Reid Brightwood
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.- John Muir
Name: Reid Brightwood
Nickname: N/A
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Age: Unknown
Weight: 152lbs
Height: 5'9"
Distinguishing Marks:
tattoos on his forearms, right pectoral, and right wrist
Eye Color: bright blue
Hair Color: brown
Species:
Leshen (a protective and extremely territorial woodland spirit)
Appearance: mmr582
Reid's human form, or the one he most often takes on, is very average for a human male. Clocking in at 5'9" and 152lbs, he is not large by any means. Though he is quite fit, he has a very wiry musculature.
Reid's hair has changed over his lifetime from long to short countless times - though he has recently grown to like it fairly short.
He sports a neatly trimmed beard, bright blue eyes and delicate but handsome features.
Reid's appearance changes often, depending on how he chooses to look each day when taking his human form. He can be seen around town with a variety of hairstyles and lengths, as well as a beard of varied length.
When Reid is in his hybrid form, his ears come to a sharp point, his hair is shaggy and tangled, he grows to 7' tall and sprouts what one could only describe as wooden horns from his head.
In his true form he appears to be made entirely of tree branches, plant life, and animal remains. Standing at 12' tall, he strikes an imposing figure. He sports a large set of antlers on top of a skinless animal skull. The majority of what one could consider his skin appears to be tree bark and moss.
Though he does dress casually more often than not, he cleans up well. His style of attire changes with the winds, though his outfits are generally fashionable.
Personality:Reid is, as one would expect from a woodland spirit, very down to earth and likeable.
Contrary to what one might think, Leshens are very social creatures. With their close connection to nature and life, they have a physical need to be close to it. Though this explains their link to the forests they protect, it also includes other sentient beings.
With countless years of social experience under his belt, Reid has become a bit of a socialite.
He enjoys parties and most social gatherings, as long as they are civil and open in nature.
Above all else, Reid loves nature - namely his forest, his home, his lifeline. Any enemy of nature is an enemy of any and all Leshens, including him.
Though Reid has a very good temper when around others in public, any unneeded disrespect or harm towards animals, plants, or other living beings draws the anger out of him very quickly.
All in all, Reid is a decent guy. He has his good and bad days just like everyone else.
Powers/Abilities:
Leshens are capable of many things. Though they are not gods, fae, or anything of the sort, they cannot be overpowered within their own territory. Their greatest weakness is the forests they protect. If a Leshen's forest is destroyed, they will die.
Leshen Physiology: As one would expect, the physical makeup of a Leshen is quite different from that of humans and other creatures.
- Inhuman Strength: Reid is able to lift, pull, and throw more and hit harder than any individual in the human race. (limited to Hybrid and True Forms)
- Inhuman Speed: Reid is able to run faster than any known human. (limited to Hybrid and True Forms)
- Inhuman Endurance: Reid's skin is nearly impenetrable. It is virtually impossible for weapons to harm him, unless they possess magical properties. (limited to Hybrid and True Forms)
- Weakness To Fire: Reid is linked to his forest, and forests are mostly comprised of wood. Wood is highly flammable. This weakness does not apply to the Ethereal Form, though it does apply to the other three.
- Bare Necessities: Reid does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep to sustain himself - though he may choose to hibernate at times. As long as the forest is getting plenty of sun and rain, he will be perfectly fine.
One With Nature: Leshens, as woodland spirits, are very close to nature. They are strongest, borderline invincible, within the confines of their home.
- Forest Walk: Reid is able to merge with any tree within his forest large enough to hold his form - he makes his home in the grand oak in the center of the forest, which is where he slumbers during his deep sleep. He is able to magically travel through the trees. For example, if he walks into a tree on one side of his forest, he can walk out of a tree on the opposite side.
- Forest Sense: Reid is linked spiritually and physically to his forest. He is able to sense any harm that may come to it.
- Animal Speak: Due to his ties to nature, Reid is able to speak with and read the minds of animals (mythological or mundane).
- Plant Manipulation: Reid is able to control any and all plant life within his forest, and to a lesser extent the area around it (Sanctuary and the surrounding wilderness). He has used this ability countless times to turn the forest against those who would seek to destroy it (goddamn lumberjacks).
- Immortal Roots: Reid's life is linked to the life of his forest. He is a physical manifestation, an avatar, of the natural power within the plants and animals that live there. As long as even one tree stands in his forest, he is unable to die.
- Deep Sleep: From time to time, Reid will go into a deep sleep similar to that of the hibernation of bears. This sleep can last anywhere from ten minutes to centuries or even millennia. He is awakened when he senses a threat to his forest.
Shapeshifting: Much like shapeshifters, Leshens are able to shift and manipulate their form. Each form that a Leshen takes has its own set of perks.
- Ethereal Form: As a spiritual being, Reid is able to take on an ethereal form. In this form he can take no physical, magical, or mental damage. He also cannot harm anyone. In this form he is invisible to the naked eye, though those who can sense auras or see beyond the physical realm may note his presence.
- Human Form: The weakest yet the most versatile of the four forms. Reid may shift into any human form he wishes to take, though he has stuck to the same one for quite some time now and rarely varies. In this form, Reid has access to several abilities excluding inhuman strength/speed/endurance and the overall size and power of the Hybrid and True Forms. Due to the soft skin and the delicate human anatomy, this form is quite vulnerable. Though Reid cannot die, he can most certainly be injured. One thing that is exclusive to this form is the ability to cloak his aura, hiding it from even the keenest of supernatural senses. In this form Reid seems to be nothing more than a human.
- Hybrid Form: The hybrid form is the second strongest of the four. When taking on this form Reid's skin will harden (becoming nearly impenetrable, though magical weapons may pierce his flesh) and darken slightly, granting him inhuman endurance. He will grow to a size of 7' tall, and his muscles become much more defined. His strength and speed are boosted to an inhuman level. This form is quite versatile. Its unique capability includes an immunity to magical effects, excluding fire of course.
- True Form: The true form is the most powerful and terrifying of the four. Dwarfing the others in size, this bestial form stands at a towering 12' tall. In this form, Reid has access to any and all of his abilities, though his strength, speed, and endurance are boosted to a near-godly level. This form is only taken in times of immeasurable anger and distress, such as when his forest is being harmed. He has no control over what he does or does not do in this form.
Hybrid Form
True Form
True Form
Background:
The Leshens, born of nature and spiritual magic provided by the countless nature gods and goddesses, came into being as the first saplings sprung from the earth. As nature thrived, so did they. Reid and his 9 siblings were seen as guardians.
They did not come from any one pantheon, nor did they worship the gods. They were part of nature, and nature was part of them.
These spirits, these creatures, were the embodiment of their own slices of paradise, of nature. Their sole purpose was to protect their homes and the creatures that resided within.
Leshens, their lives linked to the overall health of their homes, grew into overly territorial beasts, vicious guardians of the places they held so dear.
Reid, the first of the Leshens, was born long before Pangea split into several continents, before the dinosaurs roamed the earth, before humanity, and even before some of the pantheons had formed. He chose to remain awake through the major points in history, but he opted to sleep through the Ice Age.
Though he did not have a name for himself until well after humanity had moved to what they called North America, the gods who created him and his siblings referred to them as the Leshens, woodland spirits. Though he has been called many things, and has cycled through many names as the times changed, he is now known as Reid Brightwood.
In the beginning, before humans plagued the earth, Reid protected thousands and thousands of miles of wild and untamed land.
When Pangea shattered into the continents, over time, his territory was split in two - separated by a large mass of salt water. He chose to remain in the largest portion, which was on a landmass that would later be known as North America, and even later, the United States.
The majority of Reid's life was quiet, though it was interesting to watch evolution take place.
Once humans, the Native Americans, began invading his lands, things picked up. Though the Natives lived off of the land, they were respectful of it - most of them only taking what they needed, and not wasting any parts of the animals they used for nourishment.
Reid had very few issues with them. They kept their distance from each other, in hopes of keeping the peace. As long as they did not gorge themselves on the beasts living in his territory, he left them alone.
Once the white men, the Europeans, traversed the dangerous waters that separated his territory, he became uneasy.
These people were much more violent and wasteful than the Natives. They were invasive and disrespectful of his territory, his home - cutting down massive amounts of trees to build their walls and houses.
Reid waged war on the white men as they desecrated his home, killing hundreds, even thousands of them. He left their corpses hanging in the trees up and down the eastern coast as a warning, an example.
In the end, there was too much land for him to defend, and too many humans to keep an eye on. His home was destroyed, piece by piece, to make room for their settlements.
Reid's forest dwindled over time, confining him to the northeastern states such as Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, etc.
With the passage of more time, his sphere of influence would shrink to the forests of New York.
When the founders of Sanctuary began to carve their place out of the wilds, the woods, what remained of Reid's home... he fought against them. He fought them with tooth and nail. Every time he killed one man, ten more would show up to replace him.
The fight was fruitless, and pointless in the end. What could one Leshen do against such numbers?
Once Sanctuary was founded, Reid was one of the first supernatural beings to inhabit the small town. He took to a human form which was not known to the ones who lived in the settlement, and stayed with them for a time.
The supernatural community began to grow as the years went on. Reid met and befriended a Bugbear who was known as Hob.
After knowing each other for several years, and becoming close friends, Hob asked for help with a project he had been working on. A hall, a sanctuary of sorts, for beings like them. A place where supernaturals were welcome, but humans were not.
Reid jumped at the opportunity to help build such a place. He even went as far as to allow Hob to siphon off some of his magic to begin warding the hall.
Once the hall was built, it was only a matter of time before all sorts started to flock to the settlement (which was given the name of Sanctuary).
Over the centuries since Sanctuary's founding, Reid has made many friends among those who reside within the city limits.
He was there, and was one of the first to greet the deities, when Kai and Amara moved into town. As the guardian of the wilds that surrounded Sanctuary, he quickly grew close to the patron gods of the city.
As the years passed, more and more supernaturals arrived, and more of Reid's forest was destroyed.
Once legal precedent was presented for preserving certain wild places in the United States, Reid took to learning everything he possibly could on the subject. After doing his research, he enlisted the help of hundreds of supernatural beings in Sanctuary to approach City Hall and call for a hearing (in hopss of creating a State Forest). It went to a vote and the majority voted in favor of the mob's request.
With his forest protected under state laws, Reid was able to rest easy and relax for a while.
To this day, he remains the protector of Featherstonhaugh State Forest. Territorial by nature, he guards his home jealously.