Chases The Sun
May 12, 2010 17:08:15 GMT -5
Post by Swede on May 12, 2010 17:08:15 GMT -5
Name: Chases The Sun (Sunchaser)
Age: 10 years
Breed: Mustang
Height: 15.2 hh
Colour: Sorrel tovero
Eye Colour: Dark brown
Gender: Stallion
Markings: see picture
History: He was born and raised in the South, a land of plunging red rock canyons and soaring bluffs, of swirling dust and blazing sunsets. It was a magical land, still is; and his kind were horses of which only such a land could produce. The telling of ancient myths and legends was a favorite pastime, and each individual lived by the melody of his heartsong. Yes, there were predators; yes, there was drought and flash floods and lightning storms; yes, there were humans who split up their herds and took their kin away. But his kind learned to live with these things, and give them meaning in their lives.
It was clear from the very start that wandering was written into his heartsong; so his mother named him Chases the Sun. In a land where names have deep meaning, and a single horse can have a dozen names given by various acquaintances, it was considered bad luck by some, to name this colt in this way; perhaps it was not his wandering nature that attracted the name, but the name which brought forth the wandering nature. But the mare knew what she was doing. Chases the Sun was changed to Sunchaser among friends for casuality’s sake. But his true name, that which is comprised of every lyric in his heartsong, that one is for him alone.
Sunchaser grew, listening to the stories of the elders and playing with his friends. They were many and diverse, colts and fillies alike. But even after he reached the age of two, when the other colts began to make eyes at the fillies, Sunchaser had little interest. He listened to the stories, hummed the old songs, and stared up at the majestic plateau that blocked out the horizon, where the ancient ones were said to live; those who had ventured up there and never come down. The spirits of the earth, the wind, the gods and the ancestors, these things captured his interest; fillies did not.
And yet, as Sunchaser grew into adulthood, he developed a special affinity with young foals, and told them stories, or played games with them. All along, his spirit tugged with longing to see the world, but for now he remained with the home herds. When he was two years old, his mother birthed his sister; and when he was five years old, he was told he had a brother. Kachina Spiritsong and Little Takoda; he loved them like life itself. He moved from herd to herd among the local lands, being the babysitter in each. Despite his young age, his knowledge of the old tales was impressive, and his appearance was valued by parent horses; foals always begged, “When is uncle Sunchaser coming?” desperate for fun stories and clever games. And always in the background, there was Kachina and Takoda, ever so fond of their older brother who returned to the herd of his birth many times each year.
When Kachina become older, she was claimed by a stallion who had been a childhood friend of Sunchaser, and joined his herd. Faithful Takoda followed her, and Sunchaser paid them several visits as well. He was positively delighted when Kachina bore a daughter, a sweet little filly who loved the old stories as much as Sunchaser did. And Sunchaser thought he just might have found the perfect mare, called Violet- a sweet young thing who captivated him and who he planned to start a herd with. Life was wonderful for a while.
But then things started to go wrong in Sunchaser’s perfect world. There were bad omens- a crow with a broken wing, an out-of-season flash flood, all sorts of things to cause unease. And then strangers came straggling into the lands; they claimed to be from the plateau. Sunchaser was distraught; the ancient ones were driven from their home, cast astray, slaughtered and rounded up. The world suddenly seemed fragile. And indeed it was; Kachina’s love slipped off a ledge. It was only a short drop, and he was not terribly hurt, but he fell into an old roundup corral, closed and forgotten. Unable to escape, and with no food or water, Kachina could only watch helplessly as her beloved wasted away. Within a week, he was no more.
Sunchaser invited Kachina and her filly to join him and Violet, and Takoda came as well of course. But in the midst of their grief, Violet suddenly vanished without a trace. Despite his efforts, he could not find her. What he did find was the herd of his birth, slaughtered by humans who despised the horses for competing with their cattle. His sire, his dam, three other mares, and a newborn sister he had not even met yet- all lay dead in the desert.
It was all too much. Sunchaser gave in, and fled the old lands. He managed to keep a bright face in new places, among strange horses, where the memories did not plague him too badly. Here he also took up his old career of telling stories, and his reputation soon spread beyond his travels, Uncle Sunchaser the Storyteller, so kind to foals and a blessing to every herd he visited. He never stayed long, but he left his mark everywhere he went. Travelling was written into his fate; though his journeys started with tragic events, he nonetheless greets the world with compassionate eyes. Sunchaser is a kind horse and a threat to no one. He is not a fighter, but a storyteller; a shoulder to cry on; a source of advice; a friend.
