Vedajo

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Horde Vedajo Swifthoof
VedajoRunning.gif
Player Maulbane
Title <Ish'tanka (a Taurahe portmanteau of "goodbye" and "bolt")>
Gender Female
Race Tauren
Class Hunter
Age 24
Height 2.08m
Weight 215kg
Eyes Persian green.
Hair Coffee brown. Two braids by either side of her head, bound by straps of tanned hide.
Affilliation(s) Cragwatcher Tribe, Thunder Bluff, The Horde.
Occupation Messenger/runner
Relative(s) Jarokk Cragwatcher (brother), Hajaal Cragwatcher (mother), Lon'tak Cragwatcher (father)
Alignment Lawful Good
Status Alive





Appearance

Physical: Vedajo is shorter than average adults of her people. This is primarily due to being far younger than those average adults, but she has always lagged behind her peers when it comes to how far her head parted with the Earthmother, so to speak. Other races probably wouldn't be able to differentiate through fur and clothing, but her build would be slightly over the average weight for a lady Tauren (of her young age and small stature). Muscle would dominate her legs, and that dominion would splay out to her lower back and abdomen, indicators of a runner and a climber. The fact that she maintains a rounded diet, eating her greens and meats equally, would be easily spotted by a lack of excess fat all along her body. Finally, her face is fairly angular, a contrast to the softer, wider jawlines many of her people have.

Usual Garments/Armor: Despite the influx of new culture that many Tauren have had to acclimate to, Vedajo has stuck to the more antiquated forms of clothing. What she wears is not permanent but it keeps common themes – clothing made of segmented and stitched gazelle hide, strips of leather adorning her upper body, as well as a breech-cloth of similar material – all things that are light and sway as she runs, playing on her beliefs and allowing her freedom of motion without infringing on any morals. Her craftsmanship is shoddy to say the least, but they are incredibly simple and easily replaceable garments.

Other: She would be adorned with various charms of various bone, covering her wrists, neck and anywhere on her body that looks like it was in need of it. They are sparse, though – not nearly enough to begin weighing her down. Her head is generally unadorned by ordinarily common Tauren decorations like plumes or headdresses.

Personality

Vedajo has two equal elements on her surface. She is unerringly pledged to the Earthmother and vehemently (though not violently) in opposition to those who would insult her or the spirits – whether vocally or by not observing their ancient customs. However, there is another side of her – the runner. She is one who tests boundaries, if not ones on a map then ones in her legs, and she has an almost dogmatic fixation towards her physical ability. These two parts of her personality work together – she pledges the energy she uses, itself gained and thanked for, to the Earthmother with equal devotion. Years carefully maintaining sacred sites has given her a respect for them somewhat unfitting of her age, and she'd have words for one who defiled them.

She is a creature of flight rather than fight, and this skittishness has imprinted itself on her even past being jumpy when in the wilderness. Her method of talking is frenetic, and she'll tend to steamroll several ideas in a single speech before letting someone else talk - causing her to become somewhat of a handful when conversing with. This can be construed as arrogance (sometimes rightfully) and, inevitably, she'll probably apologise for saying something she feels could be offensive in advance to avoid upsetting or enraging others. This, however, doesn't stop her from saying the things she says in the first place. As far as hubris goes, Vedajo specifically enjoys rubbing her physical prowess in others' faces - particularly other Tauren - though generally in a tongue-in-cheek manner. No smoke without fire, though.

Her friendliness towards strangers belies her wariness of them. She is comfortable with meeting people and then leaving them into the dust, and outside of her own family, tribe and race she finds no issue with moving on as soon as she can – her wanderlust constantly calling her to new heights and places. A Dwarf would say she has the mindset of an explorer, but she wouldn't understand – she just wants to see new things and to never stop moving. Her goals are held close to her heart, but they are simple goals – life and the ability to aid the Earthmother where she can. However, her aversion towards violence has left her unable to work with more aggressive Tauren groups, were she to stay in one place long enough to find one. This has also given her a specific lack of trust towards Orcs (no matter how much fun she may have with them in the short term) and given her a kinder view of the Elves. She warms to people she is fond of quickly - her distrust is generally skin-deep, unless there is some significant reason for her to avoid someone. These generally fall under infringements on her beliefs.

Despite this aversion to violence, she has the somewhat capable mindset of a young hunter, and isn't squeamish when it comes to blood and the facets of hunting, such as skinning. She shares the belief of the rest of her people that you must use as much of an animal as you can, which leads her to creating her own clothing. She is self-sufficient, but not particularly strong or skilled outside of her particular path - she is very aware of her shortcomings and is likely to admit them before they're pointed out by others.

As far as the other peoples go, she finds Trolls the second-most agreeable – their beliefs, while wildly different, follow the same execution, and it helps that they also have horns. Forsaken, Bilgewater Goblins and Blood Elves are races that she fears to the point of immediate dislike. Humans, Worgens, Gnomes and Dwarves she fears less, but the technological focus they entertain as well as their continual digging and scarring of the world... And the fact that they're at war, causes her to keep away from them. She views Draenei with awe from the stories she's heard and retained, but not much else.

Ultimately, she's a Tauren who has a long way to acting and talking maturely - when she's not jumping at shadows she's jumping to apologise for something she's said, or jumping to chastise someone for not respecting the Earthmother, or jumping in general.

History

Vedajo's slightly overdue birth would reflect the world she came into – languid, calm and without true reason for anxiety. Her tribe was a small conglomerate of a handful of families, one of which was hers – her parents and a brother, Jarokk, her elder by two years. They were from the threat (but not the consideration) of the Centaur as they drifted the southern ranges of the Stonetalon Mountains from end to end. They had, unlike other tribes, a specific purpose that they had given themselves - the maintenance of sacred sites throughout the hard-to-reach tors and precipices. Places of pilgrimage, ritual and larger celebration, ranging diminutive cairns to monoliths carved out of rock faces, all needed to be preserved and the paths to them (through the mountains, steep and prone to displacement).

This would not become directly relevant to Vedajo for many years. Unlike the tribes that roamed the far lusher hunting grounds of The Barrens, their people were living from meal to meal, even when they never stopped in one place along the mountain range's base. They were not ignored by the Earthmother's gift – they had a handful of Kodo beasts, but they were too few and too precious to use as food. Perhaps at an even earlier age than most, their young would have to learn how to hunt. Vedajo was expected, barely out of nursing age, to begin learning fundamentals that would become the basis of hunting just a few years later. Before she learned to run, Vedajo would dance – even for a Tauren she would wear herself out taking part in the rituals and celebrations, and she became a tiny source of joy for those who watched her. Their lives were never threatened by anything but the possibility of there being no food and the mountain's caprice, but that was enough for their tribe to have a constant plan of where to go next, appeasing the spirits as they went.

They worked hard for the Earthmother. Roughly every half-season they would uproot, where, depending how far into the mountain range they placed their tent village, they walked or hiked distances that would cause the then-lethargic Orcs to pass out. Then, the strongest and most capable males or females would travel up to the shrines and holy places dedicated to their god. Vedajo would watch these people leave and return each time, and even as a young child she held the same apprehension the others had. They were expected to scale the mountain with primitive tools and a basket of offerings (depending on the site), clearing the path as they went, most of the time overgrown or unsettled by the movement of the earth each time they returned. Occasionally they would not return, and Vedajo's most poignant memories are of the wakes held for them, alongside happier memories of being beside her brother, learning to use a bow and spear with the few braves among their tribe.

At an age where a human would only be breaking into adolescence she had begun hunting. She found it exhilarating, going out in groups with Jarokk and others her age, coming back with, if not a carcass, some fond memory. There would be Centaur scares, but always ended up being something coincidental – a Wyvern resting at sunrise looked like a marauder when seen from below, and many of the tors that loomed over them resembled scouts. The tors themselves were more dangerous than the Centaurs, inevitably, prone to dislodging and scaring the tribe half to death. More than once a climber had almost been ripped off the mountain face, and Vedajo would hear tales of ones who had in the past. These stories would manage to scare her from going near the mountain, but the curiosity would only be inflamed as a result. It was prodded ever more by the exhausting climbing training. Physically because of its sheer emphasis on strength, mentally because of how slow it was. She was much too flighty and high-strung to realise the benefits behind the carefulness.

Their quarry would be their main indicator of where they drifted – to them, east meant rams, west meant lighter game – deer, gazelle, rabbit. Vedajo preferred the west, but she dutifully worked to feed (or help) the people who were in part depending on her. Rams were too easy to catch, and Vedajo was light on her feet – arrogantly, she even tried to wrestle one. The only reason her tribe, furious with the lack of respect, didn't scold her was because her broken arm seemed to punish her enough. Not being able to hunt for a month, she'd leap off her feet the moment she could move it without pain – at the severe reprimand of the elders who were worried about her condition deteriorating. She had little worry about that, though, and went sprinting straight out of the village and tripped over a log.

She spent the next two weeks allowing the damage her impatience caused to mend itself. Having become somewhat of a normality, visits became common to her by most of the tribe, most frequently her blood family. Of course, Tauren society doesn't put much emphasis on blood relations, so even the braves and veteran climbers would drop in and give her stern words about the way her temperament was going to be her downfall. She did honestly listen to them, she did, she just... Didn't see eye to eye. She and Jarokk would earnestly plan new hunts while she waited for her darned body to mend – with her doing most of the planning.

Many ceremonies, dances and hunts later, at the conclusion of the summer's Dance of the Earthmother, she would finally be ready for her first climb. Accompanied by her brother – who had become a climber with little issue two years before – they would reach the top of a peak named An'she Owachi. Along the way, they were obligated to clean the path for others to be able to reach it safely. Normally taking place over a few days, Vedajo's jittery nature would extend it many more – when she wasn't paralysed with fear she would attempt movements outside her abilities, and the cycle would repeat anew. Despite scaring her brother almost to death many times, they reached the peak in just under four days, having done a meticulous job of clearing the way up with all the spare time they had between Vedajo's near-death experiences. Jarokk would split the offerings in half – enough ram meat for a family's meal – and they both uttered a quiet thanks as they presented it to the small, decorated rock face at the top of the mountain. Descending would take half the time it took to get up, with twice as many close calls, but she'd succeeded.

If the elders thought it would give her a sense of serenity they were wrong – she ran faster, climbed more aggressively, and danced to the point of passing out (a time the tribe doesn't tend to bring up). Her respect to the spirits and the Earthmother was never impeded by this – in her mind she was dedicating herself to them in her activities, as all she did was allowed by her gifts. There'd be little ability for them to complain – she brightened up the village as it moved, with sparks of mirth and fear for her life going hand in hand. She began to take part in more climbs, going with Jarokk as much as possible. The more experienced climbers would shun her from the role, though, if mostly due to not wanting her to hurt herself. Despite this, she'd improved in her abilities.

The occasional holy striders and messengers closer to the heartland of Kalimdor would become more frequent, from the zero they had generally expected most years, bringing tales of a new clan from across the seas – green skinned, warlike. No such people would reach the Stonetalon Mountains for quite a while – not before the Humans, at least. They never saw more than three, but the scouts from the Theramore blockade were strange creatures – they made no attempt to be fast or quiet on their feet, stomping through the undergrowth. The tribe would not allow the men coated in steel, as aberrant as they were, to interrupt their duties. Once they moved back west, far from the reach of Humans uninterested in them, they never saw scouts again. Vedajo would become encumbered by nightmares of their village burning, tents falling in on themselves in the gleam – that incredible gleam – of steel, for weeks to come.

Instead, Warsong outriders would approach their village weeks later, the first sight of the rumored newcomers. Told in advance by messengers that they were now allied, the braves allowed the four Wolf Riders to enter. The village accepted them with apprehension, as they would anybody whose sole purpose was to fight and kill. Despite that, they fed and rested them, though gave them extremely stringent guidelines as to how they would respect their customs. One rider, unable to follow them, initially thought the request for him to camp outside the village was a joke. Vedajo would follow him, curiosity getting the better of her. She wasn't particularly afraid when he wasn't wearing his cutter by his side, and she'd occasionally giggle at how misshapen he looked when he was on foot – he didn't even have hooves, fingers growing out of the end of his ankle, and he was completely hairless.

The Orc visits would become more frequent as war broke out in Ashenvale. The Cragwatchers found it difficult to stay neutral, as their proximity to the Elven forests for generations had given them reason to look up to them as supernatural, but they had no other choice, numbering less than fifty, with some ten capable of armored fighting. They would be troubled, but unhindered in their rituals and ceremonies, unlike many other Tauren who were obligated to assist the rapidly growing Bloodhoof clan. For that, they were happy, and in time they managed to filter out the immorality which had placed itself on their doorstep. Time passed quickly for the still-young Vedajo, who began running each day, trying to outrun the Wolf Riders who would occasionally stop by as scouts. They'd stop laughing at her attempts when she out-climbed them, though. The newcomers would brighten up her life, the opposite of Jarokk and the tribe's sentiment. She never truly let her guard down the Orcs – they stank of violence and fire – but she could unload her energy on them. On 'Orc days', Vedajo would return tired, something the tribe did appreciate them for.

More Orcs, more death and more climbing would follow. Thunder Bluff would be formed, but they would still have their work to perform, and only one of them would go as a messenger in order to pledge their allegiance. The elders would trust Vedajo her with her own life more and more as she approached her coming of age years later. Everyone held their breath within the weeks which would culminate in her self-discovery. The elders were almost arrogant as they waited, certain that her totem animal would sedate her. Alone, she climbed to a high eastern ridge – a place where Tauren of many tribes travel led to perform the same ritual – and waited. It was hard for her to just wait, for hours, but she did it. She saw her totem animal, and sprinted faster and further than she ever had to tell her people.

"Gazelle! It's a Gazelle!"

The tribal elders weren't ever quite the same after that.

Having come of age, the tribe began to put her talents to use – belatedly – using her as a messenger. Even with the unification of the Tauren, Kodo were poor at travel ling through the forests that dotted Stonetalon, and Vedajo could run fast. She ran all the way from their village to the new permanent settlement of Sun Rock Retreat, then she ran all the way back (with a few nights of sleep in between running, of course). Perhaps somewhat late, she was presented with her honorary name for that feat - Swifthoof. Being accepted by her people was the final barrier in her mind to come to terms with herself, and she became unabashed in her activities. Jarokk, whose totem animal had been a Kodo two years earlier, supported her as he always had – without hesitation, though marred by fear that she'd do something pointlessly dangerous.

As the years since her adulthood ceremony passed, she'd spend less and less time at the village. She wouldn't notice it at first, but the wanderlust had set in. She had to run further, there was too much out there – she'd never seen an Elf, and now they were supposed to be at war. She made a convincing (if frenetic) case to her elders. They'd packed a bag for her days in advance, easily understanding the plight of one like her. They held a ceremony for her leaving – one with dancing.

The years flew by at the speed of her feet after that. She barely stopped to see where she was headed in the first few, treading west to the new homeland of their people, then before she knew it she'd passed The Barrens and reached Orgrimmar. She met people by the hundred and forgot all of their names in the coming weeks, but she never forgot to thank the Earthmother for what she'd hunted along the way. Her training as a climber never failed her, finding shortcuts through cliff faces and valleys whenever she could. If she couldn't, she'd climb just because... She could.

The politics of the world has left her unfazed. She cared little for whatever stories travelers would tell her about people, but her ears would perk up at the places – ice tundras, lands made entirely of sand – even sandier than The Barrens. The cataclysm would be the only recent event to truly shake her, and she returned to her home for almost a quarter of a year to return to the roots she'd shaken. Things had changed - the strengthening of their lands and increased population among the Tauren tribes, as well as Orcish engineering, had made it easy to perform the repairs that once required their self-isolation, and the people have begun to focus more on service towards the Earthmother in the form of ceremonies. Climbing is still an implacable aspect of their small society, though, and Vedajo joined quite a few social hikes in the quarter-year she spent back at her home village. Though they remain nomadic, they still fail to move fast enough for her. So, she left, running.

Skills and Abilities

Equilibrist – Originally the core discipline of her tribe, the ability to master uneven, steep or otherwise treacherous terrain has faded in its relevance to survivability. Even so, the rigorous physical training which gives one such balance continues. Capable of feats of balance and ascent abnormal for a more grounded Tauren.

Totem Animal: Gazelle – Rather than a direct influence, Vedajo's ability to run far and run fast is brought on by the rigorous practice and determination from a young age. Her totem animal is just an affirmation of her destiny... Her destiny to... Run. Fast.