Fantasy The longest of maps

[Kaya]

Out there a map stretches out with countless new destinies, as worlds end and begin, the map grows and its users keep looking for treasure, fate and what their hearts desire in the depths of its mysteries. Uncovering the mystery of the map is the work of eternity.

What will you do? What place are you looking for? What is so valuable you may spend an eternity looking for it? Maybe the only reason you haven't found that which your heart desires... is because it is in a place that doesn't exist yet.

Travel far and wide, take your time to enjoy the laughs and the tears, remember everyone. Those who walk with the longest of maps also carry the stories of many others with them. Speak to the cards, speak to the stars, listen to the wind, hear the sea...

Your journey will be a long one, and it's only just begun.

The Dreamer of the Lore

 

[Kaya]

I hate it when people misunderstand my silence for unfriendliness. Like, no, I like you, I just can't communicate...

Name: Muriel of Kokhuri
Age: 26 years
Gender: male

Height: 6'10 ft
Build: like a bear
Hair color: black
Eye color: moss green

Note: When his friend Asra's ritual went wrong, Muriel was grazed by the dragon curse, too. Unlike Asra he's not permanently trapped in the body of a dragon, though.
The Kokhuri tribe being bear people, he'd always been able to intentionally shape shift into a bear- the spell just changed its appearance and forces him into bear form at night.

During the ritual he met the incarnation of the major arcana, the Hermit, which granted his wish of being forgotten. Ever since, everyone forgets him as soon as they lose sight of him; the one way to lift the effect of his 'gift' is a hex bag containing myrrh, which won't restore what was forgotten but prevent the user of forgetting again.

Having grown up on the streets and later becoming the personal gladiator of a lord he never really experienced any human interaction (aside from his one friend Asra), which leaves him quite helpless in most social scenarios.
With animals he's great, though.
Although he's stronger than most and used to be an incredibly brutal warrior, he loathes violence and turned into a pacifist after he was finally freed from the coliseum. He'd rather take a beating than fight back.

"You gotta be like the sun, not the moon. Don't just reflect light- emit it!"

Name: Shenzi (Pasha), Princess gone rogue
Age: 32 years
Gender: female

Height: 5'7 ft
Build: slim and wiry, perfect for running
Hair color: red
Eye color: golden

Note: Pasha was the oldest Princess of Prakra, a tropical kingdom in the far north. Until she was 18, she led a life in luxury and wealth, but when her parents, the king and queen of Prakra, wanted to send her off to marry some prince she'd never met before, she fought off her own guards, faked her death and started a new life as Shenzi.
She's an exceptionally fast runner, extremely nimble and clever.

Convinced that you gotta fight for your dreams she's nothing like most would imagine a princess to be. Hard working, hands on and brutally straightforward, she won't hold back for someone's sensibility. She's proud and fiercely independent: she'd rather die than let herself be forced to act against her own heart ever again.

Despite her not always being easy to get along with, she's very loyal and would never let her allies or friends down.
Secretly, she loves flowers and colorful, sparkly things, but she prefer not to show it, too avoid people thinking she's just some generic damsel in distress who needs to be saved from basically everything.

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

Surely the bonds of kindness are the only ones that are never broken.
After all, kindness is the gift that never runs low, no matter how much you share it.


Name; Euristices of the Petrified Forest.
Age: 40 (Age when he started journeying.)
Gender: Male

Height: 8 ft 2 inches.
Build: Like a horse
Hair color: dark brown.
eye color: deep brown.

Those who lived in the Petrified Forests wish to grow like its trees, strong and tall. Euristices life had been one of the study of the forests and the magic in them, through the study of myth he found out of the World Tree, the first tree from which all other trees are connected to. Yet he got into the known of the endless map and got in contact with it. Seeing it Euristices understood something, maybe the tree he looks for exists in another realm. Through journeying he has seen plenty of different forms of nature, yet he understands their connection. He believes that through the trip he will find a clue to the mystery of the forests.

Social and wisened by the interactions with others, Euristices believes kindness is the key that will open any lock in the path. While intimidating due to his size and kind being known as savages, anyone who gets to speak with him ends up noticing that the centaurs of the Petrified Forest may truly be from another realm.

Always willing to listen, always willing to charge in the direction of someone calling for help, he is a centaur who understands the forest calls in many ways. And some of those ways, can really go out of the known confines of the forest.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



"Life is meant to be lived by moving like the wind and the waves, we were meant to be in motion, so let us live to the fullest in the motion of the unknown."

Name; Hari, the Cartographer of the Far Sea of Winds
Age: 34(Age when she started journeying.)
Gender: Female

Height: 7 ft
Build: A woman hardened by life in the sea.
Hair color: Deep Auburn
eye color: Chestnut

The Far Sea of Winds, a region of pirates, a world composed of islands and ships roaming every corner of the world. In such a world riches are valuable and piracy is common. Those who live to grow up past their teens become material of their own legends. Or find a normal job and avoid pirates. For such a manner, women like Hari are essential. A cartographer, a woman with an eye for detail and adventure.

Extremely forward and a lover of the unknown, Hari knew she needed to get riches quickly and buy a map to explore those worlds far from the eye. She has been traveling through plenty of worlds, always in the look of adventure or more riches to send back to her mother and her sisters. Her little brother wishes to one day be a captain, so she is always making sure to send enough money to have them all safe on her island.

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

The sound of hooves could be heard through the path of dirt so close to the border of the Crossroads the point in which a path would come to mix with the Endless path. Normally those crossroads were peaceful and silent. That is of course unless you were one of the travelers carrying a map with them. A particular map that keeps stretching itself and always showing new places as some disappear with time. Said map was currently in the hands of a centaur who was holding one extreme of the map with one hand while the other was used to scratch his head. Deep dark brown locks of hair being moved around by a strong hand that knew the meaning of hard work.

"So... if I go left, I should reach the border of the forest... but if I went right, I would get to see..." The centaur kept sighing. Too many new places, so little guidance as to which to visit. "Well...I could always toss a coin and leave it to chance.” He sighed before letting his free hand go towards his pouch. Safely held close to his chest by the same belt that held his quiver in place and bow. He used to carry a staff of petrified wood from the forest before exchanging it for the map he now used to travel.

Tossing the coin and catching it with his hand he spoke without seeing the result.

“Hoof.” Opening his hand to see the gold coin he saw a symbol of a number and sighed.

“Never hoof. Right, it is then.” He resumed his walk, when placing a hoof in the boarder where the Crossroad started, the world lost all color for a moment before turning an endless white as if he were walking on the sky. With a smile he chuckled scratching his beard. “This never gets old.” He had been journeying for some time already, getting used to the workings of the map and the endless space it allowed people to walk into. On the far path he could see plenty of others moving around, everyone who owned a map would see the paths that allowed to cross to other realms.

All you needed to access it, was the map. While not exactly rare, they were expensive. So often they were highly treasured between adventurers, mystics and merchants. Back when he had first started to try to procure one, he understood he would need something valuable. The petrified wood staff he owned was such a valuable object because only centaurs had them. So, with reluctance he offered his staff for the map. And since then, he had been travelling the endless expanses.

One would always get to see many different beings in the endless path. And now, Euristices was seeing such a different being. A strong man looking oddly, lost. Was this his first trip into the endless expanses of the map?

Euristices decided to walk close and greet the man. After all, being kind never hurt anyone. Slowly walking, the sound of his hoofs could be heard as he approached. With a wave he spoke to the strong looking man.

“Greetings, you seem, lost. First time in here?” He asked with a smile that was lost on his beard.

 

[Kaya]

It was a picture perfect morning in Tarske Forest, just a couple of miles outside Vesuvia.
Built with simple, rough brickwork stood a tiny hut with walls that had started to bend under the weight of the tree growing on its roof. Its roots were winding across the walls like they were trying to hold the hut together.
Inside, on a pile of furs, lay a giant of a man, sleeping, with a wolf curled up by his side. The slowly dying embers in the fireplace were casting a faint, golden glow across the walls that faded into the dark toward the high ceiling.

Both the wolf and the man shot up the second the slightly askew entrance door of his hut opened to a massive head with golden scales and purple eyes poking into the small living space with a silly grin.
"Muriel my friend, I was wondering if you'd like to go on a trip to Nopal with me! We could go fishing and-"
Muriel just sighed, his dark green gaze fixed on nothing in particular as he, like always, declined his only friend's offer to go out together. He just wasn't as sociable as Asra, who made friends wherever he showed up, even as a gigantic, fire-breathing lizard. He didn't really like people, to be honest, let alone strangers.

"How's Hunter doing?", Muriel finally asked in an attempt to change topic, sounding more or less interested. A smile crossed the dragon's face- he knew how hard it was for his friend to keep a conversation going, so he appreciated the effort.
"Doing good. She's still suffering migraines, but the fainting has stopped. I just don't know what to do about her memory loss... Last time I tried to restore her memories she almost d-died and-... But she needs to remember... She doesn't even remember we used to be together. But it's my fault, I know that..."

The man's eyebrows knitted together in a frown. He didn't like how Asra was obsessing over Hunter, let alone what he had done to bring her back to life after she had died from the Red Plague like so many people of Vesuvia. It couldn't be healthy.
"You made your decision. She made hers. There's no one to blame for any of it. It's in the past, it's over."
The dragon raised one eyebrow with a faint, sarcastic smirk.
"And what about you?"
"What?"
"You're a hermit, my friend, because you can't let go of the past either."
Muriel crossed his arms. "I'm not. I just enjoy my lonely-time."
"Sure. Why don't we ask the cards?"
He gave the dragon the stink-eye, but reached for the deck of tarot cards on the shelf above the fireplace nonetheless and shuffled absent-mindedly. "One card. The present", he huffed and picked a random card from the deck.
At its sight the dragon cracked a wry grin at him. The Hermit, reversed.
Muriel huffed frustratedly. Now Asra for sure wouldn't just let him be...

"Fine!", he sighed. "So?"
What Asra produced from thin air made Muriel blink in surprise.
One of the endless maps...
"Do me a favor. Go and explore the world. Find something that makes you happy. Muriel, I'm worried for you."

Sighing, the man took the map from his best friend. It must have cost him a fortune... Just for him, to help him. It was blank till now, except for Vesuvia, Tarske forest and Nopal, three small spots in an ocean of blank paper.



And so now he was on his way. There wasn't much he needed on a journey, he didn't have much, after all. Just a dark green cloak, lined with fur, his tarot deck, three hex bags with myrrh, just in case, and Innana trotting next to him, looking utterly disturbed by the blank white space they were crossing right now. He could relate, this was unnerving.

And it didn't get any better when suddenly a centaur was approaching, towering over him the way he normally towered over others. His dark green gaze slowly rose to stare up at the stranger, his mind going as blank as the crossroads for a moment.

Finally, he just lifted his shoulders as a reply and looked around once more. Innana seemed to have caught his rising anxiety and growled furiously at the centaur, but Muriel stopped her by gently petting her head.
"I'm not much of a wanderer, usually", he finally admitted. "What is this place?"

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

Euristices let out a small chuckle at the young man and his wolf. It definitely was their first time in here.

"Ah, well, that's a good question with a fun answer." He stretched his arms to the sides as if pointing around them. "This is the endless expanse. You are in the place where worlds have been and will be." He smiled behind his beard. "This is the place where all worlds interact, and all worlds will come to be... in other words. You are in the middle ground of all worlds, if you wish to go to a different world, all you need to do is use a map." He pointed to his own map, full of small dots and names on it, and yet the endless map seemed to have more space for the infinite places. "And when walking in a certain spot, you can enter this place."

Euristices let his arms go back in place, and looked at the man and his wolf. "I won't deny this place can be unnerving the first times you enter it. Is essentially after all as if you were nowhere. And that may be an appropriate way to think of this place." While his beard hid his smile, it sure didn't hide the smile of his deep brown eyes. "Because since you are nowhere, you can go anywhere, eh?" He spoke trying to lift the sense of dread that surely the young man and his wolf were feeling. No one was ever used at the endless expanse on their first time. Many said they were used to such places, but Eruistices and everyone else knew that was a lie.

One could never adapt to the endless space of white. It was just impossible to even expect the place, how were you supposed to expect the fact that one moment you are feeling the dirt of the ground, the wind in your face, the smell of grass. And the next you are surrounded by nothing but white wherever you see.

Nothing could prepare you.

"But, enough about this place. I am Euristices. Centaur of the Petrified Forest." He made a salute with his hand to his chest. A common greeting between centaurs with strangers. One never offered a hand unless they already knew the other. It was a sign of familiarity. "And I would love to greet you to this place, say, do you have a destiny in mind? A place you are looking to travel to?" Euristices was curious, but also couldn't avoid feeling that whoever gave this man a map, didn't tell him what to expect or how to properly use it.

 

[Kaya]

Once again Muriel was left to stare at the centaur in utter shock. It was like, by telling him about this place, he was listing everything he hated.
... Or feared...
Go everywhere?
Hell he hadn't wanted to go anywhere, let alone some place between worlds somewhere in the middle of nowhere! And now he was standing in blank space, exposed to the world- worlds- and-...
Wait.

Finally, his blank, somewhat shocked stare like a rabbit caught in the hungry gaze of the fox, gained an expression of disbelief. This centaur had just asked him for his name. He didn't know him? Usually people recognized him immediately, at least at second glance, as the Scourge of the South, count Lucio's favorite executioner, but this man seemed to be completely clueless...

Muriel however did recognize the the traditional greeting of the Centaurs. Asra had spent years traveling the endless worlds and every time he came back he had new stories to tell, about people he'd met, things he'd learned...
He himself had traveled only two times- that one time he'd helped Asra with his ritual just to be transported into the Hermit's realm by accident when it went south. And when his parents had asked a traveling merchant to take him to Vesuvia, when he'd been a toddler.
He didn't remember much about his parents or the Kokhuri Tribe, but the traditional greeting was still there, buried deep in his mind.
He lifted his left hand, clenched to a fist, to his chest and moved it forwards with his palm facing upwards in an offering motion.
It displayed the Kokhuri's philosophy- I face you with an open heart.
"Muriel of the Kokhuri Tribe", he introduced himself hesitantly. Speaking these worlds felt odd, it had been so long since he'd last met someone he could've introduced himself to. The last one had been... Asra. About 16 years ago when they had met for the first time, two street kids trying to survive.

What exactly was happening here right now? This man sounded like he was offering him to travel together, at least for a while.
Automatically, Muriel shook his head to decline the offer, being the hermit he was, but then looked to the ground with a faint frown. He could travel this endless expanse alone, like he would prefer to do, but something told him that Asra wasn't as far away as he seemed. Back when they had been kids they would've done everything for each other. They had, in fact.
There had been a point in his life when he'd let that restless little magician in, had welcomed him into his heart and life and become his brother.

Muriel sighed.
He could almost see Asra nodding, with that mischievous little smile on his face.

Fine.
So he'd give it a chance. For Asra.
Good grief.

"Honestly my friend sent me on this trip, thinking I've been a bit of a hermit lately", he finally admitted. "I have no idea of... All this. But as I'm already on my way, I could as well take care of some unfinished buisness..."
What a way to describe a trip to your childhood home and the family that abandoned you to find out just why.
But it was something that had been bothering him forever, and now that he had the chance to go and ask this question... But did he even want an answer? He could still come up with a different place...

"The Scourge lands", he heard himself say.
Oh how he would've loved to slap himself across the face right now.
"It's somewhere in the south, I believe. There's someone I need to see."

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

"Well, Muriel of the Kokhuri, you wish to go to the Scourge lands? Allow me to see if I have gone through such a place before, if I have, the map should have a record of it." Euristices hummed, he brought his map forward to his eyes. Checking, trying to look for a place that he had come across with such a name, while he had been to plenty of places, he saw nor marking with that name. Nor did he recall going to such a place. He gave his map one last look before scratching his head. He looked at Muriel with sadness.

"I am afraid I have not visited such a place. But, you said it should be at the south." Euristices smiled. "So we simply need to go to the south and essentially should be able to end up in the lands you are looking for." As Euristices was about to prepare to walk, he remembered something. "Say, you have yet to use the map right? So far you have only been in the endless space, so allow me to share a few things you should know."

Euristices brought his map for Muriel to see. "You see, my map has countless points on it, those names are places I have been before. If I want to go back to any of them, all I need to do is touch its name and the endless expanse will show me the path towards it. In this case, as we don't know where the Scourge Lands you speak is, all we need to do is south as you say, but, the south you are thinking of, is not the south of the map." He spoke with the wisdom of a traveler, yet explained it with the kindness of a friend.

Euristices closed his eyes his map suddenly clearing of any point before markings appear on it, the markings showing three symbols. When Euristices opened his eyes he showed the map to Muriel. "When focusing, the map can show you the way to what we would call a waypoint. The points you see, are us." The map showed three points.

Muriel of the Kokhuri.
Wolf
Euristices of the Petrified Forest.

"As you see, it shows what the owner of the map knows. In this case, I don't know the name of your companion. So it shows for what I know." Euristices explained the nature of the map so if should they separate, Muriel could use the map on his own. As Euristices showed his map to Muriel, he also pointed out the marking with an S on it.

"This mark means the south as we know it is over this path. As you see, the south here is not where you would believe it, this is why the map is such an important tool." He smiled as he pointed to the path the map indicated. "Are you ready then?"

 

[Kaya]

Muriel, who did have some knowledge about the arcane arts, thanks to his best friend, watched in utter wonder as the map changed in Euristices' hands.
Unlike Asra he wasn't a born psychic, but he'd learned some basics, like Tarot, prediction, clairsentience and hex bags... but things like this were way out of his league and fascinated him to the point of him accidentally forgetting about his distrust for a brief moment.
His moss green eyes wide, he soaked up the Centaur's explanations like a curious apprentice watching his master for the first time.
"This is... Fascinating..."
The words had made it past his lips before he could hold them back.

Quickly silencing again he focused on his map, watching baffled as it changed to show the symbols Euristices' map was showing, too.

Euristices of the Petrified Forest.
Muriel of the Kokhuri.
Innana.

Right...
"Innana", he mentioned a little hurriedly, yet with his voice still hushed as if he was fearing that the sky would come crashing down on them if he'd just speak loud enough.
Motioning his head towards the wolf by his side, her perking up to look at him curiously at the mention of her name, he added "Her name. She's Innana."

Unsure how to act around the centaur he reached up to fumble with the massive, studded chain around his neck before he nodded and headed down the path Euristices had said to be the right one to take.

As suddenly as the scenery had changed to blank space before did it change again now, into a lush rainforest, the air filled with the singing of birds and buzzing of insects.
Muriel was covered in goosebumps within seconds. He didn't hate insects per se, but ever since the Blight Beetles had brought the Red Plague to Vesuvia and caused the death of countless people they sent a cold chill down his spine.
Torn between the feeling of discomfort caused by the buzzing of the insects and the feeling of home the forest gave him, he stood to take in his surroundings.

"I don't know if you know about them", he finally said, watching Euristices from the corner of his eye, "but if you happen to come across beetles that look like crimson red scarabs- end them. And never let them touch you. They bring a deadly sickness, believe me."




Unbeknownst to him, they had been watched from the second they had entered the rainforest.
A pair of golden eyes was intriguedly glued on them from the shadows of the foliage of a giant tree. Their owner leaned forwards in interest as he spoke of the red beetles.
A slim, dark gray body, covered in black spots, moved swiftly down the branch, until it bent dangerously under its weight.

Blight Beetles, you say...
Crack-
... Oh sh-
Crash.
She had been too late to jump back when the branch had given in under her weight and suddenly found herself falling, in a breakneck speed, towards a floor that came closer far too fast.

In mid-air she twisted her body to land on all fours, but soon didn't find herself coming to a halt on the ground -
But with her claws panically digging into the back of a gigantic centaur.
"Oh sh-"
Immediately retracting her razor sharp claws she lost her balance and slipped, finally landing on the floor, though quite disheveled and far from gracefully.
Way to lose your dignity...
"I'm so sorry!", she quickly gasped through gritted teeth as she struggled to all fours.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?!"

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

Hearing the young man fascination with the map made Euristices smile. Hearing him speak of his wolf partner made him happy to know the young man wasn’t against traveling together, but he was most likely shy from what he could tell. He would remember those names. Muriel and Innana. When they walked and got to meet the new scenery, Euristices was fascinated. "Ah, a rainforest!" As someone who loved the forests and all their variants, he could tell he had a fond spot for forests full of life and sound. The Petrified Forest, was already by its name alone, known as a different place. Life had come to appear on it, but the inhabitants were not like on other forests. Most insects were tougher too. They had to be to live in what was essentially a forest made of the hardest of stones. And yet, the trees were made of wood. Wood that was stronger than any other. Hence why the tools of the centaurs were so valuable.

So, when Euristices heard Muriel speak about beetles that brought a deadly sickness, he felt more relaxed when thinking of the ones of his home.

"Oh, will take note on that for sure. Where I come from the beetles resemble stones more than actual insects.”

It was then that Euristices ears picked up the sound of a branch breaking. Normally he wouldn’t have given much attention to a natural sound of the forests, but what did catch his ears were the sound of dragging on the soil. Before he could turn, he was met with a sharp pain on his back. He knew it well. Claws. While not something that would hurt him or leave a mark, claws had by virtue the ability to dig through his skin. Nothing that would make damage. But pain was unavoidable. So, he did the only thing a centaur could in such cases. Suck the reaction and muffle it by closing his fist tightly, digging his fingers on his palm. After a few seconds, he managed to let go of it with a sigh. Turning he looked at the one who had apologized of the accident.

“Don’t worry, I am a big centaur… I will be fine.” He chuckled, but one could tell he was still trying to not focus on it. “You have… you have some really sharp claws.” He wanted to speak something else, another type of compliment but that was the one that came out.

“I am Euristices of the Petrified Forest. The young man at my side is Muriel of the Kokhuri and his wolf friend is Innana. With the presentations aside, how about you tell us your name lady?” He was never that fond of speaking for others, considering they may want to say something else, but he had the feeling that Muriel had a hard time speaking to strangers.

“We are looking to travel through the Scourge Lands, you wouldn’t know the path through by chance. We would be really grateful, and while I can’t speak for my partner, I would be willing to pay for a guide.” The pain of his back was already gone, which allowed him to be more affable to the lady. Though it was often hard to tell when he smiled due to his beard.

Seeing the girl in a closer inspection he was surprised of seeing a centaur, but well, not exactly like the ones he was used to. He had been travelling so much and yet saw so little. It was moments like this that got him smiling, thinking how much there is to still see.

 

[Kaya]

Wow, this guy has some impressive self-control.
It was the thought that ran through both, Muriel and Shenzi's head when Euristices' only reaction to having sixteen razor sharp claws dug into his back was to clench his fist and take a deep breath.
While Muriel had been pretty certain that the centaur wouldn't lash out on the... Whatever she was, he would've expected him to rear up or something, if only from being startled. Shenzi meanwhile thanked all gods between the underworld and heavens for the seemingly endless countenance of this literal gentle giant.

She threw a quick glance at her claws before an awkward grin spread across her face and she lifted her shoulders. "They come for free with the Sphinx-pack", she chuckled jokingly, however still with an apologetic look in her eyes.
"Euristices of the Petrified Forest, Muriel of the Kokhuri, Innana-"
With her hands clasped neatly in front of the big tuft of fluffy, snow white fur just where her human upper half connected to her cheetah lower half, she took a small bow, untamed red hair falling into her face just to be wiped aside a second later.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Pa-" she hesitated briefly. What were the chances of one of them recognizing or even knowing her? Not that big... Right?
"Sh-Shenzi. I'm Shenzi. But friends call me Pasha. I'm a Sphinx, all the way from Prakra."

And then Euristices mentioned the Scourge Lands.

It must have actually been a funny sight, how Muriel and Shenzi were staring at each other like someone had just told them to slow dance together in a hailstorm.
Well, at least Muriel was staring at her, in a mixture of distrust, curiosity and an ungood sixth sense of foreboding.
Her gaze was rather flicking between the two men in front of her for just a little too long.
"The Scourge Lands...?", she repeated silently, with a somewhat cryptical undertone of, what, pity?
Muriel furrowed his eyebrows sorrowfully, but remained silent.

Then it seemed to hit her.
"Muriel of the-..." her eyes widened to the size of saucers, but the curiosity written in them was dampened by something darker.
"You must be one of the legendary Bear People of the Scourge Lands", she finally concluded.
Muriel didn't seem too happy about it, but didn't let it show, as basically always. He nodded in silence, before his body suddenly contorted and the man turned into a gigantic, 10ft tall, winged bear and promptly hit his head on a branch. Rubbing his head with his paw, he sighed. "I am. I haven't been there in over twenty years, but there's something I need to know and the only place that'll give me answers is there."

She knew what he would find in the scourge lands, but couldn't bring herself to say it. Maybe he just had to see it with his own eyes...
"I've heard of the Scourge lands from my sister", she finally said, her gaze flicking from Muriel, who was slowly turning human again, to Euristices. "never been there myself, though... It's somewhere in the south, as far as I know. I won't be much of a help when it comes to guiding you there, but I'm a skilled huntress and fighter. I'd be happy to accompany you, if only to make sure you'll have a good meal in the evenings and won't be pestered by burglars...no payment required. See it as an apology for accidentally attacking you."
Plus, I need to get away from here asap.
When Muriel seemed to lighten up at the mention of good food, Shenzi couldn't help but grin softly. "I say it's okay", he concluded in usual, short spoken way, but with a faint smile crossing his face as both looked at Euristices for his opinion.

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

Euristices was having one interesting day for sure, first, he learned that Shenzi was a Sphinx. He had heard of them before, but mostly as a passing rumor of other travelers, how they were graceful and could be deadly when fought. He could get that for sure. Sixteen small markings on his back would attest to that. As much as he disliked many aspects of the petrified forest. He could surely thank it for giving him a strong build. Bless you, Eugysios, for giving me the strong hide of my ancestors... Not only that. But he also learned that apparently, the subject of the Scourge Lands was not an easy one to speak about in the open if the look between Shenzi and Muriel was anything to go by.

Speaking of Muriel. The man could grow taller than him. And that was something of a feat by itself. Legendary Bear People of the Scourge Lands... he wants to go home. Or at least the place of his birth... the place wasn't on his map.

Simple to say, that if a place was not on your map, either you had not been there yet, or is gone. But judging by the fact Muriel was so young and his map just starting, the chances of the place being gone were little to none. In other words, this was really a journey to his home. The good news, that according to Shenzi the place was in the south, so at least on that way, they were going in the right direction. It was then he noticed the look the two youngsters were giving him. He noticed Muriel with the shadow of a smile. Small, but perceptible, and Shenzi's grin wasn't doing anything to deny the idea of traveling together. Then again, kindness was a gift, and the gift meant to share. So he just chuckled.

"Well, I do believe you have some sharp claws, they should be useful to deal with any burglar... and I do feel like having a good meal." He smiled as he chuckled saluting Shenzi with his arm to his chest. "It will be a pleasure to have you with us, Shenzi from Prakra... I must confess you are the first Sphinx I have met, same goes to you, Muriel." He spoke with a pause focusing on him as he motioned for them to keep walking. "I have met few who were taller than me in the Petrified Forest. So is always nice to see surprises like that." He chuckled as he walked with them in tow through the rainforest. As he took on the sounds and the trees he chuckled.

"You know, Centaur legends says Agarale and Kalano planted every forest that exists. I used to think when I was child, how that was surely a tale for little centaurs." He spoke as he looked at all that surrounded them. "But since I got a map, I must say, I wonder if those two centaurs are actually real, traveling all over planting forests wherever they go..." He spoke focusing on Muriel. "Do you know some interesting stories Muriel?" He turned then towards Shenzi. "What about you Shenzi." Euristices was curious to learn more about his traveling partners.

 

[Kaya]

Muriel listened to Euristices' story with a look of admiration on his face, while Shenzi, walking next to him, was buzzing with excitement.
He remained silent for a whole while, just watching the path in front of them with a distraught gaze as he tried to remember something, anything, about the legends of his people.
If he hadn't been so lost in thoughts he would've noticed the look of worry in Shenzi's eyes as she side-glanced at him carefully, but he was too busy trying to at least be a little less socially awkward.

"I don't remember much of the stories of the Kokhuri", he finally admitted with a small frown etched between his brows.
"But I believe there was something about spirits..."
It was a distant, grayed out memory of a young mind, almost too young to understand it, but he could feel it was there, buried somewhere deep below disappointment and repression.

The more he tried to remember it, the more he felt a throbbing pain in his temples, but he pushed on. It was an odd relationship he had to his Clan. On the one hand he was disappointed and angry about how they had just given him away like that, on the other hand he longed for a home. To see his parents, his family, and find out just why.

"It was long before people built towns...there was an ancient clan, facing the hardest winter of all times.", he finally spoke, the look on his face clearly indicating how much concentration it was taking him to piece the story together. "It was so unbelievably cold the people froze to solid ice, only their hearts still beating warm from the love and courage they beared.
When the god of the land and life, Kokhurun saw them, he was so touched he gave them new bodies; strong and unbreakable to survive the winter and live on by his teachings. That's the legend of how the Kokhuri became bear people."

Great, now he was feeling dizzy, and the headaches were getting worse. Somehow though... It also felt good, to finally look back at his roots.
Frowning a little, he rubbed his hurting temples while Shenzi was still silently watching him. He raised one eyebrow at her quizzical expression, but she just smiled at him innocently and cocked her head at Euristices.

"Kalano...", she said thoughtfully. "That's interesting, our legends speak of a stranger called Kalano, who came across our ancestors living in the endless desert, where they had to fight for even the tiniest scrap of food. He was weak, desperately needed food and water. The legends goes that our ancestors shared what little they had to save his life, and when he was strong enough to travel on, he led them out of the desert and into the tropical paradise where we live to this day."

 

[The Dreamer of the Lore]

Hearing about the people of Muriel was highly interesting, leaving Euristices humming, he had never heard of such people like the ones of Kokhuri. "The god of the land and life. Is interesting to hear of such a god. Especially how it saved your people. Usually, the gods I knew of tended to be distant from others... I am surprised." He smiled kindly at the idea of gods actually being more part of the lives of those they cared for. Centaur myths often spoke of when the gods left, not much of their actions. Except for their punishments.

Then when Shenzi spoke of Kalano he was surprised. "Only Kalano's name is known to the Sphinxs?" In a way, that was worrisome. Well, maybe this Kalano was a coincidence. "Is interesting to hear the name... maybe I should visit the Sphinxs one day." He smiled before walking and thinking a bit of what else to share with his traveling partners. "You two may already know this, but did you know your time is frozen when you got the map?" He chuckled remembering how shocking it was for him.

"A merchant explained to me how your time stops moving when you own a map, I didn't get the phrase until a wizard explained it to me. We simply dont age, sure, your hair, nails... claws." He teased with mirth. "Keep growing, but you are not getting older, you are in a way connected to the energy of the endless expanses of the map, and those same energies stop you from growing old. I was forty myself when I got my map. I would be older than other centaurs if I could count my years traveling... but I must admit I have not traveled as much. I was mostly looking forests to find clues."

He sighed. "Clues on myths of my people, and maybe, an answer to the mystery that is our petrified forest." He chuckled. "You see, that forest wasn't always like that, according to the ancestors, it used to be green and tall woods, until the gods punished the centaurs, and turned their forest into stone. Or so says the story... others centaurs insists that the petrification of the trees is a result of their old age."

He chuckled. "Maybe if I keep on traveling, I will find an answer to that." He kept walking and spoke. "But that can wait. My priority right now." He turned to Muriel and Inana. "Is to help you find your home." He smiled at the pair. Making clear his intentions.