So the GOAT obsession currently has me in a chokehold, so have an OC I drew within the last thirty minutes of my shift.
I genuinely don’t know what possessed me, cause I literally got nothing for him other than he’s like maybe four foot something and lives in Scorch Valley. Not a super duper roarball enthusiast, but he can toss it around when he’s up for it! I’ll more than likely add more thoughts once I do some more brainstorming.
Sketch and Colouring was Done by me
Lineart and Shading was done be Mal!
Honestly this was super fun, and i loved drawing Tristan, also i super did not wanna give Astrea horns because i liked drawing Horns on Tristan, super not, nope
Anyways it’s our Owl House OCs, Astrea for me and Tristan for Mal
“There are tales spoken in hushed whispers, beyond the ears of the Emperor’s Coven, about a tribe of witches who were bonded to spirits—mystical beings born of wild magic. An ancient race they were, said to have been the first children of the Titan when it fell. Taking the form of beasts, they had the ability to heal and speak to the Isles, calling upon its natural power. These gifts they shared with the witches, who took their name in gratitude, and together, they and their descendants settled near the Heart, wishing to live in harmony with the wilderness and their ancestor.’
“Centuries passed, and eventually their neighbors came to wield magic of their own, sparking a new age of discovery. In this time, the original covens were formed, each following one of nine disciplines, yet they all recognized the ancient tribe as the first masters. On their part, the tribe stayed distant from the others, though anyone willing to learn from them was welcomed among their ranks.’
“Everything changed, however, with the coming of the Savage Ages. Chaos reigned, and conflict and unrest divided the land until a new figure arose: a mysterious witch who called himself Belos. Claiming to be an emissary of the Titan, he vowed to bring unity to the Isles, insisting that unbound magic only brought disorder. One by one, the nine covens bowed to his teachings, but the ancient tribe resisted—they saw him for what he truly was, and would not give up the old ways. Their defiance led to their destruction, as Belos and his coven hunted them all down until, at last, only their chief remained. Accused of high treason, he was sentenced to petrification, frozen in stone as Belos took the title of Emperor over the Boiling Isles.’
“It has been thirty years since the tribe’s extinction, and the spirits have fallen silent, fading into myth and legend. But nothing lasts forever, for a new awakening has begun. The old ways will be found once more, and in time, the Isles will see the return of…’
To those who have followed me already on both this blog and my main account, I want to thank you all so much for your patience and continued interest as this has taken shape. To those who are here for the first time, my name is Drekasál, and I’m proud to announce the official master post and FAQ for the Wildborn AU!
I intend to update this as often as possible as I continue to work on new pieces—both artistic and literary—as well as answer whatever questions that may come up in the future, but for now, I figure the basics would be good to start with, first and foremost being…
What is the Wildborn AU?
The Wildborn AU is my personal contribution to The Owl House fandom, centering around my witchsona Tristan O’Connor who is its main protagonist. Taking place after the events of Season 1, it explores my own take on the history of magic on the Isles by introducing the Wildborn—a tribe of ancient witches bonded to powerful spirits of the same name.
Lore
Originating from days long before the Savage Ages, the Wildborn came into being when the Titan first fell, and hold great power over the Isles’ primordial forces. Reflecting their wild natures, their spiritual forms take on the form of beasts, both mythical and mundane.
In the past, the spirits had a rocky relationship with the early witches, whom had not evolved bile-sacs yet and thus relied on harnessing the wild magic of the Isles through glyphs. At some point in history, however, a young witch from an ancient tribe formed a Bond with the Thunderbird, the first of the spirits and their guardian. After that, the two groups grew closer, with more witches and spirits forming Bonds with each other, eventually becoming the Wildborn tribe. Harnessing the power of their spirits, the Wildborn witches did not need to rely on glyphs, and those pairs who developed strong Bonds could Merge to become a new being, a reflection of the spirit’s beast form combined with the traits of their witch.
Regarded as the first masters of wild magic, the tribe was well-respected for centuries, even as other witches eventually evolved bile-sacs and formed the original covens. Tragically, that came to an end during the Savage Ages, which saw the appearance of Emperor Belos and his enforcement of the coven system. Seeing the Wildborn as untamable and a threat to his teachings, he ordered for their persecution, hunting them down and forbidding any mention of them, until at last it seemed they had been wiped out. But the tales still persist, and the spirits live on, waiting for the day their Guardian will return, and restore balance to the Isles...
Inspiration
This AU draws inspiration from both Wolfwalkers and Brother Bear, both of which are beautifully animated movies, but the latter especially I consider a criminally underrated Disney movie. Wolfwalkers mainly inspired the Hellhounds, the secondary group of characters in the AU, but both movies played a part in developing the Wildborn themselves, particularly their powers and portrayal as animal spirits.
The Characters
Tristan O’Connor - Protagonist in the Wildborn AU. He is a faun witchling enrolled in the Beast Keeping tract at Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. Shy yet kind, he has a deep love of nature and the wild, though it is a passion he has been forced to curb up until now due to the rigidity of the coven system. It is revealed later on that he is Bonded to the spirit Anam, making him the first living Wildborn to exist in thirty years.
Aedh - Deuteragonist in the Wildborn AU. He is a member of the Hellhounds, a pack of wolf-like fire elementals who live hidden beneath the Titan’s skull. Daring and adventurous, he doesn’t have the same bitterness against witches like his elders, having not been born during the time of their persecution, and he welcomes Tristan warmly as a friend. He proves vital in helping the witchling adjust to his Wildborn powers, teaching him how to be a Hellhound when he is Merged with Anam.
Anam - Tritagonist in the Wildborn AU. He is Tristan’s Wildborn spirit, originally being the soul of a Hellhound pup born with “too little fire”. As the AU progresses, it is discovered that he is Aedh’s younger brother and littermate, thus making Tristan, through his Bond with Anam, Aedh’s spiritual brother and and a member of the pack.
Tuft - Supporting character in the Wildborn AU. He is Tristan’s pet griffin, getting his name from his tufted ears uncommon to his kind. A frequent companion of the witchling, he is fiercely loyal and protective, accompanying him on his adventures in the wilderness.
Eleri O’Connor - Supporting character in the Wildborn AU. She is Tristan’s mother and a member of Bard Coven, stated to be well-respected as a master of her craft. She is shown to be a caring and loving parent, though she constantly worries about her son, partly due to her frequent absence in the household, as well as her fear that Tristan might never fit in and suffer for it. Although she is Adar’s daughter, she is not Wildborn herself, having never Bonded with a spirit.
Adar O’Connor/The Thunderbird - Supporting character(s) in the Wildborn AU. Adar O’Connor is Eleri’s father and Tristan’s grandfather, and was the last great chief Bonded to the Thunderbird before the extinction of the Wildborn tribe. When Adar was sentenced to petrification, the Thunderbird permanently Merged with him to save his life, and they act as guides to Tristan and his allies as the AU unfolds.
Arduinna “Rina” Ward - TBA
Arwain the Seeress - TBA
This list will be updated as new characters are developed and added!
Are the main cast of The Owl House involved?
Yes, actually! Their roles are still being developed, but I do intend for Luz to play an important part in this AU, given her rediscovery and usage of glyph magic, and she becomes one of Tristan’s close allies. Eleri herself has had interactions/relationships with Eda and Lilith in the past, when they were attending Hexside together as teenagers.
Is this an open AU? (Can anyone participate/make connections?)
I definitely wish for the Wildborn AU to be as open-ended as possible, as I love making potential connections with the stories/characters of other creators in the fandom. Fair warning, however, that this AU is still in constant development, so things are liable to change! Don’t be afraid to reach out if you have ideas you want to run by me!
Is fanart/fan fiction allowed?
Y E S. Fanworks are 1001% allowed and would honestly make me the happiest person ever ;;V;;
Master List
Eye of the Storm - Lore of the Thunderbird.
No Mercy - Hellhound lore
Reassurance - Aedh welcomes Tristan
Locked or Free - 100+ follower Instagram DTIYS
One Being - Tristan describes the Merge
Dumb Animal - Tristan and Aedh encounter Boscha’s gang at the Knee
Tristan’s Beast Form - Reference sheet
Forces of Nature - Wildborn lore
The Thunderbird - Official model sheet
Adar Concept Art
Hellhound Reference
The Last Wildborn - Official banner
Healing - Gift art/animation for @sobsinfrench
«—•—»
If you have any more questions for me, don’t be afraid to submit an ask, and my inbox is open if you want to reach out to me directly! I also post artwork and occasional updates to my main blog @drekasal, so be sure to follow me there as well! Thank you all so much for reading through this, and have a wonderful day!
Just finished reading Chapter 12 last night, and I just have to say that I LOVED the entire Grudgby practice—excellent writing from both Willow and the Banshees’ perspectives, and Boscha’s reaction to Willow’s throw near the end there was priceless. Honestly, Skara could not have put it better: pretty sure the reason Willow didn’t go all out on them before was because she’s way too nice for that (even after them giving her nothing but shit for years).
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Willow is a huge comfort character for me because she resembles some of my own high school experiences, and that she gets to grow more confident in a way I personally never managed to at school is just... I love her. I love Willow so much.
She deserves the world.
And she also deserves to not be nice all the time.
Sassy Willow is the best, and her getting to show off is just... it’s great. It’s really great.
Have I mentioned I love Willow a whole lot? Hfhfhfh
Hello, there! So I remember some time ago that you did some analysis/speculation on Belos and the Nine Covens, specifically how you pointed out that the Covens are implied to have been around long before Belos came to power. Personally, I find that concept riveting (definitely have plans to use it in my own writing!), because
A) it would mean that Belos stating to have created the Coven System is in fact another outright lie, confirming he is indeed a tyrant bent on control
B) in general, itadds so much potential depth and world building to the Isle’s history, which I would love to see explored in Season 2, assuming that is the direction we go in
That in mind, I keep thinking back to the Savage Ages, and I wonder if they really deserve that title? If the covens existed during that time, but weren’t enforcing the constriction to one of the nine types of magic, then of course witches would want to experiment. Maybe it got out of hand because of a few overzealous individuals, but that’s hardly reason to punish everyone else.
Also, I’m sorry that you had a rough day today, and I hope things will get better!
I’m not sure that the “Savage Ages” entirely deserve the title bestowed by Belos. But I don’t believe that the age was a particularly peaceful time to live in.
In the post you mentioned above, I detailed my conclusion that the coven and tract systems pre-dated Belos’ rise to power. The TL;DR of that post is that I believe the main nine covens were the center of social and political power before Belos rose to power, and that magic schools and the tract system predated Belos’ rise to power.
I’ve had much more time to think about that theory since then, and I’d like to expand on it now.
I don’t think the life of a commoner during the Savage Ages would have been much better than life under Belos. I think that during the Savage Ages the various territories of the Boiling Isles were controlled by one of the main nine covens. Regardless of their origin, I believe that by the end of the Savage Ages the main nine were tyrannical oligarchies controlled by members of various aristocratic families such as the Blights and Clawthornes. And I believe that it was likely nearly impossible for a member of the common class to break into the higher ranks of these covens.
From what we’ve seen on the show, coven leaders appear to be selected not through democratic election but by their magical prowess. There is no reason to believe that this was not the case during the Savage Ages as well.
Witches appear to be born with only a rudimentary understanding of how to use their magical ability. Some witches are born with greater natural talent than others, of course, but the great equalizer between witches appears to be access to education and private study. Consider how Amity would fare in a witches duel against the naturally talented Willow if she did not have the education and resources provided by her parents. Of course, just like in the real world, not all education is cut from the same cloth and some parents cannot afford to send children to school who could be helping them work. If there are street urchins during Belos’ reign, then there were almost certainly street urchins before it.
Worse, consider how fragile peace between nine factions with competing interest and goals would be. It would be difficult for any child to learn if they are in the middle of an ongoing conflict.