Midir

Midir loves his foster son, Aengus, and raised him as if he were his own child. He loves his wife, Étain, whom he pursued in more than one Incarnation after losing her to the jealousy of his first wife and the passage of time. But some would say that above these two treasures, what Midir loves most of all is winning.

Whether it’s sports, board games, or elaborately conceived schemes, Midir pursues victory with single-minded patience. He never wagers more than he can afford to lose, and he never enters a contest or conflict without a clear strategy. He is also, as anyone who has bet against him points out, almost completely unrestrained by any concept of fair play: “Almost,” because he always ensures that his opponents join the game willingly. When he famously tried to regain the reborn Étain from her mortal husband, Midir first asked if she wanted to leave with him. It was only when she agreed that he set his plans in motion. He took on more and more difficult tasks without complaint until he finally sealed the deal.

Midir’s Incarnations have only two modes: pursuit and possession. What they want, they will acquire. What they acquire, they will keep. If they seem cold and distant, even to their own Scions, it’s because they’re in the midst of a scheme that may take lifetimes to complete and think of other people as pieces on the board. A distant Midir, though, is preferable to one who’s set his focus on something nearby. Anyone with common sense should move out of the way.

Midir’s Scions inherit, or are Chosen because they share, their divine parent’s drive. Some of them make boardrooms and political parties their favored arenas. Others chase their obsessions as journalists, corporate whistleblowers, athletes, or dogged detectives. But whatever role they play, they share one common trait: The nagging suspicion that they, too, are pawns in one of their father’s games.