The first tale was actually scribed by Mharin's mate. If only we had known then what we discovered later. How shameful it was to find that Tosui, a Shaman, A Tauren Bull was nothing more then a foul Grimtotem, a worthless centaur in the guise of a loving clansman. Ah well... Here is the tale he scribed with all its inaccuracies. ~Grajaad
Many moons have passed since the new tribe of Stonehorn came to be. But its only survivors have passed the oral story, which is also part of its tradition, to the new tribe. I follow the steps of my previous life when I was a historian to record the many accounts of the beginning of the Stonehorn tribe, its downfall and its rebirth as the phthisis bird that is reborn from its own ashes... This is the account of many tales as Mharin and Rhyia, last true heirs to the Stonehorn tribe, handed them down to me:
"In the beginning there were the Tauren, and the Tauren were split in many tribes. Each tribe was proud to follow the ways of nature, the ways of Earth Mother. They were one and many, many and one. She who knows the meaning of this may bless us and forever guide us in her teachings.
The Tauren have always had a special connection with the feminine, its druids and shamans guiding the people in times of peace and its fearsome warriors protecting its people in times of war. The ways of Earth Mother are to live and let live, to be like water and follow the path that is put before you. Female Tauren have always been the leaders of our tribes, strong in connection with Earth Mother some were touched in the womb, and separated to lead and guide. Those were given the title of Chieftess and would lead the people in times of peace. In times of war Tauren Males would step forward and take leadership to provide their strength and determination to the task at hand.
To be a leader of the Tauren was always a hard life, one without rewards, without regrets, without remorse. But it was also the biggest honor a Tauren could ever be bestowed upon and Earth Mother herself gave it to them. The Tauren do not believe in hereditary rights, as they believe that each moment requires different wisdoms, each epoch different leaders. Whenever a Chieftess or Chieftain lay dead, a new one was elected through rites of prophecy, through quests of wisdom Earth Mother would give them all so a new leader could be forged from the ashes of the old one.
The Stonehorn tribe was always striving to increase the ways of conscientia, to acquire more knowledge and to commune with it. To know is to live, the elders used to say, and to live is to search for more knowledge. Conscientia, Wisdom, Knowledge all those the Stonehornians excellently searched for. And that was also their downfall...
The Centaurs started to compete with Tauren all over their lands for resources. Most Tauren agreed that the Centaur and Tauren could live together, but the Centaur wanted all. The Centaur first approached the Stonehornians as friends, with promises of Centaur knowledge and fake gifts of friendship. For the first time in many times many moons the Stonehornians did not commune with Earth Mother and assumed that befriending the Centaur would only lead to years of peace and prosperity. How could those who want to share knowledge be evil was the reasoning of the elders.
Unbeknownst to they the Centaur were preparing a massive attack against the Tauren an attack that started on the Stonehorn grounds and spread quickly through all other tribes. Many tribes perished completely that fatidic day and the only reason the Stonehornians survived was the fact that the elders knew of a secret place where they could securely hide two calves. They did not have enough time to decide which ones though to save with the only certainty that they should be females as the tribe survives through its feminine. They quickly drew lots and attempted to commune with Earth Mother, but amidst the chaos and because of their initial failure to seek counseling with Earth Mother they were not able to achieve decisive results. War was drawing near and the Tauren fought bravely...
One by one they perished, slaughtered under the hoofs of an evil civilization the Stonehornians and many other Tauren ceased to exist that day and Earth Mother seemed to have abandoned them all. Amongst the sounds of metal clashing against metal, of baby calves' being murdered by hordes of Centaurs only one Tauren stood up and was able to finally understand what Earth Mother wishes were. The Tauren had gone through a wrong path but they would not cease to exist. They would be reborn not all tribes but those Earth Mother chose as hers would survive. The Stonehornians were too close to the heart of the Centaur attack and quickly disappeared one by one, meanwhile this elder which name is forever lost in the history of our tribe took two baby calves, Mharin and Rhyia, two sisters and as he laid them in their secluded place, protected only by Earth Mother there he prophesized: "Two they shall be, one as we are. Reborn again from destruction and pain our tribe to be restored with power greater than any other Tauren tribe has had so far. The eldest one to follow her heart, the youngest one to sacrifice for the new tribe. From her union strong Tauren shall be born, a warrior and a shaman and that shall be the sealing of this promise that Earth Mother shall touch them on their mother's womb. On their life time Earth Mother shall restore Stonehorn to its full power and beyond, and the Centaur shall be completely wiped out never a threat to the Stonehornians to be no more."
As she said those words, which the calves would never forget, she turned only to have her life taken by the sword of a Centaur Hoolkar, one of the fiercest elite forces all of the continents have seen so far. Her body fell over the location where the calves where hiding and as if unseen forces where protecting them from the Centaur the Centaur Scouts' hyenas searched high and low but the calves were never discovered. The Centaur moved on to fight more Tauren and attempt to destroy all their tribes, but Thraal and his forces arrived directed by Earth Mother and were able to force the Centaur back but only after a fierce battle where many orcs lost their lives.
Thraal gave Mulgore to the Tauren and at that point the remaining Tauren pledge their allegiance to Thraal and to the Horde. Mharin and Rhyia were discovered by Thraal himself later that same day, as he went to drink from the water of one of the wells on the location their tribe used to exist, and Thraal felt something as if directed by earth mother he walked down the well (Tauren wells sometimes have walkways where you can go down to the source of water) and there he discovered both Calves, cold and scared but still alive. Thraal quickly realized they were the only survivors of that fierce battle and knew that for them to be saved from amongst many others could only mean that they were somehow special to the Tauren, to that tribe. Thraal put them under the tutelage of one of the few remaining elders of the Tauren, a warrior of the stonehoof family and they were raised in the Tauren way at Mulgore.
Thus the legacy of the Stonehorn tribe was saved. Rhyia and Mharin quickly grew to be strong and fine Tauren Females, one a proud warrior the other a druid of its people. They quickly started their tribe again and many braves heard the call of Earth Mother and went on a pilgrimage to meet them and join their tribe. Many other prophecies have been told and fulfilled, some still to be, and many wars have been fought and won. The heroes of the tribe, its guardians chosen by Earth Mother herself and touched by her to protect the tribe until its fate and place in history can be secured."
This is the story of the stonehorn family as our leaders and elders passed it to me. Many more prophecies and tales there are to be written down, and as a faithful and loyal servant of Stonehorn I shall write them down as I see them and as I am told by those who live the adventures and events that are shaping our world.