Tesni

Tesni is one of the Secondborn, and together with their sibling Nima, they make up the cycle of night and day. Tesni is merciless and hotheaded, and demands absolute respect from those who hope to tame their sphere for their own purposes. Among the Bones, they are the most removed from mortal life, only intervening to remind mortals of their fury.

## Sphere

Tesni is the god of the sun, and its life-giving warmth. As much as Daire is the god of life, Tesni is the enabler of it. But the sun can be cruel and merciless as much as it can be nurturing, much like Tesni themself.

The second aspect of their sphere is light in all its forms - from sun rays to fireflies, all natural light comes from them. Tesni’s light detests illusion, and always burns true.

Finally, they are the god of fire, untamed and unbound. It is this aspect that Tesni often announces themselves through - for fire is something that mortals use daily to perform their tasks, an element almost mundane. Only sometimes, Tesni is there to remind them that fire is never truly tamed.

### Secondary Sphere

As the guardian of the daylit sky through their governance of the sun, Tesni was also assigned control over the winds. Although their siblings will occasionally ride the breeze to bring rain or cold, the winds themselves answer to Tesni alone. Their season is summer.

Like Nima, Tesni differs from the Firstborn in that one of their aspects is directly tied to mortals; this being the forge. As the Forgemaster, Tesni is the enabler of the art of blacksmithing and its related fields.

## Mythology

Tesni belongs to the Secondborn, and is the younger sibling of the Firstborn, but older than the Soul who came after. They get along remarkably well with both of their older siblings - with whom they often work to create various weather phenomena - but have a strained and sometimes even violent relationship with their twin. The two seemingly hate one another, but in a twist of irony they are just as much a self-completing circle as their older siblings.

Unlike their sibling, Tesni is generally indifferent to mortals, and rarely chooses to interact with them in any capacity other than to show their ire. Their element requires constant supervision, and can easily turn on those who seek to master it - something that it is believed they take great joy in. Tesni punishes the careless harshly.

It is however said that if Tesni truly notices a mortal, their adoration and favor knows no bounds, and that such individuals will become the envy of all blacksmith’s of the land. Naturally over the course of history, several artisans have claimed to be one of these fabled favorites.

Tesni is generally depicted as nonbinary.

### Appearance in Art

Tesni is portrayed as golden in color, with dark markings resembling soot. They are slender but strong, with long legs and blazing white eyes. Their hair is often styled into sunrays. They are always shown with their ram as company, and wielding their blacksmith’s hammer. Occasionally an anvil will also be present.

When shown with their halo, it is one of burning hot sun. Flames may surround them, but they are unburned. When shown as benevolent, they are oft surrounded by a gentle summer landscape, or a blacksmith’s workspace. When their malignant side is portrayed, the background is usually that of utter destruction - forest fires or sun-scorched earth.

Tesni is sometimes portrayed together with their sibling Nima, often chasing or fighting them.

## Worship

Tesni is primarily the patron of blacksmiths and others who work commonly and consistently with fire. Typically a small symbol of Tesni, often a small ceramic ram, will be kept near the forge or other source of fire in hopes of placating them. It is said Tesni suffers no other god in a space dedicated to them, but especially not Nima.

Tesni usually has a small temple in any town, and even some of the smaller villages. The purpose of these temples is to keep Tesni from showing their ire by burning the whole village down. Tesni’s temples rarely receive worshippers as visitors, but are instead solemnly and dutifully tended to by dedicated priests.

Tesni’s favored offerings are summer flowers, incense and metal ores. Worship of Tesni is expressed through small, daily gestures and mundane rituals, as well as care for any altar or ram idol that might be present in the home.