Old Priest and the Sea
Col’mash sighed, looking upon the stormy sea. The dark waves swelled and crashed against the reefs of Stranglethorn, far away. But foamy water still reached his ankles on the beaches, invoking a tickling feeling, as if a cold hand had wrapped itself around his feet. Only mad trolls dared to go out at sea in such a weather, the mad, the brave and the desperate. Col’mash had blessed them all, praying for G’nathus to judge them fairly. Not many had returned, but those that did spoke of the Eel’s incredible power, his mercy, his generosity.
And it was all three that Col’mash prayed for today. The old priest of the Depth-Dweller hadn’t gone on a proper fishing trip in a long time, having adopted the role of an elder and a teacher, but there were none who could do this work for him today. The Eternal Watcher valued persistence and drive more than laziness and slyness. Tonight, the offering to be given to the Great Eel would be hunted down and killed not by any of his young disciples as it had been on Zandalar, but by his eternally devoted priest, Col’mash.
With a deep breath, Col’mash plunged into the stormy sea, pushing his long wooden canoe in front of him. He had bought it from one of the local Gurubashi and spent the last week engraving it in symbols of the Depth-Dweller, hoping He would notice and bless him with a good catch on this vital mission. When the sand beneath his feet gave way to water, the old Zandalari pushed himself into the boat, taking a long paddle and starting to make his way beyond the reef. No small fish would do tonight. This ritual was far too important to have the offering be some meagre wrasse. No, Col’mash was aiming for the bigger fish.
Faster, he thought. Stronger. His tired withering muscles flexed as the ancient troll pushed his little canoe further and further towards the end of the reef. Show that the Great Eel was not wrong in sparing your life. Show you are still worthy after failing him so.
Here it comes. Col’mash stroke the paddle in the white, foamy water faster and faster, the barrier of reefs which protected the coastal waters of Stranglethorn right before him. He took a deep breath. Gave one last stroke of a paddle. And plunged into the waves.
The canoe shook with the force of the unstoppable tides. Col’mash held on for dear life. But the canoe did not capsize. It had only been pushed back. The priest would have to do it again. And so he once again pushed through the wild, killer waves, and again he was pushed back. Again, and the incredible force of the ocean once again told him to go back. Back to his comfortable, dry hut in the city. Back to his little shrine in the Cache. He was too old to be a fisherman. Too tired to get his catch himself. Too unworthy of the Depth-Dweller’s blessing.
“No!” Col’mash roared, his voice like thunder to the lightning that had just split the grey skies apart. One stroke, two, three - here comes the tide - four, five six and-… The canoe was engulfed by the dark water, and Col’mash tasted brine in his mouth, smelled it in his nose, felt it burn in his eyes. And then he looked up and saw that he had made it. The barrier was behind him, the open ocean before him. He allowed himself a smile, a breath of relief. But the hunt was far from over. It had only just begun.
Col’mash, our resident lesser priest of G’nathus, apparently saw this hellish weather which has already caused many trolls to not only lose their homes but also their lives, as the perfect time for another one of his trials in reaching the rank of a Priest.
This trial was about preparing a ritual in honour of your Loa. Col’mash used the storms that have been shaking Stranglethorn to its core lately as a way of better connecting with his Loa. He organized a ritual which he had done many times before - an initiation ceremony.
After offering the carcass of a large shark he had hunted down himself, doing a dance and Zalph, a resident Zandalari present during the ceremony, reading the summons, the gathered trolls witnessed a clear sign from the Depth-Dweller - lightning struck the offering and ignited a bonfire, sending some of them flying and others momentarily blinded by the flash.
It was then that the old priest had been given blessings by Makikam and Ti’ti, other trolls that decided to venture out in these dangerous times, and then walked into the sea, ready to face the trials of G’nathus in the stormy waves.
The other trolls found him sometime later, washed up on a beach nearby, showing little signs of life. Ti’ti invoked the elemental spirits of water and attempted to heal him, but his efforts proved to be insufficient, and so Makikam had to step in and resurrect the troll.
In the end, everyone made it safely back to Zul’gurub, but Col’mash has yet to hear from the Chieftain Zelu’jin whether or not he passed the trial. The ritual endangered the lives of all trolls present, after all.
https://i.imgur.com/1ZNSNl2.jpg
The training E’ka got from our Chief and Champion of Bethekk really got in handy for the goop…