Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2010 17:23:28 GMT -5
((Just a story about a priestess of An'she. It was my attempt to capture a view of Nature's beauty in a character's eyes.))
Light reflects from the fields of Mulgore and mottled shades of green from honeydew to emerald stretch as far as the eye can see in the prairies. Each blade of grass is bathed in the yellow-gold kiss of An'she this morning, outlined by His brilliant gaze. Birds chatter within the branches of the trees whose shade I rest within, each syllable they utter a note from a song. Nearby, though not near enough to worry of my presence, a lioness licks clean her dirt-bathed coat of her cubs with the slow, long laps of her attentive tongue. The sight of some of Nature's gentlest postures within the cradle of the Earthmother is a breathtaking blessing to behold. Mountains mark the horizon in the distance, a parallel of Her powerful arms holding something precious close to Her bosom. Peace in the living, captured in a moment such as this, held within such a place. The Earthmother has truly smiled upon us, and yet... it is not my place.
My soft eyelids fall closed twice, drawing veils across the calm I have gazed upon by the morning light. My thoughts disturb the idyllic scene, a droplet falling to the calm, still waters of a pond, 'Where have I come from?' I turn my eyes down to my hands, to the soft, dusky gray and fair white fabric of the robes caught between my fingers. Well I know the teachings of the Earthmother, the blessings of Mu'sha and An'she, the sacrifices made. Her eyes keep vigilant over all living creatures as they travel through the skies, one forever chasing the other. These things I know, and they bring me comfort, but what I do not remember is my own story.
White and pale yellow hairs mingle in my coat as my eyes move from the fabric my fingers trap to my hands themselves, hands that have seen much gentle work if I were to guess. My fingers bear callouses at their tips from some profession or another, but otherwise are smooth. 'What did I do?' The fabric falls from my grasp as I turn my palms upward, open. A smile draws across my pale-colored, leathery lips as An'she's light falls upon me open hands. 'You reach us through the shadows, An'she. Through the ripples of water, through the darkest places of the world. I am humble before You.' Again my eyelids close as the silent prayer of thanks is lifted in my heart to the Eyes of the Earthmother.
The sweet scent of Peacebloom and Silverleaf carry to me on the cool breeze of morning and there is something familiar in it. I look toward the breeze, but do not see the plants. Carefully I rise and take my dagger and wand in hand. I rest them again on my belt in case I need them. 'Unlikely in the Earthmother's cradle... Unlikely, but not impossible.' Leisurely steps carry me through the grasses of the plains. My eyes catch here and there on dew-laden blades sparkling like diamonds in the mix of those that have already dried or had the droplets brushed from them. There is a natural ease in my movements, an ease at home among the lions, the plainstriders, the grass, the trees. My thoughts linger on that ease, on these movements, as I draw closer to the source of the scent that was carried on the breeze. All the while I'm thankful for the blanket of An'she's warmth upon my hide.
Gently my tail swishes with my pace, bringing a smile to my leather lips as I feel the lick of the taller blades of grass against the underside of it. Heavily my hooves meet the earth as I walk, and I see readily that this land I've come to love is perfectly suited to carrying the form and weight of one such as me, of a Tauren. My ears are drawn by a buzzing sound, and soon my eyes follow them to the trees nearby. A visible cloud of insects, like a collection of dust, stirs in the air.
Despite the Earthmother's comfort and the blanket of warmth that is An'she's light upon my back I know the truth. I am not a Tauren by birth. 'Where have I come from?' My eyes light on a collection of trees under which I see the Silverleaf I had smelled not long before. Less than ten paces from the Silverleaf grow Peaceblooms. I approach readily, knees bending to the earth beside the flowers, and I carefully pick them. It seems my body knows just the right way to do so, just how to gather them and make sure the most vital portions remain in tact. Perhaps because of this I leave many of the flowers on their stems. Instinct tells me these are not yet healthy enough to be used in an alchemist's practice or the art of inscription; to pick them now would simply make the roots less likely to replenish in this place in the coming days. With a smile on my lips and a calm in my heart I move to the Silverleaf and proceed to collect it like the other.
Without remembering doing so, I can tell my fingers have performed these tasks before, have drawn back the leaves and found the stems, have pulled the roots from the earth with care on some occasions. It was not in these lands nor in recent months. As I stand from the Silverleaf with both herbs held close to my chest I catch the sight of a small pond. My ears flick toward it and away, the smile still drawn across my lips. 'I liked swimming.. didn't I?'
It's a question I can't answer even though I would dearly love to. Each fall of my hooves pushes the grass to the earth, but it readily springs to height again in my absence. Then I touch the water, dipping a hoof in. It feels strange, like a wash of cold against my bones. My brow knits as I bob my hoof up and down, and then I realize, 'I had toes... toes to wiggle in the water.' This knowledge gleaned from impulse is disquieting. I shift in my stance and draw the hoof back. 'What else did I once have?' My gaze falls searchingly to the rippling surface of the water, as though I might find answers in its distorted reflections.
All I see, of course, is myself looking back. Large, minty green eyes full of confusion and peace meet my gaze when the ripples allow. White and yellow fur, light and mellow as golden wheat, covers my face and neck before disappearing beneath the dusky gray and fair white fabric of my robes. My tawny mane falls against my neck and shoulders in curls and waves while two long braids hang against my torso. The water is growing quieter, allowing me to better see myself. I touch my fingers to one of the braids and frown softly, my lips curling down and making creases in my skin. 'So coarse..' I have the distinct impression that my hair had not always been coarse.
The watery reflection of small horns, not unlike my coat in color, meets my eyes, and then the visage of my soft, square nose. I breathe through it, nostrils flaring slightly, and let out a long sigh. 'So much has been in shadow since that day...' I'd woken in this body in Shadowmoon Valley, alone, confused, knowing enough to know that I was not as I should be and yet not enough to know why. 'It was so cold. I was so cold..' The months that followed I spent in wandering, driftwood caught within the waves of an all-consuming ocean. Eventually the tide carried me here, to Mulgore, and here the Sun's warmth brought to me the comfort required to keep me from despair.
Times like these though... the shadow on the horizon... it reaches for me. I break the gaze of my reflection, shaking my head from side to side as though it will dispel the chill in my spine. 'This is not who I am, this body. Or maybe...' My eyes turn toward the blue skies and the bright Sun within, its light so strong I have to shield my gaze. 'Maybe it is. Maybe I've been reborn from the shadows of despair in the warm and loving light of An'she, in the gaze of the Earthmother.'
At least I've come to know the name of the Tauren whose body I now lived within. I've come to know it and to answer to it. I have come to own it. It was what they have known and will continue to know me by, though many still wonder at my shift from the druidic arts of Mu'sha to the strange teachings of An'she. I myself wonder at times.
My faith in the Earthmother is unyielding. My respect for An'she is true. His Light feels natural to me, like a harmony that resonates within my very soul. This means I never question the path I make now... What I do question is why I make the path I do. Are the teachings and the stories and the words of prayer that cross my lips the work of a lifetime in a priesthood, or are they the balm for the wounds that my absent memory has left within my life? His Light feels too familiar to be as young as the prominence of the Sunwalkers... My memory is too short to recall the time before... And then there's the name and the expectation of others for me to be what I am not; a druid under Mu'sha's gaze and carrying out her will.
'When will I find the answers, An'she?' I turn my green eyes to the sky again, letting them roam the expanse of blue above me, 'I know the answers must be out there.. But how? When?' A sigh rolls past my leathery lips and my gaze falls to the ground again. 'It does me no good to long for expedience in this... I am sorry, An'she, for my impatience.' The reflection of the sun against the pond before me catches my eyes and I speak the words of my heart's prayer aloud, "Please, An'she, let Your Light wash over me in Your own time. Guide me to a place of understanding. A place of peace."
~~~~~~~~~~
Light reflects from the fields of Mulgore and mottled shades of green from honeydew to emerald stretch as far as the eye can see in the prairies. Each blade of grass is bathed in the yellow-gold kiss of An'she this morning, outlined by His brilliant gaze. Birds chatter within the branches of the trees whose shade I rest within, each syllable they utter a note from a song. Nearby, though not near enough to worry of my presence, a lioness licks clean her dirt-bathed coat of her cubs with the slow, long laps of her attentive tongue. The sight of some of Nature's gentlest postures within the cradle of the Earthmother is a breathtaking blessing to behold. Mountains mark the horizon in the distance, a parallel of Her powerful arms holding something precious close to Her bosom. Peace in the living, captured in a moment such as this, held within such a place. The Earthmother has truly smiled upon us, and yet... it is not my place.
My soft eyelids fall closed twice, drawing veils across the calm I have gazed upon by the morning light. My thoughts disturb the idyllic scene, a droplet falling to the calm, still waters of a pond, 'Where have I come from?' I turn my eyes down to my hands, to the soft, dusky gray and fair white fabric of the robes caught between my fingers. Well I know the teachings of the Earthmother, the blessings of Mu'sha and An'she, the sacrifices made. Her eyes keep vigilant over all living creatures as they travel through the skies, one forever chasing the other. These things I know, and they bring me comfort, but what I do not remember is my own story.
White and pale yellow hairs mingle in my coat as my eyes move from the fabric my fingers trap to my hands themselves, hands that have seen much gentle work if I were to guess. My fingers bear callouses at their tips from some profession or another, but otherwise are smooth. 'What did I do?' The fabric falls from my grasp as I turn my palms upward, open. A smile draws across my pale-colored, leathery lips as An'she's light falls upon me open hands. 'You reach us through the shadows, An'she. Through the ripples of water, through the darkest places of the world. I am humble before You.' Again my eyelids close as the silent prayer of thanks is lifted in my heart to the Eyes of the Earthmother.
The sweet scent of Peacebloom and Silverleaf carry to me on the cool breeze of morning and there is something familiar in it. I look toward the breeze, but do not see the plants. Carefully I rise and take my dagger and wand in hand. I rest them again on my belt in case I need them. 'Unlikely in the Earthmother's cradle... Unlikely, but not impossible.' Leisurely steps carry me through the grasses of the plains. My eyes catch here and there on dew-laden blades sparkling like diamonds in the mix of those that have already dried or had the droplets brushed from them. There is a natural ease in my movements, an ease at home among the lions, the plainstriders, the grass, the trees. My thoughts linger on that ease, on these movements, as I draw closer to the source of the scent that was carried on the breeze. All the while I'm thankful for the blanket of An'she's warmth upon my hide.
Gently my tail swishes with my pace, bringing a smile to my leather lips as I feel the lick of the taller blades of grass against the underside of it. Heavily my hooves meet the earth as I walk, and I see readily that this land I've come to love is perfectly suited to carrying the form and weight of one such as me, of a Tauren. My ears are drawn by a buzzing sound, and soon my eyes follow them to the trees nearby. A visible cloud of insects, like a collection of dust, stirs in the air.
Despite the Earthmother's comfort and the blanket of warmth that is An'she's light upon my back I know the truth. I am not a Tauren by birth. 'Where have I come from?' My eyes light on a collection of trees under which I see the Silverleaf I had smelled not long before. Less than ten paces from the Silverleaf grow Peaceblooms. I approach readily, knees bending to the earth beside the flowers, and I carefully pick them. It seems my body knows just the right way to do so, just how to gather them and make sure the most vital portions remain in tact. Perhaps because of this I leave many of the flowers on their stems. Instinct tells me these are not yet healthy enough to be used in an alchemist's practice or the art of inscription; to pick them now would simply make the roots less likely to replenish in this place in the coming days. With a smile on my lips and a calm in my heart I move to the Silverleaf and proceed to collect it like the other.
Without remembering doing so, I can tell my fingers have performed these tasks before, have drawn back the leaves and found the stems, have pulled the roots from the earth with care on some occasions. It was not in these lands nor in recent months. As I stand from the Silverleaf with both herbs held close to my chest I catch the sight of a small pond. My ears flick toward it and away, the smile still drawn across my lips. 'I liked swimming.. didn't I?'
It's a question I can't answer even though I would dearly love to. Each fall of my hooves pushes the grass to the earth, but it readily springs to height again in my absence. Then I touch the water, dipping a hoof in. It feels strange, like a wash of cold against my bones. My brow knits as I bob my hoof up and down, and then I realize, 'I had toes... toes to wiggle in the water.' This knowledge gleaned from impulse is disquieting. I shift in my stance and draw the hoof back. 'What else did I once have?' My gaze falls searchingly to the rippling surface of the water, as though I might find answers in its distorted reflections.
All I see, of course, is myself looking back. Large, minty green eyes full of confusion and peace meet my gaze when the ripples allow. White and yellow fur, light and mellow as golden wheat, covers my face and neck before disappearing beneath the dusky gray and fair white fabric of my robes. My tawny mane falls against my neck and shoulders in curls and waves while two long braids hang against my torso. The water is growing quieter, allowing me to better see myself. I touch my fingers to one of the braids and frown softly, my lips curling down and making creases in my skin. 'So coarse..' I have the distinct impression that my hair had not always been coarse.
The watery reflection of small horns, not unlike my coat in color, meets my eyes, and then the visage of my soft, square nose. I breathe through it, nostrils flaring slightly, and let out a long sigh. 'So much has been in shadow since that day...' I'd woken in this body in Shadowmoon Valley, alone, confused, knowing enough to know that I was not as I should be and yet not enough to know why. 'It was so cold. I was so cold..' The months that followed I spent in wandering, driftwood caught within the waves of an all-consuming ocean. Eventually the tide carried me here, to Mulgore, and here the Sun's warmth brought to me the comfort required to keep me from despair.
Times like these though... the shadow on the horizon... it reaches for me. I break the gaze of my reflection, shaking my head from side to side as though it will dispel the chill in my spine. 'This is not who I am, this body. Or maybe...' My eyes turn toward the blue skies and the bright Sun within, its light so strong I have to shield my gaze. 'Maybe it is. Maybe I've been reborn from the shadows of despair in the warm and loving light of An'she, in the gaze of the Earthmother.'
At least I've come to know the name of the Tauren whose body I now lived within. I've come to know it and to answer to it. I have come to own it. It was what they have known and will continue to know me by, though many still wonder at my shift from the druidic arts of Mu'sha to the strange teachings of An'she. I myself wonder at times.
My faith in the Earthmother is unyielding. My respect for An'she is true. His Light feels natural to me, like a harmony that resonates within my very soul. This means I never question the path I make now... What I do question is why I make the path I do. Are the teachings and the stories and the words of prayer that cross my lips the work of a lifetime in a priesthood, or are they the balm for the wounds that my absent memory has left within my life? His Light feels too familiar to be as young as the prominence of the Sunwalkers... My memory is too short to recall the time before... And then there's the name and the expectation of others for me to be what I am not; a druid under Mu'sha's gaze and carrying out her will.
'When will I find the answers, An'she?' I turn my green eyes to the sky again, letting them roam the expanse of blue above me, 'I know the answers must be out there.. But how? When?' A sigh rolls past my leathery lips and my gaze falls to the ground again. 'It does me no good to long for expedience in this... I am sorry, An'she, for my impatience.' The reflection of the sun against the pond before me catches my eyes and I speak the words of my heart's prayer aloud, "Please, An'she, let Your Light wash over me in Your own time. Guide me to a place of understanding. A place of peace."
Founded April 26, 2005