Onak Maplehorn

Researcher

Born and raised in Bloodhoof Village, Onak Maplehorn has pursued druidism to help his mother with birthing rites. When he was reprimanded for wanting to participate in a historically female rite, he fled home and traveled to Orgrimmar, where he saw firsthand the horrendous birthing conditions of the Orcish women. Prepared with his secondhand knowledge from a childhood of helping pregnant cows, he took it upon himself to study and experiment with ways that he can help by joining a gynecology practice in Durotar.

After the early signs of the gynecology practice shutting down, Onak left to pursue the preservation of the races of Kalimdor in another way: heritage. He helped to form the Fooly Cooly and build a clan of people dedicated to the uncovering of tradition and lore of the Tauren peoples. He explores Azeroth looking for old journals, totems, or anything else that can give him some insight to the nomadic lifestyle the Tauren people are losing.

## Early Life

After the war, the Shu'halo came to reside in Mulgore, with several village surrounding the capitol of Thunder Bluff. One such area, Bloodhoof Village, became home to several Tauren. Maplehorn was among the first to be born in the village of Bloodhoof after the transition away from a nomadic lifestyle. Onak spent lots of time playing in the nearby lake and hunting prairie dogs, but his most important time was spent helping his mother prepare the birthing rites to bring new calves into the world. This was a long process, as there are several rites for each pregnancy and the gestation period of a Tauren is typically 15 months. After a spat with his mother regarding the performance of these rites, Onak fled home for Durotar.

After working for a time with the gynecology practice in Durotar, he left at the threat of his mother excommunicating him from the Bloodhoof Tribe for participating in practices that are for women to perform. Wanting nothing more than the growth and strength of his people, he set off to find a way that his talent for learning could benefit the Tauren.

## Druidic Practices

   Onak was always the type to want to help and heal others, and when choosing a profession to pursue he learned he had quite a connection to nature magics. At first, he thought he was destined to be a great shaman, perhaps even a Farseer. This changed one fateful day when Onak unknowingly encroached upon the space of the local menace known as Aki Towa, a fire elemental that ran loose for the better part of five years. This encounter instilled a terror of fire, animated or not, in Onak that drove him from the path of shamanism toward druidism. In hindsight, Onak would say this path suits him better, as he prefers to bend to fit the world's needs rather than bending the world to fit his.

## Personality

It has been said by those that meet Onak that he's a gentle kind of firm. It's hard to mistake him for a pushover, but he's so kind and soft when getting his way that it almost seems like it was their idea to let him have it.

He has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and he will try to read any book he can acquire. He's currently learning to write Orcish and gaining fluency in reading it. He wants to learn to read and write Taur'ahe but finds himself at a loss for where to start that endeavour.