Chapter Text
Once upon a time, nestled deep within the mountains of China, a castle of absolute darkness loomed heavily over its neighboring villages. In this very castle, there lived a lone lord of immense wealth and power. There wasn't anything in the world he couldn't have; be it finery, servants, or women. This wealth corrupted the young lord, leaving only a selfish and unkind tyrant in its wake.
Those brave (or foolish) few who dared oppose him often disappeared into the mountains, vowing to the heavens above they would return with his head. Those same men were never seen or heard from again.
This, of course, sparked many rumor and speculation throughout the town. One of the more popular being that as soon as he killed them, he would devour their flesh and bones until nothing remained. Some chose to believe the large wildcats were to blame. Regardless of truth or reason, the townspeople were left petrified and vowed never to approach him again, further cementing his place as their ruler.
Until one night, in the midst of a dreadful monsoon, a young woman pounded fervently at his door, requesting solace until the storm passed. In return, she promised him absolutely anything. Money. Gems. Even her own body if he so desired.
Upon hearing the latter, the young lord sneered viciously. While he would admit this woman possessed an otherwise heavenly voice, her appearance left much to be desired; her burning emerald eyes made his stomach roil with nausea, and her crimson hair, which she seemed incredibly fond of, only reminded him of blood and how terribly he wished to spill hers. Instead, he leveled the young woman with a glare, and in so many words demanded she get off his mountain while she still had both her legs.
The woman was clearly taken aback. Not so much by the severity of the threat, but more-so the knowledge that any man could resist her charms. And such a handsome one, at that.
She resorted to outright begging, pleading on her very knees for him to reconsider. The young lord remained thoroughly indisposed, however, stating in such a clear and icy monotone that hideous beasts such as herself were not welcome inside his home.
Those few words caused the woman's unbearably bright eyes to glow to the point where they radiated all her hatred and scorn. Suddenly, she rose to meet his gaze, acidic green clashing with sea glass yellow.
She claimed to be a witch of unimaginable power and in return for his cruelty, she would cast a curse upon him, his castle, and all who inhabited it. The young lord only laughed, believing it to be nothing more than a ruse.
That is, until the curse truly took effect.
One by one his servants collapsed to the floor, their bodies swelling and contorting violently, patches of skin ripped apart and replaced with silky fur. Some became panthers, others leopards, but a majority were mostly tigers.
As for the prince of darkness, however, she planned something especially special for him.
With but a wave of her hand, the young lord's features began to melt away. His tanned skin morphed into thick jade scales, his luxurious jet black mane shifted into thick jagged spikes, his toes and fingers groaned as they were forced to stretch and accommodate their new curved shape. Behind him, he felt more than heard the distinct 'thwack!' of a tail thumping against the castle floor.
The witch, feeling immensely satisfied, if not a little smug in her handiwork, decided to act somewhat benevolent and offered the newly turned dragon lord his promised payment. She presented him a strange hourglass filled with orange sand known only as 'Sands of Time.' If he could love someone he deemed hideous, and earn their love in turn by the time the last grain of sand fell, the curse would be broken. If not then he would be doomed to roam the Earth as a monster for time immortal.
Days soon bled into years and years into decades, but the dragon still wasn't any closer to ending his wretched curse. Eventually, he abandoned all hope and spent his final months watching his life pass away through the hourglass, silently accepting his fate. He saw no point in denying the inevitable any longer. No one could possibly love a beast.