In the land of stone and contracts, there stood a once glorious kingdom that had been ruled by a kind and gracious king. But when war swept through the lands, the king fell and his son ascended to the throne.
The prince was nothing like his father before him, but rather a cold and uncaring ruler. The people of the kingdom suddenly felt abandoned and forgotten by the late king's son and so they fled, leaving the land a desolate plain.
After the war and desertion, all that remained of the kingdom was a shining castle which housed the prince and his loyal servants. There, he was the ruler of nothing and no one, preferring instead to serve his own selfish desires.
A day came when a violent storm passed over the plains that brought with it a visitor seeking shelter. A woman dressed in tattered robes with filthy hair and skin like ash came pleading with the prince for shelter. But the prince refused, put off by her haggard appearance. He sent her away coldly, leaving her to fend for herself.
She begged once more for a second chance, claiming that she had a gift to offer in return for his kindness. Stubbornly, the prince refused her again and the second he did, the woman revealed herself to be a divine being. A goddess who knew kindness, wisdom, and benevolence and who took on the appearance of a beautiful woman with billowing sleeves.
Sensing her power, the prince got down on his knees to beg for forgiveness. But it was too late, because the goddess could see that his heart was as cold and unmovable as stone.
To teach him a valuable lesson, the goddess transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful enchantment over the castle and all who dwelled within. Ashamed of his appearance, the prince locked himself away, completely hidden from the outside world.
The gift from the goddess was a stone dumbbell - a puzzle box of sorts that contained all of her wisdom. If the prince could learn of compassion and love and find both from another, the spell would be broken and the wisdom attained. But if he could not, he would remain in his beastly form, with his kingdom cursed forever.
As time passed without hope, the prince fell into despair. The forgotten kingdom and its remaining inhabitants slowly lost all hope. For who could ever feel compassion for a monster? And who could learn to love a beast?