Gulwas

Information

Player: Mimloopen

Character Full Name: Gulwas Brighthorn

Character In-Game Name: Gulwas

Nickname(s): Non-tauren often refer to him as Gul

Association(s): The Horde, Tauren in general

Race: Tauren

Class: Shaman, Spirit Walker

Skills and Abilities: The multitude of consciences that permeate the Spirit Walker's mind give him resistance if not immunity to tampering or assaults against his mental self. For example, against illusions that would feel him much hotter/colder then he is, or feel pain. Illusions that do not directly affect his mind work as normal, e.g. a mirage in the desert.

Other then that he is a mostly ordinary shaman, trained by other shaman and helped in times of need by the Tauren spirits. Being a Tauren he is naturally adapted to melee combat. Gulwas also possesses a significant amount knowledge of plants and herbs, particularly those that grow around the Barrens and Mulgore.

Age: 64

Sex: Male

Hair: Long black mane

Eyes: Faded blue, gentle white glow when communing with his ancestors

Weight: 683 pounds

Height: 7 foot 10 inches

Usual Garments/Armor: Plain leather clothing most of the time, although the Tauren is known to dress in cloth if need be. He isn't too fussy with what he wears but he avoids anything too close to gnomish/goblin technology. If approved, his weapon would be a large totem that he has personally carved Taurahe glyphs into (no magical powers), at his own leisure and the request of the spirits. If not approved, he would wield a large wooden hammer.

Personality

Alignment: Lawful Good

As most tauren are, Gulwas is kind-hearted and docile. He is friendly with all Horde at first meeting them and is weary of Alliance members, but does not deny them the opportunity to speak to him. To those who've wronged against him he is quick to forgive the first time, but rarely again. Slow to comprehend sarcasm and quick to anger at perceived threats, the Tauren is difficult to calm down once enraged.

Sometimes the multiple entities within his consciousness cause him to act strangely, adopting eccentric behaviours and speaking of events he had never witnesses for short moments of time. His age and experience have made these slip-ups uncommon, but Gulwas still occasionally loses himself.

The Tauren is normally close-lipped and reserved, often brooding, although he answers all questions willingly. Oftentimes he will often seem to be staring into space, oblivious to the world; these are the times when he is most in touch with his ancestors, communicating with the spirits and seemingly distant from his physical surroundings.

History

Born many years before Thrall discovered Kalimdor, Gulwas was the son of a typical Tauren couple; his mother a herbalist and his father a hunter and forager. He followed the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tauren at that time, hunting with his father from a young age and thanking the spirits for their bounty, as he had been instructed. His mother taught him of the properties of plants and weeds that grew where they passed. He was friends with many Tauren, whom he hunted and ate with, and his adolescance was relatively peaceful and uneventful.

Gulwas was showing much promise to becoming a gatherer like his mother- he never had the dexterity to match his father- until the dreams began. He had almost reached adulthood at the time, being close to his 17th birthday, so the tiny part of him that had wondered about the fate of those born as Spirit Walkers had long since vanished. He had dreamed of being stranded in an unfamiliar part of the Barrens, watching a large but bloody Tauren with a spear attempting to fend off an even larger Kodo. The urge to help all-consuming, Gulwas attempted to rush to his brothers aid, only to find his pace slow and his legs tiny, as if he was in a childs body. Helplessly running to the scene, Gulwas was unable to tear his eyes away as the wounded Tauren managed to pierce the Kodo's thick hide, only to find himself unable to escape as the beast crushed him with its dying throes.

It was only when the third dream struck- one of a band of herbalists scavenging for strange plants that he didn't recognize- that a frightened and confused Gulwas spoke to the Shamans of them. Although surprised that the signs of a Spirit Walker would manifest themselves later then usual, he was encouraged by his parents and the shaman of his tribe to train as one of them.

Time went on. The dreams peaked at a record seven over a month, before they started becoming less common. Instead, Gulwas began hearing the whispers of ancestors, which both unnerved and guided him during the experience. His body a vassal for the great Tauren spirits, he did as they asked when they spoke for a rare favour, and followed the training of his Shaman mentor Muld, that he may have the willpower to stay true to his heritage.

Despite his training, Gulwas felt himself becoming distant from the tribe. He spent minimal time with his mother and father, who found it harder to relate to him, and his friends were hard pressed to speak to him of any topic other than their ancestors. They were afraid, but also curious, and occasionally Gulwas would answer, not as himself, but as one of the Tauren who had died long ago. When their spirits recognized the people he spoke to, he often found it hard to stay in control of himself. But the years passed slowly.

After reaching a reasonable knowledge of the Shamans ways and being accepted by the five Spirits, Gulwas was inclined to continue learning, but the whispers in his conscience urged and beckoned him to join in the fight against the centaurs, who had now begun driving the Tauren away from the Barrens. So it was that he took up his weapon and went with the hunting parties, to protect them.

With his herbal training and the help of the ancestors, who taught him how to treat many conditions whether poisoned or infected, Gulwas was, in theory, an effective medic. But on desolate fields in the middle of a battle the information meant little without the supplies, and every person Gulwas failed to save tore at his soul, though the ancestors did not blame him. Thankfully, the few times his father was injured, he had managed to heal the wounds himself, although the last injury- a spear through the calf- would leave him unable to fight again. So the burden of protecting the Tauren weighed greater upon him.

Eventually the Tauren were driven back, the Centaurs victorious. Gulwas helped with hunting when not continuing his shamanistic training, as the battles had cost many warriors, but his skill with a bow or spear never rivalled a true Tauren warriors. By this time he had learned enough to meditate and be in touch with the five Spirits on his own, and his old master Muld died proudly in his sleep, an ancient tauren that had lived a long and satisfying life. Gulwas was yet to experience Muld's spirit upon his conscience, but the decades of burdening the souls of his ancestors had started to bleach his previously pure-black coat.

When Thrall arrived and helped the Tauren drive back the Centaurs, Gulwas helped in the building of Thunder Bluff, and resided there for many years, meditating and giving council to younger shaman and the rare and confused fledgling Spirit Walker. The spirits memories provided him with an understanding and appreciation of the world, but seeing so many exotic locations in his mind made him yearn to visit the places in person, so he set off in exploration, intending to experience the world outside Mulgore or even Kalimdor. To this day he has been travelling for a few months, a relatively aged Tauren, yet he would return to defend his people at a moments notice.