a thousand years

[lovestruck]

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the crane- a symbol of life, eternal youth, and good health and fortune, as they’re fabled to live for a thousand years in Japanese culture. elwyn has always had them intertwined in his life- from the day he got his silk scarf, as a kit- but he never thought it could go this far.

[lovestruck]

In his past life, Elwyn had been a thief. He was no ordinary thief- no, he stole things from specific people, for money. It was an odd job, but it was one he found good fortune in, due to the vast amount of gangs and criminals in the area. He was never a good kalon- he was rotten down to his very soul, and mistreated everyone who came into his life in some way or another.
One day, he found himself with a rather odd client- one he hadn’t seen in town before. As he lived in a rather small town, one where everyone knew each other, this stranger instantly put his nerves on edge. The figure wore a cloak, concealing his or her face, and asked him to retrieve a golden crane charm from an old woman in town, by the name of Lilura. He took on the request- as the client offered to pay him a rather large sum of money, but he couldn’t help but get chills up his spine every time he thought of the cloaked figure.
So, the very next night, Elwyn went to business, wanting to get rid the task done, and get his money. He didn’t like this newcomer, and wanted to close their transaction as quickly as possible. Elwyn came to the address of the woman, given to him by the hooded figure. He double checked it on the slip of paper he’d been given, and circled around the house, looking for a way to slip in. His eyes flicked around the building, before catching on a cracked window. This old woman was stupid, he decided, as she’d left a window open in a town like this. He leapt, and his paws caught on the window sill. He grunted as he hoisted himself up, and took a few deep breaths whilst clinging onto the window. He pushed it up slowly, and slipped into the home.
Elwyn chuckled deviously, seeing the necklace immediately. He wondered what type of value it must have- if the client was willing to pay so much for it, yet the woman seemed to be careless about it. Perhaps it was a family heirloom or something. Elwyn grabbed the necklace- but the second he did, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows. His- client? But how? Confusion distorted Elwyn’s facial features, and he took a few steps backwards, the necklace in his hands. “Wh-what’s going on?” His client removed her hood, a devious smile played across her face. “You, Elwyn, are a very very evil soul. This was your final test. But- you failed.” She chuckled, and continued to speak, enjoying the bewildered look on Elwyn’s face, “You see, that necklace- was no ordinary necklace. I’m no ‘old woman’ but a sorceress. I’ve been protecting this town since the very days of its foundation. And now, as you have touched the necklace.. you’ll have to live here for a thousand years. If you don’t become purely good in that time, it will reset, at my judgment and my judgement alone. It’ll do so, over and over, and over again. You’ll be here for all eternity. The necklace- it has confined you to this earth. It’ll keep you young, yes, but you’ll soon grow tired of it. Good luck, Elwyn. I hope you’ll learn- I know there is good in you, although it is very, very small.” Elwyn laughed, “What is this- sort type of joke? Do you really think I believe you for one second? You’ve wasted my time, and now you’ll pay the price.” He lunged for her, knife in hand, but ended up tumbling on the floor. She was gone.

667 words (including intro in first post)

[lovestruck]

Elwyn has a bad heart- he naturally tends to do bad things, and harm others, even when he tries his best. He tries over and over again to stop the curse- but he’s had to repeat it twice already. Every one thousand years, Lilura, the witch, judges Elwyn. And over and over again, he’s failed.
Elwyn really does do his best- but even tiny slip ups make him repeat his time. If his good doesn’t eventually outweigh the tiny bits of bad, he has no choice but to eventually live for all of eternity.
Elwyn is a sad, lonely kalon. He realized after the first few hundreds of years that everyone he cared about would die, throughout his lifetime. So, instead of cherishing bonds and creating new ones, he secluded himself and shuts himself off from the rest of the world.
Elwyn doesn’t have an occupation, because he’d have to change jobs too often, or they’d find out about his immortality- and who knows what they’d do to him then- he’d become an experiment. Instead, Elwyn sells art from time to time. This all started with his only friend, Apollo. Apollo taught Elwyn a love for the arts, as he’s a lantern maker for the large nearby city, Luminese. Elwyn loves being around Apollo, and creating with him. They’re both extremely grumpy, and love to ramble like two old men about their bitterness towards the world. Elwyn is a rather sarcastic kalon- which,to Lilura, counts as being harsh. He often makes rude or snarky remarks- and he’s often grumpy. He’s tired of the life he’s living, and quite honestly, ready to be done with the curse. Elwyn doesn’t realize his bitterness is also one of the things factoring into his extended curse time, and he probably won’t untill Apollo passes away. Elwyn spends lots of his ample free time doing art with ink and watercolors- especially the colors red and blue. He doesn’t make much from selling these- many of them are rather crude, but he gets enough to survive on. He’s constantly improving through, so perhaps one day others will take him seriously as an artist. He certainly has plenty of time for it.
Elwyn’s main fault, and reason for being unable to end his curse, is his need to steal. He resists for long periods of time- hundreds of years, even, but then he goes back to his old ways, unable to resist. He steals even just a little trinket from a street market, as a temporary thrill, before realizing he’ll have to make up for that with especially good behavior.
Elwyn has developed a lot- he used to be ruthless, and willing to kill or steal from just about anyone- for fun, not survival. Now, he’s recouped a bit of the good that he had as a small child. He’s become a better kalon, and looks back on his past with shame and guilt. He will likely, however, have a place on this earth for many thousands of years to come.
1,171 words total