Don't Poke The Bear! (Warcraft/Furbolg)

My bones, structure, and muscles shifted smoothly from bat to furbolg as I landed on a thick branch. The claws of my paws and feet granted me stable support while I healed the damage they caused to the bark.

"That was fun." I cracked my neck with a sigh, and it had been tortu-playing; yes, playing with the cubs was always a pleasant experience, and while they whined a lot, if they came back for more. That meant I didn't traumatize them all that much. All in particular concerning Softjaw since it had been her first, but she was strong.

Who wouldn't want to be bounced off roots and thrown around as a cub without the risk of injuries sticking around? And that only scratched the tip of the iceberg, but alas, playtime was short, and I was a busy bear.

Time was counted, after all. And since I was an adult–socially speaking–I could use this resource far more effectively. I mean, I still got plenty of lessons with new tasks, such as scouting the territories of our tribe regularly, but otherwise, I was free as a bird or bat in this case.

Speaking of territories, I didn't have one like an ursa totemic should, well, not really. The Greenweald had seven of us counting me in, and that meant an equal amount of allocated terrain to create an ecosystem free of tension and over-taxation.

Usually, that is, as ursa totemics came and went through age, keeping our little not-so-little corner of Ashenvale under our protection with the occasional kaldorei military outposts here and there. My presence broke the balance as none of our ursa totemics were close to passing the torch. To put it bluntly, replacement only came when one was dying.

And since we weren't by nature conquerors and preferred to avoid conflict with people, carving new territory wasn't what we did unless truly necessary, and it wasn't such a case.

So my 'base of operation' was, for now, in the root of a random giant tree a twenty-minute of walk away from Greenpaw Village. That was until I learned to fly, of course.

After I earned a pair of wings, gravity no longer restricted my vertical movements–not that climbing was hard, but it wasn't comparable to flight–and I carved my abode around a hundred meters high, all while keeping the tree alive and well. It was a simple hole with enough space to sleep and store a few items.

The branches around had pots of living wood from the tree itself housing various plants and mushrooms, some found around here and some not as traded from night elves or hybrids of my making. There was some graft, too. It was my garden and laboratory I transported from the village and expanded upon.

It was nothing mind-boggling, but my progress was quick and guided. I knew what I wanted and mostly how to get it.

I was practicing what humanity on Earth once did with domesticated plants and organisms: selective breeding but at an accelerated a thousandfold. I have always found it incredible, and this life allows me to make it possible outside of video games.

Genetics certainly work differently here. Changes occurred faster—especially with my mana as if responding to my wishes—though the principles of dominant and recessive genes remained largely the same. As my magic let me skip the time for growth with my supernatural senses, I could swiftly isolate desired traits and create plants to suit my needs.

My creations ranged from poisonous thorny vines to trees that could withstand more mana, making better raw materials for totems and the like. There was more, oh so much more, that I made and was bouncing in my head, but little I could make real… for now. I would only get better, and all projects took time.

It was more than just a hobby, and it would be vital to the future. Many of my plans were centered on those plants.

And genetic modification wasn't a possibility I was ignoring either, but I wasn't quite there yet. It remained a certainty I would have with Life and Nature in my paws, and no one would tell me otherwise.

A lazy, annoyed grunt snapped me out of my thoughts as the owner of the said voice, a small treant, stomped out on little legs toward me—a head adorned by small leafy branches preening at my legs like a cat.

"Ah, sorry, there wasn't anything of note while I was gone, Groot?" Aside from birds and the little treant, I asked more out of habit than fear of anything getting here. He repeated a series of grunt and snapping sounds of different tonality, pitch, and depth, the equivalent of a 'nothing to report.'

He couldn't speak yet; nature spirits took time to mature, so he wasn't much larger than when I made him a head or two more. It didn't translate to weakness, however.

He was like any baby, but he was a strong and smart baby, sapling in this case. Creating a treant from an older tree might have helped in those departments, but it wouldn't have been the same.

Groot was loyal and trustworthy to a fault because I was his 'parent,' essentially bonding him with me. It was why I understood him; he was a familiar of sorts—my grumpy guard tree part-time helper and gardener. He was stronger, though, far stronger than when I made him. Smarter too.

"Good little tree." I cooed, giving my mana to the treant sapling, who happily cooed, ensnaring a leg in a hug as I went on to my abode. It was sparse and essentially a carpet of soft moss with stuff stored in the back.

Without further ado, shaking my leg, I freed it from the ensnaring roots of Groot's disgruntlement. I took off the little ornaments of my body, such as the head feathers, and plopped down my belly first, and limbs spread bonelessly in a comfy sleeping position on the moss before drifting into the world of dreams.

Eyes snapping open to the fairytale-like environment of the Emerald Dream, I passed a few seconds, getting my bearings and sensing the ever-changing pathways of this dimension.

'Here.' I grinned, feeling the path leading to where I last exited the Emerald Dream, and promptly began my advance. As to why? When you got into here spiritually, your position was the parallel equivalent to the waking world. It meant no matter how far you go in the ever-living realm, your point of arrival always stays where you entered, as it's where your body is.

It was advantageous in many cases, but for exploring for extended periods… it could get annoying. I wasn't a male night elf or green dragon and couldn't pass my non-immortal life sleeping. Since I evidently couldn't get as proficient as Shael'dryn in less than a month of traveling this realm the way she did, I made 'checkpoints' in the form of bear totems to help me recall the path and hidden pathway I found.

But I was searching for one precise thing within a supercontinent worth of superficies. It was pretty much Kalimdor of the ancient past here, after all. Luckily, asking for aid wasn't an offense punishable by death, but to whom I asked was important. Paranoia aside, limiting who would know me was the best option since I didn't want to be traced too quickly for my unnatural knowledge when shit hit the fan and be unprepared.

So my choice fell on several possibilities, notably the ancients, not the Ancients, aka Ancient Guardians, Wild Gods, or some Loa if I don't make any mistake with others titles. I knew the one I was seeking was alive, unless the kaldorei recording of the death from the War of the Ancients was massively erroneous, the same for furbolgs legends.

As to the ancients, not to be confused with Wild Gods. The ancients were an ascended branch of treants that had grown into great power, wisdom, and knowledge from the dawn of biological life in Azeroth. And trolls who love riddles and non-straightforward answers.

Well, at least from the only one I managed to find, or managed to find me, if I'm being honest. Given the context of who I was seeking, it was highly suspicious that it was an unworded secret as to whom she was working for and that everything until now was trials and the like to see if I was worthy of an audience.

But why speak of the obvious?

And she was right in front of me. The autumn-themed leaves shifted in her branches, indicating that she was an Ancient of Lore.

"Greeting, Liande," I spoke with familiarity and respect to the ancient. She tilted her massive head, and a small, warm smile came on her thick lips of bark while her glowing orange studied my form confusedly until recognition flashed on her like a grandma who finished her episode of dementia.

"Oh, hello… My apologies… Little Spark of Life… for not having… noticed you sooner…" She exclaimed slowly, her smile growing wider by the second at a snail's pace.

"That's fine. Bits of advice for what to get tonight?" I asked, not letting anything show on my muzzle.

For the past two weeks, it had been what I did, gathering shit, and it could as well be considered 'quests' being thrown at me, the extremely long, annoying, and boring ones, and my patience was wearing thin.

It wasn't for senseless reasons that I was tasked to gather seemingly random and varied materials from the Emerald Dream; they were for some kind of offering or to craft said offerings. Or something of the like.

Also, I wanted to see who I was with how some of the objects asked were extensively lengthy to obtain from both the information given and the method of acquisition, unless the old tree was insane, likely both. The purpose was plain for me to see, but it remained frustrating.

Still, it was my best shot to meet him. Offering and prayers, while not without response, proved... less than stellar in result. It felt like an automated phone system with pre-recorded messages. Another glaring evidence he was alive if everything else didn't frame it this way already.

I needed to stand out, to attract attention, and of the good kind. Not all publicity was good publicity; any who believed the opposite was a simpleton.

"Hmmm…. Let me think…" She slowly hummed, "Maybe… no… yes… ah-"

Then, she was interrupted, and my heart felt like it stopped.

"I have seen enough." A gravelly and deep voice reverberated across the field, my eyes widening, and my heart thumped stronger and faster than ever as instincts from what felt like the depth of my soul flared up at the sight of the immense majestic figure walking through the dense flora unhindered.

It was a spiritual bear. His ever so slightly translucent body of glowing two-toned blue fur did little to hide the power, martial and magical within, the tattoos etched on his fur reminiscent of the ones I had been adorned a year ago only added.

Above his front paws was a pair of metallic bracer, and beyond on his shoulders were a pauldron of the same material on each with the tattoos creating an imagery of two moons joining together, the smaller passing over the larger, similar to the Communion of the Twin when Ursol's Wisdom passed over Ursoc's Might.

On his snout, from where two massive saber-like canine teeth grow downward, was a mask of metal covering his upper mandible and face but doing little to hide the two shining orbs of bright gold observing me.

I was staring right back as they appraised me, yet the gaze was unlike any other. It was… sad, no, melancholic, maybe? I wasn't sure, and drawing any conclusions would be unwise, but the eyes didn't possess wariness, hostility, or anything like that—quite the opposite. And all of it came as quickly as it vanished, replaced by pure calm, curiosity, and warmth, nearly fatherly, almost like the earlier demeanor was an illusion.

Any description I had of him until this instant was ridiculously incomparable. This blue armored bear was one of the Bear Lords. He was Ursol the Wise and twin brother of Ursoc the Mighty and only of the Twins Bears among the living.

And he was chuckling amicably.

"What wisdom do you seek from me, young furbolg?" The Wild God gently asked, lazily slumping down on the grass before putting his head on his front paws to look at me at eye level, and I froze.

He was huge. The suddenness of it all, with my instincts at fault, was not helping. The shyness I thought I had lost from my anterior life swung back into full force.

"What weight is on your mind that I may free you from its burden? It must be of great importance to you if my presence was one you seek to alleviate it." He asked again, his voice even gentler, and I snapped out of my daze, my muzzle opening and closing repeatedly, trying to find the word and clear my thoughts.

It was a moment I had waited and planned for years… And no plan survives first contact, so…

First…

I took a deep breath.

"Ursol, can we talk more privately?" I asked, my tone as measured as possible. And as the words escaped my lips, I dreadfully realized it might have come off a bit too blunt… Shit. He didn't seem to care, though, so that was good. Still, I will keep it formal.

"Hn? You do not need to be so timid, young cub. None will eat you, audience or not." He chuckled softly but still heeded my rude demands by nodding Liande away. He misunderstood, but that was expected; he saw me as a child, which I was–if more of a teenager to be pedantic–but I will use this to my advantage.

So I tentatively shook my head to his great confusion, "Pardon me, Ursol, I mean what I said. I wish for secrecy."

This time, he remained silent, his thoughts a fog of unknown as he tilted his head. The tension grew for a long second until mana pulsed downward from his body, and the ground shook. Roots busted from the grass and created a hermetic sphere around us, blocking outside light, sound, and mana alike. The only protection against total darkness was bioluminescent mushrooms and flowers.

Second…

"Thank you for your patience and understanding." I then went head-on to why I urgently wanted to speak with him, "I have come to you because I have knowledge that I must share… knowledge that has haunted me from my first moment, horrific visions of green baleful fire across withering forest from winged and horned monsters but also hordes of walking corpses. Destruction, death, and corruption in their terrible glory."

The atmosphere grew incredibly heavy in an instant. I didn't know what Ursol was thinking, but I took his silence as my cue to continue. I spoke, the most immediate matter coming first and one that would ascertain I wasn't bullshitting. It was important to me as a furbolg and him as the brother of the concerned party, and I didn't want this tragedy to happen.

I just need to keep it vague and to the point. Luckily, I remembered these quest lines quite well, as Ursoc had always been one of my favorite characters. He was one of the characters that always got the short end of the stick for some odd, sadistic reason, too.

Well, and now it was far more personal.

"Ursoc is in grave danger if nothing is done soon, Ursol." He tensed up, breathing became harder, and the need to lay low grew. Still, I kept eye contact and my stance unwavering to the Bear of Wisdom's, "My kin of the great north would attempt to revive him by using one of the corrupted seeds of the World Tree fallen for its great darkness by ancient druids. My kin will succeed. Their kindness, ignorant of the greater force at play, would cost them their and Ursoc's minds and bodies, leading them to nightmarish bloodshed and insanity."

He paused, my breath hitched, then he stood up, and my heart felt like it was going to explode, staring down at me, and it all vanished as he looked somewhere above for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"I'm sorry to have scared you. But you inform me of grim news. Your words do not possess falsehood, yet I hope the truth differs, Ohto. I dearly hope for us all. But I know not to ignore this cry of despair of a cub. I will depart immediately to see from my own eyes. I have been absent for far too long…" The bear demi-god intoned dolefully, using my name without me telling him barely a footnote compared to what he said at the end.

I was immensely relieved, but he would leave, and I needed to say more. But first...

"Wait Ursol! Can I ask for two favors before you depart?" He stopped, turning to me inquisitively, seemingly pleased.

"Would it be possible to keep my identity hidden and a method to communicate with you?"

"A first peculiar demand, I will grant it as for the second… I fear this is unfeasible for now, but this shall serve as compensation." He hummed pensively. I felt his mana pulse again, and the root cage went back underground; then, on the side, everything that I had gathered and neatly stored began to float between us.

Then they glowed with his mana. He added a droplet of his ethereal by nicking his paw with a claw, mixing to the final result that suddenly was affected by gravity, forcing me to grab it. The thought of it falling wrong to a part of my instincts. The closeness gave me a better sight of this masterpiece of a magical artifact.

It was a simple, discrete design yet beautifully intricate. It was a bracelet of leather cords organized in geometrical knotwork and spiral, red beads, and tiny iron plates with specks of gold to tie it nicely with amber in an iron casing at the first and last knot. The only intricate part was the small musical instrument, a small one that was the horn tip of an ancient, heavily damaged reptile skeleton. It was polished and carved with Ursine runes, the imagery of a bear roaring aimed toward where the sound would come out at the center.

This bracelet was marvelous from a magical standpoint as well. It was below the Totemic Ritual in sheer complexity and reach, but it was up there.

All from the materials I gathered and now that I think about it were material furbolgs commonly used with a matching aesthetic, the iron in particular. We knew how to manipulate and enchant metals even if we didn't necessarily mine them. Rivers with our pseudo-economy sufficed, and it was how I got it.

"Wow… so all these tedious tasks were for this… I knew it." I thought aloud in a mumble and got a grin in return, one full of sharp teeth. It made me feel oddly good.

"This is my present, and it will follow you outside the Dreaming. It shall be of assistance in time of need, calling the ones vowed to defend their blood and honor beyond the gate of their earthly shackles. I trust you to use it wisely." Ursol explained as I listened with bated breath, "Our first interaction went a different path than I had foreseen, but may we speak in better condition soon enough. For now, far well, Ohto of the Greenweald."

"Understood, and thank you, Ursol. And-oh he is gone…" I trailed off, scratching my head delicately to avoid cutting myself with my claws. It had happened many times, I was uncomfortable to admit, since their metalization.

'That's just happened…' I thought with mixed feelings, relief at the top of it all as I stared at the magical bracelet in my paws. There would be more to do and tell from my sporadic memories of the future. I won't claim victory, but it was a win, and I was pleased about it.

'Hm, Miel won't have a problem if I nab a bottle or two bits from his hidden cache?' I wondered, and then it went dark as I fell asleep, the Emerald Dream vanishing to slumber this time for real.

*

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