Aid from Beyond

[Rhonya]

The trek up the mountain was a long and tiring one. Step by step, Rhonya got higher and higher, but her breathing also got heavier and she started to feel the ache in her legs. Almost there.. she was almost there!
It was utterly dark around her and she had swapped her bright armour for dark brown tinted pants and a simple shirt with long sleeves, her hair bound up in a long ponytail that hung heavy on her back. She risked a glance over her shoulder, smiling as she watched the small puffs of wind clear out her footprints, blowing the sand around where she stepped. Srelok had aided her with that little trick when she’d gone to update him about the former evenings happenings, to make sure she couldn’t be followed that easily.

Finally, she reached the top. The air was clear here, the night sky stretching out all above her. Her hair moved as the little wind spirit twirled around her before disappearing. It’d probably be back later. With a deep sigh Rhonya sat herself down, taking a moment to catch her breath and drink a little. The bag she’d been carrying was gently set aside.
The place was abandoned for now, but not empty. Large totems towered over drums that surrounded a ritual circle. The circle in turn was filled with items, bowls and offerings, various carved wooden idols and painted rocks.


Rhonya stayed away from the circle. It wasn’t hers, the Tauren had made it long ago, and she wouldn’t use it. But this mountain had a ritual circle on it for a reason, the Tauren believing it brought them closer to their spirits, their sun and their moon. Perhaps the veil between the worlds was thinner here. It was worth a try.
So she started to set up her own little circle, a respectful distance from the larger one.
It was a circle of several bowls, one filled with earth, one with a burning stick of incense in some sand, one with water and one with a feather. All representing the four elements. In the middle she placed a small rabbit carcass, freshly killed, on top of some wooden sticks.
She herself remained sitting inside the circle, in front of the rabbit and made herself comfortable, closing her eyes. Her soft voice filled the quiet night air.

“Air, fire, earth, water, wilds.. I call on all of you. I plea for your aid, to help me find and thank a certain spirit.
A spirit that aided us in times of need, that aided us without being asked to by any of us. A spirit I don’t know, but would like to know…
Dear spirit, if you can hear me..”

With a small flint and tinder box and a small mutter, Rhonya set the wood and rabbit in front of her on fire. First the smell of burning fur filled the air, but moments later it started to smell of burned meat.

“I offer to you, spirit of the windroc, this rabbit. I offer to you, spirit , my blood. “
With those words she grabbed her ritual knife, slicing it across her palm, letting some of her blood drip into the fire.

“You saved my blood. My family, so I gift you mine as a sign of trust, as a thank you. Please, accept my offerings, accept my thanks…”

Rhonya remained quiet now, her eyes closed, her bleeding fist still hanging above the fire as she waited patiently, hoping for an answer, a sign, anything.

A few moments, nothing. No sound at all aside from the still slightly burning rabbit, the sizzling of the drops of blood falling into the fire and evaporating into the air. No movement of anything, no change in light as far as she could notice with her eyes closed.
Then, suddenly, something softly brushed along her cheek, down her neck and over her shoulder. For a moment Rhonya thought the little air elemental had returned, but it disappeared again and it hadn’t felt the same as the one Srelok had asked to accompany her. 
Again, a light touch. This time different. Warmer, softer, making the hairs on her arms rise and goose bumps appear on her skin. Just as fast as the first one, this one disappeared as well. 


Rhonya remained sitting for a little while longer, slowly opening her eyes. The rabbit wasn’t burning anymore and she actually didn’t know how long she had been sitting there. Her wound had stopped bleeding and she now felt the muscles in her arm were entirely cramped because she had been holding it forwards all the time. A small smile appeared on her face though.

“I’m glad you came.. Thank you.” She whispered, before standing up slowly, giving her body the chance to get the blood flowing properly again through her legs before she turned to the edge of the mountain.
Now some sand moved close to her feet again in weird patterns and Rhonya recognized the somewhat cheerful presence of the little air elemental. “Welcome back..” she said softly, her smile growing.


Leaving all the things she brought behind, she started her trip back down the slope of the mountain, pondering on what had happened. So there were two, at the very least. Two different ones, keeping a close eye on the orcs and what they were doing. The touch had been very faint however, something Rhonya found odd, seeing most spirits liked to make themselves known a bit more by showing what they could do. Especially because she had seen the windroc very clearly before and according to Nosh’marak, the spirit helping them the day before had actually given him the strength to stand up again and withstand the mist. There was power in them, that was for sure.

Now the questions remained.. Who or what were they, and why were they helping the orcs?
Rhonya sighed softly. She was happy though for now. If she had pried too much they might’ve taken it as an insult, so for now a ‘thank you’ and an actual acknowledgement had to be enough. At least she could tell the others with a certainty now they were watched over by something, aiding them along the way… It made her feel better.

Perhaps hope wasn’t lost yet.

[Okiba]

Lovely story Rhon!

[Kintka]

I like it. Reading stuff like this helps give me ideas on how things should be done Shaman wise! Keep them coming! 

[Rhonya]

Haha thank you! Many ways of doing it though, I just kind of base it on irl shaman /pagan rituals and things. (Google is your friend!) Everyone sort of does it in their own way.