Relationship
Valhir and Baphomet both embrace savagery, but in very different ways. Valhir channels his wild nature toward growth, freedom, and survival, guiding his followers to act with instinct. Baphomet revels in destruction, seeking to overturn order and crush life for its own sake.
They cross paths as opposing forces of chaos. Valhir defends life and the natural order, even in its rawest form. Baphomet spreads ruin without care. Both break rules, but one uplifts while the other destroys.
Possessions
Valhir has a Thorn of Kren that he sometimes lend to those entertaining him in his hunting ground.
Worship
Worshiper
Valhir is whispered about across countless cultures, his form and nature shifting like the wind on the tundra. To some, he is the Ancient Guardian, a spirit who defends the wild simply because it is wild. To others, he is a wandering force of tooth and claw, appearing only when the balance between predator and prey is broken.
The elves revere him as a free-roaming protector who bows to no court or king. Goblins tell of his uncanny will, a stubborn spark that lets him stride between life and death as easily as a wolf crossing a stream. Shifters see him as the Fanged Beast, wearing a hundred different animal shapes, each with fangs ready to pierce and test the worth of those who dare face him.
Valhir listens to no sermons and blesses no grand cathedrals. His followers build only what feels right in the moment—stone cairns in the forest, a wind-worn shelter in the hills, a candle lit in a lonely hunting lodge. Those who hunt with skill and respect often whisper his name before loosing an arrow, not out of duty, but because they know he enjoys the game.
Lycanthropy began as a blessing bestowed upon his most ferocious and unyielding followers. Meant to turn the tide against the Three Sisters, the blessing was as much about creating worthy opponents and companions as it was about victory. Over the centuries, it spread far beyond his original intent, taking root in strange lands and stranger hearts, until it became as untamed as the god himself.
Lair
Valhir dwells in the Beastland, in a shifting expanse known as Valhir’s Hunting Grounds.
This is no static paradise—it changes with his moods, storms rolling in without warning, rivers bending their courses overnight, and forests appearing where there was once open plain. The souls of the wild roam here without leash or chain, and those touched by lycanthropy are drawn to join them, reborn as beatfolks. Whether this is a blessing or a trap depends entirely on how one fares in the eternal chase. Under Valhir’s gaze, every hunt is an opportunity, every kill a story, and every escape a small rebellion worth savoring.
History
Relentless Storm
To some, he is the Fanged beast. To others, he is Ruin, He Who Stands. But to most, he is known as Valhir.
Valhir represents the unstoppable power and fury of the land itself, the primal and untamed hunt. The sagas tell how he created the mountains with one mighty swipe of his claws, and how his epic battle with
Stronmaus, formed the lake center of those mountains in the
Frosted heights.
In the days of the first dwarves, Valhir was venerated and worshipped by all, for they needed his indomitable strength to survive.
When the
Demon poured in Toriel, the War of the Ancients started, and Valhir took the fields alongside his followers, clad in rune-inscribed armor made by Stronmaus, god of crafmanship. At the time, his bond with Stronmaus was strong—they often fought at each other's side, even though Stronmaus never had quite the same lust for battle.
Valhir slaughtered hundreds of demons. It was during this time that Valhir's tenacity became legendary. While others quaked at the sight of the demons hordes, their numbers only spurred the bear to ever greater feats of strength. He would wade into the demons' ranks, fangs bared and spattered with their vile ichor, his great claws thrashing them by the dozen.
After the war, the dwarven society started to change, new ideas began to usurp the old beliefs.
Rise of the Dwarven Kingdom
Three sisters rose to power, seeking to control and impose order on the dwarven kind, Valhir looked to the most animalistic and savage of his followers, and graced them with his gift, lycanthropy. With them, he would defeat the three sisters. In preparation, he sought out Stronmaus to arm his warriors for battle.
But Stronmaus refused. He did not approve of the Werebear's savage ways, and a terrible fight erupted between the two gods. In the aftermath, Valhir cursed Stronmaus's name, and cast off his rune-inscribed armor. He would fight from then on with just tooth, and claw, and might, and thunder. Far from being lessened, Valhir found his full power was now unleashed.
With newfound rage, he confronted one of the mortal sisters. Before her entire army, he struck her down, killing her—but he was unable to stop what she had already set in motion. As the centuries rolled by, and despite Valhir's resistance, tribes gathered under the remaining two sister's leadership, forming the dwarven kingdom as we know it.
Many of the more ancient practices were forgotten. He saw dwarves cowering under their mountains rather than face the rawness of nature. He saw fields being tilled, and farmers herding cattle rather than hunting. He bellowed in fury to see great rivers dammed rather than be allowed to roar free.
To this day, the Valhir is still worshiped and revered, but more as a token of the dwarves' past.
Retreat to the beastland
Disheartened by the actions of dwarves and mortals, Valhir withdrew from their realms and established his own domain within the Beastlands, a realm named Valhir's Hunting Grounds.
In this untamed paradise, the souls of the wild are welcomed to roam freely. Those blessed—or cursed—by lycanthropy are also drawn to this domain after death. There, they are reborn as beastfolks. For these souls, Valhir offers the thrill of an unending chase, where they can embrace their primal instincts and revel in their new existence under his watchful eye.
Comments
Author's Notes
Inspired by Volibear from League of Legends and Goldrinn from world of warcraft.