#Yu'lon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thecozykirin · 11 months ago

Text

Day 3 - Myth @daily-writing-challenge

There is a tale in the Valley, as old as the first seed that was planted.

When Pandaria was young and the August Council had just been chosen, Freya walked the soil and admired her work. On her shoulder, she carried a sack full of seeds that she had been scattering throughout the day but it still hung heavy on her shoulder.

However, Freya was not alone on her walk for a pair of small, dark eyes were focused on the burgeoning sack, a hungry rumble in a rib-lined belly spurring the watcher into action. Those focused eyes and rumbling belly belonged to none other than a skinny rat who had one point been white but filth marred his coat to the point where it was nothing but shades of grime.

The hungry rat had trailed Freya during the entirety of her walk, only approaching when she had settled beneath a shady tree to admire her surroundings for a moment and it was within that moment that he made the smallest cut in the linen of the bag, just big enough that bit by bit, a thin trail of seed would fall from it as she walked and the rat gorged himself on what fell from the sack.

Freya had not noticed what the rat had done until the sack felt light enough to catch her attention, she plucked the thief up by his scruff and dropped him within the palm of her hand so she might get a closer look at the culprit.

Rats were typically not very eye-catching creatures to the Titan Keeper, but upon gazing at the defiant rodent in her grasp she realized he had a spark in his eyes that held untold intelligence. The Rat lacked the majesty of Yu'lon, the brightness of Chi-Ji, the claws of Xuen and the strength of Niuzao and yet, he had managed to outwit her and now sat within her palm unblinking where she could easily crush his fragile bones.

"That was a very cunning trick you played on me." Freya smiled though it waned at the sight of his ribcage. "You had to grow clever to survive in your position, mh? Not many creatures know the struggle of one so small…" It then occured to her, that while that was true, a rat would be the one to know the struggle of many creatures.

Freya held the rat aloft and bestowed upon him a name. "I name you Yuchu, the clever and the swift. You shall provide insight where the rest of the council has none and be a voice for the small in these lands."

And it was on that day, the August Council went from four to five.

Xuen represented Strength.

Chi-Ji represented Hope.

Niuzao represented Fortitude.

Yu'lon represented Wisdom.

And Yuchu represented Empathy.

For thousands of years, Yuchu kept to his role as a voice for the little and the bane of the selfish rich. In doing so, he never forgot his mortal roots. As a result, he began to feel rather lonely, for he couldn't help but feel a disconnect between him and the rest of the council. As much as Yu'lon attempted to assuage these thoughts, Yuchu could not help but realize they were all much grander than he..With that grandness came a great deal more of reverance. However, Yuchu cared not to be everyone's favorite, relishing the curses upon his name by wealthy business owners who would not spare a crumb for those beneath them…only to wake up and realize that most of their own crumbs were gone!

One fateful day, when the sun hung high over the Valley, Yuchu paid a visit to the barn of a wealthy rancher with the intent of setting his livestock free as punishment for his cruelty to his workers, when a flash of silver fur caught his eye and the Rat Celestial paused. In one of the hutches sat a rabbit with fur that reminded him of the silver shine of the moon. She sat quietly within her hutch, not seeming to have noticed him until the smitten Celestial approached.

"You there!" Yuchu called out. "What is your name?"

Those soulful gray eyes of hers nearly knocked Yuchu off his paws and the doe canted her head to the side, perplexed by the question. She replied, "Me? Why would a being such as yourself care for the name of such a lowly creature?"

"You, lowly?" Yuchu gaped. "The people who both rejoyce me and curse me would sooner kill me if I were still a regular rat." he continued. "You, my dear, have fur that shine like the moon on a clear night, you are anything but lowly."

The rabbit pondered Yuchu's response before finally, she dipped her head and introduced herself. "Ting-Ting, that is the name my mother gave me, the rancher calls me Bai though."

"Then we will call you by the name your mother gave you." Yuchu looked over his shoulder towards the barn door for a moment. He looked back to her and asked. "Are you happy here?"

Ting-Ting blinked owlishly at the question. "Happy?" She then looked about the spacious hutch. "It is comfortable."

Yuchu scoffed and shook his head. "Comfortable does not equal happy, aren't you ever allowed outside of this box?"

Ting-Ting's ears perked and she nodded rapidly. "Oh, yes. The rancher's daughter will take us all out for an hour or so to silflay in the grass."

"Don't you ever wish you could go out when you want for as long as you wanted? Run through the grass unrestrained and free while tasting the sweet dww off of wild clover?"

Ting-Ting tilted her head back as she imagined such a life. "It does sound very nice…" her voice drew off and for a moment, a look of sadness crossed her face and she shook her head. "But it is not a life for me."

Yuchu canted his head. "And may I ask why not?"

Ting-Ting smiled ruefully at the Celestial. "Because I am a hutch rabbit and my fur and meat will be stripped from my bones soon enough."

Yuchu gasped, horrified! "That's…that's horrible!"

Ting-Ting could only shrug. "It is the way of things."

"But it does not have to be!" Yuchu pointed out. "The way of things of rats is for them to chew and burrow and fall to any of their thousand enemies but look at me? I have stepped outside the way of things." He reached through the wire of the hutch and took her paws in his own. "Everything I told you could be yours." his voice softened. "I have no cage and I can see to it that you don't either."

Ting-Ting sat back on her haunches and thought…the decision was not one to be made lightly but the answer found Ting-Ting swiftly. The next night, her own would lament his prized doe was stolen. Indeed, Ting-Ting was hailed as Yuchu's greatest treasure and she was treated as such. With him, she birthed the Virmen into existence and loved each and every one of them.

From afar, the rest of the August council took note of Yuchu's newly acquired mate.

"He looks so happy…." Yu'lon mused one day, after a small meeting between the five of them was over.

"Indeed." Chi-ji hummed.

"And yet, rabbits are so short lived." Yu'lon frowned, worry seeping into her tone.

"As are all mortals, in one way or another." Xuen added.

"It is important he learns loss." Niuzao added. "Delaying it helps no one, least of all himself."

Yu'lon remained silent, for she knew they were right. The life of an immortal, for all the benefits it held, stood just outside the shadow of death. Never to be touched by it, but doomed to watch all beneath it wither.

Year after year, their love never waned and only grew stronger even as her bones began to ache and her fur began to dull. Eventually it came to the point where Ting-Ting hardly left the warmth of their warren to run with Yuchu, only occasionally leaving to take a leisurely stroll with him.

Yuchu, of course, took note and quipped: "You are growing quite lazy, my love!"

With a chuckle, Ting-Ting replied with a playful nip to his ear. "Not lazy, my dear, old."

Yes, old." Ting-Ting affirmed. "Time catches us all, I'm afraid." Time. A cold chill crept up Yuchu's spine as he came to realize just how drained his mate looked, as though the vitality was seeping from her body bit by bit. That ever looming shadow he lived in fear of before his ascension was mocking him, content to let him watch from its fridges as it took the only thing he had ever loved. But no one had ever taken anything from Yuchu, and he was keen to keep it that way.

Driven by a newfound resolve, Yuchu threw himself into the many tomes he had stole throughout the years, some as old as the founding of Pandaria itself before the reign of the Mogu. Surely, one of them would have a way for him to pluck his mate from the shadow…and indeed, one of them did.

A memory stirred in Yuchu's head, one he had not thought of for quite some time when Zhao Sunseeker was rewarded an elixir of immortality by the August council for shooting down four of Pandaria's five blistering suns. Much to Yuchu's delight, he found he still had the recipe attached to the tome, he need only one ingredient from each of his fellow Celestials. Yuchu called a frantic meeting, where his four seniors listened to him plea with them to save his mate's life. They listened as he spoke of how her fur had grown dull and her bones ached and lungs wheezed whenever she tried to breathe, how all he needed was this elixir to ensure she could stay by his side forever. Though their hearts hurt, their answers cut him like a hot knife through the tail.

"Many of us have taken mortal mates in the past." Xuen began, his voice a low and sympathetic rumble. "Each parting brings such sorrow, but take joy in the fact that the union happened at all. Few mortals are lucky enough to know true love." Yuchu's fur bristled. "None of you have ever wanted to save your mates?! Any of them?!" he shouted.

"Of course we have, Yuchu." Yu'lon spoke up, her voice heavy with sadness and sympathy for the creature she had come to regard as a younger brother. "But death is a shadow that all mortals must walk through. We must let them go when their time comes, as they do with their own loved ones."

"You will have your children to remember her by." Chi-Ji gently added. "And in them, you will find her."

Yuchu, as much as he tried to argue further, was firmly shut down and told that their choice had been made and Ting-Ting's fate decided.

But Yuchu was not content with his mate's fate and sought to change it. If Freya could see potential in a starving rat, who were they to say he could not find potential in a hutch rabbit?

It took many weeks, but Yuchu eventually gathered the ingredients he needed. A chipped claw from Xuen, a scale from Yu'lon, a feather from Chi-Ji, and a tuft of fur from himself and Niuzao. This was all topped off with a bit of water gathered from the sacred pools of the Vale.

Upon completing the potion, Yuchu hurried to where his mate lay. Ting-Ting had managed to find the strength to drag her withered body to the entrance of their burrow, where she had a nice view of the full moon that hung over the Valley and bathed it in soft silver. "My silver!" Yuchu called out as he approached her, potion in his paws. "I've brought something for you." Ting-Ting lifted her head with a tired smile. "Is this what you've been working on so much lately? Your special project?" "A surprise, for you!" Yuchu affirmed. "A surprise for me?" Ting-Ting chuckled. "My dear, you've given me all a doe could ask for. What more is there?" Yuchu settled down next to her and working the cork off. "Something to put the thump back in your back legs, the strength in your paws and the air in your lungs without pain." "Ah, you and your honeyed words..." Ting-Ting rested her head against him, eyes drooped from sleepiness...or was it something else? "Just drink it." Yuchu's shoulders slumped a s he lowered his head to nuzzle it against hers. "I'm sorry it has taken so much of my attention, but I promise…it'll be worth it." Ting-Ting struggled to lift her head. "Would you help me, my love? My neck is so tired…" With gentle paws, Yuchu helped Ting-Ting drink the elixir, quietly praying inside of his head to whoever might be listening that it would work…and his prayers would be answered as his mate was revitalized in a brilliant flash of pure Celestial energy. The color that the years had drained from Ting-Ting's fur was returned, even brighter and more brilliant than the silvery moon that gazed upon them. "I can breathe…" Ting-Ting drew in a long gulp of night air into lungs that no longer wheezed and coughed. Ting-Ting then thumped her foot, bones strong. "I can thump!" And finally, she playfully bumped the side of Yuchu's rear with her own as she took off, shouting out in glee with joints that no longer ached. "I can run!"

Yuchu laughed and joined his mate on her run, and the two raced the entirety of the Valley not once, not twice, but three times over that night!

However, their newfound joy and peace would not remain for long, as the August Council was infuriated by Yuchu's blatant lack of respect for their decisions and with a vote of three to two, Yuchu and his mate were banished not only from the Valley, but all of Pandaria. "The integrity of the council and the protection of Pandaria cannot be compromised by a wayward Celestial who thinks of only his own desires." Niuzao had said.

Yuchu, however, remained obstinate. "I would do it again." he had told the bristling Chi-Ji, Xuen, and Niuzao. "And ten times over too!" Though he meant every word he said and stood by his actions, parting with his admirers and followers were difficult and he and Ting-Ting came to the realization that they could not carry all of their children with them. Some would have to be left behind.

Yu'lon had escorted them to the shore of Turtle Beach, the two wayward wild gods carrying as many of their children as they could upon their bodies as the Jade serpent bid them both a tearful farewell. "Your children will be safe in the Valley." she reassured them before casting her gaze to the mists. "Liu Lang speaks of islands that dot the sea, perhaps you can make a home on one of those?"

Yu'lon had watched the two of them bounce upon the surface of the water until they were but dots on the horizon, and that was the last she ever saw of them.

It was the last any had saw of them.

Not even a year later, Niuzao, Xuen and Chi-Ji came to regret their decision and thus, tried to call Yuchu and his mate back to the mainland but they never answered. Over time, the Virmen in the Valley were driven mad by the loss of their parents, and turned into a nuisance, a blight. Though little evidence is leftover of Yuchu's existence outside of a few stories and shrines that had rotted with age, drunk Anglers often speak of an island tucked away, where Virmen live alongside those cast out from society. Where they revere a silver furred Den-mother and a mischievous flying rat.

#short story #world of warcraft #thecozykirin #daily writing challenge

12 notes · View notes

jerek · 1 year ago

Text

Half-answer to a QOTD bot question, posted here to conserve space in the relevant discord

(cw: I don't even know where to start. I'm explaining what's going on between Midha and Wrathion. Remember what Dave Kosak said about black dragons.)

Currently, Midha's found family includes Zafirria and Wrathion. Once, it included Anduin and Wrathion. For the purposes of this post, I'll be excluding Zafirria and regarding Anduin as a supporting character.

At the start, when it was only Midha and Wrathion, Midha was a maladjusted preteen girl. Not understanding what she was doing, she (and in some part Wrathion) created a sort of double-sided parental affection:

Midha as the 'mother' to Wrathion because of her age, her willingness to listen, and her ability to carry out his plans.

Wrathion as the 'father' to Midha because of his emotional sway, his seeming authority in Ravenholdt, and his ability to provide gold and shelter.

This morphed in Pandaria to something more like a brother/sister relationship.

Here, Midha adapted more to Wrathion's perception of her as the 'little sister.' If she had any questions about his plans, she asked them privately. She tagged along, part of a package deal with the Black Prince, and she was debatably kept closer emotionally than his guards were physically. By this point, someone like Kairoz could start to spot what developed in Cataclysm: Wrathion was using Midha as a comfort object.

Then Wrathion disappeared, and Midha vanished in his absence. This might have been a warning sign for future developments, if anyone else were privy to their dynamic. Not even Anduin was aware: he might have thought of Midha as Wrathion's favorite champion, but probably not his first.

Moving on to BfA. Crucially, BfA Midha doesn't meet Wrathion any earlier than the player would. In fact, she meets him later.

In MoP, the invitation to meet that Wrathion sends Midha is different, and other 'cutscenes' are added onto her legendary questline.

In Cataclysm, Wrathion knows her by her presence beside his eggshell in the Vermillion Redoubt.

By contrast, Wrathion and Midha's dynamic in BfA is comparatively restrained:

Wrathion finds Midha having joined a raid into Nya'lotha, and having struck the final blow against his false copy. By this point, the Sha (possibly from exposure to Sha-touched items?) has taken over her. This is the first point at which Wrathion calls her family: speaking to her as he would "any sister in the grip of the black flight's madness."

Midha's restraint shows in not trying to contact Wrathion earlier. She even consults Yu'lon, asking what it is about her that makes her feel as though she'll ruin him by her presence: to which Yu'lon confronts her inner 'monster,' her loneliness, and eventually reassures: "There is no monster here. Only your heart."

Wrathion's restraint shows when, despite his doubt in himself, he allows her to leave after killing N'zoth. In fact, he brings her to Stormwind Keep, and takes quiet relief in Anduin inviting her to stay while he finds a way to cleanse her of the Sha for good. (This ends up not working.)

Before we move on to Dragonflight, let's also mention some other people in Midha's life. Chronologically speaking, Midha's romantic interests are as follows:

Shannox: Midha had a stint in Hyjal during Cataclysm. She started first 'noticing boys' around this time-- or, as the case may be, noticing men. We see here the exclusivity of Midha's love: Midha responds to her strange new feelings by systematically poisoning the all-male flamewakers which make up the rest of the hierarchy, trying to force Shannox to the top by default (in much the same way as she went after the remaining black dragons.)

Her kill count was over two dozen. Shannox was intrigued, but nevertheless did not take kindly when he finally met her.

This was the nail in the coffin for Midha prematurely neglecting her innocence and abandoning her role as 'child.'

Anduin: They were acquaintances in Pandaria who rarely spoke more than two sentences to each other. Midha held a passing fascination with him, as any common girl might with the crown prince of Stormwind. There was a rumor that his inner Light caused plants to bloom where he remained for long enough, like a red dragon.

Vyneia: Even Wrathion knew about Vyneia, though he didn't notice any romantic chemistry until they'd already split. They were fellow champions of his, thick as thieves. Vyneia had an advantage over Wrathion in being a girl Midha's own age, even if, being that Vyneia was a blood elf, they were on opposite sides of the faction war.

Eventually, something happened between them. Only the two of them know exactly what it was, but afterward, Vyneia was presumed deceased-- until she resurfaced as a void elf, having joined the Alliance.

Kairoz: Anduin was the only one who knew. He envied her for it. He saw Kairoz dab at her scrapes after a bout against a Celestial, reverse wounds, and speak to her like a peer. Like a woman to his man. He saw him teach her to dance. Nobody ever treated Anduin like that.

But that, too, would pass.

Anduin:

Deep down, Anduin had always viewed himself as the moral object: perpetually acted upon, unable to meaningfully impact the world on his own. He had a feeling about Midha, falling in with rogues, no fixed home beyond Wrathion's side.

That feeling utterly failed to stop him. And Midha liked to come to his room when she couldn't sleep: she must have known he couldn't either.

He had one week of stolen touch, stolen dreams, a future he was sure he'd wrest out of Wrathion's hands. Anduin was older, after all, and Wrathion really had no idea what he was getting into.

In any case, she was Anduin's champion now. Maybe Wrathion would come back for her wedding. Maybe Wrathion would envy Midha like he did. Maybe Wrathion would settle down, too.

A week later, when his trajectory faltered and his heart had finally started to slow down, he went out to Lion's Rest.

He asked his father for guidance, and heard the wingbeats of the Mawsworn.

...Now we arrive at Dragonflight.

There are two factors which shift the dynamic in Dragonflight: first of all, Wrathion has a family. The days of being asked whether Midha's a black dragon too are largely over: the other black dragons are right there at the Citadel.

Second of all, Anduin is gone. Wrathion's lost the devil he knows, and replaced him with a dozen devils he doesn't.

In Dragonflight, the relationship between Wrathion and Midha can best be described as overt.

Baskilian pulls Midha aside to warn her about Wrathion, and Wrathion responds by inviting her out on a canoe trip. He asks about Anduin, and when Midha explains in the politest, vaguest terms possible, he breaks aloud: "What he's done to you, he's done to me."

"I could still look through your eyes if I wished to, champion."

"All the care you should have for yourself is mine."

"Our two comprise the only one on Azeroth."

"If it must be someone, then let it be you!"

It's only one night. He holds Midha for so long she nods off against his chest. In the morning, they've washed ashore near the Ruby Life Pools.

Of course, he isn't the only black dragon anymore. And even if he were, his isn't the only flight. And even if it were... there's still Stormwind.

After another long excursion, Midha returns to the Citadel and apologizes. "There's the Mother Oathstone, and Stormwind, too."

He's not sure if what he does next is premeditated.

In what Wrathion calls a 'fit of the dual soul,' he breaks into an outraged laugh-- and then grabs Midha and forcibly kisses her.

"Tell them. Tell whoever would do the same to you: that I've fully lost my mind. That I've laid claim to you, and I will not allow so much as a word to spread against it.

Some will be revolted, yes! But they will revile me, and count you as a casualty."

When he comes to, he goes to bathe in lava.

He does it again, of course. Midha doesn't know how to stop him, or if she even should. There are broodmothers smaller than Wrathion: drakes are always enlisted where dragons are scarce. And she suspects it's nothing but jealousy: pure, white-knuckled loneliness, and maybe it's the fault of the knuckle-white Sha that seems to ruin everything she doesn't leave behind.

He kisses her so often that Sabellian catches him, and scolds him: "You flout nature like a hand-reared pigeon after its master."

And Wrathion responds: "She is my sister, Sabellian."

"How fortunate," Wrathion says, "that you may never understand. To be a son of one's daughter. A creation of one's creation."

Wrathion's prayer: It will have to be someone. Let it be her.

Midha's prayers have stopped.

Of course, there will always be more to complicate the dynamic. But that's for when I talk about Zafirria and Anduin.

#midhaposting

3 notes · View notes