Information
Cŵn Annwn the Fluffy
Herne
Legacy Name: Herne
The
Harvest NeelaOwner:
BalloonAge: 6 years, 10 months, 3 weeks
Born: May 29th, 2017
Adopted: 6 years, 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Adopted: May 29th, 2017
Pet Spotlight Winner
October 29th, 2017
Statistics
- Level: 80
- Strength: 117
- Defense: 111
- Speed: 111
- Health: 111
- HP: 111/111
- Intelligence: 171
- Books Read: 160
- Food Eaten: 0
- Job: Cicerone
profile and story by Balloon - background photo by Tom Raworth
Cicerone at Spring Street Brewery
Death is but a doorway,
And Herne is on both sides.
Here or there, no matter
For Herne with us abides!
Samhain chant to summon Herne the Hunter and his Wild Hunt
Herne the Hunter is a ghost, but he was human once, the keeper of the Windsor Forest hundreds of years ago. He was a favorite of King Richard II because of his skills—not only was Herne the finest hunter in the king’s party, but he also was a skilled woodworker. From an ordinary chunk of wood, he could carve the most intricate designs, plants and animals that seemed ready to spring to life at any moment, and he could build anything he put his mind to, given enough time and wood. Of course, the rest of the king’s huntsmen hated him, for they were envious both of his abilities and of the favor the king showed him.
One day, while King Richard and his men were out hunting, the king shot a stag and injured it but did not kill it. The enraged animal charged at him, and Herne got between them, intending to take the animal's blow in his liege's place. Richard survived the encounter without injury, but the stag’s antlers gored Herne through the chest, and the hunter lay near death. But at that moment, a mysterious figure appeared, a man named Philip Urswick who lived deep within the forest. Urswick claimed that he could save Herne's life, but only if he was well rewarded. Richard agreed to reward Urswick handsomely, and he pleaded with the strange man to do whatever it took to heal Herne.
Another man in the hunting party had killed the stag with his knife as it attacked Herne, and now Urswick took up the blade and sawed off the top of the beast’s skull. Urswick then tied the skull—with the stag’s antlers still connected to it—onto Herne’s head, then bade the rest of the party carry the hunter to Urswick's own cottage in the forest. There they were to leave Herne for one month, after which Urswick promised the hunter would be healed. But after the king and his manservants had departed, Urswick took the other hunters aside and asked them if they wanted to make a deal with him as well. He had promised King Richard that he would save Herne’s life, but he told the envious huntsmen that if they paid him well enough, Herne would lose all of his skills and therefore no longer be favored by the king. The hunters agreed and paid Urswick's price.
One month later, Herne returned to the king’s court completely healed of his wounds, but as Urswick had promised, all Herne’s skills as a woodsman were gone. He could no longer strike the broadest target with his arrows or coax any shape from pieces of wood. Thus, he fell out of favor with the King Richard, and the other huntsmen tormented him with their mocking and jeers. In his distress and confusion over this turn of events, Herne began to behave erratically—and when one of the pages witnessed him wearing the stag’s antlers on his head again, the court feared he’d gone mad. Richard approached Herne with the court physician and begged him to submit himself to treatment, but Herne grew wild and bolted into the forest. When the search party found the hunter the next day, he had hanged himself from an oak tree, still wearing the antlers of the stag that had almost killed him.
Then Philip Urswick cursed the other huntsmen too, for he said their cruelty was what had driven Herne to suicide—despite Urswick's own involvement in the events. Herne’s ghost, antlers and all, began to haunt the forest and continued to do so until he had hunted down all the other woodsmen and forced them to join his hunting party. One by one, each man reached the end of his life through accident or attack or old age, yet even after death, their souls were doomed to accompany Herne upon his Wild Hunt forever. The men who had driven Herne to his death were the first to become part of the Wild Hunt, but since then it has grown by hundreds of souls—those whom Herne and his band of hunters have pursued and caught. King Richard was eventually deposed and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he starved to death. Just who Philip Urswick was and his ultimate fate remain unknown.
Herne is said to haunt Windsor Forest to this day, but he still leads the Wild Hunt when he is summoned to chase down a quarry. The Wild Hunt has been seen all over the world, often appearing just before a catastrophic event occurs. Supposedly, Herne led the Wild Hunt on the eve of the French Revolution, and it has been seen as far from England as the American West, where witnesses described it as a ghostly roundup conducted by "riders in the sky." Most often, however, Herne hunts human prey, mounted on a black horse with glowing red eyes, and accompanied by two hounds of the same coloration. Connections have been made between Herne and the Celtic antlered god Cernunnos, the Welsh Gwynn, the Norse Odin, and a slew of other deities said to lead the Wild Hunt. . . but in reality, Herne began his long existence as a mere, ordinary man.
Many people who witness the Wild Hunt's passage meet violent, untimely ends or simply vanish, but some charms exist which are said to ensure that the Hunt passes by an onlooker safely. Of these, the most poignant is the injunction that one should simply hail Herne in good cheer, and the hunter will not cause any harm. Perhaps Herne is simply lonely after a life of being resented and hated, leading on the eternal Wild Hunt the very men whose envy led to his bitter fate.
Pet Treasure
Cerne
Kitfawn
Kitfawn Nip
Death Trot
Ziaran Antlephore Crest
Ziaran Antlephore Locket
Forest Hunter Totem
Greenman Totem
Delightful Muse
Shadowglen Dryad
Creepy Carved Wooden Face
Charm of the Forest
Forest Armor
Evergreen Shield
Forest Shield
Antlephore Shield
Fake Forest Sword
Earth Soul Stone
Phaloroceas Leaf Charm
Staff of Nature
Staff of Elemental Earth
Field Magic Wand
Evergreen Wand
Dark Earth Potion
Earth Charm
Earth Tear Crystal
Earth Defense Tear Crystal
Earth Defense Brilliant Crystal
Earth Mage Amulet
Tome of Earth
Book of Terramancy
Light Wood Carved Skeleton Cane
Wood Carved Skeleton Cane
Dark Wood Carved Skeleton Cane
Hangmans Noose
Hangman Gallow
Scavenged Bow and Quiver
Meteor Crossbow
Azathoth Curled Bow
Shinwas Bow
Ice Bow
Sniping Bow of Doom and Demise
Diamond Encrusted Bow
Enchanted Elven Bow
Cursed Bow
Fireside Bow
Plum Blossom Bow
Delish Straightforward Bow
Feli Bow
Charlie Crossbow
Quiver of Arrows
Triple Arrow
Delish Straightforward Quiver
Arrow of Eros
Broken Arrow
Sagittarius Pendant
Replica Candied Crossbow Bolt
Strong Armed Bowman Constellation Sticker
Fire Arrowhead
Magma Arrowhead
Light Arrowhead
Earth Arrowhead
Water Arrowhead
Dark Arrowhead
Death Arrowhead
Life Arrowhead
Old Arrow Head
Spring Sphinx Arrowhead
Arrow Quilt Scrap
Fletcher
Bloodred Hunting Knife
Sun Hunting Knife
Field Hunting Knife
Twilight Hunting Knife
Dawn Hunting Knife
Smoky Woods Cologne
Buck Scent Stick
Oh Deer Nose Cap
Woodland Makeup Kit
I Love Deer Poster
Autumn Stag Plushie
Icy Deer Plushie
Iceprong
Trance
Frosted Stag Figurine
Mounted Deer Head
Stag Fungus Pet
Furcifer
Carefully Crafted Deer
Bells
Tiny Deer Knickknack
Shaman Buck Totem
Professor New Heartbreaker Metal Stag Skull
Dark Shaman Buck Skull
Relic of the Doe
Gourd Witch Skull
Autumnal Skull Sticker
Delightfully Carefree Antler
Autumn Bone Beast Antler
Krampus Woodsy Detritus
Delish Silence Antlers
Tashiin Replica Antler
Romero Badlands Shed Antler
Stag Fire Rock Totem
Reindeer Ice Rock Totem
Little Bird Trio
Oh Deer Antler
Bronze Back Rack Antlers
Bronze Ankle Rack Antlers
Ebony Back Rack Antlers
Ebony Ankle Rack Antlers
Ivory Back Rack Antlers
Ivory Ankle Rack Antlers
Ashen Decorative Antler
Grim Decorative Antler
Sacred Pearl Antlers
Rainyday Ethereal Antlers
Deer Antler
Forest Reindeer Antler Berry Wreath
Long Silver Antlers
Long Tan Antlers
Long Natural Antlers
Long Black Antlers
Long White Antlers
Pair of Festive Antlers
Cheap Holiday Antlers
Candy Cantler
Festive Plush Antlephore Antlers
Book of Nature
In the Forests
In the Enchanted Forest
Hidden in the Forest
Pointy Antlers
Autumn Trees
Acorn
Acornling
Woodland Mystic Fairy Wings
Forest Spirit Leaf
Autumn Leaf Belt
Leaf Engagement Ring
Lively Leaf Sash
Fallen Waxy Leaves
Living Leaf Pile
Crunchy Leaf Litter
Crinkly Leaf Litter
Fresh Leaf Litter
Festive Leaf Litter
Burnt Leaf Litter
Peculiar Red Leaf
Earthen Fallen Leaf
Brittle Fallen Leaf
Ember Fallen Leaf
Golden Fallen Leaf
Lemon Fallen Leaf
Verdant Fallen Leaf
Sunset Fallen Leaf
Red Harvest Pencil Topper
Yellow Harvest Pencil Topper
Brown Harvest Pencil Topper
Crimson Fat Leaf Plushie
Orange Fat Leaf Plushie
Golden Fat Leaf Plushie
Purple Fat Leaf Plushie
Dried Fat Leaf Plushie
Fireside Apple Cinnamon Leaf Candle
Fireside Pumpkin Pie Leaf Candle
Fireside Banana Bread Leaf Candle
Fireside Blackberry Leaf Candle
Fireside Chocolate Leaf Candle
Fireside Vanilla Leaf Candle
Fireside Coconut Leaf Candle
Red Maple Leaf Mask
Orange Maple Leaf Mask
Autumn Maple Leaf Mask
Green Maple Leaf Mask
Brown Maple Leaf Mask
Forest Orb Necklace
Enchanted Bottle of Forest
Forest Cream
Quercus
Mister Treeant
Misses Treeant
Girl Treebaby
Boy Treebaby
Happy Tree
Arborling
Tree Plushie
Peka Glade Willow Figurine
Money Tree
Sprucey Wallcling
Haunted Tree Inflatable Decoration
Haunted Tree Prop
Fir Cross Section
Gold Stump Trinket