Official Wraith Island Introduction Story

[oakleafwolf]

Wraith

By: oakleafwolf with help from Cassiadawn, Willow, InuYasha_Fan, White Cat, Taydah, Paintset, CosmicDragon, and White Mare of Mabon

The warm sun tickled Rock Biter's coat as he walked in and out of the puddles of light on the forest floor. It was autumn, but on Caldera Peak island, that simply meant a season of bounty before the winter rains. Rock Biter loved his volcanic home; it was never too cold, the plants and trees were always in flower, and the community of Lupras here were loving and supportive without infringing on one's personal time.

Today Rock Biter was on a mission. There had been requests for a new kind of Juju, one that is more powerful. It was certainly possible to do some of the things the other Lupras had asked for but Rock Biter's mentor, the late Earth Heart, had passed on before they had gotten to those lesson. It was up to Rock Biter now to experiment with new materials and figure out which ones had metaphysical correspondences.

There was just one problem...where to look first? The island was huge and there was simply no way Rock Biter could search everywhere and test everything on it! The volcano is dangerous, the jungle was... sprawling... and that doesn't even include the reef surrounding the island! No, Rock Biter needed to just still himself and let the little spirits tell him which way to go...

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Which way should Rock Biter go?

He's currently standing on a path running East to West. The Volcano lies to the North of him, and the River is to the South.


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I think he should go South

I vote he goes South towards the river too :'D

I agree
I think he should go South

South to the River

North! To the volcano!

I agree, he should go south towards the river!

[oakleafwolf]

Listening to the little voices on the wind, Rock Biter decides to cut through the underbrush and head toward the river. The brush itself was thick, but with a bit of a wriggle, Rock Biter could get through underneath the lowest branches of the shrubs and the small flowering plants just tickled a bit.

The sound of running water grew stronger as Rock Biter moved in the direction of the river, and the air picked up a delightful freshness. Just before reaching the river, Rock Biter brushed past a tree whose loose bark fell off as his tail dragged against it. It made a very soft "plop" as it hit the spongy ground and had an interesting spicy odor. Rock Biter inspected it for a short while, then put it into a pouch he'd slung over his neck before starting on this expedition.

Continuing on, he reached the river's bank and stood for a moment enjoying the freshness of the breeze that followed the water along it's course. After a few meditative breaths, he inhaled deeply and plunged into the river. Swimming just fast enough to avoid moving downstream with the current, Rock Biter peered around at the scene surrounding him.

There were some broken branches wedged into the sand, the usual sandy and silty bottom as well as a number of rocks. He dove down to one of the larger ones and, prying it up, reached around underneath it. Once the water cleared of the sand he'd disturbed, Rock Biter looked down to see he'd pulled out two objects; a light-colored stone with the grainy texture of sand and a number of dark pebbles stuck in it and a rounded piece of a smoky-colored, somewhat clear, and shiny stone. Both of these joined the bark in his pouch.

Surfacing and getting out of the stream on the other side, he was getting ready to continue his trek when he stumbled on something poking out of the sand on the forest's edge. Turning to inspect what had tripped him, Rock Biter dug a bit of polished bone out of the loose sand and loam. It wasn't very big so it, too, went into the pouch.

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What should Rock Biter do now?

The river, path, volcano, and his den now lie to the north of Rock Biter. To the east, west, and south is jungle that eventually leads to the coast as the river eventually leads to the coast.


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To the river!

South to the coast (following the river?) :'D

I think Rock Biter should nibble on the bark.

South to the jungle!

Rock Biter should travel south through the jungle towards the coast.

Rock Biter should follow the river south to the Coast, methinks. :3

Rock Biter should follow the river to the coast.

[oakleafwolf]

The spirits were in agreement. The next place to go looking was the coast, and the fastest way to get there was the river. Rock Biter had just turned around to get moving again when some niggling feeling told him he was missing something.

What is it? I thought I had to do...?

It was the bark. When Rock Biter had pulled it off the tree it's scent was so rich... so spicy... why, it was good enough to eat! Digging around in his pouch, Rock Biter pulled out a bit of the bark, inhaled it's heady aroma, and nibbled delicately on one end.

EEEEEEEW!

Okay. So, the bark tasted like pigment berries that had started to rot. Rock Biter shoved the offending bark back in his pouch and bounded over to the river bank. After rinsing his mouth out, he waded into the water and began to swim with the current down to the coast.

Knowing the current picked up dramatically at the end of the river, Rock Biter decided to get out just a little ways upstream of where the river poured into the reef. He gave himself a good shake to dry off a bit, then laid down for a nice wriggle in the warm, inviting sand. The river was nice for swimming, but it can be a bit cold after a while; the black volcanic sand was just the thing to take that chill edge off.

Just as he was about to roll to his feet, a sharp object poked Rock Biter in the spine. With annoyance, he bent around and glared at the piece of driftwood he'd rolled over. Picking it up, he chucked the driftwood away (and the little spirit named Cassiadawn caught it!).

Deciding it was time to get down to business, Rock Biter stood up, and looked around at the beach.

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What should Rock Biter do next?

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Rock Biter should go beach-combing amongst the black volcanic sand. :3

I think Rock Biter should search the shoreline! :'D
Grats cassiadawn ^u^

Rock Biter should dig a large hole in the sands

Rock Biter should go diving for shells

Rock Biter should check out the reef to see what he can find!

[oakleafwolf]

Rock Biter looked at the beach around him and then set off at an easy trot along the inky dunes. He was headed toward the water without going directly at it, of at an angle to scan the sand before taking another dip. Here and there the black sand was punctuated by leaf-sized bits of startling whiteness; shells and things that had washed up on shore and been half-buried in the tide.

Rock Biter cast about a bit at he trotted, looking for anything he couldn't immediately recognize and didn't have much luck before hitting the water. There he slipped in with all the grace of a bird taking flight and nosed his way along the bottom out to the reef. The corals were beautiful, of course, and all the colorful fish darting in and out made his stomach rumble slightly...until he remembered his recent experience with the bark. Unfortunately he didn't see anything that was unusual or out-of-place until he was just about to turn back to shore.

While turning around, Rock Biter caught something shiny out of the corner of his eye. This is not an odd experience in the reef, except that the glinting seemed to be coming from the sand and not the corals or fishes themselves. Swimming slowly closer to the unexpected light, he noticed it was emanating from under a loose stone. Not one to pass up an opportunity, he excitedly dug around the base and rolled the rock over to see what was under it. It was...two strings of beads? Useful, to be sure, but not precisely what Rock Biter had had in mind. He left them in the sand. (The strings of beads were picked up by two fishes who carried them to the observing spirits, CosmicDragon and Paintset!)

Rock Biter swam back to shore and shook himself before looking up to notice he'd surfaced in a very different part of the shore than he'd gone in. There, on the shore in front of him, was a very large shell. It was about half the size of his head, pink, pearly, and made of a very complicated combination of spiral and frilly shapes. Reaching it, he observed it from many angles but couldn't determine what species it might have come from, he'd simply never seen a shell like this before! Even more, as the wind played over it it made a slight singing noise. Very interesting...

Rock Biter decided he ought to test this shell as well, but it was so big it would never fit inside his pouch! He'd have to head back to his den before he could do anything else.

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What should Rock Biter do when he gets to his den?

Rock biter's den is at the volcano, in a dormant lava tube. He has a food, personal belongings, and various shamanic items there. His current inventory is spicy bark, light pebbled stone, dark smokey stone, polished bone, singing shell, ...and quite a bit of black sand in his fur.


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I think he should comb the sand out of his fur and collect it in something.

I think he should shake himself up, and go exploring around the volcano

I think Rock Biter should experiment with the singing shell back at his den.

Rock Biter should probably eat something so he stops eating bark and then head for the volcano!

[oakleafwolf]

Rock Biter was very happy to get home. His pack was very heavy, and it was awkward to carry the shell, drag the shell, or even roll it in front of him. The worst part was crossing the river; the shell had a few holes that made it sink, rather then float. He was thoroughly drenched because he just didn't have the energy to shake off afterward. Finally, Rock Biter stumbled up the last few steps of the sloping path to his den and took a moment to rest, panting heavily. He was very hungry, he knew that much, and also needed to deal with his collected items. The first thing to do, however, was get a nice fire going.

There was a handy feature to this lava tube den, at some point when it formed a pocket of gas had escaped upward through the lava and left a hole on the ceiling that angled off toward the jungle a bit. This left him a natural, fireproof chimney that was safe from the occasional sun showers and heavier rainy season on Caldera Peak. Under this, Rock Biter carefully stacked some kindling and poured out a bit of the very flammable sap from one of the trees native to the island. A quick snap of two rocks made a spark fall onto the sap and the fire blossomed beautifully.

By this point, Rock Biter was much dryer and starting to get itchy. Scratching at a spot behind his ear, he noticed quite a bit of the black sand from the beach was still clinging to his coat. Tiredly standing up, Rock Biter walked back outside for a moment, giving himself a thorough shake. For thoroughness sake, he also collected some of the sand off of a nearby leaf to test later for Juju properties.

Back inside, the hungry Shaman took down some dried fish from his food storage and nibbled it, pondering what to do next. He had a number of promising objects already collected, but wasn't entirely sure what it was he was looking for. It was equally possible that something he already picked up would prove to be magical or that he'd missed what he was looking for entirely.

For the sake of exhausting all his options, he decided he ought to go explore around the upper regions of the volcano. With that goal in mind, he pushed the shell to the side of his fire and pulled off his pouch to empty it out in a line next to the shell. Just as he was opening the flap of his pouch, a black cloud boiled up out of it and moved to engulf Rock Biter's head.




Darkness.




When Rock Biter woke up, he was a bit groggy. His pouch was on the ground, the collected objects spilled out, and the fire crackled merrily in spite of his fuzzy, slightly painful head.

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What should Rock Biter do now?

Rock biter is at his den below the volcano. He has food, personal belongings, and various shamanic items there. His current inventory is scattered across the floor but contains spicy bark, a light pebbled stone, a dark smokey stone, a polished bone, a singing shell, ...and quite a bit of confusion.

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Rock-biter should check to see whether the black cloud has come from one of the items... And whether anything is missing. o.o;;

Poor Rock Biter. He may want to sit down for a little bit and gather all of his things and then check and see which item made the smoke appear... and maybe test the item that smoked.

I think Rock Biter should clear up his den, study the items a while and then go to the entrance and see if he can spot anything of interest :'D

[oakleafwolf]

Rock Biter was extremely confused. He groggily turned to face the objects spilled out on the floor, cautiously approaching them in case they decided to go on the offensive again. Carefully sticking one paw out, he probed at the items. The bark, stones, and bit of bone just skittered forward a little bit on the rock floor. When he bumped the shell, however, there was additional movement...

Rock Biter leaped backwards as fast as possible and gave the shell a very hard look to study the motion. It was... a feather. A feather fell out of the shell. (And is carried off by Willow.)

Taking a deep breath, Rock Biter tried to calm himself with partial success. Perhaps the objects have to be enclosed to produce the smoke? Or perhaps he had to be right over them? Deciding to be cautious, Rock Biter decided the safest way to test the items was to stay a distance away from them. With that in mind, he carefully extended his earthsense forward from the place he leaped too. Carefully, he extended his mind through the rock floor to touch each item and examine it on a smaller level than his eyes could see.

The spicy bark wasn't spicy anymore in this hazy place-between. It felt tingly and warm. Rock Biter brushed his mind over it softly, feeling in the little nooks and crannies for any trace of magic but the sample appeared to be inert.

Next Rock Biter turned to the light, pebbled stone. This one seemed brighter under his earthsense; the light sand grains between the pebbles were almost white and it seemed to be a bit cool. With another short push of his mind, Rock Biter determined that this, too didn't seem to be magical.

Following the light, pebbled stone was the smokey stone. It wasn't really a stone so much as a paw-sized knob of crystal, rounded by the water of the stream. Lightly, skipping over the surface of the stone, Rock Biter felt for traced of magic. Suddenly, one part of the rock's surface felt sticky. Going back to examine it, rock biter felt his mind tugged, firmly into the stone and before he knew it his body was up and walking forward to the fire.

"STOP!" He willed himself, "Stop moving forward!" It was no use! The rock had latched itself onto his mind and was dragging at his body. As Rock Biter neared the crystal it opened in half, the two hemispheres spreading apart, and Rock Biter watched his head lay down between them. SNAP!

Rock Biter was now back where he had been at the beginning of the exercise. Back in his own head and staring towards the lump of crystal from the other side of the cave. It must have been an illusion! Rock Biter rose warily to his feet and turned to go get some air. That's when he noticed the wall of black smoke that had engulfed the door of the cave and made the mistake of breathing in.




Rock Biter opened his eyes into a dark, smoky world that was not his den. It was almost as if he were inside a hollow box whose walls were made of gray haze. Rock Biter turned in a circle and was trying to figure a way out when he heard a faint, slightly feminine voice.

"Hello?" It called, the vowels stretched slightly with an odd accent, "Hello? Ancestor Dark Eye, I am seeking your guidance, please come forward from the mists."

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What should Rock Biter do now?

Rock biter is in a strange world of dark mist. He has a voice giving commands to some-lupra else and no idea how to get back to where he came from. His current inventory is himself ...and an enormous bit of confusion.



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I think Rock Biter should go toward the feminine voice... It seems polite enough, and perhaps it knows where this shadow-world is?

Rock Biter should try to pass through the mist, he's got to get out of there!

:I think Rock Biter should go toward the feminine voice... It seems polite enough, and perhaps it knows where this shadow-world is?

I'm with Cosmic :3
<3

[oakleafwolf]

Well... the feminine voice seemed polite enough, and Rock Biter had no idea where he was, so he took a few cautious, shuffling steps forward. As he moved forward, the mist around his seemed to get thinner, and farther away, eventually thinning to become a thick, soupy fog over an incredibly swampy terrain. Rock Biter blinked in surprise and looked down to see he was standing on top of a muddy mire that had to be belly-deep at least.

"You are not Ancestor Dark Eye!" cried the voice in sharp surprise, "Who are you? When did you pass into the world beyond?"

Rock Biter snapped his head up and looked around to find the source of the voice. Everything seemed to be more misty terrain, but one patch seemed not only more solid but Lupra-shaped as well. The longer he stared at the spot, the more recognizable it was. It was another Lupra. She was white with darker, plantlike markings and a long silver mane.

Taking a deep breath, he called back, "My name is Rock Biter and I haven't passed yet. Where am I? Who are you? And how did I come to be here?"

The source of the voice focused intently upon him, "Great Ancestor Rock Biter, surely you remember growing old and wise? The only ones who step out from Mist Hollow are those that return to pass on their guidance. What wisdom do you have for us?"

"I'm not an Ancestor!" cried Rock Biter with some panic, "I'm barely four! I don't even know where I am!"

The other Lupra cocked her head to the side and stared at him intently for several excruciating moments. Turning to face him more squarely, she said, "Alright. Tell me what you remember last."

Rock Biter settled in, sitting half a paw-length above the muck. "Well. I was out gathering materials to experiment with for making new Jujus. I collected a number of things and brought them back to my den where I was going to have a quick look at them before heading out again...except it didn't happen that way. There was this weird rock and I had these weird visions... and then a big cloud of smoke swallowed me and I ended up here. That... that doesn't sound realistic, does it.?"

"Describe this 'weird rock', please." asked the other Lupra smoothly, staring at Rock Biter dispassionately.

Shuffling his feet a bit under that gaze, Rock Biter launched into a description, "Well, it was about paw-sized. Roundish from the stream. It really wasn't a rock so much as a crystal, though. It was dark gray in the very middle and almost clear around the edges. ...And it did lots of weird thing, of course."

"A Wraith-focus!" Exclaimed the other Lupra, "That would explain a living Lupra's presence here, although they are very rare and it's strange you would find one...

"Please excuse my earlier skepticism, but the Ancestors do not always realize their... condition. I am Flowing Mist, the Spirit-Speaker of Wraith island. You must have traveled through the other-world when I used my own Wraith-focus to call an Ancestor.

"This is Wraith Island. I am not sure yet where it lies in relation to your own home, but suffice it to say that distance does not matter for traveling the way that you did."

Flowing Mist looked thoughtful for a moment, "You said you were looking for Juju materials? If there is a Wraith-foci source on your island, they would certainly work. The stones have a deep connection to this island. In the presence of this Hollow they can be used to contact the spirits of those who have passed to give wisdom to the future, which is my job for the island. For you... it would forge a magical pathway to this island and it's inhabitants, although the results might be a bit unpredictable..."

All of this was fascinating information but Rock Biter had more pressing concerns and the next time Flowing Mist paused he interjected, "But can you get me back home? I, uh, really prefer to be more corporeal than not..." Rock Biter glanced down at his feet again and gulped.

Flowing Mist blinked, "Why of course! Why didn't you say so?"

Closing her eyes, Flowing Mist took a deep breath and breathed it out toward Rock Biter who felt himself slipping away into darkness. Blinking, he opened his eyes to the bright, cheerful sunlight of a Caldera Peak afternoon on the wall of his den, but in that moment of darkness before his vision cleared he heard a whisper of Flowing Mist's voice in his mind along with something he wasn't sure was a giggle or a cackle...

Oh, and if you ever want to chat again... You know how to find me...

Fin!