Ekuar
One of the by-products of my original Alternaverse premise was that Rayek would never meet Ekuar in the troll caverns. Now, I couldn't let Ekuar languish in the troll caverns forever, so I decided that Kahvi and the Go-Backs would have rescue him earlier. A few thousand years earlier... Hmm... well, if they rescued him earlier, maybe he might look more like he did in his ElfQuest Portfolio portrait (left).

As in canon EQ, Ekuar was a young child when he was captured by trolls, along with his friends Osek and Mekda. But in the Alternaverse, he was rescued by the Wanderers (who would become the Go-Backs) before he could lose his arm or his leg. Despite being emaciated and scarred from his tortures, he gradually recovered his strength as he travelled with the Wanderers. Thousands of years later, Ekuar was still living with the Go-Backs when they discovered the band of Wolfriders fighting a gang of mountain trolls.

In the three years the Wolfriders stayed in the Frozen Mountains, Ekuar and Rayek became close friends, and Ekuar frequently practiced his child-minding skills on Suntop and Venka. As in canon-verse, Rayek soon came to think of Ekuar as a father-figure. When Rayek revived the Palace after the Siege at Blue Mountain, Ekuar shared in his delight, and left the Frozen Mountains with the Wolfriders. He travelled to the New Land and set up a home in the caves under the Palace Mount in the Great Holt.

Ekuar stayed in the New Land for many years before journeying to Sorrow's End following the re-awakening of Smoking Mountain. There he met Jarrah, Rayek's mother, now grieving over the death of her lifemate Ingen. Ekuar chose to stay at Sorrow's End and help her rebuild her garden. Eventually, Jarrah and Ekuar became lifemates, and Rayek, a little puzzled at first by seeing his father-figure and his mother as a couple, soon grew very supportive - though he was a little sad to see Ekuar and Jarrah choose Sorrow's End as their preferred residence.

Ekuar helped protect the Sun Folk during the Flight to Oasis. A few years after they settled in Oasis, Ekuar and Jarrah welcomed a daughter, Cholla.

Meet Kirjan (pronounced KEER-yan). He's a rough-and-tumble little Go-Back lad, Skot's half-brother (same mother). Kirjan was eight at the time of the Palace War, and appointed himself protector of young Teir when he was born three years later. He supported Teir in challenging Kahvi for leadership of the Go-Backs, and later followed Teir to the New Land, in search of the Wolfriders.

Kirjan could usually be found at Teir's side, as he journeys across the Plainswaste with his lifemate Ember and their Wild Hunt. But he was never adverse to spending some time in the Great Holt with his brother Skot. He became lovemates with Teir's daughter Halcyon - a development Teir accepted with his usual good nature. Like many of his Go-Back relatives, Kirjan can always be counted on as a capable warrior. Lateral thinking, however, has never been one of his strengths.

As Halycon finds herself taking on more responsibility as an ambassador between the various Go-Back splinter tribes, Kirjan has found himself cast in the role of chief's mate. He now spends his life on the move, just like his Go-Back ancestors. For Kirjan, as for Teir, home is not a place, it is family.

Halcyon
The daughter of Teir and Ember, Halcyon has spend most of her life on wolfback, travelling across the Plainswaste with the Wild Hunt. She is a very calm, tranquil elf (hence her name) and has something of Teir's aura of mysticism about her. As capable as a tanner as she is a hunter, she has long been something of a "den mother" to the Wild Hunt, especially when her own mother is too consumed with quest-hunger to consider the more mundane details of managing a camp. It is this trait which has served Halcyon the most in the recent centuries, as human encroachment into the Plains means the various elfin tribes must often band together for safety. Respected by her Go-Back kin, Halcyon has brokered many treaties between the Plainsrunner factions, and helped established trade routes the elves can defend from humans.

Though many have come to view Halcyon has something of a de facto chief of all the Plainsrunner elves, she prefers to think of herself as an ambassador and peacemaker. In appearance, Halcyon favors her father, with his gray eyes and black-brown hair, which takes on chestnut highlights in the summer.

Cheipar - The Quiet One
Cheipar started life as a typical Go-Back baby - loud, rude, and impossible to control. It seemed he was right on track to take after Papa Skot. But to the amazement of the entire Holt, Cheipar underwent a metamorphosis in childhood. Perhaps it was the influence of Aurek's Vaya's new lovemate. Perhaps it his Uncle Teir's lessons, or the presence of young Weatherbird. But Cheipar woke up one day when he was eight years old and decided that he wouldn't start the day shouting at the top of his lungs. In fact, he found he had nothing important to say at all, and he decided that it wasn't worth the effort to open his mouth at all. Soon the young elf became quieter than Strongbow. He even stopped sending unless it was something important, and soon he decided there was very little important to send.

The years passed, and Cheipar left with his fathers and the Wild Hunt on an extended hunting trip. It became pretty clear to all concerned that the quiet lad had picked up Teir's gift of animal-magic. He surprised everyone by bonding with not one, but two large wolves, and soon began befriending passing eagles, river otters, and even a giant elk he found on the plains.

Cheipar is utterly devoted to his lifemate Weatherbird. They first discovered each other's soulnames during a crisis when Weatherbird was briefly possessed by the malignant echo of a Firstcomer's spirit. But it was another ten thousand years before they Recognized - as many joked, it took that long for Abode to be ready for any cub they would produce. Sure enough, little Bluestar became infamous as a troublemaker, and Cheipar soon found himself having to split his duties between protecting his impulsive lifemate and his even more impulsive son.

Cheipar leans towards the short side for a male elf, and stands a hair shorter than Papa Pike. He has dark hair and remarkably bright violet-blue eyes. He carries himself with an animal-like grace, much like Teir. The bow is his preferred weapon, but he can be equally deadly with a elfin short-sword. Despite preferring to send over speaking, he one of the few elves fluent in Trade jargon, and with his son's help he has learned a passable amount of Djunnish.  

Sust - the Wild One
Sust was born a half-century after Aurek left Blue Mountain to live with the Wolfriders in the Great Holt. By this point, Vaya was drifting more and more away from Pike and Skot - and as a result, Vaya spoiled Sust rotten, like a precious momento of a bygone era. As for his fathers, they were intent that Aurek would not turn Sust into the quiet little mystic that Cheipar had become. The result of this indulgent upbringing was a rowdy little fireball with a huge sense of entitlement. The only time Sust ever had a problem getting his heart's desire was when he crossed paths with Ember's cousin Coppersky. The minute he saw him, Sust decided he had to have him. And Coppersky was happy to oblige for a tryst or two. The only problem came when Coppersky imagined it was time to say goodbye and part ways.

In true Sust fashion, the Go-Back threw a temper tantrum that would have made his grandmother Kahvi proud. He even threatened to carry Coppersky off by force if needed. Fortunately, Coppersky had always enjoyed being dominated by rowdy Go-Backs. It wasn't long before they were an inseparable - if somewhat unlikely - pair.

Though he never developed any magic per se, Sust might well have a touch of his uncle Teir's animal-bonding, as he was able to domesticate, and then breed tuftcats. After hundreds of years with the Wild Hunt, Sust and Coppersky joined the Sun Folk in time to move to Oasis, where they founded the Pride. Thousands of years later, Sust continues to lead the Pride after the move to Homestead, where he epitomizes living in the Now.

Sust is a little taller than his brother Cheipar. His tawny shoulder-length hair is always mussed. His eyes are smoky blue-grey, and he often paints a pair of stripes on his right cheek.

Littlefire - the Odd One Out
After bearing two sons to Pike and Skot, Vaya Recognized Aurek, and Littlefire was the result. His parents named him Wesh, but he quickly acquired his “Wolfrider” name thanks to Papa Pike and Papa Skot. Littlefire was a strange baby. His grey-blue eyes would not focus on family members, and he was very slow to speak. He did not crawl, but instead used his floating powers and hovered in the air, often losing control and bumping into things. He began to develop nervous tics. His sendings were very garbled and laced with sensations that pained other elves. Rain attempted several healing sessions, but found nothing defective in Littlefire’s mind or body. Mind and body simply were not communicating with each other as they did in other elves.

Littlefire grew into an intensely nervous child, who shunned almost all physical contact. His senses seemed to be too highly developed; he could not stand bright light; he heard even the faintest sound; the scent of blood made him nauseous. He could not participate in group activities because the presence of too many other elves always made claustrophobic. When he grew older left the Great Holt, hoping to find a place where he might better fit in. He travelled first to Green Moon Bay, then to visit the Wild Hunt, the Plainsrunners, Sorrow’s End, and finally Two-Edge's family at Blue Mountain.

It was only with great reluctance that Littlefire came to Thorny Mountain, knowing that of all the tribes, Wolfriders were the most confounded by his peculiarities. Only Kit, daughter of Strongbow and Moonshade, seemed to understand him. Under her patient tutoring, Littlefire slowly became an adopted-Wolfrider, and he and Kit became lifemates. When the mortal Wolfrider Kit died, her spirit went into Littlefire's body, and he carried on her work as howlkeeper. Ironically, the immortal Glider/Go-Back who could never find his place as a child, became a respected Wolfrider elder.

Following the Schism at the Evertree, Littlefire found himself the unwilling chieftain of the remaining Wolfriders. With the help of Kit's spirit, he led them to Homestead to found a new tribe in the mushroom forests. But he was never comfortable as a leader, and so Kit decided to claim a new body and take on the chieftainship alone. Now Littlefire concentrates on howlkeeping and learning to fly his own starstone pod - a gift from his cousin Door. 

Littlefire is not as tall as his father Aurek, but stands a head taller than the average Wolfrider. His hair is a soft brown, and often mussed, the result of being pulled and teased when he gets nervous.