Last Unicorn for MagicDraft

[learnedregret]

PLAYER INFORMATION

NAME: Syn
AGE: 30
JOURNAL: transformedmyth
AIM/PLURK/EMAIL: lordmanlycorn [at] gmail.com / lordmanlycorn (AIM)
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A

CHARACTER INFORMATION

SERIES: The Last Unicorn (movie)
NAME: The Unicorn / Lady Amalthea (human form)
RACE: The Unicorn is a unicorn, at one time thought to be the last free-roaming unicorn in the world. She has also spent time in a human form and may possibly do so again, circumstances permitting.
AGE: At least 1000 years old, very possibly more. Her unicorn form still looks young and fresh though, so a definite age is difficult to assess. In her human form, the Lady Amalthea appears no older than her early twenties, though she does of course retain the age and experiences of her original form.
CANON POINT: The end of the movie.
REFERENCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Unicorn_(film)
GENDER:Physically the Unicorn is female and in most respects she identifies with that gender mentally as well. However, being an immortal creature, some of her morals and ideals are more free-flowing and not dependant on any established gender roles that most humans adhere to.

APPEARANCE: In her normal form, the Unicorn is a horse-like quadruped. Her head is more delicately shaped than an average horse, almost deer-like in appearance, with large long-lashed purple eyes, pert sculpted ears, and of course her long lavender spiraling horn. Said horn is centered on her forehead, nestled within a pale violet star. She has a long sinuous neck leading into a solid body and her legs are long, dainty and fragile-looking, ending in silver cloven hooves. She has a leonine tail with a tuft of pale hair at the end, matching her long flowing mane. Her coat color is like snow in moonlight, pure, clean and unblemished.

As a human, the Lady Amalthea is about average height, at a guess around 5'5"-5'6" and very slender. Her bosom is slight but appropriate to her general form and her skin is as pale as snow. She's delicate and willowy with huge long-lashed purple eyes, a small mouth, and a peachy star-shaped mark on her forehead. She has long silvery hair that falls past her knees which she normally allows to flow free and she wears a simple handmade dress in lavender satin.

PERSONALITY & HOUSE REQUESTS: The Unicorn is immortal and as such, doesn't have the same morals and emotional triggers that most humans do. At the beginning of the movie, she's been living alone, aside from the animals in her forest, for her entire life. She's never been lonely or sad, never had a reason to feel sorrow, and never had any direct interaction with any other intelligent beings. Its never occurred to her that the greater world might have changed, or that she might now be the last of her kind. Her perfect world of a forest always in Spring is shattered one day when two hunters stumble upon her domain. She overhears them talking about how she is the last of her kind, the last unicorn in the world.

At first she can't believe that what the humans said was true. There had always been unicorns in the world, and perhaps it was just that the humans could no longer recognize them. A passing butterfly reveals the truth of the hunter's words however. He tells the Unicorn of a Red Bull who drove all the unicorns away. Hearing this, she has to make a painful choice. Should she stay in her forest, alone but safe, or should she try to find out what had happened to the others? Suddenly her perfect and perfectly fulfilling life isn't enough anymore. With sorrow in her heart she leaves her beautiful home, and the animal friends who've always trusted her to watch over them, and takes to the human roads.

During her travels she encounters several humans, the first of which mistakes her for a white mare, which only helps to reenforce her hope that unicorns do still exist, and that humans are merely unable to see them. However, when she meets Mommy Fortuna and Schmendrick, it becomes clear that some humans can still see them. Mommy captures and imprisons the Unicorn but also gives her the second clue to what happened to the others. She mentions a King Haggard, who appears to be the owner of the Red Bull, and after Schmendrick frees her, she teams up with him to search for both. 

A clear example of her solitary nature, and lack of understanding for many simple human emotions, is when the man asks to join her on her quest. Schmendrick laments the death of Mommy and the Unicorn resonds very matter-of-factly, "She chose her death long ago. It was the fate she wanted," to which the man asks in disbelief if she has no regrets as he does. She answers with, "I can never regret.  I can feel sorrow, but it's not the same thing." As they walk off, she mentions that she wishes the man had asked for some other reward for giving her back her freedom, to which Schmendrick responds that she couldn't give him what he really wants and that she shouldn't worry about it. Unlike most humans who might feel guilty over something like that, the Unicorn's words are simple and honest. She assures the man that she won't worry or feel any guilt, and for all intents and purposes the matter is completely forgotten for her.

When the pair encounter Molly Grue, the former paramour of a rouge named Captain Cully, a softer side of the Unicorn is seen. Molly is clearly very distraught at finally meeting a unicorn when she's a mature women, and not an innocent young maid. At first clearly startled, the Unicorn can do nothing but offer a confused, "I am here now." But as Molly begins to cry, the Unicorn moves close, nuzzling her cheek tenderly. Its clear that the Unicorn can see Molly's pain and is moved by it to comfort her. The Unicorn in the forest would never have done that, but her quest is expanding her world and forcing her to explore parts of herself that she never even knew existed. Traveling with the pair of humans, the Unicorn gets an up close and personal view of how people can be with one another, offering help and caring as well as arguments and unhappiness. 

When the trio finally find the Red Bull, it attempts to herd the Unicorn the way it had all the others, and the only way to save her is to have Schmendrick use his magic. The end result is that she's turned into a human, made mortal and vulnerable to all those human failings and emotions. At first she can't accept the change, fighting against the new body she finds herself in and even going so far as to claim, "I wish you had let the Red Bull take me! I wish you had left me to the harpy! I can feel this body dying all around me!" Despite Schmendrick's assurances that its only temporary, she begs to be changed back until he asks if she thinks she would be able to defeat the Bull. She knows that would be impossible but still fears the change, and what the change might mean.

They travel on to King Haggard's castle, passing the Unicorn off as Schmendrick's niece, the Lady Amalthea. As a human, her movements, her stillness and silence and the occasional shimmer of silver light gleaming off her hair speak of an otherworldly feel. Haggard isn't fooled for a moment. He suspects Amalthea's true identity but is willing to wait, though his gaze makes her nervous. As they settle into life at the castle, Amalthea begins to lose herself. The unicorn is slowly being lost as the human woman takes over. She speaks with Molly, asking to be reminded of why she's in the castle, what it was she'd come searching for. She feels alone and lonely, wishing for something, anything, to distract her attention from the dreams that are really memories crowding her mind and confusing her. She knows time is running out for her and that she has to find the Bull and free the other unicorns before her other self fades away entirely. 

In a move that's all too human, she turns to the handsome Prince Lir when he offers himself, begging him to, "Drown out my dreams!  Keep me from remembering . . . whatever wants me to remember it!" Lir is already in love with Amalthea and she soon falls in love with him as well. She allows all of her goals to fall away, shoved out of her mind in favor of the distraction Lir offers, and when the time comes to face the reality of moving on in her search, she balks. A confrontation with Haggard drives Amalthea to tears and Schmendrick finds her, urging her to stop crying, "If you've become human enough to cry then no magic in the world can change you back." Reluctantly she goes with him and Molly and they make their way into the Red Bull's lair.

Once inside the lair Lir appears and Amalthea runs to him, assuring him she would have come back. She confesses that she doesn't understand what's happening, that she has no idea why she's been brought to the lair, revealing that the human has almost fully eclipsed the unicorn in her. As they travel towards the exit of the lair, Schmendrick explains everything to Lir, though when he comes to the present, Amalthea stops the group, refusing to go further. She begs them to let her stay a human, pleading to be allowed to stay and marry Lir, to be happy, "Everything dies! I want to die when you die! I'm no unicorn, no magical creature! I'm human, and I love you! Don't let him! Lír, I will not love you when I am a unicorn!" 

In what is clearly a wrench, Lir demands that Amalthea embrace her part in their story. He tells her that she must rescue the unicorns, regardless of how much it might cost them both. Before a real decision is made, the Red Bull makes an appearance, making the issue moot. Schmendrick manages to reverse the magic, giving the Unicorn back her true shape and allowing her a chance at freedom. She runs, attempting to flee the Bull but it corners her, backing her into the waves of the sea where the other unicorns have been trapped all these years.

Unable to find the will to fight the Bull, she appears to give up, walking head-down into the foaming water. But Lir won't allow his love to live a life in prison and attacks the Bull. The Unicorn watches in horror as Lir falls, struck dead by the Bull, and something changes. She begins to fight the Bull, turning the tables and forcing it to retreat into the sea, allowing the unicorns to come ashore, the spell holding them broken. She stays while all the others run back to their homes, filling the world with magic and wonder once more, and brings Lir back to life before taking off herself.

In the end, the Unicorn comes back for one last good-bye to Schmendrick. She thanks him for his help and friendship, revealing  to him that she now feels fear and is unsure about going back to her forest, "I am a little afraid to go home. I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am no longer like the others; for no unicorn was ever born who could regret. But now I do. I regret." When the man apologizes she tells him that she isn't sorry. She's glad that she knows regret, and was able to know love as well. As long as she knows there are unicorns in the world, there will be no sorrow in her, only joy. She says a last farewell and rears, racing off into the distance. She has experienced mortality, love, and will now forever regret, but she isn't unhappy. She's grown and changed, learned to have friends, to help people, and to live.

The Unicorn would best fit into Ravenclaw, with Gryffindor being a close second. She's intelligent, knowledgeable and has the history of the world at her fingertips, or rather hooves. She's rational and logical, basing her actions on what she knows of the past and what is presented to her in the present. The Unicorn doesn't normally allow her emotions to interfere with her actions or reactions, and in fact she might even be described as cold and uncaring by most people who didn't know her well. The morals and thought patterns of an immortal are often confusing to humans, and her logical suggestions in emotional situations can seem thoughtlessly cruel. As a human, the Lady Amalthea is often much more emotional and fragile. Her human feelings seem to rule her, eclipsing her normal cool logic, and she's prone to both selfless and selfish acts without thought to the consequences.

In general, the Unicorn will step up when her friends are in danger and do her best to help them, and in the end she does rescue the trapped unicorns at great personal risk. She also acts very selfishly and brings Lir back from the dead, after he sacrificed himself for her. She'd brave and loyal and capable of great acts, all qualities that are respected in Gryffindor, but she much prefers to be left alone. The Unicorn is happiest in her forest, watching over her animals and keeping it always Spring, and never Winter again.

COMMUTER DETAILS: She will not be a Death Eater thank you.

POSITION: A 7th year student, though in the future she may be pursuaded to enter the teaching profession.

ABILITIES & POWERS: The Unicorn has immortality and is innately magical. She has rather impressive stamina in the face of long journeys and hardships, but its nothing outrageous. Her real talents are in the abilities of her horn. With it she can enhance someone else's magic, allowing them to perform spells that would normally be beyond their skills. She can break spells that have run amuck, returning things to sanity and stability again. She can also break locks, imprisonment spells and minor enchantments. Her most impressive display of talent was when she brought Lir back from death. In her human form, the Lady Amalthea doesn't appear to have any overt powers aside from the one time she stands up to Mabruk. The mark on her forehead glows, like her horn whenever she does magic as a unicorn, and the punishing magic storm that Mabruk conjured disappears. Aside from that, she does nothing magical as a human.

In the 'Potterverse, her talents would equate to a proficiency in Transfiguration, Occlumency and Legilimency with instruction, and especially non-verbal spells. She would be rather abysmal at Charms, not being any good at lying, being deceitful or understanding misdirection well in general, but she would excel with other creatures (both magical and mundane) and plants. She would have a special talent with the Healing Arts as well, though things like dueling and counter-spells would come only with hard work and practice.

WAND: Pine and unicorn hair, 14", lithe and slightly malleable. Good for non-verbal magic and innovative techniques.

Pine - In general lore, pine is said to "always choose an independent, individual master who may be perceived as a loner, intriguing and perhaps mysterious." This fits the Unicorn quite well. She's spent her entire life alone in her forest, to the extent that she was completely unaware of the fact that all the other unicorns of the world had been gathered up by the ruthless and selfish King Haggard. It is also thought that "pine wands are able to detect, and perform best for, owners who are destined for long lives," as well as being "one of those that is most sensitive to non-verbal magic." Since the Unicorn is immortal, and more prone to long silences than actual speech, pine seems the best match all around. 

Unicorn Hair - "They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard." To have any other core for her wand would be unthinkable. The Unicorn is a power in her own right, ancient and mysterious and gifted with abilities that would easily be translated into her hair, and thus transferred to her wand's core. The fact that unicorn hair is also the most consistent in magic is a plus, meaning she would never have a reason to doubt her own ability.

Lithe and slightly Malleable - While the Unicorn has strong convictions and morals, albeit not human ones, she isn't incapable of change. She's willing to bend, to a point, and change as the situation requires.

Strengths - The Unicorn almost never vocalizes her intentions before she uses her innate magic. She isn't concerned with impressing anyone or anything with her talent, merely with acquiring the experiences and information she needs to protect her forest. She's old, eons now riding heavily on her shoulders, but she's naive in her dealings with the outside world. 

MISC.: N/A

WRITING SAMPLES

FIRST PERSON: 
[Quill:]

[The script is very old-style in appearance and looks more like calligraphy than any normal writing. As ornate as the letters are, its neat and precise and easy to read, if beautiful. The post is set to public and meant for all to see.]

If the person who stole the neatly bundled coil of tail hair from Madame Pomfrey would please return it to her, I would be very grateful. At the moment, I would  prefer <i>not</i> having to allow the madame of the Infirmary to harvest another bundle. There is no need to identify yourself, merely slip the hair back into its place and no one has to get into trouble.

[The writer doesn't sign the note with a name, merely a drawing much like a seal, of a spiral horn surrounded by vines twisted into a circle.]

THIRD PERSON:

The Unicorn liked the Forest, even if it wasn't her home. It felt old and magical, and the creatures in it were familiar but seemed to sense her desire to be alone. She hadn't come entirely willingly to Hogwarts, but now that she was here, it was clear that what she had given up would benefit from what she could learn. If there truly was a threat to the human world, she knew it would eventually reach her forest and threaten her home and charges. She couldn't allow that to happen, even if it meant leaving her home one more time.

She paced silently through the trees, a silvery ghost, gleaming in the darkness like a beacon. She had no fear of the creatures that might lurk in the deep forest, though she wasn't foolish enough to disturb them or enter their territory without permission. What she craved was the silence, the quiet of rustling leaves and playful breezes. This place wasn't as bright and welcoming as her home forest, but it had its own beauty and she was learning to appreciate it. Yes, it wasn't home, but until she acquired the skills she needed to protect her forest and charges, she could live here.

She paused at the sound of a snapping twig, ears swiveling to follow the sound. She peered into the darkness, waiting and watching. When no further sound came she took a step closer, still silent and wary. She'd been warned about trying to interact with the native wildlife of the forest, but if one of them was following her . . . With another flick of her ears she straightened herself and called out.

"Hello? Is someone there? I do not like to be followed. Come out into the light."

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As a small note, until such a time that the Unicorn learns how to preform Animagus level magic (a length of time up to you, but please use discretion), she will be living in the Forest. A modified form of Locomotor Wand (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Locomotor) or Locomotor Commuter should be used in order for the Unicorn to preform spells or make use of the network device. Once the Unicorn learns how to become a reverse-Animagus, she will have a place set aside for her in the Ravenclaw dorms. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact a mod. :)