The Tale of Lomani'taka

Runeclaw accompanies her story with a simple sign language common to the Shu'halo while relating oral traditions.

Many of you may be familiar with the great kodos Arra'chea who roams Mulgore and Lakota'mani who keeps watch over The Barrens. This is the story of another kodo, Lomani'taka, or Silverhorn.

Lomani'taka aspired to be the strongest, largest, and most beautiful kodo that wandered the plains. As a calf he would boast of how silky his furry hide was in comparison the coarseness of his brethren. Every night he would make the long, arduous climb to the highest peak and bathe in Mu'sha's light.

Her pale beams would sparkle on the tips of his fur like winking stars, and in time, his horn took on a silvery hue that spoke of her gift. "See how the Moon loves me?" he taunted the other young bulls, and they would snort and wander away.

All the most tender grasses and flowers he hoarded for himself, chasing off even the small rabbit and threatening others of his herd if they dared tried to nibble the sweet vegetation. "Begone! These grasses are for my lush fur and broad, straight hooves!" he would shout.

In due course, he had alienated his herd and they refused to offer him protection anymore. "I do not need your protection. I am the mightiest kodo ever to walk these plains," he scoffed as he went to his mountain to meet with Mu'sha.

On this night, however, even she forsook him. A dark cloud lidded her light as she was ashamed of the part she had played in Lomani'taka's vanity. Her grief came down in a dewy mist. She refused to grace him with her light every night thereafter even though he still visited her through the seasons. Finally, he thundered down the mountain one last time, calling his dismay with a low bull-roar. A lone Shu'halo hunter heard this magnificently pained yell and sought out its crier.

What she found was the most amazing kodo she had ever seen. His horn shone like the purest truesilver, his fur thick like down, his eyes the color of pitch, and hooves as broad as a warrior's shield. She stood in stunned silence as she watched the kodo trudge alone across the open field. Where was the herd to protect this beautiful creature? It mattered not to her.

It had been a long, hard winter for her small tribe and soon their food supplies would expire. This beast could feed them all easily, so great was his size. His hide would make blankets and extra tunics for everyone. She tracked him through the dense snow that had bloomed from the near constant rain that had fallen daily through the fall.

She knocked an arrow and offered a prayer to the Earth Mother. "Thank you, Greatmother, for leading me to this kodo. I am sorry to have to kill such a creature, but I hope that you will honor him as my tribe will honor the gift of his hide and meat." She then stilled, fingers tense on the string. Tears rolled off the kodo's proud snout, leaving opalescent icicles fringing his jaw.

The hunter approached Lomani'taka. "Why do you cry so? Are you not the most handsome kodo that roams these plains?" He nodded glumly in response and did not even lift his head to reply. "I was going to kill you. Where is your family? Your herd?" she asked him.

"They have left me for I have been selfish and mean. Even my greatest friend now leaves me in the dark and cries for the hurt I have caused her. I cannot shine without her and I do not want to. Kill me then, hunter. Perhaps I will finally be of some use." The hunter was stunned by this, but as she thought of her own family she realized she had no choice. "I will be swift," she whispered and then drove her spear home.

He sank to his knees in silence without even a last gush of breath. As she murmured a prayer of thanks over his body a strangely warm wind swirled about their forms. The cloud finally lifted away from Mu'sha and her weeping abruptly ceased. The spirit of Lomani'taka rose from his body only to gallop back to the highest peak of the plains.

When he reached it, he called out his sorrow and apology to Mu'sha. For you see, Lomani'taka had finally come to realize that his beauty was empty and that it was not her favor that he missed but her enduring, steadfast friendship. However, the Earth Mother had heard the hunter's prayer and knew his heart had changed. She drew the kodo-spirit into the sky, and his fur once again winked with the silver light of the stars.

Runeclaw's hands come to a stop and fall gracefully to her side. "And that is the tale of Lomani'taka."