One more thing before I move on:
Tell me more about this avatar that you use in another forum.
Gladly, I'm quite proud of him. Kit the Coyote is a fictional character I created based on the Inuyasha character from the Japanese Anime of the same name.
I was looking for a demi-god type character based on a Trickster Spirit and settled on Coyote from Amerind mythology. He is the half breed son of Coyote and an Amerind Shaman named Spring Rain. Like Inuyasha, he has physical characteristics of his supernatural parent, if you look closely, you will see he has canine ears.
I used him as a basis for some anime cross-over fan fiction and then later developed him more fully in an online fantasy role playing game, which is where the pictures come from.
His backstory:
After the sudden death of his mother and his father's physical avatar, he was abandoned as an infant to die in the wilderness. He was rescued by powerful mage of the High Elven Seelie Court, who raised him to young adulthood. This was an intentional decision on my part since I'm a fan of fantasy fiction and didn't really know enough of Amerind culture to feel I could represent it honestly. I based the Seelie Court on Mercedes Lackey's Urban Elves Fantasy stories. I highly recommend them if you like Urban Supernatural Fantasy.
On reaching adulthood, he realized that the immortal fairie lands of the Seelie Sidhe was not for him and returned to the mortal world. He settled with the Wild Folk in the land of Karamoon. The Wild Folk lived in the forested wildlands of that land. The Wild Folk consisted of wild Fae, Satyrs, Centaurs, Gypsies and other 'nature' folk. There Kit became a healer and shaman.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction story I wrote for him when introducing him to the role playing community online.
Prologue
Unknown Lands beyond the Ocean, 60 Years ago
The child’s cries echoed among the tents of the Tribe, the only sound to be heard in the grief stricken camp. Inside the tent two women tried unsuccessfully to sooth the child.
“You must quiet him, sister. The Elders meet now and you know what they discuss.”
“Humph,” the woman holding the child said as she tried to pacify him. “He wasted no time, the passing ceremony barely done and he hasn’t the decency to wait out the day.”
“Maybe you should try….”
The suggestion was cut off as the leather flap opened and two males entered. A moment the child’s cries were the only sound.
“It is decided,” the older man said. “Give me the child.”
“No!” the woman holding the child cried and clutched him to her chest.
“Be silent Woman,” the younger male said
He stepped forward and wrest the leather wrapped child from her grip and passed it to the elder male. The child’s cries became a shriek at the rough handling.
They turned to leave but the women threw themselves at the elder’s feet.
“Please Wise Elder; she was your only daughter. Please have mercy for her child?”
The Shaman stood still for a moment.
“My daughter is gone,” he said at last. “And this…abomination is no relation of mine.”
The women’s cries of anguish joined the child’s echoing over the camp as the two men left.
~~~
“Wise Elder, this is not the place of the Test.” The Warrior said as the Elder placed the screaming child on the ground.
“Are you Shaman?”
“No Wise Elder.”
“This is a special…child,” the Elder said in a tone that indicated the word was undeserved. “The Spirits require a special test.”
The Elder smiled. Even as Shaman he could not deny tribal tradition. A child suspected of evil must be tested, lest the spirit of an innocent slain curse the Tribe. The child was left in the place of Testing for a day and a night. If it was innocent the Great Spirit would send the Guardian Mother to protect it, if it was evil the Destroyer would come. In this way its fate would lie in the hands of the Spirits and its death would not curse the Tribe.
The place of Testing however was isolated; animals did not reach it easily which was appropriate for the Test required at least a chance at survival. The Shaman however would be certain that this child would not be returning to the Tribe and he chose this place well. He had noted the tracks of the Cougar that frequented this valley.
“Come,” he told the Warrior and they left the screaming child behind. They had not gone far when the screaming in the distance suddenly stopped. The Shaman smiled as they walked on into the darkness.
~~~
The Coyote wandered the through the brush and the sandstone canyons looking. What she looked for she could not have said even if she were capable of such a thing as speech. She only knew the emptiness and the voice that said the emptiness could be filled in this direction. Of course it wasn’t actually a voice, more of an impulse that originated from somewhere else. It didn’t matter to her if the emptiness could be filled for at least a little while.
A moment later, she heard the sound and followed it. It led her to a clearing at the foot of a mesa. From the bushes, she watched the two Humans in the clearing. But the sound came not from them but the leather wrapped bundle one of them was placing on the ground.
As the Humans left, the Coyote wandered down and sniffed at the strange screaming bundle. She looked into the opening at one end and the screaming stopped as two sets of orange eyes beneath sandy colored fur-covered ears and recognition of similarity was exchanged. She leaned down and licked the salty tears from the babes face prompting amused chortles from him. Nose and paws quickly unwrapped to bundle sniffing and inspecting this new cub. She cleaned him as she went to sound of his laughter at the feel of her tongue.
Satisfied she laid down next to him sharing her warmth against the cold night. He was strange. The only decent fur he had was on his head, ears and tail but it didn’t matter to her. She was content, the emptiness filled in part by this new cub that now clung to her fur. They lay for thus for hours as the cub passed into sleep. She stood at last and inspected him again, wondering how to move him to a decent burrow when she picked up the scent.
Hackles rose as it came nearer. The scent she knew, it was the scent she had found mixed with blood when she returned to find her old burrow empty. She growled. The scent would not have the new cub.
The Cougar circled the clearing stealthily. The prey lay exposed in the center of the clearing but the Coyote was alert. If it was quick and silent, it would get into position and snatch up the prey before the Coyote could react. If not, it was bigger and deadlier than the Coyote but it would rather not fight if it didn’t have to. It crouched and leapt into clearing but the Coyote was too fast. She turned, leapt and collided with the Cougar in mid-air. The two landed rolling out of the clearing in ball of snarling fangs, fur and claws.
Moments later the child stirred. The warmth had left and chill of the night disturbed its sleep. Then the warmth back and tiny hands gripped the fur again. The fur was ragged and wet in places but it was warm and the loving tongue soothed the child back into sleep.
The Coyote lay still as a cool night mist filled the clearing. She ignored her pain to snuggle closer to the new cub, shielding him against the cold. As she lay panting, feeling her life slipping away the mist in front of her stirred and the shape of a large coyote formed. The voice returned clearer than before.
“Rest Little Sister, soon the pain will end.”
The Coyote felt her pain fade and her panting slowed.
“You have done well, Little Sister. You have saved my cub and given retribution for you own. It is time to rest.”
The Coyote’s eyes closed and her panting stopped. Slowly a small mist rose from her to take the shape of a small mist coyote next to the large one. She looked down on her empty body and the child clinging to it.
“New cub?”
“He will be fine. You have given me the time I needed to find one who can care for him. He comes even now. Come Little Sister, your cub awaits.”
She looked back one more time on the new cub then turned and followed Coyote the Trickster into the shadows.
The Cougar limped slowly back towards the clearing. It was inconceivable that the tiny Coyote had driven him to retreat. But the Coyote had been hurt far worse than he and even now the Cougar scented her blood on the wind. If she were not already dead, she soon would be and he would have his prey at last.
The child sensed something wrong, perhaps the sudden stillness of its protector or some scent, and began to cry. The Cougar looked at the still Coyote and crying child from the edge of the clearing. He gathered himself to leap on the infant. Suddenly bluish green flame engulfed the Cougar. It screamed in pain and was consumed in moments leaving nothing but ash while the nearby plants were unharmed.
A tall robed figure entered the clearing. He strode over to the crying child and looked down on it with green cat-like eyes. The child looked up at the new stranger and stopped crying, putting his small hand in its mouth. The face that looked down at it was youthful and yet had eyes filled with an ageless depth. The face was framed in shoulder length hair, the color of moonlight broken at the side with upswept pointed ears.
The newcomer reached down and gently picked up the child, cuddling it close.
“Hello Little One, you are safe now. No more tears.”
The child stared at the glowing face and gave a half smile.
“Rest now, we have a long journey yet.”
He touched the child’s brow and the infant slipped back into sleep. Then he bent down to pet the fur of the fallen Coyote with his free hand.
“I am sorry lass, I did not come sooner. You are brave and served your master well. Rest now and I will assure your body is not disturbed.”
He stood and turned away. As he stepped clear, the Coyote’s body was consumed in blue-green flame leaving nothing but ashes picked up by the wind. A moment later the clearing was empty.
