Full name: Oren, son of Nerr
Race: Cursed Hipocci (otter morph)
Birth place: Hipocc
Occupation: Warrior, writer, scout
Residence: Metamor Keep (706 - ), Hipocc (? - 706)
Religion: Immerser
Creator: Oren the Otter
First Appearance: Oren
Oren is the de facto leader of the Hipocci refugees, who have set up an enclave near Metamor Keep and the lighthouse. He arrived in May 706 CR, accompanied by the dragonette Gornul, already changed into an otter morph due to a magic spell. He became well-known as a writer and storyteller. Soon after his arrival, and over the course of a month, he built a lighthouse outside Metamor Keep. This lighthouse became the focal point of his community: first, the Os-Var-Khaians would built a chapel here; then it became a living space for Gornul's family; then it became a base for the Hipocci refugees after Hipocc's destruction.
Oren gained some infamy after he was found to have been sheltering a Lutin named Vitra, who was not only half-human (and so gained the curse), but hated Lutins and wished to fight for Metamor. They were nonetheless arrested and nearly executed.
History
Though a commendable Hipocci warrior, Oren was unpopular in Hipocc due to his love of storytelling and tendency not to follow rules. One day, he spontaneously drank the forbidden magic water from Hipocc's lake. The council planned a temporary exile for him, but Oren instead chose to exile himself forever.
The water slowly transformed him over a matter of days, eventually making him indistinguishable from an otter morph. Superstitious Midlanders drove him north to Metamor Keep, with fellow wanderer Gornul.
At the Keep, Oren was celebrated for his stories and ideas, making friends with many prominent Keepers. He also began building a tower outside the Keep, which became a lighthouse and a residence for the Keep dragonettes, the Os-Var-Khai chapel, and later the Hipocci refugees.
After many good deeds, including acceptance into Long Scout training, Oren was arrested for befriending and housing a Lutin named Vitra. He escaped execution only by the intervention of the Duke and Zhypar, and by agreement on Vitra to give intelligence on the Lutins.
Oren and Vitra fell in love, and were married in late 706 CR. Twin babies were expected, as of early 707 CR.
Appearance
Oren's curse comes about through odd circumstances. As a Hipocci, he is naturally resistant to magic, save that which was part of Hipocc's cursed lake. After drinking it, he became physically indistinguishable from an otter morph, even retaining the ability to shift to a full otter, even though the curse had not hit him yet.
A couple of days after the Summer Festival, all 3 of the curses hit him at once, though in different levels of magnitude. The child curse and gender curse had struck him mildly, and he alternated between an adolescent age or a young pre-pubescent age, as a girl otter or more commonly as a feminine boy otter. He was able to shift, with effort, to a full adult, though always as an otter. After using a potion to temporarily take on human appearance in late 706, he reverted to an ordinary otter morph afterwards, and has not been able to change age or gender since.[2]
He has long black hair, and generally human proportions. He usually wears a vest with cuffs and a red cape, pieces of his Hipocci uniform. Unusually, he doesn't wear pants; he prefers to wear only blue-colored briefs. His preferred weapon is the staff.[1]
Personality and Skills
Oren tends to be laid-back and open-minded, with a creative mind and a bit of a mischievous streak. He tends to get along better with his Hipocci friends, fellow otter morphs, and other storytellers than he does the warriors of Metamor. He sometimes ignores the rules in order to do what he feels is right. Ever since he drank the water at Hipocc, he sometimes makes weird animal noises when he speaks. He is a devout Follower in the Immerser denomination.
Though competent as a soldier and a leader, his main occupation is as a court writer. Though he was formally invited into the Long Scouts, and has had a bit of training with them, his membership doesn't seem to have lasted.
Relationships
- Vitra: A lutin who begged Oren to kill her. Oren's decision to instead spare her, lead both to a relationship neither expected: love. In late December of 706, Oren decides to marry Vitra.
- Nerr and Felice: Oren's father and sister, his only remaining family. After the battle of Devil's Strand, both of them live in Metamor Keep, where he can protect them and keep them safe.
- Sawana: Oren's childhood friend from Hipocc. Though he did not reciprocate her feelings for him, he would have done anything for her. He mourned her death in September 706, for months.
- Gornul: His first friend outside of Hipocc, Gornul is a true companion of Oren, although their different military talents often separate them in battle.
- Jesse Roo: A peasant kangaroo morph from Lorland who rescued him on the road. Through their shared connection to the Childlike Warrior prophecy, and their experiences together, they have become good friends.
- Charles Matthias: As a fellow Follower of the Way and writer, Oren is very interested in Charles, and maybe a bit too interested in his secrets. After Charles realizes how much Oren knows of the Sondeckis, relations between them have gone cold.
- Caroline, Barney, Rashim: Fellow otter morphs of Metamor. Gornul introduced them to each other so they could be friends. Though Oren likes them all, he is closest to Caroline, who is a very friendly person and a fellow scout.
