Every hero has a beginning.

All heroes walked along the stepping stones of life into prominence. All legends began with a single action, a single word. John Winchester was little known among the vast hunting community; however, one violent act, one distorted master plan, one talk with a psychic forever changed the course of the Winchester's lives. Driven with the overwhelming need of vengeance, John emerges into the hunting world with hushed whispers and legendary tales that rivaled those of Alexander the Great and King Arthur. No longer living in the shadow of better hunters, he would become known as the dark horse whose lively flame extinguished much too soon for the love of his oldest son.

The Winchester's story is more than the tragic death of a loved one, more than the defeat of the most powerful demon to walk among the soil of earth. The tale weaves through John's life from combat in a foreign country to the battlegrounds of the American back roads. It intertwines its way through heartbreaking love, loss of loved ones, slaying the unknown evils of the world, and building bonds that death cannot break.

In the end, the extraordinary legend of John Winchester would be forced into the footnotes of the great Demon War that would star two young boys who became men all too quickly. Two men who John would do anything to protect, anything to shield them from the harsh realities of life. Two men who to John always looked small and young in his eyes despite how tall they grew, how old they got.

The Dark Horse begins not with John Winchester - but rather with a family before him who faced the same horrors. Mary knew all too well about demons and ghost busting as she traveled through the American frontier with her older brother and uncle. The lifestyle she left would come crashing back into her and leave her husband and sons to follow in the footsteps that were laid before her years ago. With the death of John, Dean and Sam would then carry their families into the darkness to fight the evil - to follow in their father's stead, to become the next Dark Horses, and train the next generation of Winchesters to fight the good fight.