Iramaat

== Information ==
=== Pre-Game History ===
Iramaat hails from a world where gods literally walk the earth with their worshippers and interact with them frequently. A day-to-day basis, even. Iramaat is one of those gods. She is old – older by far than a human being and will probably live for far longer, provided her worshipers survive and they keep the faith in her.
She was born from prayer and blood sacrifice, when the people who would become her worshipers, called out for relief from a period of strife and terror that had plagued them with war and famine. From their need and want and blood, Iramaat became a reality – a goddess upon the earth. She united the disparate peoples of the great, trackless forest and called them Iramakat - “People or Iramaat” - and gave them rules and laws to live by, a government to unify them and a religion which would bring them succor, food and the ability to thrive. She also gifted them with a sign of her favor – the wooden horns which sprout from their heads as they do her own.
She was (and is) not like a human; she was born whole, with ideas and personality developed and prepared for the world into which she emerged. That does not mean she is incapable of learning or being affected, but much of her ideas on the world were already wholly-formed when she popped into existence. Of course, she has had adventures and encounters over the years that have taught her well about the differences between mortals and gods.
When she was still a very young goddess, as such things are reckoned, she fell in love with a young warrior of the Iramakat and after pining for a short while, convinced him to take her as a lover. And for a while, she was happy. But he was a mortal and she was a goddess and although she granted long life to her people, he still grew old and eventually died, as mortals do. For a time, she was overcome with the loss and withdrew deep into her forest to seek comfort and solace for her loss – and came to realize that she should treasure those mortal friends and allies and worshipers while they still walked the earth. Although she granted them long life, death was as much a part of her cycle as life and to remove them from it would be to destroy a part of herself – she was a goddess of nature and the wilds, after all.
So she continued to rule her people as wisely and fairly as she could. She walked among them and helped them fight against their enemies and struck down those who broke their oaths and those who threatened the safety and peace she had worked so hard to bring. And if her people sometimes brought her sacrifices from the strange people of the south, who did not live under the cool, green boughs of her forest, then that was fine – they were not her's after all and their lifeblood still fed the earth. And so she ruled them for four hundred years, as mortals reckoned it, and watched generations of her people grow, become men and women, become old and die and it was good.
But then travelers – guests and wandering knights of her people's courts – brought word of something strange happening in the south. Gods had come to those uncivilized peoples and now they had unified and become one. A country which they called Askoupur. And before long a delegation of these new gods came to her country and her people to ask (or demand) that her people stop their raids into the lands that they now considered under their protection.
One was a woman and a warrior both, strong and beautiful and Iramaat thought her interesting and a worthy opponent, if it ever came to blows. The second was all bluster and fire and wrath and Iramaat thought him a lout. The third was cool and reasoned and intellectual and Iramaat thought him blind to the the wonders of the world and that she could teach him to revel and dance and laugh and weep under the stars, if he would give her a chance. The fourth was weaker, but well-spoken and charming and Iramaat thought him amusing.
At first, Iramaat’s heart burned with wrath - who were these newcomers to demand that she stop what her people had been doing for her for generations? But she cooled her heart and thought, using all of her natural cunning - for their gods were many and their people many and if it came to a war, they would surely put her people to flight and burn her forest and perhaps even slay the mighty Iramaat herself! So she brought a delegation of her guardians and priests and spoke to these newcomers, extending tokens of peace and asking that every year they woul share and mingle their blood with her own and that in exchange, her people would stop their raids and instead, open trade with these Askoupurians (their histories say that the compromise was their idea, but it is well-known among the Iramakat that it was Iramaat who swore the oath of friendship first).
From that day forth, she and her people have lived in relative harmony with the southerners and more and more of her people have taken opportunities to wander southward and actually explore the strange lands. Iramaat herself has been content to ignore them, as along as they uphold their part of the bargain. Occasionally, she finds it amusing to play a joke or a trick by adjusting the border or diverting a river to see what they’ll do, but for the most part, she leaves them well enough alone. Recently, however, her curiosity has been piqued and she has considered going south to see for herself what sort of people they are....
=== Game History ===
=== Personality ===
Iramaat is a goddess, but she has a personality, of course. Her main 'domains' are wilderness, wild growth, the earth and fertility, although she certainly dabbles in the hunt and in war. She is, above all else, loyal and true to her people and you can respect her word (as long as you pay close attention, in any case). She will always keep a promise, but can (and will) find ways to twist the wording to her advantage in order to put herself in a better position. At the same time, she expects others to keep their promises to her (and also fully expects them to try similar tricks) and breaking a promise or oath to her is one of the easiest ways to earn her ire.
On that note, she has a terrible wrath when she is finally roused to anger and she will lash out at the nearest target of her anger without a second thought, unless she is restrained or takes time to think it through. It does take her some time (or a temper tantrum) to calm herself down, so when she's on the warpath, most people are advised to stay out of her way. Her anger is not blind, however – she will not hurt those she considers friends, followers or allies unless they happen to be the target of that anger. She can also be rather bloodthirsty when her wrath is roused - she is not a peaceful goddess.
By the same token, she is rather vain and believes herself to be one of the best, most intelligent, cunning and skilled goddesses of the world. Regardless of the truth of that particular belief, she certainly believes I and will flaunt her own beauty and that of her people as being above all else in the world, regardless of outside opinion. This vanity and pride has occasionally gotten her into trouble, but for the most part it is simply a vice. Although it can lead to exchanging barbed insults with those who don’t recognize her greatness.
She is rather chaotic, as well, being a goddess of the wilds, and she is fond of teasing or pushing others' buttons in order to see how they react. Diverting rivers, inching her borders forward, causing a sudden downpour – she will play all of these tricks if she thinks it will provoke an interesting reaction. She does not mean any real harm for the most part, but it can be quite frustrating to deal with when you are the target of her teasing.
For all of her faults (trickery, wrath, vanity), she truly does love her people and all wild, growing things and cares for them as a mother would her children. She is very protective of them and will go out of her way to make them comfortable or ensure their survival. By the same token, she can be expected to respect guests she has sworn to watch over. And when she does fall in love with someone (as she has in the past), she truly and deeply falls in love. She has had her heart broken, of course, but she recovers and moves on – she is a goddess and can expect to live for a very long time indeed. She also tends towards being a bit of a flirt.
With those she considers friends or allies, she’s actually quite warm and energetic. She’ll tease them (in a friendly manner), urge them to indulge their more “wild” side and try to get them to join her in appreciating the natural beauty of trees, the forest and anything else that catches her eye. Teaching others how to enjoy themselves is generally high on her list of things to do. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone enjoys the same things she does, but they just haven’t come around to the right point of view yet. So, she’ll just have to enlighten them.
=== Appearance ===
Iramaat appears to be a young woman in her mid-twenties with dark hair and eyes. In the eyes of some, she'd certainly be attractive, although she differs from normal humans in that a pair of horns (made from wood) sprout from her head. They're not very long, but they are carved with a series of elaborate designs and patterns.
=== Abilities, Skills and Talents ===
In her home universe, Iramaat is a goddess. Literally. She is akin to one of the gods of Greek or Norse myth and tangible presence in the lives of mortals. Her powers there are great. She is impervious to mortal weaponry (although slaughtering her followers en masse would certainly weaken or destroy her) and she possesses a great many powers with regards to her various domains.
She can make trees, plants and other wild things sprout and grow. Under her direction a cleared field might become a closed in grove of trees and undergrowth in a few minutes. Iramaat is also able to command them – vines and roots might entangle her enemies or a wall of thorns might spring up around her. She has the ability to shape-shift, changing her form to that of animals or other living beings (and occasionally inanimate objects, such as the wind). She also has the power to change the form of another, whether for good or ill and has done so, both with her own people and with those she considers her enemies. She has the power of speech with animals and can command feral animals as her servants.
She is also an almost supernaturally skilled fighter and is effective with spear, sword or bow.
At the keep, of course, almost all of these are going to be vanishing or becoming shadows of the power she used to wield. Her ability to cause growth will be severely hampered. Where once it might take her minutes and almost no effort, now it takes hours and an exertion on her part (or she can cause very quick growth at the cost of totally exhausting herself for the day). Her command over roots and vines and other plants will also become limited. She will only be able to control very small movements and be limited to existing undergrowth and greenery.
Her shape-shifting will be severely hampered as well. She will not be able to change the bodies of others and her own will be limited to living creatures (and in specific, minor cosmetic changes to herself or assuming the forms of animals). Even then, it will take effort and be limited to a small selection: hawk, wolf and deer. Iramaat's power of speech with animals will remain, but she will not be able to command them. Her ability to fight will remain unhindered.
She will, however, be completely vulnerable to being killed by all normal means. Fire, being shot, stabbed, strangled, etc, etc.
== Relationships ==
=== Castmates ===
=== Other Characters ===
Category:Characters
Category:Original Character