ST Horizon 🌄

“A walking nebula, the kind you see just beyond the horizon where it’s the darkest just before sunrise.”

RIP Forgetting his starting stats. Between 230-270 probably.

Horizon came to these lands, dissolving out of the dusk sky and into corporeal form. They had to walk the earth to find their daughter, the Sky. Horizon was themselves the amalgamation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars and their pieces of love for their daughter.

Long ago, they disapproved of their daughter’s love for that foul tempered beast of Earth-spawn, the Lava, and their daughter hid from them, always veiling herself in clouds and other finery to avoid their gaze. Now they felt something wrong and even her presence was absent from behind those veils.

Horizon realized she must have come down to Earth to seek her beloved. So many centuries had gone on and even some of the mightiest stars had yawned out of existence. Horizon now only missed their daughter and meant to make amends.

—

A day like any other, though it seemed the sky was duller and sun less hot, Horizon approached Red Ridge’s bloated territory. Since Lykaon Swiftflame’s reign, the territory had increased tenfold, engulfing enemies and allies alike, with Swiftflame as Lykaon of all the lands and former leaders either dead or his lord vassals.

One such vassal approached to greet Horizon. He noted the bluish hue of the wolf’s body and what seemed like sunlight and stars across their pelt. “Welcome to the farthest province of the lands of Lykaon Swiftflame, Lava Incarnate. What brings you to my humble corner?”

Horizon’s attention piqued at the Lykaon’s title. Lava incarnate? A small smirk crossed his muzzle. So it was true that the Lava had become a tyrant among mortal wolves. Horizon had always known not to trust that brute. Perhaps the lava had come to make their daughter mortal and kept her from returning to the palace of the celestials?

”I seek passage through your lands and into the central seat of power. I have need of audience with your Lykaon,” Horizon said without shifting a single muscle.

The lord vassal felt uneasy. This wolf... upon closer inspection, was tall and strong. They must have weighed as much as two wolves combined. “A-are you an emissary from another land?”

“Of a sort.”

”Will you need to hunt?”

”Absolutely. But I shall only take prey enough for myself.”

”On your way then. Follow this path west. The woods to either side are plentiful with prey.” The lord vassal was ready for this wolf to move on. They seemed unworldly. “I’ll send my swiftest scouts ahead to announce your arrival so that you may not encounter any troubles on your travels.”

Horizon bowed his head respectfully and left. There was a long journey ahead of them.

—

Although the celestial had come to earth to seek their daughter, they still felt young and spry and adventurous. Who were they to keep only to themselves and not enjoy the coils of mortal abundance.

At the next province on their journey, Horizon stopped and joined a band of wolves hoping to become part of the Lykaon’s innermost guard. They had seen Horizon and noted their strong physique and strange presence.

“You, too, seekin’ the Lykaon’s approval? Earn a new name and have riches?” The wolf speaking to them was a scrawny thing. Lean and small. “Name’s Cricket. Was born during the Time of our Lykaon in a poor province south of here. That’s Ion and Compass. We all want to be guards of the Lykaon.”

The other two nodded, but did not speak. Like Cricket, Ion seemed like a lean and scrawny thing, though Compass, unlike the other two, just seemed small and runtish. Compass observed Horizon, some realization of truth shining in his eyes.

“We all come from poor provinces. Prior to Lykaon Swiftflame’s rule, we had less than nothing. Our packs starved and went infested with parasites... but now we have food and medicine by his graces.”

“Praise the Lava’s fertile bounty and may he live long,” Ion responded as if reciting from some proclamation written on parchment.

Horizon laid down heavily, their body seeming to shake the earth briefly. “Seems like a good wolf,” they said, thinking about how it seemed all of these wolves had nothing but praise for their Lykaon. “But I heard he has killed thousands in his conquests.”

The three paused and looked beyond the warming fire at the wolf who seemed to have stars in their pelt. It seemed that silence stretched for miles to Horizon before one of them finally responded. “It’s true,” Compass said. “All of my siblings and most of my family died when his wolves marched into my packlands—his soldiers called it a purge of the weak. But if not for him, we would have all died of starvation last winter.”

Compass look down, uneasily shifting as if he could shed that blood that stained his memories like water off his coat. Cricket and Ion look at each other, the same pain of loss in their eyes.

Horizon began to understand why the wolves on their travels seemed... few, though population density increased as they drew near to the central lands. “Yeah, there’s more food now and less disease. We owe the Lykaon our lives for his providence,” Ion quickly clarified.

The others nodded in agreement. Horizon narrowed their eyes.

“So it seems you’re not a citizen of Red Ridge?” Cricket said. It meant that the stranger’s lands had not yet submitted or been conquered.

“Correct. I’m from... faraway and come to have the audience with the Lav—Lykaon,” Horizon corrected themself.

Their ears pricked and focused on Horizon. “You... are going to negotiate an ally ship or...?”

‘I plan to have the Lykaon submit to me,’ Horizon thought but did not say aloud. “Something of that nature, but while we’re here and having fun, let’s only worry about how we’ll spend our riches when you become guards!” Horizon let out a hardy laugh and the others joined him.

It seemed it would not be a lonely journey.

-- 

Often the tales of ages long past told of half gods roaming the countryside, sired by a rogue god among wolves to unwitting dams who were bewitched by otherworldly charm. Horizon's case was no different. They appeared to be strong of body, mind, and full of wit--things wolves envied in the young and wanted for the future generation. Horizon kept company with many a female in their time on the earth. It was said that they favored one, Quill, a messenger wolf who knew all of the songs of the birds and best migration trails. She had vast memory as if she, too, was a god of all knowledge.

It was Horizon who was bewitched by her. And through their love, Horizon eventually began to forget their mission to conquer the Lykaon said to be lava. For a time, it seemed that the Horizon, gods among wolves, settled into a domestic life, showering his mortal lover with all the things she could ever desire, though she felt uneasy at times, Quill loved Horizon all the same.