The Beast Council

The Beast Council is a collection of ancient demi-gods. These powerful beast spirits represent the animals of the mortal and fey realms. Most of them represent certain positive characteristics, and each one advizes the fey goddess Queen Mab through an advisory council in her faery kingdom. To date two ancient beast spirits have been removed or shunned from this council. They were both wolf spirits, Gorne and his wife Lorne. They were removed for joining Chernobog in his attempt to kill and usurp the Morrigan. The Beast Council is often worshiped by either creatures native to the Fey Realm, Beast Tribe creatures, or by peoples that like to follow totemic traditions. They are also often reverred or referenced by those that follow ancestor or reincarnation related spiritual practices. Both the humans and the Monster tribes of the east tend to have religions that involve beast spirits. The Druids of Luscari also tend to honor the beast tribe. Many of their number offer to take the Gift of Ursa in defense of Andorra against the rot of Mournfall.

Lepus

A hare spirit that sits on the council. Occasionally is a messenger for the feywild. Worshipped by the Harengon. Lepus represents dexterity, quick thinking, and dedication.

Ursa

Bear spirit that sits on the council and warden of forests. Ursa represents solitary sacrifice, strength, and personal honor. Bestows the gift (or curse) of lycanthropy to werebears. These are generally druids who offer their lives up in defense of Andorra from the corruption of Mournfall. This gift is accomplished by merging a mortal soul with that of a lesser bear spirit. This essentially destroys both entities and a new entity is born. The new entity has the memories of both souls but is no longer either of its former selves. These new werebears, and some non affected druids, worship and hold Ursa in high regard.

Mawdi

Mouse spirit that sits on the council and advices the Morrigan. Mawdi hates wererats, and is sometimes worshiped by the Neek who find a kinship with her. Mawdi is a spirit of preserverance, curiousity, and generosity.

Lord Cern

A great stag spirit. He is born in the spring and is hunted each cycle by predators in the winter. He comes back each spring to continue the process of life and death, and because of this is often looked at as a patron spirit of reincarnation practices. He has a hatred for the wolf spirits Lorne and Gorne, who used to lead the hunt against him each cycle. His hatred is not because of the hunt, but because they abandoned their role in the reincarnation cycle and betrayed the Fey Realm. Cern represents reincarnation, self sacrifice, strength, and the survival arts including hunting. His depiction differs depending on the area he appears in. He could appear as an elk in Krev, a gazelle in Luscaria, or a deer stag in Brenia. One common theme is Cern always appears as a member of the deer family, and his body and horns are always supernaturally large or elaborate.

Nago

A boar spirit, seen with brittle amber brown fur with black marks around his eyes and nose. Instead of two tusks he has four, and his back is covered in moss. He has plated armor of ancient wood, and instead of bristle back fur he has a line of dense thorny shrubbery. Nago is a spirit of stubborness, pride, and battle rage. He does not shy away from confrontation, meeting it gladly. He has a quick temper but can be exceedingly loyal. He holds grudges for an eternity and has a long memory of grievances. The boar spirit is one of three beast council members held in the highest regard in the eastern cultures of Honshu, Daeyhun, and Matukk. He is often reverred by samarai, shogun, barbarians, and warriors.

Hushen

Fox spirit of wisdom, cunning, deception, and trickery. Hushen is the only member of the beast tribe that can shift her outward appearance. She can appear as a mortal fox, a nine tail fox, or a young Honshu maiden. In her human form she appears in a delicate robe with an eastern straight sword, two metal fans, and throwing knives as weapons. In both her fox forms her fur is red, though in her human forms her hair is straight and black flowing down to the middle of her back. It is said her nine tailed form ushers worthy souls back to the Fey Wild where they can be reincarnated. She is sometimes used by Queen Mab as a messenger, and is most often worshiped by monks and rogues.

Houwang

Also called the monkey king, Houwang is a monkey spirit also reverred in the far east. He is a spirit of bravery, tenacity, trickery, and those born in poverty. He appears as a human sized monkey with a human like face. He is often adorned in eastern armor or a monk robe and wields a magical wooden staff. It is said he is great friends with the dragon empress Kai Shu. He is most often worshiped by monks and beggars, and he has a martial arts influenced directly by him. It is believed he is the king of all monkeys, and as such anything done or said to them will eventually reach Wukong. Monkeys are after all notorious gossips.

Bastet

Lioness goddess and member of the Beast Council. She is a spirit of the hunt, families, protection, and pleasure. She and her husband have taken over the job of maintaining the Hunt, where predators hunt down the prey god Lorn Cern and maintain the cycle of life and rebirth. She and her husband are often worshiped in Nubia, a nation in Luscaria. Bast and her husband are also greatly reverred along with Ursa by the Nzadi druids.

Maahes

Lion god and husband of Bastet. He is a spirit of the hunt, war, and ambition. It is said he protects the barrier in the fey realm between death and rebirth.

Valen

The Goddess of Hawks, Falcons, Owls, and other birds of prey. She is considered the mother of the Valeran Hawk, a bird originally native to the fey realms. She is often worshiped by hunters, trackers, druids, and warriors of the wilds. Many Caladri worship or keep altars to her as well, and her children (the Valeran Hawk) can be found riding the air currents in the peaks above Skyhold.