Post by Shari'Adune Forestsong on Mar 1, 2011 23:09:27 GMT -5
((Someone mentioned to me, that most of the guild's story-lines seemed to be more romantically linked. I truly beg to differ. Story-lines are whatever you wish to make happen. Be they romantic, mystery or whatever.
This story was born as part of Shari's always continuing storyline to help animal's in need, and enjoy nature. I simply took her out to the area, and let the story happen around me. I was pleasantly surprised, I must admit, with the appearance of a lovely character mentioned later on. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did, being there with Shari myself.))
Hope
The druidess inhaled deeply, welcoming the scents of the forest around her. The soothing pine trees, the rich aroma of the soil that was thousands of layers of forest compost and the crisp kiss of mountain air. As the hoof-beats of her tan colored talbuk drummed a hollow tempo upon the naturally mulched earth of the path she reigned him to a halt with a light frown dancing across her features. Something wasn't right. The scent of dirty smoke was stronger, and there was something else.
As the beast beneath her snorted and pawed anxiously at the ground she turned about in her saddle, the leather creaking softly. Her glass blue eyes surveyed the landscape around her. It was then it dawned on her, just how sparse the trees were now, as compared to how she remembered them. It was a horrible feeling, like just realizing someone had taken something dear from you that you don't think about everyday, but meant something special just the same.
Clutching a small hand between her collar bones she nudged her talbuk forward into a gentle canter. The wind was stronger now, without the trees to help tame the gusts, she felt goose pimples running up and down the length of her arms. Shrugging more deeply into her green cloak she pulled up the hood. The sun was yawning in the sky, casting out the last of its golden rays. It would soon be slipping behind the great mountains to sleep for the evening.
She soon reached the hill overlooking Mirkfallon Lake. Sounds of chainsaws and other machinery drowned out the birds and the beasts, creating such an alien echo it brought a shiver up and down her spine. Her talbuk reared uneasily and it took a good deal of coaxing and soothing to get the beast to settle down. Still, it danced around unable to hold still. She could not blame him.
Swallowing thickly she took a deep breath and nudged him forward once again, uncertain what she might find ahead.
The cry of a raven startled her as it shot threw the trees not far on her right, causing her talbuk to jerk forward and spin around to the side a couple steps snorting and gathering momentum to buck. The troll's hood fell down and a gust of wind whipped her long hair across her face blocking her view. Spinning a bit, and tugging at her reigns Shari was more hanging on for dear life now, then anything else.
"Oh goodness! Please, please settle! Settle!"
The talbuk reared up again and Shari barely missed becoming impaled on the creatures twin rows of neck horns. She squeaked and grabbed hold of the beasts mane, whispering a very quick word in Darnassian. There was a short burst of green light and the talbuk became soothed and immediately fell quiet, standing at perfect, placid attention.
Panting to catch her breath, Shari sit up slowly cooing at the animal. It swished his tail and shook his head a little bit but otherwise remained calm.
Carefully, she sat back in her saddle and pulled her tumbling locks from her face. When she was able to see again, the sight before her took her breath away.
The Lake was no longer blue, crisp and clear, it was a sludgy brown with oil drilling apparatus lurching about all around it. Within the middle some sort of structure stood, made of metal and wood with a large floating balloon at one side.
As her wide blue eyes darted around she saw oafish creatures with mottled blueish grey skin walking about with tools and buckets, rivulets of drool slipping down the corners of their gaping mouths. She saw goblins barking orders and checking on the trembling and blinking machinery.
A Kalimdor Eagle screamed as it flew by, searching perhaps for fish it would no longer ever find here.
Shari coughed as tears sprang to her eyes. The smell was burning her nose and making her feel sick, the sight was tearing at her heart. It seemed like only yesterday the only sounds of the forest were of the creatures who lived here, and the wild Wind Riders.
She blinked. The wild Wind Riders. Where were they!?
As a cold panic began to slip its way under her skin Shari hauled on the reigns of her talbuk and kicked her heels into his sides. Barreling around a turn she headed for the cover of the mountains, hoping to spy a nest or something sheltering on a ledge, or perhaps a mighty alpha male perched somewhere close by over looking his scarred territory.
What Shari found however startled her, she came face to face with a Kaldorei male, his face covered by a black rogues wrap with golden detailing along the edges, leaving just the strip of dark purple flesh around his eyes bare. She saw his glowing eyes widen as hers did. Her talbuk was pulled to a stop facing him sidelong with the wind whipping her long ocean green hair about her.
There was a moment when all time slowed down to almost a complete stop, the male's arms relaxed slightly lowering his weapons hesitantly. The moaning of the machines fell silent and the only sound that could be heard was the pounding of her own heart. Their eyes remained locked in quiet contemplation, she needing to take a moment to register if he was elf or troll, and he the same. Yet even after the realization dawned on them both, still time hovered, just a few seconds more.
A piercing battle cry rang out then, from the female Kaldorei at her post not far from the male. It was a cry Shari knew very well. Time came crashing down around her ears in a thundering clap of sound then, and her talbuk was rearing up in the air, sharp hooves pawing as an arrow came whizzing by a feathers length from her nose. The cry alerted the captain within the camp- his hood was black also but lined in sky blue. Shari yelped as the sharp tip of an arrow licked along her shoulder slicing deep enough to spray the air with her blood. Clapping a hand over the wound her terrified eyes found the Captain running at her, both daggers poised for battle. There was no hesitation in his angry glowing orbs.
Shari screamed at her talbuk to run as she coiled her free hand around his mane to hang on. The beast bleated loudly in terror as an arrow glanced across his flank. Looking back over her shoulder, she caught sight of the male Kaldorei guards eyes just once more threw a sparkling cloud of dust before she was gone.
It felt like they had been running forever when she finally opened her pained eyes and faced forward. Another scream parted her lips and she hauled back on the talbuk's mane with all her meager strength to try and stop the animal. It let out a startled cry, digging its hooves hard into the dirt. There was a roar and the rustling of leathery wings as Shari was sent flying between her talbuk's mighty horns, and tumbling onto the earth a couple times before her world went dark and she lay still.
The pounding of machinery was not long needling its way into her mind, prying her eyelids open. She winced, it felt like the machinery was inside her head, drilling away there. Sitting up slowly, bits of gravel fell from her scraped flesh, and the wound on her shoulder was sending trickles of blood down her arm. The world was still somewhat fuzzy, and it took a moment of sitting there in stunned silence before things slowly came back into focus.
Not ten feet from her hovering in the air was a very large Wind Rider, with flesh the color of summer blue berries, and a thick midnight blue shaggy mane surrounding a very noble if not somewhat tired looking face. Her golden eyes rested on the druidess for some time as if considering her.
"Sorrow Wing..." Shari whispered in quiet awe. She had heard stories of this rare creature before, but was never blessed with the chance of meeting her, and now here she was.
The beast's wet nose sniffed at the air, and it was then Shari realized she must smell like dinner. Nipping her lower lip she whispered a few phrases in Darnassian causing a soft green ribbon of light to swell and snake around her body mending her wounds. It did nothing to clean up the blood that was already there, but it would keep her from making any further puddles.
Swallowing hard, Shari skirted backward a bit crab walking away from the large beast who was still staring at her.
"G-Great S-Sorrow Wing, I am D-Druidess Shari'Adune Forestsong, Guardian of Cenarius. I mean you n-no harm!" her voice wavered with uncertainty, she wasn't sure if the beast could understand her, but it wasn't attacking yet, so she took that as a good sign. "I see your home is being destroyed." she pressed a hand over her heart earnestly, "This pains me, so I can only imagine how you must feel. I am so sorry. I am here to try and find those of your kind, to try and help them!"
Sorrow Wing huffed softly and landed for a moment, her deadly scorpions tail coiled up over her back. She walked carefully toward Shari, who held her breath and kept her eyes downcast. The druidess' ears twitched with each sniff from the beast, and when Sorrow finally opened her mouth and let out a roar, Shari could only squeak and coil into a little ball. But no pain came.
Opening an eye, Shari peeked around and found the animal trotting away from her, pausing once to look over her shoulder expectantly.
Slowly, Shari got to her feet and began to follow the blue beast. She was lead a good distance away, up along the side of a mountain. After a good deal of effort, she was lead to a large nest.
"This... Is your nest, isn't it?"
Sorrow Wing did not acknowledge the question as she perked on the side of it.
Tentatively, watching the large Wind Rider carefully, Shari climbed up onto the other side of the nest and looked inside. It looked old, moss was growing inside over some of the broken branches that may have passed for twigs in a giant Wind Riders eyes, and there was littered remains of egg shells. But it seemed empty otherwise. Shari couldn't help but feel an emptiness growing inside her at the sight of the proud Sorrow Wing, sitting on the side of her dead nest.
Just then, the beast emitted a soft chuffing sound and bowed its mighty head. The branches in the center of the nest began to move, and a soft mewing soon touched the stillness around them. The sound was so sweet, and so pure, for a moment it drowned out the droning of the machines.
A small golden head poked its way into the light of the setting sun, and a pair of little paws reached forward to grasp at its mothers face as its little tongue began licking.
"You have a young one..." Shari breathed in disbelief. Here in the middle of such hopelessness, there was a small, fuzzy glimmer of hope. The Wind Riders were not all gone, not yet.
Sorrow Wing licked at her baby a few times, then focused her golden eyes on Shari'Adune. The druidess was locked in the beasts gaze for a long time before she roared once and flapped her leathery wings, alighting into the air blowing Shari's hair around and blocking out the sun.
The troll's shimmering eyes fell then to the baby, and she nodded once. Sorrow roared again, and then was gone. Shari wasn't sure where the rare Rider went, she hadn't taken her eyes off the cub that was teetering around in the sticks and moss crying for its mother.
"You are to come with me now, little one. I'll take you from this dying place, and see to it, you are never in danger again."
With that, Shari picked the cub up gently and cradled the squirming thing in her arms cooing softly. It settled down slightly, long enough for her to trail her fingers over the hippogryph feather in her hair, calling her loyal companion.
As the sun finally slipped behind the Stone Talon Mountains, the druidess was airborne, carrying the fuzzy ball of hope with her.
This story was born as part of Shari's always continuing storyline to help animal's in need, and enjoy nature. I simply took her out to the area, and let the story happen around me. I was pleasantly surprised, I must admit, with the appearance of a lovely character mentioned later on. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did, being there with Shari myself.))
Hope
The druidess inhaled deeply, welcoming the scents of the forest around her. The soothing pine trees, the rich aroma of the soil that was thousands of layers of forest compost and the crisp kiss of mountain air. As the hoof-beats of her tan colored talbuk drummed a hollow tempo upon the naturally mulched earth of the path she reigned him to a halt with a light frown dancing across her features. Something wasn't right. The scent of dirty smoke was stronger, and there was something else.
As the beast beneath her snorted and pawed anxiously at the ground she turned about in her saddle, the leather creaking softly. Her glass blue eyes surveyed the landscape around her. It was then it dawned on her, just how sparse the trees were now, as compared to how she remembered them. It was a horrible feeling, like just realizing someone had taken something dear from you that you don't think about everyday, but meant something special just the same.
Clutching a small hand between her collar bones she nudged her talbuk forward into a gentle canter. The wind was stronger now, without the trees to help tame the gusts, she felt goose pimples running up and down the length of her arms. Shrugging more deeply into her green cloak she pulled up the hood. The sun was yawning in the sky, casting out the last of its golden rays. It would soon be slipping behind the great mountains to sleep for the evening.
She soon reached the hill overlooking Mirkfallon Lake. Sounds of chainsaws and other machinery drowned out the birds and the beasts, creating such an alien echo it brought a shiver up and down her spine. Her talbuk reared uneasily and it took a good deal of coaxing and soothing to get the beast to settle down. Still, it danced around unable to hold still. She could not blame him.
Swallowing thickly she took a deep breath and nudged him forward once again, uncertain what she might find ahead.
The cry of a raven startled her as it shot threw the trees not far on her right, causing her talbuk to jerk forward and spin around to the side a couple steps snorting and gathering momentum to buck. The troll's hood fell down and a gust of wind whipped her long hair across her face blocking her view. Spinning a bit, and tugging at her reigns Shari was more hanging on for dear life now, then anything else.
"Oh goodness! Please, please settle! Settle!"
The talbuk reared up again and Shari barely missed becoming impaled on the creatures twin rows of neck horns. She squeaked and grabbed hold of the beasts mane, whispering a very quick word in Darnassian. There was a short burst of green light and the talbuk became soothed and immediately fell quiet, standing at perfect, placid attention.
Panting to catch her breath, Shari sit up slowly cooing at the animal. It swished his tail and shook his head a little bit but otherwise remained calm.
Carefully, she sat back in her saddle and pulled her tumbling locks from her face. When she was able to see again, the sight before her took her breath away.
The Lake was no longer blue, crisp and clear, it was a sludgy brown with oil drilling apparatus lurching about all around it. Within the middle some sort of structure stood, made of metal and wood with a large floating balloon at one side.
As her wide blue eyes darted around she saw oafish creatures with mottled blueish grey skin walking about with tools and buckets, rivulets of drool slipping down the corners of their gaping mouths. She saw goblins barking orders and checking on the trembling and blinking machinery.
A Kalimdor Eagle screamed as it flew by, searching perhaps for fish it would no longer ever find here.
Shari coughed as tears sprang to her eyes. The smell was burning her nose and making her feel sick, the sight was tearing at her heart. It seemed like only yesterday the only sounds of the forest were of the creatures who lived here, and the wild Wind Riders.
She blinked. The wild Wind Riders. Where were they!?
As a cold panic began to slip its way under her skin Shari hauled on the reigns of her talbuk and kicked her heels into his sides. Barreling around a turn she headed for the cover of the mountains, hoping to spy a nest or something sheltering on a ledge, or perhaps a mighty alpha male perched somewhere close by over looking his scarred territory.
What Shari found however startled her, she came face to face with a Kaldorei male, his face covered by a black rogues wrap with golden detailing along the edges, leaving just the strip of dark purple flesh around his eyes bare. She saw his glowing eyes widen as hers did. Her talbuk was pulled to a stop facing him sidelong with the wind whipping her long ocean green hair about her.
There was a moment when all time slowed down to almost a complete stop, the male's arms relaxed slightly lowering his weapons hesitantly. The moaning of the machines fell silent and the only sound that could be heard was the pounding of her own heart. Their eyes remained locked in quiet contemplation, she needing to take a moment to register if he was elf or troll, and he the same. Yet even after the realization dawned on them both, still time hovered, just a few seconds more.
A piercing battle cry rang out then, from the female Kaldorei at her post not far from the male. It was a cry Shari knew very well. Time came crashing down around her ears in a thundering clap of sound then, and her talbuk was rearing up in the air, sharp hooves pawing as an arrow came whizzing by a feathers length from her nose. The cry alerted the captain within the camp- his hood was black also but lined in sky blue. Shari yelped as the sharp tip of an arrow licked along her shoulder slicing deep enough to spray the air with her blood. Clapping a hand over the wound her terrified eyes found the Captain running at her, both daggers poised for battle. There was no hesitation in his angry glowing orbs.
Shari screamed at her talbuk to run as she coiled her free hand around his mane to hang on. The beast bleated loudly in terror as an arrow glanced across his flank. Looking back over her shoulder, she caught sight of the male Kaldorei guards eyes just once more threw a sparkling cloud of dust before she was gone.
It felt like they had been running forever when she finally opened her pained eyes and faced forward. Another scream parted her lips and she hauled back on the talbuk's mane with all her meager strength to try and stop the animal. It let out a startled cry, digging its hooves hard into the dirt. There was a roar and the rustling of leathery wings as Shari was sent flying between her talbuk's mighty horns, and tumbling onto the earth a couple times before her world went dark and she lay still.
The pounding of machinery was not long needling its way into her mind, prying her eyelids open. She winced, it felt like the machinery was inside her head, drilling away there. Sitting up slowly, bits of gravel fell from her scraped flesh, and the wound on her shoulder was sending trickles of blood down her arm. The world was still somewhat fuzzy, and it took a moment of sitting there in stunned silence before things slowly came back into focus.
Not ten feet from her hovering in the air was a very large Wind Rider, with flesh the color of summer blue berries, and a thick midnight blue shaggy mane surrounding a very noble if not somewhat tired looking face. Her golden eyes rested on the druidess for some time as if considering her.
"Sorrow Wing..." Shari whispered in quiet awe. She had heard stories of this rare creature before, but was never blessed with the chance of meeting her, and now here she was.
The beast's wet nose sniffed at the air, and it was then Shari realized she must smell like dinner. Nipping her lower lip she whispered a few phrases in Darnassian causing a soft green ribbon of light to swell and snake around her body mending her wounds. It did nothing to clean up the blood that was already there, but it would keep her from making any further puddles.
Swallowing hard, Shari skirted backward a bit crab walking away from the large beast who was still staring at her.
"G-Great S-Sorrow Wing, I am D-Druidess Shari'Adune Forestsong, Guardian of Cenarius. I mean you n-no harm!" her voice wavered with uncertainty, she wasn't sure if the beast could understand her, but it wasn't attacking yet, so she took that as a good sign. "I see your home is being destroyed." she pressed a hand over her heart earnestly, "This pains me, so I can only imagine how you must feel. I am so sorry. I am here to try and find those of your kind, to try and help them!"
Sorrow Wing huffed softly and landed for a moment, her deadly scorpions tail coiled up over her back. She walked carefully toward Shari, who held her breath and kept her eyes downcast. The druidess' ears twitched with each sniff from the beast, and when Sorrow finally opened her mouth and let out a roar, Shari could only squeak and coil into a little ball. But no pain came.
Opening an eye, Shari peeked around and found the animal trotting away from her, pausing once to look over her shoulder expectantly.
Slowly, Shari got to her feet and began to follow the blue beast. She was lead a good distance away, up along the side of a mountain. After a good deal of effort, she was lead to a large nest.
"This... Is your nest, isn't it?"
Sorrow Wing did not acknowledge the question as she perked on the side of it.
Tentatively, watching the large Wind Rider carefully, Shari climbed up onto the other side of the nest and looked inside. It looked old, moss was growing inside over some of the broken branches that may have passed for twigs in a giant Wind Riders eyes, and there was littered remains of egg shells. But it seemed empty otherwise. Shari couldn't help but feel an emptiness growing inside her at the sight of the proud Sorrow Wing, sitting on the side of her dead nest.
Just then, the beast emitted a soft chuffing sound and bowed its mighty head. The branches in the center of the nest began to move, and a soft mewing soon touched the stillness around them. The sound was so sweet, and so pure, for a moment it drowned out the droning of the machines.
A small golden head poked its way into the light of the setting sun, and a pair of little paws reached forward to grasp at its mothers face as its little tongue began licking.
"You have a young one..." Shari breathed in disbelief. Here in the middle of such hopelessness, there was a small, fuzzy glimmer of hope. The Wind Riders were not all gone, not yet.
Sorrow Wing licked at her baby a few times, then focused her golden eyes on Shari'Adune. The druidess was locked in the beasts gaze for a long time before she roared once and flapped her leathery wings, alighting into the air blowing Shari's hair around and blocking out the sun.
The troll's shimmering eyes fell then to the baby, and she nodded once. Sorrow roared again, and then was gone. Shari wasn't sure where the rare Rider went, she hadn't taken her eyes off the cub that was teetering around in the sticks and moss crying for its mother.
"You are to come with me now, little one. I'll take you from this dying place, and see to it, you are never in danger again."
With that, Shari picked the cub up gently and cradled the squirming thing in her arms cooing softly. It settled down slightly, long enough for her to trail her fingers over the hippogryph feather in her hair, calling her loyal companion.
As the sun finally slipped behind the Stone Talon Mountains, the druidess was airborne, carrying the fuzzy ball of hope with her.
))
Founded April 26, 2005