AYDAIKEN the THORN


The Lovelorn

A Y D A I K E N
archfey prince, exile, sentry
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Ht: 7'6  /  Wt: ? /  Hair: white  /  Eyes: none  /  Skin: grey
Age: 2000+  /  Creed: Moonfae /  Status: Active

Aydaiken the Thorn is a prince of old Sidhe blood, the younger sibling to the late White-Gold King of the Moonfae. Blinded and exiled by his elder brother, the Thorn spent untold centuries brooding in solitude on the desolate edges of the Quiet Sea... an existence that no mortal being could endure. 

Now freed from his bond of duty to his liege and brother, it is uncertain what path he will choose for himself and his people... 

History
As a prince of the Moonfae, Aydaiken served his folk as a courtier and knight. In the periods when Silvered Elves and Titans warred with each other, he often commanded the Royal Host. He was an instrumental figure in the Moonfae war against the Nephelim, though it is unconfirmed whether he participated in the binding of Uluyan Kovalayan when the Silvered Elves conquered the Manse of the Winter Wind.  

As his brother the White-Gold King was an immortal being of immense power, the Thorn was unlikely to ever inherit the throne or carry the weight of the crown. When not playing the role of warrior, he was known for his poetic melancholy and bouts of sentimental affliction. Sadly, this romantic self-indulgence proved to be his undoing.

When the White-Gold King sought to commemorate the conquest of the Moon by marrying and building his dynasty, Aydaiken found himself smitten with his brother's bride, the newly-crowned White-Gold Queen.

Aydaiken's pining after the Queen did not go unnoticed. The White-Gold King saw this, and called out his brother before the Moon Court. He pronounced a great curse upon Aydaiken - as the Prince of Thorns longed for that which belonged to the King, he would be gifted with his own crown of moon-white roses and named the Warden of the Royal Domain.

When the King placed the crown of roses upon Aydaiken's brow, it constricted around his head and its thorns bit deeply into his eyes. The white roses watered themselves with his blood, such that they turned red. This grisly crown ensured he could never again behold the Queen. So that he might never hear her voice, he was charged with the solemn duty of guarding the Winter Gate across the Quiet Sea, thus cursing him to loneliness and silence for all eternity. 

Description

Aydaiken appears as a towering ethereal figure in black plate armour, with slender, distended limbs,and long silver hair that falls like a shroud over his face. His facial features are refined, and androgynous, with skin grey like mist. Where his eyes once were is marred by scarred lids from which tears of blood run - marring his otherworldly beauty, but also somehow making him less unreal to look upon. 

Aydaiken was freed from his cursed crown of roses by the Tyrson company - at the same time liberating him from the Red Spite that had infected him through Crown. The brambles of the roses had not simply grown over his eyes, but had burrowed their tendrils into the sockets. The violent removal of the Crown also tore out what remained of Aydaiken's eyes. Now, his eyelids now remain closed, his face streaked forever with tears of blood. 

As an archfey, Aydaiken possesses many supernatural abilities, and wields powerful Radiant magics. Although he is without functioning eyes, his other senses are honed to a uncanny degree. Even in the airless void of the Quiet Sea, he can hear and smell things hundreds of miles away. He can also communicate telephathically and sense things on multiple planes.

He survived several millennia of exposure to the harsh conditions on the Moonless Plain without issue, and does not seem to require food or oxygen. He claims he is not as powerful as his brother, but it is likely that like others in his lineage, he is nigh-immortal.

Recent History 

After learning the circumstances of his brother's corruption and death, Aydaiken walked back across the surface of the Quiet Sea, towards the White-Gold Palace of the Moon. 

Encountering the awakened Lieges of the Moon Court, he bade them return with him to the Ashen Realm to begin the restoration of their home after the ravages of the Red Spite. 
The Lieges refused to recognize the exiled Aydaiken as heir to the throne, and ignored his offer, citing instead their honourbound obligation to avenge the White-Gold King's death before all else. 

With the King's curse over the Palace lifted, Aydaiken was able to unlock and traverse the dimensional portal back to the Ashen Realm. Aydaiken took up residence at the Dew-Kissed Tower, attended by the Beacon Knights Esmeray and Koray.

Liberated from his long enslavement to the Moonfae, the Titan Uluyan Kovalayan attacked the Moon Lieges, killing two and forcing the rest to retreat back to the Ashen Realm. Uluyan then destroyed the White-Gold Palace, an act which finally broke the portal linking the Dew-Kissed Tower to the surface of the Moon.

Aydaiken has since set about repairing the Moon Bridges between Duatha and his realm, and has  commanded his Beacon Knights to go forth and find the Earth-born descendants of the Moonfae who fled the Red Spite thousands of years before. The Beacon Knights are no longer tasked to guard the borders of the Ashen World, but instead to lead their people back to their scarred homeland, hopefully to rebuild anew. 


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