Post by Heylia on Jan 20, 2010 23:57:05 GMT -5
Dark omens marred Heylia's gestation. At night her parents suffered from nightmares, and during the day they had strange visions of calamity. The hunters' nets were empty, and their arrows missed their marks. The weather was bleak when it wasn't pestilent. The murlocs raided the villages constantly, and many sacred tokens were stolen, lost, or destroyed. The witch doctors of the tribe placed the blame on Heylia's mother, suggesting that she had committed some terrible deed and offended the Loa, and that her offspring was certain to bring ruin to the Darkspear trolls. Soon the entire tribe regarded Heylia's parents with escalating fear and grudging suspicion. The night of Heylia came into the world a fierce storm raged on the island, and a black dragon was seen flying overhead. This was the most dire harbringer yet. The shadow hunters snatched Heylia from her mother's arms and tossed the squalling infant into the frenzied sea, certain that this sacrifice would appease whatever supernatural powers had been cursing the tribe so vehemently. They returned to the village, and were satisfied to note that the weather had already cleared.
The sea calmed. Instead of sinking like a stone, Heylia was gently carried by the waves to the shore of the mainland. Her pitiful cries were heard by a tauren hermit called Nerthus, who nursed the infant back to health. Nerthus was a shaman, empowered by communing with the elements. She raised Heylia as a daughter, and gave her a name which meant 'Blessing'.
Heylia learned to negotiate with fire and air, how to speak the secret language of the waves. She learned to pull gems from the sand; she was aquainted with lightning and she knew where thunder lived. She followed the secret path that skirts the edge of mystery on its way to truth, and she could hear the song of the wild in every chirp and drip and in the blowing of the wind. She was reborn of the mountain. Where she treaded wildflowers grew. She knew nothing of corruption, for Nerthus was infallible. When she stood on the threshold of womanhood, Nerthus sent her out into the world, to find a place for herself.
The sea calmed. Instead of sinking like a stone, Heylia was gently carried by the waves to the shore of the mainland. Her pitiful cries were heard by a tauren hermit called Nerthus, who nursed the infant back to health. Nerthus was a shaman, empowered by communing with the elements. She raised Heylia as a daughter, and gave her a name which meant 'Blessing'.
Heylia learned to negotiate with fire and air, how to speak the secret language of the waves. She learned to pull gems from the sand; she was aquainted with lightning and she knew where thunder lived. She followed the secret path that skirts the edge of mystery on its way to truth, and she could hear the song of the wild in every chirp and drip and in the blowing of the wind. She was reborn of the mountain. Where she treaded wildflowers grew. She knew nothing of corruption, for Nerthus was infallible. When she stood on the threshold of womanhood, Nerthus sent her out into the world, to find a place for herself.