Post by Swede on Oct 8, 2008 14:35:36 GMT -5
Name: Antares
Age: 3 years
Breed: mustang
Height: 14.3 hh
Colour: black
Eye Colour: deep brown
Gender: stallion
Markings: various scars
History:
Antares was only a week old when his father challenged another stallion and lost. The victorious stranger took the colt's mother as his prize, and allowed her son to live, but made it clear he was inferior to his own foals and would have nothing to do with him. Upset over losing his beloved father, Antares withdrew into himself, and the other mares in the herd shunned the angry young colt. The other foals refused to play with him, and even when he got over the shift he was the black sheep of the family. No one spoke to him except his mother, and even she felt torn between her son and her new friends in the herd. Antares wandered around the herd, bored and restless with no one to play with.
The same spring he became a yearling, he had a massive argument with his adoptive father, with whom he often quarreled. Antares had meandered into the trees surrounding the meadows where the herd was grazing, angry and bitter. Quite suddenly, he heard a voice.
''Psst! Hey, don't tell the oldie we're here!''
Antares caught the twinkling eyes and smiled. The three year old bay colt introduced himself as Diamant, the leader of a local band of bachelors. From that moment on, Antares had a best friend. He took to sneaking away from the herd to meet the bachelor colts; here was a place where others listened to him, and cared about him. Diamant was like an older brother to him, and the others in the band were his friends.
The autumn after he met Diamant, his adoptive father found out. In normal cases, he wouldn't care what Antares did, but this particular band was infamous for being violent and ruthless. Once, when they raided a herd as bachelors often do, someone had died. They were a bad bunch. The stallion shouted at Antares, who shouted back just as fiercely in defense of his pals. In the end, the colt was forced to flee as he was driven out with teeth and hooves.
Less than two years old and already alone. It was a bleak situation; he was not old enough to live in solitude. But Diamant found him and gave him a permanent place in the band. Antares joined the cheerful marauders, learning to fight and harrass herds in search of mares. Sure, the play was a bit rough, and the other colts weren't too kind when they tried stealing mares, but he joined right in. These were his friends, they cared about him, and he belonged here. Antares didn't bat an eye at anything they did; not even when Diamant caught a mare unawares and viciously forcebred her, while the others held her newborn by the throat to keep her silent, did he sense wrongdoing. No one had ever done him a right turn among the outsiders, so why should he care about them?
Autumn turned to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer. Antares was a thriving two year old, one of the youngest in the group but with high status as four year old Diamant's special favorite. Life went on, carefree and full of fun. The older colts always laid first claim on mares whenever they managed to get them, but he didn't mind. He was with friends, and that was what mattered. Then, one morning, a stranger arrived. He spoke with Diamant for a long time, then left. Diamant turned to the others, and announced, ''Come on, boys. We've got work. That stud there wants help with some stuff, and I'll say he promised some pretty nice rewards.'' The stranger was an evil sort, planning on overthrowing a kingdom to the west and taking control. He had heard of the band's reputation, and offered them a deal: help him in the battles, and they would get their own sections of the conquered territories, and would each be able to choose from the mares of the killed stallions.
And that was what happened. There was mass murder, and casualties on both sides. But in the end, the dark stallion and his mercenaries were victorious, and the rewards were doled out. Diamant as leader received the greatest share, but Antares had a filly of his own, his own age. But she loathed him, unable to love the horse who was friends with her father's murderers. But, gradually, she saw past his outer shell to the fearful and naive colt within, and her heart softened. When she treated him kindly, he too grew warmer and spoke to Diamant less.
But it was all a lie. The filly's brothers had been meeting her in secret, plotting to retake the lands. The autumn of his second year, the young mare lured the unsuspecting Antares into a trap. Her three brothers attacked him from all sides, fully grown stallions ripping him to shreds. They left him for dead; but he was not dead at all. But others had driven out Diamant and the dark stallion, as well as the other colts in the band, and Antares limped after. He eventually caught up, and life went back to the way it had been.
But the bachelors had quite enjoyed the mercenary life. Antares was wary of all outsiders, especially mares, but trusted Diamant implicitly. They continued to work with other stallions, enjoying the boisterous fights and rowdy victory celebrations, and the respect they earned. And then, Diamant hatched a plan: they would go back to their old lands, and stage a takeover of the same herd Antares had grown up in. The colt thought this was a marvelous idea; he couldn't wait to get back at his adoptive father.
The stallion was mighty in his own right, but was aging, and faced with six younger stallions, was driven off and his herd stolen away. Antares asked only one thing- that his mother be allowed to leave with the stud, whom she had loved fiercely. Diamant agreed. ''Sure thing, buddy, no problem'' he said. Liar. Diamant had taken Antares mother for himself, hiding her from her son, murdering her youngest filly and forcebreeding her, not for the sake of obtaining a foal from her but simply for the pleasure of seeing her pain.
Antares did find out. He was furious. He challenged Diamant, though he was destined to lose against the stallion twice his age. His mother still loved him though, despite the poor choices he had made, and tried to stop him. The well-meaning but foolish mare threw herself between the battling colts, and the bloodthirsty horses did not see her until it was too late. A hoof meant for Diamant made contact with the mare's head, and she was dead before she hit the ground. Devastated, Antares fled. His friend had stabbed him in the back, and he had killed his own mother.
These events did not make him take a change of course; he created a tough outer shell, ignoring the past. He decided to continue working for other stallions, freelancing so to speak. Sometimes the now three year old would help protect other herds in return for a temporary home and food; other times he fought the battles of strangers.
Then Diamant crossed his path again. Knowing he would not survive another encounter, Antares ran, winding his way to Sunshine River. The colt is easy-going and free, independent and unconcerned; but he is still a colt, despite his many battle scars. Full of youth, and pain locked away. Not much bothers him; and if things go wrong, he simply slips away, only reappear somewhere else. He has no perception of good and evil; it simply depends on what will keep him alive the easiest. He doesn't do anything unless it benefits him. He cares about no one but himself, and takes care of number one.
EDIT: 4 years old in November 2008
5 years in May 09
6 years in Jan 2010
7 years July 2010
Age: 3 years
Breed: mustang
Height: 14.3 hh
Colour: black
Eye Colour: deep brown
Gender: stallion
Markings: various scars
History:
Antares was only a week old when his father challenged another stallion and lost. The victorious stranger took the colt's mother as his prize, and allowed her son to live, but made it clear he was inferior to his own foals and would have nothing to do with him. Upset over losing his beloved father, Antares withdrew into himself, and the other mares in the herd shunned the angry young colt. The other foals refused to play with him, and even when he got over the shift he was the black sheep of the family. No one spoke to him except his mother, and even she felt torn between her son and her new friends in the herd. Antares wandered around the herd, bored and restless with no one to play with.
The same spring he became a yearling, he had a massive argument with his adoptive father, with whom he often quarreled. Antares had meandered into the trees surrounding the meadows where the herd was grazing, angry and bitter. Quite suddenly, he heard a voice.
''Psst! Hey, don't tell the oldie we're here!''
Antares caught the twinkling eyes and smiled. The three year old bay colt introduced himself as Diamant, the leader of a local band of bachelors. From that moment on, Antares had a best friend. He took to sneaking away from the herd to meet the bachelor colts; here was a place where others listened to him, and cared about him. Diamant was like an older brother to him, and the others in the band were his friends.
The autumn after he met Diamant, his adoptive father found out. In normal cases, he wouldn't care what Antares did, but this particular band was infamous for being violent and ruthless. Once, when they raided a herd as bachelors often do, someone had died. They were a bad bunch. The stallion shouted at Antares, who shouted back just as fiercely in defense of his pals. In the end, the colt was forced to flee as he was driven out with teeth and hooves.
Less than two years old and already alone. It was a bleak situation; he was not old enough to live in solitude. But Diamant found him and gave him a permanent place in the band. Antares joined the cheerful marauders, learning to fight and harrass herds in search of mares. Sure, the play was a bit rough, and the other colts weren't too kind when they tried stealing mares, but he joined right in. These were his friends, they cared about him, and he belonged here. Antares didn't bat an eye at anything they did; not even when Diamant caught a mare unawares and viciously forcebred her, while the others held her newborn by the throat to keep her silent, did he sense wrongdoing. No one had ever done him a right turn among the outsiders, so why should he care about them?
Autumn turned to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer. Antares was a thriving two year old, one of the youngest in the group but with high status as four year old Diamant's special favorite. Life went on, carefree and full of fun. The older colts always laid first claim on mares whenever they managed to get them, but he didn't mind. He was with friends, and that was what mattered. Then, one morning, a stranger arrived. He spoke with Diamant for a long time, then left. Diamant turned to the others, and announced, ''Come on, boys. We've got work. That stud there wants help with some stuff, and I'll say he promised some pretty nice rewards.'' The stranger was an evil sort, planning on overthrowing a kingdom to the west and taking control. He had heard of the band's reputation, and offered them a deal: help him in the battles, and they would get their own sections of the conquered territories, and would each be able to choose from the mares of the killed stallions.
And that was what happened. There was mass murder, and casualties on both sides. But in the end, the dark stallion and his mercenaries were victorious, and the rewards were doled out. Diamant as leader received the greatest share, but Antares had a filly of his own, his own age. But she loathed him, unable to love the horse who was friends with her father's murderers. But, gradually, she saw past his outer shell to the fearful and naive colt within, and her heart softened. When she treated him kindly, he too grew warmer and spoke to Diamant less.
But it was all a lie. The filly's brothers had been meeting her in secret, plotting to retake the lands. The autumn of his second year, the young mare lured the unsuspecting Antares into a trap. Her three brothers attacked him from all sides, fully grown stallions ripping him to shreds. They left him for dead; but he was not dead at all. But others had driven out Diamant and the dark stallion, as well as the other colts in the band, and Antares limped after. He eventually caught up, and life went back to the way it had been.
But the bachelors had quite enjoyed the mercenary life. Antares was wary of all outsiders, especially mares, but trusted Diamant implicitly. They continued to work with other stallions, enjoying the boisterous fights and rowdy victory celebrations, and the respect they earned. And then, Diamant hatched a plan: they would go back to their old lands, and stage a takeover of the same herd Antares had grown up in. The colt thought this was a marvelous idea; he couldn't wait to get back at his adoptive father.
The stallion was mighty in his own right, but was aging, and faced with six younger stallions, was driven off and his herd stolen away. Antares asked only one thing- that his mother be allowed to leave with the stud, whom she had loved fiercely. Diamant agreed. ''Sure thing, buddy, no problem'' he said. Liar. Diamant had taken Antares mother for himself, hiding her from her son, murdering her youngest filly and forcebreeding her, not for the sake of obtaining a foal from her but simply for the pleasure of seeing her pain.
Antares did find out. He was furious. He challenged Diamant, though he was destined to lose against the stallion twice his age. His mother still loved him though, despite the poor choices he had made, and tried to stop him. The well-meaning but foolish mare threw herself between the battling colts, and the bloodthirsty horses did not see her until it was too late. A hoof meant for Diamant made contact with the mare's head, and she was dead before she hit the ground. Devastated, Antares fled. His friend had stabbed him in the back, and he had killed his own mother.
These events did not make him take a change of course; he created a tough outer shell, ignoring the past. He decided to continue working for other stallions, freelancing so to speak. Sometimes the now three year old would help protect other herds in return for a temporary home and food; other times he fought the battles of strangers.
Then Diamant crossed his path again. Knowing he would not survive another encounter, Antares ran, winding his way to Sunshine River. The colt is easy-going and free, independent and unconcerned; but he is still a colt, despite his many battle scars. Full of youth, and pain locked away. Not much bothers him; and if things go wrong, he simply slips away, only reappear somewhere else. He has no perception of good and evil; it simply depends on what will keep him alive the easiest. He doesn't do anything unless it benefits him. He cares about no one but himself, and takes care of number one.
EDIT: 4 years old in November 2008
5 years in May 09
6 years in Jan 2010
7 years July 2010
