Stanislav

Stanislav or known in the the Ashkavari government as Stanislav-Dhar, is a Feles orphan born somewhere in the Rozakko’ra mesa, Fisher, Gold Miner, CEO of Clap Co., Kizildhar in Ashkavar, Senator in the Azuma Shogunate, El Presidente of the Stanistan, Mayor of Dredge, Shaomel of Wheelism.
== Early Life ==
Not much is known of Stan's early childhood, but it may seem that he came from a tribe of Feles that settled within the region. Perhaps these Feles were nomadic in nature, or maybe they traveled over from a whole other world to settle the new fresh lands of Abexilas. 
Stan spent a lot of his time roaming the mesa, and eating copious amounts of “shiny yellow rocks” (gold). There wasn’t much food in the mesa to begin with, so his dependence on this material skyrocketed. His eyes slowly changed from a darkish orange to a light blue. He was truly an addict.
One day, a monumental event would take place, forcing Stan to begin his travels after witnessing something breathtaking.
=== Start of Stan’s journey ===
Stan gazed up into the light blue sky, and stood there, speechless. High above him loomed what seemed to be an orb of light; the light almost mimicked the sun’s brightness. As Stan focused in on the orb, it seemed to have an object in the middle of it. This “object” cast the shadow of a large angelic bird-like creature at Stan’s feet. Stan continued to stand there, more so out of fear, after this realization. It said nothing to him, as it acknowledged Stan. Moments later, the creature flew away. Stan quickly pulled out his compass and plotted what direction it was heading. Northeast. He would immediately start to follow the bird as it trailed a golden glimmer behind it. 
As Stan traveled, he thought it would be wise to document his new found journey ahead of him. These books would later be referred to as “Stan’s Travels”, and would document his travels on a monthly basis.
In Stan’s first book, “The Phoenix” he cited “ What stood before me made me fear my very existence, yet its mere presence seemed to also bring me to peace. It was a feeling I had never felt before, and I envy to feel that again. Whatever this creature is, I must follow it, and I must learn from it.”  
As Stan sailed across the ocean, trailing this magnificent creature, he began to ponder its intentions. He conjured up many different theories, but ultimately landed on the one believing this bird was a messenger of peace. Nothing he came up with could truly explain that feeling he had when laying his eyes upon it. Stan was so far gone with his daydreaming that he hadn’t noticed making landfall on the continent of Kejafros. 
His boat was completely destroyed. Stan sat in the tides for a moment to collect himself. He needed to keep his mind sharp if he wanted to catch up to the bird. With his wits about him, the Feles decided to keep heading Northeast into this new uncharted land. Stan had never seen such large and vast mountains, along with the occasional taigas. The snowy climate was something he was not used to in the slightest. In his book, “The Phoenix”, Stan would state “The complete switch from hot to cold was something I truly wasn’t ready for. Sure, the mesa had its cold nights, but this new cold was bone chilling. I don’t believe I’ve ever felt this numb before in my life.” 
After a grueling trek through the icy cold forest, Stan would finally be greeted to a vast open field. As he walked through the field, a strong scent of lilacs and vanilla hit his nose. The scent was blowing towards him in the wind, as if it was insinuating for Stan to follow it. As he walked towards the source, something began to develop on the horizon. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A pinkish white forest stood before him. From his perspective, the forest seemed endless, reaching all the way up towards the foothills of yet another massive mountain. As he began to walk closer, he saw an orb of light hovering over the cherry blossom forest. The creature.
== Azuma, Chapter I ==
As Stan walked closer to the cherry blossom forest, he noticed a small settlement at the base of the foothills. Stan, even though he was very fixated on reaching the creature, needed to rest. He would state in his second book “Blossoms”, “Even though this creature was in my sights, I can feel my body finally giving out after all the adrenaline was out of my veins. I truly need to rest. Hopefully I can rest my head when I arrive at this strange place.” 
Stan would finally make it to the settlement around sunset. The bird’s bright glow still loomed over the cherry blossom forest in the distance, acting like a second sun. Stan knew if he just had a quick rest, he would surely be able to catch up to the bird. As soon as he walked down the main road of the settlement, he was greeted by a tall slender man in a green shirt, and very shaggy hair. He seemed familiar to Stan, as if they had met in different lives, or were even distant friends. 
Stan would write “This shaggy man welcomed me to his town of Azuma", and immediately ushered me over to this large red building they called an “onsen”. There I met another Azumi, who had purple skin, white long hair, and knives for ears. I think they should be called Gobbo. Gobbo and the shaggy man told me that this onsen was open, and willing to take me in for the night, no payment necessary. A very kind gesture to show to such a stranger like me. Only problem is that I have no clue what an onsen is, and what I just got myself into.”
All of this was extremely overwhelming for Stan. He was so used to living out of a cave within the mesa, and had little to no interaction with civilization before this. Culture shock set in for the Feles. As Stan walked towards the hot springs, he noticed a new face. It greeted Stan and urged him to join in. Little did the newcomer know that this interaction would shape Stan’s life mission entirely. 
==== Onsen ====
Stan climbed into the hot springs of the onsen, and felt instant relaxation. Stan would describe the experience “as if I had been standing my whole life, and finally sat down”. Immediately as Stan started to drift off, a voice would break the silence, bringing Stan back to reality. 
“Sorry I can’t stop looking at your large eyes, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” The voice came from a hornet the size of a man. “My name is Skarn, I come from the town north of here.” 
Stan introduced himself to the insectoid. “No, I’m not from around here, I’m from a mesa way far southwest.” 
This seemed to peak Skarns' interest, and a cascade of questions immediately followed. “So, you know of the great race of moths that resides within the city of a thousand doors?” 
Surprisingly, Stan had not heard of this place, nor had he seen any sort of moth-like people. He was now curious as to if this civilization had any connections to the glowing bird. Stan would later mark this location in his book “Blossoms”. 
Stan and Skarn talked for what seemed to be hours. About raids, territory disputes, potential wars. None of which Stan exactly understood, but he went along for the conversation. Finally though, a question would be dropped on Stan that would influence his mission entirely. 
“Stan, what are your thoughts on a full fledged, peaceful continent, all working together? Sounds great right?” 
Stan sat there in the hot springs, thinking of how he felt when he saw the bird in the mesa. Peace. He connected the two, and started to see this question more so as a test of his devotion. Stan never interacted with politics in his life, especially not the politics of an extremely alien place like this. 
“I think that sounds like everyone has found their inner harmony, one way or another. Though Skarn, what you’ve been telling me this whole time in the onsen about the border skirmishes and raids- It kinda makes it seem unachievable.”
Skarn nodded, “That’s true, but there are whispers across Kejafros of a diplomatic league forming. Nations are coming together. Nations will refuse to attack each other, and work towards a better future through diplomacy. They call it the Kejafros Diplomatic Organization, and I think Azuma is the perfect candidate to join.” 
The little black Feles sat there, speechless. It took him a moment to respond to Skarn. “I will make this my life’s mission, to spread peace across the world, and end all wars. I’ll look into this.”
The sun started to rise. When they got into the hot springs, it was sunset. Stan and Skarn had talked all the way through the night about the prospects of a peaceful world. It almost seemed symbolic for the sun to be rising after a conversation like this. Stan shook the hornet’s claw, thanked him, and climbed out of the hot springs; stumbling off into his room in the onsen. As soon as Stan opened the door, he walked to the middle of the room, stood there for a moment, then collapsed. Exhaustion had finally caught up to him.
=== Azuma, continued ===
Stan awoke from the middle of the floor. It was almost noon. The feles stumbled towards the window to see if the bird was still in the same spot he’d last seen it. As Stan squinted, he could make out the shape of the bird. Right in the same spot too. It was almost like it was waiting for him to run over and try to catch a glimpse again. As Stan rushed down the stairs of the onsen, he was once again stopped by the Shaggy Man. 
“Good to see you’re finally awake, I’d like you to meet someone!”. He grabbed Stan’s hand and pulled him towards the middle of the street. Standing there was a man in armor with bright red hair. “Stan, I would like you to meet the Shogun, Storm!”. Stan, being Stan, had no clue what a Shogun was, but regardless, he shook Storm’s hand, allowing him to take the lead in the conversation. The group guided Stan around Azuma, introducing him to more new faces. He met a great blacksmith, a professor, and even a human-sized worm. Finally the tour ended when they stopped in front of a little two-story home. Storm turned to Stan and said “This will be your house Stan, you can stay here for no charge whatsoever.” The little feles was floored to hear that. Stan would write. “The Azumi people’s generosity is limitless, it's almost like these folks walk the same path of peace I do. The fact that they are welcoming an outsider into their community like this truly brings me hope for the rest of my journey.” 
Stan would accept the key to his home from Storm, and the professor would help him settle in. As they left, Stan then boarded up all his windows.Then he would proceed to dig through his first floor wall, and rip up his floor boards. Stan really made his home a “home” by adding the finishing touch of a sign that read “Me Casa Tu Casa” in the middle of the debris pile on the floor. His reason for doing this; we still don’t really know. Nothing about this was documented in any of his books. One theory is that he wanted it to be more like his cave back in the mesa, a mess. 
Stan would begin to settle in, and enjoy this new way of living. He was offered many luxuries in Azuma, something he’d never thought to come by. Stan was made the “Minister of Foreign Affairs”, and given a position within Azuma’s government. Stan began to learn how to write the Azumi-Vostoki language, and with this he began to perfect his common as well. Stan wrote many letters out to the surrounding nations, even sending a letter to that mysterious “city of a thousand doors”. Even though Stan kept himself busy, the little black feles’ mind wasn’t at rest. He couldn’t take his mind off that damn bird, so he began to conjure up a plan to confront it. 
==== Tower ====
One night, as Stan was tossing and turning on his mound of dirt, a dream came to him. A tower, reaching to the heavens, casting a large shadow across the plains of Azuma. Stan awoke in a cold sweat, he knew exactly what he needed to do. The feles sprung up and ran to his stockpile of materials and began loading his wagon. In the dead of night, he ran out to the spot where the bird has been hovering, stood directly under it, and stroke the ground with his shovel. The ground had been broken, and he knew from that point forward that he was on a timer. 
Stan worked tirelessly for what seemed to be years, but in reality, it was only three days. As he worked, Azumi people would flock to the construction site, and watched as the feles went up and up and up. The tower seemed endless, with frost forming on the shingles towards the upper parts of the newly placed roofs. The structure itself rivaled the peaks of the mountains, almost cresting over them. Finally, as Stan strung together the final touches of the tower, he heard a voice carried on the chilling winds. 
"Return here when the spirits are carried down the mountain side, I'll be waiting..."
Stan frantically scanned the horizon, looking for the bright orb of light he had witnessed those 3 long days ago. Nothing. He felt defeated. The feles would slowly descend from his tower, and walk back to his home with his head hanging low. Stan sat by the window, looking at his tower. With his new gained thoughts, he began to write. "Had I been too focused on the tower's construction? If only I had looked up, I could've seen that the bird had moved. Though, this isn't a complete failure, something spoke to me while standing up there. 'Return here when the spirits are carried down the mountain side, I'll be waiting...' I should ask around and see what these 'spirits' are; They could lead me to that damn bird." Stan would wrap his writing session up, and finally go to sleep after 3 days of no rest. He slept for 2 days straight, and while the feles was sound asleep, many things began to pile up at his front door; waiting for him to get up.
=== Departure ===
Stan awoke to a pile of mail at his door, mostly from the minister of Infrastructure, Professor_Sword; but one letter stood out. The feles would take this envelope and stuff it in his morning coats' breast pocket, saving it for later. He brought the rest of the letters back inside, and placed them on the table. Slowly he made his way through the copious amounts of complaint letters discussing the construction of the tower. "The tower was built illegally, and built over important farmland for Azuma". "You built this without approval from me, the minister of infrastructure...". "The tower is an eye sore, and a ranch would've been nicer in its place". Stan would let out a long exhausting sigh, roll his eyes, and toss all these complaint letters in his fireplace. The winter season in Azuma was beginning to roll in, so what better time to start a fire. Stan thought to himself "What better kindling for the fire". He smirked as the fire grew with the addition of these pointless letters, and with that his house grew warmer. He made himself comfortable next to the fire, reached into his breast pocket, and took out the envelope. The letter inside was concealed within a black and red envelope, with a wax seal in the shape of a poppy holding it closed. Stan opened the envelope, and took out the shiny gold letter from inside. It was addressed to Stan in broken common. The feles reached for some paper and his feather and ink and began to decipher the letter. 
"We welcome you to come to our beloved city of Tadhu Huvesh, diplomat of the cherry blossoms. When you arrive in our city of a thousand doors, make sure to meet with the stubborn one. He will provide you with free housing, and supplies to get you settled in..." 
Stan was filled with excitement, though if he wanted to travel this city Tadhu Huvesh, he would need to check one last thing off his list before leaving. The spirits. Stan packed what was necessary, and headed to meet the Shogun at the onsen. "Surely the Shogun would know about the spirits", Stan thought as he walked towards the onsen. The little feles pushed open the door and saw Shogun Storm sitting inside with the Shaggy Man and Gobbo. Storm ushered Stan to have a sit alongside them. As Stan sat down, the Shogun said "The tower looks incredible Stan, nice work". Stan nodded, and proceeded to jump straight to his question. "My Shogun, have you ever had the wind whisper to you?". Storm's face went from a welcoming smile, to something more serious. "Well yes Stan, that's how some of the spirits communicate with us mortals. Have the spirits addressed you in some way?". Stan nodded, and recited what the wind told him to Storm. The Shogun would sit there and try to interpret the meaning behind the message. After a few moments, Storm would mutter under his breath "The summer winds... Stan you would need to wait until summer for those winds to come down the mountain." At the news of that information, Stan would stand up, and sling his bag over his shoulder. He then turned to the Shogun and said "Thank you for letting me know, I'll be heading south in the meantime on a diplomatic mission to Tadhu-Huvesh. I'll return at the start of summer." The Shogun nodded, waved goodbye to Stan, and wished him good luck on his journey. 
As Stan walked towards the entrance of Azuma, he turned back to take a look at the tower. It stood there, casting a large shadow across the side of the mountain. "This isn't over, bird. I'll be back to speak with you once and for all. Whatever it takes." The little black Feles turned back towards the road, following the same path that led him here in the first place. This time though, he wouldn't be guided by the golden shimmer of the mighty bird. Instead, he would be guided by the snowflakes beginning to fall as winter set in. 
== Bel'Hor, Chapter II ==
Stan began to make the trek back to his homeland of Rozakko'ra. As he walked the very same path that led him to the Cherry Blossom forest, he pondered the same thing that led him there in the first place. "What is this bird's true intent?". Though puzzled by the bird and his journey ahead, Stan was still eager to experience yet another new place. As he stopped in the snowy taiga to rest, he dreamt about feeling the warmth of the mesa again. His dreams didn't stop there though, as once again he day dreamt as he sailed across the ocean, so much so that he crashed his ship into the side of what seemed to be a barbry styled vessel. He snapped out of his day dreaming when he heard a raspy voice shout at him in a foreign tongue. On the deck of the ship was a large orange moth with white long hair. The moth shook his fist at Stan, but seemed to relax when he began to realize that this was the rumored "diplomat" he was intended to meet. The moth switched languages on a dime. "Some diplomat you are! You nearly knocked a hole in my ship!". The little black Feles sat in his sinking raft, shocked by what he had done. He apologized for his actions, and asked the moth to pull him aboard. The Moth shook his head out of disbelief and anger, but still tossed down a rope ladder anyways. Stan immediately jumped from his sinking boat and latched onto rope ladder, scrabbling aboard the vessel. 
The two stood there, staring at each other. "Welcome to Bel'Hor, I guess" scoffed the moth. The moth immediately turned his back and began to continue the activities he was doing before he was interrupted. Stan, a bit puzzled, proceeded to introduce himself to the moth. "Hello, sorry for the rude entrance, my name is Stan, I'm a diplomat from the Azuma Shog-". Before Stan could finish, he was interrupted by the stubborn moth. "Yea, I figured. You quaters are over there on shore, come back to me when you're settled in." Stan shrugged, and made his way to the side of the ship, only to realize that there was no dingy to take to shore. "By chance is there a boat I can take back to the shoreline?", the moth turned his head and replied "What? So you can smash that one against the harbor wall? Take a swim." 
Stan's diplomatic mission did not start off well. As the waterlogged Feles finally made it to shore, he was greeted by a wise looking blueish purple moth with white hair. The moth extended his hand out to and smiled at Stan. "Welcome to Tadhu-Huvesh, little cat. I see you met my stubborn friend over there." The moth chuckled to himself and continued. "I'll show you to your quarters, feel free to venture around the city when you feel more settled in." Stan nodded, then began to follow them. The city was so different from what he had seen in the Azuma Shogunate. Just walking on the roads the moths had laid were made of a completely different material. Everything was made of mud bricks, terracotta, sandstone, and red sand. It was enchanting. Finally, the blue moth stopped in front of a building, overlooking the town square. "These are your quarters, I hope you don't mind some company, we keep our livestock on the first floor." Stan smiled, and said "This is perfect, thank you so much for your hospitality." 
Category:Ashkavari