Maarnakh
ANNOUNCEMENT: IF EVER YOU SEE MAARNAKH IN THE FOREST CAN YOU PLEASE CAST AN ANTLER SPELL ON HIM? THAT WOULD BE VERY KIND OF YOU!!!!

Gender: male

Origin: Mongolia

Name origin: Maarnakh is a Hunnic name (the Huns were a nomadic people in Mongolia)

pictogram: (see my profile page)

Age: fawn

Current thoughts: A stag at last...time to show what I'm made of!

Likes: Going for a walk (especially in the birch forest), protecting others from violent deer.

Dislikes: Other deer giving him ugly antlers, pelts, or masks; noise, large groups, braggers.

Wishes: His greatest wish is to become like his father, an Outrider (see character description)
He would also love to see real wolves, bears or humans (in all, predators)....who knows, maybe one day....

Favorite place:The Birch Forest

Current mood: Thrilled and excited

Character Description: A rather solitary deer that prefers to run on and on in the forest or wade in the pond rather than staying in herds. However, when it comes to protecting his friends, he stays very loyal. Maarnakh is more of a 'lone warrior' type of deer, or an 'Outrider' as he calls himself. He is warmhearted, respectful and humble but can easily get angered and is sometimes not self-confident enough.
In all, he can be one of the best of friends but don't expect him to hang out with you all the time: he would rather die than lose his freedom to run around whenever he wishes.


Diary

Entry 1
Midday. So here it is: the endless forest. I don't know how long I've ran. I know they can't reach me now, but I still can hear the horrible barks of the hounds that chased me. I try to avoid crying for my mother. She got caught in one of these bloody traps the humans craft . I had done what I could. So had my father, the Outrider as some call him. Nothing could break the terrible device that held her bleeding foot. When the dogs came, my father fought like a bear, to use the expression. Many of them died. In the end my mother managed to free her hoof, badly gouging it. I remember my father crying out for us to flee. My mother didn't want to but wept and obeyed. I ran ahead of her as fast as I could. My mother's wound didn't let her run fast. The hounds were closing up on us. We were desperate.
Suddenly a light flashed in front of me. A loud voice boomed inside my head. I was sure it was Tengri (Mongolian divinity) "FOLLOW THE LIGHT!"
It lead me to a strange path through the undergrowth, and eventually to a lake.
"JUMP!"
I looked back. My mother wasn't there. I sobbed, the barking getting louder.
"JUMP!"
I leaped and fell in with a splash. I felt pulled down by an invisible force that led me through a dark underwater tunnel. Shutting my eyes, I waited, having nothing better to do.
With a gasp I was propelled out of the tunnel. I turned back and yelped. I was just in front of a strange, crying statue and it frightened me. The tunnel I had been through was one of the eyes. I found myself in a river. I looked at my reflection and gasped: My pelt was all red. In panic I crawled out and panted loudly. Two stags, a black one and a white one with huge, red antlers and a skeleton face lay in the grass. I was startled but stood straight, looking right at them. For some reason they both laughed and approached me. I suddenly saw light coming from the black one's antlers. In shock I noticed it surrounded my body. The light left and my pelt was no longer red but as white as snow. I screamed and they laughed even more. Humiliated, I ran up a hill, enraged. Not looking in front of him, I bumped into something. I had before me the statue of the Twin Gods.
And here I am now, running after squirrels, my pelt gone back to normal, a pictogram hovering over his head. I had chosen the name of Maarnakh, though not so sure why. I had played with several fawns, but in the end they tired me with their antics, seeming desperate to give me ugly antlers. I strode up to the statue on the hill, following a little furry creature. To my disappointment it scuttled up a tree. I turned and saw a doe watching me. She had short black antlers and a light brown pelt. I walked up to her, barking 'hello' Her beautiful eyes reminded me of my mother.
"How are you, young one?" she asked warmly. I had seen little fawns getting bossed around by their mothers and it made me feel lucky, but I felt unusually peaceful in the company of this doe. We ran together for a while and we stopped at the playground. I jumped from rock to rock, wishing to impress her. She followed me, leaping much higher than I could. A loud bark interrupted us. A large male approached, with a black pelt and the same, huge antlers I had seen the day I arrived.
"Well well, good day isn't it?" he told her. The hind backed away. The stag approached her, showing a strong affection. When he was too close the doe kicked him in the foot.
"Leave us!" she snapped.
I growled and raised on my back legs to be intimidating. The stag roared and I huddled with my 'mother'
Each time he tried to approach her, he received a kick. He was visibly impressed by her strength. In the end he got annoyed and they both fought. I fought as well, placing a few kicks in his belly and roaring like I had never before. We didn't stand a chance against the strong stag, but we still made a good team. Eventually, when the fight was getting too serious, the doe told me to follow her and ran deep into the birch forest. When we were sure he was gone, I huddled against her again, afraid.
"You've been very brave," she smiled.
With that, I lost all my fear and proudly let out what I judged a deafening bark. I ran and ran, calling out: "Come back you ugly filth! Come fight Maarnakh!'
The other deer, stared at me in confusion, but I didn't care. I din't even have to tell the kind doe: she understood that I needed my freedom. I don't know if I ever will see her again, but I hope it with all my heart.

Entry 2

Entry 2
Life is going pretty well in the endless forest. I still enjoy running around chasing squirrels. I often go near the pond to have a swim as a frog. I recently discovered the old oak, one of my favorite places: Once I was inside the hollow tree, a beautiful music played inside my head. I instantly felt very peaceful and lay there for a while.
Today, I was walking by the pond and saw a sturdy stag (with these same red antlers that make me jealous) approaching a doe. They both huddled each other, and then they did something I will not describe in order to stay decent. I watched for a while, other curious fawns around me, but soon something told me that I shouldn’t be watching this. I scuttled away, wondering what happened with these two.
I got in a fight with two annoying youngsters. One of them, having lost his white spots and taller than me, gave me a horrible mask. I growled and he mocked me, his friend imitating him. Once I got rid of it, he gave me another, even more ridiculous one. They both laughed as I threatened them. That was too much. The three of us fought, and I have to admit that I was pretty good for a fawn. Surprisingly, in the middle of the fight, the older deer cast another ugly mask on his friend. Big mistake. The fawn, vexed, join my side. In the end a couple does came to settle the fight and I ran away to calm my nerves.
I had seen deer sleep in mushroom circles. They said that it permitted them to transform other deer in frogs, squirrels, or doves. I really wanted to try. Sadly, as I attempted to fall asleep, a doe gave me the truth: Fawns couldn’t use such spells.


I had my first (bad) experience with love today. I heard a fawn call and dashed towards it. It came from the statue. I spotted a lovely young female, also older than me, with colorful feathers that formed a mane around her neck. I talked to her, but she vaguely said hi. I began to jump around her roaring in rearing to impress her. Frustrated, she galloped away. Oh well, too bad.
I love this forest, but, even though I’m a solitary deer, I long for some good friends. I see a few deer, sympathize with them, play with them, and when I leave them, I never find them again. It’s starting to get annoying and I feel lonely. Oh well, too bad.


Entry 3

Nothing very special happening in the forest. I just can’t wait to be a stag so I can keep pelts, masks and antlers for as long as I want.
In fact, I’ve decided what antlers I want at adulthood. Some random fawn cast an antler spell on me and I found myself with large, intricate gray-white antlers. Very proud, I ran around and around the pond, roaring and rearing until, to my sadness, they disappeared. Good thing for the others, though, who began to yell at me to shut up. I didn’t really care. I already imagined myself showing off the incredible antlers. It would definitely make me look like a true Outrider
I spend more time in the birch forest. I love its bright colors, its tall grass and its large amount of space. I also like the old oak and its beautiful music and often rest inside its trunk.
I made a major discovery the other day. I was at the pond, playfully hopping in the water and scaring the fish away. That’s when I heard a fawn bellowing. I shuddered. I came from underwater. I know you can’t normally hear noises from underwater, but I did. In shock I saw a fawn, touching the pond-floor and mooing on and on. I wondered why he hadn’t been changed into a frog. A little later in the day, I tried the same thing. I went to the exact same place in the pond and found myself under the surface. I knew it only worked for certain places, but it was still pretty fun to watch the other’s strange looks from where I stood.
I never managed to find another mother. Near the oak I saw a doe with the killer whale pelt. I acted friendly towards her, but all she did was back away and roar in hostility.
“Punk!” she spat.
Angered, I kicked her in the leg and she ran away, not in fear but in annoyance. I followed her for awhile, taunting her, before resting under a tree. As immature as I was, I’ve learned that deer don’t all have the same personalities…
I’ve got to know a few deer. Yori, for example, a tall deer with a skull mask and candles on his antlers. I also know Fei, a melancholic doe that has the ability to stay immobile for hours. She doesn’t really care about me, but she’s nice anyway.

Entry 4
Much, much time has elapsed. I believe I've gone through a major depression in my teenage hood, feeling lonely and scared of the future, while the other youngsters played gleefully. But now, that's past. I'm a stag and it's time to take things in hand. First of all, I must get these gray, intricate antlers I've been dreaming of since childhood...for now all I could get was red flowers and a scarlet pelt to go with it. Secondly, in order to live like the stag that I am, I MUST find a doe. I've tried with a few today but none are really interested in me. One of them I thought it would work but then it turns out that it was a male....stupid me. Also, I got into a fight today, and I won, but then again we were two against one so there's not much pride....Oh well, it's good for a beginning.
Later on, I learned that that stag I thought was a doe was in fact Virgil. As for the one that we fought, it wasn't a stag but a doe, Lexus, the vampire doe as some call her. This may seem strange, but I feel somehow attracted by her mysterious appearance and she haunts my dreams. I hope I'll see her again.