Winterwind

Description
An ancient, weather-beaten and grizzled grey Tauren, oft clad in a variety of traditional garb from all the four People's tribes, who normally seems a bitter, mean, angry old sod when being honestly expressive. A broken horn, missing eye and earth-matted hair evidence a long and hard life with his gait being slower than most, or perhaps very deliberate in its pacing.

Activities & Attributes
An extremist and fanatical devotee of Ursoc, Garm always found that instinctual and rage-driven Way to be his. His followers in the Cenarion Circle before the Cataclysm seemed to be either an impressively influential cult, secret spy network, active assassins or a problematic rabble with ideas above their station depending on who one talked to. This altered over time and Azeroth's changing needs, with alliances to achieve various nefarious ends altering his extremely Shu'Halo-centric views and calming the Gathering Storm somewhat. Upon hearing of Ursoc's passing, he abandoned a temporary affiliation with the Beastmaw Warband (a cover under which to unearth Twilight eggs and investigate the secrets of Bolvar's "change") and left for parts unknown. His followers now speak of strange dreams, dancing ghosts and a way to bring back the truly old Ways to the Shu'Halo...

Herbalist & Alchemist: As a wandering lunatic with vast experience, Garm has managed to discover about all there is to know about the Mother's flora and all their possible uses throughout the various wars and intrigues his years have presented. Now rarely active in practice, he still has that body of knowledge to draw from. This, however, has notable gaps when it comes to anything outwith Azeroth, the Emerald Dream, Nightmare or Ardenweald.

Guardian Druid: A century of warfare and exploration of the Guardian path forms a formidable force of nature. Unbelievably hard to put down and unrelentingly fierce, there aren't many who can give him pause in his war form. Though Runetotem's greater breadth of knowledge and Stormrage's deep connection provide them with much more varied, utilitarian or appropriate powers as well as greater Balance, his overspecialisation in his Way grants potency that could rival them within his narrow band.

Been There, Done That!: From working to ruin the Shadows of Lordaeron to scheming alongside Atal Loa, from screaming for Elders to reject the green-skins offer to entering the Dark Portal to stem their tide, from remembering rites in Taunka tents to desperate diplomacy in Yaungol yurts, he's either done it, was present for it or knows of situations similar. This experience lets him anticipate a lot, from political maneuverings to infiltration opportunities to battlefield tactics, though truly new or alien situations cause him to withdraw and reassess almost every time.

Background
Apparently from Stonetalon since before the Bluff was raised, tales of scalp-wars with the Grimtotem and Centaur seem to bear this out but little else. Not a great deal is known of this grizzled fellow outside of Tauren, Cenarion, Earthen Ring or Horde spy groups. He was seen speaking with Runetotem and Bloodhoof long ago, receiving their grudging acceptance on the Bluff, observed drifting in and out of Bloodhoof Village on occasion and he sometimes appears to offer aid to young Tauren who fall prey to the dangers of Mulgore. The Cenarion Circle knows more of him than he thinks, yet that enigmatic, overworked group says little to outsiders. Torakk Bloodrain of the Beastmaw has likely known him the longest of all non-Tauren and he apparently had some dealings with Faroth'arn, Bamboochaa and Koranith over the years, but most others are completely in the dark when it comes to this odd figure, which is just how he likes it.

Personality
To those few that know him, he was possibly the most xenocentric, manipulative, misanthropic madman imaginable. Winterwind despised other races, seeing most Elvenkind as weak-willed buffoons literally shattering the Mother with their inept fumblings and Orcs as parasitic, thieving invaders; the greatest enemy of the Earthmother and little different from the Legion! He proclaimed Trolls and Humans as fine in their places (i.e nowhere near the Tauren!) but Forsaken violated the Mother with their footsteps and were to be put down instantly! His unusually Dwarven-accented Orcish bears testament to the Wildhammer who taught him the language and he speaks highly of that clan, but both other Dwarves and Gnomes seem to confuse the belligerent Elder as he simply doesnt know many. The Kaldorei he saw as the only decent people aside from his own, in keeping with the old ways before the Horde came, save for some occassional utterances about the idiocy of Staghelm and that "they should remember who hunted Apa'ro!". Only the Pandaren were viewed as equal to the Four Peoples, even if a bit too existential in their cultures.

This anger eased in recent years, though he still saw the Horde and specifically all Orcish culture as nothing less than an invasive, destructive force that has washed away his People's culture in a tide of their childrens blood. One mistake by Bloodhoof damned an entire history to dust as the young abandoned the ways of the Earthmother to sacrifice themselves in pointless wars, in far-away realms or for the ambitions of those like Hellscream or Sylvanas...but at least Garm no longer attacks Orcs on sight! The brutal mistreatment of the Tauren culture and peoples by their self-proclaimed allies has been more damaging than any Alliance attacks, so perhaps it is no surprise someone rose against it.

To the majority that dont know him, his Dwarven intonation is as shocking as his abrasive demeanour, so unlike the usually stoic Tauren stereotype. His overall curiosity and occassional bouts of reverence can be somewhat endearing but this often a misinterpretation, as many are unsure how to read Tauren, or even a deliberate pretence in order to control others. Some have seen him display a genuine love of life, the Mother and the Dream, but those moments and individuals are both quite rare.

In all truth he's very old and, back then, was very angry and scared of what the future held for himself and his unjustly suffering people. That wasn't a good combination for anyone in power and it drove him down a personal warpath for decades. Experience over the years, the war in Northrend, the Beastmaw and others changed this to a degree as well as Azeroths need for healing. Before his departure he seemed to be truly accepting of some few, having seen them actively and willingly spill their blood for Azeroth during the Legion's invasion, but what his essential opinions are now are still unknown.

Current Status
Dead or missing according to most on Azeroth, to those few open to the Dream and walking it he attends the Winter Queen in Ardenweald. Faint portents and vague omens move across the planes through nebulous dreamways to the few followers he has left. Why, how and to what end is still to be revealed.



OOC Notes
Garm is very much based on Goyaałé (Geronimo), with dashes of Yoda, Palpatine and Magatha Grimtotem, plus a lot of me. Something more than the Lakota Sioux approach to Tauren RP at the time was needed and this worked out well. That and his recent Ghost Dancer plot might inspire some to read those histories, in which case I'm a very happy man.

Over the years on SWC inter-guild intrigue has fallen away and the RP situation has changed, but he continues to be a fun fellow to use to bring Guilds together, provide plot or narrative structure to campaigns or simply to use as a backdrop story device.

Once mingling with the most influential and manipulating all kinds of stories, recent breaks and the passing on of friends mean the W.o.W is a lot lonelier for me than it once was. Flying in silence over the empty Desolace with an empty friends list really helps get into this character's mindset! As I do not use any mods (crutches/excuses for laziness!) it really is a case of WYSIWYG when you see him around, but I'm always open to interaction, assisting and otherwise helping out anyone LookingForRP! :)