Author's Note: This is my first Warcraft story, set to Cataclysm. Not all lore may be followed, as the village that Shars'bak grows up in, does not really exist in WoW as we know it.
Shars'Bak originally was a Resto-Druid in training who never quite made it, who was eventually recruited by Feral Druid teachers. He has incomplete training and this is where the story picks up.
To find oneself...
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When the village-folk tolerated Shars'bak, they called him many things like: Fleetfoot, Jumptall and Eyeshine. When the community became tired of his rather scatter-brained nature, he recieved other names such as Backbreaker, Hangbelly or Bentwhisker. Such was the life of a young Druid, who in his early years, was raised in the Restoration teachings, until his lackluster talent caught the attention of the Feral Druid teachers.
Shars'bak looked at the village elder with fear in his eyes, unable to meet his gaze. This meeting had been planned days in advance, and was sure to spark some kind of punishment.
"Shars'bak, we find you unconcerned with your future. When do you expect to make something of yourself? All the other young ones in your age group have already moved on..." There was a long pause before the village elder contiuned in a voice that was soft, yet harsh, "When will you do the same?"
Although they were in an outside setting, sitting on cut log benches that were a good distance from each other, the elder's words rang clear as day.
"Elder Brunthorn, with all due respect, I don't know if the war on Deathwing or the struggle against the Alliance is for me. You're asking me to leave my home, and venture into the world, with little to no idea, of what to expect. I rather live in peace here in Tanak'Talon, healing others or protecting those I love. Why do you insist on sending me away from here? Is this not the second largest Tauren settlement, aside from Thunderbluff?"
The two Tauren which flanked the Elder on either side whispered to the Elder in tones too low to hear, not taking their eyes off of Shars'Bak. The talking contiuned for a minute, before one of the Elder's assistants pulled out a scroll of paper from a container hanging on his belt, that Shars'Bak had not noticed before.
"As it is written in the Book of Times, all young ones must find their destiney outside of the walls of Tanak'Talon. To refuse so, is to bring shame to your bloodline. Your parents, if they were still here now, would have wanted you to seek out your future," said the assistant to the Elder's right.
As if by que, the assistant on the left spoke as well, "Druid nature is like that of the seasons; they travel, they learn, they adapt. They do not bind themselves to one place for a long time. You on the other hand, stare into the clouds for hours, days, weeks on end. To allow this to keep on happening, would be a disservice to you, and this village."
There was a long pause while Elder Brunthorn's eyes seemed to burn into Shars'bak's figure. When Shars'bak did not reply, the elder seemed dissapointed, so he finally spoke.
"In nature after a period of time, the young leave the nest to find their way in life, but here you are, wishing to hide in the skirts of this town, to amount to nothing. Taurens don't do that. Druids don't do that. I have a feeling the only way I am going to cure you of your day dreaming is banishment. It would have been easier if your parents were here, but alas. The only way to fix it is harsh reality."
If the young Druid could have cried, he would have been throwing a calflike fit. Banishment? Sure something like this had been brought up before, but it had seemed like a hollow threat. He was but 21 years old, and hardly ventured from the protection of the village. What Druid ever put themselves into banishment unless they were mad?
"No, Elder, please.. I'll die! I'm .. I'm a friendly Druid, I like to heal things!" Shars'bak was almost whimpering, but the last shreds of his dignity wouldn't allow it.
The elder got up, and so did his assistants, all seeming to grow in height.
"One year forced exile. You said you worried about defending yourself, feeding yourself and the such? The lion is a top predator on many food chains. The druidic lion is no exception. They have many ways to defend themselves, from mangling their enemies, to shreding them to bits. They are known to be exceptionally friendly to the helpless, even exude healing qualities." The elder paused, to gather his thoughts, "While some may consider it harsh to exile you away from here, this is the only hope we have to force you to grow up, and to get away from the safety of home. We will be sending you a good distance away from Tanak'Talon, with no hope to return, until your sentence is done."
Shars'bak couldn't tell if he was hallucinating, when a pair of well-muscled lions appeared from nowhere, seeming to appear out of thin air, walking in step. They began to chant in such a way that Shars'Bak felt like invisible weights were holding him down.
"No! I'm sorry.. I'm Smmmerree"... The sentence was cut short when Shars'Bak fell to his hands and saw his fingers melting into what appeared to be paws. The end of the sentence ended in a weak roar, and Shars'Bak nearly soiled himself, when one of the assistants pulled out a mirror. When Shars'Bak stared into it, he saw not himself, but a tan lion staring back at him.
"Remeber, one year from today, I will summon you back to see if you have learned anything. I give you this - a neckpiece that will let you know when the time is drawing close. It may appear to be nothing more than a simple bird skull, but as time passes, it will go from being a deep blue color, to gold. When this happens, I will come for you. Do not disappoint me."
And with that, Shars'Bak saw blackness.
When Shars'Bak slowly came back to the realm of the living, his arms and legs felt like they had been through a marathon. Every square inch of his body ached and the pain was slowly building up from annoying to downright torment. Shars'Bak forced his eyes open and found himself staring at a moon and star-lit world of vegitation, sand and water. He made an attempt to get up, but quickly found himself stumbling back to earth, chin on the ground. His limbs seemed to fail on him, and not bend the way he wanted to, but at least he was awake, and out of whatever nightmare he had slipped into. Thing is, Shars'Bak could not remember wandering into the forest, or the forest ever being by a large body of water.
The Druid recalled the weird dream from earlier, talking to the elder and then being banished; it left him unsettled and wondering if he should tell anyone in the village what he had imagined. Shars'Bak snorted, and couldn't wait to shake it off with another hum drum day at the village. Whatever was going on, he would go to one of the village doctors, to figure it out.
Still lost in thought, Shars'Bak used both hands to right himself, and finally looked down, gasping in horror. Even in the dim moonlight he could tell that something wasn't right. He wasn't looking at his normal three-fingered hands, he was looking at a four-toed, fur-covered paw. A lion's paw. In another second, a roar could be heard echoing through the trees, as Shars'Bak rose to his feet, and started breathing rapidly. The rush of the previous day hit him with such a force that he sat there staring into space for a few seconds.
Something shiney caught his eye, and he looked down, to see a necklace resting on a small fern; it was the same bird pendent that Elder Brunthorn had shown him, after his change. The Druid cautiously picked up the item in a paw and saw that it had a string attached to it, just long enough so that he could wear it around his neck. After a few tries, Shars'Bak got it around his mane, and let the necklace settle into his fur so that the only hint that anything was around his neck was the very tip of the birdskull's beak showing through is fur.
With that accomplished, suddently the forest seemed very loud and very alien, all the bird calls and animal noises in the night, being amplified. -What will I do now? I have no idea where I am, and even if I did, who would I go to?- Shars'Bak thought, bitterly.
The Druid's belly growled loudly, as if demanding to be the mental conversation. Shars'Bak looked around, studying where he was. For one, it was the dead of night, and for two, here he was less than a few blocks away from the ocean, and at the edge of a forest. This meant there was a beach nearby, and maybe the chance of something to eat. The forest also provided oppertunities of food-stuffs, but the forest offered more cover and chances to blend in with the scenery.
Considered his Druidic lion form, Shars'Bak could see perfectly in the dark, and had no trouble making his way deeper into the forest. He could tell his sense of hearing had also improved and he could, with concentration, hear more sounds in the night. He could hear the birds squabbling int he tree above, and the slither of a snake some distance away.
Right now, the best course of action seemed to be finding a place to settle down for the night, then seeing about hunting in the early morning.
Shars'bak treaded deeper into the thick forest, and found a lean-to not a mile in, that appeared to have no inhabitants. With a few quick sniffs in the air, and a long listen, Shars'Bak finally settled down for the night in a shallow depression created by a felled log.
-I wonder if the elder told everyone where I am at? Or if I have been exiled? I wonder if anyone will miss me, seeing as I was the point of everyone's joke?- Shars'Bak rested his chin on his paws and rolled over to look at the small patch of starts he could see through the tree cover. Everything seemed so peaceful over here, but he was sure it would change soon.
I will make the next chapters a bit longer and introduce new characters, very soon.