Ystlynn - Younger Prince of the Spring Court (aesthetic and character bio) (Patreon)

Since I needed to work out a new character for the Fae Realm, I thought I’d share it! Meet Ystlynn (pronounced ‘ist-linn’).

He’s everything you’d expect from a prince of spring - lively, loves being outdoors, loves flowers and growing things, wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s relatively short, slender and athletic, with bright green eyes, freckled, tanned skin, and messy, sun-bleached blond hair that he tries to restrain into a ponytail, but it often springs free. He’s got a pretty, boyish, almost androgynous face, and looks barely 18 by human standards, but is in fact nearly hundred years old (still fairly young for a fae).

He feels things very strongly, and is very quick to laugh and quick to cry.

His older brother, Finlan, is the ruling Prince. The two brothers are very close. Finlan is stockier and a bit more serious, but the two are still prone to silly pranks and mischief.

Ystlynn has a strawberry roan mare that he adores and rides bareback a lot. He also has a ferret and a snow fox that he’s very close to, but he’s a real animal lover in general.

He is very good at making things grow, and at healing, which is one of the Court of Spring’s main magical talents. However, because of his tendency to hurl himself so completely into things, he can be left very weak after healing. Finlan always tries to get him to keep a bit of distance when he’s doing a healing, and he almost died when he was only a child, trying to heal a huge tree in the grounds of the Spring Palace that was rotten to the core. He still can’t go near it without feeling dizzy, as though the tree is still trying do draw on his energy.

Similarly, because he throws himself so enthusiastically into everything, some days he’s so weak he can’t get out of bed, and has to sleep to recover. He doesn’t mind, and enjoys sleeping in sunny nooks around the palace like a cat.

He’s compassionate to the point of true empathy, sometimes unable to detach himself from the emotions of others, which again can be totally overwhelming.

Their father and mother ruled together as Prince and Princess of the Court of Spring, but half-abdicated responsibility to Finlan. Though he technically rules now, they still take an active part in governing the Spring Court’s territory and people.

Ystlynn is panromantic, but while he’s very free with his affections, he’s actually more demisexual. He’s not interested in sex first off, and while he loves being touched and is a very tactile person, he’s usually more interested in kisses and cuddles than going all the way. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t go all the way with the right person though.

I’m aware that he sounds like the purest cinnamon roll ever, and it’s because he is. He’s one of those rare, untainted souls. His brother has done all he can to make sure nothing bad has ever happened to Ystlynn, and he will continue to be extremely protective of him. This is probably because their sister, Aeslynn, was assaulted by a noble of another court, and although she now lives happily with her partner (not the one who attacked her!!) in another court, it haunts Finlan that he wasn’t able to protect her. Hence, he can be a liiiiiitle bit overbearing towards Ystlynn, but the younger prince weathers it with a smile because he knows it comes from a place of love.

He’s going to get a story with a male human reader. :)