APPLICATION - FOLKMORE

[burnthewoods]

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: the Great Fox King (Fox King, Great Fox)
Character Age: elderly (8-10 years)
Character Species: red fox
Current Health: physically healthy, mentally unwell
Outfit: N/A

Character Canon: Bone Crown (concept album)
Link to History: See above. Headcanon/personal interpretation below.

In an era after the redemption of the terrifying Prowler and the death and rebirth of the mysterious storyteller Marah, the pendant that serves as the key to the gates of Hell has been lost and forest has overgrown at the Willow Tree that protects the gates. Human hunters and trappers live on the fringes, while within the Dark Woods is a generations-old kingdom of forest animals. For generations that forest has been ruled by the Great Stag King and his family; he was a magnanimous but careless King who allowed those less desirable to starve. The Fox, seeking justice and revenge, entreats a doe to entrap the King's son in order to force a private meeting with him. The Fox leads the starving Boars to slay the Stag King and take his antlers - his bone crown - and seize the throne. Under the Great Fox the forest never goes hungry, but over time his dishonesty eats at him and makes him paranoid. Later on his advisor, the Owl, issues a prophecy that the Fox King will die and the forest will burn. Fearing assault from Men, the Fox King rallies his troops for a war that never comes. The Timber Man, a human who lives among the trappers but speaks to the animals, catches wind of the truth and confronts the Great Fox, revealing his deception before his court and shooting him dead. With his dying breath, the Fox King orders the young and precocious Bear to take the key and open the gates of Hell, unleashing its fires upon the forest and burning it until only the skeletal remains of the Willow Tree still stand. In the future, as Man settles the newly-formed Dust Bowl, Prowlers spill from Hell and unleash their scourge across the land, sowing the seeds for the story of the next era.

Canon Point: After he has died and his body has been consumed by the fire.
Canon Iteration: Canon with a heavy dose of headcanon
Canon Iteration Explanation: The Great Fox as he appears at Folkmore was a much kinder creature than his canonical counterpart; there is no official indication he was ever good. His paranoia and violence is consistent with the established canon. The name of the creature in Thaumatrope has been changed to Prowler out of respect for the Algonkain tribes and their culture. There is no clear official indication that the Prowler in Thaumatrope and the Prowlers in Skeleton Man are the same, but I have taken the liberty to apply the headcanon that they are. It is not clearly established what kind of leader the Stag King was; the Great Fox championing the oppressed is headcanon, as it is more likely that in canon he simply used the starving Boars for his own gain. This reflects a change in his core personality from a traditional villainous fox to a more complex fallen hero.

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills: Hunter, politician, deceiver, war commander. The Great Fox has survived and sustained his rule with charisma, cunning, and sharp tactics.
Canon Abilities: Fox senses - sharp hearing and smell, night vision. Antlers. Common speech and human-like intelligence. Semi-anthropomorphic; he is the size and shape of a normal red fox, but can stand up and hold objects with his paws when necessary. Otherwise an ordinary red fox.
Role: Myth
Role Qualities/Attributes:

CURRENT: Elongated teeth and claws; larger size (German shepherd/large dog)
FUTURE: Flaming tail-tip, black forked tongue, black scales; fire breath if allowed

Role Reasoning: The Great Fox became the villain of his story and unleashed evil on his own people; he is in many ways the epitome of the Myth role. He will enjoy the manifestations associated with it, but with time and companionship he will hopefully heal his emotional and mental wounds and become more like the hero he once was, perhaps even eventually rising to become a Legend. As an evil fox, surely the Fox means to test him in consideration of that old question.

★ Personality ★

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

• What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them? Starvation. Being condemned and neglected by the Stag King planted the seeds of paranoia and distrust that would be the Fox King's undoing, yet it was also the uniting factor that drove him to depose the King and build a better life for all in the Dark Forest.

• What experience challenged your character's core beliefs? How did they handle this or change from it? The Owl's prophecy. The Fox King was loved by his people and, after taking such great risks to claim it, he believed his leadership would never be challenged. The omen of his own end tore that belief apart, and yet he clung to it until his own paranoia brought about what he feared most.

• What is a headcanon (or two) you feel strongly about and that you prefer playing your character with? How is this supported in canon and why do you think it benefits the character's story? The Fox was originally a hero. While him being evil all along is more efficient for the medium of his story, I believe it not only makes more sense but it also makes him a much more memorable character if the Great Fox was a Robin Hood who went bad. It adds tragedy to his final act and makes him both more intriguing and more sympathetic, and it falls very well into the themes of the other eras - characters who are good, poisoned by closeness to Hell in one way or another until there is no other choice but to put them down.

• What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not? The Fox King has two rules that he lives by: first, that all animals have a right to live and to thrive, and second, that no other creature can rule the Dark Forest. His code is two-faced, like he is, but he believes that his code is wholly good and just. He lives by this code because the Dark Forest he grew up in was lawless and cruel.

• What are your characters dreams and nightmares? Do you believe they are more likely to obtain one rather than the other? Heroism and his own destruction. Both have already come to pass in his lifetime, but now he has a second chance to be the Fox he wants to be. If he is left alone, it's likely that he will crash and burn again, realizing his nightmare a second time. If he succeeds in learning to trust others and develops meaningful, positive relationships, however, he may be able to climb out of the beast that his life and his fear has made him to be the hero the Kingdom saw in him when he took the throne.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Ursa
Pronouns: he/they/hir
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact(s): ursys#1571 @ discord; ursystem; cloverborn
Who Invited You?: Mod invite
Current Characters: N/A
Permissions: Here
Writing Samples: TDM toplevel