Spirit Walker - Spoilers - Chapters 1 through part of 14

[Mac The Knife]

Wondering what's the significance of the blood inside HER body is for the spirit.

It's kyvens blood in her body,,,,and since she plans on using his blood to track him with an alchemical device, I would imagine it would throw the device off a little.

[IdiotPaste]

I don't know, it sounds to me like the shadow fox wants Toby and the loregaurd capitan to follow him all the way to Haven. There is definitely a connection between Kvyen and the capitan, does her having his blood in him strengthen that connection? Maybe it gives the shadow fox a direct link to the capitan?

BTW are you the same Mac the Knife that writes the Feldare tales?

[J-Man5]

See Fell has never explained where Arcan's came from originally. I think they were human stock that was genetically altered to add strengths for fighting in the War. How this was done? Possibly by infecting them with a virus. Could it be blood borne? Who knows? Could Kyven's condition be transmittiable by blood? Possibly? Could she be the dame to the new Shadow Fox breed? Remember that it was a bite by the Shadow Fox spirit that changed Kyven. Did she "infect" Kyven to change him into an Arcan?

Now my real question is why does Shadow Fox want Toby the hunter to get to Haven? Is he a little too adept at catching Arcan's to not be part Arcan? Can there be a part human/part Arcan out there? Fel????!?!?!?!?! I am pretty sure the reason Shadow Fox wants the Lore Guard captain is that Kyven wants/likes her and she is partially a reward for Kyven, along with furthering the Shadow Foxes' plans. Guile & Deception and all that.

I want more on the history of the War that brought the spirits into the world and also what brought the Arcan's into being. Also can we have a bit more about the "monsters" that inhabit this world? Are they a blending of spirit and Arcan or spirit and animal?

If Shaman can make crystals and crystals are just tapping into the power of the spirit world. Could a good Alchemist create an item that makes Crystals? OR as was hinted at in this chapter an Alchemical device that can change one from being an Arcan to human and or the other way?


What makes Wild Arcans so different than tame or educated Arcans? Is it being ruled by instinct? Would there be an ability to make a Alchemical machine to educate an individual and could it be used to educate Wild Arcan's so that they act/speak/read like educated Arcan's.

The whip that Toby used only effected Kyven when it touched his fur. Could the same thing be made to effect only human skin? The fact that the collar hurt Daanah shows that human and Arcan biology and neurology is nearly the same or identical. Showing that there is a commonality.

BTW I hope i get a few cookies from Fel for this post. COOKIES!!!!!!!!! Evil Fel COOKIES!!!!!!!!!


J-Man5

[Weresmilodon]

I'm not entirely sure I know where you got that bit about Toby from. Maybe I just missed it, but I can't remember anything about Toby following him to Haven. Danna, yes, but Toby? Or Danna’s squad, for that matter? Missed that.

[Mac The Knife]

BTW are you the same Mac the Knife that writes the Feldare tales?

Ah,,,,,,,,,, no. That would be MACK The Knife,,, I'm just Mac.

[Mac The Knife]

See Fell has never explained where Arcan's came from originally. I think they were human stock that was genetically altered to add strengths for fighting in the War.



J-Man5

I can't find the initial background for the story, but I believe Fel said that the Arcanes were developed from animals, not humans. Afterall, we currently have no moral problems with cloning animals,,,,,, humans on the other hand..................

[michaelsuave]

I'm not entirely sure I know where you got that bit about Toby from. Maybe I just missed it, but I can't remember anything about Toby following him to Haven. Danna, yes, but Toby? Or Danna’s squad, for that matter? Missed that.

Toby says he is going to follow Kyven into the wilderness also. And the shadowfox says that the girl and the hunter are on his trail to haven. (Look at the last paragraph*)

Still want to see kyven learn new abilities, or realize that he can do magic again...

~Michael

[Phantom]

See Fell has never explained where Arcan's came from originally. I think they were human stock that was genetically altered to add strengths for fighting in the War. How this was done? Possibly by infecting them with a virus. Could it be blood borne? Who knows? Could Kyven's condition be transmittiable by blood? Possibly? Could she be the dame to the new Shadow Fox breed? Remember that it was a bite by the Shadow Fox spirit that changed Kyven. Did she "infect" Kyven to change him into an Arcan?

See Quote from Fels Post in blue below

Now my real question is why does Shadow Fox want Toby the hunter to get to Haven? Is he a little too adept at catching Arcan's to not be part Arcan? Can there be a part human/part Arcan out there? Fel????!?!?!?!?! I am pretty sure the reason Shadow Fox wants the Lore Guard captain is that Kyven wants/likes her and she is partially a reward for Kyven, along with furthering the Shadow Foxes' plans. Guile & Deception and all that.

I want more on the history of the War that brought the spirits into the world and also what brought the Arcan's into being. Also can we have a bit more about the "monsters" that inhabit this world? Are they a blending of spirit and Arcan or spirit and animal?

Again for what background on Arcan's and the War that we know at this point See Quote from Fels Post in blue below Maybe Fel will elaborate on it just a bit more ...but then again it's good for another book too
As for the Monsters part From chapter 5

I would be a poor totem to punish you for curiosity, given I consider it to be an admirable trait, she communicated with light amusement. Do not assign such traits to the spirits. We appear as we wish to appear. I am the spirit of the shadow fox, and it was by my will that the shadow foxes came to be in the world.
“I’ve never heard of them.”
They are there. They hide, for your kind would call them monsters. They shun most areas settled by humans, but there are some few who live near Atan.
Monsters. Animals touched by the power of the crystals and changed, mutated. Some were benign, like the Taurons that had mutated from cows and were becoming more popular as a staple livestock. Some ranchers were starting to favor them over normal cattle, because of very mild dispositions which made them very easy to handle, but they required more food and water because they were about twice the size of the average cow, which required vast amounts of grazing land to support a herd of Tauron. There were no Tauron around Atan, but the ranchers at Chardon herded Tauron in addition to regular cattle.
Some monsters, however, were very dangerous and had crystal-based abilities. They ate crystals and used them to power their abilities, which made them a double scourge. Not only were they dangerous, but they consumed the most precious natural resource to the human world.
Your people have never seen one of my children, she added lightly. They have the power to meld with the shadows, making them invisible in the night. That is how they hunt.
“A sensible way to go about it,” he noted. “Do they eat crystals?”
No. They absorb the energy to grant them that power from the spirit world. It is a minor power and does not require so much energy as a crystal holds to enact. It is for them the same as spirit sight is for you, a passive ability.

If Shaman can make crystals and crystals are just tapping into the power of the spirit world. Could a good Alchemist create an item that makes Crystals? OR as was hinted at in this chapter an Alchemical device that can change one from being an Arcan to human and or the other way?

Heres your Answer Why they can't....

Kyven, Shaman can create mana crystals,” Virren told him. “They draw the power from the spirits and manifest it into our world in the form of a crystal, just like the crystals we mine. You can’t tell a Shaman made crystal from a natural one unless you’re someone who works with crystals for a living.”
“I…yes. That crystal you gave me, it was just perfect. No internal flaws, no planar faults.”
“That crystal was made by Clover,” he said simply. “She can make them with flaws inside them, but she hates doing it. She thinks it’s a waste of effort to not make something the best you can, and I have to keep explaining to her that if she keeps giving me perfect crystals, I’m going to have to start explaining that fact to the cutters that cut them.”
“Why can’t she make one that doesn’t need cutting?”
“They can’t. They have control over the power that forms the crystal, but it still has to be created in a natural state. It has to have a rough exterior to allow them to build the crystal inside it, kind of like the shell of an egg. Think about it, Kyv, why do you never cut a crystal until you use it? Why are all those crystals sitting in your vault uncut? To make it hold its power as long as possible. Once you cut it, the magic inside begins to bleed out, fade away. It’s locked in by its imperfect exterior, by its shell. Honestly, I could put an uncut Shaman-made crystal into almost any device and it’d run, but cutting still maximizes that power.”
“I knew crystals degraded over time, but I never heard it explained quite that way.”
“Alchemists are much more concerned about that kind of thing, Kyv. We use those crystals you cut, once you cut them and sell them, you’re done with them. A crystal begins to degrade after it’s been cut. It takes a long time, years, but it still happens. That’s why I never bring you a crystal I don’t intend to install in a device within the month.”
“That makes sense. So, I could make crystals?”
“It’s possible. Not all Shaman can do it, though, and not all Shaman can make all kinds of crystal. Stalker can’t make blue or green crystals. Clover can’t make black crystals. Coldfoot can only make red crystals. None of them can make white crystals.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea,” he shrugged. “It’s some Shaman thing they don’t explain to us normal people.”

What makes Wild Arcans so different than tame or educated Arcans? Is it being ruled by instinct? Would there be an ability to make a Alchemical machine to educate an individual and could it be used to educate Wild Arcan's so that they act/speak/read like educated Arcan's.

The whip that Toby used only effected Kyven when it touched his fur. Could the same thing be made to effect only human skin? The fact that the collar hurt Daanah shows that human and Arcan biology and neurology is nearly the same or identical. Showing that there is a commonality.

BTW I hope i get a few cookies from Fel for this post. COOKIES!!!!!!!!! Evil Fel COOKIES!!!!!!!!!
J-Man5

I don't think you'll get many cookies from this but maybe....as for the Wild verses Educated Arcan question i would think it's more a mater of the Educated Arcan's beine more Tame and a lot less Feral then the Wild ones.
as for the second part i get the feeling the collars are much more like a Dog anitbark or Shock Collar....dosen't matter what or who it just does it anyway. as for being able to effect just one or the other...while I'm sure it could be Tailored to each type but with the work required Verses the results/cost ....why bother?.... if it works for all and is quicker to make beside the fact that it might end up working for some breeds of Arcan and not others.
Plus I don't think Arcans have thought (well not on a full time basis anyways) or tried collaring humans could be they wouldn't wish that on humans even if they do hate them. Thats not to suggest that Humans might not do it.

See Fell has never explained where Arcan's came from originally. I think they were human stock that was genetically altered to add strengths for fighting in the War.
J-Man5

I can't find the initial background for the story, but I believe Fel said that the Arcanes were developed from animals, not humans. Afterall, we currently have no moral problems with cloning animals,,,,,, humans on the other hand..................

it's located here in the General section of the forum
http://forums.sennadar.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1078

In the redo, which I'm aiming to be a "novella" length story, the humans are the technologically savvy race, and the "furry" race, the Arcana, would be the ones connected to power of magic. The humans are technologically adept, akin to America in the 1700s, but used to be much more advanced. Humans used to have machines that traversed the sky and buildings that touched the heavens, but their civilization was destroyed in what was known only as The War, when humanity turned on itself. The destruction of humanity's great civilization caused the power of magic to emerge, literally as the war raged across the land, and the Arcana appeared along with it. But while humanity seeks to regain its lost knowledge, it has also begun to touch on the magic of the Arcana. Since the Shaman appeared two hundred years ago, only Arcana were capable of using magic, but recently (in plot reference) humans have begun to show magical aptitude, the power to harness and control the power of magic and the power of the spirit world, to become Shaman.

Humanity and the Arcana do not get along. When the Arcans appeared they were simplistic, primitive, without even their own language. Humanity enslaved them, even used them in their war as soldiers, but after the world-shattering war, the lot of the Arcana did not improve. Though stronger and more durable than humans, they lacked education and intelligence to resist the human race, and remained enslaved for thousands of years as the human race dropped from its pinnacle into a near-stone age existence after it consumed all the remnants of its past glory, then slowly clawed its way back towards its former glory. During that time, the Arcana were the backbone of human labor efforts. It was the Arcana that built the new great cities of Eusica, the first dynastic human civilization to rise of the ashes of the great ancestors. Arcana mined the ores, worked the fields, and were often abused and treated like the animals they resembled. But over time, the Arcana changed. Though humanity saw them as stupid and savage, Arcana were actually as intelligent as humans, only lacking education. Arcana began to show more intelligence, began to develop their own culture, albeit a slave culture, and began to question their lot as slave labor for their inferior masters. But the human technology always kept them subjugated...until the Shaman appeared. Shaman were an anathema to humanity, for every one of their ancient religions saw the power of the Shaman as evil, as witchcraft, as demonic in nature. But the one thing the humans couldn't deny was the power of the Shaman, for Shaman could use their magic to stop human weapons from harming them, countered their crossbows and their powder muskets and grenades. Shaman began helping Arcans escape from bondage, form hidden settlements in remote, hidden tracts of untouched wilderness, and worked to free the Arcana from human enslavement. The power of the Shaman began turning the tide for the Arcana, forcing humanity to reassess their opinion of the race, and also touched off a new round of anti-Arcana violence and hatred as humans began to realize that their former slave race had developed a defense against them.

I'm not entirely sure I know where you got that bit about Toby from. Maybe I just missed it, but I can't remember anything about Toby following him to Haven. Danna, yes, but Toby? Or Danna’s squad, for that matter? Missed that.

Toby says he is going to follow Kyven into the wilderness also. And the shadowfox says that the girl and the hunter are on his trail to haven. (Look at the last paragraph*)

Still want to see kyven learn new abilities, or realize that he can do magic again...

~Michael

At the Very end of Chapter 10

The shadow fox watched the human woman with calm, mildly curious eyes. She watched her as the woman looked down at her bloody hands, then carefully cleaned the blood into a handkerchief and tucked it into a pocket. She had more blood on her, on her wrists, on the insides of her thighs in bloody streaks from shimmying up the rope, on her boots, on her surcoat, in her hair.
And in her body.
The shadow fox nodded to herself, unwrapping her tail and standing up, then padding on silent feet into the forest.

The seeds were all planted. Now came the patience of waiting for the harvest.
Her Shaman was on his way to Haven, with the woman and the hunter hot on his heels.

He was leaving the human lands with a full understanding of what the real world was, and was filled with resolve to do something about it. He had learned the value of deception, but had also learned the value of truth. He had learned the value of mercy, but had also learned the value of ruthlessness. He had learned how to communicate with the Arcans, empathize with them, had lived life seeing the world through their eyes, and fully appreciated the hardships of their lives in ways no other human could.
He had gained much wisdom.
He now wanted to join the Masked, and his time as an Arcan had taught him both the harshness of their lives and how to relate to them on their level. He was ready to go to Haven now, to see the other side of the real world, bringing the hunter and the woman along with him, and ready to resume his training in the spirits and Shaman magic.

Things were moving along just as she wished.
She vanished into the forest, shadows consuming her, quite pleased with the progression of things.

Ok so she planed Toby and the Loreguard to follow him in to the frontier....Interesting Won't they be the ones that are out numbered there ? Oh yes and it Sounds like she's Very Pleased with Kyven now .....I think she would grant him her power now if he asked. But I can't Help still having the feeling that he's some what stronger and maybe even faster then an average arcan.
It was interesting to note that at least some Humans and now Arcans are accepting him for what and who he is.
Has anyone Wondered What Toby would/will do if Kyven was/or is ever turned human again?.

Well i guessed some of it correctly ....but I feel like I've missed something important here along the way....hummm
Anyone else notice he droped his compass ?

his blood inside her ...humm a Loreguard turned Arcan interesting thought. oh wouldn't that just scare the piss out of the Lordguards and others the thought that Arcan Blood could turn them Arcan .....into Slaves!. Makes the possiability of becomming Touched just a bit weak by comparison when you think about it.



Phantom

[Mizriath]

In Chapter 10, I believe Aden was meant to be Aven... in earlier chapters.

Unless it is different character.

[Fel]

See, this is what happens when I think I can remember everyone's names.

I'll fix it.

[Quindo Ma]

Phantom, just a tip, but I think you want to try and fix that font size of yours a bit, it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger towards the end.

[Phantom]

Phantom, just a tip, but I think you want to try and fix that font size of yours a bit, it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger towards the end.

I'm still getting use to the new forum quirks so It happens when your Editing a LARGE message like that
in a little bitty window and jumping back and forth
Funny thing I've actually had one message before here that exceeded the Forum message size limit


Phantom

[alkiera]

(snipped lots of LARGE TEXT...)
Well i guessed some of it correctly ....but I feel like I've missed something important here along the way....hummm
Anyone else notice he droped his compass ?

Where do you read that? The last time the compass is mentioned that I found was when he picks it up from his pack and puts it on his neck, before leaving to taunt the Toby the Hunter.

his blood inside her ...humm a Loreguard turned Arcan interesting thought. oh wouldn't that just scare the piss out of the Lordguards and others the thought that Arcan Blood could turn them Arcan .....into Slaves!. Makes the possiability of becomming Touched just a bit weak by comparison when you think about it.

It's anyone's guess just what it will do. I'm wondering if it won't throw off the following equipment a bit. Or perhaps let the spirits affect her or track her somehow. I dunno if it's a contagion, that's a little weird... tho perhaps that was another gift, or perhaps it's part of the whole shadow fox thing. Who knows? (Fel does, of course)

[Cougar2k2]

(snipped lots of LARGE TEXT...)
Well i guessed some of it correctly ....but I feel like I've missed something important here along the way....hummm
Anyone else notice he droped his compass ?

Where do you read that? The last time the compass is mentioned that I found was when he picks it up from his pack and puts it on his neck, before leaving to taunt the Toby the Hunter.

I can't say I remember reading that he dropped the compass either. I'll have to reread the chapter and see if I can find anything. If he did end up dropping it thats a good catch Phantom.

his blood inside her ...humm a Loreguard turned Arcan interesting thought. oh wouldn't that just scare the piss out of the Lordguards and others the thought that Arcan Blood could turn them Arcan .....into Slaves!. Makes the possiability of becomming Touched just a bit weak by comparison when you think about it.

It's anyone's guess just what it will do. I'm wondering if it won't throw off the following equipment a bit. Or perhaps let the spirits affect her or track her somehow. I dunno if it's a contagion, that's a little weird... tho perhaps that was another gift, or perhaps it's part of the whole shadow fox thing. Who knows? (Fel does, of course)

As for the blood/loreguard thing I would imagine it has something to do with tracking, the effect The Touch has on her or it might even instill some Shaman tendancies in her thus making her less likely to reveal the location of Haven? Also I'm pretty sure that it was just before the spirit changed Kyven that she granted him the power to cure The Touch in both himself and others. But since he no longer has his powers I would imagine that he will be getting them back after getting to Haven and some type of outbreak occurs or while on the the way to Haven they come across a wild Arcan with The Touch and he has to reconcile with his Totem in order to cure Himself, the captain, and/or Toby. Could be a lesson in forgiveness for Kyven.

[michaelsuave]

Who knows? (Fel does, of course)

Reminds me of the old radio drama "Who knows? Only the Shadow Knows!" In this case, only the Shadow (fox) and Fel knows.