Spirits be wit'choo, mon

12th October 2010
Spirits be with you, mon. I be Annekah, a young Darkspear troll.

I know what you thinking, mon. "Why isn't she saying, 'Spirits be wit'choo, mon,' and turning her ths into ds and ts?" Well, it be simple! That might be my accent but I not be about to write out my accent. That be a silly idea!

Anyhoo! This be where I would normally say I be a hunter, except I'm not going to be a hunter much longer! Instead, I going to be a druid!

Yes, yes, I know druiding be traditionally night elf mojo, and trolls and elves don't exactly get along. But I not be getting the druiding from some poncy night elf. I be getting it from Zen'Tabra, a fellow troll! Once I convince her too.

It were not too long ago, when Vol'jin launched his big offensive to take back the Echo Isles from the witch doctor Zalazane. There we be, scouting out the Isles, and Vaniya finds a tiger what hunts like a troll. She empowered me with a tiger spirit - it felt goood. I be feelin' strong, and powerful. Over to the Isles I go, and look around for this mysterious tiger...

...and it attacked! It tried shredding my face off, mon! It not be a pleasant thing, no how! If I'd been just me I woulda been a very dead troll girl, and dying never be much fun. But I be having the tiger spirit empowering me, so instead of dying I just got hurt a lot. Infuriated, I lashed out, ripping and shredding and whatnot, we fought like the crazed cats we were, then suddenly the tiger stopped being a tiger and was a troll lady! Turns out she be a druid!

It of course be Zen'Tabra.

So, anyhoo, she said she gonna be our ally in the battle for the Isles.

Unfortunately I only be in my ninth season of huntering, and I weren't allowed to join in on battle to reclaim the Echo Isles. "You be havin' a great spirit, young Annekah," said Vol'Jin, patting me on the shoulder, "but yoo only be in yo ninth season. I can't be lettin' yoo come along, you'll be splatted in seconds."

I hear they met up with Bwonsamdi, loa of the dead! He be pretty angry, we haven't been on the Isles or following the rituals of the dead for a long long time. Perhaps it be good I weren't there. Dead spirits and loas of the dead be scary stuff, mon.

Anyhoo, the battle all be done now, and them folk at Sen'Jin village be moving their stuff back over to the Echo Isles. I be helping them out! And when Zen'Tabra starts teaching druiding, I so gonna be there.

"But why's you wants to be a druid," I hear you cry, or I would if you were here but you ain't. It's simple, mon. Them druids, they be changin' into tigers and bears and birds and sea lions and cheetahs! I like nature and animals, so's I was learning huntering, but as a hunter ultimately I be shooting them full of arrows. Druiding is a way to be much closer to nature and the animals, you know?

Gah, that makes me sound like some poncy hippy night elf druid already.

...don't matter, them night elves is all freakish tuskless mutated trolls anyways. They say they ain't, but we trolls know better.

But here be the best bit - you also gets to be a kung-fu bear! You poor mons on the other side of the screen only see them druid bears standing around on all four legs and slashing with their forepaws. Over on this side, though, they be a whirlwind of activity, dodging and spinning and bashing things like some kinda ursine Jackie Chan. They be like them pandaren brewmaster monks you all be clamoring for.

And I'm going to be one of them kung-fu bears too!