Soken (sokɛn)

Demon God of Blacksmithing.

Divine Domains

Blacksmithing
Metals
Armor

Artifacts

The Star Hammer

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Soken was born after Mahen, discovering cer mortal lover did not actually love cer back romantically, pushed all cer heartache into one of cer three hearts before cutting it out and casting it away along with cer blacksmithing hammer. The heart fell unto a large vein of iron ore, and fused with metal - over time shaping it into a body which became a new god. However, there was not enough ore present for an entire body, leading Soken to having one leg much smaller and shorter than the other. Soken took up Mahen's abandoned hammer, and wandered the nearby Mesescima, where he discovered his mortal kin in the family that would eventually call themselves the Ascoken - or "Soken's family". His mortal siblings and zasu taught him the ways of blacksmithing, which he took to immediately - as Mahen's love and skill in the art had been so closely tied to cer heartbreak that it too had been stored in the cast off heart. While Soken did not feel the heartache that had been left in the heart that was now his, nor have any of Mahen's memories, the pain did leave a mark upon him - he found it difficult to connect with others, often mistrusting their motivations and finding the idea of investing emotional energy in other people troublesome. He did feel a positive connection to his mortal kin, perhaps due to Mahen's mortal children being the ones to reveal the truth about their father to cer. When he felt there was nothing mroe he could learn from his mortal kin, Soken decided to seek out his unaware progenitor. He tracked down Porscil, God of Travelers, and had him lead the way to Mahen's domain in the Divine Realm. As Mahen's comadus, Porscil was also interested in the meeting, and remained to see how it went despite Soken having a dislike for the Traveler God. Soken was surprised when Mahen immediately pulled him into an embrace upon seeing him - for cer recognized cer own heart, and knew a person born from a broken heart could not be without pain. Soken, who had always kept himself at a physical distance from others, was equally surprised that the embrace did ease the part of him that still longed for the close relationships he avoided. While Mahen could not teach Soken more about blacksmithing - all cer skill being passed on to Soken - the new God of Blacksmithing settled his own domain in the Divine Realm at the base of the mountain Mahen had settled the summit of. As parent and child and fellow crafters, Soken and Mahen got along well - though they rarely saw each other despite their proximity. Both spent most of their time working on various projects, often disappearing in their respective workshops for decades at a time. Soken came to know Enaroy, his brother and son of Porscil and Mahen, as well as the heads of the demon pantheon - Maenscul, Vouscu, and Nosu. It was Cegae, after he and Mahen started a romantic relationship, that brought his children to Soken to ask him to create weapons for them. His daughter Sciekles, already Goddess of War, was given four cudgels that would come to be her symbol. But Sciekles's twin brother, Vislaelos, was difficult to smith for - as he had not yet discovered his divine domain. As such, Cegae asked Soken to allow Vislaelos to remain with him until a weapon could be realized - believing a smith as talented as Soken would no doubt see what worked best if the pair spent enough time together. Due to Cegae's relationship with Soken's parent, he begrudgingly agreed. Soken at first found Vislaelos an annoyance - the other man was exuberant and constantly looking for ways to help, which often ended up causing more work for Soken due to Vislaelos's inexperience. Vislaelos also declared that he fell romantically in love with Soken at first sight, which Soken did not believe - and the other god's repeated confessions of such only continued to annoy the blacksmith. The pair found equilibrium when Vislaelos turned his energy to tasks outside of the forge, and Soken took to observing the other deity. While this began as part of his desire to figure out a weapon for his unwanted guest as soon as possible, Soken soon discovered he simply enjoyed watching the other man. Vislaelos was traditionally attractive by demon standards, which included his great physical strength and tendancy to use it. Soken's feelings changed from physical appreciation to romantic interest as the pair spent more time together - the genuine kindness and good nature of Vislaelos bearing its way through Soken's general mistrust of others. But, being gruff and standoffish himself, Soken did not believe the gentler Vislaeloes would share his interest. He also feared that, having been born of a heart broken by romantic betrayal, any such relationship he pursued was doomed to failure. And so he kept his feelings to himself, and once resolved, told Vislaelos there was no weapon he could craft that would be a match for the other god. It was true, as Soken could not envision Vislaelos in battle despite being the twin of the Goddes of War, and the friendly unarmed sparring Soken witnessed between Vislaelos and Aeganes suited the other god best in his mind. He assumed upon hearing such Vislaelos would be overjoyed to finally return to more lively and populated court of demon deities, ruled over by Maenscul. As predicted, Vislaelos was delighted - but not in the way Soken had assumed. As Soken had agreed to allow Vislaelos to remain until he was able to craft a weapon for him, this declaration clearly meant he could stay for eternity. In shock, Soken asked why Vislaelos would want to remain - to which the other god cheerfully declared his romantic love for Soken, as he had countless times since their first meeting. But, for the first time, Soken believed him. At a loss, Soken found the only thing he could in response was finally confess his own feelings. Requited, Vislaelos realized his first and primary domain - Romantic Love itself. The pair soon wed, and have continued to live happily.