| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Archmage of Nowhere |
Posted - 29 Apr 2019 : 03:31:27
So I am currently in the midsts of doing some faith revitalization in my Realms to try and get my players a little more interested in clerics. one of the Faiths I was looking at was Beshaba and so figured I would share this little snippet with you sages for critique, see if it felt at home in realms lore. Cheers!
Gundrir Woden was a hunter of minor repute that plied his trade amongst the isles of the Moonshaes. Originating from a small fishing village in Norheim, his life was a peaceful one as far as Northmen went. His village managing to avoid much the conflict of Norheim due to a near permanent fog bank surrounding it, dissuading those sailors and raiders who didn't know the way through. Gundrir proved himself a capable hunter and skilled warrior even for the Northmen. Yet those he could compete against eventually all recognized him as the best. Although he had sought this, after his achievement he found life was naught but melancholy boredom.
That was until a frightening storm, one not seen in generations smashed into the isle. It blew away the fog bank revealing the village, but also brought with it a small fleet of raiding ships returning from their latest catch. Caught in the storm, damaged and low on supplies the raiders set upon the village and within the hour had set it ablaze. Gundrir fought well but ultimately was wounded and left for dead. Surprisingly he managed to live and awoke in a pool of his own blood amongst the ruins of his town. The fog had begun to return by then softly blanketing the ruins around him. Inside the fog was a figure, appearing as if they had been carried in by the it. Thinking the figure was another surviving villager he made his way towards it, only to be stunned by the divine beauty of the woman before him, he had never seen before. Sitting on a makeshift throne of corpses she reveals that it was her who sent the storm that sealed their village's fate. She had saved him so that he may spread the name of Beshaba and to fear it.
Gundrir was instantly transfixed by the divine being in front of him. When she left, he resolved that he would find a way to see her again, no matter the cost. So, like a man possessed he sought ways to commune with the goddess, unconcerned with the message he was bade to spread. Beshaba deciding to punish hunter for his act of defiance, showering him in hardship and misfortune. This culminated in him running into the very raiding party that had destroyed his village. Faced with certain death or enslavement, Gyndrir did not wail or gnash his teeth. Instead he laughed for not only was the eye of his love on him, but vengeance would be his as well.
Through pure tenacity Gundrir slew the raider chieftain and earned a place among them, however he realized something after his battle. That without Beshaba, without suffering and misfortune there was nothing in life to overcome, thus nothing to live for. The idea that the woman he loved was also the unremitting and brutal challenge that gave his life meaning turned his quest to see Lady Doom into a deep obsession. He followed any rumor of churches or cults linked to her and when there were none to find he would head towards the place nearest to him experiencing the most suffering. He traveled in the wake of wars, famine, plagues, and natural disasters none of which mattered to him. All were her footsteps, the scent of her perfume on the air, and he intended to follow them to wherever they led.
Eventually Beshaba herself took notice of the lone warrior she had forgotten and became amused by his pointless quest. Yet the more she watched him, the more he began to occupy her thoughts. She watched him profess his love for her a thousand times; Bellow challenges to her lover, Tempus as he slew the Lord of Battle’s champions; endure horrific starvation and disease as he travelled in her wake and every night without fail boast to her about how he had overcome her challenges. The capricious creature she is, his actions would be met with affection and fury in equal measure and for more than 30 years their game continued in this manner.
Until the day that his challenge was answered.
A mixture of persistence and misfortune created a moment of opportunity that few warriors have ever known. For when Gundrir bellowed his challenge to Tempus, the God of Battle heard, and accepted it. Long had the deity been aware of the warrior and the flirtations with his lover. In a rare show of attention Tempus sent his avatar to put the lone warrior in his place.
The thought of their game coming to an end filled Beshaba with fear, for the first time since her birth she had been adored for what she was. She begged Tempus to leave the warrior, allow him to walk the realms, that a duel between a god and a mortal was beneath him. Tempus wouldn’t hear any of it and brushed her pleading aside. When the two warriors met, they did so at the summit of the Earthspur Mountains. The ensuing battle between the them was titanic, Gundrir threw himself into the duel with reckless abandon. Each of their strikes fractured mountains and every clash of weapons shook the sky. Yet when it was over it was Gundrir who had received a mortal blow.
Impressed, Tempus offered him a spot in the eternal battle of Warrior’s Rest, despite his blasphemies and challenges. In a final act of defiance, Gundrir refused. If he could no longer challenge the deity then then there was no meaning to it. In that moment Beshaba made an unprecedented choice.
Faced with the prospect of losing his soul to the Wall, forever out of her reach, she merged her own divinity with the fallen warrior’s spirit. The two became one and the birth of the only Twin God in creation commenced. One did not overpower the other, the two became equal halves to a new portfolio, Ambition.
Perseverance through misfortune, not to simply endure life’s misery, but to make ones self-greater than the misery around them.
Beshaba-Gundrir the God of Ambition was born.
Thus, to the two continue their game throughout eternity, Beshaba causing misery and misfortune wherever she treads with Gundrir just behind her, offering the ambition and will to overcome the tragedy of her passing.
This is intended to make her faith more mainstream amongst the realms, something that mercenaries, adventurers and even cities could embrace. Victory through adversity, cannot achieve ambition without the suffering required to push you towards your best. |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Archmage of Nowhere |
Posted - 01 May 2019 : 20:24:14
That's a fair assessment.
When considering this I was looking at the fact that she was
formed from the dividing of a single-deity. The idea behind this is that there is sort of a half left unfilled in both her and Tymora.
Filling that half would result in shared existence with the other being, similar to Clavicus Vile of Elder Scrolls, 2 identities wrapped in a single divine being, each responsible for half the portfolio (Misfortune & Eternal Struggle), Beshaba herself doesn't change but the church and what it represented would.
I'll take a look into the other gods, as well though. Thanks for the input! |
| LordofBones |
Posted - 01 May 2019 : 14:20:09
Ambition doesn't strike me as being something that the Maid of Misfortune promotes. It's a portfolio that should go to a deity that deliberately sought out and achieved godhood.
Admittedly, that means you're limited to Bane, Bhaal, Cyric, Myrkul, Orcus and Velsharoon. |
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