by sun and sea, by earth and air

Founding Howl for Horizon Ridge. If you wish to have your character join Horizon Ridge at the time of its founding, all that you need to do is reply to this thread answering Akhlut's howl. PM me with any questions. This thread will be officially dated 12/22, the date of Wolf's reopening to the public, and will remain open for a few days thereafter to give newcomers a choice of having their character as a founding member.

The Sea beckoned him, and in his Nereides bones he could feel the pull of the tides and in his Nereides ears he could hear the song in the crash of the waves. Perhaps his multitude of distant cousins were women who would disdain his intimacy with the Sea, but Akhlut knew they were simply blinded by their religious zeal. He knew differently. He knew that he belonged to the Sea. And when he felt the wash of foam and wave upon his paws, upon his chest, closing overtop his head, Akhlut knew that he was home. Such was the bliss in his heart and the sense of oneness with the ocean, the wolf nearly thought he had become his namesake, become the Akhlut of legend who was both wolf and whale, and he hoped against hope that he never need rise out onto the sand again.

Alas, he was canine still, and could not remain in the emerald-blue abyss. His black-and-white form was washed in onto the shore and he pulled himself to his paws and shook. The Sun beat down on his back, welcoming him back to Her domain, drying his fur, warming him despite the cool of the day. The male dipped his head with a smile, wondering how he had forgotten the pleasures of fresh air and bright sunlight that did, at times, rival the beauty of the Sea. He climbed slowly, and leisurely, up a cliffside, and meandered through the ancient sequoia trees that towered impossibly high and were dotted still with small bluffs of snow.

This close to the coast, it was too warm for snow the cling earnestly to the ground, but it was a reminder of winter still, and a sobering one. Akhlut knew his intentions, and although he had hoped to gain his sister's presence before now, he knew he could delay no longer. With determination in his heart, the black-and-white wolf ascended to the top of a rocky outcropping, where the trees thinned and all that remained was the vast openness of endless ocean stretching infinitely out before him.

As he reached that pinnacle, Akhlut found his nostrils filled suddenly with the scent of bear. It was, he decided, a good omen, signalling Atka's approval. The bear aspect of Akhlut's Creator-Goddess had been here and had blessed the place, and such was the weight of this token that the dark wolf lifted his head immediately in a howl. Akhlut Kesuk Nereides dubbed the place Horizon Ridge, and simultaneously he called it home.

He hoped that his song would reach those who were aligned with the Light as he was. Perhaps there would be none who shared his particular faith, and he would not ask that of them. But they would be strong, and brave, and honest, and true, and just. They would be hard-working and earnest and intelligent, and above all they would be loyal--both to Akhlut, and to the heart of Horizon Ridge.