Varga, God of Beasts

Varga, God of Beasts, is a War God that embodies primal fury, wild instinct, and an uncompromising territorial nature. He typically appears as a towering, 2.5-meter-tall lionkin, though he can assume any Beastkin form.

Varga has mixed feelings about Humans. He mates with many, but also pities them, considering them weak and disconnected from natural power. He respects the few that have overcome their weaknesses, and resents those that mistreat and enslave Beastkin. He occasionally retaliates by enslaving Humans of his own, whom he uses to fill gaps in labor.

Philosophy

Varga exalts strength and territory, maintaining a deliberately fearsome reputation to discourage casual intrusions into his domain. He embraces his role as the apex predator of his domain, enforcing a worldview that nature is a proving ground: rule if you can hold it, yield if you cannot.

Varga permits challenge by ritual combat because authority must be demonstrated, not inherited. Wound him and you earn voice; defeat him cleanly and he honors the result. Outside his borders he is indifferent, but within them his word is law and the wild comes first. His principles have forged an expanse of tribes that work as a highly effective war machine where the strongest thrive.

Domain and Order

Varga maintains a tribal domain that stretches between the Vargan Territories and the southern Darklands near Sanctum. His domain includes several living cities grown by the Fellowship, as well as Fang, a city dedicated to multiple warrior tribes fighting against the Dreadspire Infernum. Smaller tribal settlements remain the most common.

There is a disproportionately high number of veteran warriors within Varga's domain. Tribes are governed by Pack Leaders, those who earned their position through strength, with the greatest tribes led by Varga's Alphas. Pack Leaders coordinate raids, hunts, and defense. Varga intervenes when a tribe weakens the whole or violates his law of the wild, but is otherwise content to let the strong command.

Alphas

Alphas are Varga's Anointed, blessed with extraordinary physical abilities that exceed the peak qualities of other Beastkin. As with all Sacraments, Varga is constrained by divine essence, bestowing roughly one Anointment each year. Most Alphas earn their Anointment by proving themselves in challenge, though Varga occasionally chooses a Pack Leader for exceptional leadership.

Alphas grow larger, stronger, faster, tougher, and longer‑lived, with marked regeneration and sharpened predator instinct. The vast majority of Anointments go to Beastkin, though on very rare occasions another race may prove their strength. Varga converts them to a Softclaw Beastkin as part of the rite, which he also considers a distinct upgrade.

Alpha Beasts

Varga also grants his Sacrament to beasts, creating Alpha Beasts. An Alpha Beast costs roughly an eighth of the essence required to Anoint a mortal, so Varga grants a few in most years, and in some years deliberately grants more of them in place of an Alpha. He chooses almost exclusively powerful predators and Fey, making them larger, stronger, tougher, more intelligent, and far longer-lived than others of their kind, with marked regeneration. Their longevity keeps a few hundred alive at any time.

Most Alpha Beasts are gifts to Beastmasters, especially the warriors of his tribes, since Varga recognizes that a beast reaches its full strength only with a skilled handler. Pack Leaders and Alphas who train as Beastmasters receive them as well. They serve primarily as war-beasts and hunting companions. Artemis occasionally requests them for his Hunters, and Varga sometimes honors an exceptional beast outside his domain. He keeps no schedule for these grants, bestowing them when a tribe gains a new leader, at Artemis's request, or when a beast impresses him.

Notable Relationships

• Considers Artemis a powerful, worthy, respectable warrior. Is always willing to fight at his side.
• Sylvara, Dragon Goddess of Nature, occasionally builds lairs in Varga's domain, which are often used as tribal settlements.
• Treats Amara, Goddess of Compassion, with respect. When she visits, Varga often permits her to free a handful of slaves that handled their role with dignity.
• Holds Aedron, God of Crafting, in high esteem, though their relationship is almost entirely transactional. Varga values and appreciates the extraordinary weapons and tools that he's been granted for himself and his tribes, especially the commissioned equipment for his Alphas and most elite warriors and beasts.

Rivalry with Kratos

Varga despises Kratos, God of Conquest, and Valkyrie, Goddess of Battle. He believes Valkyrie's interest in combat is single-minded and morally bankrupt, and Kratos is a tyrant undeserving of respect. He openly mocks Kratos's authority and loves to remind everyone that Kratos refused his challenge to a duel to the death, wagered on the condition that the loser could not return to Gaia for a thousand years. The refusal is widely seen as an unusual concession from Kratos, and a begrudging recognition of Varga's superiority in single combat. Fortunately, Varga and Kratos are physically separated by the sea and on opposite ends of Endros, which has been necessary for keeping their tensions quelled.