A Year & A Day: Otso

Changeling: the Dreaming

Homebrew Rules

Character Creation Guide Download: Otso.pdf

Quoth the Otso:

“Ho there, mortal person! Enter freely into the wild places of the Väki! Enjoy the green and the cool and the blessings of the world around you. But come not near the bees, nor thteir honey. For that is the stuff of Queens!”

Kith Excerpt:

In Finnish mythology Otso, Ohto, Kontio, metsän kuningas (the king of the forest), and mesikämmen (honeypalm) are some of the many rarely uttered periphrastic epithets for the spirit that was never directly named. These were the Otso – the Bear royals of the Hiidet (Changeling) Tribes.

Keiju (Seelie) to a fault, the Otso are mighty Bear spirits, masters of the forest, and friend to all. Even to many mortal Tribes of the Kingdom, they are ancestors given form. Some consider them mortals who were called by the wild places themselves, and transmogrified bodily to better fulfill their roles. Origins abound, but mortals still call them for blessings and protection.

Yet they are never called on by name. The true name of this Väki (Kith), as well as any individual names, are secrets never to be uttered. Such is the reason for their many many nicknames. But call them Honey-paws, or Green Sister, or Forest-King, the Otso will hear and come to help.

Flavor

“The bear, he says, is many animals in one. Like a lion, he downs mammals much bigger than he; like any ruminant, he pillages crops; he steals grapes and fruit like a monkey; nibbles on berries like a blackbird; plunders anthills and beehives like a woodpecker; digs up tubers and larvae like a pig; and catches fish with the dexterity of an otter. And he eats honey like a man.” ― Paolo Rumiz, The Fault Line: Traveling the Other Europe, From Finland to Ukraine