Wotan, the Raven Lord

From Changeling Venue

The Raven Lord, the Hanged God

It's not certain whether it was Wotan, the Raven Lord who inspired the Norse myths of Odin, or wether the True Fae has taken the form and personality of the Hanged God. In the end, it doesn't really matter. Styling himself the Lord of Asgard, he rules over his realm of Álfheimr in Faerie with an iron hand and an all-seeing eye.

The Raven Lord himself

Wotan appears as a powerful, bearded giant, standing at least thirty feet tall. His hair and beard are both gray, but his body speaks of terrible strength nonetheless. In his own halls, he often wears elaborate robes befitting the god he claims to be. When he goes to battle, he wears archaic Norse armor etched in runes and bears a gigantic, bloody spear. One eye is a vivid blood-red, and where the other would rest in a human is a gaping, empty socket. The missing eye isn't always on the same side - one time a Changeling meets Wotan, the True Fae could be glaring down out of his right eye, where the next time his left eye is intact and his right missing. His mask appears as a tall, burly, well-dressed gentleman in his sixties or seventies. One eye is always covered in a patch, although which eye is thus covered often changes, just as in his Fae mein. His other eye appears to be a dark brown, but closer examination (which would be disturbing in itself) reveals it to be the color of clotted blood.

The Hanged God is always accompanied by two ravens, whom he calls Hugin and Munin. In the human world, these are Fae Pets or Hedge Beasts which he has called to his service, and remain at a discreet distance while still close enough to come if he calls. In Faerie, Wotan's Ravens are two changeling Beasts. Should one escape (or be killed or damaged beyond the ability to fly), Wotan simply returns to the human world and abducts another.

Wotan displays frightening intelligence, mindless battle-fury, and vindictive fury in turns. While he takes part in games of chance, womanizing, and other forms of debauchery just as any other of the Gentry would, he usually appears in a grim, forbidding aspect.

Álfheimr

The Raven Lord's realm is a microcosm of the world as seen in Norse myth. In the south, fiery Muspellheimr throws a ruddy glow into the arcadian skies. To the north, Jötunheimr's forbidding glaciers and mountains cast a shadow over the realm. In the center of the realm, Wotan's gleaming castle of Ásgarðr thrusts up from the rocky ground, while the nearby Valhöll echoes with the constant sounds of battle.

Álfheimr is a place of extremes. Warm areas are stifling, often literally aflame. Cold areas are sheathed in never-melting ice. Mountains rise miles into the sky, while deep caverns extend into bottomless pits.

A small number of other fae abide in Álfheimr, each of them styling themselves after another of the Aesir and each one thoroughly cowed by Wotan's power and presence. Thunaer, Loke, Hel, and Heimdallr are those most often seen by Changelings in this realm, but there are likely others.

Wotan's Changelings

The Changelings taken by the Hanged God are a varied lot. For every Wizened dwarf who manages to dig his way out of the mines below Álfheimr, there's a Flametouched Elemental from Muspellheimr or a Dökkálfar Darkling. The endless battles in Valhöll often produce Wizened Soldiers or Ogres, while Wotan's own ravens (or other creatures from the wild forests of Álfheimr) escape as Beasts. Those taken to serve him in Ásgarðr often become fairest; the Raven Lord has only one eye, but he graces it with none but the most pleasing sights.