A Prophecy Fulfilled

[Befera]

A Prophecy Fulfilled

Overcast Creek slithers beautifully downhill from an unknown starting point into the territory where you have just arrived. Many have attempted to follow the river upstream to it's origin, but none have been successful. This is no ordinary creek, however, for it has a troubled history and a future that looks as grim as the rain that falls upon it's banks.The creek is a place of either fortune or misfortune. It is believed by most to be haunted because of the unusual rains that plague it's banks. It was named Overcast Creek because of this unusual trait. The territories that lay adjacent to this haunted stream are also plagued by the rain in the warmer months. Winter seems to be the only normal time of year, though the snow covers the creek in large, towering walls. Other territories surrounding the creek are subject to drought for most of the year, and a compatible medium between drought and flood is hard to come by.

Long ago a group of horses began to detest their king's psychotic government over them, and tried their best to rebel against his powerful rule. Seems reasonable, right? Though despite their courage and careful planning, they were easily defeated, and were exiled permanently from the king's royal territory.

When these horses began to settle in this place, a white beast appeared to them and said, "If you are to ever quarrel upon these sacred lands, a terrible curse will befall you, and you will be watched for the length of one eternity by the eyes of a world beyond the fires of hell". So the horses obeyed this strange white wolfess out of fear, and tried their best to stay peaceful in their new home.

But of course it couldn't stay that way for long. One night a young brute stole a foal from her mother and dragged her by a leg to a secluded area along the creek's banks. He would rape the young foal to her death that night. The next morning he sent the corpse down the creek and watched as the foal's blood painted the water red. Not long after her body disappeared under the current, the white wolfess appeared before the young killer and told him that he, along with his children and his children's children, would pay for this act of evil and disgrace.

After she had gone, the young brute found he could no longer see. He had been blinded by the wolf witch, and he staggered up the steep path from Overcast Creek to bring word of this back to the herd and to confess for his sin. Upon arrival, the mother of the foal wailed in fury and sadness and struck the colt down where he stood, slashing at his face and his neck, letting the ground drink his blood.

The very trails that the blind murderer had taken from the river are said by some to be cursed, so not many horses are brave enough to set foot on them for fear of their lives. Not so much as ten minutes after the furious mother had stricken down her daughter's killer, a rough and violent downpour scarred the land, drowning grass and turning soil into quicksand.

One month after the death of both the foal and her assailant, spirits came to the horses and began to speak to them. These ghostly horses were obviously the work of the wolf witch, and it didn't take long for speculations and rumors to circulate that the ghosts were there to kill them all and drive them off of the land.

The ghosts, however, were first seen along the creeks banks, and easily befriended younger horses as they began to extend their boundaries into other herd lands. The ghosts appeared in large numbers before a storm or a more serious disaster were to occur. They were placed there by the witch as a warning and a message to the herd, and to fulfill the prophecy she had given when they first came to the land.

To some, the ghosts were evil and only sought to destroy them. To others, they were like gods, placed there to guide them into the future. What they don't know is that the ghosts themselves choose whether or not to be good or evil. Their individual souls are their own. Some horses went so far as to give offerings of rare plants to the ghosts, placing them in the stream and letting them flow to the wolf witch, who they knew was always watching them.

Sacrifices were given to the ghosts by the obsessive worshipers, and the corpses were also placed in the creek for the witch to bring them good fortune and less rain. These sacrifices ranged from small forest creatures to other horses.This didn't do much, because the witch only laughed at them through lightning and thunder and pouring rain. She was amused, and she let the river flow rougher to wash the petty offerings away.

The sacrifices unleashed a rivalry between the worshipers, who had seemed to develop a cult to praise their divine ghosts, and the rest of the horses, who were only scared and angry. Soon it is planned that the worshipers must die so the killing and terror will end, and to this day they fight for their causes and their gods. All the while, Overcast Creek flows steadily, and the rain continues to fall.