#okush

Dungeons.

As the group kept travelling, collecting new materials, and discovering new parts of their world, they heard from the mouths of merchants and other travelers, stories of battles that had occurred across the sea; the defeat of The Lord of fire, and the eradication of the Army of a black dragon and his cruel experiments. There were also stories of smaller feats, like how a group of Horde adventures had rescued the Druids trapped in the wailing caverns, or how they had stopped a demonic cult hidden in Dire Maul. The three of them liked listening to these tales, and admired these heroic feats, particularly Anuka, but they didn’t seek a way to participate in such fights. People liked to talk about the treasures and the glory, but both Crisas and Tah were acutely aware of the lives that were lost too. And, as much riches as they could be promised, what would happen to their family if they failed? How would their sisters survive if they died?

However, this perception would soon change; as their journey came closer to Silithus, so did the time for hard choices.

Okush.

When Crisas and Tah heard stories of a place covered in lush vegetation, inhabited by Raptors, Demosaurs, and other variants of huge lizards, they immediately wanted to go. Dinosaurs, in abundance, meant hides, fangs, talons, things they could work with, things they could sell. But it was a hard choice. Their destination was further down South, almost too far from Orgrimmar... still, they wanted to see something that could resemble the home they knew and had grown up in, if only just a little.

Convincing Anuka of visiting an unexplored place wasn’t too hard, the problem was reaching the Un’goro Crater.

First they travelled to Gadjetzan, looking for someone that could guide them across the desert of Tanaris, but there were some problems: Crisas and Tah wouldn’t go near any Human or Dwarf, the Goblins asked for more than what they could pay, and going into the desert without knowing the way was a guaranteed death. It was too easy to get lost, and there wasn’t any shortage of enemies.

Luckily, they came across a grumpy old orc, a Shaman named Okush. Apparently he had come back from Silithus recently, looking to buy a specific set of materials in the trading city. After a small negotiation, he agreed to guide them through the desert in exchange of specific materials from the Steamwheedle port.The trio managed to get him the ingredients he needed, and thus, they parted to Un’goro.

During their journey, the orc took a particular interest in Tah. He found it worrisome, and dangerous, that the young shaman only ever called on fire and didn’t know how to establish a connection with the other elements. Okush tried to teach him how to do so in their short time together and even offered to help him further his instruction if he accompanied him to Silithus. In the end, Tah declined the offer, not wanting to separate from Crisas or their family for an unknown amount of time. The old Orc accepted his answer, but as they parted ways, he informed the Troll that, should he ever change his mind, they could always find him at the Cenarion Bastion, in Silithus.

The Gates of Ahn’Quiraj.

The trio had spent barely a month in Un’goro, exploring and collecting minerals, hides, and herbs, before something strange happened. They started seeing more and more people from different factions and races, traveling by mount or using nearby encampment flight paths, heading west. Of the few they dared to ask, they only got the sense that something was going on in Silithus. Something bad enough that the Horde and Alliance were banding together against it. Something that had the Cenarion Circle and even the Dragons involved.

It wasn’t until an older Darkspear, a mage named Ka’jin, passed through their outpost that they got a definitive answer. He explained to them how groups of Silithid and Qiraji had gone through the barrier that sealed the city of An’quiraj, rushing the Bronze Dragonflight into sending a call to anyone that could aid in containing the threat and prepare for a war.

The three youngsters were in equal parts surprised and unsettled; the notion of a war, of the scale Ka’jin was implying, terrified them, specially Tah and Crisas. No troll had grown up without hearing the stories of their ancestors, of the war against the insectoids that lasted decades and nearly extinguished their kind, and if this was the same thing… what could they do?

Anuka chose to stay, and followed Ka’jin into Silithus while Crisas and Tah went back to Orgrimmar through a portal the mage insisted on making for them. The Capital City was brimming with activity in preparation for the incoming campaign, and the materials they had gathered quickly found use. Their family was helping in small ways with the management of potion and herbs, thanks to Kuji’s job. They did as well for a while, until there was another call for more combatants to aid on the fighting.

This time, they answered. This wasn’t about uselessly risking their lives for gold or glory, but rather, a matter of survival. And survival of the tribe, of their people, was everything. No matter the risk.

During the War Effort, they battled beside members of both Horde and Alliance. People they knew, like Anuka, Ka’jin or Okush... and people they feared, or hated, like Forsaken, Night Elves and pink skins. But, despite everything, they fought beside them. They learned to accept that they weren’t always going to fight in the best conditions, and they weren’t always going to be fighting besides friends. Who they feared, or what they hated, didn’t matter, not when the safety of their people was at stake.

This thought was what kept them going during the extenuating, and seemingly unending journey, that was the fight against the Silithid. Many lives were lost before, during, and after, the opening of the gates of An’Quiraj, and of the numerous combatants they watched go into the Ruins, barely half came back to tell the story. But for everyone, what truly mattered was that the threat has been vanquished, the Old One defeated. The war campaign was over.

They could go home.

----

Crisas and Tah during Classic wow Pt 1