Kaishaba Trails

[Gohan]

Hatsu would eventually come across four ogres that could possibly be the ones the villagers were talking about. They did look like a family but there could be other families in the area, or so he thought. He would sit there and listen and watch them for a few minutes, somewhat happy that they hadn’t spotted his enormous form yet. Hatsu was about twenty feet tall himself in his fog form anyways and unless these guys could use chakra, he was probably safe.


The Genin didn’t know much about the human conception of beauty, but he could now see why ogres were referred to as grotesque and hideous. They didn’t look any worse than the people he had banished from his own village for being so ugly. In any case, Hatsu heard the ogres talking about the best ways to eat “man meat” which probably meant they liked to eat humans.

“Greetings,” Hatsu would shout in a joyous tone as he stepped out of hiding and into the open. He was a good ten meters away and was readily searching for any nearby weapons that could be used to crush his delicate core. “I’ve heard word that some ogres around here have been bothering a human village not too far from here. Would you be those ogres?”

Hopefully that wasn’t too hard for them to understand.

[The Creator]

It was indeed lucky that the Ogres were well versed in the Common Tongue, for not many Ogres spoke the language of man. As you revealed yourself via voice, the ogres stopped their conversation and shot up from their sitting position, searching for the source.

"Ay, who said that?" Lob asked, shouting into the air.
"Well I believe that was Yorg." said Penniworth
"It wasn't me, you waste!" Yorg retaliated, "It was Ter!"
"Oi don't make those accusations, Yorg, it had your voice!" Ter replied angrily. But as you went on to explain that you were searching for ogres that had been bothering the village, they all began to quiet down.

"Hey are them the winds talking?" asked Ter.
"Told you Yorg that stickin' around this city too long would bring bad luck!" insulted Lob
"Well I ain't one to think that winds would get mad!" Yorg said, sounding frightened.
"Pity us God of Winds! We'll bother the villagers no more!" yelled Penniworth, apparently speaking for the whole family. Whether they meant it or not, it was hard to say, but they packed up their meager belongings and began to move further north as quickly as they could manage. It was up to your judgement to believe that the single instance got the job done or if they needed to be followed in case they were up to no good, but it is safe to say that the Ogres were rightly spooked.

At this point, you could return to the Citadel and inform them of your success. You could return to the village and, perhaps, earn a reward. Or you could continue following the Ogres to make sure there was absolutely no chance they'd return to hunt down the man-meat they spoke of earlier.

[Gohan]

Hatsu watched as the ogres seemed to come to the conclusion that he was here to punish them for bothering the village. As they gathered their belongings, the "god of winds" would give them a proposal:

"My mission here is twofold," Hatsu shouted over the commotion, "I am also a representative of the hidden mist village. I know little of your customs, but if you would like to live in our marsh you may do so. We are in need of mighty beings such as yourself and you can freely eat the beasts there, our suicidal, or those sentenced to death."

While he spoke, Hatsu transformed his finger into a wind blade and started etching out a crude map on the ground. With that, he would head back to the citadel to report his progress. He would reach the Citadel within a few days of travel and ask to speak with Samuel to receive his next trial. He would do this in human form of course!

[The Creator]

((Be sure to add any techniques you use in spoilers after your post. Such techniques as your "Wind Form" and the recently activated "Wind Blade" are things that needed to be added to the bottom of the post.))

The Ogres heard your proposal, but did not stick around to look at the map. In any case, they were not skilled enough in Direction Sense to make any sense of the crudely drawn map. They took off, leaving you to hope that their thirst for human blood did not make them uncomfortable in their new home.

You were able to get back to the Citadel where Ezequeil was waiting for you.

"Samuel is waiting for you, he has heard news of your endeavors."

He would lead you to the back room where Samuel was sitting; it was almost as if he did not move a muscle the entire time you were gone.

"Araqiel spoke to me briefly of your efforts. Although we find the spooking of villagers against our cause," he said with a hesitation, "you handled yourself well. Spooking the Ogres was not an easy task but you handled it well." He paused for a minute.

"Now is perhaps the most difficult, in my opinion, of the trials. I will hear your history: the events of good, the events of bad, and the events that have changed your life. I will listen for honesty for honesty is humility in the face of shame. And I will listen for detail for detail is the champion of temperate recollections."

It would be then up to you how much you wanted to tell and how little you wanted to tell. But apparently this man had a direct connection to Araqiel and knew of news that traveled faster than you did. Perhaps it would be wise to give him what he wished of you!

((If this wasn't an actual Trial I would say to time-skip but I will need you to give a full account of your history in this post.))

[Gohan]

((This is where the genious of my background comes into play))

Hatsu found it hard to believe that Samuel had a direct connection to Araqiel, but he knew little of the faith. Perhaps someday, he too would be able to speak to the great god one on one! It was clear that Samuel didn't approve of his methods in dealing with the villagers, but it seemed to be okay that he could deal with the ogres in the same manner. This man is biased.

In any case, it was time to recount his own history. This would be fairly easy, having only been awake for a few years of his life!

"I recall much of my past," Hatsu would begin, "since by my definition, I have only been alive for approximately four years. You see, I was born as a spirit!" At this, the Genin would disperse into a cloud like form.

"This is my natural state. I woke up in a hospital ward and drifted out of a window. Being unable to control my essence, the winds themselves carried me around the world. I have seen every kind of terrain imaginable and have been to places devoid of human life. Often times, my essence would catch onto a tree or get stuck in a cave or crevice. Being unable to move, I would spend weeks watching life forms of all sorts.

I learned to feel emotion during this time. I felt sadness when I saw death, but learned to accept it as a part of life. I learned that when a wolf kills, it does so for the good of its own kin. With that being said, Humans seem to be the only creatures that kill for the sake of killing. I learned to despise humans and really, all forms of intelligent life.

I watched as humans killed each other for sport and status. I've even seen them massacre wildlife for profit. They have a habit of adapting their surroundings instead of adapting themselves. All this I learned within approximately the first year of my life. At this point, I wished death upon myself, since I felt I was cursed to a life of a spirit, being unable to affect the world around me.

Then one day, I came across a deer that was being chased by a beast. This was no ordinary beast, however. This one had been trained by humans to kill. Feeling so angry at my helplessness, I felt my essence reach out towards the beast and wrap itself inside its body. It died. I was torn between my astonishment that I had done something no different than a human, and my sadness that the deer had been mortally wounded. With my newfound power, I felt that I needed to protect life instead of destroy it.

Shortly after this experience, I found that I could control my essence to go wherever I wanted it to go. At first I thought I would try stopping humans from doing stupid things, but I got distracted when I came across this very citadel. I spent a good deal of time here and saw how at peace the people here were. I learned a little about the trials, but having never learned the common language, I was still only about as useful as a spirit.

I remember little else of my time spent here, other that I would spend hours a day meditating on what I needed to do with my newfound powers. I felt as though it was possible to focus my essence into a human form and join this citadel, but first I needed to learn how to manipulate the chakra that flowed through my core. I had been to several hidden shinobi villages in the past and knew that kirigakure was the closest.

I went to this village and I soon picked up the basics of the language and learned how to control my chakra using hand seals. It was trivial, after this, to form into a humanoid. I explained my situation to the kage as best I could, and he stated that if I had a gift with chakra that I should join the academy. He promised that when I graduated I would have his permission to leave the village and join this faith.

And so I joined the academy. For some reason, my form was that of a young adult so it was very strange being taught with younglings. I though I had a pretty good grasp on chakra, but it seemed to be much below average when compared to others. If I had any sort of advantage whatsoever, it was my speed; this is possibly due to my nature.

Over the next few months, I learned to master the common language, learn the academy basics, and most importantly I learned the ways of the humans. While at first I thought of them as barbaric, I learned that their socieity and culture was based on status. Those without status or power had a much lower quality of life and were condemned to menial tasks to live. While I did not like to admit it, I realized that this was simply human nature and there was nothing I could do to change it.

After graduating from the academy, I went to the village tower to ask permission to leave the village temporarily, and they gave it to me. Apparently the kage had just left office, so they were in need of another one. On my travels to the citadel, I was informed that I was selected to become the kage. Or rather, I was holding the place until they found someone more competent.

When I arrived at the citadel, I met a man named Ezequiel and he guided me to you, where I took on my first trial of preventing ogres from killing humans. I give no preference whether they ate humans or not, but I realized that the ogres were disturbing what I considered reasonably peaceful villagers. I offered to bring the ogres to my own village where they could eat select humans that had been sentenced to death, but they ran away when I confronted them.

I made my way back to you, Samuel, and I have finished recounting the story of my life.

SPOILER: Click to show

Forma di Vento (Wind Form)
Rank: "C", "B", "A", "S"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: Transforms the user in to a cloudlike vapour substance that is in the shape of their own body.
Special: ---
Drawback: A Scirocco will die if they are crushed by something larger than their maximum normal volume weight.
Description: When the user transforms their whole body as well as all items on them (including clothes) they become a vapour, cloud like substance. In this substance they are able to move around but at this moment are unable to fly, since they are still heavier than the air that surrounds them. In order to fly please look at the Wind Walk technique. Depending on the user's knowledge in the technique depends on the strength of the ability. Their cloud like vapour body is connected by a centralized core that cannot be seen by the naked eye within the cloud like vapour. If the core is destroyed the Scirocco will die. The time it takes for a Scirocco to change into a vapour is equal to the amount of time it takes to form the handseals for a jutsu of the same rank as the rank of Wind Form.
"C" Rank Technique - User is able to transform them self into a cloud like vapour substance within 2 meters by 2 meters by 2 meters of distance while retaining the same amount of mass as they normally would. The central chakra core is the size of a basketball at this point. All Fire Release Techniques and any Earth Defence Techniques have an effect of 3 ranks higher than normal while in this form. TaiJutsu techniques phases through this form however energy attacks do work such as Fire Release and Lightning Release. User is unable to perform TaiJutsu techniques as well as any other techniques that are "C" Rank and higher other than any other Scirocco technique.
"B" Rank Technique - User is able to transform them self into a cloud like vapour substance within 4 meters by 4 meters by 4 meters of distance while retaining the same amount of mass as they normally would. The central chakra core is the size of a softball at this point. All Fire Release Techniques and any Earth Defence Techniques have an effect of 2 ranks higher than normal while in this form. TaiJutsu techniques phases through this form however energy attacks do work such as Fire Release and Lightning Release. User is unable to perform TaiJutsu techniques as well as any other techniques that are "B" Rank and higher other than any other Scirocco technique.
"A" Rank Technique - User is able to release transform them self into a cloud like vapour substance within 6 meters by 6 meters by 6 meters of distance while retaining the same amount of mass as they normally would. The central chakra core is the size of a baseball at this point. All Fire Release Techniques and any Earth Defence Techniques have an effect of 1 ranks higher than normal while in this form. TaiJutsu techniques phases through this form however energy attacks do work such as Fire Release and Lightning Release. User is unable to perform TaiJutsu techniques as well as any other techniques that are "A" Rank and higher other than any other Scirocco technique.
"S" Rank Technique - User is able to release transform them self into a cloud like vapour substance within 8 meters by 8 meters by 8 meters of distance while retaining the same amount of mass as they normally would. The central chakra core is the size of a marble at this point. All Fire Release Techniques and any Earth Defence Techniques have no added effect while in this form. TaiJutsu techniques phases through this form however energy attacks do work such as Fire Release and Lightning Release. User is unable to perform TaiJutsu techniques as well as any other techniques that are "S" Rank, but is able to perform all Scirocco techniques.

Limit: Must be a Scirocco.

[The Creator]

Samuel listened intently to your story, but, much to your surprise, without any change in emotion. His stoic face did not change even as you neared the end and told of events which he had heard of before you had reached him. Upon finishing, he would give a nod.

"I thank you, spirit, for your patience in telling me your history. It is strange to hear such a story but Araqiel is not prejudice towards any specific being.

"Now begins the Trial of Charity, our third trial. It is simple, so long as you bear a stronger will to join our faith than that of your own possessions. For the third trial is just that, you must put your faith in Araqiel, and not in ninja tools. I must ask you to hand over all weapons you own, to donate as of now all ryo that you hold, and pledge to never covet nor own any holdings, bearings, nor possessions so long as you live a life of piety under Araqiel.

"All things you give up will be replaced with the blessings of Araqiel. All that is accomplished by these objects can be accomplished through faith. As the maps you cast aside may guide the lost, it is Araqiel who stands as a true beacon of light in the darkness and is thus a greater guide than all. Please lay all your items, and your currencies, at your feet, so that you might know the true meaning of faith in charity."

[Gohan]

Hatsu would give a nod and would drop all his stuff on the floor. He wondered if Samuel knew that he was just going to go to his village and get the items replaced. While a necessary trial, he he didn't have anything outside of the faith's restrictions anyway. After organizing the three power poles, his multitude of maps, his compass, and his ryo, Hatsu would step back and wonder what the next trial would be.

[The Creator]

((You can get the items you're allowed after this final trial.))

Samuel nodded in contentment at the items.

"You can leave these here, in the protection of the Citadel, as you forego your fourth and final trial..."

From the sleeves of his robe he procured a single, purple bean.

"The fourth trial is that of faith and patience. You will go out into the wilderness for two nights and then return here. You will have nothing but the clothes on your back and the faith you have in Araqiel. You must first ingest this bean, which will render all chakra unmouldable by your hands. Only through faith can you survive this night."

If you were to agree to the final trial, you would eat the pill and exit the room where Ezequiel was waiting. He would escort you once again to the doors of the citadel and you would thus be forced to wander for two days until you would return.

((The only plans I have for you to go through are the two nights. You can timeskip to the nights if you'd like or you can play out wandering through the wilderness until then. Good luck.))

[Gohan]

Hatsu would accept the pill, not sure if he wanted to eat this pill. His very essence was held together by a very delicate ball of chakra and he hoped it wouldn't kill him. Even so, he ate the pill and felt the world around him become dim and his human like form shiver. He felt, for the first time in his life, completely helpless. Perhaps this was the intended effect.

The weakened Genin would make his way out towards Ezequiel and head towards the citadel's exit. From there, he would look out towards the nearest forest and make his way slowly but surely in that direction. He wasn't sure what the purpose of this trial was, but he would have to rely on Araqiel to save him if anything went terribly wrong.

[The Creator]

Very few felt the helplessness that Hatsu did then. But was that not the purpose of the trial? Perhaps he was not the first to feel so helpless and then to find all the answers in the arms of Araqiel. Was he to be blessed by such rewards? That was for Hatsu to decide. Ezequiel would give him plenty of words of wisdom as he showed him to the exit:

"Don't give up." was what stuck with you. It was simple advise but it seemed to stand out. Was that his doing? Your doing? Some higher essence's doing? It was hard to tell. The path you took lead from the doors of the citadel down through a thick path of grass and then to a river. The river was about 6 meters wide, and it was difficult to tell how deep, but it seemed peaceful enough to ford.

Would you stop here for the night, or would you find a more suitable place to camp?

((Roll to decide biome: Here))

[Gohan]

Hatsu was cheered up a bit by the words, but it still didn't stop him from worrying ever so slightly. His primary defense mechanism was to turn into a cloud and fly away at top speeds! In any case, Hatsu would find himself at a river, which he would have never given a second glance if he had access to his chakra. Was he supposed to cross the river anyways? Perhaps it was a sign!

Stripping down naked, the young man jumped into the river, and felt it carry his body quite quickly downstream. It was all he could do to stay afloat and to maneuver himself around the upcoming rocks. The night was still young and he would see where the river took him before making camp for the night.

[The Creator]

The river was more cold than you expected. As winter began to slowly heat up into spring, the snowmelt of the mountains of Kaze no Kuni would seep into the rivers. It was that in which you bathed in now. You would be carried down the river, your body temperature now plummeting to a dangerous level, before washing up on a stony shore.

As the river lazily turned, your momentum carried you onto a flat surface. It was rock; all of it. A smooth stone-like surface is what made up the shore, perhaps forming a 20x20 square meter area, before giving way to soft soil. Above you towered a stone cliff, carved from a tall boulder like clean slices through a hunk of butter. At the base of the cliff was a fissure, much bigger than a crack in the wall, whose mouth, cloaked in darkness, gave way to a cave whose depths you could not determine.

Overhead, the stars bloomed like static fireflies in the night. Burning like fires, their light seemed to cause the shadows to deepen. All around you, shadows seemed to twist in turn. Whether it was the moonlight's reflection off the running stream or something more sinister, it was as if they were souls who twisted in some deep pit of Hades. Even the moon above was just a sliver of its full self, it too encased in the shadows that seemed to grasp at the night.

For the forces of dark hated those of good. The righteous crusaders of Kaishaba who might ruin what might have been a very easy life. And so when a Kaishaba initiate performs his final test, at his most vulnerable point, evil is drawn to him like flies to a fire. Whether it was in your head, or if it truly stalked just out of eye and ear sight, soft footsteps could be heard on the grass. Sometimes they would click onto the stone before vanishing into nothingness.

Light might drive them away but, then again, it would only make the shadows deepen. But you were cold, in fact, freezing. To not make a fire would surely be the death of you. With no clothes to cover you and no blankets to warm you, it seemed as if only fire could hold of Death's grasp tonight.

[Gohan]

OOC: I'm able to post a lot more frequently from now on. I'm hoping to finish this within 3 days so I can do my missions for the Chuunin exams

After a pretty damn cold trip down the river, Hatsu found himself frigid and desperate for warmth. Temperature barely affected him in wind form and he was in mental shock at how much being a human sucked balls. Lacking the expertise to scramble out of the water, he found himself dumped haphazardly onto a shore beneath a stone cliff.

The cliff seemed to have a cave. If there was anything he had learned in history class, it was that humans used to live in caves. Perhaps he could form a fire there or something. Somewhat motivated to not die, Hatsu brought himself to his feet and made several steps towards the cave entrance, noticing that there seemed to be a lot of movement around him.

"Is anyone there?" he would call out, not expecting a response. He felt as though the movements were caused, not by beasts, but by spirits themselves. What kind of pervy spirits wanted to bother some naked guy? In any case, Hatsu was more worried about his human form's well being. Let's deal with one crisis at a time

Surely, a fire would be most appropriate, but the Mizukage was a little more classy than that. He would step back towards the river and gather up a bunch of soggy mud. He would rub the mud all over his body until he was a walking abomination. Sure, it would be pretty damn cold at first, but what little body heat he had left was going to have to do. He doubted he would be able to find the ingredients to make a fire anyhow.

Nevertheless, he did start looking for some wood to start a fire. Some kind of divine power was willing him to, almost as if it wanted to intensify the shadows around him.

[The Creator]

((I'll try and post as often as I can.))

It appears that you have learned quite a bit in history class but knowledge does not always translate well into the field. You were right in your assessment that caves did indeed once house the predecessors of men but your judgment regarding your freezing situation was ill-suited for you. As you embraced the mud, which was extremely thick and viscous, you suddenly felt the mud usurping all body heat that your body was able to put out.

Covered in it, the little temperature you had left began to slowly fade. Sure it would insulate you in the long run, but you were in no position to gamble with your own temperature at this point. All other things ceased to exist for you. Numbness began to creep into you as you lost feeling to your fingers and toes. All hand and foot movements would become aloof and sluggish.

You would find wood if you continued to take the time to search for it. There were small twigs as well as small logs, about the thickness and length of your forearm, scattered at the base of dead, wind-swept trees. Would you be able to forge a fire with no feeling in your limbs? It almost felt as if Araqiel had failed you, peering from above seeming to offer no help at all.

You were suddenly sure that if you did not heat your body soon, you would die.

Hatsu has picked up the condition: Sickened
It was the closest existing condition that parallels your situation.

Sickened:

The sickened character takes a -2 penalty on saves, -10 on skills, lose 1/4th of movements and handseals, and -1 rank in TaiJutsu attacks.

[Gohan]

ooc: i have no idea irl how to start a fire. In cartoons they rub sticks together so...

Well this was a bad idea Hatsu would think as he finished caking himself with mud. It seemed as though this was only making him colder.
"Oh great Araqiel! I seek your guidance in my hour of need!"

Almost instantly, the young adult turned his head and saw some twigs and logs that looked perfect for starting fire. He shambled over as fast as his sickened body could and started rubbing sticks together. Hopefully he would get a fire going soon since he was feeling worse than he had ever felt in his life!

[The Creator]

You managed to wrap the now alien extensions of yourself you called hands around some flammable wood. In a novice's fashion, you began to rub wood together. No warmth, smoke, nor ember was brought forth a result of your efforts though. As defeat began to creep into you, the true killer that was the predecessor of a freezing death, you noticed something out of the corner of your eye. A Will-o-Wisp floated cautiously towards you, seemingly out of the blue!

The darkness that enfolded you seemed to abate in the presence of this mysterious creature. It did not seem harmless but the warmth and light that issued from it, in your weakened state, seemed like that of a savior!

But Will-o-Wisps are cautious creatures and should you want to use the gifts of this creature to save your own life, you would have to be careful. It knew of your demise, it seemed, and only approached because the natural ferocity of its human encounters was dimmed by the fact that you seemed to be dying.

Would you be able to convince the creature to help your cause?

Hatsu still under the Sickened condition.

[Gohan]

I knew this was pointless Hatsu would think as the wood refused to burn. Just as he was about to give up on the fire and go to the cave, some kind of ball of energy seemed to come out of nowhere. It emitted a strange light that illuminated the area, seemingly keeping the evil spirits at bay.

If Hatsu had organs, his heart would be racing. If this thing emitted light, it probably gave off a fair amount of heat as well! Feeling his internal air pressure dropping even lower, the mizukage toppled onto his hands and knees and crawled towards the wisp. He couldn't rely on the creature to save him, but perhaps the additional heat would help him start his own fire.

He would rub the sticks together during his pathetic crawl, hopeing the creature would get some kind of understanding of what he was trying to do. Having nothing to offer but his gratitude, Hatsu could only hope that his new god would reward the wisp for its efforts. Assuming it did anything to help.

[The Creator]

With your being shambling mess, it was difficult to tell what this Will-o-Wisp felt. Fear? Pity? It seemed to be the latter, to your great luck, as it shot a single ray of light to a small log; it was not one you had attempted to light but one that was a little ways away. It sparked into flame, though weak at first, but soon became ablaze with a light that could just possibly bloom into a full fire, if fed correctly. The Will-o-Wisp floated lazily, slowly backing away as you neared it, seemingly not wishing to close the distance between you two.

The coldness had now creeped into your arms and legs, feeding the numbness that was slowly destroying you. But your helplessness abated, there was fire! Would you be able to capitalize on it, or would this seemingly miraculous gift go to waste?

[Gohan]

Hatsu's first thought wasn't gratitude, but amazement that a creature capable of firing laser beams and lighting fires from afar. Why does this spirit get all the cool abilities? All I can do is float around like a dumbass

With a groan, the genin nodded in thanks and turned around to feed the fire with the surrounding branches and leaves. He wanted a bigger fire but didn't want to pose a risk to the surrounding wildlife. He had seen human fires go out of control before and didn't want to make the same mistake.

Within fifteen minutes or so, Hatsu would have a sizeable fire contained within a circle of stones. He had managed to gather up enough branches to hopefully keep himself warm for the rest of the night. Feeling somewhat safe, the young man tried to get some sleep. He would awake every hour or so to feed the fire and would sleep until noon if nothing stopped him from doing so.

[The Creator]

You would build the fire and all would go well. For the time, at least, you had pulled yourself away from the hungry maw of death. You slowly warmed up, losing the Sickened condition that you had brought upon yourself earlier. As you slept, which was not very restive due to sleeping on the ground and constant checks to the fire, the mud thickened and hardened to form a shell.

You made it to noon the next day with no further problem. The Will-o-Wisp, your savior, had disappeared after the first hour of sleep. Barring no further harm to yourself, you would awaken to find a lovely afternoon with birds chirping and the stream slowly bubbling by you.