Tales from the Ring Leader [Story Collection]

The large speckled stag raised his head towards the sky and smiled faintly.
"I warned ya didn't I? I told you a month ago that I had a story to impart to you. Well here it is. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy telling it."

Well. That seemed like a good enough introduction for now. He flopped back down on the ground and collected his thoughts. It could not be a constant tale, no, as that would be no fun. He would tell it in short parts when he had a willing audience and felt ready to bring the denizens of the forest into a foreign land. He knew it would anger some, and enthrall others. Regardless, he held the hope that either side would be willing to speak up and leave a comment.

Rhys snorted softly and furrowed his brow as he recalled the last message he was tell this day.
"Ah Yes. The author and I would like to inform you now that these stories might include mild language, violence, or gore. Although we do not usually like to offend our reader we feel it is necessary sometimes for plot development, characterization or good storytelling. We hope you understand."

The Tales

Night Fall
The first three characters are introduced.
Finata is a young man plagued by visitations from a spirit he has dubbed 'The White Man'.
His mother, Fila, does not believe in his personal bogyman.

Midnight
The White Man approaches Finata after three years.
His reunion is a far cry from a heartwarming hallmark special.
He leaves again to plan out how to properly approach the situation in order to have a meaningful relationship with Finata.

The Characters

As characters are introduced in the story they will be listed here for your convenience. Feel free to refer back to her if you lose track of a character OR just want to arm yourself with knowledge.

Fila: A young mother who has fallen on hard times. It is suggested that she once lived a far more glamorous life in the past but now works manual labor to support her son Finata. She is a wiry ethnic woman who was once renowned as a beauty. She is highly skeptical and has a short temper when it comes to her son's tantrums.

Forest Equivalent: Fila. A very old character from the forest and former mate of Seshi/Furfur. Not much is known about her. She has no biography nor has she been sighted in the forest for nearly a year. She wore the butterfly pelt, noh antlers, and real deer mask.

Finata: A young man nearing his teens. At the start of the story he is eight or nine years old. He is the child of a mixed racial union and never knew his father. He lives with his mother Fila and there is very little love between the two. He is haunted by a spirit known only as "The White Man."

Forest Equivalent: Finata. The abandoned son of Fila and Seshi. He is small for his age and slow to mature. His closest friend is a doe he imagined to protect him named Kalpita. Finata's biography is currently being re-worked on so it is missing.

The White Man: Not much is known about this shadowy figure yet. He is described as being a pure white spirit who wears a mask to cover an unpleasant appearance. No one knows why he haunts Finata or where he came from. His real name was revealed to be Felix.

Forest Equivalent: Furfur. A spectral stag who roams about the forest. His initial life in the forest was taken by a painful disease that he contracted during a fight. Instead of passing onto the afterlife his spirit remained and he continues to live out his days in the forest. There is more information on his biography page. In forest he wears the dotd mask, devout pelt, and real deer antlers.

Note: This story collection and fortiter in re, suaviter in modo are two completely different series. Events that happen in that series have no influence upon the stories that appear in this one and vice versa. Certain facts may over lap if they pertain to set in stone character histories, but the occurrence and means may be reinterpreted to fit the new setting.