The Spirit Path (currently private)

Ko'oro grumbled as he made his way down the hardly marked path, still frustrated with the Elders decision. Although it had been several hours ago, it was still fresh in his mind.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NO LONGER PART OF THE TRIBE!?" Although his several months with the Hindi monks as his wounds healed had taught him self-control, the fact that the tribe that he had given so much to was now denying him his return. "I'm truly sorry Ko'oro, but for all intents and purposes, your dead to the tribe." Rek'kol, the Provider Caste's Elder explained to him. "Is there no way to regain my place in the tribe?" He asked, willing to do anything to redeem his absence. "There IS one way." Mol'oro, the Religious Caste's Elder, and Ko'oro's mother interjected. "It is said that, while it's now lost, we once had a way to bring the souls back to our realm." Upon hearing this information, Ko'oro turned his attention to his mother. "This helps me to return to the tribe how?" She shifted in her spot to get comfortable. "While it can't be used to bring spirits back, it can be used as a Proving. Those who complete the ordeal can be allowed back into the tribe, having gained the favor of the spirits."

Once again catching his attention, he got close to her face, almost pleading. "Then what do I have to do?" Upset with her son's disrespect, she smacked her son's nostrils with her staff. "Mind your manners, I'll tell you how. You will need to take this vigil." She produced a vigil from her many pocketed robe. "Take it to each of the elemental shrines and pray with this vigil in your true form. If you don't pray in your normal form, it won't be accepted. Because of your abilities as a smith, and being closest to its spirit, you will be going to the Fire Shrine first, then the rest of them, ending with the Water Shrine, as it's the opposite to your spirit."

With his instructions set out, he left the Elder's hut, stopping by his effigy before leaving. It was strange, seeing his own grave. It was a typical Warrior Caste effigy, with a bull's head on top of a wicker man, his weapons crossed at it's base. When the head decomposed to nothing more than a skull, his spirit would be considered having moved on, and the wicker man would be lit to guide his spirit to the next life.

So we are brought back to current time. From the corner of his eye, he noticed something moving from the corner of his eye. Not wanting to be caught, he began to transform. His human form was a tall man of obviously Indian persuasion, the only discrepancy being his clay red hair that matched his fur. Unfortunately, he had no chance to change his clothes, so his leather armor hung loosely off of his body as he awaited the approach of his pursuer.
(OOC: I'm sorry for such a long post, there was a lot of information I wanted to get across. The other posts won't be NEAR as long.)

[dudedude2211]

Seeing the minotaur transform into his human form, the daemon who had seen him, who appeared to be a fourteen year old human, if you ignore the black feathered wings extended through the slits in his black hoodie and blackish-red eyes, approached the shapeshifting bull-man.
"I've been watching this tribe for a while now, and I thought you were dead, Ko'oro. So then how are you here?" the daemon said, and he had been watching the village. He had seen the creation of the effigy, and also heard the tribe members speaking of his death. He had honestly believed that the minotaur had died, even though he hadn't seen his death nor heard how it had happened. He had slightly loosened the daggers hidden in their sheaths which were, in turn, hidden in his sleeves, in case the minotaur attacked him. The minute he showed a single sign of attack, both daggers would be in the daemons hands, and he would fight back.

"The tellings of my death were greatly exaggerated." He stated, returning to his normal form, as his human form felt too constrictive. "I should've been dead, truth be told. Some of the Hindi monks from one of the nearby temples had saved me, allowing my wounds to heal. While I was there, they also taught me how to use my full strength without losing control." Now fully returned to his true form, a thought came to his mind "How were you able to watch our village? Our scouts should've seen you from a decent way out."

While it was clear that he wasn't supplied to be this deep in the Indian forests, his black wings also made it clear that he wasn't a typical human. Realizing this, Ko'oro shifted slightly, made uneasy by the fact that this boy was something that he didn't know what it was. To him, it could've been an angel, daemon, shapeshifter, or something completely new.

After a depressing and rage inducing wild goose chase of a hunt for a Naga in India he came across a strange thing while on the trek back to civilization. As Vagus was about to come onto a pass, that he hoped would lead him to a city, he saw a Minotaur transform into a very large human and a face he had seen once before at a bar in Vegas. Having never seen a Minotaur before, he had his greatest strength and weakness take over, to explore something he had not before seen. He stepped forward slowly before Nevermore flew ahead and landed on the used-to-be Minotaur's head and just sitting there. "well there goes my silent entry" Vagus walked forth with open hands and a smile on his hooded face "Mind an extra hand on this journey?" Nevermore flew back to his shoulder, but not before pecking the daemon on the head in a fly by kind of way.

[dudedude2211]

"Can your scouts fly? Can they climb to the tops of trees? If they can't, there's your answer." he replied, his voice calm and emotionless. He then noticed the man approach, not at all surprised by the bird pecking him.

"Mind an extra hand on your journey?" the new arrival had asked.
'Maybe I'll go to... it could be interesting, and I would love to see this fire shrine the Hindi monks mentioned.' he thought to himself, before voicing his thoughts. "I'm going, whether you like it or not." the young male daemon said. He would go, but he wasn't sure the minotaur would like it.
He had seen a minotaur before, and ended up having to kill it. He had approached it, but apparently the man-bull he had found at that time was agressive, as it had charged at him. The daemon was lucky, and managed to escape without any major injuries.

"SURE, WHY NOT!?" Was his reply, being pushed to the limits of his new training. The events in his tribe were still weighing heavy on his mind. Not only that, he had just found out that his tribe was being spied on by this, "boy-thing", and now a second intruder to his tribe's part of the jungle. Remembering his training, he stopped and took several deep breaths before continuing.

"I apologize for the outburst. You can come if you desire, but I ask that you wait outside the temples. If outsiders come into the temple, I could still be rejected by the spirits." He really didn't want either to follow him to the temples, but the look in their eyes told him that neither of them would take no for an answer. He hoped that they would at least respect his wishes. All the more he wanted now was to return to his tribe and continue his life providing for it.

"Thanks for letting me come. I just need to find a Naga. I figure they might hang around temples, plus I can help in just about any way imaginable. " Vagus realized that he was NOT welcomed here and planned to leave as soon as he could. Nothing is more deadly than an enraged Minotaur, and this one seemed to lose his temper easily. Nevermore cawed apprehensively in the uneasy heat. Not the weather heat, but the tension. Though that's not to say the head AND the humidity blew harder than a hair dryer on high.

"So, about these temples. Is there anything dangerous about them? Anything adventurous or cool? sorry, I realize that my city boy tendencies make me want to believe that temples are fun exciting places. I do actually realize they are places of worship" Nevermore cawed mater of factually

The large male slowly approached the small group of beings. Standing at nine feet tall with midnight black fur he was instantly and imposing and awesome sight to behold. The he had four great horns, gleaming bone white for two feet and eleven inches, then the last four more inches where a pitch black as if stained by blood never cleaned even though it was a natural color. He was clad in leather and metal armor that covered his form chest and created a roman style kilt was adorned with ornaments hanging from it it places. His two hand axes, normally war axes for humans but with shortened hafts for the huge being to wield as hand axes, swung from his belt and beside his hips. Upon his back was a huge, double blades battle axe that was easily three feet long upon each blade.

Striding in to the group the male stopped and looked around. He saw his brethren and nodded then at the others, before speaking in a deep rumbling voice that emanated from his huge barrel chest like a freight train. "The temples are a place of worship pray yes but also of trial and battle. Brother, you know the battles will be fierce and deadly, and only you and those of your kind who have not shunned you can help. Supporters are not allowed inside and the quest will fail with your disgrace. If you wish, as a brother who has not abandoned you I shall offer my strength to help redeem you."

Although not part of the tribe Ko'oro belong to Ba'alzamon had much pull among most Ungrith'tar and their tribes. Rare with his four horns and amazing size, his famous tribe had been hunted to extinction many years ago by hunters. Only he was left, and thought by many Ungrith'tar shamans to be of incredible importance to the goal of uniting their scattered race and bringing them back to prominence from the brink of extinction.

"Naga? we've had gorgons in the forest before, but I've never heard of this 'naga' you speak of. So long as you don't desecrate our elemental temples, you may come." Ko'oro turned from the two "intruders" to face a third form coming through the foliage. Impressively large, even for an Ungrith'tar, his pure black fur, four horns and deep, earth-shaking voice made him stand out even more.

Ko'oro recognized his spiritual brother, although he had never seen him himself. His mother had many visions about this beast of a man. She seemed to think that the fates had some "great plan" for him. While He had doubted it before, now that he saw this final, four-horned Ungrith'tar with his own eyes, Ko'oro didn't doubt it.

"You're correct. A spirit brother is needed to redeem myself, and I would be honored to have The Uniter as my ally for redemption." He motioned for the larger Ungrith'tar to go ahead of him, a gesture that clearly showed that the four-horned giant was superior to himself.

(OOC: I want to make it known that I use "man" in this instance to refer to a sentient being, not as a human man.)

"Well think of the Naga as a 9 headed snake that can Breathe fire. Personally sounds like a dragon." He finished as the tall black Minotaur came forth. He spoke of spirit brothers, the temples, trials and battle. This was a very sad thing to process seeing as how he wouldn't be let inside the temples. It seemed to him at least that these things were amazingly fun, at least by his standards. Though maybe Vagus would be lucky and they would see his Naga along the way, or the battles and trials would be outside. He shook off this thought as to not get his hopes up for something that wasn't going to happen to us. Then he thought of the daemon boy. They didn't always meet on the best terms, though Vagus was pretty sure they were friends of some kind, or maybe comrade would be a better word. He had to laugh at that since he did meet him in Siberia once.

[dudedude2211]

Remembering the little 'incident' at Siberia, the daemon menrally shuddered. It was so cold in Siberia... and it wasn't exactly what he would call 'healthy' to fight like that... But there were more important things to deal with.
"Any objections to me going into the fire temple after you pray there?" he asked the minotaurs, and didn't care which one responded. He loosened up a bit, making him look off his guard, in case someone was tempted to attack him... and if they did, it would not end well for them. Unless the minotaurs worked together... one alone he could fight, but two is out of the question. The omne time he had fought one he had nearly died, but that was when he was younger and weaker.
He remembered seeing the other person from somewhere... the one that looked and spoke like a human. He probably was little more than a human endowed with elemental powers.

Ba'alzamon looked at the other two beings and narrowed his eyes. They where quite rude and impertinent, clearly the one was a daemon for Ba'alzamon had never meet one that wasn't as arrogant and prideful as this boy was. He glanced back at the other
Ungrith'tar who was searching for redemption and shrugged his shoulders before speaking to him in their native language so only he would understand. "They could come, at the very least they would make for good body shields against what lies ahead. Though if they annoy us to much we could easily defeat them together."

Then the nine foot tall goliath of a being turned and looked down, literally, upon the daemon, switching to speak the English he spoke. "Yes, actually we do mind. Not you traveling with us, but for a non-Ungrith'tar to set foot in any of the temples would be blasphemic punishable by death. Not just to yourself but to us as well for allowing it. So you have your answer." The black mountain shrugged his shoulders and grunted before looking back at his brethren Ko'oro. "Shalt we begin brother? We have many miles to travel and may days to go. We should not waste them."

Ko'oro nodded in understanding and agreement. He turned his gaze to notice that the older looking one with the bird seemed to have left. Whether it was because of boredom or impatience, he didn't know, only that there was only one "body shield" left. He didn't care that he was thinking of another being as a tool. After all, the jungle was unkind to outsiders, why shouldn't he?

"You are correct, we should get going." He once again motioned for his superior in both size and status to go first, before following him. "So what brings the Uniter doing in our little piece of the jungle?" Ko'oro asked quizzically. "And as for you, flying child," He turned to talk to the young boy. "What causes you to have a reason to spy on a village of Ungrith'tar?" He still hadn't forgiven the "child" for spying on his village, not without a good reason for doing so.

[dudedude2211]

"They found something of mine, and I came to reclaim it. I was watching so I would know wether to go in and ask, negotiate, or if this village ended up being aggressive, steal it. It looks like I could just walk in and ask to reclaim it... but I'm not sure how to ask. This village doesn't seem to be aggressive, so there is no need for me to reclaim it by force. Now tell me, do you know where they are keeping a black dagger?"

He had lost his dagger in this area, and was loooking to get it back.

If he was denied his dagger, he would take it anyways, because hell, why not? It wasn't like he couldn't take the likeness of Ko'oro's human form. He looked up at the nine foot Ungrith'tar that had just arrived. He would recognize that minotaur again the next time he saw him, which would be soon, in America.
He only had one of his daggers on him... a fight was pretty much out of the question. He could fly away, but he refused to leave the country without his dagger.
He would follow with or without his dagger, and if one of the trials happened to have anything to do with fire, he would be a great help... if he wanted to help them. And whether or not it influenced the village's decision about giving him the dagger he would dropped, he would follow.

Ba'alzamon looked at the young child like being, his eyes narrowing. "If you lost something like that with in the territory of the Ungrith'tar you don't deserve to own such a beautiful object. You also will be lucky to ever find it again. The Ungrith'tar who found it has surely traded it for something more important or lost it in a duel." He turned and began walking towards the temple if earth, the closest to this village.

He looked over at his younger 'brother' and snorted. "What happened to bring about this unfortunate circumstance? Why do they say you died yet you are still alive and this excluded from your village until the pilgrimage is complete? Uniter I may be if I choose to believe the prophesies l, All Knowing I am not little brother." He walked at a steady pace, his hooves easily the size of dinner plates sinking in to the soft earth slightly with his massive weight.