Iovar

"The forest has eyes that make one tread with reverence, should they wish to emerge alive." -Laurel Legend has it that tucked away in the deepest reaches of the Blackroot Bog lives one of Tya's most seasoned hunters. Reclusive, enigmatic, and silent as the night, Iovar, the Forest Sentinel, earned his reputation not through any type of showmanship or overt displays of heroism, but rather by his demonstrated loyalty to nature and methodical mastery of the bow. Though his exact origins are unclear, Iovar has roamed Tya for centuries, and is presumed to bear some type of connection with Tya's spirit of the forest, the Mother Tree. Known only to appear by the light of the moon, Iovar's presence is exceedingly rare, and few have ever encountered him in the wild. Yet, his watchful gaze and penetrating powers of observation, symbolized by the eyes of a fallen serpent god inlaid in his armor, are widely acknowledged. Millennia ago, following the collapse of a scalekin kingdom, all magic harnessed by this civilization soon flowed back into the land, forming a myriad of savage beasts which grew unprecedentedly ferocious and aggressive. Rhyx, the two-headed serpent demigod, was among such beasts. When desecrated shrines of the fallen kingdom degenerated into altars of cultist worship for Rhyx, it was Iovar who dutifully stepped forth, clad in Ironwood armor, with his ancient greatbow at hand. Rhyx was incensed by such impudence, but he underestimated Iovar's resolve - for the lone fae was equipped with a quiver of massive sword-projectiles, ones which could penetrate through this serpent's carapace-like scales and pierce its heart. The demigod hissed and croaked as blades mutilated its body, its blood and toxins being sprayed across the walls of the altar. As it slithered in its own entrails, Iovar removed the head of the serpent, placed it upon the altar, and proceeded to gouge out each one of its eyes, inlaying them into his crown, gauntlets, and greatbow. This was a message for those who sought to upend Tya's natural balance: Tread lightly, and with caution. With forces of darkness now ever impending in Tya, rumors of the Forest Sentinel's return are whispered in undertones. Will the darkness ever be eradicated, or is this, too, another natural cycle in Tya?