[EQ2] Sharraka and the Wind

[Silverwulfe]

When I was a cub, before my stripes grew in, I feared the wind and the rain.  I come from humble beginnings and I knew little of my Mere and Da as they travelled far and wide to help our people.  I learned at the paws of my Grandmere.  She was fearsome and her teeth were strong.  Her claws were sharp and her reach was long.

She taught me the stories of the wind and how our pride had walked and talked with the stones until the troubles came.  She told me of the wind taking our people to Luclin.  She told me of the joyous days when they returned.  She told me of the day the wind broke the world apart like a fruit and the people cried like rain falling from the skies. Yes, I was afraid of the wind and the rain.

In time, she began to teach me of the wisdom of the wind and the ways that our kind had walked in harmony with others.  She showed me the strength of the wind and how it had taught us to be strong through trials.  She made me learn how to survive by myself when the wind was far away. She placed the wind in my heart and taught me how to listen, for one day the wind will come again with new wisdom and greater understanding.

In time my teeth grew strong and sharp and my claws lengthened.  Gradually the stripes of my training formed upon my fur.  My breath steadied me in long runs and in short bursts of speed.  I learned the art of the chase and the thrill of the hunt.  I learned to anticipate.  I learned to wait in soft stillness. In some ways, I have become the wind.

I longed to join the ranks of the fighters that protected our small village.  They were impressive in their martial finery and gleaming blades.  I used to practice in the evening when Grandmere was cooking.  Sticks were my swords and many bandits and monsters were slain.  She did not approve, but her usual expression was "Cubs will be cubs".  She taught me how to sew and mend my own clothes as well as keep them clean.  She showed me how to write and send messages afar.  She taught me how to think about a problem before rushing in to solve it with my teeth and claws.  She was the wind in my ears.

Kaja changed all of that.  She came into my life like a roaring whirlwind.  She was just a cub herself and couldn't take care of herself.  Grandmere thought it would be great for me to learn how to take care of something besides myself.  Little did she know how strong and powerful our connection would become.  I taught Kaja what I had learned.  I talked to her about the wind.  She would tilt her head to the side and listen, whether she could understand me, I do not know but she was patient with me.  We played together and fought together and against the same bandits and monsters of my youth.  Her enthusiasm was infectious.  Before I knew it her stripes were as strong as mine and our presence was growing too large for my Grandmere's abode.

The moon was full and Grandmere made a meal to remember, lightly seared salmon and striped bass stuffed with lemongrass.  She let the fire die down as she told us once again of Kejaan.  In the gleam of the coals her eyes were bright and as big as the moon.  Her voice powerful and soft.  She finished by saying, "In the morning, it will be your time.  Your time to walk among the stones and the tribes.  Your time to walk with your Mere and your Da and learn how the wind has carried their story.  Your time to show that Kerra and Warder once again walk the lands and carry the story of the wind. For now, sleep as the night grows long in tooth and you must journey far tomorrow." She would answer no questions and curled up on her mat.

My heart thundered and my thoughts whirled.  Kaja had no trouble falling into deep slumber and her purrs gradually guided me to visions of traveling to unknown lands and feasts of unusual fish.  I woke to the smell of venison and biscuits.  I sent Kaja out to find her own breakfast.

Grandmere waited with the food and several packages.  "Sit and eat, cub, for today may be the last to enjoy such a meal.  I have brought out a few things you will need for your journey.  Though some of them are old, they are well made and served your GrandDa well.  He carried them into battle and they saved his scrawny hide more than once!" 

She opened the first package and pulled out a gleaming pile of leather and chainmail armor.  The leather was supple and the glistening rings made my breath catch in my throat.  She smiled, "Go on... put it on!"  She helped with the straps and the awkward places where my fur caught in the creases.  She stepped back and looked at me and a tear rolled down her nose.  "Oh Grandmere, thank you so much!" I pulled her into a hug for a minute.

She brushed her eye and motioned for me to sit again, "Eat all of it, you will need it today." Grandmere then opened another package after I had managed to chew several more bites between admiring the way the armor rippled as I moved my arms.  She handed me the box and inside were two handblades that glowed softly in the dim morning light. "Your GrandDa was very proud of these.  Use them only when you have no other way.  Use them to protect others.  The wind does not live in these blades.  You should not follow them as their wisdom is only the wisdom of blood and death and desire.  They are tools.  You are the wind and the wind lives in you." She placed her paw over my heart, "Never forget!" These last words she said with special force and a gleam in her eye.  I nodded chastely even though I longed to test them out.  I picked them up with special care and she pulled out sheaths for them that I could carry them more easily.

"Sharraka, tiger-cub, child of my heart, Kerra grown and strong.  It is time for you to follow the wind and bring harmony back to this poor ravaged world.  It is time for you to learn of strength and power that you do not even realize you will grow into one day.  It is time for you to find your Mere and your Da and to learn of the wind that they have found.  You shall guide your feet to the great trees of the Elves, in the Faydark, where they were last known to have travelled.  If you come in time you shall begin your trials there.  If you come too late, you shall have to search for clues to where they have gone.  Do not rush your paws as there is much to learn on the path you must tread.  Do not dawdle either as these steps are not your true path, just a trail that will lead you to where your journey truly begins.  Make your pride proud, child of my heart.  Never forget the wind in your journey." She pulled me into a tight embrace before pushing me out the door with a small pack of food and gear onto the path of life.  Kaja joined me shortly and we set out, Kerra and Cat, on the journey of a lifetime.