#63

Pictured is a Highmountain tauren bull, waving and looking friendly. Underneath Eishona has written a name: Tolar Spearmane!!





I met a lovely bull on my out of Orgrimmar tonight! We bumped into each other as I was preparing to leave for the portals after talking to the wyvern-master in the city. (They owed me some money from a trade) Turns out he lived near where the Rivermanes did as a farmer and druid, helping the harvest to be bountiful.  He carried an amazing looking spear that he seemed very familiar with, dressed in strong leathers and had such beautiful antlers. His name is Tolar, and we took some time to talk about druids and their forms. It was so refreshing to have a talk about something so weird in an honest manner. Weird as in their shape changing - I still feel awkward around druids running around as cats, or bears. Or birds and deer. He explained it’s a talent druids have, to take the shape of something powerful and use it in defense of their lands or companions.

“Some of us take on feathers of the moonkin, others take on the form of the bear, or a great cat - some of us are better at it than others, but we can all do it, in my experiences.” is what he said.

I asked him why some druids were so spooky about it and he sort of frowned. He said some druids were just assholes or inept at being social enough to keep in their non animal forms in public. Some of them spend more time in their forms or are alone for so long that they forget how to act around others.  Apparently a druid can do something called go feral - where they become more the beast and must either be caught and rehabilitated or are else lost in the wild.

He’s of the mind an animal form should be used as needed, not constantly. I want to agree, but it’s not my choice. What is my choice is to be less skittish around them- it’s not exactly polite of me to be so weird when I don’t understand it. I get it a little better now.  Maybe if I meet that weird old doe that healed me in Stormheim again it’ll go better - I wasn’t exactly polite to her.. but I mean she went from huge bird to tauren in an instant and used strange magic to heal my wounds. I was not prepared for it. Healing powers - from the Light or Nature I have seen a lot of now, but I still prefer bandages and poultices. Tolar mentioned that nature healing takes a lot of effort, specially for the older set, that this elder doe might have risked her own safety to see Routledge and I safe. I really should thank her.

We ended up trading for the last of my fish - he said it was a taste of home - as it was smoked salmon from Thundertotem. He took the last of my supply, a bag’s worth. I’m glad I came home to hunt and fish - it’s time to stock up and maybe relax.  The fishing here in Highmountain is amazing. All I have to do is find a good spot. Maybe Routledge will join me this time.