Ai'tal, a history

((ok I`m reposting all the stories plus a new one because the tread turned into a discussion about the WoW timeline ))

a little more then sixteen years ago, a small Darkspear warparty came upon a few foraging Bloodscalp Trolls, a quick but bloody battle followed which the Darkspear Trolls won.

While celebrating their victory and roasting their fallen enemies, a hunter raised her hand to quiet the warparty, she pointed to a large tree about ten meters away and spoke in a hushed voice:"There is another one there".

A warrior stood up and walked quietly to the tree, he didn`t see anyone close to the tree until he noticed that the tree was hollow, a small head peaked out, looking at him with big eyes beneath bloodred hair, "Tal?" the child asked, "Tal?", the warrior, not willing to kill a child this small, lowered his weapon and picked the girlchild up, then the struggle began "Tal!" she cried out, louder then expected from a child that small "Tal!" seconds later the warparty came running weapons drawn ready to defend their own, when they saw the large warrior struggling to keep the child still, they burst out in laughter. Seeing all these strangers the child went quiet for a few second before tears started to form in her eyes and she started crying.

*twack* *twack* *twack* was heard as a wellplaced staff landed on serveral heads, a rather imposing priestess looked at the warriors with a glare that could melt iron, "What do you lot think you`re doing eh? Scaring a child, shame on you!" she turned to the warrior who was trying to calm down the crying child, "And you, what do you think you`re doing?, give that here!" as the child was given to the priestess, the girl buried her head in the priestess` shoulder, "Sssh calm down little one" said the priestess as she stroked the girls hair, the child snuggled closer and seemingly content murmered "Tal".

With the child asleep in her arms the priestess looked up at the gathered warriors, their leader an unusualy large troll, looked a bit nervously at the priestess.

"Eh Sijha, shouldn`t we, eh kill it?, she is a Bloodscalp afterall and uh....."

At that moment he realized he shouldn`t have said anything, for the look Sijha gave him was one of her more murderous ones.

"Nevermind" he murmered.

"Listen to me Thraze", Sijha said in an icy voice, "Aida Wedo has seen fit to bless me on my old day and you wouldn`t want to question her motives now would you?" she raised one eyebrow, "that could be very bad for your continued health", she looked around "Anyone else willing to question the Lao?"

The gathered warriors avoided her eyes and shook their heads "That`s what I tought" she nodded as she shifted the child in her arms and murmered some nonsense when the girl moaned. She looked up at the warriors still standing "Well what are you lot waiting for? get your asses moving and clean up the camp site."

It was almost dawn when Sijha entered her hut, she was tired but content for she had convinced Sen’Jin and the shamans that the girlchild should stay, it took almost the entire night but she finally got her way by hinting that the fertility rites she gave to the females of the tribe could very well come to an end, that swayed them rather quickly.
And to think that it once started out as a scam of hers, a way to get the female company she craved, without it being frowned upon, a way also to change her inability to carry children from a curse into a sacrifice for she gave a part of herself every time she conducted a rite, or so the males thought. Strangely enough the rites seemed to worked for every female she invited into her hut was with child within a moon after.

She smiled at the little girl still soundly asleep, a few herbs had taken care of that. She sat down next to the child and stroked her hair, “You’re different from most Bloodscalp little one” she murmered. “You have a different energy about you, you have Lukou in your spirit and here I thought the Bloodscalp had forsaken her, but then again maybe they have and are you truly ment for me, maybe you really are Aida Weda’s blessing to an old priestess” she snorted “hah that’s as likely as a troll mating with an elf.”

At that moment the child opened her eyes and looked fearfull for a bit until she saw the priestess and smiled “Tal?” the child asked as she curled up in the arms of Sihja who frowned a bit. “Who is Tal little one can you tell me?” the child looked up, “Tal!” she stated as if that was all the explanation that was needed ‘maybe an older brother?’ she thought but there had been no children among the slain Bloodscalp. She sighed “what is your name little one? I can’t very well keep calling you little one now can I?” the child looked at her a bit confused, “Your name” the priestess said slowly, at that the child smiled “Tal,” she said. Sihja sighed “No, your name” she said annoyed as she pointed to the child, slowly she saw tears starting to form in the girls eyes, “now, now don’t cry little one” Sihja said “How about we call you Ai’tal for now eh? Faithful to Tal whoever he be.” At that the child nodded “Tal” she said and Sihja rolled her eyes.

((ten years after))

"But why teacher, why do I have to meditate every day for so long?" Ai'tal asked.
"Discipline girl. discipline!" her teacher told her somewhat anoyed, "Discipline makes us strong, and we need to be strong if we want to win this war."
"But teacher there is no war anymore, we've been save since we came to this island, the only onces attacking us are some Murlocs and nobody thinks they`re a threat"
Sihja frowned "Never underestimate your enemies girl, that could proof to be fatal, those Murlocs might not seem dangerous but they serve something powerfull, I tried to warn Sen'jin of it but he never listens to me, not when we were young and not now."

Ai'tal sighed and started to prepare for another long day of meditation when suddenly she heard voices from the village, they had to be rather loud for Sihja's hut was relatively far away, she jumped up and ran to the village, ignoring her teachers voice that ordered her to come back.

When she entered the village and made her way trough the gathered tribe to see what the commotion was all about she gasped before her where strange green creatures talking in a language she couldn`t understand, they where short, even most males weren`t much larger than her, and she was only 12 seasons old, but there bodies where broad, at least twice as the warriors of the tribe, they wore strange armour, large plates, 'they must be boiling alive in there' Ai'tal tought, then Sen'jin appeared, next to him a male that seemed like the leader to the green ones, he anounced that the creatures where friends that he saw them in a vision and that the leader of orcs, as he called them would lead them to a true home, a place save of humans, murlocs and even other tribes, then he ordered everyone to return to their daily things.

Ai'tal was full of questions, she wanted to ask Sen'jin more about these orcs, but Sen'jin always looked strangely at her as if she didn`t belong to his tribe, while trying to overcome her hesistance, her arm was grabbed by a panting Sihja "And what do you think you`re doing running of in the middle of your meditation, I said that discipline was important and you will learn it girl even if you have to sit on the same spot for days" she said as she dragged Ai'tal back to her hut.

((new part takes placea few days after fleeing the Echo Isles))

Ai'tal was shocked, she had retreated to a high and remote spot along the coast of the strange, dry, red land the orcs called Durotar, her teacher was gone never to return for Sihja and almost a quarter of the tribe shared a fate much worse then dead, they were enslaved by Zalzane. Zalzane who Sihja had always warned her about, he dabbled in de darkest voodoo there was she said, without any light to balance it and he didn`t have the discipline to keep it under control, so it had consumed him, and he took so many with him.

Tears burned in her eyes as she looked to the west, there she could almost see the Echo Isles the place that had almost felt like home, the place where there was no need to worry about humans or murlocs, the place where game was plenty and the water sweet, but now the tribe had fled from there a few days ago, they where building a village along the coast, Vol'jin had called it Sen'jin after his father, they said it would be a new home but she didn`t see it that way, for both water and meat where scarce and there was the constant treath of centaurs to the east.

Her mind turned back to the reason she fled to this place, for since Zalzane had enslaved so many, the fearfull respect the ungifted had for those who practiced voodoo had changed to an almost hostile fear, voices called for completely outlawing it, and banishment for those who practiced, luckily Vol'jin calmed then down somewhat but still they treathened her downright hostile. She shuddered, how could they just abandon the Lao like that, They would take there revenge if the tribe continued on this path, for their ways where strange and if they weren`t pleased the consequences would be dire, Ai'tal sighed maybe some meditation would bring peace to her mind and hopefully some answers.

Ai'tal closed her eyes and went in the state of mind Sihja taught her, but it felt difrent without her almost wrong, as she went deeper and let the images come to her, she was almost shocked awake when she saw Zalzanes eyes, they looked difrent they had the black purple glow of dark voodoo and she heard him laughing taunting her, saying she was weak, that she could never have that what her teacher had and that she should embrace the shadows, the black purple glow reached out to her almost embracing her, at that moment she tore herself out of the meditation, Zalzanes maniacle laughter echoing in her ears, she was shaking, and ran the entire way back to the village hoping she was safer there.

As she walked back to the village she thought about what to do now, she was almost fifteen summers now within a year she would be an adult and she'd need her own hut, they would probably count her as one already, since no one would want to take in a Voodoo apprentice, it would have been different even ten days ago but since Zalzane's corruption combined with what the Orcs thought of the Voodoo..., she sighed " lets not think about that now" she muttered to herself.

As she entered the village she saw someone overseeing the building of huts,gathered her courage, straightened her back, walked up to him and did her best Sih'ja impression, "When are you going to build my hut huh?" she asked in her most authoritative voice, the male looked down on her annoyed "You're Sih'jas girl aren't you?" she nodded then she remembered herself and said a little less sure "I am her successor yes" "Bah" he threw an axe to her, which she barely caught "Time you learned some honest work then, go build your own hut we don't care for your kind anymore voodoo priestess" the last words where spat out and he turned his back to her to continue his orders.
Ai'tal stared at him then looked down on the axe it was heavy and she didn't have a clue as to how to use it, sure she knew how to treat wounds that where almost beyond healing, recognize practically any disease with a glance, she could deliver a child without batting an eye but building a hut was a complete different story, they would probably make her hunt her own meat too she shuddered, looked down on the axe again, then looked up she saw some trolls swinging their axes high above their head and back on the wood, "well that can't be too hard" she muttered "but how, by the Lao, do you put the wood together in a hut?" she looked lost, unwilling to ask someone for help, they'd probably just shake their heads laughing and muttering about learning real work, now how was she going to do this.

((don`t really know where it is going, suggestions and comments are welcome ))

((not finished yet and not really part of the history but I didn't feel like making a new topic))

The clan, her family was shattered what started with the death of Saadi and Grothak ended here, maybe revenge on the demons that killed them had not been the right decision, all that was left now where shards of what once was and maybe the path of the clan that was no more was not hers, maybe it never was.

She sighed her thoughts turning to her lover, friend, mate? What was he? All he seemed to want at this time was an answer to a question she could not give, how could she decide what to choose when the path she thought was hers lay shattered before her, when she doubted even herself, when prayers and meditation did not bring answers, when Aida Wedo remained as silent as the old ones often did and she even started doubting if following Aida Wedo was her path, how could she answer him when she didn't even know herself.

Sometime later when they met again she revealed her decision, that she would leave, find her own way, not the way of the Thunderwolfs, not the way of the Tiger Tribe or his way but her own, he was shocked, as she expected, he almost begged her to stay didn't seem to understand and she even worried that he wasn't the troll she thought he was, but finally he nodded grimly, embraced her and told her he understood, that he would wait for her and welcome her back if she ever choose to return to him, with or without an answer.