Irlascen

THAT'S NOT A NORMAL FUCKING HORSE.
— panicked adventurer
  Everyone knows of the horse, of course, and everyone knows how it neighs. Everyone knows it's a horse, of course. Why would it be one of the fey? The irlascen is a horse, of which there is truly and utterly no doubt. It is a horse, its coat shiny and sleek, its mane flowing in the wind. Unless, of course, you're someone with more discerning tastes. Then you might see that an irlascen is not just a horse. If it was even ever a horse at all.  
Eternal Bond by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
In truth, an irlascen is a horse-like being that lives life in multiple stages. An irlascen may appear to be an ordinary horse, an undead steed of bone and rot, or something far more like a plant than anything capable of movement should ever actually be. They are walking beings of confusion, and they tend to revel in this as they trot through their triple lives.   It isn't wise to identify an irlascen to their face, not least because it's pretty rude to point at someone and call them out for being a particularly species (perhaps try it on a stranger one of these days; the response should be illuminating).   Most irlascen stay relatively unnoticed by choice, preferring to prance around as pretty horses (or terrorise mortals as 'undead' horrors), and keep their true intelligence to themselves.   Exposing them is just as likely to make you look like a fool (if they decline to reveal themselves) as it is to result in serious bodily harm (if they're annoyed by the accusation).
  Generally, if you suspect that a horse is an irlascen, the best thing to do is to treat the steed with the utmost respect. They're more likely to look favourably on you that way.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They're fey creatures, I think. One can't expect normalcy.
— a biologist at his wit's end
  Judging the anatomy of a creature that entirely changes said anatomy multiple times throughout its lifespan is somewhat of a challenge, even for the most experienced biologists. Irlascen also aren't the sorts to submit themselves to thorough study, nor do their deaths usually leave anything of a body to study - partly because they tend to be destructive, partly because death is generally impermanent for them.  
What is know, then, is moreso learnt from study or from the occasional allowance from the creatures themselves. Irlascen live a trio of lives within the same body, their soul clinging to the same bones as they die and are reborn anew.   Their first life is the least recognisable, and the only life in which it is theoretically possible to stop the monster that may one day form. A newborn irlascen is an ordinary foal, a mongrel horse of no specific breed, with little to separate them from other horses.   Though their magnificent intelligence grows and manifests during this time, as do some of their earliest abilities including speech, they are spurred forth by the innate desire to hide what they are.   Irlascen foals blend into normal herds upon the Material Plane, either enjoying lives of luxury with hapless farmers or roaming the wilderness freely with their freeborn kin. Unless attacked, they live relatively peaceful lives and use the opportunity to slowly learn of the world.
 
Wild & Forever Free by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
  Upon their first death, a cold fire blooms inside their chest. As the flesh they once wore rots away, the irlascen stands instead as a horror of bone and flame. To any that look upon them, they seem to be nothing more than a shadow of an undead. Their tail whips into a chill flame not unlike the foulness of a will-o-wisp, and they abandon their former friends to instead roam the forests.  
False Undeath by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
An irlascen in its second life is a being to fear. Cold fury drips through them, and even the most horse girl of all horse girls trembles in the face of it. In this state of half-death, for they are not truly dead, an irlascen manifests an aura of terror that penetrates even the strongest paladin's defences.   They also, just as a treat, can call upon new wellsprings of magic. The more clever irlascens use that magic to practice necromancy to enhance the illusion of their undeath, and to kill their enemies (or other victims, they're not picky) with their own fear.   Either upon an irlascen's second death, if anything should manage to kill them in their skeleton shroud, or upon their decision to visit the First World, they transform for a third and final time. This time, the world seems to embrace them: plantlife curls around white bone, turning death once more into life. The dread that haunted them becomes something they can choose to deactivate, allowing them to replace it instead with an aura of pure chaos.
  This last form allows them to bend plantlife at their whim as well, often using that power to enshroud themselves in plant. While this might seem pretty tame on paper, an irlascen's power over plantlife extends far. There are little hints to the anatomy of an irlascen in their third stage entirely because of this ability: rare is it for them to appear as anything other than an entire forest, swallowing victims into the depths of shifting woods which the irlascen itself roams.   There's a reason we say to be wary of the fey.

Additional Information

Domestication

Hahahahaha! You'd have to be a god to make the attempt.
— hysterical pixie
Inflorescent by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Equus horidus
Origin/Ancestry
Pure spite, probably
Lifespan
Immortal
Conservation Status
A problem
Geographic Distribution
There tell many stories about entire herds disappearing overnight. The most alarming tales are those where their riders vanish too, never to be seen again.   I always thought it was a tragedy.   Maybe it was, still, but maybe the tragedy was the horse itself. Irlascens must live lonely existences to steal away their friends...
— avid reader
 

Killing an Irlascen

An irlascen killed for a third time outside the First World may experience a true death.   That's something pretty dangerous for everyone else around them. They're skilled enough with magic to set up contingencies. Most of them tend to explode; some of them have gone as far as setting up extensive necromantic rites so that their death is never final.   In general, they should be considered dangerous fey and forces of nature. They should be avoided where possible to avoid the damn horses bonding with you by mistake, and to avoid any incidents that might invoke their anger.
 
He Comes by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Culture & Interspecies Relations

I'm convinced that those things are some form of demigod. Never mind what a god might do with them - I'm worried about what they do alone.
— faintly horrified wizard
 
Inherent to all irlascen is a deep arrogance towards every other species. They, no matter what, understand themselves to be utterly superior. Attempts to kill an irlascen shall almost definitely fail for all but the most mythical of heroes, and shall earn the fool attempting to do so the irlascen's eternal ire: their spite is almost equal to their arrogance.  
 
Beloved by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Lesser known, though, is the loyalty of an irlascen. Many irlascen meet their first death protecting the mundane horses they spend time with in their first lives, and often take steps to keep their mortal brethren as immortal friends as they step into their false undeath and beyond.   Animals have no issues securing the friendship of an irlascen, but those with their own intelligence - be they humanoids or other sapient beings, such as dragons - rarely behave in a manner that could secure the friendship of such self-important beings.   And doing so is dangerous. While a horse doesn't generally mind being brought to the First World and transformed into an immortal feysworn version of itself, sapient beings tend to have very strong opinions on their own bodies.   Should they defy an irlascen's decisions - especially those made to allegedly protect them - after their loyalty has been secured, they will have one hell of a time convincing the terrifyingly angry giant faerie warhorse to not simply override their pathetic choice.
  Given the intelligence of the fey horse in question, it's likely that an irlascen will simply leave no room to be disagreed with: their allies will be tricked, if need be, into what must be done.   The rage of an irlascen whose bonded kin have been slain is immeasurable. Depending on the strength of the bond, the irlascen may fly into an impenetrable rage - laying waste to an entire nation if need be, if the nation should carry blame. It's also not even effective at getting rid of said bonded kin: it's not like fey haven't been known to find ways to bring dead souls back to life.
Grieving Rage by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Cover image: Irlascen cover by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Comments

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Jul 21, 2025 14:18 by Keon Croucher

A fantastic species, magnificent, brutal, brilliant and with such a unique life cycle. Once again of course, NEVER trust the Fae. Not even once in my life. However that said, I do adore them. Such a uniquely wonderous three act like structure to their existence to. To experience a sampling of true mortality, then a taste of death, before finally the arrival to a being of nature itself, arguably something that is meant, within the chaos of what they are, to be something of the cycle. Of mortality and eternity, life and death, the truest essence of nature's wild and unpredictable cycle. I love that, most certainly tucking this one into my collection too :)

Keon Croucher, Chronicler of the Age of Revitalization
Jul 23, 2025 14:22 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

I love the scary horsies.

Emy x
Explore Etrea | Summer Camp 2025
Aug 2, 2025 16:18 by E. Christopher Clark

I love everything about them, but particularly the concept of their three deaths/transformations.