It was luck that brought Oki to the lands of Kawani during this time of year, rather than any careful planning. His journey from his homeland had been a long one, but it was one filled with a great purpose. He had stolen his tribe's sacred sword, Kutone, with the intent to fulfill the myth surrounding unlocking its true power. Oki believed the only way to do this was to use the sword to slay powerful demons, and he had heard stories of Kawani being full of them -- more specifically, the accursed walkers. The terrible beasts plagued his own land as well, but they were few and far between these days. His tribe was currently suffering under the terror of Lechku and Nechku, twin owl purewalkers of great strength and power. He had tried once to defend his village and defeat them, but had failed. This could only mean one thing: Kutone's true power needed to be awakened. No one would be able to fell the demonic twins without it.
An irritating stallion by the name of Shiranui tried to stop him. Tried to tell him he was acting out in selfishness, that Oki didn't understand the meaning behind the legend of the sacred sword. But Shiranui was an outsider -- how could he know anything about his tribe? Especially more than Oki himself? With Shiranui always getting in his way, and the lack of demons in his homeland, Oki made the decision to flee with the sword to seek out a way to awaken it. When he was successful in fulfilling the prophecy, he would return to his village and slay the purewalker twins to save his people. It was the only way -- Oki was sure of it.
With grim determination, Oki wasted no time in searching for his targets. They were not as easily found as he'd hoped, but he was determined not to return a failure. He would complete his quest no matter how long it took. Still... it was hard to believe such a beautiful place could be so ravaged by monsters as he'd heard. He supposed it had to do with springtime, but he'd found so many lush fields of flowers and breathtaking waterfalls, how could Kawani be the host of such horrible evil? The cooler air was a balm, especially when the wind blew and he could feel the breeze against his skin through his fur. It made him want to relax. To take in the scenery of this beautiful land and, possibly, even put aside his sword for a little while...
Glycerius bent his head down to shove his nose into a thick patch of flowers, inhaling the floral scent deeply. Glorious! Spring was always such a wonderful time. He wasn't looking forward to the heat of summer, even if there were other things to enjoy about the season -- but he liked spring much better. It put a little bounce in his step as he walked across the field at a leisurely pace, just taking his time to enjoy the day. He had no pressing matters to attend to, no plans or other commitments -- just an entire day to himself. He supposed he ought to feel a little guilty. Maybe he should be out doing something heroic, or finding someone in need of help. But it was such a lovely day; Glycerius just couldn't help himself. He would drop everything and rush to someone's aid if they needed him, of course... but it was okay if he didn't seek them out sometimes, too.
He was about to lean his head down again into a new patch of flowers when Glycerius realized he wasn't alone. What an interesting looking fellow -- and he had an impressive looking sword, two! Perhaps he was a knight? Curious, Glycerius approached the stallion near the waterfall, hoping to make a new friend. "Hello!" he called out cheerfully, but when the stallion turned to stare at him with his black-red eyes, Glycerius froze on the spot. Maybe he wasn't so friendly after all. "Sorry, didn't mean to bother you," he began, but he was cut of from saying more when the blue and red stallion abruptly turned to face him, looking ready for a fight.
"Stop!" Oki growled out in warning, taking in the sight of the stallion's exposed bones and the strange, evil looking skull-like spirit lurking over his shoulder. His greeting had been friendly enough sounding, but Oki couldn't be certain that the stallion was being possessed by a demon, or if perhaps the stallion himself also contained a black heart. He elected not to reach for his sword -- yet -- but he widened his stance, ready for anything that might happen next. He met the stallion's eyes, but saw nothing sinister there -- only slight fear and confusion. When Oki looked at the skull, it was emotionless; staring back with it's empty sockets, no eyes to speak of. Oki looked at the stallion again. "Do you need my aid in expelling this demonic spirit from your body?" he asked, and looked down at the skeletal legs. "Has its possession of you begun to decompose your body in such a way?"
"I... what?" Glycerius replied, the fear he felt giving way to nothing but pure confusion. Demonic possession? Decomposing? He blinked, and it took a minute for Glycerius' brain to catch up and put the pieces together. "Oh!" he exclaimed with a laugh, shaking his head, but stopped when he noticed it made the wolf-like stallion tense up. "No, no, I'm okay!" he hurried to reassure. "This is just the way I was born. I'm not in pain, or anything, and my friend doesn't hurt me. She's been with me since I was born, too. Both my dad and my brother have a spirit friend also. She doesn't talk, but I call her Dorcas and she always responds to it, so that's her name," he said with a shrug, trying to act casual to put the stallion at ease. "Speaking of names, mine is Glycerius. And you're..?"
Oki frowned. He wasn't convinced; it sounded like a generational curse, which he didn't think was something to take so lightly. After a pause, he decided to respond to the inquiry. "Oki." He stood up a little straighter, still gazing at Glycerius with scrutiny. Although the stallion said he didn't want help, he certainly seemed to need it. Perhaps the spirit hadn't hurt him yet, but there's no telling what she could do in the future. Oki's focus shifted back to the spirit -- Dorcas. He was certain he could banish it, or if not him, then an angeni was sure to be able to. Regardless, Kutone would be of no use here. Maybe he shouldn't waste his time on this stallion -- he had much more important things to do, and if Glycerius said he didn't need help...
What had he been thinking? He didn't have time to stare at waterfalls like some carefree child. He'd let the peaceful scenery get to his head. There would be more springs in the coming years he could take the time to enjoy after he returned to his village. He needed to awaken Kutone, and for that he needed to find walkers -- of which Glycerius clearly wasn't. "Seek out an Angeni. They have power greater than my own; they can help you banish that spirit. Evil has no place in this world." He bowed his head and began to take his leave.
Glycerius was flabbergasted. At least this Oki didn't seem like he was ready to attack him anymore, but he'd still insisted Glycerius needed to get rid of Dorcas. Not only that, but called her evil, and then just... walked away? Glycerius sneered at the stallion's back, his mood soured in a way he wasn't sure even the sweet scent of flowers could cure. He looked at Dorcas, but she seemed content as ever, and swirled around his neck once before settling at her usual place to float by his shoulder. Glycerius sighed, and shook his head. "You're right, I shouldn't let one rude stallion ruin our day. He doesn't even know us... I hope that's not how he greets everyone he doesn't understand. You think it's a habit?" he asked aloud, knowing Dorcas wouldn't reply, but knowing she was listening. "Excuse me, you look weird, are you perhaps evil?" Glycerius said in a mocking tone, exaggerating Oki's voice with a roll of his eyes. Dorcas floated closer and gently bumped her head against Glycerius' forehead, making him laugh. "Alright, alright, I'll forget about him." Instead, he turned to the waterfall and looked down at the lush lake it was flowing into. With a grin, he stepped a bony hoof into the cool water. He'd get his mind off the rude stallion by going for a nice swim, then bask for a while in the sun to dry off before returning home. He gave Dorcas a mischievous smile before he backed up several steps for the lake, then took a running leap into the water, splashing the shore and Dorcas' corporeal skull-like form. Dorcas joined him, but remained floating on the surface, circling around him as he swam.
He did really love spring.
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