Grim Views

When dreams turn deadly

Taurs - November 12, 2005

Chapter One

Nature's brush painted the dawn's skies with rich vibrant colors.
Taurs stood atop the mesa, his warm brown eyes lost in
reflection. Not even seeming to notice the wind that rippled
through his black fur like a lover's caress.

The sound of pebbles sliding off the steep path and then bouncing
off many rocks in its descent to the mesa floor snapped Taurs
head up. He knew it was a noise made deliberately by Shadowhawk
his teacher from the Blackhoof clan. He was an old coot but
extremely wise and Taurs considered himself lucky to be allowed
to study under him. His father had been taught by Shadowhawk and
his Grandfather had called Shadowhawk brother as they stood
shoulder to shoulder with Cairne Bloodhoof at the battle of Mount
Hyjal. Sadly it had also been Shadowhawk who had lit the funeral
pyre when his Grandfather fell before the scourge.

"Good evening young Taurs," Shadowhawk said as his gnarled paw
gripped his feathered staff tighter. Obviously tired from the
long trek up to the top of the mesa. His fur was streaked
liberally with silver. His ancient eyes were Rheumy with age but
a great wisdom shone from them.

At hearing his mentor speak Taurs immediately spun and knelt to
show Shadowhawk his respect. "Greetings Great one," Taurs said as
he bowed his head down in his Tribe's tradition of humility
before the elders.

"You have accomplished much in your Druid training young one. You
have mastered the bear and the seal, it is now time to complete
your training and teach you the cat and thus become a full
fledged Druid." Shadowhawk rumbled as his eyes glinted with his
pride in Taurs many achievements. "You must go one last time to
Moonglade but when you return the village will help you rejoice
and give thanks to the great Earth Mother. You will dance your
last dance as a child that night then dance your first dance as
an adult, are you ready for that Taurs?"

"Yes Great one I have dreamed of this ascension many, many
times," Taurs said as he tried to hide his grin. He had indeed
waited a long time for this day to come. His eyes glazed over as
his mind wandered off and he watched himself striding back home a
full fledged Druid. He fondly cuffed his little brother Elementum
as he passed him. He felt a warm sensation and knew instantly
when he had Stargazer's attention. He peeked over and grinned
when he saw her beautiful bovine eyes watching him admiringly. He
strutted and preened a bit since she was watching. He knew that
now that he had completed his training he could ask her father
for her as a mate, something he wanted more then anything else.

With an amused cough, Shadowhawk startled Taurs out of his
daydream. " Let me guess," He said dryly, "thinking on how proud
your parents are going to be?" He chuckled and put a paw on Taurs
shoulder, "Now is not the time to be thinking of Stargazer. You
must complete your training first, you know that."

Lowering his eyes again in embarrassment, Taurs was glad his
black fur hid his blush and he quickly stammered out "I'm sorry
Great one. I will keep my mind on my task!"

"Good now pack your backpack wisely as you will be gone several
weeks," Shadowhawk said with a toss of his grizzled head as he
turned and started making his way careful back down the sharp
incline. Taurs absentmindedly watched his mentor walking down.
His thoughts full of what he'd need to take for the trip. He
wished like crazy his spell to moonglade also allowed for a
speedy return home but alas even if it existed, he'd be forbidden
its use. He knew his trial of passage to adulthood included his
making his way back from moonglade by himself. He was not even
allowed to use the flights found in moonglade for a speedy
return. He sighed mentally and knew in the long run this would
all be worth it. His mind briefly pictured Stargazer in all her
delicate beauty. Her soft milky fur had such feminine brown spots
it made him want to hold her and cherish her forever.

Later that same day as he stood contemplating his remaining
belongings, wondering what else he should take, he heard a soft
scratch at the leather flap of his lodge. "Come in," He said. His
eyes widened in surprise and then pleasure when he saw the gentle
countenance of Stargazer as she slipped inside.

She walked up to him, her eyes greedily drinking in every detail
of him as if committing him to memory. In her right hand she held
a small Kodo bag made loving by her, which she pressed into his
paws as she brushed up against him to whisper softly in his ear
"Come back soon, you will be missed." Then with a quick peek at
the outside of the lodge she slipped out before someone caught
her. She had risked much to make this clandestine meeting as it
was forbidden for her to be alone in a Lodge not her family's or
her mate's.

Taurs lifted her gift to his nostrils and inhaled her scent. He
looked inside and saw a loop of her hair had been cut then tied
with a strip of leather and lay nestled in a bed of Stargazer's
favorite herbs. Making a decision he quickly stopped packing and
took a few moments and wove Stargazer's hair in his own braid,
just so he could have a piece of her with him on his long
journey.

With a groan Taurs realized the hour to depart was swiftly
arriving so he hurriedly packed the last few items, including
Stargazer's herb bag. Then with a last look about the lodge, he
shouldered his pack and exited his home. He stood outside and
took in a deep breath of air to help calm his excited nerves.
After all today he stood poised on the brink of manhood so of
course did not wish to give in to childish impulses.

He looked around his village and saw his family walking to him
with big smiles on their faces. He grabbed his Mother close for a
hug. He shook his Father's paw with firmness and could tell
through the contact just how proud his Dad was of him. Taurs
rumpled his kid brother Elementum's fur and evaded the kick his
brother tried in vain to land. As his eyes drank in his family,
he could not help but think of Stargazer and wish once again
she'd be allowed to come say goodbye also. He settled for
capturing her eyes with his and touching his braid where her hair
lay interwoven with his and giving her a smoldering look filled
with promise.

"It is time Taurs," Shadowhawk said as he lifted his hands in
open worship of the Earth Mother. One by one all the villagers
followed suit. Taurs lifted his arms too as he chanted the words
taught to him to teleport him to moonglade and with but a blink
was gone from the village.

Chapter 2

Taurs took a deep cleansing breath as he stood up and dusted his
knees off. He had been paying his last respects to the Great Bear
Spirit. Dusk was slowly settling over Moonglade. Taurs nodded in
humble respect as he turned to walk back to the center of
Moonglade. He could feel the powers of the Earth Mother flowing
through his veins. This feeling was always heightened when
visiting Moonglade. He lifted his head high, proud to have
accomplished so much and thankful to all the Druid teachers who
had taught him so well. Taurs was also thankful that since he had
completed his druid training, he could now go home.

He glanced only once at the flight master, briefly wishing he
could use their services. He knew however that the journey home
was part of his passage into adulthood in his tribe. Something he
had to accomplish if he wanted to be able to take Stargazer as
his mate. So with a grin, Taurs shoulders his backpack and begins
his long journey home.

Taurs dunked his head once more in the cooling stream. Feeling
refreshed he shook his shaggy head causing droplets of water to
fly everywhere. He quickly re-filled his canteen and stuck it
back in his backpack. His hooves were sore and worn from the many
weeks of walking with little rest, but his spirit was happy at
being so close to home. Not willing to rest longer then
absolutely necessary, Taurs journeyed till late night then built
himself a campfire. He pulled out a package of raw Boar ribs he
had kept tucked inside a leather pouch. Sniffing the meat
hungrily, Taurs sprinkled it with fresh herbs and basted it over
the now roaring campfire. After filling his belly he stretched
out with his head on his pack and thought about the rumors he had
heard as he had travelled home. That of the great Darkmoon Faire
being held in Mulgore. With a loud belch and a quick scratch of
his belly, Taurs thought of taking Stargazer to the faire.
Thought of how happy she'd be. He reached up and touched the lock
of her hair he still had woven in his hair and went to sleep
thinking of the next day when he'd see his love again.

In the morning he awoke with a grin and set out on the last leg
of his journey home with a jaunty step. Taurs walked most of the
day, his pace picking up again when he realized he was but an
hour from home. A strange scent whiffed by him. He paused to try
and identify the odor. With a bad premonition Taurs's heart
started racing and he quickly dumped everything he had been
carrying to race towards his village where he hoped and prayed
his gut instinct was wrong. As he ran the stench grew stronger
and he soon spotted vultures circling up ahead.

With a gasp of horror, Taurs stood at the entrance to what was
left of his village. The stench was so wretched he had to
constantly fight back vomit as his disbelieving eyes absorbed
what he saw. His people had been slain then skinned like they
were nothing but dumb beasts of the field. Exposed pink flesh
that the hyenas and vultures were fighting over, each wanting the
the best morsels to gorge on.

His stomach spasmed yet again in protest as Taurs threw back his
head and roared his anguish. He dropped to his knees as his roar
echoed round and round the ruins of his village, scaring off the
vultures and hyenas temporarily.

A thousand questions flooded his anguish mind. "Who did this?
Why? When? Was there any survivors? What about Stargazer...."
Taurs eyes opened even wider as he sprang to his feet and raced
like a Tauren with Crazed Cow syndrome to Stargazer's Families
Lodge. There he found two more slain and butchered Tauren but
neither of the corpses could possibly be Stargazer as she had
very distinctive marking on her tail and that was the one part of
the villagers that was not skinned. Probably because not enough
hide to make it worth the effort. Taurs felt hope and sent a
heartfelt prayer to the Earth-mother that Stargazer was a
survivor.

Hearing a small sound off in the distance, Taurs quickly shifted
to cat form and stealthed up. His eyes glittered with the fire of
vengeance and he prayed the sound came from whoever had massacred
his village. On paws of velvet he approached the area where he
had heard the noise, his razor sharp claws primed for dealing
death and destruction on whoever lurked there. His head cocked to
the side at another soft noise and he lept with destruction on
his mind only to see almost to late that it was his little
brother Elementum. With a muttered curse in his mind he managed
to sheath his claws but could not stop mid air so landed on his
brother knocking him flat. With a grunt of happiness, Taurs
changed back to Tauren form and hugged his brother, so happy to
see him alive.

He glanced at the ground where he had first pounced on his
brother and saw with dismay why Elementum had been kneeling there
crying. There on the ground lay his parents and his old mentor
Shadowhawk, skinned just like all the other villagers.

"Elementum... what happened?"

At first his brother seemed incapable of speaking, so deeply
rooted in shock and sorrow was he but then with a lot of pauses
he finally began to speak. "I was gone for the day with a group
of other youngling Taurens. We had been given permission to visit
the Darkmoon Faire." His voice trailed of again as tears slid
down his young cheeks.

Taurs shook his brother's shoulder, "what about Stargazer? Did
she go with you?"

Elementum looked up at Taurs, his eyes unfocused and looking
dazed. "yes, yes she did but ... but" He glanced helplessly
towards where the main campfire for all the villagers normally
was at. Tears choking up his words.

With dread in his heart, Taurs races to where he had seen his
brother look and there he sucked in a deep breath and roared in
torment. There on the ground lay what remained of his beloved
Stargazer. She had huge chunks of flesh cut from her skinned
corpse that he knew was not caused by any vulture or hyena. His
hand went to the lock of her hair woven still in his and roared
out his pain that cut like a knife into his very soul, tearing
open a terrible wound that would never heal.

"We came back from the faire laughing and skipping as we argued
over who should carry all the goodies we had won."

Taurs faintly heard Elementum's voice explaining this as deep
within himself the bone wrenching sorrow transformed into rage.

"When we got near the village we realized everything was
quiet.... to quiet!" Elementum paused to rub at his eyes as he
choked up on emotion. "Stargazer told us all to be silent so she
could listen, but then ..... they was everywhere! She screamed at
us to run and we did, but it did no good." He fell silent
obviously to upset to continue.

"Did you see what had happened here?" Taurs asked his brother.

"Yes," Elementum whispered

"Tell me what you saw."

"They dragged us into the village, past the bodies of everyone
else .."

"Who did? TELL ME WHO!" Taurs roared as he interrupted his
brother.

"I don't know Taurs I swear, they was of mixed races. Some
Nightelfs, some humans, a few dwarfs and gnomes." Elementum
sobbed as vivid memories raced through his mind. "They started
killing the other younglings and so we started fighting, to
escape. I got lucky and escaped. I raced away to your old secret
hiding spot, you know the one where you can eavesdrop on the
elders but they don't see you. I saw Stargazer trying to help
others escape by attacking them with a staff she had swiped from
a drunk human but I do not know if any others besides me got
away." his eyes stayed rounded in the horror as tears slipped
down over his snout.

"You saw nothing to identify these scum? Matching capes? A
Tabard?"

"Yes they did have tabards on but all i remember of them was lots
of red and the red may of been from the blood of our people."

"Hmm," Taurs said as he scanned the nearby area for any shred of
information of the attackers. "Did you see anything else?"

Elementum could not meet his brother's eyes as he mumbled
swiftly, "Nothing else, they just killed and skinned everyone,
the end."

Taurs gripped his brother's arm knowing his brother was leaving
something out. "What are you not telling me!"

"I told you everything," Elementum stuttered as he winced from
his brother's grip on his arm.

"Tell me now!" Taurs tightened his grip even harder. Then his
eyes sharpened in sudden realization, "It is something about
Stargazer isn't it? TELL ME!"

"Let go, you are hurting me," Elementum whimpered not wanting to
tell Taurs the dreadful truth.

"I loved her, I deserve to know. Now tell me!"

"They was real angry at her for attacking and taking that human's
staff so they ....." His voice trailed off. "I can't Taurs, I
can't"

"Tell me, I don't blame you. I need to know though."

"They skinned her alive Taurs. She did not die till the end when
they started cutting up her flesh they wanted for a roast."
Elementum whispered, his whole body shaking at the horrible
memory.

Taurs squeezed his eyes shut to try and contain the pain. When he
had control of himself again, he knew that his people deserved a
decent burial. He pushed himself to his feet again and with
Elementum's help began to build a huge pyre. It took many hours
to complete and they was exhausted, however they still had 4 more
bodies to put on pyre's, their parents, Shadowhawk and of course
Stargazer. There was to many bodies to build everyone a personal
pyre so only those four got their own, everyone else was placed
on the communal pyre. As he tenderly lifted Stargazer he saw a
piece of what looked like gold cloth on the ground. Ignoring it
for the moment he carried Stargazer's remains over to her pyre.
He finished helping Elementum carry over their parents corpses
and of course Shadowhawk's. Once done he and his brother stood
shoulder to shoulder as they went through the prayers and burial
rituals before finally lighting all five Pyre's. Elementum
collapsed in exhaustion, his eyes closing immediately in a deep
sleep, however Taurs's went back to where Stargazer had lain and
using a stick, plucked at the gold cloth mostly buried in the mud
made by Stargazer's blood. His brow furrowed when his stick
finally showed what had been buried there .... a torn piece of
tabard. It was crimson with gold border and a dagger emblem
emblazoned on it. Taurs had never seen this tabard before and he
knew the owners was who had destroyed his village. Taurs gripped
the tabard in a paw fisted with fury and swore silently to the
Earth Mother that no matter how long it took, he would find out
what guild owned this tabard and make them pay in blood for the
massacre of his village.