Yonah. This is the Cherokee name for bear. There had once been a hunter who hunted a bear. This bear could not be killed. Instead the bear had mercy on the man and made a deal with him. The bear allowed the hunter in his cave and fed him all winter. The man became like that of a bear and hunters came and killed the bear. Seeing the man they took him back home but when the hunter turned to see where the bear had been killed he saw that the bear arose from its place of death and retreated to the forest. This bear was a spirit.
Run. Run. Run. I'm running in the forest from homicidal lightning ninjas with my little stick in my hand. Now don't you laugh. My little stick is amazing. My stick may be little but it is definitely worth it. It does wonderous things. Including make you light headed. People always come back for more.
I'm speaking of my spirit stick of course....what were you thinking?
Ducking and dodging lightning is no easy feat. Especially not against raigin. If it wasn't for my little spirit stick I'd be dead by now. To use my spirit stick I must have at least the ability to sense spiritual power. Two years ago in Tibet I was taught to control and expel my spiritual energy. Though I am highly unpracticed in this art form, I'm still skilled enough to combat and escape the grasp of level 2 spirits. Level 3 spirits such as raigin are much more dangerous but with the spirit stick in my possession my ability to sense and manipulate spiritual power is magnified. The lightning they are throw at me hold spiritual power. Its how the raigin are able to manipulate the element. With my spirit stick i am able to, not control, but diverge the direction of the attack.
A tree explodes next to me. I am sent flying opposite the direction of the explosion due to the mighty force. I take a glance behind me and see the raigin catching up. Your probably wondering how I'm able to move faster than theses spirits fueled by lightning. Well, I may not be able to use elemental powers light the raigin but I can enhance my physical attributes by increasing the amount of spiritual energy in specific parts of my body. All humans hold spiritual energy due to the fact that all humans have within them a living soul. Spiritual power is the ability to control spiritual energy. How much power a person possesses can depend on genes, spirituality like faith in the Christian religion, or having a medium like my spirit stick. Spiritual power doesn't necessarily run out. If it does our soul goes into a state of shock and followed by non existence. In stead what happens if one over uses spiritual power is fatigue. I was taught all the basis of increasing ones ability to stretch out the use of spiritual power but because I'm always traveling and on the road looking for something new i never had the time to exactly "practice". So now I'm in a situation where I need to fight but have to run instead. So I get up and continue to run.
Run. Run. Run. With this little stick in my hand I shall make a glorious exit...yeah I'll definitely be leaving....this body if the narukami catch me. Actually about that. Level 3 spirits can actually devour souls to eventually reach the level 4 status. They especially crave spirits who already have the capability of using spiritual power. This is probably another reason why they want to eat me.....
Boom!!
The sound of thunder is caught by my now throbbing eardrum. A raijin tackles me to the ground. It feels like I was hit with a full body taser. If I hadn't been enhanced with spiritual power I'd be out cold by now and suffering 2nd degree burns all over. The electricity has me for a second and I sit there with muscle spasmed and defenseless. The others arrive and they all open up showing their true forms, ready to devour me. Just in time, my body regains movement and I thrust my spirit stick in the direction of the transforming monsters. When revealing their true forms they are plenty vulnerable to attacks. In game terms this is the very definition of a critical hit. Spiritual power comes out of my spirit stick like a sphere and separates. The light strikes each of the raijin and a loud electrical hissing fills the air. Crackling and popping. Not the cereal kind. This is the sound of their pained surprise. And the rustling leaves a good few meters off is the sound of me getting the hell out of there.
I arrive at the entrance of a large cave. Thunder begins to roll once again. The rain picks up. It seems like the raijin are back to their senses and enraged that their prey got away. Lightning spirits dislike caves...or any shelter really. The only one in sight is this cave which most likely belongs to a bear. I'll take my chances with the bear than the raijin. I can actually calm bears with my spiritual skill "Tame". Spiritual skills are techniques developed when an individual with spiritual power has a keen understanding of the flow of their spiritual energy. Understanding the flow of your spiritual energy is a must in this world whether it be for combat or curiosity. The flow of my spiritual energy allows me to develop skills based on wildlife and survival. Most likely due to my questionable life choices.
I enter the cave. At the entrance is a name. The name carved in the cave wall is Yonah. Yonah is a Cherokee name. It means bear.
Now that I am safe from the Narukami I can catch my breath. I look around the cave but see nothing. Taking out my phone I switch on the flashlight function. This cave is rather deep. I get to the end and see bones. Animal bones....hmm...yeah. Definitely a bear. I back up and prepare to do an about face when I bump into a giant ball of fur. I hear breathing. I turn and see a mighty large bear. It simply looks at me. I think to use my spirit stick but I see the bear remains a steady calm. Interesting. Its obvious the bear knows I'm here. Why am I not freaking out? Well I just got done running from crazed lightning ninjas trying to devour my soul. Also I've been in this situation before. Though the bear was much more erratic.
"I can tell you need a place to say." The large bear speaks...great the bear spoke. Gruff though Feminine. This isn't a normal bear its a spirit. Yonah on the cave entrance was signifying the name of the spirit. A female spirit at that.
"Are you Yonah?" I ask dryly.
"Yes. Yes I am. It's nice to see you again Ryan." I really shouldn't be surprised. Spirits aren't omniscient but they are well educated in who and what is in their domain.
"So Yonah are you going to eat me?"
"No eww." Her response was quite petulant. "I don't eat humans. Besides humans taste a lot less healthier than they use to a few hundred years ago."
"How is that even possible?"
"Ask your fellow humans. If I were you I'd eat more honey and berries." At this point I feel familiarity from this large bear. The thing about spirits is that they are a lot like humans. But a pure. Spirits are either good or they're evil. "So tell me Ryan why are the Narukami trying to kill you?
" The real question is why they are on American soil."
"Spirits have been uneasy for a while now Ryan." Yonah sits and began eating some berries. Yes I know exactly how weird this looks. "Traversing to different domains isn't too strange these days. What's important now is how I am to safely get you to your daughter."
"How'd you...." I stop myself before asking any stupid questions.
"Would you like to go hunting with me?" A kind and yet devious smile is what Yonah gives me. How could I possibly refuse.