Post by Felypsa on Oct 14, 2007 20:09:52 GMT -6
Name: Amarantine
AKA: The Unfading Tormentor
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Race: Unspecified
Sub-Race: Shapeshifter
Breed: Unclear; could be a spirit, faerie, sprite, or nymph...
Appearance: She can take any form, but the two she takes most often are human and wolf. There is a certain subtle transparency, or perhaps a glow, that betrays her to be supernatural; otherwise she would appear as any other. As a human, she walks about in a long robe that is the same color as her eyes: a dusty, light pink like a spring-born rose. Her hair reaches half a foot beyond her shoulders, and it is silver-white, though her face appears young and her skin remains unwrinkled. As a wolf, she has a coat of white fur that sometimes appears rosy-pink in the moonlight, and she retains her strange pink eyes. (The white body/pink eyes is consistent in all her forms.) In all forms, she is mute (or so it seems, for no one has ever heard her make a sound) and agonizingly beautiful in both forms; when she smiles, one's heart cannot help but reach out to her, for her smile is at once uplifting and sad.
Magic: She can change her form to be any animal for any amount of time. Also, she neither ages nor dies.
Personality: She appears both happy and sad at the same time, both encouraging and dispiriting, both helpful and harmful. She never seems to stay in the same place for very long; a wanderer. There have been tales where she has showed up to help people, only to vanish at their time of greatest need, earning her the ironic title, the Unfading Tormentor. Those who have known her—usually those whom she has helped—have all painted a different picture of her persona, so it is hard to say who Amarantine really is.
History: Who knows where this mysterious spirit-demon-faerie-sprite-elf-whatever came from? She has featured in legend and lore alike. The earliest story of her originated centuries ago, and it went like this.
There was once a knight who served the good king of the land with great loyalty and love, but when the king was distributing land to his knights, he forgot this one knight. In despair, the knight went questing, not knowing what he found. As he rested by a lake, a beautiful woman—later called Amarantine—approached him and smiled at him. The knight fell in love with her instantly, for she was so gorgeous, and her smile pierced his heart. She did not speak to him, but by writing and with gestures, she told him that she would love him as long as he told no one about her existence. The knight made the vow, and they lived in happiness for a month.
But the knight had to return to his king's court, and so with sadness parted with his lover. But she assured him that as long as he kept the secret of her existence, they would meet again and never part. The knight returned to the joy of the court, for the king had realized his error when the knight had gone away, and so bestowed him with a duchy of his own. All was well, until the queen, admiring the knight, offered him her love. When the knight refused, she grew angry and insulted him, calling him a lover of men and boys. Greatly offended, he retorted that he had a woman as a lover, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. So he broke his vow to Amarantine.
The queen was angered even further than this—who could be more lovely than she?—and told the king about the knight's boastful claim. On behalf of his queen, the king called for a trial so that the knight could defend his claim. At the trial, it was decreed that unless this woman stepped forth, the knight would be stripped of his lands and exiled from the kingdom. The knight waited anxiously, knowing that he had betrayed his promise to his lover, but hoping that she would come and save him from this public shame.
At the end of the day, just before the king declared the knight exiled, Amarantine came riding up not on a horse, but on a beautiful stag with proud antlers. She dismounted and presented herself before the court. She could not speak, but she smiled, and everyone knew instantly that she was the lover of whom the knight had spoken. The knight was instantly pardoned and restored to his land, and the queen, though full of shame and angry, kept her peace, for even her hard heart was softened by the sight of Amarantine.
The knight approached his lover, asking to be taken with her to her home, but she shook her head and smiled. Though she cared for him enough to save his property and dignity, she would not take him back, for he had still broken the promise. The knight's heart was cloven in two at this conclusion, and begged her even as she mounted the stag and rode away, disappearing into the forest. The knight wasted many of his later days going into the forest seeking her, but she was never to be found.
That is one such tale of Amarantine; there are many others in which she leaves her lovers, though it is always for some mistake the man made. Some have criticized her for being so flighty in her love with men; others have sympathized with her, for it is clear that all of her lovers wanted her mostly for her beauty. She was never able to find that true love, and for that reason her smile is always so beautiful and yet so sad.
AKA: The Unfading Tormentor
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Race: Unspecified
Sub-Race: Shapeshifter
Breed: Unclear; could be a spirit, faerie, sprite, or nymph...
Appearance: She can take any form, but the two she takes most often are human and wolf. There is a certain subtle transparency, or perhaps a glow, that betrays her to be supernatural; otherwise she would appear as any other. As a human, she walks about in a long robe that is the same color as her eyes: a dusty, light pink like a spring-born rose. Her hair reaches half a foot beyond her shoulders, and it is silver-white, though her face appears young and her skin remains unwrinkled. As a wolf, she has a coat of white fur that sometimes appears rosy-pink in the moonlight, and she retains her strange pink eyes. (The white body/pink eyes is consistent in all her forms.) In all forms, she is mute (or so it seems, for no one has ever heard her make a sound) and agonizingly beautiful in both forms; when she smiles, one's heart cannot help but reach out to her, for her smile is at once uplifting and sad.
Magic: She can change her form to be any animal for any amount of time. Also, she neither ages nor dies.
Personality: She appears both happy and sad at the same time, both encouraging and dispiriting, both helpful and harmful. She never seems to stay in the same place for very long; a wanderer. There have been tales where she has showed up to help people, only to vanish at their time of greatest need, earning her the ironic title, the Unfading Tormentor. Those who have known her—usually those whom she has helped—have all painted a different picture of her persona, so it is hard to say who Amarantine really is.
History: Who knows where this mysterious spirit-demon-faerie-sprite-elf-whatever came from? She has featured in legend and lore alike. The earliest story of her originated centuries ago, and it went like this.
There was once a knight who served the good king of the land with great loyalty and love, but when the king was distributing land to his knights, he forgot this one knight. In despair, the knight went questing, not knowing what he found. As he rested by a lake, a beautiful woman—later called Amarantine—approached him and smiled at him. The knight fell in love with her instantly, for she was so gorgeous, and her smile pierced his heart. She did not speak to him, but by writing and with gestures, she told him that she would love him as long as he told no one about her existence. The knight made the vow, and they lived in happiness for a month.
But the knight had to return to his king's court, and so with sadness parted with his lover. But she assured him that as long as he kept the secret of her existence, they would meet again and never part. The knight returned to the joy of the court, for the king had realized his error when the knight had gone away, and so bestowed him with a duchy of his own. All was well, until the queen, admiring the knight, offered him her love. When the knight refused, she grew angry and insulted him, calling him a lover of men and boys. Greatly offended, he retorted that he had a woman as a lover, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. So he broke his vow to Amarantine.
The queen was angered even further than this—who could be more lovely than she?—and told the king about the knight's boastful claim. On behalf of his queen, the king called for a trial so that the knight could defend his claim. At the trial, it was decreed that unless this woman stepped forth, the knight would be stripped of his lands and exiled from the kingdom. The knight waited anxiously, knowing that he had betrayed his promise to his lover, but hoping that she would come and save him from this public shame.
At the end of the day, just before the king declared the knight exiled, Amarantine came riding up not on a horse, but on a beautiful stag with proud antlers. She dismounted and presented herself before the court. She could not speak, but she smiled, and everyone knew instantly that she was the lover of whom the knight had spoken. The knight was instantly pardoned and restored to his land, and the queen, though full of shame and angry, kept her peace, for even her hard heart was softened by the sight of Amarantine.
The knight approached his lover, asking to be taken with her to her home, but she shook her head and smiled. Though she cared for him enough to save his property and dignity, she would not take him back, for he had still broken the promise. The knight's heart was cloven in two at this conclusion, and begged her even as she mounted the stag and rode away, disappearing into the forest. The knight wasted many of his later days going into the forest seeking her, but she was never to be found.
That is one such tale of Amarantine; there are many others in which she leaves her lovers, though it is always for some mistake the man made. Some have criticized her for being so flighty in her love with men; others have sympathized with her, for it is clear that all of her lovers wanted her mostly for her beauty. She was never able to find that true love, and for that reason her smile is always so beautiful and yet so sad.
