Rydel was cursed with immortality after a foolish attempt to outsmart an ancient forest spirit. Young and naive, Rydel had truly believed he could kill the spirit before his soul could be delivered as his end of the bargain. Even witnessing the gnarly oaken spirit had not shaken his decision, and he began to exorcise the spirit after gaining immortality. As a last attempt to survive, the ancient evil buried a parasitic seed into Rydel’s heart. Over time, the seed grew into a mysterious glowing bud. This bud would become the source of Rydel’s slowly changing appearance over centuries as he becomes less man and more monster. Horns sprouted from his scalp and he eventually became able to summon inky, undulating wings and a tail at will. Sometimes when the rose is feeding, he will lose control and morph into his full monstrous form.

Rose Heart

The rose only blooms when it needs to feed. The food source: Rydel’s soul. It will feed anywhere from hours to days, slowly spreading its ghastly roots towards Rydel’s brain and mind. This causes him great pain, physically and mentally. The bloom glows brilliantly with gorgeous colors, usually bright enough to shine through his clothing and can be seen under ashen skin. He has tried ripping it out; unfortunately, despite unbearable pain, the rose simply grows back larger than before.

Biding His Time

Rydel has lived for thousands of years in a secluded castle by himself. He has not taken a lover in ages, growing numb to the loving-and-losing cycle. Despite this, he longs for company, whether it be someone cursed like him or someone to help eliminate the curse. At the moment, Rydel is searching for a way to remove the curse. With the passing of time, many ancient texts were lost or forgotten. Finding a solution gets more difficult the longer he lives.

• Rydel has grown taller over the years, now standing at a little over 6'5.
• He has a love/hate relationship with gardening: he's quite good at it, but hates maintaining the flowers.
• With so much spare time, he's tried teaching himself how to paint. He's awful at it.
• Rydel has read every book in his library at least four times.
• His legend changes in the nearby towns over time. Sometimes he's a demon, sometimes he's a vampire. One time the town thought he was a guardian spirit and had left gifts at the entrance to his castle often.