Yule the Soulhound

“Most of the time life and death balances itself out, but on occasion I am required to step in.”

Name: Yule (You’ll)

Species: Soul Hound

Sex: Male

Age:Unknown

                Soul Hounds are a unique species of magical beasts that serve death. They assist with the guidance of souls to the afterlife. They are unique in the fact that they are crafted from the souls of beings that are deemed worthy to undertake their important task. They do not require food,  water or sleep, but have been found sleeping from time to time. This is thought to be due to the fact that they are forged from a mortal soul. They do retain some pieces of their former life such as their sex and personality. As such there are male and female soul hounds. All soul hounds generally have a similar appearance with slight variations between each one. They can be very intimidating upon first being seen due to their size and appearance, but they are in fact gentle and kind creatures. Death can often be traumatic, so their kind demeanor helps ease restless souls. Normally they can only be seen by the dead and those that have had near death experiences; however, they can reveal themselves to others if they wish. Those that possess the magical tools and know how can also see them. Often Soul Hounds are thought to be harmless which is true in most cases, however their calm and kind demeanor does not mean they cannot fight back. Once they switch into attack mode their ears and tail blaze wildly and flames are constantly streaming from their mouths. They will expertly use their abilities to dodge and evade attackers and either attack with their soul flames or bite down with blazing fangs. One other unique fact is that soul hounds will help you find a soul or surprisingly even a person if you ask nicely, but only if your intentions are good. They can read a person’s soul within the first few seconds of meeting them and are extremely hard to deceive. They are expert trackers that can follow a scent across planes of existence.

Backstory:

At one point in his life Yule was an average human being. He does not remember much about his life, but he does remember that the time of his death he felt empty. As if the life that he lived amounted up to nothing. Instead of passing on to the next life he found himself floating in a void. After a few minutes, a voice spoke to him. “You have lived a full life. You have gotten farther in life than many others and yet you are unhappy. If this is the case than I will give you a second chance. I will give you a purpose”. When he awoke, he found that he did not really remember much from when he was human. He had forgotten his name and most of the other details. All that he could mainly remember was at one point he was human. He also realized that no longer had a human body but that of a large wolf like being. What was odd was that although this was not his original body it still felt like it was his own. Naturally, he also knew how to use all its properties and abilities perfectly He sat for a few minutes and after some deep thought one name did come to mind Yule. He could not remember if it were his original name or not, but it felt right. Then he once again heard the voice “Now you have a purpose. Through your actions you will find fulfillment in helping those that are lost. Now go forth Yule and guide them”.

 Yule spends most of his time in the mortal realm helping guide souls that are lost upon their death. These are souls that are not yet ready to move on. They are either held back by regrets, unfulfilled wishes, or denial. Depending on the circumstance Yule will comfort a soul or guide it on a journey of acceptance to move on. There are times where he must defend souls from demons or other beings that wish to devour them. If this happens, he attacks with fang, fury, and his soul flames.  Besides guiding lost souls, he can also find souls that have been taken. This usually comes from requests of any person that is familiar with the magical realms of existence. If the soul has not been destroyed than he will find it no matter what realm it is in.

If he personally wants to do something else, he will have his doubles go out and guide souls. The one place that he spends the most time outside of the mortal plane is a realm called “The sleeping forest”. The sleeping forest is best described as a place between places. This plane of existence takes on he appearance of a quite foggy forest. The fog is dense, and you can only see about 50 feet in front of you. The atmosphere to any nonnatives would be creepy but as you spend more time there you realize it is calm and peaceful. There are animals and creatures of unknown origins that live here however they are all peaceful. Most will attempt to hide or avoid discovery. Those that do not simply observe and move on. Yule essential has made this place his home because he enjoys its peaceful environment. Non natives will also find that the more time the spend in the realm the more relaxed, drowsy and at peace they feel. Even the most violent of beings will quickly find themselves at the base of a tree slowly nodding off.

Appearance and Description:

Yule has the appearance of a large wolf standing 5 feet at his shoulders. His fur is a Dark blue gray with a black fur mohawk running down his back and tapering off at his tail. His head is covered by a canine skull mask in which you can see his glowing deep blue pupils peering out of. The skull has blue tear streak marks coming from the eye sockets. His ears and tails end in blue soul flames. His body is slightly cool to the touch. The best way to describe how he smells is earthy. If you were to touch the flaming ears and tail, you in fact would not be burned. Soul flames only burn a target that a soul hound has deemed hostile and will not harm you otherwise. The flames themselves are slightly warm to the touch.

Personality:

                Yule has a calm and collected demeanor and does enjoy a good conversation. His voice is calm and warm which will commonly make some mortals drowsy when conversing with him for too long. Though he is one of many soul hounds he has become rather well acquainted with death and often converses with her. Whenever he deals with souls his most common approach is getting them to take a few deep breaths to calm down. Then he calmly explains to them what has happened and why he is there. Sometimes more conversing is required but, in the end, it always works out.  He does not enjoy being pet without permission and will often turn ethereal before you can physically touch him. “Why won’t you let me pet you?!”. “You didn’t ask first. I am not some common canine mindlessly searching for physical affection and approval, although I won’t deny that I do enjoy a good scratch behind the ear”.

Abilities:

Immortal: He will never die of natural causes. He can be killed, however he will not allow this to easily happen

Magic Resistance: He is highly resistant to magical effects and abilities

Enhanced Durability: His body is exceptionally durable.

Can walk on walls and ceilings

Telepathy: Telepathic Communication

Soul fire Kinesis: Can generate and control blue soul flames to attack or defend.

Realm Walk: Can effortlessly open and close portals to different planes of existence

Body Doubles: Can create up to 5 physical copies of himself to do different tasks. These copies have access to all his abilities

Absolute Concealment: A unique ability that allows him to completely hide his very existence in every sense. This is extended to anyone that his touching him.

Omni Lingual: Speaks every language

True Site: When active can see anything hidden even when magically concealed.

Site Sharing: can allow his vision to be shared with multiple individuals

Presence Sense: Allows Yule to sense the presence of anything around him. It functions as a sixth sense

Ethereal Form: Yule can make himself intangible and walk-through solid objects