01-12-2007, 07:46 AM
Excerpt from the Journal of Dispaya
The troll girl Ptarra was one of the strangest souls I have met for she had a great gift for talking with the dead...a gift that sometimes terrified her and those around her.
When first I met her there was a spark of madness in her eyes, but in time I had hoped that she would learn to cope, as so many of us have had to learn to survive despite our many weaknesses. It has been my experience that being a part of a tribal family makes one whole in ways the lonely cannot understand, and so I had hoped it would be for this one lonely girl...but alas it seems that her story would not end with this day, but would only be the beginning.
The tribe was gathered one night past to discuss the many goings on of the world at large. The Dark Portal was now beginning to open, and hordes of the Burning Legions demons had been pouring forth from its gates. As a member of the Argent Dawn I had been sent there myself to battle back the many waves of creatures now pouring forth into our world. We said our prayers for those who had fallen when the great demon Kruul attacked the city of Orgrammar on the previous night. Thousands of our brave soldiers lay dead before the demon was finally turned away...and the day was a sad one of mourning in the streets of the great Orc capital.
Ptarra came to me before the moot and I could not help but feel that she was acting strangely when she told me that she would speak before the Witch Doctor and address the tribe. I of course agreed.
There was a strange feeling of darkness in the air that night, though most of us attributed it to the demon attacks on the previous day. I overheard the rogue Lucinther speaking with Veramorla on how dark the day felt, and Vera's heart seemed to weigh heavy more so than normal...even for her.
I stood before the tribe and read a letter I had recently received from our good and dear friend Waha.
Once done I introduced the Advisor to speak before the tribe. Never could I have known the strange and horrible events that would soon take place. She took her place next to our tribal leader, the great Shillatae, and prepared herself to speak.
"Greetins. I have......an announcement ta share."
She started but her words were strange and I now remember that her heavy troll accent seemed to fall away as she spoke. I noticed her eyes glaze over as though she were listening to a distant voice...but this was not an unusual thing for Ptarra for the spirits of the dead spoke to her most often. After a moments pause she continued...
"My..announcement," she said, "is that...I must send regards from an old friend as well."
With that the girl drew a fierce and wicked looking Jambaya dagger from her belt, and stabbed our leader in the stomach with it! Shillatae's face turned to a look of terror I shall never forget for all the rest of my days. The dagger pulsed once with an erie glow and our great priestess dropped to the ground. I feared she was dead before anyone knew what was happening!
In that moment Ptarra's eyes seemed to clear. She looked at the blood on her hands and a look of terror overtook her when she realized what she had done. I heard Ptarra cry out in terror,
"Wha? wha have I done? Priestess?? PRIESTESS!!! No! Noooo!!!!"
I knew in that instant that another dark hand must have been behind the attack, but chaos and confusion overtook the tribe before I was able to pacify them. Cries went up from the tribe...
"The Advisor Ptarra has just assassinated Shillatae!" they cried as the entire moot fell into chaos around us!
Many warriors drew their blades but it was the rogue Lucinther who reached Ptarra first and in an act of mercy I have never seen the like of before, he struck the girl with the handles of his daggers and drove her to the ground in submission. He could easily have taken her life in revenge but so chose wisdom over acting rashly and it is for this reason that Lucinther was once a former champion of our tribe. I shall be forever grateful for the great restraint he showed to Ptarra on this day.
Several of the warriors dragged the troll girl away under Lucinthers careful orders not to harm her and we all gathered around Shillatae to see what could be done. I knelt to examine her and discovered that she was not truly dead, but that her body now seemed to be in a state which lay between life and death. I also noticed that the strange dagger that had done the wicked work was gone! Vanished without a trace! It was then that we heard the laughter from behind.
We turned and once again faced our great enemy Delgarsida.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ironsongtribe.com/viewtopic.php?t=689">http://www.ironsongtribe.com/viewtopic.php?t=689</a><!-- m -->
She had returned at last...Veramorla's Mother..a dark and powerful Shaman from the Grimtotem clan. We had faced her many times in the past and knew that she used dark magic to protect herself from harm. No weapons could touch her due to powerful spells that protected her. She was once a great Shaman of the Grimtotem clan, who had risen to power and eventual madness when her great lust for power led her to make dark pacts with the burning legion itself. We watched as she appeared to us in arrogance, defying any of our tribe to try and harm her. It was clear that she had come with great purpose and reason, and twas also clear that her appearance and the Burning Legions recent attacks on our lands were not a coincidence.
"Well..well...the GREAT Shillatae...done in by one of her own Advisors. Truly a GREAT day!" She laughed wickedly as she spoke. "The dagger used by my protege trapped your dear Witch Doctor's soul...I hold it now and only I can release her! But I am not an unreasonable Tauren. I will trade back your Witch Doctor's life for that of my wayward and treasonous daughter...Veramorla."
She pointed at Vera in the crowd and dared her daughter to come forth. Obviously proud of the great trap she had sprung, she continued to taunt us. It was then that I saw the great Jambaya dagger now resting comfortably in her hand.
"It seemed a fair trade to me...a treason for a treason...and that was why I sent the girl Ptarra to you! It was I who freed her from a life of slavery in Zul Garub...and in return for learning the way of the Shaman, she agreed to become my spy!"
The revelation was a shock to all of us. Ptarra had told us on one occasion she was of Garubashi decent, but not at what price she had earned her own freedom.
"Ptarra is an innocent fool...I could easily convince her to spy for me as a concerned mother for her only daughter...but little did she know that I also secretly hypnotized her to strike as my assassin when the time was ripe! She has been watching you oh these many moons my daughter. That is how I have known every move you and your tribe have made! I know of your plans to traverse the Dark Portal...but Shillatae will never set foot there unless you cooperate with me! My patience is now gone! I will have my revenge and the Grimtotem clan will regain the honor that my daughter stole from us!!"
Many of our braver tribemates then positioned themselves between Vera and her mother. An act of strength that would do them no good I feared.
"My battle is not with Ironsong...I care not for your pathetic tribe. Only give me what I want and I will leave you in peace. Cross me and my vengeance will cost many more of your tribemates puny lives! If you dare doubt my powers...observe..."
She waved her arms and cast a wicked spell that seemed all at once to enslave the minds of many of our friends. I watched as Sound, Vardoth, Ronx and even the great Kolem himself succumbed to her awesome power. Their eyes glazed over and they seemed to be as puppets on a string...puppets now controlled by a dark master.
"Come to me my slaves!" she called to them, and so they came.
They took battle stances and surrounded the dark Shaman as if to protect her. Del seemed pleased with her handiwork. She had made our leader helpless, and now would dare us kill many of our friends in order to save her. I knew then how truly black Vera's mother's heart had become.
"NoW Ironsong...this is my final word! Disarm Veramorla and hand her over to me! This I command or you will never see your beloved leader alive again!"
Delgarsida then threw a pair of magically enchanted shackles in the dirt at our feet and bid us to tie her daughter with them and hand her over.
"These shackles will hold her well enough for me to take her back to her people for her trial and punishment of death. Place them on her now and bring her to ME!"
I took a breath and looked around. I dared not think that any of us would truly betray Vera, but the life of Shillatae also hung in the balance. Many of them loved her so, and Vera was not always the easiest of us to like. I feared the worst might happen, but was relieved when at last Delgarsida's request finally went unanswered.
"Very well then! You have chosen death for your own tribemates over protecting my simpering whelp of a daughter who slew her own father! Attack them my slaves!!
With that the four attacked and the once peaceful village of Bloodhoof became a battleground. Tribe clashed with tribe as weapons clashed all around me. I knelt in a hopeless effort to protect the Priestess from the chaos all around, but also felt helpless to stop it even with my own great knowledge of magic.
Delgarsida waded through the madness and chaos and seemed only barely distracted if not amused by the battle raging around her. The undead Warrior Rrah then charged at her bravely with his sword drawn, and plunged it into her dark breast. Delgarsida dropped to one knee as a look of hope came over the warriors face...she then stood and laughed as the wound closed and healed on its own, and held out her own hand to him. With a flash of magical energy the Forsaken was overtaken and dropped to the ground in stillness.
It was then in the midst of the chaos that I saw Veramorla stride towards her mother. I saw the look of stern resolve on her Tauren face.
"You come here to face me at last Mother...your battle is with me. Leave the rest of them alone!" she demanded.
"You dare to challenge me daughter!" Delgarsida spat. "My magics are too powerful! The charms that keep me safe cannot be broken by you or any of your pitiful tribemates. NO EARTHLY WEAPON can ever harm me! The day of your punishment is now at hand!"
"It is not I who will be punished this day Mother, but you...for all of your past treachery. It was YOU who killed my father. He only forced my hand after you had driven him mad with your own wickedness!"
It was with that, that Veramorla produced the great blade.
She took the sword from her back where it had been draped in runecloth to hide it's true nature. At last the blade we had discovered as a tribe in the very heart of Zul Garub would come to know it's destiny and purpose.
"What is this? That sword...where did you get that? Stay back...stay away!!!"
A look of terror crossed the dark Shaman's face! I knew at once that Vera had perhaps found the one blade which her Mothers protective aura could not stop.
"I now hold Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds! Let this sword finally bring your cruelty to an end Mother!"
With that Vera struck.
Our tribemates minds were freed, and the battle around us grew quiet. All became silent as we heard Delgarsida's final words...
"You have slain me...my daugh...ter. My power is fading...fading...what a world...what a world..."
As she collapsed to the ground, did I then see her finally smile at last? Her final words were not more than a whisper...
"Your Father...would have been...proud."
With that, Vera took the fallen dagger from her mother's hand and plumeted the blade into Delgarsida'S cruel heart. Now having another soul to capture, Shillatae's own soul was released and we all breathed a sigh of relief as the Witch Doctor rose to life once more.
Shillatae at once regained her composure and called upon her own healing magics to return herself to full health. In a matter of minutes she was looking strong once more.
Vera stood before the Priestess and a look passed between them. Vera then handed the dagger to Shillatae, for she knew that Tae would have the wisdom to know what best to do with it.
The Witch Doctor took the "gift" with a stern face and stared at in in thought for a good long while. Then with a sigh, she called for the troll girl to be brought before her.
Ptarra was still looking disoriented as the warriors dragged her before the Priestess and Ptarra sobbed for Shillatae to be merciful.
"Ya will fight fo your chance to stay here among us. Arm yoself an stand!"
Ptarra hesitated but Shillatae was adamant.
"I said STAND!"
Reluctantly, Ptarra stood and took up her weapons. She and the Witch Doctor squared off. Ptarra was a skilled warrior, perhaps one of the best I had ever seen for her age, but she was weak and confused, and had no resolve to do battle, and so Shillatae took her great staff and struck her down easily. Ptarra's weapons at last fell at her feat.
"Ya have not earned the right ta stay among us..an so I hereby banish you from the tribe. Only in dis way will ya learn dat we do not allow spy's and traitors among us!"
She called forth Eveline to weave a spell of binding on the girl.
"We send you to a distant place...dere ya can ponder your actions an life as an exile!"
I watched as Ptarra resigned herself to her fate. Eveline cast the spell with no resistance from her and a portal was opened. Ptarra looked down at her feet and then I watched as a look of strength finally came to her. She took a final breath and stepped into the twisting nether of the portal and did not once look back.
"What will you do with the dagger Priestess?" Veramorla asked.
"Dat will be for me to decide Vera. After all ya have gifted it ta me to do with what I will."
"There are many secrets we could learn from it...I wish to study it..." she said.
I then understood the strange power the dagger was having over her. Veramorla was of Delgarsida's bloodline, and so I knew then it would be best that the dagger not be in her care. This I told her with a heavy heart as she walked away from us.
"Vera? Will you be alright?" I asked.
"No child should should have to bear the burden of having killed both of her own parents."
And so the day was done. The tribe departed, and many were sad for the loss of a tribemate, but we were glad that at least for now we had all seen the end of our arch enemy. Delgarsida would trouble us no more.
-=((D))=-
***
Epilogue 1
Shillatae took the strange Jambaya dagger and wrapped it in a piece of runecloth. This she sealed in a Thorium lockbox crafted by Kosath and carried it down into the depths of Orgrammar to her own private vaults where she would seal the the strange weapon away. As the vault door was closing, she thought at once that she heard a whisper from the box, but it was after all, probably only an echo.
Epilogue 2
On the beach of an island off the distant coasts of Azeroth a troll girl sits under the warm sun in quiet meditation. She is dressed in a tattered dress. In her lap is a tablet of parchment and sitting by her side a small praerie dog that chitters as she scratches its neck.
Ptarra looks out over the great ocean, and is happy to finally be in a place where the dead no longer speak.
***
Notes: My thanks to everyone who participated in a wonderful RP event. Vera and I worked hard to make the story dramatic and to finally give a conclusion to an ongoing storyline.
I hope that Ptarra will eventually redeem herself. Though she was tricked by Delgarsida, some of the choices were hers and it was for these choices that she was punished. Just as we all make choices in our lives which we sometimes regret, so will it be for her. Did she deserve punishment or forgiveness? There was no clear answer and there was never meant to be. You can decide for yourself. As for me, I think that we have not seen the last of Ptarra, because for everyone there must come a time for redemption, but that will be another story for another day.
The troll girl Ptarra was one of the strangest souls I have met for she had a great gift for talking with the dead...a gift that sometimes terrified her and those around her.
When first I met her there was a spark of madness in her eyes, but in time I had hoped that she would learn to cope, as so many of us have had to learn to survive despite our many weaknesses. It has been my experience that being a part of a tribal family makes one whole in ways the lonely cannot understand, and so I had hoped it would be for this one lonely girl...but alas it seems that her story would not end with this day, but would only be the beginning.
The tribe was gathered one night past to discuss the many goings on of the world at large. The Dark Portal was now beginning to open, and hordes of the Burning Legions demons had been pouring forth from its gates. As a member of the Argent Dawn I had been sent there myself to battle back the many waves of creatures now pouring forth into our world. We said our prayers for those who had fallen when the great demon Kruul attacked the city of Orgrammar on the previous night. Thousands of our brave soldiers lay dead before the demon was finally turned away...and the day was a sad one of mourning in the streets of the great Orc capital.
Ptarra came to me before the moot and I could not help but feel that she was acting strangely when she told me that she would speak before the Witch Doctor and address the tribe. I of course agreed.
There was a strange feeling of darkness in the air that night, though most of us attributed it to the demon attacks on the previous day. I overheard the rogue Lucinther speaking with Veramorla on how dark the day felt, and Vera's heart seemed to weigh heavy more so than normal...even for her.
I stood before the tribe and read a letter I had recently received from our good and dear friend Waha.
Quote:((Actual letter from Waha I received a few days ago.))
"Dear Dispaya...
I was just wanting to drop you a note and let you know I was thinking of you and the tribe in my travels, my sincerest hope is that my travels will bring me close to the lands I once knew so well.
Now Thunderbluff seems like a fading dream. I still remember your beautiful hair flowing in the breeze as we sat together and listened to the stories from the tribe. Please give the tribe my regards and fondest wishes. I do hope to see them all soon.
Your friendship and kind words have helped sustain me through my difficult times here in this distant land. DIspaya I do hope your adventures have gone well, and I hope that you stay safe and the tribe stays close to one another as new and difficult times may soon be ahead."
You will always be near and dear to my heart, as well as the rest of the tribe, please tell them all I am thinking of them and value the memories and friendships greatly."
-Your close and dear friend, Waha Thunderhoof.
Once done I introduced the Advisor to speak before the tribe. Never could I have known the strange and horrible events that would soon take place. She took her place next to our tribal leader, the great Shillatae, and prepared herself to speak.
"Greetins. I have......an announcement ta share."
She started but her words were strange and I now remember that her heavy troll accent seemed to fall away as she spoke. I noticed her eyes glaze over as though she were listening to a distant voice...but this was not an unusual thing for Ptarra for the spirits of the dead spoke to her most often. After a moments pause she continued...
"My..announcement," she said, "is that...I must send regards from an old friend as well."
With that the girl drew a fierce and wicked looking Jambaya dagger from her belt, and stabbed our leader in the stomach with it! Shillatae's face turned to a look of terror I shall never forget for all the rest of my days. The dagger pulsed once with an erie glow and our great priestess dropped to the ground. I feared she was dead before anyone knew what was happening!
In that moment Ptarra's eyes seemed to clear. She looked at the blood on her hands and a look of terror overtook her when she realized what she had done. I heard Ptarra cry out in terror,
"Wha? wha have I done? Priestess?? PRIESTESS!!! No! Noooo!!!!"
I knew in that instant that another dark hand must have been behind the attack, but chaos and confusion overtook the tribe before I was able to pacify them. Cries went up from the tribe...
"The Advisor Ptarra has just assassinated Shillatae!" they cried as the entire moot fell into chaos around us!
Many warriors drew their blades but it was the rogue Lucinther who reached Ptarra first and in an act of mercy I have never seen the like of before, he struck the girl with the handles of his daggers and drove her to the ground in submission. He could easily have taken her life in revenge but so chose wisdom over acting rashly and it is for this reason that Lucinther was once a former champion of our tribe. I shall be forever grateful for the great restraint he showed to Ptarra on this day.
Several of the warriors dragged the troll girl away under Lucinthers careful orders not to harm her and we all gathered around Shillatae to see what could be done. I knelt to examine her and discovered that she was not truly dead, but that her body now seemed to be in a state which lay between life and death. I also noticed that the strange dagger that had done the wicked work was gone! Vanished without a trace! It was then that we heard the laughter from behind.
We turned and once again faced our great enemy Delgarsida.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ironsongtribe.com/viewtopic.php?t=689">http://www.ironsongtribe.com/viewtopic.php?t=689</a><!-- m -->
She had returned at last...Veramorla's Mother..a dark and powerful Shaman from the Grimtotem clan. We had faced her many times in the past and knew that she used dark magic to protect herself from harm. No weapons could touch her due to powerful spells that protected her. She was once a great Shaman of the Grimtotem clan, who had risen to power and eventual madness when her great lust for power led her to make dark pacts with the burning legion itself. We watched as she appeared to us in arrogance, defying any of our tribe to try and harm her. It was clear that she had come with great purpose and reason, and twas also clear that her appearance and the Burning Legions recent attacks on our lands were not a coincidence.
"Well..well...the GREAT Shillatae...done in by one of her own Advisors. Truly a GREAT day!" She laughed wickedly as she spoke. "The dagger used by my protege trapped your dear Witch Doctor's soul...I hold it now and only I can release her! But I am not an unreasonable Tauren. I will trade back your Witch Doctor's life for that of my wayward and treasonous daughter...Veramorla."
She pointed at Vera in the crowd and dared her daughter to come forth. Obviously proud of the great trap she had sprung, she continued to taunt us. It was then that I saw the great Jambaya dagger now resting comfortably in her hand.
"It seemed a fair trade to me...a treason for a treason...and that was why I sent the girl Ptarra to you! It was I who freed her from a life of slavery in Zul Garub...and in return for learning the way of the Shaman, she agreed to become my spy!"
The revelation was a shock to all of us. Ptarra had told us on one occasion she was of Garubashi decent, but not at what price she had earned her own freedom.
"Ptarra is an innocent fool...I could easily convince her to spy for me as a concerned mother for her only daughter...but little did she know that I also secretly hypnotized her to strike as my assassin when the time was ripe! She has been watching you oh these many moons my daughter. That is how I have known every move you and your tribe have made! I know of your plans to traverse the Dark Portal...but Shillatae will never set foot there unless you cooperate with me! My patience is now gone! I will have my revenge and the Grimtotem clan will regain the honor that my daughter stole from us!!"
Many of our braver tribemates then positioned themselves between Vera and her mother. An act of strength that would do them no good I feared.
"My battle is not with Ironsong...I care not for your pathetic tribe. Only give me what I want and I will leave you in peace. Cross me and my vengeance will cost many more of your tribemates puny lives! If you dare doubt my powers...observe..."
She waved her arms and cast a wicked spell that seemed all at once to enslave the minds of many of our friends. I watched as Sound, Vardoth, Ronx and even the great Kolem himself succumbed to her awesome power. Their eyes glazed over and they seemed to be as puppets on a string...puppets now controlled by a dark master.
"Come to me my slaves!" she called to them, and so they came.
They took battle stances and surrounded the dark Shaman as if to protect her. Del seemed pleased with her handiwork. She had made our leader helpless, and now would dare us kill many of our friends in order to save her. I knew then how truly black Vera's mother's heart had become.
"NoW Ironsong...this is my final word! Disarm Veramorla and hand her over to me! This I command or you will never see your beloved leader alive again!"
Delgarsida then threw a pair of magically enchanted shackles in the dirt at our feet and bid us to tie her daughter with them and hand her over.
"These shackles will hold her well enough for me to take her back to her people for her trial and punishment of death. Place them on her now and bring her to ME!"
I took a breath and looked around. I dared not think that any of us would truly betray Vera, but the life of Shillatae also hung in the balance. Many of them loved her so, and Vera was not always the easiest of us to like. I feared the worst might happen, but was relieved when at last Delgarsida's request finally went unanswered.
"Very well then! You have chosen death for your own tribemates over protecting my simpering whelp of a daughter who slew her own father! Attack them my slaves!!
With that the four attacked and the once peaceful village of Bloodhoof became a battleground. Tribe clashed with tribe as weapons clashed all around me. I knelt in a hopeless effort to protect the Priestess from the chaos all around, but also felt helpless to stop it even with my own great knowledge of magic.
Delgarsida waded through the madness and chaos and seemed only barely distracted if not amused by the battle raging around her. The undead Warrior Rrah then charged at her bravely with his sword drawn, and plunged it into her dark breast. Delgarsida dropped to one knee as a look of hope came over the warriors face...she then stood and laughed as the wound closed and healed on its own, and held out her own hand to him. With a flash of magical energy the Forsaken was overtaken and dropped to the ground in stillness.
It was then in the midst of the chaos that I saw Veramorla stride towards her mother. I saw the look of stern resolve on her Tauren face.
"You come here to face me at last Mother...your battle is with me. Leave the rest of them alone!" she demanded.
"You dare to challenge me daughter!" Delgarsida spat. "My magics are too powerful! The charms that keep me safe cannot be broken by you or any of your pitiful tribemates. NO EARTHLY WEAPON can ever harm me! The day of your punishment is now at hand!"
"It is not I who will be punished this day Mother, but you...for all of your past treachery. It was YOU who killed my father. He only forced my hand after you had driven him mad with your own wickedness!"
It was with that, that Veramorla produced the great blade.
She took the sword from her back where it had been draped in runecloth to hide it's true nature. At last the blade we had discovered as a tribe in the very heart of Zul Garub would come to know it's destiny and purpose.
"What is this? That sword...where did you get that? Stay back...stay away!!!"
A look of terror crossed the dark Shaman's face! I knew at once that Vera had perhaps found the one blade which her Mothers protective aura could not stop.
"I now hold Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds! Let this sword finally bring your cruelty to an end Mother!"
With that Vera struck.
Our tribemates minds were freed, and the battle around us grew quiet. All became silent as we heard Delgarsida's final words...
"You have slain me...my daugh...ter. My power is fading...fading...what a world...what a world..."
As she collapsed to the ground, did I then see her finally smile at last? Her final words were not more than a whisper...
"Your Father...would have been...proud."
With that, Vera took the fallen dagger from her mother's hand and plumeted the blade into Delgarsida'S cruel heart. Now having another soul to capture, Shillatae's own soul was released and we all breathed a sigh of relief as the Witch Doctor rose to life once more.
Shillatae at once regained her composure and called upon her own healing magics to return herself to full health. In a matter of minutes she was looking strong once more.
Vera stood before the Priestess and a look passed between them. Vera then handed the dagger to Shillatae, for she knew that Tae would have the wisdom to know what best to do with it.
The Witch Doctor took the "gift" with a stern face and stared at in in thought for a good long while. Then with a sigh, she called for the troll girl to be brought before her.
Ptarra was still looking disoriented as the warriors dragged her before the Priestess and Ptarra sobbed for Shillatae to be merciful.
"Ya will fight fo your chance to stay here among us. Arm yoself an stand!"
Ptarra hesitated but Shillatae was adamant.
"I said STAND!"
Reluctantly, Ptarra stood and took up her weapons. She and the Witch Doctor squared off. Ptarra was a skilled warrior, perhaps one of the best I had ever seen for her age, but she was weak and confused, and had no resolve to do battle, and so Shillatae took her great staff and struck her down easily. Ptarra's weapons at last fell at her feat.
"Ya have not earned the right ta stay among us..an so I hereby banish you from the tribe. Only in dis way will ya learn dat we do not allow spy's and traitors among us!"
She called forth Eveline to weave a spell of binding on the girl.
"We send you to a distant place...dere ya can ponder your actions an life as an exile!"
I watched as Ptarra resigned herself to her fate. Eveline cast the spell with no resistance from her and a portal was opened. Ptarra looked down at her feet and then I watched as a look of strength finally came to her. She took a final breath and stepped into the twisting nether of the portal and did not once look back.
"What will you do with the dagger Priestess?" Veramorla asked.
"Dat will be for me to decide Vera. After all ya have gifted it ta me to do with what I will."
"There are many secrets we could learn from it...I wish to study it..." she said.
I then understood the strange power the dagger was having over her. Veramorla was of Delgarsida's bloodline, and so I knew then it would be best that the dagger not be in her care. This I told her with a heavy heart as she walked away from us.
"Vera? Will you be alright?" I asked.
"No child should should have to bear the burden of having killed both of her own parents."
And so the day was done. The tribe departed, and many were sad for the loss of a tribemate, but we were glad that at least for now we had all seen the end of our arch enemy. Delgarsida would trouble us no more.
-=((D))=-
***
Epilogue 1
Shillatae took the strange Jambaya dagger and wrapped it in a piece of runecloth. This she sealed in a Thorium lockbox crafted by Kosath and carried it down into the depths of Orgrammar to her own private vaults where she would seal the the strange weapon away. As the vault door was closing, she thought at once that she heard a whisper from the box, but it was after all, probably only an echo.
Epilogue 2
On the beach of an island off the distant coasts of Azeroth a troll girl sits under the warm sun in quiet meditation. She is dressed in a tattered dress. In her lap is a tablet of parchment and sitting by her side a small praerie dog that chitters as she scratches its neck.
Ptarra looks out over the great ocean, and is happy to finally be in a place where the dead no longer speak.
***
Notes: My thanks to everyone who participated in a wonderful RP event. Vera and I worked hard to make the story dramatic and to finally give a conclusion to an ongoing storyline.
I hope that Ptarra will eventually redeem herself. Though she was tricked by Delgarsida, some of the choices were hers and it was for these choices that she was punished. Just as we all make choices in our lives which we sometimes regret, so will it be for her. Did she deserve punishment or forgiveness? There was no clear answer and there was never meant to be. You can decide for yourself. As for me, I think that we have not seen the last of Ptarra, because for everyone there must come a time for redemption, but that will be another story for another day.
Sing True Ironsong!