Welden

Information

Player: Welden

Character Full Name: Wel'den Dawnborn

Character In-Game Name: Welden

Nickname(s): Dawnborn

Association(s): Druids of the Talon/Cenarion Circle

Race: Tauren

Class: Druid

Age: 55

Sex: Male

Hair: Grey

Eyes: Grey

Weight: 413lbs

Height: 7'11"

Alignment: Neutral Good

Appearance

Wel'den gathers all that he uses from the wilds themselves. He will only ever be adorned in various leathers, furs, barks, leaves, feathers, and even bones. His horns are etched with various symbols that pay homage to his patron, Aviana.

Other: A solid gold ring hangs from his nose, a gift from his father before he passed.

Personality

Wel'den will help anyone and anything as long as they have, what he sees as, a beneficial cause. He does not take into consideration race or creed, but rather mind and motive. However, if angered, Wel'den is not an enemy you want to have. His battle tactics are stealthy and precise which almost always involve the death of his adversaries without them even knowing he was there.

History

Wel'den was raised within a nomadic tribe of Tauren, nearly 55 years ago. From the moment he knew how, Wel'den loved the hunt and devoted all his spare time to increasing his skills with a bow and axe. His father, Jorek Wanderhoof, trained him in the ways of the Great Hunt. He would often leave the tribe with his father and wander into the wilds where they would stay for days surviving off the land without the help of the tribesmen. It was during this time that Wel'den's love for nature began to take hold.

Throughout his younger years, Wel'den became quite the herbalist. He would wander the wilds for days alone, but always in a horn-call's distance from the tribe. When Wel'den reached adulthood, his father proudly gave his last name; Wanderhoof. The coming of age Ceremony was different for Wel'den than for the other Tauren. After the festivities calmed, Wel'den left the encampment and wandered into the quiet, moonlit plains. He looked into the sky and saw an owl flying far overhead. Wel'den dreamt that night that he was flying along side the owl he had seen, and then that he was the owl he had seen.

The shaman of the tribe did not know what to make of the dream at first. However, later the next night, one of the elders told him of the ancestrial Druids from long ago and how they were able to become the beasts of the Hunt and live amongst them. Wel'den would never forget the stories he heard that night.

Now that Wel'den was of age, he was able to fight; and so he did. Skilled with a bow, and deadly with an axe, Wel'den fought for his life against the Centaur for years. He never backed down and never retreated unless ordered to. Because of his achievements in battle, Wel'den soon became a very respected member of the Tribe. He would die any day for his people. Nearly once a month a great battle would be had and many were lost. The once great tribe that Wel'den had grown to know and love, had dwindled to only a few dozen. All had seemed lost, and the end seemed in sight. However, a band of green-skinned people and another tribe of Tauren arrived; the Earthmother had answered their prayers.

Wel'den, his elderly father, and what was left of his tribe joined Cairne and Thrall. Wel'den soon began to admire Cairne for his wisedom and bravery. Despite his age, Cairne never stopped fighting with everything he had. Due to Cairne's dedication and the might of Thrall's orcish warriors, the Centaur were finally being pushed back. Wel'den and his tribe were once again hopeful, however, for Wel'den, the joy was short-lived. Not long before the Centaurs were finally driven off and Cairne led the remaining Tauren to Mulgore, Wel'den's father, Jerok, passed away. A strong sadness consumed Wel'den and all his tribesmen could see it radiating from within him, he was not as strong as he once was, not as confident.

Wel'den broke off from the others and walked once more into the night, something he had not done since joining Cairne's campaign. That night he spent praying for his father, and thanking the Earthmother for giving him such a long and wealthy life. There in the wild Wel'den broke down and lost himself. For days he sifted through his soul and his mind, until he found a power and strength within himself he had never known.

Wel'den was gone for days and some began to believe he was dead. He returned early one morning, as the sun was rising. The last remaining elder, and tribe Chief, watched Wel'den walk out of the dawn. Something had changed in him. The cloak of sadness was gone and a new power shown from within him as bright as the rising sun itself. He lay a hand on Wel'den's shoulder, knowing that Wel'den had been reborn, and spoke to him, "Your father is very proud of who you have become, Wel'den Dawnborn. I can see the strength within your heart and spirit. The time has come you the mantle of Chief." The Elder turned to the tribe, watching from behind, "All hail; Chief Wel'den Dawnborn!": And so Wel'den was burnt into the past, and Chief Wel'den Dawnborn arose from the ashes.

With Pride, Wel'den became the new Chief of his tribe and when Cairne had finally led them to Mulgore where the Tauren race would finally settle peacefully, Wel'den Dawnwalker would represent the entire tribe, which was now growing in numbers for the first time in many years. For five years Wel'den led his tribe with wisedom and kindness. One night, Wel'den had the same dream he had all those years ago; once again flying through the night sky along side an owl, then flying as the owl. Wel'den awoke the next morning, knowing that he had a greater destiny elsewhere in the world.

Wel'den traveled to Thunderbluff and spoke with Hamuul Runetotem, telling the Archdruid of his dreams as an owl in the night. Hamuul interpreted the dreams as a calling to the ways of the Druid, that nature itself was calling out to Wel'den. What confused Hamuul was the specific animal that Wel'den became during the dream. Hamuul told Wel'den of Moonglade and that it was there he would find the true answers to his dreams; his true calling.

Wel'den assigned his mother, Kora Wanderhoof, a well respected shaman of the tribe who a number of years younger than his father had been, to be the tribe's new Chief. He then set out on his journey to Moonglade, to fulfill his destiny.

For two years Wel'den traveled north, following various maps, while making some of his own. When he arrived in Moonglade he was surprised to find Tauren and Night Elves living peacefully amongst one another. The last he knew, the Night Elves were at war with the Tauren due to obligations with the Alliance and the Horde respectively. He had no idea that such a paradise existed. Amazed by the beauty and serenity of the land, Wel'den continued into Moonglade, relaying his tale to all those that wished to listen.

When Wel'den finally met Archruid Staghelm, and told the mighty night elf why he had traveled so far, left behind so much, and finally of his dreams flying as an owl in the night, Staghelm, despite his racist views for the Tauren, knew that Wel'den was not meant to be a Druid of the Wild, but meant to study and practice a more focused path of Druidism.

For his first year in Moonglade, Wel'den learned many basic practices of Druidism, including how to enter the Emerald Dream. For the next two years and to this day, Wel'den has been under the guidance and training of the Druids of the Talon, within the Emerald Dream...