#harakka oc asks

[artharakka]

Kehrä is a god or goddess of strategy, plots, and magic. A character for a project “Butcherbirds”.

She appears sometimes as a human, sometimes as a lynx, and sometimes as a mixture of both. Her symbol is two squares connected by their corners to form a figure eight or a symbol of infinity. Her realm is a deep purple night sky filled with stars and magic.

Her aid is often sought by desperate political and military leaders, ambitious scholars — and even by some who call themselves mages or witches. But if one manages to get her attention, they must be careful that they are dealing with the right god. For there is another god who uses the face of a lynx: Surma, the trickster god of chaos and storm.

Kehrä prizes knowledge and wisdom, but her favours to the mortals are often unnoticeable. She thinks her gifts must be earned through hard work, experience, and research. She has learned that divine knowledge should not be used by humans in their personal pursuits and wars, and those who ask her aid are often ignored as undeserving. Those who ask too much, are cursed to be sirens, mythical creatures who know everyone’s desires and, with promises of their fulfillment, lure the other greedy mortals to their demise in the rocky islands and shoals.

She has a more personal reason to keep the divine knowledge sealed away as well. Long ago, she aided mortals more readily and took a smart and ambitious boy as her apprentice. He studied and he learned and finally, he found a path to the realms of the gods. He tricked his way past the island of the dead, beyond the fiery and barren realm of Tuulikki and Marshes of Valkea. Through the Woods of Korpi and the Sea of Salvia. And as he made his way through those realms, he collected all the secrets of the gods into a single book.

When he arrived at the doors of Kehrä, she realized her mistake and closed her gates from the boy who usurped her place. But the mistake had already been made and the young man became a god. The new god, Surma, carved his realm of chaos and storm at the threshold of Kehrä’s realm where he still resides among the other gods.

[artharakka]

Naakka or Jackdaw “Jack” is a proud woman cursed by the gods. A character for a project “Butcherbirds” which is a work in progress as is her character, but here’s part of her story as it is now:

Before she was cursed to be a harpy — half bird, half human — she lived in the war torn borders of rivaling countries Oja and Allikko. She is quiet about her past, but she claims she was forced to leave her old home country after the Valkea Incident, when the god Valkea cursed many of the residents of the border towns already under siege or attack. The ones cursed were shunned in the fear of the curse spreading, and with her new body Jackdaw fled before the witch hunt got any worse.

Sometime during that time, she befriended another person touched by the curse. Half human, half viper, Shad was a bit younger than her, but a good (although sometimes a foolish) companion who did not mind or question her appearance. Together they boarded the  Northern Shrike, a pirate ship with a “cursed crew” whose captain is the now infamous “sea witch” Hilja. While Jackdaw doesn’t mind the outlaw’s life and raiding ships Hilja determines deserving of it, Jack’s pride doesn’t quite give in to following authority figures. Much less a foolhardy captain younger than her.

In addition, she has her own goals. Despite what she tells, it wasn’t Valkea who cursed her but Kehrä, the god of strategy, plots, and magic. Jack asked for her wisdom and powers to aid her when the armies of Oja and Allikko clashed. A knowledge to conquer and overpower, or maybe to protect? Perhaps neither, perhaps both, but Kehrä deemed her plea to be too greedy. The god punished Jackdaw for her hubris, and made her a siren — one of the cursed followers and believers who asked too much of Kehrä. The god gives them all the knowledge in the world, but only so that they can get lost in it, and in the remote islands and rocks they lure others greedy for knowledge and power to their demise.

However, Jackdaw, determined to avoid her fate, made a deal with another god to escape. She regained control over her mind and body and was able to push her fatal siren song aside. But when dealing with gods, there’s always a price — and her time is running out.

[artharakka]

I’m finally getting around doing and finishing these oc asks ::)

thanks all who send these! First one is Naakka tonight and then Kehrä (because I wanted to both write and draw something proper to introduce them)