The Hunger

Introduction

The Hunger is indeed the creature roaming the woods of the Winter Court I described in the previous entry. Cursed with endless hunger, it can only feast on those who run away from it. There are no accounts of what happens to those who try to fight it - and that is more than telling enough for me.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

The Hunger is a tall, emaciated figure with both humanoid and canine features. It's teeth and claws are sharp and deadly, and it can walk on two or four legs. The most foul stench of death and decay emits from its body.

Apparel & Accessories

The Hunger seems be wearing a coat made from patches of skin, presumably that of its prey - be it animal or humanoid.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

The creature known as the Hunger used to go by another name. But that was long ago, even by the standard of the long-lived Fey. So long ago, in fact, that no one, not even the Hunger itself, remembers it anymore - or so they say. While I never learned the original name of the Hunger, I do know that it used to be someone important, possibly an ███████████████ or even a ██████████████████████████.
I do not know why it was cursed, but knowing us Fey, it could have been anything from treason to something as petty accidentally wearing the same or similar garments to the offended Fey.
This happened before my time, some 300 or so years ago. Frustratingly, my attemps to find out more from those who were alive at the time have not been particularly successful. Some hushed whispers, plenty of threats to stop asking such nonsensical questions and a handful of attempts to silence me, permanently - those are meager fruits of my labor.
At the very least, that served to confirm my suspicions that the ████████████ of the ████████████ had their fingers in this particular pie and they went to great lenghts to cover it up. There are few others with the power and connections to pull something like this off.

Education

Before they were cursed, they were a highly educated person - as is befitting for a member of the Royal family.

Employment

They were being trained to one day take over the throne of the Winter Court from their father. However, as often is the case, the young don't always agree with the ways of the elders. Because of their disagreements with the archaic views of their society, especially concerning arranged marriages in the more elite social circles, it was decided their younger, more malleable brother would be better suited as the successor.

Mental Trauma

They mistakenly believed that no longer being heir to the throne would come with fewer responsibilities and more freedom. They could not have been more wrong. When their parents caught them being romantically involved with a commoner despite their explicit warnings, they deemed their oldest child a failure and placed a terrible curse on them.
They were cursed to spend the remainder of their days as a ravenous, hideous creature unable to leave the confines of the Winter Court's forests. Their lover begged for the former heir to be spared, to bear the punishment instead, but the lover's pleas fell on deaf ears.
Even faced with the hideous creature the Royal had turned into, the lover refused to leave their side - and promptly found death at the claws and teeth of the monster. The Hunger was fully aware of what was happening as it tore into its lover's flesh and consumed it, crying and screaming furiously but unable to stop.
Finding sick pleasure in the suffering of the child that - in their eyes - had failed and brought shame to their name, the rulers had the curse modified so that it can be broken if the Hunger ever were to consume the flesh of a willing sacrifice.
Even now, centuries later, it still vividly remembers how it felt to tear into their lover, to devour them. It is only because of this that the Hunger finds itself unable to prey on those who do not run.

Intellectual Characteristics

Despite its monsterous appearence, the Hunger is a cunning and ruthless creature. Although I have no way of proving it, I assume that it retains the intelligence of its former self.

Written for Spooktober 2022
Prompt 24: Curse

---

Note: It seems like someone went through great lengths to make parts of this section illegible.

---

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Current Location

The Feywild

Species

Fey

Current Residence

Woods of the Winter Court

Eyes

Pupiless, black, narrow, crazed

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Ashen, thin and torn, covered in patches of dirty, matted fur

Height

8'2''

Weight

200 lbs

Related Myths

• The Chase