Kuumba Zawadi, Kirabo Ekikondo, and Maquomos Houten

Arriving with the newer bunch of instructors, Kuumba is essentially a holiday spirit come to life. She is eager to teach as well as learn, and never hesitates to listen in on conversations between anyone of different cultures. She herself is the product of magical creation, so enjoys a kind of mythic status.

Kuumba, as her name and demeanor suggests, is a consummate crafter, and enjoys making, giving out and indeed receiving gifts of all kinds! Especially ones which are hand-made.

The courses she's chosen to instruct are quite varied, Crafting for the Thumbless is generally encouraged for our more exotic students (from those with tentacles instead of arms, to paws, or limbless individuals), but can be taken by anyone who wants to play with wood, stone or other items and make gifts. Mythological History is a counterpoint to the Living Mythology course, which takes a look at all the varied mythos from cultures that may or may not still be present. How each culture may have influenced the others around it, and incorporates a bit of archaeological work as well.

Kwanzaa Gryphon female Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah) - Creativity Using new ideas to create a more beautiful and successful community; Zawadi (Sah-wah-dee) - The gifts represent the labors of the parents and the rewards of their children. Gifts are given to educate and enrich the children -- they may include a book, a piece of art or an educational toy. At least one of the gifts is a symbol of African heritage.

Size: 6' at shoulder

Light The Way - Kirabo's lights and small flickering flames do not burn if touched, they are warm and give off a glow intended to show a path, offer hope, and light the darkness even if that darkness is emotional. Perhaps particularly so. He has the ability to know a path through unknown territory or read maps with ease, but this power is geared toward getting other people from one point to another in their lives. Leaving a trail of softly glowing flames through a maze, putting them in specific lanterns left along a treasure hunting route, or placed into patterns when in his meditation and relaxation hut, he knows how to use both light and warmth to make people feel at home.

Comfort Where There Is None - Even the slightest glimmer of hope springs up when he is around those who are in despair. This has proven vital in times of war or strife, after natural disasters or human-created ones alike. It is a very strong empathic boost that he can control but rarely bothers to 'stop' doing, he wants everyone to be at least comfortable, if not happy, while around him. He can focus this ability on one person carefully within about 50 meters, but overall his 'warm and cozy' feeling extends around 25 meters, at least as large as a classroom, and affects everyone who enters.

His arrival to Carramba slightly offset from his bond's, Kuumba allowed Maqumos to grow up a little - she wanted a partner at the school, not a child. So instead of attending classes, Maqumos is instructing them!

Since he's a natural with light magic, that has become his chosen field at Carramba, along with the occasional jaunt offworld using Genrehopping or Nexus teleportation. He doesn't consider himself all that gifted with healing, and thus didn't offer his services up for that class.

Though many of his siblings shapeshift, he is not able to do so. However, he does have a strange ability to completely fix himself up by flickering to another universe (where presumably he's healed) and has the effect of multiple lives. He doesn't endanger himself on purpose, of course, but there have been times when larger, more predatory folks have mistaken he and his bond for dinner!