- — Kieran to Your Character[1]
Kieran, a character in The Cursed Heart series, is the Winged Beast, the head of the Moon Court and your love interest. He/She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.
Appearance
Kieran's gender and looks are determined by the player. Kieran's height is determinant on his/her gender and your character's body type. If Kieran is female, she is "a full head taller" than your character (Body Type 1) or "stand[s] a little lower" than your character (Body Type 2). If Kieran is male, he is a "considerable height" taller than you (Body Type 1) or is a "full head" taller than you (Body Type 2).
For about an hour between sunset and moonrise, Kieran has an intermediate appearance. He/She has dark eyes, feathers on his/her shoulders, appendages, and head, and wings. Kieran also has full faculty of his/her thoughts before full transformation.
Personality
According to Sir Montgomery, Kieran used to be a kind, gentle soul who always liked to laugh. He/She was also a very spirited child in his/her youth. However, currently Kieran feels little emotion and is considered to be a cold, broken shadow of what he/she once was. Over the years, the more family Kieran lost, the more bitter he/she became. Kieran spent decades alone, crafting defenses around him/herself, not allowing anyone close enough to hurt him/her. When he/she fell in love and that love betrayed him/her, that love shattered Kieran's heart both literally and figuratively, cursing Kieran to become the Winged Beast every night fall.
According to Longclaw, the curse took away his/her ability to feel, and all that's left at the moment is anger and sorrow. Since the curse took hold, his/her life has been devoid of happiness, excitement and love. However, Longclaw still believes that Kieran is a good person, and not nearly as monstrous as he/she might seem. Towards most, Kieran has the reputation of being frigid.
As the Winged Beast, Kieran states he/she loses control of his/her mind and body to that creature and doesn't remember everything the Winged Beast does. Kieran likens his/her transformed state to that of a nightmare, the memories of which fade the moment he/she awakes. Every time he/she gets back a piece of his/her heart on the other hand, Kieran briefly becomes overwhelmed with emotions and sensations.
The heart pieces want to be whole again, so they seek to join with the heart of any living being that touches them. As the Winged Beast, Kieran is determined to get the pieces back.
Cursed or not, Kieran has a protective side, like when he/she saved MC from a wolf in the forest or an arrow in the Royal Hunt. He/she also flirts with you shamelessly, to the point of telling you that you get flustered so easily that it was hard not to tease you. He/She's not exactly shy either, proving it when he/she tells you that if you wanted to see him/her unclothed you just had to ask or when he/she swims with you and the Sun Court Fae in the river after the Royal Hunt.
Background
Kieran was born in the twilight days of the Moon Court, the rulers' first and only child. When Kieran was around three years old, he/she decided that all animals would be better if they had wings. As such, he/she whipped up a bit of magic and set to work, giving wings to mice, rabbits, and everything else he/she came across in the garden. At first Kieran managed to evade detection, until he/she set upon the cook's favorite cat, and got scolded. As a result, the cook refused to make his/her favorite dessert for a year.
As young Kieran grew, he/she watched his/her family succumb to strange illnesses, tragic accidents, and strange magics. Eventually his/her parents died as well, leaving him/her as the sole heir to face the dangerous world of Fae politics alone. Kieran suspected that there was a foul play afoot, but the laws of the Fae would not allow him/her to act upon these suspicions without proof. And so, he/she dove into the study of protective magics, and his/her sole obsession was to not fall prey to the same fate as the rest of the Moon Court. Kieran then fell in love with a Princess from the Sun Court, but after many years together, she betrayed him/her by crafting a spell and cursing him/her into becoming the winged beast. The curse also took Kieran's ability to feel, and from then on, he/she was cursed to wander the moonlight woods in search of the pieces of his/her broken heart, unable to rest and no longer able to feel anything at all.
Chapters
The Cursed Heart
Book 1
- Chapter 1: The Fae Forest
- Chapter 2: The Moon Court
- Chapter 3: Palace of the Moon
- Chapter 4: Flight
- Chapter 5: Accursed
- Chapter 6: The Grand Hunt
- Chapter 7: Invulnerable
- Chapter 8: The Magpie's Lair
- Chapter 9: Flower Festival
- Chapter 10: Mountain of Beasts
- Chapter 11: The Palace of the Sun
- Chapter 12: Enlightenment
- Chapter 13: A Nest of Vipers
- Chapter 14: A Dream Within A Dream
- Chapter 15: A War of Hearts
- Chapter 16: Unbroken
Book 2
- Chapter 1: The Last Stroke of Midnight
- Chapter 2: The Raven and the Sword
- Chapter 3: A Grave Faux Pas
- Chapter 4: The Frolic
- Chapter 5: The Fallen
- Chapter 6: The Trials of the Moon
- Chapter 7: The Cruel Sun
- Chapter 8: When Stars Fall
- Chapter 9: Day's Sorrow, Night's Wrath
- Chapter 10: A Very Gracious Host
- Chapter 11: A Mortal Love
- Chapter 12: A Cure and a Curse
- Chapter 13: Purity and Purpose
- Chapter 14: Heartless
- Chapter 15: The Unkindness of Ravens
- Chapter 16: The Limits of Lies and Magic
Villainous Valentine
Villainous Valentine
- Chapter 2: The Fae (Mentioned)
Relationships
Your Character
It all started when your kindness compelled you to free a hungry wolf from a trap, and you were nearly eaten in return, only to be saved by a mysterious figure dressed in all black, later revealed to be Kieran in disguise, who came to claim you as payment for saving your life. Taken into the Moon Court as a servant, you were oddly drawn to Kieran, and you shadowed him/her at every step. Slowly, your kind and generous nature warmed Kieran's cold heart, and in Book 1, Chapter 4, you find out that he/she was cursed to walk the night as a mindless beast, seeking the scattered shards of his/her broken heart. Determined to help him/her, you discovered that you were the one that carried the last piece of the Prince/Princess's heart, which you found in a well the night Kieran saved you. When you were attacked by the beast one night, you fled to seek help from Radiance, who tricked you into trapping Kieran permanently as the beast, and threatened the world with eternal Summer. Despite this, you stormed the Sun Palace with an army of the wild creatures of the forest who called the Moon Court home. Willing to risk your own life, the depth of your selfless love broke Kieran's curse, and restored him to his/her true self. In Book 2, you become Kieran's consort.
Kieran's Mother
When Kieran and his/her mother were on a hunting expedition, a strange creature caught them off guard. Their magic had no effect on it, and when it went for Kieran, his/her mother took the blow, and was torn to pieces right in front of him/her. The servant that was with them feared that someone else might try to take the throne, so he took it from Kieran's mother dead body, and placed it on Kieran's head. At first he/she didn't notice the crown, but when Longclaw asked about it, Kieran tore the crown from his/her head, hurled it away, and vowed to never wear it again.
In Book 2, Chapter 6, it is revealed that she was originally from the Sun Court, which means Kieran got the throne of the Moon Court from his/her father.
Lustre
One day Kieran fell in love with a beautiful princess of the Sun Court, a bright and laughing girl with eyes of gold. The girl urged him/her to open him/herself up to joy and happiness again, and to put down the books and be in the world once more. And Kieran did do it, because he/she loved her more than anyone previously with his/her entire heart. The two spend many blissful years together, but one night, Kieran awoke to find his/her true love looming over his/her sleeping form, her beautiful face twisted in malice, her hands crafting some terrible enchantment. Kieran's love, having studied his/her defenses over the course of their years together, deftly unravelled once ward after another, stripping him/her bare. However, Kieran had not spend decades of study in vain, and he/she brought terrible and ancient magics to bear against his/her betrayer. Unfortunately though, the princess's curse seized Kieran's heart and shattered it into a thousand pieces, twisting his/her fair form into that of a mindless beast. The Princess, her true nature and intentions revealed, fled back to the Sun Court where she was sentenced to a hundred years in the Sun Palace dungeon as a punishment for her crimes.
In Book 1, Chapter 9, said princess is revealed to be Lustre, Radiance's cousin. When asked about her, Kieran says he/she would rather forget Lustre ever existed.
Radiance
Not much is known about their relationship, but deep down they seem to have a mutual dislike for one another. Kieran on the one hand says that Radiance sees humans only as playthings, and Radiance on the other hand thinks that Kieran is dangerous because of his/her curse. In Book 1, Chapter 12, you find out that Radiance hates Kieran, and that he/she plans to destroy him/her and the entire Moon Court. In Book 1, Chapter 14 after Lustre's curse takes place and transforms Kieran into the Winged Beast, Radiance snatches up his/her crown, crowns himself/herself King/Queen of All Fae, and orders the Sun Court Guards to lock Kieran in a cage until he/she can deal with him/her. When the rest of the Fae wonder how this happened and what will happen now, Radiance claims that supposedly Kieran's curse has taken ahold of him/her entirely, and from now on, he/she will be the sole ruler of all Fae. Radiance then proceeds to chain Longclaw and Sir Montgomery, and destroy the Moon Palace.
In Book 1, Chapter 16, after you defeat the Sun Court and break Kieran's curse once and for all, Kieran decides to sentence him/her to 300 years in the dungeons along with her two uncles and Lustre.
Longclaw
Longclaw has been a servant of the Moon Court for many years, and knows Kieran's secret about his/her curse. She is very loyal to him/her, and believes that Kieran is a good person despite his/her curse and his/her monstrous appearance. Longclaw also hopes that one day Kieran might return to his/her old self.
Powers and Abilities
- Invincibility: While Kieran is cursed for having his/her incomplete heart, he/she cannot be killed and his/her wounds heal faster than most Fae. However, as of Book 1, Chapter 16, with his/her heart complete and his/her curse broken thanks to MC, he/she has returned to his/her true self, healing at normal Fae speed and being able to die.
- Transformation: Kieran can transform into a Winged Beast in whole or in part.
- Sword Fighting: He/She is very skilled in swordplay, being trained by Sir Monty and challenged by him to maintain such skills.
Weaknesses
- Iron: Iron burns the Fae's skin, their wounds are not healed by their magic, it can be used to block or deflect their magical spells, and when the Fae are surrounded by iron walls or protections they are weak and without magic, powerless.
- Veracious: The Fae cannot lie, they have to tell the truth. However, they are capable of dancing around the truth and not denying the lies told by others. This inability to lie is due to their immortality, as demonstrated in the flashback in Book 2, Chapter 16 when Kieran, being then mortal, is able to say that he/she likes to chop onions even though it is not true.
Character Customization
Book 1
Male
Female
Book 2
Male
Female
Other Looks
Miscellaneous
Trivia
- A male version of Kieran is shown on the cover of The Cursed Heart, Book 1 and The Cursed Heart, Book 2.
- The name Kieran is of Irish and Gaelic origin and means "black, dark", "black-haired, dark-haired", "little dark one" and "little dark-haired one". It's the anglicized form of the Irish name Ciarán, which is from the Gaelic word "ciar" and a diminutive suffix.
- He/She shares the same name as Kieran Hale from the High School Story series.
- He/She also shares the same name with Kieran, a faerie character from The Shadowhunter Chronicles book series.
- Kieran is the first Gender of Choice love interest to be canonically bisexual. This is proven when Kieran says that his/her first love was male (in the premium scene of Book 1, Chapter 4) and when it's revealed that Kieran's last lover prior to your character is female (in Book 1, Chapter 9).
- According to him/herself, Kieran won nearly seventy Grand Hunts.
- In Book 1, Chapter 7, Longclaw says that because Kieran is cursed, he/she cannot be killed and heals faster than most Fae.
Memorable Quotes
Kieran: After so many decades spent hating each sunset, knowing nightfall would take my freedom from me... I began to yearn for the moonrise instead of cursing it... because dreams of you might be waiting on the other side. MC: We spent all that time during the day sniping at each other, and then, at night... Kieran: At night, you took me into your bed without a second thought. MC: Kieran! Kieran: You were the stars to my moon, light to my darkness. You brought warmth to my endless Winter. I would rather be cursed to roam the wilds as a beast every night than live endless lifetimes without you.[2] |
References
- ↑ The Cursed Heart, Book 1, Chapter 16
- ↑ The Cursed Heart, Book 1, Chapter 13