Caranoch
Caranoch (a.k.a. the Dread Steed)
It was not the smoke nor the fire that I feared; nay, not as the screams began. I could see the flash of steel along the forest floor, and as I looked up, I found myself gazing upon my worst nightmare: those eyes, red with the blood they promised.Caranoch is an irlascen that may justifiably be described as more force of nature than horse, these days. He is an ancient beast of the First World who has come just shy of claiming a spark of divinity to rule as an Eldest, which is widely considered to be because he knows it irritates other fey rulers who would love to be rid of him to the rules of divinity.
Adventures of the Dread Steed by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
He is an irritable bastard known for a mean streak running three countries wide, and rules his claimed area of the First World - which is conveniently a little over three countries wide, most days - with sharp intensity. His citizenry do not live in fear, per se, but there's always a certain level of awareness that the forest could potentially eat them if they did something to upset their patron.
Though he has been relatively calm in the past few decades, Caranoch's early years were spent causing nationwide problems on Istralar, and he has only retired from this hobby on the basis of a treaty wrangled from the hands of a few national leaders.
Should that agreement ever be broken, the lands of Istralar will soon find themselves plagued with a sudden angry mobile forest containing all manner of teeth-bearing fey set on revenge. And one furious horse at the centre of it all, of course.
Despite the trails of destruction Caranoch has wrought in the past, he has been somewhat vilified as a hero across Xin-Jiyu and parts of Valathe.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
As the bushes parted, the villainous headsman felt a cold chill crawl up his spine. Before him stood the king of the forest itself: an immense horse-like being with a mane of brilliant red leaves, his eyes glowing crimson in the darkness, his hooves gleaming with the sharp glint of iron. Caranoch had arrived.Caranoch's appearance has varied over the years, both as he has progressed through the stages of an irlascen's life and as his fashion sense - much as a terrifying fey near-demigod can be fashionable - has shifted. Once uncaring of his looks, he has been gradually convinced into ever more terrifying getups to drive intimidation into people's hearts.
In his first life, Caranoch was a large brown horse, most closely resembling the wild horses roaming the Tulaant Steppe. In his second, he was much unlike the other irlascen - instead of a skeleton glowing blue with the stain of undeath, Caranoch's rage saw him glow with an ominous red.
In his current life, Caranoch is much larger than a normal horse and appears in a glossy black. While most irlascen resemble the forests they become one with, Caranoch instead chose to adopt darkness as his coat. Depending on how he feels, he alternates between a mane and tail of autumnal flowers, or of scarlet hair - or, if especially angry, a crimson-black flame.
He typically wears a scarlet cape, shimmering with the many magics it is enchanted with, around his neck, occasionally atop a suit of custom-made steel-like armour. If feeling particularly intimidating, he may add jewellery to this - either woven from the forest that he commands, or crafted for him by his people out of rare metals and gleaming rubies.
Youthful Freedom by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Alignment
Chaotic Neutral
Current Status
Pissed off at the universe
Current Location
Species
Children
Pronouns
he/him
Sex
Male
Gender
Fey
Presentation
Relatively masculine
Eyes
Glowing red
Hair
Autumnal leaves or thick red mane, depending on his vibe
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Smooth black, glossy
Belief/Deity
Himself
Kneel before him when you come to the outskirts of his forest, and profess your vows to the open skies. He will not tolerate cowardice nor falsehood, infidelity nor spite. You are a guest in this life when you set foot near his domain. Respect that, and respect him. He did not obtain the appellation of dread steed by the kindness he pays his author. Do not forget who you speak to.
Personal History
From the wide expanse of the Steppe's rolling reaches to the towering forests of the First World, the Dread Steed has rode across the planes in his raging glory!As a neigh-immortal (hee hee) who has trampled the earth beneath his hooves for centuries, many of which were spent in the distorted time of the First World, it is somewhat challenging to summarise Caranoch's history. For a more full, if somewhat exaggerated, history of his past, it would be wise to review the adult-oriented editions of Adventures of the Dread Steed. Like all irlascen, Caranoch's life began in relative mundanity. He was born upon the Tulaant Steppe in the 3000s to a group of wild horses which became his first herd, but soon found himself captured by the Uurtai, a semi-nomadic horse-loving tribe under Meihua's rule. For years, he lived in peace with the tribe... until the tensions plaguing Meihua caused the tribe to come under attack. Anyone with knowledge of an irlascen knows that this was a mistake the attackers did not survive. Caranoch trampled the attackers in a haze of fury, scattering their blood as easily as one might splash a puddle. When one landed a lucky hit to hopefully slay the 'demon horse', he howled in crimson rage and ascended to his second skeletal life in ruby anguish. This began a reign (or rein, perhaps) of terror. Too many of Caranoch's herd had been slain; they were brought with him into undeath, be they fellow horse or humanoid, becoming his horde immortal. Those that still lived of the Uurtai were given a choice: to leave him now and suffer the collapse of Meihua, or to follow him into his own bloody peace. Stunned, they stayed with him. From here, it is less certain what happened in Caranoch's tale.
Burning Fury by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
We must be wary of that... dread steed. We know not from whence he came, nor what he is, but our allies to the north cut us off the moment we mentioned the bloody menace. There is something we are missing here.
Caranoch by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
While he easily could have, it was his kin who tentatively asked if there was another path. They tired of the bloodshed, the running, the training - they wished to see Caranoch at peace, too.
It still took decades before they finally actually convinced him, but eventually, the horde were able to convince Caranoch that it was in his best interest to take them elsewhere: to the First World.
There, in the land of the fey, Caranoch would bring the forest that had sheltered them on the Material Plane. It became his own, part of his soul, as he transitioned to his final stage of life: a being of pure fury wrapped in nature, as devastating as ever before. His mortals called him beautiful and declared him their king; the rest of the First World doubtless felt great trepidation as a new mythical threat descended upon them.
Since then, Caranoch has not been idle. With most of his other hidden goals complete, his current aim seems to be knowledge for knowledge's sake (or perhaps the sake of his friends, whom he often seeks out information for). Rarely, well-learned mortals who have fallen out of love with their lives entirely seek out Caranoch: either for a swift end, or to bring their knowledge to him in return for a new existence.
And should he befriend a new mortal and learn how they were wronged - well, the Material Plane may temporarily obtain a new forest, followed by a river of blood.
Please don't piss off the terrifying god-horse, sire. The child fans of his books would be most upset.
Great read :) Congrats on reaching the 40/40