The Shattering

[rincewindy]

((Where were you when the Shattering occurred? Were you cowering in a cave or running after Deathwing like a half-crazed murloc? Post your tales here!))

[Guest]

Flying along in bird form, Tursiops was hunting. Torn ears, cracked horns, and bloodshot eyes scanning, looking for the signs of cultist leaders, with the determination of more a young, wild animal then wise old Tauren.

As he flew, his mind reeled in the memories of the nightmares he had been suffering for weeks, reality and the dream state melded. The normally peaceful, almost completely placid, Tauren found himself with barely contained anger, his instincts sharpening over time to those of a feral state. He found himself with a greater hunger for meat... hopefully uncooked, hopefully something freshly killed. While he had avoided eating the flesh of the Alliance warriors he had killed a few days earlier, his mind had fought the internal struggle of a newly born instinct, a new feeling being dragged out of the dreaming and given frightening life.

As he scanned, he felt a sudden tearing in his body that echoed a tearing in the ground and the shredding of his calm. The air began to burn and singe his wingtips as he flew, flapping upward towards the sun. His wings forced him unwillingly upward, higher into the air, guided by a force as yet unknown to the druid, who let out a primal screech of anger and fear as he flew.

Higher.

Higher. His wings burned, more then just the overtaxed muscles.

As he reached a point far above where the clouds should be, he looked down. A huge black shape loomed below him, larger then any he had ever seen, even the great dragons he had vanquished or championed. The lands of Ashenvale all but disappeared under the great black wings, and the flames lit the sky on fire. That was all Tursiops saw, as he suddenly began to lose himself in the nightmare, the earth and a new set of voices screaming in his ears. He tore through his forms, limbs bleeding and muscles burning, cat, bear, bird, moonkin... he then was forced through more forms he had never taken - wolf, dragonhawk, raptor...

The last sensation Tursiops felt was his own hand pulling his parachute cord and a sudden, ripping pain in his spine and face... and so the unconscious troll drifted to the ground.

(Yes, as the roleplay might have predicted, I am planning a race change as soon as possible.)

[rincewindy]

He was burning again. Flames billowed out of his skin and bones and bits of him was falling off. He felt himself teleporting to some location. A large shadow passed overhead. An ear piercing howl. And then, it wasn't just him that was on fire. At first it was just him in the guild hall, and then the guild hall opened up and he was on the roof of the bank in Orgrimmar. And everything was burning. Bodies littered the streets both cultists and orcs and visitors alike. He cried out and he was falling through the burning roof.

He woke up. He was burning up, but not on fire. He must have fallen asleep in a chair in the main hall.

"Just a dream," he said. His voice still a bit faint, but it was getting stronger everyday. He stepped outside. The dream felt different, this time. He climbed up to the top of the hill where the guild was and peered out across at the barrens.

The earth began to shake. He waited for it to pass. It did. Seconds later the ground beneath him shook so violently that he fell. And then a tremor unlike anything he had ever felt shook the world.

He hugged the earth for dear life.

It seemed like a lifetime passed before it finally stopped.

He continued to hug the earth for dear life.

Finally he lifted his gaze. He saw the gash cut across the land to the east ... the barrens! In the distance he heard the deadly howl. He ran down the hill to the guild hall, ready to help where he could.

[Melikar]

Something shook the floor.

Melikar looked up lazily from his spot on his bed. He had been resting so well since the attack on the guild hall. Was someone causing trouble again? Muttering to himself, he laid his head back upon the crude wad of cloth he called a pillow. A sudden cry, so far off the troll was unsure he even heard it made him glance up again. This time, he looked toward the window. He could see a faint edge of glowing red light from somewhere in the distance.

Curious, he crawled out of bed and to the window to peer out. From this point, he couldn't see Orgrimmar, but he knew it was out the way he looked. He could only see thick clouds of black billowing up from the horizon. This was way more than he'd ever seen from the elemental attacks and a sudden gut feeling told him something was very wrong.

Stepping out of his room, he entered the main area of the guild hall. He looked out another window here, this one facing south. There seemed to be commotion going on down on the road for he could see figures moving in a panicked array.

He didn't wait any longer. He ran outside to the stables, quickly seeking out his talbuk, Warbringer. Another huge shake of the earth cause him to lose his balance as he wrapped the reigns around his hand. Warbringer gave a rear of his head in surprise, his large horns slamming up into one of the rafters. The troll quickly regained balance and laid a hand upon the creature to calm it.

Wasting no more time, Melikar mounted up onto the talbuk, giving it a kick. In a matter of seconds, the troll was off and galloping down the hill-side in the direction of Orgimmar.

[Zlinka]

Zlinka slept in a makeshift tent outside the ruins of the guild hall. Her hair was grey with soot and ashes from battling the Twilight cultists. Her hands were bruised and gashed from hauling the burned beams out of her way, digging her way through the wreckage to her family. Her smudged and exhausted face was streaked with dried tears, from the moment she had found them all safe.

The ground shook. Zlinka slid off her pile of sleeping hides. Her family stirred beside her.

Where am I?

In the distance, she heard a terrible animal scream, deep and menacing. She gulped. A crashing, crunching sound rumbled through the earth at her feet: the sound and feel of tearing, agonized rock.

The ground tipped to the right. Heart pounding, she rolled out of her bed and stood in the door of the tent, holding on to a tent post for support.

She saw the blackened beams of the guild hall, but besides that she recognized nothing.

Where... am I?

[rincewindy]

The cold winds of Icecrown whipped at the Tauren warrior'€™s fur, she looked around, confused. She had used the magical properties of her tabard to teleport her to the tournament grounds, as she had done dozens of times before. But only the icy plane of snow greeted her senses. She walked over to the edge of the cliff, and peered off into the distance. She saw the pinnacle of a familiar island. She sighed. This was the right place. She had a strong suspicion that it was the wrong time.

She has been in the caverns of time when a tremendous earthquake occurred. She had been knocked back through one of the portals created by the Keepers of Time. When she turned around, she didn'€™t see a portal anymore. So, she tried her hearthstone. Except, it wasn'€™t working. She then used her tabard to teleport to the Argent Tournament grounds. Perhaps the damage to the portal had also damaged the magical connection between her and her time. She began walking south. It was going to be a long trip.

She was in Crystal song forest when she felt the first wave of birthing pains. She was relieved that she was no longer in the frozen winds of Icecrown. It was still pretty chilly, but not deathly cold. She prepared a spot and waited. The second wave came...then a third.

The sun was beginning to rise when her child finally came. It was as if she were waiting for the sun before she would leave her mother'€™s womb. Mula embraced her little one, bathing her and drying her and wrapping her in a spare tabard she had. "€œLucerra" she whispered, and said a prayer for her ray of light.

She went to the gigantic tree that was near where Dalaran used to be...or would be, and created a shelter for them both at the base of the tree, digging a place where she and Lucerra would be safe.

She passed the time foraging for food and telling her child the stories taught to her. She would continue to tell her the stories until she was old enough to know them by heart. Her heart ached for home and she wished she could use the hearthstone, but now with Lucerra there, she didn'€™t think it would be possible for both of them to travel in that manner. She missed the guild, and wondered what the hall would look like when she returned. It would be magnificent, and she would dream of what it would look like. She missed everyone. Sreng and his quirky ways, Anca and her drawings and forts, Aracna with her spiders and dresses, Raxxar and his crazy coffintable, Lucinther - always a smirk on his face, Rincewindy and his books, Lailya, and Zaevian, Tursiops...Sometimes she would sit for hours just picturing their faces. She missed them all. But most of all she missed Flinttooth. Oh, how she wanted to show him their child! She wanted to hold him so much. Whenever she thought of him, she would hold her child and hum a lullabye that her mother had sung to her.

Lucerra was seven when Mula thought it would be safe to begin the journey out of Northrend. They would have to walk, as Lucerra was not old enough to ride, yet. She took them through routes that she thought would be safe, so their journey was that much longer. She kept thinking to herself that, once she was able to find Nozdormu or any of the keepers of time, she'd be able to ask him to transport her and her child back to their own time. She reached the southern shore and looked across the vast ocean. She wondered if the Kalu'ak would be willing to help her out, and started down the shoreline.

"We only help those who have earned their keep with us." The fat furry fisherman said to her.

Mula nodded, "€œWhat must I do?"

"We'€™ll find something for you two to do."

So Mula and Lucerra stayed in Mo'€™aki Village. They helped gather and prepare food, gather materials, and defend the village from the wolvar attackers. In their spare time, Mula sparred with Lucerra, teaching her the ways of a warrior.

Lucerra was turning into a fine warrior and all the Tuskarr enjoyed her company. With each passing day she grew stronger and more mature. There was a special quality about her that Mula noticed but couldn'€™t pinpoint...a sort of glow so to speak.

Mula once again brought up the subject of travelling across the sea to the Tuskarr when Lucerra turned 10.

"€œWe are much appreciative of all the help that you've given us, Mula. We will help you build a boat to travel the vast ocean."

Several more months passed, and the boat was completed. "€œAnd now you will leave us?" the Tuskarr, known as Thai'€™ki asked.

Mula looked across the ocean, as she had done many times. "€œThis is not my time, nor is it my home, although it does make for a close second." She smiled, mournfully.

Thai'ki placed his arm on her shoulder, "€œI know. I have seen that look in your eyes many a time."€

"We will stay until the spring," Mula said. "I will work doubly-hard throughout the winter." A smile spread across her mouth. "€œI fear that if I stay here much longer,I'll begin to look like a Tuskarr myself!"€

The seas rocked the boat as it made it'€™s way across the vast ocean. It was large enough for the both of them and their supplies, with room to spare. It even had a canopy made of leathers to keep the sun and rain off.

"€œWill we go to the tribe'€™s hall first?"€ Lucerra asked.

"€œNo,"€ Mula replied, "€œfor we do not want to run into anyone we know. We will keep to the coastline on our journey down to Tanaris."

"What might happen to us?"

"€œThat I do not know."€ Mula ruffled the girl'€™s hair. "€œThe plan is to go to the caverns of time down in Tanaris and talk to the keepers of time in the caverns. They will know what to do."€

"What about that stone? Can you use that to get us back?"€

Mula shook her head. "€œIt could only transport one, and I would never leave you like that."€

The boat moved on, guided by the stars and powered by the two tauren. Mula kept the boat pointed southwest, praying she didn'€™t end up on Tedrassil or end up in the whirlpool in the center of the sea.

The seas remained calm their whole trip and they came ashore along the coast of Durotar. Mula brought the boat ashore, and they rested for several days, gathering supplies from a local farmer in exchange for some coins. The boarded the boat again, and followed the coastline towards the south.

"€œYou have been displace for quite some time now, Tauren, but now it is time to go back to your time. Come, we will set this right."

The watcher walked over to where a clearing was and opened the rift. "You will be returned to your time. It has been one turning since you left. Take your family and belongings and enter the portal, now, before it closes."

Mula began to ask what a turning was, then decided it didn't matter. "C'€™mon Lucerra, let'€™s go."€ She turned to the Dragonkin, "€œThank you,"€ and she followed Lucerra through the portal, never letting go of her hand.

They found themselves in the desert of Tanaris. Mula looked around and saw the entrance to the Caverns of Time. It was late at night, She could hear the lapping of the water against the shore. She found a piece of driftwood and wrapped an old shirt around it, and used her flint and steel to light it. Lucerra was sitting in the sand, hugging her knees. Mula propped the torch up in the sand and walked over to her daughter and held her in her arms. She knew of Lucerra'€™s phobia of the darkness and knew that all she really could do was hold her and keep her safe. "€œC'€™mon. I know a place just up the coast where we can stay for the night."

They walked up the coastline, arm in arm. Mula spoke of the area and what she knew of the guardians. There was much debris on the beach, and Mula held the torch out, keeping it low so that she could steer around all of the refuse. "€œI don't remember it being so..."€ Mula stopped in her tracks as they saw a looming object up ahead. It was a ship. Mula frowned. That wasn'€™t here the day she went down here...which was what, yesterday? She saw some lights up ahead. Mula frowned again. "€œWha-? Can'€™t be."€

"€œWhat is it, Mama?"

"€œGadgetzan."€ Mula looked at the shoreline at her feet and the goblin encampment up ahead. "I don'€™t think he sent us back to the right time, hon."€

[Guest]

Zaevian was rideing his death charger through stormwind. He was wearing a night elf disguise and it itched badly luckly no one seemed to intent on closely examining a Death Knight which helped him with gaining information on where to find that gnome Squigvicous he was on his way to see a dwarf who would hopefully be able to tell him where that little monster is.... He wanted to stay and help rebuild the guild hall but he couldn't let the people who had attacked his new family still walk on azeroth he would find them and bring them back to face the tribes judgment. As he crossed one of the bridges and thought about the earthquake that had happened a little while ago they were getting worse he hoped Thrall would be able to fix this problem soon.... Garrosh seemed a bit too rash to be an effective leader too headstrong.

*thud* He felts a wave of hot air hit the city tha forced his charger to brace itself to avoid falling into the water. "It's okay Zennith it was just a strong wind." What in the nether was that?!

*thud* Another wave hit him knocking him from Zennith as he stood back up he heared a loud roar that shook the buildings around him and saw that the water in the city began to boil from the intense heat hitting the city. He looked up and saw a massive dragon descending on the city it was black with metal plates covering much of it's body and it was even larger than Alexstraza was on the field of the wrathgate. "What is that?!" He looked around as the city guards rushed around to try and marshal a defense and cursed. "There is no way they will beat that thing acting like this..." With that he opened a death gate and ran through with his charger as fire consumed the part of the city he was just in and followed through the open portal.

As he gets flung out by the flames into Acherus and screams in fustration. "Now it's going to be even harder to find that pathetic gnome!"