Okem Bereng

**Okem Bereng** is the older brother of Shiah Bereng, and was her sole caretaker. After the murder of his parents due to a Snow Owl raid, Okem raised Shiah on his own, sacrificing his childhood and managed to become a herbalist to make ends meet, and later on befriends Colbalt Majmua after Shiah brings him to their cottage to introduce him to Okem, resulting in the three becoming an inseparable trio. However, he was later on kidnapped by Snow Owl's when trying to protect his sister and left his sister with no caretaker.

## History

Okem was the eldest child of Maisha and Ashka Bereng, master herbalists who made ends meet through selling potions and herbs. Two years later, his sister, Shiah, was born. Okem expressed immense affection and love for her, taking care of her when his parents were collecting herbs to sell and gave her his undivided attention. In his younger years, he would defend her from other barn owls that would pick on her for not developing her magic yet and acted like both her acquaintance and her friend.

However, when he was nine, his parents were killed by the Snow Owls, the elite ruling force of his village of Ingriask who sought to rid the barn owls, perceiving them as imperfections in their village. Okem and Shiah hid in a closet during the ordeal, fortunately not being seen. Okem, realizing his parents were dead, took on the responsibility of raising Shiah by himself and sacrificing his childhood. He started to gain independence at a young age and became a skilled hunter, later on taking the job as a herbalist to make ends meet two years later.

While Shiah was playing in the meadows under his supervision, she met Colbalt Majmua, who she later introduced to him. Despite his skepticism, he befriended him and became close with him, considering him family later on and allowed him to play with Shiah at their cottage and allowing him to stay over, sometimes tagging along in Colbalt and Shiah's playdates. The three became an inseparable trio and considered each-other family after knowing one another for many years and remained close with them both.

When he was sixteen, the Snow Owl's had launched another invasion in Ingriask on a winter night, burning down the remains of the village. When attempting to flee with Shiah, Snow Owl's barged in his home and attempted to seize her, but Okem came to her defense and ordered her to run, promising he would meet her in the widows after. Shiah listened to her brother and ran away, but never saw her brother after. It has later been revealed that Okem was kidnapped by the Snow Owls when attempting to run away from them to see Shiah, and it is unknown if he was killed or turned into a soldier.

## Appearance

Okem was a tall man with a slender build. He has brown skin with one white and one blue eye and long, beige hair that extended to his shoulders and two large brown wings with short, pointed ears.

Okem donned a dark blue shirt with a silver neckpiece and a white cloak that strung around his body with a mute blue necklace, and around his waist is a tan satchel he used to keep herbs. Additionally, Okem has old, peach-colored bandages with gray pants and tan furry boots with two bandages wrapped around his ankles.

## Personality

Though little information is known about Okem, Shiah described him as a kind and affectionate man, always showering those around him with love and incredibly selfless, putting those above himself and concerning about others frequently. He was also described to be hardworking due to his prolonged hours collecting herbs so he could sell them in order to raise his younger sister. Okem was mostly protective of Shiah at a young age. After their parents death, he was noted to be overprotective and sheltered her to ensure she would not have the same fate, going as far into defending her from the Snow Owls, despite being aware of the consequences.

## Abilities

**Overall Abilities:** Though Okem is never seen engaging in combat, he proves to be an excellent caretaker and a master herbalist. Carefully observing his parents occupations, he inherited their skills of herbology and managed to secure a job as a herbalist because of his knowledge in medicine.

**Soothing Voice:** After his parents death, Shiah described Okem as having a soothing voice, singing her to sleep before putting her to sleep. He later on taught her his favorite songs and was an avid singer, though was insecure of his voice. According to Colbalt, Okem would sing many songs to Shiah in order to cheer her up after rough days at school or being teased by other barn owls to show his care and affection towards her.

**Master Herbalist:** After observing his parents collecting herbs and making several potions, Okem has demonstrated to be a talented herbalist. He was able to make a solvent that healed Shiah's wound on her arm after she fell from a tree and healed Colbalt's wing after he injured it when attempting to fly for the first time. His herbal skills are further proven when he made large profits off of his medicines and plants he sold.

**Flight:** As a barn owl, Okem is able to soar from high distances because of the size of his wings. Though, despite his ability in flight, he does not transform like his sister due to a defected gene that prevents him from transforming into a barn owl.

## Magic Abilities

**Pyrokinesis:** Okem has enhanced pyrokinesis, often utilizing it to start fire in their home for warmth and uses it as a defense mechanism from the Snow Owls, as they are weak to fire. He is able to release small balls of fire in order to light up fireplaces or lanterns so he could provide warmth, but does not use it when in combat.

## Weaknesses

**Selflessness:** Similar to Locaster, Okem has proven to be extremely selfless, though it is perceived to be his main weakness because of how he puts others before himself. Because of this mindset, he often has a hard time deciding what is best for himself because of his constant focus on Shiah and others around him.

## Relationships

### Shiah Bereng

Shiah is Okem's younger sister. Since their parents murder by the Snow Owl's, Okem was her sole caretaker and provided her with the essentials she needed, alongside mountains of affection. Okem perceived Shiah as his "ray of light," and became overprotective of her at a young age, sheltering her and not allowing her to go outside for long because of the fear she would be murdered. He further shows his protectiveness after she introduces him to Colbalt, where he felt skepticism towards him after losing trust in other people. However, after he finds out that Colbalt is a good natured individual, he allowed Shiah to be around him.

Shiah perceives her brother positively and treasured him dearly, inhabiting his love for music and used it as a coping mechanism after he was taken away from her, only having the song he used to sing to her before they would go to sleep and began playing the flute. She had a hard time moving on from her brother's kidnapping and wishes to see him again and worries for him intensely.

### Colbalt Majmua

Colbalt was one of Okem's close acquaintances. At first, Okem felt suspicion towards him because of his high caution levels after the murder of his parents, having a difficult time trusting him out of fear he would betray them. However, after realizing he was a kind person, he viewed him as family and allowed him to stay in their home so Shiah would not feel alone and purely to spend time with one another. Okem viewed Colbalt as a younger brother and found him polite, as he always greeted him and asking him how he and Shiah were.

As they started to know each other to a better extent, Colbalt viewed him as his older brother and even a father figure after he was abandoned by his parents. He described him as a kind soul who always put others above himself and very affectionate, hugging him whenever he came over to play with Shiah and showed him unconditional love. Like Shiah, Colbalt worries for him and hopes he will see him once again.

## Trivia

* Okem is one of the first characters with an unknown status.
* According to Colbalt, Okem was a proficient cook and enjoyed cooking as a hobby.
* Okem's hobbies were painting, cooking, and herbology.
* According to Shiah, Okem used to play the dholak, a type of drum that originated from South Asia. In his childhood prior to his parents death, he used to be in a musical group in his schoolhouse and was skilled at playing the drum.
* Okem liked grapes, herbs and music, while he disliked the Snow Owl's, rain, and scary stories.