Bjirrin

The First Bear

Different traditions in Scytharia tell the tale of Bjirrin's origin differently. Some regard him as an aspect of Asta, others as a child of The Stag God and Motya, and some as an accidental creation birthed from a drop of The Toothed God's blood.
What is agreed is that Bjirrin rose as the first of the Bearfolk, and created the rest of his people from the snows of Scytharia. He immediately gave his people the task of protecting the humans of the land from the minions of Garmr, the Night Wolf who preyed upon them.

Child of Motya and the Stag God:

The priests of Urskan settlements near rivers often tell the story of Bjirrin's birth as beginning with a short tryst between Motya and the Stag God during a brief falling out he had with his brother. When Bjirrin was born, the Stag's avatar gave his own flesh to Bjirrin to eat, and Motya suckled the cub with pure snowmelt from her breast. After a week, he was fully grown and his parents gave him the lands of Scytharia to watch over. Bjirrin gathered snow with great sweeps of his giant paws, and formed it into the first Urskan people, who he tasked with defending the people of the land from the monstrous spawn of Garmr.

Aspect of Asta:

The priests in the largest settlements that get the most contact with sailors and traders from Göthemir and Normaer tell the tale of Asta watching over the people of the land, and being heartbroken at the sight of the overwhelming violence Garmr's kin brought down on them. As an act of love for the people of Scytharia, she took the form of a bear, and fathered the first Urskan cubs with a powerful priestess of her own religion, who survived the ordeal through Asta's direct intervention.

Born from the blood of the Toothed God:

In the logging towns of the foothills, some distance from the coast, the shamans speak of a vicious duel between Talil and the Toothed God. While the whirlwind of her razor whip kept him at bay for some time, he soon pounced on her and devoured her avatar. Before being defeated, Talil struck true one time, scattering a few drops of his blood on to the snow. Afterwards, a wolf and a bear came to lap up the bloodied snow, and began to change violently. The wolf stood on two legs and declared his name as Garmr, claimed all things the darkness touches, and demanded the few scraps left from the Toothed God's feast. The bear stood, called himself Bjirrin, stated his intentions to light torches to ward away Garmr's darkness, and claimed the scraps for himself. The two have been fighting ever since, with Garmr gathering bestial followers, and Bjirrin in turn gathering humans.

Divine Classification
Lesser Deity
Alignment
Lawful Good
Portfolio
Bears, Cold, Protection, Hearth
Worshipers
Scytharians, Urskans
Cleric Alignment
Lawful Good, Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral
Domains
War, Order, Life
Favored Weapon
Battleaxe
Epithets
The First Bear, Protector