My claws scratch relentlessly against my foes thick armor. I rip and tear, looking for any weakness, with little success. Through his helmet I can see the hideous pale face of the invader. He smiles with a smug confidence, uttering something in his chattering language.
Suddenly, there is a loud explosion nearby and I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder, looking to my left I can see a tall, thin night elf with a gun. She looks cool and confident as she quickly works to reload her weapon for another shot at me.
Fortunate for me, my hide and fur are too thick for them to easily overcome. The armored human wails on me with his sword with little effect, I am used to feeling invulnerable in my bear form.
With a roar I lunge forward at the armored warrior, mauling him with both of my claws. He staggers backwards, a torrent of blood begins flowing from beneath his chestplate. In his eyes, I suddenly see terror, and my nostrels are filled with the sweet odor of fear, I am energized! I rear up on my back legs and prepare to finish him off. As my frothing maw descends upon him I am suddenly stopped by a mystical barrier.
My opponent regains his composure, and begins casting some sort of spell. I roar in defiance and rip at him with my claws, to no avail. His spell finishes and the blood stop flowing from his chest. Then, he raises his sword, clearly refreshed by his own healing power, and strikes me in face.
A searing explosion rips apart one of the nearby of the kodo hide lodges. A tauren emerges from the debris, surrounded in flames. He quickly throws a group of magical wooden totems at his feet, and begins casting a fiery spell at the Alliance invaders.
The paladin before me strikes out again. He seems to be mocking me in some way that I don't understand. Then, I am jolted by an agonizing pain in my backside. Looking back I can see a stubby dwarf wearing black leather armor stabbing me furiously. Again, I hear another explosion and I feel pain in my side as a bullet rips through my flesh. Nausea and weakness wash over me, I recognize the feeling as a poison from the dwarf's daggers.
I cannot fall to them!!
Suddenly, there is a crack of thunder overhead. Above me a very strange cloud forms over the top of the bluff. All at once, lightning roars around me from the cloud, striking my assailants, their bodies sickly convulse from the electrical energy. It's then that I realize, the mystical barrier is gone! I rise with a roar and maul the paladin. His armor buckles and blood once again flows from his chest. I rip and tear at him as he stumbles backwards. Again there is the familar smell of fear. His hands glow as he begins casting another spell of healing on himself, too bad he wont live that long. I roar victoriously as I maul him again. The paladin falls on his back and I pounce upon him. My mouth surrounds his head and I feel my teeth punch through his helm. Blood flows into my mouth as I crush his helmet and its contents.
The rending of this humans body is stopped short by another explosion, followed by a bullet ripping into my shoulder. I look up to see that pesky night elf hunter reloading once again. I leave the paladin to his bloody demise and I charge forward at the hunter. As I raise up to maul her, she fires her gun into my chest. The pain is intense and the breath goes out of me for an instant. As I stand there coughing up foamy blood, I feel a soothing wave of energy flow into my body, instantly energizing me. I look up to see the hunter sprinting across the bluff away from me, surely she hopes to flee.
Then, to my amazement and delight I see roots burst up from the ground and wrap around the delicate night elves legs. As she struggles in vain to escape I charge her again, this time she hasn't been able to reload her gun. I rise and fall atop her with all my weight and rage. My claws and teeth tear through her mail armor. I taste elf flesh. The helpless elf screams in agony as I disembowel her on the spot.
Another surge of energy courses through me, and my wounds begin to close. As I spin around looking for that treacherous rogue, I notice behind a nearby lodge stands the graceful Charibdys. It all makes sense now, she was the one that summoned the storm, she tied the legs of the hunter, and she has been the one healing me all along. Our glance, and my nod is enough to say that we are reconciled.
"Help us please!! The chieftan is down!!" someone yells from across the bluff.
Charibdys and I turn in a panic. There on the ground before his lodge we see our beloved chieftan lying in the dirt. Around him sprawl the broken bodies of his elite honor guard, noble defenders who gave their lives defending their king.
Words completely escape me. Numbness overtakes me as I realise that my whole world has just crumbled around me. What will happen to our people?!? My heart sinks with the crushing weight of what has become.
"Master!!" Meekha screams. "Hurry, the chieftan is still alive!"
Charibdys and I sprint to Cairn's side. He has been badly beaten but, is indeed alive. Meekha kneels next to his gigantic body, holding his hand as she cries. Her little green fingers can not even wrap around one of his. Charibdys, comes to his aid and begins to quickly administer to his wounds.
"Have they gone?" Cairne croaks weakly.
"Yes they have Chieftan, they are gone. Your gonna be okay. I am healing your body." Charidbys says confidently.
Just then, a horn blows from the great tower in the middle of Thunder Bluff.
"Defenders come quickly, they are attacking again!!" the herald cries out.
Rage wells up in my heart. They have come to try to finish the job!
"Calmfury, go to the lift! You have to stop them. I will come help as soon as I can." Charibdys says, her voice in a near panic.
It all becomes clear now, I can stop them at the lift. Purpose fills my body as I whirl about, and begin running.
"Master!!" Meekha screams to me. But, it is too late, I shift into my lion form and sprint for all I am worth. If I am to die, this is where I wish to make my stand, defending my people.
As I near the ramp leading out to the lift, I see scores of dead bodies scattered across ground. Some are the remains of our foes, others are brave defenders, still others are the defenseless inhabitants of Thunder Bluff, cut down where they stand for whatever amusement that slaughter brings.
To my horror, I realize that no one else is here to help me defend. I look about, and all the guards seems to be dead or injured, and no one else is coming.
Looking down the side of the tall bluff I can see a large crowd of Alliance attackers loading onto the elevator. The rope creaks and I realize that they are on their way up.
My mind races. If I change to my bear form, I can stop them for a short time, at least until I am overwelmed. I suddenly feel helpless, and utterly powerless to prevent this disaster, rage wells up into my soul. What irony, my moment of truth, all my strength, all my primal rage and I am unable to kill enough of these bastards to make a difference. The elevator nears the top.
"Your rage will be your undoing Calmfury. You need to be a little more calm and a little less furious" Charibdys's words cry out in my head, a painful memory at the worst possible time. My helplessness is magnified and the rage melts away.
The huge elevator reaches the top of the ramp. There before me are the leering faces of my terrible foe. All smiling at me with their smug, arrogant faces as they begin surging forward onto the ramp
Then, like a dream from beyond, it comes to me. I hold up my hands to the sky, pleading with the Earthmother. As I do, a powerful typhoon blasts forth from my body towards the crowded lift. The wall of water hits them hard in their faces, blowing them all backwards with the force of a tidal wave, and off the back of the lift. Scores of helpless bodies hurl screaming through the air, falling to their deserved deaths on the hard earth below.
At last, I think I have found my balance.
