect Bróbh Boíg as Ort's partner and sort of 'Prince' of the fae. Bróbh Boíg closeness with Ort has meant Mun will allow Bróbh Boíg to ride him.
Ort does get a little possessive over Bróbh Boíg and jealous of his other lovers, though he tends to keep it to himself and has spoken with Bróbh Boíg in length about his own feelings and not really wanting Bróbh Boíg to change how he is. Dathi is the best exception of this, where Bróbh Boíg's relationship with her has grown into interest from Ort as well. Both Bróbh Boíg and Ort are content with their shared and individual relationship with her.
History
Dathi and Ort were introduced to each other by Bróbh Boíg, who had already begun seeing Dathi as a consort and potentially sort of wife figure. Ort and Dathi hit it off quickly once the uncertainty of the other's reaction melted. The two of them have grown close-knit, and Dathi serves as another outlet for Ort to open up to. Dathi often jokes that the only reason she's involved is as a surrogate for Ort and Bróbh Boíg's kids, though she knows full well at this point that isn't true. Dathi is fully welcomed into Nurí as Ort's consort, and is generally very well-liked by the Nuríian people.
History
Once Ort's court jester, Baghánn has since earned Ort's absolute hatred and ire when he managed to trick Ort into giving over some of his power. Though Ort never fully trusted Baghánn to begin with, even if he came from their old realm in Nurí, Baghánn's trickery into giving over a chunk of his divinity has earned Baghánn a spot on Ort's list of mortal enemies. Despite Ort's best efforts, he has been unable to get back at Baghánn or get rid of him, even in fae society.
Their relationship is a integral part to many myths and legends.
History
Ceátth was the first fae Ort reached out to when planning their expedition. Having heared of Ceátth's many trips and journeys to far lands, including those unknown, Ort was interested in having Ceátth's experience on the team. Ceátth was eager to join, and the two grew to become close companions during their long journey. Ceátth's knowledge and expertiece earned Ort's respect, and Ort's leadership and courage earned Ceátth's. Though Ceátth ascended to divinity in his own right, Ort gave him additional divinity to ascend to the ranks of a greater god as thanks for his help.
Though the two drifted apart after settling in Aanrah, they still remain friends and honored allies. Ceátth remains a honored guest to the palace.
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Domains:
Forests, Woodlands, & the Lost
Thasca (həi̯sˠˈka)
Stories
I. Meet Me In The Woods Tonight in Aanrah Collection
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