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#there are war orphans and people being crushed by boulders and children being forced to kill other children
ninnekomata · 3 years
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@copycaat​​ ||  Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.
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For a community built around a shonen manga about FIGHTING NINJA WITH MAGIC POWERS, I don’t see nearly enough Fight Threads or character USING said magic powers.
Like, let your character punch people. Let some one rip an arm off and beat someone else with it. Set someone on fire in the middle of a war and slip in blood trying to dodge an attack. Let someone beat the absolute shit out of your character in a training sequence and have your character be grateful for it because an actual enemy would have just killed them. 
We RP as fucking assassins and murderers and thieves; let your characters be those things. It’s literally what they do for a living, even if the Naruto series sort of gives us the ‘pretty side’ of it after the Wave Mission. Your favorite character does fucked up shit as part of their job.
More so, slice-of-life threads and shipping and friendship are great!! But like, I barely see peeps using ninjutsu in threads, despite that being as main draw of the setting the characters are from. Or genjutsu!!! Let your character breath fire and summon wacky creatures and make someone believe they’re eternally lost in a field of daisies using chakra magic. 
Use the cool shit canon gave you and make even cooler shit in your threads using it! The Naruto series is dark in a lot of ways, and while its fine to explore the lighter stuff, you appreciate the good more when you also know there’s bad stuff to contrast it imo.
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The One Born on the Cusp of Night
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Summary- Sixteen year old Juno Reid battles her mothers killer putting and end to his reign once and for all. His end however, is only her beginning.
Song- start a war by Klergy and Valerie Broussard
The sun going down in the east signaling the oncoming nightfall, coven members young and old begin to prepare for the battle to surely come. Juno stared at herself in the mirror making quick work of her braids trying not to submit to the unrest of the village.
A small elf, Christine walks into the room. “Call your father Juno.” She murmurs. “You know he worries.”
“Yes ma’am.” Juno responds softly grabbing her
flip phone (something compatible enough with her magic it doesn’t fitz) Dialing the familiar number she isn’t sure if she wants Spencer to pick up or not.
“Juno?” Spencer's voice is groggy and slightly confused as it comes though the receiver.
“It’s happening tonight.” She responds voice barely above a whisper. “Everyone is preparing for battle as we speak, the coven will not survive this even if it’s occupants do. The sun is due to set in the east any moment now, and they will bring Anderson out for execution. When he inevitably breaks out of the confines the battle will begin.” Spencer takes a sharp breath, the reality finally setting in. He’d known since the day she was born that day would come but… he had thought he would be there when it did apparently the fates had other plans.
“Tonight?”
“Yes.” She confirms, hearing people begin to make their ways down to the town's center. “The council member has arrived to attempt and perform the execution. I have to head down, in an attempt to protect the children we are putting wards around the old farmhouse. I must go help my ward will be strongest against Anderson’s magic.”
“I will request permission to bring the team east to aid.”
“The battle will not last the night. We will either manage to kill him or he will escape before sunrise.”
“You will need help once the battle is over no matter the outcome, as you said the coven will not last. I can lead a relocation team to the village.” There’s a loud blast of magic that ripples across. A failed ward.
“You have healers right?”
“Emily and JJ both possess the ability to harness healing magic.” There's another ripple of wayward magic.
“Bring your team. If I do not kill Anderson, he will need to be recaptured.”
“Juno-“
“It’ll be me who kills him.” She doesn’t let him continue. “I am the only one strong enough to render him useless for even a moment. If we tire him out I can crush him. The coven isn’t strong. There are older mothers, orphans, low level mages, young fairies and elves… no one here is strong enough to kill Anderson no one but me. I must be going, lead your team east but warn them the magic in the area will be extremely unstable.” She hangs up the phone without letting him respond.
“Come on Christine, I think it will be best you stay with the children. You will be able to calm them. Those of them who have not already lost their mothers and fathers are likely about to and they will feel that. When a magical parent dies it feels like your soul is being ripped apart. Because it is, a bond end is being severed as the other passes into the afterlife. It is not peaceful, it is painful and terrifying.” The elf nods following behind Juno without complaint. “Go, you’ll be able to pass though the wards they are not strong.”
“Why are you sending her in?” Juno looks over the middle aged mage, Michael.
“Someone needs to be with these children when their souls are ripped apart. When a parent dies in battle… it is different from them dying of natural causes. There is no peace. They are being ripped away from you… and your soul is being shattered for the bond to break so they can pass into the afterlife. It doesn’t matter how strong I am or how hard I try I will not be able to save everyone. My mother died to capture Anderson and I will ensure he dies for killing her and everyone else he killed,” She pauses “but people will die tonight. My father is leading a team composed of mages, vampires, shifters, fae and elves here as well as a relocating team. If the battle somehow lasts until daybreak, they will be able to help but that is unlikely. Whoever survives will be relocated the coven will not survive the war as the land will die with Anderson. I must throw up stronger wards.” She walks away from him letting magic gather at her hands as she goes.
“EVERYONE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!” Lillian, a young fairy screams as she sees Juno approach the barn.
Pulling magic from around her Juno manipulates the air to carry her giving the illusion she is flying. As she gathers magic she forces the wind to pick up until she is moving around the barn in rapid circles. With one prayer to a god who doesn’t exist and a large blast of magic she sees fluorescent blue wards combine with the walls of the barn. She begins to slow the wind gently floating to the ground she lands next to Michael. “Motherfucker isn’t getting anywhere near those children.”
“They’re bringing him out.” Juno takes a deep breath rising back into the air using the wind to float above the group as they collect around the Center of town. The sun officially sets only a moment later, and two councilmen step out of the contaminant vehicle. Juno floats over to the men, ignoring the shocked looks they give her.
“Bring him to the Center of town, remove his shackles and I will attempt to hold him for long enough for the injection of poison. If that fails there will be bloodshed, and these people will fight to the death against him.” One of the men opened his mouth but Juno just raised a hand. “He hurt our children and killed several of us, my mother included. One way or another Anderson will die tonight… The children and anyone who doesn't want to fight are being protected by wards that will only fail if I am killed and if I am killed this world has far worse things to worry about than some fallen wards.” She heads to the center of town once again letting magic gather around her as she prepares for the fight of her life.
When Anderson is taken out of the continent cuffed by magic rejectors he snarls at them all. “You have been sentenced to death for the deaths of Lura Longsted, Marcus Gripple, Jackson Masters, Ace bottoms, Kore Malace, Kate Malace and Nina Reid. You have been charged with the molestation of seven of your coven children, blackmail of Nina Reid, and the use of dark magic against innocent beings.” The taller man spoke loud and clear.
“Under the power of the united council of magical beings you will be put to death for these revolting crimes.” The shorter councilman countied. Juno looked around seeing other magic users collecting magic around themselves.
“Anderson,” Juno says. “You disgrace this village, these lands die with you.” She nods at the councilmen pushing Anderson to his knees with a burst of magic and holding him there as they removed the shackles. The second he could collect magic Anderson began fighting back against Juno who pushed right back growling, her eyes flashing red.
As expected Anderson managed to throw Juno off of him sending her flying backwards for a moment but using the wind she caught herself. She ignored the bodies that had already fallen to the ground- mourn the loss after the battle has ended- as curses were sent towards Anderson she collected boulders and sent them hurdling at him. He broke them as they came flying but she persisted, throwing boulder after boulder backing him towards the outerlands towards the lake. Several mages came running forward screaming as they did using all their might to throw curses at him, causing him to stutter for a moment and barely dodge one of the boulders. He threw a strong lapse of dark magic back at Juno who flew high to dodge it, not letting herself stop when she saw more bodies fall. “This is it Anderson. There is no way out for you. You killed my mother and for that you will pay.” He lit fire to the field around them, which Juno countered by pulling water from the lake and drenching them.
Juno needs to get close enough to deliver a fatal blow with her mother’s sword but he’s been doing a pretty good job of keeping her at a distance. “I killed your mother and I will kill you too.” His voice is deep and raspy, evidence of how long it had been since he’d used it.
“There is one thing I have that my mother didn’t.” She growls throwing a large boulder right at him. “One thing I definitely got from my father.” another boulder. “Immortality.” She sends several boulders at rapid speed using water from the lake to push him towards them and the air to carry him off the ground. In a sudden she drops him to the ground hard enough to create an indent and if anyone is left alive to see it is obvious the battle will soon come to an end. “The council sentenced you to death, unfortunately they were unable to carry out that order I however have no such disadvantage.” She reached behind her pulling her mothers sword from her back. With a charge of magic she is sent flying backwards into the ground, knocking the wind out of her for a moment. Out of the corner of her eyes she can see the councilman calling for backup- it appears they have recovered from their unconscious states.
When she recovers she begins to lead him back towards the village knowing there are more things she can use to throw at him in that direction. “Giving up?” Anderson taunts which earns him four trees thrown in rapid succession. “Apparently not.”
“Calling for backup is pointless; they will go running when they feel the instability of the magic. Nobody sans my father and whoever he is leading here will be crazy enough to pass onto these lands.” She throws rubble at him one after another. “He’s too distracted with me to care for you unless you get into his way. Find survivors and bring them towards the farmhouse I will allow you through the wards when I feel you getting close. I am going to have to level this place.” They seem to hesitate before deciding that despite her age she must know what she is talking about if she’s holding her own against Anderson. She leads him away from the center knowing he won’t pay mind to the councilmen, to focus on defeating her. The second biggest mistake he will ever make besides pissing off Juno Reid.
When she sends an entire house hurling at him he is taken to the ground and she calls for the sword grinning when it lands in her hand. She feels a tugging on the wards and looks over to see the two councilmen approaching the wards with at least twelve floating bodies. She lets them through, rescuing the wards the moment that took her, giving Anderson enough time to stand but not enough time to prepare for her to rip every standing building and tree in the area off its port. By now she’s feeling the result of using her magic like this consistently for almost an hour of back and forth but she knows she has to finish him off. With all the might inside of her she sends everything hurling at the monster of a man Anderson had become. There's a blood curdling scream she doesn’t hear, never less aware it’s coming from her as he is sent to the ground for the last time.
Time seems to stop for a moment as she lets the wind carry her towards him suddenly realising at some point she had apparently caused a storm to form. She doesn’t look at him as she uses magic to carry the sword down in his chest ending his reign once and for all. She barely makes it to the barn before she comes crashing down completely drained. “He’s dead.” She annonces watching as the barn door is hestainly pulled open. “He’s dead.” She repeats. “Christine when you lived in the desert you had a dog named Kington who was so obsessed with catching his own tail he tried for hours everyday even when there was no water and it would have been smarter not to. It’s me. He’s gone. He cannot hurt any of you ever again I made sure of it.” Christine comes running out of the barn dropping to her knees beside Juno. “I’m okay Chris. Look the lands are dying; they were connected to his life force. He’s dead.”
“You screamed and I thought that…” Tears rolled down the woman’s check and Juno reached up wiping them away weakly.
“Look around,” Juno murmurs. “I screamed because I have never in my life exerted that much power against someone. I’ve never fought with the goal to kill. How many survivors?”
“Sixteen from the battle, twenty-nine total, plus the two council men that makes thirty-one.” She nods.
“Have one of them come help me up?” She nods rushing back towards the barn. The taller of the men approached her with an expression that was definitely fear. He grabbed her under the arms lifting her back to her feet and letting her lean onto him as they walked towards the barn. “I knew this was going to happen and so did the council. The only place he’s killable is on his own lands but it’s also where he’s strongest. I don’t believe anybody but I expected it to get so bloody but I knew what he was capable of from reading my mother journals. He played himself down so everyone would be unsuspecting when it was time to kill him. They expected him to break free but be easily caught. That’s why they only sent two escorts. It’s why they didn’t send a whole execution team. They didn’t know how powerful he is or how powerful I am for that matter.” She looks at him. “Do not fear me for I have no intentions of harming you. I do not wish to instill fear among those I meet; it is not in who I am.” She speaks loud enough for the other man to catch it.
“How old are you?” The bigger one asks and she supposes she ought to learn the men's names by the end of the night.
“I am sixteen years old as of nightfall.” She responds. “I have fulfilled the damn prophecy however I have a feeling my journey is only just beginning.” She is set down on a bale of hay and immediately fretted over by Christine. “Your phone is still working with the instability of the magic force?” She asks the smaller man and when he nods she holds a hand out tilting her head. “Can I borrow it?” As soon as it’s in her hand she’s calling a familiar number and praying he picks up the unknown caller.
“Supervisory special agent Dr. Spencer Reid.”
“Dad,” Juno breathes out. “Approximately twenty-seven dead, exactly sixteen injured and fifteen unharmed. You can tell the council Anderson is dead and their councilmen are alive and relatively unhe counted in the fifteen. Magical force is unstable, the lands are dying and the village leveled.”
“Will the injured be able to survive another hour?” He’s in work mode, not dad mode she can tell from his tone of voice and has to pretend it doesn’t hurt.
“Anyone not dead was probably knocked out in the first blast. You're looking at concussions, amnesia, broken bones, possibly internal bleeding. I am too drained to scan them so I don’t know.”
“Can planes pass onto the lands or is the magic too unstable?”
“Planes built and used by mages should be able to withstand the instability of the force, normal planes will crash getting within a mile of the lands.”
“Four jets. My teams, the medics, rescue, and relocation.”
“How many people?”
“Thirty seven.”
“Empaths should not come anywhere near here they won’t be able to handle it. The lands are swirling with pain, death, sorrow, and grief.”
“We figured.” She nods. “Juno are you okay?”
“I’m drained.” She admits. “I don’t think the loss has set in yet. It took everything in me to defeat him. I fulfilled the prophecy. I did what I was supposed to do.”
“Yes you did. I am proud of you.” He pauses. “I need to pass on the information, we will arrive soon.” He slipped back into work mode and she sighed hanging up the phone.
“Thirty seven are coming, four jets.” Juno slumps against the wall. “Medics, rescue, relocation and my da.”
The next fifty something minutes pass in a haze as Juno begins to regain some of her strength, not nearly enough to cast a simple calling spell or conjure a flame (she tired) but enough to stand and walk on her own. They can hear the jets before they see them and it’s obvious that the airborne vehicles are struggling against the instability of the magic but they do manage to land a little ways out but close enough they can see them.
“Children,” Juno called out to the kids lifting the youngest off the ground and into her arms. “These people are good, they are from the council.” She bounces the two year old coddled in her arms soothingly knowing the poor child is completely unaware of what has just happened. They file out of the barn gathering a group at the edge of it, Juno imagines they look terrible surrounded by the destruction. Spencer makes it down the hill first with his worry written on his face as he takes in the wrecked look of Juno. “Send the medics in I dropped the wards.”
“What happened here?” Emily asks looking around the land in horror.
“She did.” One of the councilmen answered pointing at Juno.
“He is correct.” Juno confirms handing the toddler over to a blonde woman Juno believes is JJ. “I leveled the lands to kill Anderson.” She stumbles a little and Spencer reaches forward catching her before she hits the ground and pulling her to him supporting her weight. “I put my mothers sword through his chest, the same sword he used to kill my mother.” Spencer tenses. “It was self defense, and fate. If the council wants to punish me for cleaning up their mess then they can go right ahead and do that.” Spencer sighs, lifting her off of her feet as she begins to lose awareness.
“There was a prophecy written the day Juno was born.
“The one born on the cusp of night
Shall answer the call of the fight
With all of her might
The chosen one will save the light.”
Juno was born on the cusp of night, answer the call of the fight which she did by staying when they brought Anderson and protecting instead of fleeing, with all her night meaning she used everything in here to defeat him as her current state can attest to, and save the light was interpreted in to meaning saving the magical world from war. He has a following has she not killed him tonight his followers would’ve had a free leader. Do we have a ton of dark mages in scrambles? Yes. Do they have any order or leader? No they’re in chaos and no more danger than anyone else we chase down.”
“Who is she really?”
“My daughter.” Spencer admits shifting his grip on her. “Her mother Nina Reid was murdered six years ago by Anderson. Juno continued to live in the coven under the care of a woman named Christelle. She calls me before bed every night and I visit her once a month, as well as over any vacation we are forced to take. The coven was weak, compiled mostly of low level mages, children primarily orphans and older women, young elves and fairies too. Anderson’s life force was what protected the coven. He used that status to do terrible things.” The others stared at him in shock, all trying to comprehend what he had said.
“You have all been summoned by the council.” One of the councilmen announced to the group. “The girl included. Head to the east coast council house immediately. We will stay with these people until the relocation team has found them a suitable solution for the situation.”
“Why are we being summoned?” Derek asked, wrapping an arm around Spencer’s shoulder to steady him.
“I have no idea.”
Like that the entire team was forced to board the jet they came on, despite Spencer’s protests that they needed to stay for the people. Derek took Juno up the stairs and laid her on the couch unable to help but notice how much she looked like Spencer. Emily grabbed a blanket resting it over the sleeping girl while JJ scanned her for injury finding none further than exhaustion. Rossi cast a small heating spell over her noticing that her lips seemed to be blue. Hotch attempted to get on the phone with the council, to inform them that if they wished to have the whole team they’d need to fly to DC first to pick up Penelope before flying to the east council. Permission for the detour was granted hopefully giving them all time to prepare and Juno some time to begin to heal.
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odesseaverse · 5 years
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The Water Shaman
The Water Shaman, also known as the First Shaman, broke many conventions and rose up as the leader of Odessea back when the island was divided. She created the village where all Shamans after her came to dwell, and began traditions that were never forgotten. This first timeline is the ancient origin of Odessea. Read the story below.
Timeline: App. Year 4444-4564
(Abridged from the historical writings of the Companion Mana)
Nearly four and a half thousand years after the gods deserted the earth, the remaining people of Odessea had been split into various feuding tribes, each with its own allies, but all with the same customs and belief in the gods that created their island. War broke out frequently, with smaller tribes being absorbed into the larger ones that stood against them, until the six largest on the island were set against one another for territory and for personal vengeance. It became a struggle to the death in the year 4458, and with more and more smaller tribes that remained out of the fight being ripped apart by enemies and allies alike, the island was on the verge of collapse. From the smallest and most broken of the tribes, a young girl named Shima rose up to resist the war with the help of the ocean goddess who started it all.
Key Player: Shima, the Water Shaman (b. 4452, d. 4564). Though she may not look the part, with a rather plain and pale appearance, she was a monumental force in the island’s history. She was orphaned at the age of 11, with her father taken from her family and recruited from the war three years before the disappearance of her mother. Not long after, her brother, Abei (b. 4446, d. 4467) was taken for the war when he was only 17. Shima attempted to fend for herself, but was taken in by an espionage brigade made up of all children. Self-made mercenaries, this group was hired by fighters from both sides of the war to gather information, trap, or even kill their enemies. For a time, Shima worked throughout the island as part of a surveillance team, but in the year 4465, her life forever changed. When Shima was stranded in a vast underground cave with no choice but to fend for her life, she was visited in her dreams by the ocean goddess, who saved her life by teaching her magic and urging her to revive the island to the way it once had been, with all of its inhabitants united and with their faith in the gods restored. Traveling through the cave taught Shima how the island had once been, for the cave itself had been made by the ocean, and its early humans had lived off the land in peace. She emerged after a month of intense training, her life forever changed. Carrying the goddess’ message, she sought to reform the brigade that had taken her in after the death of its commander, a crippled former soldier. She began to unite all the forgotten children on the island, not only her own group, but children from every tribe, who had been orphaned or abandoned, just as she had been.
The years 4465 and 4466 saw Shima striving to reach out not only to the children, who listened to her desire to make the future better for everyone, but to all who still believed in the ways of the gods. The biggest step she took was appealing to the women who had been left behind to fend for themselves, abandoned on the sidelines of war, promising that she would restore the island to a time of harmony. With this message of peace, she amassed a large force around her within only a year. Aiming to reason with the leaders of the warring tribes, Shima’s magic came into the public view: she had been bestowed with powerful defensive magic by the goddess, and no blow could hit her. She began to win over the magic users of the war before anyone else, for they could feel that she was truly powerful. When her forces nearly outnumbered the remaining fighters, by spring of the year 4467, she asked if their forces would consider a peace treaty, and, as the story goes, she waited for a response for thirty days and nights. After the thirtieth night, it is said that the ocean goddess herself called down a storm to punish the people of the island for not letting go of their differences, and Shima was forced to use her defensive magic for an entire day and night to protect all who were in harm’s way at the cliffs at the western edge of the island. As it raged on, she found herself facing the last remnants of the tribes, for their warmongering leaders had long been swept up in the storm, and they wished for the goddess’ forgiveness. When the agreement was reached, the storm began to break, and her energy was entirely drained. At the same moment, she found herself slipping on a boulder still unsteady from the storm, and fell from the top of one of the tallest cliffs. Only one man was able to react, running after her and catching her, only to fall with her. He was one of the few who had escaped the storm, and he protected her from the worst of the fall. It is said that the waterfall that seemingly has no source, beginning at the top of the cliffs that shelter the modern-day inhabitants of Odessea and falling to the plentiful rivers below, was created by the remnants of water magic from Shima’s fall. But when she awoke, barely alive, she saw that the man who had risked his life and had been killed for her was her older brother Abei, whom she had not seen in four years. The storm finally broke, long enough for her to see his face. He was the first Companion, and he showed how far a Companion could go to protect the Shaman he had always known he had to look out for.
While her body, badly hurt from the fall, was still in the process of healing, her unconscious mind was brought to the world of the spirits. There, she reunited with Abei, who promised her that a new Companion would soon be born into the world, and would protect her as he had. She vowed to become stronger, to never cause another death again, and was told that her powers granted her the special status of Shaman, one that few could ever hold, but those who could would embrace both power and loss unlike any other magic user in the world. She knew that the work ahead of her would be hard, but that only she could create the future she desired, with the abilities that had been given to her.
Shima embraced the role of Shaman as she and her allies recovered from the storm. All of the villages of the tribes had been decimated, their boundaries having been undone by the goddess herself. The newly unified islanders began work on their new home atop the ruins of one of the island’s earliest villages, a place that Shima herself had discovered during her years as a spy, and she named it Odessea. Its founding year, 4467, would also commemorate the noble sacrifice that her brother had made to bring peace and guidance to all the people on the island. Because so many had gone missing or been killed, she opened the island to wanderers and refugees from the outside, and its population began to grow. She emphasized that everyone living on the island was united, and that all were equal, no matter their origins or magical ability. Though such beliefs did not last through all eras, she championed the future Earth Shaman to emphasized this as well. Shima also created a more structured leadership, with her relying on a council of advisors, the Nine Sages, with a history extending well past her era, and reestablished a temple for the island’s communal usage, with thanks given to the ocean goddess to appease her and ensure the island’s safety. All the while, Shima waited for her next Companion to appear before her, growing from a girl into a woman before the time finally came.
Key Player: Xander, the Second Companion (b. 4479, d. 4564). Shima was special in many ways, but one in particular was that she was able to be connected to two Companions in her lifetime. One might assume that the Earth Shaman’s Companion would be the Second Companion, but this is not so. Xander was abandoned on Odessea in 4480 when he was only a year old, by island-born parents departing for another land, or so the tales say. When he was discovered, Shima, aged 28, decided the time was ripe for her to start a family, and took him in when nobody claimed him. She promised to raise him as her own, but little did she know that he would come to be her savior. At the age of seven years old, when a falling tree nearly crushed her home and the houses around her, the boy Xander stood before the tree and stopped it with what seemed to be the force of his will, pushing it back until it stood upright in the middle of Shima’ s yard. It is said that the tree still stands today, behind the house that all her successors have lived in. From that moment on, Shima knew that this was her Companion reborn--in fact, he contained some of her brother’s soul, with the desire to protect Shima still encoded within it. Xander and Shima made a powerful team, training together to that they could use their magic in any situation. He eventually married a village girl, Viola (b. 4478, d. 4566) and began his own life with her, still serving as an advisor and protector for Shima. He, too, felt loss at the death of his youngest daughter, Isla, when she was only nine years old, having been badly hurt in a fire. The grief and wisdom he gained from this time in his life was passed onto his successor, Mana, who also encountered the loss of the love of her life. When Xander had been younger, Shima had aged quite slowly, much more so than the other villagers, but when he approached old age, she decided to grow old with him. She and Xander passed away on the same day in 4564, for she knew that a world without him would not be one in which she could bear to survive. However, Xander’s descendants lived on, passing on the stories of the First Shaman and her two Companions, and all they had done for their home. This year marked the end of the era of the Water Shaman, the only era to end in the death of a leader, and two hundred years and five leaders later, the next Shaman took up the mantle once more.
(So ends the abridged account of the Water Shaman’s life)
An interesting fact: Expecting to be reunited with her family in the realm of the spirits, Shima’s spirit instead found only shadows of those she knew. Abei, she already knew, had passed part of his soul onto Xander, who joined her in the afterlife. However, it took many years for Shima to discover what had happened to her parents; in fact, they reappeared in two completely different eras. During the time of the Earth Shaman, Shima connected with the spirit of Rhys after he had been newly made Shaman, and was shocked to discover that he contained part of her mother’s soul. As she told his Companion, both her mother and Rhys were dreamers, living in their head, and needing to be anchored to reality by those to whom they were closest (for her mother, it was her father, and for Rhys, it was his Companion). Mana, not learning this reality until later, mistakenly assumed that Shima had fallen for Rhys even in spirit form, for Shima was well-known for being both a female leader and a leader without a significant other in her life, though she often spoke of her son and his family as being enough for her. During the time of the Air Shaman, the sacrifice made by Rafa, the lover of Bessa, who eventually escaped from Odessea during the political upheaval of 5151, drew Shima’s attention to the soul he contained. Not until his death did she realize that he had held her father’s soul, when she also discovered that her father had been killed in the war the year he had been recruited. Shima gained an interest in Rafa’s bloodline as it survived on in the mainland, and some of her magic may have been what stopped the usurper leader of the island from discovering where Bessa and her descendants hid for nine decades.
However, another surprise was in store for Shima. Though she did not know it, the ocean goddess, as a favor to Shima, decided that another girl would be born as her reincarnation (not truly containing her soul, but matching it almost exactly). This was Sora, the self-proclaimed “unremarkable girl” who lived through the sealing up of Odessea and survived through the era of the Fire Shaman. Though she lost her father to war as Shima had, Sora was given the chance to keep the rest of her family together and to truly find herself. This gave Shima the opportunity to reach out to her and tell her the truth. Sora never revealed this to her family or her own Shaman, but still maintained the connection to someone from whose life she could learn, as many before her had. Even Tawny herself was unable to see the connection that existed between them, but had many chances to interact with Shima as a fellow female Shaman.
This marks the end of my overviews of each different era. Posting from now on should hopefully be shorter, and some information will be repeated in character profiles that are on their way soon. Shima, appearance-wise, doesn’t actually seem to look all that special, but that’s really part of her charm. Look out for her sometime!
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