Little Antler

By Little Antler

• July 28, 2014

Age: Fawn

Gender: Male

Species: Non-Pony

Appearance: Little Antler is a young caribou, specifically in fawn age He is very small, smaller than most of the caribous at his age.<br /><br /> He has a brown fur with dark brown eyes. He also lacks the signature chest fluffy of his race He also has a small pair of antlers on his head.

Cutie Mark: Doesn't have one.

Personality: Little Antler is a curious, lively young caribou. He is pretty adventurous, liking seeing new places, meeting others and learning new things.<br /><br />When talking he is usually warm, trying to be friendly. He tries to be respectful, always addressing others with pronouns like miss, sir, lady, etc. From a culture of honor, he believes that loyalty and honesty are the most important virtues.<br /><br />Antler isn't afraid to fight and get hurt, in fact he enjoys the thrill of battle. He also likes challenging others to fight, because he believes that sparring helps building relationships. He doesn't like fighting against females however.<br /><br />He dislikes killing, preferring to defeat his enemies by making they give up or lose conscience. Before fighting he always says the phrase “I’m tough”, mostly as a reminder for himself of how much he accomplished.

Backstory: Little Antler is a fawn from one of the northern Caribou clans of Equestria, more specifically House Typhoon. He received his name from his father, who gave it because he was since birth smaller than most Caribou children.<br /><br />Antler childhood was not an easy one: being smaller usually meant being weaker, which resulted in him being constantly picked on by others. The caribou society saw weakness as a terrible flaw, so his weak built body was a terrible anomaly.<br /> He, like most Caribous didn't have time to play. Caribou society demanded that their children were able and individualist. So Little Antler was taught the most different things: how to read, how to draw, how to sing and how to play instruments. He received lessons in subjects such as math, language and science. He also learned a little about more specific crafts, such as forging, farming, carpentry and pottery.<br /><br />Also fighting. The little caribou fought a lot with his neighbors children. He usually would arrive home bruised, which his father would answer by giving him even more fighting lessons. <br /><br />It wasn’t for lack of love that his father would act this way. It was because he knew that it was dishonorable for a father to shelter his son, especially one that many considered to be incapable. The tundra was his main worry, however: he knew that his son wouldn’t survive if he didn’t toughen up.<br /><br />So Little Antler was taught how to fight, especially how to use his size for his advantage. What he lacked in strength was compensated in dexterity, he learning usually where were the weak points of his opponents.<br /><br />With time he got pretty able at fighting, picking his bullies at their blind spots and launching sequences of quick strikes upon them. He quickly got respect, the other caribou children learning to not mess with him. He still stood alone through.<br /><br />When his father noticed that Little Antler got pretty able with his hooves he decided to teach him something new: sword fighting.<br /><br />Fighting with a blade in his mouth... it was harder than it sounded. Antler tried, tried but didn't seem to be able to use it efficiently. Taking into consideration that it was perhaps because of his size, his father replaced his weapon with a short sword, far easier to manipulate. Little Antler practiced it a lot and quickly got proficient with it.<br /><br />His father noticed that Antler knew how to take care of himself, so it was time for the next lesson. He started taking his son on expeditions outside of the village, hoping that the experience would help him learn more.<br /><br /> Those expeditions were usually to keep polar monsters from violating their territory. Most of them usually ended peaceful, just every now and then a pack of hungry snow wolves coming near. Since Little Antler was still a child, the adults would only give him menial tasks such as spotting.<br /><br />Antler would probably spend living his whole life living in this environment... but destiny had something different prepared for him…<br /><br />One day, during one of those expeditions Antler group was attacked: big bipedal creatures, using heavy armor jumped at them. He would know later that those were minotaurs.<br /><br />The battle was intense, their enemies being prepared for battle. It was also the first time Antler had to fight ‘seriously’, one of the minotaurs charging against him.<br /><br />Antler training suddenly felt natural, the child managing to avoid an axe swing and countering by stabbing the giant ankle. The attack didn’t went as good as he thought, however, the blade getting stuck in his enemy.<br /><br />The minotaur answered by pulling the short blade, then crushing it with his hands. He then launched a powerful kick, sending Little Antler flying a few meters… falling unconscious.<br /><br /> When he woke up he learned that the group had been repelled. His father came check him worried, getting happy to see that his damage was just superficial one. This time the battle wasn’t with some loss however, adults he knew who would never came back.<br /><br />Antler also learned that his father sword had been lost: one of the monsters had taken it during the chaos of battle. That was a terrible loss, mostly because his sword was unique in the whole village: it was made of a very rare light blue metal named spellbane. <br /><br />His son asked if he wasn’t going after them to recover it, but his father dismissed the idea: there were still wounded warriors to be taken care of, and their attackers were probably running for the green. So they returned to their village.<br />The loss of the sword was something that stood on Antler mind: he knew that his father was pretty sad, that blade being in his family for generations. He wanted to find a way to help him.<br /><br />However, the truth was that Antler always looked his entire life for a chance to prove himself. Recovering his family heirloom seemed to be the perfect feat to do it, finally getting his tattoo and a warrior title as reward.<br /><br />He came to the village elder and demanded the right to recover his father sword, asking it as a personal quest. The sage warned him that it would be deadly, if he really wanted to risk his life like that. Antler nodded.<br /><br />When his father learned of it he got pissed: no one, not even his parents could cancel a personal quest. Antler would never be allowed to grow and receive a title unless this feat was completed <br /><br />His father told him that Antler life was more important, and asked how could he do something so senseless without asking his permission first. Antler counter argued that it was finally the chance to prove himself, and that he knew how to take care of himself.<br /><br />Not having much he could do, he gave his son some last advices before letting him leaving. He also gave Antler another short sword, alongside a backpack with some gold and supplies. He told him that he was proud of him, no matter what happened.<br /><br />And so Antler left the Frozen North, entering into Equestria. He was the first caribou he knew that would venture outside the tundra, finally meeting the green. The sadness of leaving home was replaced by the excitement of seeing a new world. <br /><br />He wasn’t sure where he should start looking for the blade, but he was sure that he would do his best to enjoy his mission...