Bitter

Bitter 

Formerly Vallo Montegue

??? (uses masculine pronouns)

Spellcaster

The evil kind

History

Warning; tl;dr

Bitter was strange from the very beginning. 

At the start, his name was Vallo, the only child of a wealthy and powerful nobleman in the upper echelons of Alicorn society. His conception was one shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Vallo's father, Lord Montegue, was relatively young for a lord in his position. He was very powerful and wealthy, but more importantly, he was by far the most charming rosales anyone could have met. He wooed women and men alike with such passion and flair that he earned a swath of nicknames (some less kind than others). His wiles swayed the favors of those in power at the courts, and his eloquence of speech could turn the tide of any debate in his favor. As such, he made for a powerful ally, and rosales constantly competed for his attentions. Truly, it didn't come as a shock to anyone that his first child was born out of wedlock. What did strike people as strange, however, was the fact that none of the ladies (or gentlemen) in the high courts seemed to be the childs mother. People whispered, playing like it was a game. 'Which of Lord Montegues lovers was it?' But it soon became clear that it was no one in the upper class. Then the search became much more earnest. A commoner? Naturally the thought that the charming Lord would favor a common lower-class alicorn to one of their well-bred lines was deplorable. But even amongst the common working class, there seemed to be no one who quite fit the role.

The Lord Montegue himself refused from the beginning to reveal his lovers identity. Of course it had been known that he had been sneaking off even more than usual to see someone, but each noble had simply assumed it was another. It soon came to light that he had been seen cavorting in commoners clothing with a group of minstrels late at night. So it was commonly accepted that Vallo's mother was one of the gypsys. Lord Montegue would never say. The next strange piece of the puzzle to catch peoples tongues came when the Lord finally allowed people to come pay their respects and congratulations to the infant. After all, having a child was still a cause for celebration, even if it was a motherless bastard (although the lord loved and cared for Vallo as dearly as any father could care for a child). People reeled and gasped when they gazed upon the child, fair skinned and with hair as black as night, with a rosebud on his head to match. Many of the courtly folks were as superstitious as they come, and dreaded the sight of those black petals. Had he been anyone else, they may have been run out of town. But it wasn't just anyone. This was Lord Montegues child, whom he loved, and all were slow to anger him. So although many whispers were had and rumors spoken in low hushes, people were largely content to turn their heads and ignore the elephant in the room.

As years passed, people came to accept Vallo even if they still eyed his dark roses with suspicion. As a young lad, he got into the habit of pruning off all of the roses that others detested so much (this habit would follow him for he rest of his life). Other nobles even enjoyed his company. As it turned out, Vallo took after his father a great deal. He was charming, eloquent, well-spoken, and clever. Moreover, early on he showed a particular talent for magic. Lord Montegue hired a private tutor for him to assure that he learned how to safely and skillfully apply his magical talents. So despite the air of forboding that constantly followed him, Vallo found himself a rather popular and well-liked young man. there was one way, however, in which Vallo was the polar opposite of his father; he only ever loved one rosales. It was clear from the beginning that Vallo was head over heels for a beautiful young lordling very close to his own age. A charming lad with golden curly hair and shining bronze and white feathers, Vintas. Vallo and Vintas were inseparable, spending every moment of their precious little free time together. Vintas could play the lute, and would often sing Vallo ballads. Vallo, in turn, would free verse poetry for (and often about) Vintas. But every love story has its own dark shadow. Vintas' mother was one of the more particularly superstitious nobles in the courts. She had wits enough about her to speak politely to Vallo, and permitted their friendship, but she made it clear from the beginning that she would never allow Vintas to marry him. As Vallo and Vintas grew older, they knew they wanted nothing more than to be together. So they devised a plan to elope. Throughout their friendship they had maintained the formalities expected of them, only ever toughing fleetingly; a pat on the back, a brush of hands or feathers. But on the evening they solidified their plan, they parted with a kiss. A brief, fleeting kiss, barely a brushing of the lips, but of the sort that made young hearts leap and flutter. They planned on leaving three days later, on the night of the full moon. However, the following morning, Vintas fell terribly ill. By the evening, despite the constant coming and going of doctors, he could barely breathe. Vintas' mother would not allow Vallo in to see him, in spite of his pleas. By midnight, he was dead. What happened next was a whirlwind of despair, emotion, anger, finger pointing, and wild accusations, but it all boiled down to a simple conflict. Vallo accused Vintas' mother of poisoning him herself, believing that she found out about their plan and, unable to persuade him otherwise, chose to have him dead rather than parted from her. Vintas' mother, however, denied it, and asserted that Vintas' death was because of Vallos kiss. It was well known, she declared, that black-flowered rosales were harbingers of death and destruction. Just as Vallos mother had disappeared, so too had Vintas followed because of this evil predilection. No one wanted to believe either accusation. But when the doctors finished looking over the body, they declared that no trace of poison had been found. Slowly then the eyes that had once seen Vallo as a friend began to view him with suspicion. Lord Montegue of course deftly defended his sons innocence, and people slowly began to believe him. Or, at least, they believed that Vallo hadn't done it on purpose. Everyone kept a wide berth from him. 

As if to salt the wounds in his heart, soon after his father fell ill as well. It was clear that this was not the same illness that had taken Vintas. This sickness worked its way slowly, draining the lords vigor and youth. Over the months he went from a burly, handsome and healthy gentleman to a frail old man. In this time Vallo, already distraught, threw himself into his magical studies, striving with every fiber of his being to find a cure. He failed. Once again, previously friendly eyes filled with venom and fear. All of the courts were convinced that the now Lord Vallo Montegue was the causation of the deaths around him. Lord Vallo, who had been a bright and wiley young man, was now a dark scowling figure, dark circles constantly outlining his eyes and misery in his visage. Accusations that had been held back by the dam of courtesy were punctured by fear and began to spring forward. Vallos already thin patience was strained. When an older nobleman confronted him aggressively in full view of the public, something snapped. Those who were there will tell you that the sky darkened within a matter of seconds. Lamps were snuffed out simultaneously, and a thick terrible silence fell. In shock, there was a moment of stillness, pierced by a single shriek. When the sunlight penetrated the thick clouds at last, Lord Vallo was gone. The older lord was on the floor, laying in a pool of blood and black feathers. His chest was torn open and his heart was missing. The grisly scene would mar the nightmares of the rosales who witnessed it for years to come. Although many searched for him, Lord Vallo was nowhere to be found. His quarters were left untouched, and it seemed that he had merely vanished. It wasn't until days later that it was discovered that the gravesite of Vintas had been unearthed, and the body was gone. Panic ensued for some time, but after months with no sign of Vallos wrathful return, people slowly allowed themselves to push him from their minds. He became a terribly fairytale, a fable to tell misbehaving rosales children at night and for curious adults to speculate at in the late hours over wine. 

For years hide nor hair was seen of the Lord Vallo Montegue. Some said he simply vanished in a puff of fury and hate the day the sky turned black. Others were more fearful, and worried that he would return to the Alicorn capital one day and rain down his awful revenge. It became a bit of a cruel running joke that as long as Vintas' mother was alive, they were safe. She became a rather shut-in woman in those years.

When Vallo finally did resurface, it was not in any of the alicorn cities. A desperate young rosales heard rumors of an incredibly powerful wizard far to the north. the arctic rosales girl left her hometown to search for him, hoping that he could bring her dead lover back to life. Townsfolk shook their heads sadly at her as she left. When she came back, she planted a single kiss on her lovers lips. As she did, her flowers wilted, and her chest caved, but the boy opened his eyes and lived. The girl fled into the cold night, not to be seen again and giving no explanation. but this event sparked the morbid curiosity of the adventurous rosales of the world. Word soon spread far and wide of the powerful spellcaster. A few sought him out and found him, a single black rose atop a waterfall of black hair and long black wings. Each of the rosales gathered spoke a wish, and each one the wizard who called himself Bitter granted. The rosales returned to their homes, and each one soon discovered the horrible price they had paid, each different according to their wish. It became widely known that the grinning Bitter could indeed give you anything your heart desired, but only the truly desperate should seek him out. The terrible wizard who could defy even death...

Personality

Bitter named himself after he fled his home city, and knowing his full story it's plain to see why. However to those who met him when he resurfaced years later, the name seemed oddly out of place. These days, the wrathful, angry eyes of the lonely Lord Vallo are gone. Every rosales who has seen him recounts the same thing; he was never not smiling. He is constantly upbeat, ever grinning and mirthful. He seems like he has always got some dark little secret about you, and he's waiting for you to figure it out. Somewhat startlingly, Bitter is actually an incredibly polite and accommodating host. His home is staked out in a northern swamp which takes several days to reach, even flying. As such he always has luxurious guest rooms prepared for those who choose to seek him out for his help, allowing rosales to stay for several weeks at a time, if they so chose. Bitter is also very personable and charming, however he does not typically use these wiles of his to convince rosales to accept his terrible magical deals. In fact, Bitter is normally somewhat straightforward about what one can expect when accepting his magical aid.  He accepts payment for his services in all forms. He prefers money, but he also realizes that many of the rosales who ask for his help are truly the desperate sorts. He will accept goods, services, foods, as well as other more... sinister, methods of paying back debts to him. He has at least two Rosales in indentured-servant type contracts, and there are many rumors of hearts and eyes in jars hidden away in his manse. 

Bitter laughs almost as frequently as he smiles. He is very fond of jokes, and almost seems to dislike when rosales come to him cowering and terrified. In fact, if he didn't make such a big show of saying things to terrify them before laughing about it, you'd almost think he didn't like it a bit... But, sometimes, his apprentice catches him late at night, gazing out at the full moon and sighing...

OOC//

Bitter loves doling out the curses, so if anyone has any of the 'cursed' rosales or anything like that, I'd love to have Bitter as the 'wicked witch' who did it to them. xD

And I mean... I guess Maybe he can have friends?? Mostly rosales he's messed up tho.