Username;; IheartNightWings
Name;; Hiraeth
Gender;; Male
Charm;; Hiraeth's charm he wears upon his tail has, in theory, a simple pattern, however the simple pattern is not alone on the small metal plate. To begin with, the charm in question rather small in size, and made from sterling silver. The base pattern is a silver circle with a black 'X' running through it, and running over top of the X is a crow. The trinket is all made of silver, the black parts being painted, and is typically kept shiny, as Hiraeth will polish it once a week or so.
Charm explanation;; Now, the story and meaning behind this charm and the reason of him possessing it is quite interesting. First of all, although the charm itself only dates back a few years, the image inscribed onto it is hundreds of years old. It is an old coat of arms belonging to Hiraeth's family. The black and white background represents resistance to discord and calamity, and being steadfast and wise in the face of grief, while the crow symbolizes a permanent settlement and a quiet life.
The charm was given to Hiraeth by his parents as a birthday gift, and ever since then, he's kept it on him always. Hiraeth is a rather superstitious viscet, and as such he believes that so long as he wears the charm, he will be protected, and will have a good future in store for him. He is a bit afraid to take it off, as he's worn it for so long now, and as such he wears it all the time. It used to rest snugly around his neck until it dangled too low, tripping him up and almost snapping the cord. Ever since then, he has taken to tying the charm around his tail to keep it safe. He often fiddles with it when he's nervous, untying it from his tail and running his paws over the smooth metal.
He keeps the charm on because not only because it was a gift and he believes it will protect him, but also because it gives him hope and excitement for his future. In fact, this is probably the most important reason behind him wearing his charm. When he was younger, Hiraeth was first introduced to the idea of a medieval world, one of the distant past, that was full of Kings, Princesses, Knights, and dragons. He didn't truly entertain the idea until a few years later in his life, when he was told that his family were the descendants of those ancient Kings and Knights. Suddenly, those boring old stories seemed much more interesting to Hiraeth, and his parents noticed that. For his next birthday, they gifted him his charm, with the family coat of arms on it, delighting in his excitement over the gift. That day was the day he decided for sure what he wanted to be when he grew up- a knight.
The Frog;; "In Egypt we see the Frog-headed Heket who is an Egyptian goddess of birth(ing)."
Now, this passage only partially applies to Hiraeth. Being male, he cannot exactly give birth, but, not only is Heket the goddess of birthing, she was also the goddess of birth/life. This goes along fairly well with Hiraeth's view of himself, as he can be rather stuck-up and full-of-himself at times. Although he would never really consider himself the master of life itself, the viscet does enjoy pretending to determine others' fates, especially if those others are insects. He will frequently practice his sword-play with branches, and insects as his opponents. Hiraeth always wins these battles, and holds the life of the insect in his paws. He is the master of their fate, and this is as close to a god as Hiraeth will ever get.
"As a Celtic symbol meaning, the Frog was deemed lord over all the earth, and the Celts believed it represented curative or healing powers because of its connection with water and cleansing rains."
Now, this line ties in much better with Hiraeth than the previous, as Hiraeth dreams of becoming famous and powerful one day. He wishes to become the most well-known knight of all time, for his name to be passed down in stories from generation to generation, and to be remembered in history books for years to come. The definition of lord is 'someone or something having power, authority, or influence', which fits his desires quite well. Now, although Hiraeth knows little to nothing about healing, he does enjoy swimming every now and then, although he wouldn't exactly call it a habit.
"More Western and European views focus on the Frog's three stages of development (egg, tadpole, fully formed amphibian) to symbolize resurrection and spiritual evolution. For these same reasons it is also a common Christian symbol for the holy trinity and resurrection. It is often seen in Christian art to express this symbolism."
Hiraeth is not overly spiritual for the most part, although he does consider himself to be Christian. He doesn't often show his religion, although it's still there. He doesn't follow any religious practices or walk around proclaiming his religion, so it's easy to see how others wouldn't know what his religion was. He isn't often asked that question, and as such, it isn't really common knowledge that Hiraeth is Christian.
"In China the Frog is an emblem of Yin energy and thought of as good luck. Feng Shui practices recommend putting an image of a Frog in the east window of your home to encourage child birth and/or happy family life."
Hiraeth isn't exactly lucky, but he certainly isn't unlucky at all. He is superstitious, believing in the supernatural as well as having a firm belief in luck, and he won't go out of his way to bring himself extra luck, but if along the way he has a chance to earn himself some luck, he will most certainly take it. Now, although Hiraeth has no children or mate, he still has a strong, happy family life. He is an only child, and absolutely loves his parents to death. As far back as he can remember, they have been there, supporting his interests and encouraging him to go places in life. Hiraeth''s childhood was one of happy memories, and he still visits his family as often as he can to revisit those good memories.
"Frog energy is also considered to be a link between the living and the dead. An interesting ancient Asian custom was to place a jade frog in the mouth of the deceased to insure his/her spirit would pass safely into the spirit world. This custom was believed to allow the spirit of the deceased to speak more clearly to loved ones still living. "
Being the superstitious viscet is, Hiraeth believes in ghosts, although he doesn't believe in speaking to the dead unless you yourself are dead as well. He hasn't experienced much death in his life yet, but one day he will have to face up to the enemy that can never be defeated, and he will learn full-well that you can't escape your fate. Hiraeth does not believe in burying the dead with their worldly possessions or leaving them with items to help guide them to the afterlife.
"Frogs are also good luck symbols in Japan - especially for travelers. Images or charms were worn during long voyages to assure safety (particularly across water)."
Hiraeth does not have any images or charms with a frog on it, unfortunately, although he does have something else-himself. Indeed, Hiraeth considers his pelt to hold a little bit of luck in it, simply because he has the colorings of a tree frog. If frogs symbolize luckiness and safeness on journeys, then Hiraeth believes himself to be covered on that matter.
"I have a friend, Albert who lives in Japan. He shared further Japanese wisdom animal symbolism of the frog. The Japanese word for frog is "kaeru." It is the same word meaning "return." So travelers carry a small frog amulet with the intent of returning safely home."
Now, Hiraeth always intends to return safely home, even if he sometimes is unsure of where that home is. Yes, he has a home with his family, but sometimes that home doesn't satisfy his ache. Hiraeth longs for a place which he knows not, somewhere far beyond any place he has managed to travel so far, a place where he believes he will fully belong. Hiraeth knows little about this place, except that he has a yearning for it beyond his wildest imagination. One day, after becoming a famous knight, he intends to go after this place and find it once and for all, hoping to share it with his family and friends.
"Further, small pebble-sized frog amulets are carried in their wallets so money will not be lost."
Hiraeth has his small pouch carries around occasionally, and although he has no frog amulet, he has managed not to lose anything stored within it yet. Pure chance, or possibly a bit of frog luck?
"Ancient Hindus viewed the animal symbolism of frogs on a more cosmic levels, as they believe Frogs projected the world into orbit in space, and the frog was also thought to signify darkness. "
Hiraeth has never been that interested in space, although any pictures he has seen of galaxies and nebulae tend to leave him awestruck for a few moments. He was once able to witness a meteor shower, and it totally wowed him that such splendid and fantastic sights exist. Hiraeth may prefer daytime for traveling, but nighttime is the time to practice stealth movements, something that he finds quite fun, as well as useful.
Summary of Symbolic Meaning of the Frog
Luck
Purity
Rebirth
Renewal
Fertility
Healing
Transitions
Dreaming
Opportunity
Intermediary
Metamorphosis
Areas the Frog Can Help in Our Lives
You need to easily swim through some tough life-transitions
You need a little assurance while traveling
You are working to enhance your intuition, and strengthen your connection with the spirit world"
information found at this website!Now, many of these qualities belong to Hiraeth, although there are some extras, and some areas where he is lacking. Hiraeth is a bit lucky, although he'll need all the help he can get if he wants to really become a knight. So far, he hasn't had any luck with coming upon any princesses kidnapped by dragons, but he still retains hope. He is good at dealing with transitions, as he has spent countless days traveling as far as he can go, and changing scenery all of the time. He has met plenty of interesting characters on his quest to become a knight, and has had to leave all of them behind, unfortunately. The viscet is, of course, always the dreamer. He imagines himself becoming a real knight, and going off on quests to slay dragons and ogres. He falls asleep every night to these fanciful thoughts, and he would be lying if he said he had never dreamed of falling in love with a princess after saving her. The farther he gets on this journey, the more and more HIraeth is changing and growing, whether it be for better or for worse.
Interesting Facts;;
Hiraeth is right-handed.
Hiraeth has always wanted a pet, but never had to time or ability to manage one.
His favorite color is royal blue.
In his free time, he loves to play video games, and show off his childish side.
His most cherished possession, besides his charm, is a small leather bag he found as young child. Hiraeth has kept many of his little treasures in there at some point, before finding a better spot for them. He doesn't carry around the bag as often as he used to, but when he does, you can expect to find some pretty coloured rock or old coin in there.
Hiraeth only drinks water.
The viscet is absolutely terrified of spiders, although he doesn't mind most other bugs. He is also afraid of ghosts.
Hiraeth is quite clumsy and accident-prone- he has broken his right foreleg twice, his left hind leg once, his jaw once, many toes, and has sprained just about everything that is possible to sprain.
When he was in his young teenage years, Hiraeth made himself a fake suit of armor cut out of cardboard. He ran around in it for a full week, and it has now become an embarrassing story his parents tell any friends that ever come over.
Hiraeth knows no languages other than English, and has an American accent, although when he is alone, he likes to pretend he has an Old-English accent.
He's secretly a huge dork shhh.
He doesn't have many he would consider true friends, despite his friendly nature, and those he is friends with, Hiraeth is extremely protective over them.
His favorite movie is Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and his favorite television show is Merlin, although he rarely has any chance to watch either of these.
Personality Traits;;
Chivalrous, Passionate, Tough, Friendly, Lonely, Prideful, Talkative, Excitable, Dedicated, Focused, Formal, Empty, Amiable, Honorable, Imaginitave, Loyal, Confident, Curious, Decent, Brittle, Spontaneous
rather go out in a BLAZE OF GLORY!i'd just like to say that this viscet is absolutely gorgeous, and congratulations to whomever ends up winning 'em. i had good fun working on this form and brainstorming over the charm, and if i don't win the viscet, it was still worth it! it has also given me some pretty interesting ideas for some other characters of mine, which will hopefully be super cool! i would be honored if this guy were to be my second viscet, although it would be cool to see 'em go to someone else as well! <3 ovo
frog pixel art credited to
Mooniewitch on da!
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