Chapter 22
"I was born on the planes of what are now called the Barrens, born into the Wolfhoof tribe. My mother, I don't have many memories of her in life, but she still communes with me through the spirits. She was the lead shaman of the tribe, and so strong enough to manifest in this realm. My father, I don't remember him well. He is not strong enough to speak with me.
"I think I also had a sister and brother, but I cannot recall for sure. My mother does not speak of them, if they even existed.
"I was still young at the time, still very young when the centaurs came upon us. One thing I will never forget, is the sound.
"It started as a low thud that echoed across the barren fields. I thought it was simply a herd of kodo, wandering deep into our lands. But, it grew louder and louder, until the rocks bounced on the soil." He paused. Words were coming easier, now that he was speaking.
"I can remember one of the elders shouting 'centaurs' and another screaming 'raid'. The other children and I had been taught what to do in such a situation, and immediately we rushed to the safety of our tents. Outside, we could hear the battle as it raged. All the sounds of combat: the screams of mothers, the cries of warriors, the clanging of steel or the ripping and rending of flesh. Soldiers falling on either side, and the cries of civilians that are inevitably caught between two opposing sides.
"Needless to say, that day, the centaurs won, though in the worst sense of the word. They hadn't come to colonize or dominate, they came with the single intention to destroy. To ravage the lands I lived. To burn, to pillage, and to rape what they could find."
Taff shifted his eyes about the small, stuffy tent. Words came easier than he expected, it was strangely easy, even satisfying to continue.
"When they finished with our warriors and women, they began to look for us. I was just a calf then, hiding with the others. The centaurs set fire to the tents to smoke us out. My lungs burned and I blindly ran into the open. The centaurs threw a net over me and bound me to the ground.
"With out the adults, we were helpless. We'd only begun our training in the arts of warfare, we didn't stand a chance against an army of armed monsters.
"They killed most of us that day in the hot Barrens sun. They cut open some of our throat like the humans do pigs. I guess that's how the centaurs saw us, as nothing more than livestock.
"For a few others, the centaurs doused the calves in alcohol and set fire to them. I can still remember the screams, the smell of burning skin and hair that wafted over the planes.
"I was taken as a slave to the centaurs. They'd of killed me if I didn't do what they asked of me." Taff almost choked on his words, but caught himself. "Its amazing what you can do to survive," he shivered.
"I-I'm sorry," the undead said.
"After many years of servitude, I was able to escape," the tauren continued. "When the centaurs could find no tauren to kill, they turned on each other. One day, the clan that held me captive where engaged in a massive battle. I fled in the confusion."
"Taff," Eck stuttered. "By the Dark Lady, Taff," he said, shaking his head. "I-I didn't know."
"Well now you do," the tauren remarked, with a mixture of distress and acid lacing his voice.
"These aren't the same centaurs though," Eck offered.
"They are centaurs," he growled. "And mark my words, if they didn't need us, they'd do the same."
"Do you remember when we worked with that Alliance squad in secret, about two years ago?"
The tauren nodded.
"We worked with that human, and it made my skin crawl. I wanted nothing more than to kill that human, rip her flesh from her bones for what her kind did to Elizabeth and I. But I didn't, because of my loyalties to the Dark Lady, the Horde, and the team. I didn't allow my personal hatreds to compromise the mission."
The undead rose and made his way out of the tent. He turned back to the grey bull just before he left the tent. "I won't blame you if you leave. Its nearly impossible to swallow detest that has boiled inside of one for decades. But if you stay, I hope your feelings won't compromise the mission."
With that, he disappeared.