Vilmah
06-13-2006, 03:51 PM
Walking through Hammerfall, Vilmah looked through the diary where she kept her quest log.
"Lets see.." she muttered. "Have to kill some more ogres... ugh, I hate ogres!"
Over the past several days, Vilmah spent most of her time recovering. News came to her about Nojinbu, news she couldn't believe. Apparently, he was wandering throughout Kalimdor, broken and bloodied, on some sort of rampage.
She wanted to go to him so badly that it hurt. Gor'mul, however, gave her advice to the contrary."He's going through something strange," the old warrior grumbled."Not a good idea to go near him. Better for you to stay here, where it's safe."
Vilmah nodded in agreement. At the time, his words made sense. Why should she risk bothering him if he's troubled? He could have been afflicted with something horrible, and there was probably nothing that she could do to stop it, or help in any way. As she sifted through her quest log, questions kept popping in her head. Her doubts wouldn't stop coming. Her worries and fears pushed against her subcinscious, asking why? Why aren't you leaving? Why are you still here?
"Why don't you go to him?"
"Huh??" Vilmah turned towards the voice, but there was nobody there. She paused for a moment, and went back to her quest log.
"I said," repeated the voice in a louder tone. "Why don't you go to him??"
Looking around frantically, Vilmah got a few strange looks from the local Hammerfall grunts. She politely smiled to them, and walked out of the encampment, feeling worried. The voice followed.
"You're a coward, you know that, right?"
Vilmah looked shocked at this comment. "How can you say that??"
"How can you allow Nojinbu to go out by himself, when you know he's injured? What kind of friend are you?"
There was a pause. "I... don't know. Who are you, anyway?"
The voice sighed, irritated. "I'm you. I'm the part of you that you've tucked away. The part that grew up while I remained thirteen years old. The part that needs to get out now, before your hurt yourself!"
"But I'm me!" Vilmah said, afraid of what this voice was telling her.
"No. You're me three years ago," the voice reasoned. "You've been hiding me ever since Galrok left. Is it any wonder
you decided to be a warrior? Only a child would choose the same path as her best friend, without even thinking of an alternative. You can hardly lift that axe, for crying out loud! What made you think you could wear full armor and run??"
Vilmah sat down in the grass, feeling slightly nauseous. "This doesn't.. I mean, I thought I could be a good warrior."
"You're missing the point!" The voice quickly added. "You've got to accept me back, or I'll be stuck like this forever! I'll keep talking to you, and you'll never grow up. You're just going to stay the same petulant child you were when you met Gorthok, and you'll keep on being the victim for the rest of your life! Don't you want to grow up?
Don't you want to be with Nojinbu, out there?"
Vilmah sat, thinking things over. Was this voice real? Or was she going crazy? "...how do I know you're really me, and that I'm not just going crazy?"
"Because there are things you don't know. Painful things that you sent away allong with me. Things you forgot so that I could keep, because if you remembered, they would help you to grow up someday."
"I.." Vilmah stammered. "I don't think I want to know.."
"Now look here!" Shouted the voice. "I didn't sit through hours of sex-talk between you and Clys, just so you could ignore me!"
"Why are you yelling??" Vilmah whimpered.
"Because I'm also the part of you that gets angry!! I'm the part that can be mean, sometimes! I'm the part that you won't let yourself become!" She shouted. "Do you want to know why Hammerfall is so familliar? Do you??"
Vilmah shook her head. "Please don't, I don't want to remember!"
"Exactly! You're still the same cowering weakling you were, but if you allow me to join with you again, we can become whole. You'll finally grow up!"
The sound of skittering could be heard, nearby. Vilmah turned to see a huge spider, skittering towards her. Taking up her twin axes, she waited for the creature to attack.
"What are you waiting for?!"
"I'm waititng for it to attack me--"
"It's just a spider, you can kill it!"
"But it never did anything to me..."
"Kill it NOW!"
Vilmah panicked, and lashed out with her axes. She sent the spider's bodyparts flying about, and green ichor spewed in every direction. Once she was finished, Vilmah leaned over, panting slightly.
"See? Wasn't that easy?"
She shook her head. "No..."
"And neither is growing up, but you'll have to do it. You'll have to do it now, before it's too late."
Vilmah looked worried. "Too late?"
"You've got to be able to be brutal sometimes, Vilmah. You know what will happen if you don't learn to fight." She paused. "Someone could get hurt."
A calm wind blew through the fields. Farther away, the diminutive orc could hear a large scavaging bird squacking, and raptors prowling for prey. Everything seemed to peaceful to be true. "Why don't I remember Hammerfall?"
"Because, Vilmah," the voice answered calmly. "You were born here. You were raised here. You watched your mother's murder, here."
---
A flood of memories rushed back into Vilmah. She could clearly see Thrall, storming into Hammerfall with his brethren, killing their human captors and freeing her family. She stood huddled close to her mother, who held her close. The orc woman was also small, and was a darker brown than Vilmah. Her long hair was tied back into a braid, and she looked fearfully at her daughter with hazel eyes. "Stay close to me," she said in Orcish. "Your father will protect us."
She watched with awe as Thrall fought, and as a mightly orc warrior, axes blazing, tore through the Alliance, shouting battle cries as he fought by the new war chief. Vilmah's heart was bright with joy, and she cheered for the
Horde, until she realized that the gurgling sound her mother made wasn't a cheer; "...mamma?"
"..g...go..." her mother said, as blood fell from her mouth and on to the ground. The end of a sword stared at
Vilmah, as it pierced through her mother's lungs, and tore downwards, ripping her nearly in two."Mamma!!"
An Alliance captain looked at Vilmah through his helm. For a moment, she saw regret, but then he raised his sword for another swing.
"Rhhaaaaaaar!!"
Vilmah watched through her hands as an orc rogue attacked the captain, and fought him back. Vilmah stayed rooted to the spot, covered in blood. She didn't bother to wipe it from her face, and watched the battle finish, until the Horde emerged victorious.
"Victory and freedom, my brethren!" Shouted Thrall, his shamanic totems glowing with power as he stood over a pile of corpses.
The orcs cheered, many of them bloodied and bruised. Nobody seemed to notice that Vilmah sat with her mother's corpse, until a warrior, covered in blood and unrecognizable, fell to his knees at the sight. "...no...."
The warrior roared in angruish, holding the corpse against him, tears falling from his red inflamed eyes. The other orcs saw what was happening, and backed away. Vilmah just sat there, watching. After a few moments passed, the warrior lay the corpse down. Thrall approached, and the other orcs gave him a wide berth as he put a hand on the warrior's shoulder. "She died bravely in battle, my friend. Look now, and see that your child is alive."
The warrior looked at Vilmah, and a ray of hope shone in his face. He knelt down slowly, and extended his arms.
"Come here, Vilmah."
It would have been wonderful to remembered hugging her father, and crying for their loss together. Vilmah tried to remember this. She wanted to know she comforted him in his time of grief, but all she could say was, "I'm sorry. ...I don't know you, sir."
The warrior looked at her with shock. Her eyes were niether tear full, nor afraid. She had the blank expression of a curious school child, even though her face was still red with her mother's blood. Thrall looked from the warrior to
Vilmah. "...perhaps, you should both come with us. We are creating a new home, in Durotar. You will both be safe there."
"Safe? Safe??" The warrior looked hopeless. "I could not save my wife, and now you tell me that I must leave? Be 'safe'? My own child doesn't even recognize me.."
"Come, brother," Thrall repeated. "Leave this place."
The warrior shook his head. "...I will never leave this place. My wife and child are here."
"But," an orc rogue said, stepping close to him. "Your child is right here, my friend."
The warrior looked at Vilmah, sadly. She looked at him, searching his face, but could not remember him. "She isn't my child, any longer. My child never looked at me with eyes like that."
Vilmah only vaguely remembered the rest of what happened, that day. Thrall led her and the other captives to Durotar, where she was raised with the other children, as an orphan. They gave her the name "Bloodborne", saying that it was the name of her family, but she realized now that perhaps it was just a description of how she was found.
---
Awaking in the field outside of Hammerfall, Vilmah shook her head clear from cobwebs. "Wonder what I'm doing out here?"
She calmly began walking back to the hold, where she saw Gor'mul standing by several old and rusty cages. Taking another glance, she recognized him at once. "Wait a second..."
Gor'mul looked at her with a frown. "What's the matter?"
She desperately wanted to tell him that she remembered. She desperately wanted to tell him everything she knew, and set his heart at ease, but somehow, she couldn't form the words. "...nothing. I just.. I thought I saw something, is all. I should go now," she said as she headed towards the windrider master.
"Wait, where are you going??" Gor'mul shouted after her.
Vilmah shouted back. "To find Nojinbu!"
Gor'mul raced up the stairs, following her. "Are you crazy?? He looked sick with blood and anger! He could kill you!"
Strapping herself to one of the chimeras, Vilmah shook her head and smiled at Gor'mul. "I doubt that, very much. Daddy."
Without a word of explanation, Vilmah lifted off into the sky, heading for the Undercity. Gor'mul stared blankly after her, his always-ready weapons absentmindedly falling from his hands.
"Lets see.." she muttered. "Have to kill some more ogres... ugh, I hate ogres!"
Over the past several days, Vilmah spent most of her time recovering. News came to her about Nojinbu, news she couldn't believe. Apparently, he was wandering throughout Kalimdor, broken and bloodied, on some sort of rampage.
She wanted to go to him so badly that it hurt. Gor'mul, however, gave her advice to the contrary."He's going through something strange," the old warrior grumbled."Not a good idea to go near him. Better for you to stay here, where it's safe."
Vilmah nodded in agreement. At the time, his words made sense. Why should she risk bothering him if he's troubled? He could have been afflicted with something horrible, and there was probably nothing that she could do to stop it, or help in any way. As she sifted through her quest log, questions kept popping in her head. Her doubts wouldn't stop coming. Her worries and fears pushed against her subcinscious, asking why? Why aren't you leaving? Why are you still here?
"Why don't you go to him?"
"Huh??" Vilmah turned towards the voice, but there was nobody there. She paused for a moment, and went back to her quest log.
"I said," repeated the voice in a louder tone. "Why don't you go to him??"
Looking around frantically, Vilmah got a few strange looks from the local Hammerfall grunts. She politely smiled to them, and walked out of the encampment, feeling worried. The voice followed.
"You're a coward, you know that, right?"
Vilmah looked shocked at this comment. "How can you say that??"
"How can you allow Nojinbu to go out by himself, when you know he's injured? What kind of friend are you?"
There was a pause. "I... don't know. Who are you, anyway?"
The voice sighed, irritated. "I'm you. I'm the part of you that you've tucked away. The part that grew up while I remained thirteen years old. The part that needs to get out now, before your hurt yourself!"
"But I'm me!" Vilmah said, afraid of what this voice was telling her.
"No. You're me three years ago," the voice reasoned. "You've been hiding me ever since Galrok left. Is it any wonder
you decided to be a warrior? Only a child would choose the same path as her best friend, without even thinking of an alternative. You can hardly lift that axe, for crying out loud! What made you think you could wear full armor and run??"
Vilmah sat down in the grass, feeling slightly nauseous. "This doesn't.. I mean, I thought I could be a good warrior."
"You're missing the point!" The voice quickly added. "You've got to accept me back, or I'll be stuck like this forever! I'll keep talking to you, and you'll never grow up. You're just going to stay the same petulant child you were when you met Gorthok, and you'll keep on being the victim for the rest of your life! Don't you want to grow up?
Don't you want to be with Nojinbu, out there?"
Vilmah sat, thinking things over. Was this voice real? Or was she going crazy? "...how do I know you're really me, and that I'm not just going crazy?"
"Because there are things you don't know. Painful things that you sent away allong with me. Things you forgot so that I could keep, because if you remembered, they would help you to grow up someday."
"I.." Vilmah stammered. "I don't think I want to know.."
"Now look here!" Shouted the voice. "I didn't sit through hours of sex-talk between you and Clys, just so you could ignore me!"
"Why are you yelling??" Vilmah whimpered.
"Because I'm also the part of you that gets angry!! I'm the part that can be mean, sometimes! I'm the part that you won't let yourself become!" She shouted. "Do you want to know why Hammerfall is so familliar? Do you??"
Vilmah shook her head. "Please don't, I don't want to remember!"
"Exactly! You're still the same cowering weakling you were, but if you allow me to join with you again, we can become whole. You'll finally grow up!"
The sound of skittering could be heard, nearby. Vilmah turned to see a huge spider, skittering towards her. Taking up her twin axes, she waited for the creature to attack.
"What are you waiting for?!"
"I'm waititng for it to attack me--"
"It's just a spider, you can kill it!"
"But it never did anything to me..."
"Kill it NOW!"
Vilmah panicked, and lashed out with her axes. She sent the spider's bodyparts flying about, and green ichor spewed in every direction. Once she was finished, Vilmah leaned over, panting slightly.
"See? Wasn't that easy?"
She shook her head. "No..."
"And neither is growing up, but you'll have to do it. You'll have to do it now, before it's too late."
Vilmah looked worried. "Too late?"
"You've got to be able to be brutal sometimes, Vilmah. You know what will happen if you don't learn to fight." She paused. "Someone could get hurt."
A calm wind blew through the fields. Farther away, the diminutive orc could hear a large scavaging bird squacking, and raptors prowling for prey. Everything seemed to peaceful to be true. "Why don't I remember Hammerfall?"
"Because, Vilmah," the voice answered calmly. "You were born here. You were raised here. You watched your mother's murder, here."
---
A flood of memories rushed back into Vilmah. She could clearly see Thrall, storming into Hammerfall with his brethren, killing their human captors and freeing her family. She stood huddled close to her mother, who held her close. The orc woman was also small, and was a darker brown than Vilmah. Her long hair was tied back into a braid, and she looked fearfully at her daughter with hazel eyes. "Stay close to me," she said in Orcish. "Your father will protect us."
She watched with awe as Thrall fought, and as a mightly orc warrior, axes blazing, tore through the Alliance, shouting battle cries as he fought by the new war chief. Vilmah's heart was bright with joy, and she cheered for the
Horde, until she realized that the gurgling sound her mother made wasn't a cheer; "...mamma?"
"..g...go..." her mother said, as blood fell from her mouth and on to the ground. The end of a sword stared at
Vilmah, as it pierced through her mother's lungs, and tore downwards, ripping her nearly in two."Mamma!!"
An Alliance captain looked at Vilmah through his helm. For a moment, she saw regret, but then he raised his sword for another swing.
"Rhhaaaaaaar!!"
Vilmah watched through her hands as an orc rogue attacked the captain, and fought him back. Vilmah stayed rooted to the spot, covered in blood. She didn't bother to wipe it from her face, and watched the battle finish, until the Horde emerged victorious.
"Victory and freedom, my brethren!" Shouted Thrall, his shamanic totems glowing with power as he stood over a pile of corpses.
The orcs cheered, many of them bloodied and bruised. Nobody seemed to notice that Vilmah sat with her mother's corpse, until a warrior, covered in blood and unrecognizable, fell to his knees at the sight. "...no...."
The warrior roared in angruish, holding the corpse against him, tears falling from his red inflamed eyes. The other orcs saw what was happening, and backed away. Vilmah just sat there, watching. After a few moments passed, the warrior lay the corpse down. Thrall approached, and the other orcs gave him a wide berth as he put a hand on the warrior's shoulder. "She died bravely in battle, my friend. Look now, and see that your child is alive."
The warrior looked at Vilmah, and a ray of hope shone in his face. He knelt down slowly, and extended his arms.
"Come here, Vilmah."
It would have been wonderful to remembered hugging her father, and crying for their loss together. Vilmah tried to remember this. She wanted to know she comforted him in his time of grief, but all she could say was, "I'm sorry. ...I don't know you, sir."
The warrior looked at her with shock. Her eyes were niether tear full, nor afraid. She had the blank expression of a curious school child, even though her face was still red with her mother's blood. Thrall looked from the warrior to
Vilmah. "...perhaps, you should both come with us. We are creating a new home, in Durotar. You will both be safe there."
"Safe? Safe??" The warrior looked hopeless. "I could not save my wife, and now you tell me that I must leave? Be 'safe'? My own child doesn't even recognize me.."
"Come, brother," Thrall repeated. "Leave this place."
The warrior shook his head. "...I will never leave this place. My wife and child are here."
"But," an orc rogue said, stepping close to him. "Your child is right here, my friend."
The warrior looked at Vilmah, sadly. She looked at him, searching his face, but could not remember him. "She isn't my child, any longer. My child never looked at me with eyes like that."
Vilmah only vaguely remembered the rest of what happened, that day. Thrall led her and the other captives to Durotar, where she was raised with the other children, as an orphan. They gave her the name "Bloodborne", saying that it was the name of her family, but she realized now that perhaps it was just a description of how she was found.
---
Awaking in the field outside of Hammerfall, Vilmah shook her head clear from cobwebs. "Wonder what I'm doing out here?"
She calmly began walking back to the hold, where she saw Gor'mul standing by several old and rusty cages. Taking another glance, she recognized him at once. "Wait a second..."
Gor'mul looked at her with a frown. "What's the matter?"
She desperately wanted to tell him that she remembered. She desperately wanted to tell him everything she knew, and set his heart at ease, but somehow, she couldn't form the words. "...nothing. I just.. I thought I saw something, is all. I should go now," she said as she headed towards the windrider master.
"Wait, where are you going??" Gor'mul shouted after her.
Vilmah shouted back. "To find Nojinbu!"
Gor'mul raced up the stairs, following her. "Are you crazy?? He looked sick with blood and anger! He could kill you!"
Strapping herself to one of the chimeras, Vilmah shook her head and smiled at Gor'mul. "I doubt that, very much. Daddy."
Without a word of explanation, Vilmah lifted off into the sky, heading for the Undercity. Gor'mul stared blankly after her, his always-ready weapons absentmindedly falling from his hands.