Attention, all students of the School for Shamanic Arts and Spiritual Mastery. This is a very important announcement. If you run into any unattended animal spirits on school grounds, do NOT engage. We repeat, do NOT engage with any unattended animal spirits on school grounds.

(Not because these critters are particularly dangerous or anything. But because many wandering animal spirits are highly annoying and extremely needy.)

Take Rou, for example. This ghostly rooster spirit has been wandering around campus for months, just waiting for the right student to finally notice him. Unfortunately for Rou, animal spirits are practically invisible to most shamans-in-training. It’s especially tragic because what Rou wants more than anything is for one specific student at the School for Shamanic Arts and Spiritual Mastery to adopt him as a spirit guide. A student who has no idea he even exists. . . .

Rou’s luck may be about to change. A prospective new student has been touring the school, one with the ability to see and interact with all spirits, animal or otherwise. Could Pahua Moua’s sudden appearance on the school grounds finally provide Rou with the opportunity to achieve his greatest dream? And if she declines his request for help, how far will Rou be willing to go?

Wake Up Call

How can you tell the difference between a typical rooster and a rooster spirit? Well, just look at Rou. His feathers are a brilliant scarlet, he has a long tail that shifts colors, and the comb on top of his head is golden rather than red. There are a quite a few chickens wandering around the campus, but Rou certainly stands out.

Not that Rou’s appearance is always the first thing that people notice about him. Trust us, you may hear Rou before you get a good look at him. Less cock-a-doodle-doo and more Hey! Hey! Where are you going? Pay attention to me! Hello?! I’m talking to you!

Squawk Around the Clock

Usually, Pahua is glad to help any animal spirit in need—at the appropriate time and place. But during her first official tour of the School for Shamanic Arts, really? Rou couldn’t have picked (or is it pecked?) a worse moment to make a grand appearance.

Pahua is stressed out enough trying to make a good impression on the faculty without having to worry about a needy rooster spirit nipping at her heels. A rooster spirit that, apparently, no one else at the school can see. Not even the elders.

But Rou doesn’t care that he’s causing a huge distraction. His mission is clear, and Pahua might be the only person who can help. Even if Rou’s very important, life-defining goal ultimately comes down to passing a note to one of the students at the School for Shamanic Arts that reads: Do you like me? (As a spirit guide?) Check yes or no.

Peck-Tacular

For four months, Rou has had his little beady eyes set on a shaman-in-training named Allisha. She seems to be in need of a spirit guide. Rou seems to be in need of a life’s purpose beyond annoying kids like Pahua. All that Rou and Allisha have to do is connect and get to know one another. And then maybe, as an added bonus, Rou will finally get that sword he’s always wanted.

At this point, you may be wondering why a shaman warrior would choose a rooster of all creatures to be their spirit guide. Well, we’ll have you know that Rou is not only a fount of useful knowledge on all things related to the Spirit Realm, but he can also hold his own against demons if need be. No kidding. Consider yourself lucky if you’ve never been on the receiving end of a rooster talon flying toward your face at full speed. Turns out that even chickens can be brave from time to time.

Surprised? You wouldn’t be if you knew the ancient tale of how the rooster got his crown.

Crowning Achievements

Once upon a time, there were twelve suns. One day, all the suns rose into the sky at once, causing crops to burn and rivers to boil. Big oops. This was early in the making of the world, when the Sky Father was still tinkering to see what worked.

A mighty warrior was ordered to climb to the peak of the highest mountain and shoot down each sun with silver-tipped arrows. The only problem was, after he finished, the moon didn’t give off enough light to illuminate the world.

The king announced a reward for any creature who could lure one of the suns back to the sky. A water buffalo tried and failed. A boar tried and failed. No animal, no matter how powerful, could achieve the task—until the rooster called to a sun with his signature morning crow.

The king awarded the rooster a golden crown so everyone would know what he’d accomplished. So you’d better not forget it.

All told, Rou might be a bit of an irritant. But this story proves that rooster spirits are meant to be venerated, not dismissed out of hand. At least when it comes to the ancient poultry of the East. We can’t speak for the poor soul that was sacrificed for those chicken nuggets you just scarfed down.

And now that you know the full story, hopefully Rou will finally leave us alone and stop pecking at our heels.

You forgot to tell them how and why I’m significantly more handsome than the average rooster spirit!

Maybe we’ll get into that next time . . .

Want to see more of Rou? Be sure to preorder your copy of Pahua and the Dragon’s Secret today!