Post by Nedward Underhill on Oct 29, 2008 23:39:54 GMT -6
Epic Tales » Adventurer Journals » Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'no
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Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'no
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:43am
Windfoot arrived in Moonglade with a light heart. The summons has come. While we has deep within a dream-walk the Circle was there, summoning him to Moonglade for the transformation. So much time and waiting, suddenly over.
As he mounted the Gryphon, his mind went back to the path that he had tread, the journey that had brought him here. He remembered finding out the truth that not all Orcs were savage brutal killers, and that the blood-lust that he hated sprang from a demonic source. He remembered the Orc who had saved him from death near Everlook, without cause or reward, but only following his own noble path. He remembered seeking out the wisdom of the Cenarion Circle and the Lady Tyrande, and starting to study the path of the druid under their watchful eye. So many trials he had undergone, so many tests of mind and spirit.
It was the lady Tyrande who commanded that he be taught to dream-walk. And the Circle who commanded that he travel to the gates of Orgimmar to sit and meditate within spear-shot of those who he once hunted so zealously. The trials had been hard, and humbling, and he had learned like a child.
Then the vision, deep within a dream, of Malfurion’s voice…his presence… and the command to “come, be still, and live.”
As the strong wings of the Hippogryph lifted Windfoot up, and the song of the wind filled his ears, he felt the force of the past push him forward, like the current of a powerful river. So many seemingly inconsequential choices leading to this moment.
The sharp pointed mountains fell behind him and the emerald fields welcomed him home, and Windfoot thought of Ursa. He remembered so long ago, when she and he would lie together and sleep in the roots of his home in Astranaar. Or the warmth of the Ursa’s mother’s den. So long ago, now. So many hunts, lessons, and travels.
Landing in Moonglade, Windfoot quietly thanked the beast for passage and called Ursa to him. She was there, as always. Both in body, and in his spirit. Quietly waiting to be together. “Come, let us find our mentors,” he tells her. She nods and turns toward the moonwell. Walking near her, Windfoot’s hand delicately travels the scars that cover her body. He will was indomitable, but so many wounds. She might be happy to just rest, were she not so loyal.
Two hooded figures await him as he arrives. As Windfoot and Ursa draw near, Windfoot recognizes them: Mathrengyl Bearwalker and …, by Elune! The Lady Tyrande Whisperwind. “My Lady!” Windfoot falls to his knees. “You do me too much honor!"
“Stand, young D’ana’no,” she says, addressing Windfoot by his elven name. “I wanted to come and to see Moonglade again.”
Slowly, Windfoot rises. He waits. So long his sprit has been waiting for this moment. Then Mathrengyl speaks, “Knowing all that you know, are you ready to embrace the path of a druid, Windfoot?”
“My spirit is ready.”
“And you Ursa, are you ready?” he asks. Ursa nods her great head solemnly.
“Then, by the spirit of Elune I call you to the task. Go now, seek out Islen Waterseer’s hut. There you will find your destiny!”
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Re: Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:44am
Windfoot blinks. This is not what he had expected. Another task? And the Tauren wise woman’s hut? How could that be? Still, Tyrande was smiling at him, and he could see her blessing in her eyes. Bowing to them both, he turned to leave without another word. He must follow the path that the wind blew him. He could not control his destiny and must trust it to unfold as was meant to be since the dawn of time.
Still his heart was light and the miles passed quickly. Soon, he was in Ratchet. Cordeliah was there. So strong in the power of the druid, he hoped she could help guide him at this crucial hour. Particularly because he did not know what was called of him. Perhaps she could help divine the path.
Windfoot had felt a special connection with Cordeliah, ever since she first entered the Guild. Perhaps their paths had crossed in another life-time, or perhaps their future destinies were interwoven.
“Thank you for coming, Cordeliah. Shall we off to where I have been commanded to go?” She agrees. As they walk, he admits that he does not know what is to be done, and asks for her guidance. She answers, “The sprits are quiet to me now, but we will see what we will see when we get there.” She is right. Patience.
Finally they arrive. The hill falls away before them and as Windfoot waits and listens to the spirits of the wind, Cordeliah exchanges pleasantries with the Tauren wise-woman. Windfoot hears, “yes…have been expecting you…”
Cordeliah returns and they begin to wait. Windfoot begins to clear his mind…and then something truly unexpected happens. Two Tauren come over the rise and approach. They come with clear purpose, a Tauren druid leading a massive Tauren warrior, and stand before Windfoot and Cordeliah. Windfoot bows to them, and then, to his surprise, he hears the voice of the druid in his mind. Though the words are Orcish, somehow he understands,
“Greetings hunter, and well met.”
“How can this be that I can understand your words when you speak Orcish?” he asks.
“The spirit of the Great Owl has sent us to here and to you. We are to guide you to your time of change. Ask not how we understand each other, for all is possible at this sacred hour.”
“Very well,” Windfoot acknowledges. “Please come, sit, and tell me what I must do.”
Suddenly it all becomes clear to him. It is no coincidence that it is the Horde that must guide him. The spirits of the wild had led him to this moment, had pushed him to understand the balance in all things. It was right that in this hour he must trust in the honor and strength of the Horde. His final test.
The two Tauren, Gorgo, the druid, and Tantor, the warrior, Windfoot and Cordeliah sit and talk, as the wind of the sea casts around them. The conversation is light-hearted, and a smile is on his lips. Tantor, the warrior, is apparently smitten by Cordeliah on sight. Windfoot laughs warmly as the great warrior speaks of love and honor. The time flies by.
Then, over the hill come Turi, muttering under his breath, and another unexpected visitor: Vangelis, a human warrior of young season, drawn to this moment by his own destiny. Both are startled to see the Tauren, and more startled to hear Windfoot translating their words, but when Gorgo commands all take food and drink together in communion, each joins in the rough meal.
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Re: Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:44am
Finally, Cordeliah begins to sense that the time has arrived, as a tingle runs past her skin. A the same moment, Gorgo declares, “the time has come!” He leads Windfoot to the edge of the water and declares, “All must witness this moment. You, Windfoot, must strip down and you must be blooded with me as a bear would fight.” Windfoot obeys. Handing Cordeliah his simple robe, he tells Ursa to stand aside and prepares himself to duel the mighty Tauren with his bare hands.
With a great roar, the Tauren transforms into a dire bear and launches at him. Windfoot is fast, faster than the Tauren, but the claws of the bear are sharp and its strength is massive. It leaps upon him, attempting to press its advantage and pin him down with its massive bulk. Windfoot rolls aside and kicks, knocking the beast aside, but not before its great claws slide through his side, drawing a free flow of blood. From deep within him a primal fury rises, and Windfoot claws and bites at the bear, a savage snarl on him lips. The dire bear backs before the onslaught, bleeding from multiple wounds and guarding its face. Then, recovering, the Tauren bear rises up and again the sharp claws gash his skin. Windfoot spins and strikes, trading blows and howling with fury. Too close! Windfoot steps in to strike and the bear twists and lands a great back-handed swipe with its fore-leg, tossing Windfoot through the air and into the rocks. Momentarily dazed, Windfoot desperately tries to recover his breath as the dire bear’s teeth descend upon him.
But the teeth do not hit their mark because suddenly Ursa is there, her great bulk slamming into the Tauren dire bear, knocking him back. “Ursa, no!” Windfoot gasps, but she will not listen, too loyal and protective to stand aside. Ursa’s claws and teeth rip mercilessly into the Tauren, forcing him back, back to the sea and away from Windfoot. As mighty as the Tauren might be, he stands no chance against her.
Recovering his feet, Windfoot rushes forward and throws himself in the way of her claws, forcing her to stop. With a great roar, she stands breathing heavily and glaring at the wounded dire-bear. He looks aside to show his weakness, and her victory.
Windfoot speaks softly to her in his native tongue, “I will never fight alone, for you will always be with me.”
Gorgo shapeshifts back to Tauren form. Both Gorgo and Windfoot are covered in blood.
Cordeliah rushes forward and casts healing on them both, but Windfoot says, “do not heal all the wounds, Cordeliah, for we must be blooded.” He extends his bloody hand to Gorgo, who takes it, mingling their blood together, and leads Windfoot into the water.
“Now you will be cleansed,” he says.
Islen Waterseer step forward and the Tauren begin to chant. Out of the sea rises a Great Spirit of the Deep. Five sizes greater than the size of an elf, and formed of the water itself, it looks down on Windfoot and Ursa with deep cavernous eyes. From behind him on the shore, he hears Vangelis gasp and exclaim, “What is that?!” but Windfoot is not surprised. He is only honored to be visited again. Reaching out his mind to the Great Spirit of the Deep, he hears what he must do. He steps out into the water, embraces its great form and is swallowed up, saying, “I release my spirit.”
The mystic water swallows him whole, and he feels his self, his spirit, slipping away, spreading out, and blending with the water. Ursa’s spirit is there too, swirling in the depths. She swims to him and he to her, but soon the distinction between them is lost. Everything is change, and movement, and blending. Time is lost as he travels though the past, revisiting all their hunters travels, but this time from Ursa’s perspective. He feels her strength and loyalty and power being infused into him. There is an abyss there too, where all selfhood is lost in the water, but the Great Spirit is there, guiding his journey like a current guides a fish.
Movement, and stillness, and calm in the deep of their soul.
And then he rises out of the sea, D’ana’no Keldamyr, druid re-born. From the depths of his spirit comes a great roar of beastial vigor. Ursa is there too; her form comes forth from within and again they roar. A mighty roar! A triumphant roar! A new song, for a new life.
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Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'no
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:43am
Windfoot arrived in Moonglade with a light heart. The summons has come. While we has deep within a dream-walk the Circle was there, summoning him to Moonglade for the transformation. So much time and waiting, suddenly over.
As he mounted the Gryphon, his mind went back to the path that he had tread, the journey that had brought him here. He remembered finding out the truth that not all Orcs were savage brutal killers, and that the blood-lust that he hated sprang from a demonic source. He remembered the Orc who had saved him from death near Everlook, without cause or reward, but only following his own noble path. He remembered seeking out the wisdom of the Cenarion Circle and the Lady Tyrande, and starting to study the path of the druid under their watchful eye. So many trials he had undergone, so many tests of mind and spirit.
It was the lady Tyrande who commanded that he be taught to dream-walk. And the Circle who commanded that he travel to the gates of Orgimmar to sit and meditate within spear-shot of those who he once hunted so zealously. The trials had been hard, and humbling, and he had learned like a child.
Then the vision, deep within a dream, of Malfurion’s voice…his presence… and the command to “come, be still, and live.”
As the strong wings of the Hippogryph lifted Windfoot up, and the song of the wind filled his ears, he felt the force of the past push him forward, like the current of a powerful river. So many seemingly inconsequential choices leading to this moment.
The sharp pointed mountains fell behind him and the emerald fields welcomed him home, and Windfoot thought of Ursa. He remembered so long ago, when she and he would lie together and sleep in the roots of his home in Astranaar. Or the warmth of the Ursa’s mother’s den. So long ago, now. So many hunts, lessons, and travels.
Landing in Moonglade, Windfoot quietly thanked the beast for passage and called Ursa to him. She was there, as always. Both in body, and in his spirit. Quietly waiting to be together. “Come, let us find our mentors,” he tells her. She nods and turns toward the moonwell. Walking near her, Windfoot’s hand delicately travels the scars that cover her body. He will was indomitable, but so many wounds. She might be happy to just rest, were she not so loyal.
Two hooded figures await him as he arrives. As Windfoot and Ursa draw near, Windfoot recognizes them: Mathrengyl Bearwalker and …, by Elune! The Lady Tyrande Whisperwind. “My Lady!” Windfoot falls to his knees. “You do me too much honor!"
“Stand, young D’ana’no,” she says, addressing Windfoot by his elven name. “I wanted to come and to see Moonglade again.”
Slowly, Windfoot rises. He waits. So long his sprit has been waiting for this moment. Then Mathrengyl speaks, “Knowing all that you know, are you ready to embrace the path of a druid, Windfoot?”
“My spirit is ready.”
“And you Ursa, are you ready?” he asks. Ursa nods her great head solemnly.
“Then, by the spirit of Elune I call you to the task. Go now, seek out Islen Waterseer’s hut. There you will find your destiny!”
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Re: Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:44am
Windfoot blinks. This is not what he had expected. Another task? And the Tauren wise woman’s hut? How could that be? Still, Tyrande was smiling at him, and he could see her blessing in her eyes. Bowing to them both, he turned to leave without another word. He must follow the path that the wind blew him. He could not control his destiny and must trust it to unfold as was meant to be since the dawn of time.
Still his heart was light and the miles passed quickly. Soon, he was in Ratchet. Cordeliah was there. So strong in the power of the druid, he hoped she could help guide him at this crucial hour. Particularly because he did not know what was called of him. Perhaps she could help divine the path.
Windfoot had felt a special connection with Cordeliah, ever since she first entered the Guild. Perhaps their paths had crossed in another life-time, or perhaps their future destinies were interwoven.
“Thank you for coming, Cordeliah. Shall we off to where I have been commanded to go?” She agrees. As they walk, he admits that he does not know what is to be done, and asks for her guidance. She answers, “The sprits are quiet to me now, but we will see what we will see when we get there.” She is right. Patience.
Finally they arrive. The hill falls away before them and as Windfoot waits and listens to the spirits of the wind, Cordeliah exchanges pleasantries with the Tauren wise-woman. Windfoot hears, “yes…have been expecting you…”
Cordeliah returns and they begin to wait. Windfoot begins to clear his mind…and then something truly unexpected happens. Two Tauren come over the rise and approach. They come with clear purpose, a Tauren druid leading a massive Tauren warrior, and stand before Windfoot and Cordeliah. Windfoot bows to them, and then, to his surprise, he hears the voice of the druid in his mind. Though the words are Orcish, somehow he understands,
“Greetings hunter, and well met.”
“How can this be that I can understand your words when you speak Orcish?” he asks.
“The spirit of the Great Owl has sent us to here and to you. We are to guide you to your time of change. Ask not how we understand each other, for all is possible at this sacred hour.”
“Very well,” Windfoot acknowledges. “Please come, sit, and tell me what I must do.”
Suddenly it all becomes clear to him. It is no coincidence that it is the Horde that must guide him. The spirits of the wild had led him to this moment, had pushed him to understand the balance in all things. It was right that in this hour he must trust in the honor and strength of the Horde. His final test.
The two Tauren, Gorgo, the druid, and Tantor, the warrior, Windfoot and Cordeliah sit and talk, as the wind of the sea casts around them. The conversation is light-hearted, and a smile is on his lips. Tantor, the warrior, is apparently smitten by Cordeliah on sight. Windfoot laughs warmly as the great warrior speaks of love and honor. The time flies by.
Then, over the hill come Turi, muttering under his breath, and another unexpected visitor: Vangelis, a human warrior of young season, drawn to this moment by his own destiny. Both are startled to see the Tauren, and more startled to hear Windfoot translating their words, but when Gorgo commands all take food and drink together in communion, each joins in the rough meal.
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Re: Windfoot's Transformation: The Birth of D'ana'
Post by Windfoot on Apr 23, 2005, 1:44am
Finally, Cordeliah begins to sense that the time has arrived, as a tingle runs past her skin. A the same moment, Gorgo declares, “the time has come!” He leads Windfoot to the edge of the water and declares, “All must witness this moment. You, Windfoot, must strip down and you must be blooded with me as a bear would fight.” Windfoot obeys. Handing Cordeliah his simple robe, he tells Ursa to stand aside and prepares himself to duel the mighty Tauren with his bare hands.
With a great roar, the Tauren transforms into a dire bear and launches at him. Windfoot is fast, faster than the Tauren, but the claws of the bear are sharp and its strength is massive. It leaps upon him, attempting to press its advantage and pin him down with its massive bulk. Windfoot rolls aside and kicks, knocking the beast aside, but not before its great claws slide through his side, drawing a free flow of blood. From deep within him a primal fury rises, and Windfoot claws and bites at the bear, a savage snarl on him lips. The dire bear backs before the onslaught, bleeding from multiple wounds and guarding its face. Then, recovering, the Tauren bear rises up and again the sharp claws gash his skin. Windfoot spins and strikes, trading blows and howling with fury. Too close! Windfoot steps in to strike and the bear twists and lands a great back-handed swipe with its fore-leg, tossing Windfoot through the air and into the rocks. Momentarily dazed, Windfoot desperately tries to recover his breath as the dire bear’s teeth descend upon him.
But the teeth do not hit their mark because suddenly Ursa is there, her great bulk slamming into the Tauren dire bear, knocking him back. “Ursa, no!” Windfoot gasps, but she will not listen, too loyal and protective to stand aside. Ursa’s claws and teeth rip mercilessly into the Tauren, forcing him back, back to the sea and away from Windfoot. As mighty as the Tauren might be, he stands no chance against her.
Recovering his feet, Windfoot rushes forward and throws himself in the way of her claws, forcing her to stop. With a great roar, she stands breathing heavily and glaring at the wounded dire-bear. He looks aside to show his weakness, and her victory.
Windfoot speaks softly to her in his native tongue, “I will never fight alone, for you will always be with me.”
Gorgo shapeshifts back to Tauren form. Both Gorgo and Windfoot are covered in blood.
Cordeliah rushes forward and casts healing on them both, but Windfoot says, “do not heal all the wounds, Cordeliah, for we must be blooded.” He extends his bloody hand to Gorgo, who takes it, mingling their blood together, and leads Windfoot into the water.
“Now you will be cleansed,” he says.
Islen Waterseer step forward and the Tauren begin to chant. Out of the sea rises a Great Spirit of the Deep. Five sizes greater than the size of an elf, and formed of the water itself, it looks down on Windfoot and Ursa with deep cavernous eyes. From behind him on the shore, he hears Vangelis gasp and exclaim, “What is that?!” but Windfoot is not surprised. He is only honored to be visited again. Reaching out his mind to the Great Spirit of the Deep, he hears what he must do. He steps out into the water, embraces its great form and is swallowed up, saying, “I release my spirit.”
The mystic water swallows him whole, and he feels his self, his spirit, slipping away, spreading out, and blending with the water. Ursa’s spirit is there too, swirling in the depths. She swims to him and he to her, but soon the distinction between them is lost. Everything is change, and movement, and blending. Time is lost as he travels though the past, revisiting all their hunters travels, but this time from Ursa’s perspective. He feels her strength and loyalty and power being infused into him. There is an abyss there too, where all selfhood is lost in the water, but the Great Spirit is there, guiding his journey like a current guides a fish.
Movement, and stillness, and calm in the deep of their soul.
And then he rises out of the sea, D’ana’no Keldamyr, druid re-born. From the depths of his spirit comes a great roar of beastial vigor. Ursa is there too; her form comes forth from within and again they roar. A mighty roar! A triumphant roar! A new song, for a new life.