Grim Views

(( So I'm slowly working on Jarn's past, which has proved to be an interesting task to weave
together considering I transferred her from a straight PVP server with a forced name change.
It'll explain why Grog still calls her Shinku for one! ^_^ Feedback is welcome since it's been
awhile since I've written and might have seriously mucked some things up. And sorry about the
forced line-breaks, but using a 1920x1200 resolution with a free flowing layout was
making terribly long lines!! ))


1. Shini and the Fight for Approval


The fight for her father's approval had been a long and bloodied task. In
his mind, his daughters were to stay in the village with their mother, tending
to meals and the young children. Certainly, a female could not handle herself
in a hunt, when blood was shed and lives brought to a sudden halt! Shini and
her twin, Inkua, had been second born to Xurk and Basan, but became the
eldest children when a Highvale Scout had slain their brother when he had
tested his luck in leaving the village on his own, wishing to become blooded
and a man to make his father proud.

Since the boy's death, the girls had to be guarded closely. When Shini
would climb the fences to peer beyond their borders, Xurk would hurl her to
the ground and remind her that she was never to leave. Inkua would gather
her sister close and soothe Shini's anger away, filling her mind with stories
that they had heard many times growing up but still managed to lull Shini into
a restful state.


Shini was the same age as her brother had been, a ripe twelve, when
she snuck out of the village on a dark moonless night. The waves covered
any sound she might have made, but she moved fast in order to not be
caught by the night guardsmen. In the weeks leading up to her escape, she
had carefully picked pieces of armor off piles, hiding them behind a mound of
winter furs. The leather whispered when moved, broken in and worn down by
years of use; the metal plating designed to offer the most protection possible
without hindering any movement. Of course, the armor was designed for an
older male, thus hung off her awkwardly.


The armor she took only to show that she did have some mind within
her skull, though in her heart she knew that all she needed were the two
axes gripped in her hands. Both had been her father's, long unused but still
cared for with a touch that could only be seen as loving. Grooves were
embedded in the leather wrappings, where Xurk had held and twisted the
axes, the leather within dark yet unmarred by the large amounts of blood that
had soaked into the other bands.

Hurrying north from the village, Shini maintained a low profile even
though the moon was unable to betray her presence. She moved with care,
feet barely lifting from the ground so no twigs snapped under her feet. Little
else had been planned except to bring her family an early meal; her mind
focused on seeking out a wild gryphon and how best to spring a trap on it.
The fates ought to be thanked, for a gryphon might have bested her, had
Shini not been stopped by the unexpected: a Vilebranch scouting party.

The pair spoke in low tones, but in the dead of night every sound
seemed amplified. At first, Shini thought the voices came from a pair of
young lovers, seeking to escape the village for a rendezvous, but once she
drew closer and could make out their words, her blood turned cold.

With the two headed toward the village, Shini assumed that the
warband would be much further behind. It was a lucky guess, something
else blessed by intervening fate. The girl wove her way behind the two
Vilebranch trolls and closed the distance between her and the scouts. With
the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and a wave of excited rage
rising, Shini ambushed the two scouts.


The loa must have guarded her back, because Shini overtook the pair
and caused their final breath to rattle from their lungs in a brief minute.

Methodically, Shini brought one of her father's axes down on the neck
of a scout in turn, severing head from body. The fingers of her left hand
latched onto their hair and she took off, running back toward the village.

"Father!" Shini yelled, bursting out of the undergrowth as she neared
the village, startling the two night guards. Her voice carried to the far reaches
of the village, and immediately people began stumbling from their huts, frantic
to find out why the girl was shouting.

"Shini?!" Xurk shouted, grabbing hold of his daughter. Startled by the
wetness his hands encountered, he jerked her into the path of light from a
torch and gasped at the blood covering her. Her mother made a sound filled
with agony and her hands began searching her daughter's body for a source
of the blood. Shrugging them off, Shini raised the pair of heads she held in
her hand and simply said, "They're coming."


Two days later, Primal Torntusk honored Shini with a feast. Due to her
daring attempt, the Revantusk had been able to head off a warband of
Vilebranch and saved countless tribesmen. While it wasn't the first time that
the Vilebranch had come seeking out sacrifices, nor was it the first time they
had been stopped, it had been the only time when the Vilebranch had been
caught by a juvenile female, two of their own slaughtered by her. The two
heads remain, even to this day, hanging above the doorway of the family's
hut, even through the tragedy that would soon come.

2. The Worst Day of Her Life


For four years, Shini worked with the tribe's hunters along with her
brother, experiencing everything from scouting duties to full assaults against
both the Vilebranch tribe and the Highvale elves. Life was as peaceful as can
be presumed for a troll tribe, a pure cycle of life and death. For Shini, it was
all about to change.


Summer was nearing its end, yet the heat still lingered hard in the
Hinterlands; the cool air of the sea the only respite. A small band had been
at sea fishing to begin building up their winter food stores, Shini and Xul
included. The seasons were prone to quick shifts, forcing the tribe to prepare
early. On two long boats, they fished and prepared their catches, salting and
then storing away the fish into woven baskets. Only after the baskets they
had brought were full, did they return home; some trips were shift, others
took many days. This had been one of the quick ones, lasting only three
days.


Once the boats turned back toward land, everyone was joyous and
enjoyed the voyage back home. Voices were light, humor coming easily,
because they knew they had done their job well. However, as land came into
view, so did heavy smoke over it. They did not panic, but it a tension leapt
rapidly across all, paddles taken up by many hands to expedite their return.
The boats didn't even have a chance to touch the shore before they began
leaping into the water and rushing their way onto land, the last two almost
unwilling to remain behind to pull the boats ashore.


Shini and Xul had been the first out of the boats, being the youngest
and spryest. The village was much too quiet, only the sound of flames filling
the air. Even the wildlife was silent; the many turtles retreated north along
the shore to avoid the wild flames. Dashing among the huts Shini and Xul
began to yell for family and friends, eventually hearing a response along the
southern edge of the village. Gathered within Primal Torntusk's expansive hut
were half of the villagers, who began retelling the tragedy to the returning
anglers.


The second night after they had left, the Vilebranches had returned. The
opposing tribe had seen the boats go out, and waited longer still for a pack of
hunters to also leave, before they tricked down behind the Revantusk village.
The struck in the hours before sunset, before the hunters would return with
their catches. They systematically assaulted the huts, capturing a number
of the young females before setting fire to anything that would light. As
quickly as they appeared, the Vilebranch were gone, leaving behind wild fires
and escaping with almost a quarter of the Revantusk females. Basan
remained, but Inkua was no so lucky and found herself a prisoner.


One party had already gone after the Vilebranch, a second quickly
forming at the persistence of Shini. Before they left, Torntusk drew her aside
and sat the young girl down. Shini's leader warned her of the terrible sights
that she would see in the massive compound housing the Vilebranch. She
was certain the girls were taken as a sacrifice to Hakkar, and prayed with
Shini that the two parties could save the stolen girls. The Primal knew her
place was with the heart of the tribe, aiding in the repairs that would need to
be done, so she gave Shini the spear from her back and wished the warband
well, before sending them off.


Torntusk had spoken the truth. The Vilebranch knew that the cries of
their young enemies would be music to Hakkar's ears, that the smell of their
blood would be ever so sweet, and that their innocence would provide for soft
flesh. Vile Priestess Hexx presided over the ceremonies, held only during
the ripe hours of sunset and sunrise. Two ceremonies thus far and they had
enough sacrifices for two more. This information was relayed to Shini and
the whole of the second party once they found the location of the first. A
rough plan was plotted, while scouts began circling the compound to find the
prisoners.


Shini rested against a rock outcropping, regaining her energy and
mentally prepared. She was on the brink of sleep when her brother's voice
struck her, his words sharp and filled with pain. Boosting herself up, Shini
caught sight of her sister, Inkua, being lead to the altar atop the main
pyramid. Unable to think, Shini simply reacted. Swinging the spear off her
back, she howled and climbed over the rock face and dropped into the
compound. Rushing for the pyramid, she struck any Vilebranch who got in
her way, either with the sharp head of the spear, the worn butt of it or even
her own body colliding with them. Oddly enough, they put up little resistance
or fight against the girl and her path up the pyramid steps was unobstructed.

As her feet landed upon the final step, she nearly launched herself at
the Priestess Hexx, but the woman's cold smile seemed to freeze her to the
ground. Inkua trembled, her eyes locked upon her sister; a gasp rising from
her as the sharp edge of a dagger was touched to her throat.

"No!" Shini screamed, fighting to break free of the hold Hexx had her
under. Inkua's lips formed four simple words, 'I love you, sister,' as Hexx
drove the dagger across her throat, ripping the life from her.

Shini's mind snapped upon witnessing her sister sacrificed to Hakkar.
She would not remember what happened next and very few who survived
would speak to her about it. The tribe later acknowledged little of the incident
verbally, only that Shini raged with unbridled fury and tore through the
Vilebranch with the strength of twenty men. Her determination spread like
wildfire through her fellow tribesmen and they too leapt into the fray against
the Vilebranch. The battle raged until the sun had fully set, when without
warning fighters found themselves caught within an unseen prison.


"Hakkar is pleasssed that you aided usss ssso well, our
sssacrificcesss bleeding together asss one. Take your furiousss one and
return to your little village; ressst up... we will return to thisss war another
day," Vile Priestess Hexx announced over the battlefield. In her hand, she
held a beaded necklace worn by Inkua; Shini had made it for her sister as a
birthday gift. Hexx through it to Shini with a smug look on her face, a look
that grew tenfold when Shini caught the bracelet and sank to her knees, then
passed out. The spell cast over the Vilebranch and Revantusk tribes broke;
men stumbled as they nearly all tumbled to the ground from the sudden halt
of battle. The warring tribes separated, each claiming their dead and turning
to retreat.


For the Revantusk, the procession was a long and pained one. Xul
carried Shini's unconscious body; their father Xurk bore Inkua's lifeless form.
It was a dark end to the summer, and the coming winter proved difficult and
thick with mourning.

3. Ambush!

Shini prowled through the jungle of Stranglethorn Vale, the links of her
chainmail shivering with her movements. Though she moved unarmed, her
hands rested upon the pommels of her axes, ready for anything that she
might stumble across. She bore neither the deftness of a hunter, nor the
silence of a rogue, but the scouting missions of her youth had taught her how
to move with relative ease and security. Even when she did not need to keep
her presence hidden, she did like to test herself and keep her skills fresh.


Ahead of her, Shini could make out a patrol of Mosh’Ogg ogres, her
current target. A wry smile rose, her body shifting to sink further down into
the overgrowth. Planning on holding her position until they returned, Shini
flexed her leg muscles and hunkered down. If they were human, she could
rely on them to move on some form of regular schedule, but she never trusted
an ogre to maintain any sense of order.


Minutes passed, largely silent but for the typical sounds of the jungle.
Had it not been for her training, Shini might have been lulled into a daze, but
she continually moved her focus and attention, listening to the varying
sounds and keeping her eyes moving. Even still, the sudden explosion of
sound behind her startled Shini, causing her to spin about while drawing both
axes. An orc was rushing in reverse, scarcely looking over his shoulder as
he raised his gun and fired a shot. Shini darted to the side to avoid collision,
and putting herself out of the hunter’s armreach if he spun on her.


“Wha—“ she tried asking, before the chilling sound of footsteps circled
her. “Sneakah!” she shouted and readied her weapons; a natural shielding of
lightning erupting from her.

“Grog know!” the orc replied, swinging his gun and body in a circle.


Just when Shini thought the rogue had given up on his prey, she and
the orc were simutaneously struck by two rogues. Crippling pain washed
over her and she struggled to keep upright against the fury of the rogue’s
blades into her body. Roaring, she twisted and faced the leering rogue, her
eyes becoming a flaring red as her hands crashed into him, shocking the
human. Both axes bit into him, their blades cutting easily through his leather
armor; the flaming aura of the blades singing his flesh.


“Troll move!” the orc shouted only seconds before a wolf leapt through
the air and collided with the rogue, tearing him away from Shini. He alighted
his sight with the rogue, taking care to watch out for his companion and fired
a single powerful shot into the rogue’s head. The hunter was in poor shape
though and descended to a knee, his head hanging and air rasping out of his
lungs.


Taking a step toward the orc, Shini glanced around. “Where be da oddah?”


The orc motioned to his left, her gaze following. Pinned low to the
ground and caught in a trap of ice, the now solitary rogue glared at her.
Dusting off her hands, Shini raised them and drew upon the static of the
humid jungle, molding the pliable substance in her hands before unleashing
the lightning bolt upon the rogue. It shattered the icy prison and caused the
rogue to crumple to the ground, giving her enough of a window to lunge at him
and drive one of her axes across his chest before he could vanish from sight.


While knelt at the orc’s side, the hunter’s pet moved back to his side
and sat there, regarding Shini with an eerily intelligent look. She nodded to
the wolf and considered the wounds of the hunter. There was a calmness
surrounding her now; the adreneline that had been rushing through her body
dissipating like a summer shower. Her eyes closed momentarily while she
focused her energy, before sending a wave of healing over him. The orc
shuddered and opened his eyes, coughing in surprise a few times when the
ache in his lungs vanished.

Shini offered the hunter her hand, which the orc took and drew himself
off the ground with; his other hand braced against his wolf. The rifle in his
hand was swung to his back, then his clenched fist struck his chest in a
salute to her.


“I Grogkor. You good troll,” which amounted to a heartfelt thanks in
Shini’s book.


Smiling, she reached up ran a hand through her red hair. “’Ey Grogkor,
I be Shinku.”