Okwaho Skyseer

Shaman, Earthen Ring, Redwood Tribes, Shu'halo.

Okwaho is from the Skyseer Tribe, but his connection to the elements led him to studies with the Earthen Ring. Currently, he travels with Redwood as an advisor, but his calling is to find more shamans among the Trolls and Orcs, helping them learn and grow, to share the knowledge of the Earth Mother, and to continue his own spiritual journey.

Okwaho, with his relative Vorn Skyseer - (and his panda companion below)

Okwaho's First Story, "Heartbeat"

It feels like a drum beating when the kodo march across the lands of Mulgore.  The rhythm plods along to a beat the Shu’halo carry inside them from birth.

This is the story of one child, in particular; a child whose father perished to the Centaurs months prior to his birth.  The mid-wife journeyed to their small hut past Bloodhoof Village in the midst of a storm and tended to the birth amid the kodo marching past; the thunder of storm and hoof in the night eclipsing the first cries of the mid-wife’s firm touch.  The village attended the birth and smiled when the mid-wife emerged, happy that the family’s line would continue on in the newborn.  However, in one thing, there was something that the entire village noticed… the newborn only cried out when thunder was in the air, or in the land, as when the kodo marched and shook the earth.

The village watched as the youngling grew, playing at the hunt, scraping his hands as he learned to climb trees or rocks, wrestling with any that would accept the challenge.  And every time, the youngling was hurt, he would make no sound nor cry, no matter the pain.  Yet, the kodo would come near and a single tear would slide down the youngling’s cheek and a cry normally kept bottled inside, would sound so the Sky Father could hear it upon the winds.

One afternoon, a pack crossed the lands, but one kodo, older than many, was moving slower and falling back from its fellows.  The youngling was a bit older now, and would hold back voicing the cry, though a tear would still fall.  His mother stood near and thinking he was old enough to understand his own thoughts on the subject, she asked him why a tear had fallen.

The youngling looked at her and shrugged and swallowed hard.  “I do not know, mother.  I feel struck by something whenever I hear or feel the earth beat under their hooves.”  He looked wistfully at the kodo as they moved away.  “But I cannot explain what it is.”  He glanced back at his mother and suddenly leaned close to nuzzle her cheek and then moved swiftly to catch up to the older kodo.

He set out to stalk the kodo, to practice the hunter’s way, to be so quiet as to not spook the quarry, but he knew he was clumsy.  Once he got too close causing the kodo to flick his tail at the Shu’halo as though to warn him from any further transgressions.  The youngling then set to pacing the older kodo, though not coming so close as to be within tail lashing distance.

He meant to turn back when he reached the foothills and the climb towards the Barrens, but he was enjoying the walk and as the other kodo in the pack pulled further ahead, he believed that he caught the kodo turning his head every so often towards himself, and slowing its pace to match his.  So it was, that as An’she set behind them, the two came to the edge of Mulgore as though they walked together into a land new to both of them, fear of the tail’s lashing left in the valley far below them.

He could see Camp Taurajo close at hand, but so could his companion, who turned North of the road towards the Barrens’ fields and hills.  When the youngling hesitated, the tail whacked him, a gentle touch that still knocked him to his knees. He rose up obediently and caught up to the massive beast.

Part 2:

This land was new to him and foreign, but the name did not fit what he sensed all around him.  Grains grew with little or no water to feed them, strong and hearty, and with every step they took, he could see predators and prey all around them; how did they survive if the land was truly as barren as the name? But walking in step, none of the beasts came near, perhaps knowing the damage a kodo could truly do if the need arose.  The Shu’halo began to feel more at ease in the land with each step, constantly moving forward with the massive kodo beside him.

Mu’sha rose overhead and they marched on, each step taking them closer to a comfortable and familiar rhythm with each other, until finally the Shu’halo started to lag and stumble over the most miniscule of pebbles as Mu’sha began her descent.  They were still in the Barrens and he could see a town in the distance, but again, the Kodo had taken a different track, cutting between two small lakes; as they passed one, both kodo and Shu’halo declined to drink from the waters, not liking the scent, and they had quickened their pace when centaur were seen roaming the area.

Past the lake and near the bottom of a small hill, the kodo, who had been slowing his step, shook his mangy head and stopped, kneeling down first at the front of his great torso and then the back legs and finally laid prone on the ground.  When the Shu’halo kept moving, the great beast snuffled a reproach and the Shu’halo stopped and turned surprised that his companion was lying down or surprised he had not noticed.  Dutifully, the Shu’halo walked back to his companion and sat down nearby.  Within seconds the Shu’halo laid down to watch the last of the lights in the sky twinkling above before An’she rose in the East, but he was fast asleep before he could whisper a good night to Mu’sha.

When the youngling finally awoke, he felt a rough hide next to his back, which had a warmth and familiarity to it.  He looked curiously at the mighty kodo when he rolled to his feet.  He could still see the small town back in the distance meeting at the intersection of two roads.  The kodo rolled to his feet, as well, and snorted at the youngling as he began to walk away from the town.  The youngling quickly matched the kodo’s pace, again.

This is how they entered Stonetalon, passing a few Elder Shu’halo at the edge of the land.  They looked as though they were about to speak, but the observers looked to each other and wordlessly decided to keep to their own tasks, hopeful that they would not later have to find the body of the young Shu’halo in the dangerous lands beyond.  They could never quite explain why they did not stop the youngling at the border, knowing the dangers of Stonetalon.

Part 3

For himself, the youngling stayed at the kodo’s side, and spoke to no one.  They followed a path along the mountain’s edge and skirted around a village of trolls.  The youngling had seen a few trolls, visitors who walked through Mulgore to Thunder Bluff.  Some were merchants, but many more were shaman, seeking knowledge from the Farseers on Spirit Rise.  The youngling had been far more interested in the shaman, who spoke to the elements often putting on displays of juggling earthen balls or calling lightning from the sky.

But for now, he only thought to stay at the kodo’s side and enjoy the beat of the hooves, the rumble of Earth that swelled out from under each step.  As they approached other creatures, he made sure to walk, tucked as close as possible to his great protector… and most creatures scurried away from the large kodo without presenting any problems.

In this way, they walked alone through the unfamiliar landscape.  The kodo eventually turned South and went up through a mountain pass.  There, they found small fire elementals, which came carelessly close at hand.  The youngling and kodo snorted as one and the youngling made a motion with his hand, pointing the elemental to go away from them.  To his surprise the elemental stopped and flitted away.  The kodo sighed and kept walking.

The youngling copied his own movements and thoughts whenever an elemental came near and was rewarded each time… however this did not work when the first harpy flew towards them.  But the harpy’s frail form was no match for the head butt of the kodo, and soon no harpy dared the great beast as they descended into and across the valley that smelled of burnt ash.

They slept again as they rose out of the valley, this time the youngling stopping as the Kodo kneeled down, and laid down with his back to the great beast’s side, feeling the warmth overcome him as he watched Mu’sha rise into the skies of the land they were moving into.

Part 4

The kodo’s movement woke the youngling, and together they stood and looked down into Desolace, illuminated by An’she’s gaze.  They walked into the land, passing scavenged bones picked clean and this time, the beasts of the land did not shy away from the kodo’s girth.  The youngling picked up rocks to throw and sticks for clubbing to help his companion fend off the beasts, and slowly they made their way along the road.  Once dead, however, the attackers drew off even more predators who chose an easy meal over the exertion of fighting for their own.

Slowly they came upon other kodo, and the youngling noticed the aging on his own companion was much older than he had realized when they met in Mulgore.  He was farther along in years than even the kodo of this land, who looked prehistoric and archaic, as well.  The Shu’halo placed his hand on his companion’s side and continued to keep pace, his own chest matching the heaving of the flank he touched.

The Shu’halo was lost in his own thoughts, An’she starting to descend when a pack of snarling Hyena attacked, running them down from across the sterile land.  The kodo lashed with his tail and stomped the land to stun the oncoming horde.  The Shu’halo raced around his companion, swinging a large bone he had been using as a walking stick, feeling a thud as it connected into one Hyena’s side.  The kodo bugled and headbutted, and with a sudden thundering of hoof, it charged into the pack, teeth tearing at its hide and trying to hang onto their prey.  The great kodo shook off the attackers and charged again, the Shu’halo trying to stay untrampled while still being of assistance… and trying not to be a meal, himself.  One hyena raced towards him and it was the kodo that batted the hyena away and stood over the Shu’halo protectively.

The fight continued; the pack relentless until the fight was beat out of them.  The Shu’halo’s strength was near gone and he leaned up against the kodo’s side, as his eyes took in the numerous gouges and serrated gashes in his companion’s tough hide.  He could feel the labored breathing, and the beat of the kodo’s heart was askew from the steady rhythm of their journey together.

The kodo moved forward a few feet and then laid down heavily, gasping.  The youngling knelt by the great beast’s side and placed both of his hands as though to hug the giant’s side, leaning his chest and head against the flank… and willed his own heart to beat regular and strong.  He felt the giant beast respond, the heart slowing and becoming regular and steady to match the Shu’halo’s beat.

When next the beast rose, it moved even slower; it paced along the road until it passed a small hill with Shu’halo dwellings atop it.  Here it turned into a massive area of large bones; the bones of its ancestors, giant ribcages and bony heads littered all around.

The Shu’halo gasped, but dutifully followed into what was obviously a graveyard for the giant beasts.

After several more steps, the kodo stopped and slid with obvious pain and laid down, the youngling falling to his knees near the ancient one’s head, his hand reaching out to touch an old scar on his companion’s cheek.

The Shu’halo stayed like that even after the great eyes slowly closed, feeling the heartbeat falter and fade as Mu’sha reached the top of her journey through the night sky.  He sensed other Shu’halo nearby as they came down from the small hill, but they stayed back when they saw the two together.

“I am sorry, great one.  I have failed you,” the Shu’halo whispered, a tear falling down his cheek.

He expected nothing and had started to stand, when a soft voice filled his head.  “I was already coming to my final destiny.  I did not give my life for you, though the thought is in your head, but you gave your time for me, youngling.  I am grateful to have had a companion on my final journey, though you are a strange choice to walk with.  Your people and your family are all hunters, but in you there is the beat of thunder and earth and a curiosity mixed with patience.  You would have made a fine kodo, but there is also the wolf that you must satisfy first, shaman.  I look forward to our travels together when you find me again.”

The youngling felt the voice fade and whispered a blessing for Mu’sha to guide them both before standing up and moving towards those that watched and welcomed him silently into their numbers.