Honaw
Information
Contents
Player: Delta
Character Full Name: Honaw Brightmane
Character In-Game Name: Honaw
Associations: The Horde, The Tauren, The Sunwalkers
Race: Tauren
Class: Sunwalker
Age: 37
Sex: Male
Hair: A rich, autumnal mane grown longer than most and braided at the extremities.
Eyes: Honey-hazel brown.
Weight: 573 lbs
Height: 8’
Appearance
Honaw wears an armoured cassock in battle, the plating of which is decorated by circular, golden patterns in honour of An’she. Its aesthetic purpose appears to be to inspire, but it offers him more than adequate defence in vital areas. Teeth, claws, fur, and feathers are interwoven into his mane. Beads which alternate yellow, grey, and brown dangle loose, threaded through strands of his beard.
Broad and tall, Honaw is a tauren in the prime of his adult life. His shaggy pelt, earth brown in colour, is arrayed by a canvas of scars both new and old that hint at a warrior’s history. Deep schisms mark his meetings with axes and blades. Elsewhere, healed puncture wounds and four-stroked gashes tell a tale of clashes with beasts of a more primitive nature.
Personality
Honaw still struggles to keep his anger in check and channel his rage in productive outlets. He has a strong sense of justice where those who cannot protect themselves are concerned, often taking it upon himself to mete out vengeance, even if the one he is avenging has no desire for further conflict to arise from the matter.
Though his motivations appear to be fuelled by simple emotions, cause and reaction, he is compelled by his compassion for others and the understanding derived from the empathy he feels for others. Despite his straightforward approach to retribution, he is fully aware that many of his enemies are in similar straits. He acknowledges that they all had mothers and fathers, some sisters, brothers, and mates. Rather than condemning a race or a people, he denounces only actions and choices consciously made.
Honaw believes in unity for the greater good of the world, and peace that isn’t bought by blood. Forgiveness is something he is slowly learning to come to terms with, and under the right circumstances, he would willingly extend it to the Alliance. For now, he is devoted to lessening the suffering of his own people.
History
The day Honaw felt he was too old to rely upon the protection of his tribe, he took up arms in defence of it. More often than not, the bold little bullock only served to get under the hooves of the elder braves, but insistent as he was, the patient amongst them agreed to teach him the fundamentals of armed combat.
The young tauren was empowered by a rage that stemmed from his desire to defend all that he loved. It angered him when the centaur raided, and nothing would have pleased him more than to return to them the same pain, loss, and fear that his people suffered at their hands.
When he fought the taurens’ foes, he was reckless and vicious, a stranger to mercy unless ordered to restrain himself. Neither the strongest nor the most cunning of fighters, and lacking in experience, he lost his fair share of battles. His ferocity, particularly as he grew, became a valuable asset, for startled attackers often hesitated at his charges, providing the opening for decisive blows.
Concerned by Honaw’s untempered fury, a crone called Hanuhani sought to teach him to connect with the natural world in an effort to bring the youth into balance and manage his anger. Although she met with some success, and the bull began the basics of druidism, the threats the tauren faced only grew in magnitude as time went on. In kind, Honaw struggled against them, often forgetting his mentor’s wisdom when it might have served him.
When Thrall’s Horde arrived in Kalimdor and aided the tauren in striking back against the centaur, Honaw joined them in their campaign across his continent against the great evil that Azeroth now faced. Due to renewed contact with the night elves, his people were able to re-establish their druidic roots. Adhering to the totem of the Claw, Honaw assumed the form of a mighty dire bear to assist the Horde in tearing through the demonic incursion with primal force.
He returned to his tribe somewhat troubled, having glimpsed a reflection of himself in the senseless brutality the Burning Legion demonstrated. When he relayed his concerns to his old teacher, Hanuhani, she prescribed absolute balance to restore his sense of self. She advised him to look to the Earthmother for answers.
He did so.
What Honaw saw was the celestial duality she represented. Her eyes saw day and night, light and dark, which together formed a complete picture. Hitherto, the tauren realised, he had walked only one road in his life, and viewed his problems from only one perspective. He chose then to walk the other as well, to provide him with the insight that he believed was necessary to achieve inner balance.
The Cataclysm shook more than the Earthmother’s land. The darkness and destruction convinced him of what he must do. Spurred by the emergence of a new antagonist, Honaw accompanied many other tauren in the foundation of the Sunwalker order, and began to follow the way illuminated by An’she’s light.
