World Of Warcraft: The Adventures of Gilraen - Chapter III

Seara
[pr:SAY-a-ra]

There she was, all alone and deserted, looking to scavenge a small rodent to serve as a meal on the outskirts of Shadowglen. I fell in love with her the instant I laid my eyes on her. She was as young as they come, only just abandoned or chased away by her mother plagued by overbreeding in the shadow of Aldrassil, the first of the giant forest trees on Teldrassil.

I was a newly trained hunter and in dire need of a companion for my journey through Kalimdor and all of Azeroth. So I tried to break her will, as Dazalar showed me at Dolanaar only just moments before. She resisted as much as she could, but the hunger and exhaustion of an innocent scavenger counted against her. In the end, I broke her will, her resolve, but not her inner spirit and longing for freedom. After a few growls and more than a few clawmarks on my arms and legs, she gave up the fight and settled down to a crouching postion to indicate that her fight was over.

But she refused to let me near her, let alone touch her. And that hurt me the most, that I could do nothing to comfort her and let her know that it would be all right. That I would lead her through this hostile world as good as, if not better than, her mother who raised her.
That together, we would be strong.
That together, nothing would stand in our way in this world.
That together, we would be as one.

All of a sudden it dawned on me that she needed food. I killed a young boar and got some meat of it. But she didn't take it! Didn't even touch it after a brief sniff! Panic was starting to set in. How was I supposed to look after her if I could not feed her. Maybe Dazalar could help... So we went back to Dolanaar to ask Dazalar for advice. Up till now I've only had Panda to keep me company. But Panda, though small, cute and cuddly, did nothing much to help me. Due to her small size, Panda just rolled up into a ball whenever danger lurked nearby. Admittedly the monsters here on Teldrassil had more to worry about than Panda, but they often just gave Panda a sniff and then ignored the furry ball. Often Panda would just sleep at their feet and even if Panda got trampled underfoot, it was just like Panda was kicked like a soccer ball. But Panda has thick skin and even thicker fur and Panda always ended up okay. The newly tamed young nightstalker seemed to like Panda more than me, as she trod alongside Panda as I, as we, sped back to Dazalar and Dolanaar.

Dazalar was glad to see me so soon again. But he quickly became concerned when he heard about my problem of feeding this feline.

"My child", he said, "why didn't you go to Jocaste in Darnassus as I had told you to do?"

"I ... I ... didn't hear that bit before," I stammered, as my face went bright red.
"I was so excited about getting my very own pet that I ... that I ... just got one!"

I was about to burst out in tears again.

"Well, why don't you just go see her there?" was Dazalar's logical reply.
"It's not the end of the world, at least not yet."
"But if you go too far you will fall off Teldrassil into the big sea."

His attempt at humor brought a wry smile to my mind, even if it didn't show on my face. But I guess he was right. In hindsight, it would have been no good to stay here in Dolanaar, where all the meat in the world wasn't going to feed this young nightstalker if she didn't trust anyone to take it from. Reluctantly I set off again, this time heading for Darnassus. There was only one tiny problem - I had never been to Darnassus before. But the road had signs on them and the Moon Priestess Amara had asked me before to keep the road to Darnassus clear from Gnarlpine Ambushers. So it had to be in that direction somehow. And Panda and the young feline followed at a trot a little ways behind me.

Darnassus is big!
Darnassus is colossal!
Darnassus is majestic!

I had only ever heard about big settlements before, but I had never set foot in one. Until now. From the enormous walls that make up the gate to the intricately carved and fitted buildings to house its denizens, Darnassus is a sight to behold. All manner of creatures seem to be at home here. Wisps and toads and deer and squirrels. And full grown domesticated nightstalkers roamed the outskirts ever on the lookout for intruders. Guardians, protectors and Ancients of War and Lore. And all of them going about their business.

Business!

I've never understood what business really was all about. And I am even more confused now than ever. The people here are all about making money. They consider it more important that helping their fellow night elf.

"Move along, haven't got all day!" was shouted from behind me more than once as I tried to make sense of the myriad of pathways and signs that point in all directions. In the end, a helpful guard came to my rescue and showed me where Jocaste could be found at this time of day.

Day!

I did not even notice the sun rising in the sky, which rays now started to seep through the thinned out canopy and filled the open spaces of the city. The sparkling waters casting their reflections off the buildings rising out of the waters of the central lake created a mosaic dance equal to the effervescence of the brightest diamonds. And now that I finally had the directions to Jocaste, she was easy enough to find.

"You were foolish to bypass me," she scolded, "Your training as a hunter didn't finish with Dazalar. It finishes here, with me."
"I can teach you how to feed your pet and how to care for it.
"And I can teach you how to nurture it back to health as you hunt with it."

After Jocaste was done with her preaching, she set me straight on the finer points of animal welfare. Needless to say, I was very quiet and very shy throughout her preachings. I didn't even hear half of what she had to say. Maybe it was the big city that did that to her. Dazalar was much nicer to me, but maybe that was why Dazalar was in Dolanaar. Maybe Dazalar also hated the ways of the city and choose to live in Dolanaar. Jocaste does have a way with animals though, as Panda and the young feline looked very content in her presence and their attention never strayed from her. Panda even tried to climb into her lap and Jocaste just stroked Panda's curled up fur as Panda fell asleep once more. And the young captive nightstalker looked anything but captive as she settled at Jocaste's feet. When she had told me all that I needed to learn to be a full-fletched hunter, I asked about what young nightstalkers could eat.

"Did you try some fish?"

Fish!

It came as a revelation from Elune herself! Jocaste could tell by my startled reaction that I hadn't.

"No," I replied, "I have only tried meat so far."

"Well then, go see Astaia between the center isle of
the lake and the Temple of the Moon."

Astaia was quite happy to teach me to fish. But I had to buy a fishing rod for a few copper coins from Voloren. Voloren also tried to sell me a few extra trinkets that could help me, but I refused to be tempted. The young nightstalker became more and more restless the longer I stayed in Darnassus. So when I tried to sit on the small pier with Astaia and Voloren, they spoke out to me.

"Hey, take that cat away will you please, its
scaring off the fish!"

I was too tired to argue about my rights to fish where I wanted, knowing also that I would not get much support as a newcomer to Darnassus. So I went a little ways off on the grass. It felt strange sitting at the edge of water on grass fishing rather than the sand of the seashore like I'm used to. But it will do for now.

I missed a lot of fish at the start, but then got a few bites. And thanks to Jocaste's instructions, I could finally feed the young feline. Panda wasn't too interested in fish though, preferring to try the flowers of the grassy patch instead. The feline finally settled down a bit more and seemed to become more content. With her primary needs met and her hunger sated, she became more playful even. She started chasing some toads and squirrels and every now and then caught one, only to paw at it a bit and letting it free without hurting it. I felt a lot better now seeing her at rest. The anxiety of looking after a desperate nightstalker made way for happiness at her playful throes on the little grassy islet. I missed a lot of fish as I watched her amusing herself. Amusing us all, as even Panda started to chase after the small amphibians. The young nighstalker quickly learned that if I caught a fish, she would get it if she showed keen interest. She even tried to take the fish off the fishing line, but she quickly found out that she hated getting wet from the water. Even so, I managed to store up a few fish for later. Astaia even taught me a few more tricks in the afternoon when I had experienced what a fisherwoman goes through. And for once I thought that life could not get any better than this.

I woke from a drowsy sleep with paws clawing at my back, trying to get behind me. It was dark again and the young nightstalker was turning me over. She was hungry and followed the smell of fish to get some. She found out that it was my backpack that was hiding all the fish. After I sat up, I got her to lay down on the grass. But when I took some fish out of my pack, she lurched at it and took the fish before taking another few small jumps and devoured it from the safety of a small distance from me. I took a moment to think and noticed that it was almost midnight. I must have slept for quite a while, even the trio of Astaia, Taleana and Voloren had gone from the pier for the day, err, night. Panda was nowhere to be seen, but Panda always managed to come right again. Panda was probably hiding in one of my other smaller packs again, as Panda often did. Packing up my few belongings that had spilled from my pack, I started to move out of Darnassus. Amazingly there were still a lot of people moving about. Both residents and people from the surrounding areas of Teldrassil. It's almost as if this place never stops, never sleeps. Anyway, I was feeling quite refreshed by now and ready for some action. Panda even showed up as I was crossing the bridge on the way to the main gate. And the young nightstalker was following me a lot closer, but also much eager for more fish. She was almost stalking me for it. We made our way to Dolanaar, but before getting back there we went a bit off the road to hunt some of the local fauna. Webwoods, strigid owls and some wild nightstalkers that could not leave us alone were all fair game. The young nightstalker took to hunting like a duck takes to water. She was a natural at it. Crouching down until the creatures were in range, then jumping out and pawing them down to prevent their getaway with her own weight. Then a bite to the neck when she got behind them. It helped that I was shooting arrows at the creatures too and finishing them off with my knife, of course. The gnarlpine species were a little different. They ran away if they were near death, but the young feline showed good hunting instinct and chased them easily with an undefended attack from the rear. With a full load of booty I made it back to Dolanaar.

"How did your instructions from Jocaste go?" came the inquiring voice of Dazalar when I made my back way to him for some more training. He didn't have to ask, as he would have been able to tell from the young nightsaber's springing steps that all was much better now than when he last saw her. I don't know what it is about those hunter trainers, but they all seem to understand what the animals are saying to them.

"And what might be your name?" continued Dazalar as he took the feline's head between his heads and scratched just behind her ears.

A name!

I had not thought about a name for her.

"All animals need to have a name." said Dazalar.
"Even an animal needs something that is uniquely theirs, and nothing is better than to have your own name.
"Your own identity, given to you by the one that is most important to you.
"A name to reflect your personality.
"A name that defines you."

I had to think about this one.
"Well...," I began, "I found her at night...
"And she's been very happy when she was hunting with me tonight ...

"And she will be Seara, as her star shines at night with the brightest of Elune's Children."