Zankokuna Yōsei (残酷な妖精)

Basics
Full Name: Zankokuna Yōsei (残酷な妖精)
Meaning of Name: Cruel Fairy/Elf.
*Nickname: Zan, or Yo.
Astrological Sign: Pisces.
Sex: Male.
Species: Alp.

Human Appearance
Human Age: 21.
Human Eye Color: White.
Human Hair Color: Black.
Type of Build/Body: Muscular.
Height: 5'11".
Weight: 160 lbs.
Distinguishing Marks: Zankokuna has odd tattoos that seem to be weird characters of some kind that reach all the way around his throat as if it is some kind of collar. They not only go all the way around his throat, but start at the middle of his throat (around his Adam's Apple) and reach down to his collar bone.

He also possesses an "evil eye" on his left shoulder which looks as if it had once been stitched shut, and on his back is also a tattoo with the same odd writing that says "गद्दार" ("Gaddāra") or in English, "Traitor".

Traits
Skills: Mostly known for his shape-shifting abilities, he may change into a cat, wolf, dog, snake or a black butterfly. It has also been said that he can fly like a bird and ride a horse.

Zankokuna always wears a 'hat'. The 'hat' is known as a Tarnkappe, the literal translation being ("camouflage cap" or "cap of concealment") which is simply a hat (or less commonly a veil) that gives him magic powers and the ability to turn invisible while it's worn. The 'hat' is visible no matter what shape he takes. If he lost this, he would offer a great reward for its safe return.

He also possesses an "evil eye" on his left shoulder, whose gaze will inflict illness and misfortune. Removing or damaging this eye also removes his malicious intentions.

Another interesting thing about this being that is an Alp and yet nothing at all, is that his blood is like poison. The purple liquid that spills from his wounds is deadly to any being who is not 'blessed' by him. In other words, if he does not give permission for a being to ingest his blood for any reason, that being will be poisoned and die. Only he can administer the antidote since he is the only one who could ever know how to create the antidote.

Attitude/Personality: Zankokuna exhibits a tendency for mischief like his distant cousins, elves. A mysterious and alluring individual, he is extremely talented, but even though he is gifted in many ways, he still manages to spend most of his life battling "confusing" conditions. He is frequently torn between two pathways in life, or actually does live two very different existences at the same time.

Zankokuna is acknowledged as being the Saint and the Sinner all rolled into one; the trendsetter of fashion or art, the lost soul, the philosopher and the psychotic and the visionary. As a credit to him, considering his many vulnerable characteristics; He is incredibly adaptable and resilient. Zankokuna can be found leading the field in many diverse areas of life and can be found represented among top business millionaires. On the other side of the coin, prisons, reform schools and all kinds of institutions statistically hold a high number of his records too.

The Zankokuna's inner quest to explore his "ivory tower" syndrome can lead him into some most unusual and unlikely living conditions. Of all the beings of folklore, Zankokuna is the one who ended up in the most muddles over the years of his life. He fantasizes about situations, people and particularly romance - and because he spends so much time in his own form of 'fantasy land' this can catch him short in other more worldly areas.

Because of this inner world of fantasy, Zankokuna seldom perceives whatever is going on around him in its true light. He sees life instead as he wants to see it, coloring his view of the world in hues and tones far removed from its true reflection. No wonder he is of both miracles and disillusionment.

One thing that plays havoc with his life is romance. When things romantically are going well for him, he is on cloud nine. When romance turns sour, he lands in a heap. Zankokuna often needs to take lots of holidays (or time off) to recover from life's many diverse pressures. He is the most sensitive folkloric being, so he needs to take extra special care of himself. Nobody can beat him up, as much as he can beat himself up within his own mind. In his purest form he is a psychic, visionary and a guiding light to all who know him. But, in his "out of tune" state, he becomes depressed, obsessive and confused.

Talents: He can paint, is a very famous artist.

Images For character:


Background
Alp Folklore: An alp is typically male. Its victims are often females, whom it attacks during the night, controlling their dreams and creating horrible nightmares (hence the German word Alptraum ("elf dream"), meaning a nightmare). An alp attack is called an Alpdruck, or often Alpdrücke, which means "elf pressure". Alpdruck is when an alp sits astride a sleeper's chest and becomes heavier until the crushing weight awakens the terrified and breathless dreamer. The victim awakes unable to move under the alp's weight.

Sexual attacks by the alp are rare.

The alp is often associated with vampires because it will drink blood from the nipples of men and young children, though women are the preferred victim of the invariably male alp, for it favors the taste of breast milk.

Alps also exhibit a tendency for mischief similar to elves, like souring milk and re-diapering a baby; a maid must sign a cross on the diaper or the alp will put the soiled diaper back on her child. They also enjoy tangling hair into "elfknots" or chewing and twisting horse's tails. They will ride a horse to exhaustion during the night and may sometimes crush smaller farm animals such as geese to death during a pressing attack. Alps are also similarly blamed for minor illnesses and milking cows dry, for they enjoy the taste of cow's milk as well.

Protections against an alp include laying a broomstick under a pillow, iron horseshoes hung from the bedpost, placing shoes against the bed with the toes pointing toward the door, or placing a mirror on the chest. Steel and crosses are also used. If awoken by the alp and finding him still there, one can address him by asking him to return in the morning to borrow something or have coffee. The alp will dash away at once, arriving in the morning either in his "true" form, or else in the form of a human with eyebrows that meet to receive his gifts. The creature can be convinced to leave the victim alone at this time, but the alp will beg pitifully and at length not to be turned away. Plugging up any holes, specifically keyholes, before a visitation will keep the alp out. Plugging them during a visitation will invariably seal it inside the room, as they can leave only through their original entrance. A light kept constantly on during the night will also effectively ward off an alp. A sentry may also be employed to wait and watch for the alp to attack the helpless sleeper, the alp may be driven away if caught by someone not under the alp's influence. Similar to the German Neuntoter, alps are weakened or immobilized by shoving a lemon in its mouth should it be caught resting during the day. The alp appears all but impossible to kill, and sometimes even after being turned away it may reappear years later in a worse mood.

The alp, in many cases, is considered a demon, but there have been some instances in which the alp is created from the spirits of recently dead relatives, more akin to a spirit or ghost. Children may become an alp if a woman bites a horse collar to ease the pain during an extremely long and tortuous childbirth. Also, a child born with a caul or hair on the palms may become an alp. If a woman who is pregnant is frightened by an animal, the child may be born an alp. Stillborn infants are also suspected to return from the grave as alps and torment their family. People who have eyebrows that meet are suspected to be alps. As with the case of werewolves, sometimes a normal human or animal may become an alp during the night. They are typically unaware of their nocturnal activities and are invariably in disguise while doing so. Finding an alp while it is not active simply requires injuring or otherwise marking it during one of its attacks, and seeking out the being with a similar mark during the day. The person can then be cured if it is found out who sent them the curse, or how they became cursed to begin with. Witchcraft is often the prime suspect in this case.

Sometimes an alp is a spirit summoned by a witch or an evil person wishing harm on another, and sent to torment them. Tricking an alp may lead a person to its master. It may also have been expelled by the breath of the horerczy, a German demon which exhales vampiric butterflies.

History: Born of pure Alp blood, Zankokuna was exiled from his kind for betraying his heritage and instead only drinking cow's milk and attacking men. In other words, Zankokuna was exiled because he was gay.

Branded with the mark of shame by his own father, he wears the ancient writing of the Alps on his skin forever. The writing from the tome of elders which states, "कोई Alp कभी एक पुरुष या जोखिम अपने पूरे प्रजातियों को शर्मसार करने के लिए गिर जाएगा. कोई है जो हमेशा के लिए हो सकता है और ब्रांडेड निर्वासित." ("No Alp shall ever fall for a male or risk shaming their entire species. Any who do will be forever branded and exiled.")

Forever marked, he became something that is much more dire than an alp, but not as dangerous as a Drath and not a vampire. He is neither human nor elf, he is a new breed of creature that is a population of one.

As a showing of his "evolution", he wears the skulls of his first three victims as his so called 'hat'. The skulls are infused with the blood of a warlock, in which Zankokuna drank and forever gained the ability of pure magic and can push the boundaries on his once limited Alp magic. Despite his magical powers, he is still bound to his 'hat' and if he lost it, he would be weaker and eventually lose his powers and die.

Now he has set foot in the beautiful city of Helios. Only fate can determine what will happen once this being meets with someone who catches his interest....