Two small creatures can be seen on the horizen, and you can make out that both are dark in color. They are both brown, as well, and they appear to both be standing gaurd. When you look around, you see no one, so you continue on to meet them.

"Halt! Who goes there?" the first cries. "I am Verone, the pony, you may not pass!"

You step back and hear, "Halt! Who goes there? I am Futse-zu-ee, the Ki-rin and you may not pass!"

You step back again and fall down on your back. You sit up straight and see the two small brown ponies pracing about you. Are they marching around you? Perhaps doing a dance of victory? You gulp and introduce yourself.

Both of the equine stop when they hear your voice. They freeze and stare at you for a long, extended time. Finally, the second one, Futse-zu-ee, speaks up. "I see you are more bold then you seem. Let me tell you about this place..."

"Or better yet, let me tell you about this place," the second one cuts in. "I am a pony, on of the first to come into this valley. I know the highest places..."

"And I am the Ki-Rin, the only of the Wood as of now. Perhaps the only that will be. I know the lowest of the places as well as the highest, and I know where you wander."

"Correction, where you have wandered," the other one chimes in.

"I suppose you wonder what a Ki-Rin is?"

Slowly, you nod your head. He smiles and circles you, watching even hint on your face.

"Humans of the West have their unicorns. Humans of the East have theirs as well. You know what a unicorn is, correct?" You nod. "I am an Eastern Unicorn, rare and magnificant."

Keep to the Path