Aitana Tallbear

[Aitana]

"Clumsy cow!"

That’s what the others called me. I am a Tauren, not a mindless domesticated animal on some human's farm, and my parents were quick to remind me of that. No time for tears and self-pity. I held my head high like I didn’t hear, and picked myself up like they taught me. It happened so often though. I was forever running into someone or something, or tripping, or forgetting something. Even my brother would tease me, and say that I could get lost in front of our own tent.

I often wondered if my parents secretly thought the same thing. I never wanted anything more than to make them proud. I cannot ask them about it now since they are gone. I know what my brother thought. He gave up on me after our parents died. He said I was hopeless.

The remains of their party told me about what happened to our parents. They died noble deaths worthy of druids of their rank and season. I was always very proud of them. They were great druids. Father could fight as well as any warrior. I heard that all enemies would cower at the sound of his snarl. And Mother was a great healer. She had saved everybody in their guild on more than one occasion. They were both known for their honor, bravery and valor. They had sacrificed themselves to make sure the rest of the party was able to escape with their lives. Our village honored the memory of their service to the Earth Mother with a great feast.

But then…emptiness. They were gone and I was nothing. Of course I was welcome to remain in the tribe and the others would watch out for me, but I could feel the condescension. While the tribe would always watch out for me as is the custom among Tauren, I would always be the one to be pitied and an object of shame and embarrassment. There would never be any comfort for me, not even from the others who tended the young of the tribe. Only my own parents had seen any value in me. What was I to do? I had not seen my brother for many seasons because he was a warrior and he was always gone. Even he thought I would never be anything but a burden to the tribe.

I came up with a plan. I would become a druid. Mother and Father always believed I had it in me. They said it was part of who I was just like it was part of who they were and being a warrior was part of what my brother is. I had always been so bad at my lessons though. I turned all my energy to proving that my parents were right. Eventually the druid trainer agreed to train me, and I was able to eke out a living on my own. It felt sooo good to be able to tell my brother to stop sending me his coins and his pity. I haven’t heard from him since. He is probably just as glad to be rid of me.

Along the way I have met others that have helped me and walked along this path with me. To them I am eternally grateful. I hope to prove my worth by becoming a great druid like my parents.

[Aitana]

"I now present you with the Water of the Seers.

When you are ready, consume the waters near the tribal fire. Once you have ingested the holy waters, it will take a few moments before the vision materializes before the fire.

At that point, it is up to you to follow it to your destiny.... "

I did as Zarlman Two-Moons told me and the ghost of a wolf appeared. It was not hard to follow at first and then it crossed the bridge leaving Bloodhoof Village. And then the wolf left the path.

A wolf attacked and I fought it off as best I could, but the ghost wolf did not stop. As the wolf fell, I looked around wildly for the ghost wolf. I ran as fast as I could to catch up, but I had to skirt around a swoop that looked like it would like nothing better than a young Tauren of seven seasons to snack on. I had almost caught up with it when a cougar attacked.

My heart fell as again the ghost wolf continued on as I fought for my life. Moonfire, wrath, wrath, renew, wrath, .... The cougar was dead, but the ghost wolf was far ahead of me. Again I ran to catch up with the ghost wolf. Not long after I caught up with it, I was attacked again. This time a cougar attacked me first and a swoop joined the attack. It was too much for me. Then next thing I knew I was visiting with the Spirit Healer.

"Maybe the Elders were right. Maybe I am not fit to be trained as a druid," I sighed to nobody in particular.

The druid trainer had agreed to train me, but it was conditional. They were concerned that I was too easily distracted from my lessons, they were concerned that I might not complete my training, and they were concerned that after training I might get distracted at a key moment costing others their lives. I was determined to prove their concerns wrong, but my will was faltering. Tears welled up. This was the fourth time I had tried to follow the ghost wolf and the fourth time I had died in the attempt.

I could not let myself give up. I had to keep trying. Going back to the village and giving up was not an option. I would not go back to living on hand-outs. Time to put one hoof in front of the other to head back to Bloodhoof Village to try again.

A searing pain shot through my leg. Another wolf was attacking me. How had I missed seeing it and gotten too close? I fought back, but tears stung my eyes when a swoop joined in the fight against me. I hated swoops the most because they would stun me and stop me from casting spells leaving me almost helpless. I was far to weak and unskilled to defend myself well with my staff. Moonfire, but not my own, and then the wolf was dead. Moonfire, and again not my own, and soon the swoop was dead.

I recognized my benefactor as the druid I had healed while he was fighting several wolves at the same time. He had not said much then, just a brief smile and a word of thanks before he ran off to attend to his own business.

"Thank you very much! You showed up just in time."

He smiled and motioned to me to follow. He lead me back to Zarlman Two-Moons. This time with the stranger's help, I was able to follow the ghost wolf. Still he did not say anything all the way there, just gestures to follow, or to stay or to point out hazards to avoid. And so it continued for the rest of the day and into the night. I did not want to pester him with questions since he seemed to prefer silence, but my curiosity was building. Who was the druid and why was he interested in helping me?

On the return trip to Bloodhoof Village, I stopped as we crossed the bridge.

"Just a minute please."

He stopped and turned to face me quirking an eyebrow.

I hesitated. "I am very grateful for all your help today. I must return to the inn for the night."

He nodded and bowed. I bowed in return.

I flashed a nervous smile and again I hesitated. "If I might ask, what is your name?"

"Kadeshi," he smiled.

"My name is Aitana."

He bowed and I bowed in return. He saw that I made it safely to the inn.

I did not know it at the time, but that day set up a pattern for the next several days. As soon as he noticed me, he would join me. He would lead and I would follow. I grew stronger and learned a lot from him, but I learned very little about him. His presence was comforting.

One day when we were outside Thunderbluff hunting harpies, Kadeshi told me to wait for an orc called Darkprince. I looked at him curiously, but I knew that asking questions would only lead to less than satisfactory answers. So I waited and watched as he headed off to Thunderbluff.