Description
Beryx was a tall, skinny halfling in life, sporting a mop of dirty brown hair and a wispy beard along his chin, who never looked like he wore clothes or armors that fit him, but was a dextrous, formidable opponent atop his riding hound “Red.”
Personality
The Dog Knight is the paragon of nature-centric, gregarious prosperity. He has an infinite well of compassion for all life, giving freely of his time and energy to teach and provide. Beryx is also endlessly willing to put himself in harm's way to defend life in all its forms, advising all who would follow his path to do the same.
Beryx died fighting undead, so he and those devoted to him are often understandably unwilling to tolerate their creation or use for any reason, except in extremely rare circumstances where a person or culture that has thoroughly earned his goodwill has a great need and
no other option.
Thanks to his aggressive advocacy for balance and respect for nature, he is one of very few Inaethri who
Vrokíva has ever consciously ignored, which has saved his life on more than one occasion in the past.
Abilities
The Inaethri of protection and prosperity was a druid heirophant before his Inaethrid, and his powers have only grown stronger in the last 40,000 years. He can call upon any druidic spell or power without effort, as nature listens to his polite requests and takes his thoughtful opinions to heart. Beryx was also a capable mounted warrior, riding his mastiff into battle with the decisiveness of a paladin, the wisdom of a sage, and the luck of the halfling folk. He typically wielded shields and spears or lances made of wood, which would sprout thick vines covered in vicious barbs, to trap his foes and subdue them with pain rather than death.
Beryx is also known for his thoughtful advice, providing a unique perspective that guided some of the oldest cultures of Gylidd island through the toughest times.
Worshippers
"If you come to make peace, then my hands bear fruit to share and seed to plant. If you come to make war, then my hands bear rope to bind and thorn to bleed. I will give you all that I have to spare, in either case."
— Ser Hanfo Molybulb, First Dog Knight of the Order
The Dog Knights are Beryx's devoted, made up of clerics, paladins, druids, rangers, fighters, and any others who show a penchant for seeking the most peaceful solution at all times, but also being fortified against the worst outcome. Holy sites dedicated to the Dog Knight are known as Kennels of the Kind, and the oldest one in Gylidd is located in Hynfaol.
As an Inaethri, Beryx is
loved by Gylidd. The concepts of kindness, selflessness, and environmentalism are as intrinsic to Gylidder culture as the ley lines themselves. It is incredibly unlikely that - short of a culture shift and the rise of an even greater Inaethrid - that Beryx will ever fade away.
Activities
Beryx's time, advice, and healing are freely given, but is also in short supply. He is often torn between his followers' needs, and finds some difficulty in choosing who to potentially leave behind. As such, the Dog Knight instructs his strongest followers to act swiftly and with great heart, in his stead. He also asks them to break the fast with others, develop community, and be ever prepared to fight for what they have.
Divine Realm
Beryx' outer plane is known as
Pugnaceum, named for the riding hound breed his family raised when he was a boy, and the sort of mastiff he brings into battle. It is a beautiful blend of natural landscapes found all across Gylidd island, and within each are different breeds of dogs that would be discovered in their element there.
Possessions
Beryx's most famous possession is his rose thorn lance, which he named
"Salve and Thorn." It is said that he occasionally lends it to others when they are in great need, and that it confers the energy to do the right thing, as well as the ability to speak plainly with any living plant or beast.
History
Beryx Ato was once a halfling druid who dedicated his life to the preservation of wild spaces during an era of aggressive expansion. Although he is older than the mists, he often heard the pain of Myzelis and guided his friends and allies to heed his examples, staving off the planet’s violent retribution for many thousands of years after his Inaethrid in ~42,000 BAI.
It is said that his ascension came at the end of a long campaign in which the forces of undeath sought to break the will of Beryx’s allies by draining him of life, but instead he was vested with immortality by the unwavering faith of all who knew him. His tireless dedication to the balance of life is likely why the naturalists that follow his guidance have persisted to the present day - to carry on his tradition of loving life and nature with one’s whole heart.
