Ghostawalka's posts, from Argent Dawn

[Evanthe]

I am a big fan of Ghostwalka's lore posts from the main forums. Not sure where to put this, but I think they are lore-arific, so here they go.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=56115861&sid=1

The Darkspear Tribe.

Long has dat name been forgotten in the world. We were simply forgotten by even scholars. We were footnotes in esoteric Dalaranian studies of Troll Culture... the Tribe that was so utterly defeated that we were driven from our ancestral homelands to flee across the sea to the islands of the South Sea.

Yet now, by fate's chance, we are back on da world stage... and every day, every month, every year... we grow stronger...

At present we of the Darkspear have been with the Horde for a little over five years. Rescued from our doomed island, we have come with Thrall and the Orcs and fought beside them with complete loyalty for years. We are a race that, on the verge of total destruction, has come into our own.

Under the guidance of the wise and cunning Vol'jin, we have given up cannibalism, the worship of Dark Loa, and given up our xenophobia.

At least, most of us have. /grin

The Darkspear have fought with the Horde at every major turning point of the darker battles of Kalimdor. Without the aid of the Trolls, many of those victories would have ended up bitter defeats. It was we Trolls who were captured when Grom once more drunk of the Blood of Mannoroth unknowingly... and damned himself a second time. We refused to drink, and so we were imprisoned and held until Thrall rescued us, and then we went forth and helped slay the now Fel Orcs and free Grom from his madness.

It was we Darkspear who fought side by side with the Orcs at the Battle of Mt. Hyjal. I, personally, stood on the slopes that day. I slew many a demon, and fought beside Tauren, Orc, and even Human, Dwarf, and Night Elf that day. I watched Archimonde ascend. From where I lay on the field of battle, having lost an arm an a leg to the demonic hordes, I watched Archimonde move to the World Tree... and I watched the Wisps rend him apart. Oh, wondering why I'm still here? ...Arm and leg grew back, of course.

All these victories and all these glorious battles have cemented the Darkspear to the Horde. We have fought together, died together, and bled together. This makes us ever a part of the Power of the Horde.

Now... we are ascendant.

The Darkspear Tribe, once one of the smallest Tribes, defeated and demoralized, grows in power and membership. Membership how you ask? You ever wonder why there be so many different colorations in the Darkspear? ...We accept members of the other Tribes now. They have joined us and our ranks swell because of it. It is often you see a Revantusk who has been adopted into the Darkspear Tribe wandering Durotar these days... you can tell by the green hair. You can also tell the Bloodscalps, Skullsplitters, Gurubashi and the other tribes who have joined us.

And you know the whole Blood Elf/Troll thing that people worry about? Its not important to us. We arn't the Amani. The Forest Trolls are the ones who have fought the Blood Elves for generations, not us. We were exiled from Stranglethorn shortly after the Troll Wars began. We bear no special enmity towards the 'Sin'dorei'. We know now that ALL elves be descended from the one tribe that was on the shore of the Well of Eternity so long ago. They be kin. And don't think we're going to let them forget it, too! ...Oh, the games we'll be playing with the Blood Elves... Ooooh, the games...

We have accomplished much that has shaken the Troll Race to its foundations. We have cleansed the darker elements of our race, and though we do not rebuild the Echo Isles, we work elsewhere along the goals of the Horde. We have claimed the Sword, Trollbane, from the Tomb of Arathor. We have killed the leaders of the Bloodscalp and Skullsplitter tribes. We have helped the Horde gain a solid foothold in the very land we Darkspear were driven from in the past. We have brought the Revantusk, the Clan of Zul'jin, into the Horde. We have established ourselves as the rising power of the Troll Race.

We have even, with the aid of the High Trolls of Zandalar, faced Hakkar.

The Troll Race's future is going to be decided by the Darkspear Tribe. Because of the Tribe's growing strength in unity with the Horde, and a growing influence over ALL OTHER TRIBES that rival the days of the Amani and Gurubashi Empires... it will not be the Atal'ai, Amani, Gurubashi, or any other tribe that decides the future fate of the Trollish Race...

...It will be the DARKSPEAR.

And what do Trolls build? We build Empires.

With the inclusion of the Blood Elves to the Horde, we will be able to strike at the last major stronghold of the hateful old xenophobic trolls... Zul'Aman. The Amani Trolls, traitors to the Horde of the Past, have long plundged our race into a war we cannot win. We cannot destroy all the Elves, despite how much we hate them. We cannot destroy the humans, for now we have come to understand, through the Forsaken, how alike Troll and Human are in mind.

The Darkspear will take a different course. We will help the Horde build a better future not just for us, but for ALL Trolls who come to accept us, and those who look past the dark ways of the Hakkari and the Atal'ai... we are not the monsters that Elven mothers frighten their children with. That role has been taken over by the Scourge... and judging from the Tribe in the Plaguelands, the Lich King has his sights set on creating a plague to suit the Troll Race. I need not tell you the horror that would cause, if the Lich King were to find a way to infect one of the most numerous races in the world with a plague... we'd be looking at another Lordaeron, except, it would be happening anywhere that there are Trolls.

And the last time I checked... Trolls are everywhere.

So, we have joined the Horde. We seek to reform our fellow Trolls to try and save our race from the darkness of old and hateful gods. We seek to remove the taint of Hakkar from our blood, just as the Orcs did Mannoroth. We seek to build a new Troll empire that will live in peace and be as enlightened as the High Trolls of Zandalar! Maybe one day, if we work hard enough, we can be accepted even by the great Kings of Zandalar and be welcome to walk on the land of the High Trolls.

We must first overcome the darkness within out hearts, and within the hearts of the Troll Race... and bring an end to Hakkar wherever he may be found.

We will have Vengeance for Zul'jin in the greatest way possible. We will build a Darkspear Empire to rival the Amani and Gurubashi for Zul'jin and for Vol'jin!

Once we can penetrate the gates of Zul'aman, with the help of the ancient foe of the Amani... Sin'dorei... we will take the ancient capital of the Amani Empire for our own, and cleanse it of the taint of the Dark Loa and the old, hateful ways of the past!

We Trolls are not evil. We will no longer accept the old ways, and the old darkness. We are Trolls.

The Future of the Darkspear Tribe and the fate of the Troll Race will be decided in...

...The World of Warcraft.

[Evanthe]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=54922455&sid=1


Greetings. I am Ghostwalka, Shaman of the Earthen Ring and member of the Argent Dawn. I serve as a Lorekeepa for the Darkspear Tribe. In this, I have been studying the stories and legends of the other races, and studying how each race is adapting to this changing world we now live in.

Today I bring my findings on the Forsaken to light. This race, along with the Night Elves, were ones I sought to naturally study. They are the ancient enemies of all Trolls, Human and Elf, but both are different from what they were before. In the case of the Forsaken, they have been... changed.

In the history of the Trollish People, there have always been legend of Necromancy. The first undead to walk this planet were not the minions of the Lich King, but the Mummified Legions of the Atal'ai. The Trolls, as a race, know, respect, and fear the Walking Dead. They are a part of our culture and a part of our memory of times ancient and terrible.

So in this, studying the Forsaken was fit for me... and my soul aches even now for what I found...

The Forsaken, as may be obvious, were once alive. They were humans. Many of them were simple commoners, or soldiers, or mages in service to Dalaran or some other land.

Few, however, realize the horror of this truth.

Inside each member of the Forsaken Race is the memory of their own death. For some it is the memory of going to sleep after eating a meal of bread and grains that were... tainted... ...for others there are memories of falling before a raging mob of Undeath, their very flesh ripped from their bones and great Ghouls biting into their still living bodies before death claims them.

We Trolls are no strangers to pain. Our regenerative abilities mean we've experienced grisly injuries but stood up to fight and heal. But even we would be marked by such memories... and what happened after those memories. Many of the Forsaken remained conscious, locked behind the iron will of the Orc Lich, Ner'zhul, while they were forced to commit acts against their fellow humans. The lucky ones were destroyed by their fellow humans before they committed any acts of true horror.

The unlucky ones, driven by Ner'zhul's will, were forced to watch behind their own eyes as they devoured their loved ones... their husbands... their wives... their own children.

And now, they are free.

The Dark Lady has awoken them, and with the waning of Ner'zhul's might during the events of what history now chronicles as 'The Battle of the Frozen Throne', a vast population of former humans have regained themselves and their minds.

Yet... ...the memories remain.

Now, is it any wonder the path the race has taken? Many of the Forsaken, twisted by what they were forced to do and shocked by their own race's actions towards them, have gone down a dark path... After all, these are their brothers, sisters, and those who survived the Plague who judge now the Forsaken have become to be nothing but Monsters... irredeemable and that none should be allowed to exist.

To them, I say you be blind.

These people are as human as any of you. The difference is that they are cursed... and that they live with the horrors of what they were forced to do every day. Is it any wonder that, in order to try and reunite with their families, some people have gone slightly mad and think only of making a new plague to bring ALL Humans under the shadow of Undeath?

Is it any wonder that people like Keever, who is cited often by the Alliance as one of our worst Apothecarians, is a little mad? Is it any wonder that he is desensitized to death and the experiments he performs... because he was forced to watch behind his own eyes as he killed and devoured his own family and friends? Forced to watch as his homeland was destroyed by a plague of undeath, what sane man would remain so for long...

Is it any wonder that the Forsaken have become what they are and are doing what they're doing... when the people they love who still live turned their backs on them and treat them like monsters?

Let us go deeper into the social structure of the Forsaken now. It has been two years since the Forsaken joined the Horde. As of now, the Forsaken are fitting in to the Horde surprisingly well. They have become, more and more, accepted by the races they once fought and the races they once fought accept them.

Forsaken and Horde have fought together, bled together, and died together. There is no greater bond then that.

Others, however, have fought beside the Forsaken for years, and have come to rely and depend upon them. Each has their own little quirks to deal with the legacy of the past they hold in their memories. Some have repressed the memories, and act childlike, carefree, and even a little feral. Others take the aloof stance the Mages of Dalaran made common practice. Others still have become part of the Horde entire... and even form relationships.

Strangely true. Love can come between the Living and the Undead. Even if they are beyond feeling pleasure, they can still feel love and companionship. There will be no children born of such unions, nor will there be anything approaching a physical relationship... but there will be bonds formed between individuals that keeps them sane and whole... and perhaps will allow them to exist until a cure for the Affliction they suffer can be found.

The Forsaken have merged into the Horde, and over the years, we have become more and more a united force. Many Trolls, Orcs, and even the mighty Tauren, have come to accept and respect their abilities and even some of their more disturbing allies... such as the created Abominations that serve as living siege engines now in Horde Military Forces. Sylvanas is viewed with respect and admiration by many members of the Horde, and some members even assist now in the work of the Apothecary... disgusted by the actions of the Alliance, they'd rather have more Forsaken wandering around then more humans.

The Celebration of All Hallow's Eve that the Forsaken have adopted, and the speech given by The Dark Lady, strikes a cord in the heart of many a Horde member. Orcs know what it means to be a slave. Tauren know the struggle for Freedom. Trolls know the darkness and its power, and relish the release from it.

And what of the Cure? The Earthen Ring, a group of the most powerful Orc, Troll, and Tauren Shaman, which counts Thrall and Cairne amongst their membership... continue to search for a cure using the power of the Spirits. The Tauren Druids as well have added their abilities to the Earthen Ring's search.

The belief of many, these days, is that a cure will never be found until the being who sits now upon the Frozen Throne is destroyed. His power still drives the Curse of Undeath into existence, even if he cannot control them anymore. So, until the Throne is emptied... perhaps no Forsaken will walk the world in living flesh... and do not doubt that it is likely possible. We have ressurection spells. We have spells to knit flesh and revitilize tissue. We /will/ bring those back to life who want it, once we end the threat of the Lich King forever.

We do this now not because the Forsaken are a race to be pitied and we wish to patronizingly help them... but because they are a part of the Horde.

In the coming years, the Forsaken will continue to change as they become more and more part of the Horde. Only time will tell what courses the cold war between the Horde and the Alliance will take, and what threats await the world and both sides of the War... we must deal with them, and the Lich King, before any true progress towards a Cure can be made.

The future is dark and full of tidings of war for the Forsaken. Yet, they have survived the greatest tragedy possible to a living person. They have survived, and grow stronger and more numerous every day as more and more Scourge are broken free and arise to join the Forsaken. They are a powerful and noble people, who only want what they lost. Some have gone mad and seek only Power. Others remain sane, and seek only to exist.

I only say this now, and let all remember:

POWER TO THE FORSAKEN!

The Fate and Future of the Forsaken will be decided in...

The World of Warcraft.

[Evanthe]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=54922371&sid=1



Greetings, mon. Ghostwalka again. More prattling for you to enjoy.

The topic of interest I have at this moment is the Night Elf. Being a Troll, I have been studying this race a great deal. I seek to learn the truth and witness this... 'next to Troll' race and its future. While many have learned the truth of the history of the race, and still others wonder of the future of the race... there has been a distinct change in Night Elven culture the last while. The Age we live in now, which I have chosen to call the Age of the Adventurers, because while the Alliance and Horde still quibble, these free wheeling members of all eight races are taking on their own paths. Each is trying to make their way in the world and deal with the dark problems besetting the world in the wake of the Scourge and the Legion and everything else.

It has been five years since the Last War. The Races of the Alliance and the Horde are mingling, fighting, and dueling... skirmishes arise. Words and foul deeds are exchanged. Thankfully, marking yourself as specifically fighting for your Faction has kept people safe from unwanted attentions. Few people dare violate that silent pact. Those who do are dealt with, harshly.

But, on top of all this change and mingling and war... comes the change in the culture of the Night Elves. Night Elves, normally, can live two thousand years, if not three. This quality is shared by their high elven kin. Until 8 years ago, Night Elves were Immortal. They were protected from the extremes of heat and cold. They could not die of old age and lived in an eternal sentinel vigil. The Druids delved themselves into deep slumbers in the Emerald Dream, while the Sentinels of Elune did guard them and their civilization, and watched for the return of the Legion.

Now the Return has come and gone.

Night Elves, once immortal, are now entirely and totally mortal once again.

As it stands, some of the older members of their race, old by the time of the Pact, are approaching their twelve thousandth year. The eldest approach thirteen thousand years old...

Others, the very young indeed, only a few hundred years old and born to the call of future omens of war... adventure and prance. Some have regressed to an almost animalistic ferality in terms of their choice of activities. Dancing with very little clothing. Revelry. Frivolity. Ex-Druids become Hunters, Rogues, and Priests of Elune, or even Warriors. Females join the Druidic Orders. The actions constitute an abandon of a race now free of a ten thousand year contract of immortality.

After ten thousand years, they are free of their Pact.

After ten thousand years, they are a race that has become mortal when the promise of immortality seemed eternal.

After ten thousand years, a culture that was sheltered, reclusive, and insular to the point of xenophobia... has been allowed to flourish.

The younger generations, and even some of the elder members, release themselves into mindless LIVING in every way they possibly can.

They are a race become Fey and dance in the forest under the stars and under the blue sky in an exaltation of life and living... for while they are not as short lived as humans, they are now mortal once again.

Some grow morose, of course. Others grow cold. To them losing their immortality was like dying. Some turn to Cults. Others turn to the Arcane. Some simply fade away in relief and gladness. But, the main trend is this fey abandonment. And it grows ever more. In a few months time the first half-Night Elf/half-Humans will be born from the many relationships that have formed. Like the normal Half-elves before them, they will carve their own niche in a society no longer as rigid as the High Elven society the first Half-elves were born into.

The Night Elves are a race that is changing before our very eyes.

It is the choice of the members of that race to decide where to take it now. Will they become as wild and free as the children of Cenarius they so revere? Or, will they adapt an almost human flexibility, merging the nature they have inherited from the past with the friends they have made now?

What will the Night Elves do, now that their race is mortal once again?

That is being decided on...

The World of Warcraft.

[Aquizit]

Stickied.

[Danyxandra]

These are excellent.

[Nadea]

((I give this two thumbs up!))

[Keraph]

Amazing. Simply amazing.

[Redcap]

I wish I had four hands, because I want to give this 4 thumbs up

[Swerto]

this answered so many questions

[Sanrin]

Aww, yay for my old server!

[Sulajin]

I wish I could RP with this guy... on this server. I'm too lazy to go to him.

[Omy]

Wow...there's quite a lot to think about in here. A lot of new things I've been somewhat toying with, but never quite understood. Thank you! ^^

It's really helped me think differently.