My monthly reward from Melle-D, who inspired the direction of my designs of Diana's forms! They have a lot of places to follow them, please go commission them! https://melled.carrd.co/
As the old saying goes, "Behind every great man is a great woman". In this case, it's the reverse due to when I got Melle-D to do Diana's parents. This, my fine folks, is the ram who raised Diana, Burdock. He was a rancher of Highfold, the last bastion of the Lambs that sits near Yngya's holy temple on the Mountain's peak. As was a common saying, "All roads to Mother pass through Highfold."
Burdock, when he was younger, was captured and sold as a slave. He was rebellious and stubborn as Hell, headbutting his owner every chance the smug asshole got in his face to assert control. One day, and one broken nose too far, the owner chose to have him executed for being so stubborn. But he arrogantly offered Burdock a chance. If he could break the chain that bound him to the block before the axe fell, then he could walk as a free man, no strings attached. Burdock didn't utter a word, unlike every slave that met this fate.
As the axe was raised, Burdock threw every single drop of strength he had from slave labor into pulling. Just as the axe swung... The chain lost. Burdock could do nothing of the collar, not the last link.. But his raw stubbornness made the rest shatter. The owner was horrified, as Burdock met his eyes, snorting like he was going to charge, and asked one thing. "So this means I'm a free man, right?" If the owner had him killed, he'd make a martyr before the rest. If he didn't keep his word, he'd be shamed. Burdock was allowed to go. Ever since that day, he wore the collar and the link on it as a trophy. Eventually, he settled in Highfold, and soon proved he had a knack for ranching.
Many soon learned he didn't take guff from anyone. A young Yakish that thought it could made him submit found him headbutting it right back, until it was left stumbling and dazed. "Go lie down and then get some water, ya damn bastard! You ain't making me bend knee!" Many in Highfold eventually started trying to woo Marigold as most young rams and warriors did. Praised her looks, tried to make their deeds sound important, gifts... The only one who never bothered was the gruff, salty rancher. The day she finally decided to ask about his collar, he blindsided her.
He told her all about it. What sold Marigold he was much more interesting than all her suitors wasn't truth alone; it was the fact he was willing to open himself, be vulnerable, and make her the first one to ever hear why he wore a chain link instead of what Lambs usually did. In my AU, what a Lamb wears on their neck says volumes of who they are; bells, blessed necklaces, pretty stones... A Lamb's collar is a choice. And he revealed that, unlike everyone else, his began as something that wasn’t his choice at all, until he decided to reclaim it.
Burdock seemed to realize how much he had said only after the words were already out. His ears lowered, his face flushed with the same volcanic force his future daughter would one day inherit, and he looked away with a gruff little mutter. "Sorry. That must be the most stupid thing you’ve ever heard." Marigold placed her hand over his on his fence post. Not quickly. Not with pity. Gently enough that he could pull away, firmly enough that he knew she meant it. When he looked back, she caught his violet eyes with her warm smile.
“That’s the most bold and heroic thing I’ve heard from every ram in Highfold this Spring. It’s not glory for others; it’s your glory.” Burdock had heard praise before, mostly from people who wanted something from him. He had heard insults, threats, orders, and promises meant to break. But no one had ever looked at the broken chain at his throat and called it glory. That was when Marigold stole his heart.
All of Highfold was in an uproar for a while. And as seasons passed, they had Diana. He taught her how to be careful with ranch animals, from minding their health and their temperaments, how to take care of tools, how close to shear for wool... And even the grim task of slaughtering one and ensuring not a single bit of the body was wasted. Once she started to grow up, he'd joke about how he was outnumbered in his own household by the ladies of the family with a smile. He was still a gruff bastard, but he never made his daughter feel boxed in. If a Cowish butted her into the cold mud, he'd help her up and correct her.
Then the Old Faith at last found a way to break Highfold with plague. Even as sickness wracked his body, made his vision blur, he swung his crook to buy his wife and daughter time to flee from the Old Faith, dying as he lived. Stubborn to his final breath and willing to throw his entirety into defending what he loved. While many of the warriors died on the ground from plague or weapons, Burdock passed away on his hooves, content he wouldn't have to see his beloved daughter die before him.
