“Maybe I should wait outside... I could be a guard dog or even a guard pigeon... I just don’t want to be a guard human.” - Ludo Beckett
Ludo Beckett
Age |31
Race | Shape shifter
Gender |Male
Appearance |Ludo takes on any form from the animal kingdom at will, with his default form being a swirling dark mist. His preferred form is humanoid with elven influences, such as pointed ears and icy blue eyes. This form is the easiest to maintain and doesn’t take up too much energy. He prefers to wear his hair dark and skin pale. He enjoys wearing dark clothes that don’t draw attention to himself.
Occupation |Ludo owns and works on a small family farm along the Fairview river. His family's company: 'Beckett & Son' provides eggs and home grown vegetables including potatoes and carrots to some of the smaller stores in Springfield, alongside magical fruits, herbs and vegetables that he grows on his farm for the magical vendors around town. He brings his produce into town personally and hand delivers his wares.
Personality |He is a recluse and almost a hermit. He prefers his own company and can come off as shy when people first meet him. He is very socially awkward and finds it difficult to read human cues. He much prefers talking to magical creatures. He isn’t particularly loyal and is often regarded as a coward due to his tendency to back away or back down from a fight. He knows exactly how to defend himself, however, and when pushed, he’ll show his fearsome side... in the form of a fearsome creature of course.
Background |Being a magical creature herself, Ludo’s mother Alavara was drawn to Springfield when she was young and pregnant with him. She had fallen pregnant by accident; sleeping with a shape shifter that had taken on the form of her late husband under her drunken wish.
When she arrived in Springfield, she came with little money, but she took shelter with a local farmer called Soren Beckett who took pity on her and gave her a home where she could nurse her growing baby. After Ludo was born, he helped her look after him and soon asked for her hand. For Ludo, Soren is the only father he has ever known. Ludo grew up on this farm, learning the trade and growing up around agriculture and farm animals. He had a simple and work-driven childhood, working hard in the mornings to tend to the fields and animals, then playing in the afternoons. He looks back fondly at his childhood of running around in the mud with the pigs in their form, chasing chickens from their coops as a fox or a dog and scaring away the sprites and gnomes that tried to steal some of his ‘father’s’ crops.
He had quickly taken on his real father’s shape-shifting abilities and so far his mother’s elven powers are only shown in his preferences for looks; where he chooses to be tall with pointed ears, though he allows himself the muscular frame of Soren's human body when he is working. His life as a child had been good, but he had always been sheltered and accidentally away from other children for too long. To this day, company still bothers him and he lacks trust in others. He is very wary of change and becomes extremely anxious in the presence of it, because everything has been the same since he was small and he quite likes it that way.
Ludo is also a part of the Foxhounds; a group of people in Springfield that are rallying to fight back against the magical beings that would harm their city. He became part of it after an attack on his farmland. He still isn’t sure whether it had been planned or whether the attack was simply collateral damage, but a group of unsightly magical beings crept up in the night and began pillaging the farm. They tore up crops, smashed equipment and killed their animals whilst Ludo’s mother, sick with the flu, helplessly hid in her bed. The Foxhounds, only a small group of people then, had arrived just in time to save their barn from being burned down and they put a stop to the raid. Grateful and inspired by their great act of kindness, Ludo offered his help and support to their cause a few days later. He made a promise to his mother and father that he would protect them and the farms and small businesses around them as best he could, especially using his abilities.
Now that his family is getting older, his mother makes goods to sell in Springfield, like woven baskets, jams and cakes, whilst the men tend to the fields. When Ludo was a teen, they began growing magical crops as well as regular crops to sell to the warlocks and magical vendors in the city. Soren started their business ‘Beckett & son’ and Ludo has been driving their produce to the city ever since. He also drives into Springfield to meet with the Foxhounds on a regular basis and he’s slowly getting better at talking to others, even if he prefers his own company most.
Extra notes |Ludo was born with the ability to take on the form of any animal. He is unable to take on the form of magical creatures, however, without intensive training. He can currently make himself look like a faerie or a unicorn by altering his features, but he is unable to actually become them. He dreams idly of being able to take on the form of a dragon one day, but he probably won’t.
Vanilla Raptor