INFORMATION
Oct. 6th, 2027 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scalebindLittle did he know, the magic on him was no true curse, but a binding spell to withhold his true form as a dragon. Finally free of the worst of the "curse" and also those holding him back, Briar has somehow fallen into the role of Dragonlord himself. After all, there must always be a dragon at the Silver Keep.
His "cursed" form is a variant of his human form, but with a draconic lower half, horns, hands, and scattered scales. He is a few inches taller in this form, but otherwise looks similar to his human form.
Briar's true form, his dragon form, is a large black dragon. He has a pale face and twisting, forward-curling horns. His scales have a faint purple undertone, and occasional silver highlights and speckling, especially on his wings. He has large paler spots on his wings, though one of them has been torn by an injury. He stands just above 10 feet at the shoulder, roughly. His dragon form is based off of a DND black dragon (2024 redesign), with some minor edits.
The Kingdom of Litoriea broke away from the Kingdom of Valitor long ago, with the help of the Kingdom of Nathii. Upon becoming independent, they adopt their own form of the [religion name] religion. They believed in a celestial singular god in heaven, but that more importantly, all magic came from him. Using magic, the doctrine goes, would wear away at one's soul, leaving one not complete when they finally went to face God's judgement. Therefore, magic practice must be restricted: only qualified priests and monks knew how to safely perform magic without risking their soul. Some alchemical and potion-making magic that relied on using magic from materials was also generally allowed, as it did not pull magic from one's soul and natural reserve of magic.
On the other hand, Valitor was deeply invested in magic, and known for researching different fields. Valitor was a large empire, made up of a number of city states doing their own thing under the rule of a single emperor.
War has simmered between Valitor and Litoriea ever since, especially since Valitor envied Litoriea's prosperous fields and productive agricultural industry. Conflict kept popping up every few decades to damage both kingdoms.
world background
Briar's world is one of magic, though not everyone is in agreement on how to use it.
Eventually, the Queen gave birth -- and to twins, no less! One of them was a healthy baby boy, and the other was... not. Hurriedly, the King declared the beast a cursed child, and had one of the priests cast a spell to bind it. But this spell, done without careful thought or consideration for the growing creature, would have side effects...
And thus Briar came to be. His brother, Cadfael, was treated as a normal royal child and assumed the heir. Meanwhile, Briar was kept confined to the castle to keep his health in check. The curse ate away at him, making him sickly and weak. Though he was allowed the general run of the castle grounds, and given tutors and taught history and geography, he was never allowed at public events. He watched his father govern and his brother grow from a hidden distance. His mother tried to give him affection, but her condition broke his heart. And so his closest friends were the servants of the castle and his tutors.
On their twenty-first birthday, his brother was officially crowned heir to the throne while Briar watched from his tower. His curse had only gotten worse, and his mother had noticed. In the middle of the night, she caught him planning to escape and travel to Valitor to seek magical help. Instead of stopping him, she gave him a bag of coins and told him to seek a stranger known as Osma. She apologized for not being a better mother, and sent him off.
He was able to find Osma easily in the next city over, who gave him medical elixirs to hold him over and arranged a place in a wagon to Valitor. Osma only took a small amount of coin, saying they'd been an old friend of the Queen.
And so Briar renounced his name, his kingdom, and the family who had all failed him, in the desperate search for a cure so he might finally, after so long, begin to live.
childhood
The king and queen of Litoriea struggled to conceive children. Desperate, they turned to a magical solution. They gained the help of a mysterious figure known as Osma, who granted them a spell that could help the Queen bear a child. She had to perform a particular ritual the night before the full moon, and the night after, but NOT the night of. However, the King urged her to perform it all three days, in the hope it would be more effective.
Briar was sent to an immigration office, where he was directed to the magic school to serve as a secretary for the researchers there. After all, he could read and write, and that skill was far rarer in Valitor.
However, he was soon noticed by the ruler of Silver Keep, Dragonlord Aurelius. He'd heard rumors of a runaway prince from the neighboring kingdom and Briar happened to fit the description, not to mention his clear magical malady that was interesting. He confronted the ex-royal, but made it clear he had no ill will. Instead, he bade Briar stay in his court and provide some assistance there, advising with his knowledge of [ENGLAND]. In exchange, he'd be given a place to stay and help solving his curse. Briar was hesitant, but how could he turn that down?
It wasn't long until the two of them fell into a romantic affair, with Aurelius making him an even closer confidant. Briar's only other major friend was Sverre, a guard for the Dragonlord and the guard that Aurelius had assigned to protect Briar. Even so, Briar was too preoccupied with his new romance to worry about much. Aurelius had Briar take some basic magic classes while they worked on a way to help with his curse.
Eventually, Auelius had his wizards attempt to lift Briar's curse. But something went terrible wrong, and Briar's body began to change. They returned the spell to as it was quickly, but the damage was already done. Briar was now stuck with draconic features, including horns, scales, and even a tail. Briar was devastated, feeling he was in a worse condition than before. However, Sverre gifted him a choker that had a glamour in it which would return Briar to his normal human form when worn. After all, he was secretly a Lupine -- a race of wolf-people who had to wear glamors in Valitor due to long-standing kingdom rivalries.
Things seemed alright, at least for a while. Briar provided advice to Aurelius about practical details and gave suggestions that were popular with the people, and occasionally even the court. However, things changed when an envoy from Litoriea came to visit to discuss trade routes. The problem was that Briar's brother was leading it, and seeing Briar sent him into a rage. He accused Briar of betraying his homeland, and conspiring with Valitor to undermine Litoriea. He saw Briar's mere presence as a declaration of war -- and Aurelius, who had been eager to flex his power, didn't try to calm the situation down. Briar tried to defend himself and deny the claims, but it only made him more panicked and more angry himself.
And then something snapped. Briar's curse could no longer hold him back with such emotion, and he transformed into a dragon. He was too shocked and overwhelmed to even realized what had happened, and blindly went on a rampage through the keep. The envoy fled, mostly in tact, and Sverre and Aurelius were able to calm him back to his normal form, but the damage was done.
War was back.
silver keep
After a long journey on caravans along the mountain pass through the Drakespine range, Briar finally arrived at Silver Keep. The city was built around a massive fort located at the end of the mountain pass, meant to defend Valitor against Litoriea. He was hardly the only refuge from Litoriea, especially after a recent peace formed between the two kingdoms.
Briar was confused and devastated. Aurelius kept him tucked away in the castle while he recovered. Aurelius had more magicians come in to study Briar's curse, only to discover that the curse didn't cause the dragon form, but rather was restraining it. Briar was, again, devastated, but Aurelius reassured him that he'd make sure they taught him to control it. He also had Briar enroll in basic magic studies, just to better understand his own curse.
Meanwhile, war began to ramp up between Litoriea and Valitor -- specifically Silver Keep leading the charge. This impressed other Valitoran Lords enough that Aurelius bethrothed Lady Irida from a different city of Valitor, who was sent to Silver Keep. Between this and the war, Aurelius began to grow more distant from Briar.
At the height of the war, with his advice ignored, Briar eventually went behind Aurelius's back to advise the citizens on Litoriean-style farming tips to hold them through the blockade. Aurelius wasn't happy and got into an argument with Briar that turned very, very nasty. Around the same time, Irida -- of whom Briar actually got along with decently -- pointed out that it was strange the Aurelius hadn't given Briar an official position. Same-sex affairs alongside noble marriages were common, but the object of affection was normally made into a Consort, an official rank that gave them some power, acknowledgement, and protections. Briar, meanwhile, had been left as a simple open secret.
When Briar tried to bring this up, Aurelius just dismissed him. He insisted Briar help with the war in his dragon form -- which Briar grudgingly agreed to, but only for defending Silver Keep and the people. But Aurelius had discovered he could use match to latch onto Briar's curse and control him, not unlike a dog on a collar. He began pushing Briar into more and more violent excursions, no matter how little Briar wanted. But the people of Silver Keep, who Briar was fond of and who were fond of him, found great morale in having him around, so he continued.
Things came to a head when the Valitoran army captured a political prisoner and brought them to Silver Keep as a show of power. Aurelisu had Briar present only to see it was the King of [ENGLAND], Briar's own father. Briar was shocked, and his father was actually apologetic, saying he was sorry everything had gone so wrong. He claimed Briar's curse was his fault, and that he should have done better by his son, and then maybe they wouldn't all be in this mess.
But before they could properly reconcile, Aurelius cut them short. He demanded the King be executed, and that Briar perform the execution himself. Obviously Briar was horrified, but [LORD] used his magical leash to force Briar to act. Unable to act for himself, Briar killed and ate his own father as a dragon. Chaos broke out.
This... deeply traumatized Briar, and caused him to nearly shut down. The courts and people found this an extreme measure, but Aurelius shut down any opposition with the threat of his dragon. The rest of Valitor did little to stop or support them, and the war was getting more intense and dire. But Briar couldn't resist Aurelius anymore, so what could he do?
He realized that Aurelius was keeping him as a trophy and pet, having him sit beside the throne in a collar as one might display a hunting dog. If he'd had any illusions, he was sure now Aurelius had never truly loved him. Only Sverre and Irida remained by his side as decent friends.
In the dire circumstances, Sverre and Briar grew closer, both desperate and looking for an escape, and finding more sexual tension between them. They started an ill-advised affair behind Aurelius's back, though he was too busy to notice it. Or did he even care?
As war wore on, and the passage remained close, Silver Keep was starving. The rest of Valitor refused to help, and Aurelius refused to pause the war for help.
In the midst of this, Osma arrived again. He came to visit Briar, and admitted their role in Briar's birth and creation. They had never expected the spell to be preformed incorrectly, or the binding spell to be put on Briar, and apologized for not noticing and intervening sooner. However, Aurelius immediately outed him. Osma was not some wandering magician, but the great dragon Vereatemposmaez, or Osma for short. Aurelius demanded he aid Silver Keep in the war, and Osma refused. Briar was too shocked to process it, but Osma gave him a gift: A bracelet with a green gem in it. They told Briar that, should he ever need help, to simply break the gem and they'd be there. The dragon then departed before Aurelius could try anything.
Aurelius considered this only a minor setback, as a major battle had allowed them to capture another political prisoner. He brought them before Briar once again for execution, and Briar was horrified to find it was the Queen, his own mother.
Something in him finally snapped.spiraling
By some miracle, the devastation from his rampage was limited. Even so, the citizens saw this as a bad omen. A dragon was a sign of power and prosperity, so one driven to madness was a very bad sign. Aurelius assured the people that he had it until control, and he would have the dragon as their ally soon.
But his pain and rage at Aurelius for the months of abuse finally overwhelmed the power of his controlling magic. It was enough to break the greater power of the curse over him and free himself from the loophole Aurelius controlled. Briar snapped them up, but simply to carry them to safety, and he broke out of the hall and flew into the mountains in desperation.
Eventually, he found a place to settle and rest. All of them were exhausted, but both of them comforted Briar and were proud of him for breaking free. After they'd had time to rest, Briar broke his gem to call Osma. The other dragon arrived promptly, having guessed what happened. They informed the group, upon Briar's departure, the citizens of Silver Keep had begun to riot. Their dragon defying Aurelius and going rogue was the motivation they needed to finally fight back.
Sverre encouraged Briar to return and help the people finally get rid of Aurelius, since his power would be sorely appreciated. Osma said it was up to him. Briar was torn, but eventually found his resolve to return. He asked Osma to take his mother back to Litoriea while him and Sverre returned.
In a the midst of a storm, they returned to Silver Keep. Their presence reinvigorated the people, and as a dragon he was able to help break through a blockade on the Keep itself. Sverre was able to convince a lot of the guards to stand down, and Briar went to confront Aurelius.
Aurelius attempted to control him again, but to no avail. While the tugging on his curse caused him pain, Briar was able to resist. He gave Aurelius a chance to surrender, and Aurelius seemed to... and then used the chance to try and kill Briar. Luckily, Irida jumped in to block that attack, causing Briar only to be wounded on his wing. Osma then returned and burst into the Keep to devour [LORD], preventing him from causing any more harm.
The war was immediately called off, of course. News of Aurelius's death and the returning of the Queen safely caused enough of a pause to begin peace talks. Once the immediate chaos had died down, the people immediately turned to Briar as the new lord. After all, he was a dragon! Who better to be a Dragonlord?
He tried to resist, but felt he had no option and that there were no better options. Sverre and Irida both swore to support him. In fact, after things settled down, Irida suggested they get married instead. A political marriage, given how she saw Briar and Sverre was, but it would give him legitimacy in the eyes of [ROME] and also give her equal power to aide with ruling (of which she was better at). He relented, since it did seem like a good idea.
Rebuilding began, slowly and steadily. Briar begged Osma to remain, and the older dragon he'd remain to help Briar learn how to be a dragon -- but only as a friend, and not as a citizen of Silver Keep. Over the months Briar was able to better settle into his form, and even learn how to return to his human form(s).
For Roleplay purposes, he is usually taken the day of his wedding.
dragonlord
With his own mother before him as a prisoner that Aurelius demanded he execute, as he had his father, Briar was frozen. He begged his mother's forgiveness, but she could tell immediately that he was under Aurelius' spell. Sverre and Irida, as well as the rest of the court, begged Aurelius not to do this, as such a rash action would only escalate things more -- but he didn't listen, and demanded Briar devour her, and Sverre too if he would dare oppose Aurelius.
abilities; Briar has three different forms that he can shift between with only some effort.
HUMAN
This form is maintained by a silver-and-leather choker he wears at all time, as it's enchanted with a glamour spell. If he takes it off, he immediately shifts to CURSED form.
He is capable of using some magic. He's learned basic fire and basic barrier spells.
In this form, Briar is roughly 5'3". He has dark, curly hair, pale and sickly skin, and silver eyes. His eyes are sometimes tinge blue or purple from the curse magic.
In this form, he has limited fire-breathing abilities, and is a bit sturdier than a normal human.
He generally has the same traits as his human form, but is closer to 5'6" in this form. His scales are primarily black, but otherwise match his dragon form.
Aside from natural dragon weapons like claws, bulk, tail, etc, he also has natural access to fire breathe.
Due to recent help in controlling his "curse" (binding spell) to be more flexible, he can shift into this form from either other forms with only minor effort. It can take a few seconds to fully shift, though strong emotion can trigger or speed up the process.
