Varthiir, often labelled as the Blood Hound for it's most commonly chosen form, is one of the Primordials who once dominated the Idryllian continent. It holds more power than most of the Primordials, having never been sealed during the Primordial Wars, and having taken a degree of the power of Nyrghaul when he and Leviathan slew the Elder Dragon of Death.
Persona And Relations[]
- Varthiir spends the majority of its time hunting prey in various guises, oft times being inevident in the world for years of human reckoning. Although it is one of the three patrons of the Beastmen, and the sole patron of Howlers, it spends little time actively guiding any of its children, though it continues to accept sacrifices and worship from them which aids in maintaining its power.
- It is worshipped among the beast-men, particularly the Fenrim that are its particular creations, the part-human Lopers, and the rare Skin Changer that also arises from the crossbreeding lines. While the other Primordials share a commonality with it, they also distrust it for its lack of effort in freeing them from their imprisonment. The Ghaulsyr, understandably, consider Varthiir a dangerous demon that wields too much power with too unclear a purpose.
History[]
The Lost Age[]
- In the Lost Age Varthiir roamed the continent in its entirety, hunting prey as it wished, in an assortment of forms. It would occasionally vye with Kabal for the leadership of their loose clan predominantly falling to its opponents superior strategy. During this time it became bored with the lone hunts, and created the Howlers in a first attempt to form a pack of hunters. Disappointed with the lackluster results, it consulted with Xyntix and Baelgar, and their combined efforts produced the trio of Beastmen races.
Primordial Wars[]
- After the first hostilities between Primordial Races and Draconic Races exploring the land erupted, the Elder Dragons began to venture to Idryllia to actively support their creations. Varthiir was one of the main Primordials to engage them in open combat, and quickly established knowledge of it's viciousness and fury. In concert with Leviathan, it orchestrated one of the Primordial's rare victories, ambushing Nyrghaul, the Elder Dragon of Death and slaying him. Varthiir would absorb the aspects of death, while Leviathan took on the remainder of Nyrghaul's powers.
Age Of Settlement[]
- The Leviathan largely retired to ocean depths, to consider the knowledge it had taken from Nyrghaul, while Varthiir continued to make its presence felt as the Beastmens' god. With its increased power, the shamans of the beast folk held steady against the expanding humans of Aergoth, and in occasional battles with the other Draconic Races. Despite Varthiir's absorption of Nyrghaul's death aspect, it had no regard for the duties such entailed, only occasionally venturing to the Hallowsgate to spread terror among the gathered souls there. Varthiir's Fenrim also began to capture humans, and even find some willing to convert to its ways. This resulted in the impure crossbreeds called Lopers, and the more diabolical Skin-changers, who took on some of Varthiir's own shapeshifting ability.
Age Of Knowledge[]
- The tide began to turn for the worse with the rise of the Arcane Society. Wounded heavily, and one of its eyes burnt away by Laycindarius, Aergoth's archmage, Varthiir retreated to consider how a mere mortal could accomplish such a wound. Lacking its support in the field, the Beastmen began to be pushed back into the Jungle of Yrae. The Society also broke a hole into the prison of Baelgar to drain the jungle's lake, unknowingly releasing the Primordial's angry presence out, to challenge Varthiir's dominion of the Beastmen.
Age Of Wars[]
- The Beastmen, thoroughly pushed back to the walls of Mardok itself, were saved by the outbreak of Aergoth's Civil War. Meanwhile within, Varthiir's followers clashed with the newly returned presence of Baelgar for dominion of the race. Neither having much concern for outside matters.
Age Of Cataclysm[]
- Laycindarius' return as a New God and raising the Temple of Keltraon as his own was a wake up call to the two feuding Primordials, as they saw the threat to their people from this former mortal and his chosen people so close to their own. They sent forth their children in an all out offense against Laycin, unkowingly saving the remannts of Aergoth from annihalation. While they were eventually beaten back into the Beast Lands, they had established a firm territory.
Age Of Reclamation[]
- Varthiir remained in the Beast Lands, largely quiet for most of the Age of Reclamation. This state continued until the Arbiter Eli, aided by the druidess Thaera, and other companions came to Mardok to confront the Primordial about his control of the Hallowsgate during the Revenant Crisis. Varthiir sought to hunt them through the Mountains, but they unsealed the prison of Xyntix, who counselled Varthiir to surrender the power of Death and the Hallowsgate to Eli, allowing the Revenants to be destroyed permanently.
Age Of Mortals[]
- Varthiir still remains as an exceptionally potent entity, with many of the powers of a god. He has a tremendous following among the Beastmen owing to the inclusion of the Lopers and Skin-changers. He pursues conquest or extermination of the Draconic races still, but is tempered by the wisdom of Xyntix and rationale of Baelgar. While the two remain leagues apart, in the north and south ends of the Idryllian continent, it is likely an enmity will exist with the New God Mizail, who favors a similar approach of bloodlust and hunting.