Pt. 1: Doubting One's Goodbye
It had been days since Huoyue had left the Kor'kron Legion and returned to the Shado-pan and to her home. And yet, she still felt wrong. This hadn't been the first time she had played the part of faction player, her time in Alliance had been long, informative, and most importantly dull. Leaving the Alliance to bring it's various information and idiosyncrasies hadn't been an issue: she was better than them and she knew it. Alliance were hypocrites, weak, prone to lying, and completely unfocused. Horde though, Horde was different.
She had volunteered to join the Horde when it was made known the Shado-pan needed information on them given their actions in the Vale. She was well suited for such; the Pandaren was a large, busty woman, well muscled but with a very bombastic personality. People could take her seriously while also thinking her not a threat; which is exactly how the Horde took her. But, unlike the Alliance, the people of the Horde were endearing. Honest, goal oriented, boastful, varied. She was sent to learn from them and instead had made friends of them. It was with heavy heart that she left them. She told herself they would forget her, but secretly she wished they would not. Though in the end, her wants are of no matter. The Shado-pan needs information to thrive, and she was sent to get that information.
Pt. 2: The Problem with Violence.
Heng Guo is a Blackguard of the Shado-pan. A large muscled veteran of many conflicts with the Mantid and the Yaungol. And he is also Huoyue's commander. On a cold evening, hidden within a little known cave in the Eternal Vale he and Huoyue met for debriefing. Many eyes stared on as they awaited their spy, eyes that could not be seen without a careful glance: even the soldiers of the Shado-pan were expected to know how to maintain a low profile. Huoyue joined her order to silence, but a smile was none the less upon her face as she entered the cave. "Hoi Master Heng, I return with much to tell." she spoke with a smile before giving the other Pandaren a light hearted punch upon the soldier. He remained silent and shook his head. "You've been among them to long Huoyue. That hurt, you should show a tad more restraint." she looked at her paws a moment and then closed them in a fist. "It wasn't to hard Master. Just showing you how excited I am to return. I have been growing tired of Trolls, Orcs, Forsaken. By the Tiger, time with them has done nothing but make me want to go straight to war with the lot of them!"
Heng gave Huoyue a long cold stare. "Truly you've been among them to long. Such speak of violence is unbecoming to a Shado-pan. Perhaps we will need to return to training before you are accepted back." she was taken aback by this: she was Huoyue, she was beyond training. "I was merely joking with you Master." she lied "I am merely nervous of what must be done... the information I have for you is much important, as you can likely tell from the Goblins working in the Vale." He nodded his head and clasped a hand upon her shoulder before letting out a laugh. "You're right, we're all on edge here. Come, sit and tell me of your time with the Horde. Tell us what we're dealing with."
Pt. 3: Anger at How Things Refuse to Change.
Huoyue stayed at the Setting Sun Garrison, a base of operations for the Shado-pan in the Vale. She felt happy to be back, and spent the remainder of her day telling tales among her own, and of course eating to a gluttonous extent. When the sun finally fell upon the Vale and she went to bed, her mind was none the less troubled. Her guardian spirit, the flame sprite Huo Zi could tell his master was troubled and nestled close to her trying to ease her mind the only way it knew how: by being there. The trouble was, she wasn't quite sure herself why she was troubled: this was home, this was her people, why did it still feel wrong? None the less, she knew she needed her rest, so fell back on the exercises taught to her to keep her mind clear and soon drifted to sleep.
She awoke to the sound of fighting. The Warrior leaped out of bed, dressed into her arms and armor quickly and rushed outside, merely to find a group of trainees going about their normal exercises. She exhaled and shook her head; the Horde had made her a bit jumpy it seemed. She laughed it off as she went to join the senior members of the Shado-pan on planning what was to be done of the Horde's invasion of the Vale. She was taken aback as she entered the planning room and found it mostly barren, save for only her old master: Heng Guo. She gave an uneasy chuckle. "Sir, am I early? Where are the others?". The large Pandaren looked up from his tea and merely stated. "Early for what?". "Early for planning! The Horde are biting deep into the Vale, something must be done of it." she exclaimed. He merely shook his head. "While your information is valuable, Lord Zhu has commanded the Horde to leave the Vale, we will go to action next season, should they not comply. For now, aid as you can around the garrison. There is much that need done you know.".
She stared long and hard at the older Pandaren and then stomped her foot upon the floor. "What reason was I sent to watch if you won't listen?! The Horde won't leave, that much is certain, the only course of action is to fight!" she gripped her paws into a fist and bared a fang. Heng tilted his head, gave a heavy sigh and approached Huoyue. "Calm yourself sister. We can't merely go straight into action for every slight. All that does is make more enemies, enemies we don't need. The Horde have aided us with the Thunder King. We owe them this much." She merely glowered "I've told you already, there is the Horde, and there is Garrosh's Horde. They are not the same. If we don't do something now, who knows what may happen!". Heng gave her a long, stern glare. "You will follow Lord Zhu's orders, you are a soldier, not a leader, and you will play that part.". "To hell with Lord Zhu!" Without thinking she lashed out against the Pandaren and hooked a fist into his jaw. She pulled back quickly and balled her hands together, a look of worry on her face. "Master I..." she wasn't permitted to finish her sentence as the senior Shado-pan popped his jaw into place and spoke. "The Horde really has changed you. You're no good to us like this." his words were not filled with anger, merely low and sullen. "Leave here, go to the Monastery and relearn with the novices. Until you can control yourself, you are not wanted." she bowed her head low, hurt, and gave a nod. Turning and leaving the Garrison, she and Huo Zi made for Kun Lai Summit.
Pt. 4: Hating those who help.
The sounds of battle assaulted the young Warrior's ears. Orcish battle cries, the clash of steel, the howling lament of many. Huoyue found herself face to face with Garrosh's Horde as they assaulted the Shrine of Two Moon's. Among the dead were the Shado-pan, countless faces she had known and called friend. Mixed among them were even faces of friends she had made of the Horde during her short time. The Pandaren took her weapon in hand and prepared to fight when from behind she heard a yell. "Hold Huoyue, this is not our battle!". She looked over her shoulder and there was Heng Guo side by side with many of the senior leadership of the Shado-pan, even Lord Zhu himself. "People are dying and they need our help!" she bellowed back. "They have till the end of the season to leave. This is our way sister. Stand with us, all we can do is wait." Huoyue's body shook with rage, and she did not comply. She went to fight Garrosh's Horde but was stopped in her tracks as Lord Zhu and Heng Guo both grabbed her and kept her from moving.
"Let me go!" she exclaimed. "Calm yourself sister. We can't merely go straight into action for every slight. All that does is make more enemies, enemies we don't need. The Horde have aided us with the Thunder King. We owe them this much." he told her in a calm tone. She struggled and thrashed against the pair, but they didn't seem to even budge under her strength. "I'll kill them all myself if I have to! They're just pathetic drones! No better than the mantid who follow their empress!" she screamed out when from the crowd came the bellowing cackle of an Orc. His coming was preceded by sparks of green fire as he stood out among the crowd. It was a Warlock, one that Huoyue recognized immediately. "Drahkag you coward, come here so I can kill you!" her eyes were red with rage and her muscles tensed. But none the less, the two Pandaren held her as if she were an angry child.
The Orc approached her slowly. Each step tinged with fire. Each moment more mockery poured from his mouth. "Silly little Panda. You're people never had a chance. Look at them, they just stand there and do nothing. We'll make slaves of them yet, they have a history of it you know.". The Warrior's eyes narrowed. "Listen to what he says! We have to fight!" she pleaded, but the two Pandaren merely held her tight as the Warlock came closer and closer. Eventually placing his hand upon her
head, sending searing hot fire through her being. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came.
Huoyue had always had trouble with sleep, or at least she has had such problems since joining the Shado-pan. The Sha change a person, they say that fighting just one changes a person forever, and fighting more only makes them stronger. This was quite true. For some it would be simple things; little mirages of long dead friends, or voices on the wind. Others it was much more serious; waking hallucinations or insanity. For Huoyue, it was her dreams, she had never quite been able to cope with the nightmares that plagued her. The only remedy should could ever find was finding others to sleep with, their presence giving her at least some grip on reality, some knowledge that it was merely in her mind. When she rented a room at a Grummle inn on the first night of her journey to Kun Lai, aside from Huo Zi, she was quite alone, and thankfully, no one was wakened by her fearful screams.
Pt. 5: Fearing Yourself.
Huoyue had been at the White Tiger Temple for days. The Tiger and the Shado-pan had a long, rich history spanning back before the Shado-pan had been given their all important task by the Emperor. It was here that much training for the Shado-pan took place, where foes of all races and callings could be found. Here was where Huoyue spent her childhood, among the fighters and boasters of Pandaria. It really is no surprise she turned into the boisterous woman she is. Often she had wondered if she had missed her calling and should have devoted herself to the Tiger rather than the Shado-pan, but being among the elite of Pandaria was family tradition, and not something she would ever go against. Her mind was troubled, she spent her days in meditation among the open air of Kun Lai Summit. But try as she might she could not dispel the demons that sat heavy upon her mind. That is, till Logarnosh came to her.
Upon joining the Blackblades of the Kor'kron Legion. Huoyue had been given a feather. A magical item that allowed the woman to be tracked. She had forgotten about the artifact so when the Orc came upon her it was by surprise. She hadn't wanted to be found, but spoke at length with the Orc none the less. Giving words to her feelings made her think. They talked long, about the history of the Horde, about the shortcomings of the Pandaren way of restraint, about how you need to simply be yourself when the time comes.
The debate hung heavy upon her even as the Orc departed. He had told her that she needs to be herself. That none can get to the perfection the Pandaren strive for. And he was right, he truly was. But none the less, Huoyue was afraid. Not of Garrosh, not afraid for Pandaria. She was afraid of herself. Was being Huoyue being violent? Was it attacking people because they wouldn't agree with her? So many thoughts plagued the Warrior. But one thing that Logarnosh said floated freely through her thoughts. Garrosh was a threat. Garrosh had attempted genocide on an entire people and would do it again. At this moment, it didn't matter what doubts and fears were laid upon the Pandaren. She needed to leave, and she needed to fight. And it was exactly what she would do.
Pt. 6: Despair
When Huoyue was born, her parents remarked about how she never seemed to stop making noise. As she grew, the early babbling and crying of the starting years was replaced by words. Her days in the Tiger Temple were spent largely asking questions of any person who would listen, and when she wasn't questioning, she was typically boasting of what few little triumphs she deemed important. She almost didn't make it into the Shado-pan: not because she lacked in skill, but because she was so incredibly boastful and proud of herself. Characteristics which served her well when she joined the Alliance, and later the Horde as a spy: no one would expect a spy to have such a big mouth.
When the call to action came to stop Garrosh from gaining an unknown weapon of dark power, she rose to the challenge. She and many others who hated Garrosh's Horde stood against him with the intent of keeping this power from his greedy hands. Donning the mask of the Shado-pan she marched out. Side by side with the last defenders of the Vale: Golden Lotus, Shado-pan, and rebel, she fought and killed various Orcs she had once called comrade as she strove for the dread weapon Garrosh had found. But the might of the Warchief was too great, greater than even the mighty Taran Zhu. Huoyue saw the great Pandaren fall, and in her heart she felt the deepest despair.
When the heart of Y'shaarj plunged into the hallowed pools of the Vale, Huoyue was there. And for the first time in her entire life, the young Pandaren fell silent.
Pt. 7: Pride's Folly
The explosion of Y'shaarj's heart had left Huoyue battered and hurt. She laid there as a bruised mess for days, living off of little else but rations she had always kept on her person. The dark energies of the explosion had kept her communicator from working, so she did all she could do: she clawed herself away. When she finally found herself able to make the call for aid, the Sha were immediately upon her.
But her call was met, and under what was once the Golden Pagoda, Kor'kron met the onslaught of the Sha, alongside various rebel forces that had came searching for the lost Pandaren. The fighting was intense, the Sha taking many forms in their assault: but it mattered little. They still fell to the might of the Horde. When the Sha knew they could not keep up, they possessed the young Warrior and began their attack anew, using her body as both shield and sword. Despite this, tempers flared and rebels fought on against loyalist despite the looming danger of the Sha possessed Pandaren. A common cry was for Huoyue's blood, the Pandaren being called a traitor in her possessed state. Something she heard well despite having no control over her body.
The fighting was frozen, however, with the coming of the Celestial Xuen. Who would not allow Huoyue to fall. With a great rumble, he told of how she was destined to be Golden Lotus, but her parents would not allow it. And how he would refuse to see one of Pandaria's own fall upon Vale soil again.
Huoyue was revived from her downed state, but had little time to explain what had happened. She knew well that Kor'kron wanted her blood, they had been given no reason for this call to arms, but she knew she wouldn't have a chance to explain. So she did the only thing she could do: she called to the Rebels, and she ran.
Epilogue:
Huoyue's dreams were still filled with terrors that night. She had never been touched in such a way by the Sha. And her heart was still filled with that which Y'shaarj feasted. Xuen did not cure, only Huoyue could do that. So the Pandaren went on, hated by her former comrades, and the touch of Sha within her.