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 Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:07 pm
 *carves out a niche in the quest forum*
Welcome to my Incantations of the Spirit quest!
This is purely a place to develop my Spirit Concept, so all thoughts, opinions, and comments are more than welcome!
If you don't know what a Spirit is, visit the main thread located here
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:10 pm
 .:Table of Contents:.
I. Introduction
II. Table of Contents
III. Spirit: Daiyu's Intro
IV. Spirit's Appearance
V. Guardian
VI. Fatin's Journal
VII. How things came to be
VIII. Panda Legend
IX. Moral Support
X. Credits
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:12 pm
Spirit// Panda Bear
Name// Daiyu (black jade)
Gender// Female
Personality// Daiyu is of a shy, quiet nature. Preferring to hang back and observe those around her, it takes a bit of effort to get her to respond, but once you do, she can become quite playful. As she grows older, her playfulness would give way to a coy aloofness with a dry sense of humor.
Likes// sleep, eating, lounging about, bright colors, doing somersaults
Dislikes// loud noises, getting into trouble, being woken up, meat
Skills// none known yet
Habits// she constantly chews on the tip of her left index finger whenever she is thoughtful or observing those around her
Text Color// #028F1C
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:13 pm
Eyes// Daiyu’s eyes are a deep green like the bamboo forests she was born in and surrounded by the panda’s traditional black mask, giving her the impression that she is docile and sleepy all the time, when in fact she is quite alert and paying very close attention to everything around her.
Overall Appearance// Daiyu’s skin (or fur, as it is ultimately up to Incantation (is sooo not picky)) is a creamy white, in contrast to the snow white part of her hair, her lower arms and legs are black fading into the white at her elbows and knees. Wraith-like would definitely not be a good word to describe her build. Rather round and full as a child, Daiyu would eventually grow into herself, her round and fullness giving way to full-figured feminine curves, giving her a very solid appearance.
Since she is not of the traditional overly narrow build of the women of her home country, Daiyu is a bit self conscious and sticks to the more flowy, traditional styles of clothing [X].
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:15 pm
Age// 32
Residence// a rather simple room adjacent to the palace menagerie
Occupation// resident vet, more recently collector of beasts
Hair// Fatin’s hair is dark as pitch and in his youth he would keep it long, having it fall in gentle waves to his shoulders. But now he has shorn it short but keeps it long enough to be able to run his fingers through it, his thick bangs falling constantly over his eyes.
Eyes// Framed with thick, dark lashes, Fatin’s eyes are a deep grey and filled with a gentle kindness and laughter that have won him the hearts of many women. As he advances through the years, he has started to develop laugh lines in the corners of his eyes.
Height// 5’10”
Overall Appearance// Having first worked as a shepherd for his family and then with the wide variety of animals of the menagerie, Fatin is used to hard labor and his body duly reflects as much. Broad shouldered and well muscled, especially in his arms, he has a rather athletic overall tone. His skin is a rich brown darkened considerably by many hours in the hot desert sun. Though he does own the odd tailored suit and pair of jeans, he much prefers the more comfortable harem pants and long tunic tops.
Personality// quiet, kind, gentle, persuasive, loves to laugh and make those around him laugh as well.
Likes// animals, his job, bright colors, being comfy, rain, traveling and sweets.
Dislikes// mistreatment of animals, cruelty, rudeness
Skills// he has a natural affinity for healing and an uncanny ability to gain the trust of most beasts
Habits// -pending-
History// Fatin is a simple man, a good man who is quite clever and has a way with animals. It was a gift, his mother told him, as animals seem to be drawn to him, especially in their times of need. He had a voracious appetite for learning and learned the uses of healing at an early age. As a young man, he had been drawn in by the glamour of the palace life, easily falling into the role of caretaker for the Sultan’s extensive and elaborate menagerie. It was when he needed to convince the Sultan himself that an animal needed to be returned to the wild, that his skills of persuasion were brought to the Sultan’s attention. Wanting a bigger and better menagerie than the one his brother had, the Sultan decided to send Fatin out into the world to collect as many different animals as he possibly could. So Fatin’s journey began and he saw many wondrous things as around the world he went, collecting animals *snort* two by two.
Text Color// darkblue
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:16 pm
 Ceeda Incantation ]Sugar, and Spice, and everything nice. Traditionally, or rather, fictionally, this is what girls are made of. Some are sweet, some are spicy, and in general, girls tend to be the nicer of the two genders. Of course no where in this vague description did it say anything about them running away! Your spirit child has managed to slip away from you and you can't seem to find her anywhere! Where has she gone to? Why is she gone? Did she simply drift off? Or did she run away on purpose? Your child can be at any stage of development that you're comfortable with, probably between toddler and teen. Please write at least two paragraphs as a response.
“Daiyu?” he called out as he immediately noticed that her bed was empty. A cold fear shot through him when there was no response. Never in his life had he ever felt such feeling before. ‘Oh gods…’ he thought, stepping further into her room and spinning around, trying to find any signs of her.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to not panic. Panicking never solved anything, he told himself. Stepping back out into the common room, he looked around, but still there was nothing out of place. No… that wasn’t true. He realized there was a light drifting up the stairs that led down to the front door. Hurrying down the stairs, he saw that the front door had been left wide open. Blinking in the early morning light, he looked around as his nose was assaulted with the familiar scents of the animals he cared for.
With a brisk pace he started walking down the rows of cages filled with exotic animals from all around the world. If anything happened to his beautiful little Daiyu, he wasn’t sure what he would do. In all his years, he had never learned to love in the way that she had taught him. He had always had a big heart and cared very deeply for others and his animals. But there had just been something about the utter and complete trust in Daiyu’s eyes as she smiled up at him and clung to his coat that had reached a part of his heart he had never known to exist before. Calling out her name he was almost at a dead run as desperation started to overtake him, when he found her.
Holding onto the bars of the panda cage, he looked in on his peacefully sleeping child, curled up between the two sleeping pandas. Normally he would be panicking right now… that is if Daiyu had been a normal child. But she most definitely was not.
Seeing the door to the cage had been left open a crack, he walked over and stepped inside. Normally he would be worried for his own safety, but he wasn’t. There was something about his unique child, with her black panda mask and two black rounded bear ears peeking out from her white and black hair that soothed the gentle giants. Whenever she was present, they would merely watch him as he went about his tasks in their false home. Now walking up to the sleeping trio, he smiled at their peacefulness. Running his hands over the thick fur of the bears, he slowly knelt down to scoop Daiyu up into his arms. Stirring in her sleep, she opened her deep green eyes and looked up at him.
“Morning,” she yawned and buried her face into his chest as her eyes slipped shut. Smiling at the surge of warmth he felt for the small girl in his arms, Fatin moved out of the cage, closing and locking the door behind him.
“Why do you do that Dai? You scare Papa when you disappear like that,” he said softly as he walked back through the menagerie towards their home. She shrugged her shoulder in reply and he smiled and pressed a kiss to her soft hair.
Carrying her upstairs, he took her to her room and set her down in her bed. He was probably too indulgent in the amount of hours he allowed her to sleep in in the mornings, but he did not mind. Tucking her in, he smiled and smoothed his hand over her hair.
“Home,” she said suddenly. Frowning in confusion, he smiled and adjusted her blankets.
“What about home? You are home,” he smiled softly.
“No… they remind me of my old home,” she smiled sleepily, turning on her side and curly a little black fist under a white cheek as she drifted off back to sleep.
Smiling, Fatin continued to rub her back as he listened to her deep breathing. He began to wonder if she missed the deep green bamboo forests from where she came. Sighing a little, he pushed himself up from her bed, running a hand through his thick, dark hair. Now that he was officially up, he might as well go ahead and get started with the day’s work. Maybe he could think of a way to give her a bit of her old home without having to suffer such panic attacks in the morning, he thought with a smirk as he closed her door behind him.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:17 pm
 Fatin Fatin’s job sounded simple enough. Collect the animals of the world and bring them back to the Sultan’s palace so that they might belong to his extensive, elaborate menagerie. But not all animals were simple to find or acquire. Fatin traveled to many exotic climes, met many wonderful people as he ever so slowly collected them, usually in pairs. Like that guy from the Christian faith, Noah or something like that, he always thought with amusement.
His current destination was the thick bamboo forests of Xinglei for the Giant Panda. These would be the last of the animals he would need to collect before returning back to the arid deserts of his home. The first time he witnessed the great black and white beasts, he was enraptured by them. Gentle giants from afar, quite vicious if one drew too near. It took him many weeks and many hours of debate and persuasion, but finally he was granted permission to capture two of the wild beasts. It was on the eve of this momentous occasion that Fatin found himself wandering down a narrow path, surrounded by thick stalks of bamboo on either side. Humming softly to himself and enjoying the crisp evening air, he heard a sound, a rustle and soft cry of pain. Cutting and pushing his way through the dense forest, he followed the sound until he quite literally fell flat on his face into a small ravine.
“Okay… that hurt,” he muttered to himself as he cleared the stars from his eyes and slowly, carefully pushed himself up. Sweeping his thick, dark hair out of his eyes, he found a woman, a rather startling beautiful woman, staring at him with surprise and maybe even a little fear in her eyes. Thinking for a moment that it had been her that had been crying in pain, he quickly rose to his feet and looked down at her to see that she was cradling something in her lap. Holding his hands out to show he meant no harm, he took a slow step forward as he wracked his brain for what limited words of her native language he had learned since arriving.
“Are you alright?” he managed as he slowly sank down to kneel close to her, looking her over to make sure there weren’t any visible signs of injury. The woman tilted her head a little to peer at him for a moment, then looked down at the small ball of fluff in her lap.
“Yes,” she replied and then lifted her dark eyes, seeming to look past him.
Fatin glanced over his shoulder, but there was nothing but the thick bamboo and the small ledge that he had fallen over. He felt a small tug on the pouch of herbs he carried with him at his waist and glanced down, but again there was nothing. Frowning slightly, he looked back at the woman and peered down at the animal she was holding, blinking in surprise when he discovered it was a young panda cub. A wash of bright red marred the perfect white of its side and he could see that she had been trying to stop the bleeding with her sleeve.
“You can help him,” she said softly, her eyes now focused on his.
He realized that she had not asked him, but had rather stated it as a simple fact. Again he felt a small tug on the pouch. Frowning again as a glance back proved fruitless in finding the culprit, he blinked and quickly pulled the pouch from his waist. Before he had been sent out to enlarge the Sultan’s menagerie he had been the sole caretaker of the animals there when the Sultan had realized his powers of persuasion could be used elsewhere. Moving closer to the woman and the cub, he quickly opened the pouch to pull out several brightly colored sachets.
After almost an hour had passed in silence, marred only by the occasional cry of pain from the cub and Fatin’s soft soothing as he stroked the magnificent beast’s thick fur, Fatin finished tying off the makeshift bandage he had torn from his long shirt. Looking up at the woman, he saw that she was smiling warmly at him and he could not help but return her smile. She blushed lightly and his smiled deepened a little more as she pulled out a flask of water and gestured to his bloodied hands. He held them out and she washed them for him, then again looked up and beyond him at nothingness. He wished to ask her what it was she saw, but lacked the vocabulary to do so. He watched her nod a little to herself and reach into her pocket.
“She wants you to have this,” she said simply as she reached out with her soft, pale hands and wrapped his larger, darker fingers around something cold and solid in his palm.
Confusion swept over his face. Surely he had heard her wrong? Opening his fingers as she rose to her feet, cradling the cub in her arms, he looked down at an intricate black and white jade panda carving. Rising to his feet, he watched the woman disappear into the bamboo, singing softly to the small bear in her arms. Looking back down at the jade carving, he rubbed his thumb over it and felt a small tug on his coat. Glancing down he thought he saw something, a child with dark eyes smiling happily up at him, but he blinked and there was nothingness again. Pocketing the small figure, he vaulted himself up to the top of the small ledge and began making his way back to the small path.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:28 pm
 Legends .:Legend of the Giant Panda:.
written by: A.B. Curtiss
Oh, the wonder of the Panda that hides in the Bamboo Woods. Oh, the secrets that are whispered by dark wings in rustling leaves, and tracked by footstep along the narrow trails of ancient wilderness. This is a magic place, in a far-away land called China. Here rush the icy rivers where the water dragons swim. Here rise the Mountains of the Sleeping Dragon where the Giant Pandas live.
It is a land of many legends. One legend was told to the Old Pandas in their dreams, that is why they remember it best. So they tell their children about the Great Keeper, a guardian spirit who watches over small bears at night when the sun falls from the sky, and the wind calls itself back home to rest. It is a story that all Pandas know, and now you shall know it too!
The legend says that all Giant Pandas were once absolutely white as snow without any black around their eyes, or their ears, or their paws, or over their shoulders. They had no black fur at all, just like newborn Pandas today. The tiny bears don’t get their familiar black markings until several weeks after they are born, a reminder perhaps, of the mystical change that happened to the first Panda bears long ago.
It was so long ago that the Earth was almost all wilderness. Desert dust clouds from elephant herds would drift a mile high into the air. Whole schools of fish would flash like bright pennies on every ocean wave. The mysterious songs of the Great Whales echoed from sea to sea, and the horns and hooves of mighty beasts howled and hammered over the land.
The most wonderful animal of all was the Giant Panda Bear. It was a quiet, peaceful, and secretive creature that was rarely seen outside the dense thickets and caves of the forest where they liked to hide from view. Like pandas today, they too chewed on small sticks of bamboo from morning ‘til night. Naturally, the Pandas loved the forest which stretched its kindly branches as far beyond their sight as any of them could imagine.
At the edge of the Panda’s forest was a small village where there lived a faithful old Gatekeeper. No on knew where he had come from but he had opened the high village gates at dawn and closed them every evening for as long as anyone could remember. The Gatekeeper loved the Bamboo Woods as much as his friends the Pandas did. It was a deep understanding between them as they each pursued their solitary way through the mountains. They had no need to chatter about it.
At first light every morning the Pandas would watch the Gatekeeper leaning upon the smooth gnarls of his old walking stick as he went about his chores. When they were finished, the old sage would make his daily pilgrimage into the forest. Leaving behind the busyness of the day, he would walk slowly down a small path and disappear into the wall of trees at the edge of the crowded little village. Oh, the best men love the Earth and seek the wisdom of its silent places!
The Gatekeeper loved to wander deep into the woods where the only sound was the chitter of birds, and the flutter of their wings, and the great creak and cracking of tall trees when the wind blew. Sometimes a flurry of dry yellow leaves would suddenly shower down upon him like confetti tossed from the sun. Then the deep lines in his face would soften, like a fond father who smiles upon his children.
The other villagers did not share the old wise man’s love for the wilderness. The Gatekeeper would get so angry with the way they cut down the forest to build their houses grander and grander, to dig their gardens wider and wider, and to grow their herds of sheep larger and larger. He would wave his arms about and scold them. He had even been known to grab one or two of the worst offenders by the ear and tweak them good and proper!
For the people of the town left great scars upon the mountains, and seemed not to care greatly what they wasted by cutting the thin with thick if the method was quick enough. They did not care whether or not they left enough bamboo for the Pandas to survive. The villagers foolishly believed that the vast wilderness which surrounded them existed solely for their own disposal and personal profit.
These unwitting town-dwellers were a danger to the forest merely by traveling through it. One day it happened that a farmer made a camp deep in the woods. He built a fire to cook his dinner, keep himself warm, and to keep the snakes and spiders away. He was careless. In the morning after he left, a spark of live fire started up again on its own, and began to lick hungrily at the small sticks and dry leaves on the ground.
The wind blew and the little flames suddenly roared up into a great dragon of hissing and spitting just as the Gatekeeper passed by on his walk. He wrestled the fire dragon to the ground and tried to smother him but, unfortunately, his robe caught on one of the fiery claws. A Giant Panda who rushed to his rescue from nearby was too late to save him. The old Gatekeeper who had loved the forest gave his life trying to save it.
Oh, that was a long and dark day. All the Pandas now began to fight the fire dragon with great fury. They swatted and patted with their great white arms and stomped with their great white feet until their paws were black with soot. Finally the only flame left in the sky was the last of the evening sun slipping behind the rim of the distant mountains. The fire was out and the fire dragon did not have a single leg left to dance upon, nor one baleful breath of smoke to disturb the clear and starry sky.
It was then the Pandas fully realized that their good friend, the old Gatekeeper, was gone forever. They would never again see his black robe bowing low before the village gates, or track the marks of his old walking stick along the secret paths. They began to weep great Panda tears. They wiped their great Panda eyes with their great fire-blackened Panda paws. They patted each other’s shoulders, comforted each other with great sooty Panda hugs, and cupped their ears to distant cries of the other forest creatures who were passing word of the great disaster through the forest.
And ever since that day, wherever the Giant Pandas rubbed their fire-blackened paws, on their eyes, their ears, and their shoulders where they hugged each other, they have forever remained black. The Great Spirit of the Wilderness had touched the face of their pain with wonder.
The wise old Gatekeeper who had loved and protected the forest was no more. But now all Panda bears would forever carry the shadow of his spirit with them. The black and white markings of the Giant Panda Bears remind all who see them that there is no keeper of the forest but us. And the wilderness, which is the soul of the Earth, is calling. The legend of the Giant Panda is this: the keeper of the forest casts the shadow of a bear.
Epilogue:
What is true about all legends is that the story changes ever so slightly every time it is told. That is how the Gatekeeper came to be known finally as the “Great Keeper” mentioned at the beginning of the story.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:31 pm
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:33 pm
Incantation of the Spirit (c) Incantation Esprit
Spirit/Guardian (c) Ceedabear
Banner Quotes and Legend (c) A.B. Curtiss Legend of the Giant Panda
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:41 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:30 am
*cheers for Ceeda*
XD such a cute idea. heart heart heart
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:17 am
*rolls over me-chan* sankyu lovey heart *tickles Ziya*
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:57 pm
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Incantation Esprit Captain
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:21 am
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