#c!byoldervine

[byoldervine]

Character Info - Byoldervine

General Info

Name: Byoldervine

Nicknames:

• Overseer of Terran (title)

• Viney (by the other Celestials)

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: Older than the universe

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Unknown

Species: Celestial

Place Of Birth: The cosmos

Current Home: Last lived in Terran

Appearance

Byoldervine had tanned skin and brown eyes that looked almost golden in certain light. Her hair was often in a braided updo with long strands left out nearer the front, though her hair colour could vary and often was adorned with different flowers. She often wore loose and flowy clothing, finding it to be the most comfortable for her. She was always the most likely of the Celestials to be seen wearing what even humans would consider as casual clothing

Personality

Byoldervine was always very curious of humans and the way they perceived the world around them. She could get very protective and possessive of her realm, as well as easily frustrated with the other Celestials for meddling in her observations. She was very studious and perceptive, but also quite comfortable in her own solitude, preferring to observe than involve herself

Likes:

• Hearing the humans’ stories and myths

• Anthropology

• Peace and quiet

Dislikes:

• The other Celestials meddling in her realm

• Involving herself with humans

• Bitter food/drink, especially black coffee

Known Abilities

• Invisibility - Byoldervine was able to turn herself invisible

• Shapeshifting - Byoldervine was able to take the forms of those around her, though this ability was limited to humanoid beings

• Astral projection - Byoldervine could send her soul outside of her body for brief periods of time to allow herself to witness events all over Terran

Relationships

Family:

• Nordsvark Attolus (creator, fellow Celestial, brotherly figure)

• Mauthe (dog, later turned Barghest, treasured companion)

Friends/Allies:

• Aegis Cantor (fellow Celestial)

• Corrus Acaron (fellow Celestial)

Enemies:

• N/A

Backstory

Byoldervine was the youngest of the Celestials. Created by Nordsvark when life was new, he gave her a realm called Terran to watch over as she saw fit. He helped her to conjure beautiful landscapes and vast oceans, then filled the world they’d created with wondrous lifeforms of all varieties

Unlike her fellow Celestials, Byoldervine was much more content to watch over her realm and its development from afar. She was fascinated by how her human creations perceived the world around them, delighting in hearing their mythologies come about. She quickly learned that it was best to avoid intervening in their affairs if she wanted their own creativity and determination to really shine, and she discouraged the other Celestials from allowing their creations into Terran. They were allowed to visit, but they weren’t allowed to notably interact with the humans or allow the creatures to have their worldviews altered

Byoldervine treated her realm like a long-running TV show, always being keen to watch what they were getting up to, for better or for worse. Her distance from them lead to an emotional disconnect, with her growing desensitised to the violence and suffering she witnessed; she hated it as you’d hate it in a movie

She’d found the scaremongering about Y2K quite amusing until she began to fall ill, and for a time she feared the humans had predicted something far beyond her. The other Celestials were equally panicked, for they had never had to fear a Celestial dying. Byoldervine’s eventual passing in the year 2000, twenty-five years before our story takes place, struck fear and grief into the hearts of all those who outlived her - even more so after Corrus found no trace of her soul in Nexus after her death

Fun Facts

• Byoldervine had a mild allergy to peaches, but sometimes ate them anyway since they taste good (to be clear, her death was not peach-related; this is a fun fact, not a spoiler)

• Byoldervine was closest with Nordsvark, who would come visit her often to see how her realm was going. He was also fascinated by the humans’ mythos and would sometimes bring life to their fantasies, letting them find a home in his own realm of Paracosm

• Byoldervine had a pet dog named Mauthe, who stayed by her side until her passing. As per Byoldervine’s last wishes, Mauthe was turned into a Barghest and taken under Corrus’ care, remaining happy and loved by the Acarons to this day

[byoldervine]

Did Byoldervine just never have any children or was she supposed to have one that got cut like Perianth did?

Byoldervine never had children. This is a big reason why Aegis formed the Guardians; because now the human realm of Terran didn’t have any god to watch over it, and as such was going to fall out of order without his intervention. Corrus and Nordsvark commended his ability to stay calm and logical during their time of unprecedented grief while still remaining faithful to Byoldervine’s wishes for her realm to remain detached from the others. He was an enormous help to them during this difficult time

It was actually Byoldervine’s passing and the sudden realisation that they were jarringly capable of death that prompted the other Celestials to start finding heirs in the first place, though Nordsvark’s original daughter Perianth didn’t make the cut for the final book. I do have ideas for her to be used in future, though