Cross-Faction Chaos

Chapter One of Sriset's Story - An Untamable Beast?

Sriset Emberstar was unaccustomed to remaining in one place for very long, but she knew she had to stay in Sri La Village long enough to avoid the wrath of her orc friend Zoruga. After months of trudging through Northrend, a disgruntled Zoruga had insisted that they both deserved a break and had suggested to Sriset that they visit Pandaria for some rest and relaxation. When the orc warrior saw the hesitation of her blood elf hunter friend, she had been wise enough to mention the exotic beasts in Pandaria and Sri had finally relented and agreed to come.

Once they arrived in Pandaria and traveled to the faction neutral fishing area of Sri La Village in the Jade Forest, the orc woman had immediately become much more relaxed and noticeably happier. An orc in a good mood was certainly easier than dealing with an unhappy one, and Sriset had learned over the years that it was nearly impossible to win against Zoruga's persistence and coercion.

Unlike her orc friend, Sri rarely had any trouble achieving a state of being relaxed and happy. That didn't mean that she was happy all the time, but she always tried to find the upside of things. She'd grown up knowing exactly what she was meant to be, a hunter. Her kinship with and sense for animals had existed for as long as she could remember. Before she could even walk, her parents would often find her crawling around outside surrounded by a variety of wild animals.

While no one ever questioned her talents with beasts, her abilities as a hunter were often doubted by people who encountered her. She tended to get lost easily, not quite understand given instructions, and wander into danger that her tamed beasts had trouble rescuing her from. Nonetheless, she was a perfect shot with a longbow and crossbow and could wield a polearm with a dexterity that defied her periodic clumsiness.

Like the animals she was so fond of, Sriset was something of a free spirit and would wander wherever the winds took her. She'd fought for many of the same causes as her sisters Solunai and Salxi had, but their paths hadn't crossed much as they grew older. Their different classes of hunter, paladin, and warlock took them in different directions, but they never forgot their bond as sisters growing up.

Sri enjoyed change and trying new things. One way she had shown that in her younger years was by constantly changing her hair color and hairstyle. Although she'd been born with the same dark brown hair as her mother, she'd lightened it to blond for many years, then tried red, then lighter brown, until finally deciding that her natural dark brown color was just easier. These days she wore her long, dark hair in a braid that almost reached her waist. The style required little effort and suited her unpredictable adventures as a hunter.

In an effort to distract herself from being in the same place for several days, Sri had set out to explore the area around Sri La Village in search of a new type of beast. She hadn't spent much time on Pandaria before this visit because she'd chosen to pursue other challenges. Now that she was on Pandaria and had seen some of this lush region called the Jade Forest, she was curious to see more of this world filled with the natives called Pandaren.

As a hunter who had tamed several beasts and captured numerous companion pets, Sri found the bear-like Pandaren people ridiculously adorable. She knew the Pandaren people would not appreciate her calling them adorable or cute and fluffy, but she allowed herself to think it.

As Sri ascended the numerous steps up through the cliffs behind Sri La Village, she wondered if it would've been a better idea using her windrider mount. Alas, she had let the flying beast free to the skies when she arrived, and she doubted it would return to her anytime soon. Her mounts grew very tired of her constantly getting lost, nearly running them off cliffs, or dashing through highly dangerous areas. For the sake of her windrider mount, she would use her legs to conquer the steps and hope the beasts roaming the nearby wilds were worth the climb.