The World of Staffs

Basic Information

Within The World of Staffs, the main point is that every now and then a God of some kind will send a Staff to a human who is deemed worthy. With the Staff in the human's possession, they must now complete even more trials to unlock the full power of the stuff and eventually gain near godly powers.

Current Story

So far, this story is based on a normal villager who is barely a man of nineteen. For the first few chapters it simply describes who he is and expresses his opinions, talents, and flaws. Then he goes out into the mountains to hunt food for his village when he is attacked by a bear or some other sort of beast. Once defeating it he gains the hide of said animal and begins to wear it as his pride. Alongside the skin he also gains a Staff which at first makes no big impression but the elder of the village soon explains how important the Staff truly is.

Note: I am still trying to come up with better ideas as to the gaining of the Staff, killing of the bear, and the reason for the journey. What event would cause him to leave his home? What is the antagonist? Will the antagonist appear later in the series sometime between our hero's quest for power and enlightenment?

The Elder specifies that the hero shall need a steed so as the first portion of his great journey, he sets out to catch a wild horse. (Possibly a Clydesdale or some sort of horse that is indigenous to mountainous regions of the world) Now with his steed saddled and tamed, he sets out to explore the world, not know what journey will take place.

Ideas: I was thinking that he meets a man and becomes great friends with him. Far later on in the book, the friend turns on the hero and takes the Staff to put a sense of urgency into the heart of the reader as well as making a great climax. This would also give him a reason to venture onto other lands as he explores for his betrayer and to regain the Staff given to him by the Gods' themselves.

I may have enough content for at least half a book. Now I need the other half.

Salt;Within the story, salt is a main feature used by many characters but mostly the hero of the setting and the people from his tribe. Salt is considered the purest of all minerals and can be used to ward off evil spirits; much like modern mythology. Some wear bags of salt around their necks or may line their walls and windows with the salt, some even build it into the base structure of their homes as to avoid unexpected removal of the pure substance.

Spirits; The dead and evil creatures that still roam the world are known to be spirits and salt is kept close at hand to avoid being attacked or possessed by such a fiend.

NOTE: I may add in that a relative of the protagonist is possessed or killed by a spirit which would lead to the need of such power that can be achieved by the Staff.

Staff; Perhaps the staff itself should have some kind of name. Another question I ponder is what kind of power will the staff give? It must be specifically original and unseen before. I was thinking that it might give the user control over the flow of the world. Such as; moving the crust of the earth, bending trees to whim, controlling fire, water, wind, air, and other key elements. Possibly even allowing the summoning of animals and spirits? Another thing I though would be cool was adding the ability to shapeshift.
ShapeShifting; Some old lore says that to become a Werewolf you would have to do one of many presumptuous rituals in order to acquire specified form. The one that still clings to my thoughts is that of skinning a wolf and wearing the hide which in turn would allow you to become that animal. Honestly, I think the idea was more of just that...an idea. But what if the character killed a bear near the start of the story and started to wear it's hide. Perhaps once the power is unlocked within the staff, he can pull up the head of the skin like a hood and become a great beast to aid in battle.

What else should I add?