I DO NOT OWN ANY OF BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT'S TRADEMARKED MATERIAL

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Khonaga: Koh-nah-guh

Onamai: Ah-nuh-may

Tyraku: Tear-ah-koo (the "Tyr" sound is made kind of fast)

Okothos: Oh-kah-thos (thos sounds like dose)

Sarabi: Suh-rah-bee

Liwatha: Lee-wah-thuh

Valerian: Vuhl-air-ee-un

Helfang: Hell-fang (this one shouldn't be hard)

Chapter 1

Strange & Faraway Lands

This voyage would be the death of him. He had no doubt in his mind that he would die if they did not reach Orgrimmar soon. The crew of The Mighty Wind went about their duties, oblivious to the large, sickly taunka who sat huddled next to the brazier. Khonaga Steelhoof once more reached for the bucket the goblin first mate had given to him in case of an "unsteady constitution". When he had finished heaving the contents of his stomach into the alarmingly full bucket, he washed his mouth with water from his canteen. He huddled back into himself to conserve warmth, & glared sullenly at the first mate.

My constitution is just fine. This is merely unnatural. If we were meant to fly, then the Earth-Mother would have given us wings, you green-skinned little weasel, Khonaga thought bitterly. Dusk was fast approaching & he knew that he needed to eat something. He had gone without food since they set out from Warsong Hold three days ago. He began to dig through his pack looking for the rations he had purchased at the fortress before their departure. He picked out two apples, a loaf of day old bread, & a wedge of cheese. As he ate, he gradually began to feel better, & was soon enjoying newfound strength creeping through his limbs. He threw the cores of the apples into the brazier, & stood to stretch his legs. His armor clanged & creaked as he stood to his full height of eight feet & looked around the deck of the zeppelin. Captain LaFontaine had already retired to his cabin for the evening, & the night crew was beginning to relieve their daytime compatriots. He nodded to Grunt Gritch & made his way into the cargo hold.

The sounds & smells of dozens of animals assaulted his senses when he stepped off the stairs. As he was walking past a purple raptor, a musical voice behind him said, "Ya kodo ain't lookin' too good, mon. I tink zeppelin travel be disagreein wit 'im."

Steelhoof turned to see a small troll female tending to the reptile in its pen. Her bright red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, save for the small braids that hung down on either side of her face. She was smiling & humming as she scratched the scales on the underside of her raptor's jaw. The raptor stood there with his massive head held back & his eyes closed in pure ecstasy. He was perfectly content to allow the ministrations to continue, until the large red-furred taunka came near his master. The large reptile swung its head around, glaring at the taunka, & began to make a strange noise, somewhere between a growl & a hiss.

Steelhoof slowly raised his hands slowly & looked the animal straight in the eye as he said, "Be at ease, friend. I mean your master no harm."

The raptor returned his gaze before slowly lifting his head back up, indicating he wished for the woman to resume her scratching. He kept one eye on the taunka as he stepped closer to the troll, but made no further threatening noises. Steelhoof inclined his head towards the woman & introduced himself. "I am Khonaga Steelhoof, of Icemist Village. I am honored to meet you…?"

"My name be Onamai, of de Darkspear tribe. It be a pleasure ta meet joo as well, Steelhoof. Ya name be a mighty one, & one dat I've heard many times in Northrend", she said as she stepped out of the stall & looked up, taking note of the high quality plate armor that covered the towering warrior. "Joo wouldn't happen ta be da same Legionaire Steelhoof who singlehandedly killed all of General Wyrmbane's honor guard & den da general himself in de last battle for de Isle of Conquest?"

"Indeed I am, Onamai. But I must confess, your name has the ring of recognition for me as well."

Onamai's eyes glittered mischievously as she smiled around her small tusks, & said, "Oh, come on now. Joo wouldn't be goin & believin a bunch of gossip, now would ya?"

Steelhoof looked at the staff lying in the corner of her mount's stall. It was an exceptional piece of work, ornately carved, & glowing with arcane runes. This was not the staff of a simple conjurer. Steelhoof also inspected the clothes of the troll female. Silken robes that seemed to catch the firelight & shift colors with the shadows covered the tiny blue woman from head to feet. Steelhoof knew his suspicions to be confirmed.

"Yes, I seem to recall hearing stories of a female troll mage who led several successful excursions into Icecrown Citadel. That wouldn't be you now would it?" he asked, smiling at the woman.

Onamai cackled, & raised her hands in surrender, "Ya got me Mistah Warrior. It was indeed me dat led dose groups of fightahs into de Citadel of de Dead."

Steelhoof chuckled & leaned back against the wall as he asked the troll mage, "So what business awaits you in Kalimdor? Surely with the War against the Lich King over you will go home? I know that your people recently took back your ancestral home from a mad witch doctor."

Onamai walked back into the stall to retrieve her staff, & as she walked out she said sadly, "Aye dat be part of de reason I be headin home. I do wish ta see what trouble Vol'jin has gotten into & see da great city my people have built. But de main reason I be headin home is because my fadah died in de fightin. I be returnin home ta pay my respects & see my sistah before I report ta my Guild Mastah in Orgrimmar."

Khonaga bowed before the tiny mage & said sincerely, "May the Earth-Mother watch over his spirit. I am certain he died with pride & honor, fighting for his home & his people."

The mage smiled sweetly around her tusks & looked up at the warrior as she said, "It be a pleasure ta have met joo, Legionaire Steelhoof. It duz my heart good ta know dat one more member of de Horde made it tru diss hellish war. Even when so many uddahs did not."

Suddenly the sweet smile was gone from her face & she looked off into the distance, as if thinking of a long lost memory. She suddenly turned back to the raptor waiting patiently in the stall, but before she got all the way around, Steelhoof caught a glimpse of tears flowing down Onamai's face.

"May the wind always be at your back, Onamai of the Darkspear tribe", Steelhoof said solemnly, as he slipped by & left the woman to her memories. The spirits knew that he had enough of his own to haunt him for the rest of his days. He walked down to the stall where his kodo lay down in the straw, in what appeared to be absolute misery. The great beast barely opened his left eye to regard the taunka who stepped into his stall.

"How are you feeling today, Maximus? Any better than yesterday", Steelhoof asked the animal. The great black war kodo regarded him with something close to contempt, as he rumbled in a pitiful manner. "I know how you feel. I'm not much better than you are, at this moment. You should eat something. It helped me a great deal."

Maximus halfheartedly opened his mouth & ate a chunk of the hay lying in the trough of his stall. "There. Better?" Steelhoof inquired. His mount merely grumbled, but continued to eat, albeit slowly. Steelhoof merely chuckled & shook his head at the animal's obstinate nature. He checked all the bags that were tied to the kodo's saddle once again to make sure that nothing had been stolen by the crew or any of the other passengers. He did not like to think that anyone would do such a thing, but one of the other passengers was an undead rogue, & he knew that people in that particular line of profession had tendencies of kleptomania. The bags had been a gift from a friend & were crafted from the rare frostweave material.

After making sure that everything was there, he patted the animal on his massive side, & walked out of the stall to head back up to the main deck. Khonaga looked out upon the sea of blackness that was the sky, & lamented that the stars would once again be absent this night. He nodded once more to Grunt Gritch & made his way to the bunk he had been assigned for the duration of the voyage. Captain LaFontaine had said that they would reach Orgrimmar sometime before midday tomorrow, & Khonaga was glad that this particular journey was almost over.

As he lay down on his bunk, his mind shifted back to the troll mage, & her faraway look as her mind had excavated whatever haunting memory that had taken the laughter from her eyes. Yes, my dear mage. We all have our scars from this war. The only question is, will they ever fully heal? He thought ruefully. Khonaga then closed his eyes & tried unsuccessfully to sleep without dreams