Raya

[MoonSage]

I wrote this a long time ago and meant to write more, but I never got around to it. It's clearly unfinished, but I don't think I'll ever write any more. I'm starting to grow out of WoW anyway (finally). Anyway, feel free to read it.


Raya
(by Bethany Rae Jensen)

Chapter 1: Here is a Shaman

There are basically three kinds of orcs. There are the ordinary people who stay in their homes and villages and keep the world running - merchants, farmers, etc (even beggars I supposed must be included). These are referred to as civilians. Although they are by far the most numerous, usually the least is heard about them.

The second class is the enlisted guard. The guard are under a direct line of management and are usually posted in a single location. They are the first line of defense against any attack. The guard is an honorable position, but hardly a very exciting one.

The third is that of the traveling adventurer. Everyone is of course subject to the will of the Horde, but an adventurer is free to go where he (or she) likes and take on whatever assignments he feels will suit him. This, I understood at an early age, is the profession with the most potential for glory.

It is also the most dangerous, which is why, I suppose, my mother was so adamently against me when I told her I wanted to be a shaman like Papa. "Not my baby!" (I was 8 years old at the time.) She spanked me sharply and gave me extra chores to do.

Papa was more encouraging. He took me aside one evening and gave me a heart-to-heart. "Raya," he began with a long sigh. "You know if you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want to. But you need to think carefully. If you want to be a shaman, you must put your whole self into the task. There is no turning back."

"I know, Papa!" I cried, "It's what I want to do, really. I will not turn back."

"It will not be easy. And you will have more problems for being a woman." This was the first time I had ever been called a woman. The title felt strange to me. No longer would I be Papa's little girl.

I stuck my chin out in the most grown-up way I could muster. "I will make them respect me."

Papa smiled. "I believe you will."




The day after my coming of age, I was taken down to the Valley of Wisdom in Orgrimmar and presented as a new apprentice. The shaman elders asked me a few simple questions concerning my family and experience, and then I was registered in a big black book.

"Is that the book of shamans?" I asked.

"No," the lady with the quill smiled, "it's the book of new recruits. If you survive long enough, we'll put you in a different book."

"Oh."

Papa gave my hand a final squeeze and delivered me over to the lady. I would have to stay and undergo training before I could come home. I glanced back once for reassurance, but Papa had already turned to leave. The lady seemed to understand my nervousness.

"Just focus on about getting through the first lesson," she whispered as she led me down the hall, "you can worry about the rest later."

She took me into a small room where an ancient looking orc sat smoking on a stool. He put out the pipe down as I entered and nodded a farewell to my escort.

The old one regarded me in silence. I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him and awaited my instructions. But still the old shaman said nothing. This was fine with me; I was good at staring games. I just gazed up in earnest expectation at the steady wrinkled face. The silence went on for so long, however, that I was beginning to fear he had either taken ill or had somehow managed to fall asleep with his eyes open.

Then at once, he reached behind him and produced a piece of round dry wood. "This," he announced solemnly, "is for you."

I stared down at the object as he placed it in front of me. Gee......thanks.

"What is it?" he asked me. He used the same tone of voice the school matroness uses to ask children what makes two and two. I was disappointed at the question because I had just been about to ask it myself.

"A tree stump?" I suggested as reverently as possible.

The old man smiled. "Very perceptive, young one. It is a tree stump. But what will it be?"

Now the truth dawned on me and I felt very foolish.

"A totem," I said, trying to pretend I had known this all along.

A totem is the trademark of a shaman. There is one for each element: earth, fire, water, and air. With a totem, I could harness the power of an element and use it to my advantage. The wood stump, a moment ago uminpressive, was suddenly awe-inspiring. With my teacher's permission, I took it in my hands and gazed at it in a sense of wonder.

The old shaman laughed softly. "Don't look so impressed, young one. It is still, for the moment, only a tree stump."



****
Taking place several months later, chapter 2 was supposed to go in between~

Chapter 3: Little Warlock

My brother, Kru, was two years older than me, but less ambitious. It was said he would make a fine guard and that seemed to satisfy him. Kru generally did what he was told anyway. He did not have the brainpower to contradict anyone. Everyone said I took after my father and that Kru took after my mother. I wondered what this said about my mother, but she never seemed insulted. She doted on Kru more than me anyway.

Despite his limitations, my brother had a good heart and I loved him. So it never bothered me that he came to me for help with his problems.


"Raya, what does it mean if I had another brain it would be lonely?"

I stopped eating and put down the spoon.

"Say what?"

My reaction showed Kru that it must have been something bad. He stared at the ground and shuffled his feet a little.

"Who said that?" I demanded.

"A girl in the square."

"You show me."

Most children knew not to pick on Kru lest I pound their faces in. This girl apparently needed the same lesson.

We found the girl was still sitting in the square, tracing a runic pattern in the sand. I grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground about a foot. She was a runty little thing, while I was both large for my age and strong for my size.

"Did you call my brother stupid?" I asked her.

The girl shew no remorse. "Yes," she said calmly. "Isn't he?"

I wasn't expecting this answer and was silent for a moment while I searched for an appropriate response. "Well, how would you like to be called stupid?"

She flashed me a wicked, self-satisfied smile. "I wouldn't mind. False allegations mean nothing. It's the true ones that sting."

Ok. Now I was really mad. I drew my arm back and prepared to heave the girl across the square, when all at once I felt a weight in my arm as though the load I was holding just increased ten fold. I dropped the girl and swayed back as I fought to keep my balance. It wasn't just my arm; suddenly I felt weak all over. I had trouble even standing. I shook my head. That little devil. She'd put a curse on me!

Quickly, I threw down my totem and looked around for something to use as a weapon. Where was my axe when I needed it? I crouched down and let my fingers enclose around a nearby stick. The totem's energies were linking with my own and renewing some of my vigor. It did not give me the extraordinary strength I was used to upon summoning it, but it did restore to me to almost normalacy. I held up the stick and tried to look as menacing as possible.

"You want a fight? Let's see you attack me!" I challenged.

The girl backed up a little. I smirked in satisfaction and was debating whether or not to clonk her anyway when I noticed she was chanting something under her breath and that a dark vacuum of inky blackness was expanding between her hands.

Uh-oh.

I ran at the little warlock but didn't reach her before I caught the blast of the shadow bolt.

Ouch!

I made a mental note to try and avoid those in the future. The girl started another spell as I brought the stick down on her head. She looked stunned by the blow, but kept on chanting anyway. Then I closed my eyes and silently called on the power of the earth. It came immediantly; I could feel it in my fingertips as I loosed it at my opponent: a burst of emerald current that shook the ground and snuffed the girl's spell right out of the air. She shook herself off and stepped back again, looking disgruntled.

"All right," she said grudgingly, "you win." She put her hand up to ward off any further blows. "I apologize."

I stood there huffing a little and staring at the girl . "Apologize to Kru!" I told her, pointing to my brother who had been standing there (yes, rather stupidly) the entire time.

She made a little curtsey in his direction. "I salute you clan brother, for your excellent familial connections, and recognize your worth to our cause, faults notwithstanding."

Well...I guess that would have to do. Kru understood little of this, but he was quick to forgive.

"It's okay, clan sister!" he said, slapping her on the back, "Kru knows his brain is lonely." The girl glared irritably at Kru and rubbed her now sore shoulder.

"Next time we duel I summon a demon first," she informed me.

[Inquisitor7]

Hmm. I'm not really sure what to make of this (especially since chapter 2 seems to be missing). The writing is solid, though it could do without lines like "Ok. Now I was really mad." As you said, it's unfinished. It's hard to render a judgment on it. I mean it has potential, certainly. Hmm. I don't know what else to say.