Mosga

Art by @\_cyanreef\_ on Instagram

Mac-Tíre (Adoptive Brother)

**Mosga** is a goliath druid and member of the Victims of Circumstance. He is stoic and solemn, but is not afraid to put himself in harm's way to protect those he cares about. He was raised by a woman named Scáthdia — a devout follower of the Morrígan — and taught the Morrígan's tenants at a young age. After undergoing a ritual that transformed him and his siblings into unseelie fey hexbloods, Mosga — then known as Scáth-Ursa — obeyed the Morrígan's brutal instructions and murdered various individuals marked by his goddess.

Now, Mosga is a loyal and dedicated man with a desire to help others. He is always seeking to improve himself and provide sanctuary for those who are less fortunate. Thanks to the goddess Artio and the druids of the Arcturus Wilds, he is finally learning to forgive himself and to free himself of his past.

## Biography

### Backstory

Mosga was born deep within the wilds of Zellitia. He was raised by a powerful woman named Scáthdia — who initially named him Scáth-Ursa — alongside her daughter, Skadi, and her other adopted son, Mac-Tíre. The three children underwent a powerful and painful ritual that transformed them into fey creatures known as hexbloods in order to enhance their powers and strengths. This gave each of them a crown of thorns and empowered them with illusionary abilities and magics.

For many years, Scáth-Ursa and his siblings obeyed Scáthdia and the Morrígan. They were tasked with hunting and killing marked individuals who had avoided or reversed death through magical healing. According to the Morrígan, there was no more honorable death than that of dying in battle. If one avoided this fate, the Morrígan sent her followers to complete the task and destroy the body in a ritual called the Wicker Rite.

As Scáth-Ursa grew older, however, he began to doubt his resolve. He and his siblings each specialized in a specific animal: he a bear, Skadi a crow, and Mac-Tíre a wolf. While hunting one fateful day, Scáth-Ursa encountered a bear cub in a deadly trap. He made the decision to free it, rather than kill it, and unwittingly earned the favor of the goddess Artio.

Artio, the goddess of bears, the moon, and starlit skies, appeared to Scáth-Ursa in a dream and thanked him for saving the bear cub. She saw kindness in him and encouraged him to leave the Morrígan, insisting that her harsh tenants were not necessarily the correct way of life. Scáth-Ursa promised to consider it and returned home.

Soon after, however, he and his brother got into an argument. Scáth-Ursa suggested that Artio might have a point, but Mac-Tíre considered the thought blasphemous. He tried to attack Scáth-Ursa with a magical blade — one whose injuries cannot be healed from — but was intercepted by Skadi. Skadi was injured in Scáth-Ursa's place and Mac-Tíre fled, though whether in shame or pride was unclear.

Scáth-Ursa, now confident in his decision to abandon the Morrígan, promised Skadi he would find a cure and left Zellitia to seek help for her condition. He wandered across continents, sailed across The Expanse, and made his way to Tesska until his journey was interrupted by a sudden unplanned visit to the land of Prismeer.

## Description

### Appearance

Mosga is a tall, imposing goliath man with gray-colored skin. Across his chest, arms, and face are various tattoos in crescent moon-like shapes. His brown hair is long and often braided behind his back, and while he was a hexblood his hair was unable to be trimmed or cut short. He often carries a staff adorned with a crescent moon symbol.

Before being free of his hexblood curse, Mosga had a crown of thorns infused permanently into his head. He could remove a thorn from the crown and communicate through it, but the removed piece would grow back within seconds. After breaking the hexblood curse, the crown of thorns disappeared and he became a true goliath again.

As a druid, Scáth-Ursa can also transform into animals. Most often he takes the form of a brown bear, and on occasion manifests an astral bear-like visage with transparent fur covered in stars. This "starry bear" form is a gift from the goddess Artio.

### Personality

Mosga is notoriously stoic and quiet. He doesn't speak often, but when he does it's wise to listen. He takes things very seriously and is sometimes brutally honest with his words, but he is incredibly loyal. Mosga is extremely protective and works tirelessly to keep others safe, often sacrificing his own comfort to do so. Some might say he doesn't know how to have fun, but leisure is simply not one of Mosga's priorities.

Before defecting from the Morrígan, Mosga was apathetic and obedient. It took him many years to start questioning the Morrígan's teachings, and even longer to start regretting his past. Now he is apologetic and regretful of his actions, and seeks redemption by healing and helping those around him.

## Abilities

Mosga is a Goliath Circle of the Moon Druid. He often utilizes his wildshape and "starry bear" form in combat, and has a wide variety of nature-based spells and magic at his disposal. Once he was also a Twilight Cleric of Artio, but has since departed from the path of a cleric to pursue an independent future as a druid.

As a goliath, Mosga has an innate resistance to cold environments and can shrug off damage from more devastating attacks. When Mosga was a hexblood, he had several illusionary abilities he could wield. Now, however, he embraces his natural-born traits and possesses the strengths and inherited abilities of his ancestors, the giants.