Dazbog

Dazbog, also known as Dmitry for some time, is a fallen deity; once a primordial god of Freyr representing the coming of Spring through Winter and the harvest of the soil, he gained the domains of Strength and Compassion, only to lose almost his own self to the punishment bestowed upon him for slighting part of the Prism Pantheon. For a time he was the Keeper of the Underworld's Gates, and the Guardian of the Departed Souls as well.

## Dazbog

### Aliases

Dmitry (name given by Faenthie)Lion Guardian (former)

Plower of Soil (former)

God of Strength and Compassion

Keeper of the Dead

Lion Abomination

Beast (by Fachtna)

### Relatives

Faenthie ("adoptive" mother)Kalyna ("adoptive" sister)

Fachtna (cousin)

## Physical description

### Species

Primordial Deity of the Earth (former)Feline fera (mortal appearance)

### Gender

Masculine

Dazbog looks like a giant humanoid with some feline features reminiscent of the Fera race; standing 240 cm tall, his golden, dirty hair resembles an unkept mane, with menacing blue eyes and almost always, a permanent pained snarl on his face, the most human-like feature on him. He has fur covering most of his body, big hands and feet ended in claws, and ears and tail that of a lion. He usually stands in two legs, but can adopt four if he is on the prowl for hunt, and wears very little clothing, a measly tunic and a rusted piece of metal that serves as chestplate, and a cape lined with knotted hemp and toppled with fur of the prey he hunted, making him appear even bigger and more menacing than he already is. Sometimes, even if he doesn't really need it, he wields a lance made of the bones and metal remains of his fallen enemies.

Once his curse is broken, he can adopt a form less monstruous that can pass more for a lion Fera, his stature reducing significantly to 190 cm. He doesn't look in pain anymore and looks more bright and humane.

## Personality

As his punishment and erosion took hold of him, Dazbog's temperament was as ferocious and curt as one of a beast, if only to hide the immense pain and despair he felt. He takes his duties seriously, to the point of no having pity nor remorse when routing away malicious intruders, prey, or people who intended to battle him, or taking the belongings of those who died nearby his domain, as he despises graverobbers and scavengers deeply. However there were moments of lucidity and kindness when he warns people that are lost to not trespass, or even taking care of those who wind up sick and weak and end up stumbling upon the territory without wanting to, until they recover and can go back, sometimes putting them out of their misery if nothing can be done for them. Even so, he refused being cared up, and would push others away from him to not end up suffering as he did, the exception to this being a very persistent tiefling wanting to repay him for a favor.

When not in a depressed mood, he is quite curious and even eager, wanting to understand things that he doesn't. He suffered from heavy memory losses, that ended up dissipating the more he talked to people. He can be blunt when pointing things out, as he doesn't know about social norms. He cares deeply for the innocent, to the point of not standing seeing them in pain, and seeking to mitigate such suffering or cutting it short if there's nothing else that can be done. He is also very respectful and solemn about boundaries, as he instigates others, even his fellow godlings, to do the same.

## History

Once upon a time, thousands of thousands of years ago, a godlike lion was revered through the fields of the Kingdom of Freyr to greet spring and a warmer weather when the winter started fading. He would rake the snow away with his paws and plow the fields with his claws, caring for the land and letting the spirits nurture it and grow things on it. Then, when the land would give their hardwork fruits, he would aid in reaping what it was sown, returning to hibernate before the winter cold took the land.

That was until, one day, the dragons came and started usurping godly domains. Dazbog was lucky as he wasn't destroyed like others or fell immediately into shade as he was displaced, for the Fourth Dragon, Faenthie, took pity of him and adopted him so to have new responsibilities, as she took over his old ones. For a time, he lived in content, even if domesticated, under a new name, Dmitry, and adopted aspects that were already his for that was his temperament, caring and strong.

Then, one day, Kalyna, daughter of Faenthie, and Ishkandar, god of the dead and King of the Underworld, fell in love. Being at odds with the Chthonic gods, Virseth and Faenthie opposed to such union, but then, Dmitry, not being able to see his step sister suffering, aided her to meet Ishkandar on the Underworld. The dragons were enraged as he turned against them and the minions they sent on their search to destroy the Gods of the Underworld, and for that he was severely punished, stripped of his agency as god and falling from grace.

### Fall from grace

As he has fallen into oblivion, the cult to Dazbog and Dmitry has all but extinguished from the face of the land. Nothing remains that indicates that he existed as a god at all, and he was forgotten by all, except for his cousin Fachtna and his friends Idunn and Svarog, who tried to help him until he rejected them to avoid that they became hurt or cursed like him as associating with him. Until they both disappeared in strange circumstances, he was still on friendly terms to both Rulers of the Underworld, and as he remained as a keeper of its gates, he forged a promise with Ishkandar to watch over the departed souls and, like so, not lose himself completely.

Even with that, he fell prey to a phenomenon known within the gods as erosion: as every mortal forgot him, so he forgot even his name, his domains and his purposes, although he retained his preternatural strength and his compassion was only buried deep, but not lost entirely. He became akin to a feral beast, even if still capable of speech and reason, and fell to despair and ravaging madness as he hunted trespassers and gravediggers alike. And so, the legends of a monster as a keeper of the Underworld grew, even if few lived to tell the tale.

If only one mortal manages to know and remember him as he truly is, he could be saved, and as it happened, once he started to accept the aid of Maeve, he started recovering lucidity and his memories. Dazbog has an old fang of him that fell from his mouth once as he fought a legendary beast of horror thousands of years ago. Even if another grew in its place, he kept the fang with him even so, until he gave it to the tiefling as a present and a keepsake, holding the power to communicate with him even from large distances whenever she desired. The keepsake functioned as a blessing as well, giving its new keeper the immense strength he was once so known for.