Grauhr Wildmender

Grauhr Wildmender, also known as Grauhr of no-tribe, is a tauren druid. He follows the path of balance, but has recently begun practising his restoration skills. Until roughly three years ago, he was a member of the Roanfeather tribe.
==Personality==
At his core, Grauhr is a heedless and high-spirited creature, but the death of Hruhron has hardened him, earning his personality a crabby quality. He is trying hard to be like his brother, forcing a uncharacteristic seriousness upon himself. He is extremely stubborn, and once he is convinced of something, he's not likely to change his mind anytime soon. Grauhr is forgiving when it comes to minor quarrels, but if something offends him strongly, he tend to hold grudges due to his sturbbornness.
Somewhat surprisingly, Grauhr can be rather studious (if he puts his mind into it!). He devotes much of his time to research on the behalf of the Cenarion Circle, and to his inscription studies. He needs to feel that he is doing a good job, and will often (and unknowingly) seek approval from others.
==Physical Traits==
As most tauren born into the Roanfeather tribe, Grauhr's fur is black with white hairs in it (a so called roan blue fur). He also has purely white areas on his face and chest. His horns are black, and his eyes are a bright shade of yellow, also common to the Roanfeather tribe. He keeps his black mane in loose braids, while his short beard grows freely from his chin.
Grauhr stands at a respectable height of 265 cm, but is lankier than normal. Compared to the tauren standard, his build is better adapted to speed than brute strength. He often appear as clumsy and inapposite in most situations, but when he is in his true element, the wilds, Grauhr is competent and confident. Thanks to his years as a wilderness stalker, Grauhr is apt to stealth.
In public, Grauhr mostly wears adorned druidic robes and leather outfits, thinking that this will make him come off as serious and trustworthy. In the wilds, however, he prefers to dress simple and lightly. Grauhr dislikes cold climate, as it requires him to put on heavier clothing.
==Background==
===Childhood and Youth===
Grauhr grew up in Desolace as a member of the Roanfeather tribe, alongside his twenty year older brother Hruhron. While Grauhr was prone to pranks and childish play, his brother was calm and responsible. Despite their different personalities, the brothers were very close.
As Hruhron reached maturity, he begun his training as a wilderness stalker. It was not easy for Grauhr to live in his older brother's shadow, to see all the attention and praise he got from the tribe elders, getting none himself. But Hruhron always had time for him, and their bond remained strong. Much later in life, Grauhr realized how easy it would have been to hate his brother, if their friendship had only been a little weaker.
But not even when Hruhron begun his new life in the wilderness, separated from his tribe for long periods of time, Grauhr was given the attention he desperately wanted. In his youth, he did many stupid things (which often got him into trouble) as he tried to get the elders' approval. This got the opposite effect; he was considered stupid and irresponsible, a huge disappointment compared to his gifted brother.
===A Stalker of the Wilds===
Even though Grauhr had a gift for wilderness stalking, and took on his training with skill and devotion, he was always compared to his brother - never deemed good enough. Driven by anger and disappointment, he demanded that the elders would give him his final task one year later, so that he could finally prove them wrong. But he was not yet ready. He soon became dehydrated, and after two weeks in the wilds, he was on the verge of death. By mere luck, he was found by Hruhron. Taught by his brother, Grauhr finished his training. The next time he took on the final task, he did not fail.
For thirteen years, the brothers roamed the wilds together, hunting and protecting nature's balance in Desolace and northern Feralas.
===The Third War===
But this happy life did not last forever. The Third War came to Kalimdor. In it's aftermaths, demons fled to Desolace, scorching the lands with evil magic. Grauhr and his brother returned to the tribe to protect them from the new dangers.
On one occasion, Grauhr saved the life of Shanah Roanfeather, the granddaughter of the Roanfeather Chieftain, and the elders praised him for his courage. Grauhr happily buried his old anger, his heart light with relief. Finally they had given him their approval!
But soon, by the united threat of the centaur and the demons, the Roanfeathers were driven away from Desolace.
===The Founding of Thunder Bluff===
The Roanfeathers travelled to Mulgore. Alongside his tribe and the rest of the tauren people, aided by the orcs, Grauhr battled the centaur to reclaim the lands. The allied forces were sucessfull, and soon, Thunder Bluff was founded. The city atop the mesas became the Roanfeathers' new home.
It was around this time that Grauhr formed a relationship with the taureness he had once saved, Shanah. It was uncomplicated and joyous love; they were still young and life was easy. The couple did break up after half a year or so, but remained close friends.
===A new Path===
It was around this time the tauren people began to practise the forgotten druidism. Hruhron decided to walk this new path, and Grauhr followed shortly. The training was much harder than Grauhr ever could have expected. Stalking was in his blood, but with druidism, he struggled. It took a long time before he could grasp the skills of shapeshifting (to this day he rarely, even never, make use of his bear form and cat form). He found that channeling the energies of nature - to heal, cleanse and damage - came a lot easier to him.
The ancient teachings soon became a major part of Grauhr's life. Nature's balance, so precious and fragile, meant so much to him after seeing his own home lands twisted to ruins. He chose the path of balance, and aided the Cenarion Circle in their work to restore the nature of Kalimdor.
===The Death of a Brother===
Grauhr and Hruhron did not travel together anymore, but they still met from time to time, and their bond remained strong. It was during one of these meetings Hruhron introduced Keeyakee Stormdancer to his brother. Later, when they were alone, Hruhron told him he thought she was the love of his life. Gladdened by his brother's happiness, Grauhr wished him the best of luck with the taureness.
The Roanfeather elders, on the other hand, were not happy. They did not think the young shaman was good enough for Hruhron - the Stormdancers were a small and relatively unknown tribe. Instead, they arranged a marriage for Hruhron to another woman from a respected tribe. Hruhron had always payed a great deal of respect for the elders' decisions, and now he could do nothing but accept, even though it would part him from Keeyakee forever.
The old anger, which had been slumbering for so many years, awoke anew in Grauhr. How could the elders do such a thing! How could they be so blinded by their pride, that they ruined his beloved brother's life?! Seeing his brother - who had recently been so happy - succumb to silent grief made his bitterness even deeper.
Half a year after the arranged marriage, news reached Grauhr that shook him deeply. Hruhron had died. It was something that he could not fathom. How could his beloved brother be dead? It was not possible!
===Grauhr of no-tribe===
When Grauhr was told about the exact details of his brother's death, that Hruhron had died during a mission in a barrow den, he was shocked. His brother had always been careful, Grauhr couldn't even remember seeing him injured once. How could he have died during a simple mission? But as he tried to analyze the events on a deeper level, he came to a realization. Grauhr was certain: the sorrow had numbed his brother, making him less observant. If his brother's life had not been ruined, he would not have thrown it away so carelessly. It was all the Roanfeather elders' fault. If there had been a possibility for reconciliation before, it was gone now. In Grauhr's eyes, his brother had been killed by his own tribe. It could not be forgiven.
There was only one thing he could do. Grauhr decided to leave the Roanfeather tribe. The elders were sad to hear about his decision; it had barely been one month since the loss of Hruhron, whom they all mourned deeply (Grauhr was not so sure about that, though), and now they were loosing his brother too. Though, it wasn't them, but Shanah, who pleaded to him to stay. He didn't, and the two never spoke since.
Since that day, Grauhr has introduced himself as "Grauhr of no-tribe" to those who ask about his tribe name.
===The Wildmender===
As he left the Roanfeather tribe, Grauhr took the name "Wildmender" as his own. Since the death of Hruhron, Grauhr has assisted the orcs of Orgrimmar on distant battlefields, and taken on several missions on the behalf of the Cenarion Circle. Always on the move, with no place called home, he is trying to adapt to a life without a tribe. Some traits from his childhood has aroused again in later years - primarily his recklessness and need for approval - which he tries to deny.
==Stories==
How to lose a Friend
==Trivia==
*Grauhr has an immense appetite, and will wolf down his food if he's not in the presence of anyone he wants to impress on. Karrisend did once compare his eating habbits to those of an orcish grunt.
Category:Tauren
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Druid
Category:Characters
Category:Male
Category:Archive