The Disappearing Act

"Are you kidding me?" Runeclaw shouted. She wasn't shouting at anyone in particular as she stomped around her garrison like a clefthoof on the warpath. "All that work! All those flowers! You're telling me it's just…just gone! Just like that! And what do you mean I can't be a Saberon anymore? I WORKED FOR THAT STUFF!!"

Her voice cracked as she screamed her displeasure. She had never been so angry in her life. She had spent years and years working on her perfect penmanship and making her glyphs into works of art. She had trained until she collapsed to achieve new forms and abilities. Now it was all gone like a wisp of smoke. She had awoken that morning and gone out to collect more herbs, only when she attempted to shift into a Saberon, nothing had happened. She spent a good half-hour trying before realizing she could only become a lion. Later, after a few hours of milling herbs, she began making glyphs but the paper and ink no longer illuminated with magic. It was nothing more than words on a page. Frustrated, she crumpled the paper into a wad and tried again with the same result.

Several more failures led her to badgering the resident trainer. The inscriptionist in her garrison had no answers for her except to say that the magics were changing throughout all the realms. So, Runeclaw had immediately popped over to Moonglade to speak with the Elder Druids. She found them in a cluster around Malfurion Stormrage. It had taken some time to get an explanation since the old codgers weren't exactly interested in discussing Important Druid Matters with a raggedy Tauren, but the gist of it was this – there were rumors that the Legion was once again rising in power, and it was causing a disruption in the natural magic and ley lines of Azeroth. Consequently, many things that were once possible no longer were.

Runeclaw kicked a crate. "Ouch!" She hopped up and down on one hoof and rubbed her shin. The crate was filled with salvaged goods and not empty as she had thought. She paused in her rant and took a deep breath and then plopped down on the ground in the dirt. The residents of the garrison continued to give her a wide berth. There was just not telling what could happen when Runeclaw was around, let alone in a foul mood.

"Ok, RC, get a grip," she told herself as she closed her eyes and drew another cleansing breath. "Sure, you can't be a cool Saberon anymore, but you still get to be a ferocious lion. Your glyphs might be toast but there is still a lot more to learn and your penmanship really, really is beautiful. Maybe since the magic is different, I'll be able to learn entirely new things that will be even better! Maybe I'll be able to turn into a dragon!" Her eyes popped open in time to see her two whelps, Malachite and Druac, puffing little gasps of smoky laughter. "Hey! It could happen!" She scolded them. They fluttered erratically in the air and collided before landing her lap still helplessly shaking with draconic mirth.

She shook her head and looked down at the pair, one blue and one green. Her big hand scratched behind their budding horns in turn. "Ok, so probably not, but you just never know," she smiled. She was already starting to feel better after her little pep talk. Her imagination was working overtime about what new things might be in the future. Truth be told, she was getting tired of Draenor and had been itching for a change for a few months. Her hunter friend had decided he wanted to try learning swordsmanship and was back on Azeroth. They wrote letters to each other once a week, just as she once had with her twin brother.

"All right, you two jokers, I'm going to go out fishing. I think there are some huge lunkers in that one lake by that one little outpost." The whelps exchanged a look and simultaneously shook their heads. Only Runeclaw ever knew what she meant. "Behave while I'm gone or none for you when I return!" She kissed their noses and went to get a wyvern.

Bron sighed when he saw her heading his way. "Runeclaw, have you considered getting your flying license for Draenor?" he asked once again.

"Oh sure, but do you know how much work is involved in that? Seems kind of silly when I can just pay for a wyvern and go wherever I want."

"I keep telling you that you cannot take the wyvern where you want. They are supposed to stay on the designated flight paths." He felt like a broken record. They had this conversation probably three times a week and she never listened.

"Yeah, yeah, look, I just want to go fishing, okay? Just. Fishing. I promise." She smiled cheerily and patted a wyvern on the head. It flinched and hissed so she tossed it a hunk of ripe meat.

"Did you just feed my wyvern fish bait?!" Bron exclaimed.

"Did I? Oh! Oops! Sorry about that. Don't worry, I'm sure the gas won't smell too awful. Ewww, or maybe it will," she scrunched her nose and waved a hand in front of it to clear the air. The animal belched and a few flowers wilted. "I think I'll take that one."

Before Bron could protest, she hopped on the other beast and took off into the sky. She could hear a few exclamations from the ground.

"Blood and thunder!! What is that stench?!"

"Hey, who wants to search its excrement for my keys? I got gold to pay!"

"Bron! What have been feeding those things! I'm reporting you to the stable master!"

Just another day in Draenor for one Tauren Druid.