"Death comes in two parts! ... Dare you follow?"
- Equinus after splitting
Equinus is a centaur Beast and one of the Ghost Beasts of the Forbidden Land. He is far larger than the centaur Beast of Avantia, Tagus, towering over his victims. As with the other Ghost Beasts, the Spirit Horse can switch between an incorporeal spectral form and a physical body at will. When in ghost form, his deep black heart can be seen in the center of his chest, through his now translucent body. While the other Ghost Beasts revel in killing, Equinus has an ability unique to him that influences his treatment of his victims, when he passes through victims in ghost form, he can sap their life force, stealing their willpower and ability to think while leaving them as husks of their former selves. Their life force is fed into his heart, which grows in size after taking them. The Beast gains pleasure from inflicting such a fate on his prey. As well as turning into a phantom, Equinus can also split in two, segmenting his human and stallion portions. When this happens, the human part becomes a brutish individual donning a simple hemp tunic and wielding a club, while the horse takes on a more chestnut coloration. The human is one of the few Beasts who can speak in a recognisable language without the Red Jewel. When separate, the human is considered Equinus. The Spirit Horse is also incredibly fast, allowing him to rush his foes and retreat with ease. Equinus was given the second piece of the Amulet of Avantia to defend, hiding it in a tree trunk in his domain.
Invasion of the East and Battle with Taladon[]
Equinus allied himself with a coalition of Ghost Beasts in order to capture territory. The group set their sights on eastern Avantia, the most prosperous territory within the kingdom. The Evil Beast helped drive out and kill the humans who lived in the area, facing minor resistance. After the land was captured, Avantia abandoned it and blockaded it with a huge stone wall. It was agreed that the Spirit Horse would take the jungle in the territory as his domain, his influence corrupting and decaying the land until it suited his fancy, now known as the Dead Jungle. While Equinus and his fellow Ghost Beast allies lived in the Forbidden Land for centuries, hunting prey as they wished, the group desired more territory. As such, the six Beasts began working with Malvel, who promised them the rest of Avantia, which he would govern, but the Beasts would decay into a wasteland as well and hunt in. Taladon was dispatched to defeat the Beasts and shatter Malvel's early plot. He fought Equinus next, defeating the Spirit Horse. Equinus would soon return, either revived by Malvel or returning by himself due to being a Ghost Beast.
The Amulet of Avantia[]
Equinus pursuing Jak and Flint.
Despite the first plan being destroyed by Taladon, as the Master of the Beasts had been trapped as a ghost himself in the process, they were confident enough to try again. Equinus was given the second piece of the Amulet of Avantia to defend from Tom and Elenna, who seek to reassemble the Amulet in hopes of restoring Taladon to his human form. While waiting to fight the new champions of Avantia, two boys from Errinel, Jak and Flint, went over the wall into the Dead Jungle when Flint accepted it as a dare from Jak. As they prepared to return, the Evil Beast sensed their presence and set off in pursuit. When the boys saw him approaching and recognised he was a Beast, they fled back to the wall, however Equinus was able to catch up with the two when Flint stumbled and fell. The Beast passed through them, stealing their life force and leaving them hollow.
Equinus emerging from the woods for the first battle.
Equinus attacking Storm, draining his soul.
Equinus retreating deeper into the jungle victoriously.
When the Avantians entered the Dead Jungle to hunt Equinus, the Spirit Horse detected them and set off to find them. Silver sensed him approaching and began to growl, alerting the rest of the group. He emerged from the trees, charging at his foes, rapidly shifting from physical to spectral as he approached. Tom swung at the Spirit Horse, being deftly dodged as the Ghost Beast threw himself aside, landing and pawing the dirt as he prepared to charge again. Equinus lunged, but was beaten back by rapid sword swings from Tom, however his foe tripped on a root as he tried to push the advantage. Panicked by Tom's fall, Elenna loosed an arrow, which bounced off the Beast's hide, but grabbed his attention. Tom tried to use the distraction to leap up and stab Equinus in the heart, however he was unaware he had lost the ability to leap high with the magic of the Golden Boots when he defeated Nixa. The Spirit Horse charged at the archer and the animals, changing direction as he approached to focus down Storm, passing straight through him and sapping his life force, an ability Taladon had known about, but had neglected to warn his son of. The sapping created a field of energy around the Beast, keeping his other foes out as he drained Storm, before shrieking in triumph and galloping off into the trees.
Equinus charging in for the second battle.
Tom forcing Equinus to the ground.
The human and horse form of Equinus.
Equinus (solely as the human half) fighting Tom.
Despite Storm being rendered hollow, the Avantians were able to find the second piece of the Amulet of Avantia, which was hidden in a huge tree by Equinus. When they retrieved it, the Beast chose to reengage to reclaim it. He charged towards the tree, which Tom was still suspended from. Wary of Tom's victory over Nixa and other non-Ghost Beasts, he wished to crush Tom rather than drain him and ensure victory, requiring him to be in physical form, which he switched to as he approached. Tom dropped down on top of Equinus, startling the Beast to become incorporeal and try to drain Tom as he passed through him and struck the ground, but was unable to due to his foe's boosted strength of heart granted to him by the Golden Chainmail. Tom threw himself at Equinus as the Ghost Beast returned to physical form, grappling with his torso and overbalancing him, forcing him to the ground. The attack left him unable to adopt his ghost form, seemingly because of Tom's resistance to his attempt to drain his life force, trapping him in corporeal form. He rose up, separated into a human and horse, and readied to continue the fight. The humanoid part of Equinus taunted his foes and rushed off into the foliage, with Elenna following as Tom and the horse part of the Beast prepared to fight. He leapt onto a rock and onto the stallion's back, who began to writhe in an attempt to throw Tom off, being unable to and exhausting itself as Tom hoped. As it grew weary, it rushed at a tree, a low-hanging branch striking Tom off. It turned and charged its foe, but Tom struck it on the temple, knocking it out. Equinus had lost his club in battle and had been pinned to a tree by one of Elenna's arrows. When Tom arrived, his survival enraged the Beast, who ripped himself free, threw Elenna to the ground, and grabbed her bow and arrows. He aimed at Tom, who quickly threw his sword, striking the Beast's hands and making him drop the weapon, which Elenna quickly recovered while throwing Tom his sword. Equinus pulled a large branch off of a tree to replace his club. He swung at Tom and missed but pulled his improvised weapon back to parry Tom's sword strike before quickly striking again, missing once more. Not used to being on two legs and since the texture of the Dead Jungle's soil meant the fight threw up large clouds of dust, Equinus quickly became exhausted. Unbeknown to Tom, the Beast's strikes continued to push Tom towards a hidden pit, and as such while Tom slashed his arm and no blows were landing, the Beast could win if he just tricked Tom into walking backwards, which his dodges were achieving. Tom reached the pit's mouth, teetering on the edge. Desperate to finish the fight before he exhausts himself further, Equinus lunged at his foe, but Tom dodged, striking at his foe's legs, causing him to fall over the pit's edge. As he fell, the Beast tried to pull Tom down with him, but his foe rolled away as he fell down into the darkness, defeated. The horse part of Equinus turned to dust when his other half was defeated.
Powers, Abilities and Weaknesses[]
Powers and Abilities[]
- Spectral Form: Like the other Ghost Beasts, Equinus can switch between a physical form and an incorporeal spectral form at will, becoming intangible.
- Life Force Absorption: When in his spectral form, Equinus can steal other's life force, not killing them, but reducing them to a husk of their former selves. A being with enough strength of heart can resist his attempt to steal their life force.
- Thick Hide: Equinus has a thick hide, which allowed him to take an arrow without getting hurt.
- Enhanced Speed: Equinus has enhanced speed, allowing him to rush at enemies at a fast pace.
- Splitting and Fusionism: Equinus can split into two separate beings, one a giant horse, and one a giant wielding a club. When split in two, neither being can enter a spectral form. When split, the man is referred to as Equinus. It is likely he can reform into the centaur form.
- Speech (Giant form only): When split in two, Equinus is capable of speech as the giant.
Equipment[]
- Club (Giant form only): When split in two, the giant wields a club.
- Tree Branch (Giant form only): After losing his club, the giant tore off a tree branch to use as his new weapon.
Weaknesses[]
- Life Force Requirement: Equinus needs to steal other's life force to live.
- Requirement on the other: When split in two, if the giant is defeated, the horse will be reduced to dust, so only one of them needs to be defeated.
- Life Force Reversion: When defeated, all the life force Equinus took are returned.
A - Z of Beasts[]
"One of the most vile and dangerous of the Ghost-Beasts who dwell in the Forbidden Land is Equinus the Spirit Horse. His skeletal face is a mask of hatred and evil, frightening all wildlife in the Dead Jungle, where he made his lair. When Equinus is in his ghostly form, it is possible to see the Beast's black heart."