a swan
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Efron. A Hebrew name, meaning bird. Heard on the travels by a King, a name that he would come to bestow upon his first born son. Little did he know of the irony that name would come to hold.
Life was once a grand and royal affair. Days were once so much simpler. A prince, born to rule over a distant Kingdom. Whilst his family was loved, Efron was spoilt and suffered from a sense of entitlement that he truly did not deserve. He was beautiful, flawlessly pale, with haunting lavender eyes that sparkled like gems and were whispered about among his people. But these eyes were not a window to the soul, and they guised the ugliness of his heart with a flawless perfection.
The only welfare he cared for was his own. As he grew older and more responsibilities were set upon his shoulders, the more he shrugged them off. Cut corners so that he was never without luxury and indulgence, whilst his people worked harder, and for less of their own profit. They grew tired, and soon the love of his people waned. Their devotion faltered. And when a royal order tore down a part of the Kingdoms surrounding forest and had the swans that dwelled in upon the lakes on the outskirts of the city leave, they turned unto a witch to rid them of the ugly hearted and selfish Prince, once and for all.
The Curse
The curse is a simple one. One that separates him from his beauty and allows for his inner ugliness to show on his skin.
He has a simple necklace, a smooth piece of amethyst on a chain. This rock, so long as he wears it, will keep him in a humanoid state. However, it is greatly marred.
Beyond the large, avian wings that sprout from his shoulders, the most notable thing about him his the darkness around both his hands and feet, as well as surrounding his eyes. It almost appears like ink or coal, smudged on and staining his skin. As well as this, it almost looks as though it is spreading over his flesh. The uglier his heart grows, the further it will spread. And should it ever fully take over him there would be nothing that could break the curse and save him from a fate where his is left nothing but a bitter, disgusting and loathsome beast.
The witch however, could not remove that aspect of beauty, not entirely. Instead, it was twisted, morphed into the shape of a swan, which was then bound to his body. Should the gem about his neck be removed, he loses the ability to hold onto his human shape, and is stuck as a swan until it is replaced. He maintains all of his intelligence, his ability to think and remember things when he is stuck like this. The magic that also spreads the dark ugliness across his human flesh is also muted when in this shape, sparing him from any further progression of that tar. It is an escape from the curse,but one he cannot escape without the aid of that little gem.
XXXXXXXXXXXX Abilities
Efron has, from a young age, been able to twist and manipulate light. Bend it to his will and make it do whatever he so wishes.
This however, was not something he was ever allowed to study. Magic in his Kingdom, was considered taboo and dangerous, and whilst it was not possible to stop everyone from learning it, royalty was under strict and watchful eye to stay away from it. Beyond being able to make it sparkle and dance around him in little shows of light, never did he expand upon the gift that he has running through his veins.
The gem that he is bound to also traps his magic. But it is however possible, for him to expand upon this knowledge, should he ever get the right teaching.
The moment his home was invaded by foul witch he knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, guards who he had thought loyal looked the other way, allowing the wench to wander her way in without issue, where she found the Prince relaxing in his chambers for the evening.
"Such a handsome boy," she crooned, whilst her magic engulfed him and kept him still. Agony racked through his body was it was forced to change, to take the shape of something it was never meant to be. "But I think that beauty would be better served in one of the creatures you had flee your kingdom, don't you, Sire?" Of course he was unable to answer her, beyond choked pains and the occasional yell for help that his guards did nothing but listen to from the opposite side of his door. "If you are to maintain a human form your majesty.. that ugliness will show. For you really do not deserve the best of both worlds." And then it was over. In a blinding flash the pain was gone and the Prince was forever changed.
His people did not give him time to recover. He was overthrown, banished from his homeland and sold into the world of slavery, the profits of what he considered a treacherous act used to try and restore the woodland which he had destroyed. He was stripped of his wealth, title and crown, everything he had ever known. Eventually the slavers that bought him brought him to The Golden Tether and sold him on. Now, bitter and loathing, he waits, too sour to even consider if there was a cure to this curse.