Winonah

Race: 	Shu'Halo/Tauren
Class: 	Druid
Guild: 	<House of the Rising Sun>
 	
Height: 	7'1"
Weight: 	320lbs
Profession: 	Tanner, Greenkeeper
Alignment: 	Lawful Good
Age: 	63
Eye Color: 	Green
Hair Color: 	Pale
Fur Color: 	White
 	
Birthplace: 	Mulgore
Affiliations: 	The Cenarion Circle
Family: 	
Ashkii Wildmane, Father.Wudugast Wildmane, Brother.Nascha Wildmane, Mother.
Marital Status: 	Single
Current residence:	Moonglade
	
"If I were to greet you warmly, know that it is only because the ancestors tell me that you are a friend. Mind you, stranger, I don't always trust their judgement."
- Winonah Wildmane, Spirit Walker.
	
Winonah is a druid and Spirit Walker of the Wildmane Shu'Halo. Formerly a Shaman, she was lured to Druidism by the whispers of her Wildmane ancestors in the Emerald dream. She now pursues druidism with much fervor and passionately advocates a return to druidism amongst her brethren.
	
Winonah was born into a nomadic family. By the time she could carry her own posessions on her back, she had seen most if not all of Mulgore and its conficts. Her mother was tragically slain by Centaur when she was still a calf, leaving her gentle yet grief stricken father Ashkii to raise her and her young brother Wudugast.
====The nightly visitors====
Winonah began experiencing vivid nightmares as a calf. Her sleeps would be long, sometimes for more than eighteen hours at a time, and her father became worried that this was a sign of illness. With heavy heart, Ashkii carried his sleeping daughter to a High Seer of the Wildmane with expectations to arrange her funeral. He was instead astonished to hear the Seer speak to Winonah as she tossed and turned, her eyes still closed. Cogent, brave, and inspiring words came from her mouth: She uttered words that she had never heard before, spoke of places that she had never been to and named elders that had died long before her father had even been born. Both overjoyed and terrified at what he saw, Ashkii agreed to let the high Seer watch over Winonah for a period of three weeks, with no outside disturbance. During this time, it was divined that she was having true exchanges with her ancestors. Winonah's fate had been decided: in order to harness her gift as one who would walk amongst the spirits, Winonah would undertake training to become a Shaman.
	
====A Shamanistic upbringing====
As Winonah approached puberty, she approached life in an increasingly mature and respectful way. She grew into a mother figure toward both her brother and father, whose care became her priority after her rigorous training. Her nightmares and feverish dreams continued to weigh heavily on her young body and mind, but she persevered throughout them and grew increasingly knowledgeable about the struggles of her people. Through her ancestors' eyes, Winonah came to see war, famine, and disease. She listened intently to their stories and their laments. She learned the tragedy of hindsight, and spent much time daydreaming about a peaceful future for her people.
Winonah reached maturity with countless voices swimming inside her head. Now a respected Shaman, she sought to end the torment of the voices, but endless skirmishes between the Shu'Halo and Centaur tribes saw many losses on both sides, with no clear victory or resolution.
The union of the tribes at Thunder Bluff and the alliance with the Orcish Horde finally brought Winonah some reprieve; a cacophony of anguished cries were stilled, and the chaos slowed in her blood. She hoped that the union would free her people from uncertainty, from tyranny, and in turn, she would be free from the distressed cries of the ancestors. For the most part, this was true. But her gentle respite was short lived.
====A voice inside the dream====
Several distinct voices began to dominate Winonah's thoughts. Inside of her mind, several called to her; they were the long forgotten Shu'halo druids of ages past. One voice in particular could not be ignored; the elderly male voice spoke with authority and urgency: Druidism had been forsaken for too long by her people. It was time to reclaim it.
Now well into aduthood, Winonah had grown dissatisfied with Shamanism as a way to control her gift. Amongst the Wildmane a movement was gaining momentum; Shamanism was being abandoned in favor of reclaiming druidism. Winonah knew that this was now her path in life. The elder began to take more and more control of Winonah. With her permission, he and used her as a medium to speak to large groups about the path of the Druidism. Winonah quickly grew from an apprentice to a teacher, absorbing as much of her visitor's knowledge as possible and appropriating it wherever possible.
Winonah is now an accomplished druid in her own right. Though her mysterious visitor is with her to this day, guiding her actions and speaking to her constantly, he is mostly a passive visitor, presumably marveling with pride at Winonah: a new generation of Druid that he has grown and mentored.
	Winonah is 63 years of age and stands tall and proud at 7'1". Her appearance is unkempt for the most part: her mane is separated into two braids that haven't been untangled in months. Her cracked hooves are host to lichen and occasionally fungus. Her hands are often red and irritated from handling different flora and sediment. Winonah often seems to be in a state of sleep walking: she speaks as though there are many people in the room, even when solitary. Her eyes are barely ever fully opened and her voice is quiet.
	
*Winonah has a fondness for food and will eat up to seven times a day, regardless of hunger. Though she says nothing of it, her acquaintances believe that her visitor was a large Tauren with a voracious appetite for hunted game, and her eating is mostly due to his presence.
*Winonah is almost completely blind in one eye. She believes she can see clearly through it, even though it has glazed over with a white film many years ago.
*Winonah was born with a black pelt, though it is now almost completely gray.
*Winonah is tight lipped as to whether or not she knows the identity of her mysterious visitor. Of all the wailing ancestors, he has taken the longest residence in Winonah's mind and she has permitted him more access to her speech and actions than any other.
Category:Horde
Category:Tauren
Category:Horde Druid
Category:Articles by Zofia Szeretlek