Briar the Ail’thain
Eirlys
Appearance
Briar will say that her once vibrant beauty was stolen from her by her mistress. Her skin, once sun-kissed, is now porcelain. Her freckles, replaced with smooth, blemish-free skin- so perfect, she looks ethereal. Her hair was once the soft shade of peachy spring blossoms. Now, any hint of color has been sapped, leaving pure moonlit-white waves that cascade past her hips. Her eyes had been vibrant green once, but were now left a silver shade with only a hint of spring’s green left in them.Former Appearance:
Shifting Ability: The Twisted Briar Stag
Like the other Ail-thain, when she shifts her forms are always cloaked in darkness and able to slip into the shadows undetected. She has been able to shift into many creatures, though one seems to present itself more often than others: A twisted briar stag. This form reveals a haunting, skeletal stag that is cloaked in her thorned and twisted vines. It is beautiful and terrifying, a physical manifestation of her power and the tragic tale of the princess of the thorns.The stag’s antlers are not of bone, but rather massive intertwining briars that spiral outward from its head like a crown. Around the antlers, thorned vines coil and drip with blood red rose petals that seem to fall but never run out. Roses grow sporadically across her moonlit fur with petals that emit a sickly-sweet scent to lure prey in, tempting them to touch and expose themself to her poisons.
Purpose
Backstory
Briar was born amongst the Duanann, once called the Jewel of the first Spring Court. Her life was defined by the role she was born into: Princess of the first Spring Court. She was loved greatly by nobles and peasants alike, enamoring them with her magical ability to control nature: particularly roses. She was cherished and compassionate, a free-spirit who brought joy, beauty, and life wherever she went. A beautiful flower, blissfully unaware of the mark of the Impostors on her back.Her path was cut short when her Mistress passed through the Spring Court. She was captivated by Briar’s beauty and the way nature bent to her will. She was manipulated, promised with greater powers than possible. Young and naive, she followed the Mistress and let her lead her into her demise.
Her transformation was violent, twisting her powers from once-gentle magic into something darker and lethal. Instead of bringing life in the form of roses, she could only summon twisted thorns that tore at flesh and sapped life from everything around them. Briar’s hair faded to stark white, warm skin to porcelain, and her eyes only held on to the lightest shades of silvery green. She was stunning, but she wasn’t Briar.
She tried to return to the Spring Court, but was rejected. She was corrupted, unnatural. She was certainly not the missing Princess. But she was thirsty. So, so thirsty.
She was enraged by their betrayal- her family’s betrayal. In a maddening bloodlust, Briar had slaughtered a dozen or so members of the Spring Court before someone pulled her from the scene and ensured that any record of her vampiric existence was wiped from existence. She would forever be noted in history as the Princess of the Spring Court who went missing when she followed a strange woman into the night.
She was not seen in any capacity for three hundred twenty four years after the first bloodlust.
She could thank Nikolai for that. She never did ask why he saved her people from her. Or why he erased that night from minds and writing. She wasn’t sure she wanted an answer. He fled as soon as he arrived, but he did end up being one of her closest companions over time. A bond deep as blood, he gave her a sense of belonging in her new, lonely existence. He was older than her, but managed to become one of her fiercest confidants with time. Even now, as they cross paths so rarely, she still cannot help but light up with joy and/or annoyance when she sees her brother.
Traits and Abilities
She is not immune from the bloodthirsty life that is forced upon the Ail’thain. She finds it very difficult to resist the temptation of Fae blood, and often acts on her desires. For over a hundred years, she lived in a secluded, abandoned looking cottage in the forests. It was the perfect, inviting home to shelter hunters and wanderers from the rainfall…or a stop to patch up wounds from the overgrown briars. The White Wraith was what locals called her…until she disappeared and the locals no longer feared the night.Briar once was celebrated for the way she manipulated the plants-mostly roses (her favorite), painting the world with the brightest colors of life. After her transformation, her control over the rose turned to little more than control over sharp, tangled briars. She has turned what was once so beautiful into her weapon- to protect herself and ensnare her foes. They respond to her demands, emotions, and even encase her in a thorny cocoon if she is in danger. These briars don’t only cut deep, they seem to slowly sap the life of anything they touch. Stones crack, plants wither and rot. It is reversible if one can get out of the briars quickly enough.