Part 1/2: Click here. [H-RP] Kosh'harg Festival, Spring 2019 - #156 by Hollins-argent-dawn
Part 2/2:
Dhakâs unsent letter gets longer and longer. When publicly scribbling in the notebook now and then, he has usually written only a few lines or paragraphs at a time. As a result, his recount of his Koshâharg impressions covers a broad range of topics across the entire week and a half.
Drawings and sketches break up the scrawled Common on the pages, along with plentiful circular and spiral doodles. He has sketched a few faces, and replicated some runes and clan symbols.
Today may well become one of the most important days of my life. It may also be my last. Today Iâm going on my Omâriggor.
Dhak resumed writing the letter several days after noting that introduction. He enthusiastically tells the recipient about the pride and unity he's experiencing at Kosh'harg.
Omâriggor was two days ago. Itâs a traditional solo hunt with special rules.
I passed and earned my warname that the Chieftain chose for me. Itâs not called warname but it works like one, and you can only get your name by succeeding in the Omâriggor. It makes me super happy and proud when people call me it.
My name is Dhak Skullsunder.
Iâll tell you the story in person because I really enjoy telling it. Iâve told it like five times now and Iâve asked other people the story of how theyâve earned theirs, itâs good, Koshâharg is awesome.
Weâre now past halfway through the festival, I think. There have been organised things of all kinds: today a market and a dancing, also they did a race that involved drinking, and yesterday people got drunk too which was funny to watch. Every day we do different challenges and games. For the shaman there are spiritual things, some of which I was invited into as well.
Itâs fun and also inspiring to see the people of the Horde coming together like this.
Iâm seeing a different side of them. I never knew that the rotters can be so light-hearted and silly and lively in a way. That some sinâdorei indeed speak every bit as posh as we make fun of, and that there is at least one goblin in the world who didnât haggle and who actually gave a tip.
The dancing today was really special and while Iâd never done it like that before, it felt as natural as breathing. I stopped being me with my thoughts, and became one with the people around me. There was this bard who played the drums together with my forsaken friend, with all sorts of other instruments, and they sang these chants.
It was like magic.
We all danced so free and primal and at the end everyone was out of breath and sweaty. I really want to do that again. Itâs that kind of connectedness that you also get when working well as a team in a quick and bloody battle. The kind of losing-yourself that you also get when you fall asleep. I became part of us.
But with dances, and battles, on our side the people look at you funny if you enjoy it too much. They think youâre weird or thereâs something wrong with you if you let yourself go like that.
But itâs not a bad thing, not always at least. Iâll always remember this dancing as great and fun.
As he gets more personal, Dhak earnestly shares his thoughts about the great secret he's keeping from his new friends.
What surprises me the most about being in the Horde is that nothing makes me uncomfortable anymore.
I know the things that make me uncomfortable. Eating while people watch me. People clapping their hands. Promotion ceremonies. Having no clothes on. And ten or so other things. But Iâve done things like that this week â and for the first time in my life, it didnât make me want to run away and wait for it to be over. I actually wanted to join in. For ages Iâve been saying that Iâm not afraid of anything but now, here, itâs true.
Thereâs a big difference between fine, and pretending youâre fine.
The most uncomfortable moment Iâve had all week, is that someone asked if I wanted to take someone else on a date!
Thatâs nothing!
Iâm actually a normal person!
You wouldnât like it here with all the strangers and the way people are a bit bluntly honest about things, but I love it. Although I dislike the phrase, it reminds me of when someone says âI can die happy nowâ. The orcs, they donât think anything is weird about me or how I think. Iâm far more at ease and at home in the orc world than back on our side.
The Horde could easily become my new home.
Maybe itâs because Iâve only been Alliance for one year, or maybe Iâm just okay with it because in the Rovers we sold guns to both sides, but I honestly wouldnât care if the Alliance becomes my enemy. I might see some familiar faces! Maybe Iâll be fighting against the Seventh instead of with them.
But if I become an orc permanently, I think that would mean I canât go back to you and the others. Theyâd make me a deserter, so itâd be unsafe for you to see me. And Sprinter may not even want anything to do with me anymore. So Iâm thinking on it long and hard. I wonât just make that decision without talking to you in person anyway.
This section of the letter has been written in more sloppy handwriting - Dhak penned his private concerns about his allegiance by the limited light of a small fire away from the hubbub of Garadar.
One of the Elders says that a clan is doomed to fall apart without a chieftain. Well our âchieftainâ got killed and none of us has taken up the mantle so maybe thatâs why weâve been arguing so much. Maybe thatâs why we canât agree on anything anymore.
We are all very different from each other and I think maybe the captain was what held our âclanâ together.
I may be having the time of my life here, but I do miss you guys. Letâs stay together and stay friends. Even without Nith I donât want us to fall apart.
The Elder asked why I donât take up the mantle of new chieftain myself, and while I couldnât explain about the penal thing and the way the captain was our superior, I did honestly tell the Elder that I think you guys donât trust me enough to lead you.
Weâre really very different from each other.
In the orcish views and my views, Nith made the honourable choice to leave and avoid endangering all of us. Seriously, it would have put the whole unit in danger from our own HQ. I donât buy that whole âI know a lawyerâ thing. The law is the law, and a provost is a provost.
But in the Seventhâs views and yours, her leaving was cowardly and you see it as her giving up. You think that itâd be better to let the whole cohort be branded outlaws, than to let HQ take Nith away.
Well it was Nithâs choice in the end and I think she did the right thing. But itâs weird that I lean toward the orcish way, while I didnât grow up with it. I wasnât taught about the orcs until I was already an adult.
Why is the human way not my way?
Itâd make sense if I were a halfblood somehow or if Iâd been raised by orcs or something, but that isnât it. Iâve been mostly around humans for most of my life, and for all of when I was young. Logically, I should think like a human and not like an orc.
But clearly itâs not a logic thing.
A few pages have been dedicated to gushing about his new friend, with realistic sketches in the margins.
Anyway, I have made friends with a little wolf who was found by an orc called Steelheart when she was travelling in a forest. The pup is like ten weeks old so she needs daily care, and Steelheart has a lot of stuff on her plate already, so she let me look after the puppy for a few days while she looked for someone to give the puppy to.
I think Iâm the someone.
When I saw Steelheart again it wasnât like âCan I keep her?â , more like âPlease let me and my new friend stay togetherâ. This young wolf is my special friend and we belong together now, but sheâs not a pet. I think Iâve done the bonding thing.
Sheâs great. I hope sheâll like you and I think she will.
Even serious and grumpy people crack a smile when she comes up to meet them and play.
Sheâs white and grey, her fur feels really soft, and she likes to play and snuggle and destroy the reeds and get all muddy. She also likes to run away and not come when I call. I canât be mad at her though. Sheâs super cute. A goblin suggested I put a leash on her so she donât get lost or hurt, but I donât think itâs needed, or appropriate. The Frostwolf clan is full of orcs and wolves who are friends with each other, not owners and pets.
Iâve been writing this letter for like three days now and Iâve stopped and restarted at least six times. Dollyâs asking me something.
Iâve gone to be alone now. Itâs Sunday evening which means Iâve been here six days. The dancing last night was still one of the highlights and so was the Omâriggor that I did on the third day. Today I went to the Throne of the Elements.
Dhak has written up a detailed recount of his experiences at the Throne.
Itâs a large open basin with grass and shallow water, and large smooth grey stones standing like pillars, a bit like in Arathor. Thereâs a thrum in the air and it makes you feel very small and unimportant.
First there was a shaman meeting where they talked about Earthen Ring stuff. About whatâs going on in the world and what they can do to help. I didnât know about some of the things they talked about, so I didnât say anything, but I listened.
Then when everyone but my mentor and I went away, I talked with the spirits of Draenor, who are called furies.
I tried to commune with all the four furies. It was good but I wouldnât call it fun. Very intense and tricky. More than impressive.
First I went to the Fury of Air and he went all around me like when itâs storming. He talked and laughed a lot, he was friendly, and it didnât hurt but it was loud and I felt battered at the end. He knew who I was right away.
I told the Fury of Air that I didnât come to him as an orc but as someone who wants to become a shaman, and I asked if I could learn from him and maybe help. He showed me the clouds he had made and laughed at me for thinking there was anything he could need me for. But he did give wisdom: I shouldnât waste time thinking about the past (he knew) and about who Iâm going to become some day. What matters is what you do today. Now.
My mentor explained that on Draenor the furies are in better teamwork with each other and that they wouldnât be jealous if I talked to the other ones too. I saw the Fury of Fire and I wanted to talk to him so I marched right up there and hailed him and asked to learn.
He didnât like that.
He was like âWho is this weak mortal to stand in the wake of the flames!â and when I shouted my name, he grabbed my whole body in his hand. He called me a worm and made me say a reason why he shouldnât turn me into ash for coming up to him like that.
I said praise words and that this worm wants to know what makes the Fury so great and powerful and unafraid! I think he liked that because he let me go. I didnât have any blisters even though it was hot enough. He said I have spirit and a warriorâs heart, and he gave me a task. On Azeroth he wants me to spread the flames and warm my people. You need to say a name when you give an offering to an element, and I donât know how it works from other planets but I asked his name anyway. Shouted it back when he told me. We cheered together and it was good, I felt like I was getting the hang of this communing thing.
My mentor also said I was doing okay. Then I waited for the Fury of Earth to come. He was pacing around really slowly but I thought that showing patience would be good.
When he came to me I said âFury of Earthâ and he stopped and stared at me, his whole body was made of stone, his eyes looked like gems. He said nothing so I said again, Fury of Earth, will you share your wisdom with me?
He kept staring down at me and finally he said âNo.â and he slowly moved his leg to stomp me flat, like a bug!
I did it wrong!
I ran away and said âunderstoodâ, and he smashed a big crater in the ground where I stood earlier. Then he went back to his pacing around.
My mentor explained that maybe I tried a bit too hard to be patient. Itâs the same as trying to act unafraid when youâre scared. The elemental spirits, they know things, and they see through that. I also didnât even introduce myself to the Fury of Earth and I also didnât give him any reason to teach me anything. No wonder he didnât want to talk to me.
I thought it was over but then my mentor asked if I wanted to meet the Fury of Water. Iâve always liked the water on Azeroth, but this Fury was something else.
The voice was more like a woman, like the ocean waves. Like a mother. I said good evening and she asked, âYes, my child?â and saw that I was hurt, and offered to give me comfort. I got tears in my eyes for no good reason. When she made herself smaller and hugged me, it was nice, like bathing, but nicer. I wasnât even sad before I came to the Fury, but she made me feel better.
She explained some things about healing other people and healing yourself. If you arenât in good health yourself then you canât help out properly, she called it tainted, like with oil in a lake. At the end she gave me blessings and good luck. She reminded me of Jaina.
My mentor then asked if Iâd learned anything and if my questions had been answered and I said yes. I wrote all of this down with all the details so I wonât forget. I donât think I could forget if I wanted to.
Iâm becoming a shaman.
Let me stop you right there, criminal scum 
![:grin:](https://d1bg94bbsh66ji.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/grin.png?v=6" ":grin:")
![:joy:](https://d1bg94bbsh66ji.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/joy.png?v=6" ":joy:")
Will have to wait until september again for all the goodness.