Noche

WHEREVER THERE IS A VOICE, there exists this story: There is a kingdom of light and goodness, and there is darkness that swallows it up ( from within ). Differences arise in how it's told but the core remains — loss. The kingdom's true name is lost beneath all the titles various scholars (wizards, sorcerers, magicians, dream-walkers, trans-dimensional travelers, so forth...) assign it, but consider: The Darkling Kingdom, The Twilit Kingdom, The Noctivagant Kingdom. Three things bring strangers in: 1. Its BEAUTY. The kingdom is an exquisite corpse, cadavre exquis, pristine-ly rotted out in style. Whatever damage it suffers is fixed by mysterious means. 2. Its BOUNTY. This was a kingdom of dreams, and though it's now a nightmare the trinkets and baubles and wonders still remain. 3. The CHALLENGE. With beauty and opportunity comes risk and many souls have lost themselves to the kingdom's prosy brutality. [Overview] The prince of the darkened kingdom and its sole protector, Noche guards its evocative mysteries and boons with tooth claw magic blade and, generally, all he has. Anyone clever enough to get past the kingdom's tall tall gates must contend with Noche himself and his fleet of nightmares; few are bold or pervasive enough to manage. [Appearance] Step close and peer: Noche is a prince spat from fairy-tale. He appears no older than 25 and is forever young and handsome, blessed with a muscular, taut body. 190cm/6'4" tall. Perfect. Blindingly so. His hair is long and wild. If struck by light's hammer, it shifts from dead black to radiant white-gold. His eyes are deeply aphotic, a peerless blue found only at the bottom of the sea. But it is folly to trust a passing glance. Come closer. See the slit of his pupils, the violent point of his teeth. His strong limbs are blackened. His fingers end in sharp claws. Dark scales marr his otherwise smooth skin, snakeish patchwork there and here, and they spread when he is especially furied / excited / peaked. Sometimes wolf ears are seen hidden away in his hair. Sometimes there is a draconic tail. If the time ever comes, consult . Tends to wear princely, yet simple clothing. Or rags. A scrap of cervelt slung low about his narrow hips. [Personality] Noche: - is a feral and impolite thing; calling him a man is too much. He is a beast now, and a beast seeks simple things. He's never, ever ever ever known fear or trepidation. Noche is bark, bite, and reckless daring: so certain of his invincibility, his magic. He inhabits immediacy, the verve-filled blood of the present. - is like an untrained hound: he behaves in an animalistic and wild manner. A physical and instinctive figure, but no fool, he is as wily as he is ferocious. - has little pride — he is more silly and boyish than prideful — but he is wicked, selfish, and prefers to win. Rather than run from a battle he may employ underhanded means. - has friends in his fleet, the fey, and he adores his reflection, so he is hardly lonely...but he has seen it all here. His kingdom is large but he knows every part of it, has seen the interior of every rabbit hole and empty cottage and pond and how the light drapes all beneath it. [Speech] While capable of human speech, he is a beast. Noche prefers to speak simply if he speaks at all: touch and smell can reveal so much more than words. [Magicks] Seven noble fairies came to gild the prince on his first birthday. They brought their blessings, prayers, and hopes to paint him with. The blessings are as follows: He shall be forever handsome; he shall be loved by all, kind of not; he shall have a perfect voice; he shall remain in good health; he shall be stronger than any other man; he can see through all lies; he will always get what he desires. These blessings steeped within Noche over countless years. He is viciously powerful now; capable of everything a story-book monster should be capable of. [Variegated Addendums] Noche: - exhibits vague bird-like behavior. He has a large nest somewhere in his castle, somewhere in its tallest tower, all hidden by clouds, the tower without a roof. - is attracted to shiny, golden things. - also exhibits beast-like behavior, such as sniffing people, or growling, or other territorial displays. - loves music, and indeed, a good enough song is his sole weakness. Sadly for his competitors Noche has heaven-scraping standards. He was blessed with perfect pitch, so even the subtlest out-of-tune discords will annoy rather than entrap. - thinks of himself as the prince, rather than a king. A king has so many droll responsibilities. - has a full name: Noche Beltane. - bleeds red and gold.

(A vast land of dreams and whimsy, and the kingdom within that land. Beautiful, empty, rotted into amber. Cadavre exquis.)