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The Hog Log (Tales from Hordeside)

PostPosted: 16 May 2015, 18:37
by Aroona
Olija|Orc hunter| A history that became a journal.

Oli was born in the Barrens before the Cataclysm. She lived with mostly hunters and farmers. Her parents let her pick one of the boars they raised for meat to have as a pet. She chose the runt, a black boar she named Duski.

The two are inseparable, and as she got older, her father taught her how to use a bow, and her mother taught her how to train her pet to retrieve her arrows. Then later when they were bigger how to train him to fetch her kills.

She became a natural at hunting and often went out on her own to practice, since she refused to eat boar meat after raising Duski she caught her own food, rabbits, snakes, anything really.

It was on one of her hunting trips that Deathwing flew across Azeroth, she was tracking down a plains lion for the first time and had just fired her bow when the earth trembled. She missed the shot, in her confusion she ran back home..only her home was no longer there.

The scar ran right through her village, leaving nothing left of it. The only other survivor was a small orc baby, wrapped up in so many bundles of blankets that had the child not been crying Oli would have left it. She picked up the child, unable to process what had happened to her home. She stumbled for a day and a half, giving the child her water while she found someone, anyone to help.

She reached the crossroads, and from there was given a ride to Orgrimmar, refusing to let go of the child till they reached the orphanage. That is where she left the child and has never seen her since.

For a week or so she strayed around Orgrimmar, sleeping in crates or the stables with her companion boar.

She was found one evening, rummaging around the drag by an old worn hunter. He never gave Oli his name and asked only that she call him master, in return he took her in. He noticed she had a small bow with her and her companion and began taking her on hunts with him, It took a couple of weeks to get her out of her state of shock but once they were in the wilds she became entirely focused on her task, most especially when she wore her hood.

The old orc took care of Olija, though he lacked warmth and any real feeling he made sure she was fed, clothed, any injuries were taken care of and she was never short of the hunt. He took her everywhere he went, spending very little time in any one place, and was rarely in the city.

As Olija got older he took less and less care of her as she had begun to do so herself. She rarely removed her hood and remained almost as stoic as he did. It was hard to say if there was parental love between them but there was certainly a kinship and unwavering respect for one another. Even if he did try convincing her boars were not the best hunting companions.

The last act the old orc did for her was send her to Razor hill to meet with the Wolf's blood war chief, now warlord, Gorgu. He'd sent a letter ahead of her, recommending her skills. He passed during Oli's travels to Razor hill. When she found out she spend a few days settling his affairs for him, as he had no family of his own or so it seemed, she donated his estate to Orgrimmar and kept only a small trinket, it reminded her of her family's crest, two axe's crossed.

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During her time with the wolf's blood clan she became exposed to more people than she'd ever had before. Her stoicness melted away, and Gorgu had told her she was to keep her head uncovered, seeing as he appeared to like how she looked. She did so assuming it was an order.

Although she felt over exposed she attempted to take everything in stride. Her respect for Gorgu morphed into something more. As things began to take a turn for the worst she faced him in combat, where she, perhaps foolishly, made her feelings all too clear to the war chief.

However that only served to complicate things further. Her loyalties divided between the war chief and the clan. Especially when it came to another orc more her age. Morag. The two had a strange introduction but after several encounters formed a pretty strong bond. At first Olija felt it was perhaps sisterly, or at least familial to some degree.

Through Morag she got to know Aketchetta and Lin Zhu. The three of them felt almost like the family she had lost, perhaps more so. Lin being eternally patient and kind, it was baffling to Olija. However she appreciated the pandaren all the more for it. Ake felt more like a wise grand father but she loved him all the same for it.

More recently Olija began questioning herself more and more. After a rather vicious episode with Gorgu she left the Wolf Bloods and formed her own, minor clan, the Unbroken. Along with Morag who had many bones to pick with Gorgu. There are very few in numbers in the Unbroken but for now it is enough.

Her questions weighed heavily on her mind. Did she still love Gorgu? Yes. Never questioned again. Could she stand by his side? Not as he was at the time. How did she feel about Morag? She wasn't sure anymore. What did she want to do? She didn't know.

During her time travelling and attempting to soul search she collected several more boar companions. the first being a felboar she named strawberry, to which Duski took an immediate liking to and sired two piglets with. Cranberry and Muski. She found several others and has taught and trained them all to the best of her abilities.

Several weeks, maybe months passed and another event brought her back into contact with the war chief. A Blood elf called Kitza was apparently responsible for the death of Lin Zhu's unborn children, while pulling the grown up twins from another timeline. It was all over Olija's head and all she could think at the time was, you killed two innocents who had yet to enter the world. This was the first but very minor appearance of blood lust. She'd fired a bolt into the elf's thigh but turned to Gorgu to see what was to be done. She would hate Kit more than she'd hated anything before.

The conversation turned more towards personal matters. And after admitting she still felt so strongly for him the bond re formed. Perhaps not burning quite so brightly but still there none the less.

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On one of her wanderings she stumbled across a witchdoctor by the name of Red, a troll who seemed to be far too at home sitting in an empty grave. The troll, although bat shit insane, held such wisdom and knowledge about Olija that she couldn't ignore it. She tried to heed her advice but she felt she may not have the strength and will to go through with it. Her 'dark man' Gorgu, would need to be controlled. How Olija was supposed to do that she had no idea.

A little while later and after a shocking wake up call from Lin, who had told Oli three words she had not heard since she was a whelp. She felt forever in Lin's debt.

Once the pandaren left her she spotted Gorgu nearby and everything slammed into her at once. She admitted she loved him right there and then, and although he was pretty damn shocked he returned her words.

The day following that Red appeared again and informed Olija and Gorgu that they were to be expecting a son in the near future. The two shocked parents to be took a while to fully realise what this meant.

This lead to Morag and Olija's first real trial of friendship. Olija couldn't bring herself to be angry at Mo, she felt guilty for going to Gorgu first and she couldn't quite understand why. It felt wrong, and unfair to Morag, again she couldn't understand why. This had to be the moment she started to suspect she didn't know herself as well as she thought.

After a while Olija found where the wolf's bloods had relocated, to Bilgewater, and began trying to spend a little more time with Gorgu. Much to Morag's disapproval.

It seemed there was trouble brewing, with Iron cultists popping up all over the place. Red had invited her to come visit weekly to check on her son's progress, making it all the more real for her.

Red had her create a voodoo doll to protect her son, using her own blood, hair and soil from a grave.

Collecting the soil was not so simple, after Red had her inhale the smoke from several herbs Olija was blindfolded and followed her senses to one of the many graves, however it was not exactly a grave she found.

Beneath the roots of a lone tree in the grave yard she met the child spirit Albus. Though she cannot see spirits she managed to ask for his help in protecting her unborn son. To which he happily agreed and began to follow her everywhere to ensure her son's safety.

During a day with Gorgu she found she could relax around him again and enjoyed teasing him and have him tease her in return, even if she didn't like the nickname. Before they had to part ways he gave her a gift, a gold ornate dagger that belonged to Gorgu's family. She promised to keep it safe and from then wore it on her belt.

The trials did not end there. While on a mission, Gorgu returned to Orgrimmar injured and poisoned, it very nearly broke Oli to see him in such a state and had it not been for Lin then he surly would have died then.

One of the cultists had also arrived and warned them all to abandon their attempts to stop them. Olija put a bolt through his head and was already planning to take revenge on them. She ordered the merchant Gribin to lead her to the cultists but at Gorgu's command others tried to stop her. Many demanding she think of her son. She was, she wanted her son to know his sire and she would not get hurt, she would make damn sure of it. However the others could not see that or didn't trust her abilities.

Worst of all was Kitza was present, her very presence rubbing Olija in all the wrong ways imaginable. The others she could have reasoned with, Kit. Not a chance.

Kit foolishly demanded Olija get it out of her system and fight her. After Oli threw the first punch she couldn't remember, but the others quickly filled her in. Her hand was burned by Kit's fire magic, she succame to
her blood lust and took her crossbow, Morag had attempted to stop her, and was almost shot herself while Oli was in this state. However Olija turned the crossbow to Kit and the bolt caused fatal damage.

Morag's distress pulled her out of her rage and she stood confused, looking at what she'd done. It crushed her, seeing her best friend not only angry with her but upset over the elf. Of course she knew nothing of their bond at the time and it was killing her to have to address what she was feeling along side fear and regret. Jealousy.

She tried to run but, as she should have known, Lin was quick to catch up to her, and with the help of Gribin, tranq darted Oli long enough to get her to Lin's home.

Unfortunately Morag came back and tried to confront Olija who just wanted to be left alone to try and sort through her thoughts on her own. However the pushing and backlash of harsh words tipped her back into her blood lust and she very nearly killed Morag too. Holding her beneath a river, it had only been Morag's lack of movement that stopped her from outright killing her then.

When she came down once more she felt sick to her stomach, she wanted to die right then, she wanted the spirits, the elements, the gods and the titans to crush her till there was nothing left.

She would have stayed, laid down and given up..she could have reached for her crossbow again and ended it herself had there been no one there. However, another blood elf, Elvira, was nearby and demanded Oli get up, saying she could do it. Oli did stand but she couldn't stay, so she tried to flee again.

She wasn't sure what drew her to Moonglade but that was where she headed, thinking she'd killed her best friend, who..she now admitted to herself she might just be in love with. This was why she kept her mask on all those years, things got too complicated and messy in her head without it.

Morag was fast to find her and while they circled one another in the air on their mounts, oddly enough both dragons. They traded words, and Oli couldn't take much more. She blurted out, or perhaps whispered, she couldn't be too sure. She told Morag she cared more about her than Gorgu, and while that was true that didn't mean she cared only a little for Gorgu either.

The two landed on the banks of the lake Elune, and tried to talk again. However Oli being too far gone in her state of mind could only act on impulse. She kissed Morag, in part to confirm she was really there, that she was alive , also in part to check how she felt and it only affirmed it more. She admitted she loved Morag, out loud. A small weight was lifted but she was still tied down by a multitude of other emotions, guilt being the most prominent.

With the acknowledgement of feelings came more pressing matters. Mo needed to talk with Kyda, a human pirate whom had been Mo's interest for a while.

The next morning Mo found Oli in the same spot as she'd left her. Oli had been given small history lesson from Lin, and putting things into perspective. She was still trying to work everything out when Lin pointed out too much thinking would only cause more heartache.

Oli did not sleep at all that night. Come morning, or early afternoon as it were, The two began talking again, and Mo suggested Oli meet Kyda properly. However the conversation was interrupted by Red, who seemed to always know when Oli was in distress. The Troll examined Morag then Oli, being her usual insane yet wise self. She gave Olija a week to figure out what she wants to do, making the orc panic. A quick slap to the face calmed the noise but only temporarily.

To keep the thoughts from taking over she informed Mo that she'd be going for a hunt. She told Mo that she loves her one more time before leaving, unknowing that Morag had left a gift in one of her bags.

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Northrend's bitter cold and plethora of dangers kept Olija on her toes, allowing her to feel more than she thought, and yet feel nothing at all. Everything was sorted and neatly put into place while she did what she did best. Perhaps another day might have been wise but after the haul of pelts and meats she'd gotten there was no point in doing more. That and she found a necklace in her bag. She gave it a tiny squeeze and before long Morag was at her side again.

Things were explained in part and she stored the information away to deal with another time. The two ran together down the cliffs and along the shore before coming to rest for some of the evening before returning to Orgrimmar.

They ended up in the wyvern's tail as per usual, Lousea, a witty and sharp Goblin, joined them too but quickly became angry after hearing so much had gone on with no one informing her.

Then things escalated when Kit returned, walking through the door. Oli was shocked to say the very least and as things got more tense she left the inn to talk with Lu, who seemed more displeased by the events, and eventually left.

With everything that went on Oli tried the next best thing to hunting, putting her mask back on. Mo had come to talk with her and began freaking out, thinking Oli was going to try and run again, however that was not the case. With the mask on she slowed her thoughts to more manageable noise and kissed Morag once again, allowing the spirit walker to mark her throat a second time in the same place after leaving her own on Mo.

She spent the night sleeping rough to keep her head clear and prepared for tomorrow, she had agreed to help Kit with some task involving a Naaru after all. Kit still rubbed her wrong and she was no more certain of the why of it this time.

Olija was one of the first to arrive back in Bilgewater, taking the extra time to think about things while sitting atop the canon. She was approached by Elvira, or whoever was also in Elvira's body. The conversation was more than a little dark and intense but Oli listened and kept her guard up as best she could manage.

Eventually after Claire made Elvira walk off the cannon she followed on a glider and got Elvira with a tranq dart to give the poor girl a break from Claire. She apologised a few times for it as she brought the elf back to the inn and tried to keep her upright on a chair while others joined them.

Once everyone was ready they left for outland to find this corrupted Naaru. Something seemed wrong from the start, and after days of trekking through the almost empty regions they arrived. There was the Naaru and several defenders. The group attacked the defenders first, not listening to the warnings.

The battle was intense and unfortunately Olija lost her loyal companion Duski, he tried to protect her from a blast from the Naaru and the defenders. She succame to blood lust again but failed to move very far before falling to the ground, then remained out cold from one of Elvira's spells.

Another blast and her spirit companion Albus was ripped away from her too. She can feel his loss but is not entirely sure. She realised after flying back to the city after the battle that Albus was the reason she felt so confident in her abilities and have her unborn son protected. Now, she felt afraid for the child and guilty for letting Albus hurt like that, even she could hear his scream as he was torn away.

Kit had some strange shadow magic torn away from her, Olija wasn't sure what to make of it all, as it turns out the Naaru was not corrupted at all, and it was a ploy. Though she still dislikes Kit she could not blame her. That and she felt a strong need to bury her companion where they had grown up together.

As she dug the grave into the mountain, shoulder sore from it's wound, sweating and filthy she cried, she let herself cry properly for the first time in so long she lost count. Once her friend lay beneath the soil of their first hunting grounds she screamed until she could make no noise, she cried until there were no tears left. And stood until she could stand no more.

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Olija found a little comfort with Morag, once the she-wolf had found her. She could barely move, but her appreciation for her 'more than a' friend only increased exponentially. Morag got her water, which helped a little, then held Oli while singing gently to her. The hunter was just starting to come to terms with the loss of her companion, it still hurt and likely would for a good long while.

The morning after, while Morag was off somewhere, Oli wasn't sure where, she got a visit from Red. She offered her condolences, mentioning that she could feel Duski's passing. It comforted Oli a little to know he had died a hero's death and that he was not in any way angry or upset with her.

Kit had been lurking nearby too but waited for Red to take her leave, after Oli had been made to eat a spider that would supposedly help her sleep. Kit had come to clear a few things up. Asking Oli why she hats her, once the air was cleared and Oli apologised for, well killing her, they left on fairly good terms, if not then neutral at least. Mo had arrived to hear the tail end of the little talk, and was very relieved to see the two had buried the hatchet.

On the third day Oli had taken to pacing between bouts of self pity, barely eating, though the spider did help her sleep the one night, she was restless but hesitant. If it were not for Red coming back and slapping some sense into her should may not have left Duski's side.

Red told Oli very bluntly that she could not achieve her destiny by sitting in the dust. Red then took Oli all the way out to Northrend, where the two (unbeknownst to everyone) created a new companion for Oli. A Small frostboar, created from Duski's protective nature, Oli isn't exactly sure how it worked but she knows her blood was involved, and Red looked a little worse for wear after the ritual. She looked down and there in place of the bloodied snow and items of Duski's was a frostboar piglet. Fully alive it seemed, and a ballsy little thing. She picked him up, looked him over and gave him the name Steel. While they were there Red had Oli sit while she got to know her new boar and cut off quite a bit of Oli's insanely long hair. Oli had never had it cut before, ever, and rarely tied it back, it never seemed to get in the way. Now she was letting Red crop it almost all the way to her skull. It felt strange, and so light that it'd take some time to get used to. As the locks fell away so did some of the weight she carried in her head and in her chest. It was quite surreal. Red explained it as 'Things be changin' child, and ya be needin ta change too.'

When Olija got back to Orgrimmar she found Morag and a few others in the Wyvern's tail, a common meeting place for them. At first things were a little awkward and Oli was just getting comfortable with displays of affection with the She-wolf / orc. However it wasn't long before a familiar witchdoctor came and had to yank Olija away by her ear, after assuring Morag she'd be fine
she followed the troll into Durotar, or rather, rode the troll as she was in her stag form.

They stopped over the Southfury watershed, perched over an outcrop of rock. Olija was a bit unsure what was going on, especially when Red began asking her to remove her armour, she outright refused to remove her chest piece however, as she had naught under it. Red just laughed and told Oli to have something made of cloth by the next time they meet.

The troll had Oli sit and face the water with her eyes closed. Red guided Olija through a simple yet oddly potent meditation exercise, even going so far as to attempting to distract the orc via pain. Flicking her ear, pricking her palm, even wiggling the needle into her palm. It would seem Olija was too comfortable with pain. The only thing Oli could really sense while in her first meditation was a forest, she was sure she'd seen or been to it before but she couldn't remember such a place in her waking hours.

It was a place so routed in calm and stillness she was loathe to leave it. It seemed to be forever in the twilight hours, and the air was mostly still, the trees grew almost completely straight with leaves and branches so thick, any light from the sky was dimmed, and yet the forest at ground level never seemed too dark, at least not around Olija's concious line of sight. She felt weightless there, she was tempted to fly through the trees and explore but something brought her out too soon.

Red had tried a different tactic of distraction, one Oli couldn't ignore and was deeply confused by. She opened her eyes and pulled back. Red had somehow crept in front of her and had leaned in to kiss her, it was so unexpected and confusing that Oli couldn't ignore it. She felt so bad for scolding Red for it, thinking she'd upset her. She did feel better however, and not so weighed down by her past.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to tackle Red into the water but after surfacing she was giggling like a child, much to the troll's irritation. Oli tried to run, or swim for it but Red had the advantage of alternate shapes and caught the orc easily enough. Once out of the water red still seemed irritated. So Oli followed her and tried to apologise. She was surprised to get one in return for the unexplained kiss. She shrugged it off as a mistake and forgave Red easily, so long as it didn't happen again. Though, there was a tiny little thought somewhere in her that said that she didn't mind too much. Not that she felt that way about Red and wouldn't dream of perusing anything further but it wasn't unpleasant.

Red did tell Oli a little about the future she saw and what destiny the orc was supposed to achieve, but it involved something Oli did not think herself capable of. Well, not while she was coherent. Olija would have to, at some point, kill Red in order to achieve what she was supposed to, she wasn't sure how to handle that information. So for the time being she kept it to herself, but began to wonder why and how red was acting so attached to her? Knowing Oli would kill her?

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For a little while things seemed to have calmed down for the time being and the odd group decided they deserved a well earned break. So they took an evening to relax at Gallywix's pleasure palace. They even invited a new friend into the group, a forsaken by the name of Rita. She was a bit dotty, but there again most forsaken were. Olija liked her, she seemed nice enough, and she didn't put the orc on edge. She fit in with the group ok, but perhaps might take a while to settle in properly.

They spoke about Ake for the most part and the silver lotus they'd need to bring back his memories, as he was still not quite himself. Lin told them of her adventures in Pandaria, and thanked Oli for letting her borrow Muski for the trip. She explained that she saw someone in possession of a silver lotus and that they might find it in the black market sooner or later. While they discussed a means to get the lotus Olija just listened politely, she understood little of black market trades and the like, feeling quite unhelpful at the time.

The group enjoyed a meal together, and Mo was being extra affectionate and adorable with Oli, who couldn't help but return the gestures. Lin, Kitza and a male blood elf joined them also, along with Mavis. After dinner the group took advantage of the pool and hot tub, Olija and Mo using wolf forms to play tag, in and around the water, or took turns diving into it. (Oli having a wolf paw totem on her person, a semi reminder of her master and part trophy from her first big kill. The to

It was the most fun Oli'd had in a while and it felt so good to just let go for a bit. When Red showed up she was quite surprised, but not in a bad way. She climbed out of the pool to greet her, seemed she was favouring her cat form for the moment, and tried to drink from the hot tub, which Oli tried so hard not to laugh at.

Rita and Red began talking, once Rita found out Oli was pregnant she began suggesting herbal remedies, and although Oli liked the idea she could see Red was getting annoyed by it and was suggesting her own remedies. Having a sudden case of foot in mouth Oli suggested she could ask Lin, but that seemed to only annoy Red further.

Since everyone else seemed to be talking amongst themselves Oli sat by the edge of the pool and tried meditation again. Somewhere in her senses she knew red and Morag were nearby but other than that was lost in her forest once again. However outside her head more trouble was brewing.

Red pulled Oli out of her thoughts and told her to get her armour. There was a strange looking frostwyrm flying near the deck, so Oli changed as quickly as possible and whistled for Muski to follow her. Though on second thought she sent him away, not wanting him to be hurt.

The wyrm, or maybe it's rider? Was talking to the group once she got there, Red took Oli aside and told her to get out of there if she was in too much danger, though Oli made the promise knowing she'd break it if she had to.

The group and a few mooks took on the wyrm, which seemed impossibly strong. Oli got a boost onto the wall from one of the mooks to get a better vantage point but it seemed her shots only hit half the time.

While Oli became intently focused she missed the wyrm attacking Morag, and froze. She leaped down off the wall and ran to Mo's side, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. Rage took over, or it tried to, she was fighting it, knowing that the last few times she did it cost too much. Loosing control again would destroy her. She did however give chase to the wyrm but lost track when Kitza intercepted her and begged her to return.

With the trail cold, Olija returned with Kit to Morag and Lin's home. She stood while Lin sang so sweetly and sadly over Morag's prone form. The words cut so deep that they hurt physically to hear.
When the pandaren finished, Oli knelt beside her, offering what little support she could give. Then Lin requested that Oli and Kit find the bastards who took her little wolf and make them pay. Olija was only too happy to go after them, with or without Kitza's help in tracking them. She hared off without thinking, there was no time for it.

She soared back to Orgrimmar, following her instincts while fighting back the rage, which had by this point left a permanent mark on Oli, by staining her left eye permanently red with blood rage. So consumed with her goal she almost collided with someone in an attempt to reach the Zeppelin. Akechetta! She was surprised to see him and even more that he was lucid! She confirmed his fears, Morag was gone. However she told him what she intended to do about it and let him join her.

The moment the Zeppelin arrived the two were off again, pushed their mounts to the limits, finding their quarry amongst a strange formation of mushrooms. Olija landed with Ake, facing off something she'd never seen before. It looked like armour floating by itself with a very dark energy contained within. It made her spine prickle with cold but she didn't care, if this was the bastard behind Morag's death he would pay for it. Ake settled for fighting a strange looking elf that looked almost exactly like Kitza, only in a mostly dead creepy doll kind of way.


Olija fought the shade, who merely deflected or blocked her attacks, throwing her back almost every time. Eventually, Oli was too exhausted to fight and had to contend with her blood rage, trying to meditate was not an option so she tried to just calm herself without it. She had to do something, she'd never forgive herself if she gave up now.

Ake was out of the battle it seemed but otherwise not too badly hurt. Kitza had shown up out of nowhere but Oli had never been more grateful to see her. Kit fought her clone, it was intense and Oli had to keep her head down to avoid being hit by the fray. However Kit was unfortunate and almost lost her life in the process and had her soul ripped away from her too.

The Shade was about to leave but Oli went with her gut and called for him to wait. She stood and prayed for a miracle, her hand finding the pouch that held the voodoo doll she'd made, praying for forgiveness while she was at it. She asked what the shade was willing to trade for her to have Morag and Kits souls back unchanged and whole. She was running on her gut alone and while the Shade circled her, dismissing the power of Olija's soul he sensed her unborn son would have powers beyond her. Talking about corrupting it and twisting it to be capable of great and terrible things.
She was ready to agree, her thoughts turned to the young child spirit that had joined her before, but had been weakened by the Naruu attack. She wasn't sure if it would work, or if Albus could or would come to her aid once more. She could only pray, and being a not very religious or spiritual orc it was difficult for Oli to admit that.

Despite Ake and Rita's calls to stop she looked at Shade and agreed to the trade. Rita seemed to have come out of nowhere, but Oli was glad, if only a little, to have her nearby. Shade gave her a vial and told her he needed some of her blood to complete the trade. She bit through her hand to give it, without a second thought. The transaction was painful but Oli bore it as dignified as she could manage. She could feel more than see as Albus took her son's place during the swap, she had never been more relieved and yet so guilt ridden all at once. Shade didn't seem to notice, for which Oli was eternally thankful for and once he was done and handed over two soul containing orbs Oli took them, Rita and Kit back to Lin's home. She was sure Ake managed to get away on his own but was still worried about flying off without him.

Once she arrived back to where she'd left Lin and Morag, Olija almost fell off her drake in an attempt to had over the spirits to Lin before promptly collapsing in a dead faint. She doesn't know how Lin did it but the two souls were returned back to their rightful owners. She woke only briefly to explain what happened, and what she almost did in exchange for the souls. She can't remember much of Lin's reaction other than drinking a little cloud brew then falling asleep again.

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When Oli woke she couldn't be sure how much time had passed, but she woke up to find her head on Red's lap while the troll was stroking her hair. The affectionate gesture was strange but not unwelcome. Red seemed to already know what was troubling her but made Olija tell her anyway. She prepared a snake for Oli once the orc could stand on her own and while the two ate, Morag appeared in her wolf form nearby, distracting Oli from the odd meal.

She wrapped her arms around the she-wolf tightly, so relieved to see she was ok and really there, begging Morag to never go where she could not follow, and then claiming she would try anyway. She would have stayed right there, face and hand buried in Morag's fur for some time had Red not called her back over. She returned to eating the snake while Red climbed onto the fallen log nearby. Oli could tell the troll was getting annoyed while she spoke with Morag, promising she'd explain what happened later.

She followed Red up the log and did as she was told. Red was going to have her meditate while standing on one leg. An odd request but she went with it anyway. She found her forest again fairly quickly. Like before Red tried to break her concentration but she barely moved, that is till she heard Morag yelping and moved to see what had happened only to be scolded and put back on the log. She glared at Red but did as she was asked.

After more failed attempts at distraction (One being drenching Oli with a summoned cloud) Red left Oli with Morag with instructions to take up swimming, and to do a dozen laps or lengths of the lake behind them, she wasn't sure which so did lengths.

While she swam she kept glancing at Morag with every pass, wondering if she was alright, she seemed a little shaken up, but otherwise seemed ok. Once her exercise was over she climbed out and went to see if her clothes had dried from their earlier soaking. She was aware Morag was staring at her and was having so much trouble keeping her cheeks from darkening that it was hard to focus.

The two sat together near the fire, Oli watching Mo carve a small wooden replica of Duski. She was surprised at the detail being worked into it and even more so when Mo told her it would be for her son. She could have kissed Mo right then had she not just cut her hand with shaking fingers. She covered the small wound and the two began talking again. Oli held Morag to her chest when the she-wolf admitted she was scared, she remembered admitting the same thing not too long ago and just held Mo for a little while.

Another thing Mo admitted to, wanting to feel alive again, to do something life affirming. Oli could only smile and agree, neither of them leaving the hut for the rest of the day.

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The next couple of days, Oli spent most of her time with Red, either meditating or walking (riding) with her. Or hunting with Morag. Red kept reminding Olija that she did have a destiny to fulfil and that she should take up training in melee combat. Olija was all for the idea but when she heard that the person she'd be training with was, unabashedly evil or at least cruel in nature she felt not so sure. Red informed her that she would need this person's help in the near future and would have to convince or trick him into helping her. She wasn't sure how she was to do that exactly.

When Red brought her to Outland she felt nerves bundled up in her stomach like a squirming knot of rat tails. It was an awful feeling but she trusted red with her life and did not want to disappoint her. She kept her helmet on throughout the trip and remains as stoic as possible.

Kelfezond was not quite what she was expecting, though she could feel the insane malice rolling off of him once she stood face to face with him. Beside him were two male orcs, shackled to the floor in nought but loincloths. She ignored them for now, getting the feeling everything she did now would be judged. Once a little talking was out of the way Kelf gave her a few weapons to choose from. She picked two swords and tested them in her hands. They felt fairly light and easy to use. Returning to her previous position Kelf then asked Oli to kill one of the orcs. She prayed for forgiveness from him but decapitated the one to her left without a trace of remorse on her face, however she was inwardly cringing at the act. Reminding herself this was for the best was the only thing keeping her in this state without panicking. Next Kelf had her fight the other, unused to the blades it took a little while to bring the orc down but she decapitated him too.

Kelf seemed creepily delighted with her kills but spat on her technique. The undead man asked if she had trained with blood elves, to which she replied, she had not. He sneered at her 'fancy' sword play and told her that would get her killed, there was no place for honour or mercy when fighting. Oli disagreed but nodded to him anyway. Next, her opponent was Kelf himself, she abandoned one sword in favour of attempting to be more ferocious with one.


Her attempts at sword fighting were pretty feeble at best, though she did get one lucky shot it wasn't enough. Just under the knee of her left leg was struck with Kelf's blade twice, each biting deeply, almost to the bone and severing muscles. He offered her a reprieve if she surrendered. She did so and waited to see what he would do. At first she thought he was about to help her up or push her over, but she hadn't seen the attack coming till she got a face full of knee, her nose and mouth filling with blood very quickly.

“Rule number one. Never show or expect mercy.”

She glared but nodded, turning to bandage her wounded leg before standing up. It was only then that Kelfezond had remembered to ask her name. So Red hadn't told him? She gave the name 'Scarlet.' He snorted at that and called the name ridiculous, it didn't bother Olija too much but she had chosen it for a few reasons. Chiefly as she wanted to be reminded why she was here.

Kelf showed Olija to a small barracks where she would sleep and eat in between training with him. (section to be continued)

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After her week of intense training and a few days recovery Olija had made her way back to Orgrimmar, finding Morag, Elvira, Rita and another forsaken in the Wyvern's tail. She was glad to see them again all looking relatively well.

Just as they were about to start enjoying the evening the world shook. Everyone now on high alert decided to investigate what was going on. The skies were darkening, and Oli was sure there were things there that she could not see. She did not think to ask and just followed Morag and Rita to the source of this strange turn of events.

They were lead to the eastern Kingdoms, somewhere in an old Troll city in the Hinterlands. The group were faced with a grim looking scene. Husks of bodies lay on the floor of what looked like a crude arena, Shade was there on the dais, along with a few objects that Olija didn't quite get a good look at. Two frostwyrms hovered in the air.

Before she knew it they were battling against the risen husks, though they gained a few surprising companions at the battle wore on. Lin was the first to join them, then Shrapnel Lucy, and Kyda! Rita dealt quite a bit of damage to one of the wyrms that seemed to be quite focused on her. Olija managed to snap a bear trap over another's mouth to keep him from breathing frost fire their way. Kyda pulled off an insane stunt that landed her on the wyrm's back, holding on through what would normally have thrown anyone else off of it.

Muski had saved Mo's life but in doing so lost the use of one of his legs in the frost fire, he scampered off to lick his wounds, Oli was just thankful her boar was still alive. Lin had been knocked out at some point and poor Shrap was frozen in a block of ice. Rita was doing well holding her own and Morag was being pretty legendary in her attacks. Olija was pleased to have gotten many of her shots in though the wyrms were getting cocky, riling up the group.

In an attempt to save Morag, Olija's leg got caught in the beast's jaws, becoming quite badly damaged but perhaps heal able. The dragons began to attack together more frequently, Olija getting caught badly in one such dual attack, loosing her left leg below her knee. Kyda was eventually thrown off, or rather jumped off, one of the wyrms, to save herself from the impact of it hitting the ground. She had a fair few frostbites from being exposed to the icy flames, but she stood her ground along with the rest of them, despite being human amongst orcs, and undead, a pandaren, and a goblin.

Olija got up in time to call her boars to intercept and ground one of the wyrms, the small army of tusked warriors pounced on the wyrm to bring it down before scattering again at their mistress's orders.

It felt like hours had passed and the group was looking quite worse for wear, Kyda was knocked out but unharmed for the most part, Olija was standing, just about, the frost fire having cauterized her bloodied stump of a leg. Lin was almost crushed by the wyrm but the group couldn't let that happen! Rita was almost chomped by one of the wyrms but Olija shot the bastard in the throat with an explosive arrow, however in her haste she'd neglected to consider the charge from the blast, and Rita lost her jaw in the blast. Olija would have to make it up to her somehow but she couldn't focus on that right now, she didn't blame Rita for getting out of there either.

Just as the Morag summoned lava from the ground to kill one of the wyrms the beasts...well Oli wasn't sure what happened but it seemed one was absorbed by the other, and something one of them said, it made no sense but suddenly Morag was in pain and she could do nothing about it but watched, looking at her in horror.....