How To Cross

[Heylia]

((Character description here: thecheshirecats.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=xfacdescrip&action=display&thread=8421

One day, while on her way to Ogrimmar, Heylia met a Death Knight. Having never encountered such an individual, Heylia struck up a conversation with him, and after a bit they decided to travel to the city together. After a while, they came to a great river. Heylia calmly sat down to wait for the ferry to come, but her new aquaintance went forward and walked over the water on a path of frost. When he reached the middle of the river he turned back to Heylia and called, "Come on!" But Heylia shook her head. "Look, it's safe," the Death Knight called, jumping up and down on the surface of the river. Heylia shook her head again, and the Death Knight laughed at her. "Can't your spirit friends help you across?" But Heylia did not respond, so the Death Knight finished crossing and waited on the other side until the ferry had carried Heylia across. The Death Knight said "Were you afraid your powers would abandon you? Why did you lag behind like that?" Heylia responded "An wa did ya gain by makin haste so? Eff I'd known wat ya wer like, I'd not a taken company wit ya." After saying this she bid the Death Knight goodbye and made her way to Ogrimmar alone.

[Heylia]

One day, Heylia was sitting with a friend on a balconey of the Terrace of Light, which overlooked a street of Lower City below. As they sat together talking, a group of Aldor acolytes came into view, walking along the street. "Look," said Heylia's companion, "Some holy men." Heylia followed his glance and snorted. "Dem not holy men," Heylia said. "How can you tell?" her friend inquired. "Watch dis," said Heylia. She stood up and yelled, "Hey! Holy men!" and the group of acolytes stopped, and turned their heads up to look. Heylia turned back to her friend and said, "See?"

One day, when Heylia was very young, she went out into the wilderness all morning, and came back home to Nerthus, holding a peacebloom. "Well," said Nerthus, "What did you learn from the Earth Mother today?" Heylia raised up the peacebloom. "Is that all? Nothing else?" asked Nerthus. Heylia lowered the peacebloom. Nerthus nodded, and smiled.

[Heylia]

One day, Heylia was traveling through Stranglethorn. She came to a wooden bridge that was built over a water fall, and she began to cross it. Suddenly, one of the planks snapped and Heylia fell, but she managed to grab hold of part of the rope that was supposed to hold the bridge together. Heylia looked down at the pool of water churning many feet below. Then she looked up at the rope, and noticed that on it was growing a leafy vine, which had blossomed. One of the flowers was about to drip nectar, and although the position was excruciating, Heylia twisted her back and her neck to catch the sweet golden drop on her tongue, just before the rope unraveled and she plummeted into the water below.

[Heylia]

One day, Heylia traveled to Ogrimmar to seek the wisdom of the great shamans who reside there. She found one who was venerated by all other shamans in the city, and asked this orc to tell her a little about how the world worked. The ancient orc nodded, lifted his staff, and whacked Heylia upside the head with it. Heylia left, very angry and upset. She wondered if this orc's unprovoked aggression against her was the residual effect of demonic influence, blood lust. She journeyed through the Dark Portal, and sought out a tribe of orcs who were said to never have been corrupted by the demonic taint that has afflicted the orcs of Azeroth. When she reached Garadar, the spirits led her directly before a venerable orc woman. Heylia posed the same question, and the orc nodded and raised her staff, but just before Heylia was struck a second time, she ducked. The orc smiled and said, "You seem to already have learned something of how the world works. Why then do you ask me to explain it to you?" On hearing this, Heylia awakened as if from a deep sleep.

[Heylia]

One day, Nerthus sent Heylia out into the wilderness, to seek out a powerful and ancient fire spirit. In preparation for the spirit journey, Heylia fasted for two days, and on the dawn of the third day, she set out into the Barrens, with nothing but her simple rainments and a wooden staff. As she traveled she came across a shiny black stone. Heylia recognized it as an igneous rock, a chunk of cooled magma. She picked it up and brought it with her as an offering to the fire spirit. It was noon when she reached the sacred place Nerthus described, a clearing at the bottom of a mountain, marked with an altar. Heylia placed the stone on the dais, and called out to the spirit. Instantly, the air shimmered, and the heat became intense. Suddenly she was engulfed with flames that did not burn. Standing on the altar, almost too bright to look at, was a humanoid figure. Heylia shielded her eyes. The spirit did not speak out loud, but she heard its voice echoing in her mind: "It is time young shaman! Your impurities shall be turned to ash before my illumination. Focus on fire rising through your form from the toes up until the body burns to ashes but not you." Heylia threw her hands in the air and screamed, and was unconcious before she collapsed.

[Heylia]

One night, Heylia awoke in a bed in an inn in the Crossroads, damp with sweat and filled with regret. She lay still for a moment. The moon shined in through a window and illuminated her, but the other side of the bed was in shadows. She rolled over and reached out to lay a hand on her lover. She stretched her arm across until her fingers touched the other side of the empty bed. Heylia rolled back on her side, and stared up at the moon, and wondered why didn't weep, and also why Nerthus had wanted her to go out into a world where someone could abandon her this way. She felt very alone, and when she fell back asleep her dreams were of floating in the Great Dark.

[Heylia]

One day, when Heylia was very young, she and Nerthus were sitting in the garden of the hermitage, meditating. After an hour of silence, Nerthus opened her eyes, and said "Little Sparrow, I have raised you here and taught you my ways. Someday, when you are no longer a child, you must leave this sanctuary, and find a place for yourself in the world outside my hermitage."

Heylia opened her eyes and turned to Nerthus, saying, "But I want to stay here with you forever, Greatmother."

The old tauren shook her head. "This cannot be. And to prepare you for the transition, I shall now tell you a few things about how the world works."

Nerthus turned and studied Heylia for a moment. The troll girl had many cuts and bruises, her clothing was torn, and she was dirty from playing. She had flowers and feathers in her hair. Her hair was long, and had begun to twist into matted coils. She looked back at Nerthus with the wide-eyed innocence of childhood.

After a moment, Nerthus patted Heylia gently on the head, and said "Nevermind."

[Heylia]

One day, Heylia was visiting a friend in Ogrimmar. Her friend was a blood elf, and they got to discussing the Earth Mother.

"I suspect," said the blood elf, as he exhaled blue smoke from the hookah sitting on the ground between them, "That the tauren concept of the Earth Mother is their primitive interpretation of Eonar, or perhaps all the titans, or one of the Dragon Apsects. Or maybe, Earth Mother is their name for Elune, the Kaldorei moon goddess. Or Therazane, the Stone Mother. Or-"

Here Heylia snorted with laughter, and shook her head. "Is she a titan, or a goddess, or a dragon? I be hearin' these theories all di time. Are you an eye, my friend? Or a hand, or a tooth?"

"No, those things are a part of me."

Heylia nodded. "As for di identity of di Earth Mudda, it be dim and vague. Vague! Dim! Within her, is an entity. Dim! Vague! Within her is a concept. She is the origin of all things."

The blood elf shrugged. "I still think she's probably just Eonar or something."

One day, three wandering ascetics came to the hermitage. Nerthus knew them, and invited them in. They were neither troll nor tauren. Their beards were long and their hair was unkempt, they were dressed in filthy rags, and they were gaunt and sickly.

Nerthus brought them inside. Heylia played with small stones in the corner of the room. The ascetics and Nerthus spoke for many hours. Heylia had round stones and flat stones. Nerthus asked them to sit, but they preferred to stand. She offered them water and fresh fruit, but they would not eat or drink.

When they left, Nerthus called Heylia to her side. She placed her heavy hand gently on top of Heylia's head, and looked in her eyes. "Those men try to ignore the distractions of this world so they can pay closer attention to the spirits. But the spirits give us rich soil and sunshine to grow crops, and clean water to drink. They behave as if we live in a maze made of tricks and traps, when really we are cradled in the arms of the elements."

Heylia sails across the sea on a canoe. Unlike most small boats, the shaman has attached a sail to this one, and it is by virtue of the wind and the waves that she travels towards the island that is her destination. She has no paddle. It would be improper to strike the waves when they carry her along without a grudge.

The canoe hits the ground a few meters away from the shore. Heylia wades through the shallows and when she reaches the beach her feet are dry. The island is small, and the part Heylia has landed on is a small span of sand, and then a thick wall of dense jungle. All along the shore, as far as Heylia can see, there are ships run aground. Some of them look as if they have been there for perhaps a score of days, some are little more than husks.The spirits guide her to the beginning of a trail that leads directly to the heart of the island.

As she begins making her way to the center, Heylia realizes she is being followed. She stands completely still and surveys the shadows around her carefully, calling upon the spirits to alert her to the presence of danger. Gradually she picks out the forms of all manner of beasts, scattered around the shaman, all peering towards her. Nearest to where she stands, a lupine creature crouches in the shadows, gazing up at her with flashing silver eyes. She is close enough to sense the traces of a transformation clinging to the beast, and when she focuses on him, she feels clouds of sorrow emanating from him like a deep gray fog.

When she resumes walking she is aware that the band of creatures matches her pace, and she murmurs a request to the earth beneath her feet for courage. Instantly she feels her mind clearing and her body move into a relaxed alertness.

In the center of the island Heylia steps into a clearing. Before her is a large garden. There is evidence that it was once lovingly tended, but it has been neglected for days, and already there are signs that the jungle is beginning to reclaim it. In the middle of the garden there is an elderly troll woman sitting on a flat gray rock. The sun is shining on her, and she is not wearing one stitch of clothing. The crone looks at Heylia with delirious eyes. She raises herself ponderously to her feet, and stretches out her hand towards the shaman, trembling slightly. Softly, she begins to mutter to herself. Heylia hesitates, and then slowly steps towards the hag in order to make out what she is saying.

Heylia is startled when she realizes the troll is speaking not in Zandali or Orcish, but in Kalimag, the Spirit language. She is so surprised to hear the familiar words in such a strange place, it is a moment before she is able to listen to what the woman is actually saying.

"...I knew you would come for Kamala one day. You are here to guide me to the next world. I am ready." Kamala closes her eyes, and Heylia feels the line between the two planes blur. The animals move closer, surrounding the two troll women. As they come nearer and the Spirit World blends with the mundane, Heylia sees the true form of the souls trapped within the wrong bodies. There are sailors and pirates, soldiers and adventurers of all races and factions. They move in closer still, approaching Heylia with pleading eyes and absolute silence. Among the souls of the trapped mortals, Heylia recognizes beings who could only be the spirits of Kamala's ancestors.

Heylia had had no idea what she would find on this island. She had been contacted by a Spirit, who led her to this place.

Heylia approaches Kamala, and takes her outstretched hand gently. "Yes Kamala, you have completed your function in this plane, and you must now transcend it." Heylia squeezes Kamala's hand tightly, and cries, "Kamala! You must let go!"

A bolt of lightning blazes through the clear sky and strikes the clearing, followed instantly by a deafening roar. There is smoke and confusion, but in the midst of chaos, Heylia reaches out to all beings within her power, and summoning the primal might of the elements, she undoes the transformation laid upon the innocent visitors to this cursed island.

When the smoke clears and all is silent, Heylia is standing over the corpse of the troll woman, in a crowd of people. No one says a word. Gradually, they break off into groups and head towards their ships, to sail away if they can, and do repairs or build a new ship if they must.

When she is alone with Kamala, Heylia begins to weep. She remembers a day when Nerthus warned her about the danger of madness one risks when communicating with the elements. Before her is another warning. Heylia vows to heed both, and she carries out the proper death rituals for Kamala before making her way home.

((Aww. Very nice read. And, a little sad. I hope there's more. ))

thanks sumi. I had fun writing it

[Zahrie]

((Aww, there is just this simple innocence about Heylia that I just love, but she is not simple at all; she finds the deeper meaning behind what appears to be simple objects or circumstances. She is a bit of a philospher, and I like her teachings!

I really liked how she didn't want to take the frost path of the Death Knight, and her poetic musings as the story ends. Indeed, the easiest path is not always the right one.

I also loved how she learns from the Earth Mother how meaning can be found even in what appears to be only a flower.

Really enjoyed all these stories about Heylia! There is always something valuable to take away from each of their endings. Hope there's a lot more to come. =)

So. Lo’Gosh the ancient trickster wolf gnashed his terrible fangs, and growled a terrible growl. His cunning eyes flashed in rage, and scanned the horizon for an instrument through which to exact his vengeance.

A soul was forming. Called into existence by the elements, it was to be their agent, and they sanctified the soul with their power, and bestowed many gifts to better allow it to carry out their work. Such a carefully laid out design left much room for other functions to emerge. Lo’Gosh’s low growl slowly faded, and his sharp ears twitched in the direction of the manifestation of this soul on Azeroth, that playground of the eternals. He watched patiently for the opportunity he knew would present itself.

From the moment the pregnancy began, strange omens and ill fortune haunted the Darkspear tribe. The fishing nets came up empty, the hunters missed their marks, the traps were stripped of bait and left unsprung. At night, beasts in the jungle crept close to the campfires, barely visible in the shadows, and circled. Further in the distance, howls echoed. The wise men of the tribe sought guidance from the spirits, and received no answers. A fever spread through the tribe, only striking at night, and the healers failed alleviate its symptoms.

A shadow hunter called Riva was the father of the unborn child, his wife was a gracious and elegant troll maiden called Seph’Lo. Seph’Lo was a direct descendant of Angha’Alarion, one of the first trolls to hear the call of the Wild. Angha’Alarion watched over her line from the spirit world with a ferocious tenacity. Through visions and dreams, she gently encouraged Seph’Lo to ask the spirits of nature to protect her from the famine and sickness that blighted her people. Seph’Lo’s ancestor was unable to discover the force behind the misfortunes of the tribe, but with the help of the spirits, she worked to shield her descendent.

The waifish soon-to-be-mother was led to ripe fruit and berries. Whenever she grew hungry, she called out for mercy, and the spirits showed her where to find small meals along the beach or in the nearby jungle, such as a honey comb dripping with raw honey, or a bird’s nest containing eggs. She often found piles of lush fruit and bright berries outside her hut early in the mornings, glistening with dew. To honor the spirit of her ancestor, Seph’Lo decided to name her daughter Angha.

As a result, while Riva’s wife was nourished and healthy, the rest of the tribe became desperate. Suspicion soon fell on the young couple. Finally, as Seth’Lo went into labor, a black dragon was seen passing low over their hut. This was taken as the worst possible of all portents.

It was a dark night, and a storm battered the island. While the women of the tribe gathered to support Seph’Lo and ensure the safe transition the infant into the world, the shadow hunters also gathered. They sought again to communicate with the spirits and receive their blessing. They performed their prayer rituals, wearing the rush’ka masks. It was crafty Lo’Gosh who answered their invitation, and infused them with his essence. Fill with the rage of the Wild, they charged to the hut and snatched the squalling infant from her mother’s arms.

Seph’Lo watched helplessly and screamed her daughter’s name as the shadow hunters tore the infant to pieces. They rushed outside the hut and pitched the remains into the roaring sea. Angha’Alarion made a desperate plea to the spirits of the water that dwelled in the ocean. As the waves carried the pieces of Angha away from the island, the storm ended, and the sun began to rise.

The waves carried Angha’s pieces with the soul they contained intact to a place on the surface above where the Tidus Stair vanishes beneath the sea. A tauren hermit called Greatmother Nerthus was walking there, and collected the pieces and brought them to shore, where she arranged them until she held a tiny troll baby in her arms. The infant was not weeping, only looking at the tauren’s face with bright eyes. Her mouth was already full of teeth.

Now this hermit was surprised to see the unmistakable mark of Lo’Gosh on the infant, as well as signs that she was watched over by a powerful and benevolent ancestral spirit guardian. With little effort, the old tauren extended a greeting to the spirit of Angha’Alarion, and received a gentle and friendly response. Greathmother Nerthus called the infant Heylia, and raised her. In doing so, she became aware of the influence of the spirits, also raising the young troll.