Emberequine history.

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History:
Fire trapped within the body of a horse; revered and hated, worshiped and hunted.
Some legends saw them as the harbingers of war, others as ancestors come back to spy on the living.
They have had a strange relationship with man throughout the years, but the beginning is where
their glory lies. Certain tales, both written and traveled by word of mouth, tell of miraculous
deeds done by the Ember steed. There are many stories of wild mares, and stallions alike, leading
lost children home, and of them warning villages and nomad camps of coming danger. Whether any
of them are true or not, no one really knows for certain, although, Embers are known to share
a rather special bond with humans.

Some of the indigenous people of the era began to capture the gentle horses and keep one in
their camp. It's purpose was that of a guard dog, and a good luck charm. However, oddly there are no
indications from that time of them ever being ridden or used as pack animals. Whether due to the fact the
people viewed their status above other horses or something else entirely, we will never know.

Their herds roamed along side of the indigenous people, across the steppes and plains, they seemed
to have no boundaries. Evidence, such as bones, has been found in most of the surrounding countries,
and even in a few of the mountain ranges. Another thing to add about the Embers, which still holds true
today, are their herds. The herd structure of the Emberequine differs from that of most of today's equine
species, for instance, mares make up the hierarchy. Rather than a lead stallion, the herds have a matriarch
Stallions generally roam alone, or in small 'clicks', that is until breeding season. Embers mate for life,
although they are only together little more than a month or so each year.

During breeding season the plains erupt in a chorus of chirps and trills as herds gathered, mares and stallions,
generations of Embers. Each finding their mate from the previous year, or find a new one. They would stay in this massive,
conjoined herd for upwards of two weeks or more; families split among herds have even been known too seek out each other.
And then, as if on cue, all the herds would disperse within hours of each other. Stallions have been known to hang with the main
herds for over a month afterwards, but in the end they all break off and return to their rogue life.

The deaths and births of new civilizations and people set the Emberequine breed on it's gradual fall.
They lost the previous sense of awe they had once inspired, and became targets to both native people and newcomers.
Their gentle nature and their brilliant coats allowed them to become easy prey to men. This is about when the Embers started to
become what we know them as today. To survive in this new world they became more elusive, more aggressive; their herds of 20 to 30 broke down into smaller and smaller groups. Their blood mixed with that of foreign horses, natural selection picked the fast and strong to survive.
They evolved long and powerful legs which allowed them to blaze across the plains like no other, and a slight frame and light muscling which lent extra speed.

Although, even after this, they disappeared...

In their absence another emerged, a subspecies of gray Ember-equine; a horse very similar in appearance, with a grey to white coat and faint markings. The grey's numbers quickly averaged out, lacking the stunning coats of their fallen brothers, they were no longer major targets. People began to capture the Embers again at this time, to ride them, to trade and sell them at market. For unlike the true Embers, the grey's had retained to their mild temperament and gentle nature. They also had kept most their speed, although their senses and intelligence were more akin to those of an average horse. Rather tragically, however; the greys started to decline rapidly after the first hundred years of their appearance. Something to do with their grey genes was causing them to become sterile. Grey x grey, gray x other would either produce a sterile foal, or a dead one. It seemed this was to be the end of a breed that had worked so hard to cling to survival, through all odds. And instead of man, was doomed by their own genetics.

But it wasn't, by some miracle the true blood Embers returned. The exact time and date are unknown, as is how they came back in the first place. The theory today is that they never really died out; they had probably been on the brink. With the appearance of the greys, and other changes, enough attention was drawn away long enough for them to recover. Again they walked beside man, with accounts of them used as messengers, and scouts. They were adored as both, for there wasn't a living thing there that could out run them. They could go without water for days, and could keep up a fast pace for miles on end. Although, this new relationship with man both aided and hurt their breed; still being hunted, the capturing of wild Ember's severely cut into their fragile numbers. It went on like this for a long span of years as they periodically fell in and out of man's attention; always recapturing someone's eye.

The native people kept them hidden from outsiders for the longest time and had no plans on relinquishing such a horse unto foreign hands. The decision of the Ember's fate was not theirs; however, it was decided sometime in the early 18th century, when a boy stumbled upon an orphaned foal. The foal's coat was glossy coal, so black it seemed to absorb the surrounding light. On him were patterns, ornate and impossible; bluer than the deepest sky. With help from family members, he brought the strange colt home, to England, and began to tame him. He kept records, detailing the time and patience it took to bring the wild colt around. All the work of training him, and how, in the end, he had never had or seen a finer steed. No one else could ride the magnificent stallion aside from the boy, although many wanted too. And many more wanted their own.

This started the Ember craze, several dozen were originally imported and they became the parent stock of what we know today. The boy's stallion was named Bat-Eredene, and he turned out to be one of the fasted horses to ever live. He sired several foals during his lifetime, and lived to be 49, which turned out to about the average life span for an Ember. His line is still the only one to carry his brilliant blue markings.