Life has basically returned to normal in Thunder Bluff. Despite the fact that many of our beloved neighbors are gone, the mood of the survivors is not what you'd expect from a city that has been attacked by foreigners. Such is the way of the Tauren, our faith in the Earthmother, along with our indomitable nature, see us through whatever hardship we are called to endure.
Today, I have decided to rest in my lodge. I have started a fast to cleanse myself and to focus my energy towards balance.
"Elder Hamuul, I need to speak with you at once." Calmfury exclaims as he barges into my lodge.
He seems agitated and angry, a hint of the rage he struggles with simmering on the surface, a characteristic so foreign to the Tauren.
"Welcome Calmfury, please sit and smoke a pipe with me" I say in a soothing tone.
"Elder, there is no time for this!" Calmfury exclaims "I have found a traitor in our midst!!"
A long, tense moment passes as we stare at one another. I can see he is breathing hard, and his fists are clenched like he is ready for a fight.
"Calmfury, please sit down and we can discuss this." With a motion of my hand I dismiss my two assistants.
The angry bull sighs heavily and sits down before me. It is important at times to maintain a sense of order and tradition, even in the face of treason, or at least the threat of such things. I load and light my new wooden pipe. Calmfury takes the pipe and inhales a deep dose of the sacred tobacco, instantly I see the angst melt from his countenance.
"Now, please tell me what it is that disturbes you Calmfury."
The young Tauren looks at me impassively for a moment.
"Elder, last night in the valley I tracked a stranger through the grasslands. When she stopped on the far side of the valley I realized it was Charibdys and she as carrying the body of one of the Alliance raiding party that attacked us."
As he speaks I can see the anger rising in his eyes again. I am such a fool, I sent her down to bury her friend when I knew Calmfury was resting in the valley. It didn't even dawn on me that they would come across one another.
"Calmfury, are you certain it was Charibdys?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Yes Elder, she dug the grave for the Night Elf hunter I remember killing the day before. She buried the invader in our sacred soil. She also spoke like it was some sort of funeral. She called the Alliance elf her sister!!"
Oh no, of all the Tauren in Thunder Bluff it was Calmfury that we did not want to know about Charibdys's secret. I am afraid there is no way to hide it now.
"Turak!" I call my assistant.
"Yes Master!" he exclaims from the doorway.
"Find and bring me Charibdys at once!!"
I take a smoke from my pipe, savoring the rich flavor, before I pass it to Calmfury.
"Elder, what I don't understand is why she would do this. Charibdys has always seemed.. uhm, foreign to me. Shes not like other Tauren. Was she raised in Mulgore? I dont remember her has a young calf at all."
I pause for a moment, dreading what it is that I have to say.
"Calmfury... you shouldn't be so quick to judge her. You don't know the complete story." Again I pause, trying to decide just how to explain this situation. "Calmfury, do you know much about the Emerald Dream?"
"I know enough, I know what you taught me about it" he replies cautiously, as if he is sensing that something is wrong.
"You remember that druids sometimes seek a deep slumber, to disconnect from their bodies and to seek a deeper understanding of the Dream and of the way of Balance."
Once again I pause to smoke from my pipe.
"There was once a human, a mage from the Kingdom of Gilneas, of all places. He sought out us Druids to seek a cure for a curse that was placed on him by an associate who betrayed him. It was a curse of the flesh that changed him into a mindless, uncontrollable monster. He thought that our mastery of shapeshifting would help him overcome or even control the change."
I hand the pipe to Calmfury again. As I do, I see Charibdys enter the lodge behind him. Her face is saddened and drawn, even from here I can see her hands trembling. Turok must have said something to her.
"This mage, we could not help. We even instructed him in the ways of our kind. But, each night he would be overcome by the rage. It was then that we offered to help him into the Emerald Dream. Once in the sleep, he would be free of the curse while we sought a cure for him. However, something happened to him, he came back from the dream but in a different form."
"In different form?!? What do you mean?!? Are you saying that Charibdys is this human in disguise?!?" Calmfury exclaims
Charibdys takes a seat across the lodge from us. Close enough to hear our conversation, but far enough away not to be noticed.
"No Calmfury, that is not what I am saying at all" I sigh " What I am about to tell you only the Elders of the Druidic order know. I expect you to tell no one else."
Once again I pause and take a deep breath, wondering to myself if this is the wisest course of action.
"After this happened there was a Night elf Druid by the name of Charibeth Mooncloud that came forward to research this mystery. She sought out the advise of a Green Dragon named Dreamtracker, who guards a mysterious portal at a place called Seradane in the Hinterlands. With what he told her, she was able to traverse the Emerald Dream and come back as a Tauren, the Tauren we know as Charibdys."
Silence settles across the lodge. Calmfury sits quietly with his brow furrowed, deep in thought. Finally Charibdys stands and breaks the silence.
"Calmfury, I came here to seek a greater understanding of the Tauren. Not to betray you but to seek peace between our people. To prove that we are closer to one another than anyone could believe."
The hulking bull rises from the ground his muscles twitch with what I can only assume is anger. He turns to face Charibdys.
"Calmfury!" I exclaim "Charibdys is not a traitor, she is an ambassador. Can't you see that she means us no harm?! She helped you kill someone that was dear to her in defense of our people!!"
"She was my little sister, Elder Hamuul, and I am sorry to say that she was a fool to fall for the lies that are leading us to war. She paid for her foolishness with her life." Charibdys says softly, her head hanging down in shame.
Still, Calmfury stands there, staring at poor Charibdys with abject hate in his eyes.
"Calmfury! You will not harm her! Do you understand?!?" I yell commandingly.
The howl of the wind outside the lodge are the only sounds, their haunting moan adding to the tense standoff.
"Yes Elder Hamuul, I will not harm her as you say. But I don't have to trust her!" Calmfury finally breaks the silence. "I have one question though."
"Of course, what is your question." I say cautiously.
"Is this journey through the Emerald Dream what you meant when you said that you wanted to place people in the midst of the Alliance to prevent a war?" Calmfury says menacingly
"Yes it was Calmfury. It is a longshot but it may be our only way."
"And is this why you wanted me to enter the Emerald Dream?"
I hesitate with my answer, I am not sure he is ready for what I am about to say.
"Yes, young Tauren, it is. We want you to go as Charibdys did, as a sort of ambassador for your people"
Calmfury turns his head towards me. I see every ounce of rage and hatred he holds in his tortured soul painted across his face.
"I told you then, and I'll tell you again. Never in a thousand lifetimes will I betray the Horde. Never!! If you and the other Elders wish to walk this path of idiocy, you will do it without me. I am done with you all!!!"
With that being said, and the sting of his hateful words settling on me, Calmfury walks out of the lodge. Once again silence fills the room, as I wonder if I will ever see him again.
"Elder, I am sorry I brought us to this" Charibdys says in a broken voice. I see tears welling up in her eyes.
"Charibdys, it is okay. I am sure that fate has something else in store for Calmfury, his story is not finished." I ponder the situation for a moment. "Charibdys, I want you to follow him, he may yet need you."
Horror washes across her face at the thought.
"Yes Elder I will do as you ask" Charibdys replies as she slowly turns and walks out of the lodge.
Poor Charibdys, she is the child of two worlds. Perhaps she will never again belong to either one.
