#i'll explain in the nir post

[ipcearn]

Sabeth Eftheria: A Summary

an overview on how I intended/write and characterize Sabeth, both for my AO3 oneshot compilation and because I have another post planned - that one focused on Nir which won’t make a lot of sense without this one 😅

(I’ll probably end up forgetting half the things I want to say)

Sabeth Eftheria (Eftheria inspired by the Greek η ελευθερία meaning freedom), also called the Trickster, is the god my tiefling rogue Niruin follows.

I keep calling him Outsider-like (Dishonored) but when it comes down to it the only things Outsider-like about him are that he used to be human and that he is very picky about who he appears to (at least in his “godly” form).

And while yes, the concept of chosen - Sabeth has a maximum of 5, though most of the time people are too predictable and he barely has more than 1 at a time - is very much Dishonored inspired, the actual character & personality inspiration stems from mallius’ AH kings AU art - Gavin in particular if that wasn’t obvious from Sabeth’s design - (and I will yell to anyone about this art, because it is gorgeous and I simply adore the feel of that AU - all bloodthirsty and murderous where no one can win; and that feeling is probably one of the greatest inspirations for Sabeth, actually) as well as - unsurprisingly again, because trickster god - Loki Laufeyson, though it is a mash up of the mythology one and the Marvel one (though heading more towards God of Stories Loki from the end of AoA, because damn, do I love that comic) (also Sabeth’s signature color is green).

In his mortal life he used to be a street kid, a pickpocket that no one would miss, hence why he was chosen (ha, so many parallels to Nir) to be turned into a sacrifice making him what he is now.

He isn’t technically a god/celestial, though he has picked the role of one for himself, but he isn’t really a demon/fiend either; he is simply something other and his powers are only bound by his own physical limitations. He can only be in one place at a time, but is aware of his chosen at all times through the covenant they enter into when they accept his gift. Unlike with the Outsider that gift will not come in the form of a mark allowing supernatural powers, but something that the chosen craves like nothing else - that can be physical or not, all depending on the mortal (like, his gift to Nir is a safe place in a time when she has nowhere else to turn in a city that hates what she is, specific knowledge for Hextor). The chosen aren’t actually always aware of how simple it is to enter and what that covenant entails, because the bond can only ever be dissolved with the death of the chosen. Even if they turn predictable and uninteresting to Sabeth. (And yes, Sabeth picks his chosen on how unpredictable they are to him, because gods be damned, he is bored, SOMEONE ENTERTAIN HIM BY DOING WEIRD SHIT.)

Now, there are mortals who have told Sabeth to fuck off, and he will, it just doesn’t make them any less special to him though. 

And yeah, his chosen can basically come from every walk of life, they don’t have to be adventurer’s or fighters, they can be scholars, kings, queens, they can be old, they can be young – Sabeth really isn’t picky in that regard, just as long as they are unpredictable to him.

Because that is what essentially makes Sabeth the Trickster. He is chaos personified, and he could be feared and worshipped by all, but he chooses to be nothing more than a whisper. His belief scattered like his long forgotten, abandoned shrines; his symbol written in ancient texts adorned with stories that sound more like the ravings of mad men than actual truth. Sabeth doesn’t care for power, he just has it; he is immortal and undying; all he wants is to be entertained.

And sometimes, in those centuries when there are no chosen (oh why, why do mortals have to be so boring) – which does actually happen more often than not – he will create that entertainment for himself. Niruin gives him the irritated, yet fond nickname of “king of fools” when Sabeth acts particularly like an idiot, and she doesn’t actually realize how accurate her naming is because Sabeth did/does spend long years toppling kingdoms and empires from the lowly position of a court jester. It’s one of his favorite pastimes in the long years between chosen, as there is a heady rush of being underestimated – and how could a lowly fool ever be so, so dangerous.

Tldr; Sabeth is a charming manipulator, all powerful but doesn’t really do anything with that power – because why bother? – and essentially he’s an amalgamation of a bunch of my favorite villainous/anti-hero characters

(Like, I’m currently watching Gravity Falls season 2 and it’s kinda hilarious to me how many Sabeth-vibes I get off of Bill, because damn, do I love that insane triangle)

(Gods AU Sabeth is all that, except just a million times more obsessed with Nir because she is the exception to many a rule he created for himself)