-- The White Stag --
Many myths and legends surround the beautiful white stag. In Ugrian myth, the white stag was portrayed as a reindeer which, in its escape from the Ostjak hunters, turned into a white fog, summoning the world's first ice and snow, calling forth the ice age and trapping the hunting nation in the north. Siberian versions of the same myth claim the white reindeer stole the sun which is why the Arctic is bathed in darkness for half the year until the reindeer is slain by a bear and drops the sun.
To go with this version of the myth, Mexican legend depicts the stag as being the carrier of the sun, the sun resting between its antlers, and even complimenting that, Christian myth tells of white stags with bright, shining crucifixes between their antlers, perhaps a further hiding place for the sun when having it nestled between its antlers is too much of a giveaway.
Finnic legend depicts them even more negatively, portraying the white stag as the bringer of doom and guide to the afterlife, often tricking heroes into following it to the underworld.
In Greek legend, Hercules is sent to slay the "white hind" with hooves and antlers of gold. This creature, both male and female, is possibly the strangest incarnation of the legend.
As witnessed in the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, the white stag is considered a symbol of prosperity and luck. Stags fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be born with this glorious, silvery white pelt and platinum antlers are either blessed or cursed with the power to grant wishes. Hundreds of people hunt them for this gift though others only seek to take from the stags their flawless white pelts and the antlers which many believe are the key to their wish-granting power because the stags bear them throughout the entire year rather than just the winter. However, those so greedy as to chase the stags like this are always either unknowing or ignoring the one "rule" which binds the wish granting power of the white stag: the wish cannot be one of greed. Many a stag has been slain in anger by those selfish enough to try to bypass the single guideline and wish for money, power, or forced affection.
-- Ronno --
Ronno was young and naive. At only two years of age, he already bore a 10-point set of antlers, and the other stags were both envious and pitying of him - envious of his spectacular antlers but pitying of one fact - he was one of the Granters - a white stag. Ronno prided himself in being able to run faster than any of the other bucks and never took to heart their warnings to not stray from the heart of the forest, confident that he could outrun any danger. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
In a moment of mischief and arrogance, Ronno bounded out of the edge of his forest and cast forth a shadow over the sun, taking its light between the antlers of which he was so proud, and he paraded it all along the forest's edge, boasting his power and majesty.
He lingered and boasted too long. Ronno's arrogance was quickly spotted by the humans panicking in a traveling caravan nearby, and the light shining from his forehead was not unlike a beacon, making it glaringly obvious to where the sunlight had disappeared, and the caravan's guards were quick to react, charging forth on horseback to take back the sun.
Ronno, inexperienced and caught offguard, was slow to react. He panicked and dove back into the trees, too frightened to pull in the light and hide his path which only shined on his brilliant white pelt to make him easier to track. Arrows whistled past his ear and cut into his neck and flank as he barely avoided them, and he attempted to jump over an enormous, fallen tree in a desperate attempt to escape, but in his state of panic, he misjudged the jump and caught one leg on the tree. He tumbled to the ground and twisted one leg in his hurry to try to right himself and begin running again, and the humans were easily able to overtake him, thrusting their spears into Ronno's chest to free the sunlight from the clutches of his antlers as well as stake claim on his lustrous pelt.
-- Reborn as a Ghost of the Past --
Name: Ronno (I'm still debating whether or not I want to name him something different)
Gender: Male/Stag
Abilities:
.....[-] Wish Granting - He can grant unselfish wishes, but practicing this ability is very difficult because of that one guideline. He cannot grant his own wishes nor can he simply ask any of his friends or his guardian to give him some wishes to practice with. In addition to this, it is a very exhausting process. Granting one wish robs him of his consciousness for a varying amount of time depending on the "size" of the wish which also caused the death of many a stag.
.....[-] Sun Catching - Once he reaches his late teen to young adult/youth stage, he can cast a shadow over the sun not too unlike a heavy cloud blotting it out, and the light is transferred to a shining point between his antlers. He can't completely block it anymore - not like he could in his previous life. At most, it's like a solar eclipse, and he can't hold it for long, no more than a few minutes - fifteen at the most.
.....[-] Fog Walking - When in a state of sheer panic, his best chance of losing whatever is chasing or frightening him is to melt his presence into a dense mist. In this state, he is coaxed by the weightlessness feeling into relaxing and often solidifies again in a deep slumber. It is only temporary and cannot be performed when carrying the sunlight.
.....[-] Stag Form - Once he reaches his late teen to young adult/youth stage, he can briefly turn himself into the stag he once was, but he must first complete a quest to find his original antlers as well as come to terms with his death. Until he copes with and overcomes the trauma of remembering his past life and death, he may find his original antlers, but he may be an adult before he can finally run as a stag again. Even when he finally attains this stage, he cannot stay transformed for long - an hour at the most. Just enough to satisfy his desire to run through the forest the way he used to. (may not keep - the other three would be a lot more fun to RP with even if the quest to find his original antlers would be a good one for this stage of growth)
Race/Species/Element: White Stag
Information on their previous life: (Will copy/paste the above two sections)
Personality from baby to adult:
.....[-] Baby - Ronno, due to the traumatic circumstances of his death, is a very frightful and bitter child. As a baby, he is very reserved, preferring to sleep rather than make a ruckus. He does not laugh much either and, thus, is difficult to entertain.
.....[-] Toddler - He sleeps less, but his sleep is disturbed by images of flashes of light streaking past his head, whizzing past his ears. He is still reserved and does not particularly like to socialize, his lonely previous life beginning to show through, and he prefers to play by himself, entertaining himself with his own imagination.
.....[-] Child - Ronno's nightmares are more detailed. The streaks of light shooting past him in his visions are defined as the arrows used to slow him. Whereas, previously, he simply did not like the company of others, he now becomes distrustful of anyone but his guardian and toddlerhood friends but does not yet understand why. He begins to seek refuge in books, preferring happy fairy tales and still entertains his own imagination. He might create an imaginary friend to talk to and play with, but his greatest pleasure is in books even if his reading skills are still developing.
.....[-] Teenager - The nightmares truly disturb his sleep, tormenting him with visions of arrows in his memory like shards of ice whizzing past his ears, some aflame as if shot from Hell itself to slay him, and green and brown trees and shrubs streaking away from him as he flees his persuer. Now understanding who he used to be, Ronno is forced to combat panic attacks and will refuse to open himself to anyone he did not grow up with out of distrust. Strangers were responsible for his death, and strangers will not be trusted. His panic attacks often trigger an uncontrollable desire to flee which usually ends in his fog form saving him from terror by forcing him to sleep and depositing him in a more restful state of mind. He now takes great joy in physical activity, particularly running and jumping as he used to as a stag, but his greatest refuge is still books, now more sophisticated writing styles and genres. He now also understands what he is capable of though does not quite understand the one "rule" of his wish-granting power - no wishes may be granted for selfish reasons. If he could grant those wishes, he would rid himself of the fear and nightmares, but he can't, and that frustrates him. He is also very afraid to grab the sunlight, fearful it would mean his death once again, and during the spring and summer when he sheds his beautiful antlers, he goes into a brief fit of depression, feeling he is no longer handsome enough (for his tastes, at least) nor able to protect himself.
.....[-] Youth - He is still riddled with nightmares and distrust, but he slowly begins to accept his former fate and that he must cope with it if he is ever to succeed in his new life. The panic attacks still happen, but he is better able to cope with and recover from them even if he still panics and cries in woe when he sheds his antlers. He still greatly enjoys reading and running, but it is difficult to practice his newly understood power with its guideline. He cannot simply ask his guardian or few friends to make wishes for him to try to grant because they would be selfish wishes and, thus, ungrantable. Still, he would love to master the ability again. The same cannot be said for holding light between his antlers, an ability which he may forever remain fearful of practicing.
.....[-] Adult - Ronno has finally come to terms with his previous demise but is still mastering his wish granting ability. He is more enthusiastic than ever and is slowly beginning to open himself to other people though he remains wary of letting just anyone know what he is capable of, afraid for a repeat of his previous life. He remains close to his guardian who helped and supported him throughout his arduous second life.
Hair and eye colors: Silvery white hair just as his pelt was before his death. His eyes are a deep, brilliant blue but are marred with streaks of red and gold as if stained with the anger and fear he bore in his heart when he was killed.
Physical Description From Wand-Adult:
.....[-] Wand - The shaft of the wand is black like obsidian to mirror the one break from his silvery white sheen as a stag - his stark black nose. The head of the wand is in the shape of the head of a stag with its head lowered to charge, colored like the platinum of his antlers in his previous life. The stag head is adorned with metallic antlers curved gracefully into ten prongs.
.....[-] Baby Ghost - Like white smoke, the ghost encircles its wand, occassionally taking the shape of the head of a fawn before returning to an intangible lump of smoke.
.....[-] Baby - Ronno's skin is pale like alabaster, and his red eyes are piercing though lacking the malice and hatred which formed their color. His skin is marred by a large, diagonal scar over his chest where the killing blow was landed by the hunter's spear, and many other, similar scars on the sides of his neck from arrows including one slashing vertically down his throat and one horizontally over his forehead.
.....[-] Toddler - Ronno prefers to let his hair grow out, so his hair is rather shaggy-looking, still its silvery color though. A little more color has returned to his skin, but it's still very pale and likely will be for the remainder of his growth. He likes baggy clothes and is particularly fond of an old, faded blue shirt of his guardian's which envelops his whole body and hangs off one shoulder. Hidden in his hair are two lumps in his skull beginning to pronounce themselves.
.....[-] Child - He still prefers to wear that favorite shirt though it fits better now. He wears whatever pants he feels are comfortable and prefers to only wear socks rather than shoes to go with them. He still lets his hair grow out though his guardian has been able to convince him to let her trim it. His hair overall is short, but his bangs are long, chin length and frame his face. At this point, two antlers with two nubs each have begun to peek out of his hair at the top of his head though they are not yet large enough to truly get in the way of brushing or washing his hair.
.....[-] Teenager - The hairstyle his guardian gave him is how he keeps his hair, but he has unfortunately outgrown her old shirt. Regardless, he still likes baggy clothes. His body is slender and frail just like the deer he used to be though his pale skin is still marred by those scars. Now that he knows why he has them, he prefers to hide them, wearing a bandana or scarf constantly, even in the summer, to leave no part of his neck or throat exposed and usually using a bandana or even his guardian's makeup to hide the gaping scar on his forehead. His happy, childish face is now haunted by his nightmares despite how much he tries to hide it, and his inability to get a good night's sleep due to them darkens his eyes. His antlers have grown much more obvious though only bearing three prongs apiece and curling over his head to the front. They are the same platinum they were in his previous life, but now the tips are blackened as if they were shoved into the embers of a dying fire and burned.
.....[-] Youth - As a youth, he does not look much different from when he was a teenager, but the darkness of fatigue and trauma is leaving his eyes as he copes with his previous life and death and can get a better night's sleep. With this acceptance also comes a reluctant acceptance of his more physical reminders of his previous life. The bandana kept around his neck is still there but loosened slightly as he slowly allows himself to trust enough to expose the scars on his neck and throat. The forehead scar is now left exposed for the most part despite how it detracts from his overall appearance as the largest of all the scars from the neck up, greyish and gaping like parted lips. Again, he keeps his hair the same as it was when he grew up - short all over save for the long bangs framing his face. His antlers are even more impressive now and bear four prongs each, the tip of each prong still blackened, possibly a remnant of the hatred and bitterness he died with in his previous life just as the streaks of red in his eyes.
.....[-] Adult - The only differences between adulthood and youth are the healthy glow of his skin from the restful nights he has having fully accepted and coped with his past. Nightmares do not prevent him from sleeping anymore, and although he still likes to wear a bandana or scarf, he leaves the scars exposed for the most part. Baggy clothes are still his favorite attire as they enable him full range of movement without constrictions. His antlers are regal in appearance, bearing five prongs each for a total of ten points just as in his previous life.
Distinctive Marks: A ragged, diagonal (his left-to-right) scar mars his chest. Smaller, horizontal scars slash across the sides of his neck, alarmingly dark against his pale skin. Four are on the right side of his neck and three tear across the left. One more scar slashes down his throat vertically where the hunter began skinning him before he was completely dead in his previous life. A final scar mars his forehead, gaping like parted lips and greatly detracting from his overall appearance, dark grey against his pale skin where his antlers were scalped from his head. His antlers could also possibly qualify as distinctive marks, curving gracefully over his head with their platinum shafts and blackened prongs. Beautiful as they are though, they make washing his hair a tedious ordeal. When they are shed, he only has velvety nubs sticking up from his hair like the tiny horns of a goat.
General likes and dislikes: He despises strangers and is extremely distrustful of anyone he does not grow up with even as a young adult. It is only his desire to learn to master his power to grant wishes that he finally begins to open up his trust and allow people close to him though still not too close. He loves to read though, sometimes completely losing himself for over a day in a book. His imagination is his sanctuary.
Hobbies: He spends more time reading than anything else, but he also finds great enjoyment in a brisk run around his guardian's property, dashing through the woods and dodging around trees and shrubs despite those maneuvers sometimes triggering his panic attacks. Once his antlers fully develop, he takes an almost absurd pleasure in rubbing them against things - anything from rocks to trees to furniture much to his guardian's dismay. The feeling of antler against solid surface is delight in its purest form to him.
-- Cost and Funding --
Current Funds: *fails in saving* / 350,000
