The Great Horned One
(ancestor of the House)

The Ancestor of the House of the Rising Horn is the Great Horned One, the ancestor has been referred to by those not of the house as possibly being an aspect of Malar the hunter or perhaps the Great Spirit worshipped, by amongst others, beastmen from the north; to the fae of House Rising Horn, their ancestor is simply the Great Horned One. Embodying aspects of both male and female (reflecting the best of both) the Great Horned One, as befits the ancestor of hornéd fae tends to manifest itself as a huge figure, with physical aspects of both man and woman (although the ancestor can choose to appear as either gender at will), in all forms the ancestor has a large pair of horns sprouting from its forehead, although what these horns look like can vary at the whims of the ancestor itself.

When discussing the Great Horned One it is traditional amongst the fae of the house to switch frequently between the masculine and feminine pronouns when referring to their ancestor, reflecting the fact that the ancestor embodies the qualities of both genders equally; failing to do so is not considered offensive but the fae of House Rising Horn consider it a mark of respect and a sign of intelligence to do so. Amongst the more sociable fae of the House a number of games and trials have arisen around this tradition.

The ancestor of House Rising Horn is first and foremost an embodiment of fertility, but the fae of the House believe that the ancestor's realm also encompasses concepts such as dreaming, secrecy, generosity and joy amongst other things. Followers of the Great Horned One morally object to monogamy, castration, contraception and abstinence; they consider sex and procreation as a sacred communion with their ancestor and seek to bring his message to others and spread his word as widely as possible, this doesn't only apply to sex but to the other provinces that full under the ancestors purview, for example: many of House Rising Horn are healers and see it as a sacred duty to channel life energy to heal those who are wounded or injured. A large part of the ancestors worship is also connected to the sacred tradition of hospitallity, more details can be found about this on the Rites page.

Due to the fact that the fae of House Rising Horn try to worship and promote life in all they do, Unliving beings are regarded as somewhat distasteful since, although they are part of the natural order of Edreja following the last Cataclysm, many of fae of the House still hold fast to beliefs established before the Cataclysm, whilst others just find the fact that Unliving cannot procreate or really create life in any way (beyond the abhorrent practice of raising mindless unliving) deeply saddening and troubling. 

The Great Horned One is best represented by the twin symbols of fertility, the "hoop" and the "horn", these along with milk and other dairy products (representing the sweet pleasures of fertility and the nurturing aspects of the ancestor) are considered holy. Milk also represents the fickle and changeable nature of the ancestor in the way that in can turn sour suddenly and without any warning. Followers of the Great Horned One often us alcohol, incense, music and dance to create the right atmosphere and summon up their power for use during rites and rituals.

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