Submit your mascot backstories here! They are due by 3/17 and if you don't submit one by then, you will be disqualified. If you have multiple mascot entries, please submit a separate reply for each one. Remember, you don't have to write it yourself (you can ask a friend or pay someone else on HP to do it), but it does have to be a unique story about your mascot!

Tranquilities back story. You will need time to read this. lol Its also PDF. 

T H E - B A C K S T O R Y .
Be prepared. It's a long story, lol.

^{The Nurse}

^{They say she was the daughter of the devil himself. A dark figure that haunts the place that gives life to the new and is the resting place for the old. Crossing her path could leave you gasping for air or wanting more. She is an intoxicating creature, the very sight of her will stop you in your tracks. They say that you can see the fire in her eyes, if you are brave(or foolish) enough to get near her.} 

^{The legends that surround this intoxicating creature can be as plain as a slice of bread, or as as deep and dark as the oceans. No one knows for sure the real story behind the hauntings. They are only mere speculations, nothing was ever confirmed or denied to be truth or fake. The fear that runs through their bodies was all the evidence they needed to believe she was the demonic figure that haunts the halls. So whatever the reason she was connected here, wasn't relevant. So many tried and tried again to find the reasons she settled her, whe her soul was so unrested. Of all the place on this barren earth, why here? Something dark had to happen to cause such a dark spirit to call her final reseting place here in this location.} 

^{The Nurse was once a soul that felt hope. She once felt the good over powered the bad. But one day, someone came and took it all away. They stole her soul, her heart broke and shattered into a million pieces. Her last breathe slowly leaving her mortal body. Why did this happen? Why her? Her soul and spirit replaced her mortal self. The creature that once radiated hope, grew dark. Her surroundings began to rot and crumble. She no longer gave life to the things around her. They drained not only her soul but all the life around her. Nurse went from a sight that would brighten you day, too instilling fear into every inch of your body.} 

^{As she stepped, the sounds of the concrete cracking beneath her. The shadows following closely behind, swallowing anything light and pure whole. Where birds used to chirp and perch in the courtyard, are now replaced by a deafening silence. Where life radiated hope, is now replaced by a reaper lurking in the shadows. You could once call this place a sanctuary, but now is it a place to meet an early demise.} 

^{To this day, she still haunts the halls. The darkness forever growing. Are you brave or foolish enough to tango with The Nurse? Will you legs freeze at the sight of her? Or will you run away? Or will you join her in the afterlife.} 

Belladonna's story can be found on this google doc.

Jade: A Good Morning.

Light's coming up. I hear noises upstairs. It's MORNING!!!!! Oh my gosh hurry up Dad, I want out I want out I want ouuuut of this crate! Here he COMES!!! Spin spin spin can't HANDLE this excitment! Door is open Zoooom! Off I go around and around and around the kitchen table. Gotta pee! He has the leash out! Imma sit like the good girl I am. Clipped and let's goooo. Snif snif oh hey, Baby Shark from up the road was here earlier! Squaaat aaaaand done. Now FOOD, Dad, FOOD!! Oh my GOSH why can't he walk FASTER. I'm DYING here. Squirrel No...must focus. Food Food Food. Good thing I have him well trained. Gobble gobble gobble lick lick. That's IT?! Big sigh. Dad's gone to watch TV, Imma join him. Couch it is! Dad's leg makes a good pillow. Yawn...how can I be so tired so soon? I'll just rest my eyes... 

* * * 

an hour later....

And I'm UP and it's LATER which must mean WALK TIME!!! Go to the door, sit like a good girl, look hopeful. That's the mantra. And Dad's so well trained that he knows what I want like he read my mind! I whine to let him know my urgency to feel the fresh air in my fur. OMGOMGOMG he picked up his keys with my leash! You know what that means...DOG PARK!!! I haven't been there in PRACTICALLY FOREVER, even though it was yesterday. I wonder who will be there! Maybe Belladonna, or Birdbox, or Donna or Sidney! Door open, jump UP into the loud moving thing, and off we go!

Dad hurry uppppp let me OUT I see all my friends! Gotta run run run run Ball! run run run. Sniff some butts...you know the drill. I wish I could stay here FOREVER with my friends!  

Dad whistles for me. Boooo I guess it's time to go. Two short yips of farewell, and off I go, back home for a nap.

Fury of Tyson - In Memory of Tyson

I strode out proudly beside a strange lady with my tail wagging wildly and thumping off the wall.  We went outside and stopped beside a large blue car where the lady encouraged me to jump in the back.  “Good boy Tyson!”  She gave me a pat on the head.

After a long journey we pulled into a little driveway beside a detached house and the lady came around for me.  We entered the house to hear shrieks of laughter and I had my tail between my legs and approached slowly.  The door opened and in we went. Two little girls ran towards me and I froze.

“Mum, he’s perfect!” The older one cried.  She came over and gave me a big hug.  I sighed as I relaxed.

“Why don’t we take him for a walk?”  Mum asked and the girls jumped around.  I perked up at the energy in the house.  They all put jackets on and off we went with mum holding the end of my lead. 

We went down towards a wood and I trotted along taking in the sights and smells. The sun was hot on my back and I could smell a cat here, a rabbit there and a squirrel scampered up that tree and chattered at us. 

“Tyson.”  I looked up and mum had taken my lead off.  I bounced over to the girls and we ran between trees and over fallen logs.  A tennis ball was produced and thrown and I flew after it, enjoying my new found freedom.  I dropped it at mum’s feet and off it bounced again.  I raced off catching it before it stopped and turned back to see my new family hand in hand strolling towards me with smiles on their faces.

We went in a big loop and came out at the other side of town so it didn’t take long to get back home.

Home.  Imagine that.  Little old me had a home and a family and that was my first walk of many in my new life.

Bump! Mascot backstories are due this weekend!

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

Ashes and dust fill the sky remnants of a scattered world drift upwards. The skies getting darker and darker by the day. The world wasn’t always like this, War.. spearheaded by the greedy and corrupt leaders, a nuclear fallout ensued destroying 80 percent of the world. Not many survived the initial blast and more died once the radiation hit. Who am I ? My name is no longer important my only goal here is to save as many as i can. There is one safe haven left ,  an underground bunker far into the mountains with water from an underground spring and enough space for everyone to live comfortably. It may be enough to outlast the endless harsh bleak winter that follows or it will be the death of us all. All i know is its my duty to get everyone i can safe even if i die doing so.

BIRDBOX

Hi. My name is Birdy and this is my story.

            One day what seems like to me a very long time ago a young runt of a pup was born into a wolfpack. Now mind you i was small but i was as feisty as they come. My mother and father never did have much control over me and i tended to wander off and do my own thing much to their disapproval and worry because i was small they assumed i couldn't take care of myself but i grew up with six brothers! Yes that’s right six! All much bigger and stronger than i was so i was used to being bullied and pushed around so it taught me push back and have an “i can take care of myself attitude” and for the majority of the time i could until one day everything changed for me.

    The pack had stopped to rest since we had been traveling and looking for food, but i wasn't tired i had boundless amounts of energy even for a pup my size and i was bouncing all around eventually getting bored so i muttered to my parents that i was going to explore the forest nearby. So there i was bouncing along not paying very much attention to what i was doing or where i was going and BAM! I smack into something very large and solid , taken aback i look up and it's a big brown bear, my mother and father has always told me to stay far away from them if i saw one because it was very dangerous and would kill me so i instantly froze with fear and before i knew it pain soar across my face and  everything went black.

    As i lay on the ground in searing pain all i could hear was the breath of the bear near my face i was passing out from the pain and i thought this was it for me i was never going to get out of this. Then all of a sudden i hear howling and a fight ensuing my pack had found me and came charging at the brown bear chasing it off, at that moment i knew i was safe the pain had become so unbearable that i had passed out instantly.  I had no idea how long i had been out for but i awoke into blackness terrified that my eyes were not working and i could feel a cloth or something around my eyes i screamed out for my family. They came rushing to me in a second trying to calm me down that's when they told me the horrible news. I would never see again the bears claws had done too much damage to my eyes and my face had some scarring and it would never be the same.   

    That was three or four years ago and i was devastated but i was also determined to not let it define who i was just because i couldn't see and i had my pack to help me. With time and practice my other senses were more keenly developed and i was just a good hunter as any one of my brothers or anyone else in the pack and i’m still as feisty as the day i was born!

RAVENNA

I was born deep in the Forbidden Forest on a cold and blustery November day. My father, Tenebrus, and my mother, Enerva, were descendants of two of the first Thestrals to come to Hogwarts. Soon after I was born, I took my first wobbly steps, taking a header into the cool dirt and rotting leaves of the forest floor at least twice in my attempts, with the herd looking on. Another creature approached our little band a few days later, a big and hairy beast, who my father immediately went right up to like old friends. While terrified and hiding behind my mother at the time, I would later learn that Hagrid was something called a “hoo-man” and that we could trust him, as he would provide us with raw meats to eat so that we didn’t always have to fend for ourselves and kill other creatures in the forest.

When I was about 10 months old and really growing into myself, most of the adults in the herd went off to pull the carriages for students coming off something called a train, to take them up to the school. I wasn’t supposed to, but I snuck off and followed them, wanting to see this for myself, as it was to be my future. The train was big and loud and scary, and my bony little ears didn’t like the loud huffing noises it made. I was ready to run back to the safety of the forest when I saw a lot of smaller (and less hairy than Hagrid!) hoo-mans spill off the train and climb into the carriages pulled by my family and other members of the herd. It was quite remarkable…none of the hoo-mans could see us! I thought this was greatly amusing, until I noticed one strange-looking girl staring straight at me in my hiding spot, as if she could actually see me. She had very pale hair and a dreamy expression on her face. She didn’t approach me, but watched me from her carriage where she was joined by a few other hoo-mans, including one boy with messy black hair and a strange lightning mark on his forehead. Could this be the boy who Hagrid had been telling us about during our feedings, Harry Potter? I watched as my mother pulled him away in her carriage, more fascinated by him than the light-haired girl. Hagrid had promised that he would be teaching the hoo-mans about us this year in his class. I was hesitant to want to join, but if that boy will be there, I’d love to help Hagrid teach him about us!

For those who would like an actual "story," read it here! Spoiler warning (kinda)!

Midnight Wild Rebellion – New Forest Point to Point

Have you ever raced with the wind in your mane and shoved back when another horse bumps you?  When you’re flying over the heathland and galloping through puddles? The New Forest Point to Point is the one day where we turn out in force to do just that.

Today is the day we get to do that.  My young rider Kylie bathed me last night and groomed me early morning and plaited my tail up so I couldn’t get it caught on anything. 

We were at the starting line waiting to be let loose and I tried to pull at the reins but Kylie had a firm hold on me.  Ponies stood to my left and right and I pranced on the spot.

Finally!  We surged forward as one and I flattened over the wet heathland and we jumped some of it.  I flew beside a bay roan and he jumped a large piece of heathland and landed beside me so I pushed my shoulder back at him reclaiming my space.  Kylie rode low over my withers and urged me on.  A young boy was calling encouragement to his horse and yet another used his whip to try and keep his lead.  We splashed through puddles and water sprayed up from hooves in front of us.   

“Come on Midnight!”  Kylie softly spoke and we all turned onto a hard gravel track.  I found another gear and so did the others.  People in yellow hi viz coats directed us into the woods and we raced on.  Two ponies in front of me and still the bay roan beside me matching me stride for stride.  I stretched my neck and tried harder but then I stumbled and Kylie pitched onto my neck.  I had to slow down to regain my balance and more ponies passed me.  I hated to lose and so I gave a little jump and threw myself forward as Kylie had reseated herself.

We fired on and went roaring under trees.  “Quickly Midnight. This way.”  Kylie steered me off the path and over tree roots and ditches.  We managed to regain our spot by taking shortcuts.  We flew out of the woods and heard roaring.

The crowds were massive so we must have been coming to the finish.  I gave a heave and we galloped across the wet ignoring the slippery grass beneath our hooves.  I managed just to hold onto third place and as we came to a stop Kylie threw her arms around my neck, thrilled with our performance.

SONG WHILE READING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpxKvy5T9Uo
Never Surrender

In the far away world of Secutor Ultima lived Ka'Ixx.
She, along with her people, had been under siege from a darkness that was ancient when the world was young. They where fighting for their lives. And they were losing, up until the point where Ka'ixx made a pact, and merged her soul with an entity of light giving her glowing yellow eyes and an immense prowess in melee combat. The name Ka’Ixx had been given to her for her countless victories against the forces of darkness that co-existed on her world; She was a hero for her people, and a warrior without peer. After long-lasting tiresome battles, she defeated the darkness, and thus she was named Ka’Ixx

But everytime she defeated the Darkness, it always came back, eventually.

The last time the entity decended upon the world it almost completely devoured everything, Ka'Ixx knew that she must banish it forever if her people are to be safe, for her years in the realm of the living are counted, and once she is gone, the darkness will return and it will consume everything and move on to the next world.

She scaled the mountains of Ukaer, She had been walking for days, and finally; at the peak of the mountain she found back the altar at where she first decided to create the pact with the entity of light. But as she drew closer to the altar, the thick air began hurting her throat, tears where streaming down her face and her mind became filled with a thick dense atmosphere.
An evil presence was looming in the air.
Once she was at the alter, she found a crimson crystal. She knew what had to be done; She took the crystal and smashed it hard against te ground, breaking the crystal and releasing the thick black fog inside of it. What once was locked up in defeat, now was free.
A loud boom was heared and the mountain top was covered in an incomprehensible black mist.

Ka'ixx held her weapons aloft and was ready to strike.

"hahahahahaaaa" a deep sinister laugh was heared and crimson eyes appeared in the black mist. The entity bore no recognizeable shape or form, it was nothing, but yet it was everything. Ka'ixx charged the entity with ferocious strength.

The clash echoed throughout the vast lands; Loud roars where heard far away from the original impact. The people spoke as heaven and hell had collided with eachother. The ground shook so immense, that mountains formed new formations.

The battle lasted 5 days and 5 nights, on the 5th Night Ka'ixx’s spear pierced the entity's chest, it roared in agony and suddenly disintegrated.

A floating orb of pure darkness formed infront of her, as she started to hear voices in her head. They where telling her, that the power she absorbed in her youth was from a horse god of a forgotten time and that the only way to permanently stop the darkness, she had to absorb the orb.

In Ka'Ixx's form the darkness would consume her in a matter of moments, but the voices that where speaking to her in her mind where strong enough, thus Ka’ixx agreed to let the gods reform her. In a flashing light the orb was gone, but so was Ka'ixx.

No-one really knows what happened on that mountain that day, except that Ka’Ixx had died a honourable death. The darkness was gone , and all that had come back was a bay horse with yellow glowing eyes. She had done a noble sacrifice, one that even the gods had not denied, therefore the light was kept within her. She was a horse that was to wild to tame, and the people where afraid of its power and strength. thus it was kept freely. Roaming the lands, protecting the world, forever watchful.

The people of Secutor Ultima named the horse Never Surrender.

Backstory for Two Hearted (aka "Heart"!) - Click here

 Cinnabar's Tale - click here.

CAN You Read My Poker Face?

In the land of the undead a lead mare stood out, Poker face the undead zombie paint mare stood proudly infront of her group.   The new ranks of a few wild stallions has never seen such a sight.. half dead half alive but still captivating nevertheless.  Who and what is she is the question.Pokerface looked at them and replied I am Pokerface, I am the leader of this here realm, you do not belong here.  The young stately steeds didn't head the warning as she gave them no warning in body language, the youngest stallion a bay named Jericho said this mare is just bluffing..  Pokerface came at a charge like a lightning bolt,  the boys see now that she wasnt playing and leave.. before they do they say boy that girl has a real Pokerface.

*~* Expedition Unknown *~*

Have you ever heard of the land of Green Shavings and Roaring Crowds? That is the place where dreams are made! High stakes and huge rewards calls for spectators to attend by the masses from all over. All to witness greatness in the making! Can you feel the chill of excitement run through your back? The thrill of something within reach, but just far enough to be worth all the little milestones in between to being just one step closer. To hear of the success stories from those who traveled there in the past is enough fuel to spark the hopes of many. To believe you can be one of them one day, well, now that's just icing on the cake.

Unknown to this little chestnut colt during his early days, he was destined to take this journey. He was given the time allowed to mature and grow. His caretakers watching him each day as he became stronger and bolder. Flashy, fierce, and brave were the three things they would say about this colt as they talked among themselves. Three excellent ingredients needed to be able to travel to those green shavings one day! He was also a curious little booger which got him and the other colts into some mischief a time or two. It was then they decided that for his barn name, he would be called Journey. Simple, but meaningful.

Training season finally arrived and Journey and his pasture crew were put to the test. Learning all the ropes and fine tuning every step. Hearing the tone within his caretaker's voice and seeing the expression on her face only meant one thing, that he was doing good. A smart cookie with a hunger for more! Their praise meant peppermints at the end of each session and boy did he love those mints! With each passing day there was a buzz beginning to swarm around the barn and in the arena. Show season was just around the corner and it was time to introduce the new batch of young hopefuls to the world. Was Journey up for the challenge?

Some of his buddies didn't make it past their first show. They were too timid or just decided the spotlight just wasn't for them. For Journey, he soaked it all in like a sea sponge with the whole ocean in front of him. Whispers were starting to spread that this colt was heading to the big time.  Could he handle the pressure? With each passing show the whispers grew until it was known to the rest of the barn that it was time. Journey was headed on the road to the land of Green Shavings. Would he become a World Champion? Only time and each step into the ring would tell. A big quest for a spirited chestnut colt. His show name, Expedition Unknown! Will we get to hear his story?

One time, amidst a litter of five puppies, laid a squirming little white and black fluff ball. You see, her colors would not come in until later. She snuggled up against her mother stomach and suckled. Not much was clear to her at this time, but she knew she had to suckle to survive and so she did.

As time went on, her coat changed from white and black, to a wonderful canvas of white, black, and gray. The older she got, the more adventures she got to go on. Sometimes she would be with her humans, the ones that took her away from her dog family and named her Baby. Other times, she’d sneak out and go alone. They never seemed to care too much, they had a lot of land and they never worried about her going to far.

One day though, a scent on the breeze caught her attention and off she went to investigate. She ended up on a sandy beach area with dock with boat all over. She went out to explore. By mistake she ended up on a fishing boat that was taking off. The humans on board never noticed her. When they got a little further out, the boat hit some rough water and Baby fell overboard. Once again, nobody noticed.

She fell down into the cold waters and felt something wrap around her paws. She could not move and the fishing net was old and discarded. It was not connected to the boat at all. Panic set in and she begin to thrash and wiggle around like crazy, eyes searching the waters for help of any kind. In the darkness, a shadowy figure started coming towards her and she realized it was a huge fish unlike any she had ever seen before!

It had rows of teeth and it looked horrifying, but instead of trying to eat her, it managed to break the fishing net and set her free. It even used it’s large body to help her get up for air. Once above water she gasped and coughed. Eyes wide with fear still. “Thank you” She said gratefully. “What are you?”

“A shark” the large fish said. After she managed to paddle the short way to the shore she turned around and watched as the shark swam back out to see. From that day on, she was Baby Shark! And she knew what she wanted to be when she was all grown up! She even found something to make a makeshift fin out of and tried to get it to stay on her back. Every time she goes swimming, she looks for her shark friend.

Redemption

Failure is NOT an option.

We've all been there, or might even currently be there. Whether it's feeling down on your luck, or experiencing loss, it can crush you. Those nagging thoughts and overwhelming feelings consume your time. You begin to withdraw. Activities and hobbies you once enjoyed don't seem as important anymore. Getting stuck in that rut is difficult to get out of, and any attempts to do so can feel hopeless.

That's where he was. Stuck in a rut of disgrace and self-doubt. Alone on an uninhabited planet, 4,000 parsecs away from the planet he called home, due to his childish actions. Four years prior he, along with his friends, had been preparing for their coming of age ceremony. This ceremony, a historic and revered event, was designed to test pups on the skills they had acquired during their youth. These tests would then determine what placement they would have in the pack and would be given responsibilities accordingly. As a pup from a long line of successful high ranking scouts, it was expected of him to place the same. Unfortunately, instead of working hard to prove that he was worth the title of his bloodline, he had the belief that his namesake alone would give him the same status as his fathers.

When the day finally came for the test the reality of the mistake he had made began to set in. There in front of the elder council, he began to feel dread. He stared blankly at his first task. Before him sat a display of neighboring planets where he was expected to correctly label the planets names and identify which planets had been explored. His mouth felt dry as he dug deep in his memory to recall the stories he had heard many times to help identify which planet was which. Ashamed and embarrassed by his inability to perform a simple task, he ran from the room.  He ran as far away and fast as he could until he felt like he couldn't run anymore. While resting and catching his breath he thought about what to do next. He couldn't go back to the village, not after having disgraced his namesake. A name that he knew he no longer deserved to bear. It was there he concocted his plan. He would take one of the ships out, to learn from real hand experience. He would travel from planet to planet learning their names, their culture. He would learn and prepare for the day he would have to face the council again and earn his rightfully deserved place in the pack. Not based on a name he no longer bore, but based upon the skills he had set out to learn.

So there he was. Standing alone on the uninhabited planet X-Z893, without his family, his friends, or any of the comforts of home. However, he was no longer without a name or a purpose. Knowing it was him alone, not his family or status that would get him the tools he needed to succeed in life. As he approached the ship to leave the planet he had called home for the last few months, he smiled. A resolve set in to prove that he was worthy of the new name he adopted. Because no matter what we have done or what we have lost, our lives are not over. We can pick up the pieces and march on. After all, we all deserve a little Redemption.