Alteer

Appearance

Alteer is a quadrupedal being with a sturdy body covered in slow growing mosses and algae. She is a mottled brown in color and has blue eyes. Her spine is visible through her back, jutting out where it once connected to her shell. She has thick claws that help with digging and is about four feet tall when on all fours.

History

Early Life

Alteer's life started as her forest grew. She tended to the trees and to the growing life of her home. She kept herself present, but aloof from the lives of everyone in her forest. They were her responsibility, but she believed she could help them best by helping them from afar and letting them find their own solutions in their lives. It was clear to her that getting directly involved in their lives would only hurt them in the long run. They had to look out for themselves if they wanted to achieve anything in life.

The Great Fire

As the world shifted and pressures grew, a previously dormant volcano awoke from its slumber and erupted, causing ash and hot gasses to smother half of the forest. Trees fell, fires started, and the inhabitants fled to the western side of the forest to seek shelter. Alteer remained behind to try to face the challenge on her own, sticking to her personal beliefs that working alone through problems was the only way to accomplish anything. The ash, heat, and fire proved to be too much, and the great guardian spirit started to succumb to the disaster along with her forest. She lost consciousness soon after.

When she awoke, she found herself out of harm's way, but weakened. Keer, a crossbreed of a mnemodi and shadowkin, had come back into the danger zone to find her. He kept her resting and recovering for weeks, nursing her back to health with the help of other inhabitants of the forest. Alteer had never spent so much time with her people before and, while initially distant and quiet, began to ask them questions about their lives and how the disaster effected them. By the time she was back to full health, she'd made up her mind to help the survivors recover, just as they'd helped her. Keer became a crucial connection for her, since he knew the people and how they thought and acted far better than she did. With his help and energy, she came to appreciate that it's alright to offer and ask for help.

Keer's Death

As the years wore on, Keer proved to be a very important part of Alteer's life. A number of years after meeting him, a bad wave of influenza swept through and he was hit hard with the illness. After a week of suffering, he died, in pain and miserable. Alteer had witnessed death before, but never the death of someone she had a close emotional bond with. Rather than let him pass on to be judged, she used her powers to trap the Shade who came to take his soul away. After a long standoff with Death, she struck a deal with her. In exchange for Keer's life, she would give up something important of hers. The price for his soul was her protective outer shell; the part of her that kept her safe from danger. Thus, Keer's soul was bound into her shell and given a new life as her shield and protector.

The Deep Dream Island Epidemic

With Keer, now named Te'Keer to reflect his connection with her, by her side for keeps, Alteer set about keeping her forest safe and its inhabitants comfortable and happy. She got to know them and made herself available to them when they had questions or problems. She encouraged them to accomplish what they wanted, be it within the forest or in other lands. She and Te'Keer established a comfortable and prosperous forest. The peaceful time in the forest was not to last, however, as numerous people fell into a deep sleep, not awakening despite either of their best efforts. She considered keeping as many people awake as possible, but the idea was dismissed by Te'Keer. He brought up the danger of getting no rest, and, after thinking it through, Alteer was forced to agree with him.

She did her best to keep those who had fallen into the coma-like state safe and alive, uncertain of what else she could do to help them. Legend has it that one of the people from her forest was the one to free the sleepers, but, with Alteer's death, it is impossible to know for sure. What is certain is that after the crisis, a large number of people from her forest found their magic turned in the direction of dream magic, especially the shadowkin. It remained a core and important field of magic in her forest up until the forest's destruction.

Paranoia

Years and years went by after the Deep Dream Island Epidemic, and a steady calm fell over the forest. The only thing keeping life from feeling comfortable and normal was the straining relationships with the neighboring human settlements. A number of inhabitants from the forest were killed or injured after wandering too close to the human villages. Alteer began to keep a closer eye on the humans, trying to understand what led to this aggression. She could not identify any acts of hostility from her people and decided it would be safest to heighten defenses and safety around the edges of the forest closest to humans. Alteer began to advise those who wanted to leave the forest to explore not to go near human settlements, fearful that they would meet the same fate as the dead who had left earlier.

That All Changed When Navroya Attacked

After years of strained relationships with the forest's neighboring humans, Alteer was caught off guard by an attack from humans she'd never encountered before with technology and weapons that she could never have dreamed of. With her forest in flames for a second time and her people dying around her, she made up her mind to save as many as she could. She ordered Te'Keer to help as many survivors as he could and take them far away from the forest. Te'Keer argued against this at first, but, Alteer stood firm and sent him off in search of a safe haven. She was not sure how to stop these humans and, with light pouring in and her people dead and dying around her, she lashed out at invaders until the last of he energy was spent and she slid into death.

Abilities and Powers

Alteer is tied to her forest and all the people in it. She is able to manipulate life within the forest and cause plants and people to flourish and be strong. She is heavily tied to shadows and secrets, being the cornerstone of life in the Forest of Shadows. The darkness and gloom are her tools and she uses them to keep track of the going ons in her forest. One of her favorite tactics when dealing with dangerous outside forces is to cause hands and claws of darkness to reach from the shadows and bind up her enemies, usually suffocating them or crushing them under the weight of her powers.

She also possesses a sharp nose and sense of smell and is excellent at digging and foraging. Her eyes are excellent for seeing in dark places.

Relationships