The Dread Horseman

A figure of fear and prayer, the Dread Horseman is a towering nightmare fusion of horse and headless man, the emaciated equine topped by a headless cadaver with long arms tipped with sharp claws. It haunts the moors and highlands of the northern lands and islands of Avalon, the native peoples living in terror of the storms come winter and the chance of the Horseman making its appearance.

When sun sets in the winter months and a storm descends the people of the northern lands hunker down in their homes, clutching idols and whispering prayers in the hope that the Horseman hears and and deigns to leave them be. Yet it is a cruel God and often those who worship it are targeted out of sheer malice. Those it targets will hear the terrible crash of hooves and the destruction of its approach, flattening trees and reducing all but the most stout and formidable structures to rubble. It will chase down travellers foolish enough to be caught outside in such weather and break open homes to pluck out their screaming inhabitants.

Its rampage may last minutes or hours. Never longer than the storm though.

No one knows why it does what it does. It is almost a mindless act of nature, like a hurricane or earthquake.

No attempt to drive it back has ever worked. It seems impervious to harm and is a being not of the physical realm. Only well fortified castles and settlements are free of its destructive wrath, their tall walls enough to dissuade the being from its goal.

There is no formal religion devoted to the Dread Horseman. No Priests give sermons in its praise. Its worship is a more private thing, crudely carved ideals in its shape that are clutched when lightning flashes and thunder crashes. Each family will have their own idol, often several and it is the duty of each family member to make their own.