Tulouse
Legacy Name: Tulouse

The words still ring in his head.

Tulouse was born a Legeica, adopted by a nobleman North of Veta. Their villa consisted of the man, his wife, a staff of servants and their young son. As the son grew handsome and healthy, Tulouse grew handsome and healthy as well. His maroon mane was soft as silk, his bejeweled hide as fine as velvet, his eyes lambent opals glowing even in the sheath of night. Night and day he was fed gourmet dishes, and was kept well groomed by the nobleman�s wife. His every whim was granted.

There was no Legeica loved more than he.

However, the nobleman�s son held no affections toward Tulouse. As the years went by, he felt neglected, feeling that Tulouse got more attention and love than he did. When the boy had reached 18 years, something in his mind snapped. One day at nightfall, the son went off in search of the local apothecary. With a heavy pouch of coins in hand, he requested a potion that would turn the beautiful Tulouse into a beastly creature, something so twisted and macabre that his father and mother would surely banish him from their home.

That night, when returning to the villa, the son crept into Tulouse�s sleeping chambers, and poured the vile liquid into his slacked jaw.

When Tulouse awoke, all that was the same of him was the existence of two hooves on his back feet. His front feet now bared claws, and his jewel scales were replaced with a series of horns wrapped around his stout form. With eyes as red as the new tarnished pelt clad his flesh, and a patch of exposed brain on his temple, he ran out and fell at the nobleman�s feet in the hall. Feeling unable to speak, wheezes and whines spilled from Tulouse�s new muzzle as the nobleman was repelled with horror.

�It's repulsive!�

His wife ran towards the scene hearing her husband�s cries, and screamed at the sight of the creature before her.

�Where did it come from?!�

She shrieked, her hands drawn to her face.

�From Tulouse�s chambers!�

Tulouse whined and looked up at his master with glassy eyes full of fear, his tongue still refusing to move. Running past Tulouse, the man entered the aforementioned room. When he could not find his precious Legeica, he stumbled back into the hall to find his wife on the floor, sobbing with terror.Tulouse simply stood with his two devil�s tails between his hind legs. With tears welling up in the nobleman�s eyes, he shouted,

�You beast! You monster! You must�ve eaten him!�

Tulouse vigorously shook his head, whimpering at the sight of his master holding such disgust. Feeling in his throat came back and he began to open his mouth to speak, but the nobleman cried out,

�Begone, creature! I�ll kill you!�

Tears falling to the floor from all of their eyes, Tulouse fled from the hall and out to the villa grounds. He heard the sobs of the man and his wife echoing through the stone walls. Running away to hide in a nearby wood, the son walked out.

The son cautiously approached him, finding him behind a bush. Tulouse turned to see him and nearly ran, but ceased motion as the son drew a vial of viscous liquid out from his pocket.

�I have a potion here for you.�

He said, his voice cool, the words sliding from his mouth like an elusive disease working its way to its next host.

�It will turn you back into a Legeica. But you�ll have to wait here for the night, for the effects to take place.�

Tulouse naively succumbed to his desperation without asking a single question. The son held the vial to Tulouse�s muzzle and once it was drained, he bade farewell to an unconscious Darkonite. He walked away, feeling victorious at having tricked Tulouse into drinking a poison.

The son had bought two potions from the apothecary, to assure Tulouse�s riddance. One to exile him, the next to kill.

A day of mourning ensued, the son expressing a feigned sorrow around his parents to mask his cruel satisfaction. When night fell, the son retired to his bed. Having been distracted by his mirth he had forgotten to dispose of the vial, and so therefore put the vial next to him on a table to be rid of it the next day. Opening the window to let in the calm night air, he draped himself in his blankets and fell silent.

He was within an arm�s reach of his dreams for that night when his eyes shot open to the sound of claws and hooves clicking against the stone floor. He sat upright and saw Tulouse bathed in the moonlight�although he had again changed.

His skin was a deep black, wisps of what appeared to be smoke swirling and twisting out from his body.

The son froze, half believing it was a hallucination, some sort of nightmare.

�It can�t be.�

With a flash of Tulouse�s wicked eyes, those were the last words the son spoke.

Tulouse opened the door at the other end of the room, his hide stained with blood. As he crept through the house to the kitchen, the trail of red behind left behind him turned to a dark mist and faded into the air. He stole his dinner for that night, and then left, forever.

Unloved and unwanted.