Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

Agra briskly ran across the surface of Tiange Lake, her bare brown feet making only the tiniest splashes.Usually she likes to walk on foot and feel the great power of this place, but just now a gust of wind brought the words of Mother Gaia'an: Come to me, child, I have news for you. Despite her gentle tone, it was a calling for Agra to follow right away.She had come to the Throne of the Elements to sit quietly at the feet of the great Elemental Wraths—Ebrius, Godau, Calradius, and Isenlatus—in the hope that they would talk to her today.She had just sat down beside Karadios, the Fury of Air, when she heard Gaiyaan's message.So now she ran towards Galadar, the tribe's stronghold in the Nagrand region, eager to learn this important news that could not be delayed.

Agra is a shaman, but she's as healthy and strong as most warriors.When she entered one of the tallest buildings in Galdar and knelt before the Matron Mother, she was only a little out of breath.She bowed her head respectfully, "The wind language informed me to come, Madam Zong. Do you have any news?" Gaiyaan smiled and patted the worn old cushion, so Agra came to sit beside her.Gaiaan gently stroked the young orc's cheek. "Come on so fast. Maybe the wind made you fly, huh?" Agra smiled and rubbed her dry and rough hands, "No, but the water spirits allowed me to run across the lake."

Gaiyaan laughed, "They are so generous. As for my news, I just received a letter from my grandson...he wants to come to Nagrand to learn from me." Agra blinked, "He... what? Goyle?" "Yes, Goyle." Agra frowned, "Is he still using that annoying slave name?" "Yes." Gaiyaan replied, taking Agra's somewhat rude words calmly.The old patriarch had known for a long time that it was much more difficult to control Agra's poisonous tongue than to guide the elements to help others do good. "It's his own choice. Maybe when he arrives, you can ask him why he did it."

"That's not possible," Agra agreed easily.She had never seen the famous Thrall, and she hadn't been in Nagrand the last time he came.All she knew about him was what she had heard from other people.Now it looks like she's finally getting the chance to see is to believe. "I didn't expect him to come back." "I didn't expect it, unless I came to say goodbye when I followed the ancestors away." Gaiyaan said, "He came to ask me for help." "Help? What more help does that amazing Thrall need?" "Heal his world." Agra fell silent for a while. "He told me in this letter that the elementals of Azeroth were suffering, and he needed my wisdom," Gaiaan continued, "He said that if anyone knew how to calm a chaotic world, it must be It's me."

"Hmm," Agra snorted.She was embarrassed by the previous comment, but tried to hide it as best she could. "Although that green skin has the same virtues as humans, it does have some brains." Gaiyaan laughed happily, "I really look forward to seeing the scene where you two meet." She said, "But he's not quite right." "What are you talking about? Matriarch, you are wiser than the rest of us combined. You have so much knowledge." Gaiyaan put a hand on the girl's smooth brown arm. "I know more, yes. I know a lot, yes. But there are others who know these things, even better than I do."

Agra raised her head and looked at her in bewilderment, "Who?" "You, child." The brown eyes widened suddenly. "Me? Oh no, I know a thing or two, but—" "I've never seen a more gifted shaman than you," Gaiaan said. "The elementals sang a lullaby as you grew up. They have long considered you their own. I am proud to teach you, But even without me, others can help you very well. When my time comes, if you can take my place, I will be able to join the ranks of the ancestors with peace of mind." Agra blinked quickly, "May that day be many years away." She said, "I believe that I and others can learn a lot from you, including your grandson with the slave name."

"Actually," Gaiyaan was thinking, with mischievous flashes in his eyes, "I want to give you most of the lessons. That's because watching how the two of you get along is very important to me, an old orc. It will be a lot of fun.” Agra couldn't see her own expression, but judging from the way Gaiyaan raised her head and laughed, she must be amazed and amusing. Thrall had forgotten what a beautiful place Nagrand was. As the sun sets, the sky is like a strange giant bird, showing him the gorgeous feathers that he is proud of.The crimson clouds reflected blue and purple light and shadows, looking like lotus pods.The earth under the sky is equally beautiful.The grass was like a thick carpet of emerald green, and Thrall could see the large animals moving in the distance.He could hear the patter of running water and the chirping of homing birds, and felt an unexpected tug in his heart.

He had been told repeatedly that this was the way Draenor used to be.Thrall knew that elsewhere the land was devastated and battered.But not here, not in Nagrand.Thrall couldn't help but wonder, as he gazed at the fairytale sunset, whether Durotar could ever grow so vibrant.If only one day the Barrens and the Badlands could no longer be what they seem to be. "Lok-tar," said a voice. Thrall had requested in advance that no ceremony be held to welcome him.He came to study and work, not to play.No time for all this bells and whistles.So he was not surprised, but slightly pleased, when he turned to find only a female orc to meet him.

She was young, maybe a little younger than he was, and she had bandages around her muscular brown arms.Her long, lustrous reddish-brown hair fell wildly over her shoulders, giving her a wild look.She was also dressed casually, a leather tank top and skirt.She had a broad chin and a straight back, and she would have been a beauty if her lips had not twisted and scowled. "You are Thrall, son of Durotan," she said straight to the point. "Yes," he replied. "A humble name. Here we call you Goel." Her bluntness took him a little by surprise.No one had bossed him around in years, since the night he had proven himself to the Frostwolf clan and Orgrim Doomhammer long ago.

"Goyle was my parents' name, but fate chose another. I still prefer to be called Thrall." She turned her head and spat. "That means 'slave' in the human language. It's not a proper name for an orc, at least not for someone who claims to lead us—even if you lead orcs who have left their homeland." The insult made Thrall's nostrils flare and his words sharpened. "I am Warchief of the Horde, Shaman. I have made the Alliance fearful of a name that once meant 'slave'. To them. The name now means Horde glory and power. I ask you to use this I have decided to keep call me by my first name."

She shrugged, "You can keep the name, but we won't call it. Unless I'm mistaken, you don't come as a Warchief of the Horde to give command, but as a shaman who seek wisdom." "You're right." Thrall forced himself to suppress the blameless anger in his heart.He had scolded Garrosh for the same thing, so he should heed his own advice and stay calm. "I have come to learn from my grandmother, Mother Gaiaan. Can you take me to meet her, please?" His voice was neither humble nor overbearing, and the orc girl seemed to be a little gentler—although it was pitifully small. "I'll take you there," she said. "No doubt you will benefit greatly from her. But she is old and frail, and has decided to arrange for you to have another teacher to teach most of the lessons." "No matter who Gaiyaan thinks is suitable to teach me, I will humbly learn from him." Thrall said sincerely. "May I ask his first and last name?" "Her name is Agra," answered the girl, turning and striding briskly away, evidently asking him to follow. "I look forward to meeting this Agra." She turned her head and glanced at him quickly, a grin grinning across her fangs. "You've seen it." Her words made Thrall stumble.May the ancestors give me strength, he thought to himself. Dinner was simple: grilled clefthoof beef, Mag'har bread, some fruit and vegetables, and clear water.Thrall had never developed a taste for delicacies. He had eaten simple and nutritious gladiator rations for most of his life, and he was not picky about such dinners.In fact, he was comfortable with such no-frills style, as was Gaiaan's grandmother's stripped-down presence.She had aged a little more since he had last seen his grandmother, especially the marks of the past year.Yet her body was far from weakened, and her spirit was still fresh and strong.Her mind was equally clear and sharp.This made Thrall unable to resist comparing her to Drek'Thar.Sometimes fate always favors some people more. He would have preferred that the meal be shared by only the two of them.Agra sat next to Gaiyaan, and to Thrall's bewilderment, she was obviously the old woman's favorite person.Agra didn't speak much, but her sentences were harsh.Gaiyaan didn't seem to mind her faux pas.When Agra left the table to pour water for them, Thrall approached his grandmother and whispered. "This girl doesn't show you the respect you deserve, grandmother," he said. "If you call me grandmother instead of Zongmu, people will think you are disrespectful," she replied. "If you wish to call it that, I'm just as happy." She waved her hand disapprovingly, "I'm your grandmother, Goyle. Why shouldn't you call me that?" "But... Agra interrupted you, she directly refuted you, she—" "She still laughs at you, even if you are the great chief of the tribe?" Gaiyaan laughed softly. "Hey, my grandson. Don't tell me you don't have people around who are ready to put pressure on your sanity, or I'll have to call you a liar. Because you're a brilliant leader, and a wise A good leader doesn't surround herself with flatterers. Agra contradicts me because she has her own way of thinking. Sometimes she's right and I have to change what I think is right. Sometimes she says No, but I'm not going to tell her to shut up, and I'm not going to regret it. If I don't listen to other people's truth, it's time for me to step into the ranks of my ancestors, because my cherished self is gone exist." Thrall nodded in understanding, and thought of Eitrigg and Cain.That very night, Kane’s tone and words would have struck any bystander as disrespectful — indeed, somewhat offensive.But Thrall knew the truth about them—sincerity, even if it sounded harsh, came from the heart.He moved uncomfortably, the old cushion had hardly any padding in it.He got mad at Kane, even though he knew it, and he didn't like what he was doing.He decided to apologize to Kane after he went back, and thank Lao Niu for his blunt words. "I've learned from you, Grandmother," Thrall said softly. "Oh, well," said Agra, just as she was returning with a filled jug, "you need an education." Thrall took a deep breath to calm himself.Learning to get along with Agra, he thought, would be the most important "lesson". "Agra, I have told you and Goel that I hope you will be his main tutor when he is in Nagrand. I will also teach you personally, Thrall, but the lessons are limited here. I have no strength to travel this vast land. But Agra has it. She will take you where you need to visit." Thrall nodded to the young orc female as courteously as possible, "I understand, and I am happy to accept her training." Agra raised her black eyebrows slightly, and snorted contemptuously. "Also, Agra...you may not quite agree with Go'el. You don't have to. You only need to teach him with all your heart and heart. His land is suffering. He has put His duties in Azeroth were given to Garrosh? Hellscream—" "Garrosh? That child is not suitable for—" ) "—in order to learn how to save his world," Gaiyaan continued, raising his voice firmly, "whom he appoints to lead the Horde has nothing to do with me, nor with you. What matters to us is that he has done that Do you consider yourself more important than trying to salvage the element of pain?" Agora's face was sullen, and she looked as if she was about to refute, but she finally folded her hands on her lap. "You're right, Matriarch. I dedicate my life to listening to and helping the elementals, even if they are from another world. I will give all I have to teach Go'el." She couldn't help adding, " Regardless of what I think of him personally." Thrall smiled politely at her, "And I, in order to save my world, would listen and learn anything, no matter what I thought of Agra personally."