User:Skreeran/Tana



Tana was once a human, and the best friend of Skreeran the First. He is one of the few now living to have seen Skreeran I fall, and was the man who declared him dead, to his great anguish. He also watched in horror as the Titans fought the remaining Gods, and spread a deadly red mist about the planet, forcing all into an unnatural sleep, from which most would not awake.

Tana's hair has always been naturally green, even when he was a human, and green hair was a common sight among the people of the kingdom he was born in. At an early age, his father detected his innate skill with weaponry, and regularly took him hunting. Much to the surprise of his kin, he surpassed all but the greatest archers in the kingdom by age eight, and soon was known to be the greatest shot in the world. At age eighteen, he decided to leave for a time, to find his fortune in the world. He eventually stopped in one of the few small villages that had been spared the ravages of the wars between the gods. He became something of a bounty hunter, bringing in the heads of local necromancers, thieves, and even demons. Often, the lands he traveled through to claim his bounties would still possess gaping holes in the earth left behind by the gods and their servants. To protect his eyes from the smoke and acids that saturated the air, he wore a pair of leather goggles, he even dyed the leather green to match his outfit.

This is the tale of Skreeran I, as told by Tana.

One day, as Tana silently made his way through his forest, as he called it, he came upon a weary traveler, young in his appearance, perhaps twenty years of age, who wore a plain brown robe, a wooden staff, a holy icon about his neck, and a pair of leather goggles. Tana asked him why a traveler like him went by way of a labyrinthine forest, rather than by the road. The traveler simply replied that the forests possessed more shade.

All of a sudden, a massive demon (of the Ered’ruin variety, it has been proposed that the race of demon originated on Azeroth, and sealed away in the Nether by the Titans, and the current Ered’ruin that serve the legion are remnants of these) made its way into the clearing the two humans sat in. Tana immediately responded, and fired an arrow into the demon's eye. Before he could even reload, the traveler had stood, pointed two fingers at the demon, and quietly chanted something. An unimaginably bright light began to collect at his fingertips, before a beam burst from the focal point into the chest of the demon. As soon as Tana's eyes had recovered, he saw that the demon lie on the ground, most of its torso replaced by a gaping hole. In awe, Tana asked the stranger his name. The traveler replied. His name was Skreeran.

Skreeran explained that he had been traveling West to the elves, deep in the forests beyond the mountains. He intended to study from their ancients books about times long ago that only the elves would remember. Hundreds of years ago, the ancient ones, neither Human, nor of any other races now remembered by mortals, crafted a sword of fantastic power. The weapon could level a small city with a single blow, but could also build a city of amazing magnificence from the still young stones far beneath the ground. It was this sword that Skreeran believed could be used to end the wars that tore at the world.

Tana beseeched Skreeran to let him go with him, as this was exactly the sort of quest he hoped could bring him the recognition he desired. So together, they left for the elven lands. After weeks of traveling, they finally arrived in the elven lands. Polished stone obelisks touched the sky, and vast marble temples stood above the forests below. After arriving, Tana began training under the elven master archers while Skreeran studied in their vast libraries. While he studied, Skreeran met a young (only a few hundred years old) elf mistress, Ëina (Yay-nuh), who apprenticed under one of the mages there. She too was studying in the library, and watched the handsome Skreeran as he studied tomes as old as the world. As she looked upon him, she felt a purity unlike any other man, and many elves within his spirit. She was very shy however, and dared not to speak to him. Eventually, he sought a book that she had, and made his way to the white stone table she sat at. When she turned away from him to hide her embarrassment, he spoke to her. “You need not fear me, I am only a human after all.” He smiled, “In fact, I should thank you for your people so generously allowing me to stay in your land.” She turned, and smiled in response. They began talking, and Skreeran learned that she possessed an ability that few others had, the ability to rune-cast over huge distances simply by drawing runes on a map and then channeling magic through it.

The two began meeting more frequently, and Skreeran realized he had fallen in love with her. At first, he feared his love would interfere with his devotion to the Light, but after much praying and meditation, he came to the conclusion that love was just as much a part of the Light as heat was a part of fire. He found an understanding soul in her, and she found a loving companion in him, they complimented each other perfectly. About a year later, they were married, and later had a son. Tana attended the birth, and noted that the child had very elven features. The parents decided to name him after his father, Skreeran II. A few years later, (year 26 by Skreeranian Numbering), and war was growing closer to human lands. Skreeran and Tana, knowing that there was not much time, left to find the ancient sword, whose very name had been forgotten by time. After a few months of traveling, and getting closer to the sword, Skreeran received a letter from his wife. She let him know that she was pregnant again, and that she wished him luck on his quest, so that he might attend his second child’s birth. Skreeran demanded that they double their efforts to find the sword. After a few more months of following the trail of clues, they passed through the earth, and fire, and ice, and at last found the chamber holding the sword. Skreeran knew that Ëina was growing close to the expected birth date, but he still needed more time to bless the sword with the Light.

After he purified the sword, they began making his way back to his home, but the pair was waylaid by evil of all sorts along their journey, making progress very slow. Finally, Skreeran received another letter by hawk from his wife, informing him that his son had been born. Ëina had named him Skortha, and his features were much more human in appearance, and his ears had very little point to them at all. Skreeran regretted missing his son’s birth, and traveled even faster that he had been. As he traveled, he would periodically receive letters from his wife, but they began sounding more and more uncomfortable and uneasy. She mentioned that several times she had heard footsteps outside, or felt someone watching her. Ultimately, fearing for the baby, she fled for the elf lands, where she felt safe. Finally, the letters stopped coming. Reaching the elf lands, they hurriedly made their way to Ëina’s father’s house. Once inside, they found Ëina’s parents and his elder son (now a boy of 7 years) sitting sadly, as if they were waiting for them. In Ëina’s mother’s arms was a small baby. Tearfully, Skreeran asked if it was his son, to which the grandparents replied yes, and then handed it over. He asked what happened to his wife, and they explained that she has been spirited away by demons in the night. They had found the baby crying, hidden in the cellar. They then handed Skreeran a piece of paper that had been found, with misshapen letters burned into its surface. From what Tana could see, it was a note left behind by servants of one of the evil gods that was warring in a nearby province of the world. Apparently the god had learned that Skreeran had been seeking the ancient sword, intending to use it in the war. The god threatened that it would kill Skreeran’s wife if he did not surrender the sword to the greedy god. Skreeran wept at this horrible turn of events, and chided himself for not leaving someone to protect his wife. Tana did what he could to comfort him, but nothing could console him. Skreeran knew that if he gave the sword over, the god could use it to kill countless more innocent people, but if he did not, his wife would be killed. Skreeran then made his choice.

Hoping that the light infused into the blade would prevent it from being used for evil, he decided to trade it for his wife. Making their way far east, over blackened ground and under smoky skies, Skreeran and Tana finally reached the gods fortress, a palace crafted of living black steel. Walking past demons and hellhounds and evil creatures too horrible to describe, they reached the gate. Laying the sword on the ground on the before the gate, Skreeran called out to the inhabitants of the fortress to let his wife free. A massive demon came out to take the sword, followed by a small blood caked humanoid that Skreeran recognized as his wife. The demon did not immediately take the sword, but instead stood between it and Skreeran and Tana. He laughed as he pushed the bloodied elf forward, falling to her knees at Skreeran’s feet. Skreeran collapsed and embraced her, and told her how much he had worried. Amidst the tearful reunion, Tana saw too late as a demon fired a ball of flame, hitting Ëina in the back. Tana promptly fired an arrow, splitting the demon’s skull. As Skreeran cried out next to her as she lay on the ground, she smiled and hushed him. The last words she said were that she had forgiven him for arriving too late, and asked him to raise their children well. At that she breathed her last breath, and her spirit departed from the world. At this, Skreeran let out a cry that only a man who has lost his love can cry. Tana cried as well, and stayed by the body to prevent the demons from getting at it as Skreeran rushed for the sword. The massive demon laughed, and bent down to pick up the sword, but recoiled at the touch. “Damned vermin have poisoned the sword! Kill them!” the demon commander yelled as he withdrew another sword. Tana could barely see through the crowds of demons that surrounded him, but as he killed them one after another, he was able to see that as the demon commander raised his weapon to strike the comparatively tiny Skreeran, a huge burst of light burned away many of the demons, and blinded the commander. Skreeran grabbed the sword, cut down the demon, and ran back to Tana. Tana hoisted the body of the slain elf over his shoulder and ran with Skreeran.

When they reached the elf lands, they mournfully prepared to hold Ëina’s funeral. Skreeran’s children stayed with their grandparents as Skreeran prepared the body. He cleaned off all the blood, and bandaged the wounds. Eventually, they held the funeral, and buried her near a tall green tree near the library where they had met. After the period of mourning had passed, Skreeran and Tana rallied the Elves to destroy the horrible god who had committed this despicable act. They went through the lands one by one, and in each one, they found that many of the people had also lost loved ones in the wars. Forging alliances between many of the races, what stood in the end was a large army of Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Trolls, and Goblins, all clad in the best armor and weapons that they could afford, with Tana and Skreeran at the front.

Battle after battle they fought, forcing the demons back, until the reached the location of the Fortress. Strangely the Fortress had disappeared, but the millions of demons present in the area attested that this was the correct location. Demons and mortals fell in the thousands on both sides, while Skreeran and Tana forced their way through the ranks of the demons. Before long, however, the demons had cut them off from the rest of the army. Near the island amidst the sea of demons, a clearing formed, from which a shadow poured out of the ground. The shadow soon formed into an immense demon form, with thousands of eyes of its huge face, and three pairs of wings on its back. Black steel oozed up its legs and formed into the shape of armor and weapons on its body. Clearly, this was the god who had orchestrated the deaths of Ëina and so many others. Skreeran withdrew his sword and used it to cut a swath through the demons on the way to the god. Fighting with the god, they traded blade swings, each parrying to others advances. Finally, in a final burst of effort, Skreeran held his hand out and focused as much light as he could muster into the eyes of the god, causing it to fall to its knees in pain. Then, taking up his sword in his other hand, he rammed it through the living breastplate and into the ribs of the god. The god cried out in pain, but before it died it pushed Skreeran against a rock and crushed him before finally passing away. Tana cried out and made his way past the fleeing demons to Skreeran. At Skreeran’s side lay the sword, which Tana wrapped in cloth and put across his back. While entombing the other dead, some of the army set about cutting a tomb into the rock there, and buried Skreeran within it. Tana took the sword back to Skreeran’s eldest son, and presented it to him as his inheritance. It was then that the Titans came.

The world they found was one of miserable inhabitants, ravaged by war, on a destroyed world. And so, they chose the individuals best suited to lead future generations, and released a mist about the planet, causing all who breathed it to fall deep asleep. The individuals chosen to survive were entombed in special stone chambers within the earth. The titans then remolded the planet, creating it into a planet they believed would prosper. When they were nearly finished, the entrusted the safeguarding of the world to the Dragons, many of who had survived from the old world. Of the dragons, they chose five leaders to be aspects of nature, and gave a portion of their power to them. One of these aspects was Ysera the Dreamer, and it was she that found Tana in his dreams. Cold, frightened, and unsure of the future, he found her in his dreams, and she took a liking to his spirit. Within the earth, his being changed because of this contact. Outside, the titans built their crowning achievement, their gift to the mortals that would live on the planet, the Well of Eternity. They built this font atop the tomb of Skreeran I, feeling that that location was the mostly magically active on the planet. When Tana emerged, thousands of years later, he found that he was nearly elven in body. Weeks he traveled, across lush forests, instinctively making his way to the Well. Once he arrived, he found many other elven beings that gathered there. One of the people he found there was Skreeran II (while he may have been with Tana at the arrival of the Titans, the inside of Azeroth would have shifted, and it is entirely plausible that he arrived first). As the elves grew into a magic using race, Tana, being less magically gifted than others, was a much loved member of the lower caste of Night Elves, while Skreeran II grew into a promising spellcaster. When Azshara and the Highborne prepared to summon the Burning Legion, Tana was one of the first non-Highborne to see. As he ran to tell Malfurion, Azshara cast a paralysis spell at him, freezing up his body almost entirely (his lungs and internal processes still functioned of course, but he could not consciously move a muscle).

After the War, he gradually recovered, though he could never use a bow with the same precision as before. He went back to his old skills of sneaking unseen and unheard through the forest, but also learned how to fight efficiently and silently, as a rogue. Thousands of years later, he found a descendant of Skreeran’s second son who had been imprisoned by the Night Elves. He found out what had happened, and learned that because he was part Highborne he was not getting to tell his side of the story. So in respect to Skreeran, he set his great-grandson free. He later joined the rogues guild at Ravenholdt, and is employed as an Alliance based mercenary. He is engaged in a friendly rivalry with the Troll rogue, Base.

Recently, Tana was entrusted by Ysera with the care of a small but potent baby green dragon whose name was Lisara (though Tana lovingly calls her Lizzy). This tiny emerald dragon possesses just as much power in nature as the mightiest of druids, though controlling that power comes at a challenge.

Tana was also married recently. He fell in love with a dazzlingly beautiful Night Elven druid Nighthra, and he courted her, eventually proposing. She hesitated to answer, but when Tana asked her why, she said that they could not be together. Tana appeared puzzled about this, but Nighthra turned to him, and revealed herself in her true form, a majestic Green Dragon. At first Tana was shocked, but then calmly announced that he would love her the same whether she was a Night Elf, a Dragon, or a Hippogryph. Pleased, Nighthra accepted his proposal and they were happily married, although very few know her true identity.

Tana is one of the four people that worked in the recent reawakening of Skreeran I. He is very pleased to have met with his friend, who he thought to be long dead.

Quotes
"I'm a man, dammit! My name is pronounced Tah-nuh!"