basics.the name gareth was given to me by a local tribe. they had asked my name, for referring to me as the ‘gentle giant’ seemed less than respectful - in their eyes; that is, i never much cared. i told them that i was without a name, and so three days later they proposed to me a new title: gareth, which meant “gentle.”
of course, later travelers would often mispronounce my name as “garth”... ...and “garrett.” |
name ;; gareth, "gar"
sex ;; male gender ;; male (doesn’t necessarily care about gender, finds it easiest to just go by male pronouns) sexuality ;; pansexual (shows little to no sexual/romantic interest) age ;; unknown, millenniums fearsthe unknown ;; his whole life (and that’s a very long time), gar has lived in one place, he has explored and traveled the same forest. it’s all that he knows. beyond the forest is a mystery, and sometimes the thought of leaving the forest is frightening. gareth doesn't’ know what’s out there
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likesstories ;; whether fables or the true tales of outside lands and people, gareth enjoys hearing of the world, both fictitious and not. stories transport him elsewhere for a while. the forest too has many stories - but gar keeps most of them to himself.
technology ;; gar is always behind, being as he’s so isolated. every so many years, someone shows up with a new gadget, and gareth learns more about the modern world. he still can’t believe the world changes so quickly. |
dislikestrespassers ;; the forest isn’t off limits to outsiders - in fact, the forest pays no mind to travelers. but those who harm the forest, they are trespassers, and as it is gar’s duty to rid of them, well, of course he doesn’t like them.
violence ;; being either on the receiving end or being the offensive party ultimately results in injury. gar heals quickly, but he hates to hurt a living creature - even if they are a jerk. this, and it disrupts his peaceful life. |
human appearance(written as a sort of alternate au !! he can't become human rip)
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everyday life / the hinorachi house
living in the forest every day for hundreds of years sounds like a punishment, and sometimes gar feels as though he’d done something wrong in a past life to have brought this upon him. but of course, he then remembers that he could leave the forest if he really wanted to, he only chooses not to.
so then, what does he do everyday?
well, often, gareth is in a deep slumber, only to be awoken when the forest warns him of danger. he might sleep for two days, or a month, or a decade. he hides in his tree, Yan, where he’s kept safe from the elements.
but when he’s awake, he’s wandering. he’s meeting new creatures, he’s discovering new plants. sometimes he chances upon another kalon - or rather, they chance upon him. if they don’t bolt (which they often do at the site of a large mysterious kalon), gareth will try to help, point them in the right direction or even act as their guide.
and when he can, he does as he was meant to do: he helps the forest. he sets injured animals back on their paths*. plants that have been placed in bad spots he’ll relocate. plants that are having a hard time growing, he’ll spend just a tad of magic on, so that one day, he’ll see them bloom.
*while he does all he can to ensure the forest’s safety, he does not intervene with the natural order of things. not all animals can live together in a friendly ecosystem, and that’s how it was meant to be. If an animal was intentionally injured by another animal (and gar would know), he’ll leave them be, even if that sounds harsh. he’s meant to keep the forest safe from outside elements, not save it from itself. of course, if some animal happened to fall from a tree and get hurt - well, then gar will step in, as that was only an accident and shouldn’t majorly affect a poor animal’s life.
when the days are beginning to blur together, gar travels to a spot that few have ever found. a spot where it’s quiet, where the only noise is the wind rustling old wind chimes. there’s a clearing, buried deep in the woods, and it’s possibly the largest - and one of the only - manmade structures within the forest. it’s a village, in fact, from what feels like eons ago: hinorachi village. now abandoned, what remains is only ruins, overtaken by invasive plants. but many structures are still more or less standing - one especially, that gar has taken care of all these years.
a lover once lived in one of hinorachi’s houses. she’s long since passed, but her house still remains with the help of gareth, taming the plants around it and patching up crumbling walls and hole-ridden roofs - he’s no repairman, but the forest bares many materials to build with.
this house has become a second home to gar, but more importantly, it’s somewhere for him to shelter all the things he loves - just like it did for her all those years ago. he’s made a collection of things, from rare flowers to strange trinkets to all the lost things he’s ever found in the forest. to others, the things he keeps may seem unimportant, but to gar, they’re curious and beautiful and bewildering. he has an old gemstone that another village once believed held the future. he has a teetotum, a top that spins and spins, and as he was told, it’s meant for a sort of game - one he can’t name, one he can’t play. he has a single thread of yellowing string, which in itself is even boring to him, but it’s not the string itself he keeps it for - it’s the hand game he was taught, where with only the string he can form a witch’s broom, or a cat’s cradle.
these days, he no longer can remember how to recreate these shapes with the string. to the string is maybe pointless, save that it’s a memento. each and every object he has holds some sort of memory of past - besides the lost objects he’s come across, which are merely interesting. he once held onto them with the thought that one day, the traveler who lost them would come back. but not once has any of these lost items been found, and so now they gather dust.
this is where gar often finds himself, just to sit among his collection and recall so many things. he still likes to fiddle with many of the things he’s received (as, when not lost, this stuff was gifted to him by passerby). his collection eventually exceeded this single house though, and now it’s spilled into much of the rest of the village. it keeps him busy for some while.
but when he’s exhausted his stay in the hinorachi ruins, he continues on his way, and his routine repeats itself. there is a creeping boredom constantly at the back of gareth’s mind, but he’s learned that there’s enjoyment to be had in this quiet life - of course, it’s not always quiet. there is always drama somewhere in the forest. always kalons making some sort of mess somewhere. always a disease running over the lands, clutching the legs of every animal and pulling them below. there are times of peace, where gar is free to do as he pleases. but there are also times where he can barely catch a breath.
this has only been the story of his quiet days.
so then, what does he do everyday?
well, often, gareth is in a deep slumber, only to be awoken when the forest warns him of danger. he might sleep for two days, or a month, or a decade. he hides in his tree, Yan, where he’s kept safe from the elements.
but when he’s awake, he’s wandering. he’s meeting new creatures, he’s discovering new plants. sometimes he chances upon another kalon - or rather, they chance upon him. if they don’t bolt (which they often do at the site of a large mysterious kalon), gareth will try to help, point them in the right direction or even act as their guide.
and when he can, he does as he was meant to do: he helps the forest. he sets injured animals back on their paths*. plants that have been placed in bad spots he’ll relocate. plants that are having a hard time growing, he’ll spend just a tad of magic on, so that one day, he’ll see them bloom.
*while he does all he can to ensure the forest’s safety, he does not intervene with the natural order of things. not all animals can live together in a friendly ecosystem, and that’s how it was meant to be. If an animal was intentionally injured by another animal (and gar would know), he’ll leave them be, even if that sounds harsh. he’s meant to keep the forest safe from outside elements, not save it from itself. of course, if some animal happened to fall from a tree and get hurt - well, then gar will step in, as that was only an accident and shouldn’t majorly affect a poor animal’s life.
when the days are beginning to blur together, gar travels to a spot that few have ever found. a spot where it’s quiet, where the only noise is the wind rustling old wind chimes. there’s a clearing, buried deep in the woods, and it’s possibly the largest - and one of the only - manmade structures within the forest. it’s a village, in fact, from what feels like eons ago: hinorachi village. now abandoned, what remains is only ruins, overtaken by invasive plants. but many structures are still more or less standing - one especially, that gar has taken care of all these years.
a lover once lived in one of hinorachi’s houses. she’s long since passed, but her house still remains with the help of gareth, taming the plants around it and patching up crumbling walls and hole-ridden roofs - he’s no repairman, but the forest bares many materials to build with.
this house has become a second home to gar, but more importantly, it’s somewhere for him to shelter all the things he loves - just like it did for her all those years ago. he’s made a collection of things, from rare flowers to strange trinkets to all the lost things he’s ever found in the forest. to others, the things he keeps may seem unimportant, but to gar, they’re curious and beautiful and bewildering. he has an old gemstone that another village once believed held the future. he has a teetotum, a top that spins and spins, and as he was told, it’s meant for a sort of game - one he can’t name, one he can’t play. he has a single thread of yellowing string, which in itself is even boring to him, but it’s not the string itself he keeps it for - it’s the hand game he was taught, where with only the string he can form a witch’s broom, or a cat’s cradle.
these days, he no longer can remember how to recreate these shapes with the string. to the string is maybe pointless, save that it’s a memento. each and every object he has holds some sort of memory of past - besides the lost objects he’s come across, which are merely interesting. he once held onto them with the thought that one day, the traveler who lost them would come back. but not once has any of these lost items been found, and so now they gather dust.
this is where gar often finds himself, just to sit among his collection and recall so many things. he still likes to fiddle with many of the things he’s received (as, when not lost, this stuff was gifted to him by passerby). his collection eventually exceeded this single house though, and now it’s spilled into much of the rest of the village. it keeps him busy for some while.
but when he’s exhausted his stay in the hinorachi ruins, he continues on his way, and his routine repeats itself. there is a creeping boredom constantly at the back of gareth’s mind, but he’s learned that there’s enjoyment to be had in this quiet life - of course, it’s not always quiet. there is always drama somewhere in the forest. always kalons making some sort of mess somewhere. always a disease running over the lands, clutching the legs of every animal and pulling them below. there are times of peace, where gar is free to do as he pleases. but there are also times where he can barely catch a breath.
this has only been the story of his quiet days.