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Response: Friday 500, From Too Many Annas
| 2009 | Tharion Greyseer posted under Netherbane, Roleplay | 2 Comments6 Feb
Every Friday, Anna from Too Many Annas has a Friday Five or Friday 500 post. She encourages other WoW bloggers to respond to the prompts provided.
Friday Five-Hundred: Childhood Challenge
Every Friday here at Too Many Annas, you’ll find a little RP prompting – either in the form of 5 questions to answer about your character or in the form of a ficlet prompt (500 words) to write about them. These aren’t meant to be hard, just things to think about for your character – you can answer in a comment or use them as a blog post of your own!
Write an event, a situation, or a scene that involves your character as a child/teenager and has some impact on your character later in life.
Below is a short retelling of perhaps one of the most pivotal moments in Tharion’s life. It was his sin–the sin of cowardice. When asked why he chose the path of the demon hunter, Tharion’s responses can be as layered as anything else he says. However, those who dig deep enough will understand that it is the event below that drove him to become what he has become.
After reading, you may think his reason is “vengeance.” If so, you would be thinking incorrectly. Tharion walks the path of the demon hunter for an entirely different reason: “pennance.”
These events took place when Tharion was on the verge of adulthood, about when he was leaving adolescence.
—–
Outside Zin’Azshari, Kalimdor
What time will eventually know as the War of the Ancients
The building shattered as the infernal crashed through the marbled walls. Tharion cowered beneath a wooden desk, head embraced between his knees and arms. The immense stone demon tore the heavy piece of furniture away, casting it out the fresh hole onto the cobbled street outside where it smashed into a thousand splinters. The stacks of ancient tomes that had rested upon the library’s desk fluttered to the ground like a flock of doves struck from the sky.
Other demons could plainly be seen amid the chaos, their feral roars of bloodlust overpowering the screams of the dying. The infernal bellowed, its nether-born heat causing the nearby bookshelves to burst into flame.
An eternity passed within seconds as Tharion waited for the death blow. But the demon did not attack.
“Prey that cowers is not worthy,” said a heavy voice. The sound of armored footsteps made Tharion realize that another demon had entered, but the searing heat of the infernal made him understand that it was also still present. “Get up and face your slaughter at the hands of Zevash!”
“Tharion! To us!” An arrow sang through the air and buried itself in the demon’s chest. The beast turned to face its assailants and growled in annoyance before snapping the shaft of the projectile.
Tharion looked up from his corner, recognizing the voice. He saw that his brother, Azhaan, and their father stood nearby, both with bows trained upon a large red felguard who stood in front of the burning infernal that had just destroyed the library.
“Come, brother!” Azhaan nocked another arrow and let it loose. This one found its target next to the first. Again, however, the beast seemed merely irritated.
“We have weapons, Tharion!” This was his father, who tossed a bulging satchel to the ground next to him before nocking his own arrow and letting it fly. Both men were targeting the softer felguard over the impregnable fortress that was the infernal.
The animated stone demon had completely forgotten about the young night elf and instead stood staring with burning hatred towards these two new pests. It crouched low–more like a nightsaber than any kaldorei could have thought possible for a pile of walking rocks.
“THARION!”
The next few moments were but a blur as Tharion stood and ran. He did not run towards his family, however. Nor did he did not run towards the extra bow and armor that his father had thrown to the ground nearby. He did not even run towards the demons.
No, Tharion ran away. Out the hole, across the street, and through the nearest alleys, Tharion made his way to the outer edges of the city and into the protecting embrace of the outlying woods. He would find safety in the trees.
“THARION! Where–” But he never heard that last call. He never saw the look of shock and disbelief on the faces of his family. He only heard the roars as the two demons charged…
by Ogerin, on February 6 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Nice, I always enjoy reading stuff from you, Thar. Let’s see if I can match it…
–
“Malrog!”
The orc’s shout was nothing compared to my roar as I finally got to lose our subtlety and charged out, toppling several smaller trees and bushes as I saw several of the pointy-eared humans turn around; their blue eyes wide with shock. They had come to fight off some green-skinned mongrels that had started to burn their forest.
They weren’t expecting a dragon.
The first elf that locked eyes with me couldn’t any longer; his head neatly severed by my jaws. Fresh blood! I had never tasted it while it was warm before! It was delicious! So lost was I in my taste that I nearly didn’t feel the reigns tugging to lift me into the air. It was fortunate that my rider was able to still give me commands, as I could feel several arrows bounce off of my paw-scales as I ascended. A few more managed to pierce the scales on my paws, causing me to roar in pain and drop the elf’s head into the crowd of combat below me. Angered at the loss of my meal, I turned around mid-air and bellowed at the ones who had tried to shoot me. A jet of flame erupted from my maw and ignited some of the trees nearby – but mostly elves. I roared again in triumph, but that was quickly changed into a roar of pain as I was hit by a lighting bolt on my chest. I spun backwards out of control and crash-landed into a few trees nearby. Taking only a few moments to get my bearings, I saw the lightning fly back into the air and into the paws of a creature that I was taught was the most vile and dangerous to all of us:
A dwarf and it’s gryphon.
The creature circled overhead, knowing that I was still alive, and challenged me to come fight it. I roared again and beat my wings, eager to give the puny thing what it wanted. When we were instructed about the dwarves, their gryphons, and their stormhammers, I was expecting some creature several times my size! But here was one of the infamous gryphon-riders, barely the size of my paw. I would eat this little thing in one bite!
I flew faster upwards towards the dwarf, my maw wide open for the creature to see it’s resting place. As expected, the dwarf threw its hammer at me, which was easily dodged as I dropped lower from the sky. The gryphon matched my movement and tried to fly beneath me.
-Bad move, gryphon-rider!-
I swung my tail beneath my as hard as I could when the gryphon flew under me, and I could feel it brush against the feathers. I had barely missed! It won’t be so lucky next time! As I turn around to continue the chase, another bolt of lightning slams into my back.
-Another one?-
Sure enough, another gryphon-rider joined the first, and then -another- joined those two. Three of them! Now things were starting to look bad. I managed to straighten myself in the air and see the three figures flying towards me. Again, I roared and charged towards them, head on. And again, the roar was followed by a blast of fire that, due to the speed at which I was flying, shot backwards and scorched my own hide. Or it would have, at least, if red dragons didn’t have such a high resistance to heat. My breath turned my into a flaming arrow, bent on destroying these three!
As expected, the three swerved up and flew over me. They weren’t expecting me to arc my wings and tail up, however, sending one last blast of fire down my body, hitting the wings and tail and following them up… into the flightpath of the grypon-riders. The three flew directly into the flame, and I could hear their screams with my higher senses even as their flaming mounts plummeted into the fighting below.
I roared once more in triumph above the battlefield, and this time, it stayed triumphant! None dared challenge me, for I had proved that I was the best! Only the orcs were better than-
I blinked, and looked behind me. There was no sign of my rider. So, he had fallen off after all… then it was time for me to return, as was mandatory for all dragons who have lost their riders. Reluctantly, I turned around from the carnage that was the battle for Quel’thalas and headed back too my nice, cozy home in Grim Batol…
by Ogerin, on February 9 2009 @ 10:01 am
Whoops, didn’t realize there was supposed to be a 500 word limit… >.=.>